Zhen Xueren only smiled in response to Li Ling’s arrogant laughter like he had already claimed her and slowed down, descending toward the center of the Divine Deva Plane.

There, standing apart from the countless city-state courtyards of the True Inheritors, was the Ancestral Hall of the Six Paths Demon Sect!

Calling it a hall was truly understating it, because it was less a hall and more a palace complex.

The structure stood at the heart of the golden-white landmass, built upon a circular foundation that looked like a gigantic wheel embedded into the plane. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Six broad avenues stretched out from this foundation like spokes, each one pointing toward the direction of one of the six floating planes in the distance.

Each avenue carried a different motif.

The avenue of the Divine Deva Path was paved with white-gold stone that radiated soft heavenly light, with winged statues standing on either side, their hands clasped in prayer while their eyes contained the arrogance of beings who looked down on mortal dust.

The avenue of the Asura Blood Path was made of dark red crystal that seemed to have veins flowing within it, pulsing faintly like a living artery. On its sides stood statues of muscular warriors with six arms, wrathful faces, and weapons raised toward the sky.

The avenue of the Wild Beast Path resembled a road grown from ancient roots and polished bone, with carved beasts of every shape lining its edges, some majestic, some savage, some beautiful, and some so malformed that it was hard to tell whether they were animals or nightmares.

The avenue of the True Human Path was the strangest, being composed of three parallel strips of different material, one cold and white like frost jade, one dark and smooth like polished obsidian, and one red-black like hardened volcanic glass. Along it stood statues of humans in different attires, some scholarly, some warrior-like, some priestly, some kingly, as if proclaiming that humanity was not one thing but all things.

The avenue of the Hungry Ghost Path was formed from pale stone that gave off a gloomy mist, with lanterns burning with ghostly blue flames. The statues there were thin, hungry, beautiful, ugly, skeletal, bloated, smiling, crying, and reaching outward, as if begging the living to come closer.

The avenue of the Desolate Hell Path was almost invisible beneath a layer of shadow, the stone dark and matte like it had swallowed all light. Its statues were not fixed in obvious shapes, instead appearing like hooded figures, judges, executioners, prisoners, and monsters depending on the angle from which one looked.

Six paths, six directions, six philosophies, and six ways to turn the world into power.

Above the grand palace complex hovered a gigantic circular sigil in the sky that slowly rotated.

It was made up of six symbols, each corresponding to one of the paths, arranged like a wheel of samsara.

Yet unlike the Buddhist symbol Li Ling vaguely remembered from Earth, this one did not convey compassion, liberation, or enlightenment, but gave the feeling of malevolent ownership.

It was as if the Six Paths Demon Sect had looked at the cycle of reincarnation, sneered at the heavens, and declared that even samsara itself should bow to the sect.

The main Ancestral Hall rose from the center of the circular foundation, its architecture primarily following the golden-white baroque style of the Divine Deva Plane, but corrupted or enriched depending on one’s perspective by the motifs of the other five paths.

Its pillars were white and gold, but red veins pulsed within them like blood.

Its arches were holy and majestic, but ghostly faces could be seen carved into the underside if one looked carefully.

Its roof was grand and layered, but beast claws curved outward from the eaves.

Its doors were shaped like heavenly gates, but at the center of each gate was a black wheel with six spokes, each spoke formed from a different material: bone, blood crystal, gold jade, shadow stone, wood root, and human-shaped bronze.

Even Li Ling, who had seen many impressive things by now, had to admit that this was grand.

It had the kind of presence that told everyone who entered that they were stepping into a place where cultivators who stood at the peak of Firmament Heaven came to decide the fate of trillions of living beings.

Zhen Xueren landed before the enormous doors, while Li Ling stepped off Asura Reaper and caught the spear as it shrank slightly, then entered his hand.

There were no guards at the entrance.

Or rather, there was no need for guards.

Li Ling could feel at least six different formations locking onto him the moment he approached, each one carrying a different flavor corresponding to the six paths.

Divine light judged his bearing, blood light inspected his killing aura, beastly intent sourced out his bloodline, human will evaluated his humanity, ghostly yin surged around his spirit, and desolate karmic power seemed to weigh the invisible threads connected to his existence.

Naturally, all of them only touched lightly before retreating.

Whether it was because of Ming Yue’s summons, his new status, or because the formations themselves knew better, Li Ling did not know.

But the fact that they retreated instead of trying to dig deeper already made him feel slightly satisfied.

Zhen Xueren walked forward and pressed her palm against the center of the six-spoked wheel on the door.

The entire gate lit up.

THRUMMMM!

With a deep and heavy sound, the doors opened inward, revealing an interior that was even more imposing than the outside.

The first thing Li Ling saw was space, an absurd amount of space.

The interior of the Ancestral Hall was like a grand auditorium built for gods, demons, and emperors to sit together and decide the fate of worlds.

The ceiling was so high that clouds had formed beneath it, and those clouds were not decorative, but contained actual condensed spiritual energy arranged into shifting images of the Six Paths.

Sometimes, one would see celestial palaces.

Sometimes, rivers of blood.

Sometimes, ancient forests filled with giant beasts.

Sometimes, mortal cities rising and collapsing.

Sometimes, ghostly underworlds.

Sometimes, shadowy courts where faceless judges weighed souls.

The floor was circular, made from a single vast slab of polished black-white stone, with six colored pathways extending from the entrance toward six great seating sections arranged in a ring, each path with its own side.

The Divine Deva section shone with golden-white radiance.

The Asura Blood section pulsed with scarlet killing intent.

The Wild Beast section radiated savage vitality.

The True Human section had a solemn and structured aura, like the throne hall of an empire.

The Hungry Ghost section was dim and filled with cold yin mist.

The Desolate Hell section seemed half-hidden behind a veil of darkness, making it difficult for the eye to settle upon it.

Each path’s seating area was arranged in ascending tiers.

At the lower high tier were six seats for the True Inheritors of that path, each belonging to a seventh-realm powerhouse.

Above them, on a higher tier, were six grander seats for the Grand Elders of that path, each one belonging to an eighth-realm existence.

Six True Inheritors per path.

Six Grand Elders per path.

Twelve representatives of each path at the highest mortal levels visible in the sect’s structure, making seventy-two seats arranged around the hall like the court of a demonic heaven.

And at the very center, above all six sections, stood a single throne.

It did not belong to any one path, yet it contained all six.

The throne floated slightly above the circular floor, suspended atop a black-gold platform shaped like the hub of a wheel.

Behind it rotated a vast illusory wheel of six colors, each color flowing into the next without fully merging, forming an eternal cycle of dominance.

Sitting upon that throne was Sect Master Ming Yue.

Even without pressure, even without light, even without a single word, the entire hall seemed to exist around him.

The True Inheritors sat because he allowed them to sit.

The Grand Elders watched because he allowed them to watch.

The six paths rotated because he sat at the center.

Zhen Xueren stopped at the threshold of the grand auditorium and turned slightly toward Li Ling, her earlier teasing gone, replaced by the solemnity appropriate for the occasion.

"Junior Brother Li, from this point on, step carefully."

Li Ling looked across the hall, his dark blue eyes reflecting the six-colored wheel behind Ming Yue’s throne.

Then he smiled. "Step carefully, huh?"

His fingers lightly tapped Asura Reaper as his grin became wider.

"Sister Zhen, I have never been good at that."

Zhen Xueren’s lips twitched, but she said nothing more.

Under the gazes of the True Inheritors, Grand Elders, and the Sect Master himself, Li Ling stepped into the Ancestral Hall of the Six Paths Demon Sect.