Heavenly Eye Peers into the Nine Heavens

After the celebratory feast wound down, the Spirit Beasts who had avenged their great enmities, led voluntarily by Huo Zhi, promised Great Officer Ye that "should you ever have need of us, we will brave fire and water without hesitation." Then they each cleaned up the aftermath and returned to rest.

In the simply constructed Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe camp beneath the Feather God Heavenly Ladder, Ye Kong set up dozens of layers of safeguards inside his tent—including a Clone, illusions, barriers, the Heavenly Mystery Umbrella, and an ultra-fast Teleportation Array—before slipping peacefully into his spatial realm to digest the immense gains he had made today.

Within the dark, silent void, Ye Kong held a "Swastika" mark between his hands and absorbed the solemn, sacred Merit Pure Light pouring out from it, seeming to transform into a Buddha statue formed of pure light.

When he had acted during the day, he had transformed the Merit Bowl into a "Swastika" mark, hidden it within the sword ring, and sent it piercing through Feng Xingkui's heart, gaining an enormous amount of Merit Pure Light.

Although the Merit Bowl could not refine Feng Xingkui's cultivation, the harvest from him was still astonishing—nearly equivalent to the Merit Pure Light Ye Kong had gained over the past year from killing eight Outer Domain Evil Tribe captives in the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe!

Though those fiends had all been far weaker than him when they died, this alone showed that this bastard was even more demonic than the Outer Domain fiends!

After dealing with the fifteen other fellows equally steeped in sin, he had likewise gained a considerable amount of merit. Added together, it was even slightly more than what he had received from killing Feng Xingkui.

The vast amount of Merit Pure Light gave Ye Kong the means to delve wholeheartedly into Divine Arts. For the first time, he spent merit without regard for the consequences, doing all he could to comprehend the profoundly significant Heavenly Eye.

He was certain that once he deduced the Heavenly Eye to the level of a near-perfect Divine Art—or even a perfect Divine Art—there would definitely be even more surprises!

Empowered by the Merit Pure Light, he felt that his thoughts had entered an incomparably lucid state. He could easily identify dozens of possible directions for development, then through repeated simulations, contemplation, deduction, and summarization, continuously integrate his ideas into the Heavenly Eye, breaking through its original shackles and creating a new, stronger Divine Art.

Half a quarter-hour later, Ye Kong, refreshed and still wanting more, opened his deep, lucid eyes.

He gently raised his head. His gaze pierced through the darkness of the void and looked toward the ancient Nine-Story Heavenly Ladder in the real world, eternal despite the passage of time. Countless scenes of light and shadow appeared in his eyes:

A Golden-Winged Great Peng spread its wings to battle the heavens and slay Demon Gods, its unrestrained divine claws seeming capable of tearing apart heaven and earth. Yet in the end, it was still outnumbered, its blood scattering across the sky and leaving behind only endless resentment;

A Nine-Colored Peacock unleashed divine light to shelter all living beings beneath those endless, terrifying Demon Hands, but ultimately lacked the power to turn the tide and perished alongside all beings;

There was also a Sky-Hanging Giant Phoenix soaring through the heavens, which in a desperate bloodbath used the art of Nirvana Burning Wings, dragging its great enemy down with it. Phoenix blood stained the black earth...

After the scenes vanished, the absorbed Ye Kong suddenly discovered that in just over ten seconds, more than seventy percent of the spiritual energy in his body had been consumed. He hurriedly closed his eyes and returned to the real world to rest.

Only after a full half hour did Ye Kong, having recovered his spiritual energy, open his weary eyes. He exhaled deeply, feeling as though his head were terribly heavy.

I never expected that the Heavenly Eye, after reaching the perfect Divine Art level, would gain the ability to trace back time for a short while. Unfortunately, my current cultivation simply cannot sustain it for long.

And it is not just spiritual energy—even my brain and body feel utterly exhausted. As expected, this is not something a cultivator of my current level can touch.

After understanding his condition, Ye Kong secretly rejoiced that he had long since arranged for Lu Hou to keep watch outside in case of trouble, and that he had also left behind sufficient preparations. Then he buried his head and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Ye Kong, restored after sleeping, woke up very late. When he stepped out of his tent, he found that the three Vajras apart from Lu Hou were already waiting outside, and he immediately gave them questioning looks.

Lu Duowen scratched his two left ears with a simple smile and said:

"Boss, Zong Qingfeng of the Kunpeng Tribe came early this morning with Zong Teng. He said he had important intelligence to share with us. Boss Lu Hou went to speak with him and told us to come take over."

"Intelligence? What intelligence? Could there be something else interesting here besides the Nine-Story Heavenly Ladder?"

Ye Kong glanced at the ancient heavenly ladder in the distance, and the bizarre scenes from last night surfaced in his mind.

Lu Duowen said:

"He said there is. Someone in the team that came here to explore last time seemed to have discovered something extraordinary after climbing to the ninth level of the Heavenly Ladder."

"But he was vague about it. He said he would only speak once you arrived."

"Now that sounds interesting."

Ye Kong stroked his chin as he walked, lost in thought.

For Zong Qingfeng to come personally and specifically demand to see him, this was likely a major opportunity. It might even be connected to the former Super Divine Beasts of Heavenly Feather Divine City that he had seen last night.

Suddenly, from an extremely distant direction, the corner of Ye Kong's eye caught an aura that felt both unfamiliar and familiar. His steps instinctively paused for an instant before naturally falling again.

He suppressed the killing intent that had just risen in his heart and continued walking as though nothing had happened, without alerting the enemy.

Soon, Ye Kong led the three into the Council Hall and met the long-waiting Zong Qingfeng and Lu Hou.

One said, "Forgive me for arriving late," while the other said, "It is but a trivial matter, hardly worth mentioning." After a round of pleasantries, they settled into their respective seats as host and guest.

Ye Kong took a sip of tea and said:

"I have always liked to ensure that all my friends gain something from dealing with me. Today, I certainly will not make Brother Zong regret making this trip."

That was exactly what Zong Qingfeng wanted to hear. He cleared his throat, pointed at the weathered ancient heavenly ladder in the distance, and said with a smile:

"Officer Ye, do you know the origins of this Feather God Heavenly Ladder?"

"I do. It is said that the Feather God Hall left it behind to recruit suitable disciples. Talents below the Venerate Realm who climb it can obtain a Nine-Colored Feather God Token.

"Geniuses who obtain a Feather God Token of five colors or above may enter the Feather God Hall to cultivate after breaking through to the Venerate Realm."

Zong Qingfeng nodded and pointed at Zong Teng beside him.

"Correct. The Nine-Story Heavenly Ladder—each level is a separate heaven.

"My little brother here is already among the finest of the Spirit Beast Tribe, but based on past experience, he has at most a slight chance of obtaining a seven-colored Feather God Token."

Zong Teng gave an awkward smile, thinking, Big Brother, you really did not have to be so honest.

Ye Kong grew interested. His bright eyes fixed directly on Zong Qingfeng as he asked:

"May I ask, Brother Zong, what exactly did your tribe's seniors discover here?"

Zong Qingfeng knew there was no point in continuing to speak in riddles, so he said directly:

"When our tribe's seniors came here to explore last time, one of them exhausted every means and obtained a Nine-Colored Feather God Token. By a fortunate coincidence, he then entered another Feather God Hall ruin!

"There, he discovered traces of one of the three former Super Divine Beasts of the Feather God Hall—the Nine-Colored Peacock."

Ye Kong narrowed his gaze at Zong Qingfeng. "I have surveyed the inside and outside of this ancient city, yet I found no spatial fluctuations. Could that ruin be outside the city?"

Zong Qingfeng shook his head, pointed to the ground, and revealed an incomparably excited smile.

"No! It is here! More precisely, beneath this ancient city!"

"There is another world beneath the ground?" Ye Kong slightly narrowed his eyes.

"Exactly!"

Zong Qingfeng nodded heavily and continued:

"After obtaining the Nine-Colored Feather God Token, that senior originally intended to leave. Unexpectedly, he encountered an Outer Domain Evil Tribe expert outside the city. After a bloody battle, they barely managed to kill that Evil Tribe expert.

"After the battle, the Outer Domain fiend's blood accidentally fell onto the Feather God Token. The token activated its teleportation ability and sent those seniors to that special place.

"Unfortunately, not long after they found a few traces of the Nine-Colored Peacock, the divine token teleported them out."

"My Kunpeng Tribe possesses the greatest speed under heaven, and our people are born with spatial talents.

"They sensed that the final teleportation route went from below to above, and they reappeared near the Heavenly Ladder, roughly where we are now."

At this point, Zong Qingfeng revealed a mocking expression.

"When they reappeared, they happened to be spotted by the Heavenly Crane Tribe, whose people pestered them relentlessly.

"This time, Feng Xingkui wanted to come here in search of opportunities. His grandfather even personally brought him to our door, hoping to ask us to take him along."

"Then it seems Brother Zong did not agree?" Ye Kong asked with a smile.

"The Clan Leader told me to decide for myself."

Zong Qingfeng paused before continuing:

"If I had not known that he was such a scoundrel, it would not have been a bad idea to take them along. After all, cooperation benefits both sides, and I doubt he would have dared to scheme against Zong Qingfeng.

"But now, there is naturally nothing more to discuss! For a fine man like me, Zong Qingfeng, to be mentioned in the same breath as such scum is truly a great humiliation!"

After saying that, Zong Qingfeng still felt sickened, so he hurriedly recalled the delicious taste of last night's crane breast meat.

Ye Kong clapped his hands and laughed. Good, very good. This was exactly the attitude he wanted. It seemed they could draw even closer.

He rose to his feet and said with a smile:

"Brother Zong has brought such excellent news, yet I cannot offer any immediate reward. I can only invite Brother Zong to accompany me on a trip and watch me use another's flowers as an offering to Buddha. What do you think, Brother Zong?"

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