331: Could it be... Master?

That night, two more explosive pieces of news spread throughout the entire Imperial Pass, causing the faces of the representatives from countless Holy Lands and Sects stationed there to turn shocked and... unsightly.

Human Emperor Shen has slain Ao Wei, the First Highness of the Azure Black Dragon Clan, and will personally arrive at the Demon Capital of the Heavenly Abyss tomorrow!

Human Emperor Shen's first order: Any Human Race Cultivator who kills demons and earns merit may exchange that merit for equivalent rewards. The Human Emperor Hall's Imperial Pass Exchange List will be reopened; even items from the dao palace and peerless Divine Abilities of the Ancient Desolate Families can be exchanged. Furthermore, all Human Race factions—be they Ancient Desolate Families or top-tier Holy Lands—must open their Sect treasuries...

For a time, countless Holy Lands and Sects did not make a sound, and even the Ancient Desolate Families fell silent...

Meanwhile.

Three hours had passed in the outside world, while three days had already passed within the Thousand Buddha Ruins, inside the Lotus Illusion.

"The Demon Star is shifting..."

"Is it that Candle Nine Nethers?"

"Has he finally decided to make a move..."

"That mysterious woman, has she been defeated?" Luo Xuanyin suddenly looked up at the sky. Within her eyes, endless stars transformed, and a profound Dao mark appeared on her brow. She seemed to have sensed some sort of Heavenly Dao secret, which caused her expression to change slightly.

At this moment, she was already dressed in white, her icy blue long hair draped behind her. Her temperament had returned to how it was before—cold as frost. She formed a hand seal with her jade hands, the tip of her index finger gently pressing against the back of the first joint of her middle finger.

Not only Shen Nian, but her own strength had also recovered significantly, faintly reaching the step of Peak Hedao, so she was able to divine more and more.

"What is it?" Shen Nian noticed Luo Xuanyin's anomaly and asked with a frown.

Luo Xuanyin turned her head, looking at Shen Nian with an unprecedented solemnity as she said, "I originally didn't want to tell you, but you are the Human Emperor and possess the Innate Chaos Body. Anyone else might be able to avoid this, but you cannot..."

"The Demon Star is shifting; it should be that Candle Nine Nethers has appeared on the Eastern Profound Star..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian frowned slightly and said, "Hasn't this great demon always been here?"

Shen Nian had long known the secret that the entire Fourth Star Domain was within his belly.

What does it mean that he has appeared? Could it be that he wasn't here before?

"No, although his Physical Body is here, his Soul has been battling a mysterious woman outside the Fourth Star Domain. Otherwise, given the talent you have displayed, and Candle Nine Nethers' temperament, he would have already made a move against you..." Luo Xuanyin shook her head and said softly, the heaviness unable to disperse from between her brows. After the magic of the Joyous Divine Medicine completely faded, she had been caught in a struggle.

"A mysterious woman?"

Shen Nian revealed a trace of surprise. At the same time, he also felt a hint of curiosity about this mysterious woman.

To think that in this world, there is actually a Human Race member capable of playing a game against this great demon; this is definitely at the level of Immortal Ascension at the very least!

It was no wonder he was surprised; after all, for endless years, ever since the Heavenly Dao was severed, no one on the Fourth Star had been able to achieve Immortal Ascension...

Luo Xuanyin spoke without any concealment, "This mysterious woman appeared suddenly. I don't know her origins either, but she possesses the Demon Sealing Sect's divine object, the classic of mountains and seas, and her swordsmanship is divine. I imagine it must be related to the Demon Sealing Sect. It is precisely because of the existence of this Innate divine object, the classic of mountains and seas, that she has been able to hold off Candle Nine Nethers for so long..."

After speaking, Luo Xuanyin also felt a trace of doubt. Even she did not know what this woman was trying to do, or rather, what she was stalling for, and why she was stalling!

Upon hearing this, an inexplicable intuition surged in Shen Nian's heart, and his pupils constricted slightly.

Divine swordsmanship?

Could it be... Revered Master??

Once this thought arose, it was the first time Shen Nian's state of mind had been disturbed. It seemed that deep within his Soul, he held a special feeling for this female Revered Master whom he had never met since his Transmigration.

"Before Revered Master left, she seemed to have said something..." Shen Nian tried to recall carefully, but no matter what, he couldn't remember.

"Is it because she used some secret technique to intentionally cover up this memory of mine?" Shen Nian thought to himself, a look of contemplation on his brow.

Before leaving the Lower Realm, he had asked Wang Cuihua to search everywhere for news of his Revered Master, but unfortunately, he couldn't wait any longer and came to the Upper Realm.

This mysterious woman indeed had a slight chance of being his Revered Master!

But this... it was truly too outrageous; Shen Nian couldn't even bring himself to believe it!

A branch Revered Master of a Lower Realm Sect, in a sudden transformation, turns out to be a transcendent existence capable of contending with Candle Nine Nethers? Regardless of who it was, it would be difficult to link the two together!

But Shen Nian was different. Based on his speculations about these kinds of cliché plots, his intuition was very likely true!

"Then is she dead?" Shen Nian immediately asked, an involuntary chill radiating from his eyes.

Luo Xuanyin's expression changed slightly. Could it be that Shen Nian knew that mysterious woman?

"I don't know. My strength hasn't fully recovered, and Candle Nine Nethers' Dao covers this Star Domain, so I cannot calculate the truth..." Luo Xuanyin spoke softly, then her tone shifted, and after thinking for a moment, she added, "However, she should not be dead. The classic of mountains and seas is an Innate divine object and the Magical Artifact of the successive demon sealing Revered Masters. It possesses supreme power and contains the Mountain and Sea Realm within it. This realm is not within the Dao. Since she can use the classic of mountains and seas, she can naturally hide within it. With Candle Nine Nethers' current strength, it is not enough to break open the classic of mountains and seas..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian's heart calmed slightly, and a decision formed in his eyes.

It seemed he needed to pick up the pace. If he didn't figure out the identity of this mysterious woman sooner, he would find it hard to be at ease.

And in the entire Heavenly Demon Realm, if one were to ask who might know these secrets, apart from those immortals in the Heavenly Demon Palace, it would likely be the descendants of Candle Nine Nethers...

"Shen..." Luo Xuanyin almost called out "Shen-lang," but couldn't help but blush and changed her words, "Shen Nian, I cannot accompany you to continue training in the ruins for now. I must return to the White Jade Capital. If Candle Nine Nethers appears, the Three Teachings must have someone to protect the incomplete Heavenly Dao in order to suppress him..."

"Alright." Shen Nian nodded slightly.

Luo Xuanyin warned him very seriously, "After leaving the ruins, return to the Shen Family as soon as possible. The ancestor of your Shen Family is extremely extraordinary and must have left behind measures. Candle Nine Nethers was once heavily wounded by him; you will be relatively safe in the Shen Family..."

"Also, you cannot go to the Ten Thousand Demon Assembly anymore..."

She knew Shen Nian's talent; he was absolutely the strongest person in the Fourth Star Domain today. This also led her to believe that Shen Nian was very likely the "One" who should have died but didn't, as mentioned by her Revered Master. He absolutely could not suffer any mishaps.

If she weren't rushing back to preside over the great formation at the White Jade Capital, she wouldn't want to leave Shen Nian's side for even half a step. She had wanted to take him with her, but Luo Xuanyin understood that she could not forcibly interfere with certain trajectories of fate. Shen Nian being able to appear in the Thousand Buddha Ruins was naturally destined by all of this...

Hearing this, Shen Nian looked at her expression, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I must go immediately..."

"I don't intend to explore this ruin anymore..."

He knew Luo Xuanyin was worried about him, but he couldn't exactly tell her, "I know my own fate; as long as I don't commit suicide, I won't die within a thousand years," right?

But Shen Nian never liked to promise things he couldn't do, so he didn't hide anything.

Luo Xuanyin immediately fell silent. After seeing Shen Nian's firm gaze, she understood that no matter what she said, she could not sway his choice. Perhaps this was the trajectory destined by fate...