The Five Immortal Emperors of Zhuge

At that moment, Zhuge Xuanji’s gaze fell upon Gu Changyuan.

His deep azure Eyes of Heavenly Fate lingered on Gu Changyuan for a brief moment, then he frowned slightly—not out of displeasure, but because he could not see through him.

His Eyes of Heavenly Fate could perceive the threads of causality in all things under heaven, capable of sifting through countless possibilities to find the one closest to the truth.

But Gu Changyuan bore no threads of causality, no possibilities, nothing that could be deduced; he was like a blank canvas.

His ability to make deductions had completely failed before Gu Changyuan.

To Zhuge Xuanji’s left stood another man.

With a square face, firm brows, and resolute eyes.

He was half a head taller than Zhuge Xuanji, with broad shoulders and a thick back.

Zhuge Jiuyuan, the Nine-Abyss Immortal Emperor.

His Dao was the art of war.

He had entered the Dao through military strategy, commanding myriad troops as one.

His will was the military order, his thoughts the battle formation, and every decision he made instantly reached the consciousness of every soldier.

He could mold a ragtag group of stragglers into an iron army that marched with discipline, amplify the fighting power of such an army severalfold, and execute the most precise commands amidst the ever-changing chaos of the battlefield.

Taking another step to the left was another man.

His features were handsome, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, clad in a pale blue robe.

Zhuge Yu, the Heavenly Feather Immortal Emperor.

His power was a speed that transcended the very laws.

The spatial laws of the Celestial Realm imposed an upper limit on a cultivator’s movement speed. When one’s speed reached a certain threshold, spatial resistance would arise, preventing further acceleration.

But Zhuge Yu’s speed was not constrained by the laws of space.

Not because he broke them, but because his very existence was a “circumvention” of the spatial laws.

To Zhuge Xuanji’s right stood two women.

The first on the right appeared to be in her thirties.

She wore a pale blue long dress, her hair pinned up with a green jade hairpin.

Her face was elegant and refreshing, a beauty that soothed the heart.

Zhuge Qing, the Clear Shadow Immortal Emperor.

She could exist in multiple locations at the same time, with each clone being real, each possessing her full cultivation and combat power.

Moreover, Zhuge Qing possessed an extreme level of concealment, and simple detection methods could not capture her.

Farther to the right was the last of the Immortal Emperors.

Her temperament was completely different from Zhuge Qing’s.

Zhuge Qing was gentle, tranquil, like a green bamboo; this one was cold, aloof, like a frozen lake.

She was tall, her features cool and composed, with hair like a waterfall falling to her waist.

Zhuge Jing, the Bright Mirror Immortal Emperor.

Her power was reflection—she could reflect the essence of all things in the world.

She could see through disguises, illusions, the facades of people’s hearts, and the depths of their souls.

When Gu Changyuan’s gaze fell upon her, a flicker of shock passed through his eyes.

Her physique was extremely similar to Bai Ling’er’s.

He could sense within her a resonance of the same origin as Bai Ling’er’s—that clear, transparent aura, as if it could reflect the essence of all things in the world.

It was the Bright Mirror Dao Heart.

It shared the same origin as the Exquisite Dao Heart, yet was slightly different.

The Exquisite Dao Heart was “transparency”—all things enter the heart, leaving no dust, penetrating the essence, pointing directly to the core.

The Bright Mirror Dao Heart was “reflection”—all things enter the mirror, presented as they truly are, without addition, without subtraction, without bias.

One is inward digestion and understanding; the other is outward observation and documentation.

Two Dao hearts, from the same root and origin, yet diverging along different paths.

Bai Ling'er's Exquisite Dao Heart was stronger than Zhuge Jing's Mirror-Like Dao Heart.

This wasn't a matter of quantity, but of quality.

Although Zhuge Jing's Mirror-Like Dao Heart was also an exceedingly rare constitution, compared to the Exquisite Dao Heart, it still fell short by an entire tier.

But even so, a Mirror-Like Dao Heart remained a constitution that could drive the entire Immortal Realm wild with desperation.

Zhuge Jing felt it, too.

She shifted her gaze from Gu Changyuan and fixed it on Bai Ling'er, who stood behind him.

The moment her eyes landed on Bai Ling'er, they lit up sharply.

At the same instant, the Exquisite Dao Heart within Bai Ling'er reacted. She sensed a strange resonance—as if something inside her was vibrating faintly, its frequency perfectly aligned with some power deep within Zhuge Jing.

Bai Ling'er tilted her head slightly, her eyes settling on Zhuge Jing.

Zhuge Jing's breath caught for a moment.

She wanted to take her as a disciple.

The thought exploded in Zhuge Jing's mind, nearly impossible to contain. She took half a step forward, her lips parted slightly, and she almost blurted it out—"Would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Before her foot even touched the ground, her rationality returned.

She almost forgot that the girl already had a master. Poaching someone right in front of them would be somewhat improper.

Zhuge Jing withdrew her foot and pressed her lips shut.

She took a deep breath, swallowing the almost-spoken "Are you willing?" back down into her stomach. Her gaze slipped away from Bai Ling'er and settled back on Gu Changyuan.

After Gu Changyuan exchanged basic greetings with the five Immortal Emperors, he was led to a seat on one side of the main hall.

The seat was carved from emerald jade, its lines simple and unadorned, but the moment he sat down, he could feel a gentle warmth of spiritual energy seeping into his body through the seat's surface.

The five Immortal Emperors took their seats in turn.

Zhuge Xuanji occupied the head seat, Gu Changyuan sat in the honored guest's seat at the head of the opposite row, while the other four Immortal Emperors sat on either side.

After all, the people before him were Immortal Emperors, each having lived at least tens of thousands of years. There was no spectacle they hadn't witnessed, no formality they hadn't been through.

At their level, all the pretense, falsehood, and maneuvering had long been worn away by the passage of time.

You say what you mean, ask for what you want; if cooperation is possible, you cooperate; if not, you part ways.

That was how Immortal Emperors communicated.

No one would take offense at someone speaking too bluntly, nor would they consider you rude for not being tactful enough.

So Gu Changyuan skipped the pleasantries.

The two sides exchanged their respective information.

Then Gu Changyuan made the same proposal—an invitation for them to join the Heavenly Court.

His voice was low, his tone calm.

But the content of those words caused the air in the hall to freeze for an instant. The five Immortal Emperors' gazes converged on him all at once.

Gu Changyuan didn't stop.

Watching their reactions, he continued:

"The Star Clan has already agreed. I have also taken the seat of the Origin of Ten Thousand Stars."

In the moment those words fell, the expressions on the five Immortal Emperors' faces underwent a noticeable change.

It wasn't the exaggerated, external kind of "shock"—the kind that required dropping one's jaw and widening one's eyes.

Those who had reached the level of Immortal Emperor, having lived for at least tens of thousands of years, had long since passed the age at which they could be flustered by any single event.