Otherworldly Desert Dust

"I'll answer your first question, but I can only reveal one of the star markers," Green Immortal forcibly shifted the topic.

"Then tell me," Wu Hen said.

"Are you searching for a third-class Star God?" Green Immortal asked.

Wu Hen did not respond. The mention of third-class stars made him think of Cangling.

"This third-class Star God is inside Infinite City," Green Immortal, evidently proficient in some calculations, added.

"Oh?" Wu Hen raised an eyebrow.

Cangling is in Infinite City too?

Then doesn't that mean Cangling is also part of the Human Clan?

Li Feng had also emphasized that he needed to reevaluate Cangling. After all, the information from the Black Navigators was flawed, especially when connecting it with what Dai Jing had done...

But now two things were certain: Cangling was indeed a key star marker for human navigation, and Cangling was part of the Human Clan.

"Is this answer satisfactory to you?" Green Immortal displayed a peacekeeping demeanor.

"Not quite. You at least need to provide me with a precise lead, don't you?" Wu Hen replied.

"Then would you and your Human Clan agree to help me cross the Immortal Tribulation?" Green Immortal decided to cut to the chase, dropping the pretenses.

"Dear Immortal, if you were in my shoes, would you agree to help? You've given nothing but an ambiguous response. If you bring Cangling to me directly, I'll gladly help you tackle your tribulation. I've traveled all this way and haven't gained anything from you Immortals, yet you'd have me provide manpower and effort? Wouldn't that make me a fool?" Wu Hen retorted bluntly.

Green Immortal was so infuriated that his liver hurt.

This guy clearly has no reverence for Immortals!

Other Human Clan deities always tried their utmost to curry favor with Immortals. Even if they didn't seek tangible benefits, they'd be willing to pay dearly for a bit of goodwill and networking.

"In that case, we have no fate together." Green Immortal finally spat out these words, his face turning cold.

Wu Hen didn't hesitate, extending a hand in a dismissive gesture.

Green Immortal sat there, only to suddenly realize this wasn't even his seat.

Yet staying here felt equally unbearable. Left with no choice, Green Immortal got up and returned to where he had previously been sitting. No matter how much he restrained his emotions, a faint aura of resentment still emanated from him.

…

The seven Immortals—while the other six seemed to thrive with flourishing business, receiving one Guest after another. Judging from their smiles, those Immortals had clearly recruited many powerful Human Clan fighters and amassed legions of temporary followers within just a single day.

The Immortal Lineage typically prepared for Immortal Tribulations through daily cultivation—ten years of practice, a century of trials. If they planned on offsetting a Heavenly Tribulation's might by accumulating virtue and eliminating evil, then every day over ten years, they'd have to extend kindness to all living beings: uphold justice where needed, vanquish evil where necessary, and sacrifice themselves to save others if a Heavenly Demon appeared...

These last-minute preparations bugged Wu Hen, making these Immortals seeking help from the Human Clan resemble students slacking off all semester, only to cram desperately a week before finals.

After being disrupted by Wu Hen, Green Immortal's consultation area was now desolate.

The Human Clan's heroic figures and deities knew little about Immortals—relying solely on the superficial impression of their demeanor and temperament.

Green Immortal came across more like a roadside charlatan. Considering the questions people asked revolved around either personal ascendency or the survival of their entire clan, it was only natural they'd avoid selecting someone like Green Immortal.

As a result, Green Immortal sat there, watching his peers' booming business while nobody was interested in consulting him. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and then he could not help but glare at the one he deemed responsible for it all.

And then Green Immortal saw something that made him nearly explode.

A few rugged individuals from the frost lands—likely struggling for guidance upon entering Infinite City and unaware of the rules—mistakenly assumed that the solitary figure of Wu Hen seated elsewhere was also part of the Immortal fold.

Wu Hen, sitting cross-legged in his black, old-fashioned attire, exuded an aura of starry brilliance befitting his evolved state as a Super Tenth Rank Life. He had merely closed his eyes, finding the closed-door meeting dull. Yet in the eyes of those frostland humans, his meditative posture seemed the epitome of serenity and transcendence…

And so, subsequent arrivals among the Human Clan's deities and heroes mistakenly believed Wu Hen to be the "eighth Immortal"—Black Immortal!

One approached him to inquire, and then others followed. After the first received satisfactory responses, the remaining skeptics grew even more convinced. Gradually, they began depositing offerings in front of Wu Hen's table and lining up orderly like pilgrims.

"Isn't that the Valkyrie from True Martial Continent? She's standing beside him like a female servant, pouring tea and offering fruits—such a towering deity of the Human Clan serving him so humbly… This Black Immortal must be extraordinary."

"What?? That's the Valkyrie?? Our Blade Tribe resides in a dark region devoid of Heavenly Light. We've long relied on her Star Radiance to dispel evil spirits. Ever since her ascension, our tribe has seen a glimmer of hope. If she's willing to aid this Black Immortal in Crossing Tribulation, we should fully support him too!" said a lower demigod clad in wolf pelts.

True Martial Continent's outskirts housed many tribes, naturally endowed with brute strength but lacking cultivation of True Qi. Reaching demigod status through sheer physical prowess was already impressive for them, but compared to Central Continent's Martial Gods, they fell far short. Their tribes' survival still relied on divine protection and Heavenly Light.

By now, murmurs among the crowd about "Black Immortal" began to swell.

The more hype there was for Black Immortal, the greener Green Immortal's face became.

Seeing a Saint specializing in Holy Cultivation—originally headed in his direction—swerve towards Wu Hen instead, Green Immortal could no longer contain himself. He gave a loud, jarring cough and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, he is not of our Immortal Lineage. Please do not let baseless rumors mislead you."

The true expert was left ignored, while the counterfeit drew throngs of followers.

The scene resembled a health scam targeting the elderly: peddlers offered emotional reassurance, while real experts nagged endlessly about what wouldn't work, failing to provide actionable solutions.

"Brother Green, your words lack decorum. Cultivation is about Immortal fate—can anyone truly regulate this fate? It's determined by Heaven and by us. I practice tirelessly, sleeping only at dawn. The path I tread is what today's younger generation calls modern cultivation. Using the All-Pervading Thunder Law Compass, I grasp mundane affairs, celestial disputes, and worldly mysteries through countless applications… Doesn't this qualify as cultivation?" Wu Hen adopted an enigmatic air, prepared to clash intellectually with Green Immortal.

Green Immortal couldn't make heads or tails of Wu Hen's spiel.

Neither could the other Human Clanspeople, but they found it oddly convincing. A contest of philosophy between two Immortals was a rare spectacle, and they eagerly watched, ears perked.

"You claim to be an Immortal—what sort of Immortal Tribulation are you Crossing, then?" Green Immortal countered, his embarrassment turning to outrage.

"There's a demon in my heart," Wu Hen proclaimed. "It demands that I become the most radiant existence in the Cosmic Primordial, unwilling to accept the heavens being higher or anyone shining brighter. Yet the truth is, the sky is vast, and there are always those greater than I. My true self compels me to accept this reality, while the demon within resists. I endlessly battle this inner demon, Heavenly and mortal aspects locked in stalemate. Thus, I waver between serenity and agitation, confidence and doubt, steadfastness and confusion… This is my first tribulation." Wu Hen eloquently spun a tale, shamelessly borrowing from Fairy Gong Qin's challenges.

The other six Immortals, keen lovers of drama, watched with great interest.

Though they didn't say a word on the matter, they watched intently as the conflict unfolded between Green Immortal and Wu Hen.

Wu Hen never outright claimed to be part of the Immortal Lineage. Instead, he framed his cultivation as something different but equally valid. Any direct objection from the other Immortals would have left them open to rebuttal.

The title "Black Immortal" was, after all, one crafted by unaware Human Clanspeople, and Wu Hen had not claimed it himself. Furthermore, those who came to him for answers received satisfactory guidance. This closed-door meeting was merely the Immortals' initial contact with the Human Clan—hardly the time to enforce allegiances or factions. And if borrowing help for Crossing Tribulation through such methods weakened the tribulations, why object?

Most compelling was Wu Hen's expression of Heart Demon Tribulation, a challenge known to plague many among the younger Immortal generations.

Without personal experience, one couldn't describe it so vividly.

Thus, several Immortals cast curious glances Wu Hen's way, suspecting he might be a Hidden Immortal undergoing Red Dust Tribulation—or one of the rarely encountered Yinji Nether Immortals. After all, not even they knew the full extent of the Immortal Lineage.

"Hmph! Utter nonsense! Don't think you can parrot Heart Demon tales to pass yourself off as an Immortal. For your previous offenses, I refrained from pursuing the matter. But masquerading as one of us—that, Peng Feng will not tolerate!" Green Immortal, now fully enraged, finally dropped all pretense.

Time and again, this man dared challenge the dignity of an Immortal—clearly, he was here to provoke and disrespect!

"And what does 'not tolerating' mean, exactly?" Wu Hen grinned, stroking his chin in amusement at Green Immortal's rage.

"The Laws of the world demand mastery through imitation. Do you dare emulate an Immortal's calculations? Can you wield an Immortal's Supreme Magical Powers? Let me show you!" With that, Green Immortal's form abruptly expanded into an immense, mountainous scale!

Though the setting was a refined Jade Court, Green Immortal transformed into a towering mountain range, taking a step toward Wu Hen. The step carried the oppressive force of ancient Python Mountain. The Human Clanspeople queuing nearby collapsed to the ground, stunned as the massive range loomed over Wu Hen's spot!

Yet Wu Hen remained seated, his demeanor as calm as ever.

"Debating philosophy, I might concede. But if it's a contest of power, you're hardly qualified! By the authority of Heaven, let the Duke of Thunder aid me!" Wu Hen exclaimed a string of random, ostentatious phrases before summoning his Holy Soul!

The Holy Soul manifested—a towering Jade Emperor Qilin emerged, its colossal form piercing the clouds. Its body was adorned with Thunder God Heaven Ropes that crackled with a power matching the might of a Heavenly Tribulation…

The mountainous form of Green Immortal barely reached the Qilin's ankle, akin to a small toy block.