Scourge Messenger

Chapter 447 The Blissful Immortal Lord
The banquet continues on the highest level of the Blissful Palace.

The Celestial Immortal removed his boots and socks, stepping barefoot into the lotus pond. The pond was shallow, and ripples spread slowly, blending with the countless ripples in the main hall to create intricate patterns. Hundreds of dancers always moved about here, their steps creating lotus blossoms. Every half hour, a new group of dancers would take over, and every two hours, a different dance would be performed. There were tens of thousands of dancers who were dedicated to performing at the Never-Ending Feast, many of whom were generations of dancers, passing the tradition down from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Performing at the Never-Ending Feast was the highest honor for a family of dancers.

Besides these, there were musicians, painters, winemakers, actors… and many messengers, all of whom kept the ever-present feast lively, never quiet even when there were no guests. Of course, since eight hundred years ago, the ever-present feast has never lacked guests.

Recently, things have become increasingly lively. With a casual glance, Tianqin Zhenren saw at least dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators. It is estimated that two to three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators will gather for a long banquet in two days. Even the Yuliu Court will send scholars from the Water Mansion to celebrate the birthday.

Many scrolls hang in the air, depicting various facilities: the Immortal Cave, the Transformation of the Three Pure Ones, the Sparrows of the Four Directions, the Lighting of the Sky Lantern... The largest scroll depicts the Path to Immortality.

"The Celestial Bird has returned?"

The center of the never-ending banquet resembled a children's playground: soft mats, building blocks assembled into incredibly powerful gods, puppets playing house in miniature castles, and lifelike sculptures such as phoenixes and dragons.

A seductive young man with his chest exposed lay on the pillow, his black hair cascading down like a black waterfall. He wore a very tacky gold chain, but it suited him surprisingly well. The glittering gold draped over his sculpted chest muscles, giving him a dazzling and mesmerizing charm.

But he was playing a very childish game: stacking different things together. Rings, cards, chopsticks, coins... He used only one hand to build an unimaginable structure that looked like it would collapse no matter how you looked at it, yet it maintained a strange balance. He looked at the approaching celestial bird, casually placed a die on it, and it still didn't fall over.

"Goodbye..."

“You know the rules,” said the Blissful Immortal Lord.

Helpless, Celestial Immortal Tianqin picked up the wine offered by the maid and drank three cups until he was slightly tipsy and exhaled a breath of wine: "Greetings, Immortal Lord."

"Hmm, a Celestial Bird." The Blissful Immortal Lord smiled and asked, "What did you gain from the Ascension Realm?"

"It's still the same as before." Celestial Bird Master shook his head: "The eight great ginseng masters are scheming against each other. They barely managed to defeat the Rock Turtle, and before they even reached the Sky Disaster Immortal, they were already scattered. If this continues, they won't be able to produce any gold essence for a thousand years."

“Golden essence is hard to come by,” the Blissful Immortal Lord said calmly. “The Ginseng of the Imperial Flowing Court can unite to attack desperate situations, thanks to the guarantees of several Immortal Lords and even Prefecture Lords. The Xia family recruits Ginseng for battle with gold and silver, swearing that the Ginseng essence will be distributed according to merit, but what use is the oath if the Ginseng essence is there? There are old stories of people stealing Ginseng essence and ascending to immortality on the spot.”

"Before Tianqin achieved Foundation Establishment, he looked up to Immortal Lord like a frog in a well seeing the bright moon. After Tianqin achieved Foundation Establishment, he looked up to Immortal Lord like a mayfly seeing the blue sky." Tianqin said, "Immortal Lord is not a scholar of the Water Palace, yet he can command the seven great immortals to attack the desperate situation. Such courage and charm are unmatched in the East Sea."

"No need for such sweet talk. It's all just deception, coaxing, and talk of love. Once I ascend to the mortal realm and the deed is done, they'll have no choice but to accept it." The Blissful Immortal Lord laughed. "You want to conquer the desperate situation, but you have neither sworn brothers nor confidantes. How can you succeed? The path of the Golden Nature has always been the kingly way of gathering the strength of many to support one person, not the domineering way of a lone wolf. You've chosen the wrong path."

“More importantly, you are not a shield-bearer.” The Blissful Immortal Lord casually stacked another ring on top: “Even in the Imperial Flow Court, a shield-bearer has a greater chance of obtaining the gold attribute.”

"I have an eagle, which can serve as a shield, as long as I continue to train it..."

“You have never witnessed the ferocity of the Demon King of the Extreme Realm,” the Blissful Immortal Lord shook his head. “I know you have defeated the Demon King of the Extreme Realm before, but neither can be taken lightly. Without divine control abilities and without a shield, even the fiercest beasts cannot serve as a shield. Heavenly Bird, your second divine ability, [Life String], is an excellent divine control ability. Why go to such lengths?”

After a long silence, Master Tianqin said bitterly, "I have already invested too much, and there is no turning back. Moreover... the [Life String] is about living towards death, which is difficult."

The Blissful Immortal Lord shook his head and remained silent. Although he and Tianqin were both ruler and subject, and also master and disciple, every Grandmaster of the Golden Core had to overcome numerous obstacles to grow stronger. Since Tianqin's final sixth-tier profession was Beast Tamer Messenger, it meant his mind was made up. As the saying goes, a stone can be broken, but not a hard stone can be taken away. Since Tianqin had decided to take the path of beast taming, he could not be easily persuaded.

"Immortal Lord, I brought back a group of children with good talent, perfect for selecting the chosen ones," said Celestial Bird Immortal. "Would you like to see them now?"

"You're quite thoughtful," the Blissful Immortal Lord said with a smile.

"This concerns the life and death of the Immortal Lord, how could Tianqin not take it seriously?" Tianqin Zhenren said earnestly, "If we can find one or two good seedlings this time, which can increase the chances of the Immortal Lord's tribulation, Tianqin will be satisfied."

"I hope so," the Blissful Immortal Lord waved his hand.

Not long after Celestial Bird True Man passed down the order, Blissful Immortal Lord raised an eyebrow, drew a huge scroll in the void with his finger, and everyone in the Never-Ending Banquet immediately looked over.

In the painting, Wei Qiu respectfully said, "Immortal Lord, the participant has made an unbelievable request, and I need to consult you."

"explain."

"He hopes that after leaving the Ascension Path, he can immediately continue to participate in the next Ascension Path with his other friends."

"It's the path to immortality," a little boy wearing a tiger-skin hat said leisurely in the scroll. "If I take the Foundation Establishment Pill, will it forbid me from continuing to participate?"

Laughter echoed throughout the never-ending banquet. Such whimsical little brats were not uncommon. Many people felt that they were destined for greatness when they stepped onto the path to immortality. Some even thought that they should challenge the path to immortality as soon as they were a first-level messenger, fantasizing that they could obtain the opportunity to advance to the third level, find the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, and finally take the Foundation Establishment Pill to complete the path that others took decades to complete in one go.

But what surprised many more was that the child actually dared to interrupt. Perhaps this is a case of youthful fearlessness.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Tiger Vanguard".

The Blissful Immortal Lord pulled back the scroll, took a closer look at the thirty-three children in the rest room, and immediately understood the child's thoughts. He smiled and said, "You want to save everyone?"

"If we can both save lives and take the Foundation Establishment Pill," Tiger Vanguard said, "why not?"

“Generally speaking, challengers on the Path to Ascension should wait at least three days between challenges, to avoid boring the audience.” The Blissful Immortal Lord pulled a match from the tower, which surprisingly didn't collapse. “I can make an exception for you.” “Any additional requirements?”

"You and the person with you must walk to the crossroads thirty steps away before you can leave the Path of Ascension," said the Blissful Immortal Lord. "Starting from your first round. And you must have more than two people in each round, otherwise this promise will be invalid."

"It's a deal?"

"A swift horse, a whip."

Seeing that Tiger Vanguard agreed so readily, the Blissful Immortal Lord removed the scroll and laughed, "I don't know about the Chosen One, but this temperament is indeed rare."

"Immortal Lord, are you interested?"

"Look, if he can save three or four people under such harsh conditions, then he is indeed a genius with both wisdom and courage, and excellent character and fortune, worthy of entering the outer sect," said the Blissful Immortal Lord. "If he can save ten people, why not take him as a true disciple?"

"It was his good fortune," said Celestial Bird Master with a smile.

The other guests all showed envy. Although it was very difficult, this was a chance to be a true disciple of a Celestial Lord! The Celestial Lord of Bliss had not accepted any new disciples for a hundred years. Even if his disciples were to be helped, they could only be guided to the Foundation Establishment stage, and they would also have the Celestial Lord as their backer! At this moment, they wished that their own children could be among them. If they could seize this opportunity, it would be equivalent to having one foot in the fourth stage of cultivation!

As for Tiger Vanguard's declaration that he was aiming for the Foundation Establishment Pill, no one paid any attention to it. In everyone's eyes, Tiger Vanguard was lucky to be able to hold out for thirty steps before withdrawing. As for fifty steps, even a third-level messenger would be on edge at every step. How could a mere child dare to venture there?

Soon, two tiny figures descended from the Ascension Path scroll. They were really tiny. They appeared in the dilapidated temple, carrying long swords and knives that were almost as long as their bodies.

"Two kids, they couldn't even get past the simplest skirmish."

"Well, at least they knew to search the starting point. Too bad they were unlucky, they found nothing."

"It's also possible that they just didn't find it; they didn't even turn over the ceiling and floor tiles."

The dice on the Immortal Path spun around and landed on a five. The two little figures encountered a wandering knight on the road who offered to teach them a secret technique for a thousand spirit jades. Unfortunately, they had no money and missed the opportunity.

Then, in the third scenario, they encountered a crime scene. They could choose to loot the victim's body or leave, but looting might trigger a battle. Fortunately, they found several thousand spirit jades without triggering any combat.

"It's a pity, if we had encountered this incident first and then met the wandering knight..."

"That's the charm of the path to immortality. Sometimes it feels like you're blessed by the heavens, and sometimes it feels like the dice are working against you."

Moving forward, this time it's [four]. Everyone sighed, because this square represents an encounter battle; it seems the two children's time to meet is over.

Two little figures descended upon the dilapidated village and encountered five bandits, whose strength was roughly equivalent to a first-level cultivator. Although this was not a major obstacle, it was practically invincible for the two children.

But soon, many people at the banquet sat up straight, their faces showing surprise.

"Is this... a breakthrough in the heat of battle?"

"And not just once, but twice... three times in a row!"

"This little girl is fighting very fiercely."

"But the tiger-skin hat is even more terrifying. He actually fought three bandits in close combat at the same time and was completely unharmed? What a talent for combat!"

"These two children, even if they are demons, did not hesitate at all after killing people... They are quite impressive."

"Immortal Lord!" a Foundation Establishment cultivator shouted, "It's such a pity to lose such a promising talent here. Why not sell him to me? My granddaughter is about the same age as him and needs a son-in-law!"

"You can recruit him after he leaves the path to immortality." The Blissful Immortal Lord waved his hand. He didn't have much desire for Tiger Vanguard. If someone else recruited Tiger Vanguard, it would mean that there was no master-disciple relationship between them.

As they spoke, Tiger Vanguard and White Porridge had already looted the spoils. The next three encounters were against insignificant minions, whom they quickly wiped out. Their momentum was unstoppable, their blood surging, and they were visibly breaking through to new heights!
If it were a twenty-year-old, or even a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, no one would be so surprised. But this is a ten-year-old child. In a prominent family, he would probably still be bedwetting and breastfeeding. He is truly a child who hasn't even grown up yet!

If these two children are nurtured in time, they will at least reach the third stage of powerful transformation, if not the Foundation Establishment stage!

Many Foundation Establishment cultivators were tempted; a capable third-tier cultivator would certainly be helpful in their conquest of the secret realm. However, just as they were about to recruit the two children, they saw them teleport to the twenty-seventh slot, and a sigh escaped their lips.

【Treasure Trove of Heavenly Materials】!
But where there are rare and precious treasures, there must be demons guarding them. The guardian of this grid is none other than the third-level demon king, Ice Fang Beast!
Only the most elite three-person squads, or five-person teams that have crossed over from the mountain stronghold route, have a chance to pass through this square!
Are two children playing this square?
Everyone shook their heads, even the Blissful Immortal Lord looked away, no longer interested in watching.

But the next moment, an incredulous shout rang out from the never-ending banquet, and countless people stood up at the same time.

"Bloodline supernatural power!?"

(End of this chapter)