Heavenly Emperor City Ruins

After Li Qingshan broke through to the Ancestor Realm, he announced it to the world, causing countless factions to tremble. They all sent people to congratulate him. For a time, Shangqing Palace, which had been silent for hundreds of years, faintly seemed to be regaining the glory of its Founding Grandmaster.

The number of people coming to Shangqing Palace to offer congratulations daily was countless, and those seeking to become disciples also came in an endless stream. Everything that had been lost due to the mountain closure was now replenished.

A scene of prosperity unfolded.

However, this had little to do with Li Jiusheng.

He was focused on his cultivation, comprehending the Great Dao, consolidating his power, and ignoring worldly affairs.

Time passed by in a flash, and time waits for no one.

In the blink of an eye, it was the following spring. The mountains and wilds around Shangqing Palace became even more verdant, with flowers blooming everywhere, full of spring vitality and teeming with life.

Dong!

In the early morning, a deep and ancient bell chime rang out, echoing through the mountains and forests. Shangqing Palace's mountain gate was hidden in the morning mist, its pavilions and towers appearing and disappearing, giving it the air of a renowned Taoist mountain.

In the Scripture Repository Pavilion, within the tea room.

The clear and refreshing scent of sandalwood filled the air. A pot of tea was boiling over the stove, making a bubbling sound.

Li Jiusheng calmly flipped through the Taoist scriptures in his hands. Beside him sat a little fox, dressed in pure white. It obediently imitated Li Jiusheng, sitting cross-legged, and inhaled Spiritual Energy into its body through its mouth and nose.

Since its birth, Li Jiusheng had been using his True Qi to cleanse its body and improve its constitution. To this day, the little fox had already reached the peak of Xiantian cultivation. Its nine tails, which it controlled to appear and disappear, seemed pure and transparent in the sunlight, almost unreal.

"When will I be able to catch up to your cultivation?" the little fox asked after finishing its practice, opening its eyes and looking at Li Jiusheng.

In its world, Li Jiusheng was incredibly powerful. Even Li Qingshan, who had broken through to the Ancestor Realm, was far inferior to Li Jiusheng.

Li Jiusheng chuckled, "You haven't even been born a year, why be so impatient?"

The little fox pouted, "Who wouldn't want to improve their cultivation faster?"

"Rapid cultivation progress isn't always a good thing. To build a tall building, the best way is to lay a solid foundation. If the foundation is weak, it's like a castle in the air, liable to collapse at any moment," Li Jiusheng said, shaking his head. Sometimes he felt his own cultivation had advanced too quickly, so he often spent his practice time solidifying his foundation, perfecting each realm.

After breaking through to the late Great Grandmaster stage, he wasn't in a hurry to reach the Venerable realm. He continuously honed himself within this realm, perfecting all his techniques. When the time came to break through to the Venerable realm, it would be as natural as water flowing.

As Li Jiusheng and the little fox were talking, Li Qingshan arrived.

Although the little fox disliked interacting with outsiders, it had become accustomed to Li Qingshan's frequent visits. It simply leaped into Li Jiusheng's arms and nestled against him quietly.

"Why has the busy person like you come today?" Li Jiusheng asked in surprise.

Since breaking through to the Ancestor Realm, Li Qingshan had to entertain guests every day, with an endless stream of visitors. He had been too busy to visit in the past few months.

"I have to steal a moment of leisure from my busy schedule to see Senior Brother. Otherwise, it's not right for me to be swamped with work while you're living so carefree," Li Qingshan said with a smile.

"You are the Sect Master, I am not," Li Jiusheng replied, shaking his head. He had no desire to be bound by trivial matters.

"If I could, I'd also like to resign as Sect Master and be a carefree wanderer like you, Senior Brother. How comfortable that would be," Li Qingshan said helplessly. Currently, Shangqing Palace was being propped up by him alone. His disciples and elders had not yet grown strong enough for him to step down.

"Among the disciples of this generation, Yu Chaoyang has the most talent. Cultivate him well. When he becomes a Venerable, pass the position of Sect Master to him, and you can retire to the Southern Mountains and live a carefree life," Li Jiusheng said with a smile.

Li Qingshan shook his head helplessly. "Yu Chaoyang is enjoying himself so much that he doesn't want to return. It will be difficult to get him back to inherit the position of Sect Master."

Li Jiusheng's eyes widened in surprise. "You have news of Yu Chaoyang?"

After breaking through to the Grandmaster realm, Yu Chaoyang had left Shangqing Palace to travel the world and temper his mind in the mortal realm.

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

Hearing Li Qingshan say this now, had he found his target?

Li Qingshan sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and shook his head helplessly. "Your junior nephew is incredibly audacious. He took a liking to the current Saintess of Huntian Dao. He stormed into their Holy Land and declared he wanted to marry her, angering the younger generation of Huntian Dao. They beat him half to death and threw him out."

"What?" Li Jiusheng put down his Taoist scripture, utterly astonished. This brat was unbelievably bold!

Huntian Dao was a Holy Land with a thousand-year heritage from the Old Land. Its ancestor, Huntian Old Ancestor, was a comrade-in-arms with the Founding Grandmaster of Shangqing Palace. His Huntian Strength was incredibly powerful, deterring many enemies, and he founded the Holy Land, which had been passed down to this day. Each generation had an ancestor, and its strength was no less than that of the Heavenly Dao Sect. He dared to barge into such a Holy Land and declare his intention to marry their Saintess, only to be beaten half to death and thrown out. This was already considered Huntian Dao showing great restraint.

Li Qingshan was also helpless. "This brat suffered a setback in love, but his cultivation has improved rapidly. He reached the peak of the Grandmaster realm. He then camped outside Huntian Dao, constantly provoking them, beating up the entire younger generation of Huntian Dao, forcing the Saintess to come out and fight him. He said that if he lost, he would leave and stop causing trouble."

"And the result?" Li Jiusheng suddenly became curious, asking with gossip-like interest.

"It was a draw," Li Qingshan said, with a hint of pride in his voice. His disciple fighting the current Saintess of Huntian Dao to a draw was enough to show Yu Chaoyang's excellence, especially since the resources available to the current Saintess of Huntian Dao were not something Yu Chaoyang could compare with.

"Fortunately, the older generation of Huntian Dao still remembered their past connections. Otherwise, with this brat's arrogant behavior, he would have suffered a great loss," Li Qingshan said.

Although Shangqing Palace had declined somewhat in the past few hundred years, the ancestral teachings of Huntian Dao still remained, and there was some residual goodwill. Otherwise, with Yu Chaoyang blocking their gates like this, the older generation would have already come out to discipline him.

"I told him to abduct a Saintess from a thousand-year-old Holy Land, and he actually went and did it," Li Jiusheng said, shaking his head and chuckling.

Li Qingshan immediately said, "Since Senior Brother incited this brat to pursue the Saintess, you can't just ignore this matter."

Li Jiusheng frowned. "How can I manage this? If that brat has the ability, he should capture the Saintess himself. If he doesn't have the ability, should I go and abduct their Saintess for him?"

Li Qingshan shook his head and smiled, "That's not necessary. This time, since they fought to a draw, Yu Chaoyang has invited the Saintess to jointly explore the ruins of Heavenly Emperor City. Whoever gains more will win."

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

"Wait a minute, have the ruins of Heavenly Emperor City appeared?" Li Jiusheng asked in surprise.

Li Qingshan had told him before that a peerless expert had emerged in the Central Land, with heaven-defying cultivation, rumored to have touched the Domain of Immortality.

He had established a powerful force called Heavenly Emperor City. Heavenly Emperor City stood above the heavens, radiating its influence in all directions. Surrounding regions had to bow down in submission, pay tribute, and worship.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived. The Heavenly Emperor's reign was extremely brief, lasting only a little over a hundred and twenty years.

The Heavenly Emperor perished, Heavenly Emperor City shattered, collapsed, and sank into the Central Land, its whereabouts unknown.

In the following years, many Outer Domain forces and experts entered the Central Land, hoping to find the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins. Unfortunately, they found nothing. Instead, they provoked the younger generation of the Central Land to retaliate, ushering in a brilliant era of blood and fire.

It wasn't until the eminent monk Faming of the Buddhist Sect found forty-nine Purple Gold Beams that had descended into the sea at the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins, and successively suppressed them at the edges of the Central Land to form a protective barrier against the invasion of other forces and experts, that a peaceful era began.

However, with the passing of the eminent monk Faming, the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins once again vanished without a trace, remaining hidden for all these years.

Li Qingshan's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "That's right, the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins have appeared. My earlier conversation with Senior Brother was just idle talk. My true purpose in coming here today is to ask Senior Brother to come out of seclusion and explore the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins."

Li Jiusheng also became serious, frowning as he asked, "Shouldn't you be the one exploring the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins?"

Li Qingshan shook his head, "I can't. To be precise, there are restrictions on entry for this ruin's emergence, preventing anyone in the Ancestor Realm from entering. That's why I thought of you, Senior Brother."

"With your strength, Senior Brother, you should have no match below the Ancestor Realm. You are the only one suited for exploring the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins this time," Li Qingshan stated with certainty. Li Jiusheng had previously defeated a Sword Cultivator at the Venerable peak while only being at the Great Grandmaster mid-stage. Now that he had broken through to the late stage, his strength and cultivation had greatly improved.

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

Li Jiusheng did not immediately agree but instead asked, "Why are the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins appearing now? What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

Li Qingshan explained, "The Heavenly Emperor City Ruins didn't appear now; they have always been in the Old Land, but they were hidden before. Not long ago, an Outer Domain expert carrying a treasure once used by the Heavenly Emperor infiltrated the Old Land. Relying on the connection with the Heavenly Emperor, they found this ruin."

"That Outer Domain expert intended to sneak in quietly, but the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins trembled! Light shot up into the sky, creating a massive spectacle in that Deadly Land. Soon, it was discovered by various forces, causing a sensation. They joined forces to seal off that Deadly Land, preventing the Outer Domain expert from leaving."

"The Heavenly Dao Sect, the foremost among the Daoist sects, secretly sent five Venerables to gain an advantage, but they were killed by that Outer Domain expert. Enraged, the Grandmaster of the Heavenly Dao Sect wanted to enter the ruins to kill that Outer Domain expert. However, they discovered that the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins had a formation restriction that prevented Ancestors from entering. Forcing entry would come at a heavy price."

"Therefore, major forces began gathering their experts, preparing to enter the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins to explore and seize opportunities. Yu Chaoyang and the Saintess of the Hunyuan Dao used this as an opportunity to arrange a duel."

Li Qingshan narrated the events leisurely.

Li Jiusheng listened and understood, then asked, "What is inside the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins?"

"It's unclear for now, but there are rumors that the Heavenly Emperor's cultivation techniques, as well as the countless treasures he acquired while suppressing the four directions, are all within this ruin. More importantly, it seems there is a method to break through to the Ancestor Realm within the Heavenly Emperor City, which is an irresistible temptation for all major forces," Li Qingshan said.

"A method to break through to the Ancestor Realm?" Li Jiusheng frowned. "Is there a realm beyond the Ancestor Realm?"

Li Qingshan nodded, "Of course, there is. Although the Ancestor Realm is powerful, it is merely a small peak on the path of cultivation. After crossing this mountain, there are still layers upon layers of mountains and continuous peaks beyond."

"Are you hoping I'll go and obtain the method to break through to the Ancestor Realm?" Li Jiusheng pondered.

"I'm not forcing you to do that. I just feel this is a great opportunity. With your strength, Senior Brother, you will undoubtedly gain a lot after entering the ruins. Perhaps you might even break through to the Venerable Realm then; who knows," Li Qingshan said.

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

"In the South Ridge Mountain Range. There is a Deadly Land there. The four directions of the Deadly Land are being monitored by major forces. Inside the Deadly Land is vast and boundless, like a giant primeval forest. The Heavenly Emperor City Ruins are located within it," Li Qingshan replied.

"The South Ridge Mountain Range is thirty thousand li from my Shangqing Palace, not too far. I can go take a look," Li Jiusheng said after a moment of thought, persuaded by Li Qingshan.

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

Now that he had the opportunity, he would embark on this journey.

Li Qingshan clapped his hands, "That's wonderful! With Senior Brother going, I can rest assured. I will also go, but I'll be on the periphery. If you encounter anything you can't handle, Senior Brother, quickly withdraw. With Junior Brother here, you'll be completely safe."

"You don't need to worry about me. Keep a closer eye on your precious disciple," Li Jiusheng said, shaking his head.

"He's gotten too wild. He didn't even come back for the celebration ceremony when his master broke through to the Ancestor Realm. It makes me so angry," Li Qingshan said indignantly.

"If he truly has the ability to abduct the Saintess of the Hunyuan Dao, that wouldn't be bad either," Li Jiusheng chuckled.

"That will depend on his own ability and destiny. We elders can't control it," Li Qingshan shook his head.

"Then when should I set off?" Li Jiusheng asked.

"Anytime is fine. The South Ridge Mountain Range is already in turmoil. With your speed, Senior Brother, you should be able to reach it quickly," Li Qingshan said.

"Alright, I'll set off tonight," Li Jiusheng nodded, then suddenly mused, "I've been living in seclusion in the Scripture Repository Pavilion for nearly a hundred years and haven't gone out to see the world. It's time for this old body to get some exercise."

"Then I wish you success in advance, Senior Brother, and abundant rewards," Li Qingshan said with a smile, then got up and left.

After Li Qingshan left, the Little Fox immediately asked, "Are you going out?"

Li Jiusheng nodded, "I'm going to take a look and will be back soon. You stay and guard the house for me."

"No, let's go together," the Little Fox refused outright, then grabbed Li Jiusheng's hand and refused to let go.

She had met Li Jiusheng first after her birth. From initial wariness to current closeness, the Little Fox absolutely did not want to leave Li Jiusheng's side.

"Be good, you heard it too. It's a Deadly Land there, very dangerous. I can't take you," Li Jiusheng refused, shaking his head. Although he was confident in himself, the Little Fox had only recently been born, and her strength was merely at the Xiantian peak. No one knew what would happen after entering the Heavenly Emperor City Ruins, and Li Jiusheng did not want to take her into danger.

"Let's go together!" the Little Fox insisted stubbornly, looking at Li Jiusheng with her big, wronged eyes.

Li Jiusheng was helpless. He tried to persuade her kindly, but the Little Fox kept shaking her head, unwilling to stay in the Scripture Repository Pavilion.

With no other choice, Li Jiusheng agreed.

"I'll take you, but you absolutely cannot leave my side, and you cannot act recklessly. Otherwise, I'll be angry," Li Jiusheng warned the Little Fox.

"Mhm, mhm, I know. I definitely won't leave your side," the Little Fox said happily, acting incredibly obedient.