I run a casino in the immortal realm.

"Boom—"

Just as Ye Tianqiong left, a deafening rumble of thunder echoed in the sky.

This was no ordinary thunder; it exploded directly in everyone's mind. Wang Changsheng groaned, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, the purple vortex plunged downwards.

The first wave of spiritual energy surged down like a flood bursting its banks.

Zheng Yifei felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, as if a towering mountain had pressed down on his shoulders. Violent spiritual energy poured into his meridians through his pores and acupoints, irrationally.

"Guard your mind! Circulate your energy!"

Zheng Yifei gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words.

The five golden cores within his body began to spin wildly, with the spiritual energy of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—forming a perfect closed loop, desperately digesting the external spiritual energy surging into his body.

Su Wanqing's face was deathly pale, but her eyes were unusually firm. She quickly formed hand seals, guiding spiritual energy to cleanse her meridians.

Zhao Ling, Li Jianfeng, and Wang Changsheng also gritted their teeth and entered a deep state of cultivation.

Forty-nine days of hellish torture began.

at the same time.

Tens of thousands of miles away, at the Xuantian Sect, Qingfeng Cliff.

The night breeze was slightly cool, carrying a hint of the desolation of late autumn.

Elder Qin Cang stood alone on the cliff top, his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the western night sky.

As a great cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, his perception of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was extremely keen. He had sensed something was wrong half an hour ago.

The spiritual energy of the Southern Wilderness is converging towards the Heavenly Demon Sect in an extremely slow but irreversible manner.

This flow was extremely subtle; even ordinary Golden Core cultivators or those in the early Nascent Soul stage might not be able to detect it. However, in Qin Cang's perception, it was as if a giant funnel had appeared above the Heavenly Demon Sect, frantically devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of tens of thousands of miles.

The once brilliant starlight in the sky dimmed in the western region, replaced by a chilling dark purple halo.

"A spiritual energy fluctuation of this scale..."

Qin Cang's pupils contracted sharply, and the two dark gold walnuts he was holding were instantly crushed into powder.

He considered an extremely terrifying possibility.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Cang's figure blurred, transforming into a streak of light, and rushed directly towards a hidden canyon behind Qingfeng Cliff.

This is an absolute forbidden area of ​​the Xuantian Sect, and even powerful elders like Zhou Hong are not qualified to set foot here.

At the end of the canyon stands a heavy bronze gate, covered with intricate sealing patterns.

Qin Cang landed in front of the bronze gate, just about to bow and transmit his voice.

"Bang!"

A loud bang.

The bronze gate, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms, suddenly exploded from the inside, and shattered bronze fragments flew outwards with a terrifying whistling sound.

Qin Cang was shocked and immediately raised his protective qi to block the fragments.

As the smoke and dust cleared, a figure slowly emerged from the dark cave.

He was an extremely old-looking man. He wore a faded coarse cloth robe, his hair and beard were all white, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

But when he raised his head, his eyes seemed to contain the endless cycle of star birth and death, exuding a terrifying pressure that surpassed all living beings.

The sect leader of the Xuantian Sect, Murong Hao.

Both had been in seclusion for many years, reaching the half-step Nascent Soul stage, and were considered the number one righteous cultivator in the Southern Wilderness.

"metropolitan!"

Qin Cang immediately knelt on one knee, his voice tinged with fear: "Why did you leave seclusion ahead of schedule?"

Murong Hao didn't look at Qin Cang, but instead raised his head, his gaze passing over the mountains and looking directly in the direction of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

His usually calm and composed face was now filled with undisguised frustration and resentment.

"He got there first."

Murong Hao's voice was hoarse, like two rough stones rubbing against each other.

Qin Cang's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. His worst fears had been confirmed.

"Sect Master, is it really Ouyang Tian? He... he's attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?"

Qin Cang's voice was trembling.

"Besides the Nascent Soul Tribulation, what else could trigger such a large-scale surge of spiritual energy?"

Murong Hao let out a long sigh, a sigh that contained a multitude of complex emotions: jealousy, relief, and a touch of respect.

"How is this possible!"

Qin Cang abruptly stood up, his face deathly pale: "Ouyang Tian's talent is no better than yours, and the Heavenly Demon Sect's foundation is not as strong as our Xuan Tian Sect's. How could he possibly reach the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage first!"

Murong Hao shook his head: "The Nascent Soul stage doesn't rely on aptitude or resources; it's about comprehending the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth."

Ouyang Tianxiu cultivates the demonic path of slaughter, emphasizing a do-or-die mentality and living towards death.

Over the past thirty years, he has pushed himself to the brink of despair, finally seizing a glimmer of opportunity on the edge of life and death.

"But I cultivate the Supreme Detachment of Emotions, and ultimately my mind was still hampered by the complexities of the sect, making me a step behind."

Qin Cang couldn't listen to any of these insights about the Great Dao; he only had one thought in his mind: the Xuan Tian Sect was finished.

"metropolitan!"

Qin Cang said urgently, "Once Ouyang Tian successfully transcends his tribulation and becomes a Nascent Soul cultivator, no one in the Southern Wilderness will be his match! Given the deep-seated hatred between the Heavenly Demon Sect and us, the first thing he will do upon emerging from seclusion will undoubtedly be to raze Qingfeng Cliff to the ground and destroy the lineage of my Xuantian Sect!"

For a Nascent Soul cultivator, facing a Nascent Soul cultivator is like a dimensional reduction attack. Even if the Xuan Tian Sect has a sect-protecting formation and tens of thousands of disciples, they are no different from paper in the face of the Nascent Soul cultivator's power of laws.

Despite Qin Cang's panic, Murong Hao remained unusually calm.

He turned his head, looked at Qin Cang, and said calmly, "You're overthinking it. Even if Ouyang Tian succeeds in reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he won't attack the Xuan Tian Sect."

Qin Cang was stunned: "Why? Demonic cultivators are known for their vengefulness; how could he possibly let us go?"

"Because of cause and effect."

Murong Hao turned around, looking at the withered leaves falling in the wind outside the cave, and said in a distant voice: "Qin Cang, you have been stuck at the late Nascent Soul stage for too long, so you don't understand what it means to become a Deity Transformation. Becoming a Deity Transformation is not only a transformation of power, but also a leap in the level of life."

To take that step, one must comprehend the rules of the universe, and among these myriad rules, 'cause and effect' is the most fundamental, yet also the most fatal.

Qin Cang frowned and listened carefully.

"Mortals who kill pay with their lives; cultivators who kill incur karmic hindrance. Upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, this karmic hindrance manifests as threads of cause and effect, tightly binding the primordial spirit."

Murong Hao explained, "If Ouyang Tian, ​​as a Nascent Soul cultivator, were to attack us Nascent Soul cultivators or lower-level disciples without cause, that would be bullying the weak and violating the balance of the Heavenly Dao. The more people he kills, the heavier the karmic consequences he will incur."

Murong Hao looked at the purple vortex in the direction of the Heavenly Demon Sect: "Therefore, once Ouyang Tian successfully transforms into a Nascent Soul, he will not only not attack the Xuan Tian Sect, but will also immediately sever all ties with the Southern Wilderness Region."

He will leave this place, cross the endless sea, and head to the Eastern Continent, where the spiritual energy is more abundant and the laws are more perfect, to pursue a higher realm.

For the sake of a mere Xuantian Sect, leaving behind karmic obstacles to the Great Dao—a shrewd and ambitious figure like Ouyang Tian wouldn't do something so foolish.

Hearing this, Qin Cang let out a long sigh of relief, and the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally settled back into his stomach.