Haoyang Great World

Zhou Yu set off quickly.

However, it was not his Second Primal Spirit from the Black-White Academy, but his true self that departed.

When Zhou Yu first transmigrated, his identity was the young master of a small clan in the Donghai Commandery of the Great Xia World. He had achieved success in his cultivation, married, and had children, but regardless of the merciless passage of time, his relatives in this world had long since passed away.

Nevertheless, Zhou Yu still held deep affection for the Zhou Clan, so while his Second Primal Spirit waited for Ji Ning at the Black-White Academy, his true self had always remained in the Zhou Clan to hold the fort.

The reason he sent his true self this time was mainly because his Second Primal Spirit possessed no significant treasures, and its strength was inferior to his true self.

Since this mission involved dealing with a Celestial Immortal, Zhou Yu dared not be careless and naturally let his stronger true self handle it.

The Haoyang Great World was not far from the Great Xia World, so Zhou Yu did not waste a Great Teleportation Talisman. Instead, he tore through the barrier of the Great Xia World and flew toward the Haoyang Great World through the void of the Three Realms.

Once one reached the threshold of a Celestial Immortal, one possessed the ability to break through the barriers of a Great World and naturally could traverse the void of the Three Realms.

After all, Zhou Yu was proficient in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and his speed while traveling through the void was extremely fast; he arrived at the Haoyang Great World on the very day he departed.

He arrived early, naturally, to gather intelligence.

For a Celestial Immortal, it was quite easy to obtain a great deal of information if one deliberately purchased intelligence.

"Celestial Huoyun, born in a small clan, later joined the cultivation sect Sacred Fire Sect. He transcended the tribulation and became an immortal about one billion years ago. The last time he displayed his strength was thirty million years ago; at that time, he should have possessed the strength of a top-tier Celestial Immortal."

Zhou Yu gathered a great deal of intelligence and felt confident.

A Celestial Immortal who had lived for a billion years and was barely considered a top-tier Celestial Immortal thirty million years ago—unless he had some special fortuitous encounter, the possibility of further progress was slim.

The only variable was whether Celestial Huoyun possessed any terrifying treasures, such as powerful Pure Yang magic treasures or even Innate Spirit Treasures.

"Judging by Celestial Huoyun's background, he doesn't seem like the type to have such treasures." Zhou Yu did not dwell on it further.

Looking at the mysterious person's intent, this mission did not require him to act alone; if there were any accidents, he could simply run away.

At this moment, his strength had improved compared to before, not to mention that he was quite adept at escaping thanks to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

There was still plenty of time before the agreed-upon moment, so Zhou Yu was in no rush to head to the meeting point, Immortal Cloud Mountain, and instead traveled around the Haoyang Great World.

The Haoyang Great World was very similar to the Great Xia World; both had imperial dynasties that unified the world, and under the dynasties were enfeoffed dukes who dominated their respective regions.

Beyond the dukes, there were also some powerful clans and cultivation sects whose strength was no less than, or even exceeded, that of ordinary dukes.

For instance, the "Sacred Fire Sect" where Celestial Huoyun resided was a rather powerful cultivation sect.

Of course, customs varied even within different regions of the same Great World, and the differences between different Great Worlds were even greater in the finer details.

Zhou Yu enjoyed himself as he traveled and sought enlightenment.

As time passed, benefiting from the gains of his previous simulation, Zhou Yu continued to improve.

About a year after entering the Haoyang Great World, his Great Dao of Arrays finally took a step forward. He created a "Confinement Array" that surpassed his previous ones; it was likely capable of trapping a top-tier Celestial Immortal for a period of time the moment it was deployed.

If given sufficient time to set up the array slowly, it would naturally be even more terrifying.

"I truly have more talent in the Array Dao, and coupled with the transformation of my comprehension after the last simulation, the bottleneck that plagued me has finally been broken." Zhou Yu was not surprised.

He continued to create other arrays of his own: kill arrays, illusion arrays, composite arrays, and so on.

In Zhou Yu's view, the path of arrays—confinement, killing, and illusion—were merely appearances; the essence of an array was the combination and utilization of various forces through numerous means.

For example, using the terrain or certain treasures with corresponding attributes to guide the power of heaven and earth was an array, and using the combined magic power of different cultivators was likewise an array.

Zhou Yu's creation of a higher-level confinement array meant that his utilization of energy had reached a higher level, and given time, he could naturally create other different arrays.

However, while creating other arrays of the same level was not difficult, the upgrade of the "Nine Absolutes Universe Array" was much harder.

At this point, Zhou Yu's Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and Great Dao of Arrays had both broken through, and theoretically, he could indeed take the "Nine Absolutes Universe Array" to the next level, but this step was far more difficult.

In the blink of an eye, two more years passed, and Zhou Yu arrived at the agreed-upon location, Immortal Cloud Mountain, right on schedule.

Immortal Cloud Mountain was an ethereal mountain shrouded in clouds and mist. On a platform halfway up the peak, an old man and a middle-aged man were sitting on either side of a stone table, playing a game of chess.

The moment Zhou Yu arrived, he spotted the two. He was startled; the aura emanating from both of them was very peculiar, clearly that of beings who had transcended the Three Realms and Five Elements.

Without a doubt, they were both Celestial Immortals.

"Oh? Has the time come?"

The two Celestial Immortals also sensed Zhou Yu's arrival. The old man smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. We shall discuss things once everyone else has arrived."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu said nothing. He cupped his hands and sat cross-legged to the side to wait.

He looked at the chessboard in front of the two and discovered that the flow of time around the board was significantly faster than the surroundings; it seemed the two Celestial Immortals were deliberately accelerating it to finish the game quickly.

However, although the flow of time was fast, with Zhou Yu's level of attainment, he could still see the situation clearly.

Observing their level of attainment through the changes in the chess game, Zhou Yu quickly realized that the enlightenment levels of these two Celestial Immortals were not low; at the very least, they should be equivalent to a normal Loose Immortal of a million years.

Yet, as Celestial Immortals possessing the realm of a million-year Loose Immortal, their strength would be far greater than that of a million-year Loose Immortal due to the sheer power of their Celestial Immortal magic.

As time passed, others arrived one after another.

These people were, without exception, Loose Immortals, and without exception, Zhou Yu could not identify any of them.

In fact, this was normal. Who would be foolish enough to come here with their true identity? Concealing one's identity was a necessity.

Even the two Celestial Immortals before him might not have come with their true identities.

One after another, sixteen Loose Immortals eventually arrived at the location.

This secretly shocked Zhou Yu. To participate in an operation to surround and kill a Celestial Immortal, one had to be at least at the level of a million-year Loose Immortal, right? To have so many gather all at once was unexpected.

Although the number of Loose Immortals with the strength of a million-year Loose Immortal throughout the history of the Three Realms far exceeded the number of Celestial Immortals, the lifespan of a Loose Immortal was limited. The number of million-year Loose Immortals existing in the same era was certainly fewer than the number of Celestial Immortals.

To have so many gather at once, this mysterious force was truly terrifying.

Soon, the chess game between the two Celestial Immortals reached its conclusion, with the old man gaining the upper hand.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Yu, it seems the task of intercepting Old Ghost Sacred Fire falls to you," the old man said via voice transmission.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man's face twitched. He replied via voice transmission, "I am no match for Old Ghost Sacred Fire. Even with the Nine Heavens Banner in hand, I won't be able to hold out for long. You all must act as quickly as possible when the time comes."

"Rest assured," the old man nodded slightly, saying nothing more.

At this moment, the two of them stood up and looked toward the many Loose Immortals.

"Since you fellow Daoists have come here, there is no need for me to say anything redundant," the old man said, looking at the crowd.

"Once we eliminate Celestial Huoyun, we shall naturally go our separate ways. As for how to deal with him, we already have a plan. As long as everyone puts in their best effort, the success rate will be over ninety percent."