Heavenly Emperor City Ruins

After Li Qingshan broke through to the Ancestor Realm, he announced it to the world, shaking countless factions. They sent people to offer congratulations, and Shangqing Palace, which had lain dormant for centuries, faintly began to recover the glory of its Founding Grandmaster.

Every day, countless people came to Shangqing Palace to offer their congratulations, while an endless stream of others arrived seeking apprenticeship. Everything they had lost due to closing the mountain had been regained.

The sect was flourishing.

But this had little to do with Li Jiusheng.

He focused on secluded cultivation, comprehending the Great Dao and consolidating his cultivation, paying no heed to worldly affairs.

Time had suddenly grown late, and the years waited for no one.

In the blink of an eye, spring arrived the following year. The vegetation across Shangqing Palace's mountains and wilds grew ever more verdant, flowers bloomed in profusion, and spring filled the air with vibrant life.

Dong!

At dawn, a deep, ancient bell rang out, echoing through the mountain forests. Shangqing Palace's gate was hidden within the morning mist, its pavilions and towers half-visible, giving it the bearing of a famous Daoist mountain.

Inside the Scripture Repository Pavilion's tea room.

Sandalwood incense that cleared the mind filled the air. A pot of tea boiled over the fire, bubbling softly.

Li Jiusheng leisurely leafed through the Daoist scripture in his hands. Beside him, Little Fox, dressed in snowy white fur, obediently imitated him as she sat cross-legged in meditation. Spiritual energy flowed into her through her nose and mouth, absorbed into her body.

Since her birth, Li Jiusheng had continuously used True Qi to nourish her body and improve her innate foundation. By now, Little Fox had reached the peak of the innate realm. The nine tails behind her flickered in and out of sight under her control, looking pure, translucent, and almost unreal in the sunlight.

"When will I be able to catch up to your cultivation?" Little Fox asked after finishing her cultivation. She opened her eyes and looked at Li Jiusheng.

In her eyes, Li Jiusheng was immensely powerful. Even Li Qingshan, who had broken through to the Ancestor Realm, was far inferior to him.

Li Jiusheng smiled. "You have not even been born for a year. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Little Fox pouted. "Who would ever think their cultivation was progressing too slowly?"

"Rapid progress is not necessarily a good thing. When building a tall structure, the best approach is to lay a solid foundation. If the foundation is poor, it will be like a castle in the air, liable to collapse at any time." Li Jiusheng shook his head. At times, even he felt that his cultivation had advanced too quickly. Thus, his usual cultivation focused on constantly reinforcing his foundation and perfecting every realm.

After reaching the late stage of Great Grandmaster, he was in no hurry to break through into the Venerable Realm. Instead, he continuously tempered himself within this realm and cultivated every technique to perfection. When the time came to break through into the Venerable Realm, it would happen as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

As Li Jiusheng and Little Fox spoke, Li Qingshan arrived.

Little Fox did not like interacting with outsiders, but Li Qingshan had come so often that she had grown accustomed to him. She merely darted into Li Jiusheng's arms and quietly nestled against him.

"Why has a busy man like you come today?" Li Jiusheng asked in surprise.

Ever since breaking through to the Ancestor Realm, Li Qingshan had needed to receive an endless stream of guests every day. He had been so busy these past few months that he had no time to come here.

"I had to steal a little time to visit Senior Brother. Otherwise, I would be working myself to death while Senior Brother relaxed without a care." Li Qingshan smiled.

"You are the Sect Master. I am not." Li Jiusheng shook his head. He had no desire to let trivial affairs bind him.

"If I could, I would also step down as Sect Master and become as carefree as Senior Brother, wandering like an idle cloud and wild crane. How comfortable that would be." Li Qingshan spoke helplessly. Shangqing Palace could be said to rest entirely on his shoulders now. Neither the disciples nor the elders had yet matured, so he could not step down.

"Among this generation of disciples, Yu Chaoyang is the most talented. Nurture him well. Once he becomes a Venerable, hand the position of Sect Master over to him. Then you can retire in peace and wander like an idle cloud and wild crane." Li Jiusheng said with a smile.

Li Qingshan helplessly shook his head. "Yu Chaoyang is so happy outside that he has forgotten all about home. It will probably be difficult to make him return and inherit the position of Sect Master."

Li Jiusheng asked in surprise, "You have news of Yu Chaoyang?"

After Yu Chaoyang broke through to the Grandmaster Realm, he had left Shangqing Palace to travel the world and temper his heart amid mortal life.

He had even declared that he would abduct a Saintess from a Thousand Year Holy Land and make her his wife.

From what Li Qingshan said now, had he found a target?

Li Qingshan sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and shook his head helplessly. "That disciple of yours is outrageously bold. He took a liking to the current Saintess of Hundun Dao, charged into their holy land, and declared that he wanted to marry her. He enraged Hundun Dao's younger generation, got beaten half to death, and was thrown out."

"What?" Li Jiusheng put down his Daoist scripture, utterly astonished. That brat really had guts!

Hundun Dao was a Thousand Year Holy Land of the Old Land. Back then, its ancestor, Huntian Old Ancestor, had been a comrade-in-arms of Shangqing Palace's Founding Grandmaster. His Hundun Force was incomparably domineering, deterring countless enemies. He founded the holy land, which had been passed down to this day. Every generation had produced Ancestor Realm experts, and its strength was no weaker than Heavenly Dao Sect's. Yu Chaoyang had dared to break into such a holy land and announce that he wished to marry their Saintess. Being merely beaten half to death and thrown out already showed that Hundun Dao had been exceedingly merciful.

Li Qingshan was also helpless. "That brat suffered a setback in love, but his cultivation advanced swiftly. He reached the peak of the Grandmaster Realm and stationed himself outside Hundun Dao, constantly provoking them. He beat every member of Hundun Dao's younger generation until the Saintess had no choice but to appear. He fought her and said that if he lost, he would leave and stop pestering her."

"And the result?" Li Jiusheng was suddenly interested in the gossip and asked curiously.

"It ended in a draw." There was a hint of pride in Li Qingshan's voice. His disciple had fought Hundun Dao's current Saintess to a draw, which was enough to prove Yu Chaoyang's excellence. After all, the resources available to Hundun Dao's Saintess were beyond Yu Chaoyang's comparison.

"Fortunately, Hundun Dao's older generation still remembered some of our old ties. Otherwise, with that brat acting so arrogantly, he would definitely have suffered a major loss." Li Qingshan said.

Although Shangqing Palace had declined somewhat over the past few centuries, Hundun Dao's ancestral teachings remained. There was still some old friendship between them. Otherwise, with Yu Chaoyang blocking their gates like this, the older generation would have come out to teach him a lesson long ago.

"I told him to abduct a Saintess from a Thousand Year Holy Land, and he actually went looking for one." Li Jiusheng shook his head and laughed.

Li Qingshan immediately said, "Since Senior Brother was the one who encouraged that brat to pursue a Saintess, you cannot stay out of this matter."

Li Jiusheng frowned. "How am I supposed to handle this? If that brat has the ability, then he can win over their Saintess. If he does not, am I supposed to go abduct their Saintess for him?"

Li Qingshan shook his head and smiled. "That will not be necessary. Since neither side won this time, Yu Chaoyang invited that Saintess to explore the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins with him. Whoever gains more there will be the victor."

"If Yu Chaoyang wins, that Saintess must give him a chance to pursue her. If the Saintess wins, Yu Chaoyang will stop bothering her." Li Qingshan said.

"Wait. Have the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins appeared?" Li Jiusheng asked in surprise.

Li Qingshan had previously told him that an unparalleled expert had emerged in the Central Land, someone whose cultivation reached the heavens and who was rumored to have touched upon the domain of immortals.

He had founded a great faction called Heavenly Emperor City. Heavenly Emperor City stood above the skies, exerting influence in all directions. All the surrounding regions had to bow their heads, offer tribute, and pay homage.

Unfortunately, its glory did not last. The Heavenly Emperor era was extremely brief, lasting only a little over one hundred and twenty years.

The Heavenly Emperor fell, and Heavenly Emperor City shattered and collapsed, sinking into the lands of the Central Land without a trace.

Many Outer Domain factions and experts later entered the Central Land in search of the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins, but found nothing. Instead, they provoked a counterattack from the Central Land's younger generation, beginning a brilliant era of blood and fire.

It was not until Faming, an eminent monk of the Buddhist Sect, found forty-nine purple-gold pillars in the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins and suppressed them one by one along the borders of the Central Land, forming a protective barrier against invasion by other factions and experts, that peaceful days finally arrived.

Yet after Faming's death, the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins vanished once more. Over all these years, they had never appeared again.

Li Qingshan's expression turned solemn as he said in a deep voice, "That is right. The Heavenly Emperor City Ruins have appeared. I was merely chatting with Senior Brother just now. My true reason for coming is to ask Senior Brother to leave the mountain and investigate the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins."

Li Jiusheng grew serious as well and frowned. "Shouldn't you be the one exploring the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins?"

Li Qingshan shook his head. "I cannot. Rather, this time, restrictions have appeared with the ruins. Ancestor Realm cultivators cannot enter at all, which is why I thought of Senior Brother."

"With Senior Brother's strength, there should be no opponent below the Ancestor Realm. For this exploration of the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins, you are the only suitable choice." Li Qingshan spoke with certainty. When Li Jiusheng had been at the middle stage of Great Grandmaster, he had defeated a sword cultivator at the peak of the Venerable Realm. Now that he had broken through to the late stage, both his strength and realm had increased greatly.

He believed that within the Venerable Realm, his Senior Brother should be invincible.

Li Jiusheng did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked, "Why have the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins appeared now? What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

Li Qingshan said, "The Heavenly Emperor City Ruins did not appear only now. They have always been in the Old Land, merely hidden before. Not long ago, an Outer Domain expert brought a treasure once used by the Heavenly Emperor and secretly entered the Old Land. Relying on its connection to the Heavenly Emperor, he found the ruins."

"That Outer Domain expert had intended to sneak in quietly, but the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins shook! Light shot into the heavens, creating an enormous disturbance in that Deadly Land. The various factions quickly discovered it, causing a great uproar. They joined forces to seal off that Deadly Land and prevent the Outer Domain expert from leaving."

"Heavenly Dao Sect, the foremost Daoist sect, secretly sent five Venerables inside in hopes of gaining the advantage, but that Outer Domain expert killed them. This enraged Heavenly Dao Sect's Ancestor Realm expert, who wanted to enter the ruins and kill that Outer Domain expert. Yet he discovered that the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins had an array restriction that prevented Ancestor Realm cultivators from entering. Forcing his way in would inevitably come at a heavy cost."

"Thus, the major factions have begun gathering their experts to enter the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins, investigate them, and contend for opportunities. Yu Chaoyang and the Saintess of Hunyuan Dao are using this as the occasion for their wagered duel."

Li Qingshan explained the matter in detail.

Li Jiusheng understood. "What is inside the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins?"

"That is unclear for now. However, there are rumors that the Heavenly Emperor's cultivation techniques, as well as countless treasures he acquired while suppressing the four directions, are all within those ruins. More importantly, Heavenly Emperor City seemingly contains a method for breaking through the Ancestor Realm. That is an irresistible temptation for every major faction." Li Qingshan said.

"A method for breaking through the Ancestor Realm?" Li Jiusheng frowned. "Is there another realm beyond the Ancestor Realm?"

Li Qingshan nodded. "Of course. Although the Ancestor Realm is powerful, it is merely a small peak on the path of cultivation. Beyond that peak lie layered mountains and endless ranges."

"You want me to obtain the method for breaking through the Ancestor Realm?" Li Jiusheng asked thoughtfully.

"I do not insist on that. I simply think this is a good opportunity. With Senior Brother's strength, once you enter the ruins, you will surely gain much. Perhaps you may even break through into the Venerable Realm. Who can say?" Li Qingshan said.

"Where are the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins?" Li Jiusheng asked.

"The South Ridge Mountain Range. There is a Deadly Land there, monitored on all sides by the major factions. The Deadly Land itself is vast and boundless, resembling an enormous primeval forest. The Heavenly Emperor City Ruins are within it." Li Qingshan said.

"The South Ridge Mountain Range is thirty thousand li from Shangqing Palace. It is not too far. I can go take a look." After pondering for a moment, Li Jiusheng was ultimately persuaded by Li Qingshan and nodded.

He was very curious about the Heavenly Emperor who had once ruled the four directions.

Now that he had the opportunity, he would make the journey.

Li Qingshan clapped his hands. "That is wonderful. With Senior Brother taking action, I can rest easy. I will go as well, though I will remain on the outskirts. If Senior Brother encounters anything you cannot resolve, withdraw immediately. With your Junior Brother there, I guarantee that you will be safe."

"You need not worry about me. Keep a closer eye on your precious disciple instead." Li Jiusheng shook his head.

"His heart has gone wild. His master broke through to the Ancestor Realm and held a celebration ceremony, yet he would not even return. He is infuriating." Li Qingshan said angrily.

"If he truly has the ability to abduct Hundun Dao's Saintess, that would not be bad." Li Jiusheng smiled.

"That depends on his own ability and fortune. As elders, there is nothing we can do about it." Li Qingshan shook his head.

"When should I leave?" Li Jiusheng asked.

"Any time. The South Ridge Mountain Range is already in turmoil. With Senior Brother's speed, you should arrive quickly." Li Qingshan said.

"Fine, then I will depart tonight." Li Jiusheng nodded, then suddenly sighed. "I have lived in seclusion at the Scripture Repository Pavilion for nearly a hundred years and never gone out to see the world. It is time for these old bones to get moving."

"Then I wish Senior Brother success in advance and a bountiful harvest." Li Qingshan smiled, then rose and left.

After Li Qingshan left, Little Fox immediately asked, "You are going outside?"

Li Jiusheng nodded. "I am going to take a look. I will be back soon. Guard the home for me."

"No, we are going together." Little Fox refused outright, then grabbed Li Jiusheng's hand and would not let go.

The first person she had seen after being born was Li Jiusheng. From her initial wariness to her present closeness, Little Fox did not want to leave his side even for a moment.

"Be good. You heard it too. That place is a Deadly Land and extremely dangerous. I cannot take you there." Li Jiusheng shook his head and refused. Although he had great confidence in himself, Little Fox had only just been born, and her strength was merely at the peak of the innate realm. No one knew what would happen after entering the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins. Li Jiusheng did not want to bring her into danger.

"We are going together!" Little Fox stubbornly insisted, looking at Li Jiusheng with large, pitiful eyes.

Li Jiusheng was helpless. He tried to persuade her gently, but Little Fox kept shaking her head and refused to remain at the Scripture Repository Pavilion.

With no other choice, Li Jiusheng could only agree.

"I will take you with me, but you cannot leave my side for even a step or act recklessly. Otherwise, I will be angry." Li Jiusheng warned Little Fox.

"Mhm, mhm, I understand. I definitely will not leave your side." Little Fox said happily, looking incomparably obedient.