Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 962: Great Venerable Dragon Mandate

“Specter Lord of the Great Qian Dynasty pays respects to the Heaven Mandate Immortal.” The Specter Lord bowed with cupped fists upon entering the ancient ring.

He possessed four tokens in total. Whenever one of the Four Ancient Immortals was nearby, the corresponding token would react. When he entered the small world within the ancient ring, the token inscribed with the characters “Heaven Mandate” became scorching hot.

The entity before me is none other than the legendary Heaven Mandate Immortal, the one who established the ancient order, commanded the power of heavenly tribulations, and was hailed as the progenitor of artifact refinement!

Merely being under the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s gaze sent chills down the Specter Lord’s spine. It’s as if I’m standing before the Emperor-Lord himself.

“You may behold one’s immortal visage.”

With the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s permission, the Specter Lord raised his head.

A golden wall adorned with patterns of fish scales greeted him. As the golden wall shifted, the Specter Lord immediately realized that this was no golden wall. It was the body of a golden true dragon!

He lifted his head even higher, meeting the gaze of the golden dragon.

In the pure white space, a golden dragon coiled, its head lowered slightly as it stared at the Specter Lord with an inscrutable expression.

It was impossible to tell how many thousands of zhang the golden dragon stretched; it was longer than any true dragon that the Specter Lord had seen. Its entire body seemed cast from molten gold, with a pair of wings sprouting from its back, and its head radiated an innate majesty. Even the most skilled artisan couldn’t replicate a tenth of its immortal prestige.

The Specter Lord maintained his smile, though inwardly he was marveling. The legend is true—the Heaven Mandate Immortal is indeed the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate of the East Sea.

The golden dragon snorted white dragon breath. Its heartless eyes stared at the token in the Specter Lord’s hand as a deep voice reverberated through the ancient ring’s small world, leaving the Specter Lord’s ears buzzing.

“It seems your Great Qian Dynasty does have some skill; you could track down my whereabouts.

“Attacking Jinghong to force one’s hand. What is it you seek from me?” There was a note of interrogation in the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate’s voice.

Once he intervened, Lu Yang would likely notice something amiss and discover his presence.

“My master wishes to gather the power of the Four Ancient Immortals to break the seal of the cage and open a passage to the external world. I entreat you to grant this request, Immortal Venerable.”

The Midheaven Emperor-Lord had discovered that the seal of this hexahedral world was set by the Four Ancient Immortals using the power of their Dao Fruits. To undo this prison world’s seal, the Four Ancient Immortals’ aid was required. Hence, he forged four tokens to locate them and plead his case.

If I can rope the Heaven Mandate Immortal in to our Great Qian’s side, that will be a far greater meritorious contribution than chopping down the Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor.

Besides, the Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor is right here. I can visit anytime. But an encounter with the Heaven Mandate Immortal is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Breaking the seal is possible.”

The Specter Lord was overjoyed. He had not expected the legendary Heaven Mandate Immortal to be so amenable. He didn’t even get to use the lengthy script he had prepared. “Then...”

“But not now.”

“May I ask when you will break the seal, Immortal Venerable?”

“When the sixth immortal is slain.”

The Specter Lord didn’t understand who the Heaven Mandate Immortal meant by the “sixth immortal.” Is it the enemy from the battle that refined the stars into continents?

And who is the fifth immortal?

“When will the sixth immortal be found?”

“I know not.”

“You know not?” The Specter Lord was stunned. If the timing isn’t known, how long must we wait? Will the Emperor-Lord have to wait another three hundred thousand years? Do we have to sleep for another three hundred thousand years?

“Setting aside the fact that Everlasting has yet to revive and cannot break the seal, the sixth immortal is an unscrupulous individual. In the past, the destruction of the Ember Legacy Dynasty and the abject misery of living beings were caused by the sixth immortal’s machinations. If the world’s seal is broken and the sixth immortal escapes, further calamity will surely befall the world. Can your Great Qian Dynasty bear responsibility for this?”

“Immortal Venerable, you are benevolent, but what do the common people have to do with us cultivators?” The Specter Lord smiled. If they cared about the common folk, they wouldn’t have allowed the Great Qian Dynasty to fall, plunging the world into chaos and conflict.

“The common people are resilient. When one generation perishes, another is born in its place. Why should you worry about their lives and deaths, Immortal Venerable?

“This matter is of great consequence, and my master regards it seriously. I humbly request that you meet my master in person to discuss it. What say you, Immortal Venerable?”

“And if one refuses?”

“Then I hope you won’t take offense at this junior’s impertinence.

“Immortal Venerable, you are not in the best condition, are you? I heard that the one who died at the Sword Tower was a living being born from your corpse. Bereft of your physical body, how much of your world-shaking power can you use?”

The Specter Lord still wore a smile, though it was no longer an ingratiating smile. It had become more expressive, heavy with mockery.

He had assessed the power of the Heaven Mandate corpse at the Sword Tower. That corpse possessed only the physical body and could barely be called an immortal. It is the weakest existence among immortals.

Even though the Heaven Mandate soul is separated from the physical body, he didn't kill the Heaven Mandate corpse to reclaim his body. This means that the Heaven Mandate Immortal isn't even confident of defeating the Heaven Mandate corpse; their strengths are evenly matched. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

If so, I shall proceed with the original plan—kill the Heaven Mandate Immortal and seize the Tribulation Mandate Dao Fruit.

“You're seeking death.”

At the same time, the Great Venerable Dragon Mandate transmitted an auditory message to Jinghong, warning her not to enter the ancient ring until the matter was settled.

“Then I will have to ask you to leave your life here!”

A divine talisman appeared on the Specter Lord’s brow. The talisman rune transformed into an emperor reigning over the nine heavens. It was none other than the Midheaven Emperor-Lord, whose appearance had never been captured in any portrait!

The Midheaven Emperor-Lord opened his eyes, as though he was capable of crushing all under heaven, preventing anyone from entertaining the slightest thought of resistance.

“A mere clone formed from the power of incense offerings. Do you think it can turn the heavens upside down?” The Great Venerable Dragon Mandate sneered. If the true form of the Midheaven Emperor-Lord had come, I would indeed be unable to defeat him in his current state. But to think a mere clone can deal with me? Utter delusion.

The Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone extended a hand and grasped the Specter Lord's head. The latter seemed to have anticipated this from his master’s clone and didn't resist, allowing himself to be absorbed.

The Great Venerable Dragon Mandate raised an eyebrow, spotting something amiss. He felt that the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone was devouring the Specter Lord not just to strengthen the clone. There should be something else.

“Nine Heavens Dark Lightning.”

In an instant, dark clouds covered the sky in the ancient ring’s small world, lightning flashing and thunder rolling. Every bolt of lightning could cause a Fusion cultivator’s soul to disintegrate, and there were millions of such lightning bolts here!

The lightning bolts gathered and fused, forming a crimson dark lightning bolt that locked onto the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone’s karma and struck it down decisively.

To his surprise, a massive black vortex appeared above the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone. Crimson dark lightning descended, only to be devoured by the black vortex without stirring the slightest ripple.

“Devouring? Storing? Transferring?” The Great Venerable Dragon Mandate’s mind raced through various possibilities as he speculated which Dao Fruits the Midheaven Emperor-Lord possessed.

The second dark lightning fell, encompassing terrifying power and boundless light. Once again, it was devoured by the black vortex, as if it had never appeared.

Despite undergoing the cleansing from the lightning tribulation, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord clone remained untouched, even strolling through the lightning tribulation with ease.

“Interesting. Immortals of later generations do have some skill.”