Xu Zimo suddenly recalled that when he had previously studied the Heaven-Shattering God-Scripture, he promised the Heaven’s Equal Emperor that he would return the Heaven-Shattering God-Scripture token to the Vast Heaven God Realm.

“Have you ever heard of a force called the Vast Heaven God Realm?” Xu Zimo asked again.

“Vast Heaven, that’s quite the daring name,” Lin Yunhen shook his head slightly.

“If it’s a minor power, I can’t say for certain. But as for a major one, there’s absolutely no such force in the Mortal Ascension Heaven.”

“Seems you know quite a lot,” Xu Zimo replied.

“Of course. To say I’ve read extensively wouldn’t be an exaggeration,” Lin Yunhen said smugly. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to compete for the position of Crown Prince.”

Xu Zimo turned, his gaze looking straight ahead.

After the Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique manifested, he finally sensed a faint force.

So faint it could not be fainter.

As if it were the sound of a heartbeat.

“Thump, thump, thump”, even his own heart began beating in rhythm.

“Found it,” Xu Zimo’s tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open. He looked toward the front of the core disciples, as if piercing through endless void.

His sight landed at the far end of distant space.

A vision of a pitch-black heart flashed before his eyes.

“Let’s go,” he said lightly.

“Shouldn’t we make a plan before heading into the core?” Lin Yunhen asked.

“No need,” Xu Zimo waved his hand. “We’ll just walk straight in. I want to see who dares block me.”

He swung his right sleeve, robe fluttering in the wind, and strode toward the core.

The moment he stepped inside, he felt countless gazes fall upon him.

Lin Yunhen and Xia Wanqing instantly felt the pressure multiply.

The two of them quietly hid behind Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo paid no attention, heading straight in the direction of the aura he had sensed.

His heartbeat grew faster and faster, as if it would burst out of his chest.

“Who are you?” a young man in blue robes blocked their path, frowning as he asked.

Xu Zimo still gave no response, simply walking forward.

His figure passed right by the blue-robed youth.

“Stop there! You’d better explain yourselves, or don’t blame me for being impolite,” the youth barked sternly.

Another man strolled over, casually stroking the sword at his waist.

He laughed and said, “Zhang Qizhong, looks like they’re not giving you any face.”

The blue-robed youth Zhang Qizhong turned and glared fiercely at the mocking man.

Then he raised his right hand, an endless surge of power condensed in his palm.

His entire body was wrapped in surging energy, the air exploding beneath his feet. His figure blurred into an afterimage as he lunged at Xu Zimo.

The force in his palm shattered the surrounding void.

Xu Zimo calmly glanced back at him.

Just one look, within those pitch-black eyes, demonic qi surged, as if the stars of the heavens were revolving.

One glance for ten thousand years.

Zhang Qizhong’s figure froze in place less than a meter away from Xu Zimo.

The next moment, he collapsed to the ground.

His whole body was drenched in sweat, as if pulled from water. A closer look revealed his eyes had lost all focus.

“You, you, what happened to you?” The young man who had mocked before, Wang Wei, turned pale, staring at Zhang Qizhong.

But Zhang Qizhong gave no response, only kneeling there, motionless.

Wang Wei swallowed hard.

His trembling hands pulled out his identity token.

With a snap, he crushed it. A golden light shot into the sky, transforming into a star that blossomed in the heavens.

“Someone... someone is invading the Dao Court!” he shouted.

At this moment, atop the sacred peak of the Thousand-Ox Dao Court.

The many Grand Elders of Thousand-Ox Dao Court, along with the Sacred Lord Dongfang Li, were all gathered there.

At the side of the sacred peak stood another group of people.

“If Nether Bone Dao Court can unite with us, the Thousand-Ox Dao Court, that would be most excellent,” Dongfang Li said with a genial smile. “We will dominate the West, while you suppress the East. That way, our chances of victory will be at least thirty percent.”

“Master Dongfang is too polite,” among the group from Nether Bone Dao Court, the leader was a woman.

She wore a black long dress, like a black rose blooming in the night.

Graceful and poised, yet carrying an aura of celestial spirit.

“In the West, Thousand-Ox Dao Court indeed rules supreme. As for us in Nether Bone, we dare not claim the same, for the East and West are not the same.”

“Then perhaps Lady Yu could consider my offer,” Dongfang Li smiled faintly, maintaining composure. “I’ve heard your old ancestor intends to step down, with you as the favored successor. Perhaps our Thousand-Ox Dao Court could lend a helping hand.”

“Thank you for your concern, Sacred Lord Dongfang, but the old Sacred Lord is far-sighted and has his own plans. We need not make presumptions,” Yu Yu shook her head with a light smile.

Just then, a golden glow suddenly rose in the sky.

The light spread wide, visible not just to them, but to every disciple of Thousand-Ox Dao Court.

“What’s going on?” Dongfang Li frowned.

“That is the distress signal of a core disciple,” the Grand Elder beside him explained.

Each core disciple was a key treasure of the Dao Court, its future.

To protect them, every one of them was issued a distress token.

“I know it’s a distress signal,” Dongfang Li said flatly.

“I’m asking why such a signal would flare within the Dao Court? Could it be someone actually dares to kill inside our Dao Court?”

“I’ll investigate immediately,” the Grand Elder hurriedly replied.

At that moment, Lady Yu suddenly smiled and said, “Sacred Lord Dongfang, why don’t we accompany you? We’ve been here at the Dao Court for some time now, yet haven’t properly taken a look around. Now that we’re about to leave, it would be good to admire Thousand-Ox Dao Court’s splendor.”

“Yes, yes,” the Nether Bone Dao Court members behind her nodded in agreement.

Dongfang Li was silent for a moment, then finally smiled.

“Since Lady Yu is interested, let us go together.”

Over twenty people in total stepped into the sky, flying toward the core region.

Back where Xu Zimo and the others had disappeared from view, Wang Wei still didn’t dare block their way.

He hurried forward to support the kneeling Zhang Qizhong.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“So terrifying… so terrifying,” Zhang Qizhong only kept shaking his head.

“Wang Wei,” came a vast voice from above, the Grand Elder’s.

Wang Wei looked up as if seeing his saviors: the entire leadership was hovering in the heavens.

“Elder, someone has broken into the core region!” Wang Wei quickly reported.

“This is Thousand-Ox Dao Court, could they really overturn the heavens here?” the Grand Elder scolded. “Why do you panic so? Such a disgraceful display, letting others laugh at us.”

“Disciple admits his fault,” Wang Wei immediately bowed his head.

“Who entered the Dao Court?” Dongfang Li finally spoke.

“I don’t know. There were three of them,” Wang Wei replied quickly.

“But the other two seemed weak. Only one… I couldn’t see through him. Qizhong tried to block them, and ended up like this.”

“Where did they go?” Dongfang Li asked.

“They headed toward the Dao Source,” Wang Wei answered.

Author’s Note:

To put it simply, I had previously left one out when writing, but it has now been corrected.

At the very bottom is the Mortal Ascension Heaven.

Then comes the Absolute God Heaven, established by the ten God-Clans.

There is the Calamity Immortal Heaven, where the Heavenly Court resides. And the Netherworld, where the dead go, but the natives of that realm usually call their world the Mirage Tides, also known as the Mirage Tides Heaven.

There is also the Grand Desolate Heaven, home of the Primal God Race.

Along with the Godfiend Abyss Heaven, the Inferno Crucible Heaven, the Ghost God Heaven, and the Azure Mystic Heaven.

These make up the Nine Heavens. The Great Wilderness mentioned before is not among them, it exists independently.