Chapter 577

After following the example of Hou Tu, the Earth Sovereign?

Zhang Jian's eyes narrowed slightly—actually, he had already anticipated this answer.

This person is one of the Six Emperors, ancient in origin, likewise a primordial divine being, with profound cultivation.

If possible, he actually would rather not deal with this person at all.

Who made his original path fundamentally aim to unify the two earth deities' paths from mythology? Now encountering the original master, he feels somewhat awkward.

However, the words of the Nine Phoenix are quite explicit; they are likely not false.

But Zhang Jian will not fully trust the Nine Phoenix.

This great deity is not benevolent; he would not be so kind-hearted.

She paused slightly, then spoke again.

"Moreover, the hidden treasury of the Xuanming Divine Position does not merely contain a power beyond your imagination, but also a vast and magnificent aura—its subtlety, as a divine being, you should deeply feel; obtaining it would be like adding wings to a tiger—even a Dao Lord or Dao Venerable could not bear to part with it!"

Zhang Jian, however, paid no heed; ninefold chaotic azure lotus immortal light blossomed around him, chaotic qi surged in layers, and his form vanished instantly into the independent space of the ninth layer of the Eternal Ice Prison.

Beneath the Xuanming Divine Tree, the Nine Phoenix's ink-black eyes gazed calmly at this scene, her depths tranquil.

……

Eternal Ice Fortress—after Zhang Jian returned to the Heavenly Sovereign's residence, he immediately performed a ritual to contact the Yu Wang Ancestral Master of the Tongshan Dao Lineage.

Only to see vast immortal light form an image in the void.

The Yu Wang's form emerged from the incense smoke.

"Ancestral Master!"

Upon seeing the Yu Wang, Zhang Jian bowed slightly, then immediately mentioned his encounter in the ninth layer of the Eternal Ice Prison.

Zhang Jian did not conceal anything.

He believed the Yu Wang would not covet the Xuanming Divine Position.

Moreover, the Yu Wang is more familiar with the Ji clan kings, so he naturally understands the Nine Phoenix better.

"As I said, rumors have been flying throughout the Heavenly Court lately—turns out they came from your hands!"

At this moment, the Yu Wang revealed a faint smile.

Zhang Jian bowed slightly with clasped hands.

"Within the Heavenly Court, there are others who have long coveted the Xuanming Divine Position; I, forced by circumstance, could only resort to this measure!"

The Yu Wang held Zhang Jian in high regard.

"You have done well—indeed, you have spared yourself a great calamity!"

"The Xuanming Divine Position is a primordial divine station; the name 'Xuanming' itself contains immense divine power and transformation—many deities of rain and snow alike await to inherit the Xuanming name!"

He paused slightly, then continued.

"As for your wish to have those around you inherit the Xuanming name, that is no problem—after all, divine path inheritance differs from immortal path inheritance; divine path inheritance allows others to inherit a deity's name, and the deity's name contains the divine station, authority, and power!"

"However, if one's cultivation is too weak, inheriting the divine name will still bring some path corruption, requiring careful handling!"

The Yu Wang warned thus.

"Those primordial divine beings are not all benevolent or willing to nurture juniors; many have left great hidden dangers in their divine stations, which are usually reserved for specific individuals; without a specialized inheritance secret method, inheriting the divine station leads to madness, pollution, Dao-ification, or becoming their puppet!"

"As for this Xuanming deity, she existed as a heavenly calamity in ancient times—likely not benevolent—but she was slain by the Heavenly Emperor, so she probably had no time to set up a divine station trap!"

Having received the Yu Wang's guidance, Zhang Jian gained great insight.

"Ancestral Master, then what about that Nine Phoenix Great Deity?"

The Yu Wang's eyes narrowed slightly.

"When the Nine Phoenix led the demon god clan's powerhouses across the wilderness, I had not yet been born—but I have heard my royal elder brothers mention her: she is fierce and violent, yet not purely malicious; she is the acknowledged war god and slaughter god of the demon god clan; as for whether she is full of schemes, you must judge for yourself!"

Speaking thus, the Yu Wang let out a light sigh.

"In fact, the Nine Phoenix is also quite pitiful..."

"Pitiful?"

Zhang Jian blinked slightly; hearing the ancestral master's words hint at something, his heart stirred with gossip, and it burned fiercely.

Seeing Zhang Jian's expression, the Yu Wang's expression shifted slightly, he could not help but laugh, and without ceasing to speak, he waved his hand, forming a barrier that enveloped the Heavenly Sovereign's residence, and incidentally obscured the heavenly secrets.

"Your dealings with the Nine Phoenix—telling you this is no problem!"

"In fact, the Nine Phoenix was originally representing the demon god clan in a marriage alliance with our human race—and you should be able to guess the partner!"

"Zhu Xu the Great Emperor?"

Zhang Jian blinked his eyes, yet did not utter that divine name.

To speak a divine name is to invite its power's awareness—Zhu Xu the Sovereign would surely sense it.

The Yu Wang sighed lightly.

"For the sake of the human race's thousand-year plan, he indeed acted dishonorably—using the joy of the great wedding celebration, he slew many powerful ones of the demon god clan!"

"Yet, speaking of it, without his schemes, our human race might still be locked in struggle with the demon god clan, forced to face this hard bone of theirs!"

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered; as a junior, he felt it improper to comment on such matters.

However, the Nine Phoenix clearly suffered misfortune—she became a sacrificial offering.

And precisely because of this, she now likely harbors deep hatred, making her extremely dangerous.

Zhang Jian's heart grew even more cautious.

Zhang Jian pondered, then brought up his cultivation of the Fifth Step: Returning the Heart to the Dao.

"Ancestral Master, on my path, the Nine Nether Authority indeed occupies a great share—will I truly have to face suppression from the Netherworld Earth Prison Authority?!"

Upon hearing this, the Yu Wang nodded slightly.

"You must distinguish between natural and unnatural authorities!"

"Natural authority refers to earth, water, wind, fire, yin-yang, the five phases, time-space creation, and so on— a series of authorities naturally born from the myriad heavenly dimensions!"

Unnatural authorities include redemption, the netherworld, reincarnation, and so on; they are forged by mighty divine beings and are naturally controlled by many such beings!

To utilize these unnatural attribute authorities, you must indeed go through their owners, after which you can avoid calamity!

Authority conflicts are extremely serious!

However, your luck is not bad; as times change and the heavens differentiate, authorities disperse, and the great gods have relaxed their control over authorities, so most immortals and gods ascending will not be actively subjected to backlash...

But there are exceptions; if the authority involves the origin of a major realm, it will still be closely watched by the gods!

Zhang Jian's face twitched slightly—his Nine Netherworld Emperor authority is not unrelated to the origin of the netherworld authority, is it? Its subordinate branches include core authorities such as yin-yang, life and death, reincarnation, and soul, rather than a single direction.

At this time, Zhang Jian did not choose to conceal it, but spoke directly:

"Ancestral Master, the Nine Netherworld authority I have chosen is indeed likely related to the origin of the netherworld's underworld, and it also involves the origin's reincarnation, life and death, and the nether realm!"

Yu Wang furrowed his brows.

He had warned Zhang Jian that when choosing a path, one should not take too many; too many would not only make perfection difficult, but the resulting effect might not be as great.

He said: "Can you reduce some?"

Zhang Jian shook his head.

"My Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, Ancestral Master has also seen it—its power is vast, but to achieve perfection, it truly requires two extremely strong main trunks to support it. I have already minimized the paths as much as possible, but if I continue to reduce them, I fear it may affect my Dao fruit!"

Yu Wang glanced at Zhang Jian with deep meaning in his eyes.

He knew this disciple harbored great ambition, wishing to grasp the authority of the great earth.

Moreover, by venturing into the Nine Netherworlds, he likely seeks to unify the powers of the yang and yin worlds, thereby achieving the Dao Sovereign—necessarily a Dao Sovereign of immense potential, though the difficulty is also great.

Other immortals and gods would not easily allow Zhang Jian to tread this path.

Zhang Jian persisted, and Yu Wang thus stopped trying to persuade him.

Whether the path is suitable or not still needs to be seen by the immortal or god walking it; I cannot interfere arbitrarily, lest I cause the other to form an obstacle of view.

I can only do my best to resolve Zhang Jian's doubts.

Then he said:

"But it is not without other methods!"

"First, taking your Nine Netherworld authority as an example, those who hold the Nine Netherworld authority are not merely those who follow Heaven and emulate the Sovereign Earth—there is also Fengdu Emperor, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and the Ten Directions Savior Heavenly Lord. Among them, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Directions Savior Heavenly Lord are respectively the representatives of the Buddhist and Daoist paths stationed in the underworld. As long as you gain their consent, you can also weaken the backlash at critical moments!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian breathed a sigh of relief.

The Ten Directions Savior Heavenly Lord is actually the Supreme Ultimate Heavenly Lord.

However, this Supreme Ultimate Heavenly Lord is not the great adept of the Kunlun Heavenly Realm's Primordial Void Cave, but one of the ancient celestial venerables born of the Heavenly Court, who had already attained the Dao in ancient times as a mighty divine being.

Previously, due to the 'patent fee' matter, he had even received an overture from this celestial venerable; he planned to bring generous gifts in the future to pay a visit to the Ten Directions Savior Heavenly Lord, and that venerable would certainly not make things difficult for him.

But thinking of Yu Wang's words, he could not help but add:

"Ancestral Master, can we only weaken it?"

Yu Wang nodded slightly.

"Not bad; the authorities they hold are ultimately not as great as those of Following Heaven and Emulating the Sovereign Earth!"

"But they are sufficient to leave a thread of life!"

He laughed.

"Most of the immortals and gods of our Heavenly Court lineage pass through the hand of the Eastern Extreme Azure Splendor Emperor; someday I will bring you to personally visit the Emperor. The Emperor comes with compassion and mercy, loves to nurture the younger generation, and will surely allow you to pass smoothly!"

The Eastern Extreme Azure Splendor Emperor is another title of the Supreme Ultimate Savior Heavenly Lord.

He is also one of the Six Emperors of Heaven.

Zhang Jian nodded in agreement.

Yu Wang laughed again and said:

"As for the remaining conditions, they are much more difficult—basically impossible!"

"For example, finding a corresponding innate spiritual treasure—innate spiritual treasures inherently contain the origin authority of heaven and earth, and can suppress the heaven-and-earth great Dao backlash!"

"But you should know how precious innate spiritual treasures are!"

Zhang Jian's eyes, however, lit up.

Other immortals and gods obtaining innate spiritual treasures entirely depend on their own fortune—let alone finding an innate spiritual treasure corresponding to one's path, which is like searching for a needle in the ocean.

But he has an ancestral temple, so he is not without opportunity.

"Secondly, there are lesser earthly treasures—within earthly treasures are also contained the corresponding authorities, but their suppressing power is lacking, so one must combine them with the appropriate immortal arts to suppress! The effect will still be considerably worse!"

"But combining it with the first method, attacking from both sides, can also greatly reduce the backlash force!"

Zhang Jian committed this to memory, and at the same time clasped his hands and said:

"Disciple thanks the Ancestral Master for guidance!"

Amidst the swirling incense smoke, Yu Wang's eyes fell upon Zhang Jian, with a hint of smile in their depths.

"You should now have already stepped onto the third step of the Supreme Ultimate Great Perfection, and your Dao heart should have been completed in sublimation?"

At this moment, Yu Wang could sense on Zhang Jian that eternal, fate-transcending vital energy, but Zhang Jian still could not restrain the fateful power radiating from himself.

Zhang Jian slightly nodded in agreement.

Yu Wang sighed: "I originally prepared several relics for you, which could have allowed you to prematurely sublime your Dao heart, but now it seems unnecessary!"

"Your fortune exceeds what I imagined!"

"All thanks to the support of the elders!"

Zhang Jian clasped his fists.

Yu Wang smiled faintly; rumors in the Jade Pool had long since reached him.

He had long known this matter, including Zhang Jian's relationship with that great Heavenly Lord deep within the Heavenly Court.

After all, he is a disciple of the Tongshan Dao lineage; having such a relationship, the Tongshan Dao lineage naturally could not fail to investigate it clearly.

Zhang Jian obviously possesses deep blessings and fortune.

But King Yu still warned him.

"Ayu, you are talented and blessed, but you must still have a cautious heart; diligent and vigorous progress is essential, yet you cannot rely on your divine blessings to look down on others!"

"Divine body and blessings are good, but you must not go astray; even a slight deviation onto the wrong path will ruin all your good fortunes!"

Zhang Jian nodded, indicating he had taken note.

King Yu then said: "As for the rumors in the heavenly realms, the Three Emperors' heavenly realm will also help you!"

"With the ancestral master taking action, disciples will only feel more at ease!"

Zhang Jian's eyes immediately lit up.

This matter, with the Tongshan Dao Tong taking action, is absolutely certain.

Shortly after, King Yu's figure gradually vanished into the void.

Zhang Jian then proceeded to put away the ritual altar.

In the mansion, Zhang Jian fell into deep thought.

King Yu's guidance was, for him, timely rain.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.

Only after understanding the full circumstances could he make a decision suitable for the present.

Zhang Jian still decided to give it a try.

After all, his path had absorbed part of the authority of Hou Tu Niangniang; if he did not complete his studies thoroughly, Zhang Jian feared mishaps at critical moments.

Who knows whether Hou Tu Niangniang would be pleased with someone encroaching on her authority, especially since he had also seized part of the Netherworld Dao path?

Zhang Jian could not afford such a risk.

"We must probe Hou Tu Niangniang's attitude!"

……

However, Zhang Jian did not prepare to enter the ninth layer of the Eternal Ice Prison immediately; he planned to wait until his Dao heart was completely sublimated.

Moreover, during this period, many immortals and deities wandered around the Eternal Forbidden Zone.

Many of them came because of the rumors.

After all, some rumors directly pointed to the Eternal Ice Fortress, even the Eternal Ice Prison.

The number of immortals and deities attempting to enter the Eternal Ice Prison for 'cultivation' during this period has also increased somewhat.

This requires him to allocate some attention to deal with.

On this day, Zhang Jian received an 'old acquaintance'!

In the Eternal Heavenly Lord's main hall, a group of immortals flowed with wide sleeves, each with distinct bearing.

These immortals came from the Penglai Dao Palace of the Earth Immortal Realm.

In the myriad heavenly realms, the Earth Immortal Realm holds a unique position; it is ancient in origin, once flourished greatly, though the division of the heavens has dimmed its brilliance, it remains lively.

The Penglai Dao Palace is a prominent and influential major power in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Among them, some great divine powers are renowned throughout the heavens.

The most unique among them are the Three Star Lords of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity.

At this moment, Zhang Jian gazed upon the female immortal he had met once at Yaochi, and sighed.

"Miao Ling Dao Friend, I did not expect even you to be alarmed!"