Yi Yangzi, Lord of the Southern Dipper Du'e Heavenly Palace; Liao Lei, Lord of the Southern Dipper Shangsheng Heavenly Palace; Wu Zejiang, Lord of the Eastern Dipper Cangling Heavenly Palace; Zhao Sui, Lord of the Eastern Dipper Lingyan Heavenly Palace; Li Zishu, Lord of the Eastern Dipper Kaitian Heavenly Palace; Cai Xiaohui, Lord of the Eastern Dipper Daming Heavenly Palace; and Zhao Yunfei, Lord of the Weiji Heavenly Palace—each treading upon a beam of immortal light, descended from the Immortal Realm one after another.
Of the Six Ministries of the Immortal Court, the Dou Department's palace lords of the Western, Eastern, and Southern Dippers commanded tens of thousands of immortals each. Their assembled heavenly palaces formed an awe-inspiring presence, with formation charts, magic treasures, and palace-guarding treasures beyond count!
Little Celestial Venerable frowned deeply. Looking toward Xiyue, he asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister, how many people in the Dou Department did you inform?"
Seeing the spectacle, Xiyue was somewhat flustered as well. "I only bribed an immortal at random and had him notify the Dou Department," she said. "I never expected them to muster such a massive force..."
Little Celestial Venerable looked up at the vault of heaven. This was no longer just a matter of a massive force.
The lords of every palace had arrived; only the Northern Dipper Seven Stars and the Three Truths of the Central Dipper were missing!
Those who governed the Northern Dipper Seven Stars were not Immortal Kings, but Immortal Monarchs!
As for the Three Truths of the Central Dipper, they were beings destined to be titled True Monarchs and Celestial Venerables. They commanded the various Star Lords of the Nine Luminaries, Heavenly Web, and Earthly Fiends, wielding armies hundreds of thousands strong!
The entire Dou Department was a colossal war machine!
Little Celestial Venerable's eyes flickered, and he murmured, "The Six Offices of the Southern Dipper, together with the Eastern and Western Dippers, have all arrived. As long as they haven't completely descended into the lower realm, we still have a chance to repel them."
Before his words faded, heavenly flowers suddenly rained down in profusion as melodious immortal music played. Immortal maidens carrying flower baskets descended from the sky, their robes fluttering as blossoms drifted through the air.
Little Celestial Venerable's heart sank. "An Immortal Monarch of the Northern Dipper Seven Stars has descended..." he muttered.
Xiyue was also flustered, but she remained stubborn: "Serves him right. When he betrayed us back then, he should have known this day would come!"
"Sima Baihong, the Sixth Star of the Northern Dipper Seven Stars, Wuqu of Kaiyang, greets Celestial Venerable Xu!"
A handsome young man descended amid the shower of flowers and smiled. "Celestial Venerable Xu of the Three Truths of the Central Dipper, your brilliance shook the world in those days. You severed your own cultivation six times and underwent heavenly tribulation six times. After every tribulation, you managed to cultivate back to the Immortal Monarch realm. You charged straight toward the Heavenly Monarch realm; your achievements were so magnificent and swift that everyone looked on in awe."
Xu Ying's gaze fell upon this lord of the Kaiyang Heavenly Palace. This man's cultivation and strength were unquestionably on par with Sword Monarch Jinhe!
Sima Baihong continued, "When word got out that you were a rebel, the entire Dou Department was shaken to its core. Who could have imagined that Celestial Venerable Xu, the foremost of the Dou Department's three giants, would turn out to be a rebel?"
He met Xu Ying's eyes and smiled faintly. "Your rebellion stunned everyone. Xu Ying, back when your genius was unmatched, your star was in the ascendant, and everyone had high hopes for you, why did you become a traitor?"
Xu Ying offered an apologetic tone: "I don't remember what I did in my first life. I have no idea what that version of me was thinking."
Sima Baihong said, "It doesn't matter if you don't know. Nor do I need you to know what your first life was thinking. All I know is that you are the greatest humiliation in the history of the Dou Department!"
His face suddenly darkened. "The day your treason was exposed, two Celestial Venerables of the Dou Department led an ambush against you, only for you to spot the flaw. You fought your way out of the Central Dipper, leaving rivers of blood and mountains of corpses! Everywhere you passed, the roads were paved with dead bodies! The two Celestial Venerables joined forces against you, yet you severely wounded them—wounds they still have not recovered from to this day!"
He said coldly, "Originally, the Three Truths of the Dou Department could firmly suppress the other five ministries—Thunder, Fire, Water, Wealth, and Taisui. It was all because of you that the Dou Department suffered a crippling blow, falling second to the Thunder Department! From the moment you turned traitor, our Dou Department has languished for forty-eight thousand years without recovery! Of all the immortal officials present today, which of them does not hate you to the bone?"
His voice abruptly surged, booming through the clouds so loudly that even the immortals stationed within the various heavenly palaces of the Immortal Realm heard every word. A chorus of shouts instantly joined in, clamoring for blood and slaughter!
Sima Baihong said coldly, "Because of you, the Dou Department has been treated as second-class for forty-eight thousand years, suffering catastrophic casualties! Because of you, we were reduced to an impoverished, sidelined department! If you had simply been content to remain one of the Three Truths of the Dou Department without scheming rebellion or trying to overthrow the Immortal Court, no one would have ever touched a single hair on your head! Yet you chose to tread an evil, crooked path!"
The moment the word "path" left his lips, Feng Yanqiu, Lord of the Siming Heavenly Palace, brandished the Siming Banner. The great banner whirled, swooping down to reap Xu Ying's life!
Sun Yuanjiang, Lord of the Silu Palace, struck the Hunyuan Bell. A deafening chime rang out as the bell descended from above, crashing down toward Xu Ying!
Li Zishu, Lord of the Kaitian Palace, swung the Kaitian Greataxe, its cleaving light sundering space as it swept toward Xu Ying's waist!
In an instant, the lords of the Six Offices of the Southern Dipper, the Five Palaces of the Western Dipper, and the Four Palaces of the Eastern Dipper charged in unison!
Xu Ying gave a cold laugh and suddenly seized Ying Tianci, Lord of the Juwei Palace, thrusting him forward to meet the onslaught.
Ying Tianci shrieked in panic, "Fellow colleagues, watch out for me... Fuck your mother, Li Zishu, your axe hit me! Sun Yuanjiang, we drank wine together before... You bastard Zhao Yunfei, you're using public duty to settle a personal grudge—"
Little Celestial Venerable stepped onto the immortal raft and came up behind Xiyue. Looking down at the vicious battle below, he said, "Senior Sister, perhaps Master truly had difficulties he couldn't speak of? You call him a traitor, and the Immortal Realm also calls him a traitor. But in that case... who did he betray?"
Xiyue's expression fluctuated uncertainly as her fist clenched tight.
Gripped in her fist was an ancient hairpin. Long ago, when she had infiltrated the Dou Department to assassinate Xu Ying, she had found him toying with that very hairpin.
That assassination attempt had failed, and Xu Ying had pressed the hairpin into her hand before letting her go.
She had kept that hairpin to this very day.
"I only wanted someone to notify the Dou Department and borrow their strength to hunt him down. I never imagined the Dou Department would mobilize on such a massive scale," she murmured.
Now the Dou Department had cast an inescapable net across heaven and earth, all to capture Xu Ying in one fell swoop and wipe away their past humiliation.
What surprised her even more was that Xu Ying—whom she had always considered a traitor, someone who betrayed the Ancestral Court and betrayed her—was viewed by their enemies as a true traitor, a genuine rebel.
"But why did he leave without uttering a single word? Why didn't he tell us the truth?" Her thoughts were in utter turmoil.
If Xu Ying had only said something before ascending, not a single person would have blamed or resented him; not a single person would have hung their head in dejection, and no one would have succumbed to despair.
If Xu Ying had told them the truth, Little Celestial Venerable would not have had to toil alone, struggling to uphold the conviction of mending the heavens; there would have been many people to aid him and stand by his side.
Nor would Xiyue have had to swallow her indignation, cultivating desperately just to ascend, tormented by this bitter resentment for over forty thousand years.
Back when Xu Ying ascended, as the eldest senior sister, she had witnessed just how despairing the uncles and seniors who followed Xu Ying had become, their foundational conviction collapsing into ruin overnight.
She had defended Xu Ying in the beginning, but as the quarrels with her elders mounted, her defense had turned into doubt.
Down below, Ying Tianci in Xu Ying's grasp had already been battered by the crowd until his physical body was pulverized and his soul returned to heaven and earth, dying a violent death.
The immortals of the Dou Department hated Xu Ying to the marrow of their bones. After using Ying Tianci as a shield to weather several attacks, Xu Ying realized these people did not care in the slightest whether Ying Tianci lived or died. With a sinking heart, he tossed Ying Tianci's remains aside.
They didn't even care about the Lord of the Juwei Palace; it seemed they were dead set on slaying him to wipe away their shame!
He raised his hand and directly clashed with the Firmament Halberd of the Cangling Heavenly Palace, nearly bending the halberd out of shape. But behind him, he was struck by the Imperial Tomb Immortal-Felling Cleave of Yun Wanli, Lord of the Huangling Palace. The blade light cleaved through his back, nearly cutting him in two at the waist!
Xu Ying circulated his six Immortal Realm cave-heavens, instantly restoring the wound. Unleashing his Heaven and Earth Embodiment, he forced back the Hunyuan Bell and knocked away the Daming Divine Empyrean Lantern, attempting to leap out of the encirclement. However, Lin Shoujun, Lord of the Gaoyuan Palace, barred his way. With a brush as massive as a beam, Lin Shoujun deployed a suite of Yin-Yang Dao Scripture techniques, driving Xu Ying back!
Suddenly, purple qi streaked across the sky. Xu Ying summoned the Purple Nether Saber and severed the Siming Banner in a single strike. Feng Yanqiu grunted in agony as his right arm was lopped off along with the banner!
"The Imperial Monarch's Purple Nether Saber!" The palace lords were shocked beyond measure, scattering to dodge the purple qi.
Xu Ying broke out of the encirclement, but a zither suddenly sounded. Rays of cold light manifested before him, and he hastily raised the Purple Nether Saber to block.
The zither notes collided with the blade light in a flurry of metallic clangs, violently churning Xu Ying's vitality. Suddenly, several strands of zither notes pierced through the blade light and struck Xu Ying's body!
Blood sprayed.
The zither notes detonated inside Xu Ying, nearly blowing his physical body apart. But in the next instant, Xu Ying's Primordial Spirit stepped forward to shield his front, blocking the rest of the notes.
The zither notes battered against his Primordial Spirit, sending bursts of spiritual light flying, yet they could not harm it in the slightest!
Opposite him, the one playing the zither was none other than Sima Baihong, Lord of the Kaiyang Palace of the Northern Dipper. As an Immortal Monarch, he had not even engaged in person—merely plucking his zither strings had nearly cost Xu Ying his life!
While plucking the strings, Sima Baihong remarked in surprise, "Celestial Venerable Xu, your cultivation level is not high, yet your abilities are extraordinarily formidable. Is this your Taiyi Inborn Technique?"
"Wrong!"
Xu Ying took a sudden stride forward, merging with his Primordial Spirit to transform into a two-zhang giant. Wielding the half-severed Purple Nether Saber, he charged straight for Sima Baihong!
"This is the Taiyi Imperishable True Scripture that I created in this life!"
Sima Baihong pushed his zither forward, letting it float in midair. His Primordial Spirit emerged behind him, dancing as it stroked the strings, deflecting the incoming Purple Nether Saber!
Sima Baihong rose to his feet and engaged Xu Ying in close combat. His Primordial Spirit manipulated the zither, preventing the Purple Nether Saber from advancing even half a pace or posing the slightest threat to him.
His melee prowess was equally remarkable, matching Xu Ying blow for blow in martial arts without giving an inch.
Suddenly, the zither notes rang out sharp and swift, accelerating rapidly. They knocked away the Purple Nether Saber, and a barrage of zither notes struck Xu Ying, sending him tumbling backward through the air!
Sima Baihong resumed his cross-legged seat. The long zither floated down onto his knees, and he continued to play at a leisurely pace.
Xu Ying, wounded by the assault, fell back into the encirclement.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Sima Baihong hooked the zither strings with both hands and released them. Five successive sonic blasts crashed forward, shaking the treasures behind Xu Ying—the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains, the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron, and the others—causing them to sway violently backward, nearly slipping beyond his control.
Trapped in the heavy encirclement, with his five great magic treasures almost stripped away, Xu Ying was instantly forced onto the back foot, sustaining wound after wound from the lords of the Six Offices of the Southern Dipper, the Four Palaces of the Eastern Dipper, and the Four Palaces of the Western Dipper.
"Xu Ying, you rely merely on these few magic treasures to sustain your magic power," Sima Baihong smiled. "If I knock down your treasures, can you still remain imperishable?"
Sima Baihong smiled and once more hooked five strings. As his fingers released, an eruption of zither notes blasted the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains, the Huntian Cauldron, the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, and the other treasures even farther away!
Xu Ying struggled to recall the five magic treasures, but the others seized the opening. Heavy blow after heavy blow landed on his body, beating him until he coughed up blood.
Composed and unhurried, Sima Baihong hooked the five strings once again, preparing to exert his strength. Suddenly, an immortal raft pierced through the layers of encirclement in the sky above. Hurled down from the raft were two mystic passes, a Divine Bridge, and the Jade Capital Immortal City!
Sima Baihong's expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet as his Primordial Spirit manifested behind him, extending its five fingers along with his own to grip the strings. "How dare you!" he barked.
His booming voice was deafening. Then, his five fingers released.
The zither's sound could no longer be heard with ears; all that could be seen was space erupting in layer upon layer before him as apocalyptic shockwaves surged directly toward those four magic treasures!
Sima Baihong's heart pounded violently, taut with supreme tension, his eyes fixed unwaveringly upon the four falling treasures!
His goal was not to destroy them, but to prevent them from reaching Xu Ying.
He had long heard the tale of the Imperial Monarch severing Xu Ying's cultivation, and knew that Xu Ying's nine great realms were unaccounted for. When he saw Xu Ying wielding five great magic treasures, he instantly deduced their origin—they had to be the physical forms of the realms severed from Xu Ying.
Now that four more treasures were falling, how could he fail to realize what was happening?
Just as the sonic blasts were about to strike the four treasures, the immortal raft suddenly swerved across, interposing itself before the falling artifacts.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The raft splintered and ruptured under the sonic impact. Aboard the vessel, the woman in red was jolted until blood seeped from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, yet she held her ground, refusing to yield.
Sima Baihong gritted his teeth and let out a shrill cry, sweeping the strings once more. Five metallic chords rang out, hurling five sonic waves forward!
The woman in red aboard the raft could no longer withstand these five attacks, but suddenly a white-robed scholar charged into the fray. Activating the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, he braced himself and forcibly took the brunt of the sonic assault.
Sima Baihong's heart sank. He watched as the four treasures descended from the sky and settled one by one behind Xu Ying.
The black iron mystic pass settled between the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains and the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron; the bronze mystic pass settled between the Huntian Cauldron and the Twelve-Storyed Mansions; the Divine Bridge spanned above the Immortal Dao Jade Pool, traversing the Third Heavenly Pass.
And where that Divine Bridge met its end, the Jade Capital Immortal City hung suspended above the Third Heavenly Pass!
A cold dread gripped Sima Baihong's heart: "It's over..."
Even so, he frantically plucked the strings, sending sonic waves surging forth in a desperate attempt to drive back the white-robed scholar and the woman in red, aiming to strike down the nine great magic treasures behind Xu Ying!
The other palace lords also unleashed frenzied attacks against Xu Ying, seeking to cut him down.
Unable to endure the zither's assault any longer, the white-robed scholar grabbed the woman in red by the hand and leaped onto the immortal raft, tearing away through the void!
Sima Baihong exhaled in relief. The power of his zither grew even more magnificent, crashing into Xu Ying with thunderous chords: Clang! Clang! Clang!
Xu Ying's body swayed slightly, and he lifted his head.
The corner of Sima Baihong's eye twitched uncontrollably. The notes he had plucked with all his might left only shallow nicks on Xu Ying's flesh.
And those wounds healed almost instantaneously.
Behind Xu Ying, from the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains of the Qi Gathering stage all the way to the Jade Capital Immortal City of the Ascension stage, all the realms of his first life were finally assembled!
Nine treasures of Immortal Kings and God Kings together constructed his nine external realms!
All around him, the attacks of the Immortal Kings were deflected away before they could even touch his body!
Xu Ying raised his palm and examined it back and forth, as if his own hand were far more interesting than these Immortal Kings.
He swept a palm out gently. With a tremendous clang, a deep handprint appeared on the Hunyuan Bell of Sun Yuanjiang, Lord of the Silu Palace.
In the very next instant, Sun Yuanjiang felt this palace-guarding treasure vanish from his perception. Every trace of his imprint upon the Hunyuan Bell was completely wiped away!
Chapter 465