“Y-You’re… the Heavenly Dao?”

Mu Zhi’an stared at the small loli before him, her beautiful red eyes sparkling, his own eyes wide with disbelief.

The Heavenly Dao… was a loli?

When I leave, I can brag to Ruoxi and the others that I once held the Heavenly Dao in my arms… That would be fun.

Even in this situation, Mu Zhi’an couldn’t help but feel amused. He discreetly observed the silver-haired loli.

Actually, she wasn’t quite a loli. She seemed to be between a young girl and a loli, her figure small and slender. As Mu Zhi’an observed her, she also looked at him curiously with her bright red eyes.

Then, she smiled sweetly. “That’s right. I’m the Heavenly Dao.”

“To be precise, I’m the new Heavenly Dao. You can call me Yuanluo.”

The new Heavenly Dao… Mu Zhi’an’s eyes flickered as he remembered something. He opened his personal interface.

Among his titles, a new one had appeared.

—Heavenly Dao’s Blessing!

And in the ‘Character Role’ section, he saw a familiar phrase: Chosen by the new Heavenly Dao.

After the ‘Heaven’s Chosen Female Lead’ title appeared, the description below had mentioned the new Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao’s Blessing referred to the new Heavenly Dao’s protection… In other words, she had been secretly protecting him all along?

But why is the new Heavenly Dao a loli…? Countless questions and complaints filled Mu Zhi’an’s mind, but he asked the most pressing question first.

“Why are you in the Heavenly Court? And why do you look like this?”

“The Heavenly Dao doesn’t have a fixed form. This form allows me to suppress my power. It’s more convenient,” the silver-haired loli in his arms explained with a smile.

The Heavenly Dao was said to be emotionless, a common belief among cultivators. However, this silver-haired loli seemed cheerful and lively. She placed her hands on Mu Zhi’an’s shoulders and wriggled out of his embrace.

Then, under his incredulous gaze, a faint white light enveloped her, and her body began to change, transforming from a small loli into a tall, slender woman.

As the light faded, a woman in a simple white dress stood before him.

Her hands were clasped behind her back, her figure graceful, her long hair flowing down her back over her dress, her aura pure and elegant.

Although she appeared youthful, her figure was curvaceous and mature.

Whoa, she’s both a loli and a mature woman… Mu Zhi’an’s eyes lit up.

He calmed himself down, his heart still racing slightly.

He looked up at her and asked, “You appeared before I left the Heavenly Court… Did you have something to say?”

Yuanluo nodded matter-of-factly. “I thought you would enter the Heavenly Court. I was prepared to… persuade you to stay, but you’re already leaving without even seeing me.”

Her voice, previously childish and sweet, was now mature and seductive.

“I would have entered if I could, but there are rules, right?” Mu Zhi’an said helplessly.

Although he still couldn’t quite believe that this woman, who could switch between a loli and a mature woman at will, was the new Heavenly Dao, at least she was a resident of the Heavenly Court. That much was certain.

“If you didn’t come to see me, then what are you doing in the Heavenly Court?” Yuanluo asked, her large, curious red eyes fixed on him. She had shrunk back to her loli form.

As she had said, only in this form could she suppress her power.

The more Mu Zhi’an looked at her, the more apprehensive he felt, but he was also amazed.

His Innate Spiritual Body could sense a person’s cultivation level and Spiritual Energy, unless their cultivation was far higher than his.

He had interacted with several Dao Integration experts, and only they could completely conceal their aura, making their Spiritual Energy undetectable.

In other words, even if this loli wasn’t the Heavenly Dao, she was at least at the Dao Integration Realm.

Mu Zhi’an opened his hand, revealing a ring.

“I arrived in this world of nothingness through this ring. I was hoping to find the key to cultivating the Heavenly Phoenix Manual…” He paused, glancing at the silver-haired loli.

“It seems the Heavenly Phoenix Manual originated from the Heavenly Court.”

Yuanluo nodded slightly, smiling. “Indeed. And this ring is also a product of the Heavenly Court, one of the mediums to enter it.”

So I was right. The Primordial Demon Emperor kept this ring because it was connected to the Heavenly Court… Mu Zhi’an’s eyes flickered as he looked at her. “You sound like you know me,” he said.

Yuanluo didn’t answer. She tugged at his sleeve, her big red eyes looking up at him expectantly as she spread her arms. “Hug me, big brother.”

Mu Zhi’an was speechless. She didn’t seem like the Heavenly Dao at all. She acted like a child…

He sighed inwardly and picked her up.

Yuanluo snuggled comfortably in his arms, seemingly enjoying his embrace.

“Do you know me?” Mu Zhi’an asked, looking at the loli in his arms.

Yuanluo nodded, her red eyes眯ing slightly as she smiled at him. “Of course. Someone told me I could find you here, so I’ve been waiting in the Heavenly Court.”

Mu Zhi’an was stunned.

“You mean… you stayed here because of a promise you made with someone?”

For some reason, he thought of a certain someone.

“Shang Yanfei…?”

However, he received an unexpected answer. “Nope.”

“Then who?” Mu Zhi’an asked.

Yuanluo smiled at him, but she didn’t answer.

Only at times like this did she seem like the new Heavenly Dao, her gaze calm and serene, as if she could see through everything.

Or perhaps, her earlier cheerfulness was just a facade, an imitation of human emotions.

It seemed she wasn’t planning to tell him… Seeing her silence, Mu Zhi’an didn’t press further.

“Did you have something to tell me?” he asked.

The silver-haired loli smiled. “Not really. I just wanted to see you, big brother.”

She leaned closer and sniffed him, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. “You smell like… a lot of different Spiritual Energies…”

“My constitution is unique, so the Spiritual Energy within my Furnace is also… complex,” Mu Zhi’an explained.

However, Yuanluo pointed at his chest and giggled. “There are over four different types of Spiritual Energy within your Innate Celestial Furnace, each belonging to a Dao Integration expert. This only happens when you’re… intimate with them.”

Although Mu Zhi’an was a lecher, being called out by a little girl was still embarrassing. He coughed lightly and changed the subject. “Can I return to the Heavenly Court after leaving?”

“Of course,” Yuanluo replied.

“As long as you have that ring, you can enter the Heavenly Court anytime.”

“Actually, as long as they can find the coordinates, even without the ring, any Dao Integration expert can enter this place.”

“But whether they can enter the Heavenly Court itself… is another matter,” Yuanluo said, glancing at the ancient bronze gate behind him.

“So I can stay here and cultivate?” Mu Zhi’an asked, his tone playful.

The Heavenly Court’s Spiritual Energy was far denser than the outside world’s. If he could cultivate here, with the pills and herbs the peak masters had given him, he might even reach the fifth-grade Core Formation Realm before the Ascension Ceremony ended.

However, he wasn’t very optimistic.

After all, this would be like cheating. The Heavenly Dao was supposed to be fair and impartial. It wouldn’t help a cultivator like him.

If he could cultivate here, he could even have his Innate Celestial Furnace absorb the Spiritual Energy and then transfer it to Bai Ruoxi and the others…

“Sure.”

Yuanluo’s answer surprised him.

He looked at the silver-haired loli, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“You can do whatever you want in the Heavenly Court. The rules allow your existence,” she continued.

She agreed…?

Mu Zhi’an’s eyes flickered with suspicion. After a moment, he asked, “What are the Heavenly Court’s rules?”

He remembered Lan Mulian saying something similar. To absorb the Heavenly Court’s Spiritual Energy, one had to be recognized by its rules.

He had initially thought he could absorb it because of his Innate Celestial Furnace, but now it seemed… it had nothing to do with it?

“Actually, the Heavenly Court doesn’t have any rules,” Yuanluo said.

Mu Zhi’an frowned. “Then why couldn’t the other female cultivator who came with me absorb the Spiritual Energy here?”

Yuanluo looked at him and chuckled. “Because the Heavenly Court didn’t recognize her.”

“How can one be recognized by the Heavenly Court…?” Mu Zhi’an wondered. When did the Heavenly Court recognize me? I came here with Senior Sister. Why was I recognized, but she wasn’t?

“It’s very simple. If you want to absorb the Heavenly Court’s Spiritual Energy, or stay here permanently…” Yuanluo pointed behind him, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Just open that door.”

Mu Zhi’an instinctively turned around and saw a massive bronze gate, its aura ancient and majestic, seemingly connecting heaven and earth.

Although he hadn’t entered, he had a feeling…

Beyond this gate lay the ‘Immortal Realm’, the Heavenly Court.

But Yuanluo’s words were intriguing.

He had to open this door to be recognized by the Heavenly Court… But he hadn’t even touched it.

Mu Zhi’an’s eyes flickered with suspicion. He set down the loli and slowly walked towards the gate.

Two stone tablets stood on either side of the gate.

He looked at the tablet on the left and read the inscription: “To enter this gate, one must be female and wear a short skirt…”

Then, he looked at the tablet on the right: “…and stockings made of Nirvana Silk from the Jade Pool Holy Land…”

Mu Zhi’an pondered for a long time, thinking: The master of the Heavenly Court has the same fetishes as me…?

He had a vague idea of what was going on.

There couldn’t be so many coincidences.

Mu Zhi’an’s smile faded as he reached out and placed his hand on the gate.

It didn’t move.

He closed his eyes and infused a wisp of Spiritual Energy into it.

Still no reaction.

Is this new Heavenly Dao playing with me?

He opened his eyes and was about to turn around when—

Boom!

The ancient gate behind him creaked open…

Then, Yuanluo’s calm and clear voice came from behind him, “Actually, even if you didn’t open the gate, you would still be recognized by the Heavenly Court.”

“As for the reason…”

She looked up at him and said softly, “Because you’re the one who sets the rules of the Heavenly Court.”

…

Southern Wilderness.

Within a massive cathedral, a crack appeared on the giant goddess statue, and a faint light emerged from it, flying out of the cathedral.

The priestesses, who were kneeling before the statue and praying, looked up, their eyes filled with fear.

This statue represented the Primordial Goddess of the Southern Wilderness. Legend had it that she had ascended to the Immortal Realm after achieving Dao Integration, transcending the mortal world.

Throughout history, priestesses had prayed before her.

However, such a strong reaction from the statue was unprecedented.

Deep within the cathedral, an Evil Deity opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on a certain direction.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and murmured, “The coordinates to the path of immortality… are in the Two Polarities Sect.”

…

Two Polarities Sect, Garden of Heavenly Harmony.

Yao Meng, who was meditating, suddenly opened her eyes, her green gaze fixed on Two Polarities Peak, a hint of suspicion in them.

The path to immortality has appeared…?

And…

Yao Meng narrowed her eyes slightly.

For some reason, she felt a familiar aura within that path…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay