Misfortune

Zhang Xuezhou had visited Zixiao Palace once before, when he entered it using the Mohists's mechanical city.

This time, they entered it together with the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi.

The situation of taking the side path is completely different from taking the main path. He saw the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi holding the jade ruyi and walking, and whirlpools appeared in the waves, which then swept people into them.

Once they were ejected by the whirlpool waves, they were already outside the Zixiao Palace, and there was no need to even climb the steps.

The three characters of Zixiao Palace, with their vigorous yet somewhat ancient style, came into view.

"This was written by my master himself. This palace was also his place of practice, a place for exorcising demons and protecting the righteous path. Many great demon gods perished here," said Celestial Venerable Yuanshi as he stepped forward.

"Sharp!"

"Zhu Jiuyin was once a demon god, but because of his cleverness and usefulness, he was subdued and taken in by Master," said Celestial Venerable Yuanshi. "Its death is not a pity, but Zhu Jiuyin accompanied Master for many years, so this matter still needs to be reported to the higher authorities!"

"That's right!"

"My communication with Master is sometimes there and sometimes not. If Master asks about Zhu Jiuyin in detail, you will need to provide a more detailed response to avoid Master punishing us!"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi glanced at Zhang Xuezhou.

Zixiao Palace is not a place that just anyone can come to. One reason is that Zhang Xuezhou was willing to enter Yuxu Palace. Another reason is that Zhang Xuezhou took the jade ruyi from Zixiao Palace. The third reason is that Zhang Xuezhou was involved with Zhu Jiuyin.

In addition, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi also wanted Hongjun to verify Zhang Xuezhou's composition.

If Zhang Xuezhou is possibly a demon, this place would be his final resting place. The Zixiao Palace's grand formation could definitely trap someone like Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou is skilled in flying.

If Hongjun the Celestial Lord) takes a liking to Zhang Xuezhou, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi) wouldn't mind having another person in the Immortal Court.

Despite having many thoughts in his mind, he walked ahead calmly to lead the way.

The Zixiao Palace has been under construction for a thousand years, and its former splendor is now commonplace.

The beams of several red beechwood rooms remain sturdy, but everything in Zixiao Palace has changed.

"This is where I learned my skills back then, and the Essence Blood of the demon gods I slew still remains in the room," Celestial Venerable Yuanshi sighed. "That was where Laojun lived, that was where Lingbao cultivated, and that was the servant's quarters where Zhu Jiuyin used to live. This is where my master cultivated!"

If not for the illusions caused by the grand formation, everything in Zixiao Palace would be quite ordinary.

Before they had gone more than a hundred steps into the main hall, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, holding a jade ruyi, pushed open the door.

Come in!

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi gave a greeting, and Zhang Xuezhou forced a dry laugh, but he vaguely sensed something was amiss.

This sense of unease did not stem from the attitude of the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi towards him, but rather from Zhang Xuezhou's prior feeling that his sacrificial fortune was likely exhausted. This resulted in him seemingly gaining something in the Divine Lord Zhenyuan's Daoist temple, but not acquiring the most, and only receiving some face thanks to the ancient tree.

As for the prize promised by Celestial Venerable Yuanshi for winning the fight, it was nothing but a pipe dream, and nothing was ever fulfilled.

At this moment, he sought an audience with Hongjun. Zhang Xuezhou felt that he was not only disappointed but also somewhat afraid of inviting trouble, since he was truly being used as a pawn by Hongjun in his schemes.

"I'll offer three sticks of incense to my master; you should also come and pay your respects!"

The Celestial Venerable Yuanshi reached into his sleeve and took out three sticks of incense that were half-burned.

He flicked his finger, and the sparks drawn by his Law Power touched the incense, causing the extinguished incense to slowly begin to burn again.

The Celestial Venerable Yuanshi respectfully placed three incense sticks on the floor of the main hall and began to recite ancient words. His voice seemed to resound through the heavens, yet it was difficult to hear clearly if one tried to listen closely.

Zhang Xuezhou bowed in reverence, then looked at the mirage pearl above the main hall that had not emitted any enigmatic light.

"If this precious pearl lights up without activating the grand formation, it means that Master has received my invitation and may therefore respond!"

After reciting the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi turned his gaze to the mirage pearl.

Hongjun's response wasn't so quick. He then sat in meditation and waited, whether in the main hall or back in his former residence. If he found it boring, he could wander around the secret place of Zixiao Palace.

Of course, the Zixiao Palace secret area is of limited size and there's really nothing interesting to see, and it's something that Celestial Venerable Yuanshi is extremely familiar with.

He casually gave Zhang Xuezhou a few instructions, indicating that the other party could move around freely, except to stay away from Laojun and Lingbao's rooms, and could look around the other areas without any problem.

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi went to his residence to meditate, while Zhang Xuezhou glanced around the main hall. The mess from their previous battle with 'Yao' had disappeared, and the mechanical puppets were also gone.

If there was anything worth searching, Zhang Xuezhou could only think of Shen Daoren.

However, with Celestial Venerable Yuanshi at the moment, Zhang Xuezhou felt that capturing Shen Daoren was meaningless, as the latter would inevitably be difficult to appear.

Just as he was about to wander around to kill time, he noticed that the mirage above the main hall began to flicker, faintly carrying a faint glow.

"Heavenly Venerable One, that precious pearl has begun to glow!"

Zhang Xuezhou shouted, and the body of Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, which had been sitting down, suddenly stood up. When he strode to the entrance of the main hall, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi swayed back and forth, but no matter how he swayed, he could not enter the main hall.

"It's over!" Celestial Venerable Yuanshi said, holding the jade ruyi. "Master, please let me in! I'm still outside!"

"Can't you get in?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

Previously, when the Zixiao Palace's grand formation was activated, thanks to the removal of the jade ruyi from Celestial Venerable Yuanshi's body, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was isolated outside the main hall and could not enter.

Zhang Xuezhou never expected that even with the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi Tianzun was unable to enter the main hall.

It was almost as if the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi had just left when the precious pearl lit up.

Compared to Zhang Xuezhou himself, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Celestial Venerable Yuanshi seemed to be in a worse state.

He thought back carefully and realized that since he had made contact with Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, he had been almost constantly plagued by misfortune. He had not only lost to him twice, but also lost to Divine Lord Zhenyuan once. He had not been able to condense the eleventh Fate Technique halo after consuming the Longevity Fruit, so he had actually gained nothing.

At this moment, it seemed that Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was once again plagued by misfortune.

"..."

When Celestial Venerable Yuanshi opened his mouth and waved his arms from time to time, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if even their voices were cut off.

He spoke repeatedly and gestured constantly, but Celestial Venerable Yuanshi did not respond.

Although it was only separated by a door, this door seemed to isolate Celestial Venerable Yuanshi in another world.

"I didn't bring the jade ruyi, so how can I counteract the hallucinatory effects emitted when this mirage pearl is activated?"

Zhang Xuezhou reached out and tried to grab the jade ruyi several times, but the jade ruyi was so hard to grasp that he could only sigh in despair.

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was in a bad situation, and Zhang Xuezhou's fortunes were not much different from the backlash after they were in their prime. Although he seemed to be inside the sect, Zhang Xuezhou was not doing well either, and he was even unable to leave the sect.

He had no choice but to sit down and chat with Hongjun for a few minutes if possible, otherwise he would wait to return to the real world.