Chapter 525 - 524: Heavenly Path Appears, Emperors Everywhere

Trapping and killing...

Enslaving...

Unimaginable motives...

Li Jing’s three consecutive points were typical straight-male remarks.

Listening to him, Blue Phoenix’s face turned uglier by the moment.

Although it has been confirmed that Fire Phoenix has perished...

if possible...

She would rather believe that Fire Phoenix died of an accident or met a formidable enemy than falling victim to a human conspiracy.

After all, if it’s a human plot...

Even death would not grant peace.

Take the case of a trap.

For the mastermind behind the broken Ascending Path to set such a grand scheme and lure the top powerhouse of the Immortal Realm, it can’t simply be for the purpose of killing.

There must be some unknown purpose involved.

Perhaps it’s a sacrifice, or maybe something else.

The deeper Blue Phoenix thinks, the colder and angrier she becomes.

Fire Phoenix has been missing for tens of millions of years.

Every day and every night throughout these tens of millions of years, she imagined that Fire Phoenix would someday return to her.

However, reality is too harsh.

Taking a deep breath, Blue Phoenix looked up.

"If things really are as you suspect, the mastermind behind the scenes is most likely a super-powerful character beyond the Venerable Realm, possibly related to the Upper Three Realms."

"No doubt about the strength of the mastermind."

Li Jing confirmed, saying,

"Although I would like to believe he is a top Deceiving the Heavens."

"Deceiving the Heavens?"

Blue Phoenix was surprised, saying,

"I’ve heard of Deceiving the Heavens, never met one. I wonder what kind of abilities these people possess. You sound very sure, do you have experience?"

"Deceiving the Heavens is nothing special, I have met quite a few and have even killed one who came close to successfully stealing the heavens."

Li Jing said casually.

"..."

Blue Phoenix.

If it were anyone else.

She would think Li Jing was bragging.

Not all Deceiving the Heavens are very strong, she knew.

But one thing is certain, those who Deceive the Heavens are never ordinary.

It takes a special ability to deceive the Heavenly Path and still survive, a skill that ordinary people don’t possess.

Those trying to steal the heavens are even more exceptional amongst them.

A Deceiving the Heavens that almost succeeded in stealing the heaven, Blue Phoenix honestly couldn’t imagine just how strong and cunning they could be.

One thing she was sure about.

This level of Deceiving the Heavens couldn’t possibly be weaker than the Four Emperors of the Immortal Realm.

If a frontal confrontation were to occur.

They might even overpower them, forcing the Four Emperors to avoid a direct clash.

Such a character...

Li Jing has killed?

Blue Phoenix didn’t know.

The one that Li Jing killed was someone who was nearing success, but due to some untimely events was whisked into the Little Universe and eventually met a pathetic end through a symbiotic contract, borrowing Ling Ling’s power.

On Li Jing’s end.

As he continues to speak,

"Destroying the Ascending Path and setting up a plot is beyond the capabilities of ordinary people, even Emperor Level wouldn’t necessarily be able to do so. This has a high probability of being the work of Deceiving the Heavens."

"Moreover, the other end of the Ascending Path originally led to a broken Ancient Fairyland, an area where heaven and earth have crumbled. This is extremely dangerous for ordinary people, but to Deceiving the Heavens this is an enticing opportunity. He could claim the ownership of this world easily when the heaven and earth crumble and the Heavenly Path no longer exists."

"After all, it is the Ancient Fairyland. The level of this place is not comparable to that of ordinary lands. There are sure to be obstacles for him to claim full possession of it. Moreover, what’s the point of claiming a collapsed land? If my guess is correct, he is trying to either devour or repair the Ancient Fairyland."

Li Jing continued, laying out three points,

"If he’s trying to devour it, it likely means this Deceiving the Heavens already possesses his own world or has successfully stolen a land. If it’s the latter, the situation might be relatively better."

"One thing’s for sure, he’s not from the Big World, and it’s not likely he’s from the Upper Three Realms. All Deceiving the Heavens carry the mark of their deceit, they can’t settle in places with a complete Heavenly Taoist presence unless it’s their own world."

"Assuming this, if this Deceiving the Heavens has some connection with the Upper Three Realms, he might be the ’Master of the Upper Three Realms’ who has already successfully accomplished stealing the heavens. That kind of level wouldn’t be interested in a broken Ancient Fairyland, it’s too low for him, he would rather set his sights on the Big World."

Hearing all of this, Blue Phoenix nodded blankly.

Though she did not entirely understand.

In a strict sense,

Blue Phoenix could also be considered a quick thinker.

But as a Divine Beast who has lived for tens of millions of years, she doesn’t like to think too much.

She’s never encountered a Deceiving the Heavens, only heard of them, naturally she just listened to whatever Li Jing said.

On top of that, due to the influence of the partner contract.

She thought whatever Li Jing said was right.

Seeing Blue Phoenix could not respond, and awkwardly listened to his analysis, Li Jing realized something and said,

"Sorry, discussing these things might be a bit alien to you. Anyway, let’s wait until the spatial anchor point opens up, step onto that broken Ascending Path, and find out the truth when we get there."

Upon hearing this, besides nodding instinctively, Blue Phoenix hesitated to voice out,

"But if things are really as you speculate, wouldn’t it be too dangerous for us to recklessly step onto this broken Ascending Path?"

"Don’t worry, I’m here."

Li Jing smiled, waving his hand and taking out a pot.

"We are doing nothing anyway, let’s make something to eat first."

"..."

Blue Phoenix.

Li Jing’s words "Don’t fear, I’ll be here" comforted her inexplicably.

But then, a question rose.

How could he change his demeanour at the drop of a hat?

Why did he bring out a pot and said he wanted to cook rice all of a sudden?

Has he always been like this?

Lost in her thoughts, a pleasant female voice suddenly sounded.

"Could you prepare an extra set of chopsticks and bowl?"

?

The Blue Phoenix.

???

Li Jing.

They both turned their heads.

Upon seeing her.

It was a woman in a blue dress, with a red lotus mark on her forehead.

At first glance, the Blue Phoenix felt tension coursing through her body.

When did this woman arrive? She had no clue.

Even the Four Emperors couldn’t achieve something like this!

Just as she was about to panic, she noticed something odd about the woman.

Why did gazing at the beautiful woman feel as if she was looking at the elusive Heavenly Path, as though the woman was the embodiment of it?

Wait!

An Embodiment of the Heavenly Path!?

Isn’t that a unique characteristic of the Will of Heaven?

Blue Phoenix widened her beautiful eyes in shock.

On the other hand, Li Jing was stunned beyond words when he saw the woman in blue.

Indeed, this woman was the familiar Big World’s Heavenly Taoist.

Her arrival was sudden.

He was just about to prepare a meal with the Blue Phoenix.

Her abrupt appearance had scared him quite a bit.

The most dramatic part was.

She even asked him to prepare an extra bowl and pair of chopsticks.

Big World’s Heavenly Taoist, noticing Li Jing looking at her in dumbfounded silence, smiled gently.

"Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t specifically come to watch you. It’s just that you kept mentioning the ’Deceiving the Heavens’ over and over, talking about many interesting things which drew me in."

Li Jing was speechless, thinking that he never said she came to watch him specifically, so why did she need to explain it so laboriously.

Listening to Big World’s Heavenly Taoist talk more, his facial expression became even weirder.

Big World’s Heavenly Taoist is omnipresent.

It would be impossible for a mortal to find her; she can only reveal herself willingly.

A lot of criteria need to be met for this to happen.

Li Jing, who regularly offends the rules of the Big World but is immune to Heavenly Punishments, is a special case.

Ordinary people, even if they meet the conditions to attract the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist’s attention, wouldn’t cause her to reveal herself.

However, this time Li Jing caught the "keyword".

Deceiving the Heavens.

This is obviously a term that can provoke the interest of the Will of Heaven!

Looking back.

With the appearance of Big World’s Heavenly Taoist, could his speculation just now be correct?

As if she knew what he was thinking, Big World’s Heavenly Taoist spoke calmly.

"You don’t need to guess, my being here doesn’t mean your speculation is correct, I simply found your analysis interesting."

"I also don’t know what’s behind the broken Ascending Path of the Western Immortal Realm, as that’s not my territory. Essentially, this part of the Ascending Path isn’t part of the Big World either, it just ended in my territory."

After two phrases, Big World’s Heavenly Taoist shifted the topic.

"However, if nothing goes wrong, you probably guessed correctly."

"..."

Li Jing was silent.

This woman first denied him to a certain degree, then admitted him.

What was she trying to do?

Remember.

The omnipresent Big World’s Heavenly Taoist stood before them, not an ordinary person.

She may not know what’s behind the broken part of Ascending Path, but her affirmation is probably not because she felt that Li Jing’s analysis made sense, it’s more likely she’d made an immediate investigation or used the power of the Heavenly Path to grasp some clues based on Li Jing’s analysis.

Just when he didn’t know what to say, Big World’s Heavenly Taoist disappeared leaving behind a voice at Li Jing’s ear.

"Seeing you like this, you seem unwilling to let me interrupt you two and even more reluctant to invite me for a meal, then I’ll leave."

"..."

Li Jing.

So, what on earth did this woman come to do?

Just as he was about to vent his feelings, the voice of Big World’s Heavenly Taoist sounded in his ears again.

"Help me to delve deeper into this matter, you don’t need to deliberately deal with those deceiving the heavens. Pay special attention to the situation in the Ancient Fairyland and report back to me if you notice anything unusual. If necessary, you can ask the Charming Spirit for help. Given your relationship with her, it should not be difficult to ask for her help, to save me the task of finding a middleman."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing’s brows knitted.

These words of Big World’s Heavenly Taoist, though they didn’t seem to carry much substance at first, were loaded with information.

She is interested in the situation in Ancient Fairyland.

But she does not care about those deceiving the heavens.

That’s understandable.

No matter how much commotion the deceivers cause at the other end of Ascending Path, it has no inherent connection to the Big World.

Yet she asked him to pay attention to the situation in Ancient Fairyland, and even stated clearly that if necessary, he could ask Charming Spirit for help, this could directly be linked with the fact that Fairyland once came close to being destroyed by Charming Spirit.

It seems so.

It’s indeed as the elders of the Immortal Realm speculated. After the Ancient Fairyland was nearly destroyed 100,000 years after its destruction, the Immortal Realm also faced the same fate. The reason for this was something that threatened the normal operation of the Big World.

Leaving that aside.

Li Jing hadn’t expected the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist to ask the Charming Spirit for help through personal connections.

He knew that the realms of lust and desires weren’t part of the Big World, while the Outer Realm Sky was.

But the realms of lust and desires were essentially part of the independent world of the Charming Spirit, and she herself should belong to the Big World.

If she did not belong to the Big World, the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist wouldn’t have the capability to call upon her.

After understanding the Heavenly Path when he created his Little Universe, Li Jing understood that the Will of Heaven was entirely one with the world in which it existed, and could not be separated out to go to another world.

Inside this...

Is there something to it?

Li Jing reflected deeply.

Next to him, the Blue Phoenix watched as the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist came and left, her eyes glancing at someone.

"Err, didn’t he say he was going to have dinner with us?"

Li Jing’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound. He looked over and laughed wryly.

"You’ve probably already realized who she is without me telling you. Do you think being like her is necessary for eating? She may not even have that ’function’."

"..."

The Blue Phoenix.

You don’t say.

When Li Jing explained it like that, it did make sense.

The Will of Heaven is the incarnation of the Heavenly Path, not an individual creature.

Eating?

There’s absolutely no need for that.

She probably doesn’t even have that "function".

Upon carefully examining Li Jing, the Blue Phoenix said strangely.

"The more I understand you, the more I can’t see through you. You even... "

Before she could finish her sentence, Li Jing waved his hand.

"Don’t misunderstand. I’ve only had some encounters with her by fluke. The Heavenly Path is selfless, knowing it doesn’t really help. It only brings some trouble and doesn’t have too many benefits."

While saying this, Li Jing secretly criticized the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist for running off so quickly.

Upon his arrival in the Immortal Realm.

He had many questions.

Aside from that, he didn’t expect the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist to provide him with answers.

As he had said.

The Heavenly Path is selfless, knowing it doesn’t mean anything.

However, whether he was a product of a mistake made by the Big World’s Heavenly Path three thousand years ago, and whether all his own attributes were bestowed upon him by her were things that Li Jing wanted to ask clearly about.

But sadly, she didn’t give him the opportunity...

...

In the following few days, Li Jing and the Blue Phoenix stayed in the cave, watching the Ancient Ascending Immortal Platform and the broken Ascending Path, always on the lookout for the opening of the space anchor point.

Considering he could foresee the situation behind the broken Ascending Path to be much more complicated than he imagined, and that the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist had popped out unexpectedly to "issue" a "task", Li Jing found the time to return and give Yulian a "report", so that she could find him in the Little Universe if needed.

Compared to before.

Now it’s indeed more convenient.

The Little Universe can be accessed through Chen Tang City, and Yulian has received the message.

Li Jing’s wandering lifestyle outside can be said to be a daily routine for the Li family, therefore she didn’t ask much. She just informed him that the Cangming Entertainment City would be officially open soon.

Returning to the space anchor point of the Western Immortal Realm.

There wasn’t any sign of the broken Ascending Path opening for the time being. However, more humanoid Alien Species were gathering in the Western Immortal Realm, and many people from the other Three Immortal Realms who were directly under the control of emperors like Xiang Dong also arrived.

If people who were not directly under the control of the Western Immortal Realm or the other three emperors came, this would be a bit hard to explain.

However, Li Jing believed.

That which should come will still come.

An emperor is just more powerful.

At the emperor level, one just has an independent world different from ordinary Venerables.

The Four Realms of Immortals and Zhong Shen Zhou may not have individuals who can rival the four emperors on their own, but it’s not difficult for them to discuss things together.

It’s worth mentioning that.

Over the past few days, the Blue Phoenix had largely adapted to the Symbiotic Contract.

She would no longer involuntarily get too close to someone, but would just be more gentle towards him.

This was a pleasant change for Li Jing.

Nothing else scared him.

He was just afraid of his Li family unwittingly "marrying" a Divine Beast that was millions of years old. Liu Sisi, who had laid out the rules before their marriage, might want to have a talk by then.

At noon that day.

As usual, Li Jing started preparing lunch on time.

If the broken Ascending Path didn’t open, there was nothing else he could do in his free time.

He had hunted a lot with the Blue Phoenix earlier in the Endless Sea, so the Little Universe was full of food.

If not eaten, it simply amounts to waste.

Here Li Jing was busying himself with delight.

On one side, the Blue Phoenix gave him a resentful look.

At this point, she was running high on emotions.

Not because she had some unmet desires towards Li Jing.

The key point was that she also wanted to do something, but Li Jing wouldn’t let her join in.

Just because she had almost zero cooking ability, accidentally blew up a few magical stoves, and used too much force to turn the food into slag and nearly collapsed the cave?

She can’t do it?

Can’t she learn?

Who knows how to do it right off the bat?

So she should be left out because she’s in the way?

Feeling unhappy, the Blue Phoenix suddenly felt something, rose to her feet, and went to the entrance of the cave.

Li Jing, following her detection, put down the stir-fry in his hand and walked over.

At the same time.

Four sharp flashes of light crossed the sky and landed at the location of the ancient Ascending Immortal Platform.

They were far away.

The two couldn’t see the final form of the four rays of light.

However, from the strong aura, it was not difficult to judge that the four emperors like Karan have arrived.

You could say that these four were not modest at all.

The strong aura "rampaged" the whole place without any concealment and it seemed to have a bit of confrontational taste.

Looking into the distance, Li Jing whispered.

"Karan and the others are here, it seems the space anchors are going to be officially activated."

"That should be the case."

The Blue Phoenix replied.

"However, from the current situation, they just came to show off."

"Show off?"

Li Jing was momentarily stunned.

Before he had the chance to contemplate, dozens of bright starlights with concealed auras rushed to the Ancient Ascending Immortal Platform.

Seeing this, Li Jing frowned.

"These are..."

"Emperor level."

Blue Phoenix said.

"So many?"

Li Jing was surprised, saying.

"At least thirty or fifty came this time?"

Upon hearing this, Blue Phoenix turned her head and murmured in amazement.

"Are you underestimating the Four Immortal Realms and Zhong Shen Zhou?"

Without waiting for Li Jing to respond, she explained.

"Emperor level is rare indeed, but considering the Four Realms of Immortals plus Zhong Shen Zhou, the number here is at most one tenth of the Emperor level they could muster. The others are either hindered or too lazy to get involved."

After hearing the Blue Phoenix say this, Li Jing blinked and turned back to say.

"Since it’s not the imminent opening of the space anchor, let’s finish our meal first."

The Blue Phoenix was dumbfounded.

The four emperors gathered outside, along with thirty to fifty emperors, and he still had an appetite? He was definitely not the type to lose his appetite in such situations.

You have to know.

These emperors are not here for a vacation but to meddle in the affairs of the four emperors. There’s no guarantee that they won’t fight each other.

But upon reconsideration, the Blue Phoenix sighed with relief.

Compared to the few "big shots" Li Jing knows, the emperors are truly insignificant.

Even the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist would spring out to give Li Jing a bowl and chopsticks. What was a bunch of emperors?

A small scene.

With this thought, the Blue Phoenix no longer cared about what was happening outside.

After all, she is now a person who has seen the original Demon survive with only one arm, and has personally seen the Big World’s Heavenly Taoist’s bird.

After getting everything ready, the two sat down to eat the delicious eel rice cooked from a Twelfth Realm Sea Eel.

As soon as the chopsticks were picked up, Blue Phoenix turned to look outside.

"A fight broke out. Two women."

Li Jing was taken aback when he heard this, and subconsciously stood up.

A female fight, shouldn’t he take a look?

This was a good appetizer!

But as soon as he stood up, he realized something was wrong.

He felt nothing at all. The ones who should be fighting were two female emperors.

This kind of excitement was not worth watching!

There wasn’t much noise outside, and the two probably went to a separate world to fight.

He silently sat back down and asked.

"Is it Shi Zixuan fighting with someone?"

"No."

Blue Phoenix shook her head and said.

"One is a monster emperor and the other is a humanoid emperor. They belong to the Southern Fairy Realm and the Western Immortal Realm respectively, and have nothing to do with the Northern Immortal Domain."

"Oh..."

Li Jing blinked.

Among the Four Emperors, only Shi Zixuan was a female.

Now outside, two female emperors started fighting and Shi Zixuan was not among them, was this an internal conflict?

Just as he was pondering, Blue Phoenix frowned.

"You really are talking about it. Shi Zixuan is coming over."

???

Li Jing said.

Before he had time to react, Shi Zixuan flew over and landed at the cave entrance.

"Who is the old friend with such leisure time, quietly cooking and enjoying the food here by himself and not even bothering to greet us?"

As she spoke, she stepped into the cave.

No defensive measures were set at the cave entrance. Only Blue Phoenix had applied some techniques to obscure people’s eyes and ears.

This made it very easy for Shi Zixuan to walk in.

Upon entering and seeing Li Jing’s face covered by a mask, and the bowl of Eel Rice in the Blue Phoenix’s hand, Shi Zixuan abruptly stopped, her face changing from teasing to astonishment to indifference.

After a different look at Li Jing, Shi Zixuan said quietly.

"Excuse me."

That said, she turned and left.