An unknown amount of time later, two figures appeared high in the clouds, their auras completely concealed.
Array after array designed to mask their presence had been deployed before them.
"Where is the fat sheep?" Ji Buping asked cautiously.
"Inside the formation below." Qi Yuan blew a stealthy breath.
The cloud and mist ahead parted, revealing a grey-robed figure.
However, obstructed by the formation, the view remained indistinct.
The grey-robed figure appeared completely ordinary, trapped within an ancient formation. Immortal spiritual qi flowed around him as he seemed to be breaking the array.
For some reason, when Ji Buping saw that grey-robed figure, his heart violently leapt, as though sensing immense danger.
"Fellow Daoist... why do I feel that he... seems far from simple?"
Ji Buping spoke with a tremor of hesitation in his voice.
"Isn't he very ordinary? If there's anything not simple about him, it's just that he's getting up there in years," Qi Yuan said.
Ji Buping took another look. "I don't know why, but seeing him makes my heart pound. Could he be very strong?"
Unfortunately, blocked by the formation, he could not see clearly.
"Just average at best. Look at how dilapidated and decrepit that ancient formation below is. Put a young, vigorous fellow down there, and he'd probably tear it down in a few blows. As for him, he's old—he pushes a bit, then rests a bit. At a glance, he's clearly inferior to the two of us," Qi Yuan explained.
Half-believing, half-doubting, Ji Buping suddenly gasped in shock. "He just tore space apart with a punch!"
"The space inside the ancient array is aged and rusty! You could tear it to shreds too if you went down there!"
"B-but he... a Yang God Heavenly Venerable?!" Ji Buping's heart raced in terror.
The aura Heavenly Venerable Mochi momentarily leaked was unmistakably that of a Yang God!
Furthermore, he had just caught a clear glimpse of the grey-robed old man's face—it was none other than the legendary Heavenly Venerable Mochi!
"Yes, he's a Yang God. But it's fine. He's old, and his legs aren't nimble. If you go down with a sliding tackle and slash his belly with a blade, I estimate thirty-seventy odds," Qi Yuan said in all seriousness.
Ji Buping felt a wave of sheer absurdity, along with utter bewilderment.
Question marks were practically sprouting all over his head.
What was wrong with this world?
His brain completely froze.
He did not even dare to twitch.
"Hurry up! Go down there with a sliding tackle and give him a fright!" Qi Yuan whispered.
Yet Ji Buping could not bring himself to budge in the slightest.
He thought Qi Yuan was out of his mind.
After all, plotting against a Moluo Yang God in the very heartland of the Moluo Clan required a complete screw loose.
Besides, anyone daring to plot against a Yang God had to be at least a Yang God himself, right?
A mighty Yang God senior... had dragged him along?
Was this playing house?
If he wanted to kill him, wouldn't a single glance suffice?
A look uglier than weeping appeared on his face. "Se... Senior..."
He had finally realized something.
"What? You want to desert before the battle? Don't even think about it! We'll ambush him together in a moment—I already have a plan!"
Qi Yuan spoke loudly, sounding thoroughly disappointed by his lack of spine.
Why was this fellow behaving just like Qin Wuyang?
Brooking no argument, he grabbed Ji Buping by the collar. "I think so highly of you—don't let me down!"
Ji Buping's mind was an utter mess. He felt with absolute certainty that the blood-robed figure before him was a lunatic.
A bona fide madman!
Either way, daring to lay hands on a Moluo Yang God meant neither of them was walking away alive today!
***
Meanwhile, inside the ancient formation.
Heavenly Venerable Mochi drew a deep breath.
"A mere ancient array is beneath mention."
He had expended a considerable amount of strength this time.
Yet compared to the purple qi, it was nothing.
Looking at the purple qi not far away, he inhaled deeply.
"To think this venerable one possessed such colossal fortune to actually encounter purple qi. I wonder whose immortal cave this once was."
He swept his gaze across the area and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Evidently, the master of this ancient array had either departed long ago or perished, leaving behind only this wisp of purple qi.
Staring at this wisp of purple qi, his expression grew agitated, convinced that the Mandate of Heaven rested upon him.
Even so, he remained cautious, scanning his surroundings to ensure no other killing arrays were lying in wait.
Right at that moment, the purple qi between heaven and earth suddenly stirred.
Heavenly Venerable Mochi's expression did not waver. "Where do you think you're running!"
Though purple qi lacked sentience, it possessed an instinctual impulse to flee.
Thus, he promptly gave chase.
In any case, with his strength as a Yang God, there was no way this purple qi could escape his grasp.
Yet barely a few breaths later, his expression abruptly froze, and his mind shook violently.
Ahead of him, an ancient, profound gate radiating the light of wisdom materialized.
The moment he saw that gate, even as a Yang God, Heavenly Venerable Mochi could not stop his body from trembling, and a feverish frenzy overtook his gaze.
"The... the Gate of Ultimate Principle!"
His breathing turned ragged.
This gate was none other than the Immortal Realm's foremost Creation Treasure—the Gate of Ultimate Principle!
Rumor had it that every ultimate principle comprehended by all the Ultimate Principle Realm powerhouses across the Sixth Heaven resided within it!
Rumors also claimed that whoever acquired the Gate of Ultimate Principle and entered it to contemplate ultimate principles would, given enough time, inevitably attain the realm of Great Ultimate Reason.
One could even comprehend the ultimate principles belonging to other Great Ultimate Reason Yang Gods.
If so, then he, Heavenly Venerable Mochi... would become the number one figure in the Immortal Realm!
"Hahaha, the Mandate of Heaven is mine!"
At this moment, all of Heavenly Venerable Mochi's reason vanished, replaced by wild fanaticism.
The Gate of Ultimate Principle ahead was his sole objective.
True, not even Great Ultimate Reason experts had ever captured the Gate of Ultimate Principle, but what if... what if he succeeded?
Right then, without warning, the Gate of Ultimate Principle swung open.
Seeing this, Heavenly Venerable Mochi was dumbfounded.
Such a thing was entirely unprecedented; he had never even heard of it.
Even if powerhouses of the Great Ultimate Reason Realm attacked the Gate of Ultimate Principle, they could never force it open.
Let alone entering it.
Never mind mastering the Gate of Ultimate Principle—simply entering it was already the greatest opportunity in the entire Immortal Realm.
Before he had time to ponder further, that wisp of purple qi shrank sharply and shot directly into the Gate of Ultimate Principle.
Space rippled around the Gate of Ultimate Principle as though it were preparing to depart.
Seeing this, Heavenly Venerable Mochi knew he could hesitate no longer, or this astronomical opportunity would slip through his fingers.
"We cultivators must forge ahead through hardship and dare to strive!"
"The Mandate of Heaven belongs to this venerable one!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Heavenly Venerable Mochi turned into a streak of light and plunged headlong into the Gate of Ultimate Principle.
Awaiting him would be boundless ultimate principles!
He would become the greatest being in the Immortal Realm!
***
On the other side, seeing this unfold, a smile curled across Qi Yuan's lips. "Fellow Daoist Ji, the fish has taken the bait! Let's shut the door and beat the dog!"
As he spoke, he grabbed Ji Buping by the neck and pulled him into his own Purple Mansion.
Inside the Purple Mansion, Heavenly Venerable Mochi's expression changed dramatically.
"Death qi?"
"Yin qi?"
"Isn't this the Gate of Ultimate Principle?"
He was utterly bewildered and deeply wary.
He had expected that entering the Gate of Ultimate Principle would greet him with endless ultimate principles.
Instead... there wasn't a fart's worth of ultimate principles.
The place was profoundly gloomy, with death qi drifting in the air.
This was nothing like the interior of the Gate of Ultimate Principle!
Yet he had clearly stepped right into it.
Just then, his expression shifted slightly.
"No stars reflecting across the heavens, only ten suns?"
At this moment, he caught the scent of peril.
Those ten suns were far too familiar.
Wasn't this... the Ten Suns Heavenly Venerable who had reflected across the heavens not long ago, seeking to seize the Great Sun Venerable Position?
"Who's there? Come out!"
Heavenly Venerable Mochi became vigilant to the extreme, having sensed movement in the distance.
He looked over and immediately spotted a black-robed cultivator ahead. The man seemed to be trembling all over, holding a large saber-like weapon, and slowly walking toward him.
Heavenly Venerable Mochi instantly tensed.
A Great Venerable?
No, he had to be concealing his strength.
"Who are you? The Ten Suns Heavenly Venerable?" Heavenly Venerable Mochi demanded, staring at the saber-wielding man.
Yet the man said nothing, maintaining complete silence.
He looked at Heavenly Venerable Mochi with an apparently resolute gaze.
His eyes were fixed on Heavenly Venerable Mochi's belly, as if genuinely plotting to slide-tackle him and slice his stomach open.
"Playing the fool!"
Though Heavenly Venerable Mochi was intensely wary, he was a Yang God Heavenly Venerable after all.
As long as he did not run into an Ultimate Principle Yang God, preserving his own life was guaranteed.
"Die!"
Facing the black-robed figure, Heavenly Venerable Mochi held nothing back, unleashing his full power in a single strike!
After all, this saber-wielding man was exceedingly bizarre; he had to be a hidden powerhouse.
"I'll do a sliding tac—" Ji Buping braced for death.
Qi Yuan's voice echoed in his ears; he had forgotten everything else, remembering only the sliding tackle.
He vaguely recalled that he had once killed a Great Ultimate Reason expert with a sliding tackle.
Now, facing an ordinary Yang God Heavenly Venerable, a sliding tackle gave him... thirty-seventy odds.
Well, he died in less than three breaths, and Heavenly Venerable Mochi wasn't even seventy percent full.
Heavenly Venerable Mochi stared ahead, somewhat dazed.
With a single strike, the other party had been reduced straight to ash!
He had won far too easily—it was utterly baffling.
If this was a conspiracy, why dispatch a mere Great Venerable?
He was thoroughly confused and could make no sense of it.
Naturally, that was only normal.
He did not know Qi Yuan, so how could he ever fathom the strange workings of Qi Yuan's brain?
"Insolence!"
Right then, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Home invasion and murder in cold blood! You have committed a capital crime!"
A man clad in blood-red robes appeared, an expression of profound heartache and grief across his eyes.
Seeing this man, Heavenly Venerable Mochi's pupils shrank violently. "Could Your Excellency... be the Ten Suns Heavenly Venerable?"
"Whether I'm the Ten Suns Heavenly Venerable doesn't matter! Right now, I'm the eyewitness!" Qi Yuan took the moral high ground to pass judgment on Heavenly Venerable Mochi. "As the saying goes, a life for a life! Right here, right now... you must die!"
What Qi Yuan detested most was the slaughter of the innocent.
Especially since Heavenly Venerable Mochi had killed Qi Yuan's innocent, pure, kind, and lovely little companion, Ji Buping.
Qi Yuan could not stand by and watch Ji Buping die in his own house.
The person he brought out had been murdered—he had to seek vengeance!
Heavenly Venerable Mochi's face filled with question marks.
He dearly wanted to ask if this fellow had lost his mind.
Yet he felt that would be too impolite.
Furthermore, how could a Yang God be completely deranged?
While certain Ultimate Principle powerhouses did have their emotions warped by their ultimate principles, the person before him did not seem like that at all.
"Could Fellow Daoist speak reasonably?" Heavenly Venerable Mochi asked with immense dread.
He smelled an intense sense of crisis.
"Oh, wonderful! You actually dare to slander me and claim I'm not speaking reasonably! You truly are a once-in-a-ten-thousand-years villain!"
Qi Yuan hesitated no further.
What should one do when an armed robber breaks into one's home?
Kill him on the spot!
After all, self-defense was not against the law!
What was more, this bandit had even committed murder!
A formidable aura unfurled.
The Divine Infants within Qi Yuan gathered at this moment, concentrating all their power into his body.
His figure suddenly seemed to tower immensely.
Heavenly Venerable Mochi's face warped into terror. "An alternative Yang God?"
This person bore no trace of an Ultimate Principle Yang God's aura.
Even if his opponent were considerably stronger than him, he would normally have ways to protect himself.
Yet at this moment, the aura radiating from the man... vaguely approached the realm of ultimate principle!
His mind shook with shock and incomprehension.
Only an alternative Yang God could explain this!
Yet the Ten Suns Heavenly Venerable sought to contest the venerable position of that figure from Taihuang Palace.
With talent so breathtaking, why would he tread such a path... the path of an alternative Yang God?
"What alternative Yang God? I'm just a righteous grand Purple Mansion cultivator!"
In an instant, the energy of over a thousand Divine Infants converged upon Qi Yuan, and this titanic blow hurtled straight toward Heavenly Venerable Mochi's body.
Mighty!
Unrivaled!
Pure force!
Under this single blow, Heavenly Venerable Mochi could not resist in the slightest.
This strength was a chasm that no combat technique, Dao art, or divine ability could ever bridge.
His body shattered beneath this fist.
His divine soul splintered inch by inch at this very moment.
Qi Yuan's fist reached straight into the power of standard ultimate principles; as a mere Lesser Heavenly Position cultivator, he was entirely powerless to resist.
Even so, his divine soul was not extinguished after all.
Qi Yuan had held back on this strike.
Otherwise, if Heavenly Venerable Mochi died, the Moluo Clan would surely be shaken, which would disrupt his low profile and interfere with his continued fishing.
He spared half a wisp of Heavenly Venerable Mochi's divine soul.
"You..." Heavenly Venerable Mochi was terrified out of his wits.
Right then, Qi Yuan's Great Oblivion Heart Scripture abruptly activated.
"Grandson, the truth is, I'm your long-lost ancestor!"
"Your ancestor here is the artifact spirit of the Gate of Ultimate Principle!"
"Could you have forgotten?"
"I crippled you for your own good, so you could inherit the Gate of Ultimate Principle!"
Activating the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, Qi Yuan began brainwashing Heavenly Venerable Mochi's remnant soul.
If facing a Heavenly Venerable head-on, using the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture to brainwash him would definitely fail.
Now, however, Heavenly Venerable Mochi was gravely wounded, and the flame of his divine soul rested entirely in Qi Yuan's grasp.
The effect of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture grew stronger and stronger.
He cast Heavenly Venerable Mochi into forgetting the past, continually constructing false memories within his mind.
About half an hour passed.
Qi Yuan finally exhaled a breath of relief.
"Brainwashing complete!"
After all, if he didn't brainwash him, what if Heavenly Venerable Mochi had an unyielding backbone and destroyed his own divine soul?
In that case, the Moluo Clan would certainly find out.
His success rate for fishing afterward would plummet, and he might even end up getting reverse-fished.
"Alas, what a pity. If only I had Dongjun's silver tongue," Qi Yuan lamented.
Brainwashing with the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture was still too slow.
It couldn't compare to Dongjun—as soon as Dongjun spoke, the other party took it as absolute truth.
"What a shame. This white moonlight's storage pouch was smashed to pieces by my fist, and all the good things are gone."
Qi Yuan sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Yet there was no helping it.
This was a Yang God, not a head of cabbage.
A Golden Core cultivator's body might be softer than a storage pouch, but a Yang God... how could a storage pouch survive when even the physical body was obliterated?
"Still..."
Qi Yuan pondered for a moment.
"Sigh, to think a day would come when I have to disguise myself as an ugly fellow!"
Following Qi Yuan's words, his appearance transformed.
He turned into the exact likeness of Heavenly Venerable Mochi.
Having already scanned Heavenly Venerable Mochi's soul, he prepared to head to Heavenly Venerable Mochi's immortal cave to grab some good loot.
Chapter 411