The divines were not sinners, they were heroes.

The divines were not sinners, they were heroes!

The divines were not sinners, they were heroes of the world of immortals and of all life!

A growing tide of horror and dismay roared beneath the heavens. Shrieks and bellows of incredulity and denial gradually morphed into remorse and regret.

“AHHH—“ A crippled dao immortal suddenly screamed and clutched his head, tossing and turning like a madman in the air. Two trails of blood streaked from his eyes as a restriction implanted deep in his soul shattered to pieces. Scenes of yesteryear surfaced in the mind of this ancient immortal who’d survived the last eighty thousand years.

“The divine race… I am… so… sorry…” he sobbed silently, heart writhing in agony.

……

“That’s right, the divines were never traitors and never a scourge…” In the skies above Truespirit Major, Yin Jiuying stood side by side with a reborn Jiang Chen. Both of them looked wide-eyed at the images projected in front of him.

“If even our memories were altered, do you think we stand a chance of victory at all?” Jiang Chen sighed.

“They only altered our memories and didn’t kill us. This means they don’t have the strength to kill us all.” Yin Jiuying swept a glance at the man. “Come what may, all will work itself out in the end. For us, anyway, life or death is just another form of existence.”

……

“I’d always thought that the divines betrayed us again a hundred thousand years ago. So the truth turns out to be this…” Goldenlight sighed. He’d been sealed during that time so his memories hadn’t been altered, but neither had he known anything about what had happened either. Everything he knew about the divines today had been gleaned from other immortals when he awoke.

“That’s strange, the divines once established their ancient divine court and erased the runes of immortal dao from the Dao Flower. They had divine dao replace immortal dao and conquered the world… so what of that, then? That doesn’t seem to have been refuted,” Goldenlight murmured curiously to himself, but also seemed to be asking Silverlight at the same time.

“Upon its founding, the immortal dao still lacked certain things. Therefore, the divine dao appeared on the petals of the Dao Flower to supplement what the immortal dao lacked,” Silverlight noted somberly, rediscovering the appropriate version of events. “The divine race has ever been the guardians of the world. When human dao ruled over the facets, they protected humanity instead.”

Confusion brimmed in Goldenlight’s eyes. “But they betrayed humans in the end and almost drove them to extinction.”

“Humanity was never in danger of extinction, what was annihilated was human dao and their hell that controlled the multiverse,” Silverlight corrected softly. “Humans then were domineering and tyrannical, and their dao the culmination of their brutality. Immortal dao would’ve never appeared if human dao never exited the stage.”

Goldenlight’s eyes widened from all the revelations and he stared agog at his dao partner.

No further disclosures were forthcoming. Silverlight looked warily at the bloody light intersecting over Levitating Island. If she spoke further, their home territory would likely be leveled.

……

Sword Divine floated dumbly in the air, speechless for a very long time and not knowing what to do with himself.

“What was the point of all of my convictions and motivation for training since I was a boy?” Dongfang Hao was completely lost, a state echoed by his master hidden off to the side and the woman who’d controlled the immortal dao for him. “I willingly made an enemy out of the entire world in my quest to revitalize the ancient divine court, but now… we are heroes of the world. This…”

“When the ancient divines established their court and replaced immortal dao with divine dao, they only did so to fill in the gaps of the budding immortal dao.” A slim and graceful figure in blue robes descended from the air. It was a young girl dressed as a boy who possessed stunning beauty. Mo Yi.

“At the founding of immortal dao, there were still many mistakes and blemishes to it,” she said softly. “The realms weren’t complete, and it was the seniors of the divine race who carved the divine emperor’s Sacred Origin Runes onto the Dao Flower to make it whole.

“Initial immortals didn’t temper their nascent spirits at all, they forged on with just a golden core. The nascent spirit methods of the immortal dao now were patched up by the divine race.”

“Then why did the ancient divine court fall, and why did the ancient divines leave behind the Sword of Chaos to preserve their will?!” Dongfang Hao unsheathed the sword on his back with a raspy roar.

“Do you really understand the sword in your hand?” Mo Yi looked at the hazy Sword of Chaos. “This is a sword of protection and hope, a sword to safeguard faith in the midst of slaughter! Or did you think that sword is only meant to perpetuate an ancient divine court that’s already faded into history?

“If you’d really understood the true meaning of your sword, then its heart in the hands of Zhao Wushuang would’ve returned to its rightful place a long time ago.”

Dongfang Hao fell silent, as did Zhao Wushuang in Dao City.

“In their pursuit of using Sacred Origin Runes to rectify the immortal dao, the ancient divines naturally ran afoul of some sort of restriction. That was why they were destroyed… and they knew this would be their outcome the moment they etched the runes into the Dao Flower.” Mo Yi surveyed her surroundings. No one said anything in return.

“At the end of the day, the divines are still traitors.” Qi Hai appeared and looked at Mo Yi with sheer derision. “They once protected humanity, but then betrayed us. The blood of sinners flows in their bodies. If they could betray us once, they can betray us a second, third time…”

Livid wrath slowly blossomed on everyone’s faces. Though they were still reeling from awakening memories of eighty thousand years ago, particularly those who were survivors of that era, they uniformly wanted to erupt in fury and tear Qi Hai to pieces when they heard him.

That history which he spoke of had been buried in oblivion. None of the factions now knew what heights humanity had once reached.

“Enough,” Lu Yun raised his voice. “Today is the establishment of the Dao Academy and not a time to investigate history. Whether or not the divines will betray us… well, I’m sure seniors who have survived from eighty thousand years ago have the answer to that.

“Senior Qi Hai, are you here to test me as well and judge if I have the right to establish my academy?” he coolly asked the once-foremost pill master.

“You set up your academy, I’m here on my own business,” Qi Hai snorted coldly. “Today, I, Qi Hai, as the foremost pill master of the Primordial Era, do hereby establish a sacred land of pill dao in Destiny City of the South Sea!

“All those with any gifts in pill dao are welcome to enter Destiny City in pursuit of knowledge!”

He turned on his heel and left, leaving behind a dazed crowd. Qi Hai… had just established his own sacred land in the name of the greatest primordial pill master?!

His name was legendary and he was the faith of all pill masters in the world. Many were those who worshipped him, and his mastery so great that not even Pill Sovereign Gu Xun could hold a candle to him. He was creating his own sacred land today??

It wouldn’t be long before the Destiny City sacred land overtook the Dao Academy at the foot of Mount Xuanhuang!

His announcement instantly stole Lu Yun’s limelight and wrecked everything for the boy. Though Lu Yun's fame reached every corner of the world and he’d defeated the four great sovereigns, at the heart of things, he was just a boy with six years of cultivation experience. How could he be mentioned in the same breath as Qi Hai, the legendary figure who’d singlehandedly elevated pill dao to a position of superiority over the other three supplemental paths?