“Patriarch Zheng really has a clever plan,” the Sixth Elder sneered.

“War is never without deception,” Zheng Yunhao replied with a chuckle. “Our Nine Nights Holy Lands is in decline, we can’t compare with the great powers. We can only resort to such risky tactics.”

With that, Zheng Yunhao extended both hands.

“Hand it over. Give us the inheritance, and I can guarantee you won’t be harmed.”

“There was no inheritance in that Mystic Realm,” Xia Wanqing explained.

“Whether there is or not, we’ll find out by searching,” Zheng Yunhao said lightly. “For now, I advise you not to resist.”

Xia Wanqing frowned slightly and was about to unfurl the Emperor’s Painting, but Xu Zimo stopped her.

“Every time you use the Imperial Might, it diminishes. Save it for a true moment of crisis. As for these ants, I’ll handle them.”

Xu Zimo stepped forward, looking somewhat bored.

“Young brat, your confidence is amusing,” said the leftmost of the three Old Ancestors of the Three Talents.

The so-called Three Talents were Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The three stepped forward, their auras overwhelming, their long robes fluttering in the wind. Three longswords, each of a different attribute, floated in the void.

“Will you surrender quietly, or must we take action?” asked one of the Three Talents Old Ancestors.

“All of you, come at once,” Xu Zimo waved lazily and smiled.

The three exchanged glances, slightly enraged.

With a sharp shout, each grasped their Three Talents Sword and descended, surrounding Xu Zimo.

The three swords radiated dazzling light. Together they formed a triangular pattern, enclosing Xu Zimo inside.

This was the embodiment of three Daos: the Dao of Heavenly Mechanism, the Dao of Earth’s Veins, and the Dao of the Human Realm.

Three Daos made three lines, and three lines formed one hexagram.

The three Daos blazed with brilliance, shaking heaven and earth. The swords then slashed at Xu Zimo from all directions.

Xu Zimo only smiled. He lifted a hand, and a mighty force rippled out.

In the next instant, three shattering cracks rang out. The Heaven, Earth, and Man swords all broke in front of him.

The Three Talents Old Ancestors coughed up foul blood and were flung backward.

“Old Ancestors!” Zheng Yunhao’s expression changed drastically as he rushed forward to support them.

The three lifted their heads, horror in their eyes as they looked at Xu Zimo.

“Do you know why I didn’t kill you?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Please, enlighten us,” the Old Ancestors replied.

“I heard your Nine Nights Holy Lands was once friendly with the Martial Heaven Sacred Ground,” Xu Zimo said. “In the inheritance, I saw the Nine Nights Immortal Sovereign, he and the Martial Heaven Emperor were Dao Companions. Why should their descendants fight to the death? You’ve already declined, why not join hands and grow stronger together? I’ll leave you alive. Go home and think it over.”

Hearing this, Zheng Yunhao fell into deep thought.

The four slowly rose, then bowed deeply to Xu Zimo before departing into the distance.

“Letting them go so easily, wasn’t that too cheap for them?” Shangguan Lan muttered from the side.

“An extra ally is better than another corpse,” Xu Zimo replied. “If they fail to appreciate it, we can always kill them later.”

The group continued onward and finally returned to Martial Heaven Sacred Ground on Sovereign Mountain Range.

The Sixth Elder and Xia Wanqing went to report the outcome of their journey, while Xu Zimo returned to his courtyard.

Before long, Xia Wanqing also returned after her report.

“Grandfather has officially named me the Young Sacred Lord,” Xia Wanqing said.

“That’s good,” Xu Zimo nodded.

But in his heart, he was already thinking about his own departure.

“Grandfather also said something else,” Xia Wanqing hesitated before speaking.

“What is it?”

“The matter of the Dao Source, Grandfather wants me to represent Martial Heaven Sacred Ground in Thousand-Ox Dao Court,” Xia Wanqing replied.

“You don’t want to go?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Not exactly. I just can’t bear to leave here, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” Xia Wanqing explained. “Grandfather wants me to stay in Thousand-Ox Dao Court to cultivate. He said the world there is broader. Staying in Martial Heaven Sacred Ground my whole life would lead nowhere.”

“Then go. I also want to visit Thousand-Ox Dao Court,” Xu Zimo said with a smile. “Think it over yourself.”

After a brief chat with Xia Wanqing, Xu Zimo returned to his room. Because he sensed Paimon calling him.

His spirit entered the God World, where Paimon had long been waiting.

“Infernal Lord.”

“What has happened?” Xu Zimo asked.

“That Thousand-Ox Dao Court’s Hidden Ox Emperor, I think I’ve heard of him,” Paimon said.

“He should know the whereabouts of your Infernal Heart.”

“Infernal Heart?” Xu Zimo frowned slightly.

“Yes. Back when the Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique was separated from you, its Infernal Heart was also sealed away,” Paimon explained. “Before I fell asleep, I heard that the Infernal Heart had something to do with this Hidden Ox Emperor.”

“Then it seems I must go to Thousand-Ox Dao Court,” Xu Zimo chuckled.

“Also, beware of the so-called Celestial Citadel,” Paimon warned. “I suspect they are tied to the Heavenly Court.”

“I understand,” Xu Zimo nodded.

After chatting with Paimon for a while, he returned to cultivation.

As night fell and darkness deepened, Xu Zimo slowly opened his eyes. He looked toward the window.

A thin bamboo tube had slipped through a gap, releasing a mist into the room.

He sniffed the air. The mist was laced with a powerful sleeping agent.

So strong, in fact, that even an Empyrean Meridian cultivator with a tempered spirit would succumb if caught unawares.

Xu Zimo watched the scene with interest.

Outside, a shadow in nightclothes was creeping back and forth between his and Xia Wanqing’s rooms.

After a while, the figure pushed open Xia Wanqing’s door and entered.

Xu Zimo followed silently.

Xia Wanqing was already unconscious from the mist, asleep on her bed. The intruder reached for the storage ring on her finger,

But suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder.

Startled, the figure turned, only to see Xu Zimo smiling at him.

“Throwing it all away for desperation, aren’t you,” Xu Zimo said.

He snapped his fingers, and the extinguished lamp in the room flared to life.

In the lamplight, the black cloth covering Li Xiaoyuan’s face was pulled away.

“Spare me! I only wanted the inheritance, I had no intention of harming her!” Li Xiaoyuan pleaded.

“You thought she had the inheritance?” Xu Zimo chuckled. “The Young Sacred Lord’s seat, the spot in Thousand-Ox Dao Court, all of it went to Xia Wanqing. Of course you feel unbalanced. You knew your chances were fading, so you decided to try this.”

“I meant no harm, it was a moment of madness! Spare me, I’ll serve you loyally as a beast of burden if need be!” Li Xiaoyuan begged.

“Just by living, you’re wasting air,” Xu Zimo said as he reached out to seize him.

Realizing the situation was hopeless, Li Xiaoyuan abandoned all restraint and leapt out the window to escape.