Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

Pingyang Prefecture, the rear office of the Zhenfu Division.

Night had fallen, and only a single lamp burned in the study.

Dongfang Weiwo sat behind his desk, with three secret letters laid out before him:

The details of Penglai sent by Shi Zhixuan from Ten Thousand Snake Island, the intelligence about the strange events at the Imperial Tomb delivered by the Azure Dragon Society headquarters, and the private message from his father, Dongfang Wudi—all contained only four words: "Be careful in everything."

He read the three letters in turn, placed them on the table, and tapped the surface of the table lightly with his fingertips.

Cracks appeared simultaneously in the seals at both the imperial mausoleum and Penglai.

The aura of the Demon God Lü was leaking from the imperial mausoleum, and various forces have begun to converge on the capital region;

Penglai Island in the East Sea will surely open within seven days, and the King of the East Sea is eyeing it covetously. Meanwhile, the three kings of the Underworld have lost more than half of their fighting strength in a series of fierce battles. Jue Wushen's right arm is still not healed, Song Que's sword intent is overdrawn, and Tie Zhongtang's blood flag is shattered—if the King of the East Sea returns, they will not be able to withstand it.

He needs a solution that can appease both sides simultaneously.

Dongfang Weiwo closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he had already made up his mind.

He first wrote a short message to Shi Zhixuan:

"Leave the East Sea to others for assistance. King Chakravartin, hurry to the Imperial Mausoleum and keep an eye on the movements of all forces for me." He also wrote another letter to the Azure Dragon Society headquarters: "Please have the Second and Third Dragon Leaders lead the two Sword Masters to the Imperial Mausoleum to meet with King Chakravartin."

As the carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew out of the window, Dongfang Weiwo got up and walked to the center of the study.

"System, summon."

Energy points consumed: 5,000,000. Remaining energy points: 468,000.

[Summoning...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Pang Ban—Celestial Realm, Demon Master. Sect Master of the Demonic Sect, successor of the "Great Demon Seed Technique of the Dao Heart," and the number one expert in the world. After twenty years of seclusion, his return has stirred up the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing overall situation, overall dynamics, and overall character). He excels at using overwhelming power to suppress others; a single gesture can change the very fabric of mountains and rivers.]

The lamp suddenly went dark.

In the complete silence of the room, a figure silently appeared at the edge of the lamplight.

The man appeared to be in his early forties, with a handsome face and an air of dominance that seemed to look down upon the world.

He wore a deep purple robe with dark gold trim on the cuffs and an ancient black jade pendant hanging at his waist—his entire body exuded no aura, like an unfathomable ancient well.

But Dongfang Weiwo clearly felt that the gravity of the entire study shifted the moment this person appeared. The flame of the blue lamp on the desk stood straight up, motionless, as if even the lamplight was bowing to him.

Pang Ban bowed slightly: "Young Master."

The voice was deep and resonant, like the echoes of morning bells and evening drums in the empty hall.

Dongfang Weiwo secretly took a breath.

The first stage of the Celestial Realm—this was the first time he had summoned a figure at the Celestial Realm. Before this, he had summoned the Sword God Bai Yujing, who was at the peak of the half-step Celestial Realm, and the Evil King Shi Zhixuan, who was at the half-step Celestial Realm, but the gap between those people and the one in front of him was an entire chasm.

Celestial beings.

Legend has it that this realm surpasses even the Grandmaster level, and there are only a handful of known Celestials in the entire Tianxuan Continent. His father, Dongfang Wudi, is the undisputed number one Celestial at the initial stage, and Qin Muzhi in the imperial city is also at the initial stage. Going back further, there is Lu Moshen, who flattened the seventy-two branches of the Underworld Palace a hundred years ago and now sits in the imperial mausoleum in solitude.

At that moment, the third celestial being stood in the study in front of him.

"Mr. Pang," Dongfang Weiwo said solemnly, "there is one matter that only you can accomplish."

Pang Ban raised his eyebrows slightly, signaling him to continue.

Dongfang Weiwo recounted the entire story of the East Sea from beginning to end:

The East Sea King's century-long plan, the seven layers of restrictions on Penglai Island, the ancient stone gate, the key's afterimage that will open within seven days, and the fact that the three kings of the underworld are all seriously injured—his narration was concise and clear, explaining each of the key points of the situation.

After listening, Pang Ban remained silent for a moment. He walked to the window and opened it a crack, letting in the chill of the winter night mixed with the fragrance of plum blossoms. He gazed at the dark red glow on the southeastern horizon that had not yet completely faded, his eyes filled with a distant longing.

"The tomb of the ancient celestial beings... Did King Yama ever copy the character carved on the stone gate?"

Dongfang Wei took a piece of paper from the table. On the paper was the outline of the ancient character that Shi Zhixuan had sent before leaving Donghai. The strokes were three horizontal lines and two vertical lines, simple and ancient.

Pang Ban took the paper, looked at it for a few moments, and then gently placed it back on the table.

"The character is '启' (qǐ)."

"start?"

"The opening of a door, the opening of a seal."

"Pang Ban's tone was calm," he said. "In ancient script, this character was used only in one context—as a mark on the outer side of a seal. Wherever this character is engraved, what is suppressed behind the door is...something done out of necessity."

He paused.

"Young Master, it was the right thing to do to send King Yama to the Imperial Mausoleum and the core members of the Azure Dragon Society to the capital. The simultaneous loosening of the seals at both locations is no coincidence; something major is about to happen in this world. I will take charge of the situation in the East Sea."

Dongfang Weiwo nodded and took a black jade token from his waist.

The front of the token is engraved with the character "地" (earth), and the back is a map showing the locations of the Five Ghost Emperors—this is an identity token he set up for the highest level of the underworld. Only five tokens were previously cast, corresponding to the Five Ghost Emperors. In addition to King Taishan Song Que, King Chujiang Tie Zhongtang, King Wuguan Jue Wushen, and King Zhuanlun Shi Zhixuan, the last one was reserved for the Eastern Ghost Emperor.

"Mr. Pang is currently the head of the Five Ghost Emperors of the Underworld, the Eastern Ghost Emperor. The three kings of Ten Thousand Snake Island in the East Sea all obey his commands. Seven days later, Penglai Island will re-emerge, and the King of the East Sea will surely arrive. At that time—"

Pang Ban took the token, his fingertips brushing against the character "地" (earth). The token felt slightly heavy in his hand, with subtle dark patterns flowing within its ink-black jade texture. Its touch was warm yet carried a hint of coldness—this was a piece of East Sea ink jade personally selected by Dongfang Weiwo, engraved with a special technique to create a restriction that could not be activated by anyone other than the user's own aura.

The token has the character "地" (earth) engraved on the front and a map showing the locations of the Five Ghost Emperors on the back.

There are reserved slots in the five directions: east, west, south, north, and center, waiting to be filled with names in the future.

This is an identity certificate set up by Dongfang Weiwo for the highest level of the underworld, and no one has ever been granted it before.

Each of the Ten Kings of Hell has a Yama's Decree, and the Ten Judges of the Ghosts have their own Judges' Tokens. However, the five Ghost Emperors of the Five Directions—the Eastern Ghost Emperor, the Western Ghost Emperor, the Southern Ghost Emperor, the Northern Ghost Emperor, and the Central Ghost Emperor—have their tokens always hanging in the air.

until now.

"Mr. Pang is currently the head of the Five Ghost Emperors of the Underworld, the Eastern Ghost Emperor. The three kings of Ten Thousand Snake Island in the East Sea all obey his commands. Seven days later, Penglai Island will re-emerge, and the King of the East Sea will surely arrive. At that time—"

Pang Ban flipped the token in his palm and suddenly smiled. The smile was very faint, but it gave Dongfang Weiwo a strange feeling that "it's all settled."

"At that time, I, Wang, will check behind that door for you, young master, to see what's hidden there."

Without a word, he tucked the token into his robes, and with a flick of his purple robe, he was at the door. Before pushing it open, he turned back and asked, "Is Young Master going to the imperial mausoleum?"

Dongfang Weiwo pondered for a moment: "I'm not going. The Wheel-Turning King and the Azure Dragon Society are enough for the Imperial Mausoleum. I have somewhere else to go—"

He looked out the window at the southern horizon.

"The White Lotus Sect has conquered ten prefectures in the south, and the Red-Robed Dharma King has proclaimed himself the King of the South. Wanfo Temple has nurtured them for a hundred years, and now they've finally put this pawn on the chessboard. I want to see what else this pawn can elicit besides testing the imperial court."

Pang Ban nodded slightly, asked no further questions, and stepped out the door, disappearing into the night.

The study returned to silence. Dongfang Weiwo sat behind his desk, the number 468,000 on the system panel glowing faintly in the darkness.

He took one last look, then got up to pack his things. As he put on the Shadow Cloak, he suddenly remembered Pang Ban's expression when he looked at the ancient calligraphy copy.

It was an expression of complete understanding.

It was as if he had known all along that the word was there, and that he had known what was pressed behind the door.

The carriage is ready. Tonight we'll head south to the White Lotus Sect's territory to see where that chess piece has moved.