Oriole Song and Swallow Dance Outside the Pagoda, Sudden Upheaval Within! Come, Challenge the Pagoda!

When Venus Star saw the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's grave expression, he knew serious matters were about to be discussed. He immediately rose, cupped his hands, and declared, "Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment."

"Please, Elder Star Official."

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and Venus Star walked to the side of the hall. With a sweep of Li Jing's sleeve, a heaven-and-earth sealing barrier suddenly spread out, tightly concealing the secrets of this place so that not a whisper could leak out.

"For the Heavenly King to be so cautious, what matter could this be?" Venus Star stroked his long beard, a calm smile resting on his face.

Li Jing let out another long sigh and bowed with cupped hands. "To be honest with you, Elder Star Official, I truly cannot release this man."

"Oh?" Venus Star's gaze narrowed slightly. "I would like to hear the details."

"Elder Star Official should know that my Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda has, over countless years, suppressed innumerable fiends across the Three Realms.

"But what you do not know is that more than a century ago, perhaps because the imprisoned fiends' evil aura was too overwhelming, the fortune of my Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda gradually began to run dry, and its divine power weakened by the day.

"Anxious beyond measure, I ordered the Military Department to search the Three Realms for an object capable of stabilizing fortune."

"Heaven had eyes—an actual [Destiny-Fixing Soul-Calming Lotus] had grown in the mortal world!

"This was precisely the core spiritual material used to forge the Exquisite Pagoda back then.

"Overjoyed, I spared no expense in violating heavenly law and dispatched the Four Heavenly Kings to descend and seize it by force."

"In truth, I had no intention whatsoever of detaining that mortal boy.

"Who would have thought that, while we were taking