We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 534: The Land of the Phoenix-Bird (2 in 1)

After the great battle ended, the Flowing Sand City front line was no longer as tense and ready to erupt as it had been before.

Over the course of these three months, the Heavenly Demon Alliance and the Sacred Demon Alliance had both withdrawn their armies thirty li. Quite a few cultivators, after exchanging their military merit, had also left those two demon alliances.

As for the cultivators who had fought on the Myriad Demon Alliance’s side, every one of them who survived received generous rewards.

Among them, because Xiao Mo had rendered outstanding service on the battlefield and had successfully stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm, no matter how reluctant Chen Bing, the ruler of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom, might be, according to the Myriad Demon Alliance’s rules, after rewarding Xiao Mo with military merit, they also had to promote him to elder.

However, Xiao Mo’s position as a Myriad Demon Alliance elder only meant his status had risen. It was merely an honorary title. Within the Myriad Demon Alliance, he had little real authority.

Xiao Mo did not care about that.

He had never had any desire to trouble himself with the Myriad Demon Alliance’s complicated affairs.

After returning to the city, Xiao Mo still spent each day quietly sitting inside Cijing Bookstore, reading and looking after the shop.

And precisely because Xiao Mo had made such a name for himself on the battlefield, the cultivators and common people of Flowing Sand City all knew that the owner of Cijing Bookstore had already stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm.

As a result, the batch of cultivation methods, manuals, and other books Xiao Mo had previously annotated were instantly snapped up until not a single copy remained.

There were also cultivators who often hovered in front of Xiao Mo, looking at him eagerly in the hope that he would accept them as disciples.

After all, this was the Nascent Soul Realm—a level at which one could establish a sect and found a lineage!

If they could become Xiao Mo’s first disciple, their future would surely be limitless.

Xiao Mo did indeed encounter several promising seedlings, but he had no intention of taking them as disciples.

He only told them that if there was anything they did not understand in their cultivation, they could come to the bookstore at any time and ask him for guidance.

As for payment, when they had free time, they could help him look after the bookstore.

Lately, there truly were too many customers in the bookstore. Xiao Mo alone could not handle them all.

Naturally, they were willing to meet such a small request.

And among these people was Zhao Hongfei, who had been responsible for receiving Xiao Mo when he first arrived in Flowing Sand City.

Another month passed, and a rumor began spreading through Flowing Sand City: a rift had appeared between the Sacred Demon Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance.

Xiao Mo was not surprised by this.

The relationship between the two alliances had never been especially solid to begin with. Many contradictions had always existed between the two sides. It was only for the sake of jointly defeating the Myriad Demon Alliance that they had temporarily set those conflicts aside.

Especially before the great battle arrived, whenever the Sacred Demon Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance could each take a step back, they had done so. Everything had been treated as secondary to the primary goal of crushing the Myriad Demon Alliance.

But this time, the allied army had failed to capture Flowing Sand City, and that failure had stirred up all the contradictions that had previously been suppressed.

The Sacred Demon Alliance suspected that the Heavenly Demon Alliance had deliberately preserved its strength, hoping to make the Sacred Demon Alliance and the Myriad Demon Alliance fight to the death while the Heavenly Demon Alliance reaped the benefits from the side.

Likewise, the Heavenly Demon Alliance suspected the Sacred Demon Alliance of the same thing.

Now, the crack between the two demon alliances was already plain to see. Their collapse and separation were almost only a matter of time.

However, Xiao Mo also learned that things were no better on the Human Alliance’s side.

In earlier years, the humans had chosen an alliance leader named Lei Peng.

Lei Peng was arbitrary and tyrannical. Not only did he regard the demon race as slaves; in his eyes, mortals who could not cultivate and cultivators of low realm were no different from slaves either.

Beyond that, Lei Peng had an extreme fondness for slaughter.

If a city was breached by Lei Peng, then whether human or demon, almost no one inside would be left alive.

He did not even spare children with no strength to truss a chicken.

Lei Peng’s actions were no different from those of a beast, and they had long since stirred up public fury within the human race.

But because he had bought over major sects and human cultivators above the Golden Core Realm with benefits, he still had many supporters. For the time being, he could still stabilize the situation.

Now, however, more and more human sects and cultivators were leaving the Human Alliance one after another. There were also many sects that had sworn to eradicate Lei Peng, this calamity.

Therefore, the Human Alliance likely would not last much longer either.

Judging from the current situation, it seemed instead that the Myriad Demon Alliance had gained the upper hand in the demon-race world.

However, after that brutal great battle, the Myriad Demon Alliance could be said to have suffered disastrous losses and severe damage to its vitality. For now, it did not dare give rise to any extra ambitions either.

For a time, the entire demon-race world seemed to quiet down all at once, even falling into a subtle and inexplicable balance.

But Xiao Mo understood very clearly in his heart.

The demon-race world that followed might very well split into countless forces large and small, falling into a chaotic situation where each fought for itself and attacked one another.

And yet, with the demon-race world having fought itself to this state, that lame old man, Gui Ning, had not only never appeared to mediate among the various forces; from beginning to end, he had not even shown his face. It was as though he had vanished into thin air.

After the great battle ended, Xiao Mo also wrote Tushan Jingci a short letter to tell her he was safe.

In fact, during his days in Flowing Sand City, Xiao Mo would write to Jingci every so often.

However, in those letters, Xiao Mo had never mentioned the fact that he had been deliberately targeted, nor had he ever spoken of the life-and-death dangers he had experienced.

What Xiao Mo wrote in his letters was nothing but peace and good news.

Tushan Jingci wrote to Xiao Mo even more frequently.

Most of what the young woman wrote about in her letters were daily trivialities.

For example, the vexation of handling Tushan affairs.

For example, the tedium and dullness of cultivation.

Or, for another example, the few close female friends she had newly made.

Xiao Mo and Tushan Jingci seemed exactly alike.

Neither mentioned their own difficulties or worries at all. Both reported only joy, never sorrow.

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

Xiao Mo heard that the Myriad Demon Alliance intended to go negotiate with the Sacred Demon Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance, to discuss joining together against the humans and then dividing the demon-race world into three.

The place of negotiation was chosen as Nine Nether Mountain. The three forces agreed that each side could send only one Immortal Realm cultivator.

On the Myriad Demon Alliance’s side, Elder Hongxia was naturally the one who would go.

However, Xiao Mo did not feel that these negotiations would produce any result.

In his view, the three sides were merely harboring their own schemes.

Sure enough, ten days later, news arrived: the negotiations between the three demon alliances had formally broken down.

The three sides were dissatisfied with one another’s conditions, and none was willing to give ground.

In the end, the three Immortal Realm cultivators actually began fighting directly. Their battle overturned heaven and earth, and the entire Nine Nether Mountain was flattened.

Yet it was precisely during this chaotic battle that Tushan Hongxia and the other two unexpectedly discovered an ancient ruin.

Unfortunately, this ruin was sealed firmly by an ancient restriction, and the three of them could not enter at all.

Even so, through that seal, they could still clearly sense the domineering bloodline aura seeping out from the depths of the ruin, terrifying enough to make one’s heart tremble.

Tushan Hongxia and the other two immediately ceased fighting for the time being and instead joined hands to investigate the ruin’s origins.

Another ten days passed before Tushan Hongxia returned to Flowing Sand City.

The first thing she did after returning to the city was issue an announcement regarding that ruin.

Because of this, Xiao Mo learned clearly—

It turned out that the ruin beneath Nine Nether Mountain was the sleeping place of an ancient Phoenix-Bird.

The realm of this mighty Phoenix-Bird was at least the Ascension Realm, and it might even have reached the legendary two lost realms.

Moreover, according to the secret-realm laws that Tushan Hongxia and the other two had detected, this ruin would open on its own in one month.

At that time, all cultivators of the middle three realms from the three demon alliances could go there on their own and seize their own opportunities.

Once this announcement was issued, every cultivator of the middle three realms in Flowing Sand City became eager to try.

That was the sleeping place of an Ascension Realm great demon!

It surely contained that great demon’s lifelong inheritance and relics.

Even if they only obtained the tiniest fragment from within, it would be a heaven-sent opportunity.

In Xiao Mo’s view, this secret realm should indeed be real.

However, he did not believe the three demon alliances would be so kind as to open up such an excellent secret realm for free.

Xiao Mo secretly guessed that there was most likely some hidden trick inside this secret realm.

On the second day after the announcement was issued, Xiao Mo was called to the City Lord’s Residence.

“Greetings, Elder Hongxia.” Facing Tushan Hongxia, Xiao Mo bent at the waist and saluted respectfully on the surface.

“Heh, heh, heh... Xiao Mo, you are too courteous.” Tushan Hongxia chuckled as she walked forward and personally reached out to help Xiao Mo up.

As she carefully sized Xiao Mo up, she nodded in satisfaction and praised him.

“Mm, not bad. Not bad at all. As expected of the person the holy daughter values. Not only are you dignified and handsome, your talent is even more remarkable. Xiao Mo, you broke through into Nascent Soul in the midst of battle. That truly was a glorious sight.”

“You flatter me, Elder.” Xiao Mo lowered his eyes modestly, his tone respectful. “This junior merely stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm by luck.”

“There is no need to be so modest in front of me.” Tushan Hongxia smiled. Then she changed the subject. “Can you guess why I called you here today?”

“This junior guesses...” Xiao Mo paused, then replied in a calm tone, “that it should be about the Phoenix-Bird Secret Realm?”

“Correct!”

A hint of seriousness flashed abruptly through Tushan Hongxia’s eyes, and her tone became grave as well.

“To be honest, when the three of us discovered this secret realm, the shock in our hearts was indescribable. Even though we had been fighting until heaven and earth went dark, we all stopped at the same time without prior agreement.”

“As for this Phoenix-Bird Secret Realm, let us not even speak of whether there is an ancient cultivation method inside that can allow one to step into the two lost realms. Just from the aura seeping through the cracks in the seal, I can judge that the demon core buried inside is at least at the Ascension Realm level!”

“Unfortunately, this Phoenix-Bird Secret Realm only permits cultivators of the middle three realms to enter. This tremendous opportunity, I fear, has nothing to do with these old bones of mine!”

“But Xiao Mo! To you, this is absolutely a once-in-a-thousand-years chance!”

“Senior, please explain.” Xiao Mo once again cupped his hands and bowed respectfully.

“Regarding the relationship between you and the holy daughter, the Grand Elder has already told me the truth. The Grand Elder’s meaning is very clear. She hopes that you can render enough military service on the battlefield. When that time comes, even if you want to marry the holy daughter, it will be enough to silence those idle tongues.”

Tushan Hongxia looked at Xiao Mo with burning eyes, her gaze filled with expectation.

“And now, this is precisely an opportunity bestowed upon you by Heaven! If you can obtain even the Phoenix-Bird’s demon core or essence inside the Phoenix-Bird Secret Realm, that alone would be an enormous contribution!”

“I plan to have you go to the secret realm, and to have Chen Jue, Xin Xiao’er, and two other Nascent Soul Realm elders of the Myriad Demon Alliance assist you. What do you think?”

“Senior, the relationship between Chen Jue and me... likely cannot be considered very good.” Xiao Mo shook his head helplessly, his tone carrying some bitterness.

“I know.”

Tushan Hongxia lightly patted Xiao Mo’s shoulder, her tone mild and somewhat consoling.

“But Chen Jue is, after all, a prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom, and the Heavenly Demon Kingdom is an extremely important ally of our Myriad Demon Alliance. Moreover, you will be Tushan’s son-in-law in the future. If the two of you can take this chance to fight side by side and mend your relationship, would that not be the best of both worlds?”

“How about it? Are you willing to give this old woman a little face?”

Xiao Mo pondered for a moment. In the end, he still nodded, his tone carrying a hint of concession. “Since you have put it that way, Senior, then this junior is naturally willing to turn hostility into friendship with Chen Jue.”

“Good.” Tushan Hongxia nodded in satisfaction.

“Then it is settled. Go back and make proper preparations. You may set off within these next two days. You will gather at the Land of the Phoenix-Bird.”

“Yes.” Xiao Mo took his leave. “Then this junior will withdraw first.”

“Go on, go on.” Tushan Hongxia waved her hand, smiling as she watched Xiao Mo leave.

However, the moment Xiao Mo’s figure had just disappeared beyond the great hall, the smile on Tushan Hongxia’s face gradually receded.

In its place appeared a trace of killing intent.

“You heard everything I just said to Xiao Mo clearly, did you not?” Tushan Hongxia slowly spoke toward the empty great hall, her tone carrying a chill.

Before her voice had faded, Chen Jue emerged from the shadows. He stood respectfully before Tushan Hongxia and bowed. “Yes, Senior. This junior heard every word clearly.”

Chen Jue raised his head, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. A few traces of undisguised mockery flashed through his eyes.

“He still wants to mend relations with me? A mere human—does he think he is worthy?”

“The Phoenix-Bird Secret Realm forms a world of its own, and it will only remain open for a short ten days.” Tushan Hongxia glanced at Chen Jue but did not respond to his words. “If Xiao Mo dies inside, no one will know what exactly happened. Therefore, that place is the best place to kill someone.”

She turned around and took out a magic treasure glimmering with dim light from her sleeve, then solemnly handed it to Chen Jue.

“This is my natal magic treasure. Its grade has already reached that of a half-immortal weapon. I have infused my own spiritual power into it. Together with this talisman I personally drew, it will be enough for you to activate it once.”

She lifted her eyes and looked straight at Chen Jue.

“You must use this chance to kill Xiao Mo inside the secret realm. Do you understand?”

“This junior understands! Please rest assured, Senior!” Chen Jue accepted the magic treasure and talisman with both hands, then nodded solemnly. A vicious gleam flashed through his eyes.

Tushan Hongxia nodded slightly, and her tone became somewhat deeper.

“Tushan’s holy-daughter ceremony will be held very soon.”

She paused. Her gaze fell meaningfully on Chen Jue.

“As long as Xiao Mo dies, after the ceremony, it will be time for your wedding with Jingci.”

“Your Highness, First Prince...” Her voice was not loud, but every word pressed down with heavy weight.

“You must not disappoint me.”