Chapter Ninety-Six: Does a Blessed Paradise Equal a War Star?!

The moment Lin Zhengying returned to the old man’s antique shop, he found Guan Zhen waiting there in obvious anxiety.

“What is going on? It’s already been going on for over an hour. If this drags on any longer, we won’t be able to keep it under wraps. We don’t have enough people from the entertainment industry to plug the leak!” Guan Zhen hurried over and blurted the question out.

“This has gotten out of hand. I’ve already reported it. The Ancient One is dead. Her disciple was lured astray by Mephisto, and the Eye of Agamotto happened to be off her person. With an inside-outside pincer, Kaecilius assassinated her,” Lin Zhengying said quickly.

“Dead?” Guan Zhen was stunned. The Ancient One was a powerhouse second only to the Heavenly Emperor and Master Kiran in Lin Zhengying’s own words. And she had died so silently, without a trace?

“Has this Kaecilius been captured? What do you need us to do?”

“I have his photo here. Put it out immediately and treat him as a high-priority fugitive. He may have magic on his side, so ordinary people will have a hard time noticing him, but something is better than nothing.” With a wave of Lin Zhengying’s hand, a three-dimensional likeness of Kaecilius floated up in the air.

“Understood. I’ll send the news back at once. He fled into our territory?” Guan Zhen asked.

“That’s still uncertain. We don’t yet know where he’s headed.” As he spoke, the grim-faced old man came out of the room. “Old man, old man, I need your help!”

“Don’t rush. I need to inspect the sealing points first. The yin energy in the whole world has surged to another level. If this goes wrong, the demons under seal may break free!” The old man was clutching a book so thick it seemed impossible to lift. “Tru! Bring the materials and come with me!”

With the old man and Tru gone, Lin Zhengying was the only cultivator left. He gritted his teeth and pulled Guan Zhen over.

“Guard me. I’m going to calculate where he might be now!”

Guan Zhen said nothing in reply. He now obeyed Lin Zhengying’s every command without question.

By the time Lin Zhengying had arranged the formation and was just about to begin his divination, a longsword suddenly thrust itself down beside him. Space tore open around the blade, and a young man in a long robe extended a hand, ripping open the void and walking through.

“Master Li!” Lin Zhengying cried in pleasant surprise.

Li Xiaoyao nodded and looked out toward the world beyond. “The concentration is even higher than what you reported. It’s risen far too quickly.”

“Yes, but it’s a relief that you’re here. Did you come alone this time?” Lin Zhengying asked.

“Mhm. The construction of the grotto-heavens and blessed lands has reached its final stage, and everyone else is already being used like two men for the price of one. There simply isn’t anyone to spare.” As he spoke, Li Xiaoyao pointed at the longsword.

The sword hummed. With a flick of his finger, it split into nine phantom shadows.

“Go.”

At his soft command, the sword shot off in the directions of China.

“Return to unity, nine essences. Quake!”

The token hanging at Li Xiaoyao’s waist trembled continuously. Five radiant spirit pearls flew out from his body, circling through the air to form an intricate and profound formation pattern.

“Use the Five Spirits as the guide, borrow the power of heaven and earth. Come!”

At his words, the entire Heavenly Court network sprang to life. One after another, shadowy figures lit up across Chinese territory. As they appeared, beams of light shot straight into the sky, dispersing most of the dark clouds hanging over China. Only a few masses of yin energy, dense enough to feel almost tangible, managed to fall to the ground before the formation was fully completed.

“You must be the captain of the Chinese Supernatural Response Team. I am Li Xiaoyao, sect master of Mount Shu.”

Only after finishing everything did Li Xiaoyao have time to greet Guan Zhen.

“With the Five Spirit Pearls, the Mount Shu token, and the Heavenly Court network in place, there won’t be any large-scale outbreaks of yin energy within China. However, the yin energy that has already settled in may still cause some trouble, so you’ll need to strengthen your monitoring.”

“Of course. We’ve already activated our emergency procedures, but can you tell us where the fugitive Kaecilius is now? That way we can focus our attention there.” Guan Zhen asked again.

“Not certain. Even the immortals most skilled in divination don’t have the time to deal with this right now. But before I came, the Heavenly Emperor told me that he’s very likely to appear there five days from now.”

Li Xiaoyao pointed to a map hanging in the shop. Guan Zhen followed his finger and saw that the place he indicated was the Middle East.

“So should we move first and go take a look there in advance?” Guan Zhen asked.

“The situation over there is very complicated. Wait until the people from the Clock Tower arrive, and I’ll discuss it with them first. For now, the most important thing is to protect our own people.” Li Xiaoyao’s tone was serious. “I came here to reduce casualties as much as possible.”

“I understand. We’ll issue an alert to everyone, tell them to stay away from remote places, not to go out at night, and shut down all night businesses.” Guan Zhen agreed at once. Those were the orders relayed through the earpiece from the leadership above him.

“Yes. If the explanation is hard to fabricate, then there’s no problem with declaring our existence outright.” Li Xiaoyao said with his hands behind his back.

“The Ancient One has passed away. The safety of the earth now has to be taken up by us again. The Heavenly Emperor has already activated the emergency decree and abolished the order to remain hidden.”

This time, Guan Zhen did not answer immediately.

The matter was simply too significant, far beyond what the people above him could decide on their own. Everyone had originally believed there were still at least a few years to lay the groundwork for the cultivation world’s return, but the situation no longer allowed them to wait so slowly.

“I know you aren’t ready yet. The Heavenly Emperor’s order on this point is that I follow your command. If you think the time is not yet ripe, I’ll do my best to keep civilians out of the way when I act.” As he spoke, Li Xiaoyao handed Guan Zhen a spinning compass.

“There are some resources everyone managed to scrape together in here, along with instructions for use. Distribute them. Soldiers are civilians too. Those who stand up bravely to protect others deserve better protection.”

“Yes.” Hearing Li Xiaoyao say this, Guan Zhen’s goodwill toward him rose sharply. Just then, the leader’s next instruction came through his earpiece.

“Master Li, there is one more thing we would like to ask. If it’s convenient, could you tell us what the entire cultivation world is busy with right now? If not, of course, you don’t have to.”

Li Xiaoyao thought for a few seconds. “It’s fine to tell you. The prohibition has already been lifted anyway. We and the people from the Clock Tower are responsible for constructing the vertical defenses, while they handle the horizontal network.”

“By vertical, I mean the other parallel universes. By horizontal, I mean the other regions of this universe.”

“This universe is far more crowded than you imagine. Cosmic powers that can crush Earth in every respect are as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges, too many to count. What we’re building now, the grotto-heavens and blessed lands, is to put it in simpler technological terms, the construction of a battle star.”

“The selected planet is just too large, so even after five hundred years, construction still isn’t finished. In truth, by the original plan, five hundred years would have been about enough. It’s just that the later additions kept piling up until everything went over budget.”

Grotto-heavens and blessed lands equal a battle star? A planet built for war?

Guan Zhen’s mouth fell open, and he could not close it again.