The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS

"Welcome to the space between the Heavenly Vault, Xuantian," a voice that was both ancient and yet youthful echoed from the Heaven Pillar to the northeast. Qing Yu looked over and indeed saw a familiar deep blue figure seated upon a throne with countless shifting trajectories.

"The space between the Heavenly Vault does have its resemblance," Qing Yu glanced briefly at the white mist swirling around and nodded gently to the central Jun Heaven, "I have seen Sword God."

"It seems that Sword God's reputation in the worldly society remains undiminished, even a youngster like Xuantian recognizes you," Elder Shiming laughed heartily.

"In the world, the only swordsman capable of injuring this poor Daoist from afar should only be one."

A mysterious smile hung on the corners of Qing Yu's mouth as he looked toward Elder Shiming, "Moreover, Bian Tian, you're also a young man, at least in body."

"Xuantian..." Elder Shiming's words turned grave.

Now, he truly believed that Qing Yu had seen through his pretense. Otherwise, the white-haired Daoist would never have uttered these words.

The World's Number One Master of Heavenly Mechanism suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of crisis, because a young man was close to catching him at his own game.

Unconsciously, Elder Shiming somewhat regretted having agreed to guide Qing Yu into the Nine Heavens.

"Ding ding—" Jun Heaven lightly tapped his throne, his forefinger contacting the complex seat, emitting a crisp sound like the clashing of metal, breaking the somewhat gloomy atmosphere between Qing Yu and Elder Shiming.

"Since you have joined the Nine Heavens, we are fellows on the same path, let's not be too stiff."

The casually spoken words carried an indisputable authority. After issuing the warning, Jun Heaven turned to Elder Shiming, "Bian Tian, introduce Xuantian to the affairs of the Nine Heavens."

To Qing Yu he said, "Xuantian, not everyone is here this time. At the next official gathering, you will meet the other members."

With that, Jun Heaven disappeared from his throne, the mist thickening and enshrouding his seat.

This mist had a powerful obscuring ability, which even Qing Yu could not see through. Of course, this was also related to the fact that he was only present in the form of a Primordial Spirit Projection.

'It seems that the Nine Heavens are not completely transparent.'

Qing Yu turned his gaze to the other six thrones. The seats were all shrouded in mist, obscuring their true form, leaving only their shapes faintly visible.

The existence of the mist served as a means of concealing, and since this space was only for gatherings, what was naturally being concealed were the true faces of those in attendance.

Although the Nine Heavens was an alliance, each person had their own identity and power; they didn't necessarily want to expose themselves.

Among the nine, perhaps only a few knew the identities of everyone. Those few were very likely to be Sword God, and...

Him.

Qing Yu looked toward the deep blue figure.

"It seems you have some guesses," Elder Shiming chuckled, "Indeed, I personally invited all of them, so naturally, I am aware of their identities."

"The Nine Heavens, with Jun Heaven as the leader, and because of Jun Heaven's overwhelming strength and style of not bothering with pretenses, have likewise accorded him the leadership by default. Among the nine, only Jun Heaven and myself are privy to everything. The rest know only of Jun Heaven, Bian Tian, and their own identities. But Xuantian, you are a bit different..."

The meaningful words did not perturb Qing Yu. Today, he possessed the means to resolve most troubles. As for those he couldn't resolve, he would just duck out of the way.

"How am I different?" Qing Yu asked indifferently.

"You remain calm," Elder Shiming spoke, "You were recommended to me and Jun Heaven by You Tian, so why don't you guess who You Tian is?"

"Shadow King."

Qing Yu thought of this person instantly. It was initially the Shadow King who informed him that there was a group of people secretly orchestrating a great calamity to seize the opportunity for longevity. At that time, Qing Yu already suspected that Shadow King was one of them.

Now that he had joined the Nine Heavens, of course, he would speculate which one was Shadow King.

'Betting on both sides, this Shadow King, he really is cunning.' Qing Yu thought to himself.

On one hand, he delivered the Zhenwu Sword to Xuanfa's hands, on the other, he recommended Qing Yu to join the Nine Heavens. Sometimes Shadow King didn't seem like an emperor of shadows but more like a cunning merchant.

However, sometimes a cunning merchant's investments are hesitant and indecisive, something Qing Yu didn't appreciate about Shadow King. Since he had chosen to sit on the fence, he would have to pay a price.

After all, Qing Yu now had enough confidence to confront Shadow King face-to-face; it remained to be seen how Shadow King would decide.

"Is that all?" Qing Yu asked.

"Of course, there is more. These Nine Directions Thrones are all forged from Source Iron; you can infuse True Qi to alter their appearance. Of course, that's not the main point, the main point is our goal..."

Elder Shiming's voice became low and solemn, "I've said it before, our goal is longevity. But in this era, we are limited. To achieve longevity, one must break through to the Realm that legends say the Dao Ancestor and Buddha reached—Tao Realm.

However, the path ahead is hindered, to break through, the only way is to shatter these restraints. The great calamity is our hope. Only by using the calamity can we forcibly blast through the obstructions. Then, all of us may advance to the Tao Realm, to live forever and undying."

That very restraint was something Qing Yu himself had always wanted to break. Yet, he hadn't imagined the great calamity would be the key to shattering it.

'Tao Realm...'

Qing Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered over Elder Shiming's previous words, 'Dao Ancestor and Buddha, the two strongest beings in history, have indeed reached the Six-star—the Tao Realm. But, if the Tao Realm grants eternal life, where did these two figures go?'

Buddha emerged from the Peacock Dynasty and led the Buddhist believers to the Central Plains. Afterward, he mysteriously vanished, and according to Buddhist teachings, entered Nirvana and cycled through reincarnation.

As for Dao Ancestor, he vanished even earlier, nearly ten thousand years before, this great Qi Cultivation practitioner and founder of Taoism disappeared without a trace. Even when Ghost Emperor nearly killed Dao Ancestor's direct descendant Supreme, Dao Ancestor was nowhere to be seen.

"Elder has painstakingly worked for decades, finally thrusting the world into utter chaos. Xuantian, joining Nine Heavens at this time, you won't be able to enjoy decades of leisure like the others," Elder Shiming's laughter faded as he disappeared from his throne, and the mist shrouded it now devoid of an occupant.

"To enjoy leisure, huh," Qing Yu chuckled lightly, "If I, as a villain, were to start living at leisure, where would I go to earn Villain Points."

The plans of the Nine Heavens were undoubtedly to hasten the arrival of the great calamity, making time urgent. Even though Elder Shiming made it sound as if everyone could advance upon the plan's success, who knew what might happen to those who were late?

What if those who didn't advance immediately were killed by those who did?

Leaving his life in the hands of others was not Qing Yu's style.

Qing Yu flicked his sleeve and the throne changed shape to his will, finally settling on a certain form. Afterward, he too disappeared from this vast expanse of white space.