Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 192 - 154: Luo Qingyi: Turning Raw Rice into Cooked Rice...

The entrance to the Grotto Heaven Blessed Land Dragon Soul Valley was located in the central region of this desolate island, though its precise location required the patriarchs to jointly divine it.

As for the items needed to open the gate, they were ten bronze Command Tokens. The Deep Sea Dragon Race and the Nine Great Families each held one, and they all had to be brought together to successfully open the entrance.

A moment later, groups of young Cultivators left their respective family fleets and, under the escort of their Elders, flew toward the central region of the desolate island.

The Dragon Race’s new generation of elites all stood upon a cloud-shaped flying Magical Treasure, floating away from the Tianzhou Skyboat and riding the wind.

Standing at the edge of the cloud, Ling Changqing glanced around and noticed that the Nine Great Families had sent a great many people. Each family’s numbers were on par with the Dragon Race’s.

Among them, the Yu Family had the most Foundation Establishment Cultivators, numbering over two thousand.

This was not hard to understand. After all, on the surface, the Yu Family was the most powerful Noble Family in Yuzhou.

In the past, certain radical high-ranking members of the Yu Family had privately declared that Yuzhou should belong to the Yu Family, and all other powers, great or small, should be their vassals.

In fact, the Yu Family’s leadership had indeed adopted this as their family’s objective, whether the other powers acknowledged it or not.

Of course, for the moment, this lofty goal was still far from their grasp.

Ling Changqing swept his gaze over them and then paid them no mind. The spatial structure within Dragon Soul Valley was fragile, and its myriad dangers were impossible to guard against. There was no telling how many Cultivators would perish inside.

In past expeditions, the average casualty rate among the various families’ elites was around ten to twenty percent. In unlucky years, it had even exceeded thirty percent.

However, the leaders of the great powers were unconcerned. The Cultivation Realm was an age of great conflict; clashes of steel and bloodshed were commonplace. Only those who survived to the very end could be considered true elites.

Before long, the central region of the desolate island came into view. It was a small plain where not a single blade of grass grew, and the soil was, surprisingly, white.

After they landed, the Dragon Race’s Steward Elders took out the Magical Artifacts they carried with them. With practiced ease, they activated them, and amidst flashes of Spiritual Light, the artifacts transformed into rows of houses, courtyards, and perimeter walls.

A few dozen breaths later, a relatively simple, temporary field camp materialized before Ling Changqing’s eyes, complete with Array Restrictions for outer defense and warning.

Not far away, the Cultivators of the Nine Great Families were also setting up their own temporary camps.

Dragon Soul Valley remained open for about two months each time, and these Steward Elders had to wait outside for the duration, making the camps a necessity.

The Elders then announced that everyone could rest for a moment while the ten patriarchs, led by Luo Cangli, would take their respective Command Tokens and jointly open the entrance.

The process of opening the gate went quite smoothly, without any complications.

Ling Changqing had only waited for about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn when, accompanied by an abnormally powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Power, a circular portal over a hundred feet in diameter and shimmering with a multicolored halo gradually took shape a short distance from the camp.

While waiting for the Light Gate to stabilize, the contingents from the ten powers quickly assembled nearby. The lines between them were clearly drawn, and each kept to themselves.

Furthermore, at the head of each contingent stood one or more young men and women.

Needless to say, they were all the most outstanding new-generation Immortal Seeds of their respective families, the elite talents who received special grooming from their elders—or at least, they were counted among them.

At the front of the Dragon Race’s contingent stood a Female Cultivator with an arrogant gaze. She was clad in jet-black Soft Armor and carried a slender Straight Blade that flowed with a crimson light. Her current cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment Peak, and she possessed a pure Dragon Race bloodline.

Ling Changqing didn’t recognize her, but he presumed she must be from an important branch of the Royal Family.

Not far away, at the head of the Yu Family’s team, stood a pair of twin brothers. They wore Profound Black Magical Robes, carried Longswords on their backs, and had indifferent gazes. Both appeared to be at Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation.

At the front of the Yu Family’s contingent stood a young man in a brocade robe with a simple and honest-looking face. His build was somewhat portly, and an unremarkable silver axe was tucked into his belt.

He periodically stroked his round belly, his small eyes darting about shiftily as he furtively eyed the faces and figures of the young Female Cultivators.

At the head of the Liu Ying Clan’s contingent, however, stood a devastatingly beautiful woman in white with a voluptuous and enchanting figure. As her beautiful, dark eyes glanced about, they seemed to hold a strange, soul-snatching magical power.

"...By the way, Changqing, you can go stand at the very front!"

Spotting the handsome, purple-robed youth in the crowd, Supreme Elder Luo Cangli stroked his beard and said to him in a low voice.

"Ancestor, I..."

Ling Changqing looked in astonishment at the kind-faced, red-robed elder. ’Aren’t you just putting me on the spot by doing this?’ he thought.

"Fifth Grand-Uncle, you absolutely can’t do that!"

Luo Qingxuan, who was beside him, quickly grabbed Ling Changqing’s arm and turned her head to protest.

This was no laughing matter. If Ling Changqing were to catch the attention of the Cultivators from the Nine Great Families, there was no telling what might happen next.

Luo Cangli laughed. "Only the mediocre fail to inspire envy. A true powerhouse isn’t afraid of a few trials and tribulations. So what if they find out about him?!"

Just look at the ones at the head of the Nine Great Families’ contingents. Which of them isn’t an Immortal Seed of peerless renown, whose fame resounds across half of Yuzhou?

"That may be so, but I’d rather not stand out,"

Ling Changqing said, shaking his head. He had no desire to become the center of everyone’s attention.

On the surface, the Nine Great Families and the Deep Sea Dragon Race were strategic allies, but what happened behind the scenes was another matter entirely. Both sides had done more than their fair share of scheming against and undermining one another.

In any case, as long as no one was caught red-handed, there would be no repercussions.