“Yes, I am indeed talking about eliminating the connate demon gods.” Fuxi sighed, holding Lu Yun’s gaze. “And I know I’ve already succeeded.”

That gave Lu Yun pause. He was reminded of the human dao era, when great emperors ruled the world. Although there’d been those who exceeded the great emperor realm then, their numbers were very limited. In comparison, the great wilderness today saw a great abundance of chaos realm powerhouses.

“Those bodies… are they your handiwork?” Lu Yun pointed at the stars in the cosmos.

“They were generals and soldiers of the celestial court who served Taiyi,” Fuxi relayed with an almost melancholic air. “Taiyi established his court not to conquer this realm and its various living souls, but to protect the world.

“He recruited countless powerful beings both within and without the great wilderness to build an army. They went after the realm monsters in space and waged a terrible war. These stars are the great beings who died in those battles.

“There are exceedingly few real stars in the cosmos. The four symbols and twenty-eight mansions revolve around the great wilderness, as well as the three hundred and sixty-five stars in the multiverse, along with the Taiyin and Sun Stars.”

Lu Yun stared at space in disbelief. Most of the twinkling stars he saw from the ground were transformed from the dead experts of this world… Just how many of them were there?!

“How… how many such great beings are there in the great wilderness?” he asked despite his hesitation.

“Many.” Fuxi looked up at the stars. “Upon the genesis of this world, there were as many connate demon gods as there are currently living souls in the great wilderness. Over the past hundreds of millions of years, countless powerful beings have been born in this world, and just as many of them have passed away.

“This is all because of the realm monsters.

“But the connate demon gods of today have thrown themselves under the realm monsters’ banner, becoming fiends who wreak havoc all over the realm for them. This is why the demon gods must be excised!” Hatred blazed in Fuxi’s eyes and twisted his face.

“If not for them, the Great Pangu wouldn’t have perished and my parents wouldn’t have suffered their great injuries! Taiyi would be alive, and God wouldn’t have been forced to sacrifice his life for an intangible future he can neither see nor touch!

“The realm monsters must be eliminated, but so must the connate demon gods!”

Lu Yun nodded in agreement, doubting not a single world of what Fuxi said. The fact that Great Yi’s tomb had transformed into a hero’s barrow under the influence of connate feng shui layouts, signaling a great sacrifice for all life, was telling enough.

“Well then, there’s something I must do,” Fuxi said while looking at Lu Yun’s eyes, carefully enunciating his next words. “If I fail to return, you will be the ruler of Mount Buzhou and the emperor of the human race.”

“What are you going to do?” Lu Yun’s heart sank, it didn’t bode well that Fuxi would entrust such a mantle to him.

“I go to fulfill my duty, of course.” Fuxi smiled. “Worry not, I will be fine. I won't die before the connate demon gods have been erased from this world.

“Remember what I told you and become the emperor of the human race. I believe you already knew which emperor I mean.”

“Wait!” Lu Yun stopped Fuxi mid-departure. “How do I return to my time?”

“You will naturally return after a hundred years.” With that, he disappeared.

Only then did the little fox pop out of Lu Yun’s robes and clutched at his collar. “You have to take me with you when you go back, I don’t want to be left in this era!”

“Don’t worry, we came together, so we’ll go back together.” Lu Yun petted her little head. She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and burrowed herself back into his arms.

“Oh, one more thing.” She popped out again. “I forgot to tell you something important. Your primary body mustn’t ascend to the true divine realm under the great connate dao. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult for you to meld back into the immortal dao after you return.”

“Huh?” Lu Yun started.

“The immortal dao! Im-mor-tal dao!” the little fox warned gravely. “Although it’s a dao for all living beings, it is a creation of the human race. The radical for the character for immortality means ‘human’!”

“Why… didn’t Fuxi tell me this?” Lu Yun asked, dumbfounded.

“Because he doesn’t know either.” The little fox curled her lip. “Though my bloodline is so diluted that I was born a regular nine-tailed fox, I made my way step by step to the chaos realm. Of course I know more about cultivation than he does.”

Lu Yun nodded, hurriedly forcing down his agitating cultivation realm.

“And you?” he asked. “Why did you ascend back to the true divine realm yourself?”

“I was born under the great connate dao. Moreover, I’ve gone to the future and cultivated under the immortal dao. With both daos combined, the restriction doesn’t apply to me. Most importantly, I’m not human,” she continued gravely, “you’re different. You’re a human born under the immortal dao with its roots inside your body. Once you ascend to the true divine realm, your immortal roots will recede and become the foundation for the great connate dao. Then you’ll be ostracized by the immortal dao after you return.”

Lu Yun nodded.

“A hundred years… I only have a hundred years. I can’t go at a leisurely pace any longer then.” He descended from space and landed on one of the stars transformed from beings of great power. “Guard me, little fox. I’m going to locate my replica now.” He hauled the little fox out and gave her the Diexi shortsword and golden spirit pearl.

“No need, I have the Bell of Chaos!” The little fox puffed out her chest to show him the little bell.

“The Bell of Chaos? Are you trying to announce to the world that you’re what, Bad-News Tushan?” Lu Yun shot her a glare. “The pearl contains a strand of Fuxi’s nascent spirit, which will allow you to deploy it freely. Diexi belongs to Changxi. The two treasures will allow you to defeat most empyrean realm elites who come, so use those!”

The little fox awkwardly accepted the two peerless treasures. With a flash of dreamlike light, an unusually handsome young man emerged before Lu Yun. The little fox had transformed into the male form she’d assumed when they first met.

Lu Yun sat down with his legs crossed, establishing a connection to his replica.

……

Deep within space, a young man dressed in a long black robe suddenly opened his eyes, staring deep into an enormous black hole: Xing Chen. The confusion that muddled his gaze was gradually replaced by the light of clarity.

“So I’ve been suppressing the black hole here!” He rose to his feet, staring pensively at the giant black hole.

“It’s a celestial body as well, and a star loftier than the sun… Was this someone’s corpse as well? Perhaps a creator?” Awe flashed through Xing Chen’s eyes and his brows furrowed when he recalled what Fuxi had once said. “According to Fuxi, there have only ever been two creators in the history of the great wilderness: Pangu and God. So whose body could the black hole be?

“...yin spirits?” Expression abruptly tightening, Lu Yun extended a hand to release a giant flash of sword energy, aiming at the black hole in front him.