An agreement was reached.

Su Ye left Canghai Mountain, satisfied.

’Weiyuan Immortal City... isn’t half bad...’

Su Ye mused.

In this deal, the Immortal City hadn’t tried to bully the weak.

Instead, they negotiated fairly, were polite and courteous, and even... gave Su Ye many favorable considerations.

This left Su Ye with a good impression.

Of course, Su Ye understood.

There was a reason Weiyuan Immortal City treated him with such courtesy.

First, there was Su Ye himself. He had demonstrated more than enough potential to be worth winning over.

Second, Weiyuan Immortal City’s current situation was far from ideal.

As a rising power in the sea region,

Weiyuan Immortal City was now facing targeted opposition and pressure from all sides, orchestrated by the region’s traditional hegemon—the Cyan Profound Sect.

Under these circumstances, the Immortal City naturally had to be more accommodating and humble to win over neutral parties.

’Still... judge actions, not intentions.’

Su Ye was very satisfied with Weiyuan Immortal City’s approach. He couldn’t find a single thing to complain about.

’The materials issue has been resolved.’

’Next up is clearing out the Reverse World.’

Su Ye flexed his fingers, making them crack. His eyes shone with eager anticipation.

Both he and the Ghostly Flood Dragon...

...could gain significant power boosts from slaying monsters from the Reverse World.

In particular, Su Ye had confirmed...

...that devouring monsters from the Reverse World would enhance the Ghostly Flood Dragon’s spirituality, allowing it to evolve into a third-rank spirit ship!

’Once the Ghostly Flood Dragon reaches the third rank...’

’...it means I can break through to the Crystal Realm...’

A Crystal Realm cultivator was a top-tier power in this part of the sea.

The emergence of every Crystal Realm cultivator would profoundly impact the political landscape of the sea.

Their every word and deed could affect the lives of tens of thousands, altering their destinies.

’The Crystal Realm...’

At this thought, a fire seemed to ignite in Su Ye’s eyes.

...

「In the following days.」

Fearing it would cause a panic, damage the Immortal City’s prestige, and adversely affect the upcoming grand auction, the Immortal City’s leadership did not publicly disclose the existence of the Reverse World.

But that didn’t mean they were idle.

In fact, once Weiyuan Immortal City got serious, its efficiency was unimaginably fast.

First, the Immortal City used the Array Plate Su Ye provided as a blueprint. They gathered numerous Array Masters to optimize the design and finalize the product.

Next, flexing their financial muscle, they hired hundreds of Array Masters.

Promising them a fortune, they had them take Clearing Spirit Elixirs and work day and night, ceaselessly forging Array Plates.

In just a few short days,

the Immortal City had forged nearly a thousand gate-opening Array Plates.

Relying on these gate-opening Array Plates, Weiyuan Immortal City was able to counter the Reverse World.

They formed Reverse World patrol teams to protect key areas within the city, such as the inner city and the residence caverns.

They also organized multiple expeditions into the Reverse World.

Their mission was to gather intelligence, clear out monsters, and map the terrain, laying the groundwork for the "Purge"!

...

Meanwhile.

"Mr. Su, here are your Azure Sea Dragon Scale Wood and Profound Origin Spirit Iron..."

A dozen or so Immortal City cultivators finished inventorying the third-rank spirit materials Sikong Xin had promised and presented them to Su Ye.

The heavy, third-rank spirit materials, packed in dark wooden crates, filled nearly half the port.

"Excellent... Thank you for your trouble."

Opening a crate, Su Ye ran his hand over the spirit wood and iron inside. He felt their tough texture and intricate grain, a sense of delight welling up within him.

With a flick of his finger, two mid-grade Spirit Stones landed in the hand of the leading Immortal City cultivator.

"Mr. Su... I couldn’t possibly..." the Immortal City cultivator said bashfully.

Of course, those were just words.

The two Spirit Stones vanished into his sleeve in the blink of an eye.

The sheer speed and practiced nature of the move made Su Ye chuckle.

"Take it. It’s a small reward from me."

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Su! May your path to the Dao be ever-flourishing and your journey to immortality long..."

the Immortal City cultivator said with a fawning smile.

...

After receiving the spirit materials.

「The next day.」

A summons arrived from the Immortal City.

They were apparently preparing to launch the "Purge" operation.

Upon receiving the message, Su Ye didn’t delay and set out for the assembly point.

The assembly point was in the western part of the inner city.

It was a large, heavily guarded, semi-enclosed military encampment.

Su Ye soon arrived at the encampment.

As he stepped inside, he saw countless solemn, armored cultivators bustling about.

He also swept the area with his Divine Sense.

Within the encampment, he clearly sensed more than a dozen auras of Magical Power at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Each one was tinged with Evil Qi, tempered and honed sharp as steel.

It was obvious that these cultivators were far more adept at combat than the average practitioner.

’Weiyuan Immortal City is gathering its elite forces...’ Su Ye concluded.

Just then, a familiar figure approached and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Mr. Su!"

Su Ye nodded slightly. "Oh... Mr. Zhong, you’re here as well?"

The newcomer was none other than Zhong Qi.

After the destruction of the Zhong Mansion, he had joined Weiyuan Immortal City’s teams for the Reverse World Purge.

Not as a combatant, however.

Instead, he was leveraging his talent with arrays to serve in a support role.

His outstanding talent had earned him the praise of several Array Masters, giving him some clout.

Zhong Qi respectfully led the way for Su Ye, explaining the situation as they walked.

"Over the past few days, we’ve located several ’nodes.’ The purpose of this operation is to eliminate them..."

These so-called "nodes" were key locations, like the Zhong Mansion had been.

According to the Immortal City’s research, these places are weak points between the mortal world and the Reverse World.

Whether for people from the mortal world or monsters from the Reverse World, it’s easier to cross over to the other side from within a node.

To use an analogy, if the mortal world and the Reverse World were two cities,

then the nodes would be the highways connecting them.

Everywhere else, however, would be treacherous mountains and undeveloped primeval forests.

It’s extremely difficult for monsters from the Reverse World to cross through such areas to reach the mortal world.

Therefore, Weiyuan Immortal City believes that...

...if they can just seize control of the node locations within the Reverse World,

...they can significantly reduce the frequency of monster appearances in the mortal world.

"But according to our intelligence,"

"the nodes are often guarded by extremely powerful monsters, like that Sewn Corpse from before. The number of other monsters is also enormous..."

"The Reverse World also suppresses Magical Power, putting cultivators at a disadvantage. That’s why we have to assemble an elite force..."

Zhong Qi said gravely.

He led Su Ye to a training ground.

Over a dozen figures were already waiting there, all of them Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Bai Xiuying, an acquaintance of Su Ye’s, was also among them.

The combined spiritual pressure of so many Foundation Establishment cultivators washed over him like a wave of molten iron.

"Su Ye?"

"You’re late!"

A cold, rigid voice cut in.

Su Ye shifted his gaze toward the source of the voice.

A tall, powerfully built man in heavy iron armor was staring at him coldly.

His eyes were filled with displeasure.

And...

’Malice?’ Su Ye raised an eyebrow.

...

...