112 The Great Celestial Purge

“Everyone, line up for the master… Step aside! I’m going in!” The Phoenix screeched rudely at the puppets.

The puppets remained motionless.

Fearing they couldn’t hear, the Phoenix clutched the imperial seal tightly and flew closer. “I’m really going in… If you don’t agree, then stop me—just don’t attack!”

Still, the puppets didn’t move.

Nervously, the Phoenix lunged at the barrier, deciding to test the puppets’ limits—unexpectedly, the purple radiance from the imperial seal touched the barrier, causing it to dissolve like melting ice and snow.

“Choo-haha, it really works!” The Phoenix flapped its wings and flew back, transforming into human form upon landing. “Come on, let’s go check it out together!”

The three raised the imperial seal high and casually passed through the barrier—indeed, no puppets appeared to interfere.

Inside the barrier stood an octagonal hall, empty all around, with a circular platform glowing with purple-gold light in the center. Above it floated a smooth, translucent disc, as large as a giant clam shell, resembling ice and jade, enclosed within a spherical purple barrier that slowly rotated.

Blood-red lightning continuously flashed and surged over the purple barrier, forming a scarlet electric net on its surface. The intense electric and magnetic fields were palpable from afar—though silent, they clearly conveyed a message of “extreme danger,” truly terrifying.

As soon as Luo Li saw the lightning, she felt a chill all over: wasn’t this the same thing she’d encountered in the Qimen formation? She had almost been struck down by it!

She turned and grabbed Qin Yue’s sleeve, her expression full of grievance. “The Jade Emperor is a liar; there’s no treasure here at all!”

Qin Yue said blankly, “He didn’t say there was treasure here.”

Luo Yu, who hadn’t been zapped, naturally glanced past the barrier toward the disc in the air—it looked like a frisbee, just like when the master played games with the dog.

Curious, Luo Yu asked, “What’s that flying disc?” He eagerly ran over to take a closer look. Although Luo Li was reluctant, she hid behind Qin Yue and followed.

The three stood beneath the disc, looking up. They could faintly make out some formation patterns on it, but the barrier’s shimmering light made them unclear.

Luo Yu said, “How do we break this barrier? If we touch it with magic, we’ll get electrocuted and roasted like a chicken… It’s hard to deal with.”

Qin Yue squinted and scanned around, finally resting his gaze on the circular platform below. “Does this platform’s material look familiar?”

Luo Yu refocused, looking at the purple-gold platform and then at the imperial seal in his hand—it was exactly the same. “Could it be… we should place this thing on the platform?”

Qin Yue said, “Try it.”

Luo Yu examined the platform, which was also engraved with some formation patterns. Adjusting the imperial seal’s orientation accordingly, when it turned to a certain angle, the patterns perfectly aligned with those on the platform.

Sharing a glance, Qin Yue nodded slightly. Luo Yu carefully placed the seal on the platform. The seal’s face clung to the platform like a magnet. Then, a gentle purple light radiated from the sun and moon carved on the seal’s top, shining straight upward.

The spherical barrier glowed under the purple light and vanished instantly, like darkness meeting sunlight. Even the terrifying lightning disappeared without a trace.

Before the three could cheer, the disc made a light “ding!” sound and split open along the edge into two halves. One half slowly rose, the other slowly descended, revealing a pure white circular plate in the center.

The plate was covered with crisscrossing pattern blocks that shimmered with layered, flickering light, appearing to follow a set rhythm. It slowly rotated, with the blocks continually shifting positions, the glowing light waxing and waning mysteriously.

“A compass?” the three said in unison.

Luo Yu exclaimed excitedly, “This is—the celestial court’s hub!”

“Wow!” Luo Li cried, “If we control this, wouldn’t that mean controlling the celestial court?”

Luo Yu nodded vigorously. “This is huge! Whether it’s the Treasure Light Hall or the Jade Blossom Palace, they’ll all be in our hands, hahaha!”

Qin Yue smiled, his eyes curved like moons, pointing at some golden light dots on the plate that didn’t flicker. “These markers aren’t found in the Li, Xun, or Eight Gates formations we’ve scanned; they must represent puppets.”

Luo Li pointed to the flickering lights. “That’s a barrier! Its color changes with the time of day!”

Luo Yu laughed uncontrollably. “Exactly, the kid’s quite teachable! Hmm, I’ll try redeploying troops… moving some from the Qian position to fill the Li position…” Saying so, he cast a bit of magic to try to force the light points into the Li position but failed. “Huh, can’t move them. Looks like their positions are fixed—this doesn’t make sense.”

Qin Yue said, “Right now, our priority isn’t to fill gaps but to open the Treasure Light Hall and Jade Blossom Palace.” With a wave of his hand, the glowing lights and puppet markers at two locations instantly extinguished.

Luo Yu shouted, “Turn off the no-fly formation too!”

The three busied themselves around the compass, combining formation knowledge with the colors they’d seen to analyze the attributes of each formation, thoroughly enjoying themselves. They understood the compass’s functions went beyond this, but with treasure on their minds, they reluctantly left the compass behind and boldly set off for the Jade Blossom Palace.

At the palace’s gate, the puppets had indeed closed their eyes and shut down, and the barrier was nowhere to be found.

The three barged in as if entering their own backyard. Inside were many gardens, each cultivating various high-grade spirit herbs. The garden for Nascent Soul-level plants had plenty of herbs, but those from Dissolution to Great Perfection were scarce, likely plundered by those authorized to enter the palace, leaving only seedlings that had regrown after thousands of years.

None of the three cared much for these herbs and headed straight to the garden for cultivating immortal herbs.

The garden’s defensive barrier was deactivated, leaving only a latticework wall about half a person’s height, carved from spirit jade into exquisite flowers and plants with classical, elegant, and intricate designs. The entrance featured a large banana leaf-shaped gate, flanked by carvings of twin blooming nine-lotus intertwined branches with bees and butterflies fluttering around. A plaque above read “Auspicious Pavilion Immortal Garden.”

As soon as they stepped inside, a strong spiritual energy washed over them, mingled with rich fragrance that cleared their minds and refreshed their bodies.

Looking around, faint bands of light drifted through the air like mist or rosy clouds, gently rippling in the stillness. White spirit jade paths meandered in all directions, flanked by spirit jade flower stands in varying shapes: some bore immortal maidens holding flower baskets, others had auspicious deer carrying embroidered boxes, jade rabbits embracing bright moons, golden dragons coiling around auspicious clouds… Each stand was inscribed with celestial seal script and formation patterns, not only indicating the herb’s name and origin but simulating its native growing environment through formation barriers.

Most stands held dark, rich soil, while some contained mysterious ice or heated stones, each nurturing various immortal herbs that shimmered with radiant light, dazzling the eye with their exquisite brilliance.

Luo Yu muttered in awe, “So lavish… so this is how immortal herbs are cultivated.”

Luo Li scoffed, “The bourgeoisie are way too fancy! Daddy’s herbs grow just fine in ceramic pots.”

Qin Yue hesitated. “Bringing the flower pots back? Can these formations withstand such frequent moving?”

Luo Yu was conflicted too. “If they’re not sealed tightly in jade boxes, the herbs might not survive vacuum compression.”

Luo Li’s eyes gleamed. “Why don’t we just take over the celestial court? Its owner’s gone! Then we wouldn’t have to move anything!”

Luo Yu and Qin Yue exchanged glances, each seeing in the other’s eyes a shared mischievous impulse.

Luo Yu praised, “As expected of my cat! You’ve got my flair from back in the day!”

Qin Yue pondered, “We’ve already found Ying Zhao and some demon cultivators. There might still be descendants in other unexplored areas. To fully control the celestial court, we must first master the compass.”

Luo Yu said, “Speaking of which, I find it strange: why does the celestial court float in midair? The compass shows no levitation formation. To keep such a vast place suspended for tens of thousands of years would consume enormous spiritual energy. The ambient spiritual energy in the space doesn’t meet that requirement. Moreover, no formation like our family’s array that generates its own power has been found.”

Qin Yue said, “Once we fully study the compass, maybe we’ll find some answers.”

Luo Li looked around. “So no need to move the flowers now? Let’s go check out the Treasure Light Hall!”

Luo Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head. “We still have to take them. Leaving them in the celestial court isn’t a long-term plan; with technology advancing rapidly, flying machines might break in within a hundred years.”

Luo Li panicked. “Then this place will definitely be discovered! It’s ours! Can we hide it somewhere higher?”

Luo Yu sighed under pressure. “Let’s study the compass first.”

Unable to reach a conclusion, the three split up to gather the immortal herbs, packing them all carefully into jade boxes. They left the flower stands behind, hoping to find a way to transport the celestial court itself and replant later. Their urge to take the herbs stemmed from a petty bourgeois mindset: not having them under their own watch felt unsafe, and planting them on their own turf allowed them to add extra spiritual energy.

After finishing with the herbs, they rushed into the Treasure Light Hall.

The hall’s condition could be summed up in one phrase: befitting its name.

Just outside the entrance, the three felt all sorts of strange fluctuations emanating from within. Inside the palace gates was a broad avenue lined with exhibition rooms. Plaques read: Precious Stone Hall, Rare Metal Hall, Exotic Wood Hall, Mystic Water Hall, Strange Soil Hall, Spirit Sand Hall… each categorized for various refining materials.

They toured each hall, where golden tablets listed all treasures. From the records, about half the materials were missing—likely looted—leaving only leftovers, which the three took without complaint.

At the avenue’s end stood the place they hoped for: the Treasure Light Pavilion.

The barrier here was personally opened by Qin Yue using the compass. It lived up to expectations; although there were only seven items, none were ordinary.

The first was the “Bodhi Enlightenment Relic,” described as a gift from the Buddha himself—not the relics left by prince incarnations collected nowadays, but the relics left after the Buddha’s initial entry into the cultivation realm and his nirvana. There were five relics total, housed in an exquisitely crafted golden box. Wearing one enlightened the mind, cured ailments, and repaired body and soul; as refining material, it removed impurities and elevated the sword heart to supreme clarity.

The second was “Primordial Dragon Gel,” the essence left in the tendons of the ancestral dragon, Zhulong. Zhulong’s body transformed into the earth, but this gel remained. Its properties baffled the celestial court—fire couldn’t burn it, and attempts to cut it only damaged the weapons used, injuring the researchers who studied it. So it was left untouched.

The third was “Qi Yin Supreme Mysterious Crystal,” intensely cold, taken from two ice crystals at the extreme forks of the mortal realm’s northern and southern paths. Because the area was in perpetual night and cold, it was named “Qi Yin.” This crystal was extremely sharp; when activated, it could freeze thousands of miles and injure souls, a wide-range lethal weapon sealed here.

The fourth was the “Diamond Levitation Stone,” an otherworldly treasure from ancient times, pure as ice and extremely dense. It once roamed the skies before being found by the then-ruler, the Jade Emperor, who brought it back and used parts to build the celestial court. The Jade Emperor later decided only one was needed for the celestial court, so he hid the rest.

The fifth was “Pure Yang Extreme Fire Steel.” Legend told of a divine golden crow, boasting it could live on the sun because it was immune to fire, challenging the phoenix to prove it. The phoenix, familiar with the sun’s dangers, doubted this and they made a bet: the phoenix would find a way to let the crow go to the sun and bring back a token. The crow succeeded, returning with a dazzling metal, burning hot beyond measure, a treasure forged by the sun’s endless flames. The crow’s feathers turned black after the trip and was renamed “Golden Crow,” revered as the sun’s divine bird. The Jade Emperor long coveted this steel for refining but the crow refused to part with it, so it was left to gather dust here.

The sixth was “Reincarnation Magnetic Silver,” another otherworldly treasure from beyond the heavens. Its magnetic force worked on both physical objects and souls. Once attracted, escape was impossible, forcing submission and transport to the other shore of reincarnation.

The seventh was the “Nirvana Golden Essence,” a relic left by the ancient god Pangu. Legend said Pangu’s world-opening axe contained this substance. It was the sole surviving item from the pre-apocalyptic era, and adding a bit during refining made the item several times tougher, akin to nirvana. The better the materials, the stronger the effect. The celestial court’s puppets all used this as supreme auxiliary refining material.

After carefully examining the treasures, Qin Yue’s eyes fixed unblinking on the “Pure Yang Extreme Fire Steel,” as if he wouldn’t rest until fully understanding it.

Luo Yu scanned around and sneered, “These treasures are impressive, but none is what I really want.” Seeing Qin Yue’s starry-eyed look, he teased, “Alright, alright, don’t make that face. It’s yours—all yours!!!”

Luo Li’s attention was on the relics, longing. “If mommy wore one, could it improve her health? I wish she could use magic properly.” She was her mother’s most devoted daughter, knowing that although vampires could wield some magic, their meridians were obstructed, allowing only a tiny fraction of power. In fights, they relied on strength and speed, recklessly using their bodies without reserve.

The author has a word to say: The time-space travel master just dropped a landmine.

The moon is so round it dropped a landmine.

T.T Mwah! Last time I missed two landmines—thanks~ The moon is a great friend in the author group, so touched! Turns out you set off landmines for me~ Mwah mwah mwah~

Also, thanks to everyone for the support and comfort~~ T.T Although few read this, I’ll keep working hard~``

Honestly, I’ve been doubting myself lately… feeling a bit restless~``

But you’ve all healed me~~~!

“Adventures of Cultivating Friends” Chapter 112: Celestial Court Sweep Complete!