Chapter 999
Persuading the Myriad Phenomena Palace
"call……"
Inside the secluded cultivation room, Song Qingxi let out a long breath, expelling all the turbid air that had accumulated in her lungs during this period. After more than three years of seclusion, she had finally completed the last step of preparation before breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
Although she has been in charge of all family affairs over the years, her cultivation has not been delayed because she is willing to delegate authority. She has been very steady and composed every step she has taken.
She is only a little over two hundred years old and has already perfected the five elements within her body. She is only one heavenly tribulation away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage. If everything goes smoothly, she will be able to break through before she turns three hundred.
For her, having absorbed the [Essence of Laws], this progress is already considered quite stable.
"In the blink of an eye, sixty years have passed. My husband should be back by now, right?" Song Qingxi thought to herself, looking at the closed door of the seclusion room, feeling a little uneasy.
Judging from the timeline, if everything went smoothly, Song Qingxing should have already successfully returned to his clan.
She hoped that she would see him the moment she opened the door.
But the worst thing in the world is to have your expectations dashed.
What if you open the door yourself and the person isn't outside?
What must be faced eventually must be faced. With the trust in Song Qingxing in her heart, she slowly pushed open the door of the seclusion room. A few withered leaves drifted by in the wind. Behind the door was empty; there was no one there.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Just then, as if sensing something, she raised her head and looked towards the bamboo forest in the distance, where she saw a proud yet tender figure standing there, his gaze fixed firmly on her.
At this moment, tears welled up like a river bursting its banks—tears of joy.
After sixty years of eager anticipation, our wish has finally come true.
She abandoned all her reserve and ran over as fast as she could, crashing headfirst into that steady and warm embrace.
The moment the two embraced, even the clamorous wind on the desolate peak seemed to soften.
The two embraced in silence, the only sounds they heard were each other's breathing and heartbeats.
After sixty years of separation, they had so much to say to each other, but when they saw each other and embraced, they knew what the other was thinking without needing any words.
After a long pause, Song Qingxi finally spoke softly, "You've lost weight."
"You too."
Song Qingxing gently inhaled the fragrance of orchids, reluctantly loosened his arms, and looked down into the beauty's clear, spring-like eyes, saying, "My uncle instructed me beforehand to see him as soon as possible after your breakthrough, as there are important matters to discuss."
He should be at the main hall by now; don't keep him waiting.
"Uncle has returned to the clan?" Song Qingxi suddenly lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes filled with surprise.
She was one of the few people who knew about Song Changsheng's slumber due to the formation of the fake infant. Hearing this, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down completely.
Nothing brings more joy than the safe return of the two most important people in my life.
When the two arrived at the main hall hand in hand, the chief elders and the garrison commander, including Wu Jie, Song Luzhou, Song Yulong, and Song Youfu, had already arrived one after another.
Song Changsheng sat high in the main seat, exuding an imposing aura without anger.
Seeing the two enter, he nodded slightly and said, "Everyone is here. I'd like to trouble Fifth Uncle to explain the core issues of this elders' meeting to everyone."
Upon receiving the instructions, Song Luzhou stood up and explained in detail his plan for the Southwest Alliance and how to lure the demons out of their hiding places. He concluded by saying, "The clan leader's idea is to gracefully integrate the forces of the various cultivation worlds in the Southwest through the alliance and create a unified defense line."
Then, at all costs, we should lure the demon race into making a move prematurely. However, the demon race is cunning and probably won't act rashly. Does anyone have any good suggestions?
Song Qingxi was the first to speak, saying, "The Golden-Eyed Demon Lord has always had a volatile temper. He has suffered losses several times before. In the past, once the hundred-year period is over, he will immediately make a comeback and avenge his previous defeats."
But this time he was surprisingly calm. Considering their actions over the years, they probably intended to settle things in one battle.
The demon race has always been a disorganized mess, and it's common for the various demon kingdoms to fight each other, let alone cooperate.
This unprecedented alliance must be due to the intervention of a higher-level power, at least a demon emperor.
The fact that a demon emperor is overseeing the operation indicates that the demon race's patience is almost exhausted due to the impending calamity.
Under these circumstances, the major demon kingdoms would appear to be closely united on the surface, and would never make a move without absolute certainty, while secretly accumulating strength.
To lure them into making a move prematurely, we must reveal a weakness, and a fatal one at that.
We have three trump cards up our sleeve for this battle.
One reason is the powerful human race behind them. However, they certainly won't interfere unless the demon race makes a large-scale mobilization. In addition, there are also unusual movements in Guqiu, which will distract them. Furthermore, the remnants of the old era will sabotage them in the dark.
Therefore, this one is basically invalid.
Secondly, there is the Myriad Manifestations Palace. Although a Nascent Soul True Monarch cannot intervene personally, the Myriad Manifestations Palace has great overall strength and extremely high prestige, and can effectively coordinate the various forces in the border regions.
When all the major forces unite as one, the demon race will have almost no chance of breaking through.
The third is the clan leader, who is virtually invincible on the battlefield without the participation of the demon lord, but this can be considered a hidden trump card.
If we want the demon race to lower their guard, we need to discard these three trump cards and expose some fatal flaws.
I think those alien races and evil sects are good targets for exploitation.
With collusion from within and without, and with their inside agents mobilized, the demon race has no reason not to act.
But then the problem comes full circle: how do we force them to take action?
Upon hearing this, Song Qingxing simply uttered a single word: "Kill!"
Song Youfu's eyes lit up and he said, "I understand. Uncle Qingxing's idea is to create survival pressure for them, kill them until they panic, and finally unite to resist, thereby influencing the actions of the demon race."
Song Luzhou shook his head slightly and said, "Then let's go back to another question. The demon race is most afraid of the Myriad Manifestations Palace. According to their original plan, they would definitely wait for the sea race to recover its strength and then use it to contain the sea race, so that the border regions would be caught in a two-front war and be caught in a dilemma from both inside and outside."
Does Kongsang Lifeng really still have the strength to fight against Wanxiang Palace?
While the demon race was preparing for war, the sea race also needed to recover its strength. Before it recovered, the sea race would not dare to provoke the Myriad Manifestations Palace again.
Without the cooperation of the sea creatures, the demon race certainly wouldn't act rashly.
As the discussion deepened, the outline of the plan gradually became clear, and now only one final problem remained before them.
Since the Vientiane Palace is involved, no one dares to speak up easily, after all, they have no decision-making power, and this is an uncontrollable variable.
Song Changsheng took the initiative to shoulder this difficult problem: "I will go to the Myriad Manifestations Palace next. The True Lords should have a solution. If all else fails, we will have to take the initiative."
During this period, based on the information provided by Zhang Chuqiu, you have done your best to compress the living space of those alien races and evil heretics, to hurt them, to make them feel a sense of crisis, to force them to contact the demon race, and to put pressure on the demon race.
In addition, in the name of the family, invitations were sent to the Golden Core forces in various cultivation circles in the southwest, inviting them to attend the alliance meeting, which was scheduled for the first day of the first lunar month three years later.
All factions must participate, otherwise Song will personally come to invite them!
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded in unison. ...
After the clan meeting ended, Song Changsheng took Zhang Chuqiu, who had been imprisoned for a long time, and set off for the space teleportation array to the Great Qian Cultivation World. During this time, he kept thinking about how to persuade the True Monarchs.
His plan was actually quite dangerous. A battle of this scale, with the front lines stretching across several cultivation worlds, would be difficult even for a Nascent Soul True Monarch to cover every aspect.
If anything goes wrong and the demon race crosses that invisible boundary, what awaits them is a full-scale invasion of the demon realm.
Without the constraints of the ancient covenant, their power was simply no match for the demon race.
It's a big gamble.
The Vientiane Palace is known for its cautious approach and may not necessarily accept such a risky plan from him.
"Some risks are necessary to take," Song Changsheng murmured softly, his eyes gradually hardening.
He didn't want to take any risks, but this was the only way out he could think of for the Song family, for the Great Qi, and even for the entire border region.
If they don't fight now, when the calamity truly descends, they'll have no chance left...
"Fellow Daoist Zixu, we meet again."
Because he had given prior notice using the [Myriad Manifestations Token], Master Jianxin was not surprised by his arrival.
"Fellow Daoist Sword Heart, is the Palace Master currently available?"
"The Palace Master originally intended to go into seclusion, but after receiving your message, she changed her mind. Fellow Daoist Zixu, you have truly given the Palace Master a difficult problem this time."
The Palace Master has convened several elder meetings regarding this matter.
The Supreme Elder has also emerged from seclusion.
"It was an emergency, and I had no other choice but to act expediently."
"The Palace Master and the Supreme Elder are inside the main hall."
"Thank you for telling me, fellow Daoist."
After bidding farewell to Sword Heart Immortal, Song Changsheng went straight to the main hall to visit the two True Lords.
"You've arrived." True Monarch Lei Xiang sat cross-legged on the thunder bed, with lightning surging around him, and the aura emanating from him was even more powerful than before.
Upon seeing this, Song Changsheng couldn't help but ask in surprise, "True Lord, you've broken through?"
He was told that True Monarch Lei Xiang was in seclusion when he last came, but he didn't expect him to succeed so quickly.
Lei Xiang Zhenjun was originally at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, but now he has further advanced to the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul realm, and his strength has increased dramatically. With such cultivation, he is one of the top experts in the entire Southern Continent.
This gave Song Changsheng a glimmer of hope.
"Indeed, thanks to your two fragments of bronze mirror, each containing a trace of the Great Dao, I benefited greatly from contemplating them and broke through this bottleneck that had plagued me for many years."
The Palace Master has told me about your plans, and the elders in the palace have been discussing them a lot lately.
They all concluded that your plan was too risky and difficult to implement.
The sea creatures have not yet recovered their strength and are unlikely to invade again in the short term. If we take the initiative to attack, the risks and uncertainties are too great.
The ocean is, after all, the domain of sea creatures; a single misstep could lead to utter defeat.
Could you tell me why you are so fixated on this battle?
Song Changsheng knew that his test had arrived.
He gathered his thoughts and said, "The coming of a catastrophe is a fact that can be completely confirmed."
Catastrophe represents chaos and disorder, which could be an invasion by alien races from beyond the borders, or it could be some strange celestial phenomenon like the heavens weeping and the sky shedding tears of blood.
Whichever we face next represents the collapse of order.
Therefore, I have been thinking about how we, who live outside the Tianshan Mountains, should conduct ourselves when a catastrophe strikes and the world is in chaos.
The border regions are impoverished and weak, surrounded by wolves. If we do not make plans early and nip the hidden dangers in the bud, we may only face annihilation.
These remnants of the old era are very likely the beginning of a catastrophe. Only by eliminating these threats can order be maintained on the frontier.
Only by maintaining a stable order can we uphold the ancient covenant and prevent the demon race from taking advantage of us.
Without the intervention of the demon race, the human race is fully capable of facing any challenge given its current strength.
In my opinion, this is the key to surviving the catastrophe. The risk is worthwhile. I urge the Palace Master and the Supreme Elder to consider this carefully.
Yi Tianzheng and Lei Xiang Zhenjun exchanged a glance, both revealing a smile on their faces.
"Your foresight and courage are truly beyond my expectations. The elders in the palace are far inferior to you."
The old man and the Supreme Elder had already made a decision and agreed to your plan. We were just discussing the details of the plan.
"Don't worry about the sea tribes. When the time is right, we'll find a way to force them to act. We'll keep Kongsang Lifeng and Lei Wangdian occupied at the same time. The demon race will depend on you."
Yi Tianzheng spoke with confidence, but did not fully explain his thoughts.
Song Changsheng wisely refrained from pressing the matter. Since the other party had said that, it must not be without reason. Perhaps it involved some secret that was not convenient to disclose to him at the moment. He just needed to wait for news.
"Please rest assured, both True Lords, as long as I am still alive, I will never allow the demon race to cross the line!"
"If the plan fails, the first to suffer will be the cultivation world of the Great Qi. We believed you even if you didn't say so."
When you participated in the Five Academies Grand Competition, I promised you that if you could win the championship, I would grant you two requests.
You've already used one, have you thought about the second one?
"I haven't decided yet."
"Since that's the case, let me make the decision for you."
"This battle is dangerous and full of variables. Here, take this in case you need it." Yi Tianzheng flipped his hand and took out a brocade box, handing it over.
Song Changsheng took a look, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Palace Master, this..."
"Take it, you never know when it might come in handy. Focus on preparing for war, the days of peace are numbered."
...(End of this chapter)