readytorunbook Chapter 233 Palace Of Calamitous Fate Lord: We Must Have A Bottom Line
Chapter 233 Palace Of Calamitous Fate Lord: We Must Have A Bottom Line
Chapter 233: Palace of Calamitous Fate Host: We Must Have Bottom Line
The unsuccessful abduction incident did not have much impact on the high-level members of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.
As long as Qin Muling is fine, other problems are not a problem. It's just a matter of clearing out a group of hidden enemies, and the vacant positions were quickly filled, with the elders and officials of various departments continuing to carry out their duties.
In the flower garden hall of the back mountain of Imperial Dao Peak.
Senior sisters, as well as Yu Lingzhou, Yue Yi Tianjun, Heavenly Monarch Bing Yuan, and other close elders, sat together and chatted. Qi Shuyu and Su Yunmo and other women were also present. The luxurious hall was filled with exquisite decorations, vibrant colors, and a seductive fragrance.
Of course, now Princess Long Yi and the accompanying maid, Su Yuanzhen, have also become one of the mistresses here. Due to the powerful position of their maternal clan, they have even surpassed Xue Bingxuan and her sisters.
Because of this, Yu Lingzhou, Heavenly Monarch Bing Yuan, and other elders from the leading sects naturally joined in. Sometimes even Emperor Feng Ge would attend to balance the influence of Emperor Qing Huan's faction.
Qin Muling once considered whether to help Emperor Xin Yu's junior sister, Qin Muling, ascend to the true Quasi-Saint Emperor rank. After all, she is only half a step away from it now. However, after consulting with Mu Yinghua, he dismissed the idea.
The reason is simple. Qin Muling's cultivation level is still not enough. No matter what, he has to wait until he reaches the True Immortal or Mysterious Immortal realm before this matter becomes feasible.
Feasible does not mean guaranteed success. After all, there has never been a precedent for such a thing before, so even Emperor Xin Yu dare not make any assertions. They can only wait until Qin Muling's cultivation level improves in the future.
"...Junior Brother, are you sure there won't be any other consequences?" Yu Lingzhou, with her beautiful face and charming smile, held onto Qin Muling, her jade hand touching him all over, carefully examining his condition, attracting many unfriendly glances from those around them.
This foxy woman pretends to care, but she's just finding ways to take advantage of Junior Brother. Can't anyone else see through her?
"It's nothing. It just cost me some lifespan, but it can be restored after breaking through to the next realm," Qin Muling said. The bronze lotus flower of the Palace of Calamitous Fate is not an ordinary Innate Spiritual Treasure. It belongs to the highest Apex Level among all Innate Spiritual Treasures. Fortunately, the elders who control it do not have enough cultivation to fully unleash its power.
In addition, with the incarnation of Emperor Xin Yu sharing most of the pressure, Qin Muling had the opportunity to use his "Chronos" ability to reverse time, combined with his abilities of stealth and teleportation, he successfully escaped from the confinement of the bronze lotus flower.
As for the price, it was his severe injuries and a permanent loss of two thousand years of lifespan.
With the divine nature of the Innate Primordial Spirit Seed, recovering from injuries is just a matter of raising a hand. As for lifespan, it's a bit troublesome and can only be restored when breaking through to the next major realm in the future. Of course, this is not a big deal, as a lifespan of three yuan can easily bear it.
Therefore, when Qin Muling appeared in front of Mu Yinghua, he still looked perfectly fine, without even a scratch.
Heavenly Monarch Bing Yuan, with her graceful beauty and calm eyes, pondered and said, "That bronze lotus flower is a crucial treasure of the Palace of Calamitous Fate. Its destructive power is not inferior to our Falling Phoenix Nebula Tower, and it has various unimaginable uses. If the palace master personally controls it, Junior Brother, you would have no chance of escaping. Even with the help of the Emperor, it would be difficult to say."
Yue Yi, the Heavenly Lord, who exudes intellectual charm amidst her plump and graceful appearance, smiled and said, "With such an important operation, the Palace of Calamitous Fate has sent out its elite forces. However, the main altar of the sect cannot be left empty. There must be a Quasi-Saint Emperor to guard it. That's why the palace lord did not come this time, giving our junior brother a chance to turn the tables."
In other words, if the palace lord had not personally taken action and controlled the Bronze Lotus, it would not have been so easy for Qin Muling to pass. Unless Emperor Xin Yu's true self was present and willing to pay the price of being seriously injured, there would be hope for him to survive.
Of course, this is only a deduction made in hindsight and has reference value. If time could be reversed, the high-level members of the Palace of Calamitous Fate might have had a desperate plan. However, it is too late to say anything now.
Without the cooperation of those advanced spies and with the further protection measures taken by the high-level members of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace for Qin Muling, the Palace of Calamitous Fate will not have another chance, even if three Quasi-Saint Emperors join forces.
Heavenly Monarch Bing Yuan glanced at Qin Muling and thought that there might be some interference from supreme luck. Otherwise, with the lineup of the Palace of Calamitous Fate this time, it would be overkill to deal with a junior who is only at the Immortal Transformation realm. There is no reason for them to fail.
However, from the perspective of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, this is the ideal result. With such a big loss, the Palace of Calamitous Fate will be quiet for a while and is unlikely to cause trouble in the short term.
Qin Muling thought for a moment and asked, "Will the Palace of Calamitous Fate deliver the territories and pay the compensation as promised? I don't care about anything else, but the twenty billion Heavenly Merit... If I were the palace lord, I'm afraid I would find an excuse to delay for a few years or even default."
Heavenly Merit is indeed one of the most precious strategic resources in the Extreme Void Starry Sky. If Qin Muling receives twenty billion Heavenly Merit and then enters seclusion for a month using the time acceleration array, he will be able to achieve a flawless Origin Immortal or even a true Immortal Dao Fruit. If it were Xue Bingxuan and the others, they might even have a chance to achieve a Golden Immortal Dao Fruit.
Princess Long Yi, who exudes a mysterious charm amidst her purity, pursed her lips and said with a slight hesitation, "The deadline for the Palace of Calamitous Fate to deliver the compensation is thirty years. Now that they have no Heavenly Merit reserves left, they have already spent all their merit to resurrect the two Quasi-Saint Emperors. They must rely on hunting down the descendants of the Demon Race to earn more. So, this matter cannot be rushed."
For high-level cultivators, a hundred or eighty years is nothing at all. The Palace of Calamitous Fate promises to pay all the compensation within thirty years, which is considered quite sincere according to past practices. Therefore, Emperor Xin Yu cannot find any excuse to oppose it.
As for other cultivation resources and Spiritual Treasure Law Treasures, they can be easily obtained directly from the storeroom. Of course, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace is not lacking in resources now and does not particularly care about these benefits.
Cheng Yulan, the second senior sister with a beautiful appearance and ethereal temperament, frowned slightly and asked softly, "Will the Palace of Calamitous Fate try to make up for their losses elsewhere? After all, they now have three Quasi-Saint Emperors, even if one of them is half-crippled, they are not opponents that Great Principle-level powerhouses can contend with."
After all, the Palace of Calamitous Fate is an ancient and long-standing superpower. Its heritage is older than any Supreme-level lineage in the Extreme Void Starry Sky, including the Dao Court. Its profound foundation is unimaginable to outsiders.
Therefore, Cheng Yulan believes that the Palace of Calamitous Fate is unlikely to give up easily and most likely has some hidden bad intentions.
Heavenly Monarch Bing Yuan nodded slightly, "Indeed, we cannot underestimate this possibility."
Princess Long Yi's watery eyes glanced at Qin Muling, thinking that it's not a big deal. As long as they can protect Qin Muling, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace will stand undefeated. No matter what tricks the Palace of Calamitous Fate has up their sleeves, they don't need to fear them.
Su Yuanzhen noticed the reactions of the women and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. The high-level members of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace spared no expense to secure Qin Muling. These girls present here are the most outstanding ones in the entire sect, and now they all belong to him.
Even if it's not the case now, it is likely to be in the future, especially after the arrival of Princess Long Yi and himself.
Thinking of this, Su Yuanzhen couldn't help but feel a little troubled. When Princess Long Yi came over, she also carefully selected tens of thousands of maidservants, all of whom were directly under the emperor's trusted line and were all exceptionally beautiful, with outstanding qualities that were not inferior to the female cultivators of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.
However, now, for the sake of confidentiality and, more importantly, to ensure Qin Muling's safety, these maids and servants have always been confined to Princess Long Yi's dojo and are not allowed to step foot into Imperial Dao Peak.
In this way, facing the senior sisters and elders around Qin Muling, Su Yuanzhen and his own young master appear somewhat isolated.
This cannot continue.
Su Yuanzhen has already been considering whether or not to seek the intervention of the Emperor to arrange for a group of outstanding female cultivators to come and serve by their side, using the excuse that the princess needs attendants. This way, there would be an opportunity to meet Qin Muling. If he could find a few that he liked and bring them into his room, that would be even better.
The next day, Qin Muling entered Emperor Xin Yu's dojo to continue treating the group of high-level female immortals brought by Emperor Qing Huan.
Compared to helping people transcend tribulation, it is more important to prioritize the recovery of these high-level female immortals, as it can significantly enhance the disposable combat power under Emperor Qing Huan's command. After all, a Golden Immortal-level powerhouse can easily crush thousands of Origin Immortals, not to mention Taiyi and Great Principle-level powerhouses.
With the assistance of the time acceleration array, more than three thousand high-level female immortals fully recovered in just forty days.
Then, they continued to support those female cultivators in transcending tribulation.
There are too many female cultivators in need of transcending tribulation, and since the time acceleration array cannot be used, the efficiency is lower than that of healing, so they can only come in batches.
As time passed, the reopening date of the Illusory Mist Secret Realm was getting closer and closer, and there was less than half a month left in the blink of an eye.
For this reason, Emperor Xin Yu specifically instructed Qin Muling to temporarily stop her duties and go into seclusion with her senior sisters to rest and adjust their state in preparation for entering the Illusory Mist Secret Realm.
Qin Muling had no reason to object, and it is worth mentioning that Xue Bingxuan, Cheng Yulan, Qi Yalan, and Luo Huan have all reached the peak of True Immortal cultivation, only one step away from the Mysterious Immortal realm. Perhaps after this seclusion, they can try to trigger their heavenly tribulation.
As for Luo Wanqing, her progress has been slower, but she has also reached the level of True Immortal Late Stage, while Yu Binghua is at the level of Origin Immortal Late Stage.
...
At the distant end of the starry sky, in the Palace of Calamitous Fate.
Inside the bronze secret hall.
The Heavenly Human Race envoy, Zihuang, sat on the throne, quietly watching the palace lord who walked in. There was a barely noticeable smile in his eyes as he spoke gently:
"...After considering for so long, have you finally given up on your so-called bottom line and made a decision that is reasonable?"
The palace lord remained silent, and the features of their face were indistinct under the radiance, making it impossible to discern their expression.
Zihuang's eyes flickered for a moment, and he continued, "The failure of the last operation has had a significant impact on your side, and moreover, the fact that such a high price was paid and yet we couldn't even capture one luck child is extremely detrimental to the Palace of Calamitous Fate and our long-term cooperation."
"If it weren't for your side's selfish desire to monopolize everything and choose to conceal the information, that little guy named Qin Muling should have already appeared in front of us!"
At this point, Zihuang also felt regretful. If the Palace of Calamitous Fate had been open and honest from the beginning and had allowed the Heavenly Human Race to contribute, the success of the operation would have been completely feasible.
As long as Qin Muling was captured and the Heavenly Human Race's secret method was used to seize his luck foundation, the benefits would be enormous. Perhaps it would even surpass all the gains from the past dozens of openings of the Illusory Mist Secret Realm.
The palace master remained silent for a long time before saying, "That was indeed an unexpected turn of events, but I don't regret it. No matter how great the threat Qin Muling poses, he is ultimately a cultivator of our human race. As long as he is here, the restoration of the Ancient Immortal Era in the Extreme Void Starry Sky is just a matter of time."
If Qin Muling were taken away by the Heavenly Human Race, they would surely devour him completely. The Palace of Calamitous Fate would probably not even get a taste. From the palace master's perspective, this outcome was more suitable than any other.
"Is that so?" Zihuang sneered slightly, a visible mockery in her beautiful eyes. "You find it difficult to accept a deep cooperation with our Heavenly Human Race? Just because of those ridiculous principles and bottom lines?"
"I won't bring up anything else. Just think about what you did in the past. If even one-tenth... no, one-hundredth of it were leaked, all the forces in the Extreme Void Starry Sky, including the Dao Court, would fight you to the death!"
The palace master sighed softly and remained silent for a while.
Cooperating with the Heavenly Human Race had been a long-standing strategy of the Palace of Calamitous Fate. However, from the perspective of the sect, they couldn't let the Heavenly Human Race gain too much advantage. It didn't align with their own interests.
Sacrificing the interests of the Extreme Void Starry Sky cultivation world to fulfill their own desires was something the Palace of Calamitous Fate had always done, but they would never admit it.
In the eyes of the palace master, it was just a mutually beneficial business deal, far from the level of betrayal or selling out human cultivators.
Even if they were really going to sell out, they would have to sell at a suitable price. It couldn't be too low!
Zihuang tapped the armrest of the throne and said calmly, "The most difficult moment of the calamity in the Extreme Void Starry Sky has yet to come. If it really reaches a critical point, relying solely on your two half-crippled Quasi-Saint Emperor lords, it's unlikely that you will be able to withstand it. Besides our Heavenly Human Race, you won't find a more suitable ally."
"Fine, we accept your conditions!" The palace master's voice sounded somewhat bitter. "But the prerequisite is that you provide enough resources to help our two Quasi-Saint Emperor lords fully recover."
Upon hearing this, Lingxi, who had remained silent on the side, frowned and said unhappily, "Isn't that going too far? They are Quasi-Saint Emperor lords."
The Heavenly Human Race's high-level figures could certainly provide the resources needed for the Quasi-Saint Emperor lords to recover, but they wouldn't do so easily. Such strategic military power that affected the rise and fall of the clan's fortune was not something you could have just because you wanted it.
The palace master's tone was firm. "This is our bottom line. If you find it difficult to accept, then let's not discuss it!"
(End of this chapter)