Chapter 739: Chapter 738: Departure, Anomalies in the Nine Heavy Heavens

Li Jing silently shook his head and cast his gaze at the numerous Monster Kings present.

From what he could see at the present.

The chances of Candle Dragon being in the Eight Heavens are extremely slim.

But since he was already in Ten Thousand Demon Valley, it won’t cost him anything to confirm if Candle Dragon had appeared there within the last hundred years or so.

"All of you present are powerful rulers of the Eight Heavens, I have a question to ask you all."

Li Jing spoke up, his voice easily reaching every corner of the cave.

The truth was soon proven.

Li Jing’s previous intimidation of the monster crowd was indeed very effective.

Hearing his voice, all of the Monster Kings and their followers present, who were in the middle of their own conversations, fell silent and turned their attention to him.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing began to speak calmly.

"I’m sure many of you here know that I have a connection with Chen Tang City in the Lower World Immortal Realm. As for the deeper implications, as long as you understand it in your heart, that’s good enough. The reason I came here is to look for Candle Dragon who had disappeared from Chen Tang City over a hundred years ago. I wonder if any of you have seen or heard of him in the Eight Heavens within the past hundred years?"

Upon hearing his frank words, various expressions flickered across the faces of the Monster Kings and their followers.

Compared to the fact that Li Jing had returned after two hundred years with the strength of the Heavenly Respect Level, his background indeed made him more sensitive.

He had the blessing of the Heavenly Path and rose to the Upper Three Realms.

This fact was not something everyone in the Upper Three realms was aware of, but those who had a certain status and qualified to participate in certain affairs were basically aware of it.

Those present are all people who are qualified to understand the inside story.

Unlike Bai Qian.

When they saw Li Jing, although they were all cautious, they all had their own plans.

Despite their caution, didn’t they all understand that the Will of Heaven usually does not interfere with the affairs of the world?

And precisely because of this.

When they first saw Li Jing, they all had their own plans.

Truth be told.

In the eyes of many present, Li Jing’s Heavenly Respect Level cultivation was all for show, and there was a high probability that he was borrowing the power of the Universal Heavenly Path.

This wasn’t just the opinion of the people present.

Including the Heaven Dragon Temple, which was flattened by Li Jing with a single slap, most of those who were robbed by him along the way thought so too.

But after seeing Li Jing.

Everyone realized the truth.

No matter whether the influence of the Universal Heavenly Path was behind his Heavenly Respect Level cultivation, he was already a figure who could step on most of the Upper Three Realms, and to resist or calculate against him would not be a wise choice.

Once they understood this, the Monster Kings present naturally dared not harbor any more calculations, but instead hoped to have the opportunity to get closer to Li Jing.

Such a powerful backer couldn’t just be taken by Bai Qian alone.

Otherwise, after this banquet, I’m afraid no one would dare to face off against Ten Thousand Demon Valley in the future.

Now facing Li Jing’s inquiry, it was clearly the right choice to provide him with some reliable information.

The Monster Kings present looked at each other, hoping that someone among them could step forward and provide some information.

Unfortunately.

No one present knew anything about Candle Dragon.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Li Jing was not surprised.

He released a light sigh and turned his head.

"It seems that Candle Dragon has indeed not appeared in the Eight Heavens in the last hundred years. He was probably sent directly to the One Heavy Sky. In that case, it’s time for me to leave."

Bai Qian nodded after hearing his words.

"Are you going to the Nine Heavy Heavens next, respected one?"

"Since I’m here, of course I have to go and take a look."

Li Jing smiled.

Bai Qian smiled and stood up to say.

"Since the respected one is going to Nine Heavy Heavens next, I’d like to lead you to the central teleportation array of Ten Thousand Demon Valley. This will save you a lot of time traveling to the passage of the Little World."

"Good."

Li Jing nodded and stood up.

Ye Piaoran and Han Youran, who had been watching from the side, also stood up to follow.

...

Of course, moving with the teleportation array was more convenient.

Regarding Bai Qian, Li Jing was relatively confident after some interaction.

If it was someone else’s teleportation array, he might not feel at ease using it.

Especially after they had been blackmailed by him.

There is proverb saying that one should always be on guard.

Even though Li Jing now possesses a strength that can almost compete with the Upper Three Realms by himself, each heavenly realm does have profound foundations.

If given the opportunity, they might kill him without him even knowing how he died.

Ye Qingyu, who was once brutally exiled into the void, was a classic example of this.

About a quarter of an hour later.

Li Jing, Ye Piaoran, and Han Youran arrived at the Little World at the border of the Eight Heavens and Nine Heavens through the central teleportation array of Ten Thousand Demon Valley.

Bai Qian was very considerate and personally accompanied the three of them.

After leaving the teleportation array, Bai Qian spoke softly.

"Respected one, the Nine Heavens is a bit special, the Ghost Qi in the heavenly realm will naturally suppress the living beings. Please be careful on your journey."

Having said that, she continued to speak.

"When the Ancient Fairyland was destroyed in the past, some changes also took place in the Upper Three Realms. For some unknown reason, the City of Freedom, which originally controlled the Four Heavens, turned into ghostly beings and rebelled, seizing the Nine Heavens. After that, the situation in the Nine Heavens became a bit delicate. Restricted by the fact that all cultivators in the Nine Heavens are ghostly beings, even us in the Eight Heavens, being so close to the water, find it difficult to discern the truth. I don’t have any exact information. That is all I can tell the respected one."

"Hmm."

Li Jing nodded, his mind filled with thoughts.

The Nine Heavens was indeed a bit special.

Before he had studied the recorded books about the Upper Three realms, he had learned about the layout of the Nine Heavens from Nalan Que. At that time, he had already confirmed that three of the God Emperors and five of the Holy Emperors held one territory each of the Eight Heavens, excluding the Nine Heavens.

Now, however, the situation had changed somewhat.

The Four Heavens had become a masterless land, and the seat of the Holy Emperor had passed into the hands of the Nine Heavens.

This was something Li Jing had asked Ye Piaoran about after coming to the Upper Three Realms.

After all, Nalan Que was not a person from the Upper Three Realms. His true allegiance was to the Ancient Fairyland.

What he knew was all information passed down from the Upper Three Realms.

In addition to the time difference, there might also be misunderstandings

Unfortunately, Ye Piaoran knew nothing about it.

Although she hadn’t died or been involved in things yet, she had already been expelled from the Yaochi Taoist Sect and had limited access to information. All she knew was that the seat of the Holy Emperor that originally belonged to the Four Heavens had switched hands to the Nine Heavens.

Originally, Li Jing wasn’t all that interested.

Put plainly.

The Three God Emperors and the Five Holy Emperors were no longer objects of concern for Li Jing now that things had progressed to this point.

The distribution of seats for the Three God Emperors and Five Sacred Emperors in the Upper Three Realms was essentially determined by the power and background of each group. This allowed the key decision-makers to manage their respective celestial regions more effectively and facilitate communication between them.

However, after hearing Bai Qian’s explanation, Li Jing developed a keen interest in the Nine Heavy Heavens.

The coincidences between the devastation of the Ancient Fairyland and the catastrophe in the City of Freedom on One Heavy Sky were too strange to ignore, suggesting a significant connection between the two events.

If given the opportunity, he would certainly like to delve deeper.

...

After bidding farewell to Bai Qian, Li Jing and the other two directly entered the small world leading to the Nine Heavy Heavens.

While traversing the small world through Sky Control, Li Jing turned to Han Youran,

"Youran, do you have any knowledge about the circumstances Bai Qian mentioned earlier, as the successor to the Demon Taoist Holy Emperor?"

Taken aback by the question, Han Youran responded.

"I know a little. However, as God Emperor Bai pointed out, the Nine Heavy Heavens is different from other celestial regions, making it difficult to infiltrate. Over the years, many have tried various ways to investigate, but all attempts have largely been fruitless."

She continued.

"As for One Heavy Sky, my master did have some speculations."

"Do tell?"

Li Jing inquired, tilting his head.

"You have a good understanding of the Upper Three Realms, Li Tianzun. You should know that One Heavy Sky has always been special since its existence. Unlike the other eight celestial regions, which are clearly dominated by specific factions, One Heavy Sky is controlled by a coalition of Loose Cultivators."

Han Youran elaborated.

"The cultivation system in One Heavy Sky is very chaotic, comprising numerous paths, including the Evil Way. At least half of the people who once controlled the City of Freedom in One Heavy Sky followed the Evil Way. It is due to their existence that One Heavy Sky secured a seat for a Holy Emperor. Despite being detested by everyone, it is undeniable that the people of Evil Way possess extraordinary combat power and ruthless methods."

This information caused Li Jing to frown slightly.

It wasn’t surprising that the Evil Way existed in the Upper Three Realms.

Evil Cultivators are regarded as vermin everywhere.

Just like on Blue Star.

Evil Cultivators didn’t even have basic human rights; any country discovering them would execute them immediately without trial.

However, practitioners of Evil Way seemed to be as resilient as cockroaches.

Despite drastic suppression and tight defenses worldwide, some still managed to emerge occasionally, with countless more hiding in the shadows.

With their ferocious and rapid progress in cultivation, Evil Cultivators inevitably existed wherever they were. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Not just on Blue Star.

But also in the Immortal Realm.

How could the Upper Three Realms be an exception?

However, as Han Youran described,

One Heavy Sky was ostensibly ruled by Loose Cultivators but was actually controlled by Evil Cultivators.

More than half of the inhabitants of the City of Freedom, which on par with the top factions like Heavenly Dragon Temple and Extreme Taoist Demon Palace in terms of power, followed the Evil Way, revealing that the actual power-holders were likely Evil Cultivators.

After a brief silence, Li Jing inquired,

"Was the Holy Emperor of the City of Freedom in days past a follower of the Evil Way?"

Before Han Youran could respond, Ye Piaoran interjected,

"That might not be the case. After all, Evil Cultivators have a bad reputation. The God Emperor and Holy Emperors are not only figureheads but also major decision-makers within the Eight Heavens. If an Evil Cultivator were to take on the role of Holy Emperor, I fear that none of the celestial regions, other than the Demon Taoist Earth Realm Seventh Heaven, would be willing to interact with them, let alone recognize them."

As Ye Piaoran finished speaking, Han Youran added softly,

"Ye Piaoran might be right. Except for the ghostly beings of Nine Heavy Heavens, who rarely communicate with other celestial regions, only our Demon Taoist Earth Realm Seventh Heaven would be willing to accept any comers."

She then snorted lightly.

"All the other celestial regions pride themselves on being the righteous path. If it weren’t for the strength of our Demon Taoist, they would probably disdain to associate with us, whom they view as evil."

Upon hearing these words, Ye Piaoran grimaced.

"I wasn’t directing my comments at the demon sect. Why are you being so sarcastic?"

"Heh!"

Without arguing further, Han Youran simply responded with a mocking smile.

Seeing this, how could Ye Piaoran keep quiet?

The two of them have a history, and it’s not uncommon for them to start bickering in minutes.

Watching as the two women were about to start quarreling again, Li Jing smiled,

"Enough, you two. Stop it."

Hearing this, both women toned down their behavior, although they continued to roll their eyes at each other.

Li Jing felt helpless.

At this point, he couldn’t smooth things over.

Ye Piaoran had lived in Chen Tang City for more than two hundred years.

She didn’t have any preconceptions about demon Taoists.

After all, Chen Tang City was established by Li Jing himself.

And he grew up on Blue Star.

On Blue Star, demon Taoist cultivators may generally be more dominant but were also law-abiding.

Therefore, the conflict between good and evil that often appeared in novels didn’t exist.

However, similar situations did exist in the Immortal Realm.

Demon Taoist and righteous factions were constantly at odds, resenting and even discriminating against each other.

However, this situation was successfully eliminated in Chen Tang City.

It’s not to mention anything else, Chen Tang City itself housed many demon cultivators.

If they were to stick to these prejudices, they would be kicked out in a heartbeat.

Chen Tang City doesn’t have many rules, but internal fighting is strictly prohibited.

Li Jing could assert that Ye Piaoran didn’t have any bias towards Demon Taoists, but he didn’t have any proof that this woman had no bias against Han Youran.

However, it’s also factual.

A hint of prejudice against Han Youran could be discerned from what Ye Piaoran said earlier.

But having traveled with the two women for so long, Li Jing had grown used to their antics.

Saying that the two women disliked each other seemed inadequate, but there was a hint of love-hate relationship between them.

Li Jing didn’t understand either of them and didn’t bother to figure them out.

The world of women was indeed a little strange.

...

The journey proceeded without much conversation.

Before long, Li Jing and the others passed through the small world and entered the Nine Heavy Heavens via the passageway.

Whilst worth mentioning.

Many people were traveling in and out of the small world portal connecting Eight Heavens and Nine Heavy Heavens. However, they were mostly interested in the small world and rarely ventured into Nine Heavy Heavens.

On the other hand, ghostly cultivators entering the small world from Nine Heavy Heavens never ventured outside.

In the small world, the ghostly cultivators and the cultivators entering from Eight Heavens maintained an uneasy peace, occasionally even engaging in exchanges.

As such, the arrival of Li Jing and the others in Nine Heavy Heavens was somewhat of an anomaly.