Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Seeing this, Daoist Ou Feng silently followed.

Before long, the three were seated inside the hall.

Zhao Sheng first introduced Daoist Ou Feng's identity and background to Zhao Youxuan, and without hiding anything, he spoke of his intention to bring Array Maniac back to the Tianzhu Realm.

Upon hearing that Daoist Ou Feng was the renowned "Array Maniac," Zhao Youxuan's thoughts stirred, and he instantly understood Zhao Sheng's purpose in doing this.

Without further questions, he merely exchanged pleasantries with Daoist Ou Feng.

After the pleasantries, Zhao Youxuan looked at Zhao Sheng and hesitated.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng smiled and said, "Mr. Ou is no stranger. Ancestor Xuan, just speak your mind."

"Alright!" Seeing Zhao Sheng's confident expression, Zhao Youxuan nodded and decided to lay out the so-called major issue in its entirety.

It turned out that there was a continuation to the Heavenly Rebel Alliance being severely weakened due to internal strife.

Since being heavily damaged, the Heavenly Rebel Alliance had nearly disintegrated, with the surviving members living in constant fear. Under the relentless pursuit of the Heavenly Dao Sect, the majority had to cease all activities, secretly hiding and going silent.

This also turned Cang Province, where the Heavenly Dao Sect was based, into a massive intelligence "black hole," simultaneously unable to timely detect the actions of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Only in the past three months did a family loyalist of the Zhao family risk his life to bring out a piece of top-secret intelligence, letting Zhao Youxuan know of a significant movement by the Heavenly Dao Sect.

"...According to the information transmitted by Dragon Eye Number Three. The Heavenly Dao Sect began secretly mobilizing a large force six years ago, covertly concentrating toward the Bone Abyss. Half a year ago, at least thirteen Nascent Soul Great Priests set out for the depths of Bone Abyss, their purpose still unknown, but..."

At this point, Zhao Youxuan's expression grew dark, and he said in a cold voice, "The space-time crack is right there."

At this moment, Zhao Sheng's expression had already become extremely grave, and even Daoist Ou Feng beside him showed a slight change of color, remaining silent.

Although it wasn't explicitly mentioned, all three present were clever enough to understand.

From cutting off intelligence transmission by decimating the Heavenly Rebel Alliance to deploying a large army to the Bone Abyss in secret, every move suggested that the Heavenly Dao Sect intended to start the third great war between two realms.

Although Zhao Sheng didn't yet know how the Heavenly Dao Sect planned to break the space-time barrier array, the fact that the Heavenly Dao army had already been deployed showed they had great confidence!

Just as the Tianzhu Realm would send undercover spies into the Netherworld, the Netherworld would likewise dispatch even more capable forces.

After more than a thousand years, the power of the spies lurking within the Tianzhu Realm was not to be underestimated.

Although the space-time barrier array was extremely difficult to destroy, it was not impossible!

With this in mind, Zhao Sheng's countenance grew even more somber, and he asked in a deep voice, "Ancestor Xuan, how much time do you think we have left?"

Even before this, Zhao Youxuan had already calculated countless times in his heart. As soon as Zhao Sheng asked, he immediately said, "The opening of the Star Gate is less than a year away! So to judge from the worst-case scenario, we have at most one year."

His assessment was more or less the same as Zhao Sheng's conclusion.

The logic was simple.

The Heavenly Dao Sect's large-scale mobilization could not possibly elude everyone's eyes.

Through the army's movements, any qualified spy could deduce the ultimate goal of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Therefore, the relevant information would be transmitted at the fastest speed to the heads of the spies dispatched by the Tianzhu Realm.

Zhao Youxuan was not the only one who knew; currently, at least three other Nascent Soul Fellow Daoists had also received this most troublesome piece of intelligence.

The opening of the Star Gate meant that this information would inevitably reach the main realm of Tianzhu, signaling that some power was eager to break the space-time seal.

That's why, if they didn't make a move before the opening of the Star Gate, it would mean an almost certain failure of the action!

This was something the Heavenly Dao Sect could not accept!

"Ancestor Xuan, what should we do?" Zhao Sheng's question was abrupt.

However, Zhao Youxuan understood it at once.

His face full of bitterness, he shook his head and said, "There's nothing we can do! Even if we gather all the spy forces from our realm, we can't stop the actions of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Now we can only leave it to fate. I hope they will timely discover the conspiracy of the Heavenly Dao Sect over there."

Zhao Sheng fell silent after listening. He was human, not an immortal, and it was impossible for him to contend against the profound and unfathomable Heavenly Dao Sect on his own.

No, that's not right, it could be possible...!

Just then, a spark of spirit light suddenly flashed in Zhao Sheng's mind, and he thought of something.

His expression changed unpredictably. Clenching his teeth, he abruptly raised his head and said earnestly, "Ancestor Xuan, I have a plan."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youxuan's demeanor brightened, and he promptly pressed, "Oh, do tell!"

Daoist Ou Feng, who was standing nearby, also looked over with curious eyes.

"In my possession, I have a species from beyond the heavens called 'Void Devil Fungus.' This item is originally a Domain Realm-grade Spiritual Medicine. But the one I have is different from the ordinary Devil Mushroom; it is an Ancestor Species. Its destructive power is a hundred times greater than that of the common species, so I believe..."

As Zhao Sheng narrated his idea, Zhao Youxuan's eyes gleamed brighter and his expression grew increasingly excited.

After a brief moment, he slapped the table and stood up, exclaiming with great excitement, "Wonderful, wonderful! Let's do it your way! However, this mission is fraught with peril, almost certain death, so, Qiong Tian, you shouldn't take the risk. Let this old Daoist go instead."

Zhao Sheng shook his head firmly after hearing this and refused, "Impossible! Ancestor Xuan is not familiar with the habits of the Ancestor Species, and can't fully utilize its lethal power. Moreover, I have Divine Skills and secret techniques that allow me to move freely among thousands of troops! The Heavenly Dao Sect definitely can't stop me."

"But—" Zhao Youxuan began to protest anxiously, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was startled into silence by the sudden and vast spiritual pressure emanating from Zhao Sheng.

"A...a Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator!" Zhao Youxuan's lips were dry as he trembled, "How...how could your strength improve so rapidly?"

"I've encountered quite a few opportunities over the years. So, under a series of fortuitous events, I've unknowingly made the breakthrough!" Zhao Sheng tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

However, Zhao Youxuan was astounded to think that just two hundred years ago, the man before him hadn't even touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul Realm, yet today, after two hundred years, he had inconceivably become a Late Stage Cultivator.

If he hadn't experienced it firsthand, Zhao Youxuan would scarcely believe that there was such a person with heaven-defying Qi Fortune in this world.

Fortunately, the one possessing such great Qi Fortune was a younger member of his own clan; otherwise, he would have been green with envy... and incredibly jealous!

After Zhao Sheng revealed a portion of his strength, Zhao Youxuan found it inappropriate to argue with him and tacitly accepted his idea.

Shortly thereafter, the three immediately left the great hall.

Zhao Youxuan quickly found a suitable cultivation area for Zhao Sheng in the depths of the back mountain.

It was a naturally formed cave that penetrated the belly of the mountain, isolating it from the outside world.

Zhao Sheng took one look and chose this spot, swiftly joining forces with Daoist Ou Feng to set up multiple levels of Barrier Arrays inside the cave.

In six days, the Great Array within the cave was fully activated. Zhao Sheng entered and began to busily work alone.

Whirring sounds!

Zhao Sheng waved his hands continuously, and a vast quantity of top-grade spiritual stones poured down like a torrential rain, quickly piling up on the ground into a small mountain.

Next, he took off the black Storage Bag from his waist and poured out a mushroom ball the size of a human head, crystal clear as if made of crystal.

Zhao Sheng threw the mushroom ball onto the pile of spiritual stones, sat down cross-legged, and in a flash, his forehead emitted countless strands of Divine Light. At the same time, his fingers curved and twitched, shooting out threads of extremely pure Mana, each connecting with the Devil Mushroom Ball.

Boom, boom!

As his Divine Thought disrupted the structure of the spiritual stones, a massive surge of nature's spiritual energy erupted, instantly condensing into vast amounts of spirit liquid that poured over the mushroom ball, quickly submerging it.

The Devil Mushroom Ball, like wood parched for millions of years, instantly began to madly absorb the surrounding spirit liquid, while its outer shell swiftly grew dense Crystal Silk.

As batch after batch of spiritual stones were pulverized and drenched in the immense volumes of spirit liquid, the volume of the Devil Mushroom Ball expanded rapidly like an inflating balloon.

Three months later, it had shockingly expanded to a size of six zhang, looking like a mountain made of Crystal Stone. Most of the Crystal Silk were as thick as fingers, stretching a hundred zhang long, and began to show a trace of its former ferociousness.

...

Seven days later, Zhao Sheng quietly left the cave after the retreat and covertly informed Zhao Youxuan, then also reassured Daoist Ou Feng.

Having done all this, Zhao Sheng changed his appearance, and on one night, without any hesitation, he tunneled away as a beam of light.