The Longxing Great World was one of the largest among the myriad heavens and realms. Because this world abounded with dragon veins, and divine dragons frequently roamed its mountains and rivers, it was named Longxing—Flourishing Dragon.
Longxing had successively merged with three other worlds—Changping, Daoning, and Yanyou—growing ever more vast. Dragon veins previously hidden throughout those worlds surfaced one after another, their scale expanding by the day.
Whenever this occurred, streaks of golden light burst from deep underground to illuminate the firmament, radiating earth-shattering grandeur.
The Heavenly Sea had likewise grown broader, boundless and immense, with dragons and serpents dancing through its waters.
Experts of the Immortal Realm had observed this long ago, arriving in the Longxing world in succession to await their immortal opportunities.
The Immortal Emperor summoned Wei Xu and said, "The Longxing world is about to merge with the Yuanshou world. When they unite, a Dragon Court will emerge within the Heavenly Sea—something truly extraordinary. Take my disciple there to seize this fortune. You may also use this opportunity to recover a few tenths of your strength."
Wei Xu had currently recovered forty to fifty percent of his cultivation. He said, "I am your junior brother. Sending me to seize this opportunity—aren't you worried it might displease others? When the Dragon Court emerges, it will inevitably draw covetous eyes from many."
The Immortal Emperor chuckled. "Go as you please. If they are displeased, that is their own concern."
Wei Xu asked, "Am I permitted to kill?"
The Immortal Emperor said, "As long as you do not slaughter the innocent."
Wei Xu was rather displeased. "Where is your disciple?"
"Zhao Zheng, come out."
The moment the Immortal Emperor spoke, Wei Xu saw a young man clad in black step out from behind the screen. He had resolute, striking features, piercing eyes, and a scarlet cloak draped over his shoulders.
To Wei Xu's astonishment, hanging in the air behind this young man named Zhao Zheng were magic treasures such as the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains, the First Mystic Gate, and the Water-Fire Pill Cauldron—the exact same layout of treasures suspended behind Xu Ying!
Only, Zhao Zheng bore an even greater number of magic treasures. From the Five Sacred Mountains to the Jade Capital Immortal City, there were nine sets of treasures in total, and trailing behind them were even more treasures representing the Domain of Six Immortals, the Dao domain, the bodhimanda, and the Dao tree!
This Zhao Zheng had actually used magic treasures to simulate all fourteen cultivation realms from Qi Harvesting up to Dao Tree, hanging them behind him to form an external fourteen realms!
What shocked Wei Xu even more was that in the sky above Zhao Zheng's head hung six cave-heavens in mechanical form!
Zhao Zheng's cave-heavens were constructed entirely from exquisitely crafted magic treasures. Ingeniously conceived, these treasures operated without ceasing, penetrating the void to draw power from the six other shores!
This man had pushed external power to its absolute limits, and his cultivation and strength were surprisingly formidable, leaving even Wei Xu marveling in wonder!
"Zhao Zheng is a recently accepted disciple of mine, a man of great ingenuity," the Immortal Emperor instructed. "He has an affinity with the Dragon Court. If you take him along, not only will you gain benefits to recover your cultivation realm, but he will also reap tremendous rewards."
Wei Xu voiced his assent.
The Immortal Emperor then instructed Zhao Zheng, "Take the Fangzhang cave abyss with you to the Dragon Court. If you encounter an old acquaintance who wishes to trade for this Fangzhang cave abyss, make sure to demand an exorbitant price and trade it for some fine treasures."
Zulong Zhao Zheng did not understand his intention, but knowing his master possessed uncanny foresight, he bowed and complied. He brought forth the Fangzhang cave abyss. That Fangzhang cave abyss was merely palm-sized, containing an immortal mountain roughly ten feet in size within the abyss, with immortal spiritual qi faintly spilling out from the mouth of the cave.
However, the Fangzhang cave abyss was simply too miniature, producing a pitiful trickle of spiritual qi.
Wei Xu couldn't help but chuckle; he had never seen such a tiny cave abyss.
Zhao Zheng had originally relied on this very Fangzhang cave abyss to walk the Heavenly Road that no one tread anymore all the way to the Immortal Realm. In recent years, he was the sole immortal who had overcome the heavenly tribulation through his own capability and finished walking the Heavenly Road through sheer willpower.
Upon his arrival in the Immortal Realm, the immortals were profoundly shaken, having never imagined anyone could still successfully cross the tribulation.
The Immortal Emperor admired Zhao Zheng's will and ability, taking him as a disciple and bestowing an Immortal Monarch-grade cave abyss upon him for cultivation. Zhao Zheng finally no longer had to rely solely on the Fangzhang cave abyss, so he had put it away.
Nevertheless, the Immortal Emperor's claim that the Fangzhang cave abyss could be traded for great treasures truly surprised him.
*Who would trade treasures for Mount Fangzhang?* Zulong Zhao Zheng shook his head inwardly.
At the border of the Immortal Realm, in the land of Tianxu, a burly giant sat cross-legged, engrossed in bitter cultivation. He possessed a robust, muscular physique and the savage ferocity of a wild brute, yet carried an air of refined scholarship—a striking contradiction.
He was none other than Xing Daoyuan, who called himself the Master of Mud Pill Palace. Though he had undergone tribulation and ascended, he possessed no travel permit and was a vicious criminal who had smuggled himself into the Immortal Realm from the Heavenly Dao world.
Upon arriving in the Immortal Realm, he had committed crime after crime, intercepting and slaying immortal officials and plundering cave abysses. He had even committed a bloody slaughter at the Dao Sea, killing six Immortal Kings guarding the Dao Sea to seize their cave abysses.
Before their deaths, those six Immortal Kings had been subjected to severe torture and interrogation to extract their cultivation arts before finally being executed.
Xing Daoyuan's vicious reputation spread far and wide, landing him on the wanted list, a fugitive fast approaching the top rank.
As the Master of Mud Pill Palace, Xing Daoyuan, was cultivating, a voice suddenly rang out, "Xing Daoyuan, if you cultivate like this, what year and month will it take to reach the supreme realm?"
The Master of Mud Pill Palace's heart jolted. Leaping to his feet, he assumed a guarded stance.
As someone named on the wanted list, he had long been skittish like a bird frightened by the twang of a bow. Tianxu was exceptionally perilous, and he had hidden here precisely to evade pursuers, never imagining someone would still track him down.
Yet what met his eyes was a kindly, benevolent old Daoist bearing a warm smile, treading lightly across the hazard-strewn Tianxu as though strolling on flat ground.
The seals and restrictions Xing Daoyuan had laid out seemed nonexistent to him, effortlessly bypassed with a single stride.
"Who are you?" the Master of Mud Pill Palace demanded.
The old Daoist chuckled. "Xing Daoyuan, that scroll of the *Dao Turning Mind Sutra* you stumbled upon when you first entered the Immortal Realm was placed before you by none other than me."
The Master of Mud Pill Palace, Xing Daoyuan's expression shifted drastically. He had neither connections nor resources in the Immortal Realm; he had fought his way up into the Immortal Realm, and once here, he was deemed an outlaw and a fugitive hunted by the Immortal Court.
He had struck back brazenly, slaying many immortals, but doing so had exposed his weaknesses.
He had been a harvester of chives and a fisherman in the Yuanshou world for over forty thousand years, forging six great cave-heavens, one of which was the Nuo Ancestor cave-heaven.
His cultivation base was unimaginably immense, surpassing Immortal Kings, yet through continuous fighting, he discovered that his actual combat prowess was still far inferior to that of an Immortal King.
Painfully reflecting on his shortcomings, he pondered at length and realized that the reason his combat prowess lagged behind his cultivation was that five of his cave-heavens were not genuine Nuo Ancestor cave-heavens, compounded by the fact that he had harvested too many people, resulting in too many disparate types of primordial qi within his body.
It was precisely then that he had inadvertently entered an abandoned immortal grotto-dwelling, finding within it an art called the *Dao Turning Mind Sutra*. This *Dao Turning Mind Sutra* was obscure and hard to fathom, but remarkably powerful. After contemplating it for several years, he had finally attained modest success.
Back then, the Master of Mud Pill Palace had left the grotto-dwelling intending to seize a great fortune. Hearing that Tian Chouchou had arrived in the frontier wildlands, he went looking for Tian Chouchou and thus crossed paths with the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor and Xu Jing.
After Tian Chouchou read his fortune, he had launched a surprise assault on the Dao Sea, slaying the Immortal Kings guarding the sea to seize a great fortune. As a result, his *Dao Turning Mind Sutra* had advanced by leaps and bounds, thoroughly refining away the alien primordial qis in his body and forging a profound Dao foundation.
*The Dao Turning Mind Sutra was intentionally placed before me by him? He even knows my name! From the moment I entered the Immortal Realm, my every move must have been under his watch.*
Xing Daoyuan hesitated briefly before bowing down in homage. "So it is Teacher. This disciple received Teacher's transmission of the Dao, yet I still do not know Teacher's venerable name."
The old Daoist chuckled. "My Daoist title is Taiyuan; people call me Daoist Taiyuan. Xing Daoyuan, there is no need for doubt in your heart. Seeing your extraordinary aptitude and comprehension, your immense endurance, and your grand ambition, I was moved by an appreciation of your talent."
Xing Daoyuan knelt on the ground without raising his head, voicing his agreement. As for what he was actually thinking, none could know.
Daoist Taiyuan smiled. "Rise. I accept you as my disciple. You have cultivated using the cave abysses of Immortal Kings these past few years, yet your progress hasn't amounted to much, has it? No matter how many Immortal King cave abysses you obtain, they pale before a single Immortal Monarch cave abyss. Currently, the tide of the three realms grows ever more turbulent. The myriad heavens and realms are merging, and the three realms are uniting into one. Even the Immortal Realm is destined to become part of the Earth Immortal Realm. There is no point in you lingering here on the borders of the Immortal Realm."
Xing Daoyuan rose, completely stunned. He blurted out, "The three realms merging into one?"
He stood dazed and despondent. If so, had all these years of scheming and the arduous struggle of his ascension amounted to nothing more than an illusory dream?
Daoist Taiyuan said, "The unification of the three realms is the trend of the times. For the Immortal Realm to enjoy six hundred thousand years of peace is already an eternity. With this unification of the three realms, turmoil has surfaced, and heroes are bound to emerge. Xing Daoyuan, if you cannot step outside the Immortal Realm, your talents will be utterly wasted. At present, the Longxing Great World is about to merge with the Yuanshou world. When that occurs, the Dragon Court will reappear. You may go there to claim a great fortune to serve as the capital for your rise."
Xing Daoyuan was both surprised and delighted, bowing repeatedly in gratitude.
Daoist Taiyuan said, "Those eyeing the Dragon Court are not few. Among them are numerous masters, and those far superior to you are as common as carp crossing a river. I shall grant you a piece of good fortune."
He raised his aged palm. Behind him, a Dao tree manifested, and a branch fell from it, landing in Xing Daoyuan's hands.
"This branch contains one of my Great Daos. You can refine it into a weapon to ensure your safety."
Xing Daoyuan bowed in thanks.
Daoist Taiyuan waved his hand. "Descend to the lower realm."
Respectful and reverent, Xing Daoyuan took a few steps back, turned, and soared into the sky, descending to the lower realm through the massive rift in the firmament.
Daoist Taiyuan watched him disappear, lingering in deep contemplation for a long time before turning to leave.
"The Great Dao is perilous to cross... Lately, I have been constantly uneasy, feeling as if a great calamity looms near. Even dwelling high above on Great Luo Heaven, I must plan early for the future. I hope this Master of Mud Pill Palace can help me survive the great catastrophe."
Yuanshou world.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou gazed at the phenomena in the sky. In the distance, twilight glow surged like a tide as the Heavenly Sea drove the radiant haze closer. Within the luminous mist, all manner of magnificent visions manifested, resembling ten thousand dragons taking flight.
Moreover, the people along the coast frequently heard the deep, resonant roars of divine dragons echoing from the sea—heavy and awe-inspiring, vibrating through their very chests.
In recent days, anomalous signs had multiplied across the Yuanshou world. This world had suffered through many tribulations, and the current omens inevitably stirred unease.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou, Ji Man, was among those who felt it. He knew the source of these anomalies lay in the collision of two great worlds, and he had heard that a Dragon Court would emerge.
Yet, faced with this opportunity, he felt utterly powerless. Compared to the titans of the Immortal Realm, his faction was far too small and insignificant to contend for a share of such immense fortune.
"Is Senior Brother Ji Man present?" a voice suddenly echoed from the sky.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou looked up and saw graceful, fair immortal maidens riding immortal clouds descending from the Immortal Realm. Atop the clouds stood immortal palaces and pavilions wrapped in swirling mist, like a waking dream.
Within Haojing, Grand Preceptor Jiang Qi and the others raised their heads one after another to behold this sight.
Though Haojing was an immortal city they had labored to build in preparation for undergoing tribulation and ascending—luxurious and majestic to the extreme—it paled in comparison to the celestial palaces atop the clouds.
The immortal cloud gently descended, and the maidens escorted a woman in a soft pink dress forward. The woman said, "This humble one is Liu Ruyi, a handmaid serving Nine Palaces Dao Lord of Great Luo Heaven high above the nine heavens. Senior Brother Ji Man, your ancestor was originally a disciple of Nine Palaces Dao Lord who served as an Immortal King in the Immortal Realm. Alas, he lost favor in the imperial court, fell victim to plots, and perished, his Dao extinguished. Nine Palaces Dao Lord was deeply saddened upon learning of this. Senior Brother Ji, do you still possess the Five-Colored Immortal King Banner?"
Hearing this, the Son of Heaven of Zhou, Ji Man, hurriedly brought forth the Five-Colored Immortal King Banner.
Liu Ruyi raised the banner aloft, shedding tears as she said, "It is indeed this immortal banner! This banner is a keepsake of Nine Palaces Dao Lord's lineage."
The Five-Colored Immortal King Banner hovered in the air, the words 'Nine Palaces' faintly visible within its five-colored immortal light.
Liu Ruyi returned the banner to the Son of Heaven of Zhou and said, "Senior Brother, your esteemed ancestor was once a disciple under Nine Palaces. Today, the Dao Lord misses your ancestor. If you are willing, you may return to Nine Palaces' lineage."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou was overjoyed upon hearing this and naturally gave his eager assent.
Liu Ruyi said, "We have come on the Dao Lord's orders to escort Senior Brother Ji to the Dragon Court to claim a great fortune, so you may consolidate your Dao foundation and secure a place for yourself in the future Immortal Realm."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou said, "Senior Sister..."
Liu Ruyi smiled and spoke in a coquettish voice, "Senior Brother, you are a disciple of the Dao Lord; how could you call us Senior Sisters? You would shame us to death. We are merely your maidservants, emboldened only enough to call you Senior Brother! If Senior Brother were to tell us to warm your bed, we wouldn't dare utter a single complaint!"
With that, she and the maidens burst into soft giggles.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou was both astonished and delighted. Looking up at the celestial palaces above the clouds and then at these fair, jade-like maidens, he felt as though he were dreaming.
After a brief moment, he collected himself and asked, "Ruyi, what exactly is this Dragon Court?"
Liu Ruyi said, "Senior Brother may not know this, but legend has it that the Dragon Court was a divine court predating the Demon Court. In those ancient times, divine dragons governed the world, the dragon race flourished, and they unified all under heaven. Later, for unknown reasons, the Dragon Court fell into decline, giving rise to the ascent of the demons. The Dragon Court became the Ancestral Court of the dragon race, buried within the Heavenly Sea. Now that the Longxing Great World and the Yuanshou world are merging, the Dragon Court will reveal itself, holding boundless opportunities. Senior Brother, please enter the central palace to speak further."
Flanked by the women, the Son of Heaven of Zhou stepped onto the immortal cloud and entered the central palace. Jiang Qi and the others hurried to follow, filing in after him.
Liu Ruyi said, "Mortal beings need not travel to the Dragon Court, lest disaster befall them." She chased them back down.
Carrying the central palace, the immortal cloud flew toward the Heavenly Sea.
Liu Ruyi remarked, "The Dragon Court's emergence this time brings an opportunity no less magnificent than the Ginseng Dao fruit. While the fortune within the Dragon Court is splendid, it isn't enough to attract mighty beings such as Daluo Golden Immortals or Supremes, so for us, it will not pose such terrifying danger."
Just as she said this, lightning flashed and thunder roared across the sky. An unimaginably terrifying fist intent erupted, blasting through the celestial canopy. Instantly, an immortal along with his ten-thousand-zhang Primordial Spirit plummeted from the heavens, crashing into the Heavenly Sea and staining a vast stretch of water crimson with blood.
"Old Demon Xu is killing people!" someone shrieked.
Chapter 540