Chapter 633: Discussion

The moonlight was as serene as water.

In the tranquil garden, flowers of all kinds bloomed in splendor—peonies, herbaceous peonies, roses, azaleas, and the elusive night-blooming cereus. Many of these flowers were in season, others not, yet they all vied in beauty, as if welcoming a supreme sovereign of heaven and earth, an emperor for ten thousand generations.

Here, in the world of Great Zhou, where the very essence of existence resonated with the cosmos, any living being truly should have knelt in submission before such a presence.

Wu Ming carefully observed the Celestial Emperor of the Great Zhou world.

The other appeared extremely youthful, seemingly no older than twenty, with rosy lips and white teeth, his face as smooth and flawless as jade. He was the very image of an elegant, handsome young man.

Yet, wrapped in a deep purple aura, he exuded an immense majesty—as if he were heaven itself, earth itself, and the essence of all things!

Wu Ming activated his Celestial Eye and employed the Vision of Truth from the Temple of the Sovereign Deity. Immediately, his vision was flooded with endless purple light, as if the being before him was not a person, but a purple sun blazing in the sky!

The power of the world constantly intertwined with him, a clear testament that his exalted status was no illusion.

“Greetings, Holy Sovereign!”

Wu Ming bowed respectfully: “My wife’s campaign in Lingzhou was under your kind protection. I have yet to properly express my gratitude.”

Wu Ming himself was now a Seventh-Level Golden Immortal, equal in status to the other. Naturally, he had no fear of bowing or standing tall. Even though he had once ruthlessly destroyed a powerful figure of the Celestial Court—Xuansheng Tianjun—whether the Celestial Emperor could even detect that act, or whether he would dare to confront Wu Ming over it, was highly uncertain.

After all, the Celestial Emperor’s current situation was far from stable; he desperately needed to secure powerful allies.

Only beings of equal or greater rank could participate in the games of Golden Immortals!

“King Ding defied fate itself, attempting to reshape the world with a woman’s hands. Her ambition is truly admirable,” the Celestial Emperor said with a faint smile, stepping into a nearby pavilion. “Though I am the Celestial Emperor, I dare not dictate the rise and fall of the world with a single word. Matters below heaven are best left to unfold naturally.”

His gaze upon Wu Ming was peculiar: “You and I are fated to meet. We both possess the status of Emperor. There is no need for formalities—just address me as an equal.”

“Fated?”

Wu Ming was slightly taken aback, then studied the Celestial Emperor more closely, confirming that they had never met before.

Yet, a sudden intuition stirred within him. Activating the Transcendent Light of the Temple of the Sovereign Deity in his eyes, he noticed something subtly off about the Emperor—a faint discordance with the world itself. Even though only slight, this anomaly was deeply unsettling.

“An outsider!”

The Great Zhou world was naturally not the one the Celestial Emperor had created. Yet even he was not a native of this world, and yet had ascended to become the Celestial Emperor—an astonishing feat.

“I noticed the shifting of the celestial constellations, an act of your hand, and realized that another Emperor of this world had arisen. I was overjoyed and could not help but intrude. I hope you will forgive my impertinence!” the Celestial Emperor said, then fell silent about his origins. He raised a cup of wine toward Wu Ming, his expression tinged with nostalgia: “It has been many years since I last tasted the flavors of the mortal world…”

He was naturally quite curious about Wu Ming, a Golden Immortal.

After all, although Wu Ming was also a Golden Immortal, his presence was unusually abrupt, clearly not someone who had attained enlightenment in this world.

According to the natural order, such an outsider Emperor, even if surpassing a Celestial Immortal, should be easily crushed by the Celestial Emperor. Yet Wu Ming stood confidently, unyielding, maintaining an air of equality—an extremely rare sight.

At the level of the Celestial Emperor, deception was useless. One glance was enough to tell that Wu Ming possessed some hidden strength unknown to others.

“Regardless, I must once again express my gratitude for your help with my wife!”

Wu Ming thanked him again, and both understood each other’s intentions, eager to draw closer. The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

“Do you also follow the Dao of Immortality, Daoist Friend?”

After a few rounds of wine, the Celestial Emperor became more relaxed and suddenly asked casually, “Are you familiar with the Thirty-Six Cavern Heavens, the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, and the Four Realms of Demon Immortals?”

“Naturally. I have even had dealings with several of the Cavern Heaven Lords…”

Wu Ming’s eyes flickered, knowing the Celestial Emperor was finally getting to the point.

“The Dao of Immortality is free and unburdened, unlike the complexities of the Divine Path. In the past… if I had a choice, I might have pursued it myself.” The Celestial Emperor sighed softly, then smiled again: “Since you are already familiar with the Dao of Immortality, you must also know of the Celestial Sage Juetian?”

“Indeed. I’ve heard of his great powers and ambitions to unify the sects of immortals.”

Wu Ming nodded.

“You know only half the story,” the Celestial Emperor said, shaking his head slightly. “Do you know that Juetian is also the leader of the Demon Immortals of the Four Realms?”

“That, I did not know.”

“This Celestial Sage wields the Dao of the End Times, attempting to unite the forces of immortals and suppress the Divine Path. That alone would be bad enough, but he went even further—he tried to trigger a cosmic cataclysm to destroy the world after his defeat at my hands!”

“A cosmic Cataclysm?!”

Wu Ming exclaimed in shock, and half of it was genuine.

This was a world-ending calamity. Once unleashed, even Golden Immortals could not escape. As the Master of the Temple of the Sovereign Deity, and having once orchestrated the destruction of the Western Regions of Great Zhou, Wu Ming understood this all too well.

“Exactly…”

The Celestial Emperor’s lips curled into a faintly bitter smile. He suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Wu Ming: “This concerns the fate of all beings. I humbly ask for your assistance!”

Had Wu Ming still been the Celestial Immortal he once was, the Celestial Emperor would not have appeared in person at all. He would have quietly manipulated the Dragon Qi to turn Wu Zhi into his pawn.

But now, having attained the rank of Golden Immortal, his status was entirely different.

Not to mention, he had attained enlightenment in another world! The tribulations of the Great Zhou world, even if they were world-ending, would not affect Wu Ming. He had the luxury of choice, making him even more worth courting.

“What have the people done to deserve this?”

Wu Ming, already determined to ally with one faction and oppose another, immediately agreed: “If Juetian truly intends to destroy the world, I will never allow it!”

This was also in his own interests.

After all, the Great Zhou world was where he had first crossed over. There was Wu Qing, Wu Zhi, many familiar faces and friends, and the descendants of the future…

Juetian saying he would destroy it all naturally met with fierce resistance.

Not only him, but even other Celestial Immortals, when their interests were at stake, might rise up in unison!

Wu Ming’s Huangting Cavern Heaven had already evolved into a world, independent of Great Zhou. Even if it hadn’t, with the protection of the Temple of the Sovereign Deity, he could survive the great tribulation. But the other Thirty-Six Cavern Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands were not so fortunate!

They were like vines clinging to the great tree of the Great Zhou world. Once the world was destroyed, could the Cavern Heavens and Blessed Lands survive? That was like asking if the hair could survive if the skin was gone.

Therefore, even Juetian had to secretly gather a group of Demon Immortals, playing both sides, just to unite the sects of immortals and plot to become the leader of the alliance.

“Excellent!”

The Celestial Emperor was delighted: “With your words, I can rest easy.”

He continued: “There is one more matter. It seems the position of True Dragon must still be held by your wife. Heaven has its Yin and Yang, ever turning in cycles. This is the natural law of the Dao!”

Without further ado, he closed his eyes and concentrated. The heavens and earth seemed to tremble.

Wu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately saw a mysterious, purple aura suddenly separate from the Celestial Emperor, merging into the fortune of the King Ding’s palace above.

Roar!

Five-colored clouds scattered, revealing a red dragon, now even larger and more robust.

This mysterious light floated in the clouds and was swallowed by the red dragon, which let out a joyful roar.

In the dragon’s cry, the red dragon’s form changed. Its eyes shone with purple light, and its horns forked like deer antlers. Under its neck grew a patch of inverted scales, and on its twin claws, a fifth toe appeared.

Purple eyes, deer horns, snake body, fish tail, four claws with five toes!

The red dragon was no longer a mere hybrid serpent but a true dragon, recognized by heaven and earth!

“Son of Heaven, Son of Heaven—truly a dragon among men. But even that requires the blessing of heaven!”

Wu Ming watched this scene thoughtfully.

“If Wu Zhi was once in the wilderness, having to fight for every inch with sword and blade, only gaining a faint hope of becoming a True Dragon in the end, and only after a heavenly sacrifice for recognition, now she has been directly granted the recognition of heaven and earth, gathering fortune and gaining even more advantages.”

He wore an expression of astonishment on his face, but inwardly he sneered.

It seemed that before this, the Celestial Emperor had merely manipulated the Dragon Qi in secret but had not truly acknowledged Wu Zhi’s position as the True Dragon. He had likely been waiting for the right moment to push her forward.

But now, seeing that Wu Ming, a Golden Immortal, was backing her, he immediately changed his mind and decided to truly crown her as a female ruler.

“With Ding Bao and Ma Meng reduced to mere bones in the grave, after the Lingzhou campaign, a mighty army was assembled, and the secondary capital of Xuzhou was already within reach…”

The Celestial Emperor nodded: “Originally, although the Great Zhou’s Dragon Qi was weak, it still retained a trace of legitimacy. To command the world by holding the Son of Heaven hostage would have involved many dangers and obstacles. Now, however, many troubles are spared…”

With the position of the True Dragon already transferred, although the Great Zhou court had not yet declined, there was now no other path but to side with Wu Zhi.

“There is one more thing…”

The Celestial Emperor gazed at Wu Ming, his expression playful: “The imperial family of Great Zhou has accumulated great virtue, and has not yet completely lost its virtue. King Ding must still be courted to some extent…”

In ancient politics, the most common form of alliance was through marriage.

Of course, with Wu Ming present, it would not be Wu Zhi who would be married off. It would have to be Wu Ming himself.

Taking in a few princesses or imperial daughters would be only natural.

Wu Zhi had even hinted at this to Wu Ming before, promising to fulfill her duties as the senior wife and not be jealous.

But now, even the Celestial Emperor was bringing it up—could it be…

Wu Ming’s eyes flickered.

“I have a daughter, who has been reincarnated into the imperial family of this dynasty…”

The Celestial Emperor did not hide anything and directly gave the answer.

If even the Celestial Court’s Xuansheng Tianjun could reincarnate, then naturally, the daughter of the Celestial Emperor could as well.

Wu Ming was momentarily speechless, realizing that this Celestial Emperor was also a ruthless character. To court his favor, he was even willing to offer his own daughter as a concubine.

In the royal family, the most heartless relationships were common.

Yet, upon reflection, it was still somewhat strange. After all, the Great Zhou dynasty was the former legitimate dynasty. A princess of the main line was naturally a daughter of heaven, quite fitting in status with the daughter of the Celestial Emperor.