Entering the Guanghan Divine Palace, Venerable Jie adopted a forceful stance, demanding the Jade Emperor Cauldron with an air that suggested he was ready to fight.
Zhang Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief, nodding inwardly. After all, it was the ancestral artifact left by the Immovable Wisdom King. Even if the old man was unreliable, he still treated it with due seriousness.
It was settled.
Finally, he could reclaim the Zhang family’s ancestral divine artifact.
Rumble.
Suddenly, a cosmic anomaly erupted.
Outside the palace, the wind intensified tenfold, howling like a giant beast.
Thunder roared, and lightning streaked like ten thousand dragons soaring.
Zhang Ruochen struggled to stand steady as the entire Guanghan Divine Palace, Moon God Mountain, and even the Heavenly Court continent below trembled. The spatial rules of the heavens and earth became wildly unstable.
All cultivators were alarmed.
Swish, swish.
In the Purple Luo Heavenly Domain, beams of brilliant saintly light rose from various holy lands.
Each beam carried the formidable aura of a Great Sage, flying towards Moon God Mountain and landing outside the Guanghan Divine Palace.
The Moon God’s figure appeared in the void above the palace, her white robes fluttering, divine light illuminating ten thousand miles. With a wave of her sleeve, the dark clouds dispersed, and the lightning retreated.
The cosmic anomaly subsided significantly.
A circular hole, a thousand miles wide, appeared in the sky.
Through this hole, Zhang Ruochen saw stars beyond, some flickering brightly, others dimming, and some moving rapidly, yet not as meteors.
The sight was utterly breathtaking.
Each star was a sun.
To shift countless suns in the cosmos simultaneously was beyond even an ancient god’s power.
One star shone blindingly, immense like a blazing sun. It moved swiftly, sometimes leaping through the cosmos, its fluctuations causing nearby stars to deviate from their orbits.
Behind it stretched the Yellow Spring Star River, spanning the sky.
The Yellow Spring Star River seemed to transform into a true river, flowing slowly.
The gods, Great Sages, and countless Saint Realm cultivators of the Heavenly Court all looked skyward, their hearts shaken by this rare phenomenon.
Venerable Jie’s face was grave, muttering something, his concealed wrinkles reappearing.
Zhang Ruochen approached, asking, “What’s happening? Why do you look so grim? Why is that blindingly bright star moving so fast, affecting so many others?”
“A star? That’s the Asura Star Pillar Realm,” Venerable Jie snorted.
“The Asura Star Pillar Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen looked up again, his heart, just calmed, now surging with shock.
The Asura Star Pillar Realm was the home of the entire Asura race, akin to the Ten Wing Worlds of the Undying Blood Clan, a pillar suspended in the cosmos, stretching countless billions of miles.
Countless trillions of Asura cultivators lived upon it.
Who could move the Asura Star Pillar Realm?
Even a Divine Venerable couldn’t achieve that.
No!
Why was the Asura Star Pillar Realm moving, and where was it headed?
Zhang Ruochen questioned Venerable Jie, but the old man, lost in thought, remained silent.
Whoosh.
A booming sound of flowing water echoed in the sky.
The celestial river, spanning one hundred eight thousand miles, suddenly doubled in speed, stabilising the quaking space. Soon, the Heavenly Court returned to calm, the chaotic cosmic rules settling.
Even the layers of dark clouds, rain, and lightning vanished, giving way to clear skies.
But Zhang Ruochen knew the Heavenly Court had merely stabilised. The Asura Star Pillar Realm likely hadn’t stopped, and the Yellow Spring Star River continued to flow. A monumental change was unfolding in the cosmos, affecting countless beings and great worlds.
The Moon God and Venerable Jie ignored Zhang Ruochen, engaging in a private discussion.
Clearly, they knew something and were strategizing.
Ten thousand years ago, the Guanghan Realm and Kunlun Realm were allies, their fates intertwined, prospering or falling together.
Half an hour later, Venerable Jie reached an agreement with the Moon God and approached Zhang Ruochen, sneering, “Boy, let’s go. It’s time to settle our accounts.”
“Go? Go where? I haven’t reclaimed the Jade Emperor Cauldron yet!” Zhang Ruochen said.
Venerable Jie replied, “The cosmos is on the brink of upheaval, and my injuries haven’t healed. I can’t appear in the gods’ sight yet. Even if we retrieve the Jade Emperor Cauldron, what use is it?”
Zhang Ruochen hadn’t expected this old man to suddenly betray him. Had the Moon God truly bewitched him, making him forsake their ancestral divine artifact?
“No, the Moon God and I already agreed. The Jade Emperor Cauldron is the Zhang family’s ancestral artifact. It must be reclaimed, no matter what,” Zhang Ruochen insisted.
Venerable Jie said, “You don’t get a say.”
“You haven’t been drugged by the Moon God… have you?”
Zhang Ruochen wanted to urge Venerable Jie to stay sharp, but before he could finish, a surge of divine energy enveloped him, lifting his body and carrying him away from the Guanghan Divine Palace.
What followed was a dizzying whirlwind, alternating between weightlessness and crushing pressure.
It felt as if someone had grabbed him by the neck, spinning him like a windmill, excruciatingly unbearable.
He tried to control his body, but his powers wouldn’t coalesce, and his spiritual energy was suppressed. Like a mortal drowning, he could only flail uselessly.
After an unknown time, with even his formidable physique nearing its limit, he finally landed.
But he couldn’t stand steady. The world spun, and he stumbled repeatedly.
After countless falls, Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, circulating saintly energy through his body. The scene before him stabilised, and his aching head gradually cleared.
Venerable Jie sat on a nearby rock, grinning at him, his white hair dishevelled, clothes tattered, and shoes worn through.
“Boy, try scheming against your ancestor again, and I won’t let you off so easily!” Venerable Jie said.
Zhang Ruochen retorted, “Your vindictiveness is too strong, your heart too narrow!”
Venerable Jie’s temper flared, his wrinkled face reddening, “My heart is narrow? I’ve always looked out for you, yet you go spreading word that I’m alive. Don’t you know that’s top secret? If certain old monsters learn of it, they’ll covet the Great Venerable’s divine source and stop at nothing.”
This time, Zhang Ruochen was indeed in the wrong, his confidence waning, “I didn’t spread it everywhere. I only let it slip to Granny Haitang when returning the *Wordless Sword Manual* to the Two Elements Sect.”
“You admitted it yourself! For such a grave mistake, shouldn’t I discipline you?” Venerable Jie said.
“Fine, let this matter end here.”
Zhang Ruochen stood, surveying his surroundings.
They were on an island with steep cliffs on all sides, countless glowing saintly stones scattered across it. Near the cliff’s edge grew seven or eight purple saintly trees, laden with fragrant fruit.
The sea stretched endlessly, beyond the reach of Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual probing.
“Where are we?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Venerable Jie replied, “An island in the Endless Sea between Xiniu Hezhou and Nanzhan Buzhou.”
Zhang Ruochen was stunned for a moment before saying, “What are we doing here? We need to return to the Guanghan Divine Palace and strike while the iron is hot to reclaim the Jade Emperor Cauldron.”
Venerable Jie said leisurely, “This place is at least a hundred million miles from the Purple Luo Heavenly Domain where the Guanghan Divine Palace is. If you want to go back, go alone! I have business in Nanzhan Buzhou.”
“You think I can’t get back?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Venerable Jie warned, “A reminder, this is the Heavenly Court. You can’t just set up spatial teleportation arrays or use divine steps freely. Here, even Half-Saints are suppressed like mortals.”
“Your cultivation is decent, but crossing a hundred million miles isn’t something you can do in ten days or half a month.”
“Besides, the Heavenly Court’s seas are teeming with ferocious beasts. Not to mention Great Sage-level beast emperors, encountering divine beasts wouldn’t be surprising.”
Zhang Ruochen understood the dangers of the Heavenly Court’s seas, frowning, “Old man, tell me the truth. Why aren’t you reclaiming the Jade Emperor Cauldron?”
Venerable Jie grew serious, “Ten thousand years of peace are about to end, and my injuries haven’t healed. I can’t yet appear in the gods’ sight. Even if we retrieve the Jade Emperor Cauldron, what use is it?”
“The Moon God is one of Kunlun Realm’s staunchest allies. Lending her the Jade Emperor Cauldron might play a crucial role in the coming crisis.”
“Did you ever think to consult me before deciding? Do you know I just offered two demigods? Do you know the Moon God defaulted on a million saint sources and a divine herb?” Zhang Ruochen said.
“What did you say?”
Venerable Jie gritted his teeth, his right hand forming a palm seal, trembling slightly, “Could you be more prodigal? A million saint sources could cultivate countless saints for the Zhang family. With a divine herb, my injuries could heal quickly. And those two demigods, they could’ve been kept as concubines! You… you’re going to be the death of me…”
Zhang Ruochen quickly stepped back, keeping his distance, and snorted, “Speaking of prodigality, how can I compare to you? You’re willing to abandon our ancestral divine artifact. If the Great Venerable knew he had such an unworthy descendant, he’d regret passing his divine source to you.”
Venerable Jie, thinking of the million saint sources, the divine herb, and the two lovely demigods, felt his heart ache unbearably.
Zhang Ruochen, thinking of the Jade Emperor Cauldron, almost within his grasp but swindled back by the Moon God, felt his heart ache too.
The two sat on the ground, silent for a long time.
On the island, an old man and a young man, both quiet.
Venerable Jie, a god, recovered first, exhaling deeply, “We’re men, we can’t be so petty. The debt the Moon God owes our Zhang family will be repaid eventually.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded, “Indeed, the Jade Emperor Cauldron is the Great Venerable’s ancestral artifact. As long as the Zhang family’s descendants aren’t extinct, we’ll climb Moon God Mountain again to reclaim it.”
“It’s just a matter of time,” Venerable Jie said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “A debt must be repaid, it’s only right.”
“We can’t stoop to the level of a mere woman,” Venerable Jie said.
Zhang Ruochen added, “As long as our cultivation is strong enough, how could she truly default?”
“Exactly, we haven’t really lost anything…” Feeling his words were too forced, too self-deceptive, Venerable Jie added, “We’ll make her pay double in the future.”
They fell silent again.
On the island, the wind howled, chilling the air.
