Odd Gathering

A vast, seemingly endless mass of darkness lighted only by the multitude of scattered stars that made up its starry sky; the Celestial Realm's space was divided into three layers, the superior heaven layer occupied solely by the Heavenly World, the middle heaven layer occupied by the immortal worlds, and the lesser heaven layer occupied by the mortal worlds. Meanwhile, the Heavenly World was sometimes called the Divine Heaven World by immortals due to it being the only one capable of producing natural divine qi. And while there were hundreds of immortal worlds and tens of thousands of mortal worlds, the quantity and quality of spiritual and immortal qi in the Heavenly world alone, surpassed that of all the others combined.

As he crossed the "starry sky", and despite having already seen it through his incarnations, Hou Hui couldn't help but feel amazed. Although, at first glance it seemed to be nothing more than overwhelming darkness, it contained a form of supreme and inviolable purity capable of cleansing the mind of needless thoughts and granting peace to the most desperate. In it, Hou Hui felt at ease.

To go from the lesser heaven layer to the middle heaven layer would at least require a Life Immortal cultivation base and many years of travel and to go from the lesser heaven layer to the Heavenly world could not be accomplished without a peak Dao Threading cultivation base. And even then, it would also require many years of travel. It took seven years for Hou Hui's incarnations to accomplish the trip. The main reason was that the starry sky was composed of the eight ancient paths. And each one would exert pressure on the immortals attempting to cross it.

For example, someone who majored in darkness would still feel suppressed by the other seven ancient paths and feel greater pressure as he crossed a layer to reach another. Moreover, not all immortals majored in the ancient paths. Some could not grasp them for a lifetime and could only cultivate the superior paths.

Hou Hui, however, had mastered four ancient paths and understood the many principles of a fifth. Therefore, he didn't feel much suppression and reached the Ancient Sea World in just three months.

As he descended into the Ancient Sea World's atmosphere, Hou Hui was silently shocked by what he felt.

"Truly, seeing is believing. I would have never imagined that the spiritual qi in the mortal worlds was thin to this extent. As for immortal qi, there is none whatsoever. In such conditions, the chances of reaching the Life Immortal realm in a lifetime are nigh inexistent."

The quality of a world's qi was of paramount importance for its cultivators. Without immortal qi, immortals simply couldn't cultivate. For that reason, if a cultivator from a mortal world managed to reach immortality, they would most likely fly toward the middle heaven layer to find a more suitable cultivation environment. That was the so-called "immortal ascension."

After moving past the clouds, Hou Hui's gaze finally fell upon the Ancient Sea World's scenery. Although it was named "Ancient Sea" this world was nothing special in terms of its composition. It was seventy percent water and thirty percent land like many worlds bearing human life, and while there were many aquatic races, they didn't truly dominate it.

Usually, the Ancient Sea World was relatively peaceful. In fact, due to a peace treaty between the major empires that had been observed for centuries, there had been no major wars in a very long time. However, Hou Hui quickly felt something that threatened to break that peace.

"How is this possible?"

Quickly, Hou Hui spread his spiritual sense across tens of thousands of miles, but what he saw thoroughly alarmed him.

"I can feel the presence of dozens of immortals above Dao Revelation gathered here. And at least one of them reached the Great Dao Immortal realm while there is also more than one Dao Threading Immortals. What are so many high ranked immortals doing in such a small world? Could it be that news of the demon stones have spread?"

However, Hou Hui quickly dismissed that idea. The reason was simple. Although the thirty-six stones of Tian Mo were powerful treasures in their own right, individually, they could only be activated with holy qi. Thus, immortals had no use for them. As for the secret of the Heavenly Demon tablet, it wasn't known by many, and those aware of it would not dare seek it in fear of the Heavenly Emperor's wrath. Was it not for his uncle, Hou Hui would also know nothing of it.

"Is it possible that they came here seeking one of this world's ancient artifact? Even after so many eras, they still hope to find something? Ridiculous."

The Ancient Sea World wasn't always a mortal world. In the past, it was a powerful immortal world that gave birth to more than one god. However, due to a shocking calamity in ancient times, the world suffered irreversible damages. All its immortals and gods perished. Its immortal qi completely vanished and even its spiritual qi began thinning until it reached its current level. Afterward, it was pushed from the middle heaven layer to the lesser heaven layer by mystical forces.

Still, as an ancient immortal world, it possessed many treasures that attracted countless immortals over the ages and was plundered until most things of immortal rank and above were gone. Besides the four stones, Hou Hui truly didn't believe that there still was something to take.

"Or I am being too skeptical. After all, so many immortals cannot have descended on a mortal world for no reason. There definitely must be something of great importance for them to make the trip. As for what that is, that doesn't concern me. However, should they dare harm the common people, I will certainly not forgive them."

Most immortals had no considerations for the lives of mortals and didn't mind slaughtering them in the thousands if it helped accomplish their goals. While Hou Hui was no vigilante, he didn't believe that weakness deserved oppression, and certainly wouldn't standby while the feeble were being oppressed by the powerful.

Suddenly, four beams of light came from the horizon and fell in front of him. Once the light dispersed, four nigh identical kneeling forms were revealed. However, they each possessed something that made them look different. The first one possessed a third eye, the second one was green haired and surrounded by floating petals, the third one had ice blue hairs and a lotus tattoo on his forehead, and the last one was white-haired with glittering eyes that didn't reflect images.

But despite those differences, they still possessed the same facial feature; it was Hou Hui's face.

Without a word, Hou Hui waved his sleeves and the four incarnations turned into four beams of light which flew toward his forehead.

While he had maintained a strong connection to his incarnations, the farther they were from him, the harder it was to distinctively grasp their experiences. Now that they had been integrated into his sea of consciousness, he could truly digest all they had experienced in the last centuries. Moreover, thirty-two ordinary looking stones also appeared within his sea of consciousness.

"So, the stones are located in the ruins of the Ancient Sea Country. However, there is a powerful formation preventing Dao incarnations from passing through. Not only Dao incarnations, but spiritual senses and all things of ethereal nature cannot pass through. No wonder they requested my presence. Fine, let's get this over with and return to Wu Shuang."

The Ancient Sea Country was the in past eras the pillar of the Ancient Sea World. Most of the immortals and gods came from the Ancient Sea Country. But in that poorly documented calamity, it collapsed, leaving only a stretch of underground ruins.

It was said that for some reason, gods couldn't step into the ruins. And within it, immortals couldn't be unruly. Oddly enough, no treasures had been found within until now and most people assumed that a powerful formation kept them hidden.

Turning into a beam of light, Hou Hui flew toward the Ancient Sea. He could easily cross thousands of miles in a few breaths and so it wouldn't be long before he reached it.

However, as he tried to dive into the sea…

*BANG*

…A violent formless divine force sent him rolling backward.

"How is this possible? Why am I being repelled by the God Repelling Seal? I am not a god!"

It was then that a desolate, ancient voice resounded within his mind.

"Your cultivation has reached the Four Path Immortal threshold and there is hope for the fifth. Although you are not a god, you are not too far from it. The formation I left is not necessarily strong enough to hide the treasures from your sight so I will not let you in. Please leave."

Hou Hui was startled. He could feel that the voice was nothing more than a strand of divine sense left by some ancient god. However, what kind of god was honest enough to tell him exactly why he couldn't step into the place he protected, and even politely ask him to leave? Moreover, a simple strand of divine sense was capable of seeing through his cultivation?

"Senior, although I respect your will to protect the remains of your country, I'm in desperate need of something that is locked there and doesn't truly belong to it. I hope that you will willingly let me enter and take that thing. However, if you won't, I can only try my hardest."

Hou Hui seriously replied.

"All that exists within this sea is protected by my divine sense. If I do not want you to enter, you cannot. However, we can strike a bargain."

"Senior please speak."

"The last remaining descendants of the Ancient Sea Country are currently facing a mortal tribulation due to some greedy immortals. Save them and I shall give you what you seek."

Hearing this, Hou Hui's face contorted into a frown.

"Do you know what I seek?"

"The scent of the demon stones on you is unique. I naturally know that you want the four stones buried within the sea. Accomplish this task and they will be yours."

While Hou Hui didn't doubt that the owner of that bit of divine sense must have been formidable during his life, he truly couldn't understand how he could so easily grasp the presence of the demon stones on him since they were currently stored within his divine sense.

"Could it be…"

Setting aside that thought, Hou Hui replied.

"If senior is willing to part with those stones, I will naturally save senior's descendants. However, shouldn't senior give me more information on the situation?"

"Naturally."

Immediately afterward, images of the ancient sea descendants and their current situation appeared in Hou Hui's mind.

"So, it turns out that it was truly nothing more than insatiable greed that led them here. Truly unpardonably wicked! Senior worry not. I shall save your descendants."

Because he could sense truth laws within that strand of divine sense, Hou Hui didn't have any doubt. People who cultivated truth laws to a certain degree couldn't lie. He knew that better than anyone else. Moreover, there was a kind of incomparable loftiness in that senior's voice. The kind that disdained deceit. Without further ado, he turned into a dazzling beam of light and flew toward the Azure Cloud Country.