Chapter 54 Has the Immortal Realm Gone Mad?

A look of realization flashed in her eyes.

"Was I discovered..."

Jiang Wanyin felt no anger; instead, a faint smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

"Interesting... it seems this little guy is even more intriguing than I imagined."

"With Qingyue in his hands, her life isn't in danger for the time being.

On the contrary, this little fellow jumped into the vortex of the Demon Realm on his own... I want to see just how much of a splash you can make."

She withdrew her gaze, and her figure vanished into the light of the Laws, as if she had never been there.

...

Meanwhile, in the Demon Realm.

Near Chong Batian's Mozun Hall.

As the light of the teleportation array flashed, the figures of Gu Heng, Lin Qingyue, the Old Dragon King, and the Demon Venerable Chong Batian appeared on the square in front of the main hall.

Devilish Qi rushed toward them. On both sides of the square stood rows of Demon Race guards clad in heavy armor.

Their auras were all above the Earth Immortal realm. Holding demonic weapons and exuding a murderous air, they were enough to strike fear into ordinary Immortals.

Seeing the Demon Venerable's return, all the guards knelt on one knee, the sound of clashing armor ringing out.

"Welcome back, Lord Demon Venerable!"

Their voices, like a mountain tsunami, shook the Void Realm until it hummed.

At this moment, Chong Batian possessed none of a Demon Venerable's majesty. He bowed low, following beside Gu Heng and making a gesturing motion to lead the way, looking like a humble waiter.

Gu Heng paid no heed to his surroundings, as if he were strolling in his own backyard garden. With his hands behind his back, his gaze swept across the square.

Suddenly,

he stopped at a certain spot.

Not far away, several demonic cultivators were gathered together, seemingly discussing something.

Those demonic cultivators were dressed completely differently from the guards on the square.

Their auras were mixed and chaotic; they were clearly not direct subordinates of Mozun Hall.

One of the demonic cultivators looked familiar to Gu Heng.

Wasn't he the fellow who, earlier at the entrance of the great hall, had been discussing the heaven-reaching tower and the Empress with several other demonic cultivators?

Gu Heng's lips curled up as he walked over. With a smile on his face, he raised a hand in greeting.

"Hi, Fellow Daoists, we meet again."

The demonic cultivators, who were spit-flyingly discussing how the white-robed thief should be cut into a thousand pieces, heard the voice and turned around.

When they saw the newcomer's face clearly, the expressions on their faces froze.

The cruel smirk on the scarred-face demonic cultivator's face froze. His eyes bulged, as if he had seen a ghost.

His companions beside him were even more stiff, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a demonic egg.

"You... you... you..."

The scarred-face demonic cultivator pointed a finger at Gu Heng, a gurgling sound coming from his throat, unable to utter a single complete sentence.

What was going on?

Wasn't... wasn't this the white-robed human who was Passing By when they were discussing the heaven-reaching tower?!

Why was he here?

And... and he even came back with the Lord Demon Venerable!?

What caused their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering even more was that the Lord Demon Venerable, the Dominator of this territory, was actually following behind this white-robed human like a servant!

This sight made their brains stall, their thoughts falling into Chaos.

At this moment,

Chong Batian, who had just been leading the way for Gu Heng, also noticed the abnormality here.

He saw the ghost-like reactions of those demonic cultivators and, combining that with the information he had just searched from the memories of those two useless subordinates, understood something.

"Hmph!"

Chong Batian's face darkened, and killing intent instantly enveloped those demonic cultivators.

He quickly walked to Gu Heng's side, bowed first, then turned to the demonic cultivators who were already paralyzed with fear on the ground and said:

"Open your dog eyes and look clearly! This is the Lord Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Realm Law Enforcement Hall, who has specifically come to our Demon Realm... for an incognito visit!"

"If you have shown any disrespect before, now, immediately, right this instant, confess everything to this Venerable one! If there is even half a sentence of concealment..."

Chong Batian didn't finish his sentence, only letting out a cold laugh.

"Heh heh..."

Silence was more terrifying than threats.

"Ah!?"

"The... the Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Realm Law Enforcement Hall!?"

The scarred-face demonic cultivator felt his vision go dark, nearly fainting on the spot.

It's over!

They had just been repeatedly mocking this human as a bumpkin from the Lower Realm...

What kind of stupid thing had they done?

At the thought of discussing how to deal with him right in front of a big shot at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level, the scarred-face demonic cultivator felt a warmth in his crotch.

Thud!

His legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees, kowtowing to Gu Heng with muffled thuds.

"Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! This lowly one failed to recognize your greatness! This lowly one has a foul mouth! This lowly one deserves to die!"

However,

his pleading was already too late.

Chong Batian only wanted to deal with these fools who had caused him trouble as quickly as possible, giving them no chance to explain.

A cold light flashed in his eyes as he made a casual grasping motion.

An invisible force enveloped the demonic cultivators, and their bodies flew before Chong Batian.

"Soul Search."

Chong Batian was expressionless as his demonic sense flooded into their Sea of Consciousness.

Screams rang out, but were quickly cut short.

After learning the whole story, the killing intent in Chong Batian's eyes surged.

These frogs at the bottom of a well not only discussed the Lord to his face with much disrespect in their words, but even harbored murderous intent!

They were simply seeking death!

With a flick of his demonic sense, the demonic cultivators' Sea of Consciousness exploded like a pond with dynamite thrown in, their Divine Souls annihilated in an instant.

Several soulless husks collapsed to the ground.

After doing all this, as if he had merely swatted a few flies, Chong Batian turned to Gu Heng, his face once again covered in smiles.

"Lord, a group of blind frogs at the bottom of a well offended you; they truly deserved to die ten thousand deaths."

He bowed and said, "Please do not let such filthy things affect your mood, Lord. This little demon has prepared some simple wine; please enter the hall for a chat."

Gu Heng nodded slightly, his face showing neither joy nor anger, but his heart brightened.

Is this the Demon Race's way of doing things?

Soul searching at the slightest disagreement, and then casual slaughter once the truth is out—clean, efficient, and without hesitation.

By comparison, his method of just "Passing By" their cultivation seemed downright gentle and full of humanitarian concern.

It seems he should learn more from their efficient style of handling matters in the future.

Gu Heng made a mental note of it, and at the same time, he remembered another matter.

The Prodigies who had entered the tower for training earlier seemed to have... vanished?

The heaven-reaching tower had already been refined by him, and he knew everything inside it like the back of his hand.

Of those Prodigies who had been sent into the tower for training by various major powers in the Lower Realm with high hopes, he didn't see a single one.

Could some unforeseen event he was unaware of have occurred during the tower's refinement?

He turned to look at Lin Qingyue beside him, about to ask.

But just then, Chong Batian made another inviting gesture, leading Gu Heng and the others into a guest hall beside the main hall.

Inside the hall,

a banquet had long been prepared, with various rare treasures and exotic fruits unique to the Demon Realm laid out on long tables, emitting a fragrance.

"Lord, please take the seat of honor!"

Chong Batian personally pulled out the chair at the head of the table for Gu Heng.

Only after Gu Heng and the others were seated did Chong Batian sit at the foot of the table, letting out a sigh of relief.

He had finally stabilized this great deity.

However, he hadn't fully finished that sigh.

The next second,

a demon general rushed in from outside the hall, looking panicked and even forgetting to salute.

"Re... reporting to the Lord Demon Venerable! It's an emergency!"

The demon general knelt on one knee, his voice trembling. "An urgent report from the border! The Immortal Realm... an army from the Immortal Realm is pressing upon us. They've already broken through the first line of defense and are heading straight for us!"

"What?!"

Chong Batian bolted upright from his seat, his heart leaping back into his throat, all color draining from his face.

"Is the Immortal Realm crazy!?"

...

"No, I'm not crazy."

The Divine Envoy gritted his teeth in the command hall, fire burning in his eyes.

"That damned white-robed thief actually dared to refine the heaven-reaching tower right in front of this Envoy! Such a humiliating disgrace—if I do not tear him into ten thousand pieces, I swear I am not human!"

He took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in his heart, and turned his gaze toward a white-bearded old man standing below.

The old man wore the Daoist robes of the Taixu Sword Sect. His aura was profound; he was actually at the Immortal Emperor realm.

"Jiang Wuji."

The Divine Envoy's voice was cold. "As the Supreme Patriarch of the Taixu Sword Sect, your cultivation has reached the Immortal Emperor realm. Now, go immediately to the border between the Demon Realm and the Immortal Realm and scout out the situation for me!"

The old man named Jiang Wuji bowed upon hearing this, a trace of worry appearing on his face.

"Rest assured, Lord, this old man shall set out at once. Millions of my Sect's Disciples are also ready and waiting for orders. However..."

He paused and said cautiously, "The Immortal and Demon Realms are interconnected; a single move affects the whole. If we truly have to fight to the death, aside from this old man being able to protect himself... the other Sect Disciples, I fear..."

His implication was clear: once a full-scale war began, aside from an expert at the Immortal Emperor level like him, the rest of the Disciples would likely become cannon fodder.

The Divine Envoy glanced at him and snorted coldly. "I told you to scout the situation; who told you to fight to the death?"

"You only need to announce to the outside world that the white-robed thief's tracks have been discovered in the border region, then station the army there and put on a posture of being ready for a decisive battle.

Remember, do not alert the enemy prematurely. Once the thief's exact location is locked down, return immediately to report to me."

A flash of killing intent crossed the Divine Envoy's eyes as he said word by word, "I shall personally take him down!"

"Yes, this old man understands."

Jiang Wuji dared not say more. After receiving the order, his figure vanished from the divine temple.

...

Inside the Demon Venerable's guest hall,

the atmosphere remained oppressive.

Chong Batian forced himself to calm down.

He stole a glance at Gu Heng and found that the other's face was still as calm as a light breeze, as if the Immortal Realm's army pressing upon the border had nothing to do with him.

This made Chong Batian even more uncertain. He could only bite the bullet, waving for the reporting demon general to withdraw before sitting back down.

"Ahem... L-Lord, perhaps those fellows at the border got the intel wrong. Don't mind them; let's... let's continue. Continue eating, continue drinking!"

He raised his wine cup, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

However,

the others at the banquet didn't share his good spirits.

The Old Dragon King stared with his dragon eyes at a dish of "delicacies" on the table before him.

It was a dish made of unknown Demonic Beast eyeballs. The dark red eyeballs were soaked in a dark green sauce, still slightly twitching and emitting a fishy sweetness.

He watched it for a long time,

and finally couldn't help but mutter a small comment.

"..."

Lowering his voice, he leaned into Gu Heng's ear. "Revered Master, these things... aren't even as satisfying as the spirit fruits this old man chewed on in the Lower Realm..."

On the other side, Lin Qingyue also knit her beautiful brows.

Before her was a cup of wine, and there even seemed to be runes swimming within the liquid.

She only took one look and never touched it again.

Gu Heng didn't have as strong a reaction as they did. Looking at the table full of "Demon Realm specialties," he fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Chong Batian felt his face burning, embarrassed to the extreme.

He had wanted to use this banquet to curry favor with this great deity, but who would have thought it would turn out like this?

He coughed a few times, trying to explain, "Ahem... Lord, Fairy, Senior Dragon King, perhaps...

Perhaps because the regions are different, our Demon Realm's eating habits have some differences from the Immortal Realm... some differences... it's quite normal."

"Some differences?"

The Old Dragon King finally couldn't take it anymore. He slammed the table and stood up, pointing at the dishes and complaining: "You call this stuff—demon blood brew, Demonic Beast eyeballs, and soup made from resentful souls—'some differences'?

Don't be so ghoulish, alright? Is this the kind of stuff you demons usually eat? No wonder you all look like mangled melons and cracked dates, all misshapen and weird!"

These words were spoken without the slightest bit of politeness.

Chong Batian's old face instantly turned the color of pig liver, yet he didn't dare to erupt. He could only stand there, smiling awkwardly.

The atmosphere in the hall dropped to freezing point.

"Sigh..."

Just then,

Gu Heng sighed.

Leaning back in his chair carved from Blood Soul Jade, he stretched and commanded Lin Qingyue beside him:

"My shoulders are a bit sore. Come here and massage them."

"!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked.

Chong Batian looked at Gu Heng in disbelief, then at Lin Qingyue.

This Fairy had an ethereal aura and peerless beauty; at a glance, she was clearly a core Disciple raised by some top-tier power in the Immortal Realm, with a noble status.

And this Lord Deputy Hall Master... was actually making her massage his shoulders in public?

Lin Qingyue was also stunned and looked up.

He wanted her to massage the shoulders of this bastard who had just toyed with her, stolen the token her Revered Master gave her, and forced her to be a maidservant?

In front of so many people?

However, she also knew that Gu Heng was establishing his authority, asserting his dominance to everyone, including her.

Lin Qingyue bit her lower lip, her pearly teeth leaving a mark on her lip.

In the end,

she took a deep breath. Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, she stood up, walked around the table, and moved behind Gu Heng.

Her movements were somewhat stiff. After a moment's hesitation, her hands landed on Gu Heng's shoulders.

Meanwhile, Gu Heng acted as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He closed his eyes and even adjusted his sitting posture, as if all of this were perfectly natural.

This scene,

Chong Batian watched blankly, waves of shock crashing in his heart.

Does the Immortal Realm... really play like this?

Amidst his shock, his gaze inadvertently met Lin Qingyue's as she massaged Gu Heng's shoulders.

At that moment,

Chong Batian's mind suffered a violent shock!

He suddenly realized: why was this white-robed Fairy's aura so strange?

Deep within her aura, there seemed to be hidden... a majesty that was both familiar to him and made him tremble!

It was as if...

As if he had seen it somewhere before?