From the Kunlun Realm to the Heavenly Court, there is an ancient holy path.
In recent years, as the Kunlun Realm has grown stronger and produced many saints, the ancient holy path has become increasingly bustling. Any being reaching the Semi-Saint Realm would travel this path to cultivate in the Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Court is the “Holy Realm,” while the Kunlun Realm is the “Mortal Realm.”
Going to the Heavenly Court not only offers a superior cultivation environment but also broadens horizons, allows interaction with cultivators from various realms, and provides access to pills, holy artifacts, and materials unavailable in the Kunlun Realm.
Moreover, to enter special cultivation sites like the Five Elements Temple, Truth God Temple, Time God Temple, and Space God Temple, one must go to the Heavenly Court.
In short, for the Kunlun Realm to develop and rise again, it must venture out, withstand the suppression of the Paradise Realm faction, and establish a foothold in the Heavenly Court.
If it succumbs to pressure and flees back to the Kunlun Realm, its cultivators would lose all dignity and forever forfeit the chance to rise. This is the outcome the gods of the Paradise Realm faction most desire.
Many Saint Realm cultivators from the Kunlun Realm have heard of the events in the Heavenly Court, yet they remain undaunted.
On the long ancient holy path, groups of Kunlun Realm Saint Realm cultivators heading to the Heavenly Court are a common sight. They are the defiant ones, unafraid of powerful enemies. Even if they cannot join battles at the Great Saint level, they aim to bolster the Kunlun Realm’s prestige.
On this day, the ancient holy path was abuzz.
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies, who hadn’t gathered in centuries, appeared together. Each possessed stunning beauty, some pure and spirited, others ethereal and fairy-like, some fiery and passionate, others commanding and imposing.
Legend has it that the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies each have extraordinary opportunities and supreme talents, nurtured from childhood by Empress Chi Yao.
United, their combat strength is unmatched.
“The Sword God Realm is too overbearing. With the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies emerging, it seems many Great Saint-level powerhouses from the Kunlun Realm will head to the Golden Sands Holy Domain.”
“If I could marry one of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies, I’d abandon the Holy Path without hesitation. Alas, their standards are so high, few men can catch their eye,” a Saint King Realm cultivator sighed from afar.
Another cultivator whispered, “Among the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies, I like Martial Saint Canglan best. Look at those legs, long and fair. I’d never tire of them in a thousand years! More importantly, her fiery personality must make her thrilling in bed.”
“Keep your voice down, or she might hear you and cleave you with a single sword.”
This group of cultivators, clad in black robes, were evildoers from the Black Market’s First-Rank Hall.
They were mere escorts, following two holy carriages shrouded in chilling, sinister energy.
One carriage, blood-red, shimmered with strands of illusory light flowing around its frame. The other, forged from black metal, had no windows, resembling an iron box.
Suddenly, the evildoers grew noisy, spotting a man’s figure among the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies.
The man’s mental power was so strong they couldn’t discern his appearance.
“He’s traveling with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies. Who is he?”
“I want to strike him down with a sword and take his place.”
“Forget it. That man must be a Great Saint-level powerhouse. Attacking him is seeking death.”
The man traveling with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies was, of course, Zhang Ruochen.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had left the ancient holy path for the starry sky, releasing Great Demon Emperor Senluo, who had been cultivating in the Qiankun Realm, to return to the Hell Realm with a letter.
Nalan Danqing approached, communicating via mental power, “I thought you’d returned to the Hell Realm!”
“I must visit the Heavenly Court. Luo Xu is my friend, and Jinyu is my senior brother. They nearly died at the hands of the Sword God Realm’s Great Saints. How could I stand by?” Zhang Ruochen said.
“It’s still too dangerous,” Nalan Danqing replied.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, “The Heavenly Court isn’t a dragon’s den or tiger’s lair. Why can’t I go?”
In the past, Luo Ji, a mere Saint King, dared to infiltrate the Heavenly Court alone.
Zhang Ruochen, now at the Great Saint Realm, had undergone such a drastic change in aura that even gods would struggle to recognize his true identity.
Fairy Immortal, the Goddess of Fate, veiled in white gauze and radiating holy light, stared at Nalan Danqing and Zhang Ruochen conversing, asking, “Among our nine, Danqing has the highest standards. Who is that man to earn her favor?”
Wan Canglan snorted, “A glib, arrogant fool. Danqing might have been deceived by him!”
Talk of “using their own methods against them” and “borrowing the sharpest blade in the mortal world” was all empty boasting, flashy but hollow, mere braggadocio.
Recalling Zhang Ruochen’s brazen demeanor at North Cliff, Wan Canglan felt repulsed.
A bit of cultivation, and he thinks himself above all, insufferably arrogant.
Wan Canglan had seen too many such men!
Had he not shown some skill, she would have already warned him secretly to stay away from Nalan Danqing.
Fairy Immortal said, “Danqing is meticulous and worldly-wise. No man in the world could deceive her.”
“But she’s been secluded for centuries, and that boastful man does have considerable cultivation, which is worrying,” Wan Canglan thought, plotting to find a chance to warn Zhang Ruochen.
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies are bound by fate. If Nalan Danqing truly chose a partner, they had the right to object.
Zhang Ruochen and Nalan Danqing walked side by side, joining the other eight Mysterious Ladies, heading toward the Heavenly Court.
Passing the Black Market’s First-Rank Hall evildoers, Zhang Ruochen clearly felt envious and jealous gazes upon him.
“Traveling with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies was a mistake. It’s impossible not to draw attention,” he thought.
Before entering the ancient holy path, Zhang Ruochen had sent a message to Kong Lanyou, who remained at the Ming Sect. He was merely going ahead now. Had he known, he would have waited to travel with the Ming Sect cultivators.
Crossing the ancient holy path, they arrived at the banks of the Heavenly River.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze turned to the Merit Star, noting that the Kunlun Realm’s ranking on the Ten Thousand Realms Merit List had risen to 725th.
When he and Moon God first arrived at the Heavenly River, the Kunlun Realm was at the bottom of the Merit Star, ranked last.
Later, Chi Yao’s slaying of a Hell Realm god caused the Kunlun Realm’s merit points to surge, elevating its rank to the 2000s.
The higher the rank, the harder it is to advance.
The Guanghan Realm currently stood at 6,740th, indicating Moon God hadn’t killed Hell Realm gods to boost its ranking in this millennium.
If a great world’s Saint Realm cultivators lack strength, relying solely on gods to raise its ranking is counterproductive, as it cannot hold onto its interests in the Heavenly Court.
Zhang Ruochen, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies, and the Black Market’s First-Rank Hall evildoers boarded the same heavenly boat to cross the Heavenly River.
The two evil Great Saints, previously seated in the holy carriages, finally emerged.
They were familiar faces. One was Nine Nether Sword Saint, once renowned alongside Sword Saint Xuanzhi as one of the East Region’s three great sword saints.
Zhang Ruochen remembered Nine Nether well, as he had taken the blame for him many times.
A… good old man!
Now, Nine Nether Sword Saint should be called Nine Nether Great Saint, still looking aged, with disheveled hair, simple straw sandals, and restrained sword intent, unchanged from a thousand years ago.
The other, alluring and clad in red, with a curvaceous figure and beauty rivaling any of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ladies, was Ye Honglei, the head of the Black Market’s First-Rank Hall.
Also known as the Red Desire Star Envoy, who had crossed paths with Zhang Ruochen many times.
Zhang Ruochen remembered her vividly as a cunning, ruthless figure.
In her youth, she was a subordinate of Emperor One, the young master of the Black Market’s First-Rank Hall. To seize the master’s position, she secretly allied with Zhang Ruochen to kill Emperor One, rising step by step to become the hall’s head, now a prominent figure in the Kunlun Realm.
The journey was silent.
After crossing the Heavenly River, they flew straight to Xiniu Hezhou, one of the Heavenly Court’s four continents.
The great saint territories of the Western Universe’s worlds were all in Xiniu Hezhou.
The Heavenly Court’s rule:
Only Great Saints can own a holy domain as territory in the Heavenly Court; gods cannot.
Each holy domain spans 30,000 miles in length and width.
The more Great Saints a great world has, the more territories it holds in the Heavenly Court, and the more cultivation resources it can access.
The struggle for holy domains is the greatest competition among the Heavenly Court’s realms, surpassing even the contest for world rankings.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen and his group headed straight for the Golden Sands Holy Domain.
A month ago, the Golden Sands Holy Domain belonged to Great Saint Ling Xiu of the Moon-Worshipping Demon Sect.
Great Saint Xu Xu from the Sword God Realm challenged Ling Xiu, defeating him and claiming the domain. Ling Feiyu then defeated Xu Xu, reclaiming the domain, only to lose it again to Canghai Yishu.
The Golden Sands Holy Domain became the vortex of conflict between the Kunlun Realm and the Sword God Realm.
What began as a dispute over a single holy domain had escalated into a battle for dignity, vengeance, and a clash of Great Saint-level forces between two great worlds.
The Golden Sands Holy Domain lies within the Wuji Heavenly Domain of Xiniu Hezhou.
A heavenly domain may contain hundreds to thousands of holy domains.
The Wuji Heavenly Domain, a superior domain rich in resources, has divine veins flowing underground, capable of producing divine stones, epoch-level holy medicines, and various rare treasures.
Only worlds ranked in the top 1,000 can settle in a superior heavenly domain.
Upon entering the Wuji Heavenly Domain, Zhang Ruochen sensed an intense holy energy and highly active heavenly rules. The cultivation environment surpassed even Mount Wang, far superior to the Shatuo Heavenly Domain he once visited.
They didn’t head directly to the Golden Sands Holy Domain but to the Golden Tree Holy Domain to its north.
The Golden Sands Holy Domain was still under the Sword God Realm’s control. If Kunlun Realm cultivators entered, the Sword God Realm’s Great Saints could kill them on the grounds of trespassing.
Currently, many Kunlun Realm Saint Realm cultivators were gathering in the Golden Tree Holy Domain.
The Sword God Realm’s Great Saints, including Shang Ziyi and Michael of the Paradise Realm faction, were stationed in the Golden Sands Holy Domain.
The conflict vortex between the Golden Sands and Golden Tree Holy Domains engulfed the entire Wuji Heavenly Domain, drawing countless cultivators from the Heavenly Court, many coming to watch the spectacle.
With the Red Dust Assembly approaching, they had no need to seclude themselves for cultivation and were idle.
