Upon witnessing this scene, Wang Shouzhe immediately felt a wave of tension and an inexplicable sense of shame.
Wait a minute, he, Wang Shouzhe, hadn't done anything with the Immortal Emperor, so why was he feeling this strange shame?
As for the Immortal Emperor, having lived long enough, her face was as thick as armor, showing no sign of embarrassment on the surface.
She flashed to Liu Ruolan's side, warmly taking her hand and said, "Ruolan, I've long admired your name and wished to meet you sooner. Seeing you today, you truly have the grace of a Heavenly Daughter descending to the mortal world, with beauty and demeanor unmatched through the ages, making even me a bit envious."
"Your Majesty flatters me. It's Your Majesty who truly embodies the unparalleled grace of a True Immortal," Liu Ruolan replied with a smile, "And thank you for your care towards my husband. However, my husband is of dull aptitude, so if there's anything amiss, I beg your forgiveness."
The two chatted back and forth, and in no time, they were as familiar as old friends who had known each other for thousands of years. The most peculiar thing was that Liu Ruolan seemed completely unconcerned about the Immortal Emperor's status as the strongest human.
As for the others, they didn't dare to interject a single word.
After chatting for a while, the Immortal Emperor finally patted her forehead and said to Wang Shouzhe, "I got so engrossed in chatting with Ruolan that I forgot something. Earlier, to advance, I refined all the Chaos Spirit Stones, and now I have some extra chaos spirit energy. I'll leave it here in Stay Immortal Valley."
With that, she waved her slender arm, and pure energy scattered like a Heavenly Daughter scattering flowers, falling into Stay Immortal Residence.
Clearly, this was the energy refined from the Chaos Spirit Stones by the Immortal Emperor.Unlike ordinary spiritual energy, this energy felt more like immortal spirit energy, yet carried an indescribable mystical quality.
As the energy fell like a gentle rain, the entire Stay Immortal Valley seemed enveloped in a layer of seven-colored halo, dreamlike and ethereal, like a sacred land of immortal mountains.
Under the energy's cover, Wang Lixian's main body immediately unfurled like a parched land receiving sweet rain, quickly absorbing the chaos spirit energy.
This was the advantage of celestial plants.
Such high-purity energy couldn't be directly absorbed by human cultivators unless they reached the True Immortal Realm, but she could absorb it directly due to her robust physique, with almost no side effects.
"Rumble..."
A series of deep rumbles came from underground, and the ground trembled slightly as Wang Lixian's roots grew rapidly.
Her lush green canopy, with its thick branches, began to stretch slowly, and tender green leaves sprouted at the tips, quickly turning into large green leaves.
In just a short moment, Wang Lixian's main body expanded in size, and even the space reserved in the center of the expanded Stay Immortal Residence seemed a bit cramped.
Her strength also surged significantly, unexpectedly rising from the early stage of the ninth rank to the peak of the ninth rank. If not for being limited by Wang Shouzhe's cultivation level, preventing further breakthroughs, she might have directly broken through to the tenth rank.
"Burp~~ So full, so full~ Can't absorb anymore."
At this moment, Wang Lixian's avatar suddenly wobbled over from outside Stay Immortal Valley.
Her current state was somewhat strange, her delicate face flushed, and a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead, looking as if she had just come out of a sauna.
Moreover, she was holding a round, plump little Basalt, followed by a string of little trees and little beasts. Among them were veteran spiritual beasts like Wang Bao Fu, Wang Bao Cai, and Huahua the moon rabbit old turtle, as well as new additions to the Wang Clan like the recently enrolled [World Tree] Wang Zongshi, [Silver Moon Laurel] Wang Yinggui, and [Five-Colored Gourd Vine] Wang Anhu, forming a mighty group.
She looked like a big sister leading a parade, quite imposing.
Judging by the situation, she must have specifically called the spirit plants and spiritual beasts from the Clan School, otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived so quickly and in such numbers.
Everyone present was dumbfounded by the scene.
"Quick, quick, quick~" she urged, "Absorb as much as you can before it dissipates." Placing the three-rank, still unable to fly little Basalt Wang Lixuan on the ground, Wang Lixian's avatar waved her hand to urge the group of little brothers and sisters behind her, "This is good stuff, not only can it quickly enhance strength, but it can also boost your foundation. If you absorb enough, it might even increase your racial potential. This is a rare opportunity, so make the most of it."
"Roar~"
"Awoo awooo~"
"Yiya yiya~"
The group of large and small spiritual beasts and spirit plants was overjoyed, thanked Wang Lixian, and immediately rushed into the seven-colored halo dyed by the chaos spirit energy.
To them, this chaos spirit energy was top-tier, comparable to the essence of heaven and earth, like sweet frost. Even if limited by their rank and aptitude, they could only absorb a little, it was still immensely beneficial to them.
For a moment, the spirit plants swayed their branches, and the spiritual beasts opened their mouths wide, gulping down the chaos spirit energy.
However, after just a few breaths, most of the spiritual beasts rushed back at an even faster speed, each wobbling as if drunk.
They had no choice; they weren't Lixian and didn't have such a robust physique. Absorbing just a little was already their limit.
Near Lixian's main body, only the [World Tree] Wang Zongshi, [Basalt] Wang Lixuan, [Tree of Fortune] Wang Bao Fu, [Five-Colored Treasure Tree] Wang Bao Cai, [Laurel Tree] Wang Yinggui, [Five-Colored Gourd Vine] Wang Anhu, these celestial plants, immortal beasts, and semi-celestial plants and beasts continued to absorb.
After a while, even the semi-celestial plants and beasts reached their limit and retreated, leaving only the [World Tree] Wang Zongshi and [Basalt] Wang Lixuan.
As celestial plants and immortal beasts, this tree and Basalt not only had a deep foundation but were also born with minor divine abilities, adapting well to this high-purity energy, showcasing a robust absorption capacity unlike other spiritual beasts and plants.
In just a short moment, Wang Lixuan's body expanded in size, and the aura she emitted grew significantly stronger, directly advancing to the fourth rank. Her back's turtle shell also thickened further, clearly benefiting greatly.
Wang Zongshi's height also increased significantly, and the spatial fluctuations emanating from him became more intense.
However, as a tree and Basalt, their levels were still low. After absorbing for a while, they too reached their limit and could absorb no more.
The remaining converted chaos spirit energy dispersed, eventually absorbed by the Wang Clan's spirit gathering formation, integrating into the entire Wang Clan's main residence, directly enhancing the quality of spiritual energy within the Wang Clan's domain.
In the short term, the effects of this chaos spirit energy weren't too noticeable, but over time, its effects would gradually manifest.
"Shouzhe, your Stay Immortal Residence is quite nice. I plan to stay here for a while," the Immortal Emperor said, surveying the surroundings with increasing satisfaction.
"Your Majesty is welcome to stay as long as you wish," Wang Shouzhe readily agreed.
Since the Immortal Emperor planned to stay, he followed the usual practice of summoning some outstanding young children from the clan to pay their respects to the Immortal Emperor.
Of course, the first to be summoned were those of the "Zong" generation and "Li" generation. However, Zongkun, Zongteng, and Wang Lilong were not in the main residence; they had gone to the Eastern Gan outer region battlefield defense area to busy themselves. Therefore, only Wang Lixian, Wang Zongshi, and Wang Lixuan were called to pay their respects.
The collective greeting from three celestial plants and immortal beast cubs with True Immortal potential, even the Immortal Emperor felt a bit pressured.
For a moment, she was filled with envy and jealousy, "Shouzhe, you truly are blessed."
Then, with a hint of reluctance, she began to dig into her reserves, giving out meeting gifts one by one.
As for the gifts, they couldn't be too cheap, nor could the quality be too low. Otherwise, how could she demonstrate her mid-True Immortal status?
The value of a Dao artifact typically ranged from tens of millions to one or two hundred million immortal-grade items. As the Immortal Emperor, the gifts for the celestial seedlings couldn't be less than a Dao artifact, right?
Moreover, she had just received a generous gift from Wang Shouzhe.
Fortunately, she had come prepared this time, intending to purchase Chaos Spirit Stones from Wang Shouzhe. Thus, she was well-prepared, having brought out a significant portion of her private collection, and even borrowed some resources from the Immortal Court's treasury.
The Immortal Emperor pondered for a moment and decided that since they were celestial seedlings, gifts valued at two hundred million immortal-grade items should suffice, equivalent to the value of two Immortal Spirit Stones.
For just the three before her, she handed out gifts equivalent to six Immortal Spirit Stones.
Having given to these three, she couldn't leave out those not present, right? Otherwise, it would make her seem stingy.
Naturally, the gift for Wang Zongkun was entrusted to Shouzhe for safekeeping.
After giving gifts to the celestial beast seedlings, there were the semi-celestial seedlings and semi-celestial beasts.
Their gifts were halved, calculated at the value of one Immortal Spirit Stone each. Thus, Wang Zongteng, Wang Bao Fu, Wang Bao Cai, Wang Yinggui, Wang Anhu, and Wang Lixiu were all included.
In one go, she handed out gifts equivalent to another six Immortal Spirit Stones.
And that wasn't all. Upon hearing the news, Prince An hurriedly brought the half-celestial seedling Wu Shenglong to pay respects to the Immortal Emperor. Despite the Immortal Emperor's dark expression, Wu Shenglong also received a gift of equal value.
In this way, the Immortal Emperor had already given out gifts equivalent to fifteen Immortal Spirit Stones.
For a moment, the Immortal Emperor's purse was significantly lighter.
But that wasn't all. Having given gifts to the celestial and semi-celestial seedlings, what about the human "children"?
In fact, in the tradition of the Immortal Dynasty, any cultivator under two hundred years old with extraordinary aptitude and unmarried was considered a "child."
And there were quite a few such "children" in the Wang Clan~
Soon, a bunch of young talents from the Wang Clan came in turns to pay respects to the Immortal Emperor.
Casually inquiring, this one was extraordinary, that one was extraordinary.
The Immortal Emperor's private treasury was quickly emptied, and before long, even her backup public funds were exhausted. Yet, Liu Rui's "children" continued to line up to pay respects to the Immortal Emperor.
This Stay Immortal Residence... couldn't be stayed in any longer.
The Immortal Emperor felt she had been drained. If this continued, even her two cloud princess-level fire phoenixes, Fire Feng and Fire Huang, and her Immortal Mat might have to be pawned as spiritual beasts.
Immediately, she dared not stay any longer, finding an excuse about important matters in the Immortal Dynasty to handle, and promptly left Liu Rui, flying directly back to the Immortal Dynasty.
Once the Immortal Emperor left, the cloud princesses and Divine Realm cultivators of Stay Immortal Wang Clan finally relaxed.
Watching the Immortal Emperor's flying chariot depart, Liu Ruolan's lips curled into a smile.
It seemed to say, "Wasn't it just a little trick? You couldn't handle it? And you dare covet my husband?"
With the Immortal Emperor gone, everyone naturally returned to their own affairs.
Unfortunately, with the outer region battlefield situation relaxed, the Chaoyang King, Lanxin King, and Emperor Longchang were all in the outer regions. Yao Yuangang, as the husband of the Chaoyang King, always inseparable from the Chaoyang King, naturally went along. Even the Hundred Refinements True Monarch temporarily returned to the Immortal Dynasty to help, leaving the Stay Immortal Wang Clan's cloud princess powerhouses mostly gone.
Now, only Jiang Zhencang and the Nine-Tailed Demon Emperor, along with their daughter, were staying here. Even Wang Zongshi, worried about his daughter, rarely hosted card games, leaving the Stay Immortal Wang Clan suddenly quiet.
Perhaps, only when the war resumes will this place return to its former tranquility.
-...-
Around the same time.
Outer Region Battlefield, Eastern Line Defense Area
Wang Bao Cai, Liu Ruolan, and the Demonic Realm Burrowing Rat finally returned to the Eastern Line Defense Area after overcoming numerous obstacles and enduring countless hardships.
Their journey was truly arduous. The outer region demons were deploying troops everywhere, with tight defenses, blocking many easy paths and checkpoints, forcing them to take long detours frequently.
Several times, they were nearly discovered and captured, but fortunately, they and the big rat Zhazha were seasoned adventurers, highly vigilant, and managed to navigate the journey without incident.
Upon their return, they announced they had vital intelligence to provide.
Upon receiving the news, Wang Lici and Wang Shouzhe naturally met with Wang Bao Cai and the others immediately.
At this moment, Wang Bao Cai was gnawing on a human-sized spiritual meat chicken leg brought from the Immortal Dynasty, eating with oil dripping from her mouth, moved to tears, "It's been so long since I tasted the deliciousness of home, it's so good~~ Oh, Fugui~ Wuwuwu, it's so good to see you."
"I do, it was a woman named 'Suya Demon Envoy.' She used a forged identity within the demon race to assassinate the Nether Fiend Young Master, stole the Nether Fiend True Demon Seed, and framed us," Wang Shouzhe replied.
"Uh..." Wang Bao Cai was delighted, "If I had known you already knew what I knew, I wouldn't have rushed back and endured so much hardship."
"No worries, it's good that you're back," Wang Shouzhe comforted, "Please, don't sneak out and wander around anymore. The outer regions are at war everywhere, it's not safe."
"Wait! There's one thing you definitely didn't know early," Wang Bao Cai suddenly remembered something, her eyes lighting up, "You can't imagine how Suya assassinated the Nether Fiend Young Master. I recorded the whole thing."
Wang Shouzhe could roughly guess Suya's methods, but speculation was just speculation.
He took the Heavenly Recording Disk handed over by Wang Bao Cai and played the recorded footage, wanting to see if he missed any details.
But as he watched, he nearly spat blood.
Auntie Lici, if you're going to record the assassination, just record the assassination. Why record such detailed foreplay?
Wang Bao Cai and Liu Ruolan, the two simpletons, weren't embarrassed at all, pointing and commenting. The ones embarrassed were Wang Shouzhe and Wang Lici.
"Actually, it's not entirely useless," Wang Shouzhe said, fast-forwarding through the footage and then turning it off, coughing awkwardly, "This evidence is much stronger than my previous one. With this crucial evidence, it can be used at a critical moment."
"How could it not be useful? Lici said we could make several copies of this footage and sell them," Liu Ruolan said enthusiastically, "We roughly calculated that if we sell one for ten thousand immortal-grade items, selling ten thousand copies would make us rich, allowing us to buy lots of delicious food."
"..." Suiyun said, holding her forehead, "If we do that, wouldn't the Nether Fiend Demon God go crazy? He'd definitely fight us to the death."
"If it's used to provoke the Nether Fiend Demon God, it might be a good strategy," Wang Shouzhe said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Do you really want to sell it?" Liu Ruolan stared at Wang Shouzhe in disbelief.
"The quality of a strategy depends on its context," Wang Shouzhe nodded, as if it were a matter of course, "Of course, whether to sell it or not depends on the subsequent situation. For now, this footage can be kept as a trump card; after all, it's quite valuable."
"Fugui, then how much do you think this footage could sell for?" At the mention of selling footage, Wang Bao Cai got excited and took out another recording.
It was footage of the Moro Demon Lord and Suya Demon Envoy meeting and conspiring.
"This is the Moro Demon Lord of the True Demon Hall, a lackey of the Demon Lord!" Wang Lici recognized it immediately, exclaiming, "With this footage, the Demon Lord's role as the mastermind is irrefutable, and he can't deny it. Unfortunately, the [Nether Fiend True Demon Seed] still fell into the Demon Lord's hands. With his power, possessing such a treasure could lead to endless trouble."
At this, her brows furrowed, and her expression turned serious, clearly worried.
However, she didn't blame Lici and the others.
After all, they faced a Demon Lord, a formidable opponent. They chose caution and self-preservation when confronting the Demon Lord, and managed to retain crucial evidence, which was the right decision.
"No, no, watch the next footage, and you'll understand," Liu Ruolan interrupted Wang Lici's worry, taking out another Heavenly Recording Disk and handing it to the two, "We chased him far, delaying our return. My Fourth Uncle said, never let treasures fall into enemy hands."
Liu Ruolan played the next footage, feeling puzzled.
When did Ancestor Grandfather say that famous quote?
However, after watching the final footage, Wang Lici and Wang Shouzhe were left speechless, their hearts unable to calm.
"You... have such courage," Wang Lici finally said, staring at Wang Bao Cai and the others with a complex expression, "Two Purple Mansion Realm cultivators dared to attack a Liu Ruolan! Didn't you consider that he might have some life-saving trump card? Wouldn't that have been troublesome?"
"Not really~ That old man wasn't too formidable, and I hadn't even used my full strength~ Besides, Fourth Uncle gave me a [Holy Emperor's Protection] to escape on the Demonic Realm Burrowing Rat if needed," Wang Bao Cai said nonchalantly, "My Fourth Uncle said enemies are paper tigers... fierce in appearance... but actually—"
"Ahem! Auntie Lici, is the True Demon Seed still with you?" Wang Shouzhe hurriedly interrupted her famous quote, asking with concern.
"It is," Wang Bao Cai carefully took out the container holding the True Demon Seed, "I intended it for Ancestor."
Even Wang Shouzhe had to admire Wang Bao Cai's impressive move.
Though the entire process was full of pitfalls and somewhat brainless, she was ultimately a lucky one favored by the Dao.
This luck could probably only be surpassed by Grandpa Wang Anye.
"In that case, sooner rather than later, please summon our Ancestor back from the front line immediately," Wang Shouzhe decisively said, "No matter what, let's use this thing first. What's eaten is ours, and eating it is gaining."
The true identity of Ancestor Long Yan was known to few, but the Immortal Sovereign, Immortal Emperor, and Wang Lici were aware. Therefore, Wang Shouzhe had no qualms mentioning it.
Wang Lici felt a headache but also a mix of envy and jealousy.
These spirit beast people were truly formidable. Whether it was Wang Anye, Wang Shouzhe, Wang Ningxi at home, or Wang Yingxuan sent to the Immortal Palace, none could be judged by common sense.
Even the seemingly simple and naive Wang Bao Cai, when outrageous, was no less than Wang Yingxuan. Her combat power was comparable to a fierce beast, and her luck was equally remarkable. "Too outrageous."
Poor Demon Lord, he probably never imagined that after all his scheming, he ended up making a wedding dress for the spirit beasts.
Who knows if the Demon Lord would be furious enough to die if he found out all this?