“Where are they going?” The curious Yanbai asked.

One could only see more soldiers ahead. It was as if they were marching towards the end of the world.

“We can go take a look.” The bull laughed and started moving ahead.

Li Qiye smiled and followed along with Holyfrost Emperor right behind him.

“So what’s the goal of this army?” She had this question while staring at the march.

She has seen plenty of strange and horrifying things before, just not something like this.

“There’s a reason for the march.” Li Qiye said: “The ships are chasing after the meteor as well, now this? It’s no coincidence.”

“The ships have been chasing the meteor?” Holyfrost shuddered after hearing this.

All along, people had no idea what that meteor was. Metalkin War God and Brightking Buddha were there but didn’t send any relevant information back.

“Everything happens for a reason. Uncrossable Expanse has been peaceful for years, now is the time for the calamity.” Li Qiye replied.

Holyfrost had a serious expression since she saw that event before. As a twelve-palace emperor, she would have been able to survive the impact. But as for protecting her system? She wasn’t strong enough to do so.

“So is the meteor the beginning of the calamity or the actual source?” She asked.

Tai Yinxi remained cautious towards the meteor even though it was in Sky Ruins now. Maybe this made sense.

“Yes, you can view it as the beginning of the calamity but not the latter. The real source of the problem is the heart of people.” Li Qiye smiled.

“The heart?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Tell me what you think about the dao heart.” Li Qiye looked at her.

“A firm dao heart is necessary to have an unyielding dao foundation.” She said: “One wrong thought can lead to qi deviation. When I tried to make it to the imperial realm back then, the bottleneck was very difficult and arduous. During this tough moment, I had crazy thoughts and mental disturbance but my seniors were there to point me to the right path. I calmed down and bore the hardship with equanimity to eventually become an emperor…”

She revealed her experience without hiding. That cultivation breakthrough was very beneficial for her, not only because it allowed her to become an emperor but also because it gave her a deeper understanding of the dao heart.

Prior to this, her seniors have always harped to her about the importance of the dao heart but she didn’t care too much.

After all, she still suffered from an overabundance of pride. She hailed from Northern Academy, a prestigious background on top of having peerless talents.

Cultivation has been easy during her youth. Thus, she believed that being talented was the most important thing to cultivation.

However, during her imperial ascension, only the dao heart helped with calming her mind and chasing away the heart devil.

Without a firm dao heart at this point, one step could lead one to the gate of heaven or the door of hell - akin to treading on a steep precipice.

In such a dangerous situation, talents didn’t help much. That’s why the emperor realized that in order to become an expert, just having talents and ample resources wasn't enough.

Alas, in order to take the next step and become an emperor or even a progenitor, a dao heart was absolutely crucial. It needed to be strong enough or one would lose everything overnight.

“Good answer.” Li Qiye nodded: “When you become a progenitor and aim to go higher, your dao heart definitely needs to be firm or death awaits you in a single thought.”

“That quickly?” She asked.

“One thought alone is enough to wither the ages.” Li Qiye looked at her and said.

She shuddered in response, still unable to fully grasp the potential. Nevertheless, she felt as if she was making contact with something new.

“Of course, you’re not at that level yet. Once you’re there, you will have to face this problem. A single thought then will influence many things, not just your own life but all of Three Immortals.” He said.

“Could you elaborate?” She had a faint answer but still inquired.

“At that height, you will find that the entire world seems so tempting, perhaps enough to make you salivate. That’s when a very, very strong dao heart is required. Otherwise, even if darkness doesn’t exist, you will become the new darkness with a single thought. Your talents, strength, and amazing feats in the past no longer matter, the only deciding factor is your dao heart, whether it is strong enough or not!”

“I see…” She murmured.

A while later, she told him: “Dao Brother Li, don’t worry. I have always aimed for the light since youth on top of cultivating the grand dao of light. This flawless affinity will dispel the darkness and chase away all temptations.”

This wasn’t a baseless statement. She had a physical constitution in harmony with the light since birth and grew up in a light system, always basking in this affinity. Moreover, she cultivated the grand dao of Desolate Saint - a flawless purity in this affinity.

Plus, her dao heart became firmer after becoming an emperor. Darkness could only be refined in her presence, unable to tempt her.

“Wrong, absolutely wrong.” Li Qiye shook his head: “Nothing in the past matters once you get to that level, not your type of cultivation or anything else. Don’t forget, the end of the light is darkness. You will be facing this once you reach the limit of the light. At that point, darkness doesn’t need to tempt you since your very being might swap affinity. How can there be light without darkness and vice versa? The two are two sides of a coin.”

This powerful comment took the emperor like a storm.

“Dao Brother, please guide me.” She calmed down and took a deep breath.

“I can’t help you since you need to rely on yourself. No one else can either. There is one simple way to put this. If there is no way to reach immortality with the light but there is hope with darkness, what will you pick?” Li Qiye elaborated.

“I…” She didn’t expect this question.

She smiled wryly a little later and said: “The truth is that I do not dare to answer since I haven’t reached that level. The only thing I can say is that I believe I will hold strong.”

“I know you’re not lying right now.” Li Qiye chuckled: “Just imagine though, immortality is within your grasp. At that point, Academy of Light, Immortal Lineage, or even all of Three Immortals, no, history itself, do any of this matter to a being so powerful? You can wipe away everything with a single move. So, what does it boil down to?”

“My dao heart.” She realized.

As Li Qiye implied, someone at that level would no longer care about anything, viewing everyone as ants.

“Since you’re young and weak, you won’t care about the dao heart. Once at the apex of the world and history, the dao heart becomes the most important thing. It will decide your fate along with everything else. Make sure you’re ready for that crucial moment where you make up your mind with a single thought.” Li Qiye stressed.