The first heaven of the Celestial Realm was basically filled with gigantic immortal cities.
These immortal cities were forged from Tianyuan stones and were themselves at the level of divine treasures, embodying simultaneously the wealth and dominance of the various sects.
Compared to immortal cities, immortal mountains were far less valuable.
However, the Sanqing Sect was a bit peculiar. They seemed to have grown accustomed to living within immortal mountains, and deliberately arranged numerous mountains, trees, and clouds atop their immortal city, concealing its original appearance. From afar, it looked just like an immortal mountain.
The Sanqing Sect could not be underestimated.
Shui Miao knew a bit about them. The Sanqing Sect was huge and powerful, boasting no fewer than eighteen Immortal Emperors. Besides the Immortal Emperors spread across the various branches in the Nine Heavens, there were still ten Immortal Emperors in this first heaven. Moreover, what made Shui Miao most wary were the three Sage Elders within the Sanqing Sect. These Sage Elders wielded boundless divine power, and Shui Miao had no idea just how formidable they truly were.
Still, Shui Miao was not afraid of the Sanqing Sect.
Shui Miao was no pushover either. His speed of forging supreme divine treasures was almost like an assembly line in a factory.
Supreme divine treasures meant supreme power.
The Sanqing Sect was the largest sect in the Immortal World, a tough nut to crack. Once it was subdued, the remaining sects would be much easier to handle.
Therefore, Shui Miao was determined to succeed this time.
Not for any other reason, but simply to create a new world that would benefit all beings across the Three Realms—that alone was reason enough.
“Xiu! Xiu!”
Xingtian Fazun and Shuitian Yishengmu swiftly flew to the other side of the Sanqing Sect’s immortal mountain, preparing to block other sects from prying eyes.
Wenchang Dijun, Tianyi Dejun, and Leibu Fazun Chongyuanzi exchanged glances and began whispering among themselves.
First, Tianyi Dejun spoke, “In recent years, the various sects have grown significantly in power, especially the Sanqing Sect, which has become the most formidable. It stands alone at the top, looking down upon all others, with strength nearly equal to that of the Celestial Court. Now, Xuan Chizi from the Demon Realm has also joined them. I really worry that this battle might…”
Tianyi Dejun paused, his eyes full of concern.
Wenchang Dijun then added, “Yes, this battle is extremely important for us. For all beings across the Three Realms, it will be a turning point that changes their fate. That Tianji Zunzhe and Brother Shui Miao would risk their lives for all beings across the Three Realms is truly unexpected.”
Wenchang Dijun’s words carried hidden meanings.
In truth, Wenchang Dijun, Tianyi Dejun, and Chongyuanzi all understood each other’s thoughts. They suspected that Tianji Zunzhe might be plotting something, attempting to seize the hegemony of the Celestial Court, win people’s loyalty, and eventually become the Celestial Emperor himself. Before seizing power, whatever he said or did could not be easily believed. Only after he seized power would his words and actions carry weight.
The three of them found it hard to believe that Tianji Zunzhe would genuinely sacrifice himself for the beings across the Three Realms.
Wenchang Dijun’s words were full of implications. Chongyuanzi’s heart stirred as he whispered, “Let’s not dwell on it for now. We should just focus on our own duties and can only hope everything is genuine…”
“Alright, let’s go now…”
After exchanging thoughts telepathically, the three ancient elders decided to watch from afar and see exactly what Tianji Zunzhe would do.
Indeed, they were senior elders of the Celestial Court, not easily swayed or trusting of others.
Gaining their trust was extremely difficult—no easy feat, certainly not something that could be achieved merely by offering a few supreme divine treasures.
※※※
The first heaven had always been quiet.
But today, the silence was particularly eerie.
In the sky, aside from sunlight and imperial energy, there floated silently the immortal cities.
Shui Miao and the Tianji Zunzhe puppet stood motionless in the air before the Sanqing Sect’s immortal mountain, not moving at all.
This was like Shui Miao alone challenging Xuan Chizi, the senior disciple of the Demon Realm’s Emperor Wu Yazi, plus the three Sage Elders of the Sanqing Sect and ten Immortal Emperors.
Such a solo challenge was unimaginable.
Yet today, it was becoming a reality.
On the surface, Shui Miao was simply hovering in the air, but in reality, the battle had already begun.
With divided focus, Shui Miao spread out a powerful divine perception to sense the Sanqing Sect’s information while simultaneously activating the forges inside the Tower of Time, continuously forging more divine treasures as a precaution.
Empty…
Still empty…
Not a soul…
Shui Miao mobilized every ounce of strength he could, meticulously scanning the Sanqing Sect’s territory, and found that the immortal mountains surrounding the sect were completely empty, with no one inside and no defensive formations—just decorations. Shui Miao found it hard to believe that the Sanqing Sect would go through all the trouble of bringing in so many mountains just for decoration.
That didn’t seem to make much sense, did it?
Instinctively, Shui Miao felt something was off about these immortal mountains, though he couldn’t figure out exactly what.
Perhaps it was just a trick to confuse enemies?
Wait…
Just as Shui Miao was about to dismiss the immortal mountains as irrelevant, a sudden thought struck him—he recalled a type of stillness formation that existed in the world.
A stillness formation consisted of seemingly ordinary static objects, but once triggered, the formation core would release energy, activating the entire formation in an unexpected and unprepared manner. Xuan Chizi, the false Celestial Emperor, possessed the divine craftsman Luotong, who was an expert in all kinds of formations. It was highly possible that he had set up a stillness formation.
Shui Miao was cautious and dared not act recklessly.
At that moment, he mentally simulated the layout of the Sanqing Sect’s immortal mountains, converting them into the foundation of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and suddenly realized—it was actually a massive chaotic stone illusion formation!
“There really is something wrong!”
Shui Miao’s mind stirred. Instantly, he summoned dozens of newly forged divine treasures, activating them all at once. A massive surge of imperial energy was drawn in, and a large quantity of supreme pills was consumed. Moments later, one supreme divine treasure after another was completed, each of which Shui Miao blood-signed and equipped onto himself.
In this way, Shui Miao had effectively gained the aid of dozens of Immortal Emperor-level powerhouses.
In short, his strength had doubled in an instant.
“Hmph!”
“You want to play psychological warfare with me? I’ll outplay you all!”
With a thought, Shui Miao summoned an unimaginable force, instantly uprooting all the immortal mountains atop the Sanqing Sect’s immortal city and hurling them into the distant sky.
Shui Miao was now outside the Sanqing Sect, and the great sages and elders of the sect surely could sense him.
But their lack of response, their failure to come out, was precisely their way of playing psychological warfare against him.
They wanted to see what Tianji Zunzhe was capable of doing to the Sanqing Sect.
Shui Miao had exhausted all the Tianyuan stones he had on hand, forging numerous supreme divine treasures, and his power had increased by more than double. Now he had absolute confidence. Thus, after the silence, the storm was about to descend!
Once all the immortal mountains were thrown away, the Sanqing Sect’s immortal city was finally revealed in its true form—a rather unremarkable but massive city.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Figures flew out rapidly. Before Shui Miao, ten Immortal Emperors and one Sage Elder appeared all at once.
The elders of the Sanqing Sect had finally emerged.
Shui Miao swept his divine perception over them and instantly concluded—they were merely the vanguard.
“Tianji City Lord, I wonder what heavenly law our Sanqing Sect has violated that you would personally come here to destroy our sect’s sacred mountains?” The leader was an elderly man wearing a deep blue star-robe. Tall and imposing, with deep-set eyes, he was the current Sanqing Sect Grandmaster, Tiandou.
“Tianji City Lord, today you must explain yourself clearly. Otherwise, we won’t let this go!”
“Hmph! Just because you’re a city lord means you can act however you please and bully others?”
“What kind of nonsense is this ‘city lord’? I think he’s just here to cause trouble. Everyone in the Nine Heavens knows how the Celestial Court has been seizing resources from various sects, forging treasures to consolidate their power and dominate us forever.”
“Hmph! Tianji City Lord, if you don’t give us a satisfactory explanation today, we won’t forgive you!”
“That’s right, we won’t forgive him…”
The ten Immortal Emperors also spoke up, each one spitting words with fierce momentum.
It was clear—they had come prepared.
From their tone, it seemed the Sanqing Sect had long wanted to overthrow the Celestial Court and take its place, just lacking a proper excuse.
Today, perhaps the excuse had finally arrived?
They would certainly rebel if Tianji Zunzhe failed to provide a satisfactory explanation.
The Tianji Zunzhe puppet stepped forward, suddenly laughing coldly as he declared, “The Celestial Court has its own rules, and each heaven has its own order. You Sanqing Sect recklessly built clusters of immortal mountains—just piles of broken rocks—that severely damaged the celestial landscape. As the city lord of punishment, how could I possibly ignore this? Today, I tore down your illegal construction as a warning. If it happens again, I will punish you even more severely. What do you think of that? Looking at your angry faces, do you want to rebel?”
Tianji Zunzhe’s explanation was truly shocking.
This was the style of an urban management officer—authoritative and domineering!
Shui Miao had come up with a unique excuse, using the justification of a forced demolition by city management. Though somewhat absurd, it was indeed a clever excuse.
“…”
Upon hearing these words, the Immortal Emperors of the Sanqing Sect were momentarily stunned. This excuse was just too absurd…
One of them, unable to contain his anger, was about to curse, but the Sanqing Sect Grandmaster Tiandou suddenly raised his hand and stepped forward, declaring directly, “Tianji City Lord, you are truly pushing things too far! Do you really think our Sanqing Sect has no one worthy to challenge you? If you dare, let’s settle this between us two alone in a duel!”
The sect leader himself challenging him to a one-on-one duel was unexpected for Shui Miao.
“Fine! If I lose, I will no longer be the city lord of punishment,” the Tianji Zunzhe puppet sneered again. “But if you lose, what will you do then?”
“If I lose, I will no longer be the Grandmaster of the Sanqing Sect,” Tiandou’s body trembled, and his surroundings suddenly radiated brilliant starlight.
“What nonsense! Are you even my equal?” The Tianji Zunzhe puppet curled his lips, shaking a finger. “It’s not that simple. If you lose, you must disband the Sanqing Sect and become my servant forever, like a dog or an ox. How does that sound?”
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