Chapter 1018: Agreement Reached

“Gentlemen, a private room has been arranged for you upstairs. Would you prefer to speak privately first, or would you like to talk here in the main hall?”

At this moment, Ni Yuanzhong asked.

“I’d like to speak with Sect Master Chen privately first.”

Mountain Lord Tude replied first. His primary purpose for coming was to ensure Chen Mobai no longer interfered with the affairs of the Yi Yuan Dao Palace and the Five Emperors Mountain. He knew he would have to pay a price, and he would be less able to negotiate freely if others were present.

“What is Sect Master Chen’s opinion?”

Ni Yuanzhong asked again, and Chen Mobai nodded.

Indeed, some matters were not suitable for outsiders to know.

“Gentlemen, please go upstairs. I will remain downstairs, and no one will disturb you. You two fellow Daoists may join me for tea.”

Ni Yuanzhong pointed to the top floor of the Nine Heavens Tower. This area was normally the most bustling part of Nine Heavens Immortal City, but today it had been cleared solely for the meeting between the two leaders of the Five Elements Sect and the Yi Yuan Dao Palace.

Mu Youyi and Hongyun heard Ni Yuanzhong’s words and nodded with a smile. They accompanied him and found a table in the main hall to sit at. Soon, disciples of the Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect came to serve them tea.

“On top of the Nine Heavens Tower, there is a Combat Arena. It was personally arranged by a Deva Transformation ancestor of our sect and is capable of withstanding battles between Nascent Soul cultivators.”

Ni Yuanzhong remembered that Chen Mobai was not a native of the Eastern Lands and might not know about the Nine Heavens Tower’s other function. He couldn’t help but offer a reminder.

In the cultivation world, when two sects of similar strength reach an impasse in negotiations, they often can't help but resort to combat to determine who holds sway when disagreements arise.

The Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect specifically established such a place to mediate conflicts in the name of a holy land.

“Sect Master Chen, please!”

Mountain Lord Tude politely motioned for Chen Mobai to go first.

“Sect Master Ni, I appreciate your trouble. However, there's something I'd like to ask: What if, during a combat engagement, one accidentally kills the opponent?”

Chen Mobai, however, directed this question to Ni Yuanzhong.

Mountain Lord Tude's expression immediately stiffened, and a hint of displeasure flickered in his eyes.

“If you two decide to use the Nine Heavens Combat Arena, I will personally oversee the battle to prevent the situation Sect Master Chen described.”

Ni Yuanzhong replied calmly. His eyes, however, showed great confidence, as if he was certain he could stop both parties.

“In that case, I have no more worries. Mountain Lord Tude, please go ahead.”

After hearing this, Chen Mobai nodded gently, then smiled and spoke to Mountain Lord Tude beside him.

As the two ascended, Mu Youyi and Hongyun began to converse.

“Does your Beast Taming Sect also have a feud with the Five Elements Sect?” Hongyun asked, quite puzzled. Everyone in the Eastern Continent knew that the Sun Bathing Sea had a grudge against the Five Elements Sect. As the leader of the Five Blazing Heaven Lineages, he had secretly organized an alliance against the Five Elements Sect before, but Ye Qing ultimately stopped it.

“One of my grand-uncles, many years ago in the Eastern Barrens, nurtured and enlightened a demonic beast with a true spirit bloodline. Sect Master Chen probably didn't know this when he killed it and occupied the fifth-grade spiritual vein cave it left behind. Since he's here in the Eastern Lands, I'll see if I can talk to him about this matter and resolve the grudge.”

Mu Youyi did not hide anything and began to speak of Patriarch Poison Dragon's matter.

“True spirit bloodline!? Could it be…”

After hearing this, Hongyun thought of something and couldn't help but be slightly startled.

He was also considered a successor from a holy land and knew the Beast Taming Sect's origins, which came from the Myriad Spirits Sect, a holy land in the Central Continent.

“That's one reason. However, my sect's strength alone was insufficient before, so even though I knew about this, I dared not go to the Eastern Barrens to demand an explanation. This opportunity is perfect to exert pressure along with you two fellow Daoists, to see if I can achieve the result I desire.”

Mu Youyi said, if it were any other force that had killed a spirit beast marked by the Myriad Spirits Sect, he would certainly have led his sect's army to eliminate them immediately.

But the Five Elements Sect was different.

Although the Beast Taming Sect was considered a major power in the Eastern Lands, possessing four Nascent Soul cultivators, the Five Elements Sect was also not weak. If they were to travel all the way to the Eastern Barrens for a battle, both sides would surely suffer heavy losses. Therefore, after investigating Patriarch Poison Dragon's matter, he had always feigned ignorance.

In any case, he would never set foot in the Eastern Barrens in this lifetime.

Moreover, after the great war, intelligence from the Eastern Wu battlefield gradually spread to the Eastern Lands over time.

Among these, Chen Mobai's direct confrontation and killing of the Little Demon Venerable was particularly striking, proving that his strength was already at the pinnacle below the Deva Transformation stage.

Even though Mu Youyi was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and possessed a peak fourth-tier companion spirit beast, he was unwilling to make an enemy of such an opponent.

“This time, Chen the Turtle Immortal leaving the Eastern Barrens is a rare good opportunity.”

Hongyun said something with a hidden meaning. Mu Youyi's eyes flickered, and he nodded heavily.

The reason they proactively contacted Tude was precisely this.

If Chen Mobai remained in the Eastern Barrens, even a Deva Transformation True Monarch would not dare to seek trouble with him.

But after coming to the Eastern Lands, things were different.

If the three of them, all at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, joined forces—especially with Tude having refined the Primordial Dao Fruit—they might be able to seize this opportunity to eliminate Chen the Turtle Immortal, who was a major concern.

“Gentlemen, how is this Nine-Leaf Tea?”

Just as the two were communicating via spiritual transmission, Ni Yuanzhong walked over, sat opposite them, and asked.

“Excellent tea, excellent tea!”

Hongyun, who had been focused on chatting and hadn't even taken a sip of tea, immediately picked up his cup, took a sip, then praised it, feigning enjoyment.

Mu Youyi, beside him, had the same expression.

Top floor of the Nine Heavens Tower.

After Chen Mobai and Tude sat down, an awkward silence fell between them.

“Speak. Since you requested this negotiation, you must have prepared reasons to persuade me. Out of respect for Sect Master Ni, I will at least hear you out.”

Ultimately, Chen Mobai spoke first. After all, he was not one to waste time.

“The two fellow Daoists downstairs, Hongyun and Mu Youyi, seem to harbor ill intentions towards you.”

However, Tude said something completely unrelated to the main topic.

“And so? Do you think the two of them, plus yourself, can make me back down?”

Chen Mobai retorted with a hint of mockery.

“Sect Master Chen is a young prodigy. Even without the Dao Fruit, he holds the hope of reaching the Deva Transformation stage. To fall by the wayside would be a tremendous loss for the righteous path of our Eastern Continent.”

Tude continued speaking. As he spoke, his profound eyes suddenly sharpened. Amidst the flickering colorful light, a colossal ethereal figure emerged from behind him.

“Primordial Dao Body!”

Seeing this, Chen Mobai's eyebrows arched. Soon after, his Myriad Swords Dharma Body also materialized from the void.

In Nine Heavens Immortal City, the cultivators walking through the streets suddenly felt two terrifying presences descend from the sky, causing their hearts to tremble and covering the entire city.

“Look!”

With loud shouts, everyone's gaze turned towards the Nine Heavens Tower, the tallest structure in the city.

They saw two colossal ethereal figures standing in the sky. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth throughout the entire immortal city instantly surged towards them, forming phenomena such as rivers of sword qi and seas of colorful lightning.

“Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators are battling on the Nine Heavens Combat Arena!”

Seeing this, the cultivators in Nine Heavens Immortal City became excited.

While many cultivators frequently engaged in combat on the Combat Arena, battles at the Nascent Soul stage were extremely rare, sometimes not even occurring once in several years.

However, the phenomena displayed by this battle shocked the expressions of the other Nascent Soul cultivators within the city.

Both colossal avatars far surpassed ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators and almost displayed partial Deva Transformation characteristics.

The moment the river of sword qi clashed with the sea of colorful lightning, the entire Nine Heavens Immortal City even trembled slightly. This indicated that the power level had reached a terrifying fifth tier.

As time passed, the river of sword qi grew stronger and stronger, while the sea of colorful lightning, which had initially covered the sky, gradually struggled to hold on and was torn open in several places.

In the main hall of the Nine Heavens Tower, Mu Youyi and Hongyun, both at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, couldn't help but look grim upon seeing this scene.

“Fellow Daoists, have you failed to reach an agreement? Do you need me to activate the Nine Heavens Combat Arena?”

Ni Yuanzhong sensed Chen Mobai's and Tude's Primordial Dao Bodies, and his face also showed surprise, but he did not forget his duty and asked.

“It was merely a spar between me and Junior Brother Chen to practice our sect's Dao techniques. Sect Master Ni, I apologize for causing you concern.”

Mountain Lord Tude's voice rang from upstairs. Immediately after, his Primordial Dao Body, clad in colorful armor and with a sea of lightning above its head, was the first to dissipate and vanish above the Nine Heavens Tower.

“Your Outer Body Avatar technique is well-executed. It's a pity it's not your own, so it's full of flaws when put into practice.”

Seeing Mountain Lord Tude yield first, Chen Mobai also retracted his Myriad Swords Dharma Body and then offered his critique.

“Within the Primordial Dao Fruit left by Patriarch Yi Yuan, there is a Primordial Dao Body containing half of his power from before his ascension, which successive palace masters of the Dao Palace can activate after refining it. What I just displayed was probably only one percent of the Patriarch's full strength; going any further would damage my foundation. Although Junior Brother Chen and I have some disagreements, it's not necessary to go to that extent.”

Mountain Lord Tude, however, implied that it wasn't that he was no match, but that it hadn't come to a life-or-death struggle.

“So that's the power of the Primordial Dao Fruit. The Radiant Lord must have died by this very technique back then. It's a pity I wasn't born a few millennia earlier to contend with Patriarch Yi Yuan.”

Chen Mobai uttered a remark that left Mountain Lord Tude at a loss for how to respond.

After all, this person before him, judging by his current accomplishments, his talent and ability were truly not inferior to Patriarch Yi Yuan.

“Junior Brother Chen, since Five Emperors Mountain and the Five Elements Sect both follow the Yi Yuan lineage, there's no need for us to resort to arms, is there? I am willing to let you copy all the inheritances, including the ascension secrets left by Patriarch Yi Yuan, and take them back to the Eastern Barrens. However, I also hope that from now on, our two lineages will mind their own business.”

Seeing that he could not overpower Chen Mobai with force, Mountain Lord Tude finally got to the point and presented his conditions.

“Not enough!”

In response, Chen Mobai merely uttered two words.

Mountain Lord Tude: “Junior Brother Chen, do you have any other demands? Please state them.”

A sharp glint appeared in Chen Mobai's eyes. His voice, though calm, carried an undeniable will:

“First, upon your return, immediately release Chen Lingming.

Second, announce to the Eastern Continent that my Five Elements Sect is the true Yi Yuan lineage, and transfer all original Daoist texts and inheritances from the Yi Yuan Dao Palace to my Five Elements Sect.

Third, the Primordial Dao Fruit, left by the Patriarch, should, by tradition, be given to the Dao Son or Saintess. You must hand it over.

Fourth, since my Five Elements Sect is the true Yi Yuan lineage, then the Primordial Bell, which symbolizes the legitimate lineage, should also be entrusted to my safekeeping.

Fifth, when the Dao De Sect opens up new territories soon, the Transcendent Spirit Pill allocated to the Yi Yuan lineage should rightfully belong to my Five Elements Sect, the true Yi Yuan lineage.

My demands are only these five points. If you agree, I am willing to respectfully address you as Senior Brother Tude, and from now on, I will send Chen Lingming to bring you gifts during festivals.”

As soon as Chen Mobai finished speaking, Mountain Lord Tude