The Heavenly Master Exits Seclusion, A Divine Decree to Marry Hu Liena

Tiandang Mountain, Taixu Temple, Dragon-Locking Seclusion Chamber.

This place is the most restricted area within the forbidden grounds of Taixu Temple, buried deep within the eye of the mountain's dragon vein, forever hidden from the light of day.

Only the ancient Celestial Master Seal runes carved into the stone walls emit a faint, imperceptible glow amidst the silence.

Hum—

A nearly inaudible tremor emanated from the deepest part of the seclusion chamber.

The heavy stone door, sealed shut for a full century, began to vibrate violently. The talismans sealing the entrance peeled away layer by layer, dissolving into golden ash.

The next moment, a Daoist energy that had lain dormant for a hundred years erupted suddenly, like an ancient deity awakening!

Boom!

There was no earth-shattering roar, yet a silent pressure swept outward.

On the stone walls, the thousands of obscure, ancient Celestial Master Seal runes seemed to be infused with life all at once, instantly igniting with a brilliant, dazzling golden light!

The entire dark chamber was completely submerged in a vast ocean of pure Daoist rhythm.

At the center of this rhythm, a figure who had been sitting in meditation for a century slowly opened his eyes.

A hundred years of time had not left a single trace on his face; he remained a handsome, ethereal youth.

Shen Yichen.

Master of Taixu Temple, the Celestial Master of this era.

He parted his lips slightly, exhaling a wisp of gray, turbid energy that had accumulated over the last century.

This was no ordinary breath, but the worldly distractions and physical impurities that had settled during his hundred-year seclusion.

As the turbid energy left his body, it did not dissipate. Instead, it swirled in the air, condensing into the lifelike phantom of a nine-tailed fox!

The nine-tailed fox was entirely gray-white. It looked up at Shen Yichen with eyes filled with a trace of relief and lingering attachment, circled three times in the air, and let out a crisp, ethereal cry.

After the cry, the phantom went poof and dissolved into a sky full of golden light spots, vanishing completely into the Daoist rhythm.

"A hundred years of seclusion, and yet I am still one step short."

Shen Yichen whispered to himself. His voice was hoarse from long silence, yet it echoed through the empty stone chamber like the tolling of a morning bell or an evening drum.

He raised his hand, his fingertips gently brushing the faint, shimmering golden Celestial Master Seal between his brows.

He knew well that he had refined ninety-nine percent of the ancient Celestial Master Dao heritage, and his cultivation had long since surpassed the so-called God Kings of the God Realm, reaching the realm of a "Half-Step Great Dao."

He was separated from true, supreme Grand Perfection by only a thin layer of paper.

And that layer of paper was "Tempering the Heart in the Red Dust."

More precisely, it was the covenant established in ancient times between the Celestial Master lineage and the Qingqiu Fox Clan.

A thought stirred in Shen Yichen's mind, and he raised his hands to form an ancient divination seal.

His fingers moved so fast they left only afterimages. Countless profound Daoist runes swirled and flickered at his fingertips, as if he were stirring the long river of time.

Ten thousand years of history raced backward before his eyes. Countless threads of karma intertwined until, finally, a faint yet incredibly pure trace of nine-tailed fox bloodline emerged clearly within his divination.

"So that is how it is. Is she truly the final heir of the bloodline?"

Shen Yichen's fingers stilled, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

Martial Soul Hall, Saintess, Hu Liena.

He already had his answer.

Immediately, Shen Yichen released a wisp of his divine sense.

This divine sense was formless and intangible, yet in an instant, it swept across the entire Douluo Continent like mercury spilling onto the ground!

Above Jialing Pass, war clouds gathered, and killing intent soared to the heavens.

The allied forces of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire had finished assembling. Their banners were like a forest, swords were drawn, and they were ready at any moment to launch a decisive final assault against the Spirit Hall Empire to determine the fate of the continent.

Inside Martial Soul City, Bibi Dong was draped in her papal robes, the power of the Rakshasa God surging around her. Though she had not yet ascended to godhood, she was infinitely close.

The anxiety and murderous aura between her brows were clearly palpable, even from ten thousand miles away.

And on the other side of the vast continent, on Sea God Island.

A youth was bathing in golden divine light, undergoing the inheritance of the Sea God.

His soul power had already broken through level eighty-three, and he was currently undergoing the seventh trial. His fortune was flourishing, faintly merging with the entire ocean.

Tang San.

"It will not be long before this continent welcomes a new Sea God."

Shen Yichen's heart remained calm, merely stating a fact:

"And Spirit Hall, even Hu Liena herself, will become stepping stones for the rise of a new god, meeting a tragic end with shattered souls, forever unable to break through the Title Douluo barrier."

He knew the trajectory of this world like the back of his hand.

"The tragic ending from the original story, is it..."

Shen Yichen's lips curled into a faint arc, carrying a hint of languor and an unquestionable, domineering air.

"Since this Celestial Master has emerged from seclusion, this karma shall be repaid by me, and this ending shall be rewritten by my hand."

His mind was made up.

A Celestial Master's grand wedding, with heaven and earth as witnesses, and eighteen layers of betrothal gifts as the covenant.

It was both a conclusion to the ancient alliance, helping him temper his heart in the mortal world to take that final step, and a means to protect the remaining bloodline of the Qingqiu Fox Clan for a lifetime of peace, shielding them from calamity.

The timing was perfect.

Shen Yichen raised his palm, facing upward.

He drew upon the power of the Heavenly Dao from the ethereal void, while simultaneously pulling forth that lingering thread of the Qingqiu Fox Clan's ancestral bloodline power that had spanned eons.

Two supreme forces converged and fused within his palm.

In an instant, a brilliant purple-gold radiance surged forth!

Within the light, two ancient and magnificent scrolls slowly coalesced into form.

The marriage scrolls were entirely purple-gold, their edges engraved with exquisite and intricate nine-tailed fox patterns that seemed alive, emitting a faint, spiritual glow.

Between heaven and earth, a faint, ethereal sound of fox cries seemed to echo—a resonance from the depths of the bloodline.

On one scroll, the name "Shen Yichen" was inscribed in Great Dao runes.

On the other, the name "Hu Liena" was engraved.

This was the Twin Marriage Scrolls, recognized by heaven and earth, with the Great Dao as witness!

Shen Yichen looked at the scrolls in his palm with a calm expression and flicked his fingertip.

Whoosh!

The purple-gold scroll bearing Hu Liena's name instantly transformed into a streak of light, tearing through the void before him and vanishing into the pitch-black spatial rift, flying toward Martial Soul City at a speed that transcended everything in the world.

Having finished this, Shen Yichen rose slowly and brushed the nonexistent dust from his simple Daoist robe; after a century of seclusion, it was time to go out for a walk.

Meanwhile.

The very moment the marriage scroll left Tiandang Mountain.

Far away, ten thousand miles deep in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Awoo—"

A thousand-year-old demon fox, in the midst of hunting, suddenly stopped in its tracks, abandoned its prey that was within reach, and abruptly lifted its head, letting out a long, respectful whine toward the direction of Martial Soul City.

Immediately afterward, throughout the forest, whether they were ten-year, hundred-year, thousand-year, or ten-thousand-year fox-type spirit beasts, they all stopped what they were doing at the same moment, as if having received a supreme summons from the source of their bloodline.

They turned in unison toward the same direction, prostrating themselves on the ground, their throats emitting humble and reverent whimpers.

Ten thousand foxes bowing in homage!

This sudden anomaly instantly startled the entire ecological chain of the Star Dou Great Forest.

At the bottom of the Lake of Life.

The massive bull-headed and ape-headed figures, who had been slumbering, suddenly opened their eyes!