While Wu Qi followed the trail of Miao Yihu and his soldiers to the valley tens thousand miles away, the celestial fiend puppet disguised as him was watching an absurd scene going on in the back garden of the City Lord Mansion helplessly.
The back garden was filled with blooming flowers and a carpet of green grass. It was completely veiled behind a layer of Buddhist light, preventing anyone from peeking at what was going on inside. On the other side of the Buddhism light, Lao Ai, who was addicted to playing tricks, had a thirteen-storied golden relic pagoda hovering above his head, a pinkish lotus throne beneath his feet, and a large Wheel of Delight floating behind his head, emitting a vast Buddhist light with numerous lustful scenes being manifested within.
Wu Qi knew from where the thirteen-storied golden relic pagoda came from. It was a Feng Shui Pagoda once placed at the back mountain of Golden Pavilion Temple, a treasure they used to enhance the Feng Shui of that blessed land. When they were raiding Golden Pavilion Temple's storehouse, Lao Ai saw it and snatched it immediately, claiming it as his personal treasure.
The golden pagoda held all the relics of the previous Golden Pavilion Temple's Abbots. A total of over one thousand relics were being mounted on its surface. It was truly an extraordinary treasure for the Buddhist League. However, after being refined by Lao Ai using his Great Sun Technique, the bright light emitted by the pagoda carried an evil force that could enchant people. Currently, a couple dozens of seductive teenage girls were twisting their bodies amidst the bright light, and together with the countless Heavenly Apsaras dancing around the Wheel of Delight, they were putting up a grand show of pure lust and pleasure.
Madman Xue was sitting cross-legged off to a side, quietly exercising his cultivation technique while his soul had already fused into the Wheel of Delight, making out with those Heavenly Apsaras. However, his fleshly body was as tranquil as still water. Meanwhile, the pure Yang energy aroused by his soul was circulating around his body, waking and stimulating his Nine Coiling Dragons Penis, from where new blood and energy was being constantly generated, rolling and flowing rapidly through his meridians. Nourished by them, his fleshly body became stronger, and his mind had become clearer and calmer at the same time.
This was the unique cultivation technique practiced by Lao Ai, and Wu Qi had nothing to comment about it. What troubled him was that his newly recruited disciple, Bajie, was now lying on the naked belly of three teenage girls who were laid shoulder to shoulder on the ground, staring helplessly as the Heavenly Apsaras were dancing and making out around him!
A vast stream of evil aura kept being injected into the area between his brows. A small number of cracks found on his relic had been healed. However, the once clean and smooth relic that used to emit a pure white Buddhist light was now smeared with a layer of pink hue! The poor Bajie still had his memory from the past life. Hence, he kept waving his little arms and legs in panic, wanting to remove himself from the three naked teenage girls and escape from the hell of lust. But, the girls used their fair and tender hands to grab his little arms and legs while they kept fiddling his tiny and fragile body. How could he make the escape?
Under the torment Lao Ai had put him into, the Buddhist nature he brought from the previous life was being gradually dissolved, one bit at a time. Only heaven knew what would be left in his mind at the end!
Wu Qi's incarnation, the celestial fiend puppet, was staring blankly at the absurd scene and could not recover from the shock for a long while. After all, he was just a puppet controlled by a thread of Wu Qi's divine will, and after losing the direct control from Wu Qi, it lacked the ability to cope with the situation. Furthermore, as it was practicing the Celestial Fiend Battle the Heaven Script, which was a cultivation technique from the Fiend League, the divine will in it had become rather cruel and brutal, and did not have too much of kindness left.
After analyzing the situation based on his instinct, the puppet felt that Lao Ai's treatment for Bajie would not cause any harm to Wu Qi himself. Therefore, he paid no heed to the pitiful and appealing glances that Bajie had thrown over at him, then spun and left the garden. "Mm, regardless of the Fiend League, the Buddhist League, the Evil League, they all end up in the same way. In the end, the Buddhist and the Fiend would become one, the Dao and the Evil would be united. The Dao of the Heaven and Earth is there, and no matter which path you choose, you will always reach the same destination!"
The puppet murmured as he walked out of the garden with hands clasped behind back.
Just as he left the garden, a Daoist emerged out of thin air before the puppet. He was clad in a black Daoist robe, a pair of gloves knitted with black Nether Silks, and a black metal mask carved with fine and beautiful patterns on his face. His voice was deep and powerful, filled with a very strong charm, like the voice that came from the hell of nightmares.
"Daoist Greed?" The Daoist asked with a slow and gentle tone.
The puppet raised his head and grumbled with the same slow tone, "How strange, the restrictive formation around the City Lord Mansion is personally deployed by me."
The Daoist laughed. "The formation is ingenious," he said with a nod, "and its structure is very close to perfect. Daoist Greed, your attainment in the field of restrictive formation has won my respect!" With a flip of his palm, a fist-sized shell talisman crafted using the shell of some spirit turtle appeared in his grip. "This is a Restriction Breaking Talisman crafted by a Grandmaster of Formation of Gold Immortal realm. Using it, I can easily traverse any formations except those deployed by a Gold Immortal!"
The puppet asked with surprise, "Breaking through a formation with force? Tsk, a Grandmaster of Formation of Gold Immortal realm, huh?"
The Daoist put away the talisman, placing both hands under his sleeve as he said, "Yes, breaking through the formation with force. I am Bu Yunzi, the messenger from Ascending Immortal Hall of Myriad Immortal Alliance. My duty is to search for and visit any fellow Daoist who has the potential to join us, the Myriad Immortal Alliance. With the current situation you are facing, Daoist Greed, you are a very suitable ally for us. Could I know if fellow Daoist has any interest to join the Wandering Immortal Hall of Myriad Immortal Alliance?"
It was at that moment the puppet sent a message over to Wu Qi. Contrary to the torment which Bajie was going through, the invitation from Myriad Immortal Alliance could have a great influence on Wu Qi. Therefore, based on his instinct, the puppet immediately sent the message.
Almost instantly, Wu Qi's order had arrived. The puppet smiled faintly, cupped his fist, and bowed to the Daoist. "Fellow Daoist, can you please tell me more about this Myriad Immortal Alliance?"
Bu Yunzi agreed with a nod. Using the same slow and gentle tone, he began to explain the background of Myriad Immortal Alliance.
As the name implied, Myriad Immortal Alliance was an unrestrained alliance consisting of many Immortals. Among them, some were itinerant cultivators, some were Immortals from powerful immortal sects, and there were even immortal officials from the Heaven, as well as numerous extraordinary people with various strange abilities. The mission of Myriad Immortal Alliance was to create a platform where all the allies could share their information, exchange resources, and help each other when in need.
All the allies were classified into a few different tiers. According to their contribution to the alliance, be it a spirit herb, an immortal pill, or a valuable information, everything could be exchanged into merit points. Based on the total amount of merit points one had, one could upgrade his tier in the alliance. When the tier reached a sufficient level, they could use the merit points to request help from the rest of the allies, to complete something that they could not accomplish.
And, the Myriad Immortal Alliance had a very powerful latent influence. Not only were there some high-ranking officers from the Heaven hiding among the allies, there were also Ghost Kings and Ghost Saints from the Ghost Domain, the Demon Kings and Demon Emperors from the Demon Domain, and the Arhats and Bodhisattva from the Buddhist League. Some people among the important ministers of Yu Dynasty were closely associated with the Myriad Immortal Alliance as well. Therefore, as long as an ally reached the required tier, as well as owned a sufficient amount of merit points, the ally could trade for almost anything. Once, an ally had managed to assume a high position in the Heaven right after ascending into an Immortal, and even smoothly took over the control of an upper-grade heavenly realm.
The puppet stared at Bu Yunzi with surprise and asked, "There are so many benefits, but are we required to contribute anything?"
Bu Yunzi answered with a faint smile, "Myriad Immortal Alliance is a loose organization. Apart from not allowing to attack fellow allies without any reason, we do not impose other restriction on our allies. Any exchanges between fellow allies will bring you merit points. For example, when you, Daoist Greed, found a spirit herb, you can hand it to the merchant run by Myriad Immortal Alliance and let us auction it for you. A fee would be taken from the sales of the item, and it will also be calculated as your merit points."
He laughed, then continued the explanation, "Also, every now and then, the alliance will issue various missions, such as gathering materials, fishing for information, or some other similar tasks. As long as fellow Daoist can complete these missions, you will be given a huge amount of merit points. All for one and one for all, this is the core objective of Myriad Immortal Alliance!"
All for one and one for all? The puppet grinned and asked bluntly, "May I know who the Leader of Myriad Immortal Alliance is?"
Bu Yunzi became silent suddenly. At last, he nodded and said, "Daoist Greed is indeed a man with deep insight. As for who is the Leader of Myriad Immortal Alliance, I do not know. Nevertheless, he or she must be an almighty expert. Apart from the Leader, we also have a Council of Elders, whose members are all eminent people. They are the foundation of the Myriad Immortal Alliance."
After a brief moment of pondering, the puppet asked in a deep voice, "What brought you to me?"
Bu Yunzi answered in a blunt fashion, "Because fellow Daoist Greed is in trouble now, aren't you? Myriad Immortal Alliance will never invite a random cultivator to join us. Firstly, he has to have potential, and secondly, he should need Myriad Immortal Alliance's help. Once the two conditions are met, the messenger from Ascending Immortal Hall will pay him a visit and send out the invitation."
The puppet laughed dryly, pointing at his nose as he asked, "Could it be said that Myriad Immortal Alliance thinks that I have potential?"
Bu Yunzi answered with a nod, "Currently, the region one million miles around An He City is Euphoria Heavenly Palace's territory, and this is your potential."
"But, the person who holds power in Euphoria Heavenly Palace is Reverend San Le!" The puppet said.
Bu Yunzi chuckled. "Why do you utter such things? Hehe, is Reverend San Le really the person who holds power in Euphoria Heavenly Palace?"
The puppet took a deep breath and said with a bitter smile, "It seems like you are very well-informed."
Bu Yunzi nodded seriously and said, "Naturally, Ascending Immortal Hall has allies helping us gather and analyze information. An He City is an excellent property, while Euphoria Heavenly Palace and Golden Pavilion Temple were in a hot dispute. How could we not pay extra attention here?"
The puppet sunk into a deep silence. At last, he said with a smile, "If I kill Reverend San Le and replace him, I wonder..."
Bu Yunzi laughed. "Myriad Immortal Alliance comprises of people from all walks of life, including demons, fiends, ghosts, evils, deities, saints, immortals, buddhas. As long as fellow allies do not fight against each other, we don't care what they do, as that is not our business."
Clapping his hands, the puppet said, "That couldn't be better. It looks like there is no way for me to say no to join the Myriad Immortal Alliance!"
Bu Yunzi burst into a loud laughter. Casually, he passed a rounded iron medallion the size of a palm to the puppet.
The medallion was very heavy, and must have been forged with the refined and compressed five elements metal. Though it was very small, it weighed at least 50 kilograms. Its surface was carved with the image of a gathering of many Immortals, while on its back was a dragon flying amidst clouds. Between the dragon and clouds were three tiny gold-plated characters - Myriad Immortal Alliance.
Bu Yunzi also handed the puppet a jade slip. He whispered a few words to the puppet, then with a blink of his body, he disappeared without a trace, just like how he came previously.
The puppet scanned the jade slip with divine will, and he was struck with a wild joy.
On the other side, Wu Qi, who was talking with Supremacy Three Flame inside of the valley, was struck with a wild joy as well, and nearly burst into a loud laughter.