Chapter 29: Open and Aboveboard

"Bodhi..." Patriarch Crimson Bright looked at Bodhi and couldn't help asking, "Really?"

"Would I deceive you on this matter?" Bodhi sat there drinking wine calmly. "You need not be too surprised. By now, there have been several realm wars between us and the Passageless Gate in the Three Realms. It's no wonder it's your Crimson Bright Realm's turn."

Patriarch Crimson Bright nodded slightly, then sat down, sighing. "Yes, one day it had to be my Crimson Bright Realm's turn. But when it actually happens to me, it's still hard to bear. These disciples and followers of mine... they've followed me for who knows how long, each one like my own child. Now I have to watch them charge into realm wars, dying one by one..."

Bodhi nodded gently.

He too had many disciples and understood Crimson Bright's feelings well.

Both were born as Chaos True Gods and had no offspring. To them, the disciples they poured their deepest feelings into were like mortal children. Especially since they had nurtured their disciples over an immeasurably long time, their bond was deep. Perhaps as great beings, they could watch a single disciple die without intervening.

But when a whole group of disciples faced crisis, they truly felt heartache and panic. How many were willing to be utterly alone?

"Bodhi." Patriarch Crimson Bright nodded solemnly. "This time, thanks to you. Otherwise, things would have been dire for Xiamang's side."

Bodhi just smiled, slowly sipping his wine.

"By the way, since they wanted to ambush Xiamang's side," Patriarch Crimson Bright said quickly, "could I send a small number of reinforcements openly while secretly setting a trap to hit them hard? A counter-ambush?"

"Impossible," Bodhi shook his head. "You know well how formidable the Passageless Gate's intelligence is. It's too hard to move troops without them knowing. Even if we're lucky and they don't find out... do you know how many Celestial Immortals and True Immortals the Passageless Gate is actually sending as reinforcements?"

"How many?" Patriarch Crimson Bright pressed.

"Sixty-six," Bodhi said calmly. "Including the Six Demon Gods of Tonglian Mountain, the Nine Cloud Fairies..."

Patriarch Crimson Bright's face turned grim.

"And the Three Demon Gods of Tunlong Mountain, who recently caused heavy losses to the Buddhist sect," Bodhi added.

"What? They went too?" Patriarch Crimson Bright's face changed drastically. "This, this is just a realm war against my Crimson Bright Realm. The Passageless Gate mobilizing the Six Demon Gods of Tonglian Mountain and the Nine Fairies of Cloudy Ravine is one thing, but also the Three Demon Gods of Tunlong Mountain?"

If the Patriarchs didn't intervene, those three demon gods would truly be invincible.

"How would I know?" Bodhi shook his head. "In any case, the Three Demon Gods of Tunlong Mountain did go."

But Bodhi didn't know...

The God King had arranged the Three Demon Gods of Tunlong Mountain precisely to cleanly eliminate that troublemaker Ji Ning. In the Demon King's view, Ji Ning had already comprehended the Heartforce Soul Technique. Once he became a Pure Yang True Immortal and led an army, his threat alone might rival that of the three demon gods.

In fact, the Demon King guessed wrong. In the entire Three Realms, those who had truly comprehended the Heartforce Soul Technique could be counted on one hand. No matter how monstrous Ji Ning was, even with the Heart Sutra passed down by Sourcewalker, he had only just entered the threshold, not even reaching minor success, let alone major success!

But eliminating Ji Ning was indeed the right move for the Passageless Gate, because since Ji Ning had already entered the gate, his achievements in the Heartforce Soul Technique would only grow over time, and his threat would increase.

"I've said all that needs to be said," Bodhi said. "Crimson Bright, it's up to you how to respond." With that, Bodhi's figure vanished into thin air, and the twisted space-time around them returned to normal.

Patriarch Crimson Bright waved his hand, dismissing the table and wine before him, and looked down below.

Below, the gathered Celestial Immortals and True Immortals found they could see their master again. Each was puzzled but dared not ask.

"You've all seen the realm war in the Jiuyang Realm," Patriarch Crimson Bright said, pointing at the circular light mirror.

The Celestial Immortals and True Immortals were all confused.

What? Were they being sent to reinforce?

"Your days of ease are over!" Patriarch Crimson Bright said calmly. "The great beings of the Passageless Gate have mobilized a large group of Celestial Immortals and True Immortals to descend upon Daxia. I won't mention the Six Demon Gods of Tonglian Mountain for now. You only need to know that this time, their reinforcements are not just the Jue Ming Two Immortals, but a full sixty-six Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, including the Three Demon Gods of Tunlong Mountain."

Below, every face changed drastically.

Sixty-six?

Adding those already in Daxia, like White Extremity True Immortal and Blue Fox, wouldn't that be nearly eighty? Eighty Celestial Immortals and True Immortals—what a terrifying force!

Could it be...

"This is a realm war!" Patriarch Crimson Bright looked down at them. "No one can escape. Arrange your respective major worlds—all must hold fast. Gather the remaining forces and prepare to head to Daxia."

"Yes." The immortals and demons all replied solemnly.

Emperor Xiamang broke out in a cold sweat. So, so the Jue Ming Two Immortals were just a decoy? A full sixty-six Celestial Immortals and True Immortals? Just thinking about it made him shudder.

"Those who don't need to mobilize armies or arrange rear defenses, set out now," Patriarch Crimson Bright ordered. "Go directly and openly to Xiamang's Eight Dragon Cloud City, so the Passageless Gate can forget about a sneak attack."

"Yes."

...

Patriarch Crimson Bright had over a hundred Celestial Immortals and True Immortals under his command, but other major worlds also had conflicts, requiring some to remain behind. If none were left, the Passageless Gate could easily occupy entire major worlds. So the force Patriarch Crimson Bright could actually mobilize was relatively smaller.

Of course, independent cultivators like Green Lotus Sword Immortal, Snow Dance Fairy, Hechen True Immortal, and Fufang God, as well as those from stable major worlds, could go directly to Daxia.

That very day, twenty-six Celestial Immortals and True Immortals formed the first wave, heading straight for Daxia.

...

In Daxia's White Extremity Commandery, black chains permeated the void. Within the black Passageless City, an air of killing had long settled.

To avoid arousing Emperor Xiamang's suspicion, White Extremity True Immortal and the others did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, they held a normal welcome banquet for the Jue Ming Two Immortals, planning to challenge Emperor Xiamang only after the banquet. Haste makes waste; the more critical the moment, the steadier and calmer one must be!

"Come, drink." White Extremity True Immortal laughed heartily. "With the Jue Ming Two Immortals here, our spells can suppress Xiamang's side. Then our Celestial Puppets and Blood Cloud Puppets will greatly increase in power. Victory in this battle is within reach!"

"Yes, spells bind the puppets too much. We have far more puppets than they do, and we urgently need the Jue Ming Two Immortals."

"This battle will surely be won."

The Celestial Immortals and True Immortals laughed and drank together.

Suddenly—

"Hmm?"

All the Celestial Immortals and True Immortals felt a shock in their hearts. The massive fluctuations from tearing the void were clearly perceptible to each of them, as the tear was very close to them.

"Let's go see." White Extremity True Immortal remained calm, still holding his wine cup. Smiling, he rose and stepped out in one stride.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. White Extremity True Immortal and the others filed out of the hall, flying directly to the high sky above the Passageless City, gazing into the distance.

In the distance...

The Eight Dragon Cloud City had fully manifested, with eight divine dragons circling the cloud city, its aura even stronger than the Passageless City. Above it, a spatial rift had appeared, and one by one, Celestial Immortals and True Immortals emerged, flying down toward the Eight Dragon Cloud City. They chatted and laughed with each other, appearing very relaxed.

"Celestial Immortals and True Immortals?"

"They're Patriarch Crimson Bright's Celestial Immortals and True Immortals."

"So many?"

"How many have already entered the Eight Dragon Cloud City? But it looks like at least twenty. At most... hard to say." Every face changed drastically.

The two fat immortals, the Jue Ming Two Immortals, who had been all smiles and affability, finally changed expression.

Blue Fox's eyes were also filled with rage.

As the commander, the always composed White Extremity True Immortal could no longer remain calm.

"Crack." The wine cup in his hand shattered into pieces, wine splashing. Before it could touch him, it froze into ice and fell.

"Damn it! Damn it!" White Extremity True Immortal couldn't help cursing aloud.

As commander, his earlier request for reinforcements had already disappointed the God King.

This ambush plan was very important. After all, once both sides engaged in an open realm war, killing ten Celestial Immortals and True Immortals would be extremely difficult, requiring enormous cost. But the ambush plan could easily wipe out Emperor Xiamang and his group in one fell swoop. Now, it seemed the ambush plan had failed.

"How could it fail?" White Extremity True Immortal gritted his teeth. So close, so close to annihilating Emperor Xiamang and all the others.

...

"What's happening?"

In the barracks of the Eight Dragon Cloud City, many Celestial Immortals and loose immortals came out of their quarters, looking up within their camp areas.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei even flew out of their barracks, standing in midair to watch.

Tonghe Celestial Immortal, Fuchen Celestial Immortal, Madman Celestial Immortal, Flying Rain Fairy, and Ten Thousand Beasts Celestial Immortal were all watching from midair.

"This is..."

The massive rift in the sky and the figures flying down—their powerful auras.

Definitely gods and True Immortals.

"So many gods and True Immortals?" Ji Ning was somewhat stunned.

"Come to the main hall immediately." Emperor Xiamang's voice rang in the ears of Ji Ning, Tonghe Celestial Immortal, and the others.

"I'm going to the main hall." Ji Ning said to Yu Wei.

"Go ahead." Yu Wei nodded. Ji Ning was a commander; he naturally had to attend such important discussions.

Soon—

In the main hall, Xiamang sat in the main seat, with over thirty Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, as well as Ji Ning and the other five, seated separately.

"Twenty-six more Celestial Immortals and True Immortals have arrived. What happened to bring so many at once? If they were going to launch a surprise attack, why didn't they come secretly? Emperor Xiamang controls the formation covering millions of miles; they could have come quietly and hit the Passageless Gate hard." Ji Ning was full of doubts.

Emperor Xiamang sat high above and said, "You're all probably wondering what happened. This time, my master sent many Celestial Immortals and True Immortals to reinforce us because... the 'realm war' between the Passageless Gate and my Crimson Bright Realm is about to begin, right here in the Daxia World."

"Realm war?" Ji Ning and the others were all shocked.

"White Extremity True Immortal's side didn't just gain the Jue Ming Two Immortals; they gained a full sixty-six Celestial Immortals and True Immortals," Emperor Xiamang said solemnly. He paused, waiting for Ji Ning and the others to fully absorb the shock, then continued, "But we've discovered their scheme. My master first sent twenty-six Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, and more troops will follow."

"Your identities are already known to my fellow disciples," Emperor Xiamang said with a smile. "But you probably don't recognize most of them."

Ji Ning and the others nodded.

"Let me introduce them. This is my senior brother, Brother Qianxu. Senior Brother Qianxu was the first to follow our master, and his self-created Qianxu Formation is remarkable," Emperor Xiamang said. "This is my junior sister, Snow Dance..."

But the gazes of the more than twenty newly arrived Celestial Immortals and True Immortals kept shifting between Green Lotus Sword Immortal and Ji Ning.

...