Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 784 - 761: Li Yuanxing (3/3)

Chapter 784: Chapter 761: Li Yuanxing (3/3)

There were changes, but they didn’t appear in the body or cultivation level, instead, they were in personality.

At first, Zhou Heng simply thought he didn’t understand the Red Dragon Empress and didn’t know that this Empress was actually quite a tease. But after observing for a while, he noticed that everyone’s, including Black Donkey’s, personality traits were being amplified.

For example, the Black Donkey became even more greedy. It now could not stand to see treasures, and it would not even let go of gold and silver, even stealthily stuffing the decorative vases from the house into a sack planning to bury them somewhere.

Mu Tongtong became even more playful, causing trouble all night long and refusing to sleep unless Zhou Heng forcefully sealed her with spiritual power. The Blue Dragon Queen became colder and more heroic, showing even more hostility towards Zhou Heng, as if she was worried he would do something bad.

In contrast, Hu Yin’s personality didn’t change, but considering she was an indigenous resident, that couldn’t be counted.

So, the Red Dragon Empress being flirty didn’t necessarily mean she was born a flirt; rather it was the amplification of certain aspects of her personality in here, such as laziness.

This place can change a person.

Or rather, it makes one’s personality traits more distinct.

Indeed, that being said, Lu Dongyun’s love for meddling might be a sickness, huh? Well, no wonder he always likes to stick his nose into everything!

I’m not affected because of the Black Sword!

Zhou Heng became increasingly curious about what sort of existence the Supreme Deity was—was she toying with this small world from on high, or had she died, and this was her persistent will?

Zhou Heng would rather believe that she, like Huo Tian, was a supreme expert from the Bright Realm who had only entered the Immortal Realm to heal her wounds. Otherwise, who would be willing to suppress their cultivation level and stay here indefinitely?

The next day, Zhou Heng began to wander around the vast hall as an official disciple of the Holy Immortals Hall.

The Holy Immortals Hall was not merely a martial arts institution; there were disciples, and many high-tier martial artists came here to sense the essence of deities to gain enlightenment and break through their shackles to enter a higher realm.

There were six levels of discipleship here, each clearly corresponding to the six realms from Moonlight King to Sunshine Emperor, referred to as Earth Courts. For instance, Earth Six Court was for Moonlight Kings, and Earth One Court was for Sunshine Emperors, each with high-tier martial artists dispatched by the Holy Immortals Hall for guidance.

Of course, those who could come here were all geniuses. Even among the Moonlight Kings, these were the crème de la crème.

Once reaching the level of Sublimation King, Holy Immortals Hall no longer provided dedicated elders for guidance. However, it would allocate a special hall for people of this level to discuss the difficulties encountered in cultivation. Occasionally, figures like the twenty or so Sublimation Emperors, including Lu Dongyun, would also come to give lectures.

This was a place with a mix of martial arts school and religious qualities, where discipline was quite lax. But there was one rule that must be strictly adhered to: absolutely no killing within the Immortal Hall, or one would be treated as a common enemy of the Immortal Domain!

Because that would be a great disrespect and defiance towards the Supreme Deities!

Of course, there were plenty of other rules, such as the prohibition of flying within the Immortal Hall, as it was also disrespectful to the Supreme Deity.

Zhou Heng had no interest in discussing the Martial Path with others, so he just wandered around the Holy Immortals Hall. Here, the Black Sword’s vibrations became even more pronounced, but it did not indicate a clear direction, just rotating.

Excitement shouldn’t be like this; how was he supposed to find anything?

Zhou Heng decided to ignore the problematic sword and, after meandering for about ten days, he finally decided to go to the "classroom" to have a look. Asking others for information was better than wandering aimlessly by himself.

Because the Immortal Realm’s martial arts levels could not be compared with those of Juexian City, here, to be a Creation King was to be invincible, while a Sublimation Emperor was a figure among the higher echelons, and a Sublimation Sovereign was the highest level of discipleship.

When Zhou Heng entered the hall, he saw that there were only nine people within; seven of them were elders with graying beards, giving off an aura of decay, while the remaining two were much younger, looking to be in their forties.

Upon seeing Zhou Heng come in, all nine cast their gaze at him, showing a look of surprise.

The reason for their surprise was that Zhou Heng was too young.

This youthfulness wasn’t just in appearance—which could be maintained through spiritual power—but in his vigor, fiery and soaring, truly enviable for it signified a prolonged life.

For those high above, what did they seek other than breakthroughs in cultivation?

Of course, it was longevity!

Zhou Heng gave a slight smile and cupped his fists, saying, "I am Zhou Heng; I greet the several elders!"

Age-wise, he was more than young enough to be the great-great-grandson of several of the elders, but in a world where strength determined status, who cared about age? As long as he had enough strength, he qualified to address them as equals.

"I am Yan Shuo!"

"I am Ma Huayuan!"

"I am Zheng Shuang!"

The nine of them also returned the gesture and introduced themselves to Zhou Heng, as this master was far too young and possessed frightening potential. Such a person, even if not befriended, should never be offended.

"Brother Zhou, who was your mentor, and how come I’ve never heard of you before?" Liu Yudi asked Zhou Heng. Despite his long white beard, he called out ’Brother Zhou’ with remarkable ease.

"Hehe, I’m a self-taught loner. I used to cultivate by myself in obscurity. It’s only recently that I’ve ventured out and discovered how vast the outside world really is!" Zhou Heng said. His words were half true and half false.

"I see!" The nine men all nodded. It was clear that none of them believed him, but no one continued to press the issue. Obviously, they feared they might inadvertently touch upon a taboo subject for Zhou Heng and offend a formidable adversary in vain.

As they were all newly acquainted, it was only natural that no one shared their deepest thoughts and feelings. After exchanging pleasantries, everyone quieted down.

All nine of them were fixated on the wall, as if it were covered in holy medicine, irresistibly captivating.

Zhou Heng’s gaze quickly scanned the wall, which was engraved with various pictures. At first glance, they depicted a tree, a plant, a beast, but upon closer inspection, it seemed as though the tree, plant, and beast were moving, conveying a profound and mysterious message.

Just by glancing at them a few times, he felt a pulsation of the ancient Dao that made his soul tremble, as if he were gaining various insights.

Interesting!

He too sat down, quieted his mind, and pondered the mysteries.

Mysterious and otherworldly, he felt as if he had grasped something, yet also as if he had touched nothing at all, which was maddening.

This was like a cultivator of insufficient level forcibly delving into the Heavenly Scriptures. While each rune was filled with the secrets of heaven and earth, he couldn’t comprehend their true essence and could only gain peripheral understanding to compare with his prior knowledge, hoping to gain insights for a breakthrough.

Having realized this, Zhou Heng began to experience the Five Elements Rune.

However, he soon became disappointed; such revelations were not enough to aid in the comprehension of the Heavenly Scripture.

It made sense, after all—the Heavenly Scripture was something that even a Super Creation Emperor would deal with. If such insights were helpful, then there wouldn’t be just Creation Kings in this place.

These revelations might benefit the average Sublimation Sovereign, but for Zhou Heng, who had mastered the Chaos Heavenly Scripture, they were far from sufficient.

He stood up, realizing there was no value in pondering any further—it was just a waste of time.

Seeing Zhou Heng stand up so quickly, a few of the elders twitched the corners of their mouths, secretly thinking he was just a young man unable to settle his mind. Even though these stone engravings weren’t some divine martial arts secret manuals, they were even more precious, able to enhance a cultivator’s perception!

Naturally, they wouldn’t persuade Zhou Heng; which family would wish to see such a prodigy rise to greater heights? They would prefer Zhou Heng never to advance beyond the level of Sublimation Sovereign.

Zhou Heng left the room, and had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard the call of "Brother Zhou" from behind. Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man in brocade clothing; his name was probably Li Yuanxing—Zhou Heng had been somewhat preoccupied at the time.

He stopped, and within two or three steps, Li Yuanxing had caught up to him, smiling and saying, "Since Brother Zhou is new here, how about I accompany you around for a visit?"

"Sounds good!" Zhou Heng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

The Holy Immortals Hall was the ultimate altar that reverently worshipped the Supreme Deity. However, Zhou Heng had not yet seen the deity’s statue there, as it was only during the deity’s birth celebration that it would be opened for worship.

Due to the special status of the Holy Immortals Hall, it was inevitable that there would be no entertainment facilities on site; not to mention taverns and teahouses, any kind of commercial transaction was strictly forbidden, maintaining an atmosphere of pure dedication.

Therefore, to find entertainment, one had to head to the surrounding cities.

Under Li Yuanxing’s guidance, the two of them soon arrived at Pure River City, one of the cities closest to the Holy Immortals Hall, bustling with prosperity.

As a regular visitor, Li Yuanxing guided Zhou Heng into a tavern where they poured themselves a cup of fine wine each and chatted casually.

Compared with Lu Dongyun, Li Yuanxing was much more astute in social interaction; he carefully pondered every response Zhou Heng gave, occasionally his eyes would sparkle, as if something had been triggered.

Zhou Heng also inquired about any forbidden areas or mysterious places around, but the answer he got was almost the same as what everyone in the Holy Immortals Hall knew: the only forbidden place in the Immortal Domain was the Holy Immortals Hall itself.

To be more precise, one was the statue of the deity in the Immortals Hall, which is opened once a year, and couldn’t really be considered a true taboo. However, the second one was the Holy Mountain where the Immortals Hall was situated, a place forever off-limits to everyone.

It was said that the Supreme Deity lived on the Holy Mountain and would tolerate no disturbances. Anyone who disturbed it would not only be killed on the spot but would also risk incurring the deity’s wrath and bringing about a great disaster.

Li Yuanxing spoke with utmost solemnity, but Zhou Heng’s eyes shone with interest—he suspected the path home might be on that very mountain.

"Brother Zhou, have you ever imagined what lies beyond this world, in the heavens and earth?" Li Yuanxing suddenly asked.

Hey, aren’t the people in this world supposed to be brainwashed? How come they still harbor such thoughts?

Zhou Heng chuckled and said, "That would naturally be an even broader expanse of heavens and earth!"

"You’re quite convinced of that?" Li Yuanxing asked, his tone laden with significance.

Zhou Heng merely smiled. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)