A few days later.
Gu Changyuan brought Tushan Hanyan back to the Heavenly Court.
After sending Tushan Hanyan off, Gu Changyuan waved his right hand and summoned every Immortal Emperor of the Heavenly Court to the central hall.
Figures appeared from different directions, each radiating the unique aura of an Immortal Emperor.
That aura alone, when manifested by a single individual, was enough to make heaven and earth turn their heads—and when more than thirty such auras converged within the same great hall, the pressure nearly turned the air itself stagnant.
Because of their ties to the Heavenly Court, these Immortal Emperors were already acquainted with one another.
All of them kept their auras tightly restrained; none deliberately released their pressure to assert dominance, nor did any suppress themselves to appear humble.
Gu Changyuan watched as everyone gathered. He raised his right hand and gave a light wave toward the center of the hall.
A massive round table materialized in the palace.
One by one, they took their seats, no one jostling for position.
Gu Changyuan braced his hands on the tabletop, leaning slightly forward. His gaze swept across every face in the room, and then he spoke.
"You are all no doubt aware of the news regarding the Imperial Court.
Beyond the Immortal Emperor realm lie the Dao Venerable and Divine Emperor stages.
That, presumably, is the realm each of you seeks to pursue and attain.
And this so-called 'Emperor'—he should already have reached the Dao Venerable stage.
To acquire more information, we may well have to obtain it from the Emperor himself.
Moreover, I have sensed that the enemy has already detected Zhenyue's fall and is now rapidly investigating.
So we have little time left—once they lock onto our location, the Imperial Court will strike first.
If that happens, we will be forced onto the defensive."
His tone remained calm, but the expression on every Immortal Emperor present turned grim.
"So," Gu Changyuan straightened up, his gaze pausing for a moment over the assembled crowd, "rather than sit and wait for death, it is better to strike first and go straight for their heart.
On the Middle Province Immortal Domain, I have already laid a concealed teleportation formation through my avatar—one that can deliver us directly to the core of the Imperial Court.
Catch them completely off guard."
The Immortal Emperors around the round table exchanged glances.
Zhuge Xuanji did not speak immediately. After a moment, he gave a slight nod.
"We have all reviewed the intelligence. The data on the core region's defensive nodes is complete.
The odds of winning with a preemptive strike are higher than with passive defense."
The leading Immortal Emperor of the Xuanyuan clan slammed a palm onto the table—not hard, but the sound rang out sharply.
"Nothing more to say. We fight! I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
The Immortal Emperors of the Purple Dawn Immortal Dynasty and the Cloudwild Immortal Dynasty also voiced their positions one after another. Though their words were more measured than those before them, their stance was equally unambiguous.
Since they had already boarded the Heavenly Court's ship, there would be no hesitation now.
The vast majority of Immortal Emperors leaned toward taking the initiative, while a few more cautious ones, after repeatedly simulating every possible outcome, had to admit the same conclusion.
Passive waiting would only sharpen the Imperial Court's vigilance and thicken their defenses—and once the Emperor fully locked onto the Heavenly Court's position before making a move,
what awaited them would be the full crushing weight of the Imperial Court's might.
But a preemptive strike, at the very least, could disrupt their rhythm and seize the first-mover advantage.
Gu Changyuan listened to their deliberations without rushing to interject.
His gaze swept across each face, taking in the light that kindled in their eyes as the news spread, the resolve born of hatred, and the unwavering certainty that came after careful deliberation.
Then he spoke. His voice was not loud, just enough for every person around the round table to hear clearly, without effort, without emphasis—yet it silenced all discussion.
“For this operation, only the Immortal Emperor will go. After all, this is a covert strike, and the teleportation array can only carry a limited number of people at a time.”
The air in the hall seemed to congeal for a brief moment.
Gu Changyuan noticed the faint confusion, and continued:
“The Emperor’s stronghold is guarded by other forces at least. Any cultivator below the Immortal Emperor level would only become a burden. We need to tear through their core defenses with the fastest speed and the strongest combat power, establishing suppression before the Tians hengs can react.”
His gaze swept across the faces around him once more, his tone calm as ever:
“All of you are to contend with the other Tians hengs, split them apart, and suppress them one by one. As for me—”
He paused slightly.
“I will force the Emperor out and engage him directly.”
The hall fell silent for a moment.
A rare flicker passed through Xing Huang’s golden eyes. She looked at Gu Changyuan and spoke softly:
“Changyuan, that is a Daozun.”
She did not question, did not dissuade—she was merely stating a fact that everyone knew all too well.
Around the round table, many gazes simultaneously turned to Gu Changyuan.
Those eyes carried concern, curiosity, and anticipation—they were waiting for an answer.
An answer sufficient to put their hearts at ease, to entrust their backs to him.
Gu Changyuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze calmly meeting those stares.
“Leave it to me.”
His voice was quiet, but resolute.
In his past life, he had undoubtedly already reached the Daozun realm.
Now, with the feedback from over thirty Immortal Emperors and countless Immortal Kings and below,
Gu Changyuan himself did not know exactly what level he had reached. Only by facing a true Daozun would he find out.
And he still had trump cards in reserve, so he did not believe he would lose.
A flash of understanding passed through Xing Huang’s golden eyes. She nodded slightly and asked nothing further.
What they were facing was not just the Imperial Court, but also the Devouring Beast King from beyond that world.
Since it could easily deal with Immortal Emperor Cangwu, the Devouring Beast King was at least at the Daozun level.
To contend with it, the Emperor was currently the fastest way to understand the Daozun realm.
Seeing no objections, Gu Changyuan spoke again:
“In that case, everyone rests here for now. Four hours from now, we strike directly at the Imperial Court."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
