Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 437: The Heavenly Punishment of Thunder Tianshi!

Peng Youshan was caught in a dilemma.

But the shifting tides demanded that he make a decisive move.

As one of the top experts under the Witch King’s command in Kongsang, even stronger than Yun Qingyan, he was currently stranded on the outside—undoubtedly a massive waste.

Especially with Eastern Mountain Hermit Wang Xu still nowhere to be seen and Tang Xiaotang rampaging with reckless abandon, this waste seemed... stupid, stiff, and rigid.

Like a foolish bird forever waiting for food, just standing there.

Chen Mingxu stood quietly behind Peng Youshan, understanding the hesitation in his heart.

"Given Wang Xu’s nature, it’s unlikely he’d hide on purpose and wait to pick up the spoils after the fight?" Peng Youshan’s words weren’t so much a question to Chen Mingxu as they were a mutter to himself.

Chen Mingxu replied softly, "I’m just worried something unexpected happened on his end, so he’s late. But..."

What if, by coincidence, Eastern Mountain Hermit Wang Xu arrived a little later?

"Midnight is near—it’s the final hour," Peng Youshan made his decision. "No more waiting."

He took out a piece of crystal-like bone, within which faint green light flowed:

"Take this treasure to Longmen and wait. If there are any changes, use this to assist Long Feng in holding off Eastern Mountain Hermit Wang Xu. Protect him and respectfully invite the Witch King to descend."

Chen Mingxu replied, "Understood."

Peng Youshan set off at once, heading towards Chang’an.

He could no longer sit back and do nothing.

In Kongsang’s heartland, there were already top-tier Grand Witches like Ke Lang who could rival him and Yun Qingyan.

But with Tang Xiaotang’s sudden arrival, a single misstep could mean Chang’an wouldn’t last until midnight.

Above Chang’an, the capital of the Han Empire, dark mist billowed as a golden divine ship cleaved through the layers of black waves, forging ahead.

Tang Xiaotang, draped in her Heavenly Tianshi Robes, wielded the Heavenly Tianshi Sword. Her mixed energies of Chaotic Void Nine Qi and Nine Lights flowed together, intertwining violet and golden radiance. The sword’s glow blended with lightning, striking downward in relentless arcs.

The Ghost God Sacrificial Array set up by Yun Qingyan, a Grand Witch of the Divine Dance lineage at the Fifth Layer of the Nine Heavens, was being torn apart layer by layer.

Yun Qingyan himself charged forward, directly confronting Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Ark at close range, blocking the divine ship’s advance.

As a perfected cultivator at the Fifth Layer of the Nine Heavens, Yun Qingyan’s defining trait over other Divine Dance Grand Witches was his mastery of compressing vast power into the minuscule. He had engraved the array onto himself—wherever he went, the Ghost God Sacrificial Array followed.

In essence, he was the array.

Thus, it was known as the Human-God Sacrificial Array.

Though his mobility was somewhat limited, each step forward created a fortress.

His face was hidden by a Fang Xiang Mask, obscuring his expression. Even his eyes gleamed with strange light, as if countless array patterns were layered within them.

The power of the array manifested as an ancient god’s phantom, merging with Yun Qingyan himself. Shrouded in the dense black mist, he forcibly halted Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Ark.

Tang Xiaotang’s expression remained unchanged.

She suddenly pointed at Yun Qingyan.

The ancient god phantom formed by Yun Qingyan’s array power trembled.

At first, a tiny dot appeared on its chest.

This dot was a void, an emptiness that erased all form and substance.

Then, the seemingly insignificant dot began to expand, rapidly growing outward.

It was as if an invisible force was radiating outward from this dot, clearing away everything in its path.

The massive ancient god phantom now seemed to have a gaping hole in its chest, the void still expanding.

No signs of collision or destruction were visible.

Or rather, the invisible force was annihilating the phantom’s body effortlessly, as if nothing could stop it.

Normally, Yun Qingyan’s array, powered by the heartbeat, would pulse with endless strength—if destroyed, it would quickly recover, renewed by the flow of spirit energy and blood, sustaining the Ghost God Sacrificial Array.

But this time, Tang Xiaotang’s invisible force blasted the array apart. Yun Qingyan couldn’t manifest his Nine Songs: Lord of the Clouds form; his divine aura vanished.

Startled, he tried to activate another Ghost God Sacrificial Array.

But after unleashing the Primordial Pearl Manifestation, Tang Xiaotang followed up with another sword strike.

Yun Qingyan was finally forced to retreat.

What’s more, not only had Tang Xiaotang broken his direct defenses, but her countermeasure also neutralized his hidden ambush.

When Yun Qingyan deployed the Human-God Sacrificial Array, the Human Qi Array was also operating in tandem.

Tiny micro-arrays, like dust motes, floated within the surrounding spiritual energy, drifting toward Tang Xiaotang.

But under the gaze of her Celestial Insight Manifestation atop her head, she had long noticed the subtle signs.

Without altering her direct assault against Yun Qingyan’s Nine Songs: Lord of the Clouds array, an ephemeral current of Qi spread around her.

The moment Yun Qingyan’s micro-arrays touched this illusory flow, they were instantly frozen mid-air, unable to expand further.

They couldn’t approach Tang Xiaotang, nor could they threaten anyone nearby.

"...Primordial Qi, Primordial Dao Physique!"

This scene caused many onlookers to exclaim in shock.

Not only Yun Qingyan noticed—Chen Lingfeng, Ye Zhao, and other knowledgeable figures also realized:

"She’s... not just a Pure Yang Celestial Physique, but the legendary Primordial Dao Physique?!"

"She is a Pure Yang Celestial Physique, and a Primordial Dao Physique."

Amidst the chaos, Tang Xiaotang let out a hearty laugh.

Standing at the bow of the Pure Yang Ark, she surged forward, breaking through layers of black mist and formations.

Yun Qingyan had no choice but to retreat.

Without his Ghost God Sacrificial Array restraining them, the Daoist talisman cultivators behind Tang Xiaotang unfurled their Great Dao Domains. Even Yun Qingyan himself risked being captured.

With Tang Xiaotang as the spearhead, the Han Empire cultivators rallied at her sides and rear, charging into Chang’an.

Near the great river at Longmen, Lei Jun watched Tang Xiaotang’s dazzling display through the Jade Purity Universal Mirror, smiling faintly.

Just as he had once told her in idle conversation—whether a divine ability looks flashy is one thing; using it against a strong enough opponent to send shockwaves and shatter the heavens—that’s what really shows its power.

Tang Xiaotang’s Primordial Sovereign Manifestation was the perfect example.

It looked effortless, yet with a single strike, it scattered her foes, leaving none who could stand against her.

Undoubtedly, she embodied the strongest manifestation of the Heavenly Tianshi Lineage of the current Great Tang Longhu Mountain.

Be it the Nine Heavens Thunder Ancestor Manifestation born from Thunder Law talismans, or other manifestations, none could match her might.

Of course, that required her personal execution.

As time passed, her refinement and mastery only deepened.

Her Primordial Pearl Talisman and Primordial Sovereign Manifestation grew ever more formidable.

In terms of sheer destructive power, even the Dragon-Tiger Combined Strike might not rival Tang Xiaotang’s Primordial Pearl in direct assault.

It was, to some extent, an ultimate breaker of strongholds—an unrivaled can-opener.

As a Pure Yang Celestial Physique, few in history could match Tang Xiaotang.

As a Primordial Dao Physique, even fewer.

But Tang Xiaotang stood at the pinnacle of both, fully unleashing their mysteries.

Xu Yuanzhen casually said after hearing Lei Jun’s update from the Heaven-Seeing-Earth-Hearing Talisman:

"Let her handle it herself. As long as she can block the Witch King of Kongsang from descending into the mortal realm, that's enough."

Lei Jun asked, "Senior Sister, what about your side?"

Xu Yuanzhen let out a soft laugh, "I finally get why they sealed the mountain the moment I arrived."

Lei Jun asked, "What do you mean?"

Xu Yuanzhen replied, "Through the Longhu Mountain’s Dragon-Tiger Ancestral Altar here, I can roughly observe Kunlun, as well as the so-called Senior Patriarch of Longhu Mountain."

Lei Jun nodded slightly as he listened.

But then Xu Yuanzhen said something unexpected:

"His foundation isn’t even that of the Daoist talisman sect. In my opinion, he’s not a Daoist cultivator at all."

This revelation surprised Lei Jun: "Not a Daoist cultivator?"

Xu Yuanzhen explained, "Through certain means, he forcibly transformed his original foundation into a Daoist talisman lineage. Technically, it counts as conforming to the path, but it’s more of a workaround—like the Buddhist sect’s Conversion methods."

Though she hadn't yet entered Kunlun or faced Ancestor Zhou Tian directly, the various clues and her deductions from Longhu Mountain's teachings allowed her to piece things together.

Lei Jun thought of something: "Like those from Sumeru Temple?"

Xu Yuanzhen replied, "Pretty much."

She suspected that the old ancestor from Longhu Mountain in the Great Han had deliberately or willingly altered his cultivation foundation, using some rare and special treasure.

Given the ancient talisman sect’s connection to the Celestial Palace, Lei Jun speculated: "Could it be related to the Celestial Palace or its remnants?"

Xu Yuanzhen replied, "We’ll only know after a direct confrontation, but I think... probably."

Lei Jun pondered, "Even so, there’s no reason to oppose our sect completely..."

Xu Yuanzhen chuckled, "That just means there’s another hidden agenda behind it."

She wasn’t in a rush to take action—not because of Deng Lai nearby, but because the sudden appearance of Ancestor Zhou Tian and the Longhu Mountain of the Great Han was also aimed at the Witch King of Kongsang.

Whether they were noble protectors of the mortal realm or had their own designs on Kongsang, it was worth observing first.

Lei Jun checked the time.

Midnight was near.

The Jade Purity Universal Mirror scanned in all directions.

The light beam stretched westward from the Dragon Gate of the Great River, reaching the previously mentioned Huayin.

There, black mist had begun to spread, glowing faintly red and radiating a dense aura of blood and killing intent.

The Han Emperor Xiang Chengyuan had returned to Chang’an, his identity exposed, igniting a nationwide rally. The battle for Chang’an had erupted inside and outside the city.

His former residence in the Huayin Imperial Palace had fallen into disuse—yet now, it was clearly the center of something.

Even under the shroud of black mist, Lei Jun could make out faint outlines, gradually piecing together the general framework of the Witch King's plan.

He arched an eyebrow slightly.

This ritual required a certain amount of slaughter—high-quality slaughter, to be precise.

In other words, the souls and blood of mid-to-high-level cultivators.

Past experiences, like Eastern Mountain Hermit Wang Xu’s interference, and the potential disruptions from Sumeru, Kunlun, and the Great Tang, had forced the Kongsang Witch Sect to act with caution.

No wonder they’d secretly supported the Grand Empty Temple to act as their gloves and knife.

Destruction and slaughter were the Grand Empty Temple’s bread and butter.

It was just that, years ago, when Lei Jun disguised himself as Eastern Mountain Hermit Wang Xu, he had shattered the Grand Empty Temple, delaying this calamity a little.

But in the grand scheme, it didn’t derail the Witch Sect’s plan.

They had simply stepped in personally, and their current ritual was proceeding as expected.

From another angle, the bloodshed caused by Grand Empty Temple’s Jue Xiang, Jue Fa, and others also fit the Witch Sect’s requirements.

The blood-soaked Chang’an was just a collection site for the Witch Sect’s ritual.

The true focus lay at the Huayin Imperial Palace.

But the ultimate target of this ritual wasn’t even Huayin itself.

Lei Jun turned his gaze to the Dragon Gate region where he stood.

He could sense the tremors in the earth, the swirling of the world’s energy, growing more violent, revealing something unusual.

The already surging waters of the Great River were becoming even more turbulent and agitated.

Lei Jun shifted the mirror’s gaze back to Chang’an.

There, the Kongsang Grand Witches were faltering.

Tang Xiaotang had led the charge into the imperial palace, the Han Empire’s cultivators following closely behind.

But they found no sign of the Han Emperor Xiang Chengyuan.

Above Chang’an, the Witch King of Kongsang and Ancestor Zhou Tian’s projections continued their struggle.

Yet Xiang Chengyuan’s body was nowhere to be seen.

In his place stood a bone tower, not very tall, but assembled from countless crystalline bones, each piece gleaming like crystal.

Within the bone tower, a figure faintly visible—Xiang Chengyuan’s soul.

But this didn’t look like the setup for the Witch King’s mortal vessel.

It was more like part of a ritual sacrifice, another offering among the many souls and blood.

Tang Xiaotang, with her keen perception, paused when she saw Xiang Chengyuan’s slumbering soul and his body transformed into a crystal bone tower.

"You’re not the Witch King’s vessel?" she asked in shock.

Chen Lingfeng, Ye Zhao, Nobu Shangren, and other Daoist, Confucian, and Buddhist masters were likewise stunned.

Kongsang Grand Witch Ke Lang, peer of Yun Qingyan at the Ninth Heaven Perfection, shouted in alarm:

"Where’s Xiang Jing?!"

Everyone in Chang’an looked around.

The Han Crown Prince Xiang Jing, the first to breach the city, had vanished without a trace.

High above, the Witch King of Kongsang’s projection melded with the heavens, forming a giant face, expressionless and silent.

Yet to everyone present in Chang’an, that silence radiated mockery.

Ancestor Zhou Tian’s projection, sustained by the altar below, couldn’t break free.

Lei Jun watched this scene through the Jade Purity Universal Mirror, his gaze on Xiang Chengyuan’s lifeless body and faintly shaking his head.

The Witch King of Kongsang was, after all, a being beyond the Ninth Heaven.

Although Wang Xu’s earlier interference had spoiled the plan, preventing the Witch King from descending into the world through the Han Emperor, Xiang Chengyuan had never escaped the Witch King’s grasp.

At the right moment, with a mere thought, the Witch King could make Xiang Chengyuan his puppet once more.

However, the Witch King had found a better, more suitable vessel in the mortal world:

The Crown Prince of the Han Empire, Xiang Jing!

This was the true candidate secretly cultivated by the Witch King and the Tianjing faction all along.

Lei Jun strongly suspected that the so-called Grand Witch Longfeng, who had been appearing in the Central Plains, was none other than Xiang Jing in disguise.

Sometimes, it’s as they say: like father, like son.

Xiang Chengyuan and Xiang Jing were both prodigies—not in civil or military arts, but in the Witchcraft lineage.

Both father and son were exceptional in the arts of the Witch Sect, a rare occurrence in the history of the cultivation world.

But precisely because of their talents, they had become the Witch King’s targets.

The Emperor’s art of governance had shielded them from the scrutiny of ministers.

Originally, Crown Prince Xiang Jing wouldn’t have been able to deceive his father, the Han Emperor Xiang Chengyuan.

Yet Xiang Chengyuan himself harbored secrets—unable to show his true face, weakened by past crises, secluded in the palace, often absent from Chang’an.

What’s more, as it turns out, he had been under the Witch King’s control all along, leaving him no chance to notice Xiang Jing’s anomaly.

As for the Kongsang capital’s forces who supported the Han Emperor, judging by the shock on the faces of Ke Lang and others, they weren’t playing a double game with the Tianjing faction.

It seemed the Witch King hadn’t fully controlled the Kongsang capital, leaving room for resistance—like a hidden rebel force.

But the Witch King’s sorcery was insidious.

Over the years, even the capital’s experts had been infiltrated.

While Ke Lang had arranged for Chen Xiao and others to assist the Han Emperor, the Witch King simply turned a blind eye, letting it happen.

Meanwhile, some of the capital’s experts had been corrupted, becoming spies for the Witch King, waiting for a chance to ambush Tang Xiaotang among the former Song Dynasty’s forces.

Unfortunately, the Witch King underestimated Tang Xiaotang’s exceptional talent and her ability to see through the hearts of men.

When Tang Xiaotang arrived in Chang’an, she couldn’t immediately tell who among Ke Lang, Yun Qingyan, and the others belonged to the Tianjing faction or the capital.

But she could tell who harbored hidden hostility towards her.

Even if that hostility was concealed for now, they didn’t see her as their top enemy.

However, for the Golden Khan Ongqinfu, it didn’t matter much.

The ritual ceremony had already laid its foundation and begun to operate.

“…It’s over at the Huayin Palace!” Ke Lang took a deep breath. “It might already be too late!”

After Han Crown Prince Xiang Jing entered Chang’an, he disappeared, secretly making his way to the Huayin Palace.

He was the true host and architect of the ritual ceremony.

Right now, destroying the crystal bone tower might barely save Xiang Chengyuan’s life, but the core of his sorcery had already been drained by the ritual, making it impossible to stop the ceremony from proceeding.

Tang Xiaotang’s eyebrows twitched, and she turned to head east.

But another Grand Wu of the Kongsang Tianjing, a cultivator at the peak of the fifth stage of the Ninth Heaven, also arrived in Chang’an—Peng Youshan.

He cast aside his wariness toward Wang Xu, the Eastern Mountain Hermit, and decisively came here first, joining forces with Yun Qingyan and other experts from the Kongsang Tianjing, seemingly to block Tang Xiaotang and the others from heading toward Huayin.

Tang Xiaotang had been sneering, but suddenly her face showed a hint of surprise again.

She didn’t say much, just glanced at Peng Youshan, Yun Qingyan, and the others before sneering once more.

Beside her, Lei Jun’s voice lowered, “Be careful, Senior Sister.”

Huayin was the starting point of the ritual, but not the true core. Instead, it was a place where blood and energy converged, already brimming with terrifying, murderous energy.

Even with their cultivation levels, if Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang mistakenly stepped into the core area, they might face danger.

This matched the warning hinted in that medium-level fortune lot regarding Huayin.

Even though Tang Xiaotang had the brilliant Tianxin Dongming Talisman, just by approaching the outskirts of Huayin, she could sense Peng Youshan and Yun Qingyan’s feigned retreat and hidden hostility, ready to trap the Han cultivators once more.

Still, Lei Jun gave her a heads-up, mentioning that his Yu Qing Zhou Tian Mirror had observed that Huayin hid other secrets.

That way, Tang Xiaotang could flip the situation, using Peng Youshan and Yun Qingyan’s plan against them, ambushing them midway and delivering a fierce blow.

However…

Lei Jun observed the surroundings with his Yu Qing Zhou Tian Mirror.

According to the fortune lot, it seemed the Golden Khan Ongqinfu had no chance of succeeding this time?

Lei Jun had come to Dahe Longmen to intercept Han Crown Prince Xiang Jing and sabotage the final stage of the ritual.

But if he had chosen a different lot, based on the hints, there didn’t seem to be the risk of the Golden Khan Ongqinfu descending directly.

If this celestial-level powerhouse could truly move freely in the mortal realm, the threat he posed wouldn’t be something a mere mid-level fortune lot’s so-called fifth-grade opportunity could balance out.

Under Lei Jun’s Yu Qing Zhou Tian Mirror, he already spotted a Ninth Heaven Grand Wu approaching the Dahe Longmen area.

But it wasn’t Han Crown Prince Xiang Jing.

So, was the second-grade expandable opportunity mentioned in the highest fortune lot related to this person?

Lei Jun pondered while continuing to search for Xiang Jing’s trail.

As midnight approached, the ritual ceremony grew increasingly unstable.

At the Dahe Longmen, the river surged, transforming into a water dragon that soared into the sky.

Above, the sky roared with wind and clouds, vast spiritual energy gathering and faintly forming the shape of a dragon.

One illusory, one real—two giant dragons intertwined in the heavens.

Their influence caused the void realm in the Dahe Longmen area to twist and distort, showing signs of merging.

The spiritual energy within surged, its aura not evil but harmonious.

Through the merging of heaven and earth, everything seemed to reverse.

At midnight, the world seemed to turn to daylight.

The bloodthirsty aura concentrated at the Huayin Palace by the ritual was now drawn to Dahe Longmen, transforming into clear and serene energy.

Not only in the mortal world—across all of Kongsang, the heavens and earth seemed to tremble and flip.

The black mist over Tianjing had completely dissipated, leaving only the bone tower, even larger than the one in Chang’an, standing tall.

The crimson light within the bones had vanished, replaced by gentle golden radiance that illuminated all of Kongsang.

The Ditu lineage, which had taken root in Kongsang during the Golden Khan Ongqinfu’s slumber and through the use of strange artifacts, now stared at the unfolding events in shock, helplessness, and a faint sense of despair.

Grand Wu Ke Lang, currently in the mortal realm and away from Kongsang, wasn’t there to oversee things.

Without his guidance, the Ditu—who had long resisted the Golden Khan Ongqinfu—ended up unwittingly aiding the ritual.

Yet, the Golden Khan Ongqinfu himself felt no triumph.

A cold, storm-like rage swept across all of Kongsang.

Even his phantom in the mortal world transmitted the same fury.

Chen Mingxu, a Kongsang Tianjing Grand Wu under Peng Youshan’s command, rushed to the Dahe Longmen to assist another Kongsang Grand Wu, Long Feng, also known as Han Crown Prince Xiang Jing.

But upon arrival, Chen Mingxu found the spiritual energy here lower than expected.

Even though the delay in Chang’an caused by Tang Xiaotang was shorter than anticipated, the ritual seemed successful overall.

Yet, the state of the Dahe Longmen, as the ritual’s endpoint, was surprisingly abnormal.

Deep in his soul, Chen Mingxu could feel the Golden Khan Ongqinfu’s rage, sending chills down his spine.

He tried to contact Xiang Jing while scanning the area.

But just then, a sense of danger surged within him.

He realized someone was lying in ambush!

He had been wary of unexpected enemies the moment he sensed the spiritual energy here was off.

But by the time he noticed, his vision darkened—he was already trapped in a pitch-black cosmic void.

…The Daoist Talisman Sect’s Great Dao Realm!

It wasn’t surprising that the commotion at Huayin Palace drew attention.

But Dahe Longmen had only just reacted.

The ritual started at Huayin and ended at Dahe Longmen, naturally making this area’s anomalies harder to detect.

In theory, only Xiang Chengyuan and Xiang Jing should have been able to sense anything here, but it clearly wasn’t them.

Yet, someone was already lying in wait!

Chen Mingxu wondered if it was someone from the Han Dynasty’s Dragon Tiger Mountain or Tang Dynasty’s Tianshi Sect while bracing for further attacks.

But then…

Boom!

A deafening thunderclap erupted from within, shaking his soul and freezing him in place.

In that instant, Chen Mingxu’s mind went blank, his consciousness seemingly cut off.

…A soul-targeting attack!

As a Blood River Grand Wu, Chen Mingxu was particularly sensitive to this.

Though briefly regaining awareness, the splitting headache overwhelmed him, and he realized he was being targeted by a soul technique.

Such an attack was incredibly dangerous for him.

Before he could attempt an escape, a series of thunderclaps exploded in his heart, each one more intense than the last, never ending.

The Nine Heavens Heart Thunder erupted relentlessly, leaving Chen Mingxu frozen and unable to move.

Lei Jun strolled leisurely in the void, arriving behind Chen Mingxu.

With a casual slap, he struck the Blood River Grand Wu on the forehead, smashing him into a puddle of blood.

“Let’s move.”

Lord Youluo didn’t waste any words.

Previously, both void portals in Luoyuan and the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm had been sealed, making passage impossible.

Now, Lord Youluo intended to open them again—but it wasn’t easy.

Thankfully, he’d already laid some groundwork earlier.

Because the human cultivators were so powerful, the mighty demon Black Mountain Lord had been forced to hide in the desolate northern wilderness. Now, he was coming out of seclusion once again.

And he wasn’t coming alone—he was bringing along another formidable demon, someone with whom his clan shared a certain affinity: Lord Youluo.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain.

Especially when the other’s strength surpasses your own. If there had been another option, Black Mountain Lord wouldn’t have chosen to deal with Lord Youluo.

But in recent years, though demonic energy and heaven-and-earth aura had surged together, the human cultivators’ momentum in the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm was still too strong.

So Black Mountain Lord had no choice but to seek outside help.

This day, in the northern borders of the Tang Dynasty, Luoyuan reopened a void portal, connecting once more to the mortal realm.

Mu Weizi was the first to emerge.

Lord Youluo and the massive Bone Flood Dragon King followed close behind.

Chen Yi secretly returned to the mortal realm along with the Bone Flood Dragon King.

Breathing the air of the mortal realm, Chen Yi’s expression remained calm. He quietly said to the Bone Flood Dragon King, “Focus on your own matters. I’m going to settle some old scores.”

The Flood Dragon King replied, “Alright.”

Mu Weizi and Lord Youluo exchanged glances at the faintly restless Bone Flood Dragon King, but neither said a word.

They each had their own important tasks to handle.

Though the timing was rare, no one could tell when Zhang, Xu, Tang, or Lei would return to the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm. The window of opportunity could vanish in an instant—there was no time to waste.

After orienting himself, Lord Youluo immediately headed south with Black Mountain Lord, targeting the densely populated regions.

However, they were soon intercepted by Tang Dynasty cultivators.

When Black Mountain Lord saw who was blocking their path, he was stunned.

It was none other than Empress Zhang Wantong of the Tang Dynasty.

A Ninefold Heaven tiger demon, upon seeing this, instantly hesitated.

Lord Youluo, though surprised, quickly assessed the situation: “Not real.”

Indeed, it wasn’t real.

Far behind “Zhang Wantong” stood a young Confucian scholar—it was Zhang Hui, who had been patrolling the Tang Dynasty’s borders.

He was just now rolling up a blank scroll in his hands.

The lifelike form of the Empress had come from that scroll.

“It won’t last long,” Lord Youluo reminded him, and Black Mountain Lord calmed down.

Lord Youluo let out a low growl but didn’t rush forward.

Instead, dark, ink-like voids bloomed in midair, each twisting and distorted.

From those dark portals, figures slowly emerged—some large, some small, all different in shape.

They were a mix of demon clans and human experts alike.

At this moment, demonic aura and deathly energy surged, as if they had stepped straight out of the Nether Ghost Domain.

Black Mountain Lord, observing from the side, thought to himself, This guy’s ability to refine wandering spirits is indeed superior to mine. No wonder he’s Luoyuan’s top demon.

All these wandering spirits were the powerful beings Lord Youluo had slain in the past.

Whether human or demon, each had once been no weaker than Black Mountain Lord. These were clearly the foundations of human Ninefold Heaven experts. Now they all appeared together—an intimidating sight.

Though Lord Youluo had come to the mortal realm alone, he was unlike other demons—he couldn’t be regarded as a single demon.

But before Lord Youluo’s countless wandering spirits could surround “Zhang Wantong,” they suddenly noticed more figures appearing around her.

Empress Zhang Wantong was the Tang Dynasty’s top expert, and Lord Youluo had even fought her before.

Even when she’d been injured, Lord Youluo had been wary of her.

Thus, he wasn’t unfamiliar with her form.

But as for the Tang Dynasty cultivators now appearing, Lord Youluo didn’t recognize many.

Black Mountain Lord, on the other hand, was left wide-eyed and speechless.

Because standing in front of Empress Zhang Wantong were none other than the former Tang Dynasty’s Qingzhou Ye Clan leader Ye Yan, Suzhou Chu Clan leader Chu Xiuyuan, Cangzhou Ye Clan leader Ye Moquan, and Jingxiang Fang Clan leader Fang Jingsheng.

By Black Mountain Lord’s understanding, all of them had already died!

Lord Youluo’s gaze flashed cold as he fixed on a middle-aged martial artist: “You’re not dead?!”

The middle-aged warrior, wielding a blade and radiating fierce blood energy, was none other than the Tang Dynasty’s former Prince Zhao, Zhang Teng.

“No...except for Zhang Wantong, they’re all dead.” Lord Youluo and Black Mountain Lord realized the truth.

All these Tang Dynasty cultivators, like “Zhang Wantong,” were creations of another cultivator.

And now, they were all fighting together against the fierce invading demon clans.

Far off, Zhang Hui’s expression remained calm as he continued to unroll one scroll after another.

He had more: Xiao Xueting, Shangguan Yunbo, Chu Yu, and others.

With his talent, as long as he put in the effort, he could even create scrolls of Lei Jun, Xu Yuanzhen, Tang Xiaotang, Yuan Mobai, and the like.

While the likeness was vivid, he couldn’t perfectly replicate their power—especially those stronger than himself—but holding them for a while wasn’t a problem.

Of course, as a fellow cultivator, he wouldn’t draw others without their permission.

But as for enemies, Zhang Hui had no such scruples.

It wasn’t just Ye Moquan and the rest—he also had scrolls of figures like Vajra Division Master Jialuotu.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t had the chance to interact much with other experts like Lone Eagle Khan Harige’er from foreign clans. Otherwise, he could’ve used them to deal with Lord Youluo and the rest.

Back when he was confined to the Eastern Palace, his travels had been limited—it really had hindered his creative work...

Zhang Hui sighed inwardly, while Lord Youluo and Black Mountain Lord’s tiger faces darkened to the color of charred iron.

Though it was clear the figures Zhang Hui summoned couldn’t last long, Lord Youluo’s wandering spirits could exist indefinitely as long as they weren’t destroyed.

But who knew how many “people” the other side had in total?

This was even more frustrating than dealing with the Ghost Dao sect.

Lord Youluo, who had never feared being surrounded by enemies, hadn’t expected that his first battle upon returning to the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm would start like this:

A brawl?

...Who’s brawling whom?

Gu Song Realm.

In the depths of the Youluo Valley, in the dimly lit domain, the patriarch of the Tanli Clan, Li Yuanheng, stood in silent contemplation for a long while. Then, he suddenly gave instructions to the clan elders: “I’ll head into the Gehai. If everything goes as planned, I’ll reopen the portal. When that happens, you’ll follow.”

The Tanli clan elders were visibly surprised. “Patriarch, but the Gehai and the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm are currently...”

Li Yuanheng nodded slightly. “The top experts of the Tang Dynasty are currently all tied up elsewhere.”

The clan elders voiced their concerns. “Could this be a trap?”

“That’s right. And even without those few top-tier experts, the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm still has no shortage of Ninefold Heaven experts...”

“Patriarch, your cultivation is unparalleled, but the current environment within the Gehai is different from before. Aside from Tang Dynasty cultivators, there are also rebellious factions from other clans. We’ll be isolated and without support.”

Li Yuanheng’s expression remained calm. “Indeed, the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm is teeming with experts nowadays. Even though the Tang Emperor is in seclusion, and the top Daoist experts like Xu, Tang, and Lei are absent, there are still plenty of powerful cultivators holding down the fort.”

“However, the demon horde led by Luoyuan has already launched their assault. They’ll inevitably draw the attention of many top Tang Dynasty experts. This opportunity is rare—if we miss today, it might never come again.”

Besides, the longer he stayed away from the Gehai, the weaker the connection would become. If he delayed too long, there might not even be a point in trying to return.

“Wait for my signal.”

With that, Li Yuanheng did not immediately open the void portal between the Gu Song realm and the Gehai. Instead, his body began to shimmer and fade. Before the clan elders’ eyes, he gradually vanished into thin air.

---

Tenggen Abyss, one of the Seven Great Abysses of the Gehai.

The surface of the upside-down abyss was calm and still.

Suddenly, faint ripples appeared—then quickly disappeared.

Only a small, insect-like creature emerged from the water’s surface.

A tiny gu worm.

The gu worm flew directly away from the Tenggen Abyss, stopping only when it reached a desolate, silent area.

There, it absorbed the surrounding black mist of the Gehai, and its body rapidly swelled, gradually transforming into a humanoid figure.

It was none other than the former ruler of the Gehai, the Tanli Clan patriarch Li Yuanheng.

However, at this moment, Li Yuanheng still appeared somewhat like a phantom.

His expression was calm as he moved slowly and silently through the sparsely populated Gehai.

More gu worms, which he had hidden long ago, emerged and gathered onto him.

During this process, his form gradually solidified.

The former ruler of the Gehai had returned—not through a void portal, but by using his own methods to reappear in the Gehai.

---

As more gu worms manifested, someone else in the Gehai faintly sensed the disturbance.

“There’s a gu arts master here in the Gehai,” Li Tianqing remarked to the woman beside him. “Such cultivation—arriving without using a void portal, materializing from thin air...”

The woman rose to her feet. “...Li Yuanheng!”

---

Meanwhile, in the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm, the cultivators’ attention was focused on the sudden emergence of Luoyuan’s demon horde.

Beyond the reports of experts fighting Lord Youluo, the Bone Flood Dragon King had also encountered an old rival in the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm:

Xing Feng, the sect master of the Blood River Sect.

Although the Bone Flood Dragon King wasn’t interested in wasting time on this opponent, unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely up to him.

Fierce battles had already broken out between Luoyuan and the Gehai forces more than once—and it was happening again.

Upon receiving the Bone Flood Dragon King’s message, Chen Yi remained expressionless.

But Mu Weizi, the Daoist, had vanished without a trace, which made Chen Yi even more cautious.

He kept a low profile, concealing his whereabouts.

It wasn’t hard for Chen Yi to inquire about the person he sought—this individual’s movements had been publicly known in recent years.

“Not in the Tang Dynasty’s mortal realm, but in one of the Nine Heavens—Guizang?” Chen Yi’s expression remained blank, and he nodded slightly. “After taking my Zhang Biao all those years, it’s time you returned it.”

He quietly headed to the East Sea, passing through a void portal along the shoreline to enter Guizang.

The ancestral court of Mount Longhu—though its top experts had all left the mountain, it was said there were still Ninefold Heaven elders stationed there.

With the Bone Flood Dragon King unable to assist him for now, Chen Yi had his plans but wouldn’t act recklessly.

Luckily, on this return trip to the mortal realm, his primary target had finally left the mountains.

Zhang Jingzhen.

Chen Yi’s objective was clear.

Although he had heard that Zhang Jingzhen had already reached the Eighth Heaven, it didn’t bother him.

Zhang Jingzhen’s heart sank when she saw the combined strike of the dragon and tiger fail to break through the opponent’s altar at the first moment.

For her, this great divine technique consumed far too much energy. In just a brief instant, she felt her spiritual power nearly depleted.

She made a snap decision, dispersing the purple-green Taiji diagram, and took advantage of Chen Yi’s defense to retreat.

The other Tianshi Mansion cultivators had already withdrawn, so Zhang Jingzhen had no further worries.

Chen Yi didn’t bother searching for Zhang Xiongju and the others; he focused entirely on pursuing Zhang Jingzhen.

One retreated, the other chased, leaving Guicang and returning to the human realm of the Great Tang.

———

In the Han realm.

Lei Jun, using the Yuqing Zhou Tian Mirror to observe this world, suddenly felt a shift in his heart.

His pupils gleamed faintly with the runes of the Heaven-Earth Communication Talisman, and the flickering rhythm within them changed.

His vision shifted accordingly.

The scenery no longer showed the mountains and rivers of the Han realm as seen through the Yuqing Zhou Tian Mirror, but rather the Great Tang human realm presented by the Xinghe Tianluo.

The Xinghe Tianluo, left in the Great Tang realm, transmitted the current chaos to Lei Jun.

The setups left behind in Beihai, the Western Regions, Chang’an, and the various passes hadn’t been put to use.

Luo Yuan had opened a new portal in the north.

In the Earth Sea, Li Yuanheng had suddenly made a comeback.

Yet, the cultivation world of the Great Tang was no longer what it once was.

Not only had Zhang Hui and Xing Feng decisively intercepted the Great Demons of Luo Yuan like Lord Youluo and the Bone Flood Dragon Emperor,

but in the Earth Sea, Li Tianqing had also joined forces with the Lu Li Clan’s patriarch, Li Jin, to intercept Li Yuanheng.

Although “Li Zhongding” had been controlled by the Corpse Mite King, Li Jin still harbored caution toward Tang cultivators.

That didn’t stop her from working with Li Tianqing to deal with their long-time rival, Li Yuanheng.

For now, the overall situation in the Great Tang human realm remained stable.

Shangguan Yunbo had returned from Datong and was stationed near the newly opened void portal between the Han and Tang realms to prevent any disturbances from spilling over.

With Zhang Hui and Shangguan Yunbo away, Xiao Xueting and Chu Yu remained in the imperial capital Luoyang.

Xiao Xueting, though unmoving, had Chu Yu, a Supreme Scholar of the Divine Archery School who had reached the ninth heavenly realm, in a different league altogether.

Back in the eighth heavenly realm, her range in both observation and attack was already formidable.

Upon reaching the ninth, she had elevated even further.

With the white-arrow blessing of the first level of the ninth realm, no sect’s flying sword—aside from long-prepared Daoist swords—could match the range of a Divine Archery scholar’s arrows.

Xiao Xueting stayed put in Luoyang, while Chu Yu roamed the Central Plains’ outskirts, her arrows able to reach all directions.

With her assistance, Zhang Hui, Xing Feng, and the others found their efforts much smoother.

Meanwhile, at Longhu Mountain, Yuan Mobai had also personally entered the field.

“Chen Yi went to Guicang to look for Senior Sister Zhang?” Lei Jun, receiving word from his master, directed the Xinghe Tianluo to slowly shift eastward.

Before long, Zhang Jingzhen and Chen Yi, one fleeing and one pursuing, appeared in Lei Jun’s vision.

Yuan Mobai soon joined Zhang Jingzhen as well.

But there were others too—Talisman Dao cultivators.

Although their divine techniques differed slightly from those of the Han Longhu Mountain sect, it was clear they shared a common origin.

So… was this person a disciple of the Han Longhu Mountain patriarch, taken in at Kunlun?

Lei Jun pondered this, when he saw Mu Weizi intercept Yuan Mobai for Chen Yi.

This time in the Great Tang realm, he hadn’t found the secluded location of Empress Zhang Wantong, nor the location of the Huan Tian Tribulation Gold.

For now, he intended to use Chen Yi to further probe the strengths and weaknesses of the Tang’s Longhu Mountain, while also observing Chen Yi himself.

Chen Yi more or less guessed what Mu Weizi was thinking. He subtly eased up on his attacks, allowing Zhang Jingzhen to escape farther, away from the battleground between Mu Weizi and Yuan Mobai.

This also helped her avoid the ninth-realm powerhouse Yuan Mobai.

Seeing the last ninth-realm Grand Ascension expert leave Longhu Mountain, Chen Yi’s thoughts began to stir.

He started contemplating pursuing Zhang Jingzhen back to the ancestral grounds of Longhu Mountain in the Great Tang, looking for an opportunity.

But just then, a distant flash of light—an arrow—cut through the void and shot straight toward him.

“The white-arrow blessing of a ninth-realm Divine Archery scholar…”

Chen Yi noticed it but didn’t stop. Halting now would mean missing his chance.

He pressed on in pursuit of Zhang Jingzhen, ignoring Chu Yu’s distant arrow.

The light arrow was incredibly accurate, but at that moment, black moss-like growths suddenly spread across Chen Yi’s body and expanded outward.

In an instant, it was as if a vast black prairie had appeared in midair, blocking out the sky.

When the light arrow struck, it shattered a massive chunk of the prairie, but it still shielded Chen Yi from the fierce attack.

Just as Chen Yi was about to continue his chase, he suddenly sensed the darkness of the night sky turning bright.

The light arrow, streaking across like a golden rainbow, had already been dazzling enough.

But now it was even brighter, as if night had instantly turned to day.

Even with the vast black prairie overhead, Chen Yi felt like he had been thrust into daylight.

The prairie itself roared as if countless voices shouted in unison, “Run!”

Above the prairie, a blazing sun-like radiance descended, illuminating the land and transforming the valleys, plains, and mountains into a bright daytime world.

That radiant sun continued to fall, as if about to crash into the earth.

Finally, it slammed onto the black prairie with a deafening roar.

In an instant, endless light and heat erupted, and unrelenting flames spread rapidly across the prairie, incinerating it entirely.

Far away, Chu Yu, ready to fire another arrow, paused and watched as the blazing sun descended, striking the black prairie formed by Luo Yuan’s demon, the Nether Moss, and burning it to ashes.

The momentum still hadn’t dissipated.

Blinding white light radiated from the epicenter, creating a sea of white, obscuring all else.

Deep within Luo Yuan’s domain, the Nether Moss body trembled violently.

Though only a portion had attached to Chen Yi and come to the human realm, the terrifying light and heat left its life force gravely damaged.

…Who was that?!

Weren’t Zhang Wantong, Xu Yuanzhen, Tang Xiaotang, Lei Jun, and the other top Tang experts not supposed to be in this realm?

Had Mu Weizi lied to them?

Or had the Tang experts returned?

But how did that attack come?

There had been no warning—just a sudden descent from the sky.

Even the Nether Moss itself could sense the terrifying light and heat, a deep-rooted fear rising from its soul.

Lei Jun, through the Xinghe Tianluo, calmly watched the scene.

The Yin-Yang Heaven’s Punishment Mirror, a component of the Xinghe Tianluo, hung above Chen Yi and the Nether Moss.

The massive prairie had absorbed the first strike, and the rapidly spreading flames had helped cushion Zhang Jingzhen.

She froze briefly, then quickly flew forward, escaping the area.

Chen Yi wanted to leave too, but Lei Jun’s target was him.

The Yin-Yang Infinite Star Radiance tore through the black prairie.

The radiance spread horizontally while continuing to press down vertically, bearing down on Chen Yi’s head.

Chen Yi manifested a single-layer altar of black and red, circular outside and square inside, but it couldn’t withstand the blazing sun’s force.

In that moment, as if blessed with sudden insight, Chen Yi seemed to see Lei Jun’s face—

That young disciple who had once taken the transmission rite into the Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion with him.

Back then, Lei Jun had been less brilliant than him.

But now, was this the end of his life, at Lei Jun’s hands?

Was this Lei Jun’s divine technique?

Whether Lei Jun had returned from the Han realm or never left at all, Chen Yi felt it was him.

…Was he going to die here?

Was this the end of his life?

Absolutely not!

With a muffled grunt, golden light burst from Chen Yi’s body.

A grand, illusory golden hall manifested, becoming almost tangible in that moment, shielding him.

The magnificent golden hall withstood the impact of the blazing star that seemed to fall from the heavens.

Although it remained intact, it tilted off-center under the force.

Chen Yi’s face turned pale as paper, but he didn’t hesitate. He rushed into the hall.

But then, a dazzling beam of light suddenly shot down from the heavens.

At first, the light was as fine as a hair, forming a single beam.

It streaked down through the distant void, slightly widening as it neared the ground, yet remaining incredibly condensed.

It pierced Chen Yi from the top of his skull straight through his body!

Soul and flesh—both impaled!

Lei Jun quietly watched as his Yin-Yang Heaven’s Punishment Mirror, after releasing the Yin-Yang Infinite Star Radiance and Yin-Yang Divine Heaven Extreme Light, dimmed completely.

But that dazzling beam of light had already descended like a heavenly punishment, cutting off Chen Yi’s lifeline.