Chapter 330: Tiangong Banquet

He subtly withdrew his gaze and poured himself a cup of jade nectar.

The nectar flowed like liquid light, settling into the inlaid jade cup, where colorful radiance swirled and drifted, accompanied by a crisp, fragrant aroma.

Even within these Nine Heavens' Palaces, only a handful of deities are granted the privilege to partake; though inferior in rank to the spirit liquors crafted by the Supreme Dao Sect, its flavor remains exceptional.

That young upstart who obtained the Dao Yan Da Qian Lu is destined to be uncovered.

Of the several immortal-path catalysts now reborn, half have deep ties to him, and many, like Cangyun Yaojun, hold grudges against him.

After all, it is a marvel born of the Dao of Yan Da Qian in this realm—how could one hope to hold it without paying a price?

Jiang Lin the old Daoist, however, is safe: since all four of his cultivation methods were passed down by me, no one knows his origins, and with enslaved deities shielding him, hiding is easy.

Perhaps…

"The Tiangong banquet is about to begin. Let's go." Xu Xing suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Hong Zun's fleeting thoughts immediately dissolved.

Enough. Let the young upstart see how far he can go.

"Alright."

Without any visible motion, their forms faded and vanished from beside the lotus pond's jade table; the various spirit fruits, divine delicacies, jade nectar, and dew vanished with them.

The jade pavilions hung high above auspicious clouds; lotus leaves in the pond stirred gently as mist churned.

As if nothing had ever happened.

…

…

Since the last epoch's transition into this era of divine dominance, the former immortal sects' blessed lands became today's Nine Heavens' Palaces.

Deities govern heaven and earth, preside over all things, and hold dominion over every authority.

Yet heaven and earth operate in order; those exalted deities and Zixuan Zhenjun, with their long lifespans, have witnessed countless worldly changes—and eventually grow bored.

Thus, the Tiangong often holds gatherings.

This one, however, is a Dharma assembly personally convened by the Heavenly Sovereign, inviting deities from all ten directions—its scale is extraordinary.

Within the Huangji Lingxiao Hall, the starry cosmos forms the ceiling, auspicious clouds encircle it, and pillars stand in orderly rows.

Starlight flows like liquid, fine threads descending into the auspicious clouds, casting shimmering rays of radiant aura; the pillars are entwined with golden-scaled, sun-glowing true dragons, their crimson beards like flames, swallowing qi and exhaling clouds, reflecting heavenly light.

At the very top of the hall stands a dais woven from cosmic principles and piled with countless minor worlds.

Upon it sits a towering figure, immeasurable in height, whose divine aura floods boundlessly.

His face is indistinct; his eyes manifest the cyclical turning of the four seasons and the shifting of solar terms—his gaze reflects yin-yang and the Four Symbols, the entire cosmos and all directions—

The Heavenly Sovereign!

His gaze hangs low, as if lost in thought.

Each deity arriving from afar bows to the seat above, yet the Heavenly Sovereign offers no reply.

Without a sound, two humble dais suddenly materialize, utterly incongruous with the grand, sacred hall.

Yet neither the great deities and Zixuan Zhenjun arriving from afar, nor the celestial officers and heavenly generals guarding the hall's entrance, nor even the Heavenly Sovereign seated motionless upon his dais noticed them.

"This display is quite impressive."

A voice rang out, plain and spreading—upon one humble dais appeared a Daoist clad in black-and-white robes.

"Not inferior to the peak of the Cang Clan's glory."

"Deities require grandeur to adorn themselves—it's no surprise." Xu Xing appeared upon the other dais.

His gaze fell upon the deities below, drinking and conversing, the hall's myriad scenes—his heart could not help but sigh.

Nine Heavens' Palace… the Heavenly Sovereign's grand assembly…

Though somewhat off, if only a monkey were to cause chaos in heaven, everything would fit perfectly.

Scenes once confined to myth are now witnessed with true, unvarnished clarity.

He scanned the deities within the hall.

All deities present hold high ranks; most no longer rely on incense offerings to sustain themselves, and the deities enslaved by Jiang Lin the old Daoist lack even the qualifications to approach.

Yet though all are of exalted rank, only a few are pure of body and spirit, overflowing with virtue and untainted by evil karma; most are a mixture of merit and sin.

Of course, deities officially labeled as "evil and deluded" are exceedingly rare—only one or two.

"The great age of Immortal Dao is about to rise. Brother, how many of these deities do you think will survive?" Hong Zun suddenly asked.

He asked this without resorting to any divination arts.

Xu Xing withdrew his gaze: "One or two in ten."

After all, this is an epochal transition—the mortal realm is already in chaos; look at the state of these deities now…

That's already an optimistic estimate.

"What do you think?"

"My view? About the same as yours, Brother."

As the two conversed, a cool beam of lunar light entered the hall, falling upon a dais near the front, to the right of the Heavenly Sovereign.

The chatter of all deities in the hall ceased instantly—even the Heavenly Sovereign, who had remained motionless until now, turned his gaze toward it.

As the lunar light condensed, a woman emerged, clad in gossamer woven of moonlight, as if born of heaven and earth's essence—her spirit was like autumn waters, her bones like jade; her brows and eyes carried a faint sorrow, pitiful to behold.

Taiyin Xingjun.

She paid no heed to the deities' gazes, only bowed respectfully toward the towering figure above.

"Xingjun, no need for formalities," came a warm, clear voice. "Take your seat."

"Thank you, Heavenly Sovereign," Taiyin Xingjun replied softly.

She sat down with perfect posture, yet the faint sorrow in her eyes remained, causing many deities to steal glances toward her position.

"Taiyin manifesting in form—no less than a union with the Dao," Xu Xing commented.

As the deity who governs this world's Taiyin Star, she is naturally a He Dao-level being.

"Mm." Hong Zun nodded slightly.

Taiyin Star Jun is arguably the most beautiful deity in this realm, after all, beauty is within her domain—but she faces a Dao-brother, and for him, this is never the first consideration.

"She must have realized the coming transition of the great age."

Unlike ordinary deities, every place touched by moonlight falls under her domain, so she sensed this long ago.

Too bad…

"Even if she realized it, it's useless."

Though her authority is strong, the restrictions upon her are severe.

She's not Tong Xuan.

A He Dao being whose majority of power comes from authority can barely preserve herself in the coming transition—let alone change anything, which is nearly impossible.

Not long after, all the deities arrived.

Besides Taiyin Star Jun drawing the attention of all deities, the Jin Wu, who had manifested to illuminate the four directions, also drew their gazes.

Never mind how his flamboyant entrance terrified the Golden-Scaled Sun Dragon coiled around the pillars.

More importantly, Jin Wu's rank is nearly as high as Taiyin Star Jun's.

And as soon as he arrived, his gaze burned fixedly upon Taiyin Star Jun across from him, his intense emotions utterly unhidden, causing her to furrow her brows repeatedly.

In truth, all the deities felt a flicker of displeasure at this sight, yet none dared speak up to stop it.

After all, he is Jin Wu, the embodiment of Yang, patrolling the heavens—even without his authority, he is a true He Dao-level being.

Which deity would dare offend him?

The Tianzun paid no mind to these petty matters; seeing all deities assembled, he signaled his celestial official forward to announce the beginning of the Dharma Assembly.

First came the recitation of a lengthy prayer, whose content held nothing particularly extraordinary.

It merely listed the Tianzun's great merits, expressed gratitude for the deities' labors, and declared this Dharma Assembly an act of benevolence…

Throughout this, Jin Wu continued to stare straight across, unlike the other deities who bowed their heads in reverent listening.

Yet the Tianzun said nothing, merely glanced at him once and then ignored him.

After all, he was a material preordained by a Dao-friend—he couldn't kill him now.

Let it wait until the end of this age.

Only when the lengthy prayer ended.

One by one, goddesses of peerless beauty entered the hall, draped in rosy veils, holding celestial silk cloths. Each had once been a gifted woman of mortal renown, posthumously deified and granted a divine office.

As they danced gracefully, the solemn atmosphere dissolved entirely; the deities feasted, laughed, and exchanged tales of the wonders they'd witnessed over the years.

Yet they still occasionally glanced toward Jin Wu and Taiyin Star Jun.

As for some beast occupying a stretch of Cangyun Mountains?

Such trivial matters had no right to even be mentioned at this Dharma Assembly.

Hong Zun watched for a while, then raised his hand and summoned a seven-colored glass platter, piled high with pills refined from the purest celestial essences.

Crystal-clear, fragrant with a crisp, clean aroma.

"Dao-brother."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Xiao Mei and Master Jianzun and the others will notice this place?"

"Perhaps. Why?"

!. read

"Nothing."

Xu Xing glanced at him: "You're the one who brought me here."

"..."

…………

At this moment, in the mortal realm.

A place of clear mountains and pure waters.

There, a waterfall cascaded downward, roaring as it refracted countless rainbow hues.

Beside the waterfall stood a small cottage, built of earth and wood, yet bearing not a single trace of chisel or axe—as if it had grown naturally from the ground.

Before the cottage, a figure sat suspended in midair, eyes veiled in white gauze, appearing significantly smaller than an ordinary person.

It was Xiang Yuanjun.

The turbulent mist reached her side, as if blocked by some invisible force, not a single drop touching her.

No celestial veils surged, no Dao essence flowed—only a long, steady exhalation.

After some time, Xiang Yuanjun's entire form seemed to grow slightly larger, then descended from the air.

"Huh~"

She exhaled softly, carefully sensing her condition.

"It will take a little more time, but it's nearly ready…"

The Xuan Realm's repulsion is truly extraordinary—though it carries no lethal intent, its effect on me still requires considerable time to recover from.

I wonder if Master Jianzun has gained any insight yet.

Thinking this, Xiang Yuanjun turned and walked toward the cottage.

Only after taking a few steps forward did it feel as if she entered another space—the roar of the waterfall vanished, sealed outside.

Though the scenery here is beautiful, the waterfall's noise is indeed loud; naturally, a sound-blocking technique must be set.

"I wonder where Brother and Elder Brother have been these days..."

She had already pushed open the door before her, lost in thought.

Though the small room appeared modest from outside, its interior held another world—spacious and immaculate.

It had been constructed using spatial folding techniques.

Entering inside, after passing two corridors, flickering lights began to appear.

There, before a screen, sat a girl no taller than a meter, exquisitely delicate, gripping a game controller and staring intently at the display—Yue Ling.

A soundproof array had been set up beside her.

The game console was one she had bought and stored away; the soundproof array was to prevent the game's noise from reaching Bie Xuening.

As if sensing something, she glanced to her side.

Seeing who had arrived, she froze mid-movement, immediately dropped the controller, and stood up.

"My lord!"

Since it was a single-player game, she wasn't worried about winning or losing.

Yue Ling's beautiful red eyes gazed pleadingly at Yuanjun, then dropped to look downward.

"It's fine, keep playing," Yuanjun said.

"Oh."

Yue Ling nodded obediently, but didn't sit back down until Yuanjun had walked far away.

Yet when she picked up the controller and looked at the screen before her, she didn't turn it on.

A look of conflict and distress appeared on her small face.

Why did it seem… as if… that My Lord had recovered more than I had…?

……

……

Yuanjun did not know what Yue Ling was thinking at that moment.

She had arrived in a quiet chamber.

Bie Xuening, who had been sitting with closed eyes, sensed someone approaching and slowly opened her eyes to look at her.

"..." After a moment of silence, "It seems your recovery is going well."

"Fine," Yuanjun stepped forward and sat across from her. "In this time, have you gained anything?"

"My cultivation has made progress, but in other aspects..." Bie Xuening shook her head slightly.

Progress?

Yuanjun's heart stirred slightly: "Have you reached the level of Dao Brother?"

"Not yet—I'm still a bit short."

When she was expelled from the Xuan Realm, she had been in seclusion.

That's why, after arriving in this world, she stayed here with Yuanjun—not merely to guard, but also to sort through the insights gained during her seclusion.

She also hoped to find another way to counteract the Xuan Realm's rejection force.

Sorting through her seclusion insights had indeed yielded results, but the other matter... ended disappointingly.

The connection granted by the Xuan Realm was being eroded every moment by Xu Xing, growing weaker, yet she had found not the slightest clue to counteract the Xuan Realm's rejection force.

"If you can't, don't force it," Yuanjun said.

"... I know that well."

At that moment,

"Master, My Lord."

Turning toward the voice, they saw a small figure standing at the entrance of the quiet chamber.

It was Yue Ling, carrying a tray of sliced fruit.

She hurried to their sides, set down the fruit tray, then studied Yuanjun closely once more.

Clearly, she was not giving up.

After she had sat back down, she had grown more and more uneasy, unable to sit still—hence this visit.

Yuanjun understood instantly what she was thinking, and smiled gently: "Stop staring—I've truly recovered more than you have."

Yue Ling was stunned—she hadn't expected her thoughts to be so easily read by My Lord.

Bie Xuening: "..."

"Get out!"

"Huh? Master, I—"

"If you don't leave, I'm confiscating your game console."

Yue Ling froze, glanced at Yuanjun a few more times, then trudged out, head hung low.

"Your sword spirit is still as amusing as ever," Yuanjun chuckled.

Bie Xuening said nothing.

Perhaps, the time for reflection still isn't enough... (End of Chapter)