Chen Xia had thought he wouldn't succeed, but he didn't expect to be singled out for retribution by the Way of Heaven.
One could say the Way of Heaven was indeed a bit unreasonable. If he ever became supreme in the future, he would definitely give the Way of Heaven a couple of slaps.
As for why he appeared in the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was probably his instinct driving him to follow the timeline's footsteps in pursuit of Zhou Jia, because Zhou Jia would save him.
Indeed, that's exactly what happened. Zhou Jia brought Chen Xia back to the imperial city and gave him several high-quality healing pills. Only after Chen Xia's condition stabilized did Zhou Jia ask seriously:
"Why did you appear here?"
Chen Xia, limping as he walked, stopped when he heard Zhou Jia's question and replied, "Good question. Why did I appear here? I suppose we'd have to ask above." He looked up at the sky.
Zhou Jia frowned slightly. "Did the Cloud-top Sword Sect send you?"
"The Cloud-top Sword Sect is long gone, all the elders have fled," Chen Xia shook his head and sighed.
"Our meeting must be fate, Senior Sister Zhou. Don't keep guessing. How can one understand everything in this world? Why live with such clarity? I'll just stay for a few days and leave when I'm better."
"You might not be able to leave," Zhou Jia shook her head, her face showing some distress.
"Are you that hospitable?" Chen Xia was surprised.
"No, it's not that. You crashed into a cart of spirit stones meant as a tribute to a Saint. The spirit stones themselves aren't a big problem, but the trouble is that it also contained many pills. Your crash destroyed seventy percent of the pills, all of which were high-grade. Father Emperor is furious, and I don't know how to protect you."
Zhou Jia rubbed her pretty brows, a bitter smile on her face. It was clear she was very troubled.
"No worries," Chen Xia replied. "I know a thing or two about pill refining. I can help you refine some as compensation."
"You know how to refine pills?" Zhou Jia frowned. She had brought Chen Xia to the Cloud-top Sword Sect and naturally knew all his abilities. She had never heard that he could refine pills.
"I know a thing or two," Chen Xia replied modestly. He limped over to Zhou Jia, tilted his head to look at her, and said:
"It's been some years since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Not long, just a few hundred years," Zhou Jia replied softly. For cultivators, a few hundred years indeed wasn't long.
"I haven't properly thanked you yet. It's thanks to you bringing me to the Cloud-top Sword Sect that I could advance in my dao comprehension faster," Chen Xia said with a light laugh.
Zhou Jia couldn't laugh though. She stared blankly at Chen Xia, feeling that he was very different from before, yet paradoxically also feeling that this was how he should be.
This confused Zhou Jia, and she didn't know how to respond. She lowered her head slightly and shook it, saying:
"I feel something's not quite right, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm just confused."
"Then it must be you who's not right," Chen Xia was good at argumentation.
"Perhaps," Zhou Jia nodded. She raised her delicate eyebrows and looked straight at Chen Xia, asking again as if to confirm:
"Junior Brother, can you really refine pills? You must tell the truth. If you can't, I can plead with Father Emperor for you."
"I indeed can't, but I can refine," Chen Xia was indeed telling the truth.
Zhou Jia frowned deeply, still trying to figure out what this meant. How could he refine if he couldn't? Did he have some mystical ability?
Her brows furrowed more and more as she tried to understand, until wisps of white smoke started rising from her head.
She was literally overheating her brain!
Chen Xia blew on her head to cool her down, then waved his hand saying, "If I can refine, I can refine. Don't worry, Senior Sister."
Zhou Jia still looked worried and replied, "The Saint is within the Great Zhou Dynasty. If the pills aren't replenished in time, the Saint will likely become angry, and then the entire Great Zhou Dynasty will suffer."
Her face was bitter as she continued, "The Emperor Capital Saint is known for his volatile temper. Father Emperor is terrified of him."
Emperor Capital?
Chen Xia raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but smile.
"Then there's even less to worry about."
In the deepest part of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in a secret chamber of the great hall.
Emperor Capital, who was meditating in seclusion, suddenly trembled. He opened his eyes in confusion, feeling an inexplicable chill down his spine.
This shouldn't be happening. He had become a Saint, so how could he still have such a feeling, as if someone was targeting him?
The question was, who would dare to target him?
Even those old powerhouse Great Saints in the Star Region wouldn't dare to act like this, right?
Hmm, there must be some evil at work!
Emperor Capital nodded, silently reciting a mind-clearing technique to dispel distracting thoughts.
At the Blue Sky Sword Sea.
When the Way of Heaven's retribution had mostly dissipated, Saints descended, observing from afar.
What they saw truly startled them.
Before them was the Blue Sky Sword Sea, half intact and half shattered!
The Saints were all old beings who had witnessed the former glory of the Blue Sky Sword Sea. Naturally, they were shocked by this scene, and even more shocked by who could have made such a grand gesture as to provoke the Way of Heaven's personal retribution.
There were even some residual traces of time energy around the Blue Sky Sword Sea, lingering and not dispersing.
"A grand gesture, a great figure. This person must be a great cultivator who has comprehended the Time Dao, at least a Great Saint!" one Saint guessed in a deep voice.
"It's hard to say, it could also be a Sage of the Three Daos."
"Sages of the Three Daos are even rarer than Great Saints. I think the possibility of a Time Dao Great Saint is higher."
"..."
The matter of reshaping the Blue Sky Sword Sea was too significant, so the Saints suppressed the news, not allowing it to spread, to prevent cultivators from other Star Regions from learning about it and crossing over again.
In the Realm Domain.
It was rare to have heavenly light today. Wang Yangzi stood at a high place, looking at the stars outside. He suddenly turned his head to look inside, studied for a moment, and asked:
"How many years left?"
The newcomer was Wu Saint, who shook his head and replied:
"He has become the last formation eye of the Realm Domain. The Realm Domain relies on him to survive. From now on, he is the Realm Domain, truly a single realm. This is the ascension of a cultivator. Throughout history, many cultivators have had this idea, but few have realized it like him."
"What will be the result?" Wang Yangzi asked in a deep voice. This was all he cared about.
Wu Saint was silent for a while. Finally, he looked up, staring directly at Wang Yangzi, and said in an unusually low voice:
"He might become a second Way of Heaven..."
"Without the word 'might'!"