.. Yuanluo Mountain, covering less than a thousand li in circumference, possessed a spirit so exquisitely marvelous that in the vast expanses of the Dongyuan Huaying Sheng Tian, where mountains and rivers often spanned millions or tens of millions of li, it seemed no more than a delicate bonsai. Hundreds of grand peaks clustered together, each mountain shrouded in ascending violet mist, the spiritual energy so dense it was almost liquefying into palpable fluid, and the range teemed with rare birds, strange beasts, exotic flowers, and unknown herbs.

Palaces and pavilions dotted the landscape, built seamlessly into the ethereal contours of the mountains. Countless intricate structures clung to the cliff faces, layered one upon the other, all fashioned from exquisite jade and refined gold. Set against the mountain hues of indigo, pale blue, soft violet, and deep moss-green, their beauty was utterly indescribable.

At the heart of the peaks, a pillar of cloud shot straight up from one summit, billowing out at an altitude of a hundred li into a hundred-li-wide expanse of multicolored vapor. A group of exquisitely magnificent and grand palaces rested atop this cloud—this was the Yuanluo Palace.

Within the Yuanluo Palace resided the direct blood relatives of the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable, his trusted disciples, inner retainers, and personal guards, numbering nearly one hundred thousand souls. In the vast complexes across Yuanluo Mountain, millions of outer disciples and surrendered Immortals made their homes. And centered on the Yuanluo Mountain range, all Immortals dwelling in spirit mountains and hidden grottos within a thirty-billion-li radius were vassals and subordinate forces of the Yuanluo Palace.

Beneath the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable, aside from his two personal disciples, Miaoguang and Miaochen, who were at the initial stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, he had three direct sons boasting mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, and seven direct grandsons possessing the strength of early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortals. On this occasion, the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable had descended to the lower realm with Miaoyuan and Miaoguang, sending his two disciples on ahead as laborers for arduous tasks, while his own direct sons and grandsons remained behind to guard and manage the family legacy in the Yuanluo Palace. Within the households of the overlords of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the distinction between direct descendants and retainers was starkly clear: even the most intimate and trusted retainers could never possess greater cultivation than the younger generation of the family, yet it was always these retainers who were sent out to toil and suffer.

Comparing this to his existing knowledge of the Yuanluo Palace, Gu Xiechen frowned deeply. Among the nearly one thousand disciples under the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable, only Miaoyuan and Miaoguang had reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm; the rest of the disciples were not worth much consideration. However, his three direct sons and seven direct grandsons were a different matter entirely.

With just one Yuanluo Palace boasting over a dozen Grand Unity Golden Immortals, Gu Xiechen felt utterly helpless. The intelligence provided by Yao Mei’er regarding the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was clearly still lacking in accuracy. Yet, this was understandable; given Yao Mei’er’s low status within those realms, how could she possibly acquire detailed or precise information?

“Ten more Grand Unity Golden Immortals!” Hands tucked into his sleeves, Gu Xiechen frowned, addressing Fu Yaming. “Ten Grand Unity Golden Immortals! The eldest son of the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable is rumored to possess the strength necessary to challenge the advanced stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm! Ten of them!”

Fu Yaming’s thick, long eyebrows furrowed tightly as well. She tilted her head, pondering intensely for a moment, then nodded somewhat hesitantly. “Is that so? Ten Grand Unity Golden Immortals! But I wonder about the relationship between the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s three sons?”

Gu Xiechen’s eyes lit up, and he enthusiastically threw an arm around Fu Yaming’s shoulder. Precisely! Were the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s three sons truly brothers who lived in perfect harmony and affection? Even if the three of them were close, there were still seven grandsons involved!

The group huddled together—Penghua, Siren, Gu Xiechen, and Fu Yaming—exchanging one murky, less-than-honorable calculation after another. Penghua was the eldest and had witnessed the most sordid aspects of the mortal world; Siren was familiar with the jealousies and struggles within powerful aristocratic families; Gu Xiechen himself had fought tooth and nail to escape the deadly clutches of his own elder brother; as for Fu Yaming, having received standardized royal education from childhood, she was intimately familiar with the dramas of powerful clans.

As they debated and calculated the inner dynamics of the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s descendants, Yang Jian, Monkey, and the others listened on, their faces growing dark. They were heroes who faced their enemies head-on with spear and blade; the occasional use of esoteric skills was their own innate ability. When had they ever witnessed such insidious plotting? Even the three Kongsang brothers, who had followed the Haotian Supreme God for measureless eons, shifted uncomfortably.

After nearly a quarter of an hour of intense deliberation, their scheme was finalized. Gu Xiechen grit his teeth and selected two innate magical artifacts left behind by the Kunlun Immortals, reluctantly caressing them several times. One was the Town God Bell, the other the Mountain-Shaking Axe. Though these were the weakest among the innate artifacts, they were innate artifacts nonetheless!

Even temporarily entrusting them to others caused Gu Xiechen a pang of genuine heartache.

However, for the sake of the vast foundation of the Yuanluo Mountain, sacrificing these two innate artifacts was unavoidable for now. Since the Kunlun Immortals had forged these two artifacts, Gu Xiechen had mastered all the methods for refining the Town God Bell and the Mountain-Shaking Axe. He introduced minor alterations within these two innate objects before carefully placing them into a crimson jade casket and a violet jade casket, respectively.

A flash of blood light appeared beside Penghua, and Han Shu yawned her way out of the crimson mist. On a sheet of fine, dense silk woven from the purple-gold threads spun by the Golden Scripture Silkworm—which Gu Xiechen had procured—Han Shu had already painstakingly inscribed a lengthy passage using a few drops of vital essence imbued with the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s aura. The handwriting perfectly mimicked the Heavenly Venerable’s own script!

Gu Xiechen nodded secretly. Han Shu’s ability was truly terrifying; absorbing a portion of the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s essence allowed her to perfectly imitate his aura and handwriting, even mimicking his physical movements and voice with absolute fidelity. He wondered where she had learned such a formidable art. Combined with Yang Jian’s and Monkey’s Seventy-Two Transformations, this skill promised great utility in the future.

Han Shu wrote nearly a thousand words on the silk. Gu Xiechen produced the master seal he had confiscated from the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable, using the small, thumb-sized, slightly rounded jade stamp the Heavenly Venerable usually fiddled with to press down upon the text.

Han Shu shot a wisp of immortal power into the small jade seal. The impression made upon the silk immediately erupted in threads of violet light and golden radiance, slowly enveloping all the writing. This was the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s unique, proprietary secret method for preventing the forgery of correspondence—now mastered by Han Shu.

With all preparations complete, Fu Yaming and the others concealed themselves within a hidden underground grotto on a spiritual mountain near Yuanluo Mountain. Gu Xiechen quickly changed into a plain, drab, light-colored coarse cloth Daoist robe, casually selected a high-grade immortal sword to hang at his waist, and equipped himself with a few subtly glowing but unobtrusive defensive trinkets before majestically setting off on a cloud toward the Yuanluo Palace.

About three hundred li from the Yuanluo Palace, a patrol team of nearly a hundred lean, powerful Immortals, clad in white armor, intercepted him, harshly shouting for Gu Xiechen to halt his cloud. These Immortals regarded Gu Xiechen with unfriendly eyes, and their scolding tone was exceedingly unpleasant, carrying an implicit threat that any rash movement would result in their immediate execution of him.

Waving his wide sleeve, Gu Xiechen produced a token cast from purple-gold and tossed it toward the Immortals.

Gazing skyward with rolled eyes, Gu Xiechen sneered with immense arrogance, “I am the newly appointed Elder of the Yuanluo Palace, the Evil Dragon Venerable. Do you recognize me?”

The leader of these patrolling Immortals was a Golden Immortal. Upon seeing the token Gu Xiechen tossed, the muscles in his face twitched repeatedly. After taking the token, examining it closely, the Golden Immortal scrambled to kneel upon the cloud, bowing deferentially to Gu Xiechen. “We did not realize an Elder was personally arriving! Forgive our ignorance, forgive us! The Heavenly Venerable has already circulated the Elder’s name throughout the Yuanluo Palace.”

“Hmph. My true form and likeness were not transmitted back to the Yuanluo Palace, so it is not your fault for not recognizing me,” Gu Xiechen said coolly, casting a haughty glance over the kneeling Immortals. “Who is serving as the presiding Heavenly Venerable within the Palace now? This Venerable has been rushed here by the Heavenly Venerable for urgent matters. Speak quickly, do not delay this important affair.”

The leading Golden Immortal quickly glanced at Gu Xiechen, then respectfully replied, “Today, it is Young Venerable Yanyu presiding over affairs. Whom does the Elder seek?”

The Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s three direct sons were Yanluo, Yanyu, and Yanxun. Yanyu was his second son, and despite having the weakest cultivation among the three brothers, he possessed innate good fortune: five of the Heavenly Venerable’s seven grandsons who possessed Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation were Yanyu’s sons. The eldest son, Yanluo, possessed the deepest cultivation, nearing the threshold of the advanced Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, yet he struggled with lineage, having sired no children whatsoever. Nevertheless, his cultivation surpassed his two younger brothers by more than tenfold, allowing him to maintain a firm dominance over them. As for the third son, Yanxun, his cultivation was slightly inferior to Yanluo’s but considerably stronger than Yanyu’s. Coupled with the fact that his two sons’ cultivation subtly surpassed Yanyu’s five offspring, the combined influence of this father and his two sons in the Yuanluo Palace subtly rivaled that of Yanyu. The three direct sons—the strongest having no direct heirs to support him, the weakest possessing five promising sons, and the one in the middle backed by two powerful direct sons—created a perfect triangular balance of power among the three Young Venerables managing the Palace affairs in rotation during the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable’s absence.

Hearing that Yanyu was presiding today, Gu Xiechen’s mouth twitched—this was the most ideal scenario.

Nodding with authority, Gu Xiechen stated gravely, “Since Young Venerable Yanyu is in charge, then lead this Venerable to him at once.” After a brief pause for thought, Gu Xiechen added, “Hmph. Is Young Venerable Chuai Xu, the second son of Young Venerable Yanxun, currently in the Palace?”

The Golden Immortal once again spared Gu Xiechen a swift glance, then lowered his head and stated respectfully, “Young Venerable Chuai Xu is inside the Palace entertaining guests.”

Gu Xiechen snorted in satisfaction. “It is good that he is inside. Hmph. Lead the way, take this Venerable to see Young Venerable Yanyu first.”

The Golden Immortal quickly stood up, commanded the remaining Immortals to resume their patrol, and then leisurely led Gu Xiechen on his cloud toward the Yuanluo Palace. Gu Xiechen followed closely behind the Golden Immortal, his divine sense fixed intently upon the patrolling Immortals.

As expected, shortly after Gu Xiechen had traveled nearly a hundred li, a golden-patterned spotted dove, no bigger than a thumb, zipped out from the sleeve of one of the patrolling Immortals. It flew in a wide arc, bypassing Gu Xiechen, and shot toward the Yuanluo Palace with lightning speed. This Golden-Patterned Spotted Dove carried the bloodline of a primordial exotic species, and its flight speed was more than a hundred times faster than the deliberately slowed cloud light of the Golden Immortal guide.

Gu Xiechen suddenly exclaimed in feigned astonishment, “Oh my, a Golden-Patterned Spotted Dove? Tsk tsk, that’s a remnant of the primordial era! Legend says that eating its heart grants one the ability to understand the meaning of all bird calls. Is that true?”

The leading Golden Immortal’s body stiffened slightly, and fine beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead.

After a few forced, dry laughs, the Golden Immortal continued without daring to turn back, forcing a smile. “Elder speaks humorously. With the Elder’s divine powers and cultivation, understanding the calls of a hundred birds must be effortless, no? The heart of this Golden-Patterned Spotted Dove would only be effective on mere mortals.”

Gu Xiechen made an understanding sound of “Oh,” but said nothing further.

The Golden Immortal dared not delay any longer. Calculating that the Golden-Patterned Spotted Dove had already reached a certain person back at the Yuanluo Palace, he hurriedly accelerated the speed of his cloud light, leading Gu Xiechen to the main entrance of the Yuanluo Palace.

Possessing the Elder Token issued by the Yuanluo Heavenly Venerable, Gu Xiechen passed unimpeded all the way to the ‘Immortal Gathering Hall,’ where the Yuanluo lineage managed their daily affairs.

The grand Immortal Gathering Hall covered hundreds of acres. In the square before the main doors, nine white jade incense burners were arranged in a Nine Palaces formation. Smoke spiraled high from the hundred-zhang tall burners, releasing a sharp, refreshing, and invigorating cold fragrance that cleared the mind instantly, as if a bucket of icy water had been suddenly dumped over one’s head.

Standing stiffly before the Immortal Gathering Hall were three thousand six hundred Golden Immortals serving as an honor guard. While their individual cultivation levels were not particularly high, each Golden Immortal was a handpicked, robust figure. They stood exactly one zhang and two chi tall; Gu Xiechen swept them with his divine sense and noted that their heights showed virtually no deviation—each one was precisely one zhang and two chi.

They wore identical sets of the Swallowing Heaven Armor forged from ‘Ba Zhen.’ These glittering armors were all high-grade immortal artifacts refined by Taiyi Golden Immortals. Although they were among the weaker types of high-grade artifacts, commissioning three thousand six hundred sets was an undertaking of immense scale. The Purple-Eyed Vulture King, despite his status, wore only a mid-grade immortal armor for protection. While that single piece of armor was tens of thousands of times tougher than the Swallowing Heaven Armor, it was still only high-grade, which showed the sheer value of these three thousand six hundred suits.

The escorting Golden Immortal whispered in introduction, “These Immortals are the personal guard of Young Venerable Yanyu, famously known throughout the Dongyuan Huaying Sheng Tian as the ‘Ba Zhen Guard’!”

Gu Xiechen nodded internally. Truly a renowned personal guard unit: their cultivation was mediocre, yet they were uniformly equipped with full sets of high-grade immortal armor, wielding standardized peak-grade immortal swords and halberds, standing uniformly at one zhang and two chi tall, and all possessing handsome and dashing visages. Assembling such a guard force must have been incredibly difficult.

Yanyu’s temperament was clearly reflected in this guard unit. Gu Xiechen felt he had gained greater assurance regarding his control over Yanyu.

Stretching from the square before the Immortal Gathering Hall to its main entrance were one hundred and eight jade steps. When the escorting Golden Immortal was still a dozen zhang away from the steps, a Ba Zhen Guard stepped forward with imposing authority, coldly glaring at the escorting Golden Immortal. “What business?”

The Immortal who spoke was only a second-grade Golden Immortal, whereas the guide escorting Gu Xiechen was at the peak of the eighteenth grade, just one step shy of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Yet, facing the rebuke from the Ba Zhen Guard, the escorting Golden Immortal carefully bowed low to salute first. “Please announce to the Young Venerable that Elder Xie Long has arrived bearing the Heavenly Venerable’s decree, requesting an audience.”

“Elder Xie Long?” The Ba Zhen Guard arrogantly squinted at Gu Xiechen. “The Xie Long Venerable whom the Heavenly Venerable conferred the title of Elder upon in the lower realm?”

Gu Xiechen kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, merely smiling faintly at the Ba Zhen Guard.

All three thousand six hundred Ba Zhen Guards turned their gaze, each peering at Gu Xiechen from the corner of their eyes with their noses held high.

A surge of annoyance rose in Gu Xiechen. Even if he weren't an Elder of this ridiculous Yuanluo Palace, he still possessed the cultivation of several peaks of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Did this group of reckless Ba Zhen Guards not know he could instantly vaporize them with a single breath, causing their souls to scatter beyond reincarnation?

After scrutinizing Gu Xiechen from top to bottom, the Ba Zhen Guard blocking the path sneered, “Where is the Heavenly Venerable’s decree?”

Gu Xiechen kept his head down, narrowing his eyes, utterly unwilling to bother with the guard.

After waiting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea without receiving an answer, the Ba Zhen Guard finally roared in anger, “Are you mute? Even if you are mute, with your Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation, surely you can cure your own speech impediment?”

Suddenly lifting his head, Gu Xiechen unleashed a massive wave of immortal power that rapidly spread outward. He stepped forward sharply and roared, “You know I am a Taiyi Golden Immortal? What entity are you, to speak to me in such a manner?”

The pressure from Gu Xiechen’s immortal power nearly caused all three thousand six hundred Ba Zhen Guards to lose composure. Just then, a diffuse violet mist billowed out from within the Immortal Gathering Hall, enveloping the guards. A clear, jade-like voice, laced with supreme arrogance, slowly resonated, “Elder Xie Long? Are these the guards under my command that you presume to instruct? Though you are an Elder of my Yuanluo Palace, you are, after all, merely a Taiyi Golden Immortal.”

As this arrogant voice sounded, a figure slowly materialized at the main entrance of the Immortal Gathering Hall. Dressed in a violet robe, with a face as flawless as jade, the Young Venerable Yanyu appeared, looking like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth. His raven-black hair fell unbound over his shoulders. This handsome Young Venerable Yanyu stood at the apex of the jade steps with his hands behind his back, looking down upon Gu Xiechen from above.

“You, too, must… realize your station!”

Young Venerable Yanyu instructed unceremoniously, “Mere Taiyi Golden Immortals are commonplace in my Yuanluo Palace; in my eyes, you amount to nothing.”

A hearty, rough voice boomed from afar, “Second Brother, that’s an overstatement. Elder Xie Long is an Elder personally appointed by Father. How can you be so disrespectful?” A large crowd of Immortals, adorned in robes of varying colors and looking somewhat listless, followed in the wake of a robust man whose appearance suggested the form of a dragon and tiger in motion, also clad in purple robes. The weakest among the Immortals accompanying him possessed the cultivation of a mid-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Young Venerable Yanyu’s expression shifted, and he sneered, “Big Brother, it is my turn to preside over duties today.”

The bearded, muscular Young Venerable Yanluo laughed heartily. “The daily affairs are naturally managed by Second Brother, but Elder Xie Long brings a decree from Father. This matter is not something Second Brother can handle!”

Without allowing Young Venerable Yanyu to speak, Young Venerable Yanluo turned toward Gu Xiechen with a laugh, proactively offering a bow. “Elder, Yanluo is correct in this matter. What decree has Father sent the Elder to deliver?”

Gu Xiechen narrowed his eyes, glancing first at Young Venerable Yanyu, then at Young Venerable Yanluo. He casually pulled the letter forged by Han Shu and the crimson jade casket from his sleeve, flicking the letter toward Young Venerable Yanluo. Gu Xiechen then opened the crimson jade casket and tossed the Town God Bell inside toward Young Venerable Yanyu.

“The innate divine artifact, the Town God Bell, was painstakingly sought out by the Heavenly Venerable as a protective treasure for Young Venerable Yanyu.”

Gu Xiechen squinted, clearly observing the slight twitch at Young Venerable Yanluo’s mouth, while Young Venerable Yanyu, clutching the Town God Bell, was grinning so broadly he could hardly close his mouth.

“As for the other matters, they are clearly detailed in the letter; there is no need for me to elaborate…”

Gu Xiechen sneered coldly. “Where is Young Venerable Chuai Xu? There is another item to be delivered to Young Venerable Chuai Xu here!”

Young Venerable Yanluo gritted his teeth and remained silent, tightly gripping the letter but showing no intention of opening it.

Young Venerable Yanyu was currently blasting a stream of immortal power into the Town God Bell, causing it to boom and emit ten thousand zhang of radiant splendor that illuminated the entire Yuanluo Palace. Hearing Gu Xiechen’s words, Yanyu’s expression hardened, and he said coldly, “That brat Chuai Xu? Why is the Elder looking for him?”

Gu Xiechen remained silent, slowly taking out the other violet jade casket and uncovering it to reveal the innate artifact, the Mountain-Shaking Axe.

The faces of both Yanluo and Yanyu instantly contorted into expressions of extreme displeasure.