Chapter 1182: The Thing in the Sun

It is definitely not feasible for Sima and Guan Shan Hai to genuinely fight. The impact of a battle between two immortals can be seen from the conflict between Immortal Jiuchong and Sima, which nearly turned the entire far northern region back into a sky full of stars.

The same applies to Sima and Guan Shan Hai. If those two immortals were to fight, the entire Wen Dao Sect would be affected... Oh, no, Yun Zhi would lock them back up before any damage could be done.

However, the idea of suppressing prisoners' cultivation levels to allow them some freedom of movement is viable.

For example, the Light-Confining Treasure Box from the Moon Palace suppresses the cultivation of any cultivator inside it to the same level. Immortal Budai once possessed herself and used the box to challenge four out of the five sect leaders of the great immortal sects.

The Light-Confining Treasure Box certainly isn't powerful enough to suppress immortals. However, asking Immortal Yingtian to refine a higher-tier immortal artifact using its principles shouldn't be a problem. After all, he's the Ancestor of Refinement; he can't be incapable of refining anything.

"However, refining an immortal artifact capable of suppressing immortal realms would likely require a lot of immortal gold," Lu Yang mused. Though he wasn't the sect leader, as a member of the Wen Dao Sect, he had to consider the sect's interests. Would the cost of transforming Prison Peak be too high?

As Lu Yang was leaving Prison Peak, he happened to encounter Yun Zhi walking towards him.

"Senior Sister, is there something you need here at Prison Peak?"

"I came to find you," Yun Zhi said. "Sima has revealed the method to unseal the sun."

After learning how to unseal the sun, Yun Zhi wanted to take Lu Yang there for a look. She left Prison Peak, went to Tianmen Peak, heard Lu Yang had gone to find Meng Jingzhou, found Meng Jingzhou, and then heard Lu Yang was at Prison Peak printing newspapers. After all that searching, the two finally met at Prison Peak.

"Can we finally unseal the sun?" Lu Yang's spirits lifted. The sun had two seals: the first set by Emperor Zhongtian, and the second by Emperor Wu Yao of Yu. With Guan Shan Hai's capture, Wu Yao's seal was broken, causing the sun and moon's power to surge. The most significant example of this impact near Lu Yang was Meng Jingzhou, whose Pure Yang Physique nearly broke due to the surge in solar power. Unsealing the one set by Emperor Zhongtian would unleash the power of the sun and moon, heralding a golden age for cultivators practicing Yin-Yang techniques. Of course, if the seals couldn't be broken, having Immortal Jiuchong boost the sun's output would also bring a golden age for Yin-Yang cultivators.

"Do you want to go?"

"Yes!" Lu Yang nodded quickly; there was no reason not to.

Yun Zhi nodded and flew ahead. As if remembering something, she turned her head and said, "Also, Little Junior Brother, don't always run around aimlessly."

"Huh? Oh." Lu Yang was confused. Did Senior Sister mean he shouldn't wander around aimlessly on the sun? Lu Yang used the Tofu Celestial Pictographic Fist to raise his cultivation to the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage, allowing him to roam the universe freely and no longer needing Yun Zhi's help. However, Yun Zhi noticed Lu Yang couldn't keep up with her flying speed, so she simply formed a hand seal and accelerated while pulling him along.

The two arrived at the sun, and the extreme Yang energy surged towards them. Previously, Lu Yang would have been scorched just by approaching the sun, but now he was unafraid of the intense Yang energy on its surface. When Lu Yang tried to get closer, golden patterns appeared, circling the sun's surface and blocking his path.

Countless magnificent runes shimmered like stars, gathering at Yun Zhi's slender fingertips. The golden bell tied to her wrist swayed as she raised her hand and tapped the golden patterns on the sun's surface. *Crack!* The golden patterns shattered, and the extreme Yang energy surged, nearly knocking Lu Yang off his feet. At the same time, all cultivators in the cultivation world felt the changes coming from the sun. Those practicing Yin-Yang techniques experienced the most significant sensations, and many took the opportunity to break through their bottlenecks. But none of this concerned Yun Zhi.

"That's enough," Yun Zhi said faintly. With a gentle vertical swipe, she carved an opening on the sun's surface, revealing the scene within the Sun Grotto-Heaven.

Inside the Sun Grotto-Heaven stood a majestic palace, enveloped in immortal energy, gleaming with golden splendor. It seemed as if every luxurious item in the world had been used to adorn it. The abundance of heavenly materials and earthly treasures was immense. The Imperial Palace of Great Xia paled in comparison to this one.

"This is the Immortal Palace of Da Qian!" Lu Yang suddenly realized. This was the Immortal Palace spoken of by Da Qian cultivators, but they had all been restricted by Emperor Zhongtian and couldn't reveal its location! So the Immortal Palace had been above their heads all along! This wasn't just "darkness under the lamp"; it was hidden *inside* the lamp itself.

"Yes, this is the Immortal Palace of Da Qian," Yun Zhi confirmed, showing no surprise, as Sima had already explained everything.

Noticing Lu Yang's alertness, Yun Zhi shook her head, motioning for him to relax. "The Emperor hasn't been here for a long time. When Sima fought Immortal Jiuchong, he already sensed my presence. Given his personality, his first reaction would be to return to the Immortal Palace and lead his subordinates in an escape. Perhaps he fled too hastily and didn't have time to take the Immortal Palace with him." She added, "There's no one left in the Immortal Palace."

Lu Yang felt a moment of regret but then realized the Immortal Palace itself was a treasure. He had been worrying about the lack of immortal gold for transforming Prison Peak, and now, here it was!

The senior sister and junior brother entered the Immortal Palace. Its interior was equally magnificent, with murals depicting various strange events: mountain-sized giants driving divine oxen to plow the earth, saints splashing ink to create constellations in the starry sky, divine beings subduing demons to bring peace to the world, and Emperor Zhongtian presiding over the center of heaven and earth, holding the sun and moon... As strangers entered the Immortal Palace, divine beings and demonic beasts crawled out from the murals, gnashing their teeth and claws, lunging at the intruders. This was Sima's ability from his Spirit Awakening Dao Fruit; even an immortal would be severely wounded if suddenly ambushed by these murals.

Yun Zhi didn't even look. She snapped her fingers, and the divine beings and demonic beasts became blurry, like paintings soaked in water. Then, they dispersed like a tide, gradually dissolving. All this was a minor act for Yun Zhi, which she paid no mind to. She began to explain the origins of the Immortal Palace.

"Originally, Emperor Zhongtian, Sima, and their subordinates built the Immortal Palace within the sun to minimize the influence of faith power. At the same time, as the sun is at the center of the world, it could also serve to locate the Four Ancient Immortals." Yun Zhi continued, "To prevent anyone from entering the sun, Emperor Zhongtian set up a seal."

"Later, the Great Qian collapsed, and the Great Yu was established. Emperor Wu Yao of Yu didn't know the purpose of the sun's seal, but he disliked Emperor Zhongtian's act of setting up a seal to claim the sun for himself. So, he also set up a seal, trapping Emperor Zhongtian and Sima inside the sun."

"In truth, Emperor Zhongtian wasn't skilled in sealing techniques. He could set up the seal by relying on accumulated faith power."

"Violently breaking the seal would expose Emperor Zhongtian and Sima's existence, which would be detrimental to reducing the influence of faith power."

"To leave the sun, Emperor Zhongtian and Sima studied Wu Yao's seal for 100,000 years, finally finding a loophole that allowed them to leave the sun without actually breaking the seal."

Immortal Budai understood and summarized with hands tucked into her sleeves: "So, these two big fools, Emperor Zhongtian and Sima, were locked in their house by Wu Yao, and it took them 100,000 years of 'lock-picking' to finally get out?"

Lu Yang: "..." Emperor Zhongtian and Wu Yao had quite a feud.