As time passed, the vast "body" of the Universal Secret Realm gradually revealed itself.
Numerous high-level cultivators and formidable formation masters stationed themselves at Jueren Road, barely managing to halt its descent.
Now, a vast expanse of "sky" spanned across Jueren Road, Qianlian Sea, Qianlian City, and Youming Valley, like a terrifying mountain poised to crash down, striking fear into the hearts of Shenqi cultivators.
What others yearned for, this secret realm, had become something to be avoided at all costs, a harbinger of Shenqi's destruction.
"Tch, you say he wants me to help Qinglan and the others protect Shenqi?"
In the deepest reaches of the Far West, where the Mustard Layer bordered the outer domains, a magnificent palace pulsed with a dim blue light. At a table outside the palace, bathed in a white luminescence, sat a colossal Void Beast, Liu Tianyun clad in crimson, and a bare-chested male cultivator with dark eyebrows and clear blue eyes, each in their own corner. Standing behind Liu Tianyun was the seldom-seen Yan Hua Daojun.
Liu Tianyun frowned in displeasure. "Has he gone mad? I fought to the death with those hypocritical orthodox practitioners of Shenqi, and now I'm supposed to help them? They'd likely tear me to shreds the moment I appeared!"
After his previous clone was defeated by Qin Si, his second clone had become considerably more cautious in its actions.
If not for that good-for-nothing sect leader of Dongyang Mountain exposing his presence, the people of Shenqi would likely have remained unaware that his second clone was also within Shenqi.
Liu Tianyun recalled how he had recently ambushed the Mahayana cultivators holding up the Universal Secret Realm at Jueren Road. He didn't believe that Qinglan and the others, who were now actively hunting for them, would show him any leniency if they encountered him.
The more Liu Tianyun thought about it, the more dissatisfied he became. "Although I'm just a clone, being killed is still painful. I refuse this task."
"I fear it's not up to the Second Young Master to refuse," the bare-chested male cultivator's blue eyes flashed with a hint of mockery. "Second Young Master, have you forgotten that the Master never intended for you to be an enemy of all of Shenqi?"
Liu Tianyun's face darkened.
The bare-chested male cultivator saw this but paid it no mind, scoffing, "The Master wanted you to destroy Shenqi's Heavenly Dao consciousness, and you failed. He wanted you to secretly transfer Shenqi's fortune, and you failed. Instead, Shenqi repaired the Immortal Stairway and birthed a new Heavenly Dao consciousness."
He paused. "It's already generous of the Master not to punish you. Now he asks you to do something, and instead of atoning for your past transgressions, you refuse? Do you think I'm like those easily appeased brats, Tang Qiao and Yue Jun?"
Liu Tianyun roared, "Shut up!"
"Second Young Master, there's no need to be so enraged," the bare-chested male cultivator pursed his lips indifferently. "I'm merely conveying the Master's words. I should be going."
As his voice faded, he didn't linger to speak further with Liu Tianyun, transforming into a stream of light and vanishing into the endless darkness.
"Red Lotus Demon Lord, what are your plans?" The Void Beast patriarch had not expected Liu Tianyun to be meeting with a Saint Realm cultivator, nor did he expect a Saint Realm cultivator to dare traverse to the lower realm with their true form so openly.
He had maintained his vigilance, daring not to interject during their conversation. Only after confirming the bare-chested male cultivator's departure did he speak.
"Xu Ye died at the hands of those cultivators. Our Void Beast clan will absolutely not help them." The Void Beast patriarch's pupils flickered with a trace of grief as he mentioned Xu Ye's death.
That was the successor he had painstakingly cultivated, and he had died just like that!
"How many times have I told you, the one who killed Xu Ye was Qin Si," Liu Tianyun said faintly.
The Void Beast patriarch immediately asked, "Is Red Lotus Demon Lord intending to go and help them?" His front hooves had already slightly bent, adopting a defensive posture towards Liu Tianyun.
He worried that if Liu Tianyun truly harbored such intentions, he might be captured and handed over.
Since Xu Ye had occupied a human body, the number of cultivators entering the Mustard Layer to hunt Void Beasts had increased considerably. Some came for beast cores, while others purely feared that Void Beasts would produce more spirit beasts like Xu Ye and, in their apprehension, wished to nip the danger in the bud. Consequently, the Void Beast clan had been having a difficult time recently.
"Naturally not," Liu Tianyun said slowly. "I'm not insane."
Liu Tianyun stood up and said to him, "As you've seen, any mere guard in Yingwuzhou is a Saint Realm cultivator. Once I ascend to the position of Prefecture Lord, will your Void Beast clan still lack a suitable territory?"
"Old Patriarch, you must make a decision. I've given you enough time."
A trace of impatience flashed across Liu Tianyun's face.
The Void Beast patriarch remained silent for a long time.
Just as Liu Tianyun's killing intent began to rise, it knelt on the ground, stating dejectedly, "Void Beast clan, at your command!"
He had no other recourse.
The Heavenly Dao consciousness of Shenqi was growing stronger with each passing day. Even though the Void Beast clan hid within the Mustard Layer, they could feel the Heavenly Dao's intent to expel them.
If that day truly came and the Void Beast clan was driven out of Shenqi, where else could they go?
Void Beasts subsisted on chaotic energy and starlight. Starlight was one thing, but chaotic energy was the primordial force of a world. As long as a world's Heavenly Dao consciousness was intact, it would not tolerate Void Beasts lingering within its territory.
If it weren't for his accidental discovery of the Shenqi world's peculiarity back then, the Void Beast clan would likely still be wandering everywhere.
Liu Tianyun was extremely pleased with the Void Beast patriarch's compliance. He clapped his hands in amusement and helped him up, then turned to Yan Hua Daojun. "Go and summon Sect Leader Dong. I have something to instruct him to do."
Yan Hua Daojun left and returned shortly, saying, "Demon Lord, Sect Leader Dong is not in the Far West."
"Not here?"
Liu Tianyun rubbed his fingers, his wickedly beautiful eyes showing a deep, sinister ruthlessness. "Since he's not here, we'll have to disregard his fate from now on. Useless trash."
Yan Hua Daojun said indifferently, "He is indeed a waste. Whatever task you have, you can entrust it to me."
"That's fine too," Liu Tianyun said with a sinister grin. "Didn't Bing Xin say that people from the Purple Yellow Middle World have arrived? They must be in urgent need of knowing the location of the Universal Secret Realm."
Yan Hua Daojun instantly understood. "I'll go do it now."
At the same time, in Yun Shenzhou, not far from the Yun family's forbidden area.
Yun Youyue spat out a mouthful of blood in her distress and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. She cursed, "Yun Youyue, you b*tch, you actually used me again to contact Mother and the others! What exactly do you want?"
After cursing, her contorted face abruptly regained an air of arrogant disdain, the previous agitation subsiding as she curved her lips into a cold smile. "Mind your own business! Yuan Bingxin, you should worry about yourself!"
"If you hadn't deceived me back then, how would I have ended up like this! Yun Youyue, you venomous woman, you'll face retribution!" Yun Youyue's expression shifted again, and she cried out piteously.
However, her expression soon returned to normal, indicating that Yun Youyue herself had regained control of the body.
Yun Youyue said impatiently, "How did I deceive you? It was you yourself who wanted to kill Hua Nishang, but you were outmatched and ambushed by Hua Nishang, who destroyed your physical body. What does that have to do with me?"
"If anything, I'm your savior."