Chapter 418.1: Heavenly Venerable Motongs Plan

Chapter 418.1: Heavenly Venerable Motong's Plan

Layers upon layers of dark clouds dyed the night black as ink. A few strands of pure moonlight seemed to chisel their way through the clouds and fall upon Qi Yuan's deep crimson robe.

The sound of silence entered his ears once again.

He rushed to check the game icon inside his gaming jade. "I'm busy going to be an actor. Why don't you work a little harder and grow yourself a mouth? Otherwise, I have absolutely no idea what you're saying!"

Though the gaming jade didn’t respond, he could still hear the sound of silence. Countless speculations flashed through his mind.

He rambled on nonsensically, "Who are you? Could it be that you're the Great Void, and because you're too void, you can't speak? Or are you Chaos, formless and without apertures? What a pity, I'm not Nuwa[1], so I can't mold you into a clay figure and give you facial features. My name is Qi Yuan. In a while, I'll be playing this game of yours. When that time comes, I'll take a look and see whether you're suffering from kidney deficiency!"

When he descended to the ground, spiritual energy surged and churned around him, proclaiming the arrival of a Heavenly Venerable. Since he was acting, Qi Yuan behaved with great respect. His tall, upright figure stood firm before bending slightly at the waist. "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable Motong!"

Upon receiving word of his arrival, the stationed Mythic cultivators and ordinary Great Venerables all bowed in the direction where Qi Yuan stood.

From within the darkness, someone’s hoarse voice rang out. "Enter."

Following that, a hole split open in the sky above, from which a flood of spiritual energy surged out. Qi Yuan raised his head and looked toward that opening, feeling as though he were staring directly into a pair of cold and merciless eyes. Every Principle realm expert possessed a principle unique to themselves. He did not know what Motong's principle was.

As he entered, he remained extraordinarily cautious, doing everything in his power to conceal his own aura while maintaining the image of Mochi.

When he appeared once more, he found himself within an abyssal void. Sapphire-blue clouds drifted through the air. Several vertical, decaying iron chains stretched across the abyss, supporting an enormous boulder. A throne of white bones stood upon that boulder, with an enormous eyeball seated upon it. There was no body and no limbs, only a solitary eyeball. It was Motong's true body.

For Heavenly Venerables such as these—particularly those who had enemies—their Past and Present Selves would generally be merged together unless special circumstances dictated otherwise. After all, if a Heavenly Venerable seized their Past Self, it could be traced all the way back to their true body. That would be extremely troublesome.

Motong said hoarsely, "Now that you’ve come here, you will have to suppress and guard Severed Moon Abyss for a hundred thousand years. As fellow Yang Spirits, we should interact more often."

He nodded. "Indeed, no objection here!"

This space was pitch-black, with virtually no unnecessary sunlight whatsoever. Qi Yuan guessed that it had something to do with the fact that Motong’s true body was an eyeball. In that case, sunlight would be too glaring. What if Motong became nearsighted?

In truth, Qi Yuan very much wanted to ask Motong whether he required glasses. Still, recalling that he was pretending to be Mochi, he restrained himself. At the same time, Qi Yuan was deeply moved by his own sacrifice. For the sake of being a good actor, he had suppressed his natural instincts. He had sacrificed far too much.

Motong asked impassively, "I heard that you killed the Taihuang Palace's envoy?"

He declared forcefully, "Even though I personally descended upon Severed Moon Abyss, he failed to come and welcome me. And he dares call himself the garrison envoy?! He should rightfully be executed!"

"He deserved death."

Master Baiteng was merely an envoy of the Taihuang Palace. If he was killed, then so be it.

Qi Yuan stayed in character. "Thank you for understanding!"

Just then, he felt as though needles were pricking his back. It was as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at him. His aura constricted, yet his gaze remained calm, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The bloodshot eye stared intently at Qi Yuan. "In some time, a Moon Radiance Banquet will be held in the Absolute Moon Abyss. Mochi, why don’t you join me in charging into the Absolute Moon Abyss? Let’s make a big move."

A feeling of insignificance arose within Qi Yuan's heart. He felt as though the eyeball before him shouldn’t have been seated upon a throne of white bones, but instead should have been hanging high in the heavens.

Qi Yuan appropriately revealed surprise in his eyes. "Heavenly Venerable, do you intend to attack the Absolute Moon Abyss? With the Divine Moon Palace’s Creation Treasure, the Serene Radiant Waning Moon, I’m afraid it will be very difficult."

The Divine Moon Palace possessed more than one Creation Treasure, and each possessed its own unique abilities. The Serene Radiant Waning Moon linked together the various territories belonging to the Divine Moon Palace throughout the demon abyss, placing them all within the Empty Radiance Silent Realm.

In truth, it was a form of soul attack specifically targeting Yang Spirits. Every Heavenly Venerable who entered this realm would be subjected to a special conceptual attack. Those with flawed souls who forcibly advanced to the Yang Spirit realm would be struck down almost instantly.

Even Heavenly Venerables with flawless souls would still be affected, with vulnerabilities appearing within their otherwise immaculate souls. If a Divine Moon Palace Heavenly Venerable attacked, it would be a guaranteed killing blow.

A trace of amusement flashed within Motong’s eye. "The Serene Radiant Waning Moon... If there’s one thing this world never lacks, it’s ambitious people. Within the Divine Moon Palace, there is a Mythic cultivator who hasn’t been able to break through for five hundred thousand years. As long as she remains within the Divine Moon Palace, she will never be able to step into the Yang Spirit realm in this lifetime.

"I promised to help her advance into the Yang Spirit realm, and in exchange, she will provide me with a little guidance. Even though she only has an insignificant authority over the Serene Radiant Waning Moon, that will suffice."

Qi Yuan replied, "Ascending to the Yang Spirit realm is as difficult as ascending to the heavens..."

What he meant was that entering the Yang Spirit realm was extraordinarily difficult, and even though Motong was a Principle realm expert, he still could not necessarily help a Mythic cultivator become a Yang Spirit.

Motong said with absolute confidence, "It's merely a promise. Do you truly think I intend to help her? A mere Mythic cultivator dares cooperate with a Principle realm expert. No matter how many rules she understands, she is destined to lose."

Due to their limited understanding, some Mythic experts grew convinced they could sign certain agreements or swear heart-demon oaths with a Heavenly Venerable, thereby establishing a cooperative relationship.

On Blue Planet, that would be akin to a middle schooler signing a contract with an exceptionally skilled lawyer. It would be extremely difficult for the student to spot the traps hidden within. The two sides were fundamentally unequal. That Mythic cultivator probably knew that Motong could deceive her, but even so, she could only gamble. After all, an opportunity to enter the Yang Spirit realm was far too precious.

Motong explained, "If Lord Moon God had not suffered severe injuries, leaving everyone anxious and unsettled, that Mythic would never have decided to cooperate with me. I will be responsible for the surprise attack and for severely injuring Heavenly Venerable Longyue.

"You need only conceal the heavenly secrets and prevent the other Heavenly Venerables from learning what has happened here. Before you leave, erase all of the Divine Moon Palace's lower-level cultivators and abduct the two Moon Maidens."

Motong revealed his entire plan to Qi Yuan. The primary objective was to catch Longyue off guard and severely injure her. As for killing her, that was beyond his ability. Qi Yuan’s feat could also be considered a fairly respectable achievement.

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, pretending to think. Could this possibly be a trap?

1. Nüwa (女娲) is the foundational Mother Goddess, creator of humankind, and a culture hero in ancient Chinese mythology. Her legend is defined by two key roles. The Creator: She is credited with molding the first humans from clay and instituting the institution of marriage. The Savior: When the heavens cracked and disasters struck, she melted colorful stones to repair the sky and saved the world from total destruction. ☜