Chapter 90 Eighteen Nascent Souls Are Still Not Enough

The remaining Nascent Soul cultivators continued whispering among themselves while kneeling beneath the overwhelming pressure. Their eyes remained fixed on the black-robed figure before them, and none dared to raise their heads.

Qiu Wuyin glanced at the two cultivators still buried in the ground before respectfully addressing Zan Yunxiao. “My Lord, please forgive their insolent behavior. Allow this subordinate to handle them.”

Zan Yunxiao remained silent for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the two cultivators pressed into the earth. His overwhelming pressure had not merely been used to stop the fight. He had deliberately displayed his strength because he wanted to establish his authority from the very beginning. He needed these Nascent Soul cultivators to understand the enormous gap between them and him so that none of them would dare disobey his orders in the future.

"It's better to eliminate any thoughts of rebellion before they even take root."

With a single display of overwhelming strength, he could make them understand exactly who held the authority here.

After a few moments, Zan Yunxiao finally withdrew his pressure.

The invisible force disappeared, and the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators immediately felt their bodies become lighter. Some secretly took deep breaths, while others wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.

Zan Yunxiao slowly turned his gaze toward everyone present. “All of you,” he said coldly, “what do you think of me?”

The question caught everyone off guard.

Zan Yunxiao wasn't genuinely interested in their opinions. He simply wanted to see whether they had understood the difference in strength between them and him.

The Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged nervous glances.

For a moment, nobody dared to answer.

Then one of them immediately cupped his fists and lowered his head. “This subordinate deserves death. We doubted your identity, Unseen Emperor.”

Another Nascent Soul cultivator quickly followed. “We were ignorant and foolish. We questioned your existence despite Senior Qiu's testimony. We deserve punishment.”

Their disciples also hurriedly bowed.

“We deserve death for doubting the Unseen Emperor!”

The others followed one after another, their voices filled with respect and fear.

Zan Yunxiao remained expressionless beneath his blurred face.

His display of strength had achieved exactly what he wanted.

His gaze shifted toward Qiu Wuyin. “Qiu Wuyin.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Handle them.”

Qiu Wuyin immediately bowed. “As you command.”

After meeting the cultivators in person and successfully establishing his authority, Zan Yunxiao decided not to linger any longer.

He turned away from the group and raised his hand. The space before him suddenly distorted, and a spatial rift slowly tore open.

The Nascent Soul cultivators stared in awe as Zan Yunxiao casually stepped into the rift.

The moment he entered, his figure disappeared into the void, and the spatial rift slowly closed behind him.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

One of the Nascent Soul cultivators finally let out a long sigh of relief. “Qiu Wuyin... thank you for saving us. For a moment, I genuinely thought we were going to die.”

Qiu Wuyin crossed his arms and smirked. “Now do you believe me?”

The cultivator looked toward the place where Zan Yunxiao had disappeared before nodding heavily. “After seeing that with my own eyes? How could I not?”

The others also nodded.

“We believe you.”

“There's no doubt anymore.”

“That strength...”

Old Fu remained silent for a moment before looking toward Qiu Wuyin.

“I've decided.”

Qiu Wuyin raised an eyebrow. “Decided what?”

Old Fu cupped his fists toward the direction Zan Yunxiao had disappeared.

“I will pledge my allegiance to the Unseen Emperor.”

The other Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged glances before reaching the same conclusion.

“We will also pledge our allegiance.”

Their disciples followed their masters and respectfully bowed.

They had witnessed Zan Yunxiao effortlessly suppress several Nascent Soul cultivators, tear open space with his bare hand, and enter the void as though it were nothing more than an ordinary road.

That ability alone had completely shaken their understanding of cultivation.

In their world, there were only seven known cultivation realms:

Qi Refinement Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, Golden Core Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, Soul Transformation Realm, Void Space Transformation Realm, and Void Amalgamation Realm.

The Void Amalgamation Realm was regarded as the absolute peak of cultivation in their world. Anyone who could reach that realm was already an existence standing at the pinnacle.

Beyond that realm, there were only legends.

It was said that those who broke through the Void Amalgamation Realm would ascend to the legendary Immortal World.

Yet what they had just witnessed left them deeply confused.

One Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't help asking, “If the Unseen Emperor is truly that powerful, then why is he still in this world? Shouldn't he have ascended long ago?”

Another cultivator immediately offered his theory. “Perhaps he failed his ascension?”

“Impossible,” another immediately rejected. “If he truly failed his ascension, his body would have been destroyed and his soul scattered. Yet we just saw him standing before us in perfect condition.”

The cultivators fell silent.

Another Nascent Soul cultivator suddenly said, “Then perhaps the legends are wrong.”

He looked toward the others with excitement in his eyes.

“The Unseen Emperor may have already reached the peak long ago and returned to this world. Perhaps he intends to gather powerful cultivators like us before conquering the Immortal World.”

“Conquer the Immortal World?” another cultivator stared at him strangely. “Are you delusional? Do you still believe that the Immortal World actually exists?”

The excitement on the previous cultivator's face faded.

The existence of the Immortal World had always been questionable.

Some ancient records claimed that cultivators who broke through beyond the Void Amalgamation Realm would ascend to immortal world. Yet other records told a far more disturbing story.

“Remember the Ascension Soul Plaques?” one of them said solemnly.

The others' expressions became serious.

Whenever a cultivator successfully ascended, the corresponding soul plaque left behind in their sect or family would be destroyed.

That meant the person connected to the plaque had died.

For countless years, every cultivator who supposedly ascended had eventually been proven dead when their soul plaque shattered.

“So, according to those records, anyone who breaks through beyond the Void Amalgamation Realm is destined to die,” the cultivator continued. “If an Immortal World truly exists, why has no one ever returned? Why do all the soul plaques of those who supposedly ascended end up destroyed?”

Nobody could answer.

They had never personally investigated the truth behind those records.

And now, the appearance of the Unseen Emperor had made everything even more mysterious.

If the Unseen Emperor had truly reached a realm beyond their understanding and disappeared for 100,000 years, then why had he suddenly appeared now?

Why was he gathering powerful cultivators?

Could it be that the Unseen Emperor had successfully broken through beyond the Void Amalgamation Realm without dying?

If so, did that mean the legendary Immortal World truly existed?

The cultivators exchanged solemn glances.

There were simply too many unanswered questions.

And the greatest mystery remained.

What had happened to the Unseen Emperor during those 100,000 years?

. . .

The next morning, the twelve newly recruited Nascent Soul cultivators remained in the city along with their disciples. They were temporarily stationed there under Qiu Wuyin's supervision while waiting for further orders from Zan Yunxiao.

With the five Nascent Soul cultivators Zan Yunxiao had previously recruited and the twelve Nascent Soul cultivators brought back by Qiu Wuyin, Zan Yunxiao now had seventeen Nascent Soul cultivators under his command. Including Qiu Wuyin himself, the total reached eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators.

From the perspective of ordinary cultivators, such a force was already terrifying. Eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators could easily establish a powerful faction and dominate a large portion of the Western Continent.

Yet Zan Yunxiao wasn't satisfied.

Standing inside the City Lord's residence, he calmly said, “Eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators...”

He shook his head.

“It's still too little.”

For the future he was preparing for, this level of strength was nowhere near enough.

“If the Central Continent ever learns about the spiritual resources of the Western Continent, eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators won't be enough to protect my clan and the Western Continent.”

His eyes narrowed beneath his blurred face.

“I need a massive force.”

He didn't merely need a few powerful cultivators. He needed enough strength to protect the Zan Clan, secure the Western Continent, and resist any powerful force that might eventually invade from the Central Continent.