Tianyi, who originally planned to enter the Numinous Realm, decided to take his time. At least, he wanted to see who exactly this Elder Nine Thunders was.

Unlike when he visited Jade Peak, Tianyi didn’t know where to go to find Elder Nine Thunders. He didn’t know who the person was, so he couldn’t spread his immortal sense to detect. Not to mention that he had sneaked into the sect grounds. Although his body may be hidden in the layers of spacetime, using his immortal sense would likely expose him.

As a member of the Buzhou Immortal Sect himself, Tianyi shouldn’t need to fear revealing himself. The problem was his identity. Even if he explained that he was someone from another timeline and he wasn’t Xi Longtian, many sect members would likely be hostile to him. They might even lock him up until they can verify his words.

His best chance at verification, the Immortal Court Spirit, was likely gone or in hibernation. And he didn’t want to be locked up. He had better things to spend his time on.

Hiding his identity would be counterproductive. If he exposed himself, they would just think he was an invader and be even more hostile.

Tianyi sighed. Aside from his eyes, his face really brought him a lot of trouble. At first glance, it appeared different from the other Dragon Emperor clones, but upon closer inspection, anyone who knew would be able to see the signs.

However, that didn’t mean he had no direction. From the team of cultivators’ conversation, Elder Nine Thunders should be a newly risen monarch with considerable influence. So visiting Sect Master Xia might lead to more clues.

On the way up the mountain, Tianyi’s step paused. He stared at a person he hadn’t seen in over two thousand years. Unlike the emotionless state he had seen him before, the handsome man radiated an aura of gentleness. He had a jade coronet holding up his hair and a plain sword on his waist.

Tianyi didn’t say anything and followed the man up Central Peak. When the man entered the palace, he saw Sect Master Xia waiting for him in the main hall. He cupped his fist toward the sect master. “Disciple, Xia Yushan, greets Master.”

That’s right, the man that caused Tianyi to stop was Xia Yushan, the former eldest senior brother of the Buzhou Immortal Mountain.

Without his presence, Xia Yushan never questioned his talent and successfully became a true immortal without forming an inner devil. Not only that…

“Yushan, are you purposely letting your aura as an immortal monarch leak out, or can you not control your aura well after breaking through?” Sect Master Xia asked with a teasing smile.

Xia Yushan smiled and lowered his hands. “Of course not. I just broke through and came to tell Master.”

The master and disciple shared a few more words before Sect Master Xia shooed Xia Yushan away. “Alright, no need to accompany an old man like me. Elder Nine Thunders will be happy to hear about your breakthrough.”

“I plan to visit him after seeing Master,” Xia Yushan said.

“Then go,” Sect Master Xia said.

Tianyi planned to follow Xia Yushan to see Elder Nine Thunders, but when he heard what Sect Master Xia said after Xia Yushan left, his footsteps halted.

“Yushan, ah, Yushan. Had you not compared yourself with Nine Heavens, your accomplishments would not be lower than mine. Unfortunately, you competed with others and forgot the most important thing. You cultivation speed in the prime timeline was faster, but you fell in the end. On the road of cultivation, you have to break your limits and surpass yourself, not others,” Sect Master Xia said with pity. He turned around and walked in.

Tianyi turned around and walked back inside the main hall. He scrutinized Sect Master Xia’s back. There was nothing wrong, and the figure exuded the aura of a veteran immortal monarch. There was no excess qi leaking off of him or any other signs that suggested he broke through to the Extremity Immortal Realm or mastered all five elemental laws.

Still, that meant nothing. Someone as experienced as Sect Master Xia would know how to hide the aura of his breakthrough, especially out of battle. And he could have chosen not to break through when mastering the five elemental laws.

“Grand Elder Xia?” Tianyi tentatively called out.

Sect Master Xia’s figure jolted, and he snapped around with vigilance. When he saw Tianyi’s figure, his eyes widened. Obviously, he had recognized him. There was a bit of shock, but not much. “I sensed something wrong and later learned that someone had entered the Six Paths of Samsara. I had a sneaking suspicion it was you, and it turns out I was right.”

He smiled. “After all, it’s not your first journey to another timeline.”

Tianyi gave a helpless smile. “I found that I reached a bottleneck. To get more inspiration, I decided to enter the Six Paths of Samsara. I’m not strong enough to stay for long, so I decided to visit other timelines on the way.”

“Even you get bottlenecks?”

“What kind of question is that?” Tianyi showed a flabbergasted expression. “Of course I also have bottlenecks.”

He shook his head. “By the way, do you have any information on the Numinous Sword Sect or the Buddhist Pure Lands? I plan to infiltrate them and see if I can discover any of their trump cards and the like.”

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“I do know some information, but I’m not sure that your endeavor will be useful,” Grand Elder Xia said.

“Why?”

“The Immortal Court is not the only ones who knows the existence of different timelines. To prevent information leakage, only senior immortal emperors will know the core information. The reason I know more than the average immortal emperor was thanks to my position. So even if someone travels to a different timeline, the amount of information they can glean is limited,” Grand Elder Xia said.

“Well, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try,” Grand Elder Xia continued. “Precautions are one thing, but there hasn’t been a recorded case of this happening.”

Tianyi nodded. Grand Elder Xia proceeded to teach him what he knew about the Numinous Sword Sect and the Buddhists. After learning everything, Tianyi asked, “Can you tell me about Elder Nine Thunders?”

Upon hearing Tianyi’s request, Grand Elder Xia showed an odd expression. He didn’t immediately answer and asked, “Why are you curious about him?”

“While I was on Jade Peak, I heard some peop—juniors talking about him and became curious. After all, he and I both share the word nine in our titles.”

Grand Elder Xia nodded. “Speaking of Elder Nine Thunders, he is from the same generation as you. He was originally an ordinary outer disciple, but after being humiliated by the Dragon Emperor clone, he left the sect to temper himself. He was lucky and obtained the inheritance of the Thunder Duke, altering his destiny. Because he absorbed nine immortal lightnings into his body, he gave himself the title of Nine Thunders.”

Tianyi’s eyes lit up. He loved protagonist-like stories, and he had some impression of Elder Nine Thunder’s experience. “Are you talking about Zi Zun?”

“You know him?”

“A little bit. I saw him sparring with other disciples when he was a core formation master,” Tianyi said. “What happened to him? Since he was able to become an immortal monarch here, why have I heard no word of him in the prime timeline?”

Grand Elder Xia shook his head. “He disappeared years ago. We searched for him, but we couldn’t find any of his traces. His disappearance coincided with Lovespot’s, or rather, the Dragon Emperor’s disappearance. So the sect thinks he may have been abducted or left with the Dragon Emperor.”

Tianyi nodded. “I’m going to take a look before leaving.”

“Wait,” Grand Elder Xia called out. “You shouldn’t show yourself in front of him. Even if I step forward—”

“I know, I know,” Tianyi said. “He’ll probably mistake me for the Dragon Emperor and so will everyone else.”

Grand Elder Xia seemed to want to say more, but Tianyi’s figure had already vanished before his eyes. He sighed and muttered, “Why does it seem like you think he and you have no grievances?”

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Inside Thunderclap Palace atop Thunderclap Peak sat a plain faced man with thick brows. He wore the customary white robes of the Buzhou Immortal Sect. At first glance, he appeared like a passerby, forgettable. But once someone looked closer, they would feel an unforgettable and indomitable aura emanating from the man.

The man opened his eyes, and lightning flashed endlessly in his pupils. After a second, he smiled, softening the aura around him. “Brother Xia, congratulations.”

Xia Yushan walked in and laughed. “Didn’t I tell you I would catch up soon, Brother Zi?”

“You did, but I didn’t expect it to be less than a hundred years,” Zi Zun said.

“I feel like you’re mocking me,” Xia Yushan joked. “You only spent ten years as a true immortal before becoming an immortal monarch, while I spent over a hundred years.”

“But didn’t you become a true immortal faster than me?”

Xia Yushan couldn’t help but shake his head. “If you hadn’t been trapped in an immortal grotto, you would have likely become a true immortal faster than me. Even then, wasn’t your attainments in the Law of Lightning higher than my attainments in the Law of Metal?”

“Alright, let’s stop, or this conversation will never end,” Zi Zun said. “How is your condition? When will you be ready to hunt him down?”

Upon hearing his words, Xia Yushan’s face also turned serious. “Give me ten years to stabilize my cultivation and perfect my technique. After ten years, I will make that bastard pay for harming her.”

Zi Zun nodded and killing intent appeared in his eyes, making the lightning in his pupils even more tyrannical.

Unknown to the two of them, their entire conversation was heard by a third party. Tianyi didn’t even need to guess to know the target the two spoke of was Xi Longtian.

Since he learned of the two’s plan, he wanted to see them attack Xi Longtian. If they couldn’t kill him, he didn’t mind lending his aid. Secretly, of course.

While waiting, Tianyi observed Zi Zun. He could sense nine different auras from his body. One was pure lightning, but the others were lightning mixed with something. The strongest aura he sensed, aside from lightning, was fire, metal, and destruction.

According to Tianyi’s conjecture, the aura was from Zi Zun’s attainment of the worldly laws creating a resonance with the nine lightnings contained in his immortal body. He heard that Zi Zun had nine immortal lightnings, so this didn’t surprise him. He suspected that Zi Zun wanted to use the lightning in his body as a springboard to comprehend the worldly laws faster or increase his potential.

Tianyi grew bored after a while. He wasn’t in a hurry. The degradation had reached a terrifying point in this time, so speed was flowing faster in this timeline than the prime timeline. He sat down and started digesting the insights he gained when he traveled through the Six Paths of Samsara.

Soon, ten years passed, and Xia Yushan entered Thunderclap Peak again.

The two of them quietly left the Buzhou Immortal Sect without telling anyone. They used a side entrance instead of passing through the Mortal Severance Gate. Of course, the formation detected their departure without their notice, but if someone noticed, they didn’t stop them.

Because the Law of Lightning was focused on instantaneous bursts, it was the complete opposite of stealth. While the Law of Metal wasn’t as flamboyant as the Law of Lightning, it didn’t have much to do with stealth either. So the two relied more on the stealth techniques they mastered.

Naturally, Tianyi followed behind. The Law of Spacetime made it much easier to sneak around than the Law of Lightning or the Law of Metal.

After a while, Tianyi noticed where the two were heading. It was the old domain of the Xi Dynasty.

Upon arriving at the capital, the two shed all stealth and broke into the imperial palace through the front gates. The two were clear that although their stealth capabilities could fool some immortal monarchs, it definitely couldn’t escape the eyes of Xi Longtian. As rotten as his personality was, there was no denying his excellence.

When the two broke in, a man was sitting on the dragon throne, as if waiting for them. He didn’t even react to the broken gates as they entered the throne hall.

When they reached a hundred meters from him, the man finally opened his eyes. “You two really are idiotic. If you had hidden in the Buzhou Immortal Court, you could have lived longer.”

Dragon Emperor Xi Longtian gazed down at his two nemeses, and a heavy pressure exploded from his body.