Of course, that is a matter for the future; no one can say for certain what lies ahead.

The urgent task at hand is to resolve the karma of this realm, to settle the unrelenting conflict between Buddhism and Taoism. Right now, the karma remains unmoved.

Song Lin traveled across various realms, preparing to condense his fifth Golden Core.

For the fifth Golden Core, he planned to condense the Golden Core of the Time-Space Dao.

Taking advantage of his journey through the Three Realms, he observed the structures of various layers of the Heavenly Realm, seeking enlightenment in the Time-Space Dao.

The Thirty-Six Heavens of the Medium Thousand World are not layered like a stacked cake.

Rather, they are distributed in four directions with eight layers each, together comprising thirty-two layers.

The entire Medium Thousand World resembles a grand tree. The roots at the bottom are the Four Great Divine Continents of the mortal world.

Above them are the branches and leaves, representing individual worlds. These worlds are arranged either from top to bottom or left to right in a factional distribution.

The Palace of the Polestar lies above the thirty-second layer but is not part of the Three Pure Heavens or the Four Heavens of the Daluo Heaven.

Some say that the Jade Emperor resides in the Daluo Heaven, while others claim only Golden Immortals can reside there and oversee the Ten Thousand Realms.

Song Lin journeyed through the thirty-two layers of the Medium Thousand World.

Because he bore the title of the sole disciple of Lord Lao Zi, his seniority was recognized as that of the grandmaster of the entire Taoist lineage. Many Heavenly Emperors granted him leeway, allowing him to explore their territories.

Of course, there were also those who did not extend him such courtesy.

"Who do you think you are? Get out of here!"

In the Eastern Sixth Heaven, the Heavenly Emperor Quyu Jiuchang pointed at Song Lin and berated him.

Quyu Jiuchang, with his head covered in fiery red hair and crimson dragon horns atop his head, had two prominently raised bulges on his forehead. Standing thirty zhang tall, he dragged a dragon's tail behind him, exuding an overbearing presence.

As one of the Thirty-two Heavenly Emperors, Quyu Jiuchang had long been displeased with Song Lin.

Why should the Jade Emperor entrust this guy with so much responsibility?

And now, this guy had the audacity to come knocking.

"How dare you speak to the Senior Brother like that? Could it be that Lord Lao Zi's prestige is insufficient?"

After years of travels, Song Lin had found that, while people were courteous on the surface, the moment he made any request, they would immediately start complaining and feigning helplessness. Some even went as far as to lodge complaints with the Jade Emperor against him.

Song Lin realized he needed to change his approach to get results; otherwise, people might genuinely think he lacked capability.

Conveniently, this fellow had presented himself as a target.

"Don't use Lord Lao Zi to pressure me!" Quyu Jiuchang was inwardly seething but was forced to moderate his tone, unwilling to leave himself open to accusations of disrespecting Lord Lao Zi.

"So you're disrespecting the Jade Emperor's authority instead?"

"Enough! If you've got the guts, let's fight and see who's stronger. Leaning on powerful connections isn't a display of skill! If I lose, I'll let you decide my fate!"

"Roar!!"

Quyu Jiuchang transformed into a Red Dragon. With a single roar, even the ghosts and gods of the Nine Springs felt the crushing force of his dominance.

"Good! Bring it on!"

Song Lin drew his treasure sword, its chilling radiance piercing through the Thirty-Two Heavens.

The Jade Emperor was drinking with his ministers when—

Bam!

A sudden beam of chilling light shot forth, shaking the sky. Wine and fruit scattered across the ground.

The warriors and heavenly ladies, terrified, scrambled for cover, their memory of a certain Monkey rekindled by this light's sheer menace.

"Silence!"

The Jade Emperor calmed the crowd and said coolly, "Thousand-mile Eye, Sharp-Hearing Ear, find out what's going on."

"Yes!"

The two generals focused their attention downward.

"In the Eastern Sixth Heaven, the Taoist Senior Brother is locked in battle with Heavenly Emperor Quyu Jiuchang," Thousand-mile Eye reported.

"Oh? And what caused this?"

"A quarrel escalated. Heavenly Emperor Quyu Jiuchang claimed that Master Xuandu lacks capability and relied solely on luck and connections to earn Your Majesty's favor."

"Nonsense. What did Master Xuandu say?"

"He didn't say much. They immediately began fighting."

At these words, the ministers' interest was piqued. Even the Overseas Loose Immortals, Three Caves and Eight Immortals, and the Bodhisattva Guanyin from the Buddhist Sect watched closely.

"Is this Master Xuandu perhaps the one from Lingjiu Mountain?" Guanyin asked.

Lingjiu Mountain, serving as Randeng Taoist's domain, had been conferred to a Taoist by the Jade Emperor, which had stirred dissatisfaction within the Buddhist Sect and drew their attention to this Taoist Senior Brother.

"Indeed," replied the Jade Emperor, unwilling to entertain further conversation with the Buddhist Sect. He turned to the others and said, "Do not intervene. Let them resolve it themselves."

Through a mystical mirror, everyone turned their gaze to the battlefield.

At that moment, the two combatants had just completed their transformations into dharma images.

Song Lin wielded his Immortal Sword, its Sword Qi piercing the heavens.

This was not something a simple immortal artifact could achieve—it carried the mark of extraordinary Sword Dao cultivation.

Everyone watched intently, eager to witness the capabilities of the legendary Senior Brother.

So far, he had only demonstrated exceptional alchemy prowess, leaving his overall cultivation somewhat uncertain.

"What are your thoughts, everyone?"

"Master Xuandu should win, considering he's Lord Lao Zi's disciple," Heavenly Lord Liu said.

"I agree," another minister added. "However, Heavenly Emperor Quyu Jiuchang's cultivation is profound, and being a Divine Dragon, defeating him won't be easy."

Most believed Song Lin would win, though not without difficulty, while a minority held the opposite view.

The Jade Emperor shared the majority's opinion: Song Lin could win but likely not without effort.

Even among Heavenly Immortals, their abilities could vary vastly.

Sun Monkey, after all, was a Heavenly Immortal who could wreak havoc in Heaven, whereas other Heavenly Immortals could only flee in terror.

As one of the Eight Heavenly Immortal Emperors, Quyu Jiuchang undoubtedly belonged to the more powerful tier of Heavenly Immortals.

The outcome would soon reveal itself.

As the onlookers focused on the battle below—

"This..."

"Impossible!"

"How did Quyu Jiuchang lose so quickly?"

The immortals gasped, and the Jade Emperor's gaze sharpened.

Song Lin had defeated Quyu Jiuchang with just three strikes. Three strikes reduced the imposing Red Dragon to his true form, the sharp edge of Song Lin's sword pressed against Quyu Jiuchang's neck.

The ministers erupted in astonishment.

It was too fast.

Quyu Jiuchang had been defeated in mere moments.

At that instant, they fully grasped the weight of the Senior Brother's reputation.

Truly worthy of being the one chosen by Lord Lao Zi.

Seeing the strength of his subordinate, the Jade Emperor's first thought was unease.

With Buddhism as a looming adversary, he dared not suppress Song Lin, as that would be akin to crippling his own strength.

Yet, if Song Lin were allowed to grow unchecked—

The Jade Emperor pictured a future where the Central Heavenly Emperor Palace was dominated by Emperor Ziwei, with countless stars and forces under his control.

Given Song Lin's status as Lord Lao Zi's disciple, ascending to the True Immortal Realm seemed inevitable.

If that were to happen, he would become nearly impossible to control. Even with the Immortal Jade Scroll as leverage, a desperate retaliation from Song Lin would be a major headache.

No, the Jade Emperor thought, he must plant a seed of control now to balance against the future establishment of the Star Lord System.

As for the candidate... The Jade Emperor couldn't find one. While the Heavenly Realm boasted many strong Heavenly Immortals, few could match Song Lin.

Never mind—he would simply send his own avatar to handle it personally.

After all, if the Star Lord System were to grow into an immense power, he couldn't entrust its leadership to anyone but himself.

Imagine having a Heavenly Emperor who commanded the stars, subordinated to his will; the thought itself was exhilarating.

By leveraging the Star Lord System's strength, perhaps his avatar could even be pushed to the True Immortal Realm.

Having made up his mind, the Jade Emperor turned his attention back to the scene below.

After defeating Quyu Jiuchang, Song Lin did not take his life but instead took something else—his... son?

A young Azure Dragon.

Could it be he was trying to gather the Four Spirits?

The idea made sense. Quyu Jiuchang's son was indeed a rare, naturally gifted creature.

"Phew, finally claimed it," Song Lin said as he exited the Sixth Heaven, a cautious young Azure Dragon flying beside him.

"Would you like to eat an Immortal Pill?"

Song Lin took out a pill.

"Yes!" exclaimed the Azure Dragon in a childlike voice.

"Good. This one is for you. If you want more in the future, you'll need to refine a star first."

"Alright!"

With this victory, Song Lin's reputation soared. From then on, few refused his requests. Some even willingly sent representatives to him, possibly spies, but Song Lin accepted them all without exception.

Meanwhile, a new chapter began.

The Jade Emperor sent a fragment of his soul to the mortal realm for reincarnation.

Song Lin would never have guessed that the Jade Emperor's descent into the Lower Realm stemmed entirely from concerns about him.

(Daily ten-thousand-word update complete. Please vote for me!)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.