A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 647 reviews the background and clarifies the situation.

When the secret realm of the Emperor's Demon Pool was broken and Gonggong reappeared in the mortal world, there was a sign that the sky was tilting to the northwest.

Therefore, the holy lands that were attached to the various departments of the Heavenly Court were basically all lost in the Boundary Sea in the northwest. The fact that the Dan tribe was in the Boundary Sea in the southeast is quite unusual.

However, among the eight departments of the Heavenly Court, namely "Thunder, Fire, Plague, Fighting, Mountain, Water, Crimson, and Star", the Fighting Department needs to take advantage of its high position in the Heavenly Realm to inspect all the heavens and myriad realms and sort out the primordial energy of birth and death. The Star Department also needs to take advantage of the central hub of the Heavenly Realm to regulate the time sequence of all the heavens and myriad realms.

When the Heavenly Realm was out of balance, neither the Dou Division nor the Chen Division had time to leave the Heavenly Court's territory before the Heavenly Emperor drew both swords and sealed off the nine layers of the Heavenly Realm.

Therefore, what actually fell into the Northwest Boundary Sea were only the celestial palaces and sacred sites of the five elements: Thunder, Fire, Plague, Mountain, and Water.

Just as Guan Luoyang was sparring with Shenjia Daojun, the four powerful figures who had previously been responsible for restraining Mufeng Tianzun also returned to the Heavenly Palace of the Plague Department.

The palaces here are predominantly black, with most of the beams and pillars adorned with eerie green patterns. The ground is paved with dark bricks and stones, and everywhere there are strangely shaped statues of deities, holding aloft various ritual implements such as medicine bowls, alms bowls, and mugwort that emit spiritual light.

The Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable, who was in charge of the Plague Department, was the first to fly into the main hall, revealing his true form: a blue-faced man with fangs, three heads and six arms, sitting cross-legged like a cauldron.

The six arms should have each been adorned with magical artifacts and ornaments, but now four of them are broken. Some were severed at the wrist, some were burned off below the elbow, and some had a bloody hole in their upper arm. The broken arms were jagged and terrifying.

His three heads, the front one, had bronze ears and a small lion's head made of jade, occupying the nose area. The entire face had only one vertical eye and a large mouth. Two sharp teeth originally protruded from the mouth and hung down to the chest, but the left sharp tooth was also broken in half.

"Old Mu Feng, you're as ferocious as ever!!!"

Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable let out a long roar, and the entire Heavenly Palace of the Plague Department began to operate.

The strange and wondrous statues scattered throughout the Heavenly Palace became the hub connecting the Great Void Sea and the Heavenly Palace. The primordial chaotic energy, after being broken and refined nine times, was like clear water, gathering in the magical artifacts held by those statues.

The various secret medicines originally hidden in the void inside the magical artifact were dissolved by this chaotic water. After being brewed and regulated by countless supernatural powers, they were transformed into various kinds of medicinal vapors with miraculous effects, which flowed towards the central hall.

Illness and medicine are two sides of the same coin.

The Heavenly Plague Department represents the disease of all the heavens and myriad realms. Although its reputation is not good, when the Heavenly Venerable in charge personally activates this Heavenly Palace, the evil energy that should have caused disease can instead become a precious medicine for healing Heavenly Venerable level experts.

Immortal Venerable Puli, Heavenly Venerable Taoshan, and Heavenly Venerable Yunlou also appeared one after another, each sitting in the central hall, using the medicinal energy of the Plague Department to heal their injuries.

Of these four powerful beings, although Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable looked the most miserable, the other three still maintained their intact human forms.

But in fact, it was Immortal Venerable Puli who was most seriously injured.

His hair was pulled back so tightly it was tied into a bun. His eyebrows were thick, long, and curled, hanging down to almost cover his eyes. He had a high nose bridge and thin lips. His philtrum was particularly prominent, and he had a short beard on his chin.

But whether it was his hair, eyebrows, beard, hairpins, or clothes, everything was the same color as topaz, with no difference in the depth of its luster.

Even though different parts of his body should have been under different lighting conditions, not a single shadow was cast.

At first glance, whether with the eyes or with divine sense, one cannot discern any specific human figure. One can only perceive a roughly human-shaped mass of smooth, yellow jade emitting a faint glow, piled up there.

Moreover, from time to time, an ominous sound emanated from his body, as if the chains of the Great Dao were breaking apart, and all things were facing annihilation, making people's hearts tremble.

Of the medicinal energy mobilized by Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable, only a very small portion was absorbed by him and the other two Celestial Venerables to alleviate their suffering; the rest was all infused into the body of Immortal Venerable Puli.

"Puli Immortal Venerable broke through during the battle and cultivated to the realm of high-level Heavenly Venerable, but was instead pursued and killed by that old man Mu Feng at all costs. It was extremely dangerous."

Taoshan Tianzun resembled a hunchbacked old man, dressed in a white robe, with a head and face covered in white hair. He had a peach wood staff lying across his knees, and a series of laughs came from his mouth, which was covered by his beard.

"But since he failed this time, next time, once Immortal Venerable Puli has stabilized his realm and recovered from his injuries, he will probably be able to fight old man Mufeng alone without the help of the three of us."

Yunlou Tianzun only said, "Now that the great calamity has broken out ahead of schedule, when all the myriad paths are fluctuating and the calamity is intense, the various singularities of the Great Dao will become more obvious when we observe the myriad realms. I just hope that old fellow Mu Feng will not make any new progress."

The Heavenly Venerable of Cloud Tower was elegant and noble, with a cold and beautiful appearance. Her hair was piled high, her eyebrows were red, her teeth were white and her neck was snow-white, and her long dress trailed on the ground.

This beautiful woman, however, had a very fine crack on her forehead, like a small golden mole. From time to time, golden cracks would extend to various parts of her face, only to be suppressed by her.

The pain of such repeated torment made her speak of Mu Feng Tianzun with an involuntary gnashing of teeth.

"Mu Feng's calculations are also very profound."

Taoshan Tianzun said, "He actually managed to secretly gather so many connections from all the realms of the mortal world through the secret ritual at Shouyang Mountain. If he really succeeds, there might be some real dangers."

"Fortunately, we already knew the secret of Shouyang Mountain in advance, so Ji Tu and his men must have already taken it back."

"Once Immortal Venerable Yongzhou retrieves the Eternal Calamity Divine Fire, we will join forces to unleash it and burn away the traces of human race's sacrifices throughout the ages in Shouyang Mountain. Then we can turn Shouyang Mountain into our own. Hahahaha, we should thank Mu Feng for giving us such a great gift."

Upon hearing this, the Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable also said in a deep voice, "The reason why the connection between the human world and the myriad realms of Shouyang Mountain was able to be transferred was ultimately not solely due to Mu Feng's efforts. The main reason is that after the Great Calamity of Antiquity, the human race has become the mainstream in all the heavens and myriad realms."

"Actually, there's no need to calculate the development after the Great Ancient Calamity. Just looking at the conflicts during the Great Ancient Calamity is enough to get some insight."

"The Heavenly Emperor is the supreme ruler of the human race, Gonggong is the great sage of the human race, and the Buddha has been reincarnated countless times. Before attaining enlightenment, his identity was that of a human."

"Even the Xuan Bird Dao Venerable, though a celestial being, has a human lover."

"The four people who are most likely to quell the ancient calamity are all inextricably linked to the human race. It's truly terrifying to think about. The ancient gods, Buddhas, and demons from long ago still managed to defeat the human race in their battles. But the closer we get to our time, the greater the overall power of the human race becomes."

Upon hearing this, Peach Mountain Celestial Venerable and Cloud Tower Celestial Venerable fell silent for a moment.

Why remain silent?

The ominous voice within Immortal Venerable Puli gradually subsided. He opened his eyes and said, "The human race from the distant past and the ancient holy lands of the human race today are said to be of the same lineage, but in reality, they have changed greatly. The difference between humans is greater than that between humans and demons."

"Around the time of each great calamity, there are always some powerful individuals who have repaid their karmic debts and then travel far away, never to return. Among them are many ancient sages of the human race. If they accepted the mainstream human lineage of Taiqing, why would they need to travel so far?"

"The Great Dao is all-encompassing, and there is also the saying that the Dao diminishes daily. It is not about change, but the inheritance of various Dao lineages can be said to undergo a transformation every calamity in order to continue for longer and become stronger."

Puli Immortal Venerable spoke each word with a fierce light in his eyes, his divine voice resounding and shaking the void, completely drowning out the ominous echo within his body.

"Old Mu Feng, the former Holy Master, and the lord of the Twenty-Eight Holy Lands, are merely temporarily holding onto their ancient titles and claiming legitimacy."

"After this great calamity, the Eternal Celestial Venerable will become the next Heavenly Emperor of the human race, and all of us present here will be the true heirs of the human race!"

After he finished speaking, he let out a long sigh, took a few deep breaths to digest the medicinal energy, and his injuries were completely suppressed and stabilized.

Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable nodded and was about to speak when two beams of immortal light flew from the chaos, revealing their true forms as a man and a woman.

The man, who looked like a young man, was sickly, dressed in thin clothes, with a pale face and unusually bright red lips. He was the Wind-Slaying Immortal Venerable of the Plague Department.

Another woman, with bright eyes and a face as beautiful as a peach blossom, was wrapped in an extremely thick snow fox fur cloak and was known as the Immortal Venerable of Startling Cold.

Yanfeng and Jinghan, these two immortal venerables, stayed behind at the Heavenly Palace Divine Palace after all the other powerful figures from the four departments of the Heavenly Court had been mobilized, keeping a close eye on the movements of the Thunder Department.

Upon seeing the two of them, Ancient Tooth Celestial Venerable asked, "Have Ji Tu and Yong Zhou returned?"

"Immortal Venerable Yongzhou has only been back for a short time and is currently patrolling outside the Thunder Pool Boundary River, which is defended by the Thunder Department. As for Immortal Venerable Jitu..."

Immortal Venerable Jinghan paused for a moment, then said, "He has been out of contact for quite some time now. However, the five Holy Lords who followed him to seize Shouyang Mountain have all experienced changes in their Holy Lands and have closed themselves off."

"We were afraid of damaging the cultivation of those five Holy Lords, so we dared not rashly use any methods to force our way in. But after so much time, they still haven't sent any news. I'm afraid this is not good."

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.

Taoshan Tianzun hurriedly took out the Great Dao Seal of the Mountain Division and shook it.

Previously, they were engaged in a fierce battle with Mu Feng Tianzun, leaving no room for distraction. However, now that his injuries have stabilized, he should be able to contact all the individuals who have left their names in the Heavenly Court Mountain Department by using the Great Dao Treasure Seal to unleash his supernatural powers.

However, the Great Dao Seal's light flickered incessantly, and after a long while, there was still no clear reaction.

"this……"

Taoshan Tianzun's expression turned grim. "They have all been suppressed, and what is suppressing Ji Tu should be a supreme treasure at the Heavenly Emperor level."

"The Fuxi Divination Robe, the Da Yi Red Bow, and so on were all destroyed in the great calamity of the past. The human race should only have the Six Yang Dragon-Controlling Divine Spear and Shouyang Mountain, which can be considered treasures of this level."

"But where would the human race find a second Celestial Venerable to activate Shouyang Mountain and suppress Ji Tu and the others?!"

Even if Ji Tu and the five Holy Lords were no match for them, they should have had a chance to escape. To be able to suppress all six of them in one fell swoop, it must have been a mid-level Heavenly Venerable who activated Shouyang Mountain.

Everyone was puzzled and began to calculate silently.

However, at this moment, the nearby boundary sea seemed calm, but the prelude to a great calamity had already begun. The calamity was turbulent and would only intensify, making it difficult for them to calculate the specific details.

"What about the Eternal Divine Fire?"

Immortal Venerable Puli did not attempt to divine, but directly asked, "Since Yongzhou has returned safely, if he brought back the Eternal Calamity Divine Flame, why didn't he guard it properly in the Heavenly Palace, but instead went to patrol the Boundary River? Could it be that he...?"

"I did not bring back the seed of the Eternal Flame."

Light feathers fluttered in the air, and the voice of the Eternal Day Immortal Venerable came. With a slight movement of his figure, he stepped into the palace and, with a slight thought, conveyed the whole story to these people.

The aura of a Celestial Venerable suddenly surged within the main hall, causing spacetime to shatter and collide. Countless bolts of lightning and fire appeared out of thin air, as if countless branches of time had been created, only to quickly dissipate.

"So there is also a Phoenix Cry Celestial Venerable among the human race, who cultivates the Path of the Heavenly Demon."

Puli Immortal Venerable took a deep breath. "When my elder brother once discussed the Dao with me, he mentioned that the existence of the Eternal Calamity Divine Fire is actually quite similar to the Path of the Heavenly Demon."

"It's just that the paths of all the Heavenly Demon Kings throughout the Taiqing Chiming era have become too entangled with the ancient Buddhas of Buddhism, leading to mutual conflict and extremism. They have become too focused on the demonic path and have not understood the true meaning of Heaven, so they cannot be in harmony with the Eternal Divine Fire."

"I only took it as anecdotes at the time, but I never thought that one day I would actually see an extraterrestrial demon king who could be perfectly compatible with the Eternal Divine Fire."

The elder brother he referred to was none other than Li Changling, the Heavenly Venerable of the Fire Department.

"This Phoenix Cry Celestial Venerable also possesses another supreme treasure at the Heavenly Emperor level. The matter of suppressing Ji Tu and the others should also be related to him."

Taoshan Tianzun said in a deep voice, "In every great calamity, there have indeed been outsiders involved."

"But this time, because of the existence of that Venerable Void Calamity, our judgment was also affected. We subconsciously felt that the outsiders involved in this great calamity were all under his command, had formed an alliance with Buddhism, and could cooperate with us to a limited extent. We forgot to be on guard against an extra layer."

If we had been more cautious at the time, and hadn't rushed to obtain the Eternal Calamity Divine Fire, but instead had sent Immortal Venerable Yongzhou and Immortal Venerable Jitu together to acquire Shouyang Mountain first, we would have had a good chance of success.

"Hmph, Mount Ling and we already had some tacit understanding, but Gonggong broke the seal earlier than they told us, disrupting our plans."

Yunlou Tianzun said, "When the Heavenly Realm was out of balance, the Lingshan Buddha Venerable took advantage of the power of Lingshan and deliberately pushed the Heavenly Palace and Divine Palace of the Dan Department and all the holy lands into the Southeast Boundary Sea, sending them to a place adjacent to the human race."

"If he hadn't pulled this stunt, we wouldn't have been in such a hurry to split up and send Yongzhou to retrieve the Eternal Calamity Divine Fire."

After pondering for a moment, Immortal Venerable Puli said, "The alliance between Mount Ling and those people outside the realm is legitimate, but they are ultimately our adversaries. There's nothing wrong with the Buddha Venerable of Mount Ling playing these tricks."

"Moreover, the strongest disciple of the Buddha, the Great Sage Protector Tathagata, along with their allies from beyond the realm, are besieging Wenqiu together with my elder brother."

"Our cooperation must continue until we deal with Wenqiu."

Immortal Venerable Yongzhou continued, "I'm observing from the Boundary River. The two Immortal Venerables from the Thunder Department are also trying to find Wenqiu's whereabouts. Judging from their urgency, Wenqiu's situation must be quite bad."

"But we can't even find out where those guys' battlefields are. We can't time our offensive when Wenqiu is completely suppressed, which is a big problem."

After thinking for a moment, Immortal Venerable Puli said, "We are all still recovering from our injuries and should not take any action. However, Mount Ling is very powerful, and it seems that they have already suppressed the Heavenly Demon Secret Realm."

"Why don't we write a letter and leave the affairs of the human race to the Buddha of Mount Ling for now? The matter of Shouyang Mountain was originally top secret, but we will also reveal it to the Buddha of Mount Ling now, and see if he dares to continue to let the human race act freely."

Immortal Venerable Yongzhou frowned and said, "This Buddha Venerable of Mount Ling claims to be a disciple of the Buddha, but we all know his true origins. He has extraordinary composure and will not easily grant our wishes."

"In any case, sending out these messages won't cause us any further loss."

Yunlou Tianzun then said, "There is another matter that is of more concern to me."

"Why does the Great Sage Bo Niu of the Great Wilderness want to eternally extinguish the divine fire?"

"If he hadn't suddenly appeared and hindered Yongzhou's actions, we wouldn't have been able to wait for that old man Shanlong to arrive, not to mention that Fengming Tianzun took so long to arrive. In that case, perhaps Yongzhou would have succeeded much earlier and would have had time to support Ji Tu."

Taoshan Tianzun said, "The Great Wilderness Old Realm is in a period of transition and there is no need to take it seriously. However, since Gonggong has escaped, it is best not to provoke him rashly. Boniu did not obtain the fire seed; he only borrowed it, so its effect is limited. There is no need to worry about him too much."

Suddenly, a thought struck Puli Immortal Venerable.

Having recently attained the rank of High Celestial Venerable, and having endured a perilous pursuit and fought desperately, he was now at his most perceptive. Upon hearing these words, he vaguely sensed something through the tribulation that had not yet reached its peak.

"No, about the Great Wilderness Old Realm..."

Immortal Venerable Puli frowned, hesitated for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion.

"We must also keep a close eye on the situation in the Great Wilderness. Bo Niu's borrowing of the divine fire might lead to something that could affect the entire course of the Great Calamity!"

(End of this chapter)