Chapter 201: Star, Hongjun Journeys to Heaven Beyond Heaven

When the Wu Clan was born, in the starry sky a star that had originally been dim and lightless suddenly showed a hint of vitality, flickering with a hint of red light.

Countless spiritual qi were drawn to it, swept into the star, and gathered at its core.

Some of the primordial wilderness beings who saw the star's revival had a flicker of red light in their eyes; this hint of red light stirred the resentment in the vicinity, invisibly wrapping around them and seeping into their spiritual platforms.

And the Wu Clan, born at the same time, was no different; although they never saw the star, their fortunes became entwined due to the coincidence of their simultaneous birth.

In Heaven Beyond Heaven, Luo Hou's aura, following the star's revival, gradually waned, slowly but persistently.

Luo Hou sensed this, yet he felt pleased, knowing that even if Heaven Beyond Heaven were to disappear and be destroyed, the impending crisis would no longer threaten him.

"What a pity, I thought I could prove the Devil Dao's Primordial Unity Fruit by merging my path with Heaven Beyond Heaven, but in the end I was off by one move."

"It's just that the path of the Great Dao is now temporarily cut off, but perhaps later there will be a chance; as long as we wait until we escape the Primordial Wasteland, proving the Dao is still not impossible."

"But from now on, I fear I can no longer act recklessly as before; I must accumulate merit and cleanse the karmic debts of the Primordial Wasteland."

Luo Hou secretly thought, then gazed at the spiritual treasure at the core of Heaven Beyond Heaven; after a slight hesitation, he still took out the World-Destroying Grindstone and transmitted it once more into that star.

The World-Destroying Grindstone is not strong in the Path of Battle, far inferior to the God-Slaying Spear, yet it is nevertheless a rare treasure of heaven and earth; to let it accompany Heaven Beyond Heaven in its destruction, Luo Hou truly feels reluctant.

After much thought, he could only place it together in the star; the only difference is that the karmic debt to be repaid in the future will be a bit greater.

Otherwise, if he were to emerge from the star, his cultivation could not recover and he would lack a spiritual treasure for protection, which would be overly dangerous; at most it would just take a little more time, and Luo Hou has enough patience.

As for the star's influence on the Primordial Wasteland, Luo Hou does not care; after all, he will no longer emit starlight, and once those who have seen its light die, Luo Hou's star will still stand firm in the heavens.

But Luo Hou does not know; perhaps it is fate ordained in the dark, already binding him and the Wu Clan together.

And the escape method he had envisioned, the opportunity to prove the Dao, will all come to nothing because of the Wu Clan's existence.

While Luo Hou was daydreaming about the future, Hongjun had already brought the Four Great Ferocious Beasts and set off toward Heaven Beyond Heaven.

And Heaven Beyond Heaven was precisely the battlefield Hongjun had chosen, as well as the place to exile the Four Great Ferocious Beasts.

He had no time to be indifferent, nor did the magnitude of the crisis matter; he believed that Luo Hou, now united with Heaven Beyond Heaven, could not escape, and no matter what he would accompany him through this calamity.

Whether Luo Hou believes it or not, it suffices that Hongjun himself believes; the Luo Hou of today has no standing to oppose his decision.

Hongjun hovered in the gap between the starry sky and the heavenly-earthly membrane, seemingly searching for something incessantly.

"Heaven Beyond Heaven should be right here, yet why can I not find it?"

Hongjun muttered to himself in the silent starry sky; according to his calculations he should have already arrived at Heaven Beyond Heaven, yet now he cannot find the entrance.

Suddenly he seemed to think of something; Hongjun's face cleared of confusion, and he went straight toward the starry sky below, until he arrived at the Heavenly Realm.

"Heaven Beyond Heaven should lie outside the Heavenly Realm, within the heavenly-earthly membrane; thus, if we go to the edge of the Heavenly Realm and circle it, we will naturally find it."

"Daoist Luo Hou, your little scheme nearly fooled me into using a name for the Heavenly Realm that did not yet exist at that time—hardly a brilliant idea."

Hongjun arrived at the barrier of Heaven Beyond Heaven, and without a greeting he directly tore open its space, letting the interior scene appear in the Primordial Wasteland.

Under the sustainment of divine power, this breach would not heal; Hongjun stepped inside, and Luo Hou's phantom had already been waiting at the breach.

"Daoist Luo Hou, long time no see; this time I have suddenly come calling, and I hope you will excuse me."

Hongjun was not surprised that Luo Hou could sense his arrival, for Luo Hou had merged with Heaven Beyond Heaven and he had not concealed his movements.

Or rather, his main purpose in coming this time was precisely to seek Luo Hou; if Luo Hou did not appear, that would truly disappoint him.

Luo Hou's phantom showed a cold smile and chuckled: "An ill-intentioned guest arrives at the door; I now lack the power to refuse—now you are the butcher and I the meat; what is there to excuse?"

"Speak, is it some formal proceeding or plain speaking? I am now in this predicament; whether you wish to kill or scrape, I will accept it."

Facing Luo Hou's cold mockery, Hongjun took no offense, instead smiling: "Daoist Luo Hou, why be like this? I came not to contend with you; though we once had disagreements, they have long since settled, amounting to nothing."

Luo Hou glanced at Hongjun with interest, wanting to see what trick he was up to.

Anyway, the moment he saw Hongjun, he concluded that this threat originated from him.

In his view, Yang Mei was still nursing wounds in Chaos, and only a few aeons had passed; his injuries could not possibly have healed so quickly.

Hongjun forcibly broke open the gate of Heaven Beyond Heaven; no matter how you look at it, it does not resemble a visit for conversation.

"Daoist Luo Hou, you must have sensed that earlier surge of enthusiasm, right? Given our cultivation levels, nothing happens without cause."

"Without hiding it from you, Daoist, I was suddenly overcome with unease earlier, and having no choice, I came specially to consult you on a matter or two." "Those who could make me feel this way, aside from you, are only Daoist Yang Mei; I do not know the source, so I must investigate to set my mind at ease."

"This meeting has, however, let me confirm things; I still have a place to hide, but I do not know how you ought to respond."

Hongjun's words made Luo Hou's face instantly darken a notch; the subtext was nothing less than a blunt statement that he could no longer pose a threat to him.

Although that is the fact, Hongjun's bluntness still made Luo Hou feel somewhat ill at ease; yet after only a few aeons, he has fallen to such a state.

However, Luo Hou is not one to tolerate mockery; hearing his words, he said: "What need have I for any countermeasure? Now that I have merged my path with Heaven Beyond Heaven, relying on the Primordial Wasteland's heaven and earth, I do not believe Yang Mei could destroy Heaven Beyond Heaven."

"Moreover, even if Yang Mei truly went mad and forcibly destroyed Heaven Beyond Heaven, what then? I am not without a backup plan."

"However, if you seek to unite with the Heavenly Dao and allow Heaven Beyond Heaven to be destroyed, your fate would be unknown."

Having said that, Luo Hou suddenly felt less gloomy; connecting with his backup plan, he suddenly felt inclined to cooperate with Yang Mei and simply destroy Heaven Beyond Heaven.

By then, he would want to see how Hongjun would respond; seeking to unite the Dao is not so easy as to be settled by a single bout.

Hongjun's desire to unite the Dao—before he spreads the Immortal Dao in the Primordial Wasteland, within that realm, whenever any major or minor event arises that affects the world, he has absolutely no chance of escape.

As things stand now, the one who ought to be anxious is Hongjun, after all he cannot simply let Yang Mei destroy Heaven Beyond Heaven.

Luo Hou thought of this, and instantly he was no longer anxious; he merely chuckled:

"Hongjun, you had better think seriously about how to deal with Yang Mei; do not imagine that I can help you."

"As for you wanting to hide, go ahead; Heaven Beyond Heaven is right here, I cannot run, and I cannot be bothered to run."

Having spoken, Luo Hou's phantom vanished, leaving only Hongjun standing alone on the spot, dazed.

After a moment, Hongjun finally gave a wry smile and said:

"Troublesome; coming too hastily has instead caused me to fall short, letting him seize my weak point."

As soon as his words fell, Hongjun again spoke sternly: "Even so, I am not something you lot can easily manipulate; it is merely a Heaven Beyond Heaven, a bit of karma, which I can bear."

"However, having paid the price, you too will certainly not be let off lightly."

Hongjun knows that Yang Mei's arrival is a foregone conclusion, but he absolutely cannot meet him in battle within the Primordial Wasteland, for the ensuing impact would be too great, and the resulting karmic retribution could not be matched by a single Heaven Beyond Heaven.

He also absolutely cannot go to Chaos to contend with Yang Mei, for that is Yang Mei's home ground, and venturing into Chaos would only place himself in peril.

Now within Heaven Beyond Heaven there are no living beings; even if it were destroyed, it would merely bear a slight karma of heaven and earth.

Compared to the risk of going into Chaos and the karmic retribution in the Primordial Wasteland, choosing the lesser of two evils, resisting in Heaven Beyond Heaven is undoubtedly the best choice.

Having made up his mind, Hongjun gave it no further thought, sealing off the passage previously leading into Heaven Beyond Heaven, and then casually released the four ferocious beasts from his sleeves.

"From now on, you shall repent here; you may not leave until Heaven Beyond Heaven is destroyed."

"If you can escape this calamity and enter the Primordial Wasteland, you must not create further killing karma, or else there will be no next chance for you."

Hongjun's voice rang out from the high heavens, entering the ears of the four ferocious beasts, yet his figure had vanished at some unknown time.

Qiongqi and the others looked around, and only after seeing Hongjun truly depart did they sigh:

"At least we managed to save our lives; it seems what the God Rebel said earlier—that we all bear great destiny—was not empty talk."

Taowu, however, spoke with a solemn expression:

"Now our cultivation is sealed, we have been exiled to Heaven Beyond Heaven, and we don't even know how to escape; let's first think about how to survive here."

"Don't forget, Heaven Beyond Heaven is the Dao Chang opened by that one, and there are no living beings to feed on, so first think about yourselves."

Taotie, upon hearing this, immediately looked anguished; they dare not eat in Heaven Beyond Heaven, yet there is nothing else for them to eat—surely the days ahead can't just be spent starving.

Chaos, meanwhile, had been continually pondering the words left by Hongjun earlier, guessing what calamity he referred to.

Chaos simply couldn't figure it out, and seeing that although everyone's relations were now broken, they had once all been under the God Rebel's command, he still spoke up to remind: "Whether hungry or not, let's talk about it later; anyway, we'll all go our separate ways, and I can't be bothered to care."

"Rather than worrying about this, you'd better think carefully about the calamity Hongjun spoke of earlier—what kind of calamity it is, and how to get through it."

The remaining three ferocious beasts instantly focused their gazes on Chaos, but all they saw was his buttocks continually wriggling as he turned and walked away.

PS: There's still one more tonight.

(End of chapter)