The Exalted Divine Emperor had been a supreme powerhouse in the era of human dao, but no one knew whether he’d been a great emperor or in the chaos realm. In that age, “great emperor” was both a title of honor and a cultivation realm.

He’d been inexplicably murdered before Emperors Fall instead of dying in that great battle, and his death still remained one of the greatest mysteries in the world.

At that time, the Exalted Divine Emperor had been of the same mind as Bai Zhaoju, Ling Weiyang, Chi Biaonu, and the others—willing to sacrifice his great dao and integrate it with the immortal dao for the sake of future descendants.

But someone had killed him before he could do so. The ancient divine court wouldn’t have risen otherwise, going to all that painstaking effort to rule over the immortal dao so they could etch their Sacred Origin Runes into the Dao Flower.

Now that the Exalted Divine Emperor’s true spirit was free, Lu Yun immediately whisked him away. The demon god raised a cupped fist salute and paid his respects at the empty air.

……

With the arrival of the first great emperor beneath the immortal dao, all of heaven and earth resonated in unison. However, life in the world of immortals didn’t know that the demon god was the first great emperor. General knowledge put the dean of monster spirit dao as the first great emperor. Therefore, this second great emperor also originated from the Dao Academy, and he was the dean of the demonic dao!

Monster spirits and demons? Was this age about to see their ascendency?

“Tushan is an anomaly beneath the heavens. She’s an empyrean realm master instead of a great emperor, but to think that the first great emperor would be Ji Du!” There were now many in the world who knew about the demon god.

“Ji Du’s opportunity came from the true spirit of the Exalted Divine Emperor… What a pity that he hid in the Dao Academy after we awoke, making it impossible for us to do anything,” fumed the grand pure experts of the ten lands.

Even Dusk Province was the lair of a tiger to them, to say nothing of the academy. That incredibly vicious sword formation guarding the province could take down great emperors, so it barely needed to activate to exterminate a few grand pure experts.

That was why the factions of the world only dared to ally together and boycott the academy, but refrained from actually invading Dusk Province.

“Torch dragon!” One of the rulers of the ten lands looked in the direction of Heaven Locus Land. “Your race went extinct because of the humans…”

“Scram!” spat the torch dragon coiled around the dragonbolt pillar when he heard his name.

The ruler who’d called out to him scowled ominously. They only knew the torch dragon as the sole surviving member of his species; they didn’t know anything else about him. Thus, they had no idea that this was also the first torch dragon of his kind, a connate demon god birthed by nature. He’d signed a contract with the Flame Emperor of the human race to be a guardian for humanity.

Once a mighty master in the lofty chaos realm, the torch dragon had descended to human king, which was now peak grand pure realm, because he’d voluntarily offered his great dao up to the immortal dao.

The torch dragon had already died by the time of Emperors Fall, but since he was a connate demon god born of hellfire and a signatory with the Flame Emperor, he could continuously be reborn as long as hellfire remained burning. However, the caveat was that he could no longer recover to his peak after rebirth and would forever remain at human king realm.

With all that said, it would be the most fantastical tale ever told if the rulers of the other nine lands convinced him to band with them against the Dao Academy. The headmaster of the academy was the Flame Emperor of the human race!

To take things one step further, the Xuanyuan Divine Nation hailed the Flame Emperor as their god. After all, this was the one who’d enlightened Emperor Xuanyuan and facilitated his rise to the chaos realm.

……

The battle of Witherdew Major raged on. The appearance of the first great emperor beneath the immortal dao instantly boosted academy morale to new heights.

Formations assembled by constellation class fortress ships rampaged through the major, distributing the power of the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals through undulating ripples that massacred any akasha ghost and soul they touched.

The Bell of Chaos hung upside down over the little fox’s head, the actual Scroll of Shepherding Immortals in her hands. Her consciousness was locked onto the Witherdew court. Once the big akasha ghost was thrown out of the premises, she would immediately suppress it with her treasures at hand.

Whether it was the big akasha ghost that was the origin divine or the others, all of them were cowering in the major’s court and didn’t dare show themselves. The Scroll of Shepherding Immortals exerted too much force over them. When Qing Yu had faced her first akasha ghost, she’d used the scroll to kill its replica.

The three dao palaces and a hundred thousand fortress ships had now reached the heart of Witherdew Major. Its capital had been destroyed long ago, leaving only a broken palace hovering over the ruins of its capital city.

As the dao palaces had sealed off the entire major, it was almost impossible for the akasha ghosts to leave the territory. However, a hazy force had coalesced into a bizarre boundary outside the Witherdew court. It would also be very difficult for the Dao Academy to take it down.

……

“Flame Emperor, do you intend to show no mercy?” A big akasha ghost floated out like a wisp of smoke. Formless and intangible, the only part of it that could be made out was its ghostly face that was both laughing and crying.

These ghosts displayed a crudely sketched face without true features to the world, but in this moment, almost everyone glimpsed a trace of inerasable sorrow on this one’s face. Both laughing and crying, but neither at the same time, its expression was a result of being unable to fully express its emotions.

“You lofty masterminds behind Emperors Fall stripped our great dao from us for the sake of so-called righteousness of the heavens and a laughable future. You were the ones who filled human dao with resentment and malice!

“Our true spirits transformed into akasha ghosts instead of fading away and we occupied the immortal dao due to the remnants of our great dao. Now you expel us from the immortal dao and want to erase us entirely! You want to build your glorious achievements off the backs of our pain and suffering!” The akasha ghost’s voice drifted in and out of the crowd’s ears. “You abandoned us for this supposed immortal dao of all, but are we not also part of this all?!”

The despairing accusations were anguished shrieks from the bottom of tortured hearts, filing the hearts of everyone present with stifling misery.

“We just don’t want to die! We burn with hatred for how things have turned out! Do we deserve to die simply because we are great emperors and masters of a great dao beneath the heavens?!”

“The Flame Emperor isn’t here.” In human form, the little fox walked out of a dao palace with the Bell of Chaos over her head and the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals in her hand. She calmly addressed the broken Witherdew palace. “The Flame Emperor has gone off to seek out a chance at life for all of you. It’s up to you now, whether you choose to fully disappear or continue to live on.”

“A chance at life?!” A shrill denouncement cried out from the palace. “We’re already dead! How do we live on?! Do you really think that hell of human dao will resurrect us?! Impossible!! We’re orphans of the world and heavens! You’ve abandoned us and the world has abandoned us!”

An enormous akasha ghost rushed out from the dilapidated structure and grasped at the little fox with razor-sharp claws and piercingly keen power.

The little fox read a hint of familiarity from its eyes.

Humm—

The bell over her head shook violently and the scroll lashed outward, blasting the ghost back.

“Dijiang, who would’ve thought you’d turn into an akasha ghost from your trivial speck of resentment?” the little fox said coldly in midair. “Do you think I’d make the same mistake twice?”

She recognized the origins of this particular ghost. He was no great emperor, but the lingering resentment of a connate demon god—Dijiang!

Dijiang had once ambushed the little fox in the cosmos of the great wilderness and beaten her almost to death, seizing the Bell of Chaos from her. After meeting with defeat once, she wouldn’t leave herself open again.

Dijiang’s actual target had been a fortress ship just now, not the little fox. The constellation class ships could kill ordinary akasha ghosts, but couldn’t do anything to the big akasha ghosts. However, the little fox had remained unmoved. She’d known that she was the true target. Indeed, the second it neared the ship, it suddenly turned around and shot at the little fox.

Acting decisively, she brought down the big akasha ghost with the bell and scroll and found it to be Dijiang!

After Lu Yun fatally wounded him with Rearbow in the skies of the world of celestials and Asura devoured his true spirit, that should’ve spelled the end of him.

But Dijiang refused to go out like that. After obtaining the Bell of Chaos, he should’ve been the great demon god of the great wilderness, superior to even Leize! Unfortunately for him, he bumped into the Flame Emperor and was then eaten after his utter rout.

His enormous resentment lingered in the cosmos until the big akasha ghost appeared during the battle of Emperors Fall. It collected all of the great emperors’ resentment and bundled them into the immortal dao when it was born, helping them become the akasha ghosts beneath the immortal dao.

Dijiang’s resentment was part of the harvest collected. Though his great dao wasn’t part of the immortal dao, he, too, was delivered into the new dao.

Now that he saw the little fox, his old tricks were dusted off as he sought to grievously injure the little fox. However, circumstances were different now. She’d been protecting Lu Yun back then, but the ones on the ships today were academy disciples and… Lu Yun’s Infernum.

Even if they died, Lu Yun only needed to expend a few karmic fruits to resurrect them from the Tome of Life and Death.

Waving a hand, she clapped the scroll down over Dijiang.

“What does your life or death have to do with us?” the little fox snorted at Dijiang. “Though these akasha ghosts were unwilling, their great dao still became part of the immortal dao and thus they have achieved a great deed for the heavens. Lu Yun is willing to sacrifice himself and seek out a chance for them on account of this virtuous merit.

“But you? A connate demon god who happens to be a right bastard, one who made himself an enemy of life and colluded with the realm monsters. Asura ate your great dao, so it’s vanished from the world. You’re nothing but a cancerous tumor to the immortal dao. What I should do is thoroughly wipe you out from existence!”

Dijiang’s expression remained both laughing and crying, but there was a clear sense of great terror permeating his thoughts.

The little fox lifted her head and looked at the first akasha ghost that’d spoken. “Do you choose to fade away here or do you wish to continue living? Though you have done a great deed for the heavens and immortal dao, you have done nothing but endanger life and threaten this realm since the establishment of immortal dao. Your wrongs have long cancelled out your merit and we are only enemies now. There is nothing more just and proper than your death!” She delivered the last in ringing tones of righteousness.

She was stunningly beautiful and once the foremost beauty of the great wilderness. Her current bearing elevated her to a most noble empress on high.

None of the akasha ghosts in Witherdew court dared say a word. Their loyalties lay with the chaos creatures, who also determined their life or death. Therefore, they didn’t dare express any opinions.

“What about me?” the origin divine suddenly spoke. “I… am also just a cancerous tumor to your realm.”

The little fox immediately understood the situation at hand. He was the one who ruled over all of the akasha ghosts here.

“If you can lead these once great emperors back to the world, you will also achieve a great deed of boundless virtue. The Flame Emperor left a ray of hope for those connate demon gods before. He’s not the type to be utterly ruthless,” she responded calmly.