Chapter 410: The Divine Bird Emerges, Heaven and Earth Clear (3/3)

"Let me guess, the array has developed a leak?"

Li Heng said.

"Fellow Daoist Li has guessed correctly; that is indeed the case."

The Great Zhou Empress nodded heavily.

"However, if it were only a minor issue, I trust that with Fellow Daoist Wu's abilities, you would certainly be able to repair it, unless this problem is quite significant, or even multifaceted."

Li Heng continued to say leisurely.

This Great Zhou Empress's cultivation was not bad; she possessed at least the True Reality power of a Five Tribulations Heaven and Earth, capable of crushing that Su Xian from the Tianjian Sect earlier. Therefore, the matter that could make this Great Zhou Empress so troubled could certainly not be small.

"Since you have already guessed it, Fellow Daoist, I will not hide it from you."

The Great Zhou Empress sighed with emotion and recounted the matter in full detail.

It turned out that although the Great Zhou Dynasty had hidden within a Space-Time Tributary, the energy source for the Time-Space Array protecting the Great Zhou Dynasty did not come from the Space-Time Tributary, but from the Space-Time Main River.

It was just like the Three Gorges Dam on Earth.

The Time-Space Array utilized the difference in height and flow velocity between the Space-Time Main River and the Space-Time Tributary to provide energy, which meant that the Great Zhou Dynasty could not completely sever its connection with the Main River.

And this point was the crux of the matter.

The problem the Great Zhou Dynasty encountered was that the flow velocity had slowed down.

Although the height difference between the Space-Time Main River and the Space-Time Tributary still existed, the slowing of the relative flow velocity between the two had led to insufficient energy supply for that array.

With insufficient energy for the array, the ability to protect the Great Zhou Dynasty weakened.

According to the Great Zhou Empress, the eyes of various Calamities had already noticed their Great Zhou Dynasty and were currently searching for their coordinates.

Li Heng was thoughtful upon hearing this.

Strictly speaking, the Time-Space River was not a river, and the way that array provided energy was not the hydroelectric power he understood; one could only say it was similar in form.

"Then what do you want me to solve, Fellow Daoist Wu?"

Li Heng inquired.

"If it is to change the flow velocity of the Time-Space River or modify the height difference or something like that, then forget it; I do not have that kind of power."

He shook his head and waved his hands.

The levels of the Time-Space River in different Heaven and Earth are not the same. In some Heaven and Earth, the space-time can be traversed even by mortals. But in the space-time of some Heaven and Earth, even if you are an Immortal God, you cannot overstep it by even half a fraction.

And the Time-Space River of the True Realm was the kind he could not afford to provoke.

He had sensed it; it was countless times larger than the Time-Space River of the Present World, and within it resided all kinds of terrifyingly extreme auras. To stir up trouble in this aspect was simply courting death.

In the Time-Space River of the Xianshi Tiandi, he himself was equivalent to a whale, and a slight exertion of force could make the river change course, but in the Time-Space River of the True Realm, he was at most a goldfish.

When it comes down to it, unless one completely jumps out of the Time-Space River and becomes a person on the shore, one will ultimately be affected by the Time-Space River and be constrained by the differences in the Time-Space Rivers of various Heaven and Earth.

"That is naturally impossible."

The Great Zhou Empress shook her head.

"Actually, we have already investigated the truth of the slowed flow velocity: a monster is entrenched in the upstream of the river connecting the Space-Time Tributary where the Great Zhou Dynasty is located to the Main River, blocking the space-time."

"This is what caused the flow velocity to slow down."

"So, Fellow Daoist Wu wants me to take action and kill that monster?"

Li Heng's eyes lit up upon hearing this, eager to try.

He was just worrying about having no monsters to fight.

"But Fellow Daoist, I do not want to discourage you, but you might truly be unable to defeat that monster." The Great Zhou Empress looked at Li Heng's happy expression, wanting to speak but hesitating, yet in the end, she still said her piece.

She was also afraid that Li Heng would be too excited and end up delivering himself to the monster as a snack.

She had previously tried various methods to deal with that monster, but the result was that she suffered heavy losses, lost quite a few treasures, and even a Creation Realm expert died.

But in the end, she could not even make that monster move by half a fraction.

But the next moment, she was stunned again.

Because the Great Zhou Empress discovered that even though she had said those very direct, and even somewhat hurtful words, Li Heng's expression remained unchanged, and the look of excitement even grew more intense.

She felt a sense of foreboding in her heart.

Could this Fellow Daoist Li be a natural-born slaughterer!

That must be it; otherwise, he would not have been able to run to the Black Fog to kill monsters.

Without much hesitation, she hurriedly spoke.

"Fellow Daoist Li, we only need to drive that monster away."

Li Heng frowned.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, this kind of matter must be resolved once and for all. What if it comes back after being driven away? I cannot stay in the Great Zhou Dynasty forever, so it is better to kill it and be done with it."

"However, Fellow Daoist Wu said I cannot defeat that monster?"

"How is this to be understood, and what is the strength of that monster?"

So-called monsters are generally derivatives of Calamities, and rarely would their strength exceed the Calamity they belong to. And if he did not count the losses, he might be able to grind away the Black Fog Calamity.

Moreover, even if that monster did not belong to the Black Fog Calamity, he did not believe that the monster would be much stronger than the Black Fog Calamity. If it were stronger than the Black Fog Calamity, the Great Zhou Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago.

The Great Zhou Empress had a serious expression and took a deep breath.

"Peak of the Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth, about to reach the level of the Ninth Tribulation!"

Li Heng raised an eyebrow; that was indeed somewhat strong, even stronger than him. After all, he was currently only at the Seven Tribulations Heaven and Earth and had not yet broken through to the Eight Tribulations. Of course, that was only in terms of realm; combat power was another matter.

So Li Heng spoke slowly.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Wu, it is still within my range of handling."

He was thoughtful in his heart; if the Seven Tribulations Heaven and Earth was equivalent to the Galaxy, capable of destroying star systems with a wave of his hand, then the Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth should be able to shake the foundations of the endless universe.

It belonged to the level that could spend time destroying the universe.

The Great Zhou Empress was stunned, suspecting that she had just experienced an auditory hallucination.

A peak-level Eight-Calamity monster, within the scope of dealing with it?

What kind of joke is this!

So she immediately blurted out.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you aren't joking, are you?"

Li Heng smiled slightly.

"Do I look like I'm joking? Besides, what benefit would it be for either of us if I were joking? Rest assured, I can solve this monster. Of course, if you are not at ease, you can also bring your own preparations and methods, and we can go together."

Upon hearing this, the Empress fell into deep thought.

She seemed to have underestimated this Fellow Daoist Li Heng a bit too much...

Li Heng did not disturb the Empress's contemplation.

He observed everything around him, feeling somewhat amazed.

What kind of genius idea is this? Hiding directly within a tributary of the Time-Space River? One must know that these tributaries are mostly illusory possibilities; how can illusory things carry true life?

It is truly interesting.

When he first realized this truth, he had thought that all living beings in this Great Zhou were illusory, otherwise, it would have been impossible to achieve this.

But when he carefully observed this Great Zhou Empress, he could not observe a single trace of an illusory aura; whether by sight or by spiritual sense, she was incomparably real.

Except for the feeling that the bloodline within them was a bit strange.

It seemed to be mixed with components that did not belong to the human race.

However, that kind of component was indescribable and unclear; it might not even manifest in the true bloodline, but rather be something conceptual. Even if one were to dissect a person and observe them with the highest-grade microscope, one would likely not detect any abnormality.

Soon, the Empress finished thinking and spoke.

"I will consider the words of Fellow Daoist Li, but before that, I ask that you remain calm. If the methods I have prepared all fail, then it would not be too late for you to deal the killing blow to that monster."

As Wu Wushuang said this, she felt that she was being somewhat absurd.

Usually, it would be good enough just to escape with one's life from that monster's hands.

To actually think about dealing a killing blow to that monster?

But once she thought of Li Heng's unfathomable nature and his heaven-shaking combat power that could fight against Black Fog monsters deep within the Black Fog, she felt it was not impossible.

Li Heng nodded.

"Fellow Daoist Wu can consider it carefully; I am in no rush."

He had said before that he was tired, and that was no lie.

After all, that Black Fog Calamity and the monsters within were all tough nuts to crack; some couldn't be killed with one punch and required a second, so this back-and-forth did indeed make him feel a bit weary, and it was time to rest.

The Empress nodded and said nothing more.

Soon, as the Nine Heavens Phoenix officially took flight, countless streaks of light were left behind by the two, and finally, a white dot of light appeared before their eyes. The dot grew larger and larger, and the Phoenix passed through it.

Finally, in the blink of an eye, the Heaven and Earth changed!

Li Heng stood atop the Phoenix, looking at the mountains and rivers around him. The spiritual energy was dense, the Heaven and Earth rules were active, and he sensed the existence of various Dongtian Fudi, rare treasures and exotic beasts, and many powerful human cultivators.

Such a World is truly worthy of being called a paradise within the True Realm.

One could even call it the Upper Realm of the Xianshi Tiandi.

But one only hopes it is not a true "paradise," Li Heng sighed inwardly.

"Fellow Daoist, look, this is my Great Zhou."

The Empress explained to Li Heng with pride.

"This Heaven and Earth is vast and boundless, spanning far more than billions of miles."

Li Heng sighed in agreement, playing along.

Of course.

In reality, he was also somewhat surprised by the size of this Heaven and Earth. Because the size of this Heaven and Earth was a full light-year across; for a continental worldview, how vast is a light-year?

To give a very simple and clear example.

Billions of miles of Heaven and Earth is very large, right?

But a one-light-year Heaven and Earth is a full eighteen billion miles.

That is the gap.

Having received Li Heng's flattery, the Empress could not help but feel secretly pleased; she had finally regained some face, as she had been constantly surprised ever since she met this Fellow Daoist Li Heng.

How could she maintain the spirit of the Lord of Great Zhou like that?

At this moment, the Nine Heavens Phoenix shuttled through this Heaven and Earth and soon arrived at the center of the world, before a majestic divine city suspended above a Divine Mountain, with various Runes carved into the surrounding city walls and all sorts of towering auras rising into the sky from within the city.

The Empress smiled slightly.

"Welcome, Fellow Daoist, to Tianjing!"

At the same time, a unified shout came from the city.

"Respectfully welcoming Your Majesty back to the capital!"

The prestige was unmatched for a time.

Days passed in a flash, and two or three days went by.

Rumors spread throughout Tianjing that the current Empress had brought back a man from the frontier, who seemed to be quite favored by the Empress, leading many men to be very envious.

There were also rumors that this man was a helper invited by the Empress who could solve the Great Zhou's predicament. However, these rumors soon disappeared; after all, as great as the Great Zhou was, where could there be a predicament?

And at this moment, inside a luxurious building on the east side of Tianjing.

Li Heng held a bamboo scroll, quietly

What was recorded within were historical materials of past Calamities in the True Realm and the disasters suffered by the Great Zhou. "Heavenly Calamity appears, Strange Monsters emerge, commoners die, Divine Bird appears, Heaven and Earth are cleared..."

Li Heng frowned; a Divine Bird again?

That Great Zhou Empress had not seen him these past few days, and he was not in a rush; he took this time to rest and recover, and while playing among the people, he also wanted to investigate the secrets of this Great Zhou.

For instance, the bloodlines of everyone in Great Zhou are all somewhat strange.

As it turned out, no matter how he investigated, he always traced it back to the Heavenly Heart Mark and the past of the World, yet all of it had an extremely strong connection to this Divine Bird.

Historical records even state that once the Divine Bird appeared, Heaven and Earth became clear and bright, and all Calamities and Strange Monsters vanished, and then Great Zhou continued on until the present.

But this clearly does not conform to Reason.

How could a Calamity be anything but Terror? Even the Immortal Gods have already been defeated, let alone this Divine Bird that suddenly popped out; it would be truly strange if a so-called Divine Bird could resolve Calamities and Strange Monsters.

This Divine Bird was most likely some kind of Mechanical God method at the time.

Great Zhou used this method to avoid being ravaged by the Calamity.

Could it be that so-called Time-Space Array?

But does this simple Time-Space Array really have such miraculous effects?

Li Heng expressed doubt.

According to the records in historical materials, Great Zhou suffered from more than one type of Calamity at the time; could this Time-Space Array, which could cast off one type of Calamity, also cast off multiple types of Calamities?

There must be a secret within it.

He felt it was necessary for him to have a showdown with that Empress.

---Author's Note---

Ten thousand words finished, but why does it feel like writing three chapters is a bit too much... Next time I'll try to see if I can write two chapters, five thousand words per chapter?