Chapter 635: Chapter 446: Heavenly Punishment Returns, Martial Hall Anomaly

During the period when Chu Zheng was in seclusion, nearly a hundred years passed in the Great Universe.

Shortly after he began his retreat, the movements of various Taoist orthodoxies became more frequent, but they managed to maintain some semblance of stability on the surface.

However, this delicate balance that had been maintained for so long was finally broken thirty-seven years ago–when the Heavenly Punishment Martial Ancestor emerged from the river of time and space. As soon as this decisive and powerful being appeared, he proclaimed to the Myriad Heavens and Realms, issuing a declaration of war, inviting battle with the various paths of the Great Universe, including the Immortal Alliance.

The entire Martial Hall, originally created for slaughter and conquest, began to operate once again under the command of Heavenly Punishment after millions of years.

After preparing for battle for a long time, the Martial Hall initiated their action more than ten years ago. They transitioned through the heavens, entered the Myriad Realms, and commenced engagement with them.

Simultaneously, the forces of the Martial Hall split into two, broke through the Starry Sky Barrier, crossed the Barbaric Star Sea, and pressed into the Immortal Domain, exhibiting the intention to fight two with one.

The Immortal Alliance Punishment Department directly engaged in battle, the Great Immortal Realm’s Thirteen Clans revealed their full strength, deploying Clan Guardian Immortal Soldiers and repositioning most Heaven Passes near the Cosmic Edge to establish an expanse of starry battlefield near the Starry Sky Barrier.

The Myriad Realms did the same. Various Taoist orthodoxies had begun preparing for battle even before Chu Zheng’s seclusion. Now, these orthodoxy lines were almost indistinguishable from one another, united in purpose, with neither retreat nor avoidance intent.

The conflict had begun, yet none of the major Ancestral Realms, including Heavenly Punishment, had entered the fray.

In the current battlefield, Immortal Emperors, Martial Emperors, and beings from various Taoist orthodoxies who have stepped into the Mythical Realm are managing the war situation.

Besides the myriad messages within the Heavenly Judgment Order, there was also a message from Song Lingxue, whose contents caused Chu Zheng’s brow to frown slightly.

[The Martial Ancestor remains recluse; Heavenly Punishment has received secret communication from Fu Pinglan and has taken over the Execution Department’s authority. This declared war is ostensibly to find your trace. Please remain concealed and refrain from involving yourself in the orthodoxy conflict. When you enter the Ancestral Realm, I swear to reveal all reasons to you truthfully.]

The primary goal of this confrontation initiated by Heavenly Punishment is indeed still to search for his whereabouts or, more accurately, to find the trace of Daoist Ancestor Zheng Chu.

After the Chaos Sea, Fu Pinglan and Heavenly Punishment have still not chosen to give up, seeking a chance to eliminate his roots completely.

Entering the Ancestral Realm.

Seeing these two words in the message, Chu Zheng took a deep breath. His cultivation speed is indeed fast, but without the support of Heavenly Fate, he couldn’t cross that final step.

Among the living creatures in the Great Universe who’ve stepped into the Mythical Realm, all the Taoist orthodoxies combined exceed two hundred in number, but all have been blocked by the words Heavenly Fate.

Today, the Heavenly Fate already has owners. He probably has no hope of entering the Ancestral Realm through the normal path. Now the greatest hope he can see is in Moonlight Immortal Ancestor.

But this piece of Heavenly Fate, the Immortal Alliance would hardly let it go so easily, there will undoubtedly be many complications.

Aside from the path through Moonlight Immortal Ancestor, the existence of the Luck Stealing Skill is the second path. If he wants the skill to work, he must inevitably involve himself in the struggle for the Dao.

Heavenly Fate is always in flux and is not permanently held by living creatures. If he slays enough beings in the struggle for the Dao, he might barely gather half of Heaven’s Fortune.

But this approach carries great risk as well. The Ancestral Realm’s perception of Heavenly Fate is beyond his imagination.

Moreover, the True Spirit of Heavenly Fate is incredibly perceptive. Should any Heavenly Fate be lost, and the fate of slain beings not return to the orthodoxy, it will quickly detect the leak, alerting the various Ancestral Realms to begin an investigation.

With his past act of appropriating Immortal Dao’s Heavenly Fate, this matter will quickly unravel onto him.

By then, he will undoubtedly become the target of many; even Moonlight Immortal Ancestor might not withstand the pressure and could be directly jeopardized by him.

Chu Zheng stood silently upon the Boundary for a long time, before closing his eyes to meditate and sense the Heavenly Fate in the void.

Compared to his last contact, the Immortal Dao Heavenly Fate is now evidently more active; an entire Sea of Immortal Fortune is constantly in turmoil, ebbing and flowing.

Chu Zheng tried once more to borrow part of the Heavenly Fate for support, without surprise, he was rejected by the True Spirit of Heavenly Fate again.

The Immortal Dao did not even offer him any enhancement, and Chu Zheng did not feel any of the support for cultivation speed that should belong to an Immortal Path Cultivator.

The True Spirit of Heavenly Fate does not recognize Chu Zheng as a true Immortal Path Cultivator and has already rejected him. In such circumstances, even if Moonlight Immortal Ancestor truly intended to give him that half of Heaven’s Fortune, the True Spirit of the Immortal Dao’s Heavenly Fate might also refuse.

Chu Zheng withdrew his thoughts and walked across the starry sky of the Cosmic Edge, soon noticing many changes.

The number of Heaven Passes at the Cosmic Edge had sharply reduced, losing nine-tenths of them. Hao Qing and others have been reassigned, though Shan Ruiyuan remains, even becoming the commander near the Boundary.

Buzz–

As Chu Zheng was about to leave, the Heavenly Judgment Order on his waist suddenly reacted, transmitting an order document.

This was an order from the Punishment Department, instructing Chu Zheng to provide support at the battlefield’s junction with the Martial Hall.

This was not a message from Moonlight Immortal Ancestor but from the Punishment Department, a difference as vast as Heaven and Earth.

Chu Zheng pondered for a moment and attempted to send a message to Moonlight Immortal Ancestor asking for her opinion.

After sending the message, within a few breaths, the world before Chu Zheng suddenly changed, the starry sky transformed into an Immortal Palace.

Eternal jade radiance pervaded the Heavenly Throne, while the palace walls seemed to be etched with Star Rivers flowing slowly within.