“You’re not afraid of Thousand-Ox Dao Court’s progenitors? Let me go now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened,” Xiao Buhui threatened.

Xu Zimo only smiled. “What is Thousand-Ox Dao Court to me? If I so wished, in this vast world, what place could possibly bar my path?”

His aura grew heavier, pressing down. Still smiling, he said, “Now then, Young Master Xiao, why don’t you take us to the Dao Source?”

“What are you trying to do?” Xiao Buhui’s voice trembled. “Without the ancestors’ permission, no one can go there. Besides, the sect already promised your Martial Heaven Sacred Ground one quota. Miss Xia, don’t be stubborn. You’ll only destroy yourselves.”

“You just need to take us close. Whether we get in or not, that’s my concern,” Xu Zimo said evenly.

“I won’t take you. Even if you kill me, it’s pointless,” Xiao Buhui answered coldly.

Xu Zimo chuckled, then looked at Lin Yunhen.

“Brother Lin, since he’s so determined, why don’t you grant his wish?”

“Ah?” Lin Yunhen froze. “Isn’t… isn’t that going too far?”

“Nothing wrong with it. Since we’ve already come this far, we should leave something behind,” Xu Zimo replied.

“Well… my life was saved by you anyway,” Lin Yunhen muttered, gritting his teeth as he drew the longsword at his waist.

Step by step, he approached Xiao Buhui.

“If you dare kill me, the Xiao Clan and Thousand-Ox Dao Court will hunt you to the ends of the earth,” Xiao Buhui shouted.

“Maybe they’ll kill me, maybe they won’t,” Lin Yunhen replied coldly. “But right now, you will die.”

As the sword raised high, Xiao Buhui’s face turned pale.

“Wait! We can talk!” he cried.

“Talk about what? Weren’t you ready to die?” Xu Zimo sneered.

“I can give you the route. But I won’t take you there,” Xiao Buhui admitted.

If he personally guided them to the Dao Source, no matter the outcome, he’d never escape punishment from the sect. That was his bottom line.

Xu Zimo exchanged a glance with the others, then nodded slightly.

“Draw it out.”

Lin Yunhen pulled out a spare beast hide from his storage ring and laid it before him.

Xiao Buhui used his sword to carve the route onto the hide.

“Don’t expose me afterward, no matter how things end,” he warned.

Xu Zimo studied the map. Truthfully, he could have just stormed his way there.

But that risked alerting the enemy too soon. Better to confirm the location of the Infernal Heart first, then make his move.

“Let’s hope you’re not lying to us,” Xu Zimo said.

“If I lied, you can always come back for revenge,” Xiao Buhui replied. “Now let me go.”

“Sleep for now. When you wake, it’ll all be over,” Xu Zimo said, tapping his forehead.

Drowsiness swept over Xiao Buhui, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

“The Dao Source lies in the core grounds of Thousand-Ox Dao Court,” Lin Yunhen muttered solemnly, studying the map. “We might sneak through the outer and inner courts, but the core… impossible.”

“We don’t need to get in. Just knowing the general area is enough,” Xu Zimo said calmly.

As long as he could sense the Infernal Heart, he could break through by force.

The real danger was scaring the enemy into moving it.

The three of them changed into the core disciples’ robes they had taken from Xiao Buhui’s residence.

Disguised, they descended Lonely Cloud Peak and followed the route toward the Dao Source.

“This Thousand-Ox Dao Court is enormous,” Lin Yunhen sighed with envy along the way. “No wonder they’re called a Dao Court. Just the outer court alone surpasses my dynasty.”

“What are we going to the Dao Source for?” Xia Wanqing asked.

“To take something, and to make arrangements for you two,” Xu Zimo answered.

“Arrange us?” Lin Yunhen asked, puzzled.

“When you’re new to a place like this, without protection you won’t even know how you die,” Xu Zimo explained. “I’ll have a word with the Hidden Ox Emperor, ask him to watch over you.”

“Brother Xu, you must be joking,” Lin Yunhen said quickly, clearly not believing it.

They crossed the Outer Court and entered the Inner Court.

The Inner Court alone was nearly twice as large as the Outer.

“Don’t be fooled by the size. Compared to the Outer disciples, Inner disciples are only a tiny fraction,” Lin Yunhen explained. He seemed well-prepared, having studied much beforehand.

“How so?” Xia Wanqing asked curiously.

“Not exaggerating, there are billions of Outer disciples. But the Inner Court only ever has thirty thousand. They each live in one of the Thirty Thousand Immortal Caves. It’s a strict rule of Thousand-Ox Dao Court: no matter how many Outer disciples there are, the Inner Court remains fixed at thirty thousand. To enter the Inner Court, one must constantly defeat others in challenges. The competition is brutal, especially for those ranked at the bottom. The same goes for the Core disciples. No matter the number of disciples overall, there are only thirty thousand, residing on the Thirty Thousand Immortal Mountains.”

Xu Zimo nodded. He understood.

These disciples enjoyed unparalleled resources, so naturally, they also faced unparalleled challenges.

Xia Wanqing and Lin Yunhen looked around in awe, filled with longing.

Xu Zimo, meanwhile, simply closed his eyes and rested.

They passed through the Inner Court and finally reached the boundary of the Core Grounds.

Here, flying was forbidden.

And with only three hundred Core disciples, most knew one another. Blending in unnoticed was impossible.

Xu Zimo shut his eyes, attempting to sense the Infernal Heart’s presence.

His soul spread across tens of thousands of miles, but felt nothing.

He frowned. Could it be the Infernal Heart wasn’t within Thousand-Ox Dao Court after all?

Since it was linked to the Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique, perhaps it could be sensed that way.

He summoned the physique.

A towering surge of infernal energy erupted, though Xu Zimo deliberately suppressed it to avoid alarming others.

“Brother Xu, this…?” Lin Yunhen’s eyes widened. “A special constitution?

“With such power… could it be one of the legendary Ten Primordial God-Physiques?”

“The Ten Primordial God-Physiques?” Xu Zimo asked. “What are those?”

“You don’t know?” Lin Yunhen was shocked.

“They represent the highest, most supreme physiques across the Nine Heavens of the Outer Heavens. If you’ve never heard of them, then your physique probably isn’t among them.”

“Like the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Of course. But the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures are each held by one of the ten bloodlines. And they’re all in Absolute God Heaven,” Lin Yunhen explained.