"One of the Four Imperial Protectors of the Heavenly Court Sect, the South Pole Nirvana Great Emperor, Jiang Lianyi."

When Jiang Lianyi introduced herself, her voice was very soft, but the moment she lifted her hood, the whole room fell into silence, and her self-introduction could be clearly heard by everyone.

"Phoenix Ancestor of the Phoenix Tribe?!"

"Am I seeing things, or is that really the Phoenix Ancestor of the Phoenix Tribe, one of the two great ancestors of the Demon Race, Lord Jiang Lianyi!"

"Wasn’t she said to have fallen? How is she still alive?"

Two high-ranking members of the Eternity Sect breathed a sigh of relief, and Shi Huagu, with a confident wave of his hand, said, "I’ve said before that I’ve met Young Sect Master Lu. I’ve tested him with ancient secrets, and I’ve verified his identity with lie-detecting magic skills. His identity is genuine!"

"I think Venerate Zhu Tian is just a sore loser and blurted that out in desperation!"

The audience was astounded, not just the minor cultivators, but even well-known great powers of cultivation stood up from their seats, their eyes fixed on Jiang Lianyi, imprinting this scene on their minds.

Cultivators from Buddha Country and Great Xia, even if they had never seen Jiang Lianyi’s face, had heard of her great name.

This was a person of remarkable reputation since Ancient Times, far more famous than Zhu Tian. After three hundred thousand years of historical accumulation, she had become almost a divine belief for the Demon Race.

The faith of the Demon Race is in the Demon Immortal, whose appearance is unknown, making Jiang Lianyi an existence that could summon the response of the entire Demon Race with a single call.

The Demon Race reacted even more intensely, their brains boiling with excitement, at a loss for words, speaking incoherently.

Many members of the Demon Race were moved to tears, excitedly kneeling on the ground, crying out for the revelation of the Immortal, and paying their respects to Jiang Lianyi.

Even the great demon kings showed heartfelt respect, kneeling before Jiang Lianyi and praying for her blessing.

It was as if the myths of ancient times had come back to life.

Zhu Tian relied on the power of the Dao Fruit Outline to make the Demon Race submit, whereas Jiang Lianyi, with her mere presence, caused the Demon Race to turn their backs on him.

Members of the Demon Clan Alliance were wavering, unsure of which side to lean towards.

The Transcendence Tribulation cultivators from the Long Clan of the East Sea rubbed their eyes vigorously, thinking that they were seeing hallucinations from their failing vision, unable to believe the scene before them.

The Old Dragon Emperor, sensing danger to the Phoenix Tribe, had sent him expressly to help them.

Now it seemed, help what? With the Phoenix Ancestor still around, how could the Phoenix Tribe be in trouble? This was an existence on par with their own ancient ancestor. With no Immortal appearing, who could be an opponent?

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Transcendence Tribulation cultivators from both the Long Clan of the East Sea and the Long Clan of the Demon Territory all looked towards Jiang Mingzi and the Phoenix Tribe, wanting to know if they were aware of Jiang Lianyi’s existence and if this was indeed the Phoenix Tribe’s trump card.

Glancing over, they saw Jiang Mingzi crying like a child, wiping away tears and snot with his hand.

As the highest in cultivation level in the Phoenix Tribe, he was the pillar and the backbone, the one who had to make decisions on all major matters. Many members of the Demon Race coveted the Phoenix Tribe’s treasure, and one misstep by him could lead the tribe into unrecoverable doom, a heavy burden indeed.

Zhu Tian’s pressure for the Phoenix Tribe to choose sides had been almost unbearable for him.

With the return of the Ancestor, someone was finally above him, and he could at last lay down his burden.

The Phoenix Tribe members were even more inconsolable than Jiang Mingzi, crying noisily, some unable to maintain their human form, transforming into Phoenixes representing the Five Virtues, their cries reverberating throughout Demon City.

As for the younger geniuses, upon seeing Jiang Lianyi, their minds went blank, losing the ability to perceive the outside world.

Only Meng Jingzhou, who had seen Jiang Lianyi before, remained coherent.

"Damn it, why am I not the one standing on the Heavenly Altar? I could beat someone like Zhu Yunwu too."

The two had agreed to return to their Sect together to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, but Lu Yang, that bastard, couldn’t be trusted, staging a breakthrough at the last moment and stealing the spotlight.

Taozhu, sealed within Kong Hao, was also stunned. The transformation of Demon City was completely beyond his expectations.

He had merely wanted to witness the establishment process of the Demon Nation, and incidentally to see how his enemies were faring. How had it turned into this situation?

Moreover, a figure like the Phoenix Ancestor was one of the "Four Imperial Protectors" in the Heavenly Court—just how terrifying was the power of the Ancient Heavenly Court?

The five Elders, upon seeing everyone’s reaction, felt slightly reassured. See, they didn’t know what our reaction to meeting the Phoenix Ancestor was like, everyone felt the same.

Atop the Heavenly Altar, there was dead silence.

Some of the ten Demon Emperors genuinely submitted to Zhu Tian, while others were controlled by the Dao Fruit Outline. Regardless of their situation, at the sight of Jiang Lianyi, they all felt the intimidation that juniors feel in the presence of their elders.

Zhu Tian was breaking out in a cold sweat.

The Demon Race of today was unaware of Jiang Lianyi’s identity, but as an ancient great demon, how could he be ignorant of who Jiang Lianyi was?

The wife of the Qilin Immortal.

Just those five words were enough to elevate Jiang Lianyi’s status to another level, completely overshadowing him.

Damn it, why did Jiang Lianyi have to appear at such a critical moment?

If it came to a one-on-one fight, Zhu Tian was not afraid.

He admitted that Jiang Lianyi was very strong, at the top of the first tier of semi-immortals, but he controlled so many of the Demon Race, and his Dao Fruit was nearly complete, making their power comparable.

Stay calm, stay calm, Zhu Tian took deep breaths to steady his emotions and think clearly about the situation, organizing his thoughts.

Hadn’t it been confirmed? He hadn’t felt the suppression of the Qilin Immortal’s Dao Fruit, which indicated that the Qilin Immortal had already perished. With the Demon Nation established and his military might, he didn’t need to worry about someone like Jiang Lianyi making waves.

If this were not the case, he wouldn’t have dared to use the Qilin Immortal’s name to legitimize his position during the founding ceremony.

"What, don’t recognize me anymore?"

Jiang Lianyi saw Zhu Tian lost in thought and spoke with a cold sneer, showing no mercy.

Zhu Tian was unwilling to clash with Jiang Lianyi at this point. He transformed into human form and, with hands clasped, smiled and said, "I’ve seen Cultivator Jiang. It has been three hundred thousand years since we last met, and you are as graceful as ever."

"Only, when did I ever hear that you joined the Heavenly Court?"

Zhu Tian wanted to control the Phoenix Tribe and intended to use them as pawns. He surely coveted the treasures he had left them.

Under these circumstances, how could Jiang Lianyi possibly give Zhu Tian face.

"Must I report my affairs with the Heavenly Court to you?"

"Not to mention someone like you, not even the Qilin Immortal would dare to meddle so much in my business!"

Hearing the exchange between the two, the crowd stirred into fervent discussion once again, their expressions excited, as if an ancient veil of secrets was being lifted before them!

"The Ancient Heavenly Court really exists!"

"How come I’ve never heard of it before? I thought the Heavenly Court described in the books was just made up by Ancient Immortals for fun."

"You know nothing, fool. Immortals have profound schemes and considerations; it’s not for fun. How ignorant!"

"This Young Sect Master Lu is truly the number one genius of ancient times, no wonder he was able to defeat Zhu Yunwu."

"Did you listen to what Lord Jiang said? She is one of the Four Imperial Protectors of the Heavenly Court; there must be people above her, like the Heavenly Court Master, Heavenly Venerate Dou."

"Young Sect Master Lu is a disciple of Heavenly Venerate Dou, a pupil of an Immortal!"

The crowd marveled at Young Sect Master Lu’s talents and fortune.

It’s all about having a good teacher, after all.

Zhu Tian frowned: "What exactly is this Heavenly Court ..."

Jiang Lianyi’s lips curved into a mocking smile, looking down on Zhu Tian: "The Heavenly Court is an existence known only among Immortals, related to the secrets of Immortals. If I weren’t the wife of the Qilin Immortal, I wouldn’t be entitled to know, either."

"As for you, do you think you’re worthy?"