An Invitation from Primal Celestial Venerable: A Meeting at Jade Void Palace

The confrontation at Pingxin Hall ended in Yang Chen's complete victory.

Houtu's sigh, filled with endless bitterness and resignation, brought this unequal contest to a close.

From then on, Yang Chen temporarily settled in Houtu's tribe.

His cave dwelling was located closest to the core area of the Twelve Ancestral Witches Stone Statues. Houtu had personally opened it up, and it contained its own space, filled with spiritual energy so dense it was nearly tangible.

More importantly, the ancient baleful aura originating from Pangu's heart blood essence—the destructive will that could make even Quasi-Saints tremble—had now become the gentlest of guardians.

Houtu personally stirred a trace of the Twelve Capital Celestial Evil Formation's foundation aura.

This trace of aura formed an invisible barrier around the entire cave dwelling. It cut off the probing of heavenly secrets, blocked the pursuit of karma, and tightly suppressed and sealed the immeasurable karmic sin upon Yang Chen, which could have detonated the entire primordial world, within this tiny patch of heaven and earth.

This was treatment of the highest order, unprecedented since the creation of the world.

Using the primordial world's greatest killing formation as protection.

Not even the direct disciples of the Six Sages enjoyed such an honor.

Yang Chen naturally enjoyed it immensely.

During these days, he had completely entered the highest realm of doing nothing.

Every day, he either quietly comprehended the fragment of the Law of Strength rewarded by the system within his cave dwelling, or drew out a trace of Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood to evolve the domineering ten-thousand-foot dragon body within himself.

When the mood struck him, he even had the Witch People bring over several huge vats of strong liquor. With sizzling, oil-dripping roasted beast legs, he feasted to his heart's content.

That ease and serenity formed the strangest, most absurd contrast with the immeasurable karma he bore, enough to reduce a Saint to ashes in an instant.

The more secure he was, the more certain beings could neither eat nor sleep in peace.

The tree wished to be still, but the wind refused to cease.

One day.

Yang Chen sat cross-legged in the center of his cave dwelling, his mind immersed in the profound mysteries of the Law of Strength, which shattered all laws and crushed the void.

The space around him had taken on subtle distortions and folds from his unconscious comprehension.

Suddenly.

A supreme will, majestic to the extreme and filled with order and rules, descended from nowhere. It ignored the layered baleful barriers of the Twelve Capital Celestial Evil Formation and disregarded the restrictions of the cave dwelling itself.

Buzz—

The dense spiritual energy within the cave dwelling instantly froze.

The flowing light came to a standstill.

The floating dust was suspended in place.

At that moment, time and space seemed to have been forcibly paused by an invisible hand.

Three feet before Yang Chen, the void split open in a crack invisible to the naked eye. A speck of golden light seeped out, then abruptly expanded.

It was neither the gentle Golden Light of Merit nor compassionate Buddhist light.

It was a cold, noble gold bearing the absolute meaning of judgment.

The golden light flowed and swiftly condensed into a decree.

Great Dao Runes moved like living creatures across the decree. An ancient, profound character for "Exposition" occupied its core. Merely looking at it seemed to reveal the orderly arrangement of the three thousand Great Daos and let one feel the supreme majesty of following Heaven's will and enforcing its way.

The trace of aura Houtu had drawn from the Capital Celestial Evil Formation let out a groan of unbearable strain before that will and was forcibly shoved aside.

Yang Chen slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at the decree before him, radiating a Saint's pressure, without the slightest surprise on his face.

What was meant to come had finally come.

The last time the Six Sages had gathered, he had forced them into a corner with his rogue tactic of "self-destruction." They had reacted in haste and compromised in humiliation, their dignity as Saints thrown far beyond the clouds.

With Primal Celestial Venerable's arrogance ingrained into his very bones, how could he possibly swallow that insult?

Once he recovered, he would inevitably seek to reclaim his standing.

This decree was his first move.

Yang Chen's gaze fell upon the decree, and its contents clearly entered his Divine Soul.

"Fellow Daoist Yang Chen, you are hereby invited to Jade Void Palace on Mount Kunlun for a discussion."

The signature contained only two words.

"Primordial."

Concise and direct.

Yet every word carried an unquestionable command.

This was not a negotiation, nor a request, but a declaration.

A Saint's declaration to the mundane world.

A cold curve slowly formed at the corner of Yang Chen's lips.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Last time, he called me 'Father.' This time, he had changed it to 'Fellow Daoist'?

That skin was truly Saint-level—thick enough.

Just then, two powerful auras stirred outside the cave dwelling.

One was as steady as the earth, the other as violent as a war god.

Houtu and Xing Tian appeared at the entrance of the cave dwelling.

They had clearly sensed the sudden Saintly aura as well, and both wore incomparably grave expressions.

Xing Tian in particular stared fixedly at the golden decree with eyes the size of bronze bells. The muscles all over his body bulged, while baleful energy flickered unstably along the blade of the massive axe in his hand.

"What does that old Primordial want?"

Xing Tian spoke in a deep, booming voice, filled with undisguised hostility and vigilance.

"Brother, don't be afraid!"

He took a step forward, making the entire cave dwelling tremble.

"Our Witch Clan will go with you! If he dares make a move, us twelve Ancestral Witch brothers will fight him to the end!"

Houtu said nothing, but a deep worry also appeared in her gentle eyes.

She had only just placed a heavy bet on Yang Chen, tying the future of the entire Witch Clan to him.

Primal Celestial Venerable's interference at this critical moment made his intentions all too obvious.

To bring Yang Chen, the greatest variable, under his control.

Or...

Eliminate him completely!

Yang Chen shifted his gaze from the decree to Xing Tian's face, which practically had the words "ready to fight" written across it, then looked at the gravity in Houtu's eyes.

He waved his hand.

The gesture was as casual as if he were merely brushing dust from his shoulder.

"It's nothing."

His voice was soft, yet carried a playful edge that made even Houtu's heart tremble.

The next moment.

Under the stunned gazes of Houtu and Xing Tian, Yang Chen extended his hand and casually gave the golden decree floating in the air, representing a Saint's majesty, a light squeeze.

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound rang out.

The decree, capable of suppressing a Quasi-Saint and containing the sacred might of Heaven's Dao, instantly filled with cracks in his hand like the most fragile glass.

Then it exploded with a bang, turning into golden dust that scattered through the air and slowly drifted down.

This sight even halted Xing Tian's frenzied battle intent.

That was a Saint's decree!

And this guy had just... crushed it?

Yang Chen patted away dust that did not exist on his hands, the playful smile on his face growing brighter.

"A Saint has invited me for tea. As his 'creditor,' how could I possibly refuse?"

He raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the cave dwelling's ceiling and the endless void, landing directly upon Jade Void Palace on Mount Kunlun Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.

"I'd like to see whether the tea at his Jade Void Palace is fragrant—or scalding."