Great Yong Immortal Court, Heaven-Gazing Pavilion.
Elaine Cho, a fate-master, suddenly grew excited—she had discovered that the Tianji Astrolabe, dormant for ten thousand years, was finally fluctuating again.
She quickly formed a hand seal and transmitted her voice: "Teacher, the Tianji Astrolabe is fluctuating—come quickly!"
Soon.
An elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in white robes and holding the Tianji Staff, hurried over with two young disciples.
"Teacher!"
Elaine Cho bowed respectfully.
But the white-robed elder ignored her, his eyes fixed on the Tianji Astrolabe, sensing waves of fluctuation emanating from it.
"Excellent! This is wonderful! Who would have thought, after ten thousand years, the Tianji Astrolabe would finally fluctuate again!"
In the next moment, the white-robed elder rapidly formed hand seals; his Tianji Staff flashed with light, striking the Tianji Astrolabe. Instantly, several mysterious runes appeared in the air.
These mysterious runes were Fate-script, decipherable only by fate-masters.
When he deciphered the Fate-script, the white-robed elder's face turned utterly horrified.
Because the Fate-script revealed: Da Yu, Song Yan, Great Calamity.
"Quickly, I must see the Emperor!"
The white-robed elder barked out the order.
Half an hour later, the white-robed elder met Emperor Weiyang of the Great Yong Immortal Court in a palace.
"Grandmaster Fate, you came to see me so urgently—did something happen at the Heaven-Gazing Pavilion?"
"Emperor, the Tianji Astrolabe has revealed a new Heavenly Fate!"
"Oh!" Emperor Weiyang's expression grew extremely grave.
Every time Heavenly Fate appears, it triggers massive upheaval. Ten thousand years ago, its appearance nearly plunged the Great Yong Immortal Court into ruin, and the shockwaves affected not just this court but multiple other Immortal Courts and even a Divine Court. As for what kind of upheaval occurred, Emperor Weiyang could only guess.
Grandmaster Fate's expression grew even heavier: "Emperor, this time Heavenly Fate has descended upon Da Yu, onto a man named Song Yan, and the verdict is Great Calamity!"
For a moment, Emperor Weiyang's breath was thrown into chaos. After a long pause, he murmured, "Great Calamity... it's actually Great Calamity!"
Ten thousand years ago, the Heavenly Fate was Great Chaos, which still caused upheaval in several Immortal Courts and a Divine Court. But this time, it's Great Calamity—there's a real chance the Great Yong Immortal Court may be destroyed.
Grandmaster Fate, if I send someone to kill this Song Yan, could it stop the Great Calamity?
Grandmaster Fate shook his head with a bitter smile: "Your Majesty, if a Great Calamity could be resolved so easily, it wouldn't be a calamity at all. If I'm right, even killing him won't help; he's just a pawn, and the calamity will likely begin with him as its trigger."
Then what should I do?
Emperor Weiyang asked in distress.
Find this Song Yan. Maybe we can learn where the calamity comes from.
Emperor Weiyang nodded and called out, "Summon Black Phoenix!"
Soon, a woman shrouded in black mist appeared. She was a spirit who walked in darkness, and the strongest assassin in the Great Yong Immortal Court.
Not even ten Ancestral Immortals have survived her assassinations.
Black Phoenix, I order you to take a team to the Da Yu Empire and bring back Song Yan, the Calamity Son!
Understood, Your Majesty!
As soon as she finished speaking, Black Phoenix vanished from the hall.
Grandmaster Fate continued: "Emperor, this matter is too important. I intend to send my most gifted disciple, Elaine Cho, to Da Yu as well."
Granted!
Emperor Weiyang nodded lightly.
Yu King Palace, Inner Sect Scripture Hall.
Compared to the Outer Sect library, this place was far richer, with over ten million volumes. Ever since he became an Inner Sect disciple, he'd been hiding here, reading.
Suddenly.
He frowned, sensing a vague danger.
What's going on? Why am I feeling this way?
Could someone be plotting against me?
Yu King Palace may be Da Yu Empire's top sect, but its current master is only at Heavenly Immortal. There might be hidden experts, but at most they're Golden Immortal. He could break through to Golden Immortal at any time—they pose no threat to him.
Besides, he hadn't harmed Yu King Palace's interests. Even if his true cultivation were exposed, they'd try to recruit him, not take drastic measures.
In that case, where was this sense of danger coming from?
Suddenly.
His heart skipped a beat.
He thought of a possibility.
Recently, his strength had skyrocketed—from late Tribulation to Heavenly Immortal. Even the most gifted cultivator would need centuries, but how long had it taken him?
Most likely, the Heavenly Dao of this world had noticed his abnormality.
Plus, he'd accumulated far too much Qi Luck.
So much Qi Luck—far more than any one person should possess.
As the saying goes, extremes bring reversal.
Too much Qi Luck brings not only miraculous encounters, but also disasters.
So where would this next disaster come from?
He pondered for a long while.
Ian Song still couldn't figure it out.
But he decided he couldn't recklessly advance his cultivation any further—greater dangers might appear.
With his decision made—
Ian Song continued hiding in the Scripture Hall, reading all sorts of books.
Books were wisdom, books were inspiration—the more Ian Song read, the deeper his grasp of laws became.
He didn't know that while he was hiding in the Scripture Hall for months, countless people named Ian Song were vanishing in secret across the Da Yu Empire—mortals, cultivators, even members of the Demon Race.
The uproar caused by his Inner Sect assessment gradually faded with time.
A year later—
Ian Song finally finished reading every book in the Inner Sect Scripture Hall, deepening his understanding of laws even further.
After a few days relaxing with Daisy Ding and his three Fox Clan sisters, he entered closed-door cultivation again—this time to perfect the Golden Immortal chapter of the Eternal Codex.
While he was in seclusion, more and more people named Ian Song disappeared.
In a secluded valley—
A woman shrouded in black mist appeared. She had refined this valley into a small world, and in this pocket world, tens of thousands of people named Ian Song were imprisoned.
"My lord, should we keep capturing more?"
A man wearing a bronze mask appeared, kneeling on one knee.
"Continue. Every Ian Song in the Da Yu Empire must be captured!"
Black Phoenix's tone was utterly emotionless.
"Yes!"
The bronze-masked man rose and retreated.
Looking at the tens of thousands of Ian Songs, even Black Phoenix felt a headache.
Just then—
A woman appeared outside the valley.
"Why are you here?"
Black Phoenix flashed outside the valley.
"I know you're troubled by something, so I came to help!"
Elaine Cho smiled lightly.
"How do you plan to help me?" Black Phoenix asked.
"Since Ian Song is the key to the Great Calamity, he must carry a distinct aura of disaster, and that disaster-Qi will only grow stronger over time. Blindly capturing every Ian Song is like searching for a needle in the ocean—it's nearly impossible to find the real one!"
Come with me!
Black Phoenix nodded and led Elaine Cho into the valley's pocket world.