While the crowd was still buzzing with discussion, another group of people came flying toward Panlong Mountain in a grand procession.
When these figures appeared at the foot of Panlong Mountain, they instantly caused an uproar.
Because these people were none other than the various hall masters, elders, and others from the over fifty Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls under the Blackhearted Lord, Zhou Taihe. They numbered a full thousand or more.
If one were to ask, in the current era within the Yanluo Kingdom, which major power had the greatest influence and which was the strongest?
Many would say it was neither the Taiji Sect, which claimed to be Yanluo's number one sect, nor the Nandou Sect, which had the support of the Immortal Dynasty. It was the Crimson-Letter Sect under the Blackhearted Lord, Zhou Taihe.
If comparing heritage and legacy, the Crimson-Letter Sect under the Blackhearted Lord might not be able to hold a candle to the Taiji and Nandou Sects.
But if comparing Heavenly Geniuses blessed by Fortune, not to mention the severely depleted Taiji Sect, even the Nandou Sect, with its abundance of geniuses, could not compare to the Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls under the Blackhearted Lord.
The Nandou Sect had, at most, a little over a hundred Heavenly Geniuses blessed by Fortune. The Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls under the Blackhearted Lord had over two hundred.
The Nandou Sect had prodigies like Guan Jin and Guan Yu, who possessed Lesser Mandates and Lesser Edicts.
The Crimson-Letter Sect under the Blackhearted Lord had them too.
Let's not mention Zhou Ting, whose Lesser Mandate was taken for now.
Besides Zhou Ting, Zhou Taihe's other grandson, Zhou Yan, was also a bearer of a Lesser Edict from the Great Nature.
Was that all?
No.
Far from it.
Because under the Blackhearted Lord, those possessing Lesser Mandates were not limited to Zhou Ting, and those possessing Lesser Edicts from the Great Nature were not limited to Zhou Yan. Besides those two, there were two others with Lesser Mandates: Wen Cheng and Wu De.
However.
If one were to ask, under the Blackhearted Lord Zhou Taihe, who had the greatest Fortune?
Who possessed the most profound Fortune?
It was neither Zhou Yan nor Zhou Ting, nor Wen Cheng and Wu De.
It was Zhou Taihe's personal disciple, Dongfang Jian.
Rumors said that Dongfang Jian possessed both a Lesser Mandate and a Lesser Edict of the Immortal Path. Furthermore, it was said his Natural Colored Spirit Fortune was incredibly powerful.
However.
Very few had ever seen Dongfang Jian.
Like Zhou Taihe, he was elusive—often heard of but rarely seen.
One Dongfang Jian, one Zhou Yan, plus Wen Cheng, Wu De, and over two hundred Heavenly Geniuses blessed by Fortune.
Looking across the entire Yanluo Kingdom, whether among the Four Great Families or the Seven Great Sects, no one could compare.
Not only were they unmatched in terms of Heavenly Geniuses, but the number of experts within their ranks also far surpassed others.
It was rumored that behind the Blackhearted Lord stood experts from the Immortal Dynasty's royal family, who bestowed unique immortal elixirs and wondrous medicines. These not only allowed many senior members of the Crimson-Letter Sect, whose cultivation had long stagnated, to successfully break through, but over the years, the Blackhearted Lord had also used these elixirs to recruit many experts.
Everyone had originally thought that no matter how skilled the Blackhearted Lord's methods were, the number of experts he could recruit would always be limited.
Until today.
Until this moment when over a thousand of the Blackhearted Lord's subordinates appeared at the foot of Panlong Mountain. Only then did everyone realize they were wrong and had underestimated the Blackhearted Lord's capabilities.
Among this thousand-strong force, there were over eight hundred with Earth Immortal cultivation, and nearly a hundred Wandering Immortals.
Over eight hundred Earth Immortals!
A hundred Wandering Immortals!
What kind of concept was this?
One must know that the Nandou Sect, with the support of the Immortal Dynasty, had only a little over two hundred Earth Immortals and just over twenty Wandering Immortals to this day.
The Taiji Sect, with a hundred-thousand-year legacy, had only cultivated five to six hundred Earth Immortals. Even including their Inner-Council Ancestral Patriarchs, they had only thirty to forty Wandering Immortals.
Now.
Under the Blackhearted Lord, there were eight hundred Earth Immortals and over a hundred Wandering Immortals—more than the Nandou and Taiji Sects combined.
This truly left everyone present utterly astounded and pale with shock.
Especially those hundred-plus Wandering Immortals. Each was at the fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh tribulation level, with fierce and menacing appearances that clearly marked them as no benevolent lot. Some among them carried a distinct aura of bloodlust and demonic evil.
What was even more jaw-dropping was that among these hundred-plus Wandering Immortals, there were over a dozen nine-tribulation Wandering Immortals.
A nine-tribulation Wandering Immortal was an existence comparable to a True Immortal.
The Nandou Sect had only two. The Taiji Sect had only four. Among the other Four Great Families and Five Great Sects, some had only one nine-tribulation Wandering Immortal, some had none at all.
Over a dozen nine-tribulation Wandering Immortals.
A hundred-plus multi-tribulation Wandering Immortals.
Over two hundred Heavenly Geniuses blessed by Fortune.
Eight hundred ancient Earth Immortals.
Such a lineup was absolutely unrivaled within the Yanluo Kingdom. Not only were the Four Great Families and Seven Great Sects no match, but even the Yanluo royal family probably couldn't compare.
Because everyone knew that what truly commanded awe under the Blackhearted Lord was neither these hundred-plus Wandering Immortals, nor the eight hundred ancient Earth Immortals, nor even those Heavenly Geniuses with Mandates and Edicts. It was the Chixiao veterans who possessed the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephant.
Right now, standing in the arena were a full hundred Chixiao veterans, all of whom were the various banner masters, incense masters, and hall masters who had followed the Chixiao Monarch in his southern campaigns and northern battles back in the day. Each had illustrious military achievements, each possessed formidable strength.
Don't be fooled by the fact that these Chixiao veterans only had Earth Immortal cultivation. Relying on the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephant, they had slain even true Immortals back in their day, so why would they fear Wandering Immortals?
Moreover, among these hundred-plus Chixiao veterans, not all were at the Earth Immortal level. There were also six or seven Wandering Immortals among them.
Chixiao veterans with Earth Immortal cultivation were already terrifying. The strength of Chixiao veterans with Wandering Immortal cultivation was unimaginably fearsome.
Madness!
Sheer madness!
First, the various sect masters, elders, and even Inner-Council Ancestral Patriarchs of the Four Great Families and Seven Great Sects had all turned out in full force. Now, the Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls under the Blackhearted Lord had also almost completely emptied their halls. It seemed even the ever-elusive Blackhearted Lord himself had made an appearance.
That was probably the Blackhearted Lord, Zhou Taihe.
No one knew for sure.
Very few had seen him, only hearing others in the arena say it was him.
He was a middle-aged man who appeared deep and imposing. Just by walking, everyone could sense the powerful aura emanating from him—and it was a sacred, immortal aura at that.
That's right!
It was an immortal aura.
Not only was it not turbid, it was exceptionally pure.
Was this a True Immortal?
Only a True Immortal possessed such a sacred and pure immortal aura!
!!
Although many in the arena had never seen the Blackhearted Lord, they had heard that he failed his tribulation in the past, achieving only Wandering Immortal status. He had already been a nine-tribulation Wandering Immortal back in the ancient era. As for how many immortal tribulations he had weathered by now, no one knew.
The path of a Wandering Immortal was one of no return. No matter how many immortal tribulations one weathered, one remained a Wandering Immortal. Even weathering a hundred, or a thousand tribulations, one was still a Wandering Immortal, fundamentally unable to achieve True Immortal status.
But...
The Blackhearted Lord was clearly a Wandering Immortal. How could the immortal aura on his body be so sacred and pure?
The reason a True Immortal was a True Immortal was because, having weathered the immortal tribulation, both body and soul were purified, and the immortal essence they nurtured was supremely sacred. The difference between a Wandering Immortal and a True Immortal could be distinguished at a glance, like black and white—the feeling they gave was completely different. One was sacred and pure, the other turbid and murky. They could not overlap, nor be conflated.
If that was the case, how had the Blackhearted Lord become a True Immortal?
Could it be that the rumors about the Blackhearted Lord failing his tribulation in ancient times were false?
Had he actually succeeded?
That seemed unlikely. There were many Chixiao veterans in the Chixiao Sect back then, and quite a few had personally witnessed the Blackhearted Lord fail his tribulation and become a Wandering Immortal.
If that wasn't it, then had the Blackhearted Lord obtained some heaven-defying Fortune, allowing him to achieve True Immortal status after being a Wandering Immortal?
That was even more impossible, completely contrary to the laws of heaven and earth.
Just how the Blackhearted Lord had progressed from Wandering Immortal to True Immortal, no one knew. Everyone found it utterly inconceivable.