In any world within the vast universe, the most devastating event is the outbreak of war between the two great Dao sects. If there is something even more serious than that, it would naturally be a war between the two great Dao sects that bypasses the Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Court may not necessarily be the strongest force in a given world, but it is, on the surface, the maintainer of order. If the Dao sects so blatantly disregard the Heavenly Court, what is the purpose of its existence?
The Heavenly Court exists not because it wills itself to, but because the Dao Ancestor wills it to exist. Even if the Heavenly Court’s strength is not the greatest, no Dao sect dares to openly challenge it; at most, they might cause some trouble in secret. For if you dare to openly challenge it today, there’s no guarantee that the Dao Ancestor won’t wipe out your sect tomorrow.
What kind of existence is the Dao Ancestor? Even a top-tier Dao sect like True Derivation Holy Dao could be erased with a wave of their hand.
Now, it was roughly understood from the informant that this might have been the work of another Dao sect, and their expressions naturally darkened, for they were well aware of the gravity of the situation. A Dao sect daring to provoke the dignity of the Heavenly Court—if not handled properly, the Heavenly Court’s prestige would plummet.
Feng Jietian chuckled, “Holy Minister, you’re mistaken. No Dao sect in the Central World would be so audacious as to provoke the Heavenly Court’s authority. In my view, this wasn’t the doing of a Dao sect, but of an individual whose cultivation is not particularly high, perhaps even weaker than the Holy Minister.”
Right Pivot Holy Minister Da Suoxi, though serving alongside Feng Jietian in the Heavenly Court, disliked him. Hearing Feng Jietian’s words, he said indifferently, “I don’t have the strength to destroy the Holy Sword Palace.”
Feng Jietian, unfazed, continued, “This person’s strength isn’t great, but their mastery of array formations is extraordinary. They can even set up boundaries and use divine ability boundaries to trigger great Dao divine abilities…”
“Lord Feng, are you saying those terrifying Heaven-Opening Divine Dao principles were unleashed through divine ability boundaries?” Da Suoxi finally grasped Feng Jietian’s meaning.
Feng Jietian nodded, “Exactly. Most of these divine Dao principles were unleashed through divine ability boundaries. However, apart from the principles triggered by the boundaries, this person also used the Great Destruction Technique themselves. Judging by the power of the Great Destruction Technique they employed, they are likely at the fifth step of the Great Dao, definitely not the sixth. But this person, able to draw chaotic energy into the Holy Sword Palace and use it to activate a boundary to destroy the palace, is no ordinary figure.”
Though he spoke calmly, Feng Jietian’s heart burned with excitement. He longed to capture Lan Xiaobu, for even setting up divine ability boundaries requires mastery of those divine abilities. If he captured this person, he was certain he could obtain the scrolls for the Great Destruction Technique, Great Severing Technique, Great Perishing Technique, and Great Curse Technique. No, there was also the Reincarnation Scroll.
The thought of so many Heaven-Opening Dao scrolls made Feng Jietian tremble with excitement. Limited by his own strength, why else would he, Feng Jietian, remain a mere Heavenly Court Minister? Moreover, with this person possessing so many Heaven-Opening divine abilities, it was imaginable they carried treasures even more precious than these scrolls. This was Feng Jietian’s experience, and he had never been wrong.
At that moment, a red-haired man returned to the Holy Sword Palace. Seeing Feng Jietian and Da Suoxi, he quickly clasped his fists in salute, “Qian Wen of the Holy Sword Palace greets Right Pivot Holy Minister and Lord Feng.”
“Palace Master Qian, has your Holy Sword Palace offended someone?” Da Suoxi asked after returning the salute.
This man was Qian Wen, the Palace Master of the Holy Sword Palace. Though he was in Anluo Heavenly City when the incident occurred, he had returned to the Holy Sword Palace immediately via a positioning teleportation talisman.
Before Qian Wen could respond, Feng Jietian said, “This likely isn’t about offending someone. If I’m not mistaken, the Holy Sword Palace’s calamity is related to that Chaos Dao Body…”
Qian Wen’s face darkened. He was well aware that the Holy Sword Palace’s downfall was due to the Chaos Dao Body, but he dared not say that the palace had two Chaos Dao Bodies.
“Palace Master Qian, where was that Chaos Dao Body located? Though this place is destroyed, I believe there may still be traces to follow by retracing time,” Da Suoxi said, having calmed down.
Qian Wen sighed, “With so many Heaven-Opening divine abilities causing destruction here, the principles of heaven and earth are in chaos and shattered. I’m afraid our strength isn’t enough to retrace time here. Only a Dao Ancestor could do so.”
Da Suoxi fell silent. Both he and Qian Wen were at the sixth step of the Great Dao, and retracing time here was indeed beyond their abilities. As for Feng Jietian, a mere fifth-step Great Dao cultivator, it was even more impossible. Not long ago, Shi Changxing, who had gone to Anluo Heavenly City, could have retraced time, but he had already left, and who knew where he’d gone?
“A Dao Ancestor would never come here to retrace time. We’ll have to think of another way…” Da Suoxi said helplessly.
Feng Jietian, however, suggested, “At this Immortality Conference, several top-tier Great Dao experts are heading to Anluo Heavenly City, and one is currently there. This person has some ties to the Holy Sword Palace. Why not invite this expert to retrace time at the Holy Sword Palace?”
“Who is it?” a nearby cultivator asked instinctively.
Da Suoxi said, “Lord Feng is likely referring to Guan Chong, the Great Derivation Holy Lord of True Derivation Holy Dao, correct?”
Guan Chong did have ties to the Holy Sword Palace, as the Chaos Dao Body in the palace was traded to them by his granddaughter, Guan Yuxue, for something undoubtedly a supreme treasure, though no one knew what.
Qian Wenfu dared not speak; he couldn’t persuade Guan Chong.
Feng Jietian nodded, “Indeed, it’s Great Derivation Holy Lord Guan Chong. But to invite him, neither of us can do it—only the Heavenly Emperor can. A seventh-step Great Dao expert’s retraced temporal images, though not as clear as a Dao Ancestor’s, would still be of great value to us.”
The Heavenly Emperor of the Central World, Ku Yichi, was also at the seventh step of the Great Dao. Qian Wen wanted to ask why Ku Yichi himself didn’t come, but he dared not.
“I’ll handle it,” Da Suoxi said, sending out a transmission sword.
They didn’t wait long—within an hour, a tall, slender figure appeared abruptly at the outskirts of the Holy Sword Palace.
“Qian Wen greets Holy Lord Guan,” Qian Wen hurriedly bowed.
Not only Qian Wen, but Feng Jietian and Da Suoxi also quickly greeted him. Though in the Central World, their status was no lower than Guan Chong’s, in terms of strength, the gap between the sixth and seventh steps was vast, and Feng Jietian was only at the fifth step.
Guan Chong returned a faint salute and said, “Palace Master Qian, lead me to the place.”
“Yes,” Qian Wen hurriedly led the way, soon arriving beside the Sword Palace Tree. By now, the tree was reduced to a shattered stump.
“Impressive. This must be the Sword Palace Tree of the Holy Sword Palace,” Guan Chong remarked. Under such an onslaught of Heaven-Opening killing principles, remnants of the tree still survived.
Qian Wen said mournfully, “Indeed, it’s the Sword Palace Tree, perhaps the only one in the entire Central World, yet it was destroyed by a greedy individual.”
Guan Chong ignored Qian Wen’s sorrowful expression, raising his hand to conjure intricate Dao principles. In moments, faint shadows appeared within them.
Qian Wen clenched his fists, seeing his son killed before his eyes. No matter how blurry the image, he could recognize his son.
Da Suoxi said calmly, “Palace Master Qian, you’ve done well to acquire two Chaos Dao Bodies.”
Qian Wen’s heart sank. Overwhelmed by rage at the palace’s destruction, he’d forgotten that the Holy Sword Palace had two Chaos Dao Bodies. But he had no way to explain; any explanation would be feeble before these figures.
Feng Jietian sighed, “I had suspected the person who took the Chaos Dao Body knew the woman with the Chaos Dao Body. It seems I was wrong.”
From Lan Xiaobu and Qi Manwei’s conversation, anyone with sense could tell they didn’t know each other. Lan Xiaobu came here for the Chaos Dao Body. If they could see Lan Xiaobu and Qi Manwei’s expressions clearly, someone like Feng Jietian would surely doubt his earlier judgment.
Guan Chong said calmly, “They couldn’t possibly know each other or be related.”
“Why?” Da Suoxi asked, puzzled by Guan Chong’s certainty that the person who took the Chaos Dao Body had no connection to the woman with it.
Guan Chong didn’t answer but said, “My task here is done. I’m leaving.”
Without waiting for Qian Wen’s thanks, he vanished into the void. The Chaos Dao Body belonged to Great Derivation Realm, which he had captured from a mid-tier universe. How could she know a fifth-step Great Dao cultivator from the Central World?
What excited him was that this person who destroyed the Holy Sword Palace possessed so many Heaven-Opening divine abilities, all of which he coveted. He had long desired the Great Destruction Technique but never had the chance to obtain it. The Great Curse Technique was another he’d long wanted.
