Chapter 307: "May the fame of the Mocking Heaven Sect echo across the Three Thousand Continents."

Chapter 307: "May the fame of the Mocking Heaven Sect echo across the Three Thousand Continents."

Just at that moment—

Among the ten thousand sword cultivator puppets with "Peak Celestial Immortal" cultivation, the only one with "Mid-stage Tribulation Transcender" cultivation had its mechanical joints slowly closing, accompanied by a grinding sound.

The Mid-stage Tribulation Transcender sword cultivator puppet's body suddenly glowed with countless white array patterns, looking quite captivating.

".

Chen Qiu glanced at it and quickly averted his gaze, continuing to observe the underground square with intense curiosity. A Mid-stage Tribulation Transcender, and a sword cultivator puppet at that, wasn't something he took seriously.

He was currently preoccupied with one thought.

That is...

Could he take away these ten thousand Peak Celestial Immortal sword cultivator puppets?

If he could, even if the Mocking Heaven Sect left him with immense karma, he would accept it. At the very least, he could already walk with his head held high in the Fourth and Fifth Rank Immortal Realms!

However, it was highly unlikely that he could take them away. After all, he wasn't the first to arrive here. Even someone like Jiang Buying had come here before, and these ten thousand puppets were extremely tempting, especially considering that Jiang Buying was only at the Body Integration Stage at the time.

Jiang Buying couldn't have been unaffected by these sword cultivator puppets, and the only reason he didn't take them was that it was impossible to do so.

Therefore, Chen Qiu didn't dare to try and directly put these sword cultivator puppets into his storage ring, fearing that he might accidentally trigger some deadly restriction and suffer a net loss. It was better to proceed with caution.

Just then—

"Swoosh!"

A blinding light instantly enveloped the entire underground square, accompanied by a piercing sword qi that struck him from behind without warning. A powerful sword qi slammed into his back, sending Chen Qiu, who was still observing the underground square, flying several zhang away.

Blood splattered into the air.

".

Chen Qiu slowly stabilized his body and, feeling the stinging pain on his back, turned to look at the blood that had just fallen to the ground and the sword cultivator puppet standing not far away, holding a sharp sword. A glint of shock flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but feel excited, "Good, good, really good!"

The strength of the sword cultivator puppet before him was even greater than he had imagined.

Generally speaking, puppets of the same cultivation level were not as strong as cultivators, but this sword cultivator puppet's power was even more formidable.

If the other Celestial Immortal puppets were like this, it would be a fortune that would truly satisfy him.

Unfortunately, now wasn't the time, or he would have liked to test this sword cultivator puppet's combat experience.

Taking a deep breath, he no longer wasted time, and spirit qi surged out! "Fusion Kill Move, Three Thousand Thunder Surge!"

The next moment—

Countless heavenly thunder instantly filled the vast underground square, rushing towards the puppet like a tidal wave. Deafening thunderclaps echoed within the square, and the heavenly thunder had already surged out of the well, forming a thunder fountain dozens of zhang high.

Chen Qiu didn't deliberately avoid the other Celestial Immortal puppets.

After all, they were at the Peak Celestial Immortal cultivation level, and if they could be destroyed by his collateral attacks, these puppets were truly trash, all show and no substance, not worth his time.

The few people who had been watching from the well's entrance also reacted with fear and quickly retreated to the rear.

After a few breaths.

As expected, Chen Qiu heard the Heavenly Dao's notification sound, indicating that he had successfully passed the trial. Even a Mid-stage Tribulation Transcender sword cultivator puppet found it difficult to block his Fusion Kill Move. If he were a sword cultivator, it might have been more challenging, but fortunately, he was a law cultivator.

It seemed that his decision to abandon sword cultivation and switch to law cultivation had been the right choice.

Just as he was about to carefully observe the limestone square and see if he could find a way to take these sword cultivator puppets with him, he suddenly felt an incredibly powerful force pulling him back to the well's entrance, a force he couldn't resist.

In an instant, he was pulled back to the well's entrance.

".

Chen Qiu, who had returned to the well's entrance, sighed softly and frowned slightly. This feeling made him feel itchy inside. It was unbearable to have something so good right in front of him but be unable to obtain it.

He truly wanted these ten thousand heavenly soldiers!

"Senior."

At this moment, the Realm Host, who was standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded. From the beginning, he had sensed an extremely dangerous aura from Chen Qiu, but this was the first time he had seen the senior make a move.

He couldn't understand this method...

How could a cultivator at the fourth layer of Body Integration Stage unleash such a terrifying attack?

This method was even more terrifying than that of Jiang Buying.

Chen Qiu turned to the Realm Host and asked softly, "After Jiang Buying came out of the eighth gate, was there any change in his expression, or did he say anything?"

"Let me think..."

After pondering for a while, the Realm Host replied, "I think so. After Jiang Buying successfully passed through the eighth gate, he stood at the well's entrance, silent for a while, as if confirming something. Then, he strode towards the ninth gate, the room in the courtyard."

"But there's one thing that's different between him and you, Senior."

"It seems that when he entered this secret realm, he already knew everything about it."

"Whether it was the sixth or seventh gate, he completed them according to the standard procedure. Even after entering the palace, he didn't need me to guide him, and he didn't even listen to my explanation of the trial rules. He just walked forward on his own."

"He didn't communicate with me at all, and he didn't even look at me. But at that time, my divine sense had just been born, and I was a bit dazed and confused, so I didn't pay attention to these things."

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu nodded slightly and paused for a while before continuing, "Do you know what's down the well?"

"No."

"As the Realm Host, are there still things in this secret realm that you don't know about?"

"Yes, yes, I don't know what's down the well. But Jiang Buying's reaction at the time gave me the impression that he came to this secret realm specifically for something, and that thing should be in the eighth gate."

"No matter what rewards there were in the previous trials, he didn't even glance at them. He passed through them without any hindrance, only stopping in two places."

"One place is here, and the other is the ninth gate."

Chen Qiu pondered for a moment, then without asking further, he looked towards a house not far away, "Is the ninth gate inside there?"

"Senior, I'll take you in, but the other two have to stay here. They didn't pass the eighth gate, so they can't go to the ninth."

Fei Long looked at Chen Qiu with a serious expression, "Be careful, Brother Qiu."

Based on his understanding of Brother Qiu, he was probably onto something good in the well, but it would be difficult to bring it out. In such a situation, he was a little worried that Brother Qiu might take too many risks for the sake of profit.

Bai Pingling glanced at Chen Qiu and the host entering the house and closing the door, he whispered, "Elder, didn't you say that only by living long enough can one have enough opportunities? Shouldn't we exhaust ourselves for a single opportunity? There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Perhaps Chen Qiu's behavior was too obvious.

Even Bai Pingling could tell that there was something good in the well at the eighth gate, but the senior couldn't bring it out, and that "Jiang Buying" senior couldn't either.

"Hmm."

Fei Long licked his dry lips with a thoughtful expression, "Brother Qiu did tell you those words, and there's nothing wrong with them. But uniting knowledge and action is an extremely difficult thing, it's not related to cultivation, but to desire."

"If you have no desires or cravings, you can strictly adhere to those requirements."

"But if you have even a sliver of desire, you can make things happen."

He knew Brother Qiu well.

Although Brother Qiu did say those words and even passed them on as truth to Bai Pingling, he believed that Brother Qiu was sincere when he spoke them. But given Brother Qiu's personality, if the benefits were significant enough, he would be the one to charge ahead with the most force.

Going all-in, all-in from the start!

Wealth and honor come with risk!

At times like this, Brother Qiu had another saying, that in one's life, there may be countless opportunities, but only two or three of them will truly change your life. When faced with such grand opportunities, one should disregard everything and exhaust all efforts to seize them, even if it means death, but a death without regret.

Anyway, every argument has its logic.

As long as you survive, anything goes.

As Chen Qiu entered the house, he immediately surveyed the room, which turned out to be a study with a bed beside it.

A desk leaning against the wall, with a calligraphy hanging behind it.

"Heaven rewards diligence."

Although many years had passed, the paper showed no signs of yellowing, instead, it remained as pristine as ever. A glance at the material revealed its extraordinary quality, not an ordinary item, it was definitely valuable.

Aside from that.

There was only a tea table in the center of the room, with a four-piece tea set on top.

Other than that, the room was quite simple, almost empty.

Notably, there was a blanket on the bed, which was in a messy state, not neatly folded. Although it was unknown why such a large palace was suddenly deserted ten thousand years ago, the traces left by the messy blanket on the bed allowed for a rough deduction that the owner of this room was sleeping on the bed when the incident occurred, and they hurriedly got up to prepare for battle upon hearing the commotion.

After that, this scene was frozen in time, and years later, it became a part of the Heavenly Dao Mystic Realm, and this room became the ninth gate.

Chen Qiu's gaze now shifted to the back of the desk, where a bookcase stood, empty without any books on display. Next to the bookcase, there was a rather conspicuous wooden door on the wall.

This wooden door was the entrance to the ninth gate.

And next to this door.

A large, clear, and crimson character was engraved.

"Mock"!

"It's here."

The host looked at the ordinary wooden door and the "Mock" character beside it, sighing with emotion, "That year, Jiang Buying stopped at this gate. He stood here in silence for a long time."

"In the end, he didn't even enter the ninth gate to take a look, but left the realm immediately."

"Without any hesitation."

"After that, no one ever saw him enter this realm again, and no one else reached this point."

"As for what's in the ninth gate, I'm not sure either."

"Senior, the difficulty of entering the ninth gate by opening that door might be very high. If there's no compelling reason, I actually don't recommend it."

"I still want to take a look."

Chen Qiu interrupted the host, striding towards the wooden door, placing his hand on the doorknob, and turning to face the host, "Does this realm require you and me to enter together?"

"Mhm."

Although the host felt a bit uneasy, he forced himself to suppress the panic in his heart and jogged to stand behind Chen Qiu, "After entering the ninth gate, I'll be able to understand its rules and content, and then I can explain it to you, Senior."

"Then let's go in."

Perhaps it was a case of the more skilled being bolder, as Chen Qiu didn't hesitate much. He immediately pushed open the wooden door, and a white swirling teleportation portal appeared before his eyes, a sight he was already familiar with, having encountered it many times.

Then, with blinding light instantly enveloping his vision, as his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the light, Chen Qiu and the host found themselves in an unfamiliar space.

This space wasn't large.

It was about the same size as the well at the eighth gate.

As he examined all the objects in the space, his expressionless face slowly tightened his grip on the Heavenly Oracle Umbrella, and his heart skipped a beat as a strong sense of unease welled up within him. The place was just too eerie.

The Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token in his embrace also started to vibrate wildly at this moment.

He had never seen the Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token vibrate at such a rapid frequency, like a heavy hammer constantly pounding his heart, making his already uneasy emotions even more restless.

The entire space was covered with dense, deep yellow talismans, and at a glance, there were at least millions of them.

Each talisman was slightly yellowed, with curled edges, clearly showing their age. These talismans were probably running out of spirit energy, as he could clearly sense that many had already exhausted their energy, with only a small portion retaining some residual spirit energy.

The talismans covered every inch of the ground, walls, and ceiling of the space, as if one were immersed in an ocean of talismans. Each crimson rune on the talismans was drawn with blood, and even after tens of thousands of years, the lingering scent of blood still permeated the air.

In the center of the square stood a brass pillar, several zhang tall, with countless iron chains binding a disheveled person. Their hair was so long that it reached their ankles, concealing their face and features, making it impossible to discern their gender.

The person was motionless, without breath or movement, clearly long dead. Chen Qiu's divine sense detected no trace of life.

The brass pillar and the iron chains were engraved with array patterns, and the million talismans were obviously part of the means used to kill this person. One could only wonder how formidable this person was that they couldn't be slain on the spot, requiring such elaborate measures to be subdued.

Chen Qiu took a deep breath, holding the Heavenly Oracle Umbrella, trying to keep his body still. He wasn't proficient in talisman cultivation, so he couldn't identify the level of these talismans. His plan was to memorize the array patterns and later ask someone about them.

However, he realized that even after committing the patterns to memory, he would instantly forget them the next moment, as if they were erased from his mind.

Understanding this, he stopped trying. It was clear that these array patterns or talismans were beyond his comprehension.

More importantly, he now understood why the Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token in his embrace had been trembling.

On the brass pillar, there was a sunken area in the shape of the character 'Mock.' He was familiar with this indentation, having encountered similar locks in Daxia Country. Only the Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token could unlock them.

The Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token was not a simple token; it was intricately designed, resembling a chair with the character 'Mock' carved on its back. In Daxia Country, these locks were often hidden within long passages of text, making it difficult for outsiders to notice the 'Mock' character as a lock, even if they possessed the token.

The constant trembling of his token might be due to the presence of this lock. However, when he was in Daxia Country, the lock beneath the boundless ice plains also had the 'Mock' character, but the token hadn't trembled as violently. This meant that opening this lock would undoubtedly lead to a significant event, whether good or bad, only Heaven knew.

After a long silence, Chen Qiu turned to the host of the secret realm beside him, "Tell me, what's the task for this stage?"

Despite the eerie atmosphere, this was still the ninth stage of the secret realm, and he needed more information before deciding whether to open the lock. He was afraid that releasing an ancient evil suppressed by the Mocking Heaven Sect tens of thousands of years ago might not only kill him but also threaten the mortal world.

After all, such extensive measures had been taken to trap the person on the brass pillar, and he didn't believe he could defeat such a being if it were released.

"The task for this stage is to open the lock on the pillar. There's no additional information, just these few words." The host's voice trembled, clearly shaken by the sight before them.

"But there's no lock on the brass pillar, just iron chains and a bound person."

Chen Qiu took a deep breath, remaining silent for a while before slowly walking over the piles of talismans on the ground and approaching the brass pillar. He looked up at the bound person.

The person was bound several zhang high, forcing Chen Qiu to crane his neck to see.

After a few breaths, Chen Qiu's spiritual energy surged, and he used it to remove all the hair from the corpse, revealing it to be a man, a young man, seemingly around thirty years old in mortal terms. His features were sharp, and he appeared to have died peacefully, with no sign of life. His expression was calm, but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if he had died with some dissatisfaction.

The furrowed eyebrows were the only indication of emotion on the entire body; otherwise, it was devoid of any movement. He looked more like an old man deep in thought than a powerful being trapped and killed here.

As Chen Qiu examined the corpse on the brass pillar, he suddenly heard a thumping sound behind him. Turning, he saw the host of the secret realm kneeling on the ground, his eyes filled with fear. His throat, constricted by terror, struggled to form words, and he pointed at the bound corpse, stammering, "He... he..."

"What?" Chen Qiu's eyebrows arched slightly as he turned to look at the corpse, but he saw no signs of it coming back to life. Then, a thought occurred to him, and he said, "Do you know this person?"

"Let me guess, is this person related to Jiang Buying in some way?"

"Yes... yes..." The host's eyes were wide with fear. He swallowed hard and forced out the words, "It's the same person, identical in every way, even the mole on his left wrist. When Jiang Buying entered this secret realm, I noticed he had a plum-shaped mole there. It was quite eye-catching, so I took a good look at it."

"That mole left a deep impression on me. Elder, look at this body's left wrist; it also has a plum-shaped mole in the exact same position and shape. The rest of the body is identical as well."

"But how...?"

"But how could he be here? I saw him with my own eyes back then. How... how..."

Chen Qiu remained expressionless, silently examining the corpse. From the host's account, it was clear that Jiang Buying had entered this secret realm not for the 'Rainbow Entry,' 'Gold Entry,' or 'Earthly Elite Fortune,' but had been aiming for the ninth stage from the beginning.

The target of his pursuit was likely this corpse, not the ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals beneath the well in the eighth stage as he had initially guessed.

Perhaps those ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were tempting, but in the end, the ultimate goal was still this corpse.

From this point on, a conclusion could be easily deduced.

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Mock Heaven Sect had employed all means to slay Jiang Buying, but Jiang Buying did not truly die. His physical body was slain, but his Divine Soul managed to escape.

Years later, the Divine Soul finally regained some strength. By then, the Mock Heaven Sect had perished, and Jiang Buying somehow learned that the place where his physical body was imprisoned had become the Heavenly Dao Mystic Realm.

He came alone, prepared to reclaim his body and restore his strength.

However, when he saw the 'Mock' character on the wall in the ninth stage, he suddenly retreated.

The turning point was here.

He believed that this physical body was of utmost importance to that Jiang Buying, who was willing to pay any price to obtain it. Yet, despite being at the final hurdle, why did he give up at the ninth stage?

Was it fear?

Or was it inability?

These two possibilities determined whether he would unlock the lock on the brass pillar.

The possibility of fear was slim. The fact that he had been slain by the Mock Heaven Sect indicated that the grudge had been formed long ago. Moreover, the Mock Heaven Sect had been extinct for over thirty thousand years, so there was nothing to fear.

That left only one possibility—inability.

Through some means, Jiang Buying knew that even if he entered the ninth stage, he couldn't retrieve his body because without the Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token, he couldn't unlock the lock on the brass pillar.

Therefore, he didn't even enter the ninth stage and chose to give up, leaving directly.

Given this, Chen Qiu took a deep breath, no longer hesitating. In the shocking gaze of the Realm Host, he took out the throne-shaped Mocking Heaven Sect Sovereign Token from his embrace and slowly pressed the back of the chair against the 'Mock' character that had sunk into the brass pillar.

As the Mocking Heaven Sect Token enlarged slightly, perfectly fitting the lock, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from the point of contact.

The next moment—

The talismans on the walls, floors, and ceilings, which had almost turned to ash, instantly vanished into dust. Chen Qiu, quick as lightning, grabbed a few talismans that hadn't dissipated yet and stuffed them into his storage ring for later research.

Array patterns slowly rose on the brass pillar, and the chains broke into several sections and fell.

The corpse also fell towards the ground, but before it could land, Chen Qiu swiftly caught it and stuffed it into his storage ring, intending to seal it there forever.

He wanted to conceal this news as much as possible; he didn't want that Jiang Buying to find him.

Immediately, the space shook violently, and a deafening, powerful voice reverberated throughout the palace.

"Congratulations, Sovereign, your resurrection plan is complete!"

"Congratulations, Sovereign, on your return!"

"May the name of the Mock Heaven Sect resound across the Three Thousand Continents, slaying all gods and buddhas!"

These three phrases echoed repeatedly for several times.

In that instant, the brass pillar instantly drilled into the depths of Chen Qiu's divine consciousness sea. He immediately felt an absolute control over the palace; this brass pillar was the 'Control Pillar' of the palace.

All the information about the palace instantly became clear to him; he could access everything at will.

If he wished, he could take away those ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals of Peak Heaven Immortal cultivation at any time.

". . ."

A hint of astonishment flashed in Chen Qiu's eyes as he stood still. At that moment, a flood of information poured into his mind, including when the construction of the palace began, its location, the nature of the surrounding void, the reason for Jiang Buying's corpse, and why those ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers were created but never used or even activated.

All this information surged into his mind as soon as he gained control of the brass pillar.

And it was all because he had answered a secret code.

In the instant the brass pillar entered his mind, before the congratulatory message for the Sovereign's return could sound, a voice echoed in the depths of his consciousness.

"Big hammer 80, how many small hammers?"

He answered, forty.

And so, the subsequent events unfolded. After sorting through all the information, Chen Qiu's expression gradually became complex. He suddenly realized that the situation seemed to have taken a different turn.

Initially, he had worried that he was the Mock Heaven Sect Master from thirty thousand years ago.

Now he could confirm that he wasn't; he was Chen Qiu, with no connection to the Mock Heaven Sect from thirty thousand years ago.

However, the Mock Heaven Sect Master from three thousand years ago had indeed prepared many backup plans for his resurrection and resurgence, such as the Rainbow Entry Jade Slip that appeared in Daxia Country.

But Chen Qiu had seized these opportunities first.

In other words, the Mock Heaven Sect Master might have already resurrected, but he was still trapped in Daxia Country, or perhaps the resurrection had failed. Otherwise, Chen Qiu wouldn't have been able to seize these opportunities first.

One thing was certain.

The reason why a small place like Daxia Country had the Rainbow Entry Jade Slip and other things that shouldn't exist was because the Mock Heaven Sect Master had prepared these opportunities for his future resurgence.

"Good."

Chen Qiu silently nodded. Although he had only obtained partial information, limited to this palace, he finally gained some understanding of the true history of the Mock Heaven Sect.

It was easy to imagine that the Mock Heaven Sect from thirty thousand years ago was far more glorious than he had thought. Not to mention, their slogan was quite intimidating.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end