The Last Sentinel

The Three Pure Heavens, the Supreme Pure Heaven.

Layers of dark clouds rolled across the sea and sky, a hazy mist shrouded the area like a light veil, and the vast expanse of waves rippled with the wind. Waves crashed against the hidden reefs, breaking into white foam that was then swept away by the strong wind and scattered into dust.

Deep within the clouds and misty sea, an ancient behemoth emerged, its majestic body stretching across half the sky. With each breath it exhaled, clouds from a radius of a thousand miles swirled back, and stardust leaking from the gaps in its scales landed on the sea surface as clusters of ghostly blue phosphorescent flames.

Ancient runes flowed silently beneath its scales, and fine starlight slowly seeped from the gaps in its body. The surrounding clouds surged silently, with faint flashes of lightning lurking deep within. The lightning was not bright, only occasionally casting a pale white light on the clouds, like the fleeting slits of a giant beast's eye when it closed its eyes.

The fairy city along the coast is hidden in the misty haze. The lights of the pavilions and towers, seen from afar through the heavy twilight, look like a handful of broken gold scattered on a gray cloth.

Night patrol monks walked past on the city wall, the sound of their armor clashing was muffled by the fog, barely audible.

The flickering smoke of ordinary cities, contrasted with the immense divine power of these ancient beings, added a touch of mystery to the Taiqing Heaven, one of the seven supreme heavens of the thirty-three heavens.

Fenglingdu, bulletin board.

The wind at the ferry crossing was stronger than elsewhere, carrying a salty, fishy vapor that lashed against people's faces. The notice board was a section of black stone, three zhang high, its surface pitted and scarred by proclamations from past dynasties. At this moment, two golden beams of light rose from the stone's surface, casting flickering light on the faces of the people around it.

"[Heavenly Decree] Starting today, the North Heavenly Gate will be sealed, and the Dimensional Battlefield portal will be temporarily closed. Any holy land, family, or force that needs to enter the Dimensional Battlefield for special missions must report to the Heavenly Court."

"[Heavenly Decree] Starting today, the Heavenly Court enters a temporary state of war. All non-war affairs are relegated to the back burner. The Flower Fruit Mountain battlefield will become the main battlefield for the Heavenly Court in the next phase. Flower Fairy, President of the Heavenly Court War Mobilization Association, encourages all immortals to join the Heavenly Court's front, serve the Heavenly Court, uphold justice for Heaven and Earth, and seal the carbon-based demons back into the carbon-based Demon-Locking Tower as soon as possible!"

"[Heavenly Court News Flash] Starting today, the main force of the Heavenly Court, the seven top-ranking celestial officials, and the seven exceptional geniuses will undergo collective closed-door cultivation. The specific time for their emergence from seclusion is yet to be determined."

The two notices shone brightly, but the onlookers showed no intention of joining the Heavenly Court's battle; instead, they continued to mock and ridicule. Some crossed their arms and pursed their lips, while others squatted on the stone steps eating sunflower seeds, spitting shells all over the ground. One cultivator in a gray robe shielded his eyes from the light of the notices, as if afraid of being blinded.

"The Heavenly Court has a clever plan. The Carbon-Based Life Demon-Locking Tower has collapsed. Logically, the current rotating celestial official should step in to settle the matter! But the Seven Prodigies are doing this instead of going into seclusion earlier or later! They're making us rogue cultivators take the blame!" The speaker was a burly man with a thick beard. He spoke in a low voice, but each word was clear, and spittle splattered onto the sleeves of the people next to him.

"Are the lives of rogue cultivators worthless? Rogue cultivators have never received a single penny of salary from the Heavenly Court, so why should they go to the Flower Fruit Mountain battlefield to fight carbon-based demons?" A tall, thin man chimed in, his voice high-pitched. After speaking, he glanced left and right, as if afraid of being overheard by the city patrol.

"I heard that this incident has caused quite a stir! It's said that even a group of seven exceptional geniuses led a team into the Demon-Locking Tower to suppress it, but they failed!" Someone in the corner lowered their voice, and as soon as they said this, several people around them involuntarily moved closer.

"It wasn't just a failure, it was a crushing defeat. The Seven Absolute Prodigies who went there brought millions of Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators, and thousands of Nascent Soul elders. When they arrived at the Carbon-Based Universe Demon Locking Tower, they were all wiped out in one fell swoop. Only a few dozen Nascent Soul elders and the prodigy himself were left, and they returned in disgrace! This has made the Heavenly Court almost lose face. Whoever mentions this matter will be punished, and the name of that unfortunate prodigy is not allowed to be announced. Now, all the Seven Absolute Prodigies are very embarrassed, and the leader of the Seven Absolutes, Greedy Original Sin, is furious about this!"

The man got more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice unconsciously rose a fraction. When he said the words "original sin of greed," he shuddered and hurriedly stopped talking.

Everyone turned around and looked at the person who had spoken. Who was this person who dared to be so audacious as to discuss the Heavenly Court in private!

This man was around twenty years old, dressed in a brocade short shirt. He had lively eyes and brows, and was waving a folding fan in his hand, making a rustling sound. His body swayed slightly from time to time, and his words were eloquent and glib. He was clearly not someone to be trifled with. He stood on the outermost circle of the crowd, one foot on the stone steps and the other tapping his foot. As the fan opened and closed, a string of high-quality jade beads was revealed on his wrist.

The young scholar opened his paper fan, revealing a mysterious blue-and-white porcelain vase pattern. The pattern seemed not to be painted on, but rather alive, with wisps of mist swirling around the mouth of the vase.

Suddenly, everyone scattered like birds and beasts.

"Quickly, retreat! It's the Heavenly Secrets Alliance!"

"Those traitors and rebels of the Heavenly Secrets Alliance are no pushovers. If they befriend you and become sworn brothers with you, you're finished! The Heavenly Court can't do anything to the Heavenly Secrets Alliance, but it can't do anything to their friends and family, can it?"

"Let's go. These orphaned rogue cultivators are no good!"

The crowd dispersed very quickly; the notice board, which had been packed just moments before, was now empty. One person, who was running so fast, lost a shoe but didn't dare turn back to pick it up, and dashed into the alley barefoot.

The once bustling Fenglingdu bulletin board was suddenly deserted, the autumn wind blew bleakly. A few withered leaves were swept up by the wind, swirled on the bluestone slabs, and then flew away close to the ground.

The young man spat in annoyance: "What a bunch of bastards! A bunch of scoundrels!" He closed his fan, tapped it twice in his palm, and smirked, but there was no anger in his eyes. He had obviously seen this kind of scene many times before.

At that moment, a divine thought transmitted: "Are you a formal member of the Heavenly Secrets Alliance?"

The divine sense was extremely faint, like a spider's thread resting on a neck, almost imperceptible. The young man looked around; the ferry crossing was empty, only the sound of waves crashing on the shore remained. He couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound and couldn't help but laugh, "Such divine sense! You must be a well-known expert, at least at the fifth rank on the combat power ranking! Want to talk business? As the saying goes, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed unless you pay more! Everyone in the Thirty-Three Heavens knows that our Heavenly Secrets Alliance charges for intelligence! And the price is not cheap! Where are you? Let's talk face-to-face!"

He spoke enthusiastically, but his left hand had already slipped silently into his sleeve, his fingertips gripping the edge of the compass.

The compass was icy cold against his wrist. With a gentle flick of his thumb, the needle spun wildly.

The regular customer opposite said, "We don't need to meet. I know the prices and services offered by your Heavenly Secrets Alliance. Answer three questions, and I'll give you a price you'll be satisfied with."

The young man raised his hand and said, "Since you're a regular customer, let's not haggle and get straight to the point!" He reopened his fan and waved it slowly and deliberately, as if he were really waiting for customers to come to him. Only the knuckles of the hand in his sleeve were slightly white.

The regular customer asked, "My first question is, with the Heavenly Court closing the North Heavenly Gate dimensional battlefield passage and all seven of the most outstanding geniuses going into seclusion, is there any connection between these events?"

The young scholar, fanning himself with a paper fan, smiled slightly: "Fellow Daoist is truly insightful, getting right to the point with just one question. I can tell you definitively that, according to the Heavenly Secrets Alliance's internal intelligence network, these two matters are actually one and the same." As he spoke, his fan paused for a moment, and his peripheral vision swept towards the reeds on the west side of the ferry—where the wind was calm and there was nothing there.

The regular customer asked, "One thing?"

The young scholar said, "All seven of the most outstanding geniuses have gone to the dimensional battlefield, which is why the Heavenly Court is sealing off the North Heavenly Gate to prevent others from going to the dimensional battlefield and thus disrupting the seven geniuses' plans!"

The regular customer asked, "What good news?"

The scholar said, "That's the second question!"