Chapter 968: Chapter 987: Ambition Across Time and Space
Thirty-Three Layered Heaven, Heavenly Emperor Palace.
Thousands of auspicious lights, swirling clouds, and misty immortal energy drift within the halls, the group of immortals and Demon King standing on either side, while the Ziwei Heavenly Emperor sits upon the throne, accompanied by Ye Xuan and the Nine Heaven Mysterious Maiden.
"My dear brother, are you truly going to leave?" Ziwei Heavenly Emperor asked gravely.
"Indeed, with you becoming a Saint of the Heavenly Dao, you can rule over the Three Realms. With you guarding the Heavenly Court, I am at ease. From now on, I must pursue my own law and dao to reach greater heights," Ye Xuan whispered softly.
Today, the people of the Heavenly Court gathered at the Heavenly Emperor Palace as Ye Xuan bade farewell to everyone. Everything that needed to be done was accomplished; with Ziwei stabilizing the Heavenly Court, he could leave without worry. His obsession with his own cultivation also fueled his desire to leave.
Moreover, he had a major task to undertake today; the matter had been lingering in his mind for a long time, and now he finally had the leisure to complete it.
While the group of immortals pleaded for him to stay, the Demon King was reluctant. Yet when Ye Xuan announced his departure, everyone in the Heavenly Court sought to keep him, but they knew Ye Xuan’s resolve to leave was unyielding, rendering their pleas ineffective.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a jade scroll quietly appeared beside Ye Xuan, which he immediately took into his hand.
"Hmm?"
Ye Xuan was slightly taken aback, as it was his means of communication with Gu Beichen. He had instructed Gu Beichen to only send out the jade scroll in cases of significant matters.
Ye Xuan immersed his consciousness into the jade scroll and visions of conversations between Luo Hou and Gu Beichen unfolded, revealing the terrifying power emanating from the God Slaying Spear in Luo Hou’s hand.
At this moment.
The Heavenly Court was solemn and silent, with no one daring to disturb Ye Xuan. His expression was slightly aloof, and after a full ten breaths, he withdrew his consciousness from the jade scroll.
"It’s getting more interesting."
Ye Xuan casually destroyed the jade scroll, his lips subtly moving as he transmitted his voice to Gu Beichen, before facing the Heavenly Court crowd and saying, "No need to see me off, from now on, Ziwei Brother shall govern the Heavenly Court, and all will hold Ziwei Brother in esteem."
Swoosh!
Floating Light Shadow, Heaven and Earth Shifting, with a single step Ye Xuan disappeared from sight, leaving the Heavenly Court crowd to sigh deeply, uncertain of when they would meet Ye Xuan again.
...
The heavens are clear, clouds fly swiftly.
Ye Xuan wandered across the boundless heavenly vault, his demeanor indifferent, loneliness emanating from him, constantly reflecting on the images transmitted by Gu Beichen.
"God Slaying Spear? Feigning mystery? Is he buying time for himself?"
Ye Xuan murmured softly, a cold smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.
Intimidation, pure intimidation, this was blatant intimidation from Luo Hou.
From the jade scroll sent by Gu Beichen, Ye Xuan was unafraid of Luo Hou, and listened to his words. But to Ye Xuan, they were just theatrics from Luo Hou.
Deception and intimidation.
Ye Xuan increasingly admired Luo Hou’s tactics, as his words were partly true and false, intending to have Gu Beichen deliver the message.
Luo Hou claimed he could annihilate him, but it was merely a joke; the God Slaying Spear was indeed formidable, but not to the level where it could kill him.
If Luo Hou truly could annihilate Ye Xuan, he wouldn’t have needed any complexity—the moment they met would have sufficed to strike.
Luo Hou didn’t present the God Slaying Spear before Ye Xuan but had it delivered through Gu Beichen, his purpose perhaps being for Ye Xuan to see through his trick.
Feigning mystery, enigmatic, Luo Hou consistently portrayed himself as someone unfathomable, making Ye Xuan unable to see through him.
What he showed before Gu Beichen precisely confirmed Ye Xuan’s suspicions.
"Luo Hou, oh Luo Hou, you’re truly too clever for your own good. If you were to proceed quietly without moving, I might genuinely regard you with some caution. But you’re too impatient, and unnecessarily showcased the God Slaying Spear to intimidate me, which is where you’ve failed the most," Ye Xuan coldly chuckled and whispered.
The God Slaying Spear cannot be wielded by Luo Hou!
A simple sentence revealed the truth and also exposed Luo Hou’s extreme insecurity.
The logic is simple, because Ye Xuan holds the Silent Annihilation Battle Armor and the Heavenly Punishment Halberd, while the God Slaying Spear and these two treasures should all belong to the realm of Chaos artifacts.
Luo Hou’s cultivation is indeed superior, but even Ye Xuan cannot control the Power of Silence Annihilation contained within the Silent Annihilation Battle Armor and the Heavenly Punishment Halberd, so how could Luo Hou possibly control the God Slaying Spear?
Furthermore, to be bold and shameless, if Luo Hou could truly control the God Slaying Spear, why would he tolerate endless ages? He could completely rely on the power of the God Slaying Spear to seek Luo Hou for reckoning.
Thus, Luo Hou is merely putting on airs to intimidate, and his acquisition of the Myraid Feet Red Dust Technique is simply to gain himself some time. Once he masters the Myraid Feet Red Dust Technique, he would act against Ye Xuan the first chance he gets.
Insidious and vicious, cunning and scheming—these words fully describe the personality of Luo Hou.
Unfortunately, there’s a saying: excess leads to downfall. Luo Hou desperately wants to appear perfect. He longs to toy with Ye Xuan under his control, but in his eagerness, he exposes a fatal flaw, allowing Ye Xuan to see through his schemes.
"If I can use the Tribulation Immortal Skill to devour Luo Hou’s cultivation, could I directly enter the Heavenly Dao Six Tribulations?" Ye Xuan’s eyes flickered, his voice cold and eerie as a bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"He wants to cultivate the Myraid Feet Red Dust Technique. This technique is no less than the Undying Immortal Scripture and requires going through the Red Dust Nine Tribulations. Right now, he must be experiencing the first tribulation. If I can seize this opportunity to slay him, there might be a real chance of success." Ye Xuan murmured coldly to himself, eyes flashing with an unusual glow.
"No!"
Suddenly, Ye Xuan denied this notion.
"I know he has the Red Dust Nine Tribulations, and he knows I must undergo the Heavenly Dao Nine Tribulations. I’m scheming against him, but he will also scheme against me." Ye Xuan whispered solemnly, his spiritual wisdom unclouded by greed.
Luo Hou possesses high intelligence and strategy, anything Ye Xuan can think of, the other party can certainly contemplate as well. Clearly, this matter is not so easy to succeed, and Luo Hou is guarded against him.
"Therefore, his pretense today is to stall for time; how shall I deal with him?" Ye Xuan pondered deeply, constantly laying plans in his mind, because Luo Hou’s cultivation exceeds his own and wields the God Slaying Spear. If conflict arises, it is certain he will suffer.
Ye Xuan strolled through the Changtian, yet couldn’t think up a solution for dealing with Luo Hou, prompting him to temporarily set aside the matter. With Gu Beichen accompanying him, he resigned to let things unfold naturally, waiting to see what Luo Hou would do next.
Void Movement, inches away but worlds apart.
Ye Xuan temporarily set aside the Luo Hou matter because there was an extremely important task at hand, involving Zhu Jiuyin and Emperor Jiang.
Ye Xuan never forgot one critical matter; his future body comprehends the power of space-time, and has defied the River of Time to return from the future to the present.
And now he possesses cultivation of the Heavenly Dao Fourth Tribulation, yet knows nothing about the power of space-time, making it imperative to find Zhu Jiuyin and Emperor Jiang and absorb these two Ancestor Witches’ innate divine abilities, allowing him mastery over time and space.
While Luo Hou poses a great threat, Emperor Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin are the paramount priority, surpassing Luo Hou in importance.
Power of Space-Time, Power of Space!
This transcends the force of the Heavenly Dao altogether. If he could command these powers, he could completely reverse time and space, returning to the past to amend regrets he once faced.
But this is not the most crucial aspect; if he could travel back, he could certainly trace the identity of the Primordial Spirit and uncover many secrets concealed in Heaven and Earth.
Thus, Emperor Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin are of utmost importance, no person or thing can compare.
Only Huang Fatty has searched for years without finding any leads, letting Ye Xuan know uncovering these two figures would be extremely difficult.
Yet in this world, nothing is absolute; as long as these two remain alive, Ye Xuan will scour every corner to find them.
Ye Xuan has already found a lead on locating Emperor Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin, the lead being the Witch Clan, and an old acquaintance of him.
Houtu!
Yes, it’s Houtu.
Houtu is presently a Saint but also one of the Ancient Twelve Ancestor Witches. Ye Xuan firmly trusts his judgment that if anyone can locate Emperor Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin, it must be Houtu.
Qiankun Shifting, inches away but worlds apart.
Ye Xuan headed toward the ancestral land of the Witch Clan, as he had learned from Huang Fatty’s report that ever since the Heavenly Mending Assembly, Houtu has been stationed in the Witch Clan, not dwelling outside the Thirty-Three Heavens.
In the past, after the Heavenly Mending Assembly, Houtu dared to confront him, thereby fostering a malignant fruit with Ye Xuan. Whether it’s about Emperor Jiang and Zhu Jiuyin or the matter of Houtu’s confrontation, Ye Xuan must personally meet this Saint Houtu.