Time passed swiftly. Thirty-six years later, Gu Xichen and his companions had completely transformed Tianhua; every cell in his body had become pure magical power.

In the void, Gu Xichen stood upon the Taiji symbol, the Haotian Pagoda hovering high above his head, the Xuanhuang Qi resembling a reversed celestial river, rushing down incessantly to bombard his body.

One hundred enemy Yellow Turban Warriors, each a hundred zhang tall and wielding various divine weapons, attacked Gu Xichen from all sides as if they were striking iron. Led by Xin Jia, the Yellow Turban Warriors generally possessed cultivation levels ranging from mid-tier Golden Immortal to high-tier Golden Immortal. Each of their strikes was powerful enough to shatter a star field, easily shaking loose ten thousand stars. Yet, the torrential storm of blows landed upon Gu Xichen without managing to shake his form in the slightest.

The Monkey, standing guard nearby, scratched his ears and cheeks, fidgeting with unbearable impatience. He shouted hoarsely, "You group of brats, get lost and let Old Sun hit you with ten thousand strikes!"

Hearing this, Xin Jia and the others were greatly alarmed, hastily gripping their weapons and turning to flee.

The Monkey let out a wild roar, his eyes flaring wide, instantly shooting golden light in all directions. The brilliant gaze illuminated ten thousand miles of void, making it as bright as if two small suns had suddenly appeared. He raised a purplish-black staff perpetually wreathed in a hazy golden mist, his body spinning like a windmill, generating an unusual sound of tearing space as he lunged toward Gu Xichen.

In the blink of an eye, thirty-six thousand strikes whistled down. The Monkey had already achieved the realm of Great Golden Immortal back then, and now, having received an infusion of magical power freely donated by Tian'e, he possessed the peak power of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, just like Gu Xichen. His Soul-Losing Staff tore through the void; the space along its path was blasted into dust, and a crack in space resembling a black dragon slammed fiercely into Gu Xichen.

Gu Xichen glared, and two dim, indistinct spiritual lights shot out, striking the Monkey squarely.

Thirty-six thousand impacts sounded simultaneously, followed immediately by the Monkey's cry of surprise.

Gu Xichen stood motionless in place, golden light shimmering around him, his skin having turned the color of pure gold. The Monkey, however, was blasted away like a leaf in the wind by the single blow from the Reincarnation Dharma Eye. Eerie karmic forces of reincarnation entangled themselves around the Monkey, nearly dragging him into the cycle of rebirth. Fortunately, the Monkey’s foundation was deep, and the techniques he cultivated had integrated the orthodox divine powers of both the Buddhist and Daoist sects. He exerted immense effort, struggling with all his might, before finally breaking free.

"I’m not playing anymore, not playing!" The Monkey sulkily dragged his staff backward, yelling loudly, "You are so unfair! Your skin is thick and tough, you don’t even fear Old Sun’s staff, yet a mere glare from those eyes risks falling into reincarnation and never being reborn! Unfair, unfair!"

Falling into reincarnation and never being reborn—Gu Xichen’s Reincarnation Dharma Eye had absorbed the power of the Heavenly Dao’s rules. The Monkey genuinely feared his pair of eyes.

From a distance, Yang Jian chuckled, stroking the small dog beside him whose every black hair carried a golden aura, squinting smugly as he said, "Look at that monkey head still acting arrogant? The Venerable One’s Xuanhuang Immortal Body, heh, it’s truly..."

The Monkey had suffered a loss and retreated, but others still wanted to test the current Gu Xichen. A distant shriek echoed as Kan Hua, Siren, Banruo, and Mohe, all flapping enormous wings, rushed frantically toward Gu Xichen. Their current cultivation was comparable to Gu Xichen’s; wherever they passed, the void and stars were shattered into dust. The momentum was as if four wild boars had charged into a china shop, leaving nothing but oblivion in their wake.

The Banruo and Mohe brothers had inherited the physical bodies of Outer Realm Great Sages, and after hundreds of years, they had achieved complete mastery over them. Their flying speed was almost impossible for even Gu Xichen to track. As soon as they appeared, they shattered hundreds of stars while charging toward Gu Xichen, their dual fists descending like a meteor shower.

Gu Xichen could not defend against the brothers' super-speed strikes, but with the Divine Power of the Xuanhuang Immortal Body, why should he defend?

He opened his arms, allowing the brothers to smash away at him. Golden light flared fiercely around Gu Xichen, yet he felt no pain whatsoever.

After laughing heartily three times, he swept and flipped his wide sleeves. The left sleeve summoned a monstrous wave of water—the gray-white Lunar True Water silently engulfed Banruo. The immense, soft-yet-powerful water pressure squeezed Banruo until he could barely breathe. He was like a chick crushed under Mount Tai, letting out a muffled groan, nearly suffocated before being flung thousands of li away, eyes rolled back.

Banruo only suffered a minor setback. Mohe, engulfed by Gu Xichen’s right sleeve, let out a miserable howl as black smoke suddenly rose from his entire body. Pure Yang flames such as Sun Blaze, Golden Crow Heavenly Fire, and Extreme Yang True Fire erupted violently from the sleeve, transforming into a sea of bluish-purple fire that enveloped him, instantly burning away his clothes and the hair on his skin.

Blasted tens of thousands of li away, covered in smoke and fire, Mohe cursed angrily for a moment before bursting into laughter again in the blink of an eye: "Luckily, I’m a born monk, so I don't have hair on my head! Otherwise, I’d be utterly humiliated today!" He glanced down at his lower half, only concerned about whether the hair on his head was damaged, having no concept of whether the hair on his body was intact.

Siren was astute. Seeing Banruo and Mohe suffer losses, he immediately halted his charge. Silver light spun around him, and tens of thousands of stunningly beautiful maidens rushed out, chanting, "Long live the Master!" Each possessed twelve golden, radiant wings on their backs—clearly high-ranking angels with Heavenly Immortal cultivation.

To be able to summon ten thousand Heavenly Immortal-strength Realm Puppets at once, Siren's power was truly terrifying beyond measure.

Gu Xichen chuckled, glancing at the charging angel maidens, shook his head, and threw a punch with his backhand.

Kan Hua, who had sneak-attacked Gu Xichen from behind with a punch, let out a tragic scream as the incoming punch struck him face-to-face: "Three Styles of Cauldron Heaven! What are you doing!"

The Three Styles of Cauldron Heaven hit Kan Hua's chest. With a dull thud, Kan Hua’s garishly colored clothes and ornaments were blasted to dust. He flew backward in a flurry, cursing incessantly along the way. Streams of blood light continuously erupted around him, and tens of thousands of Flying Yakshas—clad in golden armor with pure golden skin and a single massive wing on their backs—rushed out, howling and charging towards Gu Xichen. Laughing merrily, Gu Xichen glanced toward the Monkey, who was squatting on a small asteroid watching the battle, then suddenly twisted his body and roared, "Change! Change! Change!"

Following Gu Xichen's shout, he suddenly manifested three heads and six arms. One hand held the Haotian Mirror, another held the Pangu Banner, and the remaining four hands grasped the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords!

"The most shameless person in the Three Realms, you are the supreme example!" The Monkey roared furiously from afar, his eyes spitting fire as he stared at the six innate supreme treasures in Gu Xichen's hands. He almost wished he could throw away the staff in his own hand! Pity that after roaming through so many Kalpas, he only possessed a single staff, yet Gu Xichen, who had cultivated for less than a thousand years, already possessed so many innate supreme treasures! "Nouveau riche, absolute nouveau riche!" Yang Jian also muttered under his breath, "We know you are rich, you don't have to flaunt it like this, do you?"

With the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords unfurled, Gu Xichen wielded an ordinary Four Symbols Sword Style, yet the sword aura soared into the sky. Sword energies spanning ten thousand zhang swept in all directions. Over a hundred thousand Heavenly Immortal-level Realm Puppets were annihilated, none able to approach within a hundred zhang of his body. Suddenly, a cold snort was heard. A ball of bloody light materialized behind Gu Xichen, and Hanba, looking triumphant, burst out of the blood light. She fiercely kicked toward Gu Xichen’s rear, shouting loudly, "Little Gu, I’m kicking your butt! Haha, ouch!"

As soon as Hanba exclaimed triumphantly, the Haotian Mirror held in one of Gu Xichen's hands flashed toward her.

A miraculous scene unfolded: Hanba’s leg vanished into thin air, and a leg suddenly appeared behind her, kicking her rear fiercely, sending her flying tens of thousands of li away.

Hanba screamed in fury, "This isn't fun anymore! Xuanhuang Immortal Body, Haotian Pagoda, Haotian Mirror, Four Immortal-Slaying Swords—good heavens, and even Old Master Yuanshi’s Pangu Banner! How many treasures does he have? This isn’t fun! Even ordinary Great Golden Immortals can't deal with him!"

"That's not necessarily true!"

Kan Hua, Siren, Banruo, and Mohe all shouted in unison. Plus Arithia, who rushed over from a distance trailing colossal black flames, the group began summoning Realm Puppets with all their might. With their current cultivation and centuries of meticulous study into various divine powers and techniques, the Realm Puppets they conjured were astonishing, vastly superior in both quantity and quality compared to before! Hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Immortal-level Flying Yakshas, hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Immortal-level Angels, nearly one hundred thousand Yakshas and Gandharvas from the Buddhist Eight Legions of Protectors, nearly a million Heavenly Immortals in total—they firmly trapped Gu Xichen in the center.

Kan Hua laughed maniacally and arrogantly, "Junior Brother, just admit defeat! Once we form the Heaven-Sealing Net Formation, wahahaha, a Heaven-Sealing Net Formation composed of a million Heavenly Immortals—even a Great Golden Immortal couldn't escape... Ouch, you are so shameless!"

Yes, the Heaven-Sealing Net Formation. Kan Hua and the others had also mastered this ultimate formation of the Celestial Court over the years. A Heaven-Sealing Net Formation composed of a million Heavenly Immortal-level Realm Puppets could indeed trap and kill an ordinary Great Golden Immortal. Even though Gu Xichen possessed innate supreme treasures for protection, given his foundation as a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, it was impossible for him to exert the true power of these treasures; he could not escape the encirclement of this formation.

But then, why was Gu Xichen called shameless? Staring at the Heaven-Sealing Net Formation pressing down from all directions, Gu Xichen suddenly laughed wildly toward the sky.

Following his laughter, the five brothers of Xin Jia led one hundred eight thousand Yellow Turban Warriors surging out of the purple mist out of nowhere.

Yes, one hundred eight thousand Yellow Turban Warriors. These were the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals Gu Xichen had summoned over these thirty-six years by utilizing the essence, spirit, and vital energy of Tian’e to condense their souls and bodies. Excluding the hundreds of leaders like the Xin Jia brothers, the other Yellow Turban Warriors possessed peak Heavenly Immortal cultivation.

Rushing out behind them were over a million genuine Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. All the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals wore stern expressions, their armor pristine and celestial energy soaring to the heavens.

Behind these Heavenly Soldiers and Generals rushed the three Kongsang brothers, riding three flying dragons. Behind them were the four brothers of Moliying, the Four Generals of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning, the Generals of Thousand-Mile Eyes and Smooth-Wind Ears, the Three Officials Great Emperors, the Four Merit Officers, the Four Great Heavenly Masters, the Four Symbols and Four Directions Gods, the Four River Dragon Gods, the Four Great Marshals, the Five Directions Revealed Truths, the Five Qi True Lords, the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Seven Stars Lords of the Big Dipper, the Six Stars Lords of the Southern Dipper, and so on—all the Zhou Tian Divine Generals...

The Thirty-Three Heavens Palace—thousands of renowned generals whose names resonated throughout the Three Realms—appeared all at once. Every divine general possessed upper-tier Golden Immortal cultivation, bursting with vitality and their eyes sharp as lightning. They looked down at the counterfeit Heaven-Sealing Net Formation looming above them, laughing heartily.

Xin Jia waved his Boundless Divine Chains vaguely and shouted loudly, "Generals, Brothers, put on a good demonstration for the Venerable One!"

"Yes!"

A great shout shook the surrounding stars, making it seem as if heaven and earth were spinning. Over a million genuine Heavenly Soldiers and Generals maneuvered left and right, immediately setting up a rigidly formed Heaven-Sealing Net Formation radiating intense killing intent.

If the Heaven-Sealing Net Formation set up by Kan Hua and his Realm Puppets was a piece of tofu, the Heaven-Sealing Net Formation set up by the genuine Heavenly Soldiers and Generals was a great blade forged from diamond, a sharp edge capable of shattering everything.

With just one collision, the counterfeit Heaven-Sealing Net Formation instantly vanished into green smoke. The various divine generals proudly raised their weapons and burst into laughter.

Their true bodies lost somewhere, only a wisp of their separated spirit remaining, struggling within the Celestial Register Purple Cloth Pouch, they had once thought their current life would simply fade away, that millennia of arduous cultivation had dissolved into nothing, their former glory and renown fallen into the dust.

Who would have thought there existed such a heaven-defying figure as Gu Xichen? He had obtained the Zixiao Celestial Register Purple Cloth Pouch; he possessed the miraculous power of the Crys-tall-o Sphere; he had such great fortune to possess such incredible divine power in just a few hundred years.

The Zhou Tian Divine Generals were thus freed from the Celestial Register Purple Cloth Pouch. They condensed their souls and were reborn as complete, brand-new beings! Although their cultivation was as fragile as an ant compared to their former glory, although their physical bodies did not amount to even one ten-thousandth of their immortal forms back then, they were alive, and they were still those glorious Heavenly Generals! They still possessed their former Daoist insights and enlightenment; given enough time, they could still erupt with a fire that would draw the attention of the Three Realms! Who were they? They were the most persistent, tenacious, and fortunate group of people in the Three Realms, so they ascended to godhood! And so, today, after proudly shattering an imposter Heaven-Sealing Net Formation with a small display of force, they threw their heads back and roared to the sky! One day, the Three Realms would hear their names again, and their names would once more make the Three Realms tremble! Under the leadership of the Venerable One, Gu Xichen, who inherited the cultivation techniques of the Heavenly Emperor, they would conquer the Three Realms and let the fame of the Celestial Court rule all directions! Perhaps this time, they stood a chance of conquering those carefree Immortals in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths who refused allegiance! The true ancient Great Divine Powers had perished, and what remained in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were merely insignificant riff-raff! Eliminating them would truly allow the Celestial Court to unify the Three Realms! What glory, what supreme achievement this was?

Thus, the sky-filling divine generals laughed wildly, so proudly, yet also so solitarily! They had returned, but how many people in this star field remembered their legends?

The Monkey clenched his teeth, watching the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals laughing crazily. He suddenly leaped up, swinging his staff and charging toward the Heaven-Sealing Net Formation. He transformed into a streak of golden light, instantly plunging into the formation, shouting sternly, "What are you small-time losers celebrating? Let Old Sun hit you with ten thousand strikes to vent my anger!"

The Monkey roared with laughter, also manifesting the Three Heads and Six Arms celestial body expansion technique and wildly attacking the formation.

The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals also laughed loudly, eagerly wielding their blades and spears to fight the Monkey.

The sky was filled with chaotic, shadowy flashes of light as the battle raged. Gu Xichen watched the millions of li of shattered star fields with a grim expression, nodding repeatedly. The ancient Celestial Court’s prohibition against immortals wantonly descending to the lower realms indeed had its reasons; if these fellows were allowed to run rampant in the mortal realm, it would have been torn apart long ago.

When the Monkey smashed a star ten times larger than the sun into dust with one blow, and the Divine Lord Xuanwu Zhimi accidentally shattered a neutron star, directly tearing open the spatial barrier and drawing in an energy tide from subspace, Gu Xichen finally could not help but shout for these violent individuals, who had been lonely for countless years, to stop fighting.

On the distant Flying Dragon Boat, the Emperor of Corpses and others, whose powers had also greatly advanced, watched with dizzying awe. This chaotic battle was simply beyond words to describe.

The True Person of White Water and the True Person of Cold Crane could only sigh incessantly, lamenting why Gu Xichen had joined the Nine Nether Dao Sect back then? Look at Gu Xichen now, commanding millions of heavenly troops—this, this, this momentum of the Nine Nether Dao was about to skyrocket! After a period of celebration and revelry marking everyone's significant progress in cultivation, all the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals retreated into Gu Xichen's Sea of Consciousness to cultivate. The group embarked on the Flying Dragon Boat and headed back toward the Spiral Star Field at a speed more than a hundred times faster than their arrival.

Three days before reaching the Spiral Star Field, everyone suddenly sensed an immense pressure emanating from the star field where Daoist Mu had once attempted to ascend to the Celestial Court. This pressure spanned a vast distance, yet it pressed upon everyone's hearts like a heavy boulder. Even Gu Xichen and the others, who had reached the peak of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, found it difficult to breathe, suppressed by this pressure to the point of gasping.

"Great Golden Immortal, and the pressure is the combined effort of at least one hundred Great Golden Immortals!"

The Monkey's eyes were spitting fire as he roared in frustration, "If Old Sun still had his former cultivation, I could kill a hundred Great Golden Immortals!"

Yang Jian’s face was also grim. He was a man of immense pride; to be suppressed by a group of Great Golden Immortals whom he considered not particularly formidable made him furious and indignant.

A streak of golden light suddenly flew toward them from a distance. Gu Xichen snatched the streaking golden light that shot toward him—it was an exquisitely carved jade token.

The palm-sized token was carved with the names of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and a pattern of ethereal cloud designs. A wisp of divine sense proactively extended from within, announcing to Gu Xichen and the others the matter of the Myriad Immortals Assembly to be held at Myriad Immortals Star in twelve months.

The divine sense on the jade token made it very clear: anyone who dared not attend would face joint execution by all the Heavenly Venerates, Demon Ancestors, Monster Sages, and Ghost Emperors of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. This assembly would determine the spheres of influence in the mortal world, and all cultivators must decide beforehand which power to pledge allegiance to.

Clutching the jade token, Gu Xichen could only manage a wry, helpless smile: "Our strength is not yet sufficient!"

Everyone looked at each other helplessly. After a long silence, it seemed that before they possessed enough Great Golden Immortals capable of guarding a territory, the faction represented by Gu Xichen would have to find a powerful force to rely upon.

Shaking his head helplessly, Gu Xichen gave a few instructions and then hurriedly rushed toward Myriad Immortals Star with a few companions.

The Assembly of Immortals—how could they miss such a grand event? The Monkey, who loved causing trouble at such immortal gatherings the most, insisted on following Gu Xichen; no one could stop him, so he was allowed to tag along.

Gu Xichen could only pray silently that the Monkey would not cause any trouble at this assembly.

But how difficult was it to ask the Monkey not to cause trouble?

As soon as they arrived at Myriad Immortals Star, the Monkey had already committed a homicide!