Hall of Great Strength, Spirit Mountain Holy Land:
After the Three Lives Buddhas ended one session in the eighteen layers of hell, they all radiated surging demonic auras. Clearly, they had made great advances.
A monk stood in front of them, respectfully giving a report.
“Sect Master Heavenly Access went to Borderless Heavenly Capital, but Gu Hai forced him away?” the Future Buddha said in shock, feeling utter disbelief.
That monk nodded. “Yes, Lord Buddhas. The information from the zither puppet is accurate. Gu Hai used a Go Dao ritual array to manifest another Sect Master Heavenly Access. When the two Immortal Executioner Swords clashed, no victor emerged.”
“I see. You are dismissed,” the Past Buddha said.
That monk respectfully left the Hall of Great Strength.
The Three Lives Buddhas looked at each other in the Hall of Great Strength.
“We still underestimated Gu Hai,” the Present Buddha said coldly.
“The future? Is it the future Sect Master Heavenly Access?” The Future Buddha frowned.
The Present Buddha shook his head. “I’m not sure for now. However, this Gu Hai is becoming increasingly complicated. Hah! Perhaps he has some sort of limit, which forced him to come to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land to capture Sun Wukong. Perhaps he can bring over only one person at a time, so he had to send Sun Wukong back?”
“Oh?” The other two buddhas frowned.
If Gu Hai were here, he would be shocked at the Present Buddha’s insight. Previously, the Present Buddha figured out the immortal firmament with one glance. Now, the Present Buddha had guessed why he had to send Sun Wukong away from just a small hint.
“Kong Xuan alone already made Gu Hai very tricky to deal with. Now, there is a Sect Master Heavenly Access. This Gu Hai is very problematic!” The Future Buddha frowned.
“The Revival Convention is at hand. We can meet soon. How do you feel now? Do you want to go back into the eighteen layers of hell with me?” the Present Buddha asked.
“Yes, Lord Buddha. I will go,” the Past Buddha immediately answered.
“I’ll go too,” the Future Buddha said solemnly.
Although they felt frustrated and their characters had twisted somewhat, they had grown stronger. There might be a bloodbath at the Revival Convention, so they had to grow as strong as possible.
Divine Yan Hall, Divine Farmer City, Yan Heavenly Dynasty:
Jiang Lianshan and Jingwei listened to an official report about what happened in Borderless Heavenly Capital.
“Sect Master Heavenly Access got repelled?” Jingwei said, scowling.
“Yes, Princess!” that official said respectfully.
“You are dismissed!” Jiang Lianshan said indifferently.
“Yes!”
After that official left, Jingwei said with disbelief on her face, “Old fogey, is the Go Dao ritual array really that powerful? It can actually produce an identical Sect Master Heavenly Access?”
Jiang Lianshan shook his head. “We are now starting to believe that the Classic of Changes was not Long Zhanguo’s work.”
“The Classic of Changes?”
“That’s right. It looks like it is Gu Hai’s work. Hah! I truly underestimated him. He regularly brings me pleasant surprises. What a wildcard!” Jiang Lianshan narrowed his eyes.
“A wildcard?”
“To us, he is a wildcard. Perhaps he is also a wildcard to Old Mister Guan Qi, right? Humph!” Jiang Lianshan snorted coldly.
Borderless Heavenly Capital:
The officials waited outside respectfully as Gu Hai chatted with Sect Master Heavenly Access in the Soaring Palace Hall.
Far away, Prime Feng Yue and Ao Sheng naturally did not dare to cause any trouble. They quickly left with their subordinates.
Gu Hai chatted with Sect Master Heavenly Access for some time before coming out.
“Mo Yike!” Gu Hai called out.
“This official is present!”
“Sect Master Heavenly Access will stay at Three Pure Ones Hall in the imperial palace. You will be responsible for attending to Sect Master Heavenly Access. If he has any doubts, cooperate with him fully,” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” Mo Yike’s eyes lit up.
Mo Yike had long felt curious. It was great that Gu Hai handed this matter to him.
At the side, the Mosquito Daoist showed a strange expression, but he did not dare to say anything.
However, Kong Xuan watched curiously as Mo Yike led Sect Master Heavenly Master away. He had thought he was the strongest person in the Han Imperial Dynasty. Unexpectedly, a Sect Master Heavenly Access suddenly appeared.
Kong Xuan now showed a complicated expression as he looked at Gu Hai.
“Shangguan Hen! Ao Shun!” Gu Hai called out.
“Present!” the two answered.
“Shangguan Hen, Sect Master Heavenly Access participated in the creation of the Eight Nines Profound Technique. Ao Shun, Sect Master Heavenly Access is an experienced teacher and is incredibly good with the cultivation techniques of animal spirits. He definitely knows about the cultivation of your dragon race. We have already discussed it with Sect Master Heavenly Access. If either of you have any questions, you can ask him for advice,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” the two said, their eyes lighting up.
“Gao Xianzhi!” Gu Hai called out.
“This official is present!”
“Countless buildings in the city crumbled in the earlier chaos. There must be casualties among the citizens. Immediately bring some men to treat them and deal with any hidden danger. All officials are to cooperate,” Gu Hai instructed.
“This official obeys!” the officials answered.
All the officials started moving quickly under Gu Hai’s command.
“Chen Tianshan, bring Kong Xuan around to familiarize him with Borderless Heavenly Capital. Also, bring him to the official residence of the fifth zone. That is the area prepared for the Fifth Corps commander,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” Chen Tianshan answered.
In the blink of an eye, all the officials in the Soaring Palace Hall had left.
Gu Hai raised his head to look at the four cloud beasts.
Zhang Sanfeng, Dugu Qiubai, Ximen Chuixue, and Dongfang Bubai looked at Gu Hai. Anticipation flashed in their eyes.
“The four of you, there will be some pain when I lay the ritual array later. Do endure it,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“Imperial Emperor Gu, do what you have to do. What is a bit of pain?” Zhang Sanfeng immediately said with a carefree smile.
“Alright!” Gu Hai nodded.
Gu Hai extended his arm, and the Life Trapper Saber spun in his hand.
The ritual array above Borderless Heavenly Capital started rotating. Gu Hai used the Life Trapper Saber to lay a Go Dao ritual array—the Thirty-Three Line-Pair World Ritual Array.
Rumble…!
The ritual array rotated, drawing in boundless Spiritual Energy from the surroundings. Rainbow light soared into the sky from the floating island, showing boundless auspicious signs.
The ritual array changed, and the four cloud beasts’ bodies started twisting.
“Argh!” Dongfang Bubai suddenly cried out in pain.
It felt like his whole body was being shredded. However, right after that scream, he tightly gritted his teeth, showing a determined expression.
The other three were in similar states.
Thirty minutes passed before everything calmed down. However, sweat covered the four’s heads. They appeared enfeebled.
“There is some pain involved in cutting you off from the ritual array. However, it has already ended. Come with us,” Gu Hai said seriously.
The four looked at Gu Hai as they limped off the ritual array.
“We are free?” Joy suddenly flashed on Zhang Sanfeng’s face.
“However, my body is very weak. Furthermore, when we left the ritual array, our bodies started slowly scattering,” Dongfang Bubai said worriedly.
The four followed Gu Hai into the Soaring Palace Hall despite the incredible pain.
Creak!
The doors of the palace hall closed.
Gu Hai placed four tubs before him, filling them with Mending Heaven Energy.
“I will use my flesh to make bodies for you. Enter the tubs,” Gu Hai said.
The four exchanged looks before stepping into the tubs.
Then, Gu Hai tore off four small chunks of flesh from his body and fused them into the four’s illusory bodies.
Buzz!
Mending Heaven Energy immediately surged. Using the four pieces of flesh as the base, it created meridians, bones, blood, flesh, and skin—bodies formed with the four’s images as frameworks.
“Argh!” the four again shouted in pain.
However, they felt incredibly excited.
Bodies! We are growing bodies!
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
The flesh continued growing. The four slowly gained bodies in their appearances.
An entire day passed.
Buzz!
All the Mending Heaven Energy was exhausted. However, the four also had complete bodies.
Gu Hai tossed over four sets of clothing, and the four quickly dressed themselves.
“We lost our cultivations?” Dugu Qiubai said with a frown.
“So what if we lost our cultivations? We are true people now. If our cultivations are gone, we just need to recultivate.” Zhang Sanfeng smiled.
“Our bodies have Imperial Emperor Gu’s flesh as the foundation. It is very tough!” Satisfaction flashed in Dongfang Bubai’s eyes.
“For me, as long as my heart for the sword does not change, cultivation does not matter to me,” Ximen Chuixue said confidently.
“Many thanks, Imperial Emperor Gu!” The four bowed to Gu Hai.
“I desire to form four foreign affairs departments. I wonder if you four are willing to join my Han Nation?” Gu Hai asked gravely.
“Foreign affairs department? Is it like the Qian Heavenly Dynasty’s Elite Hall and Divine Strategy Battalion?” Dongfang Bubai asked.
“Yes. You will not be restricted by the dynasty’s politics and imperial court, just responsible for some of my personal matters.” Gu Hai nodded.
“Imperial Emperor Gu created the four of us. We even gained our bodies from Imperial Emperor Gu. How can we refuse? Wudang Mountain’s Zhang Sanfeng salutes Your Reverence!” Zhang Sanfeng said gravely.
“Black Wood Cliff’s Dongfang Bubai salutes Your Reverence!”
“Myriad Plum Mountain Manor’s Ximen Chuixue salutes Your Reverence!”
“Buried Sword Valley’s Dugu Qiubai salutes Your Reverence!”
The four bowed.
“The four of you have lost your cultivations. We have a place where you can quickly recover your cultivations,” Gu Hai said.
“Oh?” The four felt slightly startled.
Gu Hai waved and vanished from the palace hall with the four, entering the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.
After Gu Hai laid a Thirty-Three Line-Pair World Ritual Array in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, the Divine Continent’s Spiritual Energy continuously poured in.
The time in the immortal firmament did not match the outside world; thus, civilization had already appeared in the immortal firmament. As Gu Hai had left countless cultivation techniques there, there were already some sects.
“This is an immortal firmament?” Dongfang Bubai’s expression suddenly changed.
“Yes. We left countless cultivation techniques in this world. You may wander this world freely, even establish your own sects. The time here does not match with that of the Divine Continent. One day outside is ten years here,” Gu Hai explained.
“Oh?” The four felt slightly startled.
“I hope that while you recover your cultivations here, you can guide the people of this immortal firmament and help the immortal firmament flourish,” Gu Hai said.
“Your Reverence, rest assured. I will establish the Wudang Sect!”
“I will establish the Sun and Moon Cult!”
“I will establish the Sword God Palace!”
“I will establish the Sword Demon Hall!”
The four immediately announced their plans.
“I will leave this matter to you four, then. Here are four medallions. If there is something urgent or you want to come out, you just need to crush it, and we will know.” Gu Hai gave each of them a jade pendant.
The four carefully put the jade pendants away and nodded.
Then, Gu Hai gave the four a storage ring each, containing many resources, weapons, and enchanted treasures.
After Gu Hai sent the four into the immortal firmament’s land, he stood in the sky and observed for a while before vanishing, returning to the Soaring Palace Hall.
