The Jueming Twin Immortals Arrive

After a while.

Ji Ning and the others returned to the Eight Dragons Cloud City.

“Back? Didn’t you just leave a moment ago?” Within the military camp, Yu Wei looked at Ji Ning in surprise. The Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals of the Northmoon Legion were also heading back to their quarters, all of them murmuring to each other as they went. “The Seamless Gate turned out to be such cowards—they didn’t even come out to fight!” “Looks like they know they’re going to lose and don’t dare to meet us in battle.” The discussion was loud and continuous.

Ji Ning walked into the house, sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of fruit wine, and laughed. “The Seamless Gate has lost its nerve. We shouted challenges for quite a while, but they never came out.”

“They’re holed up… so what do we do?” Yu Wei asked worriedly.

“The fact that they refuse to fight is a good thing,” Ji Ning said with a smile. “It would be best if they never came out at all. As long as they don’t respond, the Grand Xia World still belongs to the Xia Emperor, and in the struggle over qi of fortune… the Grand Xia’s fortune remains on our side.”

Yu Wei nodded gently.

“The Seamless Gate has two paths right now,” Ji Ning continued. “The first is to abandon the Grand Xia World entirely. The second is to mobilize even greater forces to try and seize it. I hope they choose the first.”

Although Ji Ning’s heart was full of battle intent, his wife was pregnant, and he very much wanted to spend those days peacefully watching their child be born.

“I’m afraid the Seamless Gate won’t admit defeat so easily,” Yu Wei said in a low voice, thinking back to the scene in the dark world when she saw the Godking.

Ji Ning nodded. “Right. We only killed one True Immortal Chibing—that hasn’t truly hurt them yet. The chances of them backing down now are very low.”

Ji Ning reached out and gently stroked Yu Wei’s protruding belly, a smile appearing on his face.

Whatever came next—gentle rain or a violent storm—there were some things he had to protect.

…

In the void outside the Three Realms, a broken star drifted. Its surface was covered with countless scars, the marks left by battle between two mighty powers. On this shattered star, twenty-nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had already gathered, and more were still arriving by the moment.

“For this realm war, we’ll be following the Three Fiendgod Lords.”

“We’ve long heard of the three lords’ methods. We’re sure to broaden our horizons this time.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals began to chat with the more famous immortals and fiends. The most attention was drawn by the “Three Fiendgod Lords of Tunlong Mountain.” These three Fiendgod Lords possessed utterly terrifying power, each nearly invincible among Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Any one of them was a cut above the Xia Emperor or True Immortal Baiji!

The fact that all three had sided with the Seamless Gate had once enraged the mighty cultivators of the Nuwa camp. For all their fury, there was nothing they could do about it—both sides were now doing everything they could to recruit the more powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms.

In the past, the Three Realms had been at peace.

Many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had remained free. But now that the great tribulation had arrived, they were forced to choose sides. Only Supreme-level powers and factions like that of Old Man Yuan could continue to wait and watch.

“All present.”

“All fellow daoists have assembled.” Two kindly-looking immortals smiled. Both had round, plump faces. One was bald and wore white robes; the other had his chest exposed and wore grey robes. These two were the famous “Jueming Twin Immortals.”

“May I ask all fellow daoists to first enter this gourd,” said the white-robed immortal, pulling out a gourd and removing the stopper.

It was merely an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, and the gathered Empyrean Gods and True Immortals could easily break out of it with their power.

“Alright.”

“Let’s go.”

“Move.”

Instantly, streaks of light flew past, all of them diving into the gourd. The white-robed immortal sealed the stopper, hung the gourd at his waist, and said with a smile, “Elder brother, let’s head for the Baiji Commandery of the Grand Xia.”

“Mm.” The grey-robed immortal nodded. The two of them immediately performed a spatial teleportation, first shuttling through the void to arrive outside the Grand Xia World.

Next, the grey-robed immortal produced a pitch-black, ruler-shaped Innate Spirit Treasure and slashed it through the air. A spatial passage opened, and through it one could faintly see, on the other side, a suspended, majestic black city—the Seamless City.

“Let’s go.” The Jueming Twin Immortals flew into the passage.

…

Within the Baiji Commandery, the floating Seamless City. A spatial rift appeared directly above it, and two plump immortals stepped out from the rift, flying down into the city below.

“The two of you have finally arrived!”

“Brothers Jue, Brothers Ming.”

The Sovereign of Greenfox and True Immortal Baiji immediately stepped forward to greet them. Behind them followed the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, including the Lord of Bloodcloud, the Empyrean God Beast-Turned, Empyrean God Dharmasoul, and the rest, who all called out enthusiastically, “So it’s the Jueming Twin Immortals! With the two of you here, our side’s chances have greatly improved.”

“With the two of you casting spells on our side, we’ll no longer fear the Grand Xia.”

One after another, they spoke.

The Sovereign of Greenfox and True Immortal Baiji exchanged glances with the Jueming Twin Immortals—not even a whisper of transmission.

They were extremely cautious, terrified that the Nuwa camp might discover them. Once discovered, the element of surprise would be lost.

On the city wall of the Eight Dragons Cloud City.

The black-robed Xia Emperor gazed into the endless wilderness outside, staring at the distant Seamless City in deep thought.

Suddenly—

Space trembled. The Xia Emperor’s grand formation had already locked onto a million-li radius, so when the Jueming Twin Immortals forcibly tore through space and descended, of course he detected them.

“Hmph?” The Xia Emperor frowned and looked over. The two plump immortals descending from the spatial rift made his expression change instantly. “The Jueming Twin Immortals? So it’s the two of them. The Seamless Gate sure thinks highly of me. When it comes to a direct confrontation, the Jueming Twin Immortals are no match for Ji Ning’s Xingtian Manifestation—but their spells are truly formidable. If they use their spells to aid the army, the Seamless Gate’s overall strength will rise by an entire tier. If we fight it out… the outcome is uncertain!”

…

Within Daofather Crimsonbright’s Daoist palace.

The Daofather sat high above.

Below him stood dozens of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, all staring at the scenes of battle playing out on a round light-mirror floating in the air. It was a ‘realm war’ in the Jiuyang Realmverse.

“This realm war is truly brutal. This is the third realm war I’ve witnessed, and it still makes my heart tremble.”

“In the Jiuyang Realmverse, twelve Empyrean Gods and True Immortals have already fallen. On the Seamless Gate’s side, only seven have been lost!”

“The Seamless Gate’s puppets are truly unrivaled in the Three Realms. If not for that terrifying army of puppets, the Seamless Gate would have long since been defeated. But as things are, Daofather Jiuyang is at a disadvantage.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals watched with concern.

Although this was a battle taking place in the Jiuyang Realmverse, Daofather Jiuyang belonged to the same camp as Daofather Crimsonbright, and the immortals and fiends naturally hoped that Daofather Jiuyang would prevail. So emotionally invested were they that they almost wanted to rush in and join the fight themselves. Yet they knew full well… whether or not they should go to war was a decision that must be made by the Daofathers.

The Daofathers could at most dispatch a handful of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as reinforcements. If they all charged over at once—what would happen if a realm war erupted in the Crimsonbright Realmverse?

After all, the flames of war now spread across the entire Three Realms. The Jiuyang Realmverse was merely one battlefield among many.

“Brutal.”

“Truly brutal.”

The realm war made every single Empyrean God and True Immortal present tremble inside. Since they began their cultivation careers, almost none of them had ever experienced such savage warfare.

“Master.” The Xia Emperor’s projection spoke respectfully.

“Mm?” Daofather Crimsonbright looked at the Xia Emperor.

“Disciple just discovered that the Seamless Gate army in the Grand Xia World has received reinforcements. The ones who went to support them are the Jueming Twin Immortals,” the Xia Emperor said.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who had been watching the Jiuyang Realmverse realm war immediately turned their heads. No matter what else was happening, what they cared about most was the Crimsonbright Realmverse itself.

“The Jueming Twin Immortals?” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded slowly, pondered for a moment, then looked down and said, “Which of you is willing to go to the Grand Xia and help your senior martial brother, Xiamang, defeat the Seamless Gate?”

“We are all willing.”

In unison, they all answered. In the midst of a great tribulation, no one was permitted to retreat.

Daofather Crimsonbright smiled and nodded, carefully examining the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals below him. Some of them ruled their own great worlds; some had merely sent projections here. Soon, his gaze settled on two itinerant cultivators. “Snowdance, Evergreen. The two of you will go to the Grand Xia World and help your senior martial brother Xiamang.”

“As you command.”

The Evergreen Sword Immortal and the Snowdance Fairy naturally dared not disobey their master’s order, and both replied respectfully.

They were both itinerant cultivators, unattached and unburdened; wherever they were needed, they had to go.

Suddenly—

Space began to blur. The region around Daofather Crimsonbright in particular became hazy and indistinct, its spatial fabric impossible to pierce. The Xia Emperor and the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all astonished. Why had their master, Daofather Crimsonbright, suddenly set up a sealing technique around himself?

…

Daofather Crimsonbright looked around in confusion. The space-time around him had already warped into something surreal. From within the distorted space-time, a white-haired, white-browed old man in Daoist robes emerged. It was Subhuti.

“Subhuti.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s face lit up with delighted surprise. He rose to his feet at once. “What brings you here? Last time you came to me, it was about your disciple Ji Ning. And now you’re looking for me again? Surely you don’t need me to do something for you. After all, your disciple is doing splendidly—the Xingtian Manifestation he commands is no small matter. There’s no need for my help.”

“I haven’t come to ask you for help. I’ve come to help you,” Subhuti said.

“Help me?” Daofather Crimsonbright was puzzled.

Subhuti sat down calmly. Daofather Crimsonbright descended from his elevated seat and waved his hand, summoning a wooden table upon which he placed rare immortal wine. He even personally poured a cup for Subhuti. The two of them had a very close relationship; they had both been born from the Primordial Chaos at the same time, both were Primordial Chaos True Gods, and they had walked the path together through life and death, supporting each other. Their bond was no weaker than the bond between Subhuti and Threelives.

“What is it, exactly?” Daofather Crimsonbright asked.

“You just sent two of your disciples to the Grand Xia, didn’t you? That was sending them to their deaths,” Subhuti said bluntly. “Not only will those two disciples of yours perish, but of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under Xiamang’s command, I doubt many will survive. Of course, my disciple will live.”

With the protection of the Seven Gods of Heaven’s Punishment, although Ji Ning could not overcome the enemy army, he could definitely escape.

Daofather Crimsonbright was stunned.

“Don’t just stand there blankly. The realm war for your Crimsonbright Realmverse is about to begin. All your disciples and descendants will have to fight with their lives on the line,” Subhuti said with a sigh, then threw back a cup of wine.

“Realm war?” Daofather Crimsonbright shot to his feet, knocking over the wine cup in front of him, spilling the drink across the table.