"How should the Heaven Palace be treated?"
Quinn Shepherd healed the First Ancestor's physical wounds and spent another two days tending to his Divine Treasuries. When spirit medicine was lacking, he simply planted and cultivated new herbs himself. Although the First Ancestor's body recovered, his complexion grew worse and he often fell into unconsciousness.
This was because both his Primordial Spirit and Heaven Palace were gravely injured.
Faced with the First Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit and Heaven Palace injuries, Quinn was at a complete loss.
The Apothecary’s medical arts and teachings could treat injuries up to the Divine Bridge Realm or for those who hadn’t entered the South Heaven Gate, but Heaven Palace wounds were uncharted territory even for him.
Moreover, silver needles couldn’t reach the Heaven Palace at all, so channeling medicinal power was a major challenge. Steaming or boiling wouldn’t work either—the medicine couldn’t penetrate the Heaven Palace. Even swallowing spirit pills wouldn’t deliver the medicinal effects directly to that realm.
The First Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit was no longer in his Spirit Embryo Treasury, but instead resided within his Heaven Palace. Judging by his cultivation, he was likely at the Execution Platform or Jade Capital realm, but only by entering his Heaven Palace could one know his exact level.
The First Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit was in dire straits. He couldn’t release it for Quinn to treat, so the only way to heal him was to enter the Heaven Palace itself.
"I could still transform into a shadow and invade his Divine Treasury, channeling medicinal power to help him heal—but the South Heaven Gate is off-limits to me!"
Quinn paced around the First Ancestor, calculating carefully. The South Heaven Gate was a crucial checkpoint—a barrier where a deity transforms from a false god into a true god. Only Primordial Spirits with true god power could enter.
Although the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra contained all manner of wondrous techniques, no matter how exquisite, every art had to follow one basic principle: cultivation realm.
Quinn’s own cultivation realm was nowhere near the threshold required to enter the South Heaven Gate!
The First Ancestor lapsed into unconsciousness again. This time, no one knew what he was dreaming, but he kept muttering in his sleep.
“I am guilty…”
“I won’t run anymore…”
“I’ve come to atone…”
“I’m sorry…”
......
Quinn frowned. This kind of delirium was extremely dangerous—it meant the First Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit was starting to collapse. There was no time to delay; the medicine had to reach the Heaven Palace immediately!
“I can’t pass through the South Heaven Gate, but some things can!”
Quinn rapidly refined pills to heal Primordial Spirit wounds, making more and more until finally he stowed them all away. He said to Lynn Ling, “Sister Lynn, I’m going in to treat the First Ancestor. You stay here—be very careful of Chi Creek!”
Lynn Ling gripped the box nervously and nodded hard.
Suddenly, Quinn’s body turned into a shadow and slipped into the center of the First Ancestor’s brow. He sped past the Spirit Embryo, Five Lights, and Six Directions Treasuries, and after a long while, finally arrived at the Divine Bridge Treasury.
He stood atop the First Ancestor’s Divine Bridge and saw that the bridge shimmered with rainbow light. Beneath it, the various Divine Treasuries were layered and interlocked—Five Lights, Seven Stars, Six Directions and Human Realm. Below the Six Directions lay the pitch-black Youdu, the Treasury of Life and Death.
Steadying himself, Quinn walked along the Divine Bridge toward its far end—the First Ancestor’s Heaven Palace.
Halfway across, he suddenly paused in surprise. The First Ancestor’s Divine Bridge was completely intact—it wasn’t broken at all!
In Everpeace, all cultivators’ Divine Bridges were severed. Even with the Magpie Bridge Art, Profound Guidance Art, and Divine Crossing Art, there was always a section that didn’t connect, so they had to use Divine Crossing to fly to the far shore in the end.
But the First Ancestor’s Divine Bridge was fully connected—no break at all.
“Of course. He and I are both of the Kaihuang bloodline. Our Divine Bridges were never severed.”
Quinn continued forward. After a long while, he reached the end of the bridge and looked up. The South Heaven Gate towered amid drifting clouds and mist—vast, ancient, and awe-inspiring.
This South Heaven Gate was the portal to the Heaven Palace. The surrounding clouds automatically formed rune shapes—ram’s horns, kui dragons, vermilion birds, black tortoises, phoenixes—and even patterns of lightning and wind. The sheer weight and majesty of this gate pressed down on Quinn, overwhelming him.
To enter this gate without enough strength meant your Primordial Spirit would shatter!
Quinn steadied himself, took out his Taotie pouch, and rummaged around until he found two jade eyeballs.
The Lunar Jade Eye and the Solar Jade Eye.
Quinn thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and activated the Myriad Gods Nature Art, trying to grant these two jade eyes sentience!
His mastery of the Myriad Gods Nature Art wasn’t deep—he’d only dabbled in it, so he wasn’t sure he’d succeed.
He waited a long time, but the two jade eyes remained motionless. Quinn frowned slightly and was about to use the Myriad Gods Nature Art again when suddenly, the Lunar Jade Eye popped out two skinny legs from under its big eyeball, then two skinny arms from the top, stretched, and cried, “I’m suffocating! Bro, bro, don’t strain yourself!”
Quinn was stunned. Suddenly, the Solar Jade Eye started snickering, its long arms hugging its big eyeball as it rolled on the ground laughing. The Lunar Jade Eye went wild too, kneeling and pounding the floor with its little arms: “He thought we weren’t awake—he was about to try waking us up again!”
The two giant eyeballs rolled around on the ground, laughing uncontrollably.
Quinn’s face darkened. “Enough! Stop laughing… Laugh anymore and I’ll smack you back to your original forms!”
The two jade eyes immediately shut up, standing at attention with their skinny arms and legs. The Lunar Jade Eye said, "I think our legs are a bit too thin. I keep worrying they'll snap."
The Solar Jade Eye let its big eyeball droop down, trying to look at its own legs—but how could it possibly see them?
Gululu.
The Solar Jade Eye rolled away, spinning a dozen times before stopping. The Lunar Jade Eye was beside itself with laughter, kneeling and pounding the ground!
Quinn’s hand trembled as he yanked out two strands of his own beard and barked, "Enough clowning! I summoned your spirits—not so you could fool around!"
The two jade eyes hurriedly stood together, obediently listening to his scolding.
Quinn took out the spirit pills he’d refined and bundled them into a big package. "Once you get inside the gate, keep going straight. Take these pills near the First Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit, then release their medicinal power."
He was about to hand the pills to the two eyeballs when he suddenly realized, "Wait, my Myriad Gods Nature Art isn’t that reliable. Every time I summon something, it turns out a little off. Like when I awakened a box, it just wanted to collect bones and corpses; in the Upper Emperor Desert of the Great Ruins, I summoned a sand giant, and all it did was yell ‘Aaaah!’ and run super slow. Maybe these two guys aren’t reliable either…"
He thought for a moment, then took out a spirit pill. "Try releasing its medicinal power."
Suddenly, the Lunar Jade Eye shot out a beam of light, slicing the pill clean in half.
Quinn was about to speak when the Solar Jade Eye fired out a blaze, turning the pill to ash.
"That’s not how you do it."
Quinn patiently explained, "You’re lunar and solar, yin and yang. You should combine your powers, like I do, to release the medicine."
He took out another pill, his left eye turning solar and his right lunar. Twin beams shone onto the pill, instantly releasing its medicinal power—a fragrant aroma wafted out.
"Try again. Both of you, catalyze the medicine together!"
The two jade eyes burned the pill to ash again. Quinn patiently coached them on controlling their power, trying over a dozen times before they finally succeeded once.
Quinn had them practice a dozen more times, and their success rate gradually improved. He finally relaxed. "If you can get it right forty or fifty percent of the time, that’s good enough. Once inside, release the pills’ power one by one—don’t do them all at once, or if you fail, it’s all wasted. Remember, no playing around! Release the medicine properly, or I’ll smack you back to your original forms!"
The two big eyes headed for the South Heaven Gate. The Lunar Jade Eye slung the bundle on its back. As they entered, both eyeballs paused, then walked on through.
Quinn grew nervous, watching the eyeballs recede into the distance. Suddenly, the Solar Jade Eye said, "We’re too slow. Let’s roll!"
"Okay!"
Quinn’s eyes widened as he watched the two jade eyes rolling deeper into the Heaven Palace. He broke out in a cold sweat, relieved at least that the bundle hadn’t come undone.
"Unreliable, unreliable—why is it that every spirit I awaken turns out like this…"
The two jade eyes rolled along at top speed, occasionally punching or kicking each other and sending one flying. Quinn’s face was ashen as he kept wiping sweat from his brow. Soon he lost sight of them, and all he could hear from beyond the South Heaven Gate were thuds and crashes. Occasionally, a big round ball would fly up and drop down—clearly one jade eye had kicked the other into the air.
He waited a long time before the two jade eyes finally reached the Execution Platform. Fierce energy surged atop the platform, where a man knelt, neck bared for execution. Overhead, an unattended blade flashed down again and again, slicing at the kneeling man’s neck—over and over.
The kneeling man’s neck was nearly severed; it wouldn’t be long before he was killed.
The two big eyeballs exchanged glances: "This must be the place, right? Is that guy trying to die?"
"If he’s set on dying, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s just go back."
The two jade eyes rolled back down the mountain, but suddenly stopped. "Master said if we don’t release the pills’ power, he’ll smack us back to our original forms. If we go back now, we’re doomed."
So the jade eyes rolled back up, hopping and climbing to the Execution Platform. The Lunar Jade Eye opened the bundle, took out a spirit pill, and both eyes used lunar and solar energy to release the medicine.
They released a dozen pills in a row—ruined seven or eight of them. Both jade eyes were getting impatient. The Solar Jade Eye suggested, "Let’s just do them all at once. Then we can tell Master they’re done!"
"Okay!"
Both jade eyes gleamed with excitement. Two beams buzzed out and shone onto the bundle!
Lynn Ling waited beside the First Ancestor, growing anxious. Quinn had entered the First Ancestor’s Divine Treasury as a shadow ages ago and still hadn’t reappeared. She had no idea if he could really save the First Ancestor.
But the First Ancestor’s aura was steadily weakening—clearly his injuries were getting worse.
Suddenly, Lynn Ling stood up, warily watching as Ban Gongcuo approached.
Ban Gongcuo smiled broadly as he strolled over. "Princess Lynn, how’s the First Ancestor’s condition? I’m skilled in medicine too—perhaps I can lend a hand."
Lynn Ling clutched her little box and replied coolly, "No need to trouble yourself. The cowherd’s medicine is much better than yours."
Chi Creek came from another direction, speaking slowly: "Little girl, Quinn’s medical skills are indeed impressive, but no matter how skilled he is, it’s nearly impossible to get the medicine into the Heaven Palace. If this drags on, the First Ancestor will surely die. Only I can save him. Only I can enter his Heaven Palace."
Tap.
Lynn Ling cracked open her little box a sliver. Chi Creek tensed up, stopping in his tracks—his muscles tightened, ready to flee at any moment to dodge the Execution Profound Blade.
His other head glanced at Ban Gongcuo, who cautiously stepped forward, stomping through the herb garden and kicking around, trampling the medicinal plants Quinn had grown into a mess.
He was trying to distract Lynn Ling.
Many of the herbs in the garden had been planted by Quinn to heal the First Ancestor. If they were destroyed, there’d be no hope for the First Ancestor!
And if Lynn Ling was distracted, Chi Creek would seize the chance to snatch the little box!
Then, the First Ancestor, Lynn Ling, and Quinn would be at their mercy!
Veins bulged on Lynn Ling’s forehead, but she kept her eyes locked on Chi Creek, gritting her teeth and whispering, "Great Elder, you’re also a descendant of those the First Ancestor saved. Don’t you feel any gratitude?"
Ban Gongcuo paused, smirking. "I’m a notorious villain—everyone wants me dead. If the First Ancestor knew the people he saved would have descendants like me, he’d never have helped. I don’t feel grateful at all!"
Chi Creek shot him a look. Ban Gongcuo hesitated, but didn’t move forward, saying, "I poisoned millions on the grasslands—why would I feel grateful for the First Ancestor’s kindness? I wouldn’t…"
Chi Creek shot him another look.
Ban Gongcuo gritted his teeth and stepped forward. Lynn Ling’s gaze stayed fixed on Chi Creek as she snapped, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll use the Execution Profound Blade on you?"
Ban Gongcuo’s expression grew complicated. He approached from behind, slowly reaching out, inching toward the box in her hand.
Lynn Ling finally lost patience and lashed out with a kick, striking Ban Gongcuo in the face. He toppled backward, knocked out cold.
"Useless!"
Chi Creek was furious, but as Lynn Ling kicked, he seized the chance to unleash his power and strike her down. Suddenly, the First Ancestor sat up. Startled, Chi Creek turned and fled into the forest.
"I will save you."
The First Ancestor’s face was waxen. He spoke softly, "Back then, no matter how bad you were, I would have saved you—because you were the last humans."
Ban Gongcuo opened his eyes, turned over, and knelt before the First Ancestor, bowing several times. Then his body turned into black smoke and vanished.
Lynn Ling finally relaxed, her legs giving out as she sat on the ground, amazed to see Ban Gongcuo vanish into black smoke. She whispered, "My kick shouldn’t have knocked him out… Could he still have a shred of humanity?"
Quinn flew out from the First Ancestor’s brow and said, "Maybe… just a little."