Near the Buzhou Mountain Range, a boat that seemed to be the color of white at one moment but suddenly became black the next moment slowly sailed through the clouds. Not only that, but the boat's existence seemed to drift between a state of falsehood and truth, illusionary one moment but real the next.

Duan Muli stood on the deck with his arms behind his back. Behind him, several disciples and elders scurried around him, but he ignored them. He continued to stare at the mountain range as he recalled his master's words.

"Sorry, but this is for the good of the sect."

Duan Muli clenched his fist to the point that his knuckles whitened and veins appeared.

"Senior Brother," the speaker flinched when he saw the glare leveled at him. "S-Sory, I meant Elder Duan."

Duan Muli sighed. "What is it?"

"We're about to arrive, and the elders are calling for a meeting," His junior brother, who was still in the Nascent Soul Realm, said.

"Alright, let's go," Duan Muli said as he turned around and entered the ship.

Inside, eleven immortal elders waited for him. In addition to himself, a total of twelve true immortals were dispatched as emissaries. Two of them were even immortal lords. For the current Eight Pillar Sect, this was already a sizeable force since the war between them and the Anti-Earth Alliance had only intensified.

"Elder Duan," All the others greeted. Although Duan Muli wasn't the strongest among them, he had the highest status since he was the sect master's disciple.

"Un," Duan Muli greeted. It wasn't terribly polite, but thinking of his possible future, he didn't care much.

The elders showed various reactions, but only the two immortal lords showed no change in expression. Like Duan Muli, they already knew of the sect's decision.

"To make sure of our success, we have to shorten the relationship between us," The leading immortal lord, Immortal Lord Swordwind, said. "Elder Duan is in the same generation as the son of the Sword Sovereign, he'll be left to you."

"Prince Xi, huh?" Duan Muli said with some contempt. Within his words, there was a trace of jealousy he couldn't even detect.

During the hundred years Tianyi was gone, more and more people called him a prince. Because the sect refused to let him participate in dangerous missions, people gradually forgot about his strength, and soon, all they remembered was his status as the Sword Sovereign's son. Hence, they called him Prince Xi.

It started as a derogatory name from the Buzhou Immortal Sect's enemies, implicitly saying that he was useless without his mother, but Tianyi rather liked being called Prince Xi. So, the person himself didn't care much.

"As for us," Immortal Lord Swordwind glanced at his fellow immortal lord and said, "We'll visit Monarch Nine Heavens. Although it isn't clear, but rumors say that he and the Sword Sovereign had an indistinct relationship. Some say he might even be Xi Tianyi's father."

Duan Muli nodded. If he could convince Tianyi to go, then Monarch Nine Heavens would have a higher chance of accepting their request. It worked in the other direction too.

The Eight Pillar Sect's elders continued to discuss which personage each one should visit to maximize their success. After their discussion ended, the immortal boat reached the Buzhou Immortal Sect.

The immortal boat stopped outside the Buzhou Immortal Sect's Mortal Severance Gate. After a moment, an immortal lord from Rites Peak led the boat directly into the sect. The Eight Pillar Sect weren't the only sect to arrive, but they were the only ones allowed to fly the immortal boat into the sect without disembarking first.

The entourage from Eight Pillar Sect was given Yin-Yang Palace on Rites Peak as their temporary abode. Upon learning of the name, Duan Muli and the other elder's brows twitched but said nothing.

They rested a day before sending out invitations to meet various elders. Duan Muli naturally sent an invitation to Jade Peak's Xi Tianyi.

A week later, Duan Muli stepped out of Rites Peak and onto Jade Peak under the guidance of a servant-disciple. Along the way, he could feel the festive air. Although the wedding between Xi Tianyi and Jiang Daoyi was more than a month away, some places were already filled with red decorations.

Upon entering Jade Peak, Duan Muli felt the dense spiritual qi of the mountain. Duan Muli's brows furrowed. Jade Peak's spiritual qi density was far denser than the density of all the peaks in the Eight Pillar Sect. If only Jade Peak had this spiritual qi density, that was nothing, but if all the peaks were like this, then the Buzhou Immortal Sect's strength was on a higher level than expected.

It wasn't the surface wealth that revealed a force's wealth and power but the inconspicuous things that no one noticed.

When they reached Jade Peak Palace, the servant disciple led Duan Muli inside through the side door and not the main entrance. Inside, Duan Muli saw numerous disciples running about, getting things ready for the wedding. The servant-disciple led him toward the garden, where he saw a man in purple robes sitting inside a pavilion in the middle of a pond.

"Daoist Xi," Duan Muli called out.

Xi Tianyi turned around and smiled before motioning toward the seat in front of him. "Daoist Duan, please have a seat."

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Duan Muli picked up the tea Tianyi poured in front of him. He took a sip and felt the peach flavor. It was sweet and not to his taste, but more than that, he could feel the immortal qi within, increasing the vitality of his body. If he had to compare, the qi within was full of qi of the five elements. Were a mortal to drink it, their lifespan would increase by a few years.

"Good tea," Duan Muli said.

"It can't be considered good tea. I just processed some leaves from Gra-" Xi Tianyi paused for a split second before continuing. "From Mother's peach garden."

"I have long heard of the Sword Sovereign's Longevity Peach Trees. Their fame is not without reason," Duan Muli said.

Xi Tianyi smiled. The two continued to talk about irrelevant topics before Duan Muli suddenly sighed. "It's hard to believe that the Heaven Continent is currently also embroiled in a war. It's so peaceful at Daoist Xi's sect."

"Is it not the case for Daoist Duan?" Xi Tianyi asked.

Duan Muli shook his head. "I don't know what method the Anti-Earth Alliance used, but they managed to convince over half the first-rate sects to join them. Of course, the Eight Pillar Sect still holds the upper hand. We have two immortal emperors, and they only have one, but they have more immortal monarchs and true immortals than us."

"Can the Eight Pillar Sect's immortal emperors not kill the immortal monarchs?" Xi Tianyi asked.

Duan Muli shook his head. "You'd think so, but the Anti-Earth Alliance has a miraculous war formation that allows them to display the power of an immortal emperor. Our grand elders even assaulted the Extremity Night Sect, but we never expected the Extremity Night Sect to possess a guardian formation that could repel them. Perhaps, only an immortal sovereign could break their guardian formation."

"Oh?" Xi Tianyi raised an eyebrow. "Is Daoist Duan seeking my mother's aid?"

"How can that be?" Duan Muli said, shaking his head. "I was just venting, you don't have to put my words to heart."

"Mmm," Xi Tianyi uttered. "It's not like it's impossible. After Sect Master Xia's ascension, our sect firmly holds the advantage."

"Buzhou Immortal Sect's rising strength is worthy of envy," Duan Muli said as he sipped his tea. "We aren't troubled by the immortal emperors, we just lack immortal monarchs or immortal lords like Daoist Xi."

Xi Tianyi laughed. "Daoist Duan overpraises."

"That's right," Duan Muli said. "I almost forgot. I originally was going to hand my gift at the wedding, but I might as well give it to Daoist Xi now."

He took out three objects from his spatial ring and placed them on the table. Duan Muli held the first object, a small box carved of jade and opened it. Instantly, a dense medicinal fragrance filled the air. "This here, is a Root Cleansing Pill. Anyone who ingests it can upgrade their spiritual root. A person with a flawless spiritual root will have a perfect spiritual root. A perfect spiritual root will transform into a heavenly spiritual root."

Xi Tianyi raised an eyebrow. To concoct a Root Cleansing Pill, one needed a Spiritual Root Herb. However, such a herb was incredibly rare, even in the Primordial Era. After all, it could change a person's destiny.

Duan Muli closed the box and then handed a sword to Xi Tianyi. It had a silver handle and scabbard that looked to be coated in scales. Upon unsheathing it, the sword released an audible sharpness, and its bone-white blade released a terrifyingly cutting aura.

"Good sword," Xi Tianyi couldn't help but say as he sheathed it.

"I'm glad Daoist Xi likes it," Duan Muli said. "I heard that Daoist Xi is skilled in the Heartless Sword Art. This sword is called the Silverwyrm Sword, and it is refined from the scales and bones of a silver dragon king. Unfortunately, it's a little bit short of a monarch-ranked artifact."

Xi Tianyi felt the incomplete Law of Metal contained within the sword. As long he spent some time, he could upgrade it to a true monarch-rank artifact.

Finally, Duan Muli held the final object, another box. When he opened it, a dense medicinal fragrance released again, but Xi Tianyi stared unblinkingly at the pill contained. It was a milky white pill about the size of his thumb, and just by inhaling the fragrance, he felt his comprehension suddenly increase.

Duan Muli also stared at the pill with some reluctance. He also wanted to ingest it, but he recalled his master's words. "Daoist Xi, This is a Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill. Ingesting it can allow you to comprehend the laws easier and even help you fully master a complete law. I know you are an immortal lord and are just one step away from the Seamless Immortal Realm. I hope this can help you."

The Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill was concocted using a Heavenly Lotus Seed. It only had one effect, but numerous cultivators and immortals sought it. If this was a high or top-grade Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill, it could even help immortal monarchs and above, but it was only a lowest-grade pill, helpful only to true immortals. Otherwise, the Eight Pillar Sect wouldn't have taken it out.

Still, it represented a chance for a true immortal to become an immortal monarch. In their eyes, it was only a matter of time before Xi Tianyi became an immortal monarch. What difference would it be if it was later or not? If Xi Tianyi could successfully enter the Seamless Immortal Realm, it would raise the chance of him going to the Earth Continent anyways.

"Daoist Duan, this final gift is a bit too much for me to accept," Xi Tianyi said as he closed the box and pushed it back into Duan Muli's hand.

"Take it," Duan Muli said with a forced smile. "If you don't, you are looking down on me."

After a bit of back and forth, Xi Tianyi eventually accepted the Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill. Not long later, Duan Muli excused himself, leaving Xi Tianyi to his own devices.

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Ba Shifang fiddled with the box containing the Heavenly Lotus Seed Pill. A moment later, a black-robed man with white hair and a mask appeared. "Main Body, what's gotten you riled up?"

Tianyi laughed, but it was a forced laugh through gritted teeth. "Those two immortal lords from the Eight Pillar Sect don't want to live. If it weren't for disrupting the overall plan, I really wanted to kill them then and there."

Ba Shifang wanted to ask, but upon seeing Tianyi's glare, he stopped. He handed the box over to Tianyi. "Is there anything wrong with it?"

The box disappeared in Tianyi's hand, and he closed his eyes. A moment later, sinister light reflected in his eyes when he opened them. "I know we're scheming against them, but this just erased all my guilt toward them. If you ingest this, you will momentarily gain an epiphany and might even master a law, but it will hurt the foundation of your soul. It'll be difficult for you to improve and comprehend more laws in the future."

Ba Shifang sighed. "Too bad, I guess I'll have to grind it out like everyone else."

Tianyi rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten how cheat-like I am? Let me research this, and it won't be impossible for me to reproduce a degraded but safe version of this."

"Really?" Ba Shifang asked. "That's great. My chances of mastering the Law of Five Phases will increase, and I can become an immortal monarch soon."

"Wait for my good news," Tianyi said as he disappeared.