Chapter Forty-Six: The Rooster Pavilion

Standing alone in the cold wind.

Xu Zhe couldn’t help but suspect he was being tricked.

The headquarters of the mighty Rooster Palace of the Twelve Temples—a name so imposing—turned out to be nothing more than a chicken shop on some street in Dongqian Continent?

The business was thriving, too. Was the chicken here truly legitimate?

Xu Zhe fell into contemplation.

According to the instructions from Zhang Lin and the others, upon arriving at headquarters he was to find someone and exchange the secret code.

But surveying this bustling “Home Chicken Shop,” with crowds streaming in and out, Xu Zhe doubted he’d ever try such a thing.

Yet, since he was already here...

All for the sake of the “Lunar Fire Lotus”!

“Odd change, even unchanged!”

Xu Zhe skirted the long, packed queue and approached the storefront, whispering the phrase to a uniformed employee.

The worker’s expression changed instantly, breath sinking deep, and he shouted at full volume, “A distinguished guest has arrived!”

Whoosh!

The entire hall fell silent.

Everyone in line turned to look at Xu Zhe, their gazes filled with shock and envy.

“This person is actually a VIP at Home Chicken Shop—how many chickens must he have bought?”

“A true chicken connoisseur!”

“VIPs are so lucky, no need to queue and even get announced upon entry.”

Many began murmuring to each other.

At the same time, hurried footsteps sounded from within the shop, as every employee rushed out and formed a neat line facing Xu Zhe.

“Clap, clap, clap.”

They marched in place with coordinated rhythm, clapped their hands, then collectively bent ninety degrees in a deep bow, shouting loud and clear, “Welcome, distinguished guest!”

“A kind of plant!”

Xu Zhe’s eyes widened; the wind tousled his hair and his mind alike.

He quickly reached up to touch his face.

Thankfully, the cloth covering his features was still there—he hadn’t been recognized.

But what was with all those people in line, their stunned and envious faces as they whipped out their Universal Jade Tablets—were they about to record this?

Xu Zhe hurried—almost dashed—into the shop.

Inside, the space was vast, filled with tables and chairs, every seat occupied.

The tables were laden with dishes of every kind.

Fried chicken, white-cut chicken, soy sauce chicken, ginger scallion chicken, braised chicken, beggar’s chicken, spicy chicken, and chicken stewed with mushrooms.

No yellow braised chicken.

“Bang!”

The kitchen door suddenly swung open.

A few familiar faces rushed in—they were the Rooster Palace disciples he’d met earlier in Tianhe City.

“Chief Hall Master, please come with us quickly.”

One of them whispered to Xu Zhe, face brimming with excitement, as they led him toward the kitchen.

Xu Zhe followed, brows slightly furrowed, deep in thought.

Why hadn’t Miss Zhang Lin come?

Could his previous refusal have wounded her pride?

That shouldn’t be the case.

Yet if she had let go and moved on, why did she not dare to face him directly?

The kitchen at Home Chicken Shop was spacious and spotless.

Dozens of chefs in white uniforms bustled about—some wielded pots and spatulas, others held a chicken in one hand, a knife in the other.

Each paused to offer Xu Zhe a respectful, solemn gaze.

…

Xu Zhe sighed inwardly, gazing upward.

Indeed, there were second and third floors, all full of people, all giving him the same attention.

No wonder this was headquarters!

“Chief Hall Master, please this way.”

At the rear of the kitchen was a large iron gate.

Two guards stood by, pulling the door open to reveal a broad jade staircase descending underground.

Tap, tap, tap…

From beneath the steps came hurried footfalls.

A portly, white-haired elder, panting heavily, climbed up. Upon seeing Xu Zhe, his face lit up with delight. Gripping the jade railing, he gasped, “Rooster Palace, one hundred and ninth Hall Master, Ji… Ji Dali, pays his respects to the Chief Hall Master.”

???

Xu Zhe was taken aback—what kind of name was that?

“Chief Hall Master, we’ve been hoping for your arrival for so long. Forgive us for not welcoming you properly—quick, please, this way!” Ji Dali’s manner was respectful and sincere, utterly unpretentious, as he ushered Xu Zhe downstairs.

Descending the jade staircase, they found themselves in a long corridor lined with rooms in ancient style, each bearing a nameplate—all surnamed Ji.

Xu Zhe began to feel a bit more at ease, continuing to the corridor’s end, where another jade staircase led further down, five more levels in all, finally arriving at a spacious room occupying the entire sixth underground floor.

Ji Dali invited Xu Zhe to sit; others promptly brought two glasses of Eternal Life Cola and a heap of assorted chicken dishes.

“To think, after all these years of waiting, our Chief Hall Master would turn out to be the youngest genius.”

Ji Dali gazed at Xu Zhe, his aged face unable to hide his joy and excitement.

“Mr. Ji, let me speak first,” Xu Zhe said, removing the cloth from his face, his tone grave.

“I know what you wish to say,” Ji Dali smiled and shook his head. “Zhang Lin and the others already reported to me. You don’t believe you are the Chief Hall Master—but you may not know, when the Dragon Palace Master founded the Twelve Temples, he said it was for someone else. If ever a person of Human bloodline with five spiritual roots appeared, and practiced the same techniques as ours, that person would be the Chief Hall Master.”

“Mr. Ji, you may not know, I came upon these techniques purely by chance, not through ancestral inheritance,” Xu Zhe replied, shaking his head. It was all coincidence.

Ji Dali waved his hand, smiling. “Chief Hall Master, I actually know more than you. This technique isn’t something anyone can cultivate. Other Temples may not know, but the Rooster Palace had an ancestor tens of thousands of years ago who reached the Great Ascension stage and shattered the void to depart. Then, thousands of years ago, when his lifespan was nearly exhausted, a wisp of his soul returned, bringing with it a set of techniques.”

“You mean, the technique brought back by that wisp of soul is the one I practice—the General Canon?” Xu Zhe frowned.

“The Chief Hall Master is indeed brilliant. Yes, what he brought back was the General Canon. However… no one could succeed in cultivating it,” Ji Dali recounted kindly, smiling.

A flash of brilliance shimmered from his storage ring as he produced a battered jade slip, marked with a red seal.

Xu Zhe had paid it little mind, glancing once.

His brow shot up—he glanced again.

“This…”

Xu Zhe was instantly stunned, opening his divine sense to probe inside.

Good heavens.

This was clearly the “Righteous Seal Demon Scripture” he had studied years ago in the Immortal Emperor family’s library, complete with his own annotations.

The red seal on the outside was the stamp he’d casually applied with his imperial emblem, signifying he had read it.

But after countless years, the characters had faded, leaving only a red mark.

Xu Zhe withdrew his divine sense, struggling to stay calm.

There was a lot to process.

The Rooster Palace had a mighty ancestor who shattered the void to enter the Heaven Domain tens of thousands of years ago?

Then thousands of years later, he returned from the Immortal Emperor family’s library with the “Righteous Seal Demon Scripture”?

But thousands of years ago, I wasn’t yet an Immortal Emperor, nor had I died...

Someone sneaked into the library and stole the technique?

Wait, no—I recall now. Once, by a celestial lake, I practiced skipping jade slips across the water, using dozens at a time, eventually mastering a twelve-skip streak.

Xu Zhe rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

Now it all made sense.

So, back in the Heaven Domain, I used the “Righteous Seal Demon Scripture” jade slip for skipping stones—it sank to the lake bottom.

Ji Dali’s ancestor went diving there, found the jade slip, and brought it back to the Azure Domain before he died?

Understood. I’m wide awake now.

Xu Zhe suddenly sat up straight.

Able to cross from Heaven Domain?

That means, aside from the standard ascension channel during Great Ascension, there exists another passage between Heaven Domain and Azure Domain?

…