Translator: Fate Proofreader: Silavin “Not good…” Zhao Yi’s expression changed as she became pale. “All these men are in the Enlightened Kings Realm, Quasi-Sacred Realm and the Sacred Realm as well.” Her voice was shaking as she spoke, her words acted as a jinx as even experts in the Sacred Noble Realm and Sacred Lord Realm had appeared and rushed towards Jiang Yang. It had to be noted that those in the Sacred Lord Realm were already considered the most powerful in the Heavenly Star Realm. After all, except for Celestia Holy Land, no other sect had anyone in the Sacred Lord Realm, which made all the rest lessers. However, the opposing side had summoned many powerful warriors with just a wave of her hand, all aiming to kill Jiang Yang. She had thought that they were there to welcome Jiang Yang but instead, they had been waiting there to assassinate him. Jiang Yang frowned. He was shocked by this, but not that much. “You will regret attacking me,” he told Yue Mingkong, thinking that she was the Successor of the Mortal Palace. “Silence. Your death has already been determined!” Her answer was short and frigid. Mist began to appear, making the place blurry as it rose to cover everything. At the same time, she flipped to a page of a gold-coloured decree. Boom! The ground began to shake as a sword emerged from the decree. It looked as large as a mountain as it shot out into the sky and pierced the fog. It was almost like millions of stars exploding. The enormous power it held was enough to destroy everything, and the aftershocks had turned the surrounding mountains into dust. As this happened, she prepared to attack Jiang Yang and kill him. Colourful beams of light emerged as her outer robes spread out, making the mountains beside her lift away from the ground before disintegrating. “….Are you not the Successor of the Mortal Palace?” Jiang Yang frowned, and his calm expression changed. He wasn’t stupid and wondered if she might not have any connection with the Mortal Palace. After all, she had come to kill him. His assumptions had all been wrong, and now he had served himself up on a silver platter. Jiang Yang looked dissatisfied at this thought as everything was out of his control yet again. [If so, then who had used one of the Mortal Palace’s secret techniques to inform me of their location then?] “Damn it! Just who’s plotting to kill me!?” Jiang Yang had no time to react. After all, his cultivation level was insufficient to counter such an attack. Besides, he was still surrounded by the Golden Warriors. He had no way of escape. Jiang Yang’s expression became cold as he pinched the Seal on his body. Sheets of light appeared behind him, bright and powerful as the rising sun. Soon a large golden symbol appeared, piercing in its brightness. It floated in the air as it radiated holy light, the ultimate Principles that all things followed. It could even sink the continent if it landed. However, his power was still insufficient to fully awaken the divine being within. “A Celestial Seal?” Yue Mingkong recognised the weapon immediately. The divine being within was about to awaken and cause an explosion of power equivalent to that of a full powered attack from a Sacred Emperor Realm expert. There was only one such artifact in the entire Heavenly Star Realm, which belonged to the Celestia Sacred Emperor! However, she showed no sign of shock as her expression just became more solemn. Clang! Clang! Clang! Founds of forging seem to play out as a holy aura engulfed the air. She pulled out a divine golden sword, which contained a divine being that would wake on its own without her invocation. [A Sacred Emperor Grade weapon? She must have come well prepared. Just who’s trying to kill me!?] Jiang Yang looked stricken, feeling less assured with the Celestial Seal he always carried around with him for protection. Boom! Another wave of explosions blasted out, the sounds reminiscent of exploding stars or even galaxies, waves hitting against the cliffs, and meteors landing. The space around them seemed to crack with the power. Bang! Jiang Yang spat blood as he fell backwards, covered in blood. The impact of his body broke a range of mountains, giving him serious injuries. He looked like a mess. Not only did he have to be attacked by Yue Mingkong, but he had to defend himself against the multiple Golden Warriors from all sides. While he possessed a Sacred Emperor Grade artifact, he couldn’t utilise even a tiny fraction of its power and thus lost against someone with another Sacred Emperor Grade artifact. “Who on earth are you? Why do you want to kill me!” Jiang Yang bellowed, wanting to know who Yue Mingkong was. However, she did not respond, rushing towards him with her weapon instead. She might be able to kill him right here and now, helping Gu Changge get rid of him! Jiang Yang, however, made the best choice in this situation. Gritting his teeth, he broke the seal on the Symbol of Reincarnation and ran away. He harnessed the energy from the earth and used the Celestial Seal to remove any obstacles. No one except for Yue Mingkong could stop him. “Jiang Yang, help me…” Somehow, he had also managed to pick up a disgraced Zhao Yi as he prepared to break through the wall of people surrounding him. Yue Mingkong had noticed him breaking the seal on the Symbol of Reincarnation, of course. To the Mortal One, it was something that should be more important than his own life. After all, it was something that he might not have after each reincarnation. That meant Jiang Yang had panicked and became unable to prioritise properly! “Send my order to all the Mystic Mountains and Forbidden Areas. We shall start the Dark Upheaval, and our target is the Celestia Holy Land! One of their disciples has stolen an Artifact from the Mystic Mountains; tell them to hand over Jiang Yang at once!” She waved a hand coldly and gave an order to an underling standing behind her. Her original plan had been to delay the Mortal One’s return; him breaking the seal on the Symbol of Reincarnation to borrow its power was just what she wanted! After giving the order, she chased after Jiang Yang, as she didn’t plan to let him go so easily. It would be best if she could kill him. … While cultivators and the different factions were outside discussing over the terror, deep within the Sky Pool of Death sat a blurry, long, and slim figure with legs crossed while surrounded by celestial and demonic energy. The fog in the air made everything look indistinct, and tall lotus plants grew in the clear water. Their leaves were as large as basins to receive the essence from heaven and earth, as well as the light from the sun, moon, and stars. The beams of light descended onto the ground like water from a waterfall, accompanied by a high concentration of demonic energy. Above the figure, a Grand Flask hovered in the water, shining darkly. The crisscrossing pattern of thick and thin lines looked to be as sinister and mysterious as the scripture of the universe. Any cultivator would have widened their eyes in shock at the sight since it was unbelievable that someone was still living within the pool. It was Gu Changge. His eyes were half-closed, holy light of black and white emitting from them. Rows and rows of runes, conjured with his hands, were branded into the surrounding air to turn the energy of the place upside down. They resembled small black suns. When he was done, he opened his eyes in puzzlement. [Hmm, I received Jiang Yang’s Fortuity for no reason again. Yue Mingkong’s plan must have succeeded. With how many methods she has at her disposal, he wouldn’t be able to escape from her unscathed. That must have harmed his Fortuity.] Gu Changge had planned to let Yue Mingkong delay Jiang Yang for several more days, but he had underestimated her methods to do so, which could be told by the System notifications. Jiang Yang was probably being hunted down by her right now. Gu Changge’s scheme had led Jiang Yang into thinking that the Mortal Palace had sent people after him, which was the reason for him leaving the Celestia Holy Land for the outside world. Yue Mingkong, as a regressor, probably knew about many of his techniques. Jiang Yang would have been trapped thanks to her layered plots, even if he was the Mortal One. However, she might still find it hard to kill him. [The Mortal One must have expended a lot of energy to hide something within this pool, since he placed multiple runes made by the Dao of Destruction here, and put three ferocious beasts, all in the Sacred Realm and a headless knight in the Sacred Lord Realm as guards outside. These little tricks may be able to stop anyone, but they are nothing to me.] Gu Changge glanced at the runes near him without touching them. All the chaos outside had been deliberately created by him. Thanks to his plans, he could dive into the deepest part of it easily. He had done this before in the Celestial Ancient Continent, stealing the Celestial Spirits from the Celestial Gate without a hitch. All that under the noses of the Elders and ancient monstrosities too! The pool’s traps were vastly different compared to the road within the Celestial Gate. Heaven and earth were totally different; the land here would never allow too much energy that this realm couldn’t withstand. Thus, the difficulty level was much lower. Gu Changge’s expertise was in his Space Talent, which made him good at hiding. He had decided after some thought to fake his death. That way, he could conceal his movements and not spring any other traps set up by the Mortal One. Besides, this could make others steer clear of the place and not meddle in his plans. Most of his plans were to act on Jiang Yang’s plan for him. After all, it was Jiang Yang’s scheme to trick him, and this type of play was something he liked to do. It was great that he could also take the opportunity Jiang Yang had painstakingly built for himself. He could even add more fuel to the split between Yao Yao and her brother. All Gu Changge had to do was to sit here and reap his rewards; By the time Jiang Yang comes, the last of his Fortuity would be ripped from him. Boom! The Eight Barren Demon Halberd appeared in his hand, recovering on its own as it cut through and destroyed the Array Seals before him. The Principles and formations governing the Seal were then altered for his own use. Within the deepest part of the pool, a unique-looking lotus grew, with wisps of Chaos Qi tangled on the leaves. Its roots penetrated deep into the bottom of the pool and the plant looked strong enough to withstand the apocalypse. It was the World Purifying Green Lotus, still not matured yet. Gu Changge observed it from a distance, thoughts flashing through his mind. A loud hum rang through the air as he made a decision and stepped forward. He would take it for himself, even if it wasn’t mature yet! The Grand Flask appeared on its own to defend him against the terrifying power of the lotus. There was the sound of bones rubbing against each other, and Gu Changge could hear the deep grinding sounds made by the turning of ancient worlds. They could probably grind a person to pieces. However, as the Grand Flask descended, the leaves opened one by one, and he jumped into it before crossing his legs and sitting down. As the leaves closed, any stray movement soon faded away. Soon, everything became quiet and all that was left was a lone lotus plant. Gu Changge was in a very strange state right now. His Demonic Heart started to beat, the sound of blood pumping resembling that of a large drum. A desire to devour began to spread through his mind. In his blurry state, he could see a lotus seed about as big as a thumb, with ancient and mysterious veins all over the surface. The pattern resembled that of Dao manifestation, but also the culmination of World Principles. It seemed to float in a void, with dark matter surrounding them. He witnessed the formation of the universe and the long flow of time. Worlds bloomed into existence within the dark matter as the seed fell, then evolved into an infinitely large universe. As he opened his mouth and swallowed the seed, a terrible black hole consumed it, and the scenes that had appeared before him folded in on themselves and disappeared. His internal world now had begun to evolve. His cultivation level began to elevate, transforming his internal world into an internal universe. His first feeling was that he could control the power of worlds, handle all its energy and hold the universe within his fist. Even his Cultivation had risen to the level of the Sacred Noble Realm! “What’s happening? This aura… Did that evil mastermind finally get his hands on that item from the books? Did the Mortal One’s preparations just give him the advantage instead?” Jiang Chuchu was inside the Inner World and could see it being swallowed up by the chaos energy, all except for Heaven which remained standing above the clouds. She was shocked at this sight and could not calm down, finally collapsing onto a rock with a pale face. She had lost all her hope. [Impossible. Haven’t I already warned the Mortal One? Did none of his backup plans work?] Jiang Chuchu could not believe her eyes. [Was Gu Changge too powerful that he could ignore all those techniques?] She could not stop this from happening, and now everything was progressing just as Gu Changge had predicted. … In the following days, yet another event swept through the entire Sky Domain, shocking tis numerous factions. Everyone there was now pale with fear. The Dark Upheaval had suddenly occurred without any signs. Spiritual beings in Mystic Mountains and Forbidden Areas claimed that a young disciple had stolen an artifact of theirs and wanted the Celestia Holy Land to return them. Many Elders in the Sacred Noble Realm had all awakened, with soldiers now at the gates of Celestia Holy Land. Many guessed that it was just an excuse, and the disciple was just the trigger for everything happening. After all, many areas had wanted to fight the Celestia Holy Land but had not moved in before now. “Now we can’t even stay here. Why has the manifestation left here by the Celestia Sky Emperor suddenly disappeared?” The atmosphere was grave and suppressive within the Palace of the Celestia Holy Land. Jiang Yang, who had used multiple techniques to flee back with serious injuries, could sense the hatred directed towards him. It was obvious that the mysterious woman from whom he had escaped from, was behind the approaching armies at their door. Jiang Yang had planned to evoke the manifestation of their Prime Ancestor, using it in conjunction with the Celestial Seal to counter her attacks. His strategy had failed, though, because the manifestation had already disappeared and could not be evoked. This made his status within the place a lot worse. Not to mention, the Elders knew he had stolen the Celestial Seal. These internal and external troubles would have caused a serious issue! Jiang Yang’s expression became disgruntled, with no trace of his past calmness. He felt that someone was plotting his downfall. [No! I have to go to the Sky Pool of Death right now! I can’t stay here any longer!]