Earth, Immortal Realm, Heavenly Court.
Ye Ling appeared before the South Heaven Gate.
Although Earth had undergone great changes due to extraterrestrial invasions, and the Immortal Realm had become turbulent, the Heavenly Court was, after all, the strongest divine kingdom in the Immortal Realm. It remained unshaken amidst this turmoil.
Moreover, most of the immortals and gods in the Heavenly Court had ascended from the mortal world in ancient times, possessing extraordinary talent. With the great changes in heaven and earth, many of the Heavenly Court's deities had seized opportunities to greatly increase their strength, making other divine kingdoms hesitant to covet it.
The Heavenly Court was still a place of peace and harmony.
The guards at the South Heaven Gate clearly recognized Ye Ling and immediately bowed to him, saying, "Greetings, Emperor Ancestor."
Ye Ling's expression was calm. He nodded slightly to the guards at the South Heaven Gate and then stepped inside.
Logically, according to the rules of the Heavenly Court, any deities or demons from the outside world entering the South Heaven Gate were required to report to the Heavenly Emperor at the Lingxiao Hall.
Ye Ling did not belong to the Heavenly Court, so he too would have to report.
However, none of the guards at the South Heaven Gate dared to stop him. They could only watch as Ye Ling's figure receded further.
A new Heavenly Soldier, who had guarded the South Heaven Gate for a hundred years, watched Ye Ling disappear from their sight and couldn't help but ask, "That... aren't we going to stop Emperor Ancestor?"
The older Heavenly Soldier beside him, who had guarded for two hundred years, hit the new Heavenly Soldier hard on the head and whispered, "Stop your head! Didn't you see Emperor Ancestor's expression? Someone is going to die in the Heavenly Court!"
The new Heavenly Soldier, clutching his swollen head, hesitated, "No way... No matter how strong Emperor Ancestor is, he should still follow the rules. He wouldn't go on a killing spree in the Heavenly Court, right? This is a grave offense against heavenly laws!"
The old Heavenly Soldier scoffed, "Follow the rules? Who in the Three Realms dares to make Emperor Ancestor follow rules? Didn't you see that even the powerful extraterrestrial invaders were completely annihilated by Emperor Ancestor? Heavenly laws are nothing to Emperor Ancestor!"
"Kid, remember this... You can offend anyone in this world, but you must never offend Emperor Lord!"
"I understand..." The new soldier nodded, then asked again, "Then should we go and report it?"
"Report what! Act like nothing happened!"
"Yes, yes!"
At this moment, Ye Ling could no longer hear the discussions of the Heavenly Soldiers at the South Heaven Gate. After entering, he walked directly towards the Lingxiao Hall.
To be honest, this was Ye Ling's first time entering the Heavenly Court. However, as he walked through the Heavenly Court, any immortals or gods who saw him turned pale with fear and quickly moved to the side of the road to kneel and pay their respects. They only dared to get up after Ye Ling had passed.
Soon, the news of Emperor Ancestor Ye Ling's arrival in the Heavenly Court spread like wildfire.
However, everyone could see that Ye Ling was heading towards the Lingxiao Hall, and no one dared to report to the Lingxiao Hall.
Lingxiao Hall.
At this moment, King Yama was leading the Black and White Impermanence to report to the Heavenly Emperor, detailing the situation in the Underworld.
The Three Realms were undergoing great changes, and the Underworld, located in the Netherworld, could not remain unaffected. Recently, many souls who had gained power wanted to escape the cycle of reincarnation and return to the mortal world. King Yama had exerted great effort to suppress these souls and forcefully send them into reincarnation.
King Yama's visit to the Heavenly Court with the Black and White Impermanence was to report the situation to the Heavenly Emperor and to request support from the Heavenly Court.
The Yin soldiers raised by the Underworld alone were no longer sufficient to cope with the increasingly dire situation.
Just as the immortals in the Lingxiao Hall were patiently listening to King Yama's report, a commotion arose outside the Lingxiao Hall, attracting the attention of all the immortals.
The Heavenly Emperor frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "What is the disturbance outside?"
However, there was no response.
With no Heavenly Soldiers entering to report, the Heavenly Emperor's expression grew even more grim. He slammed the table and snorted coldly, "Hmph! They are becoming more and more presumptuous. Guards!"
The Heavenly Emperor's stern shout instantly spread throughout the entire Heavenly Court. The expressions of the immortals in the Lingxiao Hall changed drastically. King Yama, who was reporting, also trembled and immediately fell silent, fearing he would anger the Heavenly Emperor.
The Heavenly Emperor was one of the greatest beneficiaries of the recent great changes in the Three Realms. He had mastered the legacies of many extraterrestrial invaders, and his strength had soared like a rocket. Now, the Heavenly Emperor's cultivation had reached the Supreme realm, and he was subtly approaching the Dao Venerable realm!
Perhaps in a few more years, the Heavenly Emperor would become the strongest deity in the Three Realms, second only to Ye Ling.
Currently, all the other immortals in the Heavenly Court combined were not as strong as the Heavenly Emperor alone. Naturally, the immortals were even more in awe of the Heavenly Emperor.
However, after the Heavenly Emperor roared, no Heavenly Soldiers came to report from outside the Lingxiao Hall.
The atmosphere in the Lingxiao Hall became increasingly oppressive. The surrounding immortals also began to whisper among themselves, wondering what had happened outside.
Under normal circumstances, Heavenly Soldiers would have reported before the Heavenly Emperor even spoke.
Something major must have happened outside!
The White Impermanence, kneeling in the center of the hall, could no longer bear it. He exchanged a look with the Black Impermanence and transmitted his thoughts, "Old Black, guess what happened outside?"
Black Impermanence replied, "How would I know? But if the Heavenly Soldiers dare to ignore the Heavenly Emperor's command, then someone extremely important must have arrived outside."
White Impermanence asked, "Do you think it could be Emperor Lord?"
Black Impermanence rolled his eyes, "Are you dreaming? Emperor Lord is currently dealing with great powers from beyond the heavens. So many powerful beings have emerged in our Three Realms just by picking up the corpses left by Emperor Lord. Do you think someone like Emperor Lord has time to come to the Heavenly Court?"
White Impermanence continued, "But in this Three Realms, besides Emperor Lord, whose prestige is greater than the Heavenly Emperor's?"
Black Impermanence scoffed, "Who knows? There are so many powerful beings outside now. It's possible a mighty being stronger than the Heavenly Emperor has appeared. Sigh... Stop overthinking, it's definitely not Emperor Lord, otherwise, I'll twist my head off and give it to you as a ball to kick!"
Just as Black Impermanence finished speaking to White Impermanence, a commotion erupted in the Lingxiao Hall. All the immortals stood up from their seats, and even the Heavenly Emperor did the same.
Black Impermanence was stunned. He immediately followed the shocked gazes of the immortals and looked back, only to see Ye Ling slowly walking in.
Black Impermanence's pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed, "Emperor... Emperor Lord?"
White Impermanence smiled and nudged Black Impermanence with his elbow, whispering, "Remember, you owe me a head!"
With that, White Impermanence ignored the dazed Black Impermanence and quickly turned to salute Ye Ling, "Your humble servant, White Impermanence, greets Emperor Lord!"
With White Impermanence taking the lead, all the immortals also reacted and saluted Ye Ling, "Greetings, Emperor Ancestor!"
Ye Ling scanned the immortals in the Lingxiao Hall and then focused his gaze on the Heavenly Emperor.
Feeling Ye Ling's gaze, cold sweat broke out on the Heavenly Emperor's forehead. He quickly got down from his throne, walked to the center of the hall, and saluted Ye Ling, "This humble immortal did not know of Emperor Ancestor's visit. Please forgive my lack of proper welcome."
Ye Ling looked directly at the bowing Heavenly Emperor and, without further ado, revealed a wisp of special spiritual energy, asking the Heavenly Emperor, "You should recognize this spiritual energy, right?"
Upon seeing the spiritual energy floating in Ye Ling's palm, the Heavenly Emperor's pupils contracted sharply. However, he quickly regained his composure and smiled at Ye Ling, "This humble immortal... does not understand what Emperor Ancestor means?"
"You don't know?" Ye Ling sneered, dissipated the spiritual energy in his palm, and then unleashed a golden spiritual blade!
The spiritual blade grazed past the Heavenly Emperor, cutting through the ground of the Lingxiao Hall and directly shattering the Heavenly Emperor's throne, as well as the screen and wall behind it!
A bronze door, adorned with a special seal and featuring the heads of malevolent spirits, appeared in the Lingxiao Hall, causing another wave of exclamations.
"What is that?"
"Why is there such a door in the Lingxiao Hall?"
"What is the Heavenly Emperor hiding?"
For a moment, the immortals in the Lingxiao Hall began to discuss animatedly.
Although the immortals of the Heavenly Court feared the Heavenly Emperor and revered his power, they feared Emperor Ancestor Ye Ling even more!
Ye Ling was on a completely different level from the beings of their Three Realms!
Now, Ye Ling had clearly come to demand an explanation!
Ye Ling glanced at the bronze door and asked the Heavenly Emperor with a smile, "What is that?"
The Heavenly Emperor was covered in sweat and stammered, "I... I don't know..."
Saying this, the Heavenly Emperor questioned the surrounding immortals, "Who built this thing in my Lingxiao Hall?"
The immortals exchanged glances, none daring to take the blame for the Heavenly Emperor.
It was clear to everyone that Ye Ling had come to cause trouble for the Heavenly Emperor. Anyone who dared to step forward now would truly be tired of living.
The atmosphere in the hall became increasingly bizarre, with all eyes focused on the Heavenly Emperor, increasing his pressure tenfold.
However, at this moment, the Heavenly Emperor had lost all his imperial might. He stood nervously before Ye Ling, drenched in sweat.
He smiled at Ye Ling and said, "Emperor Ancestor... There must be some misunderstanding here. I truly don't know what that is."
Ye Ling looked deeply at the Heavenly Emperor and said meaningfully, "You don't know... What a coincidence, I don't know either."
With that, Ye Ling walked around the Heavenly Emperor and headed towards the bronze door.
In the hall, only the sound of Ye Ling's footsteps could be heard.
The Heavenly Emperor felt Ye Ling's immense pressure and took a small step forward. But before he could escape, Ye Ling said without looking back, "Black and White Impermanence, close the doors of the Lingxiao Hall. Today..."
"No one leaves."
The Heavenly Emperor trembled and froze on the spot. He glared at the Black and White Impermanence, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.
Upon hearing Ye Ling's command, the Black and White Impermanence pretended not to see the Heavenly Emperor's gaze and nimbly got up to close the doors of the Lingxiao Hall!
Bang!
As the doors of the Lingxiao Hall closed, the hearts of all the immortals sank, and the atmosphere in the hall became even more tense.
Ye Ling walked to the bronze door, placed his hand on it, and said, "The Heavenly Court is nourished by the Heavenly Dao, and its immortal energy is abundant. Coupled with the fact that this seal can cleverly merge with the Heavenly Court, it's no wonder I didn't find it before."
"This 'hiding in plain sight' trick is played well!"
Crack!
As Ye Ling finished speaking, the seal on the surface of the bronze door was broken, and a large amount of black energy seeped out from within.
At this moment, the Heavenly Emperor could no longer stand still. He suddenly erupted and rushed towards the doors of the Lingxiao Hall, roaring at the Black and White Impermanence, "Get out of my way!"
The Black and White Impermanence were stunned when the Heavenly Emperor suddenly charged at them. They never expected the Heavenly Emperor to make such a move at this moment!
The Black and White Impermanence had been slacking off. Even after the great changes in heaven and earth, they had only barely broken through from the True Martial realm to the Saint realm. They were no match for the Heavenly Emperor, who was already a Supreme!
However, just as the Black and White Impermanence's legs began to tremble, and they were at a loss, an extremely powerful force surged into their bodies, and golden light instantly shone around them!
Bang!
The Heavenly Emperor was sent flying back by the sudden burst of power from the Black and White Impermanence, causing another wave of astonishment in the hall!
Ye Ling didn't even glance at the Heavenly Emperor, merely stating indifferently:
"Take him down."