Chapter 1163: Three Characters Terrify a Longevity Immortal
Li Ping seemed to perceive Bai Hua's reservations. "The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council are indeed powerful," he stated in a low, steady voice. "But we are not the only ones in the Xuanhuang Realm who are dissatisfied with their rule."
"Setting aside the myriad factions hidden within the various small worlds, even the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance itself is teeming with individuals who harbor their own agendas."
With a wave of his hand, Li Ping manifested a vast and intricate web of interpersonal connections, which slowly unfurled before Daoist Bai Hua.
Daoist Bai Hua stared, her eyes fixed on the display. The faces that appeared were all members of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's various organizations!
It was not merely their names and appearances. Their life stories, temperaments, the probability of them being swayed, predictions of their future actions—every piece of information was listed, meticulously detailed and exhaustive.
Highlighted among them were the unstable elements within the Alliance, the individuals most susceptible to being turned.
As she processed the text and images, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance transformed in Daoist Bai Hua’s mind from an abstract name into a living, breathing entity.
"No wonder he dares to make such bold claims, confident he can challenge the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance," she thought, her astonishment growing with every passing moment. "Gathering such detailed intelligence must have taken an eternity. And it's not just a matter of time; some of these secrets could only have been obtained with a high-ranking mole inside their organization."
She wanted to examine it further, but Li Ping swept his hand again, and the luminous screen before her shifted once more.
This time, the intelligence on the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was replaced with information on the various small worlds of the Xuanhuang Realm. There were those powerful enough to be potential allies, and others, though not as strong, were rich in resources and could be conquered to serve as production bases. There were even some designated as extremely dangerous, worlds that were best left untouched.
A hidden scroll depicting the true landscape of the Xuanhuang Realm was slowly unrolling before Daoist Bai Hua.
As shock washed over her, a sense of helplessness followed. Having been shown so many secrets of this Great Qi Dynasty, she knew she likely had no choice but to join.
As for turning hostile and fighting him...
Even though Daoist Bai Hua was a Longevity-realm existence in her original world, she felt no certainty of victory against this faceless Sacred Emperor. In fact, every time the thought of opposing him arose, a primal instinct screamed of impending, irrevocable doom.
She had never experienced anything like this before. Not even when she was captured by the Fishing Pool had she felt such a profound sense of crisis.
Thus, when Li Ping calmly extended an invitation for her to join the Great Qi Dynasty, Daoist Bai Hua agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Li Ping let out a hearty laugh. "Excellent, excellent! With your help, Daoist Bai Hua, our chances of success have grown even greater."
"There is a matter at hand that I will need your assistance with," he declared, wasting no time in assigning her a task the moment she joined.
The projected map before them shrank rapidly, finally focusing on a small world composed of five interlocking rings.
"This is the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven. I intend to offer it as the grand prize for the upcoming fishing competition. However, it is currently located within the borders of the Alliance's Tianling Province. Being on the frontier, its presence could easily attract the attention of both the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council. Therefore..."
Li Ping's tone was utterly sincere. "I must trouble you, Daoist, to relocate it to the void near my Great Qi."
At first, Daoist Bai Hua assumed it was just an ordinary cave-heaven and thought little of it. But when Li Ping transmitted the specific details of the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven to her, her body of golden light couldn't help but flicker violently.
The five interconnected cave-heavens were enormous! With her power, she could indeed move them, but just barely. The effort would leave her utterly drained.
Would he take advantage of her weakness and plot against her?
Just then, Li Ping smiled faintly. "It is only because I am unable to leave my duties that I must impose on you, Daoist."
"If I truly wished to deal with you," he continued, his tone devoid of any emotion, as if stating a simple fact, "I would hardly need such insidious schemes..."
As he spoke, several stone puppets materialized silently in the void, forming a loose circle around Daoist Bai Hua.
The puppets themselves were not particularly powerful, but the aura they radiated was one that Bai Hua found both familiar and terrifying.
A flash of insight illuminated her mind, and she instantly recalled the source of that familiarity. It was the same horrifying calamity that had rampaged across the cosmos long ago, annihilating countless cultivation worlds!
"Are you mad?!" Daoist Bai Hua shrieked, her body instinctively recoiling from the stone puppets.
"You're playing with fire! How can we possibly control the power of a world-ending catastrophe? If you make one mistake, the Xuanhuang Realm—our last refuge—could be destroyed by your hand!" Her body trembled with a mixture of terror and fury.
She never imagined that this supposed ally would turn out to be a complete lunatic. No wonder she had felt such an indescribable sense of crisis from him...
Faced with Daoist Bai Hua's accusations, Li Ping remained unconcerned.
He scoffed coldly. "The world-ending calamity has only temporarily vanished. Who can guarantee it won't return? Even if we are fortunate enough to escape the Immortal Ruins, what will we do when we encounter other disasters in the future?"
"Constant evasion will inevitably lead to our demise. Only by actively studying and mastering these forces can we win true freedom!" Li Ping's voice was resolute, laced with a fervent, almost fanatical conviction.
He waved his hand once more. Three symbols—impossibly complex, yet radiating a sacred aura—appeared beside him.
They revolved slowly around Li Ping.
They held no power of their own, yet the mere sight of their twisted shapes was enough to make the Longevity-realm Daoist Bai Hua tremble.
And there, at the center of the three mystical symbols, stood the faceless Sacred Emperor Li Ping, an embodiment of both sanctity and malevolence.
He was a sight one dared not gaze upon directly.
"Hehehe, these three True Immortal Scripts were gathered by my own hand, after a thousand hardships in the void. Won't you observe them, Daoist?" Li Ping's voice boomed, echoing through the dark space.
Daoist Bai Hua noticed that the child Liuli was beginning to stir. She quickly cast a spell, sending her back into a deep slumber.
As for herself, she truly did not dare to look directly at those three True Immortal Scripts!
Yes, the True Immortal Scripts contained infinite power. But was that transcendent force truly something that cultivators who had not yet walked the path of an immortal could control?
She had personally witnessed countless cultivators turn to ash under this power, utterly helpless to resist. Among them were many so-called Longevity-realm experts, just like herself.
In her eyes, studying the True Immortal Scripts was like a toddler wielding a world-destroying weapon.
The slightest misstep would not only mean instant annihilation for oneself, but the entire world would be dragged down to perish alongside them!
She still had many years of life ahead of her. Why would she ever resort to such an extreme and reckless path?
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