"It seems you don't know everything after all."
Seeing Heavenly Venerable Wusheng fall silent, Qi Yuan shrugged.
"My place happens to be missing a mirror. Any interest in hanging on my wall?" Qi Yuan said slowly, looking at the Mirror of Myriad Phenomena.
At that moment, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng, whose eyes had remained closed, opened them as his own consciousness returned.
"Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns must be joking," Heavenly Venerable Wusheng said with a smile.
"How do you know I'm joking?" Qi Yuan was playing his sneaky trick again.
If the other party agreed, he would naturally accept it gladly.
If the other party refused, it instantly became "I didn't really want it anyway, just a joke."
"Thank you for answering my questions. Consider it a favor I owe you," Qi Yuan said.
He had always been someone who kept his debts and grudges distinct.
Standing beside Qi Yuan, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng said slowly, "Though Taihuang Palace has entered the Seventh Heaven, you still need to be careful of the Linya Molt, Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns. In this Linya Molt, I fear even a Supreme Venerable might fall."
Although Taihuang Palace had promised the Unique Hall that a Supreme Venerable would fall in this Linya Molt, Taihuang Palace's strength made it very difficult to bring down a Supreme Venerable.
Therefore, the Ultimate Principle Society even suspected that the Unique Hall itself might personally enter the fray during this Linya Molt.
Otherwise, they could think of no reason a Supreme Venerable would fall.
Immediately afterward, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng shared the Ultimate Principle Society's speculation with Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes. "If they descend, then all the better... I need to ask them why they are shielding Taihuang Palace!"
Hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng's heart gave a violent jolt.
He couldn't help admiring the audacity of the Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns.
One had to know that when it came to the Unique Hall, even the two Supreme Venerables of the Ultimate Principle Society were secretive and spoke in hushed whispers. Yet here was the Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns, daring to hold them accountable.
"Among the Yang God Heavenly Venerables of the Sixth Heaven, probably no one—not even the Supreme Venerables—has ever seen the variant spirits of the Unique Hall. How strong these variant spirits are remains unknown. You must still be cautious, Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns," Heavenly Venerable Wusheng warned.
"If the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is as guilty as a commoner. Just because they are powerful, they get to evade the law? Where is the justice in that?" Qi Yuan remarked casually.
Once his divine art reached completion, he would have to head to the Seventh Heaven to bring the criminals of Taihuang Palace to justice.
Hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng dared not pursue the topic further.
"Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns, when the Linya Molt begins, I hope the Ultimate Principle Society and Ziyuan Heaven can cooperate to weather the storm together," Heavenly Venerable Wusheng said.
"No problem." Qi Yuan was indifferent to such arrangements.
Just then, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng recalled something. With a wave of his hand, a white jade porcelain bottle appeared, and he said in a hushed tone, "Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns, this is some Black Demon Ancestral Blood I have gathered. Hearing that your venerable self needed it, I have brought it forth specially. Please accept it with a smile."
Now, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng spoke on his own behalf, unrelated to the Ultimate Principle Society.
"Oh? Not bad. Speak your mind—what do you want?" Qi Yuan took the Black Demon Ancestral Blood.
Pies didn't fall from the sky.
Since Heavenly Venerable Wusheng was offering him Black Demon Ancestral Blood, he certainly had a favor to ask.
Could this thick-eyebrowed, big-eyed fellow have fallen in love with him or something?
A look of joy flashed in Heavenly Venerable Wusheng's eyes, and he hurriedly said, "I heard that some time ago, Sheng Wuming used Root Demon Blood to plunge Ancestor Ziyuan into the Root Demon Tribulation, and in the end, it was you, Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns, who stepped in and helped Ancestor Ziyuan survive it?"
Heavenly Venerable Wusheng looked at Qi Yuan with trepidation, a deep glimmer of anticipation hidden in his eyes.
"Yes."
Hearing this answer, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng was ecstatic inside, though he kept up a calm facade.
It was actually true!
The Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns could actually resolve the Root Demon Tribulation!
This...
Heavenly Venerable Wusheng knew that if this news got out, the Ultimate Principles and Great Ultimate Principles of the Sixth Heaven would go wild.
Why was the progress of the Ultimate Principles in the Sixth Heaven so slow? Because... the Root Demon Tribulation blocked their path.
The Root Demon Tribulation hung like a sharp blade over their heads, preventing them from advancing; the slightest misstep would cast them into a bottomless abyss.
"This old man's Root Demon Tribulation may descend within ten thousand years. I wonder... could you lend me a hand, Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns?" Heavenly Venerable Wusheng said uneasily, assuming a very humble posture.
His Root Demon Tribulation was very close—only ten thousand years remained.
"No problem, it's just that the timing of your Root Demon Tribulation..." Qi Yuan seemed troubled.
Hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng quickly said, "This old man can delay it... by five thousand years at most."
He thought there were restrictions on how the Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns dealt with the Root Demon Tribulation, and that it would be difficult for him to intervene again within ten thousand years, so he blurted out the offer in haste.
"Why delay it? What I meant was, if we wait another ten thousand years, that Root Demon might already be working as a chef in my kitchen," Qi Yuan said casually.
Ten thousand years was far too long.
Hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng froze.
A Root Demon working as a chef?
The Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns really dared say anything!
The Root Demon... such an entity was a sublime existence found not only in the Immortal Realm, but across other worlds as well.
It was a being beyond his comprehension, something even a Supreme Venerable could not fathom.
He then ventured tentatively, "Then no delay?"
"No need to delay. The sooner, the better," Qi Yuan said.
"Excellent!" Hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Wusheng felt completely reassured.
"Bye-bye."
Qi Yuan waved, took a deep look at the Ultimate Principle Society, and vanished.
At the same time, deep within the Ultimate Principle Society, two voices echoed.
"How was it?"
"Cannot see through him."
"Any confidence?"
"None."
"With the Gate of Ultimate Principle in his hands, sooner or later he will see through our true depths."
"Alas... Knowing this full well, why did he still come to the Ultimate Principle Society? Could he... be trying to lure us into making a move?"
"Cannot see through him. Cannot see through him..."
The voices whispered and murmured, finally fading into silence.
***
Time passed.
Qi Yuan opened his eyes.
Around him, a terrifying aura surged and swirled.
"Finally, the fourteenth layer."
Qi Yuan looked at his arms, a glint of sharp radiance flashing in his eyes.
After returning from the Ultimate Principle Society, he had taken the Black Demon Ancestral Blood Ancestor Ziyuan brought back from the Black Demon Abyss, along with the portion given by Heavenly Venerable Wusheng, and begun cultivating the Ancestral Blood Art.
The Ancestral Blood Art had finally reached the fourteenth layer.
"In the Black Demon Abyss, no one has ever stepped into the fourteenth layer!" Qi Yuan muttered to himself.
Of course, his Ancestral Blood Art had been optimized by himself; it was different from anyone else's, and its power was entirely distinct.
"With my body bolstered by the Myriad Dao Martial God right now... is it comparable to an offensive Creation Treasure?"
Qi Yuan drew an imperfect comparison.
"Pity, I'm still too weak."
"Even Supreme Venerables are terrified of the variant spirits of the Unique Hall. Would I be a match for them?"
"And that Mingzun guy—he's clearly a ruthless character!"
"If I can't even defeat them, wouldn't 'Do As One Pleases' suffer by following me?"
Qi Yuan thought to himself.
"Fortunately... the game is about to start."
Qi Yuan stretched leisurely.
The time for the game to begin would arrive soon.
Before that, he needed to make a trip to Moon Goddess Palace.
"I wonder... will Moon Goddess Palace try to stop me?"
After claiming the Position of the Great Sun, Qi Yuan felt a faint urge in his heart—to seize the Position of the Moon.
Taking the Position of the Moon seemed like it would elevate his strength to a whole new level.
If he had this urge, then presumably Moon Goddess Yuanjun felt it as well.
No wonder the Great Sun and Moon Goddess Yuanjun had always been at odds.
Walking out of his immortal cave, Ancestor Ziyuan's figure appeared.
"I've gathered quite a bit more Black Demon Ancestral Blood... take it."
Ancestor Ziyuan handed the Black Demon Ancestral Blood to Qi Yuan.
"Too little," Qi Yuan said, looking at the newly gathered Black Demon Ancestral Blood.
The final layer of the Ancestral Blood Art required an astronomical amount of Black Demon Ancestral Blood.
This small amount fell far short.
"Cough... there really isn't much left," Ancestor Ziyuan replied. "On the other hand, there are plenty of other treasures. These days, major factions like the Ultimate Principle Society, Biluo Heaven, and White Dragon Abyss have been sending gifts one after another. You've become the number one celebrity in the Sixth Heaven."
The delight on Ancestor Ziyuan's face was unreserved.
When had he ever basked in such glory?
Even though he was a Great Ultimate Principle, in the eyes of powerhouse figures like the Abyss Masters, he had merely garnered a measure of respect.
Now, those old fogies who used to look down their noses at him had become warm and affable whenever they saw him.
"Could it be that they all want to survive the Root Demon Tribulation?" Qi Yuan asked.
His helping Ancestor Ziyuan through the Root Demon Tribulation had caught the attention of many Ultimate Principle experts in the Immortal Realm's Sixth Heaven.
Most of them sent gifts to curry favor with Qi Yuan in hopes of surviving their tribulations.
"Most likely," Ancestor Ziyuan said in a heavy voice.
"If they want my help surviving the Root Demon Tribulation, first off, they can't be my enemies... and we also need to clean up the atmosphere of the cultivation world," Qi Yuan said lazily.
There was no rush on this matter for now.
"I need to pay another visit to Moon Goddess Palace. After returning, I'll go play a good round of the game."
By Qi Yuan's calculations, after he returned from Moon Goddess Palace, the game would begin, and he would have to log in.
He also wanted to see how the Soundless Sound was doing.
Ever since he infused his blood into the game last time, he hadn't heard the Soundless Sound's voice.
"You must be careful. Moon Goddess Palace is not like the Ultimate Principle Society. Now... you hold the Position of the Great Sun," Ancestor Ziyuan said in a low voice, his gaze grave.
"Don't worry. If I can't win, I'll run."
At that moment, Qi Yuan's figure dispersed.
When he reappeared, he was standing right outside Moon Goddess Palace.
Unlike his previous visit to Moon Goddess Palace, the moment Qi Yuan showed up, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere within Moon Goddess Palace was exceptionally tense.
As one of the only two Great Ultimate Principles of Moon Goddess Palace, Heavenly Venerable Yuehua wore a stern expression, holding a Creation Treasure in her hand. "Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns... what important business brings you to my Moon Goddess Palace?"
The sun and the moon could not coexist.
Having stripped the Position of the Great Sun, Qi Yuan was destined to become Moon Goddess Palace's enemy.
"I've come to meet Moon Goddess Yuanjun," Qi Yuan said placidly.
"Moon Goddess Yuanjun is not receiving guests!" Heavenly Venerable Yuehua swept her sleeves, completely devoid of her past warmth.
Currently, Moon Goddess Yuanjun was severely wounded; how could Heavenly Venerable Yuehua dare let Qi Yuan see her?
If Qi Yuan were to strike now, Moon Goddess Yuanjun likely wouldn't be his match.
"Rest assured, I harbor no malice," Qi Yuan said earnestly.
In a sense, Moon Goddess Palace was Jin Li's maternal home.
He had no grudge against Moon Goddess Palace either.
"Hmph, sometimes whether you harbor malice doesn't matter," Heavenly Venerable Yuehua refused flatly.
At their level of cultivation, did good or bad intentions even matter?
With a dispute of the Great Dao placed right before someone, who could resist the temptation?
Yet right at that moment, an ethereal voice drifted out from the depths of Moon Goddess Palace.
"Let him in."
Hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Yuehua's expression shifted drastically. She gritted her teeth before finally speaking, "Supreme Venerable of Ten Thousand Suns, please enter!"
Clearly, the master of this voice was none other than "Moon Goddess Yuanjun."
A beam of moonlight flowed out from deep within Moon Goddess Palace, transforming into a blue bird.
Carrying the moonlight in its beak, the blue bird seemed to lead the way for Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan followed the blue bird deeper into Moon Goddess Palace.
The further in he went, the colder it became, chilling to the bone.
It was as though the very breath he exhaled was made of frost.
What met Qi Yuan's eyes was an endless expanse of glaciers and frost.
Every construct was carved of ice.
There was no wind at all—only an arid, biting cold.
In such an environment, even Qi Yuan felt as though his thoughts were freezing, experiencing a fleeting chill.
He looked into the distance and saw an ice bed far away.
Upon the ice bed sat a woman... so pristine and clear.
Pure, transparent, lustrous as jade, possessing true flesh of ice and bones of snow.
Hers was no human body: ice formed her bones, jade her form, and snow her skin.
Her dress, too, was woven of ice and snow shrouding her figure.
Her gaze was pure and limpid.
She gave one the distinct impression that even her pee wouldn't be yellow at all, but crystal-clear and luminescent.
"Are you Moon Goddess Yuanjun?" Qi Yuan couldn't help asking as he looked at this being of ice and snow.
"Yes... or no." The ice-and-snow woman looked at Qi Yuan. "They... believe I am Moon Goddess Yuanjun. In truth, I am Ice Moon."
Ice Moon: the strongest offensive Creation Treasure of Moon Goddess Palace.
Among all offensive Creation Treasures, it ranked number one.
Taihuang Palace's strength crushed Moon Goddess Palace in every regard. Rumor had it that without Ice Moon, this offensive Creation Treasure, Moon Goddess Yuanjun would have found it very difficult to withstand Taihuang Palace.
"Do you wish to ask about your master, Ruan Yixi?" Ice Moon spoke, her voice equally limpid, laced with a trace of icy chill.
"Yes." Qi Yuan nodded.
"Within Moon Goddess Palace, there is no such person you seek," Ice Moon said. "Nor was there anyone by that name among the previous generation of Yue Nü."
"Then she..." Qi Yuan fell silent.
"She is so mysterious, yet associated with Moon Goddess Palace. In that case... there are two possibilities.
"The first possibility is that she is too powerful and can evade my sight."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan nodded in agreement.
For instance, if he returned to the Divine Light Sect right now and pretended to be an ordinary disciple, the sect master wouldn't recognize him either.
"What about the second possibility?"
"She is Moon Goddess Yuanjun.
"In Moon Goddess Palace, the most mysterious... is Moon Goddess Yuanjun herself.
"Your master is mysterious, and Moon Goddess Yuanjun is also mysterious.
"How could a tiny Moon Goddess Palace produce two such mysterious figures?
"Therefore, the two may very well be the same person," Ice Moon said with certainty.
"Where is she?" Qi Yuan wasn't surprised by this answer.
He had harbored many guesses about his master's identity.
Regardless of whether she was Moon Goddess Yuanjun or not, it didn't change the fact that she was his wife.
"She..." Hearing this, Ice Moon's expression grew complicated.
"She may be in the past, or she may be in the future, but... she is not in the present."
"In the past... the future?" Qi Yuan's expression was conflicted, thoughts swirling in his mind.
He felt as though his brain was growing wrinkles.
Sure enough, the stronger one became, the more bizarre the things one encountered.
Like Mingzun, who severed the future of the Sixth Heaven, or Moon Goddess Yuanjun, who didn't exist in the present, but dwelled in the past or the future.
"How can I see her?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Rumor has it that the fifth layer of the Yang God realm can gather all timelines in the world.
"If you step into the fifth layer, you may perhaps traverse space-time, returning to the past or venturing into the future to meet her." Ice Moon's voice was placid. Looking into Qi Yuan's eyes, she said slowly, "Or perhaps you have already met her in the past, and simply did not know it."
Qi Yuan fell silent, standing frozen as countless images flashed through his mind.
Yet in the end, he couldn't recall any forgotten details about his master, Ruan Yixi.
After all, a blossom blooming quietly along the roadside possesses its own beauty and allure, but Qi Yuan's gaze wouldn't necessarily pause for it.
"It seems my strength is still too weak," Qi Yuan said.
Indeed, right now he was merely a Purple Mansion cultivator.
Even facing a Supreme Venerable, he couldn't guarantee victory with absolute certainty, let alone against the Unique Hall and even more terrifying beings.
"The fifth layer of Yang God can gather all timelines in the world. What about the third and fourth layers of Yang God? What do they represent?" Qi Yuan asked.
Ice Moon shook her head. "Such realms are beyond what a mere Creation Treasure like me can know.
"I know nothing of the third layer. But of the fourth layer of Yang God, I have heard whispers: it represents... a kind of disorder, a kind of chaos.
"The fourth layer of Yang God... you should have seen one as well."
"Who?" Qi Yuan already had a guess in his heart.
"The Root Demon. Distributed across countless universes, the Root Demon that appears only during the Root Demon Tribulation is a sublime existence of the fourth layer of the Yang God realm!"
Ice Moon's eyes carried deep awe.
For a second-layer Yang God to gaze upon the fourth layer was like a mayfly looking up at the azure sky, or a frog in a well looking upon the sun and moon.
Though both were called Yang Gods, they were fundamentally not the same kind of being.
If a second-layer Yang God was still confined to a single cosmos, a third-layer Yang God had broken free of universes altogether.
As for the fourth layer of Yang God, a single thought could pervade tens of thousands of worlds.
"The Root Demon?" Qi Yuan pondered.
The special entity Ice Moon mentioned aligned with his guess.
"I don't know how you manage to resolve the Root Demon Tribulation.
"However... you had best not think of constantly solving Root Demon Tribulations for others.
"The fourth layer of Yang God may represent disorder and chaos, but... that doesn't mean it will sleep forever. What if it suddenly awakens and notices a little thing like you?" Although Ice Moon was offering a warning, a tease flickered in her eyes.
"Hey, I'm not small!" Qi Yuan protested in dissatisfaction.
He was so massive that whenever Ziyuan Xiaolu saw him, she would stammer out "big, big, big" three times.
Where was he small?
"Do you have any other questions? The information I possess is no less than that of the Ultimate Principle Society's Mirror of Myriad Phenomena. Soon... I will need to sleep," Ice Moon said, a trace of weariness surfacing on her snow-like face.
"How strong are the variant spirits of the Unique Hall?" Qi Yuan asked.
"The Unique Hall..." Deep wariness flashed in Ice Moon's eyes. "You've been to the Tiankun Curious Land; you should know of the Tattered Robe Dead Soul."
"Yeah."
"The Tattered Robe Dead Soul—I deduce that during his lifetime, he was an existence of the third layer of Yang God.
"He was tainted with Inauspicious Blood. The Inauspicious Blood... once perhaps sought to enter the Immortal Realm, only to be obliterated and eradicated by the Unique Hall." Speaking of this, Ice Moon wore an expression of reverence mingled with profound fear.
"Looking at it that way, the Unique Hall really does possess some skill. Right now, I'm no match for them," Qi Yuan said seriously.
Right now, he probably wasn't even a match for the Tattered Robe Dead Soul.
The Tattered Robe Dead Soul had been at the third layer of Yang God in life, and after death, a mere remnant soul—or rather, a wisp of consciousness—was already that powerful.
Just how terrifying would a living third-layer Yang God be?
The Inauspicious Blood was probably even stronger.
And for the Unique Hall to withstand and eradicate the Inauspicious Blood, they had to be stronger still.
"If I were you, I would enter the Gate of Ultimate Principle right now. The Gate of Ultimate Principle is not only the number one Creation Treasure in the Immortal Realm, but it is also called the Number One Pure Land of the Immortal Realm.
"To some extent, Supreme Venerables already share the lifespan of heaven and earth, enjoying endless longevity.
"Yet across so many epochs, who knows how many Supreme Venerables have appeared in the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm, but those who survived can be counted on one hand.
"If you hide inside the Gate of Ultimate Principle, perhaps... you could enjoy eternal life." Ice Moon looked at Qi Yuan with undisguised envy.
"We embark upon the Great Dao seeking nothing more than carefree freedom, but where in this world can true freedom be found?
"The Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm sees no future; to us, it is merely a cage.
"And one cannot leap out of this cage—to leap out is to die.
"I have also met people from beyond the realm. All of them say that beyond our realm lie strife and warfare, far more chaotic than the Sixth Heaven.
"Living tucked away in a corner allows one to scrape by, but the moment you are discovered by entities from other... universes, war is bound to erupt.
"Just like how countless epochs ago, the Immortal Realm's Sixth Heaven also had invaders and conquerors.
"Great strength is a calamity, weakness is a misfortune; ignorance is bliss, and not knowing brings joy.
"The stronger one is, the more one realizes one's own insignificance, and the more hopeless the Immortal Dao feels." Ice Moon spoke with a hint of despair in her demeanor.
Such despair was something Qi Yuan rarely saw in the eyes of grand cultivators like Great Ultimate Principles.
Qi Yuan's mind remained tranquil.
He understood what Ice Moon meant.
According to a certain "electrician," it was the Dark Forest theory.
Once a universe was discovered, once it was observed by some powerful existence, war might well erupt.
After all, cultivating immortality relied on one's state of mind, but also on resources.
In a sense, one's state of mind was also a resource.
Plunder was the recurring theme of the Immortal Dao.
"Sigh, the atmosphere of the cultivation world is just too foul. I know," Qi Yuan couldn't help sighing.
Having played so many games, he was all too familiar with these phenomena.
Even the NPCs were brimming with hostility, let alone immortal cultivators.
Moon Gazing Continent, Liufeng Realm, Mortal Heart Realm, Gongxing... among all these worlds, which one wasn't plagued by the fires of war?
Wherever there were people, there was strife and competition.
The only difference was the scale.
"It seems I must increase my strength and rectify the cultivation world's atmosphere!"
"Rule number one of cultivation: no cursing!"
Chapter 483