Chapter 451 - 450: Abnormality in Heaven and Earth, Stealing the Heavens

Canglan Holy Land.

At this moment, it was chaos within their gates.

The entire continent where the War God’s Temple was located had disappeared, and they were still in the dark about it since they hadn’t witnessed it with their own eyes.

Although the continents where the two major Sects were located were relatively close, they still seemed quite a distance apart in the vast starry sky of the Star Secret Realm.

However, they had witnessed the descent of Wina’s power projection.

Helpless.

Not only was Wina’s power projection terrifyingly strong, but the phantom itself was also extremely large.

At the moment of its descent, the entire star-filled sky could practically see her; even her "majestic" form was in full view.

There were countless floating continents in the Star Secret Realm, and the Earth Realm of each continent was not inferior to the rich resource-filled Longyu. However, in front of Wina’s power projection, they probably wouldn’t be as big as her fingernail.

Such a huge phantom.

Anyone could see it, as long as they weren’t blind.

The disciples of Canglan Holy Land, which was relatively close, displayed particularly shocked expressions upon witnessing this sight.

For a while, everyone within the Holy Land was discussing Wina’s power projection, speculating about the identity of this beautiful and breathtaking woman.

This wasn’t only happening in Canglan Holy Land. The same was happening on several other continents where various Sects were located.

Given that the phantom had disappeared and there were no other movements in the starry sky, top powerhouses from various sects, including Canglan Holy Land, quickly stepped forward, fearing they would be the last to inspect the scene of the event.

Due to the existing restrictions of Heaven and Earth.

It’s unreasonable to allow such a strong existence to appear within the Star Secret Realm.

Most people believed that the strange sight of the phantom was not due to human intervention, but due to some treasure or the manifestation of an ancient figure’s cave dwelling.

Shortly after.

One after another, the powerhouses from various Sects arrived at the scene.

Once they arrived, everyone was dumbfounded.

The entire continent where the War God’s Temple was located had vanished.

The facts told them that the situation was not as they had imagined— that it was not due to some treasure or underground palace appearing, but that someone had used a world-destroying method to obliterate the War God Temple.

This...

Who did this?

Who would be able to obliterate an entire continent in the blink of an eye?

All of them were stupefied.

While the destruction of a Sect’s influence was not rare in the Sect-filled Star Secret Realm.

The ones that fell, were mostly small or newborn forces that flickered out shortly after they appeared.

A respected old Sect like the War God’s Temple would not be completely destroyed under normal circumstances no matter what it encountered.

Take the Tianyi Dao Sect as an example.

Although the masters and powerhouses were completely trapped in the Underground Palace, the Sect could still stand strong on their territory.

The Sects of the same rank wouldn’t dare claim they could break through.

Without its masters and group of powerhouses, the Tianyi Dao Sect will likely decline.

They will lie low in their own Sect’s territory, focusing on cultivation and recuperation.

This was the confidence of an old Sect that had stood for thousands of years.

The destruction of the War God Temple was something that many Sects could hardly believe.

All signs pointed to the emergence of a ruthless character in the Star Secret Realm.

A ruthless character who could obliterate a top sect in a moment, leaving no trace behind...

Who exactly did this?

Everyone was filled with doubt and surprise.

At the edge of the crowd of powerhouses, Zhong You, the Patriarch ancestor of the Canglan Holy Land, looked at where the War God’s Temple used to be and his expression was wooden.

Seeing him like this, his junior sister, Shao Yue, tarnished her brows and spoke.

"Senior Brother, why do you look so distressed? Have you thought of something?"

Zhong You turned his head at the sound of her voice, and he said nothing.

"Our Canglan Holy Land has risen for thousands of years, and nothing like this has ever happened in the Star Secret Realm. Now that it has, aren’t you guessing who did this?"

Shao Yue fell silent.

She had a slight guess.

As Zhong You said.

The huge structure of the Star Secret Realm had been stable for thousands of years, and there has never been a case of a top force being destroyed.

Such a situation was definitely a variable in the Secret Realm.

This variable had a cause.

There were clues to trace.

Curiously enough.

Not long ago, they, the Canglan Holy Land, happened to meet a powerhouse who doesn’t belong to the Star Secret Realm. If they talked about unexpected variables, they could easily link it to that person.

But no matter what, Shao Yue did not dare to believe it.

Li Jing could do such a thing...

Before she could even finish her thought that Li Jing, no matter how strong, couldn’t possibly be this rampant, Zhong You looked in the direction where someone had left after the event, and said lightly.

"Feel carefully. Is there the residual prestige of a Level Ten Immortal tool in this starry sky?"

Hearing this, Shao Yue froze and closed her eyes to sense carefully.

Once she felt it, she opened her eyes in a cold sweat.

She successfully captured the residual prestige of the Immortal tool.

The prestige was very faint, almost indistinguishable.

But this prestige felt very familiar.

She had just experienced it not long ago.

Looking at Zhong You, Shao Yue was lost for words.

Seeing this, Zhong You spoke up

"Don’t publicize this, and treat it as if it never happened."

"Understood."

Shao Yue nodded, then hesitated before speaking.

"Shouldn’t we... check on these youngsters who are currently experiencing their time in the world?"

"There’s no need to bother, the junior disciple who led that person here earlier, he could use more attention."

Zhong You said, then turned to go towards the holy land.

...

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere.

Li Jing and Chen Yuran landed on a continent far from the place of the event.

As soon as they stabilized, Chen Yuran couldn’t help but speak up.

"What exactly was that phantom woman just now? Why do I feel like she has her own consciousness?"

"She’s Wina. I’ve told you before."

Li Jing replied.

"The supreme being you created and sent to infiltrate the Supreme God Domain?"

Chen Yuran widened her eyes, surprised.

"You could summon her?"

Li Jing indeed had told Chen Yuran about Wina beforehand.

He mentioned that as a Messenger of the God’s Descent, Wina absorbed a full set of Supreme God Patterns, and in consequence obtained the power of Thirteen Realms.

Chen Yuran believed what Li Jing said.

Wina, being originatively the messenger of God’s Descent, her concept and theirs as human cultivators are totally different.

She has a remarkable communion with the god pattern.

One could say.

As a Messenger of the God’s Descent, she was naturally imbued with the potential to achieve godhood and obtain god patterns.

God patterns in her hands could allow her to gain great benefits.

That Wina could achieve Supreme Godhood and possess the power of the Thirteen Realms while still looking up to Li Jing seemed a bit inconceivable.

But the most unbelievable thing now is indubitably,

That Li Jing could directly summon Wina and borrow her power.

This is...

Absolutely unbeatable!

Remember.

Wina is of the Thirteen Realms.

Even if later she goes to the Immortal Realm, it is doubtful that anyone can stop her descent if Li Jing summons it.

Just as she was thinking about this, Li Jing shook his head.

"Just now was only a portion of Wina’s power being projected, barely reaching the Eleventh Realm. I can’t leverage more of her power."

Speaking of which, he added.

"If my realm goes up a bit more, perhaps it might be different. But once my realm goes up, I have no need to borrow her power."

"..."

Chen Yuran was speechless.

What Li Jing said...

It’s incredibly arrogant.

The Eleventh Realm is still incredibly terrifying.

But she could not deny that.

Given Li Jing’s momentum when he burst forth with his full spiritual power earlier, nobody within the Ninth Realm would be his match, and he could still likely take on the Tenth Realm.

If he were at such an early stage in the Ninth Realm, what would he be like if he progressed further?

Chen Yuran did not know.

Li Jing is not a novice in the realm, but is in the Late Ninth Realm.

But that’s okay.

Contemplating all of this, Chen Yuran quietly chose to stop thinking.

These things are beyond the comprehension of a Fifth Boundary like her.

Instead of pondering what Li Jing would look like if he progressed further, she may as well think about when to retreat to absorb the god patterns to enhance her cultivation, and also comprehend the Heritage Stele in the Qingyuan Fairy Palace at the same time.

Of course.

She doesn’t plan to do this in the short term.

Having been separated for more than half a year and now being alone with Li Jing again, Chen Yuran wants to spend more time with him.

Purring her red lips, Chen Yuran asked.

"Should we go to the Underground Palace now, or...?"

"No rush for the Underground Palace. Let’s wait. I want to understand some situations better."

Li Jing replied, then summoned Ling Ling out of Little Universe.

Chen Yuran’s eyes brightened at the sudden appearance of the fairy-like Ling Ling.

She was told about the Spirit of Origin that was stolen from the Supreme God Domain before.

But because Ling Ling had been sleeping for a long period recently, she hadn’t had the chance to meet her yet.

Now that she saw her, she found that the little creature was much more lively and lovable than she imagined.

Over here.

Ling Ling was at first asleep, but she soon noticed she was being summoned out of the Little Universe, so she opened her sleepy eyes.

Looking up and seeing a beautiful unfamiliar woman with someone, she sat up and yawned.

"Are we back in action?"

Having said that, she turned her attention to Chen Yuran.

"Hello, I am Ling Ling. Where is your god pattern?"

"..."

Chen Yuran.

Ling Ling’s first greeting was "Are we back in action?" and then she immediately asked her "Where’s your god pattern?" Chen Yuran was quite thrown off.

Li Jing had told Chen Yuran.

To absorb the first God pattern, she would need Ling Ling’s aid.

But Ling Ling’s proficiency was quite startling; it seemed she was already accustomed to it.

Just how many tasks has Li Jing asked Ling Ling to do?

Here.

With Ling Ling’s "experienced worker" demeanor, Li Jing couldn’t help but cough and say,

"Yuran’s God Pattern isn’t urgent, I called you out because I have a question for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yuran, standing beside him, curiously stretched out a slender jade finger, wanting to poke Ling Ling’s little face.

Ling Ling wasn’t shy, on the contrary, she had an easy familiarity with everybody she met.

Seeing Chen Yuran’s curiosity, she fluttered her transparent, dragonfly-like wings behind her and landed on Chen Yuran’s hand.

This brought Chen Yuran such joy.

In all her life, she had no other hobbies.

This was the one thing she loved.

But she didn’t dare to play with Ling Ling the way she usually played with Spiritual Beasts.

She was helpless.

Ling Ling’s petite elfish stature was too small, only about the size of a finger from head to toe. She was afraid of accidentally hurting her.

Seeing Chen Yuran’s careful demeanor while holding Ling Ling made Li Jing laugh. Then, he spoke up.

"Ling Ling, did you notice anything unusual about this world?"

"Unusual?"

Ling Ling blinked, looked around, and said,

"No! It’s quite..."

She stopped midway and furrowed her eyebrows, saying,

"Wait, it seems like something is missing."

At this, Li Jing raised his eyebrows.

He had already sensed that there was something wrong with the Star Secret Realm.

Now, with Ling Ling’s easy discovery, he was assured that asking her was the correct choice.

Ling Ling pondered, saying,

"I can’t articulate what exactly is missing. But this place doesn’t seem to be a self-contained world anymore."

"What do you mean by that?"

Li Jing furrowed his eyebrows.

"I can’t explain it in detail."

Ling Ling shook her head and said,

"You can understand it as, this world is losing the power of its rules due to the lack of some key elements. Gradually, this will become a simple isolated space. Unless the missing elements are replenished, according to the current situation I can perceive, within a thousand years, there will be no trace of living things evolving here. There will be no destruction, but the native living beings here will not change."

Upon hearing Ling Ling’s explanation, Li Jing’s expression subtly changed.

"Could this situation you’re describing be caused by the absence of the Will of Heaven?"

"The absence of the Will of Heaven?"

Ling Ling hesitated before shaking her head, saying,

"Once the Will of Heaven is formed and awakened, unless this world is destroyed, it will not disappear. If even the Will of Heaven is gone, this place should have ceased to exist long ago..."

Before she could finish, Ling Ling exclaimed and looked over.

"Why do you think the Will of Heaven is missing here? Have you discovered something?"

"I can’t exactly say that I discovered something, just..."

Li Jing began to speak but didn’t know how exactly to explain it, so instead, he recounted the unusual situation after he invoked the Will of Wina and brought down Heavenly Punishment.

Upon hearing this, Ling Ling gasped, looked suspiciously at the starry sky, and then looked back at him.

"I’ve lived for so long, and this is the first time I’ve heard of such a situation. The main reason is that you are quite unusual, you have mastered the Thunder Punishment Rules that share the same origin with the Will of Heaven."

After speaking, she paused and continued.

"But what you said suggests a possibility that the Will of Heaven of this world is being usurped. Some audacious Deceiving the Heavens character is trying to replace it, and it looks like they could have succeeded already, causing the Will of Heaven to be dormant and the operation of the Heavenly Path to be abnormal."

"..."

Li Jing.

Ling Ling’s explanation carried quite a lot of information.

Usurpation.

Trying to replace the Will of Heaven...

Is this possible?

Even him, who financed the creation of the Little Universe, could not replace the existence of a fully realized Will of Heaven. He only had the ability to borrow its power and set some limitations on it.

Listening to the conversation between Li Jing and Ling Ling, Chen Yuran was stunned.

What they were discussing was far beyond her understanding.

But having seen the Little Universe’s realization of the Heavenly Path’s Will, she could at least accept the concept of the existence of the Heavenly Path.

Hearing that someone was usurping the Heavenly Path and might have already succeeded, Chen Yuran asked,

"The Star Secret Realm can only accommodate up to the Ninth Realm at most, such a realm should not be able to usurp the Heavenly Path, right?"

"Of course, the Ninth Realm cannot do such a thing."

Ling Ling shook her head and said,

"But it can’t be ruled out that there may be sly Deceiving the Heavens characters hiding in this world. Deceiving the Heavens characters are not called that because they have the power to suppress the Will of Heaven, but because they have the ability to deceive its perception."

After saying that, she continued,

"However, it’s not likely that an intruder from another world would have the ability to Deceive the Heavens. Not just anyone can be a Deceiving the Heavens character; it’s not easy to really deceive the Heavenly Path. If an intruder existed with full power, they would be discovered and expelled by the Will of Heaven immediately. They wouldn’t have been able to usurp the Heavenly Path."

"If I had to guess, the original limit of this world was not the Ninth Realm, but that the Deceiving the Heavens character who is currently usurping the Heavenly Path, existed here before the rules started changing. Only in this way could they deceive the Will of Heaven, and act in secret."

"The change in rules could be because the Will of Heaven had discovered something and was trying to counteract it, or that the Deceiving the Heavens character had initially succeeded in usurping the Heavenly Path and didn’t want anyone to interfere, so they deliberately changed the rules. Regardless of the reason, since so much time has passed and people now believe that this world can accommodate up to the Ninth Realm, I fear that the Will of Heaven here is in danger and it won’t be long before it is consumed and replaced."

After stringing together this series of remarks, Ling Ling looked at Li Jing and said,

"If you have the chance, Li Jing, you can try to stop all this from happening. The Will of Heaven of this place will surely bestow great rewards upon you. Fortunately, you also have the ability to do so. The Deceiving the Heavens character who is usurping and devouring the Heavenly Path must be in a dormant state and has lost awareness of the outside world. You just need to find him and suppress him in the Little Universe. By severing his connection with this world, the Will of Heaven here will naturally awaken."

On hearing this, Li Jing frowned.

"If I bring a Deceiving the Heavens character capable of usurping the Heavenly Path into the Little Universe, and the Little Universe cannot handle it, what then?"

"If the Little Universe can’t handle it, don’t you still have you?"

Ling Ling laughed, then said,

"As long as it’s in the Little Universe, everything is up to you. In front of a legitimate creator, what kind of waves can a Deceiving the Heavens character stir up? Besides, I’m not a freeloader. If you don’t want the reward from the Will of Heaven, I do."

Listening to Ling Ling, Li Jing finally caught on.

An awakened Little Universe that has taken on the will of Heaven and Earth can be used as a trump card.

Unless one has the ability to forcefully shatter the Little Universe, anyone who enters it would be at his mercy.

The reason is simple.

In the Little Universe, he calls the shots.

The difficulty lies in the fact that he needs the other party to not resist when he tries to transport them into the Little Universe.

With this in mind, Li Jing couldn’t help but feel excited.

"So, how do I find the sleeping Deceiving the Heavens?"

"I don’t know about that."

Ling Ling shrugged and said.

"If you are saying that the Deceiving the Heavens in this place has a God Pattern like the Supreme God, then I can try to sense and search for it. But this is your Eastern World, it is obvious that the Deceiving the Heavens is not a being having a God Pattern."

Li Jing heard this and gave a dejected expression, feeling disappointed.

All that talking and he still had no clue where the Deceiving the Heavens was sleeping. Is he just chasing a wild goose?

Just as he was about to send Ling Ling back, she spoke again.

"However, you can try wandering around some of the dead-ends and dangerous places in this world. The sleeping Deceiving the Heavens will have no awareness of the outside world, he would certainly ensure his own safety and remain undisturbed. He won’t just sleep anywhere, it must be a place where no one dares to tread or simply cannot enter."

On hearing this, Li Jing couldn’t help but smile wryly and shake his head.

"How vast is this world? If I were to check all the dead-ends and dangerous places, I wouldn’t have enough time."

Just as he was about to say something, Chen Yuran whispered.

"Jing, do you think this Deceiving the Heavens could possibly be hiding inside an underground palace?"

Li Jing was taken aback and replied.

"There’s a possibility, but only heaven knows how many underground palaces exist in the Star Secret Realm and how many of them are still under seal and have not appeared yet. Even if we have confirmed it, there is no way to find him. Unless things are really that convenient and he just happens to be hiding in the underground palace that we’re about to visit."

"What if things are indeed that convenient?"

Chen Yuran blinked.

Li Jing was speechless, he said.

"Then we must be extremely lucky."

While speaking, he sent Ling Ling back to the Little Universe and pulled Chen Yuran over.

"Alright, stop pondering over these things. Leave the matter of the Deceiving the Heavens to fate, the task of Heaven Stealing is not something we can handle just because we want to. Anyway, even if the Deceiving the Heavens successfully completes the Heaven Stealing, the Star Secret Realm will just be under a different Heavenly Path, and this world will be back on track. For the sects living in the Star Secret Realm, the impact won’t be too great."

...

A few hours later in the evening.

Li Jing and Chen Yuran, following the markers on the star map, found the location of the underground palace which the senior members of the Tianyi Taoist school had entered to explore.

The underground palace exists as a layered space, very hidden.

Unless one knows its exact location, it would be hard to find a way in, let alone see any traces of it.

But for Li Jing, who has mastered the rules of space.

The presence of an underground palace was as if it wasn’t wearing anything to cover itself.

He could find where the abnormal space existed even with his eyes closed.

Having precisely located the entrance to the underground palace, Li Jing didn’t rush in, but took out the true form of Smoke Eye and then turned to hang it on Chen Yuran’s head.

???

Chen Yuran.

"This is the true form of Smoke Eye, you’ve seen her before."

Li Jing smiled and said.

"We don’t know what awaits inside the underground palace, wearing her can conceal your aura. If necessary, she can act to ensure your safety."

As he said, he tilted his head thoughtfully, took out the Linglong Tower, shrunk it to the size of a pendant, and casually put it in Chen Yuran’s pocket.

"..."

Chen Yuran.

Li Jing cares for her, worries about her.

It’s only natural.

And she was happy to see it.

But this...

Isn’t it a bit too much?

A Level Ten Immortal Tool hanging around her head is not enough, she still needs to carry one in her pocket?

She’s not gearing up for war!

Furthermore, they weren’t going to act separately after entering the underground palace, they were going to stick together, is there a need for this?

Chen Yuran was unsure.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the real body of ’Nameless’ was too ferocious, and as a Taoist Item it’s too strong to hide its aura which might scare the "little friend" or something, Li Jing would have willingly put ’Nameless’ in her hands.

Having reached the late Ninth Realm in his cultivation, someone was admittedly a little bit inflated.

But that doesn’t stop him from being cautious in the face of problems.

Before entering the underground palace, ensuring his girlfriend’s safety must come first.

By giving both Smoke Eye and Linglong to Chen Yuran as decorations, Li Jing is able to feel relieved.

The current Smoke Eye and Linglong, even if not handled by him directly, have the ability to suppress common Ninth Realms.

The only regret is.

Linglong has not mastered the rules yet.

If they were to confront a powerful Ninth Realm entity, he would still need to take control.

But that’s not a big problem.

Among the three Immortal Items he has, Smoke Eye has grown the best. Not only does she have the rule of water, making her a half-step Taoist Item, she also has learned Qingyuan’s Mysterious Skill. Even if they encounter an ambush from the Ninth Realm, she can ensure Chen Yuran’s safety.

Having completed Chen Yuran’s "arming", Li Jing pulled her over.

"Let’s go, we are going in."

"Okay."

Chen Yuran nodded.

...