Chapter 251

Chapter 251: Uninvited Guests

"How could this happen?"

Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable sensed the changes in heaven and earth, his expression one of horror.

"Daoist friend, what exactly is this object?" Heavenly Talisman Old Man’s face was grim. Though their jade slips contained the same information, the records about the Divine Tree of Light were fragmented—such as the method to subdue it.

Nothing else was recorded.

Ye Xu stared at Su Mu, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

He had clearly already retrieved the Divine Tree of Light, so why did Su Mu wear such a heavy expression? Had something unexpected occurred?

"This must be related to the White Emperor," Ye Xu thought to himself.

Though he couldn’t sense the White Emperor’s presence, since the Divine Tree was planted in the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land by Him to regulate the Great Dao of heaven and earth, He was undoubtedly involved.

Hearing Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable’s question, Su Mu lifted his head and explained, "This object was planted by the Innate Divine Being, the White Emperor, to regulate the Great Dao rules of the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land. My retrieval of the Divine Tree will inevitably cause changes here."

Their expressions changed drastically, one by one showing panic.

With heaven and earth altered, would it disturb the chaotic immortal fetus?

"But dear friends, there’s no need to worry. The chaotic immortal fetus is in slumber; a small commotion like this won’t disturb Him," Su Mu explained with a smile, seemingly reading their fears.

If the chaotic immortal fetus could sense such a massive disturbance, He would have appeared long ago.

His continued absence meant He couldn’t manifest here now.

Hearing this, the group looked at each other, uncertainty about whether to trust Su Mu’s words clear on their faces.

"With changes in the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land, might our plans be affected?" Heavenly Talisman Old Man frowned.

The plan devised by the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion hadn’t accounted for unforeseen changes in the Forbidden Land.

"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion possesses vast divine abilities. Since He stated that no mishaps would occur on this journey, there absolutely won’t be a single error,"

Su Mu said solemnly. "My task here is done, dear friends. Now we must proceed to rescue that person."

"No time should be wasted. Let’s depart immediately."

The Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital and Great Emperor Ziwei wore grave expressions, unwilling to delay even a moment longer. They immediately headed towards the place where Gu Daojin was trapped.

…

Chaotic Area, Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land.

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao’s group remained trapped. The hazy chaos, like a mist veiling heaven and earth, turned this place into a labyrinth.

From the moment they entered this chaotic mist, they had completely lost their bearings, unable to find their way out.

"Strange. They were clearly right ahead of us, yet we see no one at all?" An Emperor Venerable Realm master of the Kunpeng divine clan asked, his expression ugly.

"Fools!"

An elder from the Yinglong Divine Clan bellowed, "We’ve been circling in this mist for at least an entire day! There must be an illusion formation trapping us, preventing us from determining direction."

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao’s gaze was sinister, a cruel fury surging within him.

"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion… such a master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion!" His rage burned, murderous intent washing over him like a tide. "We’ve all been tricked by those two-legged sheep!"

"They had intelligence from the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, knowing how to dismantle the formation! Sacrificing one top-tier Emperor Venerable’s magical treasure was just a ploy to delay us, buying them time to enter the Secret Realm!"

"Once they entered the Secret Realm, with their intelligence in hand, they could easily thrive."

"By now, they should already be in the Secret Realm."

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao immediately figured out the entire reason, his face turning extremely gloomy.

"Then what should we do?"

An Emperor Venerable of the Zhuque Divine Clan became flustered.

The chaos was eroding their magical power; if they were trapped here for a long time, their power would certainly be worn away, and it would lead to death.

"Daoist brother Pan, it was you who proposed pursuing them, yet now we are trapped in the maze; you need to come up with a way out," the woman from the Zhuque Divine Clan said coldly."

The Emperor Venerables from the Kunpeng divine clan and Yinglong Divine Clan all turned to look at him.

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao snorted coldly and said, "Are you stirring internal strife?"

"No."

An old man said coldly, "I know the noses of the Pan Ao Divine Clan are exceptionally keen; with Daoist brother’s ability, finding a way out should not be difficult."

"Hmph."

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao looked displeased; he roused his magical power, and two heads grew from his shoulders; he flared his nostrils, analyzing the scents in the chaos.

After half a stick of incense, his brow twitched slightly, "Follow me."

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao moved to the front, as if he had sniffed out a path.

Roar!

Suddenly, roars echoed from the chaos, and ancient chaotic beasts of bizarre shapes charged out; they seemed fused with the chaos, releasing an aura that distorted the void.

"Chaos Great Dao!"

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao was startled, "Are these the Secret Realm guardians?"

Swish swish swish!

Everyone braced for battle.

However, these ancient chaotic beasts surged past like a tide, not attacking them; instead, they swept past the group and dashed into the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land, apparently pursuing another goal.

"Follow them!"

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao was overjoyed; once they caught up with these beasts, they could locate the entrance to the Secret Realm.

Swish swish swish swish swish!

Fourteen peak-level Emperor Venerables followed closely.

After a stick of incense, everyone finally emerged from the chaotic mist and reached the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land.

Rivers ran dry, the sun and moon dimmed, colossal mountains crumbled; it was chaotic as disaster, like the end of the world, leaving all divine clans’ experts grim-faced.

"The state of this Secret Realm seems unfavorable," an old man from the Yinglong Divine Clan said.

"Never mind favorable or not, find those prey first," the woman said with raging killing intent. "These insects dared to trick us; not one can be let off."

"I smell their scent."

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao lightly sniffed the air and instantly pinpointed the direction.

His gaze shifted toward the direction of the Divine Tree.

"It shouldn’t be surprising; they must be over there," said Semi-Immortal Pan Ao.

"What are we waiting for, then?"

The old man’s eyes turned crimson, the faint aura of a dragon’s might emanating from him.

"Let’s go… Wait… Wait!"

Abruptly, Semi-Immortal Pan Ao’s body froze in place. He detected an unusual scent, mysterious and dangerous, not belonging to any of the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital, Ye Xu’s trio.

Clearly, someone else had entered the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land.

He strained to turn his head and instantly saw two figures.

A young man clad in black emerged from the chaotic mist, possessing an immortal grace and jade-like bone structure, his eyes like carved stars, his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, a man in black maintained a constant distance of precisely nine steps.

"It’s… him…"

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao, the old man from the Yinglong Divine Clan, and the woman from the Zhuque Divine Clan all held their breath, their eyes filled with awe and trepidation.

They didn’t recognize Li Ruoyu, but they certainly knew the North Polar Heavenly King, Pang Taiyue.

That day in the New World, the sight of Pang Taiyue descending from the skies and overturning his hand to casually slay a true immortal had left an indelible mark on their hearts.

They would never forget that scene for the rest of their lives.

Now, it seemed this young man’s status was even more extraordinary, capable of making an Immortal King demean himself to act as a follower.

"Why would they appear in this place?"

Semi-Immortal Pan Ao’s mind raced, frantically considering every possible reason. "What sort of place is this secret realm? How could it possibly involve figures of this stature?"

He instantly felt like he had stepped into an abyss.

The thirteen Emperor Venerables of the divine clans trembled uncontrollably, the instinct to prostrate themselves in worship nearly overcoming them.

"Master, they are from the ancient divine clans," Pang Taiyue glanced briefly across Semi-Immortal Pan Ao and the others, his expression utterly flat, and asked, "Shall we dispose of them?"

Li Ruoyu didn’t even glance sideways in their direction. "They are our compatriots," he said lightly. "Why move against them?"

"Our purpose here lies elsewhere."

"Hmm…"

A flicker of surprise passed through Li Ruoyu’s eyes. "There are even human cultivators in the Chaotic Immortal King’s domain? How did they find this place?"

"Taiyue, investigate them."

Pang Taiyue understood immediately. Immortal light swirled within his eyes, instantly locking onto all fourteen Emperor Venerables.

Whoosh!

The fourteen divine clan experts were instantly immobilized where they stood.

After a short while, Pang Taiyue finished searching their memories, grasping the sequence of events.

"It was the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion," Pang Taiyue reported, a slight frown creasing his brow. "Someone commissioned him to divine the secret of the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land. These youngsters from the ancient divine clans followed behind them, intending to kill and plunder."

"This subordinate has already erased their memories concerning us."

"So, it is him," Li Ruoyu murmured, a faint smile finally touching his lips. "The domain of the Chaotic Immortal King lay barren and undiscovered for so many years. That it was the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion explains everything, of course nothing is truly impossible for him."

"Back then," Li Ruoyu mused aloud, "I personally subdued the Chaotic Immortal King, forcing him to rely on his chaotic domain for his re-cultivation. I wonder if the fellow still bears resentment?"

Pang Taiyue chuckled darkly. "Would he dare?"

"Let us attend to our main task."

The words were spoken, and Li Ruoyu and Pang Taiyue vanished from the very fabric of the world.

As soon as they were gone, the immobilized Semi-Immortal Pan Ao and the thirteen other divine clan Emperor Venerables immediately regained motion and awareness.

"What… what just happened?"

"Why can’t I remember anything?"

The divine clan experts exchanged bewildered glances, each searching the others’ faces for answers.

"This place is truly bizarre," Semi-Immortal Pan Ao muttered grimly. "Emanations of strangeness pervade every corner."

He cautioned urgently, "I can already catch their scent. But we must remain vigilant on the way; be wary of any hidden traps they might have laid for us."

"If I catch them," he growled, the threat hanging heavy in the air, "I will skin them alive!"