Many children, many blessings; the twelve ancestral witches forced marriages throughout the primordi

Mount Sumeru. A secret chamber.

The wound on Zhunti's right arm is bleeding again.

The dark golden holy blood dripped onto the prayer mat, seeping into the cracks in the stone slabs.

The Three-Headed Chaos Poison Gu—his trump card that he had spent several years cultivating—was dealt with in three minutes by three little girls who hadn't even been weaned yet.

Freezing. Lightning strike. Bubble purification.

Clean and tidy. Not even a bone fragment was left.

"Failed again...again."

Zhunti's voice was squeezed out of his throat, as if he were being choked.

The cracks in his Dao heart widened further. During this period, his Dao heart was shattered like the windshield of a car accident scene, with dense cracks, just one final blow away.

The guide stood to the side, holding a cup of cold tea.

The tea is cold. The stove on Mount Sumeru was trampled down by the giant beast and hasn't been repaired yet.

Two saints are drinking herbal tea.

Seeing his junior brother's miserable state, Jieyin sighed and swallowed his words.

What could he say? "Junior brother, you're too weak"? Or "Let's admit defeat"?

There's no way I'll admit defeat.

Zhunti does not acknowledge it.

He refused to admit it.

At that very moment—

A shadowy figure appeared in the secret room.

The phantom was golden, dressed in the robes of the Chan Sect, wearing a lotus crown, and with a cold and arrogant expression.

The divine manifestation of the Primordial Celestial Venerable.

"Junior Brother Zhunti," Yuanshi Tianzun's voice was devoid of warmth. "Mortal methods—won't they be enough?"

Zhunti's lips twitched.

He didn't reply.

Because what Yuanshi Tianzun said was true.

It's definitely not feasible in the mortal realm.

Qishan – Failure. Poison Gu – Failure. Deep Sea Demon – Failure. Maitreya Reincarnation – Failure.

Every plan was meticulously crafted, yet every plan was ultimately crushed.

"Then stop causing trouble in the mortal realm." The divine avatar of the Primordial Celestial Venerable took two steps and paced around the secret chamber.

His eyes were fixed on the few remaining lines of cause and effect on the legal net.

"There's still a restless pawn in the sky."

Zhunti's brow twitched slightly.

"Haotian?"

"Hmm." The corners of Yuanshi Tianzun's mouth curved slightly. It wasn't a smile, but a cold one. "That good-for-nothing may be useless, but he has one advantage—he is the Heavenly Emperor. The Heavenly Court's magic arrays are under his control."

The guide interjected from the side.

"The Heavenly Court has been hollowed out by the Witch Clan. The Lingxiao Palace was repaired once, but its roof was blown up by the grandson. The treasury is so empty that mice can run through it. Although Xing Tian and Kua Fu have been transferred, the Witch Clan's connections are still there. What do you need Haotian for? He can't even protect his own pants."

The Primordial Celestial Venerable ignored the request for guidance.

He looked at Zhunti.

"The Heavenly Court's magic array—its underlying code—was set up by Dao Ancestor Hongjun."

Zhunti's eyes lit up.

"Heavenly Secrets Shielding." Yuanshi Tianzun said, enunciating each word clearly. "As long as a Heavenly Secrets Shielding array plate is embedded in the core array of the Heavenly Court, a blind spot will appear in the Pangu Palace's monitoring of the Heavenly Court."

"The blind spot isn't large. One hour. Two hours at most."

"But it's enough."

Zhunti thought for a moment.

"What can we do with that?"

Yuanshi Tianzun did not answer his question.

His divine manifestation began to dissipate.

Before leaving, he left behind a sentence.

"Randeng has an array plate. I gave it to him. I told him to send it to the Heavenly Court. That good-for-nothing Haotian—he'll take a straw as a lifeline."

The divine manifestation dissipated.

Silence returned to the secret room.

Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged a glance.

"It's that old codger Yuanshi charging ahead again," Jieyin said calmly.

"He wants to use me as a pawn." Zhunti tapped his finger on the prayer mat. "But this time—I don't object."

His eyes narrowed.

"Lin Xuan's children are multiplying. They're too numerous to handle in the mortal realm. Perhaps there's a chance in heaven."

-

The northern border of the Great Shang Dynasty. A desolate mountain.

The Taoist Ran Deng sat cross-legged in the cave.

His eyes were swollen, a purplish-black color, like two rotten eggplants.

Previously, he was blinded in one eye by the backlash of the Seven Arrows of Nailhead, and later, when he ambushed the Golden Light Saint Mother, Lin Xuan smashed his other eye.

Now—both are blind.

Utterly black.

He can only perceive his surroundings through his divine sense.

It was cold inside the cave. There was no fire. There was no spiritual hot spring. There was nothing at all.

The once-powerful Vice Leader of the Chan Sect, a Quasi-Saint at the peak of his cultivation—is now no different from a blind savage.

There was a formation plate next to him.

The array plate was small, about the size of a palm. It was covered with extremely intricate array runes.

This is the work of Yuanshi Tianzun.

Tianji Shielding Array.

Function: After being embedded in the core magic array of the Heavenly Court, it can shield the connection between the Heavenly Court and the Pangu Palace for a short period of time.

To put it bluntly, it's like installing a signal jammer in Heaven.

This will prevent the Pangu Palace from seeing what the Heavenly Court is doing for the time being.

"Give it to Haotian." The voice of Yuanshi Tianzun echoed in his mind. "Have him activate it. The rest—you don't need to worry about it."

Ran Deng touched the array plate in his hand.

He didn't want to go.

He really didn't want to go.

Last time I went to Heaven, I almost didn't make it back. The time before that, I caused trouble and was blinded by the backlash. The time before that—

Forget it, I'm not going to count anymore.

But we cannot disobey our master's orders.

More importantly—he also wanted revenge.

Lin Xuan.

That man.

They blinded him. They disfigured his face. They crippled half of his cultivation.

He wished he could tear Lin Xuan to pieces.

But he couldn't beat him.

He couldn't beat Lin Xuan, nor could he beat Lin Xuan's wife, nor even Lin Xuan's child.

Then—use someone else's hands.

Haotian.

That stupid and cowardly Heavenly Emperor.

They are the perfect tool.

The lamp stood up.

His divine consciousness emanated from the cave and flew towards the Heavenly Court.

-

The Heavenly Court. The Lingxiao Palace.

Haotian sat on the throne of the Heavenly Emperor.

The throne was newly made. It was crafted from the finest innate spiritual materials. It gleamed with golden light.

But beneath the throne—there was no space.

The treasure vault is empty.

His good grandson, Lin Hao, had scrubbed him clean.

Last time Lin Hao came to "visit relatives," he demolished everything he could in the Lingxiao Palace. Half of the Nine Heavens Breath Gold on the golden pillars was pried off. Three floor tiles were torn up. Even the incense burner on his altar—a top-grade acquired spiritual treasure—was stuffed into the pocket of that little money-grubber and taken away.

Haotian felt a sharp pain in his heart every time he thought about these things.

He is the Heavenly Emperor.

The mighty Heavenly Emperor.

She was being used as an ATM by her own grandson.

She was used as a puppet by her own brother-in-law.

The Heavenly Court's profits are split 20/80 – Lin Xuan gets 80%, and he gets 20%.

Although Xing Tian and Kua Fu were transferred, the spies they left behind remained. The Heavenly Court was full of spies from the Wu Clan.

He even has to watch Lin Xuan's expression when he farts.

He was not reconciled.

He was so unwilling to accept it.

"The Heavenly Emperor."

A phantom appeared in the corner of the main hall.

Haotian was startled and almost fell off his throne.

He looked closely—it was a blurry figure. The eyes were just two black dots. He couldn't see any facial features.

"who--"

"Light the lamp."

Haotian's heart started racing.

Master Ran Deng. Vice Leader of the Chan Sect.

Although he is now a blind and useless person, he represents—Yuanshi Tianzun.

"What are you doing here?" Haotian asked in a low voice.

"I'm presenting the Heavenly Emperor with a gift." The phantom of the lamp stretched out his hand. In his hand—a palm-sized array plate.

"What is this?"

"Heavenly Secret Shielding Array".

Haotian's breathing became heavy.

"As long as it's embedded in the core magic array of the Lingxiao Palace—" Randeng's voice slackened slowly, "the celestial connection between the Heavenly Court and the Pangu Palace will be severed."

"The Pangu Palace cannot see what is happening in the Heavenly Court. Lin Xuan's senses cannot penetrate it."

"At least... two hours."

Haotian gripped the armrest of the throne tightly.

Two hours.

There was no monitoring from Lin Xuan for two hours.

Two hours of freedom.

He can rearrange the defenses. He can summon heavenly troops. He can—

He thought about it a lot.

But his reason told him—accepting this meant he was now bound to the Chan Sect.

What if Lin Xuan finds out—

Lin Xuan's face flashed through his mind.

That always smiling face.

But what lay behind that smile—Haotian knew all too well.

A physical body at the peak of Quasi-Saint level. A single palm strike kills an early-stage Quasi-Saint. These children readily wipe out entire families.

Offending him is tantamount to courting death.

but--

Haotian looked at the empty treasure vault.

I looked at the gold pillar that was missing a large chunk.

He looked at the crown on his head that had been flattened by Lin Jian's Heavenly Eye.

His teeth clenched.

"Give me."

He extended his hand.

He took the array plate.

The flickering light of the lamp dissipated into the darkness.

Before leaving, he said something—

"The Heavenly Emperor is wise and benevolent."

Haotian held the array plate in his hand.

His hands were shaking.

It's not fear.

Yes—excitement.

He felt he could finally stand up for himself.

-

Half an hour later.

The core magic array chamber of the Lingxiao Palace.

Haotian embedded the array plate into the position of the main array eye.

A surge of spiritual energy.

The array plate lit up.

A layer of extremely faint ripples, almost invisible to the naked eye, spread out from the array plate.

It covered the entire Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court fell silent.

The faint perceptual fluctuations that had always emanated from the direction of the Pangu Temple—disappeared.

It's like someone unplugged the internet cable between Heaven and the Pangu Palace.

Haotian took a deep breath.

comfortable.

Finally, I don't have to be watched anymore.

He stood in the magic array room, hands behind his back, head tilted back.

The posture of the Heavenly Emperor.

I haven't felt this way in a long time.

What he didn't know was—

At the very same second that the array plate was activated.

Pangu Hall. Backyard.

Lin Xuan was sitting under a five-needle pine tree, holding his sixth son, Lin Yun, in his arms.

Lin Yun isn't studying formations today. He's studying an insect.

An insect crawled on his finger. He tilted his head and stared at it for a long time. Then he flicked his finger away. The insect flew away.

Lin Xuan was about to speak—

His primordial spirit suddenly trembled.

Extremely slight fluctuations.

It came from the direction of the Heavenly Court.

The fluctuation lasted for less than half a breath. Then it disappeared.

It didn't disappear normally. It was blocked.

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes.

He handed Lin Yun to Yun Xiao, who was standing next to him.

"Watch it for me for a while."

Yunxiao took Lin Yun from him. "What's wrong?"

"Someone's causing trouble in Heaven."

Lin Xuan stood up.

He patted the pine needles off his clothes.

The system gave him a notification sound.

"Ding! Abnormal fluctuations detected in the Heavenly Court. Suspected activation of a Heavenly Secret Shielding Formation. Coordinates locked."

Lin Xuan turned off the notification.

He didn't need the system to tell him. He sensed it himself.

The Heavenly Court's communication with the heavens has been severed. Someone has activated a shielding array within the Heavenly Court.

There is only one person who can tamper with things within the Heavenly Court.

Haotian.

That troublesome brother-in-law.

Lin Xuan put his hands into his sleeves. He took two steps. Then he stopped.

I thought for three seconds.

Then he shouted towards the backyard—

"Longji".

Longji was helping Lin Hao put on his shoes in the side hall.

Lin Hao thought the shoes weren't flashy enough and refused to wear them.

"I don't want this—it's too ugly—get the gold one instead—"

"How old are you to complain about the shoes?" Longji pressed him down on the stool and forced them on.

At that moment, they heard Lin Xuan's voice.

She carried Lin Hao out.

"Husband?"

Lin Xuan looked at her, then at the little baby wriggling in her arms.

"Come on. I'll take you back to your parents' home."

Longji was stunned for a moment.

"To Heaven?"

"Hmm. Your dad—he's up to his old tricks again."

Longji's expression turned cold.

She felt no fatherly affection for Haotian. This man had once tried to sell her to the Demon God as a furnace. It was Lin Xuan who saved her.

"it is good."

She hugged Lin Hao tightly.

Lin Hao's eyes lit up immediately when he heard that they were going to the Heavenly Court.

"Going to Grandpa's house?"

"Um."

"Great! We'll finish working on the pillars we didn't finish last time!"

Lin Xuan reached out and patted him on the head.

"Enough talk. Let's go."

With a flick of his right hand, he activated the laws of space.

A rift in the void tore open in front of them.

Behind the crack—a sea of ​​clouds surged. Golden light peeked through.

heaven.

The three of them stepped inside.

The crack closed.

Disappeared.