Chapter 545: Time-Space Channel

"Greetings, Imperial Teacher."

Li Heng appeared, and Xuanyang bowed from afar, speaking respectfully.

Xuantian's expression was complex.

Just a moment ago, he had only been guessing and hearing rumors; now that he truly saw Xuanyang being so respectful, it was, in his impression, absolutely unprecedented.

Moreover, it seemed to be just as Xuanyang had said.

The person before him was the same red-haired Supreme he had encountered previously; although they looked completely different on the surface—one a manifestation of light, the other possessed by red hair—their aura was unexpectedly identical.

"Are you, truly the second Heavenly Emperor?"

After thinking for a moment, he tentatively asked.

In truth, he did not want to ask so directly, but this matter was of the utmost importance, concerning his future attitude toward this person; it had to be confirmed. He could not simply pretend not to know once he did, playing dumb while knowing the truth—this was, after all, the suspected second Heavenly Emperor.

Li Heng raised an eyebrow.

"It seems you know. Not bad, I suppose I am for now. However, in my view, I am just a fellow acting as a substitute to select the second Heavenly Emperor; the future second Heavenly Emperor is not me."

"You may also address me as Imperial Teacher."

He smiled slightly, then immediately revealed the Heavenly Emperor Authority.

"Subject, Xuantian, greets the Imperial Teacher!"

Without much hesitation, Xuantian hurriedly bowed to Li Heng and spoke respectfully. The moment the Heavenly Emperor Authority appeared, he knew that all of this could not be fake.

Although he still did not understand why one would not be the Heavenly Emperor when they could, this person was his ultimate superior, so it was not his place to speculate wildly; whatever the Imperial Teacher said, he would accept.

"Enough, these common courtesies are unnecessary; I do not care for them. This identity is merely a transaction I made with your Majesty."

Li Heng shook his head and said calmly.

Xuantian nodded, but he did not take it to heart at all. You may not care, but I cannot fail to pay respects. He only recognized that his own emotional intelligence was not particularly high, but it was not so low that he would truly fail to pay respects.

"Imperial Teacher, I wonder how His Majesty fares?"

He spoke again; the transaction Li Heng mentioned set his imagination running wild. Could it be that this Imperial Teacher had once met His Majesty, who had not appeared for a long time?

"I do not know about that, but he should be fine. At the very least, much better than the Taiyin before you." Li Heng pointed to the front, at this tiny remnant of a True Spirit, and said calmly.

The two could not help but cast their gazes toward Taiyin.

At this moment, Li Heng continued.

"The light of the Present World Lighthouse has already spread into the deeper parts of the Unknown, and I discovered some clues and saved him. However, apart from him, the other nine Heavenly Court Immortal Gods have already died."

He calmly and cruelly pronounced the facts.

The two were shocked upon hearing this; only Taiyin remained?

"Imperial Teacher, then what about the others?"

Xuanyang hurriedly asked; there were more than ten people who had ventured deep into the Unknown to explore back then. How could there only be ten in Li Heng's account? Could it be...

"I did not discover any traces of the others; perhaps they died even earlier than those nine Heavenly Court Immortal Gods." Li Heng glanced at Xuanyang and said calmly, shattering Xuanyang's delusions.

However, such a result was not unexpected.

What kind of perilous place was the Wuqiong Weizhi?

It was a dead zone for all known things! The Sacred would rather trace the Time-Space Mother River than set foot in the Unknown; one can see how sinister the Unknown is. Therefore, it was already good that they were not completely wiped out; what did it matter if ninety-nine percent of the people died? This result was still considered good.

The two were stunned for a moment, falling into silence.

Xuantian was fine; after all, he had parted ways with them long ago. Different paths meant they could not work together; apart from having a relatively good relationship with Xuanyang, he felt average about the others, and there were even a few enemies among them.

It was Xuanyang, however, who had proposed this Lighthouse Project and hoped for a good result. But now, this result was not the worst, yet it was not good either.

Only one person remained alive.

And the person who was alive was as good as dead.

"Xuanyang thanks the Imperial Teacher for extending a helping hand..."

After a brief silence, Xuanyang bowed respectfully to Li Heng. He knew that without Li Heng, perhaps not a single one would have survived.

"Xuantian pays respects and thanks the Imperial Teacher here."

Xuantian also hurriedly spoke to express his gratitude; after all, even though his relationship with that group exploring the Unknown was average, they were, in the end, his own people.

"No need, it was just a small effort, and there were gains as well."

Li Heng did not mind and waved his hand.

"Regarding the situation of this Taiyin, I have already processed it in advance; although only that tiny bit of True Spirit remains, it will recover sooner or later. That is only a matter of time; you shall see."

He handed Taiyin over to the two, Xuanyang and Xuantian.

Although he was somewhat interested in what results the group of Immortal Gods exploring the Unknown, including Taiyin, might have harvested from the Wuqiong Weizhi, it was only a slight interest.

It would not be too late to discuss it after Taiyin woke up.

The urgent matter now was this Strange Fire Pile; perhaps he could comprehend the Absolute Element from this Strange Fire Pile, or perhaps he could find the location of the so-called Multiverse Alliance from it.

Taiyin was not worth him wasting too much time or Source Power.

"Yes, Imperial Teacher." The two responded in unison.

"Oh, right, Xuantian."

Li Heng seemed to have remembered something and spoke again.

"This subordinate is here."

Xuantian stepped forward and said respectfully. A wave of emotion washed over him, feeling as if a lifetime had passed; he felt as though he had returned to the past, to the time when he used to see that Majesty.

"Observing your Causality traces, it seems you left some things behind in the Present World in the past. That Enlightenment Stone Wall was left by you, was it not?"

Li Heng said.

Xuantian was startled, not understanding why Li Heng would ask about such trivial matters, but he could only nod.

"Reporting to the Imperial Teacher, it is indeed something I left behind."

"It is good that it is yours. I once borrowed that Enlightenment Stone Wall to seek the Dao and gained much, but I damaged the stone wall; today, I shall bestow upon you a fortuitous encounter to compensate for the loss."

Li Heng said with a smile.

Xuantian was startled and hurriedly spoke up.

"Imperial Teacher, you must not. What virtue or ability do I possess? That Enlightenment Stone Wall is merely a crude and flawed object. It is my honor that the Imperial Teacher could attain enlightenment through it; I was even worried that what you gained from the stone wall might be erroneous."

"I dare not take credit for this matter, so please retract your command."

His expression was solemn as he bowed to Li Heng.

"Causality is a Cycle; you cannot refuse it."

Li Heng chuckled softly.

As the saying goes, all living beings fear the result, while Bodhisattvas fear the cause. Even though he has now transcended the scope of the Causality Cycle, since he took advantage of the cause borrowed from you in the past, he shall return a good result today.

This would also allow his heart to be at peace.

"Then I ask the Imperial Teacher to reduce the reward. The damage to the Enlightenment Stone Wall is clearly because it could not withstand the Dao the Imperial Teacher realized. It is my fault for not allowing the Imperial Teacher to attain enlightenment to his heart's content."

Xuantian responded firmly.

Li Heng raised an eyebrow, then relaxed it again.

"Very well, this is your request. Since that is the case, I shall borrow flowers to offer to Buddha. I have a volume of the Heavenly Emperor Scripture here; study it well, and you shall surely be the second Heavenly Emperor in the future."

As soon as the words fell, the text of the Heavenly Emperor Scripture appeared in Xuantian's mind, and Li Heng's figure vanished. Xuanyang had a strange expression and explained to the bewildered Xuantian beside him what the Heavenly Emperor Scripture was.

Then Xuantian was completely stunned.

At the same time, in a certain part of the Great Void, one space-time passage after another opened, emitting an aura completely different from the current Great Void, and figures appeared at the entrances of the passages, about to descend upon this place.

A short sentence echoed in the ears of these figures.

"Retrieve the Number Five Strange Object."