Chapter 655

His gaze swept across the void, surveying the ten directions of the celestial court's heavenly realm, the boundless expanse of time and space.

Yet this heaven and earth was veiled by a layer of vast, mighty power—only boundless radiance remained, even blinding, so that even his Heavenly Emperor's Dharma Eye could not pierce through.

This unknown change caused a flicker of strange color in the Purple Origin Heavenly Emperor's eyes.

Though he could not clearly see what exactly had happened here, he already had a suspicion in his heart; afterward, he only needed to find a way to verify it.

His eyes were somewhat cold; if not for the fact that his true form and those of the other Dao Lords were trapped in the backlash of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, he would not be so passive.

However, after this incident, the Purple Origin Heavenly Emperor also knew that the 'flowery words' of the Qinglian Salvation Heavenly Venerable had probably truly won the favor of the heavenly Dao of the celestial court; otherwise, such a great event would not have occurred without him sensing even a trace.

He could not continue to let the other fulfill their great vow, or else they might truly ascend to the supreme position through this and become his formidable rival.

"Qinglian Salvation Heavenly Venerable!"

The Purple Origin Heavenly Emperor silently recited this divine title in his mouth, his form transforming into a stream of light that rushed back to the depths of the immortal palace, while simultaneously issuing an edict commanding the immortals and gods of the celestial court to intensify their search for the "Qinglian Salvation Heavenly Venerable," this so-called "evil god," and to destroy all faith related to the "Qinglian Salvation Heavenly Venerable," while declaring that any mortal, cultivator, immortal, or god who came into contact with the "Qinglian Salvation Heavenly Venerable" would be considered rebellious.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhang Jian quickly learned of the immortal palace's reaction through some of his believers, and he did not care.

At this moment, after suppressing the Wuji Magic God, he felt that the power of his status as the Qinglian Salvation Heavenly Venerable Dao Lord had subtly increased.

Eliminating the calamity of demons and saving all beings was also one of his great vows.

Having suppressed the Wuji Magic God, his great vow to eliminate demonic calamities was largely fulfilled.

On a spiritually exquisite mountain peak stood a simple cave dwelling, a simple stone stool and stone chair; two Dao Lords sat facing each other. Zhang Jian's brow glowed with divine light, while behind him flowed the radiant Huangdi Emperor's auspicious clouds of purple and yellow, and behind that appeared the vast Bright Light Clouds, within which seemed to float a universe of light, from which a pearl burst forth with boundless primordial divine energy.

With the support of the Primordial Jade Pearl, Zhang Jian realized that whatever he did, he achieved twice the result with half the effort.

This was also the most precious aspect of this Primordial Jade Pearl.

Seeing Zhang Jian's status and divine power gradually stabilize and ease, Yu Zhuo Dao Lord felt a faint envy in her eyes.

She was truly envious; this Earth Emperor Dao Lord's fortune was truly beyond her imagination.

But she quickly composed herself and casually asked.

"Earth Emperor Dao Friend, how do you plan to handle Wuji and Tian Zui?!"

At this moment, the Ming Consort of the Southern Liang Palace and the Sin-Karma Magic God transformed into a young prince, still within Zhang Jian's Mountains and Rivers State Diagram.

Zhang Jian pondered slightly.

"First suppress Wuji; I have another wonderful use for this demon god!"

"As for Tian Zui, if nurtured well, it is not impossible to transform demon into Dao; in the future, one could gain an innate divine-born guardian god as a subordinate!"

Although Tian Zui was formed from the transformation of an innate demon fetus, naturally governing the world's original sin, it could be called an Original Sin Demon God.

But in Zhang Jian's view, he merely governed the authority of heaven and earth, or perhaps the primordial qi of heaven and earth that accompanied it was merely somewhat special; as long as one upheld the Dao heart, one could still return to the righteous path.

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord smiled faintly.

"May he not disappoint your painstaking efforts, Dao Friend!"

After a brief pause, she continued.

"Then what do you plan to do next, Dao Lord? Continue perfecting the remaining great vows?"

Zhang Jian nodded.

Each perfected great vow would cause his Qinglian Salvation Suffering Dao Lord status to rise somewhat.

He would also gradually gain some attention from the heavenly Dao scrolls of the celestial court's heavenly realm—this too was part of the salvation process.

Zhang Jian then added.

"Next, I intend to first stabilize the Root of the Earth, perfect the lacking water element of heaven and earth; fortunately, Dao Friend Yu Zhuo can also obtain the Water Mother Dao Lord status of this realm through this, so that we may set things right and have greater confidence!"

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord's expression froze; she glanced at Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian laughed at this moment.

"Dao Friend Yu Zhuo, we have cooperated to this extent—you would not possibly want to deny it now, would you?"

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord glanced at Zhang Jian and spoke in a deep voice.

"I ask myself: I have hidden myself very well, revealing not a single trace—where did you see through it, Dao Friend?!"

Zhang Jian glanced at her and said.

"When I contended with Dao Friend, this god already harbored suspicions; your cultivation far exceeded my imagination in grandeur and resilience, though I could not confirm it then—after all, secret arts or treasures that allow one's cultivation to far surpass other Dao Lords are countless in the myriad heavens and voids!"

"But what I truly confirmed my suspicion about is this very journey!"

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord's heart already had some understanding, yet she still asked.

"I ask myself: I have revealed no trace in this journey, not even moved a hand—how could you see through it?!"

Zhang Jian laughed.

"I believe the secret art in the Water Mother Dao Palace that allows Dao Friend to restore Dao Lord status is certainly no less than that of the heavenly court—especially since this realm still lacks a single water-attribute Dao Lord, unless Dao Friend Yu Zhuo seeks something far more complex than an ordinary water-attribute Dao Lord status!"

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord glanced at Zhang Jian, shook her head, and said.

"You are mistaken, Dao Friend—this realm actually has not a few immortals and gods who govern the origin of water and are qualified to covet the water-attribute Dao Lord status, only unfortunately the origin status has long fallen into the hands of the Tianhe Dao Lord!"

"However, with the divine powers of my Water Mother Dao Palace lineage, recondensing a water-origin Dao Lord status is naturally no difficult matter..."

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord's remaining words went unspoken.

Because Zhang Jian guessed correctly—he was indeed preparing to condense a heavenly realm Water Mother status in this realm to perfect his own Dao fruit.

This was also one of her most important purposes for entering the celestial court's heavenly realm.

Zhang Jian gazed at Yu Zhuo Dao Lord and laughed.

"I will fully assist Dao Friend Yu Zhuo in this matter, but Dao Friend must also help me seize the Great Root of the Earth from the celestial court's heavenly realm!"

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord's eyes showed no surprise in their depths.

She then continued.

"Dao Friend, what you seek is likely not so easily achieved—the Three Dao Lords of Creation symbolize the essence, energy, and spirit of the Creator, and they respectively govern the three elemental powers of heaven, earth, and water in the celestial court's heavenly realm; to seize water and earth authority will surely provoke their backlash!"

Yu Zhuo Dao Lord's expression became solemn.

Zhang Jian smiled faintly.

"It's fine. The waters of heaven and earth are not their primal authority; their primal source should be the primordial qi sea of the Celestial Court, symbolizing the seven elements of heaven and earth, and the Taiji pivot, the power of myriad phenomena!"

Over the past century, as contact with the Three Teachings' Dao lineage increased, Zhang Jian has also gained a certain understanding of these three Primordial Dao Sovereigns.

After meeting the Heavenly River Dao Sovereign, he gradually confirmed part of his suspicion.

The Heavenly River Dao Sovereign is the one who governs the primordial qi sea of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm.

Although that is what was said, Zhang Jian knows that ultimately seizing the earth and water primal sources will inevitably lead to a confrontation with these three Primordial Dao Sovereigns.

Both of them have their own calculations.

But they quickly began to seriously calculate.

Seizing the earth primal source, reuniting the position of the Earth Emperor Dao Sovereign in this realm, Zhang Jian already knows how to do it; and now, to complete the water element for the Celestial Court's heavenly realm and restore the completeness of the five elements' material foundation, it requires the cooperation of the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign.

Over the past century, it is likely that the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign has already formed an idea about this matter.

At this moment, seeing that Zhang Jian has already understood her thoughts, the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign gradually revealed the information she has gathered over these years and asked Zhang Jian to help perfect her plan.

"According to my knowledge, the Celestial Court's heavenly realm should not naturally lack the water element; the lack of water element came after the previous Boundless Kalpa, when the five elements of heaven and earth became imbalanced, and countless water primal source treasures gradually depleted, including the water eyes of rivers, lakes, and springs, which gradually withered!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian furrowed his brow.

He naturally knows this.

Before entering the Celestial Court's heavenly realm, he had heard the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign mention this matter.

Zhang Jian looked toward the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign, but upon seeing her glance at him, she spoke in a solemn tone.

"I fear that the entire Celestial Court's heavenly realm, both high and low, thinks as those three Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Court do, possibly believing it is merely a change in the yin-yang extremes of heaven and earth, the blazing yang carrying killing intent causing an imbalance of yin qi, thus dragging the water cycle of heaven and earth into it!"

"But such a matter cannot be hidden from us, the divine beings of the Water Mother Dao Palace!"

"My master once participated in the creation of multiple heavenly realms' dimensions, and has studied the evolution of the water great path's rules in all aspects, including the imbalance of the water element among the five elements, and has personally demonstrated various scenarios for us!"

"Among them is one similar to this: the omen of heaven and earth's water element, the loss of vitality—this is likely the omen born from the withering of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm's primordial source and creation!"

Zhang Jian nodded slightly; at this moment, he also secretly deduced it.

The withering of the primordial source of the great Dao of heaven and earth, the theft of creation, will cause the heavenly realm's primordial source to draw inward, extracting external vitality to compensate for internal deficiency.

This is what is called 'pulling down the east wall to patch the west wall.'

This is the instinct for survival.

Just like a normal person, if they contract a serious illness, they will first lose weight!

This is a precursor to collapse.

Zhang Jian also knows that actually wanting to save the world, completing the heaven and earth's water element is not the most direct method—it merely treats the symptom, not the root.

The most fundamental method is naturally to eliminate the one who continually plunders the primordial source of heaven and earth's great Dao laws, the culprit of heavenly creation.

But that person's Dao cultivation is too strong, so we can only first treat the symptom, seize authority from within to strengthen ourselves, then gradually force the opponent out from the depths of the primordial source, and slay this malignant tumor.

After the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign sighed, she then said.

"The Celestial Court's heavenly realm originally should have had several powerful innate deities born from the primordial water element, even innate divinities, but they either fell in the numerous calamities of gods and demons, or died young; now, the divine beings whose primacy is the water element are instead a postnatal-born divine being, the Emperor of the Heavenly Pool, who governs all seas, as well as the rivers, clouds, and rains of the Celestial Court's world; his cultivation is not weak, but he is not a Dao Sovereign in form, so he poses little threat, and I am confident I can first subdue him!"

In the depths of the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign's eyes, absolute confidence shone.

With the dignity of the Water Mother Dao Palace in the water great path, merely leaking a bit of profound secret art would be enough to make this emperor 'wholeheartedly convinced'!

The Jade Carving Dao Sovereign spoke in a deep voice.

"As long as we subdue this deity, we will then be able to enter the water holy land of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm, the Heavenly Pool Holy Land!"

"And by obtaining the access authority to the Heavenly Pool Holy Land, or alternatively the Nine Seas Holy Land, entering to reactivate those withered springs, we can naturally restore balance to the five elements of heaven and earth, and I can also thereby gain recognition of the water primal source of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm, to recreate water eyes, nurture the boundless fortune of the water element, achieve the Water Mother Dharma Form, and cultivate the Dao Mother Seal Technique!"

At this point, the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign no longer concealed her thoughts.

Zhang Jian nodded; achieving the great merit of reconstructing one heavenly realm's water element indeed offers hope to attain the status of a Water Mother in one heavenly realm.

That Water Mother status is extraordinarily noble, and also possesses immense potential, with hope to ascend to the level of Dao Venerable.

If he can cultivate this Dharma Form, the Jade Carving Dao Sovereign has hope to thereby step into the Dao Venerable realm and future contend for the inheritance of the Water Mother.

Although it is merely inheritance rights, that status is also not ordinary.

Similar to the future Buddha in the Western Pure Land, who is also the Buddha, with a status far surpassing other Buddhas.

"However, this matter is likely not so easy; I have made a great vow to restore the five elements of heaven and earth, and that Heavenly Emperor will certainly know as well, and likely will set layer upon layer of traps within, waiting for this deity to rush headlong in, to catch him in a jar!"

The Jade Carving Dao Sovereign smiled faintly.

"Therefore, subduing the Heavenly Pool Emperor is of utmost importance!"

"One's own people are always harder to guard against than outsiders!"

Zhang Jian nodded and said.

"Good, this matter is entrusted to Dao Friend Jade Carving!

This seat, however, prepares to first depart for Zhonghai Province!"

The Jade Carving Dao Sovereign's expression became clear, and she was not surprised.

Zhonghai Province is the central pure land of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm, because here there is a divine mountain, named Taiji Divine Mountain, this is the earthly foundation of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm, and also the ancestral vein of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm.

This person before us, whose Dao title is Earth Emperor, naturally will not abandon this immovable earthly foundation of the Celestial Court's heavenly realm.

If one can grasp the source of the earth, it will undoubtedly be greatly beneficial to the cultivation aspirations of this Earth Emperor Dao Sovereign.

……

Zhonghai Province, this place is blessed with divine spirit and splendid beauty, and is one of the ten heavens and ten earths beneath the Celestial Court's heavenly realm, belonging to one of the ten earths, the Source Candle Earth Realm; this earth realm contains numerous divine lands and divine states, known as the Three Thousand Divine Lands and Divine States, and among the ten earths it ranks first, with innate spiritual mechanisms abundant and extraordinary, within which countless heaven-earth strong beings have been born, various legends, myths.

Zhonghai Province is even the core among cores.

This place is more prosperous than the Purple Origin Earth Realm where Zhang Jian resides.

Because here there is a divine mountain, named Taiji Divine Mountain.

This mountain is one of the most renowned ancestral veins among the ten earths; this mountain range runs through Zhonghai Province, and most of its branches constitute the majority of Zhonghai Province's territory.

Here the innate spiritual mechanisms are dense, and there are countless heavenly treasures and earthly riches.

Inside, countless immortals and deities gathered here.

Only the celestial court's heavenly realm had its great Dao origin stolen, causing the yin-yang of heaven and earth to fall out of balance, which ultimately affected this place as well.

At this moment, deep within the heavens above, the blazing sun poured down without restraint from overhead, layers of scorching solar killing intent spreading through the void, even stirring the innate spiritual mechanisms with a hint of restlessness.

Many immortals and deities became filled with heart-fire, growing eager for battle.

Outside the Taiji Divine Mountain, a vast azure divine light pierced through the layers of heaven and earth formed by the human-heaven barrier, and azure flowing light suddenly manifested from the void.

Zhang Jian's figure emerged from the azure flowing light, his gaze sweeping across the void, and in an instant landed upon the great divine mountain beneath the magnificent heavenly light in the distance.

That magnificent divine mountain stood towering between heaven and earth, piercing the nine heavens, entwined with layered clouds, as if connecting heaven to earth.

"What a wonderful place!"

Gazing at this place, Zhang Jian's lips curled into a faint smile.