Chapter 692: Supreme Heavenly Emperor

“How do you want me to choose?”

After thinking it over, Xuanmiao Zhenren decided to ask Gu An directly for his opinion.

Everything he had today was thanks to Gu An’s support. He believed Gu An wouldn’t harm him. Even if he was just a piece in Gu An’s game, he would still follow willingly.

Gu An replied, “Of course, I hope you’ll accept. With this body, you might one day join the ranks of the Immortals.”

Xuanmiao Zhenren narrowed his eyes and asked, “You want me to infiltrate the Heavenly Court?”

Smart.

Gu An said earnestly, “Immortals and Gods do exist, but they ignore the suffering of the living. Some even commit evil in the mortal world. I believe there’s something wrong within the Heavenly Court that created these Immortals and Gods.”

He chose to give the Demon God body to Xuanmiao Zhenren partly to help him change his fate, but also because Xuanmiao Zhenren admired Immortals and Gods—he could send him into the Heavenly Court as his agent.

The fate of the Heavenly Court was too chaotic to deduce, but with a planted spy, he could still uncover what was going on inside.

After listening, Xuanmiao Zhenren felt that Gu An’s reasoning made sense. The Immortals and Gods these days were indeed strange. They never saved anyone. In fact, many of the great disasters in the world were caused by Immortals and Gods themselves.

“Then I’m willing to take over this body. Thank you for your gift!”

Xuanmiao Zhenren knelt immediately and kowtowed to Gu An.

If it weren’t for Gu An, he wouldn’t have lived this long. Even after hundreds of thousands of years, his cultivation path still held hope—all thanks to Gu An.

He truly believed Gu An was a force for good. Without Gu An, the world he lived in would've been destroyed several times over.

No matter what the deeper reason was, since he was born in the Heavenly Spirit Great World, that was the side he would stand on. Whoever protected the Heavenly Spirit Great World was the true Immortal and God in his heart.

Gu An looked at Xuanmiao Zhenren kneeling before him, and couldn’t help but think back to five hundred sixty thousand years ago, when Xuanmiao Zhenren had also knelt and bowed to him in the same way.

He didn’t know if this arrangement was a blessing or a curse for Xuanmiao Zhenren.

Still, Gu An didn’t hesitate. He had already explained the pros and cons, as well as his intentions. It was also something Xuanmiao Zhenren wanted.

He believed Xuanmiao Zhenren wasn’t saying yes out of fear of his strength.

Surely, Xuanmiao Zhenren understood that even if he refused, Gu An wouldn’t force him.

“Then let’s begin.”

...

On the road of the Grand Dao, atop a desolate meteor, Zhang Buku opened his eyes.

He suddenly sat up and looked around, only to find himself surrounded by Heavenly Soldiers.

Xu You was standing right beside him, frowning as he looked into the distance.

Zhang Buku couldn’t help but ask, “Is that person gone?”

Xu You nodded and said, “He didn’t harm us. He must have come here to rescue someone.”

Following his gaze, at the edge of the barren land, Heaven-Stabilizing God was sitting cross-legged atop a cliff, with his back to the hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers.

“What’s up with him?” Zhang Buku asked in a low voice, eyes fixed on Heaven-Stabilizing God.

Xu You replied, “Probably transmitting intel.”

He took a deep breath, turned to look at Zhang Buku, and asked, “Did you feel anything during that battle earlier?”

Zhang Buku fell into deep thought. Remembering the terrifying sight of As a God That Calms the World’s descent, his heart still trembled.

After a while—

Zhang Buku spoke hesitantly, “That person had a kind of fate similar to a Dao Sovereign, but not exactly the same.”

The fate of the Grand Dao was no mystery to him anymore. So far, he had only encountered Heavenly Dao fate and Dao Sovereign fate. Whether one became a Heavenly Dao Immortal God or a Dao Sovereign, either path granted overwhelming divine power to crush those in the same realm.

Now there was a new kind of fate!

The Grand Dao fate around Gu An gave off an overwhelming aura of sheer force, one that struck directly at the soul and Dao heart.

“That’s right, it’s another kind of Grand Dao fate. The heavens are about to change,” Xu You said softly, his tone complex.

Zhang Buku asked in confusion, “Change?”

“A long time ago, when the Dao Sovereigns emerged, it triggered a catastrophe that swept through the Three Thousand Great Worlds and countless heavens, even shaking the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court looks down on the Dao Sovereigns, but if there are too many of them, they’ll try to overturn the rule of the Heavenly Court. If this new Grand Dao fate grows strong, it’ll definitely challenge the divine authority of the Heavenly Court too.”

Xu You’s voice was filled with emotion.

“You mean the Heavenly Court will start hunting down this kind of fate?”

“No. The Heavenly Court is arrogant. They look down on everything, especially the Supreme Heavenly Emperor. He lets all kinds of powers grow unchecked. The conflicts between the Heavenly Court and the heavens usually arise because someone offends a certain Immortal or God, not because of the will of the entire Heavenly Court.”

At the mention of the Heavenly Emperor, Xu You’s eyes lit up with a brilliance Zhang Buku had never seen.

Zhang Buku could feel Xu You’s deep admiration for the Heavenly Emperor, which only made his own curiosity burn even stronger.

Just what kind of existence was the Heavenly Emperor?

At that moment—

In another plane along the path of the Grand Dao, the Blood Prison Saint and Fang Xuan were blocked by a group of people.

“You all want to chase after the Hunyuan Dao Emperor too?” Blood Prison Saint raised a brow as he asked.

The Hunyuan Dao Emperor had already taken root and spread along the path of the Grand Dao. Blood Prison Saint didn’t consider this a secret. Besides, he didn’t know that the Hunyuan Dao Emperor was actually Gu An.

After the previous great battle, he assumed Gu An was the Hunyuan Dao Emperor—and honestly, that made sense. If Gu An wasn’t the Hunyuan Dao Emperor, why would he teach them the path of the Hunyuan Dao?

As for Gu An sending him to gather intel, he could understand that too. Even though he had begun projecting into reincarnation, he still didn’t know much about the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

Let alone him—even those Dao Sovereigns who had already stepped into their Dao probably didn’t fully understand their own Dao fate.

Xuanji Emperor nodded. “That’s right. That fiercely dominant Dao fate suits me better.”

After witnessing Gu An’s power, he was completely captivated by that overpowering aura. Even though he was already close to becoming a Dao Sovereign, he was still willing to abandon that path.

In his eyes, becoming a Dao Sovereign was just one kind of strength—not his ultimate pursuit. Now that there was another, even stronger and more compelling power before him, why would he hesitate?

The others following behind Xuanji Emperor shared similar thoughts. They were all deeply curious about the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

“If you want to step onto the Hunyuan Emperor’s path, you’ll have to find the Hunyuan Crystal. It’ll guide you into the Dao…” Blood Prison Saint began explaining the Hunyuan Crystal.

One of the talented cultivators behind Xuanji Emperor had a slight change in expression—he had once come across a Hunyuan Crystal but hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now, he silently cursed himself for not recognizing its value.

The group talked for quite a while before Xuanji Emperor finally thanked them and left.

Blood Prison Saint and Fang Xuan both received rare heavenly treasures from him, which made them feel quite favorably toward him.

This person was different from other young elites on the Emperor’s path—he wasn’t so arrogant, and he cared about building genuine relationships.

Watching them leave, Fang Xuan smiled and sighed, “The Dao is not lonely. I truly look forward to the day when the Hunyuan Dao Emperor surpasses the Dao Sovereigns in prominence.”

Blood Prison Saint laughed. “That day will come for sure. The Dao Sovereigns' method of proving the Dao through raising and killing like Gu venom—goes against the natural way. It’s bound to be phased out.”