The next morning, without any excess farewells, the residents of the Sea of Innocence saw two streaks of light flash by, one black, one gold.
Ye Zichen stood in the gateway, looking up at the disappearing light and bidding his friends farewell.
Pu Jingwan stood beside him, and from time to time, she tossed raisins into her mouth. Xiao Yumei soon came out too. She was carrying a coat, which she dr.a.p.ed over Ye Zichen’s shoulders. “It’s cold out. Come back inside.”
“This is, ultimately, a step we have to take.” Ye Zichen watched his friends disappear over the horizon. He sighed, then turned back around and returned to his chambers.
Yang Jian and the Great Sage had left.
They’d returned to Heavenly God City to further their plans to sneak Yang Jian into the Xiao Family as an undercover agent. Ye Zichen had thought of this plan on the spur of the moment, and not even he knew whether this was really a good idea or not.
“Hm?” As soon as Ye Zichen and his friends stepped into his room, they stopped, then looked outside. They’d clearly sensed a seal surrounding the room.
If they weren’t mistaken, the Sea of Innocence were placing it with the goal of avoiding any repeats of yesterday’s incident. Furthermore, based on the seal’s strength, a great emperor had placed it.
However, before long, yet another seal appeared around them.
After just an hour, there were at least ten new barriers around Ye Zichen’s room.
“The Xue Family sure values you highly,” said Pu Jingwan after a dumbfounded pause. She grabbed another handful of raisins and stuffed them in her mouth.
These restrictions weren’t ordinary; all of them were imperial-level, which meant one of the Xue Family’s few imperial-level experts had placed them.
The restrictions overlapped and intercrossed. Nevermind a person…. Not even a grain of sand could possibly break through so many barriers.
But Ye Zichen still struggled to understand. Had whoever placed these restrictions really done it just to prevent a repeat incident?
If that was the case, shouldn’t they have started as soon as they realized what happened? There was no need to wait until this morning.
“They’re back!” After a brief pause, yet another restriction formed around the room. Pu Jingwan had already lost interest. She’d already wandered off to the window, where she put in earbuds and sang along to a song.
However, her voice was awful; far inferior to the Pu Jingwan he’d known in the Modern Realm.
An afternoon went by, and the new seals didn’t stop coming.
Ye Zichen leaned against the wall in a comfortable, sunlight place. But at that moment….
“Yumei, do you know who that person is?”
A few great emperors in residence were busily working in the skies above the Xue Family estate. However, suddenly, an elder who looked roughly the same age as the Hermit Emperor appeared among them. When they saw him, the other great emperors bowed….
Like juniors greeting a senior!
In the God Realm, divisions of seniority were simple. Age didn’t matter; all that mattered was cultivation.
The great emperors overhead were already among the top experts of the God Realm. Each was in charge of their own Divine Mountain! And yet, even people like them were bowing before this old man? Who on earth was he?
More importantly, Ye Zichen had no impression of the man whatsoever.
For the other great emperors to treat him with such respect, he shouldn’t be some nameless, unknown figure.
Where was this man from?
The Supreme Hall?
Or Mahesvara?
“I don’t recognize him.” Xiao Yumei took a good look at him, then shook her head. Although she’d been on the Divine Mountains longer than Ye Zichen, she’d lived in seclusion for most of her time here, so she didn’t necessarily know much more than him.
She had no impression of any such figure, but based on how the other great emperors were acting….
“If I’m not mistaken, he should be from some Divine Mountain’s Holy Land. Based on his clothes, I expect he’s from the Supreme Hall?”
“A spiritual formation master?”
If he was the Supreme Hall, it was only natural to assume he was a formations expert.
He chatted and caught up with the other top experts for a while. Ye Zichen got the vague sense that, as they spoke, they occasionally glanced at him.
Finally, all the great emperors left save for the Lord of Seven Stars, Ye Rong, and the old man.
A shocking gust of wind howled past, and divine power surged out of the great emperors who’d just “left.” They were hovering above the ground and forming a net of pure divine power, blocking out the wind.
Before long, Ye Rong burst into light, and dazzling starlight shot into the clouds.
At the same time, a deep blue spiritual formation diagram appeared beneath the elder.
“This….”
Ye Zichen didn’t understand why, but even though he wasn’t particularly well versed in formations, he felt like he recognized this one.
Radiant starlight poured into it, merging with the diagram. Soon, they’d fused completely.
Countless beams of light erupted from the starry diagram, like Celestial Sword Rain, scattering across the ground without rhyme or reason. Some landed on the roof, while others landed on the ground. Wherever the light landed, a miniature star diagram appeared.
The miniature diagrams lit up, their lights intercrossing and forming a pattern that resembled the Milky Way.
“How beautiful!” Pu Jingwan’s eyes lit up.
“Zichen, you recognize it?” Xiao Yumei’s eyebrows shot up.
Ye Zichen shook his head. “No, not really. I’ve never seen it before. Still, I don’t know why, as soon as I saw it, I knew its name.”
Meanwhile, overhead, Ye Rong was still pouring her starlight into the formation without reservation. Her starry sword rain never once stopped or slowed down.
However, her expression was becoming increasingly plaid, and blood was starting to drip from the corners of her lips.
The Xue Family’s entire mountain was covered in celestial sword rain and starry diagrams. The elder in charge of the formation seemed as if he were preparing to stop, but Ye Rong still bit her lips and….
“That’s enough.” Suddenly, Chao Feng’s dignified shout filled the air. With a wave of his hands, he severed the connection between Ye Rong and her starlight. When he did, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell straight into Chao Feng’s arms.
Then, in the absence of starlight, the starry diagram beneath the elder’s feet slowly started to fade away.
However, all the scattered, miniature diagrams remaining in place, and their starlight linked up. It was dazzling, like standing right in the Milky Way.
“Mom!”
She looked at Ye Zichen calmly, then pointed to the ground. “Follow me. The Hermit Emperor is waiting for you.”
