"Esteemed Immortal Nobles, we old men did not deliberately refuse to come out to welcome you, nor do we harbor any disrespect towards you, much less do we scorn the dignity of the Immortal Dynasty."
Bei Feng clasped his hands in explanation: "Rather, we have long been accustomed to living in seclusion, detached from worldly affairs. We hope Your Excellencies will not take offense."
As a reincarnated mighty one, a true immortal in his past life, who had cultivated a Nascent Soul Dharma Form in this life and undergone nearly a hundred tribulations, for Bei Feng to adopt such an attitude—clasping his hands in salute and offering apologies—was practically lowering his status, humble to the point of being excessively modest.
However, his humility received no response. From beginning to end, the composed and indifferent Star-Shining Immortal Noble did not even glance at him. Instead, he slowly spoke: "As the Grand Elder of the Immortal Estate, you are its absolute ruler in the absence of the Estate Lord. Although the Guest Elders were notified beforehand, their failure to appear is a dereliction of duty and a neglect of your responsibilities."
Clearly, Star-Shining's words were directed at the Immortal Estate Grand Elder. The Grand Elder, kneeling on the ground, cried out that he knew his crime and begged for forgiveness.
"Since you already know your crime, I will say no more. From now on, you are no longer an Immortal Official of the dynasty, nor are you the Grand Elder of the Immortal Estate. Hand over the five Radiant Seeds on your person and leave of your own accord."
What!
No one had expected Star-Shining Immortal Noble to strip the Grand Elder of his Immortal Official position. The Grand Elder was dumbfounded on the spot.
He was not only the Grand Elder of the Immortal Estate but also a Five-Star Immortal Official enfeoffed by the Immortal Dynasty, possessing five Immortal Protections and five Radiant Seeds within his body. Relying on these five Radiant Seeds bestowed by the dynasty, his cultivation path had been smooth sailing. Whether it was condensing his Golden Core, gestating his Nascent Soul, or forging his Dao-heart, everything proceeded very smoothly without any worries. Even the tribulations that cultivators feared—as long as he had the five Radiant Seeds, he could pass through them safely.
He truly could not imagine what his cultivation path would be like without the five Radiant Seeds. How would he survive the successive tribulations in the future?
Even more terrifying was that, to this day, the five Radiant Seeds had long since fused with his physical body, Nascent Soul, and Dao-heart. If he were to hand over the Radiant Seeds, not only would his cultivation be affected, but even his physical body, Nascent Soul, and Dao-heart would suffer severe damage. Whether he could even survive was an unknown.
How could the Grand Elder accept this?
"Your Excellency, this humble official knows his wrong, he truly knows his wrong! I beg Your Excellency for mercy!"
The Immortal Estate Grand Elder knelt on the ground, kowtowing with loud thuds.
At some point, a Hundred-Tribulation old man conjured a table and chairs. On the table were exquisite tea utensils. The Hundred-Tribulation old man, bowing, carefully brewed tea, while Star-Shining Immortal Noble sat upright on the chair and said softly, "I said to hand over the Radiant Seeds and leave of your own accord. I do not wish to repeat the same words a third time."
The Immortal Estate Grand Elder kowtowed desperately, begging for mercy. He hoped the three Estate Lords would step forward to plead for him, but who would dare?
No one dared. Estate Lord Murong Han had just been slapped by Heroic-Year Immortal Noble for dereliction of duty; how would he dare to step forward to plead for someone else?
"Enough. Let this end here."
Star-Shining Immortal Noble picked up a cup of tea. As he slightly raised his left hand and spread his fingers, holy white light bloomed like layers of flowers. With a *whoosh*, before the Immortal Estate Grand Elder knew what was happening, he found himself inexplicably at Star-Shining Immortal Noble's feet.
Holy white radiance enveloped him. The Grand Elder's body instantly trembled violently, his features contorting.
With a *hum*, a thumb-sized ball of light slowly emerged from the top of his head. The light ball was as dazzling as a star, as if containing sacred power. This object was precisely the Radiant Seed, hailed as the Immortal Protection.
Then, the second, the third... all five Radiant Seeds were extracted. The Immortal Estate Grand Elder collapsed on the ground like a pile of mud, appearing as if he had aged many years in an instant. His originally graying hair fell out in large clumps, his ruddy complexion turned deathly pale, and even his vigorous spirit withered considerably.
From beginning to end, Star-Shining Immortal Noble did not glance at him. He gently sipped his fragrant tea, gazing at the five Radiant Seeds in his palm. Without any visible action, all five Radiant Seeds vanished from his palm.
"Take him away."
As the words fell, Murong Han, understanding the intent, quickly ordered people to carry the Immortal Estate Grand Elder away.
Silence.
Utter silence.
No one in the area dared to speak.
Star-Shining Immortal Noble had extracted the five Radiant Seeds from within the Grand Elder's body with just a lift of his hand. This method sent chills down everyone's spine.
They all clearly knew that the Radiant Seeds had already fused with the Grand Elder's Dantian, Nascent Soul, and Dao-heart. Forcibly extracting them would mean the Grand Elder would either die or be severely injured, with his Nascent Soul and Dao-heart at least suffering heavy damage. What surprised them was that after the Grand Elder's Radiant Seeds were extracted, he not only did not die or suffer severe injuries, but his Nascent Soul and Dao-heart did not sustain much damage either. Only his essence, energy, and spirit had withered considerably.
This method was truly miraculous.
But beyond the miracle lay something more terrifying.
Yes.
Terrifying.
This method was far more frightening than simply obliterating the Grand Elder with a wave of the hand. At the very least, none of the nearly hundred reincarnated mighty ones opposite, including Bei Feng, could guarantee that extracting the Grand Elder's Radiant Seeds would only affect his essence, energy, and spirit.
Precisely because they could not guarantee it, Bei Feng and the other reincarnated individuals opposite realized they had underestimated this Immortal Noble. Not only underestimated, they even felt this young man who had cultivated for barely thirty years was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
"And you all, do you know your crime?"
Star-Shining Immortal Noble's voice was forever that flat, so flat it didn't sound like an accusation but more like casual conversation. Yet, hearing it sent shivers down one's spine.
"This old man knows his crime!"
Bei Feng did not want to cause trouble, much less offend the Immortal Dynasty. He once again clasped his hands in apology: "I hope Lord Star-Shining, considering how difficult cultivation is for us reincarnated individuals, will show lenience this once."
Star-Shining did not respond, only sipping his tea.
His silence left Bei Feng uncertain, and the other reincarnated individuals also had no idea what Star-Shining actually wanted.
At that moment, an arrogant, sharp shout suddenly rang out: "What a bunch of old fools who don't know what's good for them! Since you already know your crime, why aren't you kneeling yet!"
The speaker was none other than Heroic-Year Immortal Noble, who had earlier slapped Murong Han in mid-air. Compared to the composed and indifferent Star-Shining, the overbearing Heroic-Year was like a sharp sword ready to be drawn at any moment. Even the many cultivators kneeling in the immortal domain, tens of thousands of meters away, could feel the blade-like sharpness emanating from him.
As his words carried over, the expressions of Bei Feng and the nearly hundred reincarnated mighty ones turned as ugly as could be.
Priding themselves on their reincarnated status, they hadn't even been willing to come out to welcome the Immortal Officials. How could they possibly kneel before these officials in front of so many people?
To kneel now was not merely a matter of face—it was the dignity of the reincarnated!