Chapter 397 – The Celestial Capital That Breaks the Balance

Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital, Gold Luminaries Heavenly Capital.

“Well? Still haven’t found that Eternal?”

Hou Wanxin, the Star Lord of Gold Luminaries Heavenly Capital, gazed down at his subordinate kneeling before him, his face completely devoid of expression.

Being stared at by a Star Lord with Deity Transformation cultivation,

the subordinate was trembling uncontrollably with nervousness.

Even though he himself had reached the Nascent Soul Stage and could be considered influential anywhere else in the world,

before a Star Lord of Gold Luminaries Heavenly Capital with Deity Transformation cultivation, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator was nothing remarkable.

“R-reporting, my lord. I’ve dispatched everyone available. They all say they haven’t found any clues about the Eternal within their respective Domains.”

“So we suspect…”

“You suspect the Eternal might not be within the Heavenly Capital, but outside it?”

Before the subordinate could finish speaking, Hou Wanxin completed the sentence for him.

The Nascent Soul cultivator nervously raised his head and nodded heavily, confirming that was exactly what he meant.

“Heh, an Eternal who might potentially control the entire Heavenly Capital in the future actually comes from outside the Heavenly Capital. Don’t you think this is ironic for us?”

Hearing Hou Wanxin’s words, the subordinate below didn’t dare say anything more.

He knew all too well what Gold Luminaries Heavenly Capital, and even the other Heavenly Capitals, had been doing recently for this so-called Eternal.

Describing it as turning heaven and earth upside down wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

And this “turning heaven and earth upside down” was meant in the literal sense.

They had clearly adopted a stance of not giving up until they found the target.

After all, whoever could locate this Eternal first would undoubtedly gain a significant advantage.

Whether it was finding a way to replace them and become the Eternal themselves, or establishing good relations with them beforehand to get closer to the future Lord of the Heavenly Capital –

all these possibilities depended on finding the target first.

If they couldn’t even locate the person, all their schemes would naturally be useless.

Similar situations were occurring in the other Heavenly Capitals as well.

And everyone’s results were surprisingly similar.

Not only had they found no trace of the Eternal, they hadn’t even detected any abnormalities.

The Star Lords didn’t suspect that the person might be hiding within their own territories

while remaining undetected by them.

After all, they had been managing their respective Star Domains for over a thousand years.

It was impossible that they couldn’t even find one person.

It was important to note that the Sanctuary hadn’t simply given them verbal instructions to find the Eternal.

Without specific descriptions,

how could they possibly locate an Eternal in this vast world?

What the Sanctuary had given them was a special Token.

By relying on this Token, they would sense it when they came within a certain range of the Eternal.

Additionally, the Sanctuary had transmitted a portrait to them.

The person in the portrait wore ancient clothing, clearly not from this era,

obviously a figure left over from the previous era.

Yet despite having so many clues, after nearly half a month of searching, they had found nothing.

Although reluctant to admit it, after continuously failing to locate the Eternal, the Star Lords began communicating with each other.

After consolidating their information…All the Star Lords had come to understand one thing.

That was, this so-called Eternal was most likely not within the Heavenly Capital.

However, among all the Star Domains, there was one place no one had searched.

This place was the Great Wilderness Pagoda located within the Immortal Alliance.

Indeed, the Great Wilderness Pagoda itself was also part of the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital.

And it was the most special one at that.

After all, unlike the other Star Domains that resembled Small Worlds,

the Great Wilderness Pagoda was purely a prison.

A place used to detain prisoners.

Not a single Star Lord believed this so-called Eternal would be inside the Great Wilderness Pagoda.

For no other reason than the probability was simply too small.

So small it was almost negligible.

After all, how many people were inside the Great Wilderness Pagoda compared to how many were in the other Star Domains?

With this understanding, the Star Lords exchanged discussions and ultimately reached a decision.

That was, if they still couldn’t find the mysterious Eternal within the Heavenly Capital,

they would jointly send people to search outside, and try to avoid contacting the Immortal Alliance as much as possible.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, this matter was an internal affair of their Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital.

It wasn’t suitable for the Immortal Alliance to intervene.

And today was the final day agreed upon by the Star Lords.

“You may withdraw first.”

Hearing the words of Venus Star Lord Hou Wanxin,

the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator kneeling below immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Hou Wanxin wouldn’t punish him severely over this matter,

being reassigned to a remote location or forced to station outside the Heavenly Capital for extended periods

were outcomes he desperately wished to avoid.

After all, nearly everyone in the Heavenly Capital rarely considered going outside.

With the Spiritual Power concentration out there,

cultivating for one day inside the Heavenly Capital

was equivalent to three days or more of cultivation outside.

This was the fundamental reason why cultivators within the Heavenly Capital remained so isolated.

After the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator departed,

Venus Star Lord immediately turned around.

His figure vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he had already arrived within a massive palace.

In this palace, several people were already present.

Without exception, all of these individuals had reached the Deity Transformation Stage cultivation.

In the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital, only the Star Lords possessed Deity Transformation Stage cultivation.

Undoubtedly, these seven people present were all Star Lords of the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital.

Counting Hou Wanxin himself, eight of the Nine Star Lords had already arrived.

Only Xiao, the Pagoda Master of the Great Wilderness Pagoda, was absent from this meeting.

But this was normal.

The Great Wilderness Pagoda had never been considered a normal Star Domain by the other Star Lords.

Although it was nominally part of the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital,

almost every Star Lord subconsciously overlooked it.

This time was no exception.

“Venus, you’re late.”

Hou Wanxin nodded without offering further explanation, directly taking his designated seat.

The Star Lord who had spoken showed little reaction to this.

After all, all present were of equal rank.

There was no hierarchy among them.

Therefore, even though Venus Star Lord was late, he had neither obligation nor need to explain himself to others.

Yet even without him speaking, everyone present understood the reason for his tardiness.

After all, many Star Lords were still having their subordinates search their respective Heavenly Capital Star Domains for any signs of the suspected Eternal.”Esteemed colleagues, the sole matter we gather to deliberate today is whether to reopen the Heavenly Capital Gate.”

After the Venus Star Lord took her seat, the Moon Star Lord began speaking slowly.

At this, all the Star Lords present turned their gaze toward him.

The Mercury Star Lord spoke up: “The matter of opening the Heavenly Capital should have been addressed earlier. I never agreed with its closure in the first place. After all, we’re merely searching for one person – there was no need for such drastic measures.”

“While I’m not fully aware of the current external situation, I imagine the Immortal Alliance must think something major has happened here due to this closure. They might even have representatives waiting outside our gates right now, ready to demand explanations.”

To this, the Saturn Star Lord nearby calmly responded: “Let the Immortal Alliance come. Our relationship with them is purely cooperative. Whether we close the Heavenly Capital or not remains our own decision.”

“Moreover, if we hadn’t closed the Heavenly Capital, how could you guarantee that Eternal wouldn’t seize the opportunity to escape? Should that occur, finding him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

A mocking smile appeared on the Mercury Star Lord’s face upon hearing this.

“Searching for a needle in a haystack? May I ask, since the Heavenly Capital has been closed for over half a month, have any of you actually found him?”

“If not, doesn’t that prove he’s not within the Heavenly Capital but outside it?”

“Aren’t we still searching for a needle in a haystack now?”

Before the Saturn Star Lord could respond, the Jupiter Star Lord spoke from nearby.

“Not necessarily. Had we not first closed the Heavenly Capital and eliminated the possibility of his presence within, how could we determine his precise location?”

“Don’t you agree, Mercury Star Lord?”

The Mercury Star Lord glanced at Saturn. Among all those present, if there was anyone he detested most, it was undoubtedly the Saturn Star Lord – who appeared honest and sincere but was actually full of cunning schemes.

Over thousands of years, he had fallen victim to the other’s schemes more than once.

However, now wasn’t the time to argue with this individual.

Their most urgent task remained finding that legendary Eternal.

It should be noted that among the eight Star Lords present, not all harbored selfish motives.

Some were genuinely committed to locating him and bringing him to the Sanctuary.

Their reasoning was simple: the Heavenly Capital had been in chaos for too long.

Although the Sanctuary maintained relative stability among the major Star Domains, this was merely maintenance rather than true consolidation of their power.

Furthermore, they couldn’t guarantee how long this balance could last.

Many current Star Lords harbored ulterior motives.

There was no telling when someone might discover a way to bypass the Sanctuary and strike first.

Not every Star Lord aspired to become the Celestial Capital Lord.

But every Star Lord feared their domain being invaded unexpectedly someday.

Therefore, whether motivated by hidden agendas or genuine dedication to the Sanctuary, at this moment, finding the Eternal remained their shared objective.After a brief discussion, the group quickly reached a consensus.

They would reopen the Heavenly Capital Gate within days.

But unlike before, entry and exit from the Heavenly Capital would now be far more strictly regulated.

Portraits of the Eternal would also be secretly delivered to the Immortal Alliance, leveraging their vast network to locate the target.

However, whoever ultimately claimed the Eternal would depend entirely on their own capabilities.

For now, limited access to the Heavenly Capital was an outcome most Star Lords were willing to accept.

This approach ensured that too many irrelevant individuals wouldn’t flood into the Heavenly Capital during this period.

It also prevented other Star Lords from deploying excessive forces into the Immortal Alliance.

In effect, the underlying tensions were confined to a relatively manageable scope.

Just as the group finalized their decision, the Moon Star Lord, seated at the head of the table, suddenly received a message.

After reading it, he couldn’t help but show a look of astonishment.

The other Star Lords nearby noticed his reaction immediately.

“What is it, Moon Star Lord?” the Saturn Star Lord asked, eyeing him curiously.

Without elaborating, the Moon Star Lord placed the Jade Slip in his hand before the group.

Soon, a stream of spiritual thought transmitted through the Jade Slip reached everyone’s minds.

After absorbing the message, each of them wore the same stunned expression as the Moon Star Lord.

The sender of the message was none other than Xiao, currently residing in the Great Wilderness Pagoda—the present Sun Star Lord.

Xiao’s message was straightforward.

She claimed to have found the Eternal and demanded that they open the Heavenly Capital Gate.

Once everyone had processed this information, their expressions grew complicated.

Finally, the Moon Star Lord, who had the closest relationship with Xiao, broke the silence.

“What do you all make of Xiao’s words?”

Strangely, the previously vocal group fell quiet.

The Moon Star Lord wasn’t surprised.

After all, the person they had been searching for so long had been found by someone they had consistently underestimated.

This was somewhat embarrassing for everyone present.

But embarrassment was a minor issue.

The real question was whether they should open the Heavenly Capital Gate.

If the Eternal were to enter the Heavenly Capital in such a conspicuous manner, many of their planned methods would become difficult to execute.

After a moment of silence, several Star Lords rose without another word and left the Great Hall.

Soon, only two remained in the hall: the Mercury Star Lord and the Moon Star Lord.

These two were currently the most supportive of aiding the Eternal’s entry into the Sanctuary.

Frowning in the direction the others had departed, the Mercury Star Lord said, “What is Xiao thinking? Does she not realize this could completely disrupt the current balance in the Heavenly Capital?”

The Moon Star Lord pondered for a moment before replying, “What if she’s doing it intentionally?”

At these words, the Mercury Star Lord fell silent.

But the silence didn’t last long before he stood up.

Now that the Eternal had appeared, many matters would have to be brought into the open.Though he was uncertain how many Star Lords would take the risk in this matter,

he suspected the number would not be small.

At this thought, Mercury Star Lord’s expression turned grim.

The millennium-long balance in the Heavenly Capital had been completely shattered today.

(End of Chapter)