On the Avenue.

Chapter 709 Reporting to the Heavenly Court
Chen Shi felt waves of cool energy surging from the Demon Realm in the Well. This was the benefit that the Demon Blood Tree was bringing him as it absorbed Kundulun and slowly grew.

The Demon Realm in the Well was his place of merging with the Dao. As the Demon Tree improved, his cultivation level also rose accordingly.

At this speed, the Demon Tree will completely digest Kundulun. Not only will the damage to the Demon Tree be healed, but it may even advance further!
His cultivation level will also see a significant improvement, and he might even be able to break through to the Golden Immortal realm.

Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly: "When the Three Pure Ones opened up the Earthly Immortal Realm, they suppressed countless chosen ones of destiny bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. In addition, the Demon-Suppressing Well of the Great Virtue and Radiant Heavenly Palace also suppressed countless great demon skeletons."

He blinked: "They have no use for these bones. If I use the Demon Blood Tree to absorb these demon bones, the power of the tree will surely increase greatly. Perhaps I can even refine this tree into the most top-level magic weapon in the Earth Immortal Realm!"

His heart was pounding.

Before going to the ancestral court, he refined the Demon Blood Treasure Tree in the Demon Realm of the Well, using the Heavenly Dao of the Dark Sea to complete the Heavenly Dao that the Demon Blood Treasure Tree lacked, which is why the tree was able to contend with Xi Muran's Great Wilderness Pearl.

However, if the Demon Blood Tree can absorb those tens of thousands of chosen ones, its power will surely rise to an unimaginable level, making it an absolute top-tier Heavenly Dao magic treasure.

More importantly, the increased power of the Demon Tree also significantly improved Chen Shi's cultivation level, making it a win-win situation.

"It's useless for my godmother to keep the great demon's remains in the Demon-Suppressing Well, so you might as well grant them to me."

He stepped out of the demonic realm within the well and suddenly froze.

"These great demons of Kundulun are the chosen ones born from the Heavenly Dao of the Dark Sea, bearing the destiny and responsibility of reviving the Heavenly Dao of the Dark Sea. The people of the Earthly Immortal Realm regard them as great demons. My Demon Blood Treasure Tree is an anomaly among anomalies of the Great Dao, a treasure created by the Heavenly Dao of the Dark Sea to repair itself, which the people of the Earthly Immortal Realm call a demonic treasure."

Chen Shi blinked. "If I use the Demon Blood Tree to refine and kill the Great Demon that absorbs it, then am I a righteous person or a demon among demons? If we look at it from the perspective of the Dark Sea, if I use a Heavenly Dao treasure to refine and kill the Child of Destiny born of the Heavenly Dao, then I must be a demon among demons."

But for the people of the Earthly Immortal Realm, he solved the problem of not being able to refine the Great Demon to death. This was a great merit to all life in the Earthly Immortal Realm and the Xuanhuang Sea. It is no exaggeration to call him a living Buddha.

As he was pondering, a streak of light flew from the starry sky at an extremely fast speed, even faster than a star raft!

The rainbow light descended, revealing the Little Durian Fairy.

Her clothes were disheveled, and she seemed weak, not as well as before.

"Is Madam injured?" Chen Shi hurriedly stepped forward and asked with concern.

"Call him Your Majesty!"

Fairy Xiao Duan was quite displeased, and a deep, aged voice came from her mouth, saying, "Empress, you have overstepped your bounds! According to the laws of the Great Shang Dynasty, you should be punished by having your feet cut off!"

Chen Shi was puzzled. At this moment, the old voice struggled and said, "Let me go! You are the king of the Great Shang Dynasty, the most noble ruler. You will rule all the worlds. Your harem is not acceptable. You cannot be like that bastard Wu Geng..."

The voice disappeared, and Xiao Duan's voice returned, saying, "That was the late Emperor Taijia, who had a violent temper. But he was extremely powerful and helped me shake off Lady Yuanling. Although I was injured, it wasn't serious."

She also practiced the immortal technique improved by Chen Shi. Although she did not have the same level of skill as Chen Shi, it was enough to keep her alive.

Chen Shi asked, "Madam, where is that Lady Yuanling?"

"I've shaken her off; it'll probably take her a day to catch up and get here."

Fairy Xiao Duan walked with him toward the nearby star gate, saying, "We can leave slowly, there's no need to rush."

Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief, looked Xiao Duan up and down, and tentatively asked, "What about the Taijia inside Madam's body?"

"When I entered the Great Heavenly Court this time, I met the nine former emperors. The nine former emperors had their golden bodies broken and their primordial spirits obliterated, leaving only divine power and remnant souls. I could not bear to see them continue to suffer and their souls scattered, so I hid them in my sea of ​​consciousness and brought them out of the Great Heavenly Court."

Fairy Xiao Duan was quite worried that he would misunderstand, so she carefully explained, "When Lady Yuanling attacked this time, I was no match for her with my abilities. Fortunately, the nine former emperors came to my aid one after another, which saved me from death."

Chen Shi said, "Once we arrive at the Celestial Realm, we will invite the Nine Emperors. The Celestial Realm is home to the remnants of the Great Shang Dynasty, and Chu Feng is the emperor. He can reshape the golden bodies of the Nine Emperors."

Xiao Duan hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid they'll establish the Great Shang Heavenly Court again. After all, the Celestial Realm belongs to you..."

Chen Shi laughed and said, "They are, after all, your ancestors. It's up to them to re-establish the Great Shang Heavenly Court. It's just that there will be another Heavenly Court belonging to the Great Shang under the Heavenly Immortal Realm. If in the future, people of the Great Xia come and want to re-establish the Great Xia Heavenly Court, that's fine with them too. If people of the Great Zhou, Great Qin, or Great Han come and want to establish the Great Zhou Heavenly Court, the Great Qin Heavenly Court, or the Great Han Heavenly Court, then go ahead and establish them."

Xiao Duan breathed a sigh of relief.

However, in her mind, the nine Great Shang Emperors were furious, glaring and berating the harem for interfering in politics.

"We finally overthrew the tyranny of Xia Jie, and now she wants to re-establish the Great Xia Heavenly Court! I swear I will never let her get away with this!"

"Zhou destroyed my Great Shang, and then actually wanted to establish the Great Zhou Heavenly Court. How dare they! I deserve to be tortured with burning pillar!"

……

They were making a lot of noise, but Chen Shi couldn't hear them, and Xiao Duan ignored them completely.

The two arrived at the dock, and Chen Shi displayed the seal of the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Realm, ordering a starship to be requisitioned. The two boarded the starship and soared into the sky.

The journey went much more smoothly this time, and there were no more ambushes along the way. After more than twenty days, and after passing through several star gates, they finally arrived at the Western Heavenly Ferry of the Heavenly Court.

Chen Shi and Xiao Duan stepped off the star raft, only to find the Western Heaven completely empty, without a single celestial soldier or general. —Li Tianwang originally had 100,000 celestial soldiers and generals remaining, but these soldiers and generals were all in the Nirvana Great World, guarding many celestial beings and deities, and had not returned to the Heavenly Court.

Chen Shi invited out Li Tianwang and said politely, "Thank you for escorting me all the way, fellow Daoist."

Li Tianwang replied politely, "I dare not. I have not accomplished anything on this journey, and have instead troubled Your Majesty for so long. I am quite uneasy about this. Now that we have returned to the Heavenly Court, why don't you come with me to report to the Emperor?"

Chen Shi readily agreed, “That’s exactly what I was thinking too.”

The three of them passed through Xitiandang. When Li Tianwang saw the empty Xitiandang, he was saddened but there was nothing he could do.

This was a golden opportunity for him, but he still failed to eliminate Chen Shi and reclaim the throne.

The two passed through the Western Heavenly Gate, the Western Heavenly Palace, and the Jade Pool, heading towards the Lingxiao Palace. Upon arriving at the Chengtian Gate, they were stopped by golden-armored soldiers who, after inquiring about their purpose, told them to wait there.

Li Tianwang laughed and said, "Your Majesty is quite busy, and it's not something you can see whenever you want."

Not long after, the Jade Emperor issued a decree, ordering the two to wait at the Wenhua Hall. Little Duan Fairy remained at the Chengtian Gate, not following them. Upon arriving at the Wenhua Hall, Chen Shi and Li Tianwang waited for about half an hour. Suddenly, Chen Shi felt an immense, boundless aura approaching, as if the heavens and earth were spinning simultaneously, countless stars revolving around it. At the same time, he heard the chanting and praise of countless people, which shook his consciousness to its core, nearly causing him to lose his senses!

Chen Shi quickly composed himself, bowed respectfully, and thought to himself, "If I were just an ordinary little immortal, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be qualified to see the Jade Emperor. I would be stunned into a fool by his aura!"

The Jade Emperor, the Great Heavenly Venerable, walked in from outside the door. Chen Shi looked up and met his gaze. He felt a sudden burst of light before his eyes, and almost couldn't see anything at all. He was startled.

Only when the Great Celestial Venerable sat down on the throne in the Wenhua Hall, without making eye contact with him, could Chen Shi clearly see this Great Celestial Venerable.

The Great Celestial Venerable wore a twelve-tassel crown with jade beads hanging down, obscuring his face, but one could still see that his face was as beautiful as jade, majestic and dignified, exuding authority without anger, and his eyes contained divine light, which, without close inspection, seemed to contain the Milky Way.

This was not the first time he had met the Great Celestial Venerable.

Last time in the Great World of Nirvana, Chen Shi summoned the Great Celestial Venerable's avatar to fight the enemy, which resulted in the Great Celestial Venerable's avatar being killed repeatedly. This prompted the Supreme Ruler to personally descend into the avatar's body to see who dared to summon him to fight the enemy.

However, that time it wasn't the Great Celestial Venerable himself, but this time he saw the real person.

The Great Celestial Venerable seemed to sense his gaze and glanced at him. Chen Shi quickly looked away, bowed, and said, "Reporting to the Great Celestial Venerable: Your humble servant Chen Shi was ordered to quell the demonic chaos in the Ancestral Court. Today, I have slain the demon leaders Fan Wencheng and Kundulun, beheaded six million, wiped out the demonic path, and restored peace to the Ancestral Court. The entire Ancestral Court is deeply grateful for the Great Celestial Venerable's kindness. Incense burns like clouds, and worship continues without ceasing, praising the Great Celestial Venerable's righteous act of compassion and salvation."

The Jade Emperor was very pleased and smiled, saying, "Minister Chen has made great contributions to the country. He is hereby rewarded with ten thousand bushels of spiritual liquid, one million coins, and eighty thousand stones of dragon blood and black gold."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Chen Shi bowed deeply in gratitude and said, "On my way back, I was ambushed by Lady Yuanling and other bandits. Fortunately, King Li bravely rescued me and fought off the powerful enemy, thus saving my life."

The Great Celestial Venerable said, "The treacherous minister is audacious and will surely be severely punished. Minister Li was sent by me, and he has a long-standing grudge against you. I hope we can resolve this grudge."

Chen Shi bowed to Li Tianwang in gratitude, saying, "Thank you so much, fellow Daoist, for saving my life!"

Li Tianwang was deeply moved and quickly helped him up, saying, "Please don't do this, I'm so ashamed! Chen Tianwang is a righteous man of the court, how can I stand idly by when a righteous man is in trouble?"

The Great Celestial Venerable said, "Minister Chen, the position of Deputy Marshal is currently vacant. I have heard that you and Minister Li made an agreement that once he recovers from his injuries, you will grant him the position of Deputy Marshal..."

Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he wished he could slap himself twice: Why didn't he ask Emperor Changchun and others to help him cripple Li Tianwang when he kidnapped him to the Dao Ruins Dao Realm?
"How hateful that I forgot about this! My godmother is not clean in her work either, she was probably just being lazy and didn't tell the Three Altars Sea God about Li Tianwang's movements."

Chen Shi secretly regretted that he wasn't ruthless enough. If he had killed Li Tianwang, he could have blamed Xi Muran for it.

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I follow the Master's teachings and have always been a gentleman, so I will naturally not break my promise."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Brother Li Dao is skilled in military command, and I have always admired him. If I could have Brother Li Dao's assistance, I would certainly be able to serve Your Majesty with even greater ease!"

The Jade Emperor was very satisfied and said, "The harmony between you, the leader and the deputy, and the unity between the generals and ministers, is a great thing for the Heavenly Army. Where is Kundulun?"

Chen Shi said, "Reporting to the Great Heavenly Venerable, Kundulun has already been refined into white bones by this humble servant, and is about to be escorted to the Houde Guangda Heavenly Palace to be suppressed in the Demon Suppression Well."

The Great Celestial Venerable nodded slightly, quite satisfied with the arrangement, and waved his hand, saying, "You may all step back."

The two agreed and withdrew from the Wenhua Hall.

The two walked outside. Li Tianwang was clearly in a much better mood and said with a smile, "Chen Tianwang, from now on we will be ministers in the same palace and commanders in the same army. I hope that you will take good care of me."

Chen Shi laughed and said, "No problem, no problem."

Then his face darkened, and he stopped talking.

Li Tianwang talked incessantly the whole way, and when they arrived at Chengtian Gate, Fairy Xiaoduan hurriedly followed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Shi whispered, "The Great Celestial Venerable found a loophole in my plan, forcing me to accept Li Tianwang as my deputy commander."

Fairy Xiao Duan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's find a pretext and order Heavenly King Li to lead an army alone to a dangerous place to die, so that he can be buried. If he doesn't die, we can ambush him there and quietly kill him."

Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly. He glanced at Li Tianwang beside him and whispered, "Madam, keep your voice down. He already has 100,000 troops under his command. If he comes to Penglai West to seize my troops, we'll send him on his way."

Upon hearing this, Li Tianwang's heart skipped a beat: "No wonder people say the most poisonous heart is a woman's... Wait a minute, isn't this my method? How can they use it so skillfully?"

Not long after, the Great Celestial Venerable issued a decree. Chen Shi accepted the decree and went to the Ministry of Finance to meet the various Gods of Wealth and receive the Great Celestial Venerable's reward.

After receiving his reward, Chen Shi left the Heavenly Court and returned to Penglai West.

Li Tianwang hesitated for a moment and did not follow, thinking to himself, "Now that I have the rank of deputy marshal, I don't need to go to Penglai West to die."

Upon arriving at Penglai West, Chen Shi invited out 20,000 immortals and distributed the Jade Emperor's rewards to them, keeping nothing for himself. Everyone was overjoyed, and after expressing their gratitude, they returned to their caves to cultivate.

Upon hearing of his return, Jiao the Cripple hurried over, exchanged pleasantries, and seemed hesitant to speak. Chen Shi smiled and said, "Uncle-Master, please speak frankly about what you need."

Jiao the Cripple hesitated for a moment, then said, “My cultivation has now reached a critical stage. I have tried to break through and become a Great Luo Golden Immortal many times, but I have encountered great obstacles. Recently, I had a sudden inspiration and realized that the reason I cannot break through is because there are still karmic debts that have not been settled. Look into my eyes.”

He was blind in one eye, and a gold needle was stuck in his left eye, which he could never remove.

Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly, and he said, "You want to find the person who blinded you and settle this karmic debt?"

Jiao the Cripple nodded and said in a deep voice, "I will stay on Jin'ao Island to guard this place and prevent anyone from seizing our sacred land. I'm just afraid that you won't be able to hold it after I leave. After you return, I want to hand over Jin'ao Island to you to manage. My journey there is uncertain, but I feel at ease entrusting Jin'ao Island to you. From this day forward, you are the Master of Jin'ao Island!"

Chen Shi hesitated, "I promised a deceased person that I would travel to places like Beihai, and I cannot break my promise. Why not let my senior brothers temporarily assume the position of sect leader?"

Jiao the Cripple shook his head and said, "Although they are of a higher cultivation level than you, they are not as good as you in terms of adaptability in times of crisis and extensive connections. I am at ease with you as the sect leader."

Chen Shi thought for a moment, then stopped refusing and said with a smile, "My wife is a hundred times more capable than me. When I'm not around, I'll let her guard the place, and that will ensure peace for a while."

Jiao the Cripple then summoned all the disciples on Jin'ao Island, and in front of everyone, the more than 200,000 disciples passed the position of Sect Leader to Chen Shi. After the ceremony, he vanished without a trace.

(End of this chapter)