Chapter 251: Heavenly Court

The meat Yu Lin brought let Dong Yong and his father eat with great satisfaction.

The uneaten portion was turned into smoked cured meat.

The amount of meat eaten today exceeds the sum of what they had previously eaten!

Wait for the meat to be smoked.

Dong Yong turned to Yu Lin with a smile and said, "Thanks to you today, Brother Yu, we could truly feast."

Since we've eaten Brother Yu's food, the life‑saving debt ends here; I hope you won't mention it again in the future.

I, Dong Yong, am not ungrateful.

Yu Lin nodded, "Brother Dong is a fine man."

Of course, I reside in Jingyun County, forty li west; if Brother Dong needs anything, feel free to come find me at any time.

I won't disturb your rest.

Farewell.

He rose, not waiting for Dong Yong to say anything about staying to sit, and left Dongjia Village.

He arrived suddenly and left just as suddenly.

Dong Lao Han watched his silhouette, turned his head, and whispered to Dong Yong:

"Ah Yong, although you say the life‑saving debt is settled, I can see that Young Master Yu has his own designs; unless truly no other way, you must never go to him for assistance."

"Even if I die in the future and have no money for burial, do not go to him; understand?!"

"Human kindness is rare........"

Dong Yong nodded, his voice deep, "Father, I understand."

You still want to live until I get married and have children, saying these inauspicious words.

"Alright, I'll go gather firewood; you stay home."

He did not press on with the heavy subject; instead he turned toward the courtyard, grabbed his firewood axe and some rope, and left the house.

He walked toward the familiar Jingyun Mountain beyond the village.

……

When Dong Yong reached the foot of Jingyun Mountain, it was already afternoon.

The sunlight was pleasant, and the forest was silent.

However, the instant he set foot on the mountain trail, an unexpected change erupted!

The previously bright sky seemed instantly shrouded by a gauze‑like mist, as if an invisible giant hand had brushed it, and the heavens darkened at once.

Immediately, a thick white fog surged from nowhere, swiftly enveloping the forest entrance, causing Dong Yong's silhouette to waver in the mist; after a few steps, he vanished entirely into the boundless haze, his trail lost.

"Oh? Interesting." Yu Lin, who had been covertly observing Dong Yong from a distance, saw the sudden change and a teasing smile tugged at his lips:

"Go see what's happening."

Just as he was about to step forward, the ground ahead emitted a soft 'puff', and a diminutive figure leapt out like a earth‑walking child, standing before him.

The newcomer was a small old man, with kindly eyebrows and a few strands of goat‑style beard, his height only reaching Yu Lin's chin.

Upon appearing, he immediately performed a respectful bow to Yu Lin and said:

"Please, True Lord……."

??? True Lord? Me?

When did this happen? How could I not know?

He looked at the old man in surprise and asked:

"Sir, you must have mistaken me………, right?"

"Where does my 'True Lord' title come from? And who are you?"

The old man, hearing this, clasped his hands again and respectfully replied, "In answer to you, True Lord, I am the Land Deity of this Jingyun Mountain."

"I have just returned from reporting duties at the Heavenly Court today, sensed your aura here, and therefore came especially to pay my respects."

He paused, looked up at Yu Lin, seemed to gather his thoughts, and continued: "As for the 'True Lord' appellation… you are surrounded by radiant light, your spirit is complete, clearly you have attained the Yang Deity, transcending the constraints of heaven and earth's five elements, not entering the human cycle of reincarnation; such a realm rightfully merits the title 'True Lord.'"

If you have any doubts, True Lord, you may go to the Heavenly Court yourself; everything will become evident.

Yu Lin, hearing the Land Deity's explanation, a helpless smile on his face, spread his hands and said, "If I were to say I don't know how to get to the Heavenly Court, would you believe me?"

Jingyun Mountain Land Deity: "…………"

His respectful expression froze instantly, replaced by unabashed suspicion and a look that said, 'you're teasing me.'

Who could have achieved the Yang Deity's lofty realm yet not know how to reach the Heavenly Court? This is sheer absurdity!

Isn't this just blatantly tricking this honest Land Deity?

However, his disbelief is also understandable.

After all, Yu Lin's Yang Deity was obtained via the 'Myth Book' cheat, not through his own arduous cultivation.

He has not yet fully merged; the potency of the Nine‑turn Golden Core is slowly advancing the integration, and it likely will take a thousand to eight hundred years before it completes.

Yu Lin, seeing the Land Deity's skepticism, was too lazy to linger on the issue and instead asked, "Fine, let's set that aside for now."

Why are you blocking my way up the mountain? But what's wrong with him?

"It's not that we're preventing True Lord from entering the mountain."

"Rather, to keep mortals from witnessing my conversation with the True Lord."

"True Lord, if you intend to go to the Heavenly Court, and if you don't mind, would you be willing to go with me?"

"Hmm? A path appears!"

The Heavenly Court Map is now open for exploration.

Yu Lin nodded, "I see."

"Then that's a trouble."

"No trouble, no trouble." The Jingyun Land Deity waved his hand, and immediately he flicked his sleeve; the surrounding clouds and mist gathered here, then formed clouds and mist under his and Yu Lin's feet.

"True Lord, please stand firm." The Land Deity reminded.

Yu Lin stepped onto the cloud as instructed, feeling a soft yet unusually firm sensation under his feet.

The next moment, the auspicious cloud carried the two slowly off the ground, then speed gradually increased, flying straight toward the azure firmament.

At first, one could still feel the breeze on the face; below, Dongjia Village and Jingyun Mountain quickly shrank into specks on a chessboard.

Soon they pierced through the ordinary low-altitude clouds, and before them lay an expanse of blank white.

The flight continued, as if they were about to rush straight into the depths of the Universe; Yu Lin even began to wonder, could the Heavenly Court be built on some extraterrestrial planet?

Just at the moment this thought arose—

Crack!

A faint sound, yet as if it echoed deep in the soul, a crisp note rang out.

Not heard by the ears, but a sense that some spatial barrier had been pierced! The scene before their eyes twisted and shattered like broken glass.

The next moment, all ordinary scenery vanished!

Looking intently, where were the earth, sea of clouds, and starry sky?

They had already found themselves in a passage whose magnificence and wonder could not be described in words!

All around flowed multicolored rosy light, like liquid slowly surging, and like an aurora ever-changing.

Beneath their feet was a solid rainbow bridge, like white jade, extending toward endless distance; beneath the bridge was not void, but a sea of clouds rolling with golden auspicious qi.

Faint celestial music drifted nearby, seeming far yet near, refreshing the heart and mind.

Looking ahead along the passage formed by this rosy light and rainbow bridge, at the end of the view stood a heavenly gate so immense that "huge" cannot describe it, towering awesomely.

That heavenly gate seemed carved from a single piece of ten-thousand-year-old white jade, its height unknown tens of thousands of feet, piercing the clouds.

On the gateposts twined lifelike reliefs of golden dragons and golden phoenixes, scales and feathers clearly visible, as if they were about to take flight at any moment.

Above the gate lintel hung a huge treasure mirror, its surface chaotic, as if it could illuminate all realms; any evil before it had nowhere to hide.

At either side of the treasure mirror were three divine scripts, naturally condensed from Dao markings, containing supreme majesty and emitting myriad rays of golden light—

【Southern Heavenly Gate】!