Chapter 750: Extraterritorial Battlefield (II)

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Ascension Assembly finally began. Black Tortoise City was covered by a flight-restricting formation. No matter how powerful someone was, even if their strength rivaled the Deity Transformation realm or even the Void Cavern realm, they were forbidden from flying once they entered the city.

Lin Zheyu and the others blended into the crowd of cultivators, appearing rather inconspicuous yet somehow out of place at the same time. As martial artists, their burly physiques and powerful blood qi made them stand out noticeably among immortal cultivators. Lin Zheyu and the others did not care, however. They had long since grown accustomed to it.

"Look! Someone just flew in on a streak of light. Didn't they say flying was forbidden?" an astonished voice called out from nearby.

"What's so surprising about that? That's an expert from the Wei Family above the Nascent Soul realm. Of course the restriction doesn't apply to them," someone beside him replied with a sidelong glance.

Lin Zheyu looked toward the direction in which the streak of light had disappeared. The cultivator within it was a woman around the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. She had an elegant and regal appearance, and her bearing carried the unmistakable authority of someone accustomed to a lofty position.

"Whatever you do, don't use your spirit divine ability to sense her. That's the current Empress. If she notices and takes offense, we'll be in serious trouble," Ji Haozhong warned cautiously.

"Mm." Lin Zheyu nodded.

Ever since entering Black Tortoise City, he had kept his perception restrained as much as possible and refrained from using his spirit divine ability to probe other cultivators.

The assembly hall at the very heart of the Ascension Assembly did not appear particularly large from the outside, covering only around a thousand square meters. Yet once they entered, they discovered an entirely different world within. The interior space was vast beyond imagination.

"This way. Check the seating carefully and don't sit in the wrong place," Ji Haozhong called out.

The Martial Alliance was only attending the Ascension Assembly to make up the numbers. Their main purpose was simply to participate, and the most important thing they had to do was attend the opening and closing ceremonies.

As soon as they reached their seats, a middle-aged man greeted them with a hearty laugh. "Haha, Fellow Ji, it's been a long time. Is this the newly risen genius from the Martial Alliance beside you?"

"Fellow Xi, so you're leading the group this time?" Ji Haozhong glanced around and shook his head somewhat regretfully. "Fellow Mianzhi didn't come?"

He pointed to Lin Zheyu beside him and introduced them. "This is Fellow Xiao Zhe, and this is Fellow Xi Hongyang."

"Greetings, Fellow Xi."

"Greetings, Fellow Xiao."

Lin Zheyu cupped his hands toward Xi Hongyang before sitting down beside Ji Haozhong. The Martial Alliance was backed by the Vermilion Bird Sect, and Xi Hongyang's sect was likewise under the Vermilion Bird Sect's protection. They could therefore be considered part of the same faction. Beneath the imperial family, Great Wei was primarily divided into three major factions, centered respectively around the Vermilion Bird Sect, White Tiger Sect, and Azure Dragon Sect.

Lin Zheyu looked around. He recognized almost none of the cultivators seated here, aside from a very small number he had encountered once before, such as Pan Xinyu and Pan Xinwen. The Extreme Cold Palace to which the two sisters belonged was located within the Vermilion Bird Realm and was likewise part of the Vermilion Bird Sect's faction. Lin Zheyu sat in his seat, listening to the surrounding conversations as he continued looking around.

Before long, all the cultivators had entered the hall. Presiding over this gathering were the current Emperor and Empress of Great Wei. Lin Zheyu could vaguely sense that both possessed strength around the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. Clearly, the Emperor of Great Wei was not the strongest member of the Wei Family, but neither was he some weak cultivator casually chosen for the position.

"Let me tell you a secret, hehe... The current Emperor and Empress of Great Wei aren't actually husband and wife," Ji Haozhong said through a voice transmission. He raised his eyebrows at Lin Zheyu with an amused expression.

Lin Zheyu's expression shifted slightly as he curiously replied with a voice transmission. "Oh? Go on, tell me more."

"It's not really that great a secret. It's just that many people don't know. The current Emperor and Empress are both members of the Wei Family. They're paternal cousins and the two most outstanding geniuses of their generation. There seems to be some enormous secret tied to the positions of Emperor and Empress of Great Wei. Cultivators who occupy those positions can apparently obtain benefits beyond imagination, benefits tempting enough to move even Nascent Soul realm experts." Ji Haozhong shared his own speculation through voice transmission.

Lin Zheyu nodded. "I see. No wonder even cultivators who have reached the Nascent Soul realm are willing to sit on a throne like this. That makes sense now."

Before long, the opening ceremony of the Ascension Assembly began. It was actually quite entertaining. The Emperor and Empress of Great Wei did not deliver the kind of lengthy, empty, grandiose speeches Lin Zheyu remembered from his previous life. The opening performances were also quite enjoyable. The court dancers maintained by Great Wei were excellent, beautiful, and pleasing to the eye, graceful and alluring enough to captivate the heart.

"This time, it isn't just cultivators from Great Wei attending. The Buddhist sects, barbarians, ancient yao, and sea clan of the Eastern Sea have all appeared as well." Xi Hongyang narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze across the cultivators seated in the other sections and sent a private voice transmission. "Fellow Ji, have you heard anything about this?"

"No. I only noticed after I arrived," Ji Haozhong replied.

"I've actually heard a little about that." A clear voice sounded, and everyone turned almost simultaneously toward an aloof woman nearby whose presence was as cold as an iceberg.

The woman was the cultivator leading the group from Extreme Cold Palace, and she was likewise at the Golden Core realm. Their voice transmission was shared among the group, as they all knew one another.

"Please enlighten us, fellow friend," someone transmitted.

"I wouldn't dare call it enlightenment. This news will probably be announced soon anyway." Meng Yan of Extreme Cold Palace shook her head slightly before transmitting, "I heard that the Extraterritorial Battlefield is going to reopen!"

"What?"

"How could that be?"

"The Extraterritorial Battlefield?"

"Has the situation already become that critical?"

Meng Yan's words immediately drew startled exclamations from the group.

Even Lin Zheyu's expression grew solemn. The Extraterritorial Battlefield was the true, brutal main battlefield in the war against the demon realm. According to legend, it had opened once ten thousand years ago. That fierce and bloody war had successfully driven back the demon realm.

But the price had been devastating. Not only had problems appeared in the laws of heaven and earth, but the once-flourishing Immortal Dao had also begun its gradual decline. The Shamanic Clan, which had already begun to weaken, lost a large number of its peak experts in that war, accelerating the decline of the Shamanic Dao.

"I heard it from Senior Jing Xinyue, so the information should be reliable. On the Extraterritorial Battlefield, cultivator factions are divided according to continent, with different continents responsible for different missions. The appearance of cultivators from the barbarians, the Eastern Sea sea clan, and other forces at this Ascension Assembly means that the many factions on this continent are beginning to ally," Meng Yan continued.

Extreme Cold Palace was located in the Vermilion Bird Realm, the same realm as the Vermilion Bird Sect. Their relationship with the Vermilion Bird Sect was therefore closer, giving them access to better information.

"No wonder cultivators from outside Great Wei have appeared at this Ascension Assembly. Even the Nine Nether Sect, which has never been on particularly good terms with us, has shown up."

"Among the strongest factions on this continent, it seems only those lunatics from the Painful Holy Sect weren't invited."

"Sigh. Who knows how many lives will be lost in this calamity, or whether we'll even make it through."

"They should only be preparing for the reopening of the Extraterritorial Battlefield right now. It will probably be at least several decades before it actually opens."

"If we're optimistic, it might even be delayed for a century. Even after the Extraterritorial Battlefield opens, the early stages will probably consist mostly of probing clashes."

Lin Zheyu silently listened to their discussion, unable to contribute much. His knowledge of the Extraterritorial Battlefield was limited. He only knew that the demon realm's invasion had led to an extremely fierce war. Fortunately, the invaders had ultimately failed. Before the demon realm could break into this world, its forces had been blocked outside it. The extraterritorial region where that great battle had taken place came to be known as the Extraterritorial Battlefield.

Despite cultivating for so many years, Lin Zheyu had never left this world and knew nothing about what lay beyond it. He had once tried on a whim, but after flying tens of thousands of meters into the sky, an intense sense of danger had arisen in his heart, forcing him to abandon the attempt.

This might actually benefit me. If they really form an alliance, perhaps I'll have a chance to obtain the barbarians' totem cultivation methods... Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He was also very interested in the cultivation techniques of the Buddhist sects and the ancient yao. However, techniques from those cultivation systems were even harder to obtain than demonic patterns and knowledge of the Formation Dao, so Lin Zheyu had eventually been forced to give up on them.

But now, an opportunity had appeared. Since factions such as the barbarians and ancient yao could attend the Ascension Assembly, that meant cultivators from Great Wei could likewise travel to the territories of the barbarians, ancient yao, Buddhist sects, and other forces to attend their grand gatherings.