Chapter 31: The Deal

In the current Divine Realm of Meteorfall, while the members under the Nine Alliances searched for treasures on various planets, they also had another task: to find the Soul Stone and the Heaven-Transmitting Stone! The orders given by the nine alliance leaders quickly spread throughout all the forces of the Nine Alliances in the Divine Realm of Meteorfall. Driven by massive rewards, these forces paid close attention to every planet they reached, trying to sense whether there were any traces of the Soul Stone or the Heaven-Transmitting Stone there.

At the same time, another shocking news spread throughout the Divine Realm of Meteorfall: “A hundred years from now, only cultivators at the Heavenly Soul Immortal level will be able to leave the Divine Realm of Meteorfall. Only the former fifteen alliance leaders knew this, and they never revealed it to anyone else. Instead, they encouraged cultivators of all levels to enter the realm eagerly, deliberately disregarding the lives of others.”

Of course, this news was spread by Qu Yi. He also controlled many people scattered across the realm, who, upon receiving his orders, immediately spread the news on every planet. Whether they believed it or not, the cultivators who heard this news no longer cared about searching for treasures on the planets. They followed the star maps they had recorded and headed back immediately to the border planets to verify the news.

Treasures were important, but without lives, what use were they? Chaos and anxiety reigned in the Divine Realm of Meteorfall. Countless cultivators, seeing others rushing back, became uneasy as well. They no longer had the interest or motivation to explore further into the realm and joined the stream of people heading back.

Although the cultivators under the Nine Alliances were nominally under the control of the nine alliance leaders, these leaders lacked a strong enforcement force to maintain order in the realm. Thus, in the midst of chaos, even they rushed back. In the sky, dense crowds flowed back like a receding tide. Naturally, the plans of the nine alliance leaders were severely hindered—no one was left to search for the Soul Stone and the Heaven-Transmitting Stone, let alone set up formations to trap Qu Yi.

Chang Xin was, of course, the most furious. Only he knew the true uses of the Soul Stone and the Heaven-Transmitting Stone. Now that no one was searching for these two divine stones, he couldn’t complete his Grand Array for Transcending Worlds, and the Divine Realm of Meteorfall would no longer allow free entry and exit.

At this moment, the nine alliance leaders gathered on a single planet with over two hundred of their subordinates. At the summit of a high mountain, each of the nine alliance leaders sat on a large rock.

Chang Xin was depressed inside, but his expression remained calm. He glanced at the other eight alliance leaders and said indifferently, “Everyone, it seems the news that appeared in the Ruin Domain Divine Realm was deliberately spread by Qu Yi. We underestimated him—he even knows about this news. Could it be that Emperor Hao told him?”
The eight alliance leaders looked troubled.
“Whether it was Qu Yi who spread the news or not, it has already caused panic, and now it’s difficult for everyone to follow our calls. What should we do next?” asked Si Ren, the leader of the Magic Realm’s Golden Slash Alliance, coldly.
Without countless cultivators helping in the Ruin Domain Divine Realm, with just the two hundred people around the nine alliance leaders, it was impossible to find the Soul Stone and Heaven Transmitting Stone in this vast star sea.
Chang Xin remained silent for a while before saying lightly, “Everyone, since it’s not feasible for us to search for the Soul Stone and Heaven Transmitting Stone on our own, we have only one option—negotiate with Qu Yi.”
Upon hearing this, the eight alliance leaders sprang up from the rocks in surprise, staring at Chang Xin.
The purpose of searching for the Soul Stone and Heaven Transmitting Stone was to deal with Qu Yi, yet Chang Xin suggested negotiating with him to get those stones from him. It was truly baffling.
Seeing their expressions, Chang Xin smiled and then explained, “Everyone, Qu Yi doesn’t know our true purpose for the Soul Stone and Heaven Transmitting Stone. As long as we offer him sufficient benefits, I believe he’ll agree to our deal. Hmph, once we have those stones, we can simply kill Qu Yi and retrieve what we gave away.”
Only then did the eight alliance leaders understand Chang Xin’s plan, and their minds became active as they grasped the key point. Even if each of them gave up a divine artifact in exchange for Qu Yi’s Soul Stone and Heaven Transmitting Stone, and then killed him, they could not only regain their own artifacts but also share Qu Yi’s divine artifacts.
“Good, that’s a great idea,” the eight alliance leaders said with smiles.
Seeing that they agreed, Chang Xin’s expression remained calm, but inside, he sneered repeatedly.
“Alright, let’s spread the news that we’re willing to meet Qu Yi on a planet at the edge of the Ruin Domain Divine Realm to discuss peace,” Chang Xin said with a smile.
Peace was just a pretext, of course, the eight alliance leaders understood that.
Afterward, the nine alliance leaders had their subordinates take out communication cards again to spread the news. Although some cultivators under the nine alliances no longer trusted them, out of fear of their authority, many still didn’t dare resist and spread the news.

※※※
The group under Qu Yi’s control was scattered throughout the realms of the Meteor Domain Divine World. However, Qu Yi’s forces still hadn’t detected any traces of the cultivators from the Nine Alliances. Right now, these cultivators were operating in complete secrecy, seemingly suppressing their internal energy so as not to reveal their cultivation levels as Heavenly Soul Immortals, Heavenly Soul Demons, or Heavenly Soul Monsters. Thus, hidden among the sea of cultivators, they were not easily discoverable. Without any signs of them, Qu Yi couldn’t reach the Nine Alliances’ cultivators even with his Boundless Stars. As a result, he remained inside the Inch Realm Sphere, patiently waiting for news from them.

Qing Wu Gui was engaged in fierce battles with five cultivators at the mid-level Heavenly Soul Immortal stage, fighting intensely day after day and nearing the breakthrough to the lower-level Heavenly Soul Demon cultivation. Wu Yuan, on the other hand, watched Qing Wu Gui’s battles out of boredom.

One day, Qu Yi’s communication card finally sent back information. “Haha, Chang Xin can’t hold back any longer—he wants to meet me. It seems he wants to exchange the Soul Stone and Heaven-Transmitting Stone in my hands,” Qu Yi laughed after scanning the message on the card.

Reconciliation? How could there be reconciliation? With such deep enmity, there was only one path: a life-or-death struggle. Upon receiving this message, Qu Yi didn’t hesitate. He immediately took out his Boundless Stars and returned to the border planet of the Meteor Domain Divine World, specifically the planet he had entered it from before. From there, he simply waited quietly for the return of the cultivators from the Nine Alliances.

The most important item Qu Yi needed now was the Soul Green Pearl, which had to be prepared for Mu Zun. The other four lords already possessed Soul Round Pearls, allowing them to fully master their respective laws. Only Mu Zun could barely comprehend them on his own, which would greatly slow down Qu Yi’s own cultivation progress. As for the other items, Qu Yi naturally intended to demand as much as possible, taking advantage of the nine alliance leaders’ dependence on him to plunder them thoroughly.

After completing the transactions, Qu Yi would carry out his plan to snatch the powerful Heavenly Soul Immortals, Heavenly Soul Demons, and Heavenly Soul Monsters from the Nine Alliances, allowing Wu Yuan to devour them and help him advance in cultivation.

※※※
Two years passed since Qu Yi received the message before the cultivators from the Nine Alliances finally returned to the border planet of the Meteor Domain Divine World. By then, the various planets in this border region were already packed with countless cultivators. Cultivators from the three realms had almost all gathered there, waiting for an exit from the Meteor Domain Divine World so they could leave.

However, most cultivators had begun to believe the rumor that the Meteor Domain Divine World might trap those whose cultivation was below that of Heavenly Soul Immortals. An atmosphere of anxiety persisted on all the planets.

The nine alliance leaders, leading over two hundred subordinates, returned to the border planet. Without hiding their cultivation levels, they were quickly detected by the cultivators along the way, and thus Qu Yi’s people also learned of the nine alliance leaders’ whereabouts. Qu Yi rushed into space, took out the divine artifact Flowing Cloud Sound Chain. Driven by chaotic energy, the chain emitted ethereal demonic sounds that drove away the surrounding cultivators, immediately clearing a vast area in space. Naturally, the location of Qu Yi was also known to the nine alliance leaders right away. Within a day, Qu Yi and the nine alliance leaders met in a section of space. They stood opposite each other in silence for a long time. “Everyone, why are you silent? You sent out a message to meet me—surely it’s not just to take a look at me before going your own ways,” Qu Yi shouted, smiling. The nine alliance leaders smiled faintly, their attitude extremely friendly, as if all the unpleasant incidents from before never happened. “Qu Yi, it’s been a long time. Your cultivation must have improved again.” “Qu Yi, the nine of us have discussed it. There’s no need to continue with the discord between us. Let’s be friends from now on.” “Qu Yi, to win your trust, I’m willing to hand over all my forces to you.” … The nine alliance leaders all laughed warmly. Qu Yi snorted, shook his head, and said with a smile, “Alright, everyone. Now you can tell me your real purpose for wanting to meet me.” The nine alliance leaders looked slightly embarrassed but quickly laughed heartily to cover it up. Chang Xin stepped forward, looked straight at Qu Yi, and said with a smile, “Qu Yi, I’ll be direct. The nine of us have decided that on the day the Ruin Realm Divine World closes, we will release our cultivation levels, trigger a divine calamity, and ascend. We asked to meet you so that after we ascend, you won’t trouble the forces of our nine alliances.” Qu Yi smiled on the surface but inwardly despised them. This Chang Xin really knew how to make excuses. “I won’t bother them, but what benefits will you give me?” Qu Yi smiled faintly and continued, not revealing the true intentions of the nine alliance leaders. Chang Xin smiled at Qu Yi and said directly, “We can give you a divine artifact as a sign of our sincerity. Of course, you also need to assure us that we can ascend to the Divine World safely, so we need to show our sincerity too.” Qu Yi smiled inwardly. Chang Xin had finally gotten to the point, so he played along. “My sincerity? What do you mean?” Qu Yi asked, puzzled. “The Luo Soul Stone and the Tian Transmission Stone on you,” Chang Xin replied quickly.