Chapter 1038

In the wilderness, dense fog blocked everything.

Huge beast shadows moved through the thick fog, with occasional sounds of slaughter drifting over; but when these ferocious, bloodthirsty fellows unintentionally approached a vast stone forest, they all lowered their voices, slowed their movements, and tip-toed around.

In the stone forest stood a massive fortress, and on the towering stone cliffs were halls carved out.

This is a stronghold of the Gui clan of human commoners, garrisoned with a considerable force of elite warriors tasked with hunting savage beasts on this wilderness and gathering special materials from various ferocious beasts.

Inside the stone cliffs, deep passageways crisscross in a complexity exceeding a spider's web; outsiders who are not members of the Gui clan that own this stronghold cannot fathom where these passageways lead, or whether deadly traps lie in wait.

At the deepest part of the stone cliffs, inside the mountain, a square-hewn great hall housed a group of men dressed in coarse long robes, their aura stern and solemn.

They sat around a square fire pit, the bonfire blazing, with dozens of iron large water kettles hanging above; these men sat around the fire pit, holding coarse porcelain bowls filled with tea.

Having finished their tea, they themselves took the kettles from the bonfire and refilled them with hot tea.

Thousands of men here sipped tea with 'slurp, slurp' sounds, each eyes gleaming, not a single one uttering a word.

Light footsteps sounded, and the person in charge of this Gui clan stronghold, Gui Xu, seventh-generation great-grandson of the current head of the Gui clan's main line, walked in smiling, followed by dozens of armored men behind him.

Ji Baijie walked behind Gui Xu with his hands behind his back, steady and calm, and he chuckled softly: 'Rest easy, Ji and Gui are both among the ancient eight surnames; we share the same origin and lineage, and we are even more connected by marriage, so I will not slight you.'

Gui Xu's smile grew even brighter; he strode into the hall, clapped his hands vigorously, and exclaimed with delight: 'Everyone, look who has come!'

The thousands of silent men simultaneously lifted their heads, and then strange glints flickered in their eyes.

They were all high-ranking clan leaders of the human destiny field; from childhood they had cultivated various supreme mystic arts, each possessing a pair of powerful magic eyes and wielding inconceivable divine abilities.

The gazes of thousands converged on Ji Baijie, sharp as knives, slicing across his body thread by thread.

Ji Baijie made no defensive move, allowing their gazes to scrutinize him closely.

He even smiled, waving to a Ji clan Elder named Ji Chan seated in the core of the crowd nearest the fire pit: 'Elder Ji Chan, thank you yesterday for accompanying me on a tour of the holy grounds; I appreciate it.'

His hair was white as snow, showing his age; his inner breath was somewhat depleted, evidently under the constraints of this mutated world's great Dao, his lifespan was nearing its end, and the fire of life within him had begun to dim.

He had personally accompanied Ji Baijie yesterday, touring the holy grounds of the Ji clan.

He personally witnessed Ji Baijie being slain by an assassin among the crowd with a single sword strike; moreover, he and several other Elders, leading the clansmen, helped stitch Ji Baijie's corpse so that he could be sent back to his tribe as a whole body.

Even after Ji Baijie was killed, the pillar of light shooting straight into the sky was also shattered by Ji Chan himself.

Otherwise, in the Ji clan's holy grounds, right outside the ancestral shrine, a pillar of light symbolizing the slaying of a high-ranking clansman would stand there—wouldn't that be an embarrassment to the Ji clan?

All of this either was done by Ji Chan personally wielding the blade, or involved Ji Chan throughout.

Ji Chan dares to swear that Ji Baijie is truly dead, completely dead—his head chopped off by a single blade, his soul shattered; his corpse should have just been sent back to his native tribe.

Yet right before his eyes, Ji Baijie appeared in the flesh.

A living person, not an illusion, not a clone.

Moreover, his essence and energy were full, his spirit vigorous, with no sign of the depletion that follows a severe injury's recent healing.

A perfect peak condition, with nothing amiss about him.

Ji Chan slowly rose to his feet, his face solemn as he looked at Ji Baijie: 'Baijie, if that's the case, are the things you've told me over these years true?'

Ji Baijie smiled as he gazed at the thousands of men seated in the hall.

They numbered only in the thousands, yet they were the tribal leaders secretly selected and contacted by the Heavenly Court over these years.

Each of them had a powerful human clan standing behind them.

Each held great authority within his own clan, enough to influence tens of billions of ordinary clansmen.

Even setting aside the ordinary clansmen, each person present controlled private forces in his own clan that far surpassed the ordinary warriors, each commanding anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of elite troops.

Thousands of them, each commanding tens of thousands to millions of elite troops.

Ji Baijie raised his hand and lightly patted his own neck, smiling: 'Which uncle wishes to see the truth up close? Come here and strike.'

A man with a flushed red face and a height of nearly two zhang stood up, his voice deep: 'Ji Baijie, my dear nephew, this is a matter of great importance; don't blame me for bullying you as your uncle… those were your words!'

Ji Baijie outstretched his neck and laughed at the burly man: 'Uncle Yao Long, go ahead and try.'

The burly man let out a cold snort, grabbed at the air with his right hand; azure light wove in the gale, and the wind condensed directly into a long blade, which with a 'whoosh' struck Ji Baijie's neck.

A spray of hot blood erupted, Ji Baijie's head hit the ground, his body swayed for a moment, then with a 'thud' he collapsed to the floor.

A strong light burst from within Ji Baijie's body, a pillar of light about to shoot into the sky; dozens of white-haired, terrifyingly auraed elders in the crowd lightly waved their hands, and the strong light shattered completely, turning into threads of heavenly-earth primordial energy that dissolved into the void.

That was just a few breaths' time; a faint footstep sounded, and Ji Baijie, smiling, hands behind his back, walked out along that same passageway.

'Uncle Yao Long, step aside, let me have a try.' An old man who looked many times older than Ji Chan, his vital breath nearly exhausted, came forward trembling; he gazed solemnly at Ji Baijie and said in a deep voice: 'Ordinary blade or axe won't likely affect you… but dare you try Grandfather Si Jiu Gui's cursed blade?'

Ji Baijie smiled, tore open his clothes, and revealed a sturdy, knotted-muscled chest.

Si Jiu Gui let out a strange laugh, drew a pitch-black jade short dagger with his right hand, trailing a dark-green glimmer, and thrust it hard into Ji Baijie's chest.

Ji Baijie's body jerked, then with a 'pop' it exploded into a mass of poisonous blood that splattered everywhere.

Si Jiu Gui said in a deep voice: 'My curse arts, aside from those self-sealed old fogeys, are absolutely supreme among the eight surnames… if you can survive my lifelong-forged cursed blade, I will believe your words.'

Before his words faded, footsteps sounded, and Ji Baijie walked out again from that passageway.

The thousands of men cried out in unison, each gazing at Ji Baijie with solemn eyes; people continually stepped from the crowd, using their best divine abilities, all manner of unfathomable, mysterious, vicious techniques to test Ji Baijie.

Ji Baijie readily submitted, and soon the ground was littered with over a hundred of his corpses.

In the end, whether it was blade or axe, fire or flood, deadly poison, venomous insects, or even hundreds of the strong present joining forces to cast curse arts, none could prevail against Ji Baijie, who kept reappearing before them time and again.

'We are willing to devote ourselves to the Heavenly Court and serve the Great Heavenly Venerable!'

Finally, under the leadership of the eldest Elders such as Ji Chan and Si Jiu Gui, the thousands of high-ranking human commoners inside the hall all knelt before Ji Baijie.

Behind Ji Baijie, a crystal stone monument rose slowly; within the monument, a huge inscription burst forth with boundless auspicious light and vapor.

'Everyone, if you shed blood to leave your name, you will naturally receive the protection of the Heavenly Court's divine register.'

'From today onward, there will be no more suffering of a finite lifespan, no more worries of aging and decline; as long as your name is on the list, you will be invulnerable to all calamities, indestructible, and unfailing, henceforth sharing eternity with heaven and earth, brilliance with sun and moon.'

Ji Baijie stood solemnly beneath the monument, looking at the high-ranking officials kneeling at his feet, and smiled: 'Everyone, you are the department heads I have carefully selected, future pillars of the Heavenly Court… the glory of the Heavenly Court depends on you, officials… strive with diligence, work together.'

The aged Si Jiu Gui, whose life was nearly at its end and who could die at any breath, was the first to eagerly shed a drop of his lifeblood essence and merge it into the monument.

On the inscription, the name of Si Jiu Gui appeared, emerging directly at the very top of the list.

Between heaven and earth, an inexplicable Daoist power surged forth; on Si Jiu Gui's body, his aged, decrepit skin, covered with liver spots, cracked open, and dead skin flakes peeled away rapidly, revealing the fresh, snow-white, smooth, tight-skinned new layer beneath.

The breath of life was endless, like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers bursting forth from the deepest part of Si Jiu Gui's body.

Si Jiu Gui's hunched back gradually straightened, his qi surging upward; in just a few breaths he leapt directly from half-step Venerable over the threshold that had imprisoned humanity for countless years.

It was comparable to a Venerable, and even more powerful and mysterious than an ordinary third- or fourth-rank Venerable; a terrifying aura enveloped the entire hall.

Si Jiu Gui stared blankly at his hands, which had become snow‑white, delicate, and strong; he stared for a long time, then suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.

He raised his hands high and hoarsely shouted: "Exactly, this is it—power, youth… boundless, endless lifespan… I feel that the whole universe has merged with me; I am the universe, and the universe is me!"

"Sharing lifespan with heaven and earth, sharing brilliance with sun and moon… Subject, Si Jiu Gui, Heavenly King of the Plague Department of the Heavenly Court, pays homage to the Great Heavenly Venerable!"

Si Jiu Gui once again knelt heavily before Ji Bai Jie.

Being listed on the Divine List, Si Jiu Gui already understood his status and position in the Heavenly Court. He was very satisfied with this. Among the Nine Departments of the Heavenly Court, he could occupy the throne of a department's king, become the head of a department, and become a top minister of the Heavenly Court—what more could he possibly be dissatisfied with?

Moreover, the Plague Department's various plague and curse abilities perfectly matched the methods Si Jiu Gui had used all his life.

He could not be more satisfied.

Everyone in the hall watched wide‑eyed as the miracle appeared before them, and they instantly went mad. They could not wait to extract a bit of their lifeblood essence, then could not wait to inscribe their names on the Divine List.

Youth, power… endless lifespan!

Especially, not bound by this world's restrictions, they directly via the Divine List grasped power comparable to that of a Venerable!

Is there anything better than this?

Ji Bai Jie smiled as he saw thousands of clan leaders become his Heavenly Court subjects, and he said with a smile: "Officials, from now on, please act with caution and care."

"The Heavenly Court will be an unprecedentedly powerful force in human history."

"Stronger than ordinary people, stronger than the lineages of Xi Huang and Nu Huang, stronger than Nu Island, which secretly controls humanity!"

"Because of our strength, some will envy us, scheme against us, plot against us; a spear is easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against—we must be cautious, careful, and always ensure that the Heavenly Court's true secrets do not leak."

"We will use force to counter force, use a chicken to lay eggs, letting certain ambitious individuals become nourishment for our Heavenly Court."

"The scale of the Heavenly Court will be unprecedentedly vast. Even the manpower you, my beloved officials, currently command falls far short of filling its ranks."

"So we must wait quietly, endure quietly, letting certain restless people supply everything we need… not only the heavenly spirits, department officials, heavenly troops and generals, but most importantly, resources!"

"We need to build warships for each department, we need to forge various divine weapons, we need to forge a true… Nine Heavens Heavenly Court."

"All of this requires resources… and relying solely on us, it is difficult to gather enough."

"So, these days, if you notice any words or actions directed against our Heavenly Court, just go along with them, even lend a hand. Believe me, beloved officials, that in the end all their efforts will ultimately become ours."

Inside the hall, thousands of Heavenly Court officials burst into loud laughter.

They each raised their heads, gazing at Ji Bai Jie with fervent eyes.

Feeling the vast, sea‑like power within their bodies, feeling their youthful vigor, sensing the vague fusion of self with heaven and earth, they believed Ji Bai Jie's words were the ultimate truth of heaven and earth.

"Once our Heavenly Court is fully formed, we shall replace Nu Island and become the supreme rulers of humanity."

"Those heretical demons currently attacking and slaughtering our people will be utterly crushed by the Heavenly Court."

"The extraterrestrial demons that have plagued humanity for countless years will also ultimately become our defeated subordinates."

"We will unify humanity, unify heaven and earth, restore humanity's ancient glory, surpass it, and establish a glorious achievement far exceeding that of the legendary human sovereigns."

"Our names will endure forever, sung eternally by humanity's descendants, by all beings of heaven and earth, and by every sentient creature."