Knowing that Master Heaven-Secrets was greedy for food and wealth, Ian Song had ordered a lavish spread of rare delicacies and fine wine to be prepared before going out to greet him.
So when Master Heaven-Secrets saw the table piled high with good food and wine, his eyes lit up and he laughed, "You really do understand an old man's tastes!"
"Please, senior!"
Ian Song made a gesture of invitation and asked Master Heaven-Secrets to take a seat. His soul had undergone six metamorphoses and was now extremely perceptive, so the moment he saw Master Heaven-Secrets, he saw right through the old man's cultivation realm.
He hadn’t expected that this old acquaintance he’d met in the lower world would actually possess the terrifying power of a sixteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal.
Someone like him could remain completely unknown in the Immortal World—just goes to show how deep the waters here really are.
Master Heaven-Secrets didn’t stand on ceremony. Facing a table full of delicacies, he dug in with gusto, and before long, all that was left was a mess of empty plates.
"Senior, is that enough? If not, I can have another table brought in!"
Ian Song asked with a smile. Back in the xianxia world, Master Heaven-Secrets had helped him drive off a powerful enemy and was considered a benefactor. Ian was never the type to forget a favor, so he’d always treated Master Heaven-Secrets with special respect.
"No need!"
Master Heaven-Secrets picked his teeth with his finger.
Ian Song, meanwhile, fell into brief thought. After a moment, he looked up at Master Heaven-Secrets and said, "Senior, you must have come here with something important, right?"
"That’s right!"
Master Heaven-Secrets nodded. "You’ve only been in the Immortal World for a bit over a hundred years, yet you already have the power to stir up the whole place. Now you’re even occupying one of the Eight Immortal Domains all by yourself—completely beyond what this old man expected!"
"You flatter me, senior. I just got lucky, that’s all!" Ian Song replied modestly with a smile.
Master Heaven-Secrets said, "No need to be modest. If it were anyone else, not to mention a hundred years—even tens or hundreds of thousands of years wouldn’t be enough for them to reach your level!"
Ian Song smiled, "Senior, just say whatever’s on your mind!"
"Don’t rush!" Master Heaven-Secrets waved his hand. "You may have taken over the Purple Dragon Domain, but your foundation is still thin. Aside from your two masters, you don’t have any other real experts on your side!"
"Senior, you’re absolutely right!"
Ian Song didn’t deny it.
He really didn’t have many Ancestral Immortals under his command. Aside from Kathy Wenren, only Little Yellow Chick and the sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword had Ancestral Immortal-level power.
Previously, he’d made a ten-year pact with the sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Ten years later, maybe because she saw his potential, she agreed to stay inside the Abyssal Ancient Sword as its sword spirit. Ian hadn’t treated her badly—he’d given her a god-grade sword canon to cultivate, and now she’d reached fourth-layer Ancestral Immortal strength.
But overall, it still wasn’t enough.
"Kid, there’s an opportunity right in front of you now. The only question is—can you seize it?" Master Heaven-Secrets said meaningfully.
"Please enlighten me, senior!"
Ian Song said.
"First, you have to answer me one question!" Master Heaven-Secrets’s expression grew serious.
"Please ask, senior!"
"Do you have ambitions to found an Immortal Kingdom?"
Master Heaven-Secrets stared at him, eyes sharp as blades.
"To be honest, senior, I do plan to found an Immortal Kingdom!" Ian Song admitted without hesitation.
"Then do you know what kind of challenges you’ll face?" Master Heaven-Secrets pressed.
Ian Song nodded. "In the future, my enemies will be those ancient monsters slumbering in the Eight Immortal Domains, Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens, and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands."
Master Heaven-Secrets said coldly, "Since you understand that, then you should know your current forces are nowhere near enough. Just one of those old monsters could wipe out all your efforts!"
"That’s true," Ian Song nodded again, then fell silent. He knew Master Heaven-Secrets was about to reveal the real reason for his visit.
"Have you heard of the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom?"
Master Heaven-Secrets asked.
Ian Song replied, "I do. It was destroyed two million years ago, and the fall of the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom was driven by those ancient monsters in their slumber!"
"Exactly!"
Master Heaven-Secrets sneered, "They were the true culprits behind the fall of the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom. Back then, to prevent any chance of Great Qin being rebuilt, they nearly wiped out everyone with Immortal Kingdom blood. Only I managed to escape with the princess!"
So senior is from the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom!
Ian Song asked in surprise, then suddenly had a thought: "The princess you mentioned wouldn't happen to be Miss Hannah Murong, would she?"
"Exactly! It's her! In the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom, there is an extremely powerful cultivation art. Apart from the founder Alexander Murong, no emperor has ever mastered it, but our princess is a prodigy—she actually cultivated it to perfection!"
As he spoke, a look of pride flashed in Master Heaven-Secrets's eyes.
"So Miss Murong plans to rebuild the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom?" Ian Song asked tentatively. He was founding an Immortal Kingdom to complete his System mission; if Hannah Murong wanted to build one too, she'd become his rival.
Honestly, he didn't want to become enemies with Master Heaven-Secrets or Hannah Murong.
"The princess really does have that intention!" Master Heaven-Secrets said. "But I've proposed a compromise that not only fulfills her wish to rebuild Great Qin, but will also greatly benefit you!"
"Oh?"
Ian Song looked at Master Heaven-Secrets in confusion, waiting for his answer.
"It's very simple!"
Master Heaven-Secrets smiled smugly: "When you found your Immortal Kingdom, just call it the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom and make our princess your Empress. Since you'll be her husband, you'll be one family, so her wish is fulfilled. Plus, even though Great Qin was destroyed two million years ago, plenty of old ministers have survived; if they all join your camp, your power will soar, and with the banner of restoring Great Qin, you'll have a righteous cause!"
"Can that really work?" Ian Song was stunned.
Master Heaven-Secrets grinned, "Of course it can! What do you say, kid—will you accept? If you nod, you'll not only marry a peerlessly beautiful woman, but also gain the loyalty of over a hundred top-level Ancestral Immortals. Opportunities like this are hard to come by!"
"Senior, can I think it over?" Ian Song said, pondering.
"Alright, I'll give you ten days. After ten days, I'll come find you again!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Master Heaven-Secrets vanished from sight.
"Meow-Meow, you heard all that, right? If things go as Master Heaven-Secrets said, will I have completed the mission?" Ian Song asked in his mind.
"As long as you're the Immortal Kingdom's lord and can command at least ninety percent of its power, it counts as mission complete!" Meow-Meow replied.
Since that's the case, there's nothing to hesitate about. As for whether Hannah Murong plans to use him and then burn the bridge after the Immortal Kingdom war, he didn't care.
Once the Immortal Kingdom war was over, if they wanted the kingdom, they could have it; he wouldn't even bat an eye. Anyway, he had no real interest in being emperor.