Preparations

After rescuing Heavenly Venerable Lingbao from Chaos that day and speaking with him in the Chaos Dragon Nest,

He Mu returned to his own sanctuary, likewise situated within Chaos-the Undying Mountain.

For the next thousand years, He Mu sat beneath the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree in the Undying Mountain, meditating, cultivating, and quietly reciting the Yellow Court, paying no heed to worldly affairs.

After all, with his Divine Self Body presiding over Faith Divine Heaven, monitoring the Forbidden Zones and comforting the myriad races, he could safely entrust all the universe's affairs to him.

As for He Mu's true body, he needed only to remain an idle recluse beyond the world, cultivate in seclusion, deepen his mastery of the Dao, and await Heavenly Venerable Lingbao's recovery.

Speaking of Heavenly Venerable Lingbao, although he had spent those thousand years in seclusion repairing his Dao Fruit, his activities had been anything but discreet.

On the contrary, over those years, the myriad Daos often thundered within Chaos, heavenly tribulations rolled in wave after wave, and visions of Chaos returning to Guixu unfolded.

That was Heavenly Venerable Lingbao comprehending the Great Dao, using lightning tribulations to temper his Dao body anew, and replenishing his essence with the primal qi of Chaos to repair his Dao Fruit.

Such methods were undoubtedly astonishing-and, of course, spectacular enough to draw every eye.

Fortunately, Heavenly Venerable Lingbao had moved the entire Chaos Dragon Nest into the deepest reaches of Chaos long ago and concealed it with Heavenly Venerable Array Patterns.

This time, with endless chaotic qi and Heavenly Venerable Array Patterns providing cover, and with He Mu and Heavenly Venerable Lingbao, two peerless powerhouses of different eras, personally obscuring heaven's secrets, those world-shaking phenomena had not reached the outside world or attracted anyone's attention and scrutiny.

For now, neither He Mu nor Heavenly Venerable Lingbao himself intended to reveal the fact of Lingbao's return.

After all, He Mu and Heavenly Venerable Lingbao faced two threats: Black Qi, their formidable enemy, lurked deep in the shadows, forever waiting for an opportunity to act; and the many Forbidden Zones watched like hungry tigers, ready at any moment to emerge and wreak havoc upon all living beings.

Even with He Mu and Heavenly Venerable Lingbao's overwhelming strength, and Pan in Faith Divine Heaven bringing their total to three fighters at or above the Supreme level, they still had to exercise caution.

After all, if Black Qi joined forces with the Forbidden Zone Supremes and unleashed dark turmoil without restraint, they might face a double-digit number of Supreme-level opponents. Against such a human-wave assault, they could never defend against everything.

One figure like He Mu or Lingbao alone was manageable, but if the two stood together, even the Life Forbidden Zones would buckle under the pressure and inevitably choose to leap the wall like cornered dogs.

Conversely, if Heavenly Venerable Lingbao could remain hidden and unknown, the two could calmly lay their bait and lure Black Qi into biting of its own accord.

Then, once Black Qi fell into their net, they could strike simultaneously, one in the open and one in the shadows, catching Black Qi and its accomplices in a single sweep.

When those two supreme powerhouses struck together, no matter how cunning Black Qi was, the chances of its execution would rise dramatically.

Moreover, Heavenly Venerable Lingbao had now almost fully recovered, once again displaying a Heavenly Venerable's divine might, no longer the wretched figure he had been a thousand years earlier.

His failed attempt to shed his mortal body had left his flesh incomplete and his cultivation deficient, so he still could not compare to himself at his peak.

Nevertheless, his realm remained intact, and he possessed ample experience and insight. He was unquestionably still a peerless fighting force unmatched in this world.

Indeed, Heavenly Venerable Lingbao wielded the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords and was especially adept at slaughter. With the long accumulation of three lifetimes, he was a supreme figure who had truly reached the Heavenly Emperor level and could set foot upon the Immortal Road.

Thus, the depth of his cultivation and the strength of his combat prowess now seemed to surpass even He Mu's by a slight margin.

With Heavenly Venerable Lingbao's complete return, their plan could begin at any time.

Before that, however, to ensure their plan was utterly foolproof, He Mu still had to deal with an unstable presence that might affect it.

That was Longevity Heavenly Venerable-the only freely active being in the world who knew Heavenly Venerable Lingbao still lived and might be found by He Mu.

Before the great battle, such an uncertain factor had to make his choice. Otherwise, He Mu would not mind lending a helping hand or two to set this fellow Daoist upon the right path sooner.

Or, if Longevity truly failed to understand heaven's will, He Mu could only grieve and regretfully grant this former fellow Daoist an early release, sparing him the suffering of the mortal world.

To that end, He Mu finally rose after cultivating beneath the Enlightenment Tree for a thousand years. Immortal light surged around him, and his divine eyes seemed to pierce through Chaos, their gaze landing directly upon Ziwei.

The next moment, He Mu stepped forward and headed into the universe.

The Golden Light Avenue extended in majestic splendor, accompanied by endless auspicious signs, reaching straight to the Northern Sea on Ziwei Ancient Star.

Yet when He Mu arrived, intending to pay Longevity Heavenly Venerable a "visit," he discovered that something was amiss.

In the past, although monstrous waves towered over the Northern Sea and the power of Guixu ran rampant, the vitality of the Great Dao had always lain hidden beneath that destruction, like the twin forces of yin and yang-opposed to one another, yet mutually dependent.

This was partly because the place had once been where the Immortal Corpse was sealed while still alive. Nurtured and transformed by the aura of the Immortal Dao, it had possessed something extraordinary and unique from its very inception.

More importantly, however, Longevity Heavenly Venerable's true body had always resided here.

A Heavenly Venerable's dwelling was naturally a treasured land favored by heaven and earth, where the myriad Daos descended. Since Longevity Heavenly Venerable was renowned for the Dao of vitality and creation, such a sight was entirely normal.

Today, however, the Northern Sea was clearly very different from before.

Almost nothing remained here but the destructive power of Guixu. Scarcely a trace of the Great Dao's former spiritual vitality survived, and the life-giving power of creation, once sufficient to contend with Guixu's Dao power, had become like water without a source-exceptionally thin and on the verge of vanishing altogether.

As though guessing something, He Mu turned his head, his divine eyes gazing straight into the North Sea Eye toward the immortal cavern where Longevity Heavenly Venerable had once dwelled.

Sure enough, beneath the scrutiny of his divine eyes, He Mu discovered that the immortal source from before had disappeared. Longevity Heavenly Venerable, who had sealed himself within it, had naturally vanished without a trace as well.

At the sight, He Mu's brows furrowed slightly, as though he were pondering something.

The next moment, He Mu stepped forward again, heading toward Faith Divine Heaven.

The first update ends here. The second may be a little late; please bear with me.