Chapter 866: Own Way

The fifth layer of the Treasure-snatching Rock!

A palace, one that Zhou Bao was familiar with yet still found foreign.

The Purple Heaven Palace!

It was The Purple Heaven Palace!

When Zhou Bao stood in front of the ancient yet majestic palace, his gaze lit up with amazement.

The Purple Heaven Palace, this was The Purple Heaven Palace!

This was The legendary Purple Heaven Palace, where all myths originated!

Standing in front of the old palace’s door, Zhou Bao closed his eyes sightly, as if wanting to feel the legendary Great Ways. However, not only did he feel none, a cold wind greeted him instead.

“Hey, don’t stand in front of the door, the wind blows through there!”

The wind blows through here!

Zhou Bao’s heart froze, immediately realizing what was wrong. He was a practitioner who practiced all the ways to the Immortal Realm and possessed immunity to warm and cold weather. So why did the small gust chill him?

In that instant, he understood what occurred. He raised his head and looked up at the ancient palace with a suspicious gaze.

“Don’t be nervous or afraid. This is the Purple Heaven Palace, the starting and ending point of all things. All living creatures that come here will return to their essence form. Even the Celestial Immortals lose all their powers here, so it’s only naturally for you to too!”

“Return to their essence form?” A sharp sensation tugged at Zhou Bao’s heart and a divine thought formed from beginning to end. Zhou Bao ascertained what went on. The fifth layer of the Treasure-snatching Rock was actually a virtual space, and so was the Purple Heaven Palace. Seemingly, only his thought reached the fifth layer, but his real body remained in the fourth.

For a practitioner of Zhou Bao’s level, even a thought possessed endless power. However, he was helpless when standing in front of the Purple Heaven Palace. The Palace instantiated this thought of his into a body, but that was about it. A body of an ordinary human.

Under such circumstances, Zhou Bao fretted not. He too, knew that worrying prove meaningless. He also thought of the famous line, “As long as you come into my territory, even a dragon will kneel before me!”

Dragons were plentiful in this world. On the other hand, Celestial Immortals stood at the tip of the pyramid of existence. But even they knelt in front of the Purple Heaven Palace.

“I understand you have many questions, but come in first.”

Zhou Bao nodded and walked into the Purple Heave Palace slowly.

Initially, he was still keen on finding out just what this legendary place stood for. Strangely enough, once he stepped into the Palace, his soul wandered off. When he finally regained consciousness, he already walked into the Palace.

“Welcome back! I couldn’t even name you when before you left.” The voice said, both soft and gentle. A sense of happiness, as if a lost son returning home permeated from the voice.

A grey-clothed Taoist stood the center of the big hall. He looked at Zhou Bao with a big smile and loving gaze. However, all Zhou Bao’s hairs stood up because of this ‘loving’ gaze.

It had been years since Zhou Bao last felt something like this, and he did not like it. Although the unlikelihood that this man gave him his first thought, that was about all. If it really happened, then, of course, it could be faked as well. Zhou Bao was no longer the rookie defined by others. If it really was the case, then Zhou Bao mind not giving the Treasure-snatching Rock a little push. But he would never treat it as his parents. Relationships are meant to develop with time. Zhou Bao doubted the Treasure-snatching Rock had much influence over him.

Therefore, Zhou Bao narrowed his eyes slightly as a response to the old Taoist’s loving gaze. “Names are just a code name, I have more than one now.”

“Not bad, other than the original one, the rest are all not bad.” The Taoist in grey smiled and something appeared between his lines.

“Stop trying to make me curious! Since you know all about me, then you’ll naturally know what my other names mean!”

“Yes, Cundi and Bodhi, they’re such ancient names. I almost forgot about them. Why not choose other names? For example…”

“Hongjun?” Zhou Bao looked at this Taoist in grey who was dressed like Hongjun the Taoist. “I’m not so full of myself yet, I still have basic respect. But as for you, senior…”

“What is there to fear? That old Taoist has been deep-sleeping for several centuries, God knows if he will ever wake up.” After hearing Zhou Bao’s words, the grey-clothed Taoist understood what Zhou Bao said. He blew his mustache and continued speaking, unbothered. “But as for you, I have never thought that you would progress this far! It has only been a few years since you were born and you’re already on the same level as some of the strongest Heavenly Fairy Weapons, truly a surprise!”

“Was it an accident, or on purpose?” Since he was already here, Zhou Bao pressed sternly for his answer. “I want to know the truth!”

“I don’t know the truth either.” The Taoist in grey, or rather, the Treasure-snatching Rock’s device spirit, was very helpless. “Although you were bred in the Treasure-snatching Rock, there exists many strong characters that can cause huge changes in the space here. I am incapable of stopping this. If not, I wouldn’t have thought of asking for your help.”

“Old monsters like you have lived for countless eras, and now you need my help? If that’s the case, then I suspect you are the one that put me in this situation!”

“I don’t have that ability. If not, I wouldn’t be trapped in this god-damned Immortal Realm.” The Taoist in grey heard what Zhou Bao said and immediately denied. “The power of a Celestial Immortal is enough to send you from the Treasure-snatching Rock to incarnate in the human world. But to achieve what you’ve completed thus far, to nurse you to become a Tribulation Taker and the strongest and luckiest one at that, now, that’s not something an ordinary Celestial Immortal can achieve. It will require a capability that is almost the same as Taoist Jin’s. Only ancient Celestial Immortals ever achieve that. You’re their chess piece, not mine.”

“Well then, do you have their clues?”

“None whatsoever. God knows which old man got bored and selected you.” As the Taoist in grey spoke, a nearly undetectable strange flash appeared in the deepest part of his eyes. This strange glow Zhou Bao usually caught, but now, Zhou Bao was just an Original Spirit in its essence form. He lost all his powers and could not detect it.

The old man denied the whole thing and Zhou Bao lost his expectations of gaining some clues from this sly fox. He sighed, “Fine, since you don’t know, then there’s nothing we can do. Surely you didn’t bring me here to meet the Jade Emperor Sage.”

“The Jade Emperor Sage successfully practiced the Advanced Level of the Way of the Emperor. I would never jest with you about such matters!” The Taoist in grey was stern for a change.

“The Way of the Emperor reached the Advanced Level? What logic is this!”

“This is my logic, and also one of the simplest ones passed down for numerous eras.” The Taoist in grey continued, “Numerous eras ago, a mighty character who successfully practiced the Way of the Emperor stirred up a huge calamity here. Not only did he rule the main universe, but he also destroyed numerous Celestial Immortal territories in the Extraterritorial Area. He was eventually defeated by a group of united Celestial Immortals. Since then, the Way of the Emperor has become a forbidden power. For many eras, there hasn’t been a character like the Jade Emperor Sage who could practice the Way of the Emperor until the Celestial Heaven Realm. However, this is also the tolerance limit of the group of ancient Celestial Immortals.”

“Then what else must I do?”

“What I’m saying is it’s reaching their tolerance limit; it’s not there yet.” The Taoist in grey laughed bitterly. “They’re all waiting, waiting for a suitable reason. Occupying the Treasure-snatching Rock is their best excuse. But, I’m going to be extremely unlucky.”

“If my guess is correct, then you must be the device spirit of the Treasure-snatching Rock. Even if he gained the Rock, he wouldn’t destroy it, no?”

“He will not destroy it, but he will destroy me, the device spirit! He will then create a new one to control the Rock in all forms and manners!”

“This is actually quite alike the Emperor’s character.” The corners of Zhou Bao’s mouth twitched a little. He understood what the elder was concerned about. “But how can you be so sure I can assist you? My combat capability is indeed not mediocre, seeing as I can defeat most of the Earthly Immortals. But a Celestial Immortal and Earthly Immortal should never be compared.”

“You’re too full of yourself. Your combat capability is indeed above proficient, but its impossible for you to defeat most of the Earthly Immortals. Maybe yes, if they’re ordinary Earthly Immortal, but you’ll never defeat those that have entered the Celestial Immortal’s Way! It is already difficult enough to escape from their hands!”

The Taoist in grey deflated Zhou Bao’s confidence without holding back. “Don’t think that your Supreme Fairy Weapon is so powerful. All Earthly Immortals who enter the Celestial Immortal’s Way own one just like yours. These Supreme Fairy Weapons have the debris of the three ancient holy cities integrated into them, their powers are comparable to your Black Pearl!”

“Since that’s the case, why do you still want me to fight the Celestial Immortals?”

“We still have time, not an excessive amount but enough to help you become an Earthly Immortal!” The Taoist in grey looked at Zhou Bao as he spoke, “There’s also the foundation of the Heaven and Earth Secret Technique and the Seven Wonderful Techniques. The man whom you stole the Taoist name from used this Seven Wonderful Techniques to become a Sage!”

“Seven Wonderful Techniques?” Zhou Bao’s eyes bulged. “I heard that this technique is carved on top of the Treasure-snatching Rock’s real body!”

“Based on your power, you’ll be unable to see the real body. However, we can tell you what this technique is all about!” As he spoke, a willpower coursed through Zhou Bao’s spirit. “However, while the Seven Wonderful Techniques may be strong enough to help you become an Earthly Immortal using the least amount of time, you’ll still have to rely on your own way to enter the Celestial Immortal’s Way.”