To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

For King of Chu, Lu Yuan, those cultivators from various northern states and domains within the Nine Provinces, as well as those from overseas domains who had ascended last, perhaps understood little about him.

Cultivators from Qing, Yang, and Yong, especially those from Yangzhou, were definitely impressed.

The majestic demeanor of the King could not be called an unprecedented rarity, but it was indeed a rarity encountered only every few centuries.

After all, in this End of Dharma era, to rise against the current and achieve cultivation of condensed vitality solely through one’s own strength was virtually unimaginable.

People from various sects and Immortal Sects could not figure out how the King of Chu had achieved this.

Thus, in their eyes, the King himself was shrouded in a mysterious aura.

Many believed that perhaps the King of Chu was the person of Heavenly Mandate pushed forth by accumulated Qi Luck right before the apocalypse of the Nine Provinces.

The intention was to use such a ruler to save the fate of the Nine Provinces.

But the world of the Nine Provinces was already too decayed, rotten to the bone—beyond saving.

Even though the King had exceptional innate talent and was favored by the world, consolidating his cultivation into a single vitality was not enough to save it.

In this doomed era, the King was also unwilling to ascend and leave with them—likely constrained by Heaven and Earth, too deeply intertwined to sever his ties.

Thus, the King was unable to ascend and never would.

This was the general opinion many cultivators arrived at after understanding the King’s rise and observing his actions.

However, this consensus was merely speculation formed after analyzing the man; it was never definitively proven.

Whether the King truly was a man of Heavenly Mandate was unclear to anyone.

Whether he genuinely coveted the power of the Nine Provinces, unwilling to abandon the mortal world and ascend, was also unknown.

Whether the King would actually, as he said, wait a few more decades to unify the world before ascending, remained uncertain.

But one thing everyone could be sure of:

Considering the last of the resources of the Nine Provinces, if truly gathered together, the King might indeed rouse a great formation and ascend from the Northern Dark City to the Immortal Realm.

With such a possibility, it was enough to cast doubt on whether current Lu Yuan was truly the King of Chu, Lu Yuan.

"First, let’s not worry about why he did not come to our Western Domain and instead clarify whether this Lu Yuan is indeed the same Lu Yuan,"

Zhang Yunxuan did not delve into his elder brother disciple’s confusion but urged, "If Taiping Dao’s new School Leader, Lu Yuan, really is the King of Chu, Lu Yuan of the Nine Provinces, then he and our Jiuzhou Immortal Sect share the same lineage, making us one family.

If the School Leader of Taiping Dao is part of our family, doesn’t that make Taiping Dao part of our family too?

Among the three major factions in the Changqing Domain today, Qing Immortal Sect is the strongest.

And our Jiuzhou Immortal Sect, although recovering in recent years, suffered horrendously in a battle two hundred years ago, damaging our foundation.

Recovery has been extremely difficult.

As a result, we are now even inferior to Taiping Dao.

Among the three Immortal Sects, we from the Jiuzhou are the weakest!

Remember that three hundred years ago, Taiping Dao, known as the Master of the Southern Domain, was still subservient to us from Jiuzhou.

Yet now they are equals and have even surpassed us.

This state of affairs is a disgrace to our ancestors in Jiuzhou.

But if we could ally with Taiping Dao and make them part of Jiuzhou, our strength could instantaneously return to pre-war levels.

Normally, it would take three to five thousand years for us to recover our vitality, but with Taiping Dao, restoration could be immediate.

By uniting the Western and Southern Domains, drawing the power from both sects, we might even eliminate Qing Immortal Sect and completely unify this domain.

And all of this is possible as long as Lu Yuan is King of Chu, Lu Yuan."

The importance of having a School Leader from Taiping Dao who originated from Jiuzhou for the Jiuzhou Immortal Sect was beyond imagination.

We might unite two sects to conspire over the Great Changqing Domain.

Or we could provide significant support for Jiuzhou Immortal Sect, strengthening the bond between the two sects.

After all, both are from Jiuzhou, and even within Jiuzhou Immortal Sect, there are people who knew you, a fellow countryman.

Considering this relationship, wouldn’t you favor Jiuzhou Immortal Sect in external affairs just a little?

As Zhang Yunxuan said,

Now among the three Immortal Sects, Qing Immortal Sect is the strongest, Taiping Dao is second, and Jiuzhou Immortal Sect has become the weakest.

There is only one Earth Immortal among the Five Sects of the Western Domain, and even after cultivating Zhang Yunxuan, there are only four Human Immortals. Including other branches, there are only eight Human Immortals.

In contrast, there is already one Earth Immortal and four Human Immortals in Taiping Dao. Among its subordinate sects, there are five Human Immortals.

Even the former School Leader of Taiping Dao, Yi Dancheng, is now attempting to achieve Earth Immortal status, stepping down from his position to make way for the unprecedented Lu Yuan.

Yi Dancheng and the people of Jiuzhou were well acquainted, and everyone from Jiuzhou knew well his talent and cultivation.

The opponent definitely had the potential to become an Earth Immortal.

If his current retreat succeeds, in another three to five hundred years, he might become an Earth Flower True Man.

By then, Taiping Dao would boast two Earth Immortals.

With such strength, Jiuzhou would be left far behind.

Now Jiuzhou Immortal Sect is at its weakest, so weak that they even had to be subservient to Taiping Dao.

And they should indeed be subservient.

After all, the Five Sects of the Western Domain now control only the territories of six nations.

Yet Taiping Dao has already secured the territories of ten nations.

Just from the potential of their territories, they already surpass them.