Chapter 699

At the highest point of Qingyun Sacred Mountain stood the grand hall.

While the Sect Master of the Sacred Sect was in seclusion cultivating, he constantly monitored the situation outside the mountain.

Lin Yuan had told him that the Eternal Envoys would arrive soon.

Naturally, the Sacred Sect Master fully trusted Lin Yuan’s words.

So he was already prepared to welcome the Eternal Envoys at any moment.

Although with Lin Yuan’s protection, the Sect Master no longer placed much value on the help of the Eternal Envoys, behind them stood the Eternal Sects, backed by the Eternal Lords.

Naturally, they could not be underestimated.

"I wonder what Senior wants to discuss with the Eternal Envoys?"

The Sacred Sect Master was quite curious.

Lin Yuan had said that once the Eternal Envoys arrived, he should inform him.

Which meant that Lin Yuan intended to speak with them.

"Guess I’ll wait."

The Sacred Sect Master gazed out toward the center of the heavens and earth, patiently awaiting the arrival of the Eternal Envoys.

What the Sacred Sect Master didn’t know was—

The Eternal Envoys he was waiting for had already been completely taken away by Lin Yuan without any resistance.

Those who could intimidate entire Sacred Sects and even Supreme Sacred Sects—these Eternal Envoys—were like ants before Lin Yuan.

Deep within Qingyun Courtryard—

The silver-eyed man and the other two Eternal Envoys stared warily at Lin Yuan, who sat cross-legged nearby.

Their true bodies, which had been outside Qingyun Sacred Mountain, were taken here without the slightest struggle. This made the silver-eyed man realize—the young man before them was far beyond anything he could handle.

As a third-realm Freedom-level expert, even if he couldn’t match an Eternal Son, he shouldn’t be this powerless before one.

But Lin Yuan gave them the feeling of a Source Demon.

If it weren’t for the complete absence of demonic aura on him, the three Eternal Envoys would have believed they had encountered an exceptionally powerful Source Demon.

Source Demons were second only to Demon Gods. Among them, there were also levels—strong Source Demons could shake the foundations of Eternal Sects.

“What is it you want from us?”

After a moment, the silver-eyed man forced himself to speak.

From the brief confrontation, he drew a few conclusions.

For example, the young man before them didn’t seem to harbor any killing intent.

Otherwise, if he could snatch them all so easily, he could just as easily destroy them.

So now, the silver-eyed man kept his tone low, dropping all pretense of the Eternal Envoy’s usual pride.

“I want to discuss a trade with your Eternal Sects.”

Lin Yuan spoke with a smile.

He had long wanted to make contact with the Eternal Sects.

It was only because the center of the world was guarded by Demon Gods that he hadn’t approached.

Now that the Eternal Envoys had come to him, he figured he might as well talk.

“Trade with the Sects?”

The silver-eyed man looked at Lin Yuan.

To start a conversation by proposing a trade with the Eternal Sects—this was incredibly arrogant.

What kind of existence were the Eternal Sects? Even now, during the calamity of ‘Demons’, they remained supreme, with contingency plans left by the Eternal Lords themselves, enough to keep even the most powerful Demon Gods at bay.

But thinking of how easily Lin Yuan had brought the three of them here, the silver-eyed man dared not speak rashly.

“What kind of trade?” he asked in a deep voice.

“I want all the rune inheritances of the Eternal Sects—including those created by the Eternal Lords—as well as all intelligence on the ‘Demons’, especially that Demon God.”

Lin Yuan said it outright.

So far, he had only acquired the rune inheritances left by two Eternal Lords.

To be precise—only one.

From the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, he had obtained just a single rune.

As for the inheritance left by the Lord of Wu Shan, he had obtained it all. But precisely because of that, Lin Yuan was even more eager for the other Eternal Lords’ rune inheritances— especially that of the Lord of Heavenly Radiance.

That Eternal Lord’s understanding of runes amazed even Lin Yuan.

He wanted to delve deeper.

“All rune inheritances?”

The silver-eyed man took a deep breath.

After the ‘Demon Calamity’ began, the Eternal Sects had lowered the threshold for acquiring their rune inheritances.

Even so, ordinary disciples still had to pay a price to study the deeper ones.

Especially the core rune inheritances—only Eternal Sons could access those.

And now Lin Yuan was asking for all of them?

“I’m not authorized to make that decision.” the silver-eyed man immediately replied.

The two other Eternal Envoys behind him nodded as well.

They were merely Envoys—not even Eternal Sons—so they couldn’t represent their Sects.

“I know.”

Lin Yuan looked at the three and said calmly, “So contact your Sect Master directly. Let him speak with me.”

As soon as he said this, the silver-eyed man’s expression shifted in shock.

He could indeed contact the Sect Master directly—but how did Lin Yuan know that?

What he didn’t realize was, after fully refining the green communication rune, Lin Yuan had gained the same "top-level authority" as an Eternal Lord. He understood all its functions.

One of which included contacting the Sect Master.

If he hadn’t been worried about startling them, Lin Yuan would’ve reached out to the Eternal Sect Master himself.

“Alright.”

After a moment of hesitation, the silver-eyed man nodded.

Lin Yuan’s strength was beyond comprehension, almost as oppressive as a Source Demon.

Such a powerful cultivator definitely warranted reporting to the Sect Master.

After a brief pause, the silver-eyed man took out the green rune.

He activated it with a flick of his hand.

In an instant, the rune trembled slightly.

Countless micro-runes inside activated, transmitting through an unseen connection straight toward the center of the heavens and earth.

At the center of the world—in a hidden realm—lay the stronghold of the Eternal Sects.

Ever since the Eternal Lords discovered the ‘Demon Calamity’, they had made many preparations, including merging their Sects’ headquarters.

Only by uniting their strength could they resist the ‘Demon’ threat.

As it turned out, this was the right choice.

Had they not merged in time, when the Demon Calamity broke out and the Demon God acted, a tide of Source Demons would have overrun them. Even if not all the Sects were destroyed, at least one or two would have fallen.

Without the Eternal Lords’ direct involvement—even with the protection of various thirteenth-rank techniques and weapons—individual Eternal Sects would struggle to fend off the Source Demons.

Thirteenth-rank weapons only reached full power in the hands of an Eternal Lord. Cultivators beneath that level could not unleash their full might.

“Lately, the Source Demons have been making more frequent moves. I can feel it—the Demon God is getting stronger,” said an ancient-looking man seated deep within the hidden world.

This was the Sect Master of the Eternal Immeasurable Sect—the most powerful cultivator of one of the Eternal Sects. But right now, his expression was heavy.

“If worst comes to worst, we fight the ‘Demons’ head-on. I don’t believe that even if we unleash all our Sects’ foundations, we still can’t destroy those Source Demons,” said another figure angrily.

“If we use everything we have, sure, we can wipe them out. But what then? Once the foundations are spent, they’re gone. But Source Demons—once slain—will just come back. What then?”

“Exactly. As long as the demonic aura exists, the ‘Demons’ are immortal.”

One by one, the figures spoke. They were filled with frustration. As top leaders of the Eternal Sects, how glorious had they once been? And now, they were forced into hiding.

“To clear the Demon Calamity, we have to suppress the Demon God. But to suppress the Demon God, just us alone…”

Another Sect Master spoke. They all knew the Demon God’s strength. Without the Eternal Lords, they had no way of dealing with him.

And the Eternal Lords could not interfere.

A deadlock.

Unless a new Eternal Lord emerged, this situation couldn’t be reversed.

But Eternal Lords weren’t born easily—especially now that demonic aura filled the world, making cultivation significantly harder.

The hope of a new Eternal Lord was even more distant.

Just then—

The Eternal Immeasurable Sect Master’s expression changed slightly.

He raised his right hand. A golden rune appeared.

After thinking for a moment, he looked around and said, “Everyone, there’s something I need to report.”

He briefly explained.

“What? At the edge of the world, a cultivator was born with power equal to a Source Demon?”

“He wants to make a deal with us? Asking for all rune inheritances, including those created by the Eternal Lords?”

“That’s insane. Those are our foundations. How could we just hand them over?”

“Also, a cultivator who can rival a Source Demon? Is that even possible?”

The figures conversed rapidly. Most of them doubted Lin Yuan’s strength.

Rivaling a Source Demon?

Source Demons were more powerful than even Eternal Sons.

How could someone outside the Eternal Sects match that?

“The intel seems solid.”

“The cultivator’s power shouldn’t be far off.”

The Sect Master of the Eternal Immeasurable Sect spoke after a while with certainty.

The silver-eyed man was his disciple. He knew him well—he wouldn’t exaggerate.

Since he confirmed Lin Yuan’s power surpassed that of an Eternal Son, and possibly rivaled a Source Demon, it couldn’t be far off.

“The intel is solid?”

The many figures exchanged glances.

Was such a powerful being really born outside the Eternal Sects?

“Actually, it’s not that surprising,”

the Sect Master of Eternal Immeasurable Sect said. “Before the great upheaval, the Eternal Lords prepared many contingencies. One of them was placing access to their inheritances in various corners of the world.”

Upon hearing this—

The figures immediately understood.

Indeed.

To fight the Demon Calamity, relying solely on the Eternal Sects wasn’t enough.

They needed the strength of all cultivators in this world.

That’s why the inheritances had been spread.

“If this cultivator is really that strong, a trade isn’t out of the question.”

One Sect Master spoke. The rune inheritances were indeed precious.

But if no one inherited them, they were meaningless.

“What do you all think?”

The Sect Master of Eternal Immeasurable Sect looked around.

Lin Yuan wanted rune inheritances from all Eternal Sects.

So all Sect Masters needed to agree.

“No problem.”

“But I want to see what he’s offering in return for our core legacies.”

Several Sect Masters nodded.

“Then let’s speak to him directly.”

The Sect Master of Eternal Immeasurable Sect looked at the golden rune.

Then waved his hand.

The rune trembled— and projected an image.

It was the depths of Qingyun Courtryard.

Back there—

After contacting his Sect Master, the silver-eyed man stood obediently, waiting for a reply.

Lin Yuan wasn’t in a hurry.

He knew the Eternal Sects wouldn’t agree to such a deal lightly.

Before long, the green communication rune in front of the silver-eyed man began to tremble.

An image appeared.

It was the secret world where the Eternal Sects’ headquarters now resided.

“Master.”

The silver-eyed man and the two other Envoys immediately bowed.

“You’re the one who wants to trade with the Eternal Sects?”

The Sect Master of Eternal Immeasurable Sect looked at Lin Yuan through the rune projection.

“Yes.”

Lin Yuan smiled at the figures in the image.

“If this is a trade, what can you offer?” the Sect Master asked directly.

The implication: the demands could be met—if the price was right.

“I can help you deal with some Source Demons.”

Lin Yuan smiled.

The center of the world was swarming with Source Demons— and they were putting immense pressure on the Eternal Sects.

Even without the trade, Lin Yuan had already planned to act against them.

Now that he was developing his own particle world, killing Great Demons and Giant Demons wasn’t enough.

To expand his world faster, he had to try killing Source Demons.

“Deal with some Source Demons?”

The Sect Master stared at him.

So did the others.

“Your strength is enough to deal with Source Demons? Some of them?”

According to the silver-eyed man, Lin Yuan’s strength rivaled a Source Demon.

But that didn’t mean he could handle them.

Source Demons were immortal. Cultivators could still be wounded, could still be corrupted by demonic aura.

Even if you matched a Source Demon in power, it didn’t mean you could defeat one—let alone multiple.

Was that even possible?

Fighting one to a standstill was already a miracle.

Lin Yuan smiled faintly and gave no explanation.

Instead, he stood up and took a step forward.

Bringing the three Eternal Envoys with him, they instantly appeared in a region filled with demonic aura.

“Where is this?”

The silver-eyed man looked around. He could tell they were nowhere near Qingyun Sacred Mountain.

In fact, they were unimaginably far from it.

In the image formed by the green rune—

The Sect Masters of the Eternal Sects also noticed the change in location.

Then—

Before they could say anything—

They saw Lin Yuan raise his hand. Black and white energies gathered, forming a Yin-Yang longsword.

He casually swung it forward.

Shhh!

Endless demonic aura was ripped apart. Wherever the black-and-white sword light passed, the ‘Demons’ disintegrated without resistance.

Great Demons, Giant Demons—even one terrifying ‘Demon’ at Source Demon level—was reduced to nothing beneath that sword, like ice melting under the sun.

After that single strike, there was no trace of demonic aura or ‘Demons’ left—only sword energy that had annihilated everything.

Lin Yuan extended his left hand. When he withdrew it, a pure mass of demonic aura had formed— the essence condensed from slaying all the ‘Demons’.

He casually absorbed it into his body.

Only then did Lin Yuan glance at the image formed by the green rune.

As if to say:

“Is that enough?”

...

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