…The Immortal Star attached itself to the void, and dust motes of purple light drifted into the stardust stream, while ten colossal golden beams stood tall, supporting the very heavens.

Thousands of Immortals from various factions sat cross-legged around these golden pillars, meditating and regulating their breathing. Occasionally, a few Immortals would step into the golden light, instantly dissolving into specks of light that shot rapidly upwards; equally, points of light, swift as falling meteors, descended from the high heavens, solidifying into Immortals in ornate robes and tall crowns who slowly emerged from the golden beams.

The Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder!

Gu Xichen sneered, took a step forward, and plunged directly into the golden light, instantly turning into a beam of light that shot toward the sky.

Several Immortals guarding nearby quickly rose and shouted sternly, “Fellow Immortal, where are you headed? Please register at my post first.”

No one paid heed to their calls. A few sharp gusts of wind rushed past, and Peng Hua and the others also charged into the golden light, swiftly catching up to Gu Xichen.

The Golden Immortals responsible for overseeing the operation of the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder and registering incoming and outgoing Immortals were left utterly dumbfounded, watching the figures of Gu Xichen and his group dissipate into specks of light. Every Immortal entering or leaving the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was required to log their affiliated faction and the purpose of their visit. This was a joint decision made by the overlords of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Did these people genuinely fear no death, trampling on such rules?

Just as they were pondering whether to lodge a severe complaint against Gu Xichen and his group, a surging tide of malevolent aura, accompanied by rolling demonic clouds, suddenly rushed toward them from behind.

The Immortals guarding the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder hurriedly stood up and bowed with trepidation. As the pale-purple demonic cloud receded, the Purple-Eyed Roc King, whose eyes shone like purple crystals, appeared, flanked by dozens of Demon Immortals with strange appearances. After surveying the surroundings with cold arrogance, the Purple-Eyed Roc King snorted softly and casually waved a hand.

The dozens of Demon Immortals bowed in unison, then transformed into a violent gale, plunging into the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder, quickly pursuing Gu Xichen’s party.

The Purple-Eyed Roc King glanced coldly at the terrified guard Immortals, humming with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, “This King forgot a cherished item in the palace. I’ve sent men to fetch it. There’s no need for registration for this matter, is there? Or do you wish to cause this King trouble?”

Stunned by the overwhelming killing intent emanating from the Purple-Eyed Roc King, all the guard Immortals shook their heads in unison, proclaiming they dared not. They swiftly forced themselves to forget that the Purple-Eyed Roc King had dispatched forces to pursue Gu Xichen’s group and resumed their cross-legged meditation in the void. The Purple-Eyed Roc King was satisfied with their compliance. He placed his hands behind his back and looked up at the glittering specks of gold light at the apex of the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder for a moment before slowly turning to leave. Not long after he departed, several rolling demonic clouds, no weaker than his own, surged forward. The Purple-Eyed Roc King exchanged a few sharp-voiced words and laughter with those in the demonic clouds, which then rapidly dispersed into streaks of brilliant light.

Gu Xichen ascended rapidly within the golden light formed by the nine dragons. Initially, the space outside the golden light was the familiar starry sky, but after a short while, the view shifted to a vast, surging torrent of chaotic energy. Within that murky flow, devoid of color, direction, space, or time, countless bubbles collided and churned, emitting thunderous roars that threatened to burst one's heart.

Occasionally, colossal, strange beasts emerged from the chaotic currents; their forms rivaled that of the Sky Moths he had seen previously. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, despite possessing incomparably sturdy flesh and power comparable to Great Principle Golden Immortals, these beasts showed no signs of developing sentience. They simply navigated the chaotic flow based on instinct, either hunting or propagating their kind.

Now and then, celestial bodies larger than the biggest stars in the mortal realm—sometimes by several times, sometimes by tens of thousands of times—faintly appeared within the chaos. These celestial bodies shimmered with ever-flowing, bizarre lights, clearly composed entirely of the rarest, most supreme innate materials.

However, surrounding these priceless celestial treasures were perils capable of severely wounding a Great Principle Golden Immortal. All manner of venomous winds, fires, toxic sands, and corrosive waters spontaneously materialized, tightly enveloping these star-like bodies. Within those dangerous restraints lurked monstrous beasts and venomous insects whose strength matched that of several Great Principle Golden Immortals combined. Unless driven mad by poverty, which Great Principle Golden Immortal would risk venturing here to mine innate materials?

Staring blankly at the incredible scenes unfolding in the chaotic space, Gu Xichen suddenly understood how impoverished the Jade Crown Sage and the Flying Star Daoist must have been in those days. Possessing boundless heavenly treasures before their eyes, perhaps even supreme beings like Yuan Luo Heavenly Venerable could not extract a single benefit from these celestial bodies. No wonder the Immortals of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths all seemed so destitute.

Suddenly, not far ahead, near a celestial body spanning over a hundred billion li in diameter, two Chaos Demonic Dragons engaged in the act of coupling suddenly became violently aggressive. The female dragon used her horn to fiercely gore the area near the male dragon’s reverse scale, immediately drawing forth vast pools of black blood from its body.

The male dragon erupted in fury. These savage Chaos beasts, whose intelligence barely surpassed that of reptiles, possessed no gentleness; he proceeded to rake and batter the female dragon. The two demonic dragons, each tens of thousands of miles long, rolled together in a brawl. Their long tails swept upwards, abruptly flinging hundreds of pieces of innate materials, of varying sizes, from the surface of that celestial body high into the chaotic currents.

Just as a piece of 'Purple-Spotted Golden Divine Stone'—the size of a resting ox—flew toward the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder, a Golden Immortal descending from above cried out in ecstasy, ignoring everything as he lunged out of the protection of the Ladder toward the stone, which flowed with liquid gold and occasionally spurted purple brilliance—an innate material possessing 'Soul' attributes.

Purple-Spotted Golden Divine Stone was a top-tier material for forging soul artifacts; it could create all manner of soul-hooking magical tools and soul-nurturing treasures. If combined with other innate materials to forge an outer shell for the divine soul, it was equivalent to having an extra life. For a mere Golden Immortal, even for a Great Principle Golden Immortal, this material held an irresistible attraction.

The Golden Immortal had just rushed out of the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder and was about to seize the Purple-Spotted Golden Divine Stone when a tentacle, thick as an arm and several thousand miles long, suddenly lashed out from the side, effortlessly coiling around the Golden Immortal and dragging him into the massive, suddenly appearing mouth in the chaotic flow. A Chaos Abomination, shaped like an octopus but monstrously huge—tens of thousands of times larger—slowly revealed more than half its body in the chaos before submerging again into the murky currents.

With a light flick of the tentacle, the Purple-Spotted Golden Divine Stone was knocked flying obliquely, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Gu Xichen was pitying the devoured Golden Immortal when his body suddenly felt light, having arrived at a marvelous location.

Vast expanses of golden light and purple energy permeated the surroundings. Amidst the endless chaotic currents, this was a rare pocket of immense, tranquil space. An indescribably enormous tree floated quietly in this void. The golden light of the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder shot downwards from its roots, piercing the entire chaotic space, connecting directly to the Mortal Realm.

At the tips of the tree’s nineteen branches hung nineteen massive orbs of golden light. These lights occasionally condensed into immense portals, leading to clear and beautiful realms filled with mountains and streams. Gu Xichen observed these portals with cold eyes. Based on the memories gleaned from the spirit of the Inspiration Great Sage, he selected the portal leading to Fan Jian Xutian Heaven and flew toward it.

A figure flashed in the golden light behind him; Peng Hua and the others pursued closely, flying into the portal right after Gu Xichen.

Immortals were also stationed along the branches of the great tree. Several Golden Immortals attempted to stop Gu Xichen, wanting to inquire about his affiliated faction and the purpose of his return from the lower realm to the Nine Heavens. Gu Xichen, impatient, unleashed a 'Flying Waterfall Sleeve,' sweeping the inquiring Golden Immortals into the chaotic space with a single sleeve movement, while his body vanished into the portal within the golden light.

Peng Hua was even more ferocious. A Golden Immortal, trembling as he reached out to question him, was drawn towards Peng Hua from a distance. Seven streams of vital blood were instantly sucked from his seven orifices and swallowed by Peng Hua. The Golden Immortal let out a mournful cry; his cultivation, previously at the sixteenth grade of the Golden Immortal realm, plummeted straight down to the fifth grade of the Heavenly Immortal realm after Peng Hua consumed his essence. The surrounding Golden Immortals immediately shook with terror; no one dared to question this group of fierce devils.

Peng Hua and the others also rushed into Fan Jian Xutian Heaven. Not long after, dozens of Demon Immortals, carrying a chilling malevolence, flew out of the Nine Dragons Sky-Reaching Ladder. The young man leading them, whose eyes resembled purple stars, possessed a large, hooked nose, a thin face, and a voice laced with the shrill quality of bird calls. He shouted fiercely, “That group just now—did they go toward Fan Jian Xutian Heaven?”

The terrified guard Golden Immortals hurriedly nodded, pointing toward the great gate leading to Fan Jian Xutian Heaven.

The young man let out a strange laugh, “As expected, they are going to cause trouble for the Three Divine Palaces on Great Wei Mountain! Tsk tsk, how audacious!”

After several mocking laughs, the man signaled his followers. He hastily led the Demon Immortals behind him into Fan Jian Xutian Heaven.

The moment Gu Xichen burst through the golden portal, he felt the world spin violently. After a short period, he emerged from a colossal teleportation array situated atop a grand mountain. An intensely dense concentration of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy rolled towards him. A violent gust of wind swept past, carrying large swathes of purple clouds, within which two enormous white strange birds of an unidentifiable species flapped their wings gracefully as they flew by.

This was a mountain towering over ten thousand li high, shaped like a pillar supporting the heavens, standing sentinel in a vast expanse of rugged mountains. With this mountain as its nucleus, surrounding it were layers upon layers of spiritually vibrant peaks. Every peak faced this central mountain as if a court of ministers paying homage to a monarch. Each peak spewed forth a stream of swirling purple energy toward the center, enveloping the entire mountain in dense purple haze.

At the summit, a three-dimensional teleportation array, spanning over a hundred li in diameter, rumbled loudly. Tens of thousands of rune stones of various sizes floated within the formation. Streaks of electric light, as thick as water vats, flickered faintly within the purple energy filling the array. The rock faces around the formation bore numerous mottled marks, exuding a strong ancient aura that intertwined with the array, releasing a palpable sense of heartbreaking hardship.

In the void beside the teleportation array, an exquisite pavilion hovered upon a golden cloud. Several armored Immortals stepped out of the pavilion on cloud-steps and hailed Gu Xichen from a considerable distance: “Fellow Immortal, from whence do you hail? You look unfamiliar.”

Gu Xichen stared at the armored Immortals with mocking cynicism and coldly laughed, “Do you expect to recognize every Immortal in Fan Jian Xutian Heaven?”

The Immortals were instantly left speechless. They exchanged glances and then moved closer to Gu Xichen by several hundred feet. The Immortal who had spoken earlier shouted, “Though we do not know all the Immortals in Fan Jian Xutian Heaven, we are familiar with those who have traveled to the lower realms. May I ask—”

Gu Xichen glanced disdainfully at them. A spiritual light suddenly flickered within his Samsara Dharma Eye.

A primal fear originating deep within their souls instantly seized the Immortals. They trembled as if they were rabbits encountering a primordial behemoth. They couldn't even speak a coherent sentence, each one turning in panicked flight, daring not to cast a second glance in this direction.

Gu Xichen smiled coldly, placing his hands behind his back, and stated in a low voice, “You dare question my origins?”

He cast a dismissive glance at the Immortals near the teleportation array, then turned his gaze upon Fan Jian Xutian Heaven.

It was indeed worthy of being one of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, an artificial space carved out in ancient times specifically to house those powerful cultivators who lived outside the laws of heaven and earth and refused the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court. As far as the eye could see in Fan Jian Xutian Heaven, there were wondrous mountains and peculiar waters, and the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy was incredibly dense. Every spiritual herb here was considered rare even in the Mortal Realm; every rock, every piece of exquisite jade, every grain of sand was condensed essence of the Five Earths, brimming with vigorous life force—'Earth Essence.'

However, all the flora, fauna, stones, and soil, though being choice and rare items, were all of the Acquired category, not Innate. In terms of spirituality, they were deficient by a significant margin. After all, this was an acquired void opened by a Sage; no innate items could manifest here.

Aside from the abundance of spiritual medicines and rare jades, the space of Fan Jian Xutian Heaven was more than countless times sturdier than the Mortal Realm. In the Mortal Realm, a full-power strike from a peak Heavenly Immortal could shatter space, but here, the space could withstand the full might of several Great Principle Golden Immortals. Gu Xichen quickly analyzed a fatal characteristic of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths: unless one was a being of peak Great Principle Golden Immortal power, like Yuan Luo Heavenly Venerable, others could not utilize instantaneous teleportation here without the aid of unique magical artifacts.

Teleportation was merely tearing open space for spatial jumps. Since the space in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was so stable, and only peak Great Principle Golden Immortals could affect space, others naturally could not teleport; they were forced to rely on honest sword flight.

Weighing the Pangu Banner in his hand, Gu Xichen smiled. With the Pangu Banner's assistance, tearing open the void for teleportation was not difficult. Were the Palace Lords of the Three Divine Palaces only peak or mid-grade Great Principle Golden Immortals? Perhaps using the Pangu Banner for teleportation was his trump card for survival.

Waving his hands repeatedly, streaks of complex spiritual formulae shot out, gradually outlining a massive, three-dimensional magic array before Gu Xichen.

A rapidly spinning Taiji vortex, the size of a fist, formed the core of the array. Surrounding the Taiji vortex were five streams of hazy, multi-colored energy. Next to the colorful streams were minute representations of natural phenomena: wind, rain, thunder, lightning, rivers, seas, dew, and frost.

The Immortals near the teleportation array watched Gu Xichen’s actions with horror, their eyes bloodshot with envy.

This was a magnificent divine ability, absolutely one of the lost arts of antiquity. Gu Xichen was analyzing the various Heaven and Earth rules of Fan Jian Xutian Heaven; judging by his effortless manner, in just fifteen minutes, he had grasped the general characteristics of the place's rules.

Yet, ordinary Immortals, newly arrived in Fan Jian Xutian Heaven, would require hundreds of years of arduous effort just to adapt to the fundamental rules here. Gu Xichen’s divine feat of surveying the rules of heaven and earth was utterly enviable to the surrounding Immortals who witnessed it.

After all, this was an artificial space established for ancient great divine ability wielders to retreat from the world and avoid interfering with the order of the Three Realms. Its Heaven and Earth rules were inherited from the Mortal Realm but with slight differences. For instance, the melting and boiling points of substances here were higher than in the Mortal Realm, but the freezing point of water was lower. Casting the Five Elements spells here required more mana than in the Mortal Realm, yet the destructive power of the spells increased significantly.

The maximum speed limit this space could sustain was faster than the Mortal Realm. In this space, the speed of sound was almost equivalent to the speed of light in the Mortal Realm, while the speed of light propagation was more than a hundred times faster.

The density of matter here was also greater than in the Mortal Realm. For example, the composition of water here remained two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, but the density of the water was extremely high, comparable to the density of mercury in the Mortal Realm, yet mortals could drink it freely without sustaining harm.

Peng Hua and the others gathered around Gu Xichen, watching him cast spells intently. They were diligently memorizing the rules of Fan Jian Xutian Heaven that Gu Xichen was discerning.

It was akin to fish from an inland river suddenly arriving in the deep sea; if they did not quickly grasp the environment, their very lives would be in jeopardy.

They had to compete with the native Immortals of the Three Divine Palaces here. If they failed to understand the local rules, they would suffer great losses in any confrontation. Especially for melee-focused cultivators like Peng Hua, who relied on their robust physical bodies, a slight difference in speed during combat could mean life or death—how could they afford to be careless?

A flash of purple light flared, and Yang Jian, the Monkey, and the Kongsang brothers stepped out, looking very seriously at the three-dimensional array before Gu Xichen.

They had never been here before; the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was a foreign place to them.

This was, after all, a sanctuary for Immortals who existed outside the Three Realms to live in seclusion. As Immortals belonging to the orthodox system of the Thirty-Three Heavens, Yang Jian and the others were not permitted entry.

Gu Xichen spent a full two hours before finally resolving the majority of Fan Jian Xutian Heaven's Heaven and Earth rules within the limits of his capabilities.

After imprinting all the rules he had deciphered onto the Spiritual Sense Canister and transmitting them to Peng Hua and the others, Gu Xichen glanced sideways at the many Immortals near the teleportation array who dared not move, then slowly pointed his hand toward the west of the mountain where the array was situated.

“In that direction, flying at our light-escape speed for a distance of seven days, is Great Wei Mountain.”

Great torrents of Yin Water and Thunder suddenly erupted in the air. The Immortals near the teleportation array had no time to exclaim before they were knocked to the ground by the shockwave of the Yin Thunder.

Gu Xichen sealed the souls of these Immortals using the Primordial Yin Secret Art, rendering them immobile and unconscious for seven days. He then used divine power to displace all the Immortals present to a mountain cave tens of thousands of miles away, roughly piling them together.

Having completed all this, the group finally stood up and swiftly headed toward Great Wei Mountain.