Chapter 168: The Cycle Pavilion

Within the City of Xiangjie.

All things turned gray; countless living beings lost their life force, moving like puppets through life.

The woman in green was the only splash of color in this world; she walked through the city, observing everything closely.

"Though I've gathered much intelligence on Luohe, seeing it with my own eyes is clearer." The woman in green arrived at the Garrison Mansion, surprised. "Luohe's life force is so tightly concealed—I passed right by him and saw not a single trace of his past."

"A transcendent of Chaos Realm, concealing his life force better than many First-Stage Divine Kings." The woman in green marveled.

The Origin Continent does possess some abilities to peer into the past, but observing ordinary people's past is easy—the stronger the individual, the harder it becomes.

The woman in green could observe nearly all First-Stage Divine Kings.

"Huh."

The surrounding spacetime twisted.

The woman in green instantly returned from the past to the present; everything around her regained color and vitality. This timeline was the true one where countless living beings existed.

"Luohe the Great Sage." The woman in green stood outside the Garrison Mansion, smiling as her voice naturally carried inward—none of the guards at the gate could see her.

Inside the Garrison Mansion.

Luo Feng was drinking and chatting with Mo Luo Sa, who had just digested the Divine King corpse and was thoroughly delighted.

"Luohe the Great Sage." A voice echoed around them.

"Huh?" Luo Feng and Mo Luo Sa both startled—they only now noticed the woman in green outside the Garrison Mansion.

Mo Luo Sa was deeply alarmed, whispering mentally: "Master, I can easily sense any strong presence within the vast area around Xiangjie City… yet I sensed nothing from this one."

"She is the 'Empress of Fengdu' from the Eastern Pole Region." Luo Feng, upon seeing her appearance, immediately recognized her identity.

"Her strength should be close to that of a Peak Boundary Beast." Mo Luo Sa sent a mental message.

"About right." Luo Feng also suspected as much. "Withdraw for now. I'll go meet her."

Luo Feng went personally to the mansion's gate.

The guards at the gate could not see Luo Feng either.

Luo Feng stepped outside and looked at the woman in green standing there—she appeared present, yet transcended the entire world.

"Luohe, greetings, Empress of Fengdu." Luo Feng bowed slightly.

The woman in green looked at Luo Feng and smiled warmly. "You created your own secret art to become the absolute top of the Chaos Realm. Truly extraordinary. The Origin Continent hasn't seen a disciple this remarkable in a long time."

Luo Feng chuckled. "No matter how remarkable, I'm still just a Chaos Realm cultivator."

"Won't you invite me in for a drink?" the woman in green smiled.

"Please."

Luo Feng led the way.

Given the Empress of Fengdu's status and her friendliness, Luo Feng responded with equal courtesy.

…

Inside a reception pavilion of the Garrison Mansion, the two sat facing each other; Luo Feng poured wine for her himself.

"The Empress of Fengdu—one of the Twelve Sovereigns of the Eastern Pole Region's natives, and terrifying in strength." Luo Feng knew her intelligence well. In the earliest days of the Origin Continent, the natives controlled nearly all of it.

The natives ruled the Origin Continent.

At that time, the two ancient nations had extremely sparse populations, occupying only small, remote territories.

Among those native rulers, there emerged a succession of beings called "Divine Sovereigns"—twelve in total. Back then, life on the Origin Continent was generally weak; few cultivators from the Three Thousand Primordial Universes managed to cross the Cycle and arrive here.

Judging by today's standards, those twelve Divine Sovereigns were barely at the level of newly awakened Divine Kings.

But…

Over countless eons, the natives' territories were drastically compressed, now entirely confined to the Eastern Pole Region!

Of the original Twelve Sovereigns, who had become Divine Kings in the early days, all now stood at Second-Stage Divine King. Among them, the Empress of Fengdu was the most inscrutable in power.

"On the Origin Continent, only a handful of Second-Stage Divine Kings can stand toe-to-toe with Emperor-level or Monarch-level beings."

"The Empress of Fengdu is one of them."

Ordinary Second-Stage Divine Kings were utterly defenseless before Emperors or Monarchs—likely obliterated in a single glance!

Yet the Empress of Fengdu was nearly equal to them.

Even Mo Luo Sa believed… this Empress of Fengdu was nearly at the level of a Peak Boundary Beast.

"According to intelligence, this Empress of Fengdu has cultivated both the World's Fundamental Dao and the Time's Fundamental Dao to Second-Stage Divine King. Her cultivation lineage remains unknown." Luo Feng sighed inwardly.

Perfect-grade or Top-grade lineages would not be difficult for her extraordinary talent to obtain.

Moreover, the Eastern Pole natives had a mysterious Ancestor behind them—this Ancestor protected all natives and naturally took special notice of the most gifted among them: the Empress of Fengdu.

Her status on the Origin Continent was thus easily imagined.

Even if Luo Feng became a Divine King, the gap between them remained immense—let alone now, when he was still only in the Chaos Realm. Her friendliness surprised him.

"Luohe, I've come here to invite you to join the organization I founded: the Cycle Pavilion." The woman in green looked at Luo Feng. "Though I founded the Cycle Pavilion, all members are equals. I assume you've heard of it."

"The Cycle Pavilion?" Luo Feng had indeed heard of it. It was a relatively obscure faction, far smaller than the Two Realms Palace.

Because every full member of the Cycle Pavilion was personally selected and invited by the Empress of Fengdu—hence the numbers were scarce.

Yet its reputation rivaled that of the Two Realms Palace, the Ten Thousand Methods Tower, and the Timeless Solitary Boat.

"Our Cycle Pavilion has very few members," the woman in green said. "But each one is extraordinary."

"Do I have the qualification to join the Cycle Pavilion?" Luo Feng asked.

He'd likely be the weakest among them.

"Don't underestimate yourself," the woman in green said, looking at Luo Feng. "On the entire Origin Continent, you are one of the most remarkable cultivators."

"Oh?" Luo Feng was startled.

Luo Feng knew his own uniqueness well—he had subjugated a Boundary Beast, and with a single Ultimate-Stage Divine King Boundary Beast, he could one day cultivate a powerful army capable of founding a top-tier faction.

Moreover, his own body was the Origin Continent's first-ever Perfect Divine Body, and his miniature universe surpassed every other cultivator's.

!.

Compared to these two, the Lie Yuan Technique was comparatively inferior, since many others had received transmissions left by Yuan.

Luo Feng was fully aware of his uniqueness—but kept it strictly secret.

Yet now, this Empress of Fengdu held him in such high regard?

"But no matter how gifted you are, you still need resources to cultivate," the woman in green said. "Top-tier lineages, rare treasures, all manner of aids."

Luo Feng agreed. Whether it was the Eight-Catastrophe Lifeform, the Seven-Two Slash, or the even rarer World Lifeform transmission within the Infinite Space—all had greatly aided him.

"The transmissions you've accessed so far are likely only First-Stage Divine King level," the woman in green said. "The higher you go, the stricter the restrictions on valuable transmissions."

"Rare treasures, powerful Primordial Bloodlines—these are nearly impossible to obtain."

"Even the complete transmission left by Yuan is exceedingly difficult to acquire."

"A weapon surpassing Divine King level is enough to ignite a war between the two ancient nations."

The woman in green looked at Luo Feng. "You think your talent alone guarantees access? You don't feel it yet—but even marginal resources left by Yuan, you can still compete for. The more valuable the resource… the sooner you'll lose even the right to compete."

Luo Feng fell silent.

His Master, Emperor Chu, had once admitted as much.

"Have you heard of the Divine King Lihe?" the woman in green asked Luo Feng.

Luo Feng froze.

"Never heard of him, right?" the woman in green smiled. "The Yanfeng Pavilion and Thunder Consortium won't spread such intelligence—they'll go out of their way to conceal it."

"Divine King Lihe was one who fully joined the Yanfeng Ancient Nation. He even reached Second-Stage Divine King," the woman in green said. "He worked tirelessly, faithfully serving Yanfeng—though the royal family received far more resources, he never resented it. He was content."

"He had a wife, three sons, and two daughters."

"He avoided conflict, seeking only to raise his children and cultivate in peace. He believed that quiet cultivation would lead to higher realms," the woman in green said. "He was grateful to his Master, Emperor Xuan, for his help."

"But his talent was too great—he successfully refined a powerful artifact left by Yuan, a weapon far beyond Divine King level. With this artifact, a Second-Stage Divine King like him could stand against Emperors and Monarchs."

The woman in green looked at Luo Feng. "What happened next? During a Yanfeng Ancient Nation mission, he used that weapon—just once!"

"Three Emperors acted at once."

"They forced him to surrender the artifact—or they would slaughter his wife, children, and clan."

The woman in green looked at Luo Feng. "He was accustomed to yielding, to enduring. He still submitted. He gave up the artifact."

Luo Feng sighed inwardly.

"At the moment he surrendered…"

The woman in green smiled. "The three Emperors attacked! His wife, children, clan—even every living being in his entire city—were slaughtered, not a single soul left alive."

"Divine King Lihe was killed too," the woman in green said, smiling. "His Master, Emperor Xuan, learned of it later—but it was too late."

"Fortunately, Divine King Lihe was strong enough—he activated his reincarnation technique just before death. He was reborn," the woman in green said. "But the Emperors' strike left none of his wife, children, or clan alive to reincarnate."

"Divine King Lihe's reborn name is now 'Guixu Emperor,'" the woman in green said, looking at Luo Feng.

Luo Feng was stunned.

Guixu Emperor?

So it was him! Guixu Emperor, who called himself "Emperor," was slightly weaker than true Emperors—but he bore a blood feud with the Yanfeng royal family, fighting them endlessly, never relenting.

Over seven or eight Yanfeng Divine Kings had fallen to his hands.

"Guixu Emperor is one of my Cycle Pavilion members," the woman in green said. "I founded the Cycle Pavilion so that we, as companions, could support each other and break free from this cycle."

"And I believe you have the qualification to become a full member."

"The Cycle Pavilion currently has eight members," the woman in green said, looking at Luo Feng. "You are my ninth, and the only Chaos Realm cultivator I've ever invited."

(End of Chapter)