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

As the dark golden pillar of light shot into the sky from Baidi City, Dongfang Weiwo was silently sliding down from the top of the granary in the south of the city.

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng protected him as he retreated to the edge of the wasteland. The three of them walked through the dark alleys for nearly half an hour before returning to the small courtyard in the west of the city.

The moment he closed the courtyard gate, Dongfang Weiwo leaned against the door and exhaled a long breath. The dark gold pattern on his right palm was still slightly hot. Although the pulling sensation of resonating with the ancient formation had weakened considerably, it had not been completely severed.

"Young master, your hand." Ye Gucheng's gaze fell on his right hand.

Dongfang Weiwo glanced down.

The dark gold lines on his palm, which were originally just fine veins, now spread outwards, their ends faintly pointing towards the south of the city, like the roots of a plant searching for water. He clenched his fist, suppressing the strange movement.

"It's nothing. It's just bloodline resonance; the closer you are, the stronger the connection."

He went into the room and sat down at the table. "That formation is connected to me, to my father, and to the entire Demon-Sealing Bloodline. The Demon God Lü guarded it for a hundred years; he wasn't just guarding a formation, he was guarding it for me."

Ximen Chuixue stood at the door, his long sword resting horizontally on his lap, gazing at the night outside the courtyard without uttering a word.

Ye Gucheng leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking relaxed, but his spiritual senses were always covering the entire street outside the courtyard wall.

"That young celestial being from the Primordial Divine Sect recognized my bloodline resonance."

Dongfang Weiwo continued, "He told his martial uncle that 'the person with the Demon-Sealing Bloodline has already entered Zhongzhou.' Their attitude wasn't to arrest me; they were waiting."

"What are you waiting for?"

"I'll take the initiative to find them."

A moment of silence fell over the room. The oil lamp on the table flickered, its wick emitting tiny sparks. Dongfang Weiwo reached out and adjusted the wick, saying:

"Things will change after tonight. I've revealed my whereabouts, and all the forces in White Emperor City will know—the successor of the Demon-Sealing Bloodline is nearby. Starting tomorrow, White Emperor City won't be so peaceful anymore."

Ye Gucheng slightly curled the corners of his mouth:

"That's perfect. How can we gauge the depths of Zhongzhou if we come quietly?"

Dongfang Weiwo glanced at him and smiled slightly. He turned to Ximen Chuixue and said:

"Tomorrow you stay in the courtyard and keep an eye on the south side of the city. Record any unusual activity. Ye Gucheng, come with me to the market in the west of the city to see what's going on in Zhongzhou."

"Understood," they both replied simultaneously.

Dongfang Weiwo walked to the window and looked at the pillar of light in the south of the city that was gradually dimming.

The standoff between Demon God Lü and the gray-robed man should have ended—with Demon God Lü's peak Celestial Realm cultivation, even though the gray-robed man was well-hidden, he might not have gained the upper hand. However, the black lotus mark on the gray-robed man's palm was particularly troubling to him.

The demonic seed of the Ten Thousand Demons Cult in the Southern Frontier. The seal script on the stone gate in the Northern Border. The gray-clad man beneath the ancient formation of Baidi City. Three completely different locations, the same brand.

The things connected by those branding marks are probably the true secret of the entire continent.

He pondered for a moment, then took out a small jade slip from his robes—a secret slip from the underworld specially made by Pang Ban, capable of transmitting messages across tens of thousands of miles. Although it could only be used once every three days, its advantage lay in its uninterrupted transmission. He briefly recorded what he had seen that night into the jade slip, infused it with a wisp of dark gold spiritual power, and the jade slip transformed into an almost imperceptible stream of light, flying eastward.

They need to know what happened here in Dongzhou.

For the next three days, Baidi City returned to a state of calm.

The area around the wasteland south of the city was now guarded by more sentries from the Primordial Divine Sect, and the twenty flags remained around the core of the formation, day and night.

Both the Shen family and the Eternal Sect withdrew a portion of their main forces, but each left at least one Grandmaster-level garrison member to stay at an inn in the city.

The gray-clad man to the north has completely disappeared—not withdrawn, but hidden even deeper than in the past few days. Even Ximen Chuixue, who patrols daily, has never been able to detect that aura of someone at the mid-stage of the Celestial Realm.

During those three days, Dongfang Weiwo did one thing: wander through the streets and alleys.

He changed his clothes seven or eight times, wandering through the streets and alleys of Baidi City under different identities such as a rogue monk, a merchant, a traveling doctor, and a storyteller. He chatted with the teahouse owner, sharpened knives in the blacksmith shop, and squatted at the city gate to listen to travelers from the north and south boast.

Ye Gucheng covered the east and north of the city in the same way, and the two met every evening to exchange their observations.

After three days, the outline of Zhongzhou became much clearer in his mind.

"There are five true masters in Zhongzhou."

Dongfang Wei spread a simple hand-drawn map on the table, circling five locations: "Primordial Divine Sect, Myriad Tribulations Valley, Daoist Academy, Yin-Yang Valley, and Heavenly Mystery City. Three sects, two valleys, and one city, with Creation Realm in charge and Celestial Realm as their facade. Half-step Celestial Realm cultivators are only fit to be outer sect stewards there."

Ye Gucheng nodded:

"I heard something at the blacksmith's shop in the north of the city. During the first surge of spiritual energy after the fusion of heaven and earth, a lotus flower of spiritual energy bloomed directly above the Taichu Divine Sect's mountain gate. After three days of condensation, it transformed into a spiritual pool, with a spiritual energy concentration a hundred times that of the outside world. Seventeen Celestial Beings within their sect broke through to the next level during those three days."

"Seventeen Celestials." Dongfang Weiwo repeated the number. "Can the entire Eastern Continent possibly have seventeen Celestials?"

Ye Gucheng did not answer. The answer was obvious.

Ximen Chuixue, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "Of those five families, which one cares most about this formation?"

Dongfang Weiwo stroked the teacup in his hand for a moment, then said:

"The Primordial Divine Sect sent a Celestial Being at the initial stage and a Celestial Being at the middle stage to oversee the area. They care about the situation, but what they care about even more is 'not letting anyone touch it'."

The Shen family and the Eternal Sect each sent one person at the initial stage of the Celestial Realm, seemingly just to join in the fun. The Yin-Yang Valley has yet to show up—they are the ones truly waiting in the distance; the fusion of heaven and earth is a feast for them, and the activation of the ancient formation will only make them happier.

Tianji City… The Old Man of Tianji has foreseen everything. He doesn't need to send anyone; he can see everything that will happen tonight from his Observatory.

He put down his teacup and pointed his finger at a blank area north of Baidi City on the map.

"The most troublesome are the gray-robed men. The black lotus mark of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect in the Southern Frontier, the ancient seal script on the stone gate in the Northern Border, and the echo beneath the ancient formation in White Emperor City—all three share the same origin. If they are in cahoots, then the gray-robed men's goal isn't 'getting the key,' but 'using the key to open the door.' They want what's pressed under the formation."

"What is it?" Ximen Chuixue asked.

Dongfang Weiwo remained silent for a long time. Then he shook his head.

"I don't know. But something that could make the Demon God Lü guard it for a hundred years, something that could make the Primordial Divine Sect send celestial beings to oversee it, something that could make the gray-robed man chase it all the way from the Southern Frontier to the Central Plains—it's at least a bargaining chip that even the Creator himself would be tempted by."

He stood up and walked into the courtyard.

The moonlight was beautiful. Under the moonlight, Baidi City was as quiet as a sleeping tomb, but he knew that beneath this city lay the greatest secret of the entire Tianxuan Continent. And he now stood upon that secret, holding a key in his hand.

"We'll change our strategy starting tomorrow," Dongfang Weiwo said, turning to the two of them. "No more hiding. Since the people of the Primordial Divine Sect are waiting for me to approach them, then I'll take the initiative."

"In what capacity do you intend to meet me, young master?" Ye Gucheng asked.

"The young leader of the Azure Dragon Society," Dongfang Wei said. "Since we've come to Zhongzhou to play chess, our moves should be visible to everyone."

The following morning.

As the young celestial being of the Taichu Divine Sect was reviewing documents in a temporarily requisitioned residence in the east of the city, someone outside announced, "Young Master Shen, a young man dressed in black is requesting an audience. He says his surname is Dongfang."

Shen Jinglan raised his head. A disciple of the Primordial Divine Sect, at the initial stage of the Celestial Realm, he had just turned thirty this year—already a rising star among the younger generation in Central Continent. He closed the scroll, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said to his gray-robed senior uncle sitting in the side hall, "Senior Uncle, you've arrived."

The old man in the gray robe did not open his eyes, but simply nodded slightly.

"Let him in."

A moment later, Dongfang Weiwo stepped into the hall. He was dressed in black, with a long sword wrapped in cloth, and his steps were steady.

His face was completely unmasked, and the dark golden light in his eyes was faintly visible in the midday sun.

Shen Jinglan sat at the head of the table, his gaze lingering on him for a few moments, secretly assessing him in his heart—a Grandmaster at the peak of the ninth level, with a profound bloodline aura and a foundation so solid that it seemed out of place for someone at this level.

"Dongfang Weiwo?" Shen Jinglan asked, his tone flat, neither hostile nor warm.

"Exactly."

"White Emperor City isn't large, but you arrived quickly. Was the unusual movement at the array's core last night related to you?"

Dongfang Weiwo sat down in the chair at the lower end, his expression calm:

"Last night, I was enjoying the breeze atop the granary south of the city when I witnessed that scene. Anyone would take a second look at the confrontation between Demon God Lü and the man in gray."

Shen Jinglan stared at him for a few moments, then suddenly smiled. The smile wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't malicious either; it was more like the amused expression a chess player would show when they discover their opponent has made a move faster than expected.

"You're quite straightforward. What, you're not going to hide it anymore?"

"The purpose of hiding is to test the waters." Dongfang Weiwo met his gaze. "I have been testing the waters for three days and I already have a good understanding of the current situation in Baidi City."

I've come to see Young Master Shen today to inquire about the Primordial Divine Sect's attitude towards this ancient formation—are they preventing others from touching it, or do they intend to take it for themselves?

Shen Jinglan's smile faded slightly. He glanced at his gray-robed martial uncle in the side hall. The old man remained motionless with his eyes closed, but his fingers tapped lightly twice on his knee.

Shen Jinglan withdrew his gaze and said, "We will neither guard against it nor take it. We will watch over it for the sake of the Tianxuan Continent."

"Look at it?"

"The ancient formation cannot be destroyed, nor can it be opened. If it is destroyed, the fragments of heaven and earth will not be able to fully merge, and the entire continent will fall apart."

If it's opened, and what's sealed beneath the formation is released, no one can bear the consequences.

Shen Jinglan stood up, walked to the center of the hall, put his hands behind his back, and said, "So the attitude of the Primordial Divine Sect is very simple—whoever touches it, we will block them."

Dongfang Weiwo remained silent. This answer roughly matched his expectations—the Taichu Divine Sect possessed the resources of the number one sect in the Central Plains. If they truly wanted to take what was under the formation, they would have already used the power of a celestial being to forcibly break through it.

Their inaction suggests that even the very being of creation was unwilling to easily touch that thing.

"What about the man in gray?" Dongfang Weiwo asked. "Can you hold him off?"

Shen Jinglan's lips twitched slightly: "The man in gray is no simple man. But the Primordial Divine Sect is even more extraordinary."

He walked back to his seat, sat down again, and his gaze fell on the faint dark gold pattern on the palm of Dongfang Weiwo's right hand.

"However, there's something I really want to clarify—how much of the array can your Demon-Sealing Bloodline's resonance actually open?"

Dongfang Weiwo put down his teacup and, instead of answering, asked, "Before Young Master Shen wants to know this, why don't you tell me first what exactly is pressed under that formation?"

The atmosphere in the hall froze for a moment.

The gray-robed old man in the side hall slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze falling on Dongfang Weiwo. That gaze carried no pressure, nor did it have the oppressive feeling of a mid-stage Celestial Being, yet it made Dongfang Weiwo feel an indescribable penetrating force—that gaze seemed to be looking into the deepest part of his bloodline, counting his veins, and estimating his weight.

A moment later, the old man closed his eyes again and fell silent once more.

Seeing that his martial uncle didn't object, Shen Jinglan said to Dongfang Weiwo, "I can't tell you about this. It's not that you're not qualified, but that no one who knows about it can remain uninvolved. Think it through before you ask."

Dongfang Weiwo gave Shen Jinglan a deep look, then stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Thank you." He didn't ask any further questions and turned to leave the hall.

As he stepped out of the courtyard gate of the Taichu Divine Sect's residence, his back to the inside, his steps unwavering. Shen Jinglan's voice followed him again: "Dongfang Weiwo, if you remain in Baidi City within three days, someone from the Taichu Divine Sect will come to discuss other matters with you. Don't rush off."

Dongfang Weiwo waved without turning his head and disappeared around the street corner.