Chapter 319: So This Is Knowing

Yu Lin's spirit circled the azure Earth a few more times, his consciousness scanning every inch of the area that might hide spatial nodes like the most precise radar, and finally had to confirm a fact—

The entrance to the Heavenly Court had indeed vanished; it wasn't that he was looking in the wrong place.

He stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and decided to employ another, more "traditional" and direct method.

The spirit instantly returned to his body; he stepped onto the ground, casually scooped up a clump of damp soil, and with his fingers shaping it, a humanoid Tai Shang Lao Jun statue was molded.

He cared little for ceremony, using the earth as an altar and the mud statue as a conduit, forming a seal and chanting a mantra—essentially opening a direct altar—to send a "communication request" to Tai Shang Lao Jun!

As the esoteric syllables left his mouth, the three incense sticks before the mud statue burned at a visible speed, the blue smoke rising straight upward.

The once‑wet mud statue seemed to be baked by an invisible fire, quickly becoming dry and hard.

When the final inch of soil lost its moisture and turned ash‑white—

a profoundly mysterious, ethereal yet all‑encompassing aura suddenly descended upon the rough mud statue!

The mud statue's vague visage seemed to gain a hint of life.

Immediately, a calm, timeless elder's voice resonated directly within Yu Lin's Sea of Consciousness:

"What brings you to seek me, old man?"

Yu Lin curled his lip: "I don't believe you, Tai Shang Lao Jun, don't know."

The voice added a barely perceptible smile: "Oh? You mean the way you were flitting about the world outside Earth like a headless fly just now?"

Yu Lin: "…………"

He chose not to follow the banter and asked the core question directly: "Where did the Heavenly Court entrance move to?"

"Well…" Tai Shang Lao Jun's voice lingered a bit, as if finding it rather amusing.

Before the words finished, the mud statue suddenly emitted a light "bang" and burst apart on its own!

But what splashed out was not soil, but countless sparkling starlights that whirled and coalesced in the air, and in the blink of an eye formed a doorway!

Tai Shang Lao Jun's voice sounded again:

"Push the door open, and step inside."

He paused, then added a sentence that seemed pointed:

"When you reach the Heavenly Court, you'll naturally understand why the 'entrance' appears as it does now."

Afterward, the mysterious aura that had cloaked the area receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace.

Yu Lin stared at the mud‑crafted door before him, did not hesitate, stepped forward a pace, and reached out to push the door open.

A slight Spatial Fluctuation rippled, the scene before his eyes instantly blurred and twisted, then suddenly cleared in the next moment.

When Yu Lin's vision recovered, he found himself amid a realm of lingering Immortal Light and flowing colors—indeed the Heavenly Court!

Looking around, the overall layout of the Heavenly Court matched his memory: jade towers, rainbow bridges, cascading waterfalls, and celestial beasts roaming freely.

But on closer inspection, the artistic style seemed off.

In the near distance, a celestial being with an ethereal bearing lay smiling on a beach chair, behind him a seaside mansion that he had reshaped with Immortal Method into a strikingly modern design.

Even more absurd, the sky featured not only traditional sword‑riding and cloud‑riding.

A sleek, wind‑cutting vehicle flashing with Immortal Light Runes—apparently forged by alchemical means—roared past, brushing shoulders with a flock of sword‑riding immortals, creating an intensely anachronistic vibe.

"Well, wow…" Yu Lin's mouth twitched,

but on second thought, since Haotian Shangdi had not objected, he must have tacitly approved.

After all, deities live long and need new amusements; as long as they don't descend to the Human World to cause trouble, let them tinker within the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court is boundless; even if they wanted to recreate a Human World, there'd be plenty of space.

Yet his attention lingered on those immortals only briefly before swiftly turning to what he cared about most—Southern Heavenly Gate.

The Southern Heavenly Gate is the official entrance.

However, when he focused his gaze, he was stunned.

Following the towering, golden‑radiant Southern Heavenly Gate outward, the spot that should have linked to the Human World was now… a sea of Chaos‑filled void clouds, and farther away, other inherent celestial mountains and palaces of the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court entrance… vanished?

Or rather, the Southern Heavenly Gate has become merely a symbolic structure, and its function as a 'gate' seems… gone?

Yu Lin touched his chin and thought to himself:

"Could it have lost its spirit? Did something happen before, and Haotian Shangdi was too lazy to repair it?"

"Never mind, let's try to enlighten it."

He raised his hand, his fingertips glowing, about to enlighten the Southern Heavenly Gate, when Haotian Shangdi's voice sounded beside his ear:

"Hey, don't act!"

"........."

Yu Lin withdrew his hand; a seven‑colored sunrise glided down from the sky, its brilliance fading to reveal a female immortal dressed in rainbow‑hued feathered robes, of striking beauty and ethereal bearing.

She bowed gracefully toward Yu Lin, her posture reverent yet elegant, her voice like pearls dropping onto jade:

"Little Seven has seen Young Master Yu."

She lifted her head, her bright eyes twinkling with a smile,

"It's been a long time; Young Master Yu remains as radiant and handsome as ever, even more splendid than before."

Yu Lin waved his hand casually; he's never been fond of such pleasantries: "Seventh Princess, no need for excessive courtesy, no need for such formalities."

He was more concerned with the practical matter and asked directly:

"Why has the Heavenly Court entrance disappeared? Has the Southern Heavenly Gate completely lost its traversing ability?"

He recalled that the Heavenly Court has gates in all directions and pressed further:

"Are the other heavenly gates in the same situation?"

The Seventh Fairy Maiden, seeing Yu Lin's direct question, did not conceal anything and gently explained: "Young Master Yu is mistaken; the Southern Heavenly Gate has not lost its function, but together with the other three heavenly gates, it has been employed by Haotian Shangdi to stabilize the River of Time."

She paused, then continued in detail: "This measure is to fix spacetime, so that we immortals cannot swim upstream against the River of Time, but must go with the current of time."

To prevent any immortal or deity from attempting to alter the past, causing unpredictable Great Cause and Effect, and stirring up the myriad heavens and realms.

Of course, as a being as transcendent as Young Master Yu, you are naturally exempt from this restriction.

As for the connection between the Human World and the Heavenly Court, Seventh Fairy Maiden turned the conversation, "that is for another reason. Previously, cultivators in the Human World had not yet reached a level as profound as the Great Void, and they needed to rely on a fixed Heavenly Gate entrance to be guided, in order to ascend to the Immortal Court."

And as the path of cultivation has progressed, those who have attained the Great Void realm now possess a nature of cultivation comparable to that of an immortal.

If their merits are complete and their hearts are moved, wishing to ascend to the Heavenly Realm, they only need a slight resonance between their own Dao Rhythm and the laws of Heaven and Earth; the Heavenly Court will naturally send down Immortal Light to guide them, without needing to enter through the gate.

She gave a faint smile, adding,

Of course, the Human World is bustling with many ties, and not all Great Void cultivators are willing to ascend immediately.

After finishing the explanation, Seventh Fairy Maiden said with a hint of contemplation, "In theory, with your level, Young Master Yu should already be able to sense the Heavenly Court's guidance."

"I suppose… perhaps Father Emperor deliberately did so, shielding your regular sensing of the Heavenly Court?"

"Hmm." Yu Lin thought the speculation quite reasonable; perhaps Tai Shang Lao Jun also had a hand in it.

No wonder he knew it as soon as I arrived; so that's the sort of knowledge.

"I understand." Yu Lin nodded, indicating his comprehension.

Seeing this, Seventh Fairy Maiden turned sideways into an inviting posture, and a seven‑colored sunrise glow spread beneath her feet, forming an Immortal Path:

"Father Emperor has been informed of the Young Master's arrival and is waiting in the Treasure Hall."

"Young Master Yu, please follow me."