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Chapter 625: Eroded Reason
🕑 Added 2025-08-13 13:00:16 +0000 UTCTianyi arrived in front of the Immortal Palace. As for Vice-Minister Silkrain, Tianyi threw him to the back of his mind after teleporting him back to Nine Heavens Palace. Compared to before, it had a different look, and even a plaque had appeared above the entrance.
Eminence Heaven Palace.
More importantly, the starry curtain had disappeared. Because of this, he could feel a divine aura rolling out from the wall-less palace. He wasn’t the only one attracted to this change. The first person to appear, other than him, was the Concealed Emperor.
Tianyi’s expression darkened. He really didn’t want to see this guy. Unfortunately, he could not enter just yet. The changes occurring inside the Eminence Heaven Palace had not ended quite yet. He could barge in, but the Concealed Emperor would stop him. It was undoubtedly why he appeared.
As more and more divine aura drifted out of Eminence Heaven Palace, more and more people noticed and arrived. Of course, all those who arrived were part of the high echelons, like Grand Elder Xia, North Divine Emperor Everpast, Immortal Minister of Justice Eternal Night, and the like.
Finally, the divine aura burst like a bubble, and Tianyi’s figure vanished. Even Divine Emperor Everpast had not noticed immediately. It wasn’t until the Concealed Emperor’s figure disappeared that everyone reacted.
However, none of them showed any intention of entering. When Tianyi confronted the Concealed Emperor, only Grand Elder Xia and a few others here had been present. They had all heard of how Grand Elder Nine Heavens and the Concealed Emperor had almost come to blows.
The most worried one present was Grand Elder Xia. He was the one who had the most contact with Tianyi. It could be said that Tianyi grew up under his eyes, in a way. The same could be said for Xi Mengfei. Even during the penultimate Divine Beast-Human War, he was still the sect master. And he could still remember when Mengfei’s mother introduced her to him.
“Do you think the Heavenly Empress is fine?” Minister Eternal Night asked.
The other immortals stared at him. Some had contemplative expressions, while others frowned. All the immortals hoped that the Heavenly Empress would not have an accident, but the one who wanted her to be fine the most was the Minister of Justice. After all, if Tianyi caused trouble, it was the Ministry of Justice’s duty to capture him and punish him—but could they really do so?
Tianyi controlled the cross-universe teleportation portals. Without them, the Heavenly Immortal Court’s status among the myriad pantheons would sink to the bottom. No, it would be worse. After all, they had promised benefits and couldn’t keep them, only allowing others to taste the sweetness for a short time. They would definitely demand compensation from the Heavenly Immortal Court—not to mention that they would covet Tianyi. It was not impossible for Tianyi to join another pantheon, and that would be a real loss.
Even if Tianyi didn’t join the other pantheons, he still controlled the Xiyinet. After many years, it had become integral to the Heavenly Immortal Court and the entire Primordial Realm. It had become the core of the Heavenly Immortal Court’s intelligence network, and Cultivation Online was an important resource to train new immortals. Many things the Heavenly Immortal Court could not practice in reality were possible in Cultivation Online.
“She should be,” an immortal emperor said tentatively. “What happened at the ascension ceremony was just that—an accident. After all, the Heaven Seal is incomplete, so it’s only natural.”
Another immortal emperor agreed. He even joked, “Yes, Grand Elder Nine Heavens was simply too anxious. I’m sure after this is over, he will be filled with regret.”
Many of these immortal emperors were those unsealed and given new leases on life during the Immortal Minister Conferment Ceremony. The rest were those who were already true immortals or immortal monarchs before Tianyi was even born. Although they did not watch Tianyi and Mengfei grow up like Grand Elder Xia, they could still be said to be witnesses to the two legends.
For these immortals who had lived hundreds of thousands of years, Tianyi and Mengfei’s rise was too sudden. Before they even learned about their juniors, their juniors became their seniors. Power was respected in this world, so these immortal emperors only had awe toward Tianyi and Mengfei. Even their jokes were carefully spoken.
“What if something went wrong?” a pessimistic immortal asked.
Silence answered him. That was an outcome none of them wanted to think about. Some of them knew Tianyi’s trump cards, but none of them knew the extent of Tianyi’s power. Simultaneously, they did not think Tianyi, as powerful as he was, could defeat a divinity like the Concealed Emperor.
No one answered. One by one, all the immortals present stared at Eminence Heaven Palace.
***
Tianyi stood at the foot of the dais, staring at the figure on the throne. She was leaning on the nine-dragon throne with her eyes closed, as if resting. However, it emitted an oppressive aura more powerful than any divinity he had seen. Even when the Concealed Emperor and Perfected Huanglong’s auras clashed, he did not feel such pressure.
Suddenly, the woman’s eyelashes flickered. She opened her eyes, revealing a majestic purple. Mortals who stared into her eyes would have their souls flattened and destroyed by the pressure. Even true immortals would become numb and mindless if they stared directly into her eyes. Only immortal monarchs had a chance to resist, but only momentarily.
Even Tianyi felt his mind impacted. Had his consciousness not been an entire universe, it would have taken him a few seconds to break out of the trance and not the microseconds it took. “Mother?”
The figure on the throne did not answer, but she did look at him. Tianyi felt his heart stop. He could not see any familiarity on her face. It was as if she was looking at a stranger, or worse.
“D-did an accident happen? I really wanted to experience the feeling of becoming a divine emperor. How about giving the title right now?” Tianyi asked in a joking tone, but anyone could hear the pleading in it.
The woman on the throne opened her mouth. Cold and emotionless words left it. “I will not confer you the position of divine emperor.”
Tianyi heard something crack, but he wasn’t quite sure what it was. He forced a chuckle. “Okay, then how about becoming the next master of the Heaven Seal? Becoming the Heavenly Emperor sounds really awesome.”
“You ca—” the woman on the throne spoke. It was almost too swift, but just like during the Heavenly Empress Ascension Ceremony, she halted her words. Her figure remained frozen, as if someone pressed the pause button on the remote. “You must never become the Heavenly Emperor!”
Tianyi's eyes widened upon hearing the outburst. For the first time since he met her, emotion appeared in her voice. “Mother?”
There was no response, and the figure on the throne sat straight like a sculpture. Tianyi did not give up. “Mother? Mother!?”
Tianyi wanted to run up the steps of the dais and grab her. His movements did not alarm the woman on the throne. She just sat there, motionless. His hand had already reached out, but something grabbed his shoulder, bringing his step to a halt.
He looked back to see the Concealed Emperor’s hand on his shoulder. Anger instantly ignited in Tianyi’s chest. “Didn’t you promise me that nothing would happen to Mother? You call this nothing?!”
For once, the Concealed Emperor did not speak back, but his grip on Tianyi did not lighten. Rather, it tightened, but Tianyi didn’t care. He was waiting for the Concealed Emperor’s answer.
If the Concealed Emperor said that his oath was valid because the exact wording was “the Heavenly Empress will be unharmed,” Mengfei was indeed unharmed physically, but mentally? This was valid in the wording, but not the spirit. Tianyi would directly erupt, regardless of the consequences.
As a divinity from the primordial era, the Concealed Emperor would not be so shameless. “It was my mistake.”
Openly admitting it did not ease Tianyi’s frustration. “I don’t want to hear this. I want a solution.”
Tianyi removed his hand from his shoulder and walked toward the woman on the throne. The Concealed Emperor did not stop him upon seeing his rationality.
He stood in front of the throne, looking at his mother’s body. He couldn’t lie to himself anymore. “That’s not my mother. This is a machine. Spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao? This is a puppet!”
Tianyi’s words weren’t an exaggeration. As someone familiar with the Heavenly Dao, a repeat receiver of the tribulation lightning bolts and heavenly punishment, Tianyi could feel the abundant Heavenly Dao quintessence emanating from his mother’s body.
“In the primordial era, Di Jun refined the Heaven Seal. Although he was influenced by the Heavenly Dao, he still had his own thoughts. As the spokesperson, he had masterful control over the Pangu System and was almost invincible. Even the Three Pure Ones had to avoid his edge. Later, his actions contradicted the Heavenly Dao’s will. Otherwise, he would have executed his tenth son,” the Concealed Emperor said.
The Concealed Emperor originally only thought that the Demon Heavenly Emperor lost the mandate of heaven thanks to his son. Because of the heavy Karmic Sins, he was killed by the world. Thinking back, Di Jun might have been influenced by the Heavenly Dao to take self-destructive tendencies.
If that was the case, and the Heavenly Dao could control the Heavenly Ruler, then it would have been a major mistake to appoint a new one. After all, he could feel the Heavenly Dao’s resistance to the Buzhuo Immortal Court back then, preventing them from obtaining the hegemony of the Huang Realm. Only after the Eight Pillar Sect fell did this invisible restriction from the Heavenly Dao seem to disappear.
Of course, this was all his conjecture.
“Perhaps the reason Di Jun was able to remain clear-minded was because he was already a powerful divinity then, and Sovereign Xi had not even reached the Divine Realm yet. Once her power improves, it’s not impossible to expel the Heavenly Dao’s influence,” the Concealed Emperor said after a moment of hesitation.
Tianyi just glanced at him. After a long moment of silence, he spoke. “You’re not going to ask me to bank on my mother’s recovery on some slim hope, right? Mother became a divinity thanks to refining the Heaven Seal. Her power is linked to her mastery—or rather, its control over her. She might have had a chance if she was a divinity, but now it’s too late. She was already affected even before becoming the Heavenly Empress!”
He glared at the figure on the throne, eyes filled with frustration and pain. His mother’s visage had never felt so foreign, so alien to him.
“I’ll try my best to remove the Heavenly Dao’s influence with Perfected Huanglong and Junior Brother Jiang.”
It can be said that the Concealed Emperor lowered his posture to the extreme. If the people outside saw it, their eyes would have popped out. He felt nothing. Or rather, he was more concerned about Tianyi. Although the latter’s state seemed stable, he knew that it was able to erupt at any time.
“Try your best? Your promise means nothing! Your oath is worthless, and your words are worth shit!” Tianyi glared at the Concealed Emperor. “You’re just a loser from the primordial era. Even Perfected Huanglong is better than you, who lost your main body. Why didn’t you refine the Heaven Seal, you damn clone!”
“Useless, useless!” Tianyi continued. “Not just you, but Perfected Huanglong and that Jiang Ziya are the same! All of you are a worthless bunch who can’t support anything!”
Tianyi attacked. He grabbed the Concealed Emperor and pushed him. The latter did not resist and allowed Tianyi to push him into a portal leading to the Vast Void that opened behind him.
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