Chapter 402

Chapter 402: The Heavenly Son Visits

The sky was murky and overcast. Low rumbles of thunder exploded from the heavens, heralding a storm.

"It’s thundering; rain is coming! Get home quickly to bring in the clothes!”

Along the main roads of Linglong City, street vendors packed up their goods, chatting and laughing merrily.

Under the governance of the City Lord of Linglong, this city enjoyed impeccable order.

His cultivation aptitude was not particularly high. Even with guidance from Yang Xuanzhan, Qiu Qianli, and others, he was only a deity of the Complete Divine God realm. However, the City Lord of Linglong possessed considerable talent in administration.

The Linglong City of today, its area expanded over a hundredfold, still remained utterly well-organized.

At dusk, a man in white and a woman stepped into Linglong City.

The man had a face carved like polished jade, impossibly handsome, exuding an air of innate nobility. His eyes were as profound as the starry night sky.

The woman wore a golden gown, her features exquisitely painted like a masterpiece. Soul-stirringly beautiful enough to captivate an entire kingdom, yet she radiated a chilling aura, her haughty demeanor reminiscent of an ice-cold beauty.

This woman’s appearance was devastatingly beautiful. As she walked, countless people found themselves unable to tear their eyes away, causing chaos in her wake.

"This is Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

The Heavenly Son and the Moon Goddess arrived outside Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Gazing at this ancient yet simple building, his expression was complicated.

On the day Heaven’s Secret Pavilion came into existence, he had sensed something eerie about it.

Even an existence as mighty as the Dao could not penetrate Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Your Majesty, are we truly going inside?" A trace of worry tinged the Moon Goddess’s exquisite brows and eyes. Even though she was an Innate Divine Being, standing before Heaven’s Secret Pavilion still made her tremble with trepidation.

"Since we’ve come, we cannot leave empty-handed."

The Heavenly Son let out a long sigh.

Of all places under heaven, the one he feared most was Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, followed only by the Everlasting City of Desolation.

Once he stepped inside Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, shielded from the Dao, he would become merely an ordinary Immortal Emperor, unable to borrow the might of the Dao, incapable of embodying the Dao itself.

For the Heavenly Son, this amounted to an exceedingly perilous act.

However, the situation was deteriorating rapidly, and the heavenly secrets were in utter disarray. The Heavenly Son could no longer peer into the future through the Dao. He had no choice but to enter Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Hu!" Exhaling a breath of Turbid Energy, the Heavenly Son took the Moon Goddess’s jade-like hand and stepped inside Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Talk of the devil…"

Ye Xu felt a stir in his heart and smiled. "Xian’er, bring tea for our guests."

"Yes!"

Xixi and Ye Xian’er stared fixedly at the Moon Goddess, even overlooking the Heavenly Son himself.

The Moon Goddess was too beautiful. Be it her face or her aura, both were of the most perfect quality, as if the heavens themselves had meticulously crafted a masterpiece.

She seemed like the bright moon in the sky—yearned for, yet utterly unattainable.

"So beautiful, elder sister," Xixi murmured, her little mouth agape, frozen motionless.

Ye Xu’s eyes swept over the Moon Goddess, causing his heart to ripple.

He had to admit, the Moon Goddess possessed the most supreme beauty he had ever witnessed. Describing her merely as ‘soul-stirringly beautiful enough to captivate an entire kingdom’ fell utterly short.

"If I were to create a beauty list, the Moon Goddess would probably rank first," Ye Xu thought to himself.

Even Lin Qianmo, Si Ming, and others were slightly inferior to the Moon Goddess in terms of appearance.

Through the Moon Goddess, Ye Xu also learned the identity of the visitor.

Steadying himself, he turned to the emperor and said with a smile, "Daoist friend Emperor Yang. On the very day Heaven’s Secret Pavilion opened, you became aware of it. After waiting patiently, I’ve finally welcomed you."

"You flatter me, Master. Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is truly profound. As I bear the fate of all living beings, how could I dare set foot lightly in such an unfathomable place?" Emperor Yang felt a chill.

Upon entering Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, as he had expected indeed, his connection to the Heavenly Dao was completely severed. He couldn’t even sense a whisper of the Heavenly Dao’s will.

A desire to retreat rose in Emperor Yang’s heart.

Yet, he fiercely suppressed the unease within him and stayed put in Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

The Moon Goddess was also observing Ye Xu.

"This is the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, the one who stirred chaos throughout all realms?" The Moon Goddess lightly furrowed her willow-leaf eyebrows.

Regarding Ye Xu, she felt only one thing.

Disgust!

Appearing out of thin air, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion had become a transcendent existence above all living beings, shattering the supreme authority of the Innate Divine Beings and the Purple Star Heavenly Court.

Moreover, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion had disrupted the balance.

Ye Xu paid it no mind.

The Moon Goddess was proud, arrogant, and looked down on others. With a single glance, he could fathom all her mysteries, so he took no heed of her opinions.

If she weren’t Emperor Yang’s favored consort, he might not even have spared her a glance.

Su Mu was inwardly astounded.

He had seen the Heavenly Emperor before, but this was his first encounter with Emperor Yang.

In the world’s legends, Emperor Yang bore the Heavenly Dao’s will and was the Heavenly Dao’s incarnation, mysterious and powerful. Yet today, upon meeting him, Emperor Yang utterly lacked the dominance and majesty of the Heavenly Emperor.

Of course, Emperor Yang’s strength was not to be underestimated.

"Truly, it is the arrangement of fate,"

Ye Xu said with a light smile. "You are the one chosen by the Heavenly Dao; naturally, you are extraordinary."

"A pity that the Heavenly Dao itself is a cocoon. Though you relied upon it to become the foremost person in the world, you were also bound within this cocoon, unable to escape."

Hearing this, a hint of helplessness flashed in Emperor Yang’s eyes.

"During the Primordial Era, I was but a mortal. Yet I comprehended the method of cause and effect, creating the All Heaven Rites," Emperor Yang’s gaze softened with reminiscence.

"By now, I have long understood that even if I hadn’t existed, the Heavenly Dao would have chosen another to act on its behalf."

"I was simply at the right place, at the right time."

A touch of self-mockery entered Emperor Yang’s tone.

If only he had continued walking the way of cause and effect, perhaps his achievements could have reached another pinnacle?

"The cause was sown by yourself; the outcome was decreed by Heaven."

Ye Xu said, "The very moment you created the All Heaven Rites, it signified you were the one most attuned to the Heavenly Dao’s will. There is no need for such humility."

The All Heaven Rites of the Son of Heaven was a cultivation method for the primordial spirit.

He was able to bear the Heavenly Dao’s will, largely because of the mysteries of the All Heaven Rites.

"Daoist brother, am I completely eroded by the Heavenly Dao now, no longer Emperor Yang?"

Suddenly, the Son of Heaven fell silent for a long time and asked a question.

He had been bearing the Heavenly Dao’s will for too long, and over time, he could no longer clearly remember his own personality.

"Cough…"

Ye Xu coughed lightly and said, "Daoist friend, considering you are the Son of Heaven of the Purple Star Heavenly Court, I answered your question just now without charging you."

"From now on, every question will come with a fee."

"For this one question, it will be three trillion Star Yuan!"

Ye Xu pondered for a moment and gave a "friendly" price.

"Three trillion?"

The Moon Goddess narrowed her eyes slightly; this was no small sum of money.

"They had just started the transaction, and he already quoted three trillion. This time, the Master will likely make a huge profit." Su Mu was shaken in his heart.

After all, the Son of Heaven was the first customer.

Those Innate Divine Beings would probably come one after another.

"It’s acceptable."

The Son of Heaven waved his vast sleeve, and a grand heavenly palace floated in the void; the palace was engraved with infinite divine patterns, its aura mystifying and profound.

"This heavenly palace was left behind from the destruction of the Ancient Heavenly Court long ago. It was carefully forged by the Heavenly Emperor, encompassing countless methods and the mysteries of myriad supernatural abilities."

"System, exchange."

Ye Xu had no interest in understanding the origins or intricacies of the heavenly palace.

[Congratulations, host. You have acquired thirty-two hundred billion heavenly secrets points.]

Ye Xu smiled slightly.

The answer to the Son of Heaven’s question did not require Ye Xu to use the system for inquiry.

While helping the human ancestor gather his primordial spirit, he had glimpsed the human ancestor’s memories, learning about the human ancestor’s scheming and many secrets of the Heavenly Dao.

"Do you think the Heavenly Dao is stronger or you are stronger?" Ye Xu asked.

"Naturally, the Heavenly Dao."

The Son of Heaven answered without hesitation.

"The Heavenly Dao is the manager of a universe, like a program encompassing all laws of operation. It controls the cycle of seasons and the destinies of living beings."

"It could be said that the Heavenly Dao is a central computer."

"No change in the universe can escape its notice."

"Central computer?"

The Son of Heaven was utterly confused.

He had never heard of such a thing before.

"But in the Primordial Era, the Heavenly Emperor unified all realms above and below, rose to dominance in one move, and faintly showed signs of transcendence." Ye Xu said gravely. "That is what spurred your creation."

"All cause and effect were predetermined."

"For the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Emperor was an uncontrollable factor; within a universe managed by the Heavenly Dao, such a factor could not be allowed to develop."

"So, you created the All Heaven Rites to bear the Heavenly Dao’s will and allied with the Innate Divine Beings to overthrow the Ancient Heavenly Court and suppress the Heavenly Emperor."

"Everything happened according to the Heavenly Dao’s calculations."

"The only flaw was that the Heavenly Emperor turned the tables, using your hands—along with those of the Heavenly Dao and the Innate Divine Beings—to topple the heavenly court and brew an even greater catastrophe."

"The Great Calamity in the Immortal Realm…"

The Son of Heaven muttered to himself.

He actually knew all of this that Ye Xu was saying.

He had not been wrong to call himself the Son of Heaven.

He was merely a pawn to be moved under the Heavenly Dao’s manipulation.