Different Understandings

"Should we look around?"

Standing outside the ruins of Kunlun for a long time, the new emperor felt a growing sense of unease.

It's been too long; given Zhang Xuezhou's incredible speed, the pursuit couldn't last much longer.

"Willow Goddess? Come out here! If you stay silent again, I'll dig you out by the roots!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan's thoughts were no different from the new emperor's. Divine Lord Zhenyuan had truly experienced Zhang Xuezhou's flying skills and knew that the other party had a top-notch advantage in pursuit.

If there is no response for an extended period, it means that Zhang Xuezhou is highly likely to have encountered danger.

After shouting repeatedly, he waved the sleeve of his changed Law Treasure downwards.

Large chunks of soil and stones were swept away and reappeared several feet away.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan never liked to drag things out; he did what he said he would do. After waving his sleeves, he swept away a thick layer of loose soil and rocks from the nearby ground, revealing a bunch of twisted roots.

"Um?"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan grabbed a root and pulled at it. Only the power of a dying struggle and twisting surged into his heart, which made his heart sink.

"Liu Shen, what's wrong?"

The Willow Goddess is the most skilled deity in Heavenly Court for protecting all living beings. Not only can she dig and control channels, but she is also most adept at using her willow wood body to resist harm for people and even take their place in death.

At that moment, Divine Lord Zhenyuan felt that the Heavenly Court was most adept at protecting even the most reckless gods, had failed to protect him.

He believed that the Willow God's true form was likely dead.

"What's going on?" the new emperor asked.

"Liu Shen looks like she's dead!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan pointed to the twisted and curled roots underground. Those roots, like the broken tail of a gecko, had fallen into a state of chaos, constantly twisting and writhing underground, much like a creature on the verge of death.

Besides cultivating trees, another task that Divine Lord Zhenyuan was responsible for was collecting corpses.

He could discern the signs of death among the gods, and based on his experience, the Willow God was practically dead, though he was suffering greatly before his death and struggling in his last gasps.

"Did Dongfang Shuo fight with the Western Sect in the passage and then kill this Willow Goddess?" the new emperor asked.

"The Western Sect? No, that's the Emperor!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan watched as the new emperor, who hadn't even figured out who was in the situation, went on a rampage, and thought that the young people of this era were really quite crude.

"The Emperor? The one who concocted the elixir of Immortality Elixir?" the new emperor asked doubtfully.

"Right!"

"So that's how it is! No wonder Dongfang Shuo killed him the moment he saw him!"

The new emperor felt that Zhang Xuezhou's act of stealing the Immortality Elixir was too blatant. If Zhang Xuezhou had been in charge, the new emperor felt that he would have sought communication and tried to obtain the Immortality Elixir through a transaction.

The new emperor and Divine Lord Zhenyuan exchanged a few nonsensical words, then continued digging underground, searching for the underground passage constructed by Liu Shen.

They had only dug a hundred meters when they heard a whooshing sound coming down from high above.

As the gaze quickly returned, Yuanshi Tianzun, riding a deer, descended from the sky.

"Why are they here too?"

Slightly surprised, Divine Lord Zhenyuan jumped out of the pit and went to meet him.

"Yuanshi Daoist Yuanshi, Fellow Daoist Antarctic!"

"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuan!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan greeted him, and Yuanshi Tianzun, who was descending downwards, was somewhat surprised, never expecting that it was Divine Lord Zhenyuan had dug the pit here.

"Life is full of unexpected encounters. It's truly an honor to have Fellow Zhenyuan here as well. This must be Immortal Che, who was with Immortal Shuo?"

Antarctica, hoping to benefit from the Longevity Fruit Tree, flattered the emperor and waved to him with a beaming smile, prompting the emperor to respond awkwardly.

"We were just passing through when we happened to encounter some scoundrels causing trouble, so we stopped to search for them. Who are you?"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan first explained his situation, then looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression.

"It's truly unfortunate. The Emperor emerged victorious in the Centennial Gathering, plotting to merge Kunlun and Lingxiao to form a powerful force. However, the two Western Elders tampered with the merger of the two secret realms, causing heavy losses to Kunlun and Lingxiao," said Yuanshi Tianzun. "They insisted on their innocence and refused to be investigated, so we sent people to Mount Ling and Mount Milu to investigate clues. But we never expected to fall into their trap. After luring a large number of immortals into the secret realm, they directly trapped them and then destroyed the Western Heavenly Gate!"

"The Western Sect is truly inhuman! They want to destroy our Immortal Court and the lineage of Kunlun!" Antarctica said angrily. "They destroyed the Western Heavenly Gate Shuttle Array, and the journey to Xiniu Hezhou to seek justice is too long. We can only build another Heavenly Gate!"

"And then?" Divine Lord Zhenyuan thought with a sense of foreboding.

"Then we negotiated with the Emperor, who agreed to do his utmost to open the Western Heavenly Gate in Kunlun," said Yuanshi Tianzun. "It's only a few thousand miles from here to the Western Sect. We'll have a place to rest, and we won't have to travel to Mount Ling in our exhaustion to demand justice!"

"The Emperor doesn't seem to be good at opening the Heavenly Gate," Divine Lord Zhenyuan wondered.

"He is very skilled, and he even repaired our old artifacts. As long as the location is inserted into Western Kunlun, the new Heavenly Gate Shuttle Array can be formed," said Yuanshi Tianzun.

"We've come down here to deliver the shuttle array device!"

Antarctica patted the demon deer behind him, which was adept at riding the wind, and only then did Divine Lord Zhenyuan notice that the demon deer had more than ten storage bags hanging on its body.

"The Emperor said he constructed the shuttle tower on the original site of Kunlun, but where is he?"

Yuanshi Tianzun asked the crowd a question, then stepped into the air and repeatedly shouted, "Haotian Emperor!"

"I have a feeling something's not right!"

The new emperor glanced at Divine Lord Zhenyuan, then at the familiar Yuanshi Tianzun, and sensed that something was amiss.

The people involved have different backgrounds and different perceptions of the situation.

Despite being the same person, Zhang Xuezhou treated him like an enemy and killed him, while the new emperor believed that he had killed someone to steal the Immortality Elixir. Divine Lord Zhenyuan hesitated before making a decision, and Yuanshi Tianzun and others were on good terms with the emperor. The two sides were negotiating to change the shuttle array between the Immortal Court and the secret land in the lower realm.

Something's really wrong!

Divine Lord Zhenyuan frowned and nodded in response. He then heard Nanji muttering to himself, "Is the Emperor up to something again?" This made him quickly conclude that the relationship between the Immortal Court and the Emperor wasn't that good.

"Find the person first!"

The new emperor communicated in a low voice, Divine Lord Zhenyuan nodded repeatedly.

"Heavenly Venerable, Shuo Xian and the Emperor have been underground for a quarter of an hour," the new Emperor said. "The Emperor left a little blood before he left. I wonder if the Heavenly Venerable has any means to find them through this blood!"

"Shuo Xian and the Emperor are together?" Yuanshi Tianzun asked doubtfully. "The Emperor left behind blood. Where is his blood?"

"Here!"

The new emperor pointed to a dark red patch in the grayish-brown soil layer not far away.

It's fortunate that Divine Lord Zhenyuan was careful when shoveling soil and didn't bury the blood, making it easier to find now.

"This blood... Was the Emperor injured by you?"

The Yuanshi Celestial Venerable reached out and touched the blood-stained soil. After examining it several times, he glanced at the new emperor and realized that it was the new emperor who had stabbed the Emperor with a sword.

"Yuanshi Daoist Yuanshi, there's no need to rush. Immortal Shuo is currently with the Emperor. Once we find the Emperor, things will become clear!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan offered a word of advice, Yuanshi Tianzun frowned and stopped pondering what had happened here.

He muttered incantations, his Law Power binding the bloodstains in the soil.

As the most powerful Technique Method in the Three Realms, Yuanshi Tianzun was well-versed in almost all the techniques of the Immortal Court. For him, casting Incantation Technique that used blood to find his true form was easy.

In just a few seconds, the remaining health points guided the way.

Law Power coiled in his palm and pointed towards the western mountains.