Chapter 37: Unusual Activity in the Immortal Abode
The secret of the Poison-Devouring Fruit Tree was known to very few even within the Beast Peak.
The Golden-Winged Roc had only heard of it occasionally because its grandfather was an elder in the later stages of the Tribulation Phase. It knew that the Poison-Devouring Fruit Tree produced fruits that carried countless poisons, possessing absolute destructive power against cultivators below the Great Vehicle Phase.
Thus, upon hearing Qu Yi’s words, the Golden-Winged Roc became panicked—someone like him had discovered such a top-secret matter of the Beast Peak.
Reflexively, the Golden-Winged Roc asked, “How did you learn about the secret of the Poison-Devouring Fruit Tree?”
Qu Yi exhaled lightly, clearly displeased, and said indifferently, “Golden-Winged Roc, you still haven’t realized your status. You’re already under my control. You must listen carefully to me and tell me everything you know truthfully. Well, to teach you a lesson, let’s first make you experience the pain of a twisted soul.”
As soon as he spoke, the Golden-Winged Roc began writhing on the ground, holding its head with a twisted, agonized expression. It turned out that the Spirit Tool was already punishing it, twisting its soul back and forth in merciless torment.
It wasn’t until a day later, when all the strength in the Golden-Winged Roc’s body was exhausted and it lay on the ground like soft mud, that the Spirit Tool stopped its punishment.
The Golden-Winged Roc had been too proud—descended from a powerful being in the later stages of the Tribulation Phase and a dominant demon cultivator, its long-standing status had made it accustomed to giving orders. Even after having a soul shackle implanted, it still failed to realize it must now obey orders and always heed Qu Yi’s commands. Qu Yi had no choice but to punish it to ensure it would remember and change its attitude in the future.
“I admit my mistake, master,” the Golden-Winged Roc said, no longer defiant.
Qu Yi chuckled.
……
The Beast Peak, from top to bottom, featured seven colored bands that reached into the clouds, standing out sharply.
At that moment, the Golden-Winged Roc flew from its territory straight toward the gray band at the top of the Beast Peak—where the elders in the Tribulation Phase practiced.
The Golden-Winged Roc’s grandfather was also a Golden-Winged Roc and had already reached the later stages of the Tribulation Phase. Once one reached the Tribulation Phase, these demon cultivators in the Beast Peak would receive their own special titles. The Golden-Winged Roc’s grandfather was known as Qing Peng.
In the air on its way to Hundred Beasts Peak, the patrol teams there did not come to stop the Golden-Winged Roc. These patrol members all knew about the Golden-Winged Roc and that it was the grandson of Qing Peng, so they dared not intercept or question it.
Soon, the Golden-Winged Roc arrived at a stone fortress built entirely of Qing Hao Stone—this was Qing Peng’s cultivation cave. A faint blue gas surrounded the entire fortress, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. This gas was majestic and awe-inspiring, preventing any evil thoughts from arising—this was the effect of Qing Hao Stone.
“Grandpa, I’m here,” said the Golden-Winged Roc, transforming into human form and calling out in front of the stone fortress.
“Come in!” came a soft voice from inside the fortress, followed by a blue energy shield flying out. The shield enveloped the Golden-Winged Roc, then disappeared abruptly, and its figure appeared inside the fortress.
As soon as the Golden-Winged Roc entered the fortress, it opened its eyes and found itself in a spacious stone hall. Sitting there was a middle-aged man—its grandfather, Qing Peng.
“Grandpa, I’m here,” said the Golden-Winged Roc, somewhat excitedly.
At that moment, an idea flashed through its mind: whether to send the message about being controlled by Qu Yi. But it immediately dismissed the thought. It knew very well that Qu Yi would know the moment it had such an idea, and if it spoke even a word, it would die instantly.
Qing Peng opened his eyes and looked at the Golden-Winged Roc kindly, as if looking at his own younger self, filled with joy.
“Dapeng, what brings you to Hundred Beasts Peak this time?” Qing Peng asked with a light laugh.
Qing Peng knew that his descendant didn’t like to cultivate on Hundred Beasts Peak and preferred to live freely in his own territory. Therefore, every time the Golden-Winged Roc returned, it was because of some important matter that required its grandfather’s help.
The Golden-Winged Roc’s face turned slightly red as it said awkwardly, “Grandpa, I want to cultivate on Hundred Beasts Peak and prepare for the tribulation.”
Upon hearing this, Qing Peng’s eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily. “Very good, Dapeng. You’ve ruled that forest for many years and had your fun. Now you finally understand the importance of strength. If you want to cultivate in peace, do so in my stone fortress. If a tribulation approaches, I’ll prepare everything you need to overcome it.”
The Golden-Winged Roc didn’t show much joy either; it merely nodded slightly, though it was actually very distressed. This time, it was all because Qu Yi had defeated it and taken control of it, forcing it to follow orders and come to Beast Peak, where it made up an excuse to stay.
In the Golden-Winged Roc’s heart, it still wanted to return to its own territory and live as it pleased.
……
In the sky near Liupan Star, there were two satellites—one was the moon, and the other was Tianhuo Star.
Just as Qing Peng agreed to let the Golden-Winged Roc stay, all the cultivators on Liupan Star sensed sudden changes on Tianhuo Star.
For millions of years, Tianhuo Star had been surrounded by celestial fire, emitting gentle bursts of flame. But now, that celestial fire surged like fire dragons, with the entire planet erupting in flames, and trillions of fire dragons roared and boiled in the sky.
Liupan Star was also affected by this outburst of celestial fire, with its temperature rising sharply.
However, this anomaly on Tianhuo Star didn’t last long. After fifteen minutes, Tianhuo Star returned to its normal state, with the celestial fire once again gently swirling around its surface.
During those fifteen minutes, all the cultivators on Liupan Star remained in shock. How could Tianhuo Star, which had remained quiet for millions of years, suddenly experience such a massive upheaval?
The cultivators began to think of the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion, realizing that the outburst of celestial fire might be related to it.
Tianhuo Star was precisely the hiding place of the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion.
The powerful cultivators from the ten major sects—Taiyuan Gate, Qingyun Sect, Lanyang Palace, Yingtian School, Jinyang Sect, Biyan Peak, Cangyang Valley, Beast Peak, Xianyue Cliff, and Jiugong Island—immediately used their spiritual senses to detect any changes on Tianhuo Star and recorded everything.
When Tianhuo Star returned to its normal state, the powerful cultivators from these ten sects gathered together.
At Beast Peak, all the cultivators at the Tribulation stage were summoned by the sect leader, One-Claw Green Dragon, to the top of Beast Peak, the Green Dragon Palace.
One-Claw Green Dragon, now at the late stage of the Tribulation phase, took on a human form—tall, mighty, exuding an aura of explosive power. His gaze was so intense that no one could bear to look directly at him; his presence was solemn and authoritative, embodying true leadership.
Inside the Green Dragon Palace, ten thousand demon cultivators at various stages—early, middle, and late—gathered together. Their combined presence created a powerful aura that even generated a wind wave stretching for thousands of miles outside the palace.
Qing Peng also arrived and sat in the front row, facing the sect leader, One-Claw Green Dragon.
Of course, the Centimeter Realm Ball, now reduced to dust, attached itself to Qing Peng.
One-Claw Green Dragon, also revered as Green Dragon in the cultivation world, swept his gaze over the cultivators at Hundred Beasts Peak who were at the Tribulation stage, then raised his hand as a signal.
“Everyone, you’ve seen the strange phenomenon on Tianhuo Star just now. If my guess is correct, it means the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion is about to appear. In other words, our ten major sects will send people to compete for the treasures inside it,” Green Dragon said calmly.
Oh…
Green Dragon’s words caused many demonic cultivators at the Tribulation stage to exclaim in shock—they too were coveting the treasures in the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion.
“Elder Master, for entering the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion, don’t we need all eight Directional Swords to appear before they can be gathered together to allow someone to enter? As far as I know, only seven Directional Swords have appeared so far, and the seventh one appeared on Baiyin Star before being taken away by the Tidal Mist. There’s still no news about it,” said an elder in the middle stage of Tribulation suddenly.
The other elders suddenly realized and remembered the connection between the Directional Swords and the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion.
One-Claw Green Dragon smiled and nodded at the elder who spoke earlier before saying, “That’s right. Only when all eight swords are gathered can cultivators enter the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion. But the Directional Sword that appeared on Baiyin Star is very likely to be the eighth one. Moreover, the seventh sword may have already appeared, but its appearance was obscured by other anomalies in the universe. According to our intelligence, the seventh sword likely appeared on a small planet called Cuimu Star and is now in the possession of a man named Qu Yi.”
Wow…
Ten thousand elders at the Tribulation stage exclaimed again.
Inside the Centimeter Realm Ball, Qu Yi was also speechless with shock after hearing Green Dragon’s words. His secret of possessing the Directional Swords had been discovered by these ten major sects.
In fact, Qu Yi had forgotten one thing: when the Immortal Cloud Sect was destroyed, Linghuo Shangren had seen the Directional Swords and had been chasing Qu Yi ever since, until Qu Yi went to Tianhuo Star, where he finally killed Linghuo Shangren. During this time, Linghuo Shangren had recorded in several jade slips that Qu Yi possessed the Directional Swords, so that if Qu Yi sought revenge on him, others could be sent to hunt Qu Yi, thus avenging himself.
One of Linghuo Shangren’s jade slips had fallen into a branch of Hundred Beasts Peak.
“Elder Master, the reason you summoned us this time is not only to inform us that the Haotian Immortal Mansion is about to open, but also to tell us that the seventh Eight Directions Sword has fallen into Qu Yi’s hands, right?” asked another elder in the middle stage of the Tribulation Phase.
Qing Long smiled and said directly, “Apart from these two matters, I also need to tell you that according to the secret traditions of our Hundred Beasts Peak, only cultivators below the Tribulation Phase are allowed to enter the Haotian Immortal Mansion. Masters at the Great Vehicle Phase cannot enter it. Therefore, when the mansion opens in the future, we will have to select a few of you ten thousand elders to enter and compete for the treasures.”
Wow…
The ten thousand elders in the Tribulation Phase were once again astonished—there were such restrictions on entering the immortal mansion.
Qu Yi, inside the Dimensional Sphere, was also hearing this news for the first time. While shocked, he was also overjoyed at his decision to come to the Hundred Beasts Peak. It seemed that only the elders of the ten major sects knew this secret, a secret passed down from the ten masters of the mortal, demonic, and fiendly realms, which could only be transmitted from one elder master to the next; no one else was allowed to know it.
Now that there were signs the Haotian Immortal Mansion was about to open, Qing Long revealed this secret, allowing Qu Yi to become aware of it.
After learning about this restriction, Qu Yi began to make plans.