Chapter 2541: I Have a Question

In the upper immortal realm, day and night still cycled, and night had fallen. The stars and moonlight cascaded down, draping the realm in a shimmering veil that exuded radiance and serenity.

In the Eighth Prince's palace, Yin Ming was in seclusion, quietly contemplating the Dao scriptures.

The elder in purple robes stood under the moon, holding over a dozen yuan shen jade tablets in his hand, his brows furrowed deeply. The order to exterminate the Yang family had come from the Eighth Prince, but it was he who had sent out the assassins—and they had all been wiped out.

"How is that possible? Could the Yang clan be this powerful?"

The elder in purple robes, Zi Yang Xian Jun, looked extremely grim. Losing a dozen useless subordinates was trivial, but the real issue was the Kong Dong Yin. That was the Eighth Prince's cherished treasure. With the people eliminated, the seal was likely stolen as well. When the Eighth Prince emerged from seclusion and learned of this, he would be furious, and the blame would fall on him.

"Zi Yang Xian Jun, it's best not to alarm the prince about this matter yet."

"As if I needed you to tell me?" Zi Yang Xian Jun snorted coldly, his voice full of authority, his face dark and foreboding. "Go and search. Check every single person entering Nan Tian Men. Before the prince comes out of seclusion, find the Kong Dong Yin."

The night was peaceful, but in a remote mountain corner, a constant buzzing roar echoed, with golden light radiating everywhere.

It was the Dinghai Shen Zhen, now fused with the Kong Dong Yin, enveloped in divine radiance. Its hum assaulted the yuan shen, and anyone with weak cultivation would be injured by the sound alone. The golden iron staff was extraordinarily heavy, hovering in place and causing the universe to tremble, distorting space and spreading halos that crushed numerous boulders into pieces.

"Not bad."

Ye Chen held a wine flask and circled around, examining it. No wonder the Kong Dong Yin was an immortal treasure—it was far superior to ordinary immortal iron. With such a dominant staff, one swing could take down a swath of ordinary quasi-emperors.

Late at night, he put away the staff and walked back along the Milky Way.

From afar, he could see the towering Nan Tian Men, illuminated by a divine pearl as large as a small mountain, its light shining like daylight and dispelling the endless darkness, creating a bright and pure land.

Tonight, Nan Tian Men was different from usual, with more heavenly soldiers and generals present, all armored. Anyone entering Nan Tian Men, whether from the upper immortal realm or the scattered immortal realm, had to undergo inspection.

Ye Chen wasn't surprised by this. With the Kong Dong Yin lost, of course they'd be in a hurry.

"Halt."

As soon as Ye Chen approached, he was stopped by a blood-haired general. The general seemed to recognize him but showed no courtesy, as he served under the Eighth Prince and knew of the grudge between Ye Chen and the prince. This was just his way of currying favor.

"I am Zi Wei Xing Jun." Ye Chen handed over his divine tablet.

"So what if you're Zi Wei Xing Jun? No special privileges." The blood-haired general replied indifferently, his tone far from friendly. "The Eighth Prince has lost his treasure. Hand over your storage bag for inspection before you can enter."

"Very well." Ye Chen cooperated, taking out his storage bag.

"Good heavens! The Kong Dong Yin!"

Before the blood-haired general could take the storage bag, a loud howl rang out, echoing loudly from the horizon, drawing the attention of all the heavenly soldiers and generals on site. They looked up to see a divine light streaking across the sky, dazzlingly bright.

Well then! The blood-haired general was quick to act, tossing the storage bag back to Ye Chen without checking it and rushing off in that direction.

Like him, the other generals didn't want to be left behind, hurrying over in a group. Clearly, they were all scrambling for credit—recovering the Eighth Prince's treasure would be a great achievement, possibly even leading to a promotion.

Ye Chen didn't even glance back, retrieved his storage bag, and entered Nan Tian Men.

As for that howl, it was his own handiwork—more precisely, from his clone. If he hadn't lured those generals away, who knows what other trouble might arise. He had plenty of treasures in his storage bag, but he couldn't afford to expose them.

Amid the noise behind him, his figure gradually faded into the distance.

He landed again at a dao palace, fully named Zi Wei Dao Gong, his exclusive residence in the heavenly court. At first glance, it was grand and imposing.

Stepping inside revealed another world entirely, a vast realm of its own with artificial hills interspersed among lush treasure forests, numerous pavilions, and many cool verandas. In the back was a serene grove of purple bamboo, an ideal place for cultivation and reflection.

"Greetings, Xing Jun."

As a sixth-rank official in the heavenly court, he naturally had guards and attendants, all immortals though with lower cultivation. They all appeared respectful.

Ye Chen smiled and waved them off, then headed to the purple bamboo grove.

Si Ming Xing Jun was already waiting, leisurely brewing tea. Seeing Ye Chen return, he said casually, "Sent them off?"

"For now, they're staying at Hua Shan." Ye Chen sat down with a thud.

"With the Eighth Prince's temperament, he won't let the Yang clan go. He must have sent people to intercept them." Si Ming Xing Jun smiled as he poured tea for Ye Chen, his words laden with implication. "What's strange is that none of those sent have returned. And they lost the heavenly court's immortal treasure, the Kong Dong Yin. Don't you think that's odd?"

"Are you implying I took it?" Ye Chen took a sip of tea.

"Wasn't it you?"

"You can't just say things like that."

"Whether it was or not, we both know the truth." Si Ming Xing Jun chuckled again, then changed the subject. "From what I've seen in the celestial phenomena, the heavenly realm's barrier will dissipate in half a month. As for how long it will last, that's still unknown. You'd better prepare yourself."

"Understood." Ye Chen took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement. Half a month seemed short, but now it felt endlessly long.

Meanwhile, Si Ming Xing Jun waved his hand and drew out the divine tablet from within Ye Chen's body—the one for Zi Wei Xing Jun—which served as a symbol in the heavenly realm.

"Sacrifice your origin and engrave the dao principles onto it." Si Ming Xing Jun said calmly. "This divine tablet is the medium for borrowing power. Don't take it lightly."

Ye Chen nodded, gripping the tablet and infusing it with a thread of his origin, followed by a strand of dao principles. The tablet glowed brightly and hovered in mid-air, its patterns flowing with profound dao essence, the characters "Zi Wei Xing Jun" radiating mystery.

Finally, the tablet slowly sank into Ye Chen's forehead.

When Ye Chen looked inward, he saw the tablet had fused with him, emitting an indefinable mysterious power that felt quite extraordinary.

"Xing Jun, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Can all the immortals of the heavenly court be borrowed for power in the mortal realm?"

"Not at all. Not everyone has an exclusive divine position. For example, the heavenly soldiers guarding the prison have their own divine tablets, but they're not qualified to engrave a divine position. In simple terms, their rank isn't high enough. To engrave a divine position, you need at least a ninth-rank official in the heavenly court to barely qualify for being borrowed."

Si Ming Xing Jun paused before continuing.

"Having a personal divine position is the first requirement. Second, it has to be voluntary. Borrowing power is similar to spirit possession, and the one being borrowed is like the spirit beast. Figures like Yu Di or Xian Jun are all peak quasi-emperors, and their status in the heavenly court is even higher. They see borrowing as a humiliation—who wants to be someone else's spirit beast? So, they naturally block it. Only a great emperor could force them down to the mortal realm."

"I see."

"There are very few in the heavenly court willing to be borrowed." Si Ming Xing Jun added. "When borrowed to the mortal realm, it's often for fighting. One misstep could damage the divine position, leading to severe backlash—soul destruction is common."

"Then why don't you block it?" Ye Chen asked Si Ming Xing Jun with a smile.

"In one word: accumulating merit." Si Ming Xing Jun laughed. "I remember the first time I was borrowed to the mortal realm as a Xing Jun, I helped Fu Xi suppress an evil entity. When I returned to the heavenly court, I suddenly felt an extraordinary power within me that aided my cultivation. I call it merit—something profound and elusive."

"So, it's about seeking fortune in danger."

"That's not far off."

"You mentioned Jiang Taigong before—could you tell me more?"

Si Ming Xing Jun stroked his beard and gave Ye Chen a meaningful look, his expression blank—he clearly didn't know.

"You've been borrowed to the mortal realm more than once and never heard any secrets? Like about Dao Zu?"

"It's not that I haven't heard; it's that I daren't listen." Si Ming Xing Jun smiled faintly. "This leads to another matter: once borrowed to the mortal realm, never mention anything involving heavenly secrets, including the three realms' mysteries, or calamity will follow. The one performing the borrowing must adhere to this too—it's an unspoken agreement between both parties."

"Got it."

Ye Chen smiled, his doubts resolved. No wonder Si Ming Xing Jun didn't know about Dao Zu—it wasn't that he didn't know; it was that the human king hadn't said, and the human king hadn't said because he couldn't or daren't.

There was a mysterious force at play, something taboo, that neither the human king nor Si Ming Xing Jun dared to touch, or calamity would strike.

Compared to the emperor's nether path, this emperor's borrowing method had even more rules—people could be borrowed, but matters couldn't be discussed carelessly.

"Daring to leak heavenly secrets means suffering the consequences."

Si Ming Xing Jun coughed dryly, his face turning pale, a trace of fresh blood at his mouth. It seemed like during some borrowing, he hadn't watched his words—perhaps saying or hearing something he shouldn't have—and suffered a terrible calamity, leaving lasting hidden injuries that hadn't healed after centuries.

He was lucky to still be alive; that calamity had come so suddenly, nearly erasing him with that unseen force. His survival was a miracle amid misfortune.

Wiping the blood from his mouth, Si Ming Xing Jun looked at Ye Chen. "This Dao Zu you mentioned—who is he?"

"A despicable person... well, a senior."

Ye Chen spoke earnestly. Since no one in the heavenly court knew, he didn't plan to reveal more. Though he wasn't in a borrowed state, he didn't want to delve into heavenly secrets.

Besides, even if he explained, Si Ming Xing Jun probably wouldn't believe it. The seal Dao Zu placed on the heavenly realm was thorough enough that even Yu Di was unaware.

Si Ming Xing Jun stroked his beard, eyeing Ye Chen up and down with a meaningful gaze. He ignored the part about "senior" and only caught the word "despicable."

It seemed like from Ye Chen's mouth, nothing came out sounding normal. Even if he brought up the human king's name, he'd probably call him despicable too.

This wasn't Ye Chen's fault; he still remembered the judgment from the Book of Life and Death: a despicable person, written with bold flair. From that day on, he had a soft spot for the word and saw it in everyone.

"Remember when you mentioned Jiang Taigong? Could you talk about that?" Ye Chen asked casually.