The Divine Court

Whilst Yaan was engrossed in ascending the Tower of Mortal Dao, a group of seven beings were gathered together, far away from Yushu Planet.

They were gathered in the centre of the Divine Star System, one of the seven star systems on the Qi Plane, and the core star system of the Divine Court!

In fact, the seven beings were sat within a place known as Divine Heaven; this micro-realm was the headquarters of the Divine Court itself.

This meeting between seven members of the Divine Court was a gathering of seven of the strongest entities currently living on the Qi Plane. Every member of the Divine Court was a heaven shaking individual, because each member of the Divine Court possessed cultivation at the Divine Step!

Every other subordinate of the Divine Court belonged to their vassal organisations - the Xuqi Sect and Xuqi Dynasty were such groups.

"The expansion into the Neutral Star System is progressing steadily. The only setback that we have encountered recently involved Old Thief, but it seems that he grew bored after running rampant for three years. He remains in the Neutral Star System, but he is no longer hindering the expansion."

"Old Thief again? Tch! That vile demon, I swear that one day, I will capture him and send him to the Eternal Prison!"

After hearing the report of recent events, a young woman clenched her fists tightly and almost shouted out in anger. Her beauty was divine, there were even golden crosses in her eyes, shining with a pure radiance. But even more so than her appearance, it was her heroic aura, filled with the innate desire to serve justice, that truly drew people in.

She was known as Justice Deity, and even amongst divinities, she had a special status…she was the disciple of the Divine Court Lord!

As for the Divine Court Lord, a stoic man who also went by the title 'Law Empyrean', he sat upon a throne in the grandest location within Divine Heaven, gazing down at the other six divinities expressionlessly. The various matters which had been brought up in this meeting could not stir his heart. For the leader of the righteous path, he seemed oddly unfazed by all the stories of chaos and suffering that entered his ears.

Law Empyrean sat atop his golden throne, positioned in the centre of Divine Heaven's famous 'Infinite Gold Cloud'.

There were many golden clouds within Divine Heaven, each of which was designated as a seat for a member of the organisation. However, only Infinite Gold Cloud held a famous reputation for being a naturally formed treasure which had existed since the beginning of the era! Such treasures were coveted throughout the universe, each exhibited a unique effect. This Infinite Gold Cloud was actually able to support the existence of the entire Divine Heaven micro-realm, the micro-realm known as the number one impenetrable fortress in the universe!

But Law Empyrean himself was far more famous than any treasure could ever hope to be. As he slowly turned towards his disciple, the other divinities became silent and respectfully waited for him to speak.

"Justice, don't concern yourself with Old Thief, I will deal with him eventually."

Justice Deity looked unwilling, but in the end, she sighed and nodded. Even though she hated to admit it, she knew that she was not Old Thief's match.

"As for the other matters…" Law Empyrean turned to look across the other five. His indifferent, almost bored looking gaze, caused these divinities to shiver slightly.

"I have already made it clear to all members of the Divine Court – currently, there is only a single matter of importance…we must hunt down every surviving demonic deity, especially those with the potential to complete their dao! This…is my law!"

"Yes, Divine Court Lord!"

Law Empyrean's voice boomed outwards, shaking the other divinities to the extent that they could only lower their heads and accept his decree. They were all divinities, but Law Empyrean, the Divine Court Lord, was simply on a completely different level…

Nobody could say for certain who the strongest being across the four planes might be, after all, such a comparison depended largely on the circumstances. Even so, Law Empyrean was indisputably amongst the top five contenders for this position, very few beings in this world were his match!

Law Empyrean spoke once again, leaving those present with a harsh reminder.

"Make no mistake, the war against the Primordial Alliance has not ended, we have only entered a brief period of respite…the Primordial Demons will return. We must prepare for this properly and eliminate all those who have sided with the alliance in past years!"

Everyone fell silent, nobody had the thought to dispute this. It was well known that the Primordial Sage possessed the number one ability in divination, nobody could hope to match her abilities. However, Law Empyrean's divination ability was still very impressive, his predictions were usually very accurate!

After the other divinities departed from Divine Heaven, Law Empyrean called out to his disciple.

"Justice…"

"Yes, master?" The young woman turned back, her golden cross pupils fixing on her master's figure respectfully. In this world, only Law Empyrean could spark such respect within Justice Deity, she truly held her master in high regard.

"Do you remember what I told you before, Justice?" The imposing man spoke calmly, staring down at his disciple with a calm gaze.

"I do…" Justice Deity nodded slowly.

Even though she nodded, Law Empyrean went on to repeat himself anyway.

"This era will end in 30,000 years. The four planes will collapse and all life within will perish. This is decreed by fate, attempting to prevent the end of the Four Planes Era is futile…only those able to transcend the origin will survive; only those able to transcend the origin are worth mentioning. You must cultivate your heart of justice well, because the outside world needs a God of Justice…"

"Master!" Justice suddenly shouted out, glaring at the imposing man defiantly. "I refuse to accept this! How can we just allow the destruction of the universe, how can we allow so many innocent beings to die?! And how do we know this for sure, maybe-"

"Enough!" A golden ripple spread out from Law Empyrean's mouth as he spoke. Justice froze in her place, becoming unable to speak. She realised that she had pushed it too far, her master's expression was extremely stern right now!

Justice furrowed her brows, but she became silent for a while. Eventually, she spoke, but she was more careful with her words.

"Master, why do you only tell me this? Why not publicise knowledge of this calamity to the other Divine Court members, to give them a greater chance of survival?"

"Because they will become obsessed with their own selves, neglecting the most important matter of all…the extermination of all demons with the potential to transcend the origin! Only you, Justice, can pursue these two goals simultaneously."

The young woman nodded slowly.

"Disciple understands, master. I will do my best to exterminate the evil doers…justice will prevail!"

After Justice Deity took her leave, Law Empyrean stayed seated atop his throne, silently gazing out across the empty Divine Heaven. His gaze was firm, as if fixated on a goal that lay too far away for others to see.

"30,000 years, it is not long at all…the war will continue following the return of the disappeared Primordial Demons…"

After a long while, Law Empyrean sighed gently.

"It is simply too difficult to uncover the outsiders to this Era! Everyone has hidden themselves too well…even after nearly three million years, I am still only certain about Defiance Sovereign, but how could I possibly kill Defiance? All I can do now is target those with the potential to transcend the Era…"

Law Empyrean's gaze became stern once again.

"The Primordial Sage is the greatest threat, the depths of her schemes are simply unfathomable…"

At this moment, a golden envelope manifested in the sky above. The envelope gently drifted downwards, until Law Empyrean caught it casually in one hand. He glanced at the envelope as it transformed into a written letter.

Suddenly, the imposing man froze.

He received letters like this often, informing him of various 'minor' matters that occurred throughout the Qi Plane. He had set up many constructs, positioned many people, all over this world, to inform him of certain things should they occur. For the most part, these matters were only used by him to gather information on the Qi Plane as a whole, it allowed him to keep a keen watch over the plane's overall situation. He would never act personally to deal with these matters, often, he just left them be, letting things play out without interference.

But as he read the contents of this letter, Law Empyrean suddenly felt a premonition. It was only an indistinct feeling, but for a being at his level, this sort of feeling needed to be considered properly!

He immediately paid closer attention to the letter's contents.

"Immortal power has been detected within one of the Towers of Mortal Dao? This is unusual, but there could be many explanations, perhaps it is even just a mistake…but this feeling, why do I feel that this matter is of great importance?"

The Divine Court Lord considered this matter for some time. He did not act immediately, he would not leave Divine Heaven unless the reason for doing so was of utmost importance. He considered delegating this task to another member of the Divine Court, but as he had this thought, the faint premonition in his heart grew stronger…

Whoosh!

Law Empyrean stood up swiftly, having come to a decision.

"This feeling is too strange, I must investigate personally. The Four Divine Star System? It is quite far, I should leave immediately."

WAM…

A grinding sound echoed throughout Divine Heaven as he reached out with one hand and clenched down with his sturdy fingers, tearing open a crack in the space before him. A doorway opened up ahead, but it seemed unstable. However, before it could shut, a strange golden power wrapped around the edges, spreading the entrance open further and eventually forming a rectangular doorway.

Law Empyrean stepped through this doorway, beginning his journey towards Yushu Planet.

Yushu Planet was indeed extremely far away from the Divine Court headquarters. Since he wanted to avoid damaging the fabric of space along his way, it would take Law Empyrean almost an hour to cross the Qi Plane to arrive at his destination.