Author Note: I'm going to adjust the name of the planets and sun in Tianyi's universe. The sun will now by Ninth Heaven, and the eighth planet will be First Heaven.
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Directly outside the Huang Realm, two figures stood opposite of each other in the Vast Void. One was Tianyi, still in his Monarch Nine Heavens guise, while the other was War Hall Head Elder Huang Feihong.
"Let's begin," Head Elder Huang Feihong said as a spear appeared in his hand. As his body flew through space, the red tassel on the spearhead seemed to have transformed into a trailing red light.
Tianyi raised both hands and space around his body to distort. Without doing anything else, he clashed head-on with the Buzhou Immortal Sect's strongest martial expert.
After ten or so clashes, Tianyi's body was blasted back. He stopped in the void and stared at Head Elder Huang Feihong with furrowed brows. During the earlier clash, no matter what he did, the War Hall Head Elder seemed to be able to predict all his moves.
"Is that all?"
Tianyi gritted his teeth upon seeing the lack of wariness in Head Elder Huang Feihong's eyes. He held out a hand, and a thousand kilometers of space surrounding Head Elder Huang Feihong started to compress.
Nine Heavens Art - Planetary Purgatory
The head elder had already started to fly out of the area of effect upon the first sign of Tianyi's technique. However, Tianyi simply invested more energy into his attack so that when Head Elder Huang Feihong almost escaped the area of influence, he froze in space, stuck between the gravitational force and his own speed.
Tianyi frowned upon discovering that he had entered a stalemate. So, he raised his other hand, and a miniature sun began to form.
Nine Heavens Art - Stellar Silence
He unleashed the miniature sun, and it exploded extremely close to Head Elder Huang Feihong. Even Tianyi's Planetary Purgagotry collapsed due to the power of Stellar Silence. The technique also lost effectiveness much faster than inside the Huang Realm due to the harshness of the Vast Void.
'I couldn't have accidentally killed him, right?' Just as Tianyi thought this, a sense of danger erupted inside him.
War Hall Head Elder Huang Feihong abruptly appeared behind Tianyi, spear poised to strike. Unlike when he had been caught in Tianyi's technique, his whole body was currently covered in fiery-red energy, and he seemed to have transformed into a war god.
Just as the head elder's spear was about to touch Tianyi's back, he disappeared. Far away, Tianyi reappeared. 'That was close. If I had actually been hit by that, I would be ashamed to tell anyone that I mastered the Law of Spacetime. Not that I'll be using the time portion anytime soon.'
Head Elder Huang Feihong swung his spear a few times before brandishing the tip toward Tianyi. His intent was clear.
Tianyi didn't do anything, but soon, eight clusters of starlight emerged around him. Each one eventually formed an exact replica of him, except they were all white. With a snap of his fingers, all eight incarnations disappeared. When they reappeared, they had surrounded Head Elder Huang Feihong.
But Tianyi wasn't finished. While his incarnations were entangling the martial monarch, he raised his hands, and nine miniature suns appeared. They were half the size of the previous Stellar Silence, but there were far more than before. With a wave of his hand, he launched all of them.
Nine Heavens Art - Stellar Silence Times Nine
Nine more stars exploded in the Vast Void. With the amount of power Tianyi was throwing around, it was a good thing that they weren't exactly next to the Huang Realm. Both for the secret of the Buzhou Immortal Sect and to protect the lives of the denizens.
After a few more exchanges, a voice shouted, "Alright, that's enough."
Both Tianyi and Head Elder Huang Feihong stopped their spar and flew towards Sect Master Xia. Behind him was Mengfei.
"What are your evaluations?" Sect Master Xia asked.
"Elder Nine Heavens has immense reservoirs of qi. Not once in my battle did I feel like he would run out. Coupled with his mastery of the Law of Space, I don't think I can defeat him even with two more immortal monarchs."
Tianyi had to consciously stop himself from preening from War Hall Head Elder Huang Feihong's evaluation. Known as the Martial Monarch, he was publicly acknowledged as the most powerful head elder.
He was even said to be able to be content with immortal emperors. Didn't this mean that Tianyi also possessed this ability immediately after stepping into the Immortal Realm?
However, his happiness was short live.
"Aside from that, I cannot see any other advantage. Elder Nine Heavens may have mastered the Law of Space and maybe the Law of Mass, but his techniques rely on his enormous amounts of qi and are crude in nature. Should you seal his spatial abilities, the chances of defeat increase dramatically," Head Elder Huang Feihong said. "I can't defeat him, but he can't defeat me either."
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Tianyi resisted the urge to smack his lips. 'Well, I can't deny that.'
Sect Master Xia nodded and turned towards Tianyi. "Elder Nine Heavens, do you have anything to say?"
Tianyi shook his head. "Head Elder Huang's words are true. I'll fix my deficiency as soon as possible."
"Very well," Sect Master Xia said. "Now, let us return. If you would, Grand Elder Xi."
Mengfei waved her arm, and a sphere of light appeared around them. The light turned into a beam, and a second later, the four reappeared in Sect Master Xia's grand hall.
Head Elder Huang Feihong cupped his fist and left. He had more important matters to attend to than assessing a new immortal monarch's combat capabilities. Once he left, Sect Master evoked the formations and sealed the space to prevent information leakage.
"Little Xi, do you think you can win against Head Elder Huang?" Sect Master Xia asked.
Tianyi thought about it and then said, "If I can get him into my inner universe, I should be able to. But with my current strength, I don't think I can."
Sect Master Xia nodded. "Your cultivation method is very unique. If the Buzhou Immortal Sect were to relocate or set up a branch in your universe, what would your thoughts be?"
"Huh?" Tianyi very smartly replied. There were so many ways it could be said, and Sect Master Xia chose the best words, but Tianyi still felt a bit weird.
After a moment, he nodded. He wasn't against it. "Ninth Heaven and Sixth Heaven are mine. You can choose any of the other heavens."
"Thank you," Sect Master Xia said. "We are still considering the option."
"We?" Tianyi asked. Aside from Sect Master Xia and his mother, perhaps the only other person who might know was Grand Elder Zhang, Empress Voidink.
Sect Master Xia directed his gaze towards the Buzhou Immortal Sect's forbidden ground, Broken Heaven Valley.
"You don't have to think about it too much. We won't set up a new branch or relocate until after the war." Sect Master Xia said. "Until then, you should quickly consolidate your gains. The amount of skill you have does not befit your current power."
Tianyi nodded. "I will aim to increase my skills as fast as possible."
Sect Master Xia smiled. "You don't have to be uptight. Unless we are forced to, we really don't want to send you out. But you should still be prepared."
"Right, I almost forgot. Every immortal monarch can become a peak lord. Now that you already have the strength of an immortal monarch, do you want to establish your own peak?'
"Yi'er is still young. There's no need for him to move out yet," Mengfei said before Tianyi could answer.
Tianyi felt his lips twitch. 'I'm almost a centenarian, but I'm still young?'
"Mother, I think it's a good idea. The more distance this identity can establish from Jade Peak, the better. Besides, now that I've reached this stage, there is no need to worry about any accidental explosions since I entered a new realm," Tianyi said.
Mengfei stayed silent for a while before she closed her eyes. "If that is your decision. You can come to visit Jade Peak whenever you want."
"Of course I will. My clone is still there," Tianyi said.
Mengfei then glanced at Sect Master Xia. Sect Master Xia saw no ill will from Mengfei, just an emotionless glance, but he felt the shadow of death looming over him. He quickly said to Tianyi, "You don't need to be too far. It's just establishing a peak. There is plenty of free space next to Jade Peak."
Only after he said this did Sect Master Xia feel the danger disappear, and he secretly released a sigh of relief.
In the next few days, news of the new peak lord soon spread throughout the sect, and everyone celebrated. They didn't just celebrate because of the increase in morale, but because there were tangible benefits to the inauguration of a peak lord.
The day Nine Heavens Peak was established, the whole Buzhou Immortal Sect shook. Nine mountains were uprooted from the ground and formed a giant formation.
Then a voice could be heard throughout the whole sect. "In a month's time, I will deliver a sermon to all those capable of climbing my Nine Heavens Peak."
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The Dragon Emperor stared at the new peak of the Buzhou Immortal Sect. He was in the middle of secluded cultivation, aiming to enter the Immortal Realm as soon as possible, but the commotion disturbed him.
He exited Immortal Redseal’s mansion and flew towards the highest mountain. The new Nine Heavens Peak had nine floating mountains, and each one was on a different level. However, he discovered that no matter how hard he tried, his body was forced to fly towards the mountain closest to the ground.
The Dragon Emperor snorted, feeling like the new immortal monarch wanted to establish prestige. He began to unleash the power of the worldly law he was one step away from mastering and successfully broke the suppression of the Nine Heavens Peak's formation.
But before he could be happy for long, he discovered that an even more powerful suppression was weighing down on him. He could forcibly ascend, but before he could even reach the highest mountain, he would have run out of qi.
Unwillingly, the Dragon Emperor could only obediently land on the first mountain. There, he saw a gate with the words "First Mountain" written on it.
The Dragon Emperor snorted again and observed the cultivators on First Mountain. They were predominantly qi gathering pupils. On Second Mountain, the majority were foundation establishment disciples; on Third Mountain, the primary people left were core formation masters, and so on.
He rose from mountain to mountain until he stepped onto Sixth Mountain. Most of the people here were transcending mortality saints or earth immortals, so the Dragon Emperor stood out with his World Merging Realm cultivation base.
The Dragon Emperor glanced at them and then back to Fifth Mountain, where most venerables were stuck. He turned around and flew along the path towards Seventh Mountain.
Along the passage, the Dragon Emperor discovered that his flight was no longer smooth. He narrowed his eyes and displayed the worldly law he had almost mastered and successfully stepped onto Seventh Mountain.
There, he saw other immortals and some powerful earth immortals. The Dragon Emperor paid them no heed and continued towards Eighth Mountain. Or, at least he attempted to.
For he discovered that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't step onto Eight Mountain no matter what, and he had to give up before his true qi ran out.
The Dragon Emperor stared unwillingly at the Ninth Mountain, but he could only give up and obediently stay on Seventh Mountain.
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On Ninth Mountain, aside from Tianyi, there were only eight presences, unlike the fourteen on Eighth Mountain. Two of them were Mengfei and Grand Elder Zhang. The other six were immortal monarch elders such as Sect Master Xia, head elders, and those that specifically made the trip back to listen to Tianyi's sermon.
The Law of Space was regarded as one of the most powerful worldly laws an immortal could master. They didn't train in it but comprehending the Law of Space had no disadvantages, so they appeared.
Tianyi opened his eyes and stared in Lovespot's direction with some surprise. He had never expected that Lovespot would be so close to mastering a worldly law.
If Lovespot had been immortal and possessed immortal qi, he would have been able to step onto Eighth Mountain along with the other immortal lords.
'Should I find some reason to kick him out?' Tianyi thought before ultimately shaking his head. He didn't want to abuse his power as Immortal Redseal had. Since Lovespot could reach Seventh Mountain, he would allow him to listen.
Tianyi closed and returned to meditating until time ran out for people to come.