What is an immortal?

"I will definitely remember the teachings of my senior and not let you down. However, how should I oversee the affairs of the Nineteen Cities?" Yuan Ming asked with confusion.

Daoist Mu smiled faintly and, with a wave of his hand, a Black Wood Token floated down like a falling leaf into Yuan Ming's hand.

This token was no bigger than a palm but exuded an archaic and profound aura.

"This is the Demon City Lord Token, carried by every City Lord throughout the generations. All you need to do is refine it, and you can coalesce a clone, allowing you to communicate with other City Lord Tokens at any time and instantaneously appear in any city. This way, contacting various places and handling affairs will be effortless."

Following the instructions, Yuan Ming refined the token and immediately felt a mysterious connection established between his mind and the token.

With a thought, he instantly sensed the exact locations of the other eighteen tokens.

With another casting of magic, a clone appeared beside him, identical to his original self, but with limited power and unable to engage in combat.

Seeing that Yuan Ming had grasped the essentials, Daoist Mu nodded in satisfaction.

Then he turned around, raised his hand, and a large azure flag appeared out of thin air, fluttering loudly in the air.

With a gentle wave of the flag, the devastated ground of White Emperor City seemed to reverse in time, with broken walls and ruins trembling and automatically repairing themselves.

In a short time, with bricks and tiles flying and the ground rising and falling, a brand new White Emperor City sprung up.

Looking around, Yuan Ming saw the city's streets neatly arranged and the pavilions towering, even the Teleportation Array had been completed, requiring only a few Spirit Stones to activate.

However, most of the other arrays in the city were missing, indicating that the spiritual treasure in Mu Daoist's hand could only restore buildings and the Teleportation Array, unable to truly turn back time.

"Therefore, you don't need to start rebuilding from scratch. I will send people to spread the news of the reconstruction of White Emperor City. Soon, cultivators will come, and you only need to focus on managing." Daoist Mu said plainly, putting away the flag.

"Thank you, senior, for your gracious help." Yuan Ming bowed deeply to Daoist Mu.

"No need for excessive courtesy. Later, I will inform the other City Lords to send their clones here to see you. Regarding the specific time, you can inform them through the Demon City Lord Token." Daoist Mu waved his hand dismissively.

Yuan Ming hurriedly agreed.

"Now that things are settled, it's time for me to leave. Yuan Ming, remember, what you shoulder is not just a city, but the heritage and lifeline of the Human Clan. Under no circumstances should it be lost." Daoist Mu looked at the sky and said solemnly.

After speaking, Daoist Mu, with Hua Xian and others, slowly departed.

Watching their departure, Yuan Ming had the urge to ask Daoist Mu to stay here for a while longer, but after a moment's hesitation, he did not express his thoughts and instead watched as Daoist Mu's clone left.

His reputation was not renowned, and his achievements were mostly unspoken deeds. Upon hearing that a Mahayana cultivator wanted him to oversee the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, other City Lords would certainly not be convinced.

Whether testing or provoking, although they couldn't openly seize White Emperor City from him, their covert methods were unpredictable.

Yuan Ming understood that this was precisely the trial Daoist Mu left for him.

If he couldn't even defend White Emperor City, how could he talk about managing the entire Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range and becoming the leader of the Human Clan here?

Yuan Ming quickly made up his mind, and after Daoist Mu's figure completely disappeared from sight, he activated the City Lord Token to send a message to all City Lords.

"Ten days later, I will be awaiting you all in White Emperor City." Yuan declared.

...

Ten days later, inside the Transmission Hall of White Emperor City.

A burst of spirit light suddenly appeared, transforming into a figure that steadily appeared at the center of the Teleportation Array.

Leading the way was a kindly middle-aged Great Scholar. As he stepped down from the array and glanced around, he noticed someone already waiting quietly nearby.

The middle-aged Great Scholar walked forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Apologies, apologies, some matters in the city delayed me, so I'm a bit late."

The person turned around, revealing a long-bearded elder in a Daoist robe who smiled gently, "No matter, City Lord Yuan's affairs are numerous; I also just arrived not long ago."

Although the two did not emit the slightest wave of Mana, appearing just like ordinary people, any cultivator long accustomed to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range would immediately recognize them as the renowned City Lords of Zhen Shan City and Yeque City.

At this moment, Sikong Zhan, who had been waiting on the side, stepped forward and respectfully saluted the two, saying, "Esteemed sirs, City Lord Yuan has already prepared a banquet in the city and has specifically sent me to welcome you. Please follow me."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged Great Scholar felt slightly displeased but did not show it. He just snorted coldly before following Sikong Zhan with the long-bearded elder out of the Transmission Hall.

As the three stepped out of the great hall, the view of White Emperor City unfolded before their eyes.

The streets were neatly arranged, the towers towering, the city flourishing with flowers and shaded by green trees, a scene full of vitality.

Upon seeing this, a trace of surprise flashed in their eyes.

"I've heard that not long ago White Emperor City suffered a great disaster and became a ruin, but now it seems to be mere rumors," the middle-aged Great Scholar whispered.

"No, I have sent people to investigate, at that time White Emperor City was indeed a ruin. I think Senior Mu must have intervened and used the power of the Creation Flag to reshape this city," the long-bearded elder shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice.

"Creation Flag? That legendary treasure refined by Senior Mu, with the effect of reversing time and reopening the world. To see it today is truly fortunate, making this trip worthwhile," the middle-aged Great Scholar exclaimed in awe upon hearing this.

"I was fortunate enough to witness Senior Mu wield this flag, although not as miraculous as the rumors, but to reshape White Emperor City clearly shows Senior Mu's regard for City Lord Yuan," the long-bearded elder nodded gently and said.

The middle-aged Great Scholar still felt somewhat dissatisfied, frowning: "What good is his regard? The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range is a critical area for guarding the Demon Clan, how can Yuan Ming, a newly advanced loose cultivator, bear the responsibility of guarding the Hongjun Pillar? Furthermore, he also dreams of taking over the jurisdiction of the entire Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range. If failure occurs, who can bear this responsibility?"

The long-bearded elder remained silent, though he agreed in his heart, he did not voice his support.

He looked up at the sky, suddenly his expression changed, and he transmitted his voice: "Old Qi, look above."

The middle-aged Great Scholar looked up and saw a colorful light shield above White Emperor City, tightly protecting the entire city.

On the light shield, shadows of Five Elements Techniques constantly flickered, like a true dragon swimming and a phoenix soaring, with an overwhelming aura that made people tremble in fear.

He frowned and said: "There are no Demon Clan wandering outside the city, yet Yuan Ming specifically activated the City Protection Array, seems he's trying to give us a demonstration!"

"It's more than just a demonstration, Old Qi, this array I've seen in an ancient text, named 'Five Elements Reverse Disaster Array,' it is a sixth-level array. Once activated, it can control the Five Element Spiritual Energy over the entire area, evolving various techniques to confront adversaries, and cannot be broken unless a Mahayana cultivator personally intervenes!" the long-bearded elder tugged at his beard.

"What, a sixth-level array? How is that possible, he's just a loose cultivator, how could he lay down such an array? Could it be that Senior Mu helped him too?" the middle-aged Great Scholar found it hard to hide his expression.

The long-bearded elder shook his head, his eyes flickered: "Unlikely, the scent of this array is completely different from Senior Mu's, it has its unique rhythm and strength."

A surge of indescribable shock rose within them, for the rest of the journey, they tacitly chose silence, what they each thought in their hearts, was not to be spoken to outsiders.

Soon after, they arrived at the council hall of the City Lord Mansion.

Upon entering, they saw that the other City Lords had mostly arrived, and they were the last to come.

Yuan Ming sat calmly at the top of the hall, and when he saw the two arriving, he merely lifted his hand slightly, signaling them to sit.

The middle-aged Great Scholar and the long-bearded elder complied and took their seats, soon acquaintances among the City Lords sent them transmitted greetings.

At this moment, Yuan Ming stood up, his voice like a great bell, echoing throughout the hall: "Since everyone is present, let's officially start the meeting. I am Yuan Ming, early-stage Dharma manifestation, early-stage Undying Body, late-stage Word Witch. Entrusted by Senior Mu, I temporarily serve as White Emperor City Lord, overseeing affairs of the Ten Thousand Demon Nineteen Cities. If you have any questions, feel free to raise them."

These words caused the hall to suddenly boil over.

"City Lord Yuan has great talents and is favored by the Great Mahayana Ancestor, we ought to trust him. However, this place is the theater of conflict between the Human and Demon clans, not to be taken lightly. City Lord Yuan has just arrived, perhaps you should understand the situation first before overseeing affairs?"

"Indeed, City Lord Yuan has just arrived, surely there are many things you don't understand. In my opinion, it would be wise to first visit each city, familiarize yourself with the situation."

"White Emperor City has just been rebuilt, the talents under City Lord Yuan are not yet complete, the pressing matter should be the revival of White Emperor City, rather than overseeing the affairs of the demons."

The eighteen City Lords spoke one after another, although their words were polite, the undertones revealed their disapproval of Yuan Ming overseeing affairs. Only a few remained silent, giving no opinion.

Yuan Ming did not get angry at this, instead he smiled cheerfully at everyone, as if he was looking at a treasury of moving human-shaped treasures.

After a moment, he waved his hand to stop further discussion, saying: "What you all said is very reasonable. However, I am entrusted by the Great Mahayana Ancestor, I have no choice but to comply. Why not this, let each of you display your cultivation situation first and write down your adept Magical Powers along with True Intent for me to understand."

Upon hearing this, the City Lords found it somewhat strange, but considering that Yuan Ming was appointed by Daoist Mu as the overseer of Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, the request was not excessive, so they proceeded to write down their information and handed it to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming took the jade scrolls handed by the crowd, and after checking them one by one, his smile grew wider.

"Good, you truly are the elite talents guarding the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range, your reputations are indeed well-deserved. I've got a comprehensive understanding of the situation. As one of the City Lords just said, from now on I will focus on reviving White Emperor City. Please, when you return, continue managing your city as before. If any unsolvable problems arise, come to me."

Upon hearing this, the crowd felt even more confused, but seeing that Yuan Ming had no intention to infringe upon their interests, they temporarily eased their hearts, and all expressed that they would surely follow Yuan Ming's lead in the future.

Yuan Ming naturally did not believe their empty promises, but on the surface, he portrayed an image of being deeply moved.

After a few more pleasantries exchanged, they all took their leave one after another.