1546 Returning to the Third Heaven

After leaving Vanishing Valley, Zi Xuan asked him, "What do you plan on doing now?"

"I'm going to descend to the Third Heaven for a while."

"What's happening down there?"

"Nothing. I'm just meeting up with a friend."

"Is that so? Anyway, I'm going to slumber for a bit, as I haven't been able to relax at home for countless years now. Don't bring me out unless you're in danger."

"Alright. Get some good rest, Zi Xuan." Yuan said before putting her away.

Even in its suppressed form, Number One Under Heaven was incredibly overpowered and definitely not necessary for the Fourth Heaven, let alone the Third Heaven.

"Welcome back, my liege." Dong Ye's voice suddenly resounded.

"It appears that you've reunited with Lady Zi and managed to awaken your sword's true appearance."

"Did you know Zi Xuan was in the Vanishing Valley this whole time?" Yuan suddenly asked.

"No, my liege. I was only aware that a powerful sword spirit existed within the Vanishing Valley. Although I had my suspicions, I could never confirm it."

Yuan nodded, "Anyway, I'm going to make a quick trip to the Third Heaven. Watch over my friends while I am gone."

"Naturally."

Yuan made his way back to the Black Fog City for their teleportation device.

From there, he teleported to the city closest to the Stairway to Heaven.

Sometime later, Yuan arrived at the Stairway to Heaven.

Instead of immediately entering the Stairway to Heaven, Yuan admired it from outside.

"Stairway to Heaven…"

He vaguely recalled crafting the Stairway to Heaven as Tian Qiyuan to make traveling between the Nine Heavens more convenient.

Before the Stairway to Heaven came into existence, cultivators had to traverse the vast starry sky to travel between realms, rendering the notion of journeying from one heaven to another much less accessible.

Each journey, depending on one's starting point and destination, could take years, if not decades. The arduous and perilous voyages deterred many, making travel between Heavens a rare and significant endeavor reserved for the powerful and privileged.

Realizing this, Tian Qiyuan crafted the Stairway to Heaven, allowing everyone the privilege of traversing the Nine Heavens.

In the beginning, the Stairway to Heaven was only used as a means of travel. However, nowadays, it has become a trial of sorts for those in the lower heavens who wish for a better and more challenging life in the upper heavens. Those who successfully ascend are often regarded with great respect and seen as worthy of the higher realms' opportunities and challenges.

As for who decided to turn the Stairway to Heaven into a trial, it was the Celestial Emperor, who wanted to regulate travel within the Nine Heavens so the upper heavens were not overpopulated, allowing the natural resources there to remain abundant.

As for the lower heavens, while they may have fewer resources, they don't have to worry about any Immortals wreaking havoc.

Tian Qiyuan had no problem letting the Celestial Emperor control the Stairway to Heaven, either. It was only natural to let the ruler of Nine Heavens have authority over such issues, and not doing so might spark another war.

Even if he handed control over to the Celestial Emperor, he was still the ultimate decision-maker as its creator, and he could regain full control whenever he wanted. Furthermore, he saw this as an opportunity to turn the Stairway to Heaven into a training ground for his future reincarnations.

Yuan entered the Stairway to Heaven after admiring his own creation for a minute.

"Welcome back, Master." Tian'er greeted him inside.

"Are you already ascending to the Fifth Heaven?"

"No, I am going to visit the Third Heaven."

"I understand. Please have a safe journey." Tian'er didn't ask any questions and created a staircase that went down instead of going up like usual.

"Thank you."

Yuan didn't say anything else and began his descent.

Typically, after receiving approval, one must pay the Lord of their respective Heaven a significant amount of resources before they can descend. The only exception is for those traveling under the orders of the Celestial Emperor, such as the envoys sent to the lower heavens to find Yuan.

Moreover, one would have their cultivation restricted to the limits of their destination to control the damage that could be done while there.

Fortunately, Yuan's cultivation was still well within the limits of Third Heaven, so he didn't need to worry about his cultivation being a problem.

An hour later, Yuan emerged from the Stairway to Heaven, arriving at the Third Heaven.

"I'll be right back." Yuan logged off shortly after to contact Bai Lianhua.

Since Yu Ning dwelled within Yuan's Dantian, she was unable to travel to Earth and was forced to enter a slumbering state after he logged off. The same went for Xiao Hua.

"Yes, I've arrived in the Third Heaven. Meet me at the nearest Myriad of Techniques."

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit."

Yuan returned to Cultivation Online the next moment.

"Looks like I'm unable to go to Earth with you while I am in your Dantian…"

"I guess it makes sense since I technically have two bodies, and you're in my other body's Dantian. Meanwhile, Soul Weapons are connected to one's soul, so I can bring it out no matter which body I am using."

"The Spirit Avatar Array and the Soul Transference Array, huh? They were classified as level 8 formations during my time, but even I cannot perform them despite being a level 8 Array Master, so they're definitely level 9 formations. I cannot imagine how powerful the Array Master who performed these two formations on such a massive scale may be, but they're definitely powerful enough to be the God of Formations."

"The God of Formations, huh? What does it take to become one?"

"Well, while the position of God of Formation existed during my time, nobody was actually good enough to claim that title. To even have the chance to be the God of Formation, you need to be able to create a level 9 formation that was considered the most complex and difficult formation in existence—the Chaotic Heaven and Earth Formation. It's an unfathomably powerful formation that has flawless offensive and defensive capabilities."

"The Chaotic Heaven and Earth Formation… I have heard of it. It was used by the first Celestial Emperor when I fought him as the Evil God, and it was very annoying to deal with." Yuan casually muttered.

"Huh? Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"That I fought the first Celestial Emperor as the Evil God? Oh, right. I didn't tell you guys yet."

"Y-y-you were the Evil God in one of your previous lives?!?!?! Why didn't you say this sooner!?" Yu Ning exclaimed in a shocked voice.

"Well, now you know." Yuan smiled.

Yu Ning fell silent the next moment, almost as though she was trying to figure out how she should react to this shocking revelation.

Yuan made it all the way to the Myriad of Techniques in complete silence.

Bai Lianhua was standing outside when he arrived.

"Sorry, did you wait long?"

Bai Lianhua shook her head and smiled, "No, I just got here myself."

"Let's go inside."

Once inside, Yuan brought her straight to the highest floor and said, "Alright, go pick whatever techniques you want."

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, still hesitant to accept such a gift from him.

"What are you saying now? Go and get some techniques for your faction. Also, you can take your time. I'll also be looking around."

"Okay…"

Bai Lianhua left the next moment to wander the place while Yuan also went to check out the techniques. While he doesn't need any for himself, he figured that he might as well acquire a few for his faction.

Yet, even after looking through the entire floor, Yuan was unable to find any decent techniques. Although most people would consider the techniques at Myriad of Techniques above standard, they were merely so-so in Yuan's eyes.

Suddenly, a voice resounded inside his head.

"I see that you've returned from the Vanishing Valley in one piece, Yuan. I'm relieved. Anyway, can I have a moment of your time right now? I have some urgent information for you."Senior Bai's voice resounded.

"I'll be right there."

Yuan went to find Bai Lianhua to let her know that he'd be gone for a bit before going to Senior Bai's world.

"What's wrong, Senior Bai?" Yuan asked after meeting up with him.

"This is about the escaped Immortals. Do you remember the third Immortal who managed to escape into the lower heavens? Well, we found the Immortal in the Fourth Heaven, where you currently are."

"The Fourth Heaven… so what's going to happen now?"

"There are already experts chasing after this Immortal, but their hands are somewhat tied because they don't want to cause too much damage in the Fourth Heaven."

"This escaped Immortal… do they have their full cultivation?" Yuan asked.

"No, their cultivation will be suppressed because of the Heavenly Law. However, they won't be fully suppressed, so this Immortal is still strong enough to wreak havoc within the Fourth Heaven."

Yuan began pondering. Since this Immortal has their cultivation restricted, he might be able to finish the task that required him to defeat a Cultivator nine realms above his own.

"If I happen to run into this Immortal, I can kill them, right?" he asked.

"Uhh…" Senior Bai was left speechless by his question.

"You actually want to fight the Immortal? That's reckless—

suicidal! I gave you that treasure to detect the Immortal's presence not because I want you to fight them but to run away and call for backup instead!"

"I know, but if the Immortal is weak enough, I might be able to catch them off guard and kill it in one go," Yuan responded calmly, despite talking about fighting an Immortal.