Chapter 185: Exceptionally Fragile

He recalled his master Jieyin Daoist's verse from three years ago, "When the Human Emperor appears in the world, the Six Realms become easier," which he had then taken as a routine calamity, but now, upon closer thought, he is startled by its hidden significance.

"In that case…" Dizang pinched a golden swastika seal from his fingertip, trying to glimpse the heavenly mechanism, "that so‑called Human Race genius battle?"

The black shadow suddenly turned into ten thousand ghost faces, and a voice came from all directions: "Three hundred and sixty‑five trial platforms align with the celestial constellations; a million contestants' essence blood paints a map of mountains, rivers, and the state. When the ultimate victor receives the replica of the Xuanyuan Sword, the entire Human Race's fortune chain…"

Before the words finished, the entire Underworld shuddered violently, and the Six Realms of Reincarnation wheel reversed half a turn.

A blue‑lotus jade tablet suddenly appeared in Dizang's hand; it was the token the black shadow left before vanishing. When his spirit probed it, he found it recorded the oath image from three hundred years ago between the Nine‑Phoenix Great Witch and a Human Race youth at the edge of the Sea of Blood.

At the same time, on the mortal world's Fengchan Altar, Zhou Yi presented the jade plaque inlaid with the five‑colored Repair‑Heaven Stone to the champion.

The instant the youth received the reward, the mist that had shrouded Kunlun Mountain for millennia suddenly cleared, revealing a towering sacred tree piercing the clouds; this world‑spirit root, which should have withered in the war between the Wu and the Undead, now sprouted jade‑like new shoots.

The outcome of this Human Race's Heavenly Pride contest left Zhou Yi feeling greatly relieved. The depth displayed by the young cultivators even surpassed his expectations.

Compared with the inaugural Heavenly Pride contest a hundred years ago, when only a handful of participants reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Terrace secret realm and attained the Golden Immortal, this year's event produced dozens of prodigies who fully cultivated the Immortal Terrace secret realm.

More strikingly, in the final stage three newcomers of the Quasi‑Emperor realm emerged, which in Honghuang Tian Di already symbolizes reaching the threshold of the Great Luo Golden Immortal.

This sight greatly encouraged Zhou Yi and the elder veterans of the Sui Huang clan. What the Human Race currently lacks most are high‑level combat forces; in Honghuang, a world where Golden Immortals are as common as foot soldiers, only a Great Luo Golden Immortal can make a decisive move on the board.

Reflecting on the foundation of the Wu and Undead clans' dominance over Honghuang, it is their tens of thousands of Great Luo realm masters.

Even though the Quasi‑Saint realm's great beings number no more than ten fingers, those ubiquitous mid‑tier forces are the true capital that intimidates all directions.

In contrast, the Human Race, though proliferated to hundreds of millions, sees cultivators sprouting like bamboo after rain, yet its top combat power remains perpetually strained.

Aside from Zhou Yi, Sui Huang, and You Chao as the three Quasi‑Saints stationed, there are fewer than ten Great Luo realm masters, a gap with the Wu and Undead clans as vast as clouds and mud.

Today the new generation breaking through constraints is like sparks in the dark night, indicating that the blaze of a prairie fire is already showing signs.

Zhou Yi firmly believes that, given enough time, the Human Race can cultivate countless Great Luos, and one day will be able to stand toe‑to‑toe with the ancient great clans.

Just as Zhou Yi was preparing to resume his seclusion to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, a myriad of sunrise glows appeared from the direction of Kunlun Mountain. Great Master Miaole arrived riding clouds, with pale Dao robes swirling with Tai Qing celestial light.

Zhou Yi immediately halted his cultivation, and, together with the senior elders, went out to receive the Tai Qing Sheng Ren's direct disciple.

"Ten years apart, the Human Race's prospects now surpass those of the past," Miaole gently stroked his long beard, gazing at the cultivators rehearsing battle formations in the distance, and sighed:

"Friend, using a hundred years of time to create such grandeur, turning decay into marvel, even the master beyond the Tushita heavens would, upon hearing, offer high praise."

"The venerable one has praised erroneously," Zhou Yi bowed in return, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes: "May I ask, with this visit, is there any matter that requires the Human Race's assistance?"

Great Master Miaole gently stroked his long beard, his tone tinged with threefold sentiment: "Since that day we parted, I have tossed and turned for several days, finally realizing that your comprehension surpasses mine by far.

I then dared to recommend you to my master, not expecting that upon hearing of your deeds he would beat his hands in applause! This visit is precisely to, under the master's decree, invite you to the Tai Qing Realm beyond the thirty‑three heavens."

Zhou Yi's pupils trembled slightly, his tea cup nearly toppling. The saint's sanctuary beyond the thirty‑three heavens has been hidden in the depths of Chaos since Pangu opened the heavens, visible only to those of great destiny.

At this moment countless thoughts flashed through his mind—could it be that the mixed‑origin saint who wields Yin and Yang truly intends to summon him?

"Forgive my presumption, I do not know what the saint seeks," Zhou Yi forced his emotions down, his fingertips unconsciously tightening on the edge of the desk.

In Miaole's eyes a strange light flickered: "Although my master often preaches non‑action governance, he is quite interested in your self‑created Zhetian Dao."

He paused, took out the Taiji Yin‑Yang Fish pendant and placed it on the desk: "Brother Dao, are you aware that since the Wu and Undead's Great Calamity, the master has not taken disciples for three thousand years."

Zhou Yi's face remained unruffled, yet ripples rose in his heart. That day, when he forged the Zhetian Imperial Method through a Tai Qing preaching opportunity, he had already anticipated this cause and effect.

He had not expected the saint's thoughts to be so inscrutable; the day before, sending Miaole to convey the Dao seemed a test, and subsequently the Taiji diagram's assistance revealed a protective intent.

"I am honored by the saint's favor, but…" Zhou Yi's gaze swept over the swirling Yin‑Yang Fish on the desk, and the Zhetian diagram in his sea of knowledge suddenly trembled.

This technique, which uses the body as a seed to reverse the Great Dao, is fundamentally at odds with the orthodox Xuanmen of the Tai Qing direct transmission. If one were to become a disciple of the saint, the clash of cultivation foundations could become a dead end.

Miaole, seemingly unaware of the anomaly, remained immersed in joy: "Within the tradition of the Three Pure Ones, the position of the senior disciple of the Grand Master has been vacant for a thousand years. If one were to receive the mixed‑origin Dao fruit directly from the saint…" Before he finished, the Yin‑Yang Fish on the desk suddenly levitated and spun, projecting half a scroll of Dao De Jing verses into the void.

Zhou Yi's mind cleared like snow at the sight; this was clearly the saint performing a remote demonstration.

The Zhetian Dao emphasizes using one's own body as a furnace of Heaven, fundamentally conflicting with the Xuanmen practice that borrows the power of the Heavenly Dao.

He covertly activated his technique, a faint Chaotic blue‑lotus phantom appearing at his brow, silently dispelling the incoming Dao resonance.

When the jade chime of the Eight Scenery Palace pierced the clouds, Zhou Yi was inscribing a formation on the Human Race's altar. The moment Great Master Miaole's azure ox touched the ground, he knew there was no escaping this saint's summons.

"The Tai Qing Realm is no ordinary place; brother Dao, wait a moment while I arrange a few matters, then I'll go with you," Zhou Yi said, simultaneously striking three strands of mysterious yellow qi into the Human Race's totem pillar.

He deliberately left a transmission jade tablet for the Hou Tu Ancestor Shaman; should he not return by the third month, the emergency Six Realms of Reincarnation array would be activated.

While traversing the thirty‑three heavens, Zhou Yi noticed countless golden chains drifting in the gale layer; these celestial shackles were thirty percent denser than when he arrived a millennium ago.

Miaole's eight‑trigram purple‑sash celestial robe automatically erected a barrier, yet it could not conceal the celestial constellations swirling in Zhou Yi's eyes.

The Tai Qing Realm hovered on the fringe of Honghuang, like an inverted glass lantern. When Zhou Yi set foot, he crushed three lotus blossoms formed of mysterious clear qi, discovering that the spatial laws here were unusually fragile.

From a distant alchemy chamber, the scent of herbs drifted, oddly mingled with the odor of blood vines used in Wu clan sacrifices.

"The saints would rather carve a dwelling in a crevice than create a new heaven and earth…" Zhou Yi brushed the Kongtong seal on his sleeve, suddenly grasping the key: the Honghuang Tian Di is like an ancient tree whose roots have already intertwined with the fruits of the various saints' Dao.

To forcefully open a new world would be to sever one's own spiritual veins.

Miaole pointed at the floating Taiji diagram in the sea of clouds: "The master awaits you in the Eight Scenery Palace."

Before the words finished, the Human Emperor Sword at Zhou Yi's waist suddenly trembled, warning him, and a phantom of the Six Realms of Reincarnation appeared on its scabbard.