The West.
Mount Sumeru.
Jieyin and Zhunti made hand seals and tried to divine the truth.
"What in the world is going on? How could the Sun Star cause such a huge celestial phenomenon?" Jieyin muttered.
After a round of divination, they frowned. To their surprise, they had learned nothing at all.
"What should we do? We can't divine anything. What now?" Jieyin asked Zhunti beside him.
"In that case, we should go there ourselves. Such a celestial phenomenon must mean something major has happened." Zhunti answered with a grave expression.
"Good! We of the West mustn't miss out on such a great opportunity. Why don't we go straight to Donghua Immortal Palace? We've worked with Dong Wang Gong before, and they'll surely look into this. We can just ask them what happened." Jieyin suggested.
"Agreed. Let's go."
With that,
Daoist Zhunti turned into a streak of light and headed for Donghua Immortal Palace, with Daoist Jieyin close behind.
Meanwhile,
inside Bai Ze Palace, Bai Jiu and Bai Ze were drinking themselves silly, having the time of their lives.
"Bai Jiu, my disciple is the Demon Emperor now. You'd better show me some respect from now on," Bai Ze said, looking tipsy.
"You'd better show me some respect too. My Mo Huang calls me his father-in-law." Bai Jiu grinned smugly.
Just then,
a seductive fox woman came hurrying in from outside Bai Ze Palace, her jade-white skin faintly visible beneath a sheer veil.
"Patriarch, Lord Bai Ze, someone outside wishes to see you," the fox woman said.
She was a member of the Fox Race, whom Bai Jiu had sent to work at Bai Ze Palace.
"No, no. Can't you see my old friend Bai Ze and I are enjoying a drink?" Bai Jiu waved her away, unwilling to let anyone spoil their fun.
The fox woman said at once, "But he said his name is Tu Shan Qing!"
At that, Bai Jiu sobered up a little. "Tu Shan Qing? Hurry and invite him in!"
Seeing his reaction, Bai Ze leaned back and chuckled. "Bai Jiu, you're the Demon Emperor's father-in-law now. With your status and standing, how can you act so flustered? He's just a fox."
"What do you mean, just a fox? Tu Shan Qing isn't some ordinary fox. He was already at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, and it's been ten thousand years since I last saw him. He must have made progress—he might even have reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. Don't you want to bring a great demon like that into the Demon Race?" Bai Jiu replied.
At that, Bai Ze immediately dropped his relaxed pose. He straightened his robes and sat upright. "Of course we do! We have to bring him into the Demon Race. I'm determined to recruit Tu Shan Qing. Hurry and invite him in."
Soon after, Tu Shan Qing entered Bai Ze Palace.
After they were introduced, Tu Shan Qing and Bai Ze made each other's acquaintance. However, he kept quiet about having joined Donghua Immortal Palace.
After some small talk, he finally got to the point. "Brother Bai Jiu, Daoist Bai Ze, I was living quite comfortably in Tu Shan. But a while ago, I suddenly noticed purple energy stretching thirty thousand li near the Sun Star, while merit-gold dragons kept descending. What happened there?"
At that, Bai Jiu was about to answer, but remembered what Li Mo had said at Sun God Palace.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
The two exchanged a glance and communicated through voice transmission.
"Bai Ze, do you think we should tell him the truth?" Bai Jiu asked.
"Tell him the truth!" Bai Ze replied firmly.
"But wouldn't that expose our trump card?" Bai Jiu said.
"Not at all. If we tell him the truth, he'll know that Li Mo calls you father-in-law and that he's my disciple. We're highly respected, so if we invite Tu Shan Qing to join the Heavenly Court, how could he refuse? Then we'll be on the same side. How would that expose anything?"
Bai Ze gave Bai Jiu a reassuring look.
Bai Jiu nodded and decided not to hide it. He pulled Tu Shan Qing close, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Tu Shan Qing, I consider you a brother. Once I tell you what happened, you must keep it secret."
Tu Shan Qing's expression shifted, and his heart leaped with delight.
They're keeping this so secret?
It must be something huge. If I report it to the Immortal Chief later, I'll surely earn great merit.
He said earnestly, "Just tell me, Brother Jiu. I promise I won't tell a soul. I may not be good for much, but I, Tu Shan Qing, am a fox who knows how to keep a secret. My lips are sealed."
"Come closer," Bai Jiu said.
With that, Tu Shan Qing leaned in.
As Bai Jiu spoke, Tu Shan Qing's expression grew more and more astonishing.
"A few days ago, three more Demon Emperors appeared in Sun God Palace."
"The third Demon Emperor was named Li Mo. He was called Mo Huang."
"He was the one whose words stirred the Heavenly Dao."
"That was what caused the purple energy to spread and merit to rain from the heavens."
"In front of all the great demons of the Demon Race, he attained the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm on the spot, with twelve-grade golden lotuses blooming beneath him. Everyone in the Demon Race was stunned."
Bai Ze felt his teeth ache just hearing it. He sent Bai Jiu a voice transmission. "Bai Jiu, what nonsense are you spouting? Li Mo is only a Golden Immortal right now. How can you say he attained the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm on the spot? And twelve-grade golden lotuses? That's absurd."
"What do you know? Li Mo won't be fighting them, so there's no harm in me embellishing the story. The more impressive I make him sound, the more likely he is to join our Heavenly Court, isn't that right?" Bai Jiu retorted.
But Bai Ze understood Bai Jiu's intentions perfectly.
The more wildly you bragged, the more it showed how impressive you were.
Your daughter was going to become Li Mo's woman! That reflected well on you!
Heh, go ahead and brag. It reflected well on me too.
Bai Ze didn't call him out.
Tu Shan Qing's expression changed again and again as he listened. His face was a study in astonishment.
He had never imagined that such a huge event had taken place in the Demon Race just a few days ago.
The Demon Race had gained three more Demon Emperors!
And the third one, Mo Huang, was the "culprit" behind the celestial phenomenon.
From a mere Mystic Immortal, he had stirred purple energy across thirty thousand li, brought merit down from the heavens, and attained the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm on the spot!
He had wondered why Di Jun and the others would make a Mystic Immortal a Demon Emperor.
Now he understood!
This Mystic Immortal was no ordinary one.
His words contained the truths of Heaven and Earth, stirring the Heavenly Dao.
That also explained why Di Jun and the others had made a mere Mystic Immortal the fifth Demon Emperor.
"Incredible, incredible! I never expected the Heavenly Court to have someone like that. Could he be a reincarnated Chaos Demon God from beyond the heavens?" Tu Shan Qing speculated.
At that,
Bai Jiu and Bai Ze were stunned.
Bai Ze spoke up. "He might really be a reincarnated Chaos Demon God. Otherwise, there's no other way to explain it. Maybe he's even a Chaos Demon God more powerful than Great God Pangu."
"Very possible!"
All three of them said in unison.
At the thought, Bai Ze and the other two drew in a sharp breath.
A reincarnated Chaos Demon God!
Terrifying!
Bai Ze had only come up with the idea on the spur of the moment.
But now that he thought about it, whenever he tried to divine anything about his disciple, he could see nothing at all.
That made the theory that Li Mo was a reincarnated Chaos Demon God seem all the more plausible.
When Pangu had created the world, he had slain three thousand Chaos Demon Gods.
Every one of those Chaos Demon Gods had been incredibly powerful.
Still, they were imagining that some of the other Chaos Demon Gods had been even stronger than Pangu.
Bai Ze seized the moment and said, "Daoist Tu Shan Qing, Mo Huang is my disciple and Bai Jiu's future son-in-law. I invite you to join the Heavenly Court. What do you say?"
"I can, but I need to return to Tu Shan first and arrange a few things. I'll be back soon." With that, Tu Shan Qing left immediately.
After leaving Bai Ze Palace, he sped off toward Donghua Immortal Palace.
"Purple energy stretching thirty thousand li, merit descending from the heavens!"
"Attaining the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm on the spot, with twelve-grade golden lotuses blooming!"
"A reincarnated Chaos Demon God from beyond the heavens!"
Tsk! Just thinking about it, Tu Shan Qing felt overwhelmed by the weight of the news.
He had to hurry back and tell the two Immortal Chiefs.
Before you continue