Chapter 61

Riding the wind into the azure sky, laughing amidst the colorful clouds.

Standing at the gate of the Palace of Literature, Xun Yi looked down at the layers of celestial palaces below, his face filled with awe.

"Viewing mountains from within a mountain, or from outside a mountain, the scenery is vastly different." The Lord of Literature, holding a golden seal, asked, "What was your feeling when you observed the nine layers of the sky from outside?"

"The nine layers of the sky are orderly and well-arranged," Xun Yi recalled his feelings when he entered the azure sky. "Layer upon layer, like a tower."

"Very good. These nine layers of the sky are transformed from the nine layers of the sky by His Majesty, and can also be regarded as a precious tower, governing the origin of heaven and earth."

After each generation of the Heavenly Emperor ascends the throne, they use their nine-layer world to transform the Heavenly Realm, while the origin of the Heavenly Realm is transformed into a supreme innate divine artifact. The current Dragon Phase Emperor has transformed this supreme treasure of the azure sky into the nine-layered Cloudy Sky Tower, one of the three treasures of the Heavenly Emperor.

"But when viewed from the inside, the nine-layer world is completely different."

Xun Yi agreed, his gaze falling on the layers of worlds below, with the Milky Way flowing beneath his feet.

The Palace of Literature hung high, far above the legendary Milky Way.

Seeing Xun Yi lost in thought as he gazed at the Milky Way and the starry sea, the Lord of Literature said, "What you call stars are merely in the fifth layer, the Clear Radiance of the Great Constant Heaven. When one truly becomes a celestial deity, they will have their own star, gaining a place in the Great Constant Heaven."

The Lord of Literature pointed, and the fifth layer, the Great Constant Heaven, enlarged before Xun Yi's eyes. The starry sea was boundless, with each star symbolizing a celestial deity.

"Stars represent deities, whether in our Heavenly Court or among the foreign deities. Stars signify divine seats and the authority of heaven and earth."

Staring blankly at the starry sea, he almost overlooked the subtleties of the other layers of the sky.

The Lord of Literature continued, "We are now in the seventh layer. This layer has existed since before the beginning, with myriad wondrous energies. Only innate spirits can exist here. If not for my divine protection, you would have been instantly annihilated by the divine light upon entering this layer."

Xun Yi looked around. This vast expanse of the sky was misty and indistinct, with the ninefold light of the red clouds shining. In the distance, golden terraces and jade pavilions reflected each other, with divine trees and precious herbs spread everywhere. Each divine palace was the residence of an innate deity.

"But unlike the countless stars in the starry sea below, the number of divine palaces in this innate domain seems countable? Or is it that I only see a part of them?" Xun Yi silently counted, and the Lord of Literature shook his head: "This layer connects to the celestial mechanism, with the primordial energy flowing through the Five Constants and the Jade Balance, governing the nine layers and harmonizing yin and yang. Only innate spirits can establish their own palaces. And in the vast universe, how many innate, undying spirits are there?"

"The Heavenly Court has opened the nine layers of the sky, with only a few dozen supreme deities. Those who have enlightened to the eighth layer and can ascend to the rank of Lord are only a few hundred. And the innate deities of the seventh layer, in total, number only ten thousand."

"Alright, if you accumulate great merit and become an innate deity in the future, you can live here." The Lord of Literature pointed to several distant divine palaces: "Do you see? Those few are your seniors. Achieving an innate status through the path of merit is rare throughout history. Boy, don't you want to change your path? It's not too late to take the path of the literary deity now."

"I won't change," Xun Yi was resolute: "The path must be walked by oneself; it is never given by others. Since I can cultivate a heart of merit, I am naturally the most suited for this path. Lord, where is your true form?" Xun Yi looked at the person beside him, but the Lord of Literature was still in his avatar form, not revealing his true form.

"Look at the Palace of Literature yourself." After saying this, the avatar beside him entered the palace, and the palace gates slowly opened.

Infinite light emitted thirty-six colors of Dao light, and in an instant, Xun Yi's soul was severely injured, his eyes stinging, and he could no longer open them.

This was just the light of an innate deity, and it was the result of the Lord of Literature deliberately restraining it.

"Alright, I have completely retracted the divine light. Activate your tree of merit and look again." The Lord of Literature's laughter echoed in Xun Yi's ears. Xun Yi silently activated the tree of merit within his body and opened his eyes again.

At the palace gate stood a divine being, completely different from what he had seen on the spirit platform. Although it was right in front of him, he could only vaguely see the human form, with the face completely indistinct.

His eyes clearly saw the appearance of this divine being, but his mind could not recall or record it. This was the Dao body of an innate deity, always present since the beginning. Even if a later-born person saw the appearance of this deity with their own eyes, they could not paint or record it.

Therefore, the divine images in the temples of the mortal world mostly have the same appearance, making it difficult to capture the facial features and aura of these great deities.

"Boy, this is the innate, the Dao body itself. What is called enlightenment is the understanding of our Dao body and Dao aura." The voice resonated in Xun Yi's heart.

A moment ago, it still looked like a human body, but the next moment, it evolved into a vast world. Looking again, countless students were diligently studying, and in the examination hall, they were focused on their answers.

The Lord of Literature before him was more like the gathering of the world's literary energy. Moreover, that energy was eternal, emitting a sense that made one unable to resist.

"Is this the undying innate?" Xun Yi murmured. A deity who was immortal and a Lord who governed the seventh layer.

Wait, where is his seventh layer?

"Didn't you already see it?" The Lord of Literature took a step, and Xun Yi saw stars rushing past, finding himself in the chaos. In this boundless world of chaos, countless stars revolved around the central Wen Chang Star. Each star was inhabited by a vast number of mortals.

The Wen Chang Star emitted a rumbling sound: "This is my world." The star exploded, revealing a divine being with a thousand-foot-tall body supporting this world.

Thirty-six kinds of Dao light merged, and a white light shone from the chaos, rushing toward Xun Yi.

"Be careful!" Suddenly, a hand reached out and forcibly pulled him away from the Wen Chang world.

In a flash, he was standing on the Wen Chang Star. Xun Yi was drenched in sweat, his face filled with fear, and he no longer dared to look at the divine being before the palace.

"You have quite the nerve to look at the Dao body of an innate deity?" The person beside him scolded, but Xun Yi recognized the voice.

Turning his head, he saw a man with a unique and handsome appearance.

"Prince Long Ge?" Xun Yi felt a sense of familiarity.

Long Ge held two books, his face showing displeasure: "What are you doing here?" As soon as he entered, he saw the Lord of Literature revealing his true form and quickly pulled Xun Yi out of the Wen Chang world.

Otherwise, the boundless wisdom of the human world would have been enough to completely destroy Xun Yi.

"He wanted to see my true form, so I generously brought him here." The Lord of Literature smiled: "Why are you here? Not to chat with me?"

"Returning the books." Long Ge showed the books in his hand and said to Xun Yi: "These innate deities are themselves manifestations of the cosmic laws. Coming here to see his true form is like directly perceiving the Dao. Given your divine nature of merit, you would have been instantly annihilated by his divine light."

The Lord of Literature, aware of this, deliberately restrained his power. But he wanted to give Xun Yi a lesson to prevent him from being overly ambitious.

Xun Yi understood and respectfully bowed to the Lord of Literature: "Student knows his mistake."

"Being overly ambitious and blindly arrogant is the worst. You have just begun to cultivate as a deity; how can you know the vastness of heaven and earth? Do you think the seventh-layer innate deities are like the earth spirits in the mortal world?" The Lord of Literature scolded Xun Yi, his gaze on Long Ge, surprised: "Why is it Long Ge? I deliberately brought this boy to the Heavenly Court; shouldn't the Great Lord of Fate have sent someone?"

The Lord of Fate is the highest-ranking deity among the deities of fortune. The Great Lord of Fate oversees life and death, while the Lesser Lord of Fate governs the existence of offspring. The current Lord of Fortune, who temporarily holds the position, was once a Great Lord of Fate. Therefore, his full title is "Yuan Hong Shou De Si Ming Da Zhu Shen," the supreme deity of the current fortune deities.

"It should have been that guy, where did this prince come from?"

As the Lord of Literature was secretly surprised, Long Ge pulled Xun Yi out of the seventh layer and into the sixth layer, the Clear Radiance of the Great Constant Heaven.

"The upper three layers of the nine layers are extremely wondrous. Even I, who have condensed the innate energy, dare not easily enter them," Long Ge said calmly. "If you truly want to cultivate as a deity, you need to take it step by step. When you cultivate the path of merit to the fifth layer, the Great Lord of Fate will personally summon you to the eighth layer."

Xun Yi agreed, his gaze lingering on the sixth layer, which was empty and less impressive than the starry sea below.

"This sixth layer has its own special use, but you don't need to know it now," Long Ge smiled. "If you really want to see the scenery, I'll take you to the fifth layer."

Saying this, he pulled Xun Yi to the Clear Radiance of the Great Constant Heaven. In this layer, stars were arranged, and from a distance, countless stars shone.

Taking Xun Yi to a floating platform to observe the stars, the vast starry sea was before his eyes.

"This Purple Micro Platform can observe the stars of the heavens," Long Ge looked at Xun Yi, who was holding the railing, gazing into the distance. The stars were brilliant, calm, and distant, with stars occasionally moving in mysterious trajectories across the starry sea.

Facing east, there was a huge fireball moving, with a large group of divine birds resting on it. Various deities were constantly entering and exiting the stars.

"Is that the Sun Star? One of the ancient nine stars?"

"Correct, the sun and moon traverse the sky, the five elements intertwine, the Great One Emperor reigns, and the demon star brings calamity to the world," Long Ge followed Xun Yi's gaze: "That star is the sun. Look to the west, at the white luminous star there—"

"Is that the moon?"

"No, that is Tai Bai, the star of the west, symbolizing Venus. Look to the left, the star that is not inferior to Tai Bai is Tai Yin." Long Ge patiently explained to Xun Yi, the junior deity of fortune: "In the beginning, when the heavens and earth were first opened, there were nine stars, symbolizing the five elements: the Eastern Jupiter, the Western Tai Bai, the Southern Mars, the Northern Mercury, and the Central Earth Star. The sun and moon govern the yin-yang cycle and the alternation of day and night. The demon star Su Ming symbolizes chaos and turmoil, and the Great One Star represents the Heavenly Emperor."

"The demon star Su Ming corresponds to the demons of the abyss, but let's not mention it for now. The Heavenly Court governs the other eight stars, establishing the Milky Way and the starry sea. The sun and moon revolve around the heavens, while the other six stars establish their own star domains. The central and supreme Great One Star symbolizes the Heavenly Emperor, so the stars in the Great One Star domain represent the direct lineage of the Heavenly Emperor." Long Ge pointed to the southern yellow star domain, where purple vapor rose, dragons roared, and countless stars surrounded the central star symbolizing the Heavenly Emperor.

"The Lord of Literature is part of the direct lineage of the Dragon Phase Emperor, belonging to the Heavenly Emperor's star domain."

"And the other five star domains are created by the deities according to their virtues and attributes, investing their power into the five major stars, shaping their own life stars."

Xun Yi carefully observed and indeed saw five core stars in the five major star domains.

"Do not underestimate these stars. Each of the five star lords is an innate deity, and their rank is even higher than the Lord of Literature."

"Then, where is Prince Long Ge's star?"

"I follow the virtue of water, and the water virtue star relies on the power of the Northern Star, which is to the left of the Northern Star." Long Ge pointed, and Xun Yi saw a blue star surrounded by golden dragon-shaped clouds.

"This is my life star. Each deity lights up their own life star, according to their attributes and personality..." Long Ge deliberately explained to Xun Yi, who gradually fell into deep thought.

The divinity in the tree of merit flickered, and the divine light he emitted resonated with the distant stars. For mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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