After resting for a day in a branch of the Qiluo Celestial Realm, the group set off again in high spirits. They headed toward the northern part of the Eastern Sky Region.

Amid the vast starry sea, the koi-drawn carriage looked like nothing more than a faint streak of light moving along quietly beneath the glow of the stars. The carriage's interior remained unchanged, though.

After some rest, Wang Sheng felt more at ease. He settled into meditation and continued his comprehension of his Dao of the Sword.

Lishang and Yaoyun also focused on their own cultivation. Lishang relied mainly on drawing out the power of her bloodline.

Yaoyun could now grow stronger by comprehending the Great Dao. However, since she lacked a Dao foundation and had yet to form a clear path, simple comprehension was already sufficient for her.

To let the Heavenly Yuanshen Sect know they were heading north, they attacked one of its bases that was built on a place bearing the name Guishen.

They achieved unexpected results. An enemy Golden Immortal near the teleportation array was slightly too slow. Ling Sheng seized control of his mind, forcing him to personally shatter the array.

"No one is leaving!" he shouted, then went on a ruthless slaughter.

Even for someone as powerful as the Black Emperor, a Golden Immortal was still a valuable asset.

Primordial Immortals and True Immortals were plentiful in the endless space. Given enough time and patience, one could repeatedly recruit or gather them through less honorable means. Moreover, with sufficient resources and a large enough number of celestial soldiers, one could steadily produce Heavenly Immortals.

Unlike those, the Golden Immortal Realm represented true immortality. The endless space of today considered it as the mark of a true expert. It was also the realm that most Heavenly Immortals longed to reach.

By now, Wang Sheng and his group had killed quite a number of the Black Emperor's Golden Immortals, weakening the forces under Lin Yanyun to a certain extent.

They had truly provoked the Black Emperor's faction. The enemy had already begun mobilizing their forces to search for the group.

This eased some of the pressure on Wang Shan and the former Heavenly Court immortals and deities around him. The situation of the Eastern Sky Region hadn't improved, though. On the contrary, it had grown even more intense.

According to the intelligence that Hostess Su had gathered, the Black Emperor had sent additional troops again, intending to wipe out Wang Shan and the remnants of the Heavenly Court.

He had not only dispatched his own forces but had also called upon more than a dozen major factions from the Immortal Saint Realm, channeling waves of combatants into the Eastern Sky Region.

The situation somewhat resembled Ziwei's counterattack over a hundred thousand years ago.

Back then, Ziwei had come out of hiding too quickly. Under immense pressure, the Heavenly Court's previously scattered enemy forces in the Immortal Saint Realm united once more to block his return.

Compared to that event, this situation was still much smaller in scale. It was still mainly just the Black Emperor hunting down what the heavenly prophecies had described as the "sacred spirit."

Ling Sheng's presence had become something like a unique banner.

By now, the Black Emperor's forces knew that a Grand Dao Golden Immortal, two Heavenly Immortals, and a Ghost Heart Vine were moving across the Eastern Sky Region. The strange group struck the branches that the Heavenly Yuanshen Sect had established while heading north, seemingly guided by the "call" of the sacred spirit.

An unseen net had already been spread across their path. Fortunately, Hostess Su's koi was slippery and elusive, slipping past the edges of encirclements several times and leaving their enemies grasping at empty air.

After suffering an attack on yet another base of the Heavenly Yuanshen Sect, three of the Black Emperor's Eight Cloud Generals grew furious. They stirred the Great Dao across the Eastern Sky Region.

Three Grand Dao Golden Immortals, along with a group of Taiyi Golden Immortals and Golden Immortals, threw a fifth of the sky region into chaos.

Inside the carriage, Wang Sheng suggested, "We should stop the ambushes now. We have already attacked the Heavenly Yuanshen Sect's base on Guishen once. From what Huai Jing told me yesterday, they do not have the manpower yet to send more forces there.

"However, most of the unaffiliated practitioners on Guishen have fled in fear. The Black Emperor's forces have also wiped out the celestial gates that arrived after, turning the qi star almost barren. Since we have achieved our initial objective, we should find Divine Guardian Wang and regroup to discuss our next move."

Hostess Su simply nodded a little in agreement.

Although they had gotten seemingly impressive results along the way, these fights were nowhere near finishing blows. For Wang Sheng, they held little real value. They neither helped deepen his comprehension nor improve his cultivation.

Only the Myriad-Slaying Sword Intent had grown more refined. He was gradually gaining control over it, too. The master of the Blood Sea—the ancient Primal-Era expert who created this sword intent—was truly ruthless. After all, he used slaughter to nurture the sword.

Hostess Su searched through the vast northern reaches of the Eastern Sky Region for any trace of Wang Shan and his group. Their greatest concern was that he would return to the Northern Sky Region because he wasn't aware that Wang Sheng and the others were on their way to him. They could end up walking straight into the heavily guarded encirclement that the Black Emperor had formed.

Wang Shan, the Great Divine Guardian, had immersed himself deeply in the Dao of Heaven and Earth. It would be all too easy for him to lead people away without a trace.

***

Half a month later, Wang Sheng grew restless for reasons he couldn't explain.

He whispered, "I feel like something is about to happen."

Lishang, Hostess Su, and Yaoyun all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

"According to news from the Immortal Saint Realm, the Heaven-Scouring Grand Array should be activated within the next few days," Hostess Su said. "The sixty-two great experts have already entered Mount Xutu."

Wang Sheng paced inside the carriage, unable to calm down. Trying to distract himself, he asked, "What kind of place is the Immortal Saint Realm?"

Hostess Su softly answered, "That place is the origin of the endless space."

She told him stories about the Immortal Saint Realm, revealing that it was also known as the Source of the Dao, the place where the stars were first born, and where the presence of the Great Dao was the clearest. That was why it was the best place for cultivation.

When the Heavenly Court divided the Three Realms, the Immortal Saint Realm became the Immortal Realm, while the endless space became the Mortal Realm. Beneath the Immortal Saint Realm was the Nether Realm—the underworld.

However, all that changed was the names. The Immortal Saint Realm itself had remained the same since time immemorial. It never once transformed.

"How does one reach the Immortal Saint Realm?"

"Anyone can go to the Immortal Saint Realm; staying there is another matter. Each of the four great sky regions has a great gate to it," Hostess Su said gently. "These are not like the four heavenly gates of the Heavenly Court. They are actually four immense rifts in the fabric of heaven and earth.

"Enter those rifts, and you'll find the Immortal Saint Realm waiting on the other end. The land there stretches almost endlessly. Celestial mountains and wondrous realms can be found everywhere. In its most glorious days, the Heavenly Court floated high in the sky, and one only had to look up to behold countless magnificent sights.

"Since the Heavenly Palace has fallen, much of that scenery is gone, but it remains a place more profound than anywhere else in the endless space."

Smiling, Wang Sheng nodded in understanding. "I think I get it. It exists in a different dimension from ours."

Hostess Su blinked lightly. "Mm?"

Wang Sheng just kept smiling; he didn't explain further. It was not something that could be easily put into words.

Soon, he chuckled. "Senior, is there any celestial body or faction you would like to eliminate but would rather not deal with personally?"

Hostess Su paused, momentarily unable to follow his train of thought. After a brief moment, she realized what he meant.

Once the Heaven-Scouring Grand Array was activated, whichever celestial body Wang Sheng was found on would likely face utter destruction. Among the great figures of the Immortal Saint Realm, many surely wished to eliminate the hidden threat known as Nuwa's sacred spirit.

Hostess Su covered her mouth and laughed softly. "You are only at the Heavenly Immortal Realm, yet you're already so troublesome. If you ever reach the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm and gain the ability to protect yourself, would you not turn the entire Immortal Saint Realm upside down?

"Hmm... I will take you somewhere with a faction also named Guishen. Apart from them, no other living beings remain on their celestial body. It is not far from here, only a few days' journey. That sect practices poison arts, which ruined the entire celestial body. It is also tyrannical and cruel."

Wang Sheng smiled. "Let's go."

Hostess Su nodded and turned the koi-drawn carriage toward its new direction, streaking forward through space.

Three days later, Wang Sheng grew increasingly restless. They arrived at a barren celestial body where not even a single blade of grass grew. The land and seas were scorched black, and death auras hung heavily everywhere. Remnant souls lingered across the land, and vengeful spirits gathered in clusters.

Hostess Su personally accompanied him. She settled Wang Sheng in a concealed location, then moved a hundred miles away to set up a teleportation array.

Once the Heaven-Scouring Grand Array locked onto Wang Sheng, she planned to immediately take him away using the teleportation array. The destination point was tens of thousands of li away in open space.

Wang Sheng waited quietly on the celestial body for half a day. Soon, the morning sun began to rise.

Thump!

What sounded like a heartbeat suddenly echoed.

He looked up at the sky, which was covered in black sand and wind. He felt as though an indistinct, faint yet unmistakable gaze had fallen upon him. The sensation was strangely familiar.

Heavenly might? No, perhaps the gaze from the Sea of Dao Laws?

Wang Sheng slowly breathed in.

I am only a minor Heavenly Immortal. Why do I have to bear such heavy weight? It shouldn't even belong to me. Perhaps this is the price of having a senior sister.

The pressure in his heart eased considerably.

Come at me, Heaven-Scouring Grand Array!

Telepathically, Wang Sheng hurriedly instructed, "Yaoyun, return to the Qiankun Ring. Lishang, stay with Hostess Su. If necessary, keep your distance and make sure you do not get seen around me."

He could feel that the great figures in the Immortal Saint Realm were close to finding him.

Yaoyun immediately transformed into Spiritless and returned to the ring. Wang Sheng once again merged the ring into the sword core of Flying Haze and kept it within his Dao Body.

Afterward, he glanced at Hostess Su. She nodded slightly, took Lishang by the arm, and slowly withdrew, concealing their presence.

The pressure made it hard for Wang Sheng to breathe.

He calmly prepared a few things and considered what kind of pose he should make. After thinking it over, he decided to stand quietly with a blank expression.

He changed into the battle armor of the Black Emperor's forces and hung the badge of one of their Golden Immortals at his waist. Even if this little trick could not provoke the great figures of the Immortal Saint Realm into turning on the Black Emperor, it would still be satisfying to disgust that traitor of the Heavenly Court.

He slung the Dragon Sword across his back and stood in silence.

Bzz!

The celestial body suddenly trembled. A beam of light shot forth from the deepest reaches of the endless space and instantly pierced straight through the planet.

Within the beam, a pair of eyes slowly opened. It was not the heavenly might, but it had a similar presence. It gazed at Wang Sheng in silence, showing not even the slightest trace of emotion.

Wang Sheng slowly raised his head. His long hair whipped wildly in the wind as several great sword intents within him trembled.

At first, he had only intended to appear somewhat imposing, but when he noticed the color of the beam, he could not help but snort. He quietly raised his right hand and extended a firm middle finger toward that eye, distant yet impossibly close.

He understood the logic of it all, but why was the light cast by the Great Dao... green of all colors?!