Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A quaint atmosphere permeated the entire area, from the sidewalks paved with white jade to the timeless quality of the vegetation.
Everything seemed as if it had been covered with dust for many years. It was extraordinarily quiet and still. Even if one realized that there were indeed people here, it was so sparsely populated that it gave off an otherworldly, empty feeling.
“This place is really fantastic,” Xu Que said, and he couldn’t help but sigh.
He felt surprisingly carefree and happy here. He was completely relaxed, in a way he hadn’t been in a really long time. The atmosphere was surprisingly free and natural.
The flowers, trees, earth, bushes, and rocks here seemed to have their own independent natures. If one looked at any random tree, for example, it felt like one could sense things about its past and present life. There were traces of Taoist Connotation everywhere.
“Everywhere the Celestial Emperor has been, this will be the way it is. Every living thing has been influenced by him, and we, walking among all these elements of nature, can sense his influence.” Zixia Fairy looked all around as she spoke, and gently nodded.
She had seen a place like this before in the Celestial Cloud Continent.
It had even been rumored that when a person of a realm higher than that of the Celestial Emperor walked here, green grass would grow from all parts of the land that had been touched by his feet. Where these people traveled, they could turn a desert instantly into 100 miles of grassland including ten miles of flower blossoms with just one step.
“Excuse me, you two there, the Chosen by Heaven Ceremony will begin soon, please move forward as quickly as possible.” At this moment, a deep voice sounded from above.
Xu Que and Zixia Fairy looked at each other, walked forward silently, and stepped on the jade steps.
The sight that greeted them resembled a site of a large battle, with of tens of thousands of cultivators, all of them surrounding an empty Taoist Sanctum platform. No one was in the Taoist Sanctum. It was empty and seemed as if there was an invisible restraint isolating it.
In the center of the empty Taoist Sanctum, there was a boulder which was tens of yards tall. It was entirely white, crystal clear, and shining brilliantly.
Even though there appeared to be a restrictive barrier, it was still possible to feel, even from very far away, the heavenly power that was being emitted from the boulder.
“This…how is this possible?” Xu Que’s expression changed all of a sudden, and he started to look a little strange.
“What’s wrong?” Zixia Fairy looked at Xu Que and asked.
Xu Que frowned and said, “This boulder seems exactly the same as my Heavenly Book of Taiyi. No, to be precise, this boulder is simply the Heavenly Book of Taiyi, but it is hundreds of times bigger.”Read comics on our webnovel.live
Zixia Fairy was surprised when she’d heard what Xu Que had said. She had heard that the Ones Chosen by Heaven possessed the Heavenly Book of Taiyi, but she had never met a real One Chosen by Heaven before, let alone one who possessed the Heavenly Book of Taiyi. So, at this moment, when she’d heard Xu Que say that the boulder was also the Heavenly Book of Taiyi, she was practically overwhelmed by surprise.
However, Xu Que was even more shocked than Zixia Fairy was. He’d never thought that this place where they had just arrived would have contained such a huge Heavenly Book of Taiyi. When one looked at it at first glance, it seemed like just a huge boulder. But in noticing that this huge boulder was really the Heavenly Book of Taiyi, Xu Que realized that his Heavenly Book of Taiyi paled in comparison.
“Dang!”
At this moment, a deafening metal drum rang out and a humming sound filled the air.
The conversation that had been going on among all the cultivators outside the Taoist Sanctum momentarily stopped. Xu Que and Zixia Fairy also looked toward the front.
On the top of the mountain opposite the Taoist Sanctum, there were many figures, both male and female, some old and some young. A momentum shrouded their bodies that was extremely powerful and shocking.
One of the women in white, who Xu Que recognized right away, was the woman he had previously seen in the cave, Xuanyuan Hong.
“Sure enough, all these people have come: five Celestial Kings, one Celestial Prime. Where are all the others hiding?” Xu Que’s face took on a serious expression as he whispered to himself.
Xu Que knew that the number of strongmen from the Heaven Palace Sect was far more than just these few.
The many cultivators present, including the Celestial King ancestors from the various major forces, knelt down into a submissive position, with their heads bowed.
They were all Celestial Kings, but in front of the Heaven Palace Sect’s Celestial Kings and Celestial Primes, they dared not treat them as peers.
According to age, the talents of the Heaven Palace Sect were the true ancients, and their strength was powerful and unpredictable. The Celestial King ancestors of all the major forces had shockingly realized that their essences were nowhere near the levels of any Celestial Kings from the Heaven Palace Sect.
“These are the real Celestial Kings and Celestial Primes.” Zixia’s Fairy’s voice rang out by Xu Que’s ear.
She whispered, “The Qi of that period is incomparable with the Qi of the later periods. The realms of those people from the Heaven Palace Sect are far stronger than all of the realms of all the cultivators here now. Their Celestial Core Power has consolidated to an unimaginable degree. After so many long years, these Celestial Kings are only half a step away from becoming Celestial Primes, and those Celestial Primes are almost Celestial Emperors.”
“I can see that.” Xu Que nodded in agreement.
The power of Xuanyuan Hong and several of the other Celestial Kings was obviously stronger than Li Xuanqi and the two other Celestial Kings of the Sage Sect who he had encountered before. Although they were also Celestial Kings, they weren’t on the same level of existence.
And Zixia Fairy’s words helped Xu Que understand the reason why.
This was similar to an ordinary person who had eaten natural ingredients and breathed fresh air since they had been young as compared to someone who had grown up eating junk food and breathing polluted air. Although these individuals might be the same age, the quality of their bodies would be completely different.
This would normally be true, except for in some special cases. Usually, the former would be more healthy and less susceptible to illnesses, while the latter would be unhealthy and more susceptible to illnesses.
The strongmen from the Heaven Palace Sect were healthy and less susceptible to illness.
At this time, a middle-aged male Celestial King stepped out from the top of the mountain and began his grand speech.
“If you all are here, you must have received the news from my Heaven Palace Sect. The shackles of the Heaven Continent are about to disappear, and countless foreign enemies who have long been coveting the Heaven Continent are about to appear. The Heaven Continent is about to enter into extremely difficult times, and, as its people, we should work together to resist foreign enemies and defend our homeland…”
He did not introduce himself, and no attempt was made to understand the details and background of everyone present. They had just decided to get down to business right away.
And you can be sure that no one present dared to disagree. They all listened attentively, constantly maintaining a respectful attitude.
Among the crowd, Xu Que could also see the Holy Virgin of Jade Lake Bai Cailing, who was with a group of female disciples from Jade Lake. They all stood behind several white-haired old ladies, who were Celestial Kings, and were listening with their heads bowed.
The people from the Dark Shadow Pagoda Sect had also come. Xu Que saw Ji Wuyun and the Master of the Ji Family standing behind several elderly Celestial Kings.
“That’s enough. The hour has come, and the Chosen by Heaven Ceremony has officially started. The boulder you all see in front of you is the Heavenly Stone of Taiyi. All those who are above the Heaven Celestial Stage and below the Celestial King level, please release your Mind Sense and see if you can communicate with the Heavenly Stone of Taiyi. This process will last for three days, and you can keep trying until the end is announced.”
At this time, the middle-aged man had finished his opening speech, and thereafter announced the start of the Chosen by Heaven Ceremony, getting everyone to release their Mind Sense.
There seemed to be a huge discrepancy between these hasty developments and the grand name of the Chosen by Heaven Ceremony, and many people seemed confused and overwhelmed and didn’t know how to react.
“No wonder he is an Elder of the Heaven Palace Sect. He handles matters swiftly and resolutely and is not limited to structure and formalities. I should really learn from him. Okay, all my disciples, obey the seniors of the Heaven Palace Sect and quickly release your Mind Sense to communicate with the Heavenly Stone of Taiyi.” An old man from some anonymous sect immediately kissed *ss to the Heaven Palace Sect and urged his disciples to start doing what the Elder had told them to do.
If a sect could produce the One Chosen by Heaven, they would accrue supreme glory and honor, and, in fact, their status could even rise because of this. The One Chosen by Heaven was treated with extreme importance by the Heaven Palace Sect, and this was often enough to let the entire sect ride on the coattails of the One Chosen by Heaven.
At the same time, on the top of the hill opposite the Taoist Sanctum…several strongmen from the Heaven Palace Sect stood expressionlessly as they watched the various famous cultivators sitting cross-legged outside the Taoist Sanctum, trying to communicate with the Heavenly Stone of Taiyi.
The middle-aged man who had been speaking previously had a hint of impatience and contempt on his face. “Among these useless people, can there really be a One Chosen by Heaven?” He shook his head and spoke in an ice-cold voice.
Xuanyuan Hong sneered. “Even though no one in our Heaven Palace Sect is available to be the One Chosen by Heaven, even if there is a person chosen as the One to unlock the Heaven Continent and allow the Land of God to enter, there is no need to bring this disorderly rabble over here.”
“What a pity. Back in the old days, it wasn’t easy, but we managed to cultivate Xuanyuan Wanrong. However, in the end, she escaped beyond our control. Now I don’t even know whether she is dead or alive. There has been no news of her.” An elder sighed, full of regret.
“Oh, I’d told you that that b*tch was shrewd and subtle, and you all still thought that you could control her. Look what happened, she cultivated to the Celestial Prime realm, stole the Emperor’s secret records, and broke free of the mark that the Dean had left behind in her Mind Sense, escaping to someplace far away.” Xuanyuan Hong’s eyes were full of murderous intent as she spoke.
“Well, just saying, if the Heaven Continent is not locked for ten days, it will begin to dissipate. Only if we can control the new One Chosen by Heaven before that will we manage to gain a foothold. While we wait for the deans to wake up, the Heaven Continent will be ours.” Another person sighed and said calmly.
Subsequently, they stopped talking and stood on one side, their gazes watching the movements in the Taoist Sanctum.
Xu Que and Zixia Fairy had arrived at the area surrounding the Taoist Sanctum, and they squeezed into the crowd.
Many people were already sitting down cross-legged and had released their Mind Sense.
But most people’s Mind Sense couldn’t pass through that high-level restrictive barrier, let alone communicate with the Heavenly Stone of Taiyi.
“This is interesting. Now I can understand what the so-called One Chosen by Heaven is all about.” Xu Que stared at the Heavenly Stone of Taiyi, and a corner of his mouth went up in a smile as he whispered softly to Zixia Fairy.
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