"Are the Demon Race truly that powerful? Requiring so many experts like yourselves to jointly guard against them?" Long Yuan asked in confusion.
With just Lingxu Grotto-Heaven alone having three Half-Step World-Creation Realm experts and several Infinite Realm cultivators, such combat power should be enough to suppress anything, right?
What about the other forbidden zones?
They probably wouldn't be much weaker than Lingxu Grotto-Heaven either!
"The Demon Race's strength exceeds imagination. Without the grand formation established using the nine forbidden zones as foundations, we wouldn't be able to guard the entrances at all!" The Second Ancestor explained to Long Yuan.
Each of the nine forbidden zones was essentially an entire major world,
some even vaster than the Mortal Realm itself.
This grand formation using the nine forbidden zones as its foundation meant it was essentially a formation established across nine major worlds.
Once demons began breaking through at any entrance,
the power of these nine worlds would converge to suppress them.Only by combining with their personal strength could they properly guard this place.
Long Yuan was shocked—
the Demon Race was actually this formidable?
Using nine major worlds to suppress the passages,
supplemented by numerous Half-Step World-Creation Realm experts just to block them?
"But I'm quite curious—what's so terrifying about the Demon Race that requires sealing them outside the Mortal Realm?"
It couldn't just be racial differences preventing their entry, right?
If that were the case,
why were beast clans still living peacefully here?
"Because the Demon Race is bloodthirsty and cruel. The demonic energy they emit can corrupt living beings, turning them into demons. Once corrupted, even their souls become tainted. And that's just the beginning—they can also pollute Heaven-Earth Essence Veins and natural treasures, making them unusable for normal humans and beast clans to cultivate with!"
"Wherever the Demon Race passes through becomes a wasteland, making them enemies of all other races!" The Third Ancestor elaborated.
Being able to corrupt living beings with demonic energy,
and even corrupt Heaven-Earth Essence Veins and natural treasures?
This wouldn't do.
If everything became corrupted,
how could the Chu family continue developing rapidly?
"So, why are you telling me all this?" Long Yuan asked the group.
"To be frank, we wish to form an alliance with you!" The First Ancestor stated bluntly.
"An alliance? Why bring this up now?"
"Because all three of us share a premonition—the Demon Race may break through the seals and enter the Mortal Realm before long!"
"Seals breaking?" Long Yuan frowned. "Is this because of Hell's Gate's attacks on the forbidden zones?"
"With your forbidden zone's methods, Hell's Gate shouldn't be able to invade, right?"
"The specifics are unclear. While Hell's Gate would indeed find it difficult to breach our forbidden zone, our premonitions are rarely wrong. Having guarded the inter-realm passages for millions of years, the Demon Race has long hated us to the core!"
"So if the demons truly break through, we hope to have more allies!"
"With your strength, you undoubtedly rank among the Mortal Realm's top experts, even including our forbidden zone. Thus, we hope you'll join forces with us against the demons when the time comes!" The First Ancestor declared.
At their cultivation level,
such premonitions didn't arise without reason,
so the demon invasion might truly be imminent!
Their speculation was
that once the demons arrived, the forbidden zones would be their first targets,
hence their invitation for Long Yuan to ally with them!
"My current goal is singular—to nurture the family I protect into the greatest power across all realms. Whoever stands in my way shall perish without mercy!"
"Be it the Demon Race or Netherworld Hell, any who hinder my protected family's development shall become my enemies!" Long Yuan stated solemnly.
"Good! Since you've said so, it seems we stand on the same front!" The First Ancestor smiled.
While Long Yuan hadn't explicitly agreed to an alliance,
his stance was clear—
the Demon Race would inevitably become his enemy.
This attitude sufficed!
......
Much later,
Long Yuan departed Lingxu Grotto-Heaven with Chu Yan,
accompanied by Medicine Elder and Ye Zhixin.
At this stage of development,
taking one or two people posed no issues!
The entrance to Lingxu Grotto-Heaven was protected by a God-Slaying Formation—
even Martial God-level experts would perish here unless Lingxu Grotto-Heaven permitted entry.
Only through sheer luck could one pass.
Except for Long Yuan,
whom the God-Slaying Formation couldn't harm in the slightest!
"Driven to desperation, we entered the forbidden zone, never imagining I'd be the sole survivor..." Ye Zhixin sighed.
"What caused your sect's destruction?" Long Yuan inquired.
"Our ancestor couldn't resist breaking through to Martial Emperor realm, alerting Hell's Gate and leading to our sect's downfall."
"Your ancestor had truly unfortunate timing!"
"Had he endured for a few more decades until now, he could've broken through openly!" Long Yuan lamented.
"But who could've predicted the future?"
Several days later,
Long Yuan's group returned to Qingyang City.
As for the reunions between fathers and sons,
and families coming together,
he chose not to involve himself.
Instead, he began absorbing the system-rewarded cultivation within Dragon Emperor Palace.
Before long,
his cultivation broke through to Infinite Realm perfection,
with system rewards still remaining!
After hosting a grand banquet,
Chu Jingyue and Ye Zhixin retired to reminisce about their years apart—
though beforehand,
Chu Jingyue specifically sought out Chu Long!
Meanwhile, Chu Yan wandered through the family compound.
After years away,
the tremendous changes left him stunned.
"Including Mother and myself, the Chu family now has ten full Martial Emperors!"
"As for Martial Saints—dozens! Except for one, all of Chu Long's wives have reached Martial Saint realm! Heavens, how has the Chu family progressed so rapidly?"
Chu Yan was thoroughly shocked.
While he'd expected the Chu family to grow quickly under the Beast God's guidance,
this speed was unimaginable!
Even the number of Martial Emperors was astounding!
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Chu Tianyang, walking beside him, chuckled.
"Incredible... utterly incredible!"
"I never dreamed the Chu family could reach these heights in mere years!" Chu Yan marveled.
"Haha, you're not alone! Nobody could've predicted the Chu family's meteoric rise!"
"All thanks to the Beast God!" Chu Tianyang said.
"By the way, where's Chu Zhan and the others? I don't see them around."
"As Dragon Protector Guards, they're currently cultivating within Dragon Emperor Palace."
"Dragon Protector Guards?"
"That's one of our family's elite forces—only the strongest Chu members qualify."
"With your strength, you'd easily qualify, though you'll need to wait for the next selection."
As they toured,
Chu Yan learned many family developments,
including the existence of Heart Refining Pagoda and Chrono Pagoda!
"Both pagodas are miraculous, but given the Beast God's capabilities, creating them seems plausible." Chu Yan nodded.
Considering the Beast God's realm,
forging such divine artifacts didn't surprise him in the least!