The Immortal Emperor I have always respected might actually be... a true master of disguise?

Hearing about it from his forefather genuinely made Wang Sheng feel shaken.

Chun Yangzi added a few lines of analysis and a few words of warning. By the time he finished, Wang Sheng felt unsteady, as if his Primordial Spirit would drift out of his body at any moment.

That finger, the one Master and I had examined so many times before, is actually part of His Imperial Majesty's remains? And Yaoyun has not sensed it at all? Wait, no, Yaoyun...

Wang Sheng glanced at a corner of his Qiankun Ring. Spiritless lay there, glowing faintly with immortal light, completely still. He checked Yaoyun's condition and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

She was currently cultivating, gathering spiritual power in preparation for battle. Ever since he became a Golden Immortal, she could no longer freely read his thoughts.

Wang Sheng quietly set up a soundproof barrier around Yaoyun, then continued listening to his forefather.

There was only one reason his forefather was telling him all this: to warn him to be cautious.

Right now, the immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court had gathered around him as the sacred spirit for one purpose: to restore the Heavenly Court.

No matter how much personal feeling was involved, what they truly valued was still his identity as the reincarnation of the sacred spirit, along with the Heavenly Court's heavenly fate that rested on him.

If he struggled through countless hardships, crushed the forces opposing the Heavenly Court, and led these immortals to rebuild their old faction, then Haotian would just have to come out of hiding and eliminate Wang Sheng. With a single call, he could take control of everything.

At that point, all of Wang Sheng's efforts would have been nothing more than a wedding dress made for someone else.

Even Earth's cultivators could end up becoming that ruler's subordinate. Wang Sheng's hope of preserving its independence through his influence among the Heavenly Court immortals would shatter completely.

"Even though it is not quite proper for a rogue immortal of the Heavenly Court to say this, someone as idle as me still finds some of His Imperial Majesty's actions hard to accept," Chun Yangzi said calmly. "Everyone in this world may trust him, but you cannot, Fei Yu. In your previous life, he already plotted against you. Now, you have to think carefully about the path ahead."

Wang Sheng fell into thought, then said softly, "Forefather, I suddenly thought of someone."

"Who?"

Wang Sheng made a gesture for silence and signaled Chun Yangzi to extend his hand. He then wrote two characters in his palm: Feng Jiu.

Puzzled, Chun Yangzi asked, "Who is that? I have never heard that name before."

He immediately began calculating with his fingers. The more he calculated, the deeper his frown became.

"The heavenly prophecies are being concealed?"

"I suddenly feel as if someone has arranged my current situation and every step I have taken," Wang Sheng said.

Chun Yangzi frowned. "What makes you say that? Do you think that person has planted someone among the Heavenly Court immortals around you?"

"No. Their methods are likely far more refined, like using a small force to move something great."

Wang Sheng grunted a few times.

Afterward, he said thoughtfully through voice transmission. "This person, the one whose name I just wrote, is in the Western Sky Region. I once heard Star Deity Wenqu mention that there is an Emperor Star in the Eastern Sky Region and a Star Deity in the Western Sky Region.

"That Star Deity is very likely Feng Jiu. This person once came to see me and said some... rather embarrassing things."

Chun Yangzi's eyes lit up. He whispered, "Did she want to share a fleeting romance with you?"

Wang Sheng was momentarily speechless.

Chun Yangzi coughed lightly. "Ahem, please go on."

He felt as though he hadn't just lost his dignity in front of Zhi Bing, but he had even become far too casual around his own disciple. He really should carry himself with a bit more authority.

"Forefather, you had just sent me back to the Eastern Sky Region at the time. I had just destroyed the Celestial Wind Sect when she came straight to me. Her appearance and her figure were very similar to the Queen Mother of the West and even told me that she had obtained the Queen Mother's permission to take on that form.

"After that, she acted very strangely. She said a lot of odd things to me, like... she only saw me as her opponent, that she was lonely, and that she wanted to contend with me across the Immortal Saint Realm."

Chun Yangzi sat up and crossed his arms. He hummed lowly as he pondered.

"She was always wearing gloves," added Wang Sheng.

Chun Yangzi inhaled sharply and put away the bronze box in his hand. "I did not expect the answer might actually lie with you."

"I am starting to think that the one who spread those rumors about heavenly prophecies was not some ancient, powerful being from the Primal Era, but this person making their move. If she really is that person..."

"That would be quite terrifying."

Wang Sheng smiled bitterly. "Forefather, I am starting to feel like withdrawing while I still can."

Chun Yangzi frowned. "It is not that simple. We will discuss this further in private. I can already sense Wang Shan's aura appearing outside this celestial body. Fei Yu, remember this. Do not trust anyone too easily. The only thing I can be certain of right now is that no matter what form that person takes, they only have nine fingers. One of them is in my possession."

Wang Sheng nodded. "Mm. Forefather, if we dig deeper into this, we might discover that this is more complicated than we imagine."

"It is not only more complicated than we think; it is also far harder to deal with." Chun Yangzi narrowed his eyes. "Do not rush. Let me think this through carefully. If even your plan to feign death falls within their calculations, then the only way to break free from this passive position may be to use a truly ruthless move."

Wang Sheng muttered, "Are you saying I should actually die once for this?"

"Would that not be the end of everything?"

Chun Yangzi could not help but curse under his breath. He then said, "Let me think. There is still some time. Stay close to me from here on. If we keep digging into this, we could end up tearing a hole in heaven."

Wang Sheng smiled calmly. The shock in his heart slowly faded, and he quickly regained his composure. Though all this felt very close to the truth, they were still only speculation.

Panic would not help at all. Though hehad not faced countless trials yet, he had enough experience to know better. He had to find a way to slip away and return quietly to the place he knew best.

Outside Earth, he could only truly trust a few people or things. It was not that spies surrounded him at every turn. However, if immortals of the Heavenly Court, such as Wang Shan, Xu Zhongliang, and Wu Tianshou, were forced to choose between him and Haotian, they would undoubtedly choose the latter.

Haotian would certainly have ways to explain things or arrange his schemes.

If Feng Jiu really is the Immortal Emperor in disguise, then all that talk about contending with me across the Immortal Saint Realm must likely have been nothing more than bait, meant to push me into building up a great force before stepping in to take it over.

The Time-Cycle Grand Array outside the Realm of Exiled Immortals, the Three Pure Ones effortlessly erasing the Immortal Emperor, the strange and elusive Feng Jiu, and the severed finger of the Immortal Emperor turning into a woman's finger...

If I can remove Feng Jiu's gloves or have her meet Forefather, the truth might come to light. After all, he is already deeply familiar with that finger. He will surely recognize her aura, subtle presence, and fluctuations. This world is truly dangerous. Without even noticing, I have already been plotted against down to the finest detail!

Hum—

A ripple then came from the depths of the starry sky. The surrounding starlight vanished at once. The celestial body, which had carried faint sounds just moments before, fell completely silent.

Wang Shan had already taken action to seal the space.

"Ling Sheng, you may begin," Wang Sheng said.

"Yes, Master," Ling Sheng replied softly.

She closed her eyes and focused. The seeds that she had already scattered began to take effect. All across the celestial body, fierce battle cries reverberated.

Outside the celestial body, people appeared out of thin air. Tens of thousands of celestial soldiers formed great formations and held the surrounding space.

This was no small challenge for Ling Sheng, yet she handled it with ease. In almost an instant, chaos spread everywhere. Cultivators below the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm fell into varying degrees of madness. The evil thoughts in their hearts swelled rapidly, and killing intent surged through them.

Just as the few powerful beings were about to search for the one causing trouble, Wu Tianshou, Xu Zhongliang, Zhi Bing, and dozens of Heavenly Court experts above the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm charged in.

Ling Sheng had already memorized their auras and Dao Rhythm. Hence, she did not attempt to affect them. She was not yet strong enough to control Taiyi Golden Immortals, but she could still disturb their state of mind.

Meanwhile, Wang Sheng and Chun Yangzi remained where they were, quietly discussing profound secrets of heaven and earth. Outside, the battle raged fiercely. With Ling Sheng's power unleashed, no matter how elite the enemy forces were, they could only turn on each other.

Once the battle stabilized, Wang Sheng found his moment to act.

Before this, they had held him back to avoid accidental injury.

In front of Chun Yangzi, Wang Sheng used the Divine-Possession Art. Five streaks of golden light descended from the sky and struck him. He then swiftly donned his golden battle armor and charged out.

Chun Yangzi did not join the fight. He just maintained the array while casually killing a few Taiyi Golden Immortals who tried to approach Ling Sheng.

As the forefather, the role of supporting Wang Sheng in critical moments fell to him.

Chun Yangzi sank into deeper thought as he watched Wang Sheng fighting through blood and chaos.

***

Four hours later, the ambush finally ended. They yielded astonishingly great results.

Ling Sheng alone proved equal to a million celestial soldiers. What had once sounded like an exaggeration had now become reality.

Of course, such results were only possible because the immortals of the Heavenly Court had pinned down most of the enemy's top experts. Ling Sheng's role was more like sweeping away large numbers of weaker troops.

Under normal circumstances, Grand Dao Golden Immortals would have already instantly eliminated a Ghost Heart Vine at her level. She wouldn't have even gotten the chance to act.

She was a true tool.

Or in other words, Ling Sheng was more like a treasure used for mass extermination.

Seated on a flood-dragon chariot, the exhausted Wang Sheng closed his eyes and rested. Beside him sat his forefather and Xu Zhongliang.

The two could speak freely since they were close. However, Chun Yangzi was clearly trying to draw information from Xu Zhongliang. Along the way, he brought up all kinds of topics.

When Chun Yangzi mentioned the Star Deity of the Western Sky Region, Xu Zhongliang did not hesitate. He simply shared the limited information he had.

Chun Yangzi sighed. "That person may become Fei Yu's greatest rival in the future."

Xu Zhongliang replied with a serious expression, "Indeed. I have a feeling that the force behind the Heaven-Scouring Grand Array is connected to them. That said, their faction is far too mysterious. Even I only have limited information on them."

Chun Yangzi nodded. He did not pursue the topic further.

A few exchanges of words, however, were not enough to uncover anything more.