Chapter 289

Chapter 289: Heart of Heavenly Craft

"Only Heavenly Blade Old Man could preserve a wisp of sword intent across endless epochs," Li Ruoshui murmured.

He was a legendary figure of the Immortal Realm, ruling under Purple Palace’s banner—the first to cultivate the path of the sword to the end of the Great Dao, a titanic Immortal Venerable.

That Heavenly Blade Old Man’s sword path remained etched here proved Purple Palace had cast its shadow over the Ancient Divine Court’s downfall.

Could it be because of the luck of the Yuan Realm? Li Ruoshui pondered.

All knew the human ancestor carried the luck of the Yuan Realm to forge the path for postnatal beings’ cultivation.

The Heavenly Emperor bore the luck of the Yuan Realm to toil arduously, overthrowing the rule of Innate Divine Beings, establishing Heaven’s Court, molding the Immortal Realm, and reigning supreme.

The Ancient Divine Court likely met its end, nipped in the bud.

Clang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Ninth Heaven’s formations stirred. Heaven and earth inverted, matter dissolved, grinding all to dust.

The heavenly blade descended, plunging an age into silence.

Two terrifying energies erupted simultaneously.

Zhong Ling’s expression tightened. She instantly invoked the Human Emperor’s brush. Swiftly flourishing it, she painted a grand world of mountains and rivers to shield herself and her ten true immortal followers.

Bai Muyue gently tossed her left hand. A leaf drifted up from her palm, etched with ancient innate divine patterns. As magic surged into it, the leaf blazed like a divine sun, radiating endless sacred light. Each beam became a sword gleam, clashing against Heavenly Blade Old Man’s sword intent.

"The innate light Great Dao…" Li Ruoshui’s gaze flickered. That leaf bore the innate light Great Dao, while the innate divine patterns revealed its origin tied to an innate sacred object.

"This person’s background is hardly ordinary."

Lost in thought, Li Ruoshui also summoned an ancient pagoda. Radiant Buddha light blossomed as a colossal Buddha phantom slowly rose behind her, its solemn chants echoing across heaven and earth.

Layers of Buddha light manifested three thousand Saha worlds like a lotus blossom, enveloping both Li Ruoshui and Dao King.

Boom!

In an instant, Zhong Ling’s painted world shattered, while the three thousand Saha realms scattered like bubbles. Only Bai Muyue remained unshaken.

"Your Highness, save us!" several Zhong Clan true immortal ancestors shrieked in agony as the dreadful energies ground their Great Dao into dust, pulverizing them.

In that breath, Li Ruoshui opened her Purple Mansion. Understanding perfectly, Dao King dove straight in.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Endless explosions tore through the Ninth Heaven as it collapsed continuously.

Only after half an hour passed did the crumbling end, leaving the Ninth Heaven in ruins.

With a thought, Bai Muyue recalled the leaf into her palm. Against a temporal explosion of such scale, she’d emerged utterly unscathed.

Zhong Ling and Li Ruoshui fared far worse. Both at the early Immortal King stage, Zhong Ling’s flesh had been seared away. Only five of her ten true immortals survived.

Li Ruoshui’s ancient pagoda suffered grievous harm, and Heavenly Blade Old Man’s sword intent had cleaved open her Purple Mansion—yet these only grazed her foundation, mendable within time.

After all, Heavenly Blade Old Man from eras long past hadn’t yet reached the Great Dao’s apex. Though formidable, mere sword-intent residue couldn’t obliterate Zhong Ling or Li Ruoshui outright.

"This Princess and he shall not share the same sky!" Zhong Ling raged, venom in her eyes.

Li Ruoshui and Bai Muyue’s expressions were equally somber. They, masters of heaven-shaking might, undying and indestructible, had been tricked by a mere true immortal—at no small cost.

"After them!"

…

The collapse of the Ninth Heaven was sensed even by the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital, Ye Xu, and others in the Eighteenth Heaven. The entire Ancient Divine Court shook violently with tremendous commotion.

"Wonder how many have died?" Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable muttered uneasily.

His nine puppets had been destroyed by the sword’s will right at the start, so he saw nothing of what unfolded in the Ninth Heaven.

"Heehee…"

Gu Daojin snickered maliciously, "With such huge commotion, even if they didn’t die, at least they’d have shed a layer of skin."

His guess was correct. Zhong Ling didn’t just ‘shed a layer of skin’; the formation and sword’s will had ground away all the flesh from her body. Were it not for reaching the Immortal King realm, where her Great Dao remains unbroken, she would surely have perished.

"Junior Brother," Gu Daojin solemnly said, "The Twenty-Seventh Heaven holds the Hall of Heavenly Craft. We need to go now."

Ye Xu nodded in agreement. "At the Immortal King realm, the Great Dao remains unbroken. Those three Immortal Kings will not die."

"We must speed up the looting of the Divine Court. Focus only on the rarest treasures."

"That makes sense."

Everyone deeply concurred.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

They headed straight for the Twenty-Seventh Heaven.

The Ancient Divine Court was divided into the Thirty-three Heavens. The higher the heaven, the loftier the status of its inhabitants. The Four Heavenly Kings, for instance, resided in the Thirtieth Heaven.

As for the Lingxiao Palace, it was situated in the supreme Thirty-Third Heaven.

"The power of divine punishment grows heavier."

Upon entering the Twenty-Fourth Heaven, Yu Ziwei found her steps labored. Under the influence of the divine punishment’s power, moving forward became exceedingly difficult.

"At this pace, we’re far too slow. I fear we won’t have much time before they catch up," Heavenly Talisman Old Man worried.

"I have a way," said Ye Xu.

He summoned Tai Sui. "Tai Sui is a Primordial being, born at the dawn of creation. The suppressing force of the divine punishment has negligible effect on it."

"You mean we should get inside Tai Sui’s stomach?" Qin Fei Yan inquired.

Ye Xu confirmed with a nod.

"Don’t hesitate," Ye Xu frowned.

"Let’s go!" Yu Ziwei replied, familiar with the routine as this wasn’t her first time entering Tai Sui’s belly. She was the first to slip in, followed closely by the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital.

Ye Xu also entered Tai Sui’s stomach. Tai Sui’s body shrank in size and continued its sprint upwards through the Divine Court.

This fellow’s injuries are still terribly severe, Ye Xu thought inwardly.

The divine herbs and saintly medicines Tai Sui had devoured were almost digested, yet they did little to alleviate its wounds.

Zhong Ling’s thunderous path was relentlessly eroding Tai Sui’s life force.

Once this is over and we return to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, I’ll have to heal him personally.

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the Twenty-Seventh Heaven.

This layer of the heavens had long turned into ruins.

In the void floated the colossal, bizarre remains of divine ships and giant vessels, alongside myriad fragments of mechanical constructs drifting aimlessly, resembling a vast garbage dump.

"The Human Emperor Era’s art of crafting mechanisms and puppets represented the peak throughout history. The Hall of Heavenly Craft certainly holds what I seek." The Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable yearned ardently, his thought locking onto the hall’s direction as he urged the Tai Sui towards it.

Like all else ravaged by the ancient cataclysm, the Hall of Heavenly Craft lay collapsed and shattered.

Emerging from within the Tai Sui, the group entered the hall’s rubble-strewn halls. Countless documents lay destroyed. Only a cube, missing one corner, hovered mid-air, emanating a faint, ghostly light.

Even after a million years, a sliver of spirit remained within the cube.

Whir!

As if sensing their presence, a pale luminescence shone from the cube, scanning them intently. Moments later, a stiff voice echoed, "Identification confirmed. No anomalies detected. Verified as humans."

Ding!

The cube trembled slightly. A beam of light coalesced just above its surface, forming a phantom projection, "To activate the Heart of Heavenly Craft, blood and soul-bonding is required."

"Junior brother."

All eyes turned to the Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable.

Of everyone present, he alone mastered formations and puppetry profoundly. He was the most suited to wield the Heart of Heavenly Craft.

The Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable didn’t decline. He pricked his finger, letting a single drop of blood fall.

Huumm!

The ghostly light flared violently. Instantly, all the Nine Palaces Emperor Vénorable’s magical energy was devoured by the cube. Within moments, he shriveled into a dried-up human figure.

Dismay gripped everyone.

"I… am unharmed." Amidst his terror, the Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable burst into wild laughter, "Hahaha! I shall attain immortality!"

"…"

"Junior brother, have you lost your mind?" Qin Fei Yan inquired, her voice edged with concern.

To be nearly drained to husk, yet still uttering madness?

"The Heart of Heavenly Craft records every iteration of the Hall of Heavenly Craft’s technological evolution and archives. For me, this is an inexhaustible treasure trove."

"Should I comprehend even a fragment of its knowledge, I will surely attain immortality and touch the primordial Dao within a brief time."

The Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable’s eyes gleamed with clarity. To him, the heart mattered more than any relic.

For the paths of formations and puppets, inheritance and knowledge remained paramount.

"Congratulations, senior brother."

The Dragon Lord clasped both hands towards him in salute.

"Congratulations, junior brother."

The Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital offered sincere felicitations, their hearts filled with genuine joy for the Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable.

"What I sought has been obtained. Beyond this, the Hall of Heavenly Craft holds no other treasures. We must hasten to the next site," urged the Nine Palaces Emperor Venerable.

"Yet one place remains essential," Ye Xu stated solemnly.

"Where?"

All gazed at him in astonishment, their eyes clouded with bewilderment.

Gu Daojin’s gaze flickered thoughtfully, seeming to grasp Ye Xu’s intent.

"Naturally… the Dao’s Collection Pavilion."