"Absurd to the extreme, meaningless," the Heavenly Emperor said coldly.

"Indeed."

Ji Jingqiu suddenly took a step forward, the Seven Star formation around him becoming increasingly profound and misty,

"He said it himself back then, after he's gone, he doesn't know how many will establish teachings and call themselves Ancestor, nor how many dare to claim to be Invincible, yet he regrets nothing."

"Perhaps in his view, he had long anticipated your usurping actions."

Boom!!!

Outside the palace, the celestial phenomenon changed colors, as if Heaven was furious!

In the depths of endless void, there seemed to be a muffled thunderous explosion, more like a gigantic, unimaginable Dao shaking violently due to someone's wavering!

For the first time, a minuscule change appeared on the Heavenly Emperor's flawless, indifferent face.

The dazzling star river surrounding her seemed to dim for a moment, during the flow a slight yet moving stagnation appeared.

After a few silent breaths, she spoke again, her voice still icy, yet now with less absolute indifference, infused with an imperceptible weight and scrutiny:

"Who exactly are you?!"

This time, it was no longer a mere denial and questioning but a genuine inquiry.

Ji Jingqiu's expression remained calm, yet his heart was heavy; he had a sudden whim earlier, not expecting such a huge reaction from her.

In the past, on Returning to Truth Road, he had glimpsed a stele and through the stele saw some brief past, encountering a person.

He did not know whose stele it was nor the origin of the words inscribed upon it, yet earlier he had a sudden whim, pointing it out.

Judging by the current attitude of this woman, the Heavenly Emperor... could it be that the one from the past was the Heavenly Emperor?

At this moment—

From Heaven and Earth came a distant Buddhist chant.

In the depths of his being, Ji Jingqiu suddenly turned back, sensing an extraordinarily familiar fluctuation.

It was, Ksitigarbha!

Ksitigarbha, Cangqing, Netherworld Lord, indeed they were all involved here!

This sudden change caused even the aura of the woman Heavenly Emperor to restrain a bit, looking toward the distance.

In the hall.

The debate between the two, all the Saints listened with solemn expressions, not daring to miss a word.

"...How many establish teachings and call themselves Ancestor, how many claim Invincible... This phrase was seemingly mentioned by the Ancestor Master?"

"Correct, it's an inscription on a stele along the Returning to Truth Road!"

"Is this truly the World Venerable?"

"Evidently so. On the other hand, the identity of this Heavenly Emperor is questionable, uncovered by the World Venerable! Even if it's the current 'Heavenly Emperor', she's likely not the Great Dao Ancestor we speculate, rather a successor, or a... usurper."

All Saints whispered, some with a heavy expression, recalling important information left by the Ancestor Master, reconfirming Ji Jingqiu's identity.

And for Ji Jingqiu, Hel had a face full of questions, completely not understanding how these two conversed on such matters.

Furthermore, the more Hel listened, the more it seemed Ji Jingqiu was an ancient existence from a century ago?

The Moon-cutting Sword Light flickered in brightness, honestly it too doubted whether Ji Jingqiu was indeed an ancient existence from a century ago.

Only Wuzhou, with a slight smile, was thoughtful upon hearing the latter part.

In his view, Ji Jingqiu's rambling didn't matter, crucially it was that the other responded in the end.

Now that's interesting.

Is it a coincidence, or... a destined calamity?

At this time, disturbances from afar grew more grandiose, seemingly someone was breaking through the suppression of Heaven and Earth, challenging the Heavenly Dao of this realm.

All Saints were shocked by this sudden ceaseless Dao resonance, hearing it and looking over, they saw in the limitless height, one magnificent palace after another collapsed, vast forbidden arrays triggered, flames soaring to the sky, vaguely a giant tree's phantom was visible, but was wielded as a weapon, sweeping against Pure Land, blasting vast Pure Land apart!

"Internal strife?" someone speculated.

At this point in time, who would dare to attack the Old Heavenly Court?

At least they hadn't received news.

The palace once again fell into a state of extreme silence, heavier than ever before.

The aura of the Heavenly Emperor was visibly at the verge of suppressing and unleashing an outburst, no one willing to risk provoking her now.

Buzz—!

The entire palace, as if being firmly controlled by the Heavenly Emperor, the vast star power maneuvered like a limb, in this instant collectively emitted a slight hum, permeating the palace,

All Saints nearly simultaneously changed color.

The palace was instantly locked down by the Heavenly Emperor!

"This Emperor will return soon, entertain the guests from the various Gate Houses of the later generations well,"

The Heavenly Emperor spoke blandly, a group of Divine Generals and Star Monarchs bowed in respect and agreement.

Having said that, she gave no opportunity for inquiry, departing the palace immediately, leaving behind a group of Saints in a bizarre atmosphere.

It's unknown how much time passed.

Someone sneered, taking the lead to provoke: "Is this intending to detain us?"

...

After leaving the palace.

The Heavenly Emperor ascended to the endless void, walking leisurely towards the secret ground ahead.

"Why change the plan abruptly, not slay him in the grand hall?"

In the star radiance circulating around her, within the elongated shadows of the Star Robe touching the ground, it seemed to stand another figure, darker than the deepest void and stiller than solidified eternal night.

Every time he "exhaled and inhaled," it was as if greedily absorbing the vast Divine Power and aura emitted by the Heavenly Emperor, transforming it into a deeper, more chilling silence.

A shadow hidden in the female Heavenly Emperor's silhouette questioned deeply at this moment.

"In the main hall before all Saints, to kill him, you could easily do it. That Saint King couldn't stop you anyway, and it would provide the most thorough intimidation to the Saints of all houses—why did you change the plan at the last moment?"

The female Heavenly Emperor remained silent, her Star Robe moving without wind, instinctively resonating with the Heaven and Earth.

The world seemed to fall into an extreme quietness, the air as if solidified, and time appeared to halt, leaving only the fierce exchange of intangible thoughts.

After a long while.

She finally spoke coldly, "Are you certain this person is not the reincarnation or inheritor of the Ancient?"

The man within the shadows paused in silence, then said, "What do you mean? Although I do not know how he discovered your true identity, his subsequent words were all nonsense, proving that his previous statements were merely coincidental."

"He might be the World Venerable on the Returning to Truth Road, but he is absolutely not the Ancient from a hundred eons ago."

"But what if what he said is true?" The eyes beneath the Nine Phoenix Crown lowered, the starlight around fluctuating as the Heavenly Emperor stated word by word, "You'd better confirm this person's real origin again!"

The man in the shadows frowned and said, "Are you joking? He had never even seen Emperor Yi, all that he said was ridiculous..."

The female Heavenly Emperor interrupted him, her voice filled with bone-chilling coldness, "You think he's spouting nonsense because everything he said was not about Emperor Yi at all! But 'He'!! The madman who came out from the Returning to Truth Land! Strictly speaking, He was the true founder of the Heavenly Court! Whether me or Emperor Yi, we are merely the latecomers!"

The outline within the shadows, originally vague, suddenly coalesced into a crouched, huddled human form, who said gravely,

"Have you been fooled by his nonsensical words, Dou Mu? How could this person have seen that one—"

"Then how do you explain the words he just said?" The Heavenly Emperor looked down, one word at a time, "The Stele on the Returning to Truth Road had long been destroyed in crucial parts, knowing the first half means nothing, the second half is the key! It's the very foundation of the Heavenly Emperor's throne handed down through generations! Even I only found out by chance through Emperor Yi's mouth, how do you think he knew?"

The shadow below her feet surged in profound black, as the presence within fell into prolonged silence, unable to refute.

"Go verify his identity, find everyone related to his origins, even if you have to search the entire Netherworld!"

The Heavenly Emperor's tone was irrefutable, commanding strongly,

"Additionally, I've heard there's someone outside claiming to be a 'Heavenly Emperor,' go find him and see if he's Emperor Yi's offspring, or a lucky person who accidentally obtained Emperor Yi's inheritance."

Upon saying this, the Heavenly Emperor paused, then said indifferently:

"If it's offspring, you can bring back; if not, kill them all. I don't like having a second self-proclaimed Heavenly Emperor in this world."

The man in the shadow suddenly asked, "Is there a possibility of Emperor Yi's return?"

"He's always been here." The Heavenly Emperor laughed coldly, "It's just that all his Fruit Position has been lost, he no longer has the power to confront me, so he doesn't dare to show up."

"Are there traces of him in the Netherworld?"

The Heavenly Emperor said coldly, "The Netherworld's five Gods have traces left by him, otherwise I would've swallowed them long ago to fill the Dao Power."

After a brief silence, a figure with a blurred face slowly walked out from the shadow under the Heavenly Emperor's feet, appearing like a human shape formed from a blob of black mud, still dripping with pitch-black "mud drops," exuding a nauseating stench.

The Heavenly Emperor rarely frowned, "You can't even maintain your form?"

"My Dao cannot fit in this world."

The shadow did not explain further, directly asking,

"I will go to find the one claiming to be the Heavenly Emperor and verify Ji Jingqiu's origins, but what do you plan to do with him next?"

"The True Saints he brought are too many, and there are top-notch ones among them. You missed the opportunity when the Saints suspected his identity, and it's not so easy to remove him now."

"This is not something you need to worry about." The Heavenly Emperor said flatly, "I have my own ways to handle it."

The shadow seemed to take a deep glance at the Heavenly Emperor, then turned and disappeared into the Void, leaving a final admonition:

"Quickly deal with that great Buddha, the Heavenly Court has stabilized the situation by devouring numerous Sea of Realms remnants, but inevitably makes its own attributes lean towards the 'Netherworld,' in a sense, you and I are already dead. So we absolutely cannot let Him get close to the Dao's core."

The female Heavenly Emperor, or rather Doumu Yuanjun, stood proudly in this place, watched the shadow leave, then cast her gaze upon the great Buddha attempting to break the forbidden array, suddenly full of killing intent:

"You really think I can't kill you all?"

"I don't believe there's truly someone selfless in this world!"

...

Summer Palace.

The atmosphere within the palace grew increasingly tense and bizarre.

More than ten Divine Generals and Star Monarchs attempted to calm All Saints, but few among the Saints accepted.

Someone questioned why the Heavenly Emperor came and left without a word to them, what kind of hospitality was this?

This also aroused the dissatisfaction of the Divine Generals, believing it was disrespectful to the Heavenly Emperor. In future generations, is there a reason for a Returning to Truth to welcome a crowd of True Saints?

The descent of the Heavenly Emperor already graced you with immense honor!

"Of course, there is." Feng Ming said as a matter of course, "When the Ancestor Master of Primordial Palace achieved Enlightenment, He invited disciples from all houses, personally came out to preach the Dao and impart teachings!"

The Saints nodded slightly. For them, the Ancestors are "elders" and teachers, therefore respected, but by no means a strict hierarchical suppression.

In their view, this Heavenly Emperor might not have needed to appear, if truly a Transcender, naturally could choose to remain aloof.

But since He chose to appear, the recognition and meeting were not for them, but for the Ancestors behind them.

Moreover... the Saints didn't truly believe that this person was a complete Transcender right now!

The confrontation between the two sides grew increasingly clear.

Some had already discreetly sought Ji Jingqiu's advice on what to do next.

And since Ksitigarbha's aura appeared in the world, Ji Jingqiu fell into silence.

His Spirit God, under Ksitigarbha's guidance, went to another world.

A Golden Body full of Buddhist Zen stood towering, with a lamp in hand, seemingly illuminating the Ten Thousand Realms, supporting a Pure Land, where Heaven and Earth were full of chanting voices, enveloping countless vengeful spirits and evil ghosts.

Ji Jingqiu saw once more those merciful and compassionate gentle eyes, in His eyes, he seemed to witness the suffering struggles of all beings.

He happily said:

"My Buddha is merciful."

"This little monk pays respect to the World Venerable of the current age!"