111: Chapter 111 Open Your Eyes

Heavenly Saint City, Central Plains.

Business at the exhibition hall remained booming.

The Devil Emperor of Nine Nethers had been slapped so hard that his original appearance was unrecognizable. Golden Scale Immortal Venerable had learned to be smart; he kept his eyes closed and played dead the whole time, allowing those Loose Cultivators to touch him all over.

Taihao Immortal Emperor had been kicked hundreds or thousands of times; his shinbone broke and regrew, only to break again. The Immortal Emperor's regenerative ability had become a form of torture here.

Backyard of the Star-Plucking Tower.

Ji Ruxue sat on a meditation cushion, eyes tightly shut.

The aura of the Middle Stage of the Dao Integration Realm swirled around her. The kunlun mirror hung above her head, casting down wisps of Immortal Dao Law, cleansing her Meridians.

In her previous life, Empress Yaoguang cultivated the Supreme Carefree Heart. In this life, as she walked the Emperor's path again, her state of mind had undergone a heaven-shaking change.

With Gu Sheng, a Revered Master who didn't play by the rules, "forgetting emotion" had become a joke.

She opened her eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Her cultivation was completely stabilized.

The courtyard door pushed open, and Luo Qingxue walked in.

With the nine nether soul-suppressing zither on her back and her cultivation at the Early Stage of the Creation Realm, she exuded a cold air.

"Senior Sister." Ji Ruxue stood up to greet her.

Luo Qingxue nodded. "The Pavilion Revered Master wants you to take a trip to Baicao Valley."

Ji Ruxue was puzzled. "What happened at Baicao Valley?"

"There's a situation over at Su Qianxue's side." Luo Qingxue walked over to the stone table and sat down. "In the batch of medicinal herbs sent by the Southern Border Demon Race, a poisonous vine that had gained sentience was mixed in. That poisonous vine took root in the herb field and contaminated half of the Spiritual Vein in Baicao Valley. Su Qianxue couldn't suppress it, so she sent a distress letter to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion."

Ji Ruxue frowned.

Baicao Valley was the medicinal herb supplier for the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, and the Medicinal Pills of the Great Xia Dynasty all relied on them. If something happened there, it would directly affect the revenue of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

"I'll go handle it." Ji Ruxue put away the kunlun mirror and walked out.

"Take this." Luo Qingxue tossed over a small jade bottle. "The Pavilion Revered Master gave it to me. He said it can uproot that poisonous vine."

Ji Ruxue caught the jade bottle and took a look.

Inside was a drop of dark red liquid, emanating a heart-palpitating Devilish Qi.

True blood refined from the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art.

Ji Ruxue put away the jade bottle and transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Above Heavenly Saint City.

The toll station for the Realm Passage had already been built in a rudimentary form.

Xia Qingyue had mobilized the most elite Formation Masters of Great Xia to build a floating city beneath the light gate. The city was not large, possessing only four high walls, with a massive gate erected in the center.

The emblems of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion and the Great Xia Dynasty were carved on the gate.

Gu Sheng stood atop the Star-Plucking Tower, looking at the toll station, and nodded with satisfaction.

The System spoke in his mind.

[Host. A disturbance has been detected in the Nine Heavens Immortal Domain of the Upper Realm. Taihao Immortal Emperor's life soul lamp has extinguished by half in the Hall of Eternal Light in the Immortal Domain; the Upper Realm already knows he has fallen.]

Gu Sheng waved his folding fan.

"Let them know. If they dare to send people down, it will just be the perfect opening for the toll station."

[The Grand Elder of the Nine Heavens Immortal Domain, a Half-step Immortal Venerable, is gathering manpower. It is expected that they will forcibly break open the Realm Passage in three months.]

Gu Sheng closed his folding fan and tapped the table.

"Three months. That's enough time."

He brought up the System mall panel.

12 million destiny points.

"System. Exchange me for an Emperor-level character card. I want one with a bad temper, the kind who would rather fight than talk nonsense."

[Deducting 10 million destiny points. Drawing Emperor-level character card...]

Light flickered.

A black and gold card landed in Gu Sheng's hand.

On the card was a one-armed old man wearing a tattered sheepskin coat, holding a rusty firewood axe.

[Character Card: Woodcutter. Cultivation: Peak Emperor. Innate Law: One Cut, Two Pieces.]

Gu Sheng looked at this card and laughed.

"Woodcutter. This name is quite down-to-earth."

He put the card into his storage ring.

If the people from the Upper Realm dared to come down, he would let them taste the flavor of a Lower Realm firewood axe.

Night fell.

The Zhou Tian Star Array of Heavenly Saint City lit up spontaneously. Three hundred and sixty-five main stars hung in the night sky, illuminating the entire city as bright as day.

Business at the exhibition hall continued.

Taihao Immortal Emperor was hung on a pillar, listening to the sound of Loose Cultivators counting Spirit Stones below, and shed tears of humiliation.

The chess game of the Great Era had completely escaped everyone's control.

Gu Sheng sat on the grand Revered Master's chair and closed his eyes.

This world now belonged to the Gu family.

Hundred Thousand Mountains, Baicao Valley.

The valley, which was once filled with the fragrance of herbs, was now permeated with a pungent, fishy stench. Black-purple vines, like tangled venomous snakes, were tightly coiled around the eye of the Spiritual Vein. The skin of the vines was covered in fine, dense barbs, constantly oozing viscous sap.

Su Qianxue stood outside the Formation, her green outfit covered in mud, sweat on her forehead.

Jian Wuji stood nearby, holding his precept-breaking blade, panting heavily, the blade edge full of chips. This old man, a dignified Half-step Quasi-Emperor, was actually helpless against a plant.

"This damn thing can't be cut, and the sap that flows out can even corrode Magical Artifacts." Jian Wuji spat on the ground. "Those beasts of the Yao Race, they smuggled contraband while delivering medicinal herbs."

A streak of light cut through the miasma in the sky.

Ji Ruxue landed in front of the herb field. Her plain white dress was immaculate, completely out of place with the surrounding mess.

Su Qianxue stepped forward and bowed.

Ji Ruxue didn't exchange pleasantries; her gaze passed over the crowd and landed on the poisonous vine. Her Divine Sense at the Middle Stage of the Dao Integration Realm swept over it, and the vine actually shrank back like a living creature, its barbs standing on end, emitting a "hissing" sound.

"Move aside." Ji Ruxue said.

She took the small jade bottle from her sleeve and pulled out the wooden stopper.

A drop of dark red true blood floated in mid-air. There was no earth-shattering pressure, only a pure, extreme instinct for devouring. The surrounding air instantly dropped to freezing point.

The true blood dripped down.

The moment it touched the poisonous vine, the originally arrogant vine twisted violently, emitting a sharp shriek similar to an infant crying. Dark red blood threads spread crazily along the veins of the vine. Wherever they passed, the black-purple poisonous sap was drained, and the vine withered and shattered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few breaths, the main root of the poisonous vine, which had been deeply rooted in the Spiritual Vein, was ripped out, sucked dry into a withered husk.

The true blood, having eaten its fill, grew a size larger and flew slowly back into the jade bottle.

The eye of the Spiritual Vein began to glow again, and the miasma in the valley began to dissipate.

Su Qianxue breathed a long sigh of relief and ordered her Disciples to clean up the mess.

"Revered Master said that, in the future, you should be more careful with things sent by the Yao Race." Ji Ruxue put away the jade bottle, her tone indifferent.

Su Qianxue nodded in agreement and handed over a Storage Pouch.

"A batch of supreme carefree pill just refined in the valley; please trouble yourself to pass it to the Pavilion Revered Master." Su Qianxue paused. "Also, please thank the Pavilion Revered Master on my behalf."

Ji Ruxue took the Storage Pouch and left as a streak of light.

Eastern Domain, Tianshui City.

In front of the Haiyue Inn, the ox cart landed heavily. Its four hooves were weak; this Southern Border Demon Emperor was lying directly on the bluestone slab, foaming at the mouth, without even the strength to moo.

Ye Yuan threw the reins and kicked open the inn door.

Chu Kuangren was directing the staff to move the spoils from the Dragon Clan treasury. Boxes of Top-Grade Spirit Stones, ten-thousand-year-old coral, and deep-sea cold iron were dazzling to the eyes. The Loose Cultivators on the entire street were hiding in the dark, peeking, and no one dared to make a sound.

The Old Beggar from the Lingxu Pavilion at the corner of the street held his broken bowl, watching this scene, and even forgot to drink his wine.

"Go, feed that ox some fodder, don't let it really die of exhaustion." Ye Yuan instructed the staff and turned to go upstairs.

East Sea, deep in the Return to Ruins.

Half of the Dragon Palace hall had collapsed. Ao Gu lay on the coral couch, his chest wrapped in thick bandages, breathing more than he was exhaling. Several surviving Dragon Clan Elders knelt below, trembling in fear.

Deep in the hall, inside an ancient well covered in verdigris, came a dull sound of flowing water.

"Useless trash."

The water rippled, and an ancient voice echoed in the Dragon Palace. There was no anger, but it pressed down on all the sea tribes so they couldn't breathe.

Ao Gu struggled to roll off the couch and kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic.

"Old Ancestor, please calm your anger! That Ye Yuan was too bullying, and there was also the Southern Border Demon Emperor causing trouble; we really couldn't stop them..."

"Ye Family, Heavenly Secrets Pavilion." The voice in the ancient well had no emotional fluctuations. "The Great Era has reopened, and you really think the East Sea has no one left? Go, break the Seal of the Ancestral Dragon Abyss by a crack."

Ao Gu's body trembled violently.

What was locked in the Ancestral Dragon Abyss was the evil Dragon that had been suppressed because it went mad during the ancient times. That thing recognized no kin; if it were really released, the Eastern Domain would likely be plunged into misery.

But he dared not disobey and could only kowtow to accept the order.

"Since they like to snatch, then let them see what a real Dragon is." The ancient well returned to deathly silence.