At the end of the golden staircase, auspicious clouds surged, and the Golden Armor Divine General stood towering, overlooking everything, as if the Heavenly People were gazing down upon the Human World.

The Heavenly Court suddenly sent a divine invitation, catching All Saints and Ji Jingqiu by surprise.

Looking at the Divine General high above, gazing down upon them, Feng Ming and others felt eager to attempt pulling him directly down.

Would beheading him yield the Returning to Truth True Rhythm?

Ji Jingqiu was the first to step onto the golden staircase, followed closely by All Saints, under the impact of this scene, the gaze of the Golden Armor Divine General grew more profound.

As for Ji Jingqiu, having been actively invited by the opposing side, there was no reason for them to show timidity.

"The Heavenly Court actually revealed themselves, someone has arrived..."

Ji Jingqiu murmured to himself, similarly feeling a bit puzzled.

Is this the moment for the people behind the scenes to take the stage, no longer needing to cover their tracks?

According to the secrets revealed by Sword Light, it's nearly impossible for new Transcenders to emerge in this era due to Heaven and Earth Dao's restrictions.

But the opposing side is most probably a Transcender from the past, whether they can return to their peak state is uncertain.

"Eight hundred billion spirits can't support one Divine Venerable, what about that True Saint?"

"Do you think everyone is like your Yanhuang Federation?" Hel retorted, "Your Federation's Divine Dao is not orthodox, it's been said long ago, it's a path of deviance."

"Honestly speaking, Ji Tianxing's way of thinking is quite interesting." Wuzhou suddenly interjected, "The Federation took the approach of exhausting the resources like catching fish from a drained pond, competing only for a millennium, and what they exhaust isn't the believer's populace, but the Divine's core of belief, meeting the Federation's needs of the time."

Hel sneered: "When that guy was scheming, he indeed had some skill, but at other times? Heh."

Ji Jingqiu pondered, wondering if Xi Zhu referred to the entire populace under the Heavenly Court.

If so, then this person wouldn't even surpass Transcendence, let alone Dao Ancestor.

"To have a True Saint as a general, this foundation is indeed profound."

"The Thirty-Third Layers is where the Heavenly Emperor resides, then what is the place we are heading to now?"

"Didn't that Divine General say, 'Heavenly Court invites', then surely it must be directly to the Milo Hall in the Thirty-Third Layers of Heaven."

All Saints discussed privately, appearing calm on the surface, but in truth, they were already employing various Methods of divination and probing in secret, cautiously observing the surroundings for changes.

When everyone safely reached the top of the golden staircase, the Golden Armor Divine General calmly spoke:

"Please follow me to the Summer Palace."

"Summer Palace?" The Saint King asked, "Whose is it?"

"Naturally, it's His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor's." The Golden Armor Divine General replied indifferently.

"That Heavenly Emperor of yours, what appearance does he have? Is he wearing the Nine Chapters Legal Robe and a Crown with Twelve Tassels?"

The Saint King's eyes were sharp, his tone almost interrogative, though he didn't step forward, yet the Heavenly Divine Light already filled this space, locking onto the Divine General.

Ji Jingqiu didn't interfere, gazing at the distant scenery, seeming unawares of the current conflict.

The Golden Armor Divine General's expression slightly changed, stepping back a step, auspicious clouds surged, auspicious Qi enveloped, his aura heightened before he solemnly said:

"This place is a critical area of the Heavenly Court, no violence is permitted! You are our guest, we treat you courteously, what does this mean?"

Kong Ming gently coughed, starting to play the role of the mediator: "Saint King, calm down, give this old man some face, let's see before we speak."

The Saint King looked coldly at the Golden Armor Divine General, commanding:

"Lead the way!"

The Golden Armor Divine General's complexion darkened, making it seem as if he were forced to lead the way!

But after glancing at All Saints, this Divine General always felt their gaze on him was rather peculiar, alerting his mind, choosing not to entangle further.

With this person's guidance, All Saints consecutively traversed through several realms, eventually arriving atop a Heavenly Palace.

Ahead lay a Holy Palace, spewing myriad golden light and endless Dao Rhyme, its design ancient, gazed from afar, one could vaguely see Immortal Gods and Heavenly Generals guarding, misty, aloof, or majestic.

Above the main gate of the palace, the plaque was inscribed with two words using the Dao character

"Ling" "Xiao"!

All Saints wore solemn expressions, these two Dao characters were anything but simple, each word contained myriad skills, if one aligned with the Dao, possessing great fortune, they could even directly comprehend a Taoist Scripture leading to the Dao's pinnacle from them!

At this moment, the palace's large doors were open wide, revealing a vast and profound inner hall, illuminated by an unending ray of light, illuminating every corner of the hall.

Led by the Golden Armor Divine General, everyone flew towards the palace.

"What is that?"

Mieyu suddenly pointed to the distant high sky at a bridge seemingly spanning all heaven and earth, connecting the beginning to the end.

This bridge appeared to be far from here, even with All Saints' vision, they couldn't catch its true appearance.

The Golden Armor Divine General spoke indifferently: "That is one of His Majesty's treasures for attaining the Dao, the Other Shore Golden Bridge, capable of spanning the Bitter Sea and guiding all beings across it. Despite the rampant Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water in the world, atop the bridge the Bitter Sea still won't intrude, tribulations won't fall!"

Guiding all beings across the Bitter Sea...

Everyone exchanged glances, maintaining silence.

These claims seemed a bit inflated.

Among the Ancestor Masters of the past, there wasn't anyone who dared attempt tackling the Bitter Sea, but even the Netherworld Lord who forcibly harmonized with the Bitter Sea couldn't draw beings away from its grasp.

No matter if the mastermind behind the scenes is of Ancestor Master level, it's still something even the Great Dao Ancestor couldn't achieve.

Yet the Saint King gave Ji Jingqiu a meaningful look.

Quickly, a majestic Divine Platform came into the sight of All Saints again.

No introduction from the Divine General was needed, they had seen it before.

Another God-slaying Platform.

Only the Divine Sword hanging there differed slightly from the previous one.

"This is the God-slaying Platform, also a supreme treasure of the Heavenly Court, there are five God-slaying Platforms in the Heavenly Court, any that spread chaos among the Human World will be captured by the Thunder Department God, beheaded with blades and spears, struck by lightning and burned by fire, ultimately decapitated."

The Golden Armor Divine General spoke at a measured pace, his steps unhurried.

All Saints glanced oddly at Ji Jingqiu's back.

The Five-Sided God-slaying Platform? Now only four sides remain; one side has already been dismantled by this person.

Ji Jingqiu also glanced at the God-slaying Platform, seeing that it was noticeably quieter and not deliberately targeting him, he then relaxed.

Now there is no Nether Sea to shield him.

Yet the description of this person...

If memory serves, back in the day, Sun Wukong received similar treatment.

Finally, this Divine General did not wait for inquiries from the crowd and proactively introduced the distant entities—a Thunder Pond and a "God-slaying Platform" condensed from pure Divinity and Dao Rhyme.

The former, clearly a Thunder Pond, yet featured a True Dragon poking its head out, with a pair of narrowed golden eyes; the thick Qi Fortune and Dao Aura on its body made All Saints' mouths water.

If not for the inappropriate occasion, someone would have already attempted to snatch it and prepare the oil for cooking.

"That is the Dragon Transformation Pool and the Dragon-slaying Platform bestowed upon the Thunder Department gods by His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor. The former is used for cultivating Ancestor Dragons, while the latter is for dragon slaying," the Golden Armor Divine General remarked indifferently.

All Saints cast sidelong glances at his back, gradually grasping the underlying intention.

Was this deliberately showing them around to intimidate them with his own foundation?

The items were indeed impressive, especially the power of the God-slaying Platform, which they had witnessed before—it was definitely not something a True Saint could craft, let alone five complete sides...

It's a pity that such actions seemed somewhat insecure, or perhaps they were already preconceived?

Anyway, from their perspective, the more this was the case, the more the World Venerable was correct—the entity behind the scenes most likely had issues, absolutely not on a transcendental level.

"Everyone, this is His Majesty's Summer Palace. His Majesty will arrive shortly, and some external guests have already visited ahead of time. You may begin exchanges,"

The Golden Armor Divine General led them to the palace entrance, almost like completing a handover.

But none of All Saints moved; all were expressionless, or looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Leading them to an unknown Divine Temple and then turning around, leaving them to enter?

Even if he entered personally, they would still hesitate, checking whether there were Killing Formations or Forbidden Techniques laid inside!

At this moment.

A surprised voice echoed from within the temple.

"Kong Ming Senior Brother?"

Hmm?!

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Kong Ming abruptly turned his head and saw a white-haired young Daoist rising from within the temple, stunned for a moment, he questioned in astonishment:

"Wensu Junior Brother? Why are you here?"

For a moment, Kong Ming instinctively doubted whether this was indeed his Wensu Junior Brother.

This Junior Brother had clearly gone to the Chaotic Sea to investigate the situation of the [Old Heavenly Court], so why was he here?

"Mieyu Senior Brother, weren't you heading to the Netherworld?"

"Uncle Master Tuo Hai..."

"Misty Ancestor..."

In an instant, the grand hall became a place for All Saints to "identify relatives."

All Saints were astonished to find their fellow members, originally heading to the Chaotic Sea to survey the [Old Heavenly Court], were all present here. Some gradually came to realize this.

"Divine Dao... Heavenly Court? A certain place in the Netherworld, connected to the Heavenly Court?"

"This is the [Old Heavenly Court]! The past Great Dao Ancestral Land! No wonder it has traces of Scattered Path, Returning to Truth True Rhythm..."

Mieyu and others abruptly turned their gazes to Ji Jingqiu's back, suspecting he had long guessed this.

"Junior Brother, is this place the [Old Heavenly Court] of the Chaotic Sea?!"

"Naturally, Senior Brother wasn't going to the Netherworld, so why are you here?"

"I entered here from the Netherworld! Is this place safe?"

"Enter from the Netherworld... not to conceal from Senior Brother, half a month ago, a powerful figure emerged from the [Old Heavenly Court], inviting Taoist Inheritances from all sides, declaring the end of a hundred epochs of slumber, wishing to understand the current situation of the Post-World Sea—the matter has already been reported back to the Gate, but Senior Brother, far in the Netherworld, likely hasn't received it yet."

"What?! The Heavenly Court actively revealed itself?"

"Uncle Master, why were you previously following behind that young man?"

"Do not be disrespectful! This is the World's Venerable senior, once accompanying the Ancestor Master on the Returning to Truth Road!"

"Is there truly a World Venerable?!"

A moment later.

All Saints and those within the hall were both caught in shock.

One side was shocked that while they were busy pursuing the World Venerable, the distant Old Heavenly Court of the Chaotic Sea unexpectedly initiated openings, facing Various Taoist Inheritances of the Sea of Realms.

The other side was even more amazed that following the appearance of the Lord of the Heavenly Court, another ancient entity from a hundred epochs ago emerged from the deep.

As both sides of All Saints each processed the news.

Deep within the temple, above the majestic Divine Throne in the dome, a brilliant light burst forth, radiant and dazzling, as if a portal opened, an ancient consciousness descended, sacred, divine, pure, transcendent, seemingly leading to infinite universes, endless heavens and earth!

In an instant, the light and shadows in the temple transformed like dream bubbles, with layers of divine light penetrating and descending, infinite stars manifested within heaven and earth, as numerous as grains of sand, eventually all transforming into decorations on an ancient robe, draped over a sacred and majestic Divine Spirit.

He stood there, with an aura towering and ethereal, like eternal group stars hanging in the sky, gazing down upon all heavens and myriad worlds, seeing all spirits and living beings as mere straw dogs.

The entire hall, filled with Divine Generals and Immortal Gods, in this moment knelt on one knee, expressions solemn, saluting together and honoring:

"We respectfully welcome the Heavenly Emperor's descent!"

At this very moment.

Those eyes, seemingly surpassing all, capable of seeing through everything, first fell upon Ji Jingqiu.