The victor will control the sect for a thousand years, using the sect’s fortunes to refine oneself in the pursuit of the path of a Human Immortal.
The vanquished shall seek the Tao across all realms, and should enlightenment be attained one day, they too may ascend to the Upper World.
This should have been a path of proving the Tao readily accessible to Saintess Qing Yu, but several years ago, a sudden decree from the upper realm Patriarch announced that a great calamity was predicted to befall the Primal Chaos Realm.
Those sect geniuses who had not reached the Void Refining Stage needed to self-seal for ten thousand years to seek a sliver of survival for the Tao Orthodoxy.
This decree immediately drew the attention of the Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens, and various Supreme Elders discussed the upper realm Patriarch’s decree with some hesitation regarding the decision made by the Patriarch.
However, another piece of news swiftly spread through the upper echelons of the Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens: all other Grotto Heavens Sacred Lands had received similar decrees, demanding the sealing of their sect geniuses to endure ten thousand years of calamity.
After confirming the authenticity of this news, the Supreme Elders of the sect’s higher echelons no longer hesitated, promptly gathering the sect’s outstanding disciples to return to the grotto heavens and prepare for self-sealing.
Saintess Qing Yu, who was originally in other major regions for trials, had no choice but to return to the sect.
For Qing Yu, with such vast prospects, to self-seal for ten thousand years because of an uncertain prophecy from the Patriarch was akin to severing her own foundation—an utter waste of the most precious cultivation time.
Moreover, ten thousand years was an exceedingly long time, and no one could be sure if problems might arise; Qing Yu and the other sect geniuses were completely unwilling.
But when the sect’s Supreme Elders decreed the order, Qing Yu, despite feeling full of resentment, could only comply.
The Imperial Carriage slowly approached the Void Channel, but in Qing Yu’s eyes, the massive Void Channel was no different than a prison.
A moment of distraction crossed her beautiful face, then a respectful voice from outside the carriage interrupted Qing Yu’s retrospection.
"Junior Sister Qing Yu, I respectfully welcome you back to the sect."
Qing Yu glanced at a disciple outside the carriage, wearing a scarlet-green Taoist robe, and responded with a chilly voice:
"So it is Junior Brother Yu on duty at the Void Channel today."
Junior Brother Yu chuckled and said, "As we approach the opening of the sect’s secret realm, my contributions to the sect are insufficient, so I can only take on such arduous tasks to earn some sect contributions.
Since it is Senior Sister Qing Yu returning to the sect, of course, no inspection is needed, just a simple registration will do. "
Qing Yu nodded and said, " Alright! "
"May I ask, Senior Sister Qing Yu, are there two people entering the grotto heavens in the carriage?"
"Two people?" Hearing this, Qing Yu was instinctively taken aback and looking around, she was shocked to find that at some point, a man had appeared within the carriage.
Her pupils suddenly contracted as Qing Yu recognized the identity of the person in front of her.
"Falling Clouds Tao..."
Before she finished speaking, Qing Yu saw Shen Yuan extend his right hand, his index finger softly pressed to his lips.
"Silence!"
In the next moment, the space inside the carriage was completely sealed, as if time itself had been slowed down countless times, leaving everything around in utter silence.
In this slowed world, only Shen Yuan spoke with a smile:
"I merely wished to borrow Saintess Qing Yu’s carriage to enter the grotto heavens, Saintess Qing Yu need not panic."
For some reason, Qing Yu felt as though Shen Yuan’s will could alter Heaven and Earth, twisting the world itself.
Though her Spiritual Platform remained clear and bright, under the envelopment of Shen Yuan’s will, Qing Yu’s body was completely outside her control, as her lips parted and a chilly voice emanated from them.
"Yes!"
Her voice was cold, no different from usual.
Junior Brother Yu had initially planned to inquire further about the second person inside the carriage, yet that icy voice made him shiver unconsciously, and he quickly discarded the thought.
It was merely a formality after all; there was absolutely no need for further questions.
Gesturing to let them pass, Junior Brother Yu respectfully said, "I bid Senior Sister Qing Yu farewell."
The carriage slowly moved forward, crossing the Void Channel.
Accompanied by a shift in space, Shen Yuan successfully entered the Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens.
As the carriage moved away from the entrance, Qing Yu felt the will that had taken over her gradually recede, and she regained control over herself.
Qing Yu, however, did not choose to flee or to trigger the sect’s decree.
Even though she had been in the carriage with Shen Yuan for only a brief moment, Qing Yu could clearly sense that the strength he exhibited far surpassed anything she could have imagined.
Taking into account Shen Yuan’s feat of killing Yu Ke in front of Massacre True Monarch and escaping from under the Mortal Emperor Sword, she was acutely aware that Shen Yuan was beyond her ability to confront.
Life and death were entirely in Shen Yuan’s hands, whether fleeing or resisting, both had lost all meaning.
Looking at Shen Yuan with a complex expression, Qing Yu spoke calmly,
"If the Taoist wishes to use me to peek into the hidden secrets of Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens, I’m afraid you will be disappointed.
Within the Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens, there are still five Supreme Elders who have ascended to the Immortal Realm. One of them ascended to the Heavenly Immortal Realm a myriad of ages ago but has yet to choose to ascend further due to enemies in the Upper World.
Besides, there are dozens of powerful experts at the Void Refining to Tao Harmony Stage, stationed in various grotto heavens.
Although I hold the status of a sacred sage, I am after all just a junior disciple. If there is any unusual movement, it will certainly not escape the eyes of the sect elders. I hope the Taoist will think thrice before acting."
Upon hearing Qing Yu’s words, Shen Yuan could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow and say,
"Saintess Qing Yu, have you not received the news from the Great Yin Imperial Dynasty?"
"What news?"
Shen Yuan smiled secretly, full of profound meaning as he said,
"About my escape from the encirclement of three Sky Patrol Fleets, and the exile of the Great Void Fleet led by the Man-slaughtering Taoist Doyen."
"What?"
Qing Yu could no longer maintain her composure, her gaze towards Shen Yuan filled with disbelief.
Three Sky Patrol Fleets were enough to besiege and kill a multitude of present-day Immortals, and if the Great Void Fleet was supported by the official seal of the Mortal Emperor, it could even threaten the power of Heavenly Immortals, representing the absolute foundation of the Great Yin Imperial Dynasty.
If Shen Yuan truly escaped from the encirclement of three Sky Patrol Fleets and exiled the Great Void Fleet, it was enough to show that Shen Yuan’s strength was not inferior to that of a Heavenly Immortal expert.
Has it just been a few years since the All-Worlds Luotian Convention?
She had yet to fully digest the gains from the All-Worlds Luotian Convention, yet Shen Yuan had grown to the extent of being an opponent to Heavenly Immortals. This was beyond Qing Yu’s imagination.
Qing Yu instinctively wanted to deny it, but the strange methods and confidence displayed by Shen Yuan made her waver somewhat.
Shen Yuan shook his head slightly and said in a low voice,
"I bear no ill will towards Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens, and my borrowing your hand to enter the grotto heaven is merely to avoid a direct confrontation.
Otherwise, I could very well tear apart the void and forcefully enter the grotto heaven.
In the Primal Chaos Realm, there might be powerful experts who can stop me, but evidently, they are not within your Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens."
Qing Yu took a moment to stabilize her mind and asked Shen Yuan seriously,
"May I dare to ask the Taoist, what is your true purpose for coming to our Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens?"
Shen Yuan did not immediately respond but glanced outside the Imperial Carriage, towards the center of the vast grotto heaven.
Atop the spirit mountain filled with pavilions and halls, a majestic hall occupied the entire mountain peak, akin to an official seal anchoring the formation network of the whole Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens.
That hall was the core of the Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens that Shen Yuan could not probe in the future.
"What place is that?"
"That is the Exalted Void Palace. Tens of thousands of ages ago, before the Clarity Void Exalted One ascended to the Highest Heaven, he descended to the Primal Chaos to pass on the Tao Orthodoxy.
That Exalted Void Palace is where the Clarity Void Exalted One stayed temporarily when he descended to the lower realms. Leaders of my Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens’ generations of Sect Masters would enter the Immortal Palace to meditate for a hundred years, bearing the fortune of the sect, the legacy of the Exalted One."
Even now, mentioning the Exalted Void Palace, Qing Yu couldn’t help but reveal a hint of yearning.
Soon after, Qing Yu snapped back to awareness, her gaze filled with vigilance as she looked towards Shen Yuan.
"Does the Taoist perhaps intend to scheme against the Exalted Void Palace?
If that’s the case, Qing Yu asks the Taoist to dismiss this thought."
"Once the Taoist forcibly breaks into the Exalted Void Palace, the upper realm Patriarchs will take notice, and it may well draw the ire of the Clarity Void Exalted One.
Even if the Taoist can truly match a Heavenly Immortal, I’m afraid..."
But Shen Yuan simply gave a soft laugh.
"It’s not I who covets the Exalted Void Palace."
Under Qing Yu’s vigilant gaze, Shen Yuan slowly began,
He will falsify the name of the Clarity Void Exalted One to take control of the Exalted Void Palace, consuming the flesh and blood of Immortals for sustenance, severing the Tao Orthodoxy of Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens for tens of thousands of years!"

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