Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 429 A Time of Life and Death
On the first floor of the Yellow Springs Palace, the statue of the Crimson Dragon Buddha became even more majestic and sacred, coiling around the ever-growing Blood Bodhi Tree. The two were perfectly integrated, showing no signs of being artificially sculpted or cultivated.

This is the symbol of the Yellow Springs Sect today.

Although the Emperor of Fengdu is the deity controlled by the sect leader of the Yellow Springs Sect, Chen Ye's cultivation level is too low, so Qu Heng's Crimson Dragon Buddha is still the representative of the Yellow Springs Sect.

Once Chen Ye's cultivation breaks through to the Void Returning Realm, the Fengdu Emperor should merge with the Crimson Dragon Buddha and become the truly supreme god of the Northern Frontier.

At this moment, beneath the Blood Bodhi Tree, on the white jade platform in the center of Chen Yezhong's body, stood an ethereal being, like a banished immortal descended to earth.

Inside the main hall, countless beams of spiritual light coalesced into lifelike figures, which were cultivators from various sects across the world.

The Yellow Springs Palace, which is usually empty and desolate, now has a grandeur reminiscent of the ancient Heavenly Court where all the immortals come to pay homage.

This is the effect of the communication array. Once the array is completed, even if the distance is thousands of miles, it is as if they are face to face, and their thoughts can communicate and every detail can be seen.

To Chen Ye's right was Yu Ji Dao Ren, the leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect. To his left was Wu Yun Zhen Ren, the leader of the Yunlu Immortal Sect.

With the successive demise of the Incense Burning Sect and the Mirage Sect, only three of the original five major sects remain, and with the Yellow Springs Sect included, there are only four.

Besides these three major sect leaders, there were dozens or even hundreds of other figures scattered around, some being leaders of various unorthodox sects, and others being reclusive masters cultivating in seclusion.

In recent days, to prevent the newly ascended Demon Lord Fei Lian from defeating them one by one, the righteous sects have spared no expense. Countless rare and precious materials have been consumed like flowing water to spread this communication array network throughout the world. Even those minor sects that used to mind their own business, and even the "Hundred Seas Valley," a gathering place for all sorts of rogue cultivators, have not been overlooked.

In addition, an array capable of tearing through the void and teleporting instantly, just like a cultivator in the Void Returning Realm, has been set up. No matter which side is attacked, other sects can provide immediate support.

But people are not as good as heaven.

Who would have thought that the Flying Demon Lord, whom the righteous path guarded so closely, was actually hiding inside the Ruins of Return?

"Gentlemen," Chen Ye's voice rang out, steady yet resounding like a great bell, echoing throughout the hall, "News has arrived from Tianxin Island. Demon Lord Feilian has confirmed his presence in Guixu, and is continuously subduing the sea beasts within, attempting to open the gate to the depths of Guixu and release the true immortals within..."

Chen Ye said he didn't know, but he knew in his heart that Fei Lian had probably been tricked by You Luo Zi.

Fei Lian has just advanced to the Dao Integration Realm and is now the number one person in the world. Why would he go to Guixu to take risks?

Chen Ye guessed that Youluozi must have tricked Feilian into the Guixu, and then somehow opened the barrier of the Guixu and imprisoned Feilian inside.

In reality, it was forcing Feilian to fight the black dog to the death, and forcing him to open the gate deep within the Ruins of Return.

However, it was not appropriate to go into too much detail about this matter. Chen Ye could only tell everyone about the black dog deep within the Ruins and the prisoners of the Ruins.

Whether Fei Lian was forced to open the door or did so voluntarily is irrelevant.

Now all we need to do is figure out a way to deal with it.

The major sects had already received news from Chen Ye and knew the situation inside Guixu, so they only had solemn expressions and were not very surprised.

However, most of the sect leaders and independent cultivators in the hall were hearing about this for the first time.

In an instant, the whispers inside the hall turned into a buzzing sound, and divine thoughts surged and intertwined in the air.

"A black guard dog? A true immortal imprisoned?"

"Can immortals really stay in the mortal realm? Then why must those predecessors ascend to heaven after achieving enlightenment?"

……

In everyone's mind, the Dao Integration Realm is the highest realm for mortals.

A thousand years ago, the Eighteen Demon Lords, who dominated an era, were only at the Dao Integration Realm. Now, Chen Ye claims that a True Immortal is trapped deep in the sea, which is so shocking that many people are skeptical.

Finally, a figure stood up, bowed to Chen Ye from afar, and said, "Sect Master Chen, it is not that I have doubts, but this matter is truly shocking. I wonder... is there any concrete evidence?"

The speaker was none other than Master Shan Heng, the leader of the Hundred Seas Valley Loose Cultivator Alliance. Although his cultivation was not top-tier, he was adept at social maneuvering and held immense prestige among the loose cultivators.

Chen Ye recognized him.

Back when he was fighting against the disciples of the Mirage Sect in Hundred Seas Valley, it was this Master Shanheng who stepped forward to advise him, reminding him that "even if you win now, you will lose sooner or later."

This wasn't meant to be biased; after all, the Mirage Sect was powerful at the time, and Chen Ye, a mere rogue cultivator, dared not offend such a prestigious sect.

However, no one expected that the young man who once had to be subservient to others in Hundred Seas Valley could now stand on equal footing with righteous leaders like Yu Ji and Wu Yun... No, not just on equal footing, judging from the scene before them, it was clear that Chen Ye was the leader, and the Yellow Springs Sect Master was the true leader of the righteous path.

Meanwhile, the Mirage Sect, which had once wagered against him, had long since been defeated and relegated to second-rate status.

Thinking of this, Master Shanheng sighed deeply, thinking to himself that if he had known this boy was a true dragon, he should have bet his entire fortune on him back then.

His words addressed the deepest question in the minds of everyone present.

Are there truly immortals in this world?
Chen Ye knew that Master Shanheng was not trying to make things difficult, so he did not get angry. He slowly explained, "I have not seen the prisoners in Guixu with my own eyes, so I cannot guarantee their specific identities or supernatural powers to you all."

Chen Ye paused suddenly, then said seriously, "But I have seen the black dog that guards the Gate of Return to Nothingness. It was just a wisp of remnant spirit, but even the Azure Dragon Lord was nothing more than an ant in front of that black dog."

These words struck like a thunderbolt, resounding in everyone's hearts.

Chen Ye continued, "Everyone believes that the Azure Dragon Lord died at my hands, but that is not the case. What I did was merely to join forces with Youluozi to force him into a dead end. The Azure Dragon, at the Returning Void Realm, was powerless to fight back. Now, Feilian is already a Dao Integration Venerable, yet he is still trapped in the Ruins of Return and cannot escape... Think about it carefully, and you will see that the Ruins of Return is no ordinary place, and those imprisoned there are certainly not ordinary people."

Then, Chen Ye recounted in detail how he plotted to hunt down the Azure Dragon Lord.

The details are all very plausible and not fabricated out of thin air.

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

The previous clamor completely disappeared, and everyone was shocked by the truth.

If that's the case, once Feilian opens the Gate of Return to the Void, the lives of everyone present will be in the hands of that Void Prisoner. Mortals are mortals after all; how can they possibly contend with true immortals?

Master Shanheng asked, "Sect Leader Chen, in your opinion, how should we respond?"

Chen Ye said to everyone, "I have never seen a true immortal, nor do I know if Fei Lian can deal with that black guard dog, but it's always good to be prepared. Before, we didn't know where Fei Lian was, so we could only use formations to connect key locations all over the world. Now that we know Fei Lian is in Gui Xu, why don't we make preparations sooner?"

Upon hearing this, Master Wuyun stroked his long beard and replied, "Does Sect Leader Chen mean that we should set up an array outside Guixu and wait for them to come to us?"

Chen Ye nodded; this was the only way now.

Whether Fei Lian will succeed or not, no one knows, but regardless of whether he succeeds or fails, it's always good to be prepared in advance.

By uniting the power of cultivators across the land, we must prepare a grand formation outside the Ruins of Return to seal it off, ensuring that Fei Lian and the one within the Ruins of Return are both suppressed within it.

The Five Elements Master sighed, "That's probably not an easy task."

Chen Ye addressed the crowd, saying, "I know this is an incredibly difficult task, but it is a matter of life and death. I would like to ask for your full assistance."

(End of this chapter)