Chapter 1370: Bribery

"The Heavenly Demon Arts are mysterious and unpredictable, adept at confusing the mind. I'll handle them with Brother Jin. Helan, you and Fellow Daoist Guiling deal with Chen Ruyan." Among the Four Ancestors of the Demon Domain, the mummy-like man said to the seductive woman and the plump woman in white.

"Chen Ruyan has long been known as the most beautiful and strongest woman in the Heavenly Court. Today, I shall test her skills." The seductive woman looked at Chen Ruyan, a competitive glint flashing in her eyes as she waved her arm.

Hundreds of purple-black beams shot out from her body, each rapidly expanding into giant tree-like purple-black vines. At the tips of the vines, house-sized purple-black flowers bloomed, appearing extremely beautiful.

But these flowers were covered in sharp barbs on their petals, writhing as if alive, sending chills down one's spine.

The seductive woman pointed forward, and the hundreds of purple-black demon flowers shot out like demon snakes emerging from their lairs, hurtling toward Chen Ruyan's Blue Dragon Formation.

As soon as they made contact, a deafening explosion erupted, with blue light and purple radiance wildly bursting, causing the gray void to shake violently.

The plump woman in white looked at Yinming Daozu, a trace of reluctance in her eyes, but she also understood that she could hardly handle his Heavenly Demon Laws.

She snorted coldly, rolled her obese body on the spot, and a black storm a hundred miles in size immediately materialized, with countless black wind pillars shooting out from it, flailing wildly in all directions.

With a low roar, a bloated black beast appeared within the black storm.

The black beast had a lion's head with nine blood-red eyes, but its body resembled a lizard, with two enormous fleshy wings behind it, much longer than its body, lined with sharp claws, and countless black currents缠绕 around them.

With a flap of its wings, the black storm instantly doubled in size, charging toward Chen Ruyan and slamming heavily into the Blue Dragon Formation, triggering another series of earth-shattering explosions.

The four fought at an extremely high altitude, nearly reaching the outer realms, so the armies below were unaffected.

The mummy-like man and the yellow-robed man with a deathly aura also shot forward, charging at Yinming Daozu.

The mummy-like man muttered incantations, his body rapidly swelling until it reached ten thousand zhang in size. His body was no longer as withered, now covered in withered yellow flesh and large patches of white bone scales, resembling a zombie.

Countless liquid-like yellow currents surged from his body, extremely foul, like ten-thousand-year-old corpse fluid, nauseating to smell.

The ten-thousand-zhang corpse raised its hands and grabbed at the air, ten withered yellow claw marks shooting from its palms, tearing apart the countless black demon shadows with a tearing sound.

Unlike the plump woman in white earlier, the mummy-like man was not controlled by the Heavenly Demons; he merely swayed slightly before steadying himself and continuing to charge at Yinming Daozu.

But the yellow-robed man was faster; with a swish, he drew the long sword at his waist. The blade was gray-white, and he thrust it into the air.

The void before Yinming Daozu stirred, and a thousand-zhang gray-white sword light appeared without warning, stabbing down at his head.

Fierce sword qi surged from all directions, converging to kill Yinming Daozu, the sword qi exuding a pervasive deathly aura.

Everything around instantly turned gray-white and turned to ashes.

Yinming Daozu frowned, seemingly wary of this deathly sword light. With a movement of his body, a six-pointed star array appeared beneath his feet.

His figure flickered and vanished from the spot, while at the same time, an image of Yinming Daozu appeared at each of the six vertices of the star array.

These six figures were identical in both aura and appearance, making it impossible to distinguish the real one.

The yellow-robed man's hollow eyes flickered briefly before returning to normal, and he twisted his wrist.

The gray-white sword light trembled and instantly split into six, each stabbing toward one of the six Yinming Daozus.

All six Yinming Daozus simultaneously formed hand seals and pointed forward.

The surrounding void instantly echoed with the wails of billions of ghosts and spirits, as black passages appeared one after another, from which countless Outer Realm Heavenly Demons surged, engulfing the yellow-robed man and his companion.

Each demon exuded a powerful aura, including many at the Great Luo level, and the two sides clashed in battle.

On the other side, Baiyun Daozu, the dwarf old man, and the snow-clad man also shot forward to meet the three Daozus of the Primordial Wilderness Domain.

Blazing lights of various colors engulfed the six figures, obscuring the details; only a series of loud explosions could be heard, suggesting a stalemate for the moment.

Although the Daozus of the Heavenly Court could block the attacks from the Demon Domain and the Primordial Wilderness Domain, among the cultivators below the Daozu level, the disparity in strength was vast.

The Heavenly Court cultivators soon showed signs of exhaustion, forced to gather together and form defensive arrays, barely holding on.

Thus, although the Heavenly Court cultivators could barely stabilize the situation, they were in an extremely passive position, unable even to counterattack.

Without a change in circumstances, they could only be slowly worn down.

In an instant, countless attacks rained down, the protective barrier of the Heavenly Court cultivators growing dimmer, and their hopes fading.

"It seems the Reincarnation Palace side has the upper hand in this battle. But I wonder if the Reincarnation Palace Master can truly defeat Gu Huojin?" Cangwu Zhenjun and others observed the battle from a distance, speaking softly.

"If Gu Huojin is allowed to leave, the True Immortal Realm will surely fall into chaos." The wind-attributed Daozu nodded in agreement.

"In that case, why don't we lend a hand to the Reincarnation Palace Master and capture Gu Huojin? This will ensure peace in the True Immortal Realm and secure a good future for ourselves. From what I've heard, the Reincarnation Palace Master is not a bad person; otherwise, the arrogant demon and monster races would not cooperate with him." Zhen Shiyin waved his hand to create a soundproof barrier around the three of them, then spoke in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, the wind-attributed Daozu's eyes flickered but showed no reaction, looking instead at Cangwu Zhenjun.

"Fellow Daoist Zhen, since when did you become a spokesperson for the Reincarnation Palace?" Cangwu Zhenjun paused briefly, then suddenly smiled.

"Spokesperson? What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Cangwu?" Zhen Shiyin was taken aback and shook his head with a smile.

"Back at the Jade Pool, you overtly and covertly helped the Reincarnation Palace Master, prompting us to leave. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that. I've heard you recently obtained a large amount of immortal spirit stones and purchased a ten-million-mile-long spirit vein in the Great Heavenly Yin Immortal Domain to establish a sect. If I'm not mistaken, those immortal spirit stones came from the Reincarnation Palace." Cangwu Zhenjun said slowly.

Zhen Shiyin frowned upon hearing this.

The wind-attributed Daozu glanced at Zhen Shiyin with slight surprise.

"It's not just you, Fellow Daoist Zhen. Most of the sects that chose to leave the Jade Pool afterward have been secretly bribed by the Reincarnation Palace." Cangwu Zhenjun continued.

"Is that so?" The wind-attributed Daozu was surprised again.

"Hmph, without financial backing, do you think so many people would obediently leave just because of a few words from the Reincarnation Palace Master?" Cangwu Zhenjun snorted lightly.

"To bribe so many people requires an unimaginable amount of wealth. The Reincarnation Palace must have spent all its savings over the years. That takes real courage." The wind-attributed Daozu gave a thumbs-up.

"Since you both know, I won't hide it anymore. Fellow Daoist Cangwu is right; the Reincarnation Palace Master did contact me earlier. He also asked me to win you two over, promising that if you help now, you'll receive the same reward as me afterward." Zhen Shiyin glanced at the wind-attributed Daozu and spoke with a smile.

"It's rare for the Reincarnation Palace Master to think so highly of me. And Gu Huojin is plotting to destroy the world. Even for the sake of all living beings, I know whom to help. I'm in!" The wind-attributed Daozu's eyes flickered, and he said decisively.

"Fellow Daoist Feng, you are truly righteous. Now that the Heavenly Court is in dire straits, with our combined efforts, success is assured!" Zhen Shiyin was delighted and nodded emphatically.

Cangwu Zhenjun stood aside, silent and noncommittal.

"Fellow Daoist Cangwu, I know you have a grudge against the Reincarnation Palace Master for killing your disciple, but now is not the time for personal vendettas. If Gu Huojin escapes, the world may face destruction. There's something else you might not know: the Reincarnation Palace Master cultivates the laws of reincarnation and possesses a Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, which can control the reincarnation of all beings in the outer realms. He promised that if you help, he will activate the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk to reincarnate your fallen disciple and bring him back under your tutelage." Zhen Shiyin said to Cangwu Zhenjun.

"Is that true?" Cangwu Zhenjun's body trembled upon hearing this, and he asked excitedly.

"Given the Reincarnation Palace Master's status, he wouldn't deceive on such a matter. However, he said that after reincarnation, your disciple will not retain memories of the previous life, but his cultivation foundation will be preserved, requiring some time to nurture." Zhen Shiyin said with a smile.

"That's fine, as long as the cultivation foundation remains." Cangwu Zhenjun said, his expression relaxing.

"Since the Reincarnation Palace Master has gone this far, I am not one to be unreasonable. Very well, I agree to this." He then paused in thought and nodded.

Seeing Cangwu Zhenjun agree, Zhen Shiyin was inwardly pleased.

The three then gathered together to discuss how to intervene.

…

Just as Han Li was wondering why the ugly old woman's aura had suddenly disappeared, a sudden change occurred!

A faint green light flickered within the withered Dongyi Divine Wood forest, then suddenly brightened, and a small tree rapidly grew from it.

The small tree grew quickly amidst the green light, then blurred as it sprouted limbs, transforming into a petite figure that gradually became clear.

The figure was surrounded by green light, exuding an extremely strong aura of wood-attribute laws.

Han Li saw at a glance that within the green light was a young woman with a delicate figure and extremely beautiful features. She soared into the air, her wide sleeves fluttering, radiating a powerful aura of wood-attribute laws.

"She is..."

Han Li hesitated for a moment, then realized that the aura on this person was exactly the same as that of the ugly old woman he had suppressed earlier.

What on earth was going on?