The Imperial Court's Celestial Gate

Nightfall, outside the Ghost Mother Mountain.

Gu Qingfeng lurked in the shadows, feeling thoroughly frustrated. These days, he could hardly catch anyone passing by.

The black market at Ghost Mother Mountain had been thrown into chaos by his recent activities, its business dwindling to near abandonment. Some nights, not a single soul could be spotted.

"Maybe it's time to move elsewhere? Damn it, I'm just a few divine swords short of completing the set of thirty-six. What a hassle!"

Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to call it a night, a streak of white light suddenly cut through the darkness like a shooting star across the night sky.

His spirits lifted instantly, and he quietly trailed after it.

When he got closer, his eyes lit up.

What a stunning beauty!

A woman stood atop a flying sword, her hands clasped behind her back, long hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore pristine white robes, a golden headband gleaming under the moonlight, making her radiate like a celestial being.

She moved with effortless grace, as if riding the wind itself—ethereal and untouchable. She appeared to be in her early twenties, her skin as fair as snow, her beauty delicate yet striking, her expression icy and aloof.

Truly, a peerless ice queen.

What made her even more remarkable was her tall, slender figure. Though her long legs were concealed beneath her robes, the wind pressed the fabric tightly against her skin, revealing an alluring silhouette.

Gu Qingfeng followed closely behind, his gaze fixed intently.

Of course, he was only admiring the sword beneath her feet—not her beauty.

Those legs... no, that sword—it shimmered with an iridescent glow, crystalline and flawless, its slender form perfectly balanced. Not too wide, not too narrow—a true masterpiece among divine weapons.

As a connoisseur of fine blades, Gu Qingfeng itched to get his hands on it, to examine and appreciate its craftsmanship up close.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait! That leg... ahem, that sword shares a karmic bond with me. Would you kindly part with it?"

Gu Qingfeng stepped boldly into her path, revealing himself without hesitation.

Though the woman was at the Earthly Yuan Realm, he had no fear—not with the Heavenly Thunder Bead in his possession. Against such a treasure, all beneath the Heavenly Human Realm were equal.

Rather than panicking at his sudden appearance, the woman seemed intrigued. "So you’ve finally shown yourself. I’ve been waiting for you."

"Oh? So you came looking for me? Even draped in this concealing black robe, my overwhelming charm still shines through. Truly, a man must be cautious when venturing outside, lest he catches the eye of a beauty like you."

The woman’s expression darkened at his nonsense, but before she could retort, another streak of light flashed from the darkness.

A voice rang out.

"A mere thief dares to speak so insolently to my senior sister? You’re courting death!"

Before the words faded, a young man astride a mystical beast descended from the sky. His sharp brows and proud eyes radiated arrogance as he looked down at Gu Qingfeng—another Earthly Yuan Realm expert.

Then, two more streaks of light arrived.

It was the refined man who had ridden the golden lion-tiger beast before, alongside the curvaceous Junior Sister Wen.

The four of them were utterly confident, not even bothering to surround Gu Qingfeng to cut off his escape. They clearly didn’t fear him fleeing.

Recognizing Junior Sister Wen, Gu Qingfeng immediately understood the situation and smirked. "Well, well, if it isn’t the little miss who apologized to me last time? Did you go home, reflect deeply, and decide that mere words weren’t enough? So now you’ve come bearing gifts?"

Junior Sister Wen bristled, baring her teeth. "You little thief! Don’t get cocky! Last time, I was careless, but now my senior brothers and sisters are here. Today, you’ll pay!"

"Junior Sister Wen, no need to waste anger on such a man. Leave him to me—I’ll capture him, and then you can deal with him as you please," the refined man said with a light chuckle.

"Oh? You think a single Heavenly Yuan Realm cultivator can withstand the Heavenly Thunder Bead?" Gu Qingfeng taunted, pulling out the glowing azure orb.

Yet, instead of fear, the group only sneered in disdain.

"A country bumpkin with a single Heavenly Thunder Bead thinks he can act tough? Today, we’ll show you the might of the Imperial Court’s Immortal Sect!"

Imperial Court’s Immortal Sect?!

Gu Qingfeng was slightly taken aback. These people had such a formidable background?

The Imperial Court’s Immortal Sect referred to a lineage that had once produced a Heavenly Emperor—the pinnacle of cultivation, an invincible existence capable of crushing all opposition.

If they were from such a sect, they must possess an Emperor’s Scripture. Could today be his lucky day?

Still, their confidence suggested they had a way to counter the Heavenly Thunder Bead. One Heavenly Yuan, two Earthly Yuan, and one Human Yuan (Junior Sister Wen with her... generous assets). This wouldn’t be easy.

After some time spent "dispensing justice" and "punishing evildoers," Gu Qingfeng had a clear grasp of his own strength.

Human Yuan Realm opponents were trivial to crush. Earthly Yuan Realm experts were manageable—though neither side could decisively defeat the other.

Earthly Yuan cultivators could borrow the power of the earth beneath them, channeling attacks into the ground. Against an early-stage Earthly Yuan, Gu Qingfeng could still inflict damage, but late-stage ones were too resilient.

That said, they couldn’t hurt him either. His Prison-Suppressing Dragon-Elephant Body, tempered briefly by a Heavenly Human Realm expert, was impervious to their attacks.

Only Heavenly Yuan Realm experts, who commanded the power of the heavens, could breach his defenses—but even then, they couldn’t kill him.

Gu Qingfeng was dissatisfied with his current strength. In his mind, he should be invincible even at the Divine Pill Realm—despite not having formed a Divine Pill yet, despite his opponents being multiple major realms above him. He simply wasn’t satisfied.

What he didn’t realize was how absurd his combat prowess truly was.

For a Soul-Sea Realm cultivator to fight evenly with an Earthly Yuan expert, and even survive against a Heavenly Yuan powerhouse—this defied all logic.

Under normal circumstances, a Human Yuan cultivator was untouchable to a Soul-Sea Realm one. The gap was so vast that no amount of numbers could bridge it.

It was like an adult stepping into a kindergarten—even if you multiplied the children tenfold or a hundredfold, they still couldn’t overpower a single grown man.

That was the scale of the difference.

Otherwise, why would a single Holy Envoy be enough to intimidate the entire Qing Realm?

Forming a Divine Pill versus not forming one was a fundamental, qualitative difference.

Throughout history, only the most monstrous geniuses had ever achieved the feat of a Human Yuan cultivator slaying an Earthly Yuan expert, or an Earthly Yuan defeating a Heavenly Yuan.

But never had a Soul-Sea Realm cultivator triumphed over a Human Yuan one. Such a thing only existed in legends—stories of young Heavenly Emperors in their early years.

And yet, even those legendary figures couldn’t match Gu Qingfeng’s current absurdity—a Soul-Sea cultivator fighting Earthly Yuan experts, shrugging off Heavenly Yuan attacks.

As he pondered, the refined man made his move.

He produced a faintly yellowed talisman and flicked it into the air.

Then, with a finger infused with divine energy, he traced a character in the void—an ancient "Seal" character.

"Sealing Origin Array—activate!"