Five days later, in the starry sky above the Four Great Continents.
A highly concealed star held a white grand hall. Its style was exactly the same as Lingxiao Treasure Hall's, except that the plaque was different. Three characters—"Haotian Hall"—floated above it.
The gates of Haotian Hall were tightly shut, and formations surrounded its outer perimeter.
Inside, the decorations were identical to those in Lingxiao Treasure Hall. The Jade Emperor sat upright upon the Dragon Throne.
Four people stood before him: Gouchen Great Emperor, Ziwei Great Emperor, Zhenwu Great Emperor, and Plague God!
The four stood in silence. Upon the Nine Dragon Heavenly Throne, the Jade Emperor kept his eyes closed, his right fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the Dragon Throne as though pondering something.
The four waited for roughly an hour before exchanging glances. None of them knew why the Jade Emperor had summoned them. However, only five people knew of this place—not even Taishang knew. The Jade Emperor had called them here, so he must have something major to announce!
He had avoided all the gods of Heaven, Queen Mother, and Taishang. What exactly did the Jade Emperor intend to say?
"It's going to happen ahead of schedule!" the Jade Emperor said slowly, opening his eyes as he spoke.
"Ahead of schedule?" At first, the others looked at the Jade Emperor in confusion. Then, as though they had suddenly understood, their pupils shrank almost simultaneously.
"This is also why I didn't let you intervene earlier when we fought the demons!" the Jade Emperor said indifferently.
"Yes!" the four answered solemnly.
"Heavenly Court can be abandoned. As long as you are here, Heavenly Court will return. I'm making some arrangements here. When the time comes, I may appear in another form and be unable to handle certain matters.