The thunder tides rolled away, the echoes still reverberating above Chongyang.
"A query to heaven and earth..." Yuan Feidao stood atop a tall building, gazing at the illusory figure in the distance, sipping a mouthful of tea.
"The sudden thunder from that day was all because of this person."
He squinted slightly, his expression somewhat grave:
"Since when did such a figure appear in the Golden Province? A spirit enveloping hundreds of kilometers—perhaps more than hundreds of kilometers."
The old man was certain: Such a one who can ask the heavens above... No.
Such a one who can [Ask the Heavens], how could he merely be in the Innate Realm?
To ask the heavens, even an ordinary deity finds it difficult.
"Not the true form, just a wisp of will reflecting, above the High Heaven, Celestial Venerates, what are these?"
The teacup in Yuan Feidao’s hand twisted, turning into a wisp of thin mist flowing between his fingers.
The snow falling from the sky turned to rain before it could approach, then evaporated into mist.
The mist was hazy.
"Test him?"
"Forget it, at this moment, it’s better not to meddle with cause and effect."
...
At this moment, in the sky, the illusory figure stepped on the wind.
The heavy snow fell, passing through his body, not staining it white.
The illusory figure seemed to look up at the sky, but under the gaze of many sights, it seemed as if he was ’looking down’ on them!
This is very contradictory, very clashing, but so real.
This old man seemed so extraordinarily ’high’.
Higher than the vast earth, higher than the boundless heavens.
A legislator gripped the Tiger Head Staff tightly, innate and great sects were shaken, and fell into a daze.
"So be it."
The illusory figure sighed softly, as if in lament, as if uninterested, as if like this sudden snowfall.
He did not continue to reprimand those offending great sects, just like an adult would not concern themselves with tiny ants on the ground.
The illusory figure only walked toward the heavens above, each step ascending and becoming more ethereal, thus taking three steps.
Each step treaded upon a roiling, steaming Sea of Spirit.
He vanished.
Only the snow kept falling.
Grandmasters bowed their heads and fled, the vast Chongyang City fell silent again and again.
The lingering echoing sigh scattered away.
This city.
That city.
......
Above the High Heaven.
Celestial Venerate.
These two words, like a blizzard, spread to six other major cities, reached the ears of various sects, blew over to Golden City.
Waiting area.
"It’s the attendant." Hu Zhongli’s eyes gleamed as he viewed the video footage spreading from Chongyang City.
A hundred miles with each step through spring, summer, autumn, winter, asking the heavens above, the heavens weeping.
It is the Celestial Venerate’s attendant!
"Just an illusory figure projected by a wisp of will..." Hu Zhongli murmured, repeatedly watching multiple classified archive videos.
He was somewhat puzzled—why did the Celestial Venerate’s attendant suddenly become so ostentatious?
Hu Zhongli soon got his answer.
"This person is the young one who was esteemed?" He pointed to a specific video showing a long street.
On the street, a young boy looked up at the sky, his expression blank.
"Yes." A barely perceptible reverence flashed in Zhou Muniu’s eyes, and he nodded slightly.
"Then it makes sense."
Hu Zhongli became even more excited. Although he was no longer a Golden Legislator, it essentially made no difference—his power and influence remained,
naturally he was more aware of the upheaval in Chongyang, knowing that the four great sects were quietly stirring trouble.
Which is to say,
if the Celestial Venerate’s attendant had not appeared, that boy would likely have died at the hands of the four grandmasters.
"The Celestial Venerate’s attendant descended with a wisp of indescribable will to save him." Hu Zhongli stated confidently.
He suddenly bowed his head.
"Celestial Venerate above!"
On another distant end, within another bubble world.
The Silent Fury Buddha Son also saw the images of the Chongyang upheaval.
"Celestial Venerate..."
He bowed his head and whispered. Asking the heavens above, this was just a wisp of will of that True Man.
High Heaven, oh High Heaven.
"The name of High Heaven is about to stir up a wave, everyone will know."
The Buddha Son turned to an elderly man:
"What I told you, the great power of Heaven-Interchangeable Tao, comes from the mouth of this one who asks the Celestial Vault. This is the ’Celestial Venerate’."
The elderly man struggled to open his eyes, shock appearing on his face:
"A Supreme Deity not in the earthly dust, not in a Different Dimension, existing from the old world until now?"
"Yes."
The Silent Fury Buddha Son nodded, pressing his palms together in a salute to the old man:
"You are the Walking Under God, you know better than I how great the power to ask the heavens is—and this is merely the manifestation of a wisp of will from the Celestial Venerate."
The old man honored as the Walking Under God was silent for a long time. The Buddha Son tried many times to persuade him, but no argument was more powerful than the facts before him.
Above the High Heaven.
Infinite Celestial Venerate.
The old man finally believed.
He took a deep breath:
"So, a price, a seat?"
"Indeed, but not a seat above the great High Heaven. It’s a provisional seat granting you access to Heaven-Interchangeable Tao," the Buddha Son said lightly.
"The reason I found you is because you are responsible for all the disciples of the Silent Fury Venerate within my Mandala lineage throughout Golden Province."
"We can be mutually beneficial—but have you considered what price you are willing to pay?"
The Walking Under God remained silent for a moment before suddenly becoming melancholy:
"I do not know either."
"For such a being, what offering could satisfy Him?"
The Buddha Son shook his head and sighed softly:
"He doesn’t care."
The old man was puzzled:
"He doesn’t care?"
"Yes."
The Buddha Son replied slowly:
"The Celestial Venerate follows His own path. To Him, everything about you, me, and us is like a tiny particle of dust in the vast world."