The world of immortals also possessed creators at the moment, but all of them—apart from Pangu and God—were from the Dao Academy that Lu Yun had nurtured.

Today, Celestial Lord of the Exalted Major, Dongfang Hao, publicly broke through chaos realm and ascended to that legendary realm. This raised morale in the outer realms to new heights and further strengthened the confidence of the immortals.

The creator realm really did exist and was attainable by all! It wasn’t just an empty dream drawn on a canvas of far fetched promises!

“Congratulations, fellow daoist!” congratulated the lords of the other thirty-two facets.

“I am truly unworthy. I broke through to creator realm only due to the honors bequeathed by our forebearers and the strength of the ancient divine court,” Dongfang Hao responded with a round of humility. “I obtained much inspiration when I ascended just now. Fellow daoists, please share in them with me!”

He waved a hand and gifted a copy of his reflections to creator realm to the other lords.

Qing Taxian and the others immediately sat down cross-legged to peruse this enormous gift. Meanwhile, the lords of the nine hells looked at each other and didn’t fall into meditation. Realization dawning on Dongfang Hao, he looked at them with visible shock. It was only now that he noticed the lords of the nine hells had reached creator realm long ago. They’d just concealed it from the public eye all this time!

“The headmaster has undone fellow daoist’s tribulation to creator realm. He has transformed it to the pure light of virtue, so be sure not to let this fortuitous opportunity slip through your fingers, fellow daoist,” Mo Yi suddenly spoke up in reminder.

Dongfang Hao started and quickly assumed a seated position himself, just in time for a pillar of golden light to descend from the heavens and blast into his body. His new cultivation realm instantly stabilized.

Immortals needed to undergo a heavenly tribulation when they reached creator realm, but Lu Yun had enveloped the world of immortals with the Karmic Tree. He didn’t care about any other tribulation, but those having to do with the creator realm were absorbed by the tree and distilled into the pure light of virtue for the immortal in question.

With the Hadal Hell out of the netherworld, there was no longer anything constraining the Karmic Tree. Its rate of growth raced to an incredible level, whereupon it could fully deploy the strength belonging to such a fearsome treasure of goodwill and retribution.

Absorbing and refining heavenly tribulations… If the tree could fully mature and take root in the immortal dao, it would be able to command and direct heavenly tribulations!

As they lived in unique times, Lu Yun was compelled to use the Karmic Tree to cheat a little for new creators, preventing demise or injury in their tribulations.

……

Another ten years passed by in the blink of an eye.

In the one hundredth and twenty-third year of the Xuanhuang calendar, surging tides of yin spirits once more exploded out of the fissure in space and bayed for the blood and qi of living beings.

However, the world of immortals was a far cry from what it’d once been after twenty years of breathing space. Apart from formula dao, the holistic strength of the world had also risen to an entirely new level.

The immortals were even able to set up a line of defense in the outer realms to break the momentum of the charging yin spirits. Regardless, no one dared let their guard down. The enemy could still break through the fortifications if they relaxed and cause devastating destruction to their home.

This enormous battlefield was named the Immortal Realm Battlefront.

Lu Yun took personal command for twenty-one years, repelling charge after charge until the situation stabilized in the one hundred and forty-fourth year of the Xuanhuang calendar. Once the immortal armies found their footing and could reliably rebuff the yin spirits, he departed for the far reaches of space.

He hadn’t seen Qing Yu in thirty years.

He’d wanted to pay a visit twenty-one years ago, when Sol Truefire went out among the stars. However, the Immortal Realm Battlefront had just taken shape then and he had to hold down the fort. Though he hadn’t planned for the battlefront to take shape, it was molded by the culmination of experiences from his past self and various modern methods as derived from the secret arts of the mythological realm.

Without Lu Yun’s presence, the Immortal Realm Battlefront wouldn’t have come together. Or even if it had, it would’ve been swiftly overrun.

The creation and preservation of these battle lines were a clear declaration that the world of immortals would not be snuffed out by the dark.

Given the new equilibrium, the lords of the thirty-three facets returned to their domains as there was no need for them to personally oversee the outer realms. With their guidance, the world set foot into a new era. Though dangers still lurked covetously from the shadows, the world had successfully come to terms with their age old enemy.

……

Violet radiance sparkled around the spatial node in space, thoroughly concealing it. Only the Violetgrave sword hovered in that spot; Qing Yu was nowhere to be found.

Horror flooded into Lu Yun to find the scene empty like this.

“Where’s Little Yu?” his voice shook.

“She’s already left.” Violetgrave yawned lazily and walked out of the haze of violet light.

She seemed a little different this time. Though she wore the same violet silk dress and still padded around barefoot, Lu Yun’s keen senses noted that she somehow seemed more real than before, as opposed to the inscrutable mysterious entity that’d always been shrouded by mist.

“Where’s Little Yu gone?” While he noted the changes in Violetgrave, he was more concerned about Qing Yu. She would’ve said something to him if she’d left under normal circumstances. She would never leave without sending word.

“Where she should be.” Violetgrave stretched mightily. “You need to work hard at cultivating. When she returns, she’ll probably be far stronger than you.”

Lu Yun’s eyes darted forebodingly around the scene.

“Alright, alright, stop looking so murderous. In order to thank you for freeing me, I gifted my foundations in the Hongmeng to her. She’s currently impersonating me as a king of the Hongmeng,” Violetgrave explained merrily. She was completely at ease and relaxed, as if she’d finally been released from a burden she’d labored under for a long time.

“Huh?” Lu Yun didn’t really understand.

“Do you know what I am?” Violetgrave pointed at her nose.

“What are you?” Lu Yun repeated blankly.

“I am Netherdark.” Violetgrave raised her chin proudly.

“Netherdark?” Lu Yun was no closer to understanding.

“Hadal, Sanguine, Abyssal, Nihil… Netherdark! I am Netherdark!” Violetgrave arched a brow. “I am the last hell of the five hells, the Netherdark Hell! If my nether fire and dark fire are recombined, they will be the complete Netherdark Flame!”

Lu Yun’s jaw dropped. Violetgrave is the fifth hell?!

“The Hadal Hell oversees souls, collecting the souls and true spirits of the living.

“The Sanguine Hell oversees blood, collecting the blood of the living. That boundless Blood Sea is actually one of its treasures.

“The Abyssal Hell oversees flesh, collecting the bodies of the living after they die and consigning them to the abyss.

“The Nihil Hell oversees the mind, collecting the minds of the deceased and sending them to the void,” Violetgrave relayed with a smile.

“What about you?” Lu Yun frowned. Based on what she was saying, his kingdom of hell was the combination of the Hadal, Sanguine, Abyssal, and Nihil Hells.

“Me?” Violetgrave adopted a cryptic tone. “I’m different from the other four hells. I bury not the living, but civilizations. When civilizations die, they come into my hands.”