The Heavenly Court. In the eyes of the cultivators of the Nine Provinces, it was also known as the Immortal Realm. It was said that as long as one ascended to the Immortal Realm, cultivators of any realm would no longer have to worry about their lifespan coming to an end.

However, to ascend to the Heavenly Court, one needed to wait for the appearance of the Path to Immortality, or through that Heavenly Court ring, or the mysterious bronze ancient coffin.

The Heavenly Court ring could allow a cultivator’s spiritual sense to enter the Heavenly Court, but there was a time limit.

And the ancient coffin could allow one’s true body to enter the Heavenly Court. To put it more bluntly, anyone who could open that ancient coffin could ascend to the Heavenly Court.

But so far, the only known person who could open the ancient coffin was Mu Zhian.

The master of the Abyss in the past was also suspected to be able to open the ancient coffin, but ultimately, no one had seen it with their own eyes, so it couldn’t be taken as truth.

And besides the master of the Abyss and Mu Zhian, there was no third person.

Even Yao Meng and Ye Qingxin in the past couldn’t open the ancient coffin.

Actually, Mu Zhian wasn’t particularly surprised that he could open the ancient coffin.

After all, he was the writer of the Heavenly Court’s rules.

But even for Mu Zhian, there was one place in the Heavenly Court he could never set foot in.

—The Heavenly Palace.

“Logically, I can modify the rules of the entire Heavenly Court, there shouldn’t be any place I can’t go.”

“This indicates that the door deep within the Heavenly Palace isn’t sealed because I lack the authority, but simply because the other party’s strength is so immense that they could forcibly seal it, and my realm wasn’t high enough to open it before.”

Mu Zhian looked at Yuanluo, who was stepping on the void, walking towards the Heavenly Palace, and murmured inwardly, wondering what was hidden within, and who had placed the seal.

“Speaking of which, when were you born? Why were you in the Heavenly Court from the very beginning?” Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

“Just as the Heavenly Dao exists as long as there are living beings, as long as the Heavenly Court’s rules exist, and as long as you exist, I won’t disappear.”

As Yuanluo spoke, her red eyes lingered on the large bed beside her, which emitted a milky white light.

Mu Zhian also looked over, and as if recalling something, a subtle expression appeared on his face.

Yuanluo smiled and changed the subject, “I remember the last time you were being tested by Ye Qingxin, you seemed to have dreamt of being intimate with the Lan Clan sisters here, right? Are you planning to bring them here later to fulfill your previous dream and have a big party?”

She gently touched her red lips with her fingertip, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Mu Zhian with a smile, “But I don’t seem to be in your dream last time… Are you thinking of dragging me into this as well?”

“If you keep tempting me like this, I might really not be able to resist and suppress you one day,” Mu Zhian retracted his gaze, a hint of warning in his tone.

It had to be said, this girl, Yuanluo… she was truly too alluring.

She wouldn’t deliberately tempt you all the time, but she always managed to hit your XP with a smile, or some casual gesture.

And she always had an arrogant, disdainful expression.

Sometimes he really wanted to bully her until she cried, just to see her reaction…

Yuanluo scoffed and lazily retracted her gaze, “If you don’t mind the New Heavenly Dao being tainted, you can try. Anyway, this is the Heavenly Court, you’re the master, you call the shots.”

Clearly, her mind-reading ability instantly knew Mu Zhian’s thoughts.

Seeing Mu Zhian’s silence, Yuanluo sized him up, about to read his mind again.

However, this time, Yuanluo found that she couldn’t see through his thoughts at all.

“Strange, why can’t I suddenly see through your thoughts…?”

Yuanluo looked at the young man doubtfully, then quickly realized something and said with a smile, “Did you modify the rules in the Heavenly Court?”

Mu Zhian shrugged and said, “After all, no one wants to have their thoughts spied on for no reason, right?”

Yuanluo scoffed, glanced at him with disdain, “If someone wasn’t always thinking about doing bad things, why would they need to worry about me seeing through their mind?”

“Even if I’m not thinking about doing anything bad, I wouldn’t want someone reading my mind all the time, would I?” Mu Zhian also glanced at her sideways.

“What’s the big deal about me reading your mind?”

Yuanluo gracefully walked towards Mu Zhian, a playful look in her bright and beautiful red eyes, her voice suddenly softening, “Mu Zhian, the only person you can truly trust in this world is me. It doesn’t matter if you tell me all your secrets… After all, we’re in this together.”

Just as Mu Zhian was about to say something more, Yuanluo had already retracted her gaze:

“Alright, anyway, let’s go to the depths of the Heavenly Palace and see what’s hidden there.”

Unknowingly, the two had arrived at the depths of the Heavenly Court.

A celestial palace floated quietly there.

Clouds and mist swirled around the Heavenly Palace, a deathly silence in the air.

Mu Zhian’s gaze wandered around the Heavenly Palace.

The last time he came, it was simply to pass Ye Qingxin’s test, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the Heavenly Palace. But this time, Mu Zhian finally had the leisure to appreciate the breathtaking scenery within.

And the countless paper cranes that filled the sky.

Finally, they arrived at the deepest part of the Heavenly Palace. A large, green sandalwood door gradually came into view.

The last time Mu Zhian tried to push open this door, Ye Qingxin’s magical artifact shattered instantly, and his Core Formation Realm Spiritual Energy was almost completely drained the moment he got close.

But this time… perhaps he could try.

Mu Zhian reached out and slowly pushed open the green sandalwood door.

However, he didn’t notice that the moment he pushed the door open, the faint smile Yuanluo had been maintaining had completely frozen on her face, and she just stared blankly ahead.

…

In a quiet room.

Yao Meng, dressed in a green dress, her black hair cascading down smoothly.

She sat with her legs crossed on the soft couch, the faint outline of her fair, crystal-clear jade feet visible beneath her light gauze skirt. She leisurely flipped through the ancient text in her hands, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

“What are you reading, Master?”

Not far from her, Ye Qian had just opened her eyes from her meditation. The young woman had fully blossomed, her long hair styled in two ponytails that fell on either side. A turquoise skirt paired with a silk, open-front jacket accentuated her full and perky bosom.

Her pure yet charming aura, combined with her long, shapely legs beneath the skirt, added a touch of maturity to the young woman.

She leaned towards Yao Meng, her gaze naturally drawn to the ancient text in her hands. The book was open to a page detailing the Heavenly Dao’s descent after a dynasty’s fall.

“After the Heavenly Dao descends, all are equal, all living beings bathed in its holy light… But at the same time, it will purge all who violate its rules.”

Yao Meng murmured softly, “I was just wondering… why does the Heavenly Dao only target the Eastern Continent after each descent? Is it simply because there are more great powers there?”

To the Heavenly Dao, even the strongest great power was no threat.

Of the three Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Human, it was the supreme ruler.

Why would such a powerful Heavenly Dao repeatedly target the Eastern Continent just because there were more great powers there?

“Could it be that there’s something in the Eastern Continent that even the Heavenly Dao fears?” Yao Meng murmured softly, a hint of confusion in her beautiful green eyes for the first time.

Even now, the only way she could think of to resist the Heavenly Dao was to establish a new Forbidden Zone, then gradually rewrite its rules, making them her own.

But this required time, it couldn’t be done overnight.

Ultimately, as long as one was a living being, they couldn’t resist the Heavenly Dao.

Yet such a Heavenly Dao, could it actually fear something?

For this, it had to let the Eastern Continent dynasties fall every one or two thousand years, to prevent its luck from growing.

Knock, knock.

Just as Yao Meng thought of this, a faint knock came from outside.

Ye Qian stood up and opened the door, seeing her sister.

For some reason, compared to her sister’s usual elegant and composed demeanor, she now seemed to be glowing, a faint blush on her face, her rosy lips slightly pursed. Not just men, even Ye Qian, who had grown up with her sister, felt her heart race.

“Sister, why are you here?”

Then, Ye Qian quickly snapped out of it and asked softly.

Ye Lingxuan smiled faintly, “Nothing, I just saw you haven’t returned yet, so I was a bit worried.”

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Yao Meng in the room, and she said with a faint smile, “Jade Empress Sister is in such a leisurely mood, still reading?”

Yao Meng glanced at the young woman discreetly and said with a faint smile, “He asked me to investigate some things, I have to do my best.”

As a Transcendence Realm Human Emperor, Yao Meng could sense the Innate Celestial Furnace’s Spiritual Energy on Ye Lingxuan with just a glance.

Undoubtedly, Ye Lingxuan had only come here to flaunt her success.

However, this girl had clearly chosen the wrong person… Although she knew Mu Zhian had been intimate with other women before, Ye Lingxuan probably didn’t realize that most of her beloved Brother Mu’s Spiritual Energy had been devoured by this flawless fairy sister.

The little bit of Spiritual Energy left in the Innate Celestial Furnace was just scraps.

This condescending gaze made Ye Lingxuan frown slightly.

She was about to say something, but was quickly drawn to the ancient text in Yao Meng’s hand.

“Matters of the Eastern Continent dynasties?”

Ye Lingxuan frowned slightly, “Hasn’t the Great Qian Dynasty stabilized? Is there anything else Brother Mu is worried about?”

Yao Meng tossed the ancient text onto the table, rested her cheek on her hand, her jade-white feet swaying beneath her green gauze dress.

Then, she said calmly, “Since my Dao Integration, I’ve witnessed the downfall of more than ten dynasties. Every single one of them had rumors of its impending doom spread before its collapse… Even if the emperor was a wise ruler, this fact couldn’t be changed.”

“I’ve never heard of a dynasty stabilizing after rumors of its impending doom spread.”

Ye Lingxuan was stunned, “You mean… even with Yongning on the throne, the Great Qian Dynasty’s fate can’t be changed?”

“That’s what I thought at first,” Yao Meng glanced at her and said with a faint smile. “But ultimately, the Forbidden Lands were more or less involved in the downfall of past dynasties. But this time, all the Forbidden Lands have retreated… I can’t imagine how the Great Qian Dynasty will fall now.”

“So you accepted Yongning’s invitation to see what would happen?” Ye Lingxuan said softly.

Yao Meng slowly shook her head, “Not just for the Great Qian Dynasty… Ultimately, even if the dynasty falls, it has little to do with me.”

Ye Lingxuan almost subconsciously asked, “Then why did you accept Yongning’s invitation…?”

Yao Meng gently tapped the table with her fingertip, her green eyes filled with a holy, compassionate gentleness, and she smiled, tilting her head slightly, “What do you think?”

She stood up and walked towards Ye Lingxuan step by step, her sweet and seductive voice whispering softly, “I came here, of course, for your Brother Mu~”

…

Deep within the Heavenly Palace.

The green sandalwood door opened silently, revealing countless paper cranes, a fairytale-like, almost surreal sight.

And behind the door was a boundless meadow.

This door led to a grotto-heaven.

Above the meadow, the sky was a cold, indifferent steel gray.

A dense web of chains crisscrossed the sky.

And within those chains, a woman was bound, her eyes closed, sleeping peacefully.

She was graceful and ethereal, yet also exuding an indescribable charm.

Mu Zhian stared at the woman in a daze.

He never expected a woman to be hidden in the depths of the Heavenly Palace.

And he could feel that the moment he saw her, the three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy within his body, which had already merged, became active, as if eager to leave his body.

Mu Zhian’s thoughts flashed, and he summoned the Heavenly Dao Energy, now in the form of chains, from within his body.

Almost at that instant, the three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy seemed to come to life, swirling around the sleeping woman.

This scene shocked Mu Zhian even more.

These three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy were all given to him by Lin Ling, but she had never said where she got them.

But now… the answer seemed clear.

This woman was very likely the one who had been sleeping in the bronze ancient coffin, the master of the Abyss palace!

Because the bronze ancient coffin was connected to the Heavenly Court and could transport a person’s physical body there.

The master of the Abyss probably never left the bronze ancient coffin, but entered the Heavenly Court through it, then chose to slumber in the Heavenly Palace…?

Mu Zhian suppressed the turmoil in his heart and the explosion of information, and turned to look at the silver-haired beauty beside him.

From the very beginning, Yuanluo hadn’t said a word, just staring intently at the woman before them as if in a trance.

“Do you know her?” Mu Zhian asked.

“I do,” Yuanluo finally spoke after a long silence.

She said softly, “She is an immortal.”

“The immortal who created the Nine Provinces and all living beings.”

“However, she’s just an empty shell now.”

“Her spiritual sense isn’t in this body.”

When Yuanluo said this, Mu Zhian was first stunned, then his expression gradually stiffened, his pupils slowly constricting.

His gaze was slightly dazed, his eyes reflecting the woman’s beautiful, sleeping face.

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay