The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord had no answer in his heart. His spiritual senses would not deceive him, yet he did not believe anyone in this world could truly threaten him—apart from Beitang Sheng in Imperial Capital City.
After a long while, he still reached no conclusion. Looking at Yu Changkong, he asked again,
"Beitang Sheng sent you and Zhao Rulíng to kill me, even at the cost of the dynasty's fortune and Human Dragon Qi to forge an Imperial Ruyi in an attempt to suppress my Star Tribulation. Is he not afraid of truly bringing his own dynasty to utter collapse?"
Yu Changkong shook his head.
"I do not know. The Emperor is unfathomable, his schemes as deep as the sea. I am merely one of his subordinates; how could I possibly fathom what lies in his heart?
"However, since the Emperor dared to do this, he must have made preparations. There must be contingencies in place."
"I recall that Beitang Sheng initially cultivated Five-Star Vital Energy and used it to deeply cultivate the Ziwei World-Shining Art. Later, after obtaining the Ziwei Flying Star Record I passed on, he transformed it into Seven-Star Vital Energy. Has he now broken through to the aspect of Nine Stars Alignment?"
The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord raised another secret concerning Beitang Sheng, perhaps one known to only a scant few.
As Beitang Sheng's staunch confidant, Yu Changkong knew something of this. He said,
"He likely has not yet completed it. The Emperor should presently be at the Eight-Star Realm. Once he breaks through to Nine Stars Alignment, it will be time for him to advance into the supreme Divine Demon Realm."
The so-called Five Stars, Seven Stars, Eight Stars, and Nine Stars were in truth an unorthodox secret art created by the Beitang