Yellow Court Daoist

North Sea.

Yuan Gui City.

Han Ling'er and Lu Qingfeng sat facing each other.

"The Black Dragon True Monarch has completely set his sights on you."

"Although he was forced to retreat by the teacher this time and promised not to personally take the field against you, it implies he will certainly send Primordial Spirits and True Immortals."

Han Ling'er looked at Lu Qingfeng, who remained calm without a hint of alarm, and couldn't help but laugh. "From now on, your life as a little Daoist will never be peaceful again."

Lu Qingfeng ignored Han Ling'er's teasing and wondered aloud, "True Immortals cannot enter the Three Mountains and Nine Waters, so how can the Black Dragon send True Immortals to deal with me?"

A Primordial Spirit Practitioner like Lu Qingfeng was not afraid.

But facing a Mahayana True Immortal, especially one who has cultivated for a long time and possesses profound skills, would be quite a thorny issue for Lu Qingfeng at his current level of cultivation. If the opponent had a killer move, he might suffer a crushing defeat.

He had to be cautious.

"I can't enter the Mountain and Water Realm either, but there are countless ways to deal with you."

Han Ling'er scoffed, "Do you realize that you've offended not only the Black Dragon True Monarch but also the Fire God Palace? With the power of the Fire God Palace, arranging for a couple of War City Lords to come here would be easy. Once the War City is set up outside the Mountain and Water Realm, sealing both inside and outside the Void, searching for your whereabouts, deploying Daoist Soldiers to confront you... With the War Killing Weapons like the Star Destroying Crossbow and Demon Extermination Crossbow aimed at you, how many lives do you think you have to resist?"

The methods of immortals are numerous.

The vast Spirit Domain has no lack of them.

Take Xun Zhenbei, for example.

He had previously sent his avatar to the Lower Realm and sought a Curse Killing Treasure, though all were thwarted by Lu Qingfeng, resulting in significant losses for himself.

But Xun Zhenbei was, after all, only a newly ascended True Immortal for less than twenty thousand years and had limited power.

Lu Qingfeng could still scrape by.

But now.

He had offended the Fire God Palace and the Black Dragon True Monarch. Killing the Three-eyed Divine Dog and the Fire Crow Divine Son of the Fire God Palace had caught attention from Earth Immortals, and he was taken seriously.

The ones coming after him this time were not the same caliber as before.

"True Immortals."

"War City."

Lu Qingfeng's eyebrows unfurled.

He did not fear these, as long as he was within the Three Mountains and Nine Waters, no matter how many Daoist Soldiers came, he would slay them all.

Seeing his reaction, Han Ling'er discerned his thoughts and her sneer grew even more pronounced, "Taking it lightly?"

"With Han Immortal guarding the Mountain and Water Realm, who dares to dispatch the War City?"

Lu Qingfeng said with a smile.

Han Ling'er, with a grimace, responded, "Don't flatter me. If they dispatch True Immortals and War Cities, they have countless reasons, and even the teachers would find it hard to refuse, let alone me."

She pointed outside, "You think you're invincible among humans, not fearing Daoist Soldiers and powerful crossbows, and you think there's no trouble. But have you considered, if they lock down with their War City, seal the Void inside and out, and when you must ascend to True Immortal, they swarm upon you, how will you hold them off?"

Ascension!

That was the crux.

Unless Lu Qingfeng was willing to use up his Life Span and die of old age in the Three Mountains and Nine Waters without ascending to True Immortal, he would eventually have to leave the Mountain and Water Realm. And compared to a True Immortal or even Earth Immortal beings like the Black Dragon True Monarch, a mere Primordial Spirit Practitioner with a Life Span of just over ten thousand years, though it's a long time, definitely cannot outlast Lu Qingfeng.

"Ascension?"

"So that's their plan."

Lu Qingfeng felt a strange sensation in his heart.

If it was as Han Ling'er said, the Fire God Palace and the Black Dragon True Monarch were willing to drag it out, waiting for his ascension or death, then that would actually suit him perfectly.

Not to mention that he had Han Ling'er and Grandmaster Qin Feng as his backup plan, through which he could leave the Three Mountains and Nine Waters easily as a Heavenly Star Sect disciple. Even on his own merit, once he became a True Immortal, there was likely no True Immortal in the world who could stop him.

Wait it out!

That would be the ideal outcome and the scenario he feared the least.

In contemplation.

Han Ling'er's voice reached his ears, "If you trust me, before the True Immortals and War Cities arrive, I can send you to Sky-reaching Gorge right away. My teacher is stationed there; whether it's the Fire God Palace, Black Dragon True Monarch, or Danxia Mountain, none would dare to act recklessly."

"..."

"Will Grandmaster Qin not mind bringing back such a calamity to the sect?"

Lu Qingfeng turned towards Han Ling'er.

"I knew you wouldn't trust it."

Han Ling'er huffed and stood up, "The Black Dragon True Monarch alone is weak, without a True Immortal under his command. But given his abilities, he can easily call upon War City Lords willing to serve under him. The Fire God Palace is large and influential, Chao Jue's master, the Three Mountains True Monarch, has many disciples, including two True Immortals. However, they're all currently engaged in battles outside the territory, and it won't be easy to call them back. You still have a few years to enjoy your freedom, cherish it well."

Her voice lingered.

As Han Ling'er had already disappeared beyond the Cloud Sky.

"Three Mountains True Monarch."

"Black Dragon True Monarch."

Lu Qingfeng watched Han Ling'er depart, his mind churning with thoughts. Eventually, he rose and walked towards the city's core.

...

Since the disaster of the Star Absorbing Demon Spirit and the Demon Dragon Calamity from outside the realm, the Three Mountains and Nine Waters had a rare peace.

Time passed by.

One year.

Two years.

Three years.

Time flowed swiftly like water, smoothing the scars of the world.

Having defeated Chao Jue, Lu Qingfeng also found respite.

During this time.

He worked on repairing and modifying the Qiankun Furnace while refining the Quasi-Immortal Device 'Eight Desolate Mysterious Fire Mirror' into a second avatar.

Four years.

Five years.

Six years.

In the ninth year following what most practitioners in the Three Mountains and Nine Waters referred to as the 'Demon Dragon Calamity of the Outer Realm'.

The first batch of supplies Lu Qingfeng had ordered through Han Ling'er finally arrived.

All at once.

The Qiankun Furnace's covert modifications surged several times faster.

Lu Qingfeng and Han Ling'er conduct their trade once a year, meaning that from the ninth year onward, a new batch of resources arrives in Lu Qingfeng's hands every year.

Material limitations were no longer a restricting factor for Lu Qingfeng.

The earnings from the sales of Mingqing Spirit Water were allocated half for Immortal Crystals and half for purchasing various materials.

Calculations showed that each year he could earn approximately 450,000 Spirit Stones, roughly exchanging one Immortal Crystal every six years, and an additional 1.5 million Spirit Stones for materials to rebuild Yuan Gui City.

Moreover, coupled with the elixir pills business and the income from various Dutian Sect industries,

the numbers continued to soar.

By the thirteenth year,

Lu Qingfeng had completed the inscription of the Qiankun Furnace Hungry Ghost Dispelling and Spirit Energy Absorbing Array in Yuan Gui City, which had only 0.014% of its Spiritual Energy reserves left. The moment the array was fixed, the energy reserves began to grow at an unprecedented speed.

After a year,

it could accumulate up to 10%.

Even more than twice as fast as the dilapidated Yuan Gui City before.

It was also from this year that

Lu Qingfeng moved the Cloud Mud Silk Cave to Yuan Gui City to start the production of Swamp Walking Spiders. The most critical material for producing Swamp Walking Spiders through the Cloud Mud Silk Cave was Cloud Mud Stone.

This ore resembled metal but was not metal; it was more like a peculiar mud, containing incredibly strong vitality and malleability.

Such an ore did not exist in Three Mountains and Nine Waters.

Fortunately, Lu Qingfeng had asked Han Ling'er to procure it long ago in the Spirit Domain.

As for other materials, such as Refined Iron, Refined Copper, Refined Silver, Refined Gold, and the likes could be sourced through the Dutian Sect, or from other Immortal Sects within the Three Mountains and Nine Waters.

There was absolutely no shortage.

The advantage here was the convenience of transportation within the same realm, and avoiding the price gouging by Han Ling'er.

Black Water Essence is material extracted from seawater.

It's just labor-intensive, not particularly rare.

Many sects within Three Mountains and Nine Waters that practiced Water Techniques, as well as Water Element Loose Cultivators, were all capable of extracting it if they were willing to put in the effort.

It was also readily available.

With materials at the ready and ample Spiritual Energy, the production of Swamp Walking Spiders began in an unending stream. Lu Qingfeng relocated Yuan Gui City, picking a piece of land between Spiritual Mountain Shell Field and Yunmeng Swamp.

This place was called 'Black Cloud Island', a vast island spanning over twelve hundred miles, surrounded by hundreds of smaller islets collectively known as 'Black Cloud Islands'.

Black Cloud Islands were originally occupied by a flock of Black Cloud Eagles.

Lu Qingfeng drove away the Black Cloud Eagles and took over the site for Yuan Gui City.

Swamp Walking Spiders were scattered across Black Cloud Islands, acting as a defensive perimeter. At the same time, Lu Qingfeng refined Array Flags and placed them around the islands, setting up the Forbidden Heaven and Earth Formation.

Ordinary Primordial Spirit Practitioners found it difficult to fly or burrow within Black Cloud Islands.

Maximizing the use of the Swamp Walking Spiders.

And in the waters between the islands, Seven Star Beauty Boas roamed, which could handle even Fourth Rank Daoist Soldiers.

The combination of the Seven Star Beauty Boas and Swamp Walking Spiders was potent.

With the Twelve Demon Gods in command, a few Fourth Rank Daoist Soldiers from Three Mountains and Nine Waters would pose no problems.

However,

it still wasn't enough!

Lu Qingfeng continued the restoration of Yuan Gui City.

First was the Array that conceals against probing and blocks the Heavenly Mechanism. Lu Qingfeng cultivated Invisibility Techniques and mastered the Inverted Void Glazed Glass Wall and Array setting. Such an arrangement was not difficult for him.

The War City was precious.

It had to be well-hidden, ready to spring surprises as a killing stroke when the time arose.

Fourteen years.

Fifteen years.

Sixteen years.

By the seventeenth year,

Lu Qingfeng had at last completed the split body refinement of the Eight Desolate Mysterious Fire Mirror, becoming the second split body after the Green Wood King Ding. To differentiate them, Lu Qingfeng named this second one 'Eight Desolate Daoist'.

In truth,

it was still the same will, the same consciousness, like an arm or a leg.

With the achievement of the Eight Desolate Daoist,

the pace at which Lu Qingfeng restored Yuan Gui City instantly doubled.

On one hand, he refined Immortal Crystals to enhance his strength.

On the other, the Eight Desolate Daoist set about repairing the 'Demon Extermination Crossbow'.

Within Yuan Gui City, there originally were eighteen Demon Extermination Crossbows, efficient tools of destruction. However, in the cataclysm, sixteen had been lost, leaving only two damaged crossbows remaining. Lu Qingfeng used 'Derivation - Analysis' to master the method of refining the Demon Extermination Crossbows, becoming familiar with the process in 'Primordial', and then proceeded to repair them with materials obtained through Han Ling'er.

With the original foundation and the newly acquired refining method, repairing them was no challenge for Lu Qingfeng.

Once repaired, these crossbows will become Yuan Gui City's primary weapons.

Even if swarms of Daoist Soldiers descend like a storm, these two Demon Extermination Crossbows could hold the line, giving the Outer Heaven True Immortals from Three Mountains and Nine Waters a taste of defeat.

As the years passed,

Lu Qingfeng's preparations became increasingly comprehensive.

Yet at the same time,

a crisis was drawing steadily closer.

Han Ling'er had been keeping an eye on Black Dragon True Monarch and Fire God Palace's movements.

The Black Dragon True Monarch, a lone figure, elusive as the Divine Dragon itself; Han Ling'er couldn't pinpoint the True Monarch's location. Only rumors were heard that after the battle in Three Mountains and Nine Waters, Black Dragon True Monarch had crossed the Nine Nether Territory, heading towards the Cloud Desolate Territory.

This was unlikely to be a retreat.

It was probably more likely that he was seeking allies in Cloud Desolate Territory to contend with Lu Qingfeng.

Regarding Fire God Palace,

once the Three Mountains True Monarch of the Fire God Palace learned of his disciple Chao Jue's death, he was enraged. He immediately ordered his second disciple, Zheng Tu, to hand over his military responsibilities and rush back from outside the domains; there was no need to return to Fire God Palace, but instead to be on standby in Three Mountains and Nine Waters.

The handover had been completed over the past few years, and he was currently en route.

Based on the schedule, Zheng Tu would arrive in seven or eight years at most.

There wasn't much time left for Lu Qingfeng.

However,

what Lu Qingfeng and Han Ling'er didn't expect was before Zheng Tu of Fire God Palace could arrive, a War City Lord came out of nowhere, crossing domains and descending upon Mountain and Water Realm!