Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court Cult!

"Heavenly Court Cult? Dou Tianzun?" Wu Youdao stared with suspicion and unease at the sacred goddess before him, a creeping sense of trepidation rising in his heart. He had allowed Provincial Governor Lü to strike, and even when Qiu Jin'an and the man in the white paper hat intervened to salvage the situation, victory had remained firmly in his grasp. In the face of absolute power, those people could kick up no waves. Yet now, he felt as if matters were spiraling out of control. Never since the day he was born had he felt anything like this. "What is the Heavenly Court Cult? And what is Dou Tianzun?" Venerable Cang Lei and Venerable Wu Ji exchanged glances, each seeing the panic in the other's eyes. The purpose of their excursion was the power of national destiny. Just moments ago, when Wu Youdao reached out to seize it, they had both been watching their surroundings like hawks. One could say that any rustle of leaves or disturbance, no matter how slight, could never escape their gaze. Yet this woman had materialized in plain view of everyone, and not a single soul had detected how she had appeared. How was that possible?! The two furiously searched through all the intelligence they had gathered, but from antiquity to the present day, nothing matched the names "Heavenly Court Cult" or "Dou Tianzun." The only things even remotely close were the four demonic cults of the current age: the Immortal Cult, the Nine Nether Cult, the Shining Sun Cult, and the Emotionless Cult. "There seem to be records concerning a 'Heavenly Court' in ancient texts!" Venerable Wu Ji's voice trembled, fear spreading through his heart. "An ancient organization?!" Venerable Cang Lei gasped in a low voice. He subscribed to the belief that the older something was, the more formidable it became. Having lived over a hundred thousand years ago, he looked down on the Great Xia of today, firmly believing that they, the Great Yu cultivators, were the strongest. Yet this Dou Tianzun who had just appeared seemed to hail from the most ancient times of antiquity. Moreover, taking "Dou" as her title, she was bound to be someone extraordinarily skilled in combat! "Wait—did she refer to herself as 'this celestial' just now?!" Venerable Cang Lei suddenly remembered a crucial piece of information they had overlooked from the very start. "She's a celestial?!" In all their calculations, they had never dreamed that a celestial would be hiding in Hanshui City! A celestial bearing the title of Dou was probably not weak even among celestials! …… "The Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court Cult?" At first, when the man in the white paper hat saw the Immortal Fairy appear, he had been utterly baffled, wondering who she was. Now that the Immortal Fairy had announced her identity, realization finally dawned upon him. He recalled the message Vice Cult Master Shi had sent him, mentioning that someone from the Heavenly Court Cult had arrived in Hanshui City. It also noted that the Heavenly Court Cult's people had heard rumors suggesting the ghost scourge might be the doing of the Nine Nether Cult and were quite displeased. Fortunately, Vice Cult Master Shi, worried this might jeopardize the cooperation between their two cults, had already explained everything and cleared up the misunderstanding. Reflecting on it now, the man in the white paper hat broke out in a cold sweat of lingering dread. The so-called person from the Heavenly Court Cult was probably none other than the Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable standing right before his eyes. *Thank goodness it was already cleared up.* What kind of figure was the Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable? The first being to attain celestialhood in antiquity, a supreme existence feared even by the Four Ancient Celestials! "Do you know her?" Qiu Jin'an noticed the strange expression on the face of the man in the white paper hat and quietly sent him a voice transmission. "This is a supreme figure not to be spoken of lightly." The man in the white paper hat dared not, and was unwilling to, elaborate on the Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable. Qiu Jin'an's brow twitched. He started to speak, but the words died on his lips, unsaid. …… "Governor Lü, are you all right?" Everyone else was captivated by the Immortal Fairy bathed in the power of national destiny. Of everyone present, only Lu Yang was paying attention to Provincial Governor Lü, who was still coughing up blood. "Cough, cough... I'll manage." Governor Lü struggled to sit up, produced several medicinal pills from his storage ring, swallowed them, and began meditating. Only then did Lu Yang look up at the focal point holding everyone's gaze high in the sky. A faint smile played at the corner of his mouth as he recalled the last thing the Immortal Fairy had said before stepping into battle: *"This celestial told you: I'll keep you safe in Huangzhou."* …… "Hmph, what celestial? Nothing but bluster!" Wu Youdao regained his composure. If the person before him truly were a celestial, that single strike earlier would have ended his life. The Immortal Fairy gave a light chuckle, looking at Wu Youdao with disdain. "Ignorant fool. What resides here is merely a wisp of this celestial's thought. Seeing that this power of national destiny was decent, I simply borrowed it for temporary use. Can a junior of later generations not even see through something so simple?" Wu Youdao, after all, held the title of the second strongest among all the successive Emperors of Yu; he was not one to be easily frightened. "The power of national destiny can only elevate you to the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, matching the three of us. Do you really believe you have any chance of victory fighting one against three?" Venerable Cang Lei and Venerable Wu Ji snapped to their senses as well. The other party might truly be a celestial, but her true body was not here; what remained here was merely a wisp of thought controlling the power of national destiny. Since her strength remained only at the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, there was nothing to fear. All being in the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, who could be weaker than whom? The Immortal Fairy spoke again, her tone flat. "If Ying Tian, Qilin, and Jiu Zhong were in the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, they might pose some slight threat to this celestial. As for the three of you trash..." She gently shook her head, saying no more. The so-called second strongest among the successive Emperors of Yu was nothing of consequence in the eyes of the Immortal Fairy. The second strongest among the emperors did not mean he was the second strongest cultivator in the Great Yu Dynasty's hundred-thousand-year history. Seeing the Immortal Fairy's dismissive demeanor, Wu Youdao flew into a rage and bellowed, "Universe in the Palm!" Though it was broad daylight, all of Hanshui City suddenly plunged into darkness. Countless commoners instinctively looked up, trembling from head to toe. A colossal hand that blotted out the heavens enveloped Hanshui City. To mortal eyes, it was impossible to fathom just how massive the hand was; they only felt that it occluded everything, and even the heavens were no exception. Qiu Jin'an and the man in the white paper hat, however, discerned far more. Inside the palm of this immense hand lay all things of the universe, containing countless grotto-heavens. Its weight was immeasurable; once brought down, the entirety of Hanshui City would be utterly destroyed, reduced to fine dust. Confronted by this terrifying hand, the Immortal Fairy did not even bat an eye. "This celestial already said: a toy like this has no right to be called Universe in the Palm. Today, this celestial will show you what a true Universe in the Palm looks like." Wu Youdao's heart skipped a beat, and he snapped his head upward in sheer disbelief. Everyone else was down below and could not see what was happening above the giant palm that blotted out the sky; only Wu Youdao could see clearly. A gargantuan pillar pierced through layer upon layer of clouds, appearing directly above the giant hand, with clouds that had not yet dispersed clinging to its tip. What kind of pillar was that? It was plainly a finger! A finger even more immense than the giant hand! "It's merely a bit larger! I refuse to believe a single finger can overcome my entire palm!" Wu Youdao roared furiously, circulating his spiritual energy with wild abandon. He flipped his great hand, turning the palm skyward. That single flipping motion whipped up a howling hurricane across Hanshui City. Grotto-heavens appeared one after another across Wu Youdao's hand, brimming with exotic flowers and wondrous herbs competing in splendor, along with countless heavenly treasures and earthly wonders of every description. Each grotto-heaven was both a miniature world and a treasure vault! The Immortal Fairy watched the maddened Wu Youdao with an indifferent gaze, exerting a slight pressure through her fingertip. Within that fingertip resided infinite cosmic stars, shattering and reforming in an endless cycle, continually erupting with tremendous bursts of energy. The fingertip collided with the giant hand. Wu Youdao's palm could not hold out for long before being pierced and blown apart by the single finger. *Bang—* Blown apart along with it was the [Rule] Wu Youdao had established—[Within one day, no information shall leave Hanshui City]. A rule that had endured even through Venerable Wu Ji's heavenly tribulation was punctured clean through by a single finger from the Immortal Fairy! Heaven and earth fell utterly silent. The Immortal Fairy drew back her hand. Looking down at Wu Youdao, who was coughing up blood and grievously injured from the rule's backlash, she spoke in that same calm, placid tone: "Now *this* is the true Universe in the Palm."