Chapter 453: 452 This Heaven’s Court could very likely be the new demonic sect!_1

Great Xia Imperial Palace.

Emperor Xia dismissed his eunuchs and palace maids for a meeting with the Five Great Immortal Sects.

In the vast palace, only six people remained, making the space feel empty.

“Fellow Daoist Yun, it’s been a while.”

“You flatter me.”

“Fellow Daoist Qiu, I heard that you were involved in the whole affair at Hanshui City?”

“I was fortunate enough to survive.”

After they all made their courteous exchanges, only the abbot of the Suspension Temple remained silent, busy practicing his Silent Zen.

Seeing that everyone had assembled, Emperor Xia laid out the topic for the day: “You all must be aware of the situation concerning Hanshui City. If it hadn’t been for the unforeseen intervention of a certain individual, Great Yu likely would have secured the State Destiny.”

Originally, Yun Zhi had intended to call for a meeting of the Righteous Path. However, upon hearing the news about Hanshui City, Emperor Xia preemptively summoned the five cultivators to the palace.

In the end, the result was the same.

Emperor Xia looked frustrated. Losing the State Destiny was a matter of immense concern. His ancestors likely would need to step in to recover it, which would disrupt all future plans.

“Old Qiu. You were at Hanshui City, so you saw it all. Describe what happened,” commanded the Sect Leader of the Prison Suppressing Sect. A burly man, there were hints of tattoos on his neck, wrists, and ankles. These were indications that his body was inscribed with War Patterns – a sign of mastery in the art of War Pattern cultivation.

Qiu Jin’an had already addressed the aftermath at Hanshui City, and so had come to the palace to discuss it further.

“My presence in Hanshui City was purely accidental. I was cursed by an evildoer and needed the power of State Destiny to break it, so I traveled to the nearest place—Hanshui City—to seek assistance.”

“At the time, Hanshui City was haunted by disasters, which were caused by a cultivator from Great Yu, although no one could tell at the time.”

“Subsequently, Wu Youdao appeared and used the power of the Transcendance Tribulation stage to seal off the information about Hanshui City, creating havoc inside the city walls.”

“Wu Youdao, you mean the sixth Emperor Yu?” A woman, the Palace Master Luo Hongxia from the Laurel Fairy Palace, interrupted Qiu Jin’an’s recounting.

“Yes, he is the one. He has the look of an emperor, and utilized Dragon and Tiger Qi in combat. He was very difficult to deal with. Only by teaming up with Governor Lv, were we able to hold him off.”

“While we were engaged in a stalemate, a man wearing a white paper hat appeared. His combat power was not much different from mine.”

“On par with you?” The Sect Leader of Prison Suppressing Sect was slightly surprised. He knew Qiu Jin’an’s strength and understood that anyone on par with Qiu Jin’an could not be a nobody.

“Even though the stranger did not reveal his identity, his style of combat resembled that of someone from the Nine Nether Sect. The only person in Nine Nether who could match me, could only be their Master!”

“Afterwards, I investigated him and found he had been committing various offences throughout Wild State during the last few years. He used a Clone Technique to commit his crimes, hiding his true cultivation level, which led the government offices of Wild State to underestimate him.”

“When the three of us were about to defeat Wu Youdao, Venerable Thunder appeared. To add to our despair, the Corpse Chasing Sect Leader had been possessed by Wu Ji, putting Hanshui City at risk from the threat of three powerful cultivators at the Transcendance Tribulation stage.”

“Wu Ji even used the Corpse Chasing Sect Leader’s identity and the Great Seal of Wild State to temporarily strip Governor Lv of his control over the State Destiny.”

“Just as I was preparing to defy them at the risk of my own life, a mysterious female cultivator appeared. Her true form and strength were unknown, but she claimed herself to be the Supreme Celestial Master of Heaven’s Court, Dou Tianzun, whom, with the power of the unclaimed State Destiny, was able to stand against the three of them and crush Wu Youdao’s trio!”

“Regrettably, Wu Youdao’s trio managed to escape.”

Although he had already heard about the situation from Governor Lv, Emperor Xia was still astonished as he listened to Qiu Jin’an’s recounting.

The woman who could overpower three opponents at once suggested that Dou Tianzun’s real power level was far beyond that of Wu Youdao’s trio. It had to be at least Semi-Immortal!

“What exactly is this Heaven’s Court? Why have I never heard of such a power?” The Prison Suppressing Sect Leader asked the question everyone had on their minds.

All present racked their brains but could only recall an ancient text mentioning the “Heavenly Court”. However, the account of the “Heavenly Court” is so varied that scholars have always had difficulty agreeing on its existence.

What was the relationship between the ancient Heavenly Court and Heaven’s Court?

“I’ve never heard of it before either. But from the reactions of the Wu Youdao trio, it’s safe to say they’ve never heard of it either.”

“However, judging from the reaction of the Nine Nether sect’s Master, who was next to me, it seems he knows about the existence of Heaven’s Court.”

“He was quite shocked when he saw Dou Tianzun, but more than that, he was overjoyed. He even told me that Dou Tianzun was an important figure who should not be mentioned by name, someone who could manipulate the stars as though they were mere beans.”

“Manipulate the stars, so Dou Tianzun is a figure from antiquity?” Emperor Xia rapped on the table with his knuckles.

All those present were high-level figures in the world of cultivation; there were few secrets they weren’t privy to. They all knew that the stars in the sky had disappeared, replaced by Yun Zhi’s Golden Core.

Put simply, no one could manipulate the stars as they would with beans in the current world of cultivation. Dou Tianzun had to be a figure from antiquity.

After the cultivators of the Great Yu and Great Qian Dynasties have surfaced, even more ancient cultivators have begun to reveal themselves, and they’re all powerful figures from antiquity.

However, it’s not known which powerful figure from antiquity this could be. Even though the history of the ancient times is littered with gaps, it won’t miss a cultivator of such caliber!

“More and more forces have been drawn into this grand struggle,” mused the Sect Leader of the Prison Suppressing Sect.

Qiu Jin’an nodded, “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I suspect there is some connection between this Heaven’s Court and the ancient Heavenly Court. Although there are many versions of the ancient Heavenly Court, one thing is consistent across all of them – the Heavenly Court ruled in the ancient times!”

As a scholar well versed in ancient knowledge, he made a bold hypothesis and elaborated carefully, “Further extrapolation suggests that the aim of Heaven’s Court may be to restore the rule of the ancient Heavenly Court. This explains why Dou Tianzun targeted Wu Youdao – their interests clashed.”

Luo Hongxia continued with Qiu Jin’an’s analysis, “The fact that the Nine Nether sect’s Master and Dou Tianzun know each other implies some connection between the two sects!”

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The Prison Suppressing Sect Leader picked up the thread analyzing Heaven’s Court, “With a figure like Dou Tianzun, Heaven’s Court must be incredibly powerful. Yet we know nothing about them, which suggests that they’ve been operating in the shadows. Until now, they finally made their appearance and proclaimed their existence to the world with overwhelming power!”

The abbot of the Suspension Temple also wished to speak, but his practice of Silent Zen rendered him speechless. So, Emperor Xia articulated the conclusion for him:

“It’s highly likely that Heaven’s Court represents a new demonic sect. After the Eternity Sect fell, there were only three of the Four Great Devil Sects remaining. If we now add Heaven’s Court, we still have Four Great Devil Sects!”

Everyone nodded in agreement, acknowledging Emperor Xia’s conclusion.

At this moment, Qiu Jin’an turned his attention to Yun Zhi, who had not spoken throughout the discussion. He asked, “Fellow Daoist Yun, you are the highest-level cultivator among us, and your knowledge is vast. What are your thoughts on Heaven’s Court?”

Yun Zhi swept her gaze over everyone and calmly announced, “I am the Master of Heaven’s Court.”

“!!!”