Chapter 130: A Glimpse of the Leopard, a Corner of the Great Luo

Chapter 130: A Glimpse of the Leopard, a Corner of the Daluo

Caution catches the eternal cicada; prudence steers the ten-thousand-year ship. In this world, all things have their proper measure. One who is cautious gains; one who is negligent loses. Total caution brings total gain, while total negligence brings total loss. Everything in this world is bound by causality; a single movement affects the whole. A minor error can invite catastrophic misfortune.

Currently, the Star God lineage shows no malice; on the contrary, they have invited him to pay respects to the Heavenly Venerable Doumu. However, hearts are hidden behind skin. Until the final moment, one can never be certain of the true intentions of the Seven Northern Dipper Lords or the Star God lineage at large. If he offers enough flattery, even if there is a trap, the Primordial Sovereign Doumu and the Seven Northern Dipper Lords would find it difficult to act openly. And if the Star God lineage truly harbors malice, he is not entirely without a backer. If the Great Heavenly Venerable Jade Emperor cannot suppress the Heavenly Venerable Doumu, there is still the faint radiance between his own brows. Luo Feng’s thoughts whirled, weighing the best and worst scenarios.

...

Luo Feng smiled heartily; the Star Lord Tanlang smiled heartily.

Time drifted by. The celestial music played hundreds of times, and the scene remained harmonious, filled with laughter and cheer. Luo Feng sought to extract information from Star Lord Tanlang to prepare himself, while Star Lord Tanlang wished to hurry Luo Feng toward the other side of the starry sky. They engaged in a game of tactical stalling, round after round.

At the end of the right-hand seating area, the bored youngest, Star Lord Pojun, communicated via divine sense with his sixth brother, Star Lord Wenqu. "Sixth Brother, how long do you think these two can keep this up?" As the most murderous of the Seven Northern Dipper Lords, Pojun had always preferred brute force; this current scene bored him to tears.

Star Lord Wenqu’s lips curled slightly as he replied through divine sense, "I don’t know about the Star Lord of Water Virtue, but you know Third Brother’s temperament. If the other party doesn't yield, they could drag this out for a year or more."

Star Lord Pojun’s mouth twitched. At that moment, another divine sense slipped in. Star Lord Lianzhen silently remarked, "Third Brother might not be human, but the Star Lord of Water Virtue is truly a cunning dog."

"Seconded!"
"Add one!"

...

After a long while, Star Lord Tanlang sighed. He truly had no ill intentions; why wouldn't the Star Lord of Water Virtue believe him? This stalling game was more exhausting than speaking to the Great Heavenly Venerable Jade Emperor himself. Familiar celestial music echoed in his ears—the eighty-four thousand melodies of the Tianshu Realm had actually begun to loop.

Helpless, he cast a glance at Star Lord Pojun. Pojun understood immediately, swallowed the fruit in his mouth, and stood up boldly. "Third Brother, it is getting late. Do not let Second Brother and Mother wait too long."

"Second Brother, the Great Emperor Ziwei?!"

The eldest son of Doumu was Gouchen, and the second was Ziwei. Luo Feng’s expression darkened. Since this matter involved the Great Emperor Ziwei, the stakes had just grown significantly higher. The Great Emperor of the Central North Pole Ziwei, one of the Four Sovereigns, resided just below the Jade Emperor. He governed the celestial axes and latitudes, commanded all the stars in the heavens, and held authority over ghosts, gods, and thunder. He controlled all stars, managed all laws, and governed the underworld of Fengdu—he was the master of all celestial constellations.

His authority was immense, his status supreme; beneath the Jade Emperor, no god could compare. In the Heavenly Court, the Great Emperor Ziwei was akin to a Crown Prince, or even more. If the Great Heavenly Venerable Jade Emperor were to fall, Emperor Ziwei could immediately succeed to the throne. Since ancient times, the relationship between an Emperor and a Crown Prince had been fraught with tension, and the Heavenly Court was no exception. How should he handle this?

With Star Lord Pojun having broached the subject, Star Lord Tanlang immediately rose to extend an invitation. "Star Lord of Water Virtue, please."

With both the Great Emperor Ziwei and the Heavenly Venerable Doumu—two Daluo beings—extending an invitation, could he refuse? Dared he refuse? This was the breaking of a stalemate through sheer power. No matter how cautious he was, he could never overcome the weight of the word "Daluo." The Primordial Realm was, after all, a game for the Daluo.

Luo Feng rose with a smile, unhurried, following Star Lord Tanlang out to board the flood dragon carriage that traversed the sea of stars. The star sea was boundless, seemingly without end, with only brilliant stars blooming with light, adorning the dark void and banishing the cold. Luo Feng took the opportunity to send a command to his puppet avatar in the Heavenly Court: should he lose contact, it was to immediately seek an audience with the Great Heavenly Venerable Jade Emperor. Simultaneously, he instructed his Earth Immortal puppet avatar in the Tianchen Realm to continue the conversation and seek clues about the human elder, making the request as detailed as possible.

The dragon carriage soared, guided by starlight, with Star Gods leading the way. Along the journey, the flood dragons galloped through the void. Whenever they crossed a major star realm, the Star King of that realm would come out to pay homage. It was not just Celestial Immortals and Earth Immortals; even Golden Immortal Star Emperors who governed entire star rivers and universes appeared. This made Luo Feng lament the deep foundation of the Star God lineage once more. It was no wonder the Heavenly Court had a saying: whoever controls the Star Gods controls the Heavenly Realm.

After traversing countless star realms and flying over layers of star universes, they arrived at a road of golden light that spanned the void, leading to a mysterious destination. Star Lord Tanlang smiled and said, "Mother is creating stars in the far distance; even a Golden Immortal would take days to fly there. Thus, we have established a formation to traverse the void."

With that, the flood dragons let out a cry and surged along the golden path, piercing through layers of spatial restrictions until they reached the other side of the starry sky. Behind the darkness of the void came a familiar, brilliant starlight. Gazing into the distance, Luo Feng was stunned.

Until now, "Daluo" had merely been an impression. Luo Feng had met two Daluo beings. One was the Dao Ancestor of the Zixiao Palace. The Ancestor was perfectly natural, and his Dao was effortless; he appeared as an ordinary immortal. The majesty Luo Feng felt and the knowledge he had been imbued with all came from the Zixiao Palace. His occasional displays of power—turning layers of universes into chess pieces—were but fleeting glimpses, leaving little profound impact. The second was the Great Heavenly Venerable Jade Emperor. Even among the Daluo, the Jade Emperor was a powerhouse. Yet, the Heavenly Emperor conquered through virtue and majesty; by placing his massive Golden Wheel of Merit before him, even Saints had to be wary. Luo Feng felt the virtue in the Jade Emperor more than the raw power.

Only today did Luo Feng truly catch a glimpse of the Daluo and realize what the Daluo truly was—what the supernatural powers of the Daluo truly meant.

In the far distance stood a giant Mother of Dao, draped in starlight, feet planted in the void, reaching between heaven and earth, as if Pangu had returned to the world. She had four heads and eight arms. Her central human face was draped in azure cloud-brocade robes. One head and two arms faced east, with a golden pagoda atop her hair bun, from which wisps of Dao rhyme transformed into the laws of the void, stabilizing earth, water, fire, and wind. One head and two arms faced west, one hand holding a halberd topped with a banner inscribed with golden characters reading "Great Emperor of the Nine Heavens Thunder Ancestor," raining down heavenly thunder to slay void beasts. One head and two arms faced north, one hand holding a pestle and the other a bow, with an arrow in hand, seated upon a lotus throne atop a white jade tortoise platform, clearing the chaos ahead and transforming primordial chaos into postnatal spiritual energy. One head and two arms faced the rear, one hand holding the sun and the other the moon, creating order and shielding the life of the stars.

Rivers of brilliant stars formed the train of her skirt; suns and stars served as pearls adorning her crown. One eye was compassionate, governing creation; one was majestic, governing order; and one was merciful, governing destruction. The four-headed, eight-armed, three-eyed deity was the Primordial Law Body of the Primordial Sovereign Doumu—sacred and majestic.

"Praise the Nine-Spirit Great-Marvelous White Jade Tortoise Platform Night-Light Golden-Essence Ancestor Mother Sovereign; praise the Primordial Dao-Postnatal Central Sanskrit-Qi Heavenly Venerable Doumu!"

Luo Feng followed his heart, moved by the sight.