"Yu Zhentian, this is no place for you."
At that moment.
A hazy, indistinct figure stepped forward, reprimanding Yu Zhentian. It seemed to be another Immortal Edict envoy.
"Oh? Who do we have here? So it's Miss Lan Ling."
Yu Zhentian looked at the hazy figure opposite him with a smile. "We are both Immortal Edict envoys. Why can you come, but this Young Lord cannot?"
"My being here does not mean you can be here," said the Immortal Edict envoy named Lan Ling. "The Immortal Edict you serve is unrelated to this matter. Leave at once."
"This Young Lord merely happened to be passing by," Yu Zhentian said, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light as he gazed at the Heavenly Mandate Light. "I just came to join the excitement, that's all."
"This is not excitement you should join, nor can you afford to."
Yu Zhentian paid no heed, still staring at the Heavenly Mandate Light as he declared arrogantly, "There is no excitement in this world that this Young Lord cannot afford to join."
"Heh, the Immortal Dao is becoming more shameless and lacking in principles by the day," laughed one of the hazy Great Dao Seekers. "To seize the initiative and dominate the world, they'll bestow an Immortal Edict on anyone. Truly desperate and indiscriminate."
Another hazy Great Dao Seeker chimed in with a laugh. "This little fellow isn't exactly ordinary either. He should be a Child of Destiny, right?"
"Nonsense. Of course, the little fellow is a Child of Destiny. Otherwise, why would the Immortal Dao bestow an Immortal Edict upon him? Do you think the Immortal Dao is stupid?"
"Nearly all the Children of Destiny born in this world have received Immortal Edicts. Our Demonic Dao can't even find a suitable candidate to bestow a Demonic Edict upon."
"Heh, don't just say your Demonic Dao can't find suitable people. Even the Heavenly Dao can't find suitable people in this world. The Immortal Dao snatched up all the Children of Destiny at the first opportunity. Their speed is truly something to admire!"
"Since ancient times, hasn't the Immortal Dao always acted swiftly?"
These hazy, indistinct Great Dao Seekers chatted and laughed amongst themselves, their words dripping with contempt for the Immortal Dao.
"These little fellows, born as Children of Destiny, are all inexperienced in worldly affairs. They lack both experience and mental fortitude. Relying on their innate fortune, they act arrogantly and domineeringly. With an Immortal Edict in hand, they become even more presumptuous, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth. If this continues, they will inevitably stir up trouble."
"So what if they stir up trouble? With the Immortal Dao backing them, who would dare do anything to them?"
"That's not necessarily true."
"Oh? Would you dare kill this little Immortal Edict fellow right now?"
"How would I dare? The little fellow is an Immortal Edict envoy. However... I may not dare, but that doesn't mean others don't. From what I know, this little Immortal Edict fellow's physical body was smashed to a pulp by a single slap in the Great Northwest a few years ago."
"Oh? There's such a thing? Who would be so bold as to kill an Immortal Edict envoy?"
"Care to guess?"
"Hmm, in the Great Northwest, killed by a single slap... Ha! I think I can guess who it is. However, running into that lord, he was just unlucky. Still, I'm curious. How did this little fellow manage to provoke that lord?"
"He foolishly attacked that lord, of course."
"This little fellow's courage is truly immense, daring to attack that lord. He really doesn't value his own life."
One of the hazy Great Dao Seekers gave a thumbs-up to Lan Ling, praising, "Lan Ling, your Immortal Dao is truly impressive! A mere little Edict envoy dares to single-handedly attack that lord. Admirable, truly admirable!"
In the distance.
Yu Zhentian's expression was unpleasant, downright terrible. The spring-like smile from earlier had completely vanished, replaced by a dark fury.
The incident of being annihilated in the Northwest a few years ago was his shame.
Fortunately, his master was an Immortal Dao enforcer. Using the Great Sun Radiance of the Immortal Court, he helped Yu Zhentian reconstruct his physical body.
After that, he had been in seclusion until the Heavenly Mandate descended upon this world, prompting his emergence.
Upon leaving seclusion, he did not linger in the Divine Continent but headed straight for the Great Northwest.
His previous reason for lurking in the Great Northwest was to investigate the secret guarded by Canyang Mountain. He had discovered that the secret was related to the Daoless Age. Although he didn't know what secret was being guarded or its exact connection to the Daoless Age, one thing he was certain of: if the Heavenly Mandate appeared at Canyang Mountain, then this Heavenly Mandate would be absolutely unique.
He originally intended to just try his luck in the Great Northwest. If there was no Heavenly Mandate here, he would return to the Divine Continent. He never expected the Great Northwest to actually manifest a Heavenly Mandate, and right at Canyang Mountain.
This excited and thrilled Yu Zhentian. However, after descending from the Heavenly Mandate Light, he discovered there were so many people here, and all of them were Great Dao Seekers. What shocked him even more was that he had never seen or even heard of these Great Dao Seekers.
This also made Yu Zhentian somewhat worried.
Worried that he might not be able to seize this unique Heavenly Mandate.
Yet, alongside the worry, he felt even more excitement and thrill. He became even more convinced that the Heavenly Mandate appearing at Canyang Mountain was absolutely extraordinary. Otherwise, so many Great Dao Seekers wouldn't all gather here.
Now, facing the teasing from these mysterious Great Dao Seekers, although Yu Zhentian was extremely displeased, he didn't say anything. He merely sneered, "It was only because this Young Lord was careless that I fell victim to that surnamed Gu's sneak attack. However, now that this Young Lord has emerged from seclusion, I will definitely make him pay a heavy price!"
"Heh, sneak attack? And make him pay a price?" A hazy Great Dao Seeker laughed. "Little fellow, do you even know who that lord who annihilated you is, to dare speak such big words?"
"I heard he's the successor of the Immortal Dao criminal Gu Tianlang. So what?" Yu Zhentian declared arrogantly. "This Young Lord doesn't care who he is. Even if he were Gu Tianlang himself, this Young Lord would tear him to pieces."
After Yu Zhentian finished speaking, many of the hazy Great Dao Seekers opposite him shook their heads and sighed. It seemed they were sighing at Yu Zhentian's arrogant ignorance, his lack of understanding of the immensity of heaven and earth, and even more at his disregard for his own life.
Apart from that, several other Great Dao Seekers burst into hearty laughter, as if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"What are you laughing at!"
As an Immortal Edict envoy, Yu Zhentian held a lofty position even within the Immortal Court and had never been mocked like this before. If the people opposite were anyone else, he would have annihilated them without hesitation. However, the people opposite were all Great Dao Edict envoys like himself, and some even held higher status as Great Dao enforcers or guardians. Faced with this, no matter how displeased Yu Zhentian was, he dared not act recklessly.
"Yu Zhentian, do you think you haven't embarrassed yourself enough?" From the crowd, Lan Ling, also an Immortal Edict envoy, scolded him. "Get out of here!"
Yu Zhentian also flew into a rage, shouting, "Lan Ling! We are both Immortal Dao Edict envoys! What right do you have to order me around like this!"
His angry shout only made the other Great Dao Seekers laugh even more heartily.
"Oh dear, oh dear, I'm dying of laughter! Little fellow, please stop joking, alright? Do you really think Lan Ling is just an Immortal Edict envoy like you? How utterly ignorant. Let me tell you, not just you, but even that so-called Immortal Dao enforcer master of yours, if he saw Lan Ling, he would have to kneel on the ground, kowtow nine times, and loudly address her as 'Lan Ling Niangniang'."