Chapter 31 I'll give you half a cup of leftover tea, go and pacify the Central Plains!

The Nine Heavens Immortal Realm is vast and boundless.

It is filled with the longevity Immortal Qi that Cultivators from the Lower Realm dream of; atop every floating immortal island dwells a supreme powerhouse overlooking the myriad worlds.

In the far east of the Immortal Realm, within a magnificent immortal hall radiating brilliant golden light and condensed from endless immortal Laws—the [Nine Heavens Mysterious Sound Hall].

"Crack!"

An extremely crisp shattering sound abruptly echoed in the depths of the empty immortal hall.

Seated high upon the nine-layered immortal jade steps, the Heavenly Patrol Golden Immortal, shrouded in purple-gold immortal radiance, suddenly opened his majestic immortal eyes that seemed capable of piercing through the three thousand Lower Realms.

His gaze fell upon a Lifebound Jade Tablet on the desk that had just shattered into powder.

"The Reception Immortal Envoy's Life Tablet... shattered?!"

In the depths of the Heavenly Patrol Golden Immortal's eyes, which had remained calm for eons, a rare trace of astonishment flashed, which then transformed into a monstrous rage sufficient to incinerate the heavens!

"Audacious! Which Lower Realm ant dares to rely on their meager cultivation to defy heaven's secrets and even slaughter the immortal envoy I sent to proclaim my decree?!"

A Golden Immortal's wrath caused the immortal clouds outside the Nine Heavens Mysterious Sound Hall to instantly transform into a roiling sea of thunder.

"Not only did they shatter the world barrier to steal the Immortal Realm's Origin, but now they even dare to slaughter an immortal envoy! Does that Taixuan Dao Sect of the Eastern Desolation truly believe there is no one in the Lower Realm who can deal with them?!"

The Heavenly Patrol Golden Immortal snorted coldly. Restricted by the Laws of Heaven and Earth's Severance of Heaven and Earth, a True Immortal's true body cannot easily descend to the Lower Realm. However, if he wished to destroy a Sect in the Lower Realm, he had plenty of means!

He raised a finger entwined with supreme immortal prestige and tapped the air.

An extremely brilliant golden rune directly pierced through the endless void between the immortal and Mortal Realms.

"Pass down my decree! Order the Central Province's number one divine dynasty, the [Yuhua Immortal Dynasty], to immediately activate the Ninth-Grade Nation-Protecting Immortal Formation! Exhaust all the strength of the Central Province, bring the nation-protecting Emperor Weapon, and level the Eastern Desolation's Taixuan Dao Sect for me!"

"Leave none alive; let their Divine Souls be utterly extinguished!"

...

Shenhuang Continent, Eastern Desolation, Taixuan Dao Sect.

Less than half an hour had passed since that high-and-mighty Reception Immortal Envoy was slapped into a blood mist by a broom.

Across the entire Taixuan Main Peak, a suffocating, despairing silence lingered.

Immortal Master Qingxu was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing frantically in front of the Sect's main hall; his pride from just breaking through to the Soul Transformation Stage had been completely crushed into powder.

"Sect Head Senior Brother! Something terrible has happened!!!"

An Elder in charge of the Sect's intelligence scrambled up the steps, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, his voice trembling violently:

"The Central Province... the sky has fallen in the Central Province! The [Yuhua Immortal Dynasty], which has ruled the Central Province for a hundred thousand years, has just suddenly rung nine Heaven-Shaking Funeral Bells! The Immortal Dynasty's Emperor personally issued the highest-level 'Sect Extermination Massacre Order'!"

"They... they have deployed a full ten thousand Cross-Province Warships that blot out the sun, gathering an elite army of ten million! They even brought out the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty's national foundation—the [extreme dao imperial weapon]! They are frantically crushing their way toward our Eastern Desolation's Taixuan Dao Sect!"

Upon hearing this news, Immortal Master Qingxu felt his vision go dark, nearly fainting on the spot.

The Yuhua Immortal Dynasty!

That was the true supreme overlord of the Shenhuang Continent! The legendary orthodox spokesperson of the Immortal Realm in the Lower Realm! Its foundation was so profound that any random prince or marquis they sent could destroy the Taixuan Dao Sect ten times over!

Now, with an army of ten million pressing down and carrying an extreme dao imperial weapon, this wasn't coming for a war; this was coming to completely erase the entire Eastern Desolation from the map of the Shenhuang Continent!

"It's over... the Upper Realm's Immortal Venerable is enraged and has passed down a decree for the Central Province to come and annihilate us..."

Immortal Master Qingxu slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his old face. "The Taixuan Dao Sect's three-thousand-year legacy is truly going to be completely severed today!"

"Sect Head Senior Brother! While the Central Province's army hasn't arrived yet, let's flee quickly! We'll split up; every person who escapes is one saved!" several core Elders suggested in despair.

"Flee? Into an inescapable net, where could we possibly run?"

Immortal Master Qingxu suddenly bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to force himself to calm down. He turned his head and stared fixedly at the [Nine Heavens Carefree Immortal Palace] in the back mountain, which radiated a faint immortal spiritual Aura.

"No! We haven't lost yet! We still have the Old Ancestor!"

A madness, like that of a drowning man grasping at a final straw, erupted in Immortal Master Qingxu's eyes. "Even the Heavenly Dao's lightning punishment was shouted away by the Old Ancestor, and even an Immortal Realm envoy was slapped to death by the sweeping maid in the Old Ancestor's courtyard! What does a mere Central Province Immortal Dynasty amount to before the Old Ancestor?!"

"Go! Follow me to beg the Old Ancestor to come out of seclusion and decide our fate!"

Immortal Master Qingxu stumbled to his feet and, leading a group of ashen-faced Elders, scrambled toward the back mountain.

...

Inside the Nine Heavens Carefree Immortal Palace.

By the Spiritual Spring Bath in the backyard, the sunlight was just right.

Lin Yuan lay extremely lazily on a red sandalwood lounge chair. The hundred thousand [Divine Elephant Particles] representing ultimate physical strength were like a hundred thousand dormant ancient volcanoes within his limbs and bones, emitting an unfathomable and supreme pressure of blood and qi.

His steady breathing alone caused the surrounding void, which had just been nourished by Immortal Qi, to faintly ripple with visible waves.

And in front of Lin Yuan, beneath that thousand-year-old Bodhi tree.

The dignified Upper Realm Empress Luo Xue was currently dressed in dusty servant's clothes, wielding a bamboo broom with extreme fervor and greed.

"Inhale! I inhale! I inhale frantically!"

While sweeping, Luo Xue flared her nostrils desperately, greedily sniffing the [Chaos Dao Rhyme] clinging to the fallen leaves. With every breath, her parched Immortal Realm Origin was recovering at an incredible speed!

"It's too fragrant! This is simply a supreme land of fortune that cannot be found even in the Immortal Realm! You traitors of that Mysterious Sound Hall, even if you inhaled Immortal Qi for ten thousand years in the Immortal Realm, it wouldn't compare to the opportunities I get from sweeping the courtyard for a single day in Senior's home!"

Luo Xue had now completely fallen in love with this cleaning job; if anyone dared to snatch this broom from her, she would definitely fight them to the death on the spot!

Meanwhile, the head maid, Tantai Jinyue, stood proudly to the side, holding a cup of top-grade immortal tea brewed with the petals of the [Hundred-Thousand-Year Chaos Creation Golden Lotus], coldly supervising this new intern.

"Sweep it cleaner! There's still dust under that leaf! A dignified Immortal Emperor doing such sloppy work—if you displease the Young Master, watch out or I'll skin you alive!" The demoness used the Young Master's influence to intimidate her, exercising the authority of a workplace veteran to the fullest.

In this period of "harmonious internal competition" within the immortal palace.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

From outside the immortal palace, the sound of Immortal Master Qingxu pounding on the door suddenly came, as shrill as a pig being slaughtered.

"Old Ancestor, save us!!! The Central Province's Yuhua Immortal Dynasty has come out in full force; an army of ten million with an extreme dao imperial weapon has already reached the borders of the Eastern Desolation! In another half hour, our Taixuan Dao Sect will be blasted into level ground!!!"

Immortal Master Qingxu's cries for help penetrated the immortal palace's Formation, echoing harshly in the backyard.

Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

He opened his eyes with extreme impatience and sat up from the lounge chair.

"The public security in this Eastern Desolation is truly terrible; every few days, someone comes to wail at my door. If it's not a demon venerable, it's a sea god, and now even some bullshit immortal dynasty has come to join the fray."

Lin Yuan stretched, his bones emitting a series of explosive sounds like ancient thunder.

"Jinyue, is the tea ready?"

"Replying to Young Master, it has just been brewed, and the temperature is perfect." Tantai Jinyue immediately trotted over obediently, presenting the cup of tea that radiated dense Chaos Immortal Qi with both hands.

Lin Yuan took the teacup and took a small sip.

"Mhm, this hundred-thousand-year Creation Golden Lotus indeed has a mellow flavor."

He set down the teacup and glanced at the wailing Immortal Master Qingxu outside the door.

Although Lin Yuan did not fear any Central Province army, he had just broken through to a hundred thousand Divine Elephant Particles and was in an extremely lazy "Sage Time," truly too bothered to move his body to deal with a group of ants. Moreover, his immortal palace had just finished its expansion; if he were to throw a punch and fail to control his strength properly, shattering the entire Eastern Desolation, where would he find such a quiet Holy Land to idle in the future?

"Qingxu." Lin Yuan's voice transmitted out through the Formation with extreme flatness.

Immortal Master Qingxu outside immediately stopped his wailing and prostrated himself with extreme respect. "Your unworthy descendant is here! I beg the Old Ancestor to bestow a supreme method to repel this army of ten million!"

"As the Sect Head of the Taixuan Dao Sect, you are at least a great Cultivator of the Soul Transformation Stage. Running here to cry over such trivial matters—where is your dignity?"

Lin Yuan's voice carried a laziness tinged with disappointment. "Since they've come to your door, can't you just take your sword and cut them down yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Immortal Master Qingxu's tears flowed even more fiercely. "Old Ancestor, please understand! Although I have broken through to Soul Transformation, this meager cultivation is not even worth a fart before the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty's hundreds of Void Returning Stage experts or even their Mahayana Stage ancestors! Not to mention they have an extreme dao imperial weapon; even if I had ten thousand times more courage, I still couldn't cut through them!"

"You can't cut through them?"

Lin Yuan snorted coldly.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

He lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the cup of tea beside him, of which he had taken only a sip, leaving half remaining.

Within that tea, the Chaos Qi of a hundred-thousand-year Creation Golden Lotus was slowly rising.

"Old Wan." Lin Yuan called out within his Sea of Consciousness.

"This old servant is here!" Demon Venerable Wanhua's remnant soul immediately stood ready.

"Extract a wisp of the most tyrannical and extreme Sword Intent from that 'Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Extinction Profound Technique' of yours, and fuse it into this half cup of tea."

Although Lin Yuan possessed the [Heaven-Slaying Draw-Sword Technique], its power was too great. He feared that Qingxu's old bones would not be able to withstand it and would explode and die instantly, so he decided to use Demon Venerable Wanhua's Mahayana Stage technique for a "downgraded compatibility."

"This old servant obeys!"

Demon Venerable Wanhua extremely skillfully stripped away a wisp of Demonic Path Sword Intent containing the Law of Destruction of the Mahayana Stage.

With a thought, Lin Yuan extremely violently fused this wisp of Sword Intent with a wisp of [Divine Elephant Extreme Dao Qi and Blood] from his own body, and flicked his finger.

"Drip."

This wisp of supreme creation, fused with the crushing weight of the Ancient Divine Elephant's Physical Body and the Mahayana Stage's destructive Sword Intent, landed precisely into that half cup of leftover tea.

"Hum—!"

That half cup of originally clear Immortal Qi tea, at this moment, instantly transformed into a deep, dark gold! On the surface of the tea, a faint, extreme dao divine sword capable of severing the galaxy slowly swam, emitting a terrifying sharpness that made the entire Immortal Palace tremble!

"Open the door." Lin Yuan ordered indifferently.

The great doors slowly opened.

Immortal Master Qingxu knelt outside the door, raising his head in extreme trepidation.

He saw an extremely exquisite white jade teacup floating steadily through the void, hovering right before him.

In that teacup, only half a mouthful of dark golden tea remained.

"Old Ancestor... this is..." Immortal Master Qingxu felt the terrifying, unfathomable Aura of slaughter within the tea, vast as an ocean, and his scalp tingled.

"Did you not say you could not cut through it?"

Lin Yuan's extremely lazy voice drifted from the depths of the Immortal Palace.

"Drink this half cup of leftover tea. Then, take your sword and go guard the entrance of the Taixuan Dao Sect for me."

"If you let that trash from the Central Plains dirty the lawn at the foot of my mountain, stop being the Sect Head and go find a latrine to drown yourself in."

Looking at the half cup of leftover tea hovering before him, Immortal Master Qingxu's mind went blank for a brief moment.

The Old Ancestor was not planning to take action himself, nor was he sending that cleaning maid who could instantly kill the Immortal Envoy, but instead... he had bestowed upon him half a cup of leftover tea, telling him to single-handedly challenge a million-strong army?!

But when Immortal Master Qingxu swallowed hard and tremblingly lifted the cup of leftover tea with both hands,

his newly condensed Soul Transformation Stage Primordial Spirit, the moment it touched the rim of the teacup, emitted an extremely crazy, intense craving, like a starving wolf seeing peerless bloody food!

His intuition roared crazily: Drink it! As long as he drank this half mouthful of tea, he would possess the supreme power to slay immortals and slaughter demons!

"The Old Ancestor has bestowed tea; this Junior will not refuse even if it means death!!!"

An unprecedented determination and fanaticism erupted in Immortal Master Qingxu's eyes. Without any hesitation, he tilted his head back and drank the half mouthful of dark golden leftover tea in one gulp!

"Boom————————!!!"

The instant the tea entered his throat!

Immortal Master Qingxu felt a stream of extremely pure Ancient Divine Elephant Qi and Blood, mixed with the Mahayana Stage's Extinction Sword Intent, explode within his limbs and bones like an ancient wild dragon that had been sleeping for billions of years!

"Ahhhhhhh——!!!"

Immortal Master Qingxu let out an upward roar that was extremely painful yet extremely comfortable!

The originally fragile Soul Transformation Stage Meridians in his body were instantly widened a hundredfold, a thousandfold, under the washing of this supreme power!

His cultivation Realm, as if riding an extremely crazy Nine Heavens Star Skiff, soared in a straight line at a terrifying speed that completely violated the iron Laws of the cultivation world!

Soul Transformation Middle Stage! Soul Transformation Great Perfection! Void Returning Early Stage! Void Returning Peak!!!

"Crack!"

Accompanying a crisp sound of a Bottleneck shattering within his body,

in the ghost-seeing gazes of the dozen or so surrounding Taixuan Elders!

Their Sect Head Senior Brother, who had broken through to the Soul Transformation Stage less than three days ago, after drinking half a mouthful of the Old Ancestor's leftover tea, had actually broken through the shackles of the Void Returning Stage right before their eyes, and stepped into the threshold of the Mahayana Stage—a level sufficient to walk sideways across the Shenhuang Continent! (Half-step Mahayana)

It was not just a surge in cultivation!

Immortal Master Qingxu's Daoist robe fluttered without wind, and a dark golden extreme dao Sword Intent erupted from his body, shooting straight into the clouds! His originally aged face, nourished by the Divine Elephant Qi and Blood, instantly returned to the Peak state of middle age, his muscles knotted, looking like an ancient Sword God descending to the world!

"This... is this drinking tea? This is eating a whole Nine-Turn Nine Heavens Golden Core, right!!!"

The Elders' eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. The Old Ancestor's casually leftover half cup of tea could actually forcefully create a peerless Sword Cultivator at the Half-step Mahayana Stage?!

Just how much supreme creation, incomprehensible to Mortals, was hidden in this Immortal Palace!

"Hoo——"

Immortal Master Qingxu let out a long breath of dark golden turbid Qi.

He clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying physical strength within his body that felt as if it could shatter stars with a single punch, and the indestructible Extinction Sword Intent in his spiritual platform.

An unprecedented, extreme sense of expansion and invincible conviction filled his chest!

"A million-strong army? An extreme dao imperial weapon?"

Immortal Master Qingxu stood up slowly and drew the standard Taixuan longsword from his back.

That longsword, which was originally only a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact, was instantly dyed an extremely tyrannical dark gold after being infused with that extreme dao Sword Intent, emitting a high-pitched sword hum that caused the surrounding space to faintly split!

Immortal Master Qingxu turned around and, facing the tightly closed gates of the Nine Heavens Carefree Immortal Palace, knelt on one knee with extreme solemnity and fanaticism:

"Many thanks to the Old Ancestor for bestowing the supreme Sword Dao!"

"Unfilial descendant Qingxu will head down the mountain now! If a single fly from the Central Plains flies past the gates of the Taixuan Dao Sect today, Qingxu will bring his head to see you!!!"

After saying this, Immortal Master Qingxu stood up abruptly, his figure turning into a dark golden rainbow that shook the heavens, carrying an invincible Aura of indomitable determination and the will to slay everything, as he rushed straight toward the gates of the Taixuan Dao Sect!

...

Meanwhile, one hundred li outside the gates of the Taixuan Dao Sect.

In the sky, ten thousand inter-state warships, entirely forged from black profound iron and engraved with countless slaughter Formations, were like a black cloud covering the sky, slowly advancing with the pressure to crush everything.

On the extremely massive purple-gold flagship in the center, which was like a moving city,

the Grand Marshal of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty, a genuine Void Returning Stage Great Perfection powerhouse, stood at the bow with a cold expression, overlooking the insignificant Taixuan Mountain Range ahead.

Behind him stood dozens of Void Returning Stage generals and hundreds of Soul Transformation Stage commanders. Such a lineup was enough to sweep across any corner of the Shenhuang Continent, except for the Forbidden Sea.

"Grand Marshal, that is the Taixuan Dao Sect ahead." A lieutenant reported respectfully, "I heard that there is an extremely bizarre old monster hiding in this Sect. Should we use the Emperor Weapon to bombard them for a round first to test their strength?"

"Test their strength?"

The Grand Marshal let out an extremely disdainful cold laugh, "The Immortal Venerable of the Upper Realm has issued a decree; that is the will of heaven which cannot be defied! Even if there is a Mahayana Stage old monster hiding in the Taixuan Dao Sect, under the strangulation of a million-strong army's Formation and the pressure of an extreme dao imperial weapon, they will only be reduced to ashes!"

"Pass the order! The army is to advance at full speed! Within one incense stick of time, I want to see the Taixuan Dao Sect's protective Formation completely shattered! I want to use the blood of the tens of thousands of people in their entire Sect to sacrifice to the deceased Immortal Envoy!"

"Woo————!!!"

The earth-shaking sound of the attack horn echoed between heaven and earth.

The main spiritual power cannons of the ten thousand warships began to charge crazily, and the heaven-destroying light illuminated the entire sky of the Eastern Wasteland as if it were broad daylight.

However, just at this critical moment when the million-strong army was about to launch a thunderous strike!

"Zheng————————!!!"

A high-pitched sword hum, extremely crisp yet extremely tyrannical, as if it could tear apart the Great Dao of this world, burst forth from the gates of the Taixuan Dao Sect and soared into the clouds!

Immediately after, in the extremely stunned and incredulous gazes of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty's Grand Marshal and the million-strong elite army,

a middle-aged Daoist dressed in a worn-out Taixuan Daoist robe, holding a dark golden longsword, stood alone, walking through the void, and extremely, extremely arrogantly... blocked the path directly in front of the ten thousand warships that were covering the sky!

"Ahead lies the Taixuan Forbidden Ground, the place of the Old Ancestor's quiet cultivation."

Immortal Master Qingxu held his longsword, his gaze looking down on the world. The terrifying power within his body, fused with the Divine Elephant Qi and Blood and the Extinction Sword Intent, was released completely without reservation at this moment!

"Those who cross this boundary."

"Die!!!"