Pangu had happened upon Worldcarver in the chaos, but no one had ever found the bronze spear. It’d drifted in that nebulous space for all this time. Fuxi suffered all sorts of inconceivable hardships during his trip and a close shave with death to locate it and bring it back.

“An ultimate treasure within the chaos…” Lu Yun stared dumbly at the pike in his hand. The presence it exuded was the same as Worldcarver! They were both superior to the Bell of Chaos and ran beyond peerless-grade connate treasures.

“Isn’t it said that the great dao comes first, then ultimate treasures? Do these naturally occurring treasures pop into existence as a result of the great dao sensing the will of living beings?” Lu Yun was a bit confused by the pike existing.

Worldcarver and the yet-unnamed long spear were plainly both born of this realm, in a place where living beings didn’t exist. However… they also bore clear signs that they’d been shaped by living beings.

“There should be more than just our realm in the chaos.” Fuxi shook his head. “But the other worlds that might’ve been have all turned into realm monsters. However many realm monsters there are now means how many worlds there once were in our universe.”

Lu Yun gaped. Who knew how many realm monsters prowled the chaos?

Hongjun’s true body stood guard at the highest reaches of the world of celestials, suppressing countless numbers of realm monsters. The sun star that Taiyi had transformed into hung in the center of the cosmos, likewise keeping down many other realm monsters.

No one knew how many worlds had once existed in the chaos, but everyone was certain that the planet of the great wilderness was the only one present in it right now.

“What exists outside the chaos?” Lu Yun mused with his head upraised.

“No one knows.” Fuxi shook his head. The chaos was vast and extensive; even the two creators and the mysterious Hongjun had never reached its end. “The two creators and Hongjun jointly sealed this pike into the chaos so that I could successfully retrieve it.”

His face paled to an unnatural shade. “In the process, I suffered injuries that will not heal and so I am not long for this world. Therefore, I leave the fate of the great wilderness in your hands.”

Fuxi looked at Lu Yun with bright eyes, beholding the source of all his hope in the form of this time traveler.

“You won’t die, not with me here.” Lu Yun shook his head back at the holy emperor. “I'm not of this era after all, so the burdens of this time shouldn't rest on my shoulders. My only function in traveling to this age is to witness the revolution of the times and the rise of the human race.

“I believe that even without my arrival, the human race would still give birth to Flame Emperor Lie Shan, one to remake heaven and earth and redefine the heavenly dao!”

A heroic air blossomed on his face as he spoke. “The human race is the bloodline of the great god Pangu, descendants of a creator. Humanity does not need to be guided by someone from the future!”

Fuxi stared dumbly at Lu Yun before breaking out into a grin.

“I’d thought that you would view yourself as a savior. But it turns out that your mindset has never changed. Good, very good!” He looked at the human youth with great satisfaction. “So how are you going to save me? With the pill dao or medicine dao of the future?”

No one would want to die if they could live; Fuxi was no exception.

“Come with me!” Lu Yun rose and put away the pike, heading down the path that led to the netherdark. Fuxi followed him without hesitation.

……

The path to the netherdark was winding and turning, the black Mount Tai soon appearing in front of them.

“Master, Holy Emperor!” Tianqi had returned to Mount Tai to cultivate.

Humanity’s caretaker was now the Xiong Nation and Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan its only great emperor. Therefore, the mountain god was unwilling to dwell among the human tribes. There was also nothing that the human secret land could teach him anymore, so he returned to his mountain for further training.

A span of fifty years had seen him develop into a handsomely pleasing young man while long black robes imparted some gravitas to his bearing. His cultivation had reached peak empyrean realm and ordinary connate demon gods were no longer a match for him.

He quickly materialized when he saw Lu Yun arrive with Fuxi and bowed respectfully to welcome them.

“Not bad.” Lu Yun nodded with great satisfaction at his disciple.

Since Tianqi cultivated the Method of Life and Death, he wouldn't receive Death Arts like his master. However, this method was a perfect fit for a mountain god born of nature. Tianqi had diligently kept up his efforts over the past fifty years; though he hadn’t broken through to the chaos realm, his accumulated strength had reached unfathomable heights.

If it wasn’t for Lu Yun also obtaining the Constellation Willow, Demon Vine, and Earthly Duskroot during this time, his disciple would likely be able to overpower him now.

“Alright, the holy emperor and I have some business to take care of in the netherdark. You will remain on guard here and seal off the premises. Don’t let anyone disturb me,” Lu Yun commanded solemnly.

“This disciple hears and obeys!” Tianqi bowed with gravity.

Mount Tai towered at the boundary of the yin and yang worlds. It was a bridge to the netherdark and the god of Mount Tai possessed authority over that realm. He could seal it off if he wished to—this was also why the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak could control the hell of human dao and be its master in the future.

While that strength eluded Tianqi at the moment, he could deploy the power of the mountain if he was physically within it. Once he sealed off the netherdark, the only way into it would be the path from Mount Buzhou. The connate demon gods wouldn't be able to travel through the air and visit as they wished.

Where Mount Tai stood happened to be where Lu Yun would find his first fragment of hell in the future—the Gates of the Abyss!

……

“Martial uncle!” Daoist Yuyu materialized when he saw Lu Yun and Fuxi arrive, bowing circumspectly at Lu Yun.

“…martial uncle.” Fuxi’s expression darkened when he heard the honorific. Daoist Yuyu was a seniority higher than him since he was on the same level as Leize, but he’d just called Lu Yun his martial uncle?

What did that make Fuxi, Lu Yun’s martial grandson?

“Eh, ah, let’s just count our relationships separately.” The same thought process had also occurred to Lu Yun and he jumped from the implications.

“Hmph!” Fuxi narrowed his eyes at Lu Yun and didn’t respond.

Meanwhile, Daoist Yuyu cackled gleefully, having obviously done this on purpose to see Lu Yun embarrassed in front of Fuxi.

“What is my honorable martial uncle visiting the netherdark for this time?” Daoist Yuyu carefully enunciated the title. He was already one seniority lower than the human youth, so nothing really mattered anymore.

“I’m here to heal the holy emperor!” Glancing at Fuxi’s brooding expression, Lu Yun didn’t dare put one toe wrong in front of the holy emperor at the moment. He swept a sideways glance at Daoist Yuyu. “Alright, there's nothing more for you here. You are dismissed, martial nephew.”

Daoist Yuyu’s eyes went as big as dinner plates. Awkwardness crept over his face as he hadn't thought that Lie Shan would really embrace the title.

“After you, Holy Emperor.” Lu Yun gestured at Fuxi.

“Um… heh, eh heh heh heh heh!!” Fuxi roared with laughter to see Daoist Yuyu’s joke turned back on him.

The latter looked like he'd eaten a fly. He’d called Lie Shan his martial uncle because his master had forced him to, but it’d never mattered since the human hadn’t taken the title seriously. He’d really put his foot in it this time and had to obey whatever the human said.

…...

Hellfire blazed ferociously. It was said that the Sea of Hellfire had existed here even before the birth of this world, called thus because there was a hell beneath the fiery ocean. That hell held a group of criminals guilty of the most heinous crimes. No one knew where they came from or why they were here.

Hellfire had been born to punish these criminals. It was the first flame of the world!

Lu Yun waved his hand gently to part the blazing sea, creating a pathway for him and Fuxi.

“You apparently brought Tushan here when Dijiang killed her, and she was back to her spritely self shortly thereafter. You didn't cure her, but raised from the dead.” Fuxi looked at the human with a question in his eyes.

“That’s right, Tushan was dead then and I brought her back to life.” No one could penetrate the depths of hellfire, so Lu Yun spoke of his secrets with comfort. He could resurrect the dead!

“I can indeed revive those who have died, but within a limit. I can only help those who have died within the past seven days. There's nothing I can do if that time period has been exceeded,” Lu Yun explained gravely.

If he could fully master the Tome of Life and Death, then the lives of all beings in the multiverse, even the world itself, would be in his hands. He’d originally thought that refining the book would be a question of his cultivation level, but it now looked like he was mistaken.

He must rely on his own strength and practice the Method of Life and Death. The moment it reached great perfection would be the moment in which he fully grasped the Tome of Life and Death.

“Additionally, this is a skill that I will gain in the future. I must rely on the Sea of Hellfire if I want to deploy it now.”

He didn't want to summon the Sal Tree of Life and Death. Forming the Sea of Hellfire in the great wilderness or the cosmos created too much of a disturbance. All of the demon gods would focus their attention on it and Lu Yun wouldn't be able to hide anything he was doing. But in the netherdark, the sea of hellfire’s origins, even Leize wouldn’t be able to peek at what was going on here.

Fuxi widened his eyes with understanding of the youth's actions. Coming back from the dead was unheard of; it was an ability that defied the heavens. If anyone else learned of this, Lu Yun would quickly become a common target for capture.

“And now, please end your life, Holy Emperor.” Lu Yun looked solemnly at Fuxi.