Celestial Court, Ninth Tier.
Bright moonlight cascaded down like a waterfall, its flowing brilliance illuminating a cold and elegant silhouette. A hint of melancholy suddenly surfaced on her flawless, beautiful face.
It was exactly Immortal Venerable Taiyin!
This Saint Sect Perfected Lord was completely independent of the Immortal Nexus. Lu Yang had once suspected she was the first-generation Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, though this was later proven false.
However, in terms of cultivation, her strength was absolutely not to be underestimated. Not only did she wield the Celestial Court's Supreme Dao Fruit [Taiyin], but she had also achieved Void Attainment with a Money Dao Fruit. Coupled with her stature as a Great Perfected Lord, among all the Perfected Lords Lu Yang knew, she was practically second only to the Nascent Soul realm.
The first being [Sky-shrouding].
At this moment, Immortal Venerable Taiyin sat cross-legged, the hem of her skirt spread out like a blooming lotus. Beneath her seat was a spiritual terrace that connected to all the cultivators in the Celestial Court.
Suddenly, she reached out and pointed a finger.
In an instant, the spiritual terrace, originally as clear as colored glaze, became increasingly transparent, resembling a bright mirror reflecting a compassionate figure.
[Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu].
Using the remnant thought of Sisui as the core, the World Honored One had spent a vast amount of time to enlighten and ultimately create this Tathagata incarnation, which similarly possessed the stature of a Great Perfected Lord.
However, in order to bait out the final trace of Sisui's remnant evil that still wandered within the Celestial Court, this Venerable Tathagata had always remained beneath the spiritual terrace, never manifesting in the world. It was only now that Immortal Venerable Taiyin awakened him using a secret method. With his aura concealed, he looked at Taiyin with a face full of pity and compassion for all living beings.
"What is the matter, Benefactor?"
Immortal Venerable Taiyin spoke cleanly and decisively: "Senior, I have been observing karma recently and always feel a sense of unease in my heart, yet the great karmic net has not shown any anomalies."
"May I ask if Senior knows the reason?"
"This poor monk does not know."
The [Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu] tilted his head with an innocent expression, then said softly, "Has there been unease in karma recently? This poor monk has not noticed anything at all."
"Then check."
Immortal Venerable Taiyin said coldly, "The great tribulation is approaching. My feeling of unease is absolutely not ordinary. Even if nothing is wrong, I must treat it as if there is and handle it with caution."
Speaking of this, Immortal Venerable Taiyin's tone grew deep: "Senior, do not withhold your effort. You must know the importance of the Celestial Court; it is second only to the Immortal Nexus itself. If something goes wrong here, Senior will not escape the blame. If it implicates the exalted Lord far away on Paramita at that time, it will not be pleasant."
"..."
Hearing this, the [Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu] didn't speak. He merely took a deep look at Immortal Venerable Taiyin, then performed a perfunctory divination with his fingers.
A second later, he seemingly experienced a flash of realization and said:
"There is indeed an anomaly."
Only then did Immortal Venerable Taiyin let out a sigh of relief. "Senior understands reason after all. What is the specific situation? Please inform me so I can make preparations early."
"The karma... originates from the Star Palace."
The [Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu] wore a serious expression. "The Star Palace received assistance from someone. Those Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords whose lifespans were nearing an end in the past have successively awakened."
"What?"
Hearing this, Immortal Venerable Taiyin's expression instantly changed drastically. She immediately flicked her sleeve and stood up. "If those Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords have recovered, they will inevitably come to attack the Celestial Court!"
After all, as the ruins of the Dharma Body Dao, the Celestial Court was a hotly contested location.
Not only the Star Palace, but including the Mysterious Wall, any cultivator of the Three Foundations who wished to restore their peak state would inevitably need to make the Dharma Body Dao reappear in the world.
Nothing had happened previously simply because she, a Great Perfected Lord with a Supreme Dao Fruit, stood guard here, and because both the Star Palace and the Mysterious Wall had their own difficulties that prevented them from acting. But now that the Star Palace had actually temporarily resolved their lifespan issue, one could easily imagine that the Celestial Court would inevitably become their primary target.
"How much time do I have left..." Immortal Venerable Taiyin continued to ask.
If there was ample time, she could still mobilize the entire Celestial Court and set up a few vicious methods to deliver a head-on blow when the Star Palace attacked.
Hearing this, the [Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu] also put on a serious expression.
He continuously performed divinations with his fingers, practically rubbing sparks out of them. After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "There is not much time left. A rough estimate puts it at only ten..."
"Ten years?" Immortal Venerable Taiyin paused.
If it were ten years, then it wasn't actually too late. It wasn't critical enough to require requesting reinforcements from the Immortal Nexus; she alone would be enough to find a way to deal with it.
Then she heard the [Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu] continue:
"Nine, eight, seven..."
Immortal Venerable Taiyin: "???"
In an instant, as if she had sensed something, the veil covering her eyes was lifted, and an intense sense of crisis swarmed over her like a tidal wave!
'Not good...'
Before she could react in time, from the distant outer heavens, a full thirty-six stars suddenly blazed with brilliant light, then plummeted towards the Celestial Court.
Rumble!
Sea of Light, outside the Celestial Court.
The Star Palace had turned out in full force. Thirty-six Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords stepped out of their palaces simultaneously. Above the head of each Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lord floated a star.
These were precisely the Star Palace's unique Strategic-Level Dao Soldiers!
Among them, besides the [Sun-Shooting Bow], Lu Yang also saw many different styles and models. Their appearances varied, but their power was highly consistent.
'Infinitely close to a strike from a Great Perfected Lord!' Lu Yang exclaimed inwardly.
Not only that, one must know that among the thirty-six Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords, there were six Great Perfected Lords. The power of the Strategic-Level Dao Soldiers in their hands was even stronger!
Thirty-six Perfected Lords, thirty-six Strategic-Level Dao Soldiers. With such a lineup, one could say the Star Palace had pulled out all their accumulated resources over so many years in one breath. Now, unleashing them all at once, they instantly projected thirty-six streaks of rosy clouds—magnificent and beautiful, yet containing an unparalleled, fatal killing intent.
A second later, the Perfected Lords formed hand seals in unison, and the Dao Soldiers tore through the void.
"Strike!"
The light crossed the heavens and arrived. It was the exact moment Immortal Venerable Taiyin sensed it and looked up at the sky. However, it was already too late; the light had already shone into the Celestial Court!
Almost subconsciously, she moved to block it. But the moment this thought arose, a strong karmic sensation surfaced in her heart:
'I will die!'
I cannot block this strike. If I block it, I will undoubtedly die!
At this thought, Immortal Venerable Taiyin froze in place, her elegant brows furrowed tightly. However, in that split second, she had no time to hesitate. She could only slap the spiritual terrace beneath her.
In an instant, boundless light shot upwards from the lowest tier of the Celestial Court. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through all nine tiers, dividing Yin and Yang, harmonizing creation, and evolving into countless Great Dao talismans that leaped and danced. Finally, they converged into a heaven-spanning mystic light that collided head-on with the Dao Soldiers falling from the outer heavens!
Boom!
At this moment, a world-shaking boom exploded throughout the light sea. The light sea surrounding the Celestial Court was rippled outwards in all directions by the aftershock of the collision.
Visible shockwaves layered upon each other...
Boundless light and qi mixed together, nearly submerging the Celestial Court. This was the concept manifested from the collision and intertwining of the Strategic-Level Dao Soldiers and the Celestial Court's World Realm Grand Formation.
When the light and qi dissipated and heaven and earth reopened, everyone cast their gazes downward. The Celestial Court, originally a single, integrated whole, was now more than half collapsed. Landmasses were shattered, looking like a piece of cake that had a massive bite taken out of it out of nowhere. As for the formation, it had been completely annihilated and turned into nothingness.
Such a result left both sides somewhat surprised.
Immortal Venerable Taiyin was surprised because the Celestial Court's World Realm Grand Formation was her life's blood over so many years. She never expected it to be unexpectedly scrapped at this time.
"Bastard!"
With an angry curse, Immortal Venerable Taiyin looked at the spiritual terrace again, only to see that the [Tathagata Akshobhya of the Vajradhatu] inside had already disconnected, displaying an attitude of going incognito.
Seeing this, Immortal Venerable Taiyin instantly regained her calm. "The World Honored One is uncooperative; it seems he has other plans. The Star Palace has clearly been preparing for a long time, while I was completely caught off guard. I cannot hold this place alone now. I can only send a message and request the Ancestor to issue an imperial decree for the Immortal Nexus to send reinforcements."
Thinking of this, she immediately reached into her robes.
Following that, she took out a long stick of incense and ignited it with spiritual power. A wisp of green smoke instantly wafted up, pierced through the [Sea of Bitterness], and drifted towards Paramita.
Meanwhile, the Star Palace on the other side was also somewhat surprised.
Exalted One Hao Yuan frowned deeply and said in a deep voice:
"To think the Celestial Court actually had such a formation... Being activated in haste, its power wasn't unleashed to the absolute limit, yet it still managed to block our combined strike."
However, since things had reached this point, backing down was impossible.
"...Attack."
Exalted One Hao Yuan spoke faintly, his Dao resonance spreading in all directions. The void behind him split open, and then a massive fleet of Dao Soldiers sailed out, covering the sky like a dark cloud.
Attack the Celestial Court, execute Taiyin!
(End of Chapter)