“Lu Jin! Surrender the Bead of Heaven and your lowly life. If you do, I may consider allowing you to reincarnate.”
Overseer Cui’s voice rang across the battlefield, each word infused with the power of Laws, attempting to bend Lu Jin’s will.
Lu Jin merely scoffed. His gaze swept over the Immortals of the Heavenly Court before settling on Xi Li.
“Sect Master, I am grateful for your protection. Thank you for holding them back until now. Allow me to deal with these ants.”
He cupped his fists respectfully toward Xi Li.
Xi Li met his gaze and gave a slight nod.
“At least he is better than the chosen ones I’ve faced before,” Xi Li muttered under his breath. Yet inwardly, he knew matters involving the Chosen were never simple.
The Immortals of the Heavenly Court snickered at Chief Commander Cui.
“Y–You impudent brat! You overestimate yourself!” Overseer Cui roared.
Immortal Qi surged violently. Laws revolved, manifesting the towering vision of the Fiftieth Heavenly Emperor. The illusory emperor raised a radiant spear and hurled it toward Lu Jin.
The spear thundered forward, golden light spiraling around its tip.
Xi Li saw it clearly--yet chose not to move.
Lu Jin had claimed he would handle it.
And Xi Li understood that his own role in this grand play was nearing its end.
If he followed the script, he would have to intercept a blow later on, suffer a life-threatening wound, and Lu Jin would unleash some heaven-shattering technique to turn the tide.
BOOM!
The spear struck its target. A massive cloud of dust and debris erupted, Lu Jin at its center.
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The forces of the Central Continent stared at the rising mushroom cloud with bitter expressions. If the traitor had truly fallen, then the Heaven Defying Sect would survive—and they would have to endure the wrath of the madmen of the Heaven Deying Sect.
The dust slowly dispersed.
Lu Jin stood untouched.
His robes fluttered gently. Not even a speck of dust clung to him.
Before him hovered a fist-sized bead, shimmering in shifting hues—red, blue, brown, gold, purple, and white. Each color represented an element of the universe.
A collective gasp echoed through the Heavenly Court’s Immortals.
“The Bead of Heaven…” Overseer Cui’s lips trembled with excitement. His breathing grew heavy as he stared at the treasure.
“Yes. The Bead of Heaven.” Lu Jin smiled coldly. “If you want it… come and take it.”
The bead began spinning, each rotation faster than the last.
“W–What? You can control it?” Overseer Cui stammered, shock widening his eyes.
Lu Jin gave no reply.
The bead whirled violently, drawing Immortal Qi from the world into itself.
The world cried.
The Immortal Qi that had flooded the realm through the connection to the Immortal Realm was rapidly absorbed.
But it was not enough.
The bead swelled in size, growing to that of a human head. Its rotation blurred into a vortex of light.
Then—
It turned its attention upward.
Toward the Immortal Realm itself.
“Tear!”
The crack in the sky widened as Immortal Qi poured out endlessly, only to be devoured by the spinning bead.
“Do something! If this continues, the loss of Immortal Qi will be catastrophic. The Heavenly Court could lose its standing among the supreme forces of the universe!” one Immortal shouted.
“We must stop this before the Heavenly Emperor notices. Otherwise, we are finished!” another added, trembling.
The Immortals acted at once.
Seals. Blades. Arrows. Divine visions.
Golden seals blazed like suns.
Arrows the size of mountains pierced through space itself.
Blades sharp enough to sever the void descended.
Ancient beasts materialized.
Statues of Great Immortals awakened.
The heavens split. The earth trembled.
Lu Jin’s expression hardened.
If he defended himself, the Bead of Heaven would fail to complete its absorption.
If he ignored the attacks, he would suffer grievous injuries—perhaps requiring thousands of years within the bead to recover.
“Sect Master! Assist me!”
For a fleeting moment, hesitation flickered in his eyes before turning cold.
“If the absorption is interrupted, we will all perish!” He lied through his teeth.
The Immortals noticed the silent Xi Li.
They exchanged glances.
Overseer Cui stepped forward.
“Fellow Daoist,” he said smoothly, “if you refrain from interfering, I shall report your merits to the Heavenly Emperor. When you ascend, you will receive an official position—no lower than Fourth Grade.”
His words dripped with honeyed poison.
“Think carefully. If he truly valued you and your sect, he would have sheltered all of you within the bead long ago.”
Xi Li regarded both sides.
Lu Jin—the supposed embodiment of righteousness, yet always concealing secrets. Even when the sect teetered on annihilation, he had not appeared.
The Heavenly Court—those who sought to destroy his sect, who had plunged the entire continent into war for their own ambitions.
The offer was sweet.
And utterly false.
If he sided with them, he would merely become their scapegoat.
‘Jiu Xian… do you wish to know how I have always prevailed against the Chosen… against Heaven itself?’
His eyes gleamed.
A wild smile spread across his face.
“HAHAHAHA!”
His laughter rolled across the continent like thunder.
“Then it is time… to defy the Heavens.”
He clapped his palms together.
The sky darkened instantly.
Thunder roared.
Lightning writhed within the clouds.
Below, countless cultivators trembled.
‘Heaven loves order,’ Xi Li said to Jiu Xian.
‘What we bring… is chaos.’
‘I have observed the Chosen my entire life. Madness—there is no better word.’
‘So, Jiu Xian… embrace the madness within you. It is the one force beyond logic. Beyond calculation.’
