The enormous bell fell upon the scene after bell tolls rang out, emanating a vast aura that swept away the golden flames with sheer dominance. Lu Yun also appeared in a linen outfit with his thick mop of black hair flowing freely. A snow-white little fox stood on his shoulder.

“Haotian, cutting down the heavens was something to be undertaken by the human race and nothing for me to be involved with. But… you have forced my hand!” Lu Yun glowered to see the Yin Prince pierced clean through.

As a human from the future, he naturally revered a set of gods from the age of mythology—Pangu, Fuxi, Wahuang, as well as the current Yin Prince Houtu. Murderous intent reared its head when he saw that Haotian had injured the Yin Prince.

“You’re finally here, Flame Emperor!” A frosty light flashed through Haotian’s eyes when he saw Lu Yun follow closely behind the Bell of Chaos. The ultimate connate treasure of the great wilderness had swept away his army’s formation with a few simple tolls; there’d been no room for resistance.

“Yes, I'm finally here. I'm quite curious to see just what you’ll bring to bear against me. That crudely pathetic imitation that can be barely called a formation?” Contempt shone brightly out of Lu Yun’s eyes. “You’re a far cry from the likes of Taiyi and your formations are laughably inferior to his Great Formation of the Nineheavens Gates!”

“Hmph!” Haotian’s expression darkened perceptibly to hear that he was less than Taiyi.

He’d chafed at Taiyi’s name and reputation ever since ascending to the throne. It was similar to how the current Yellow Emperor of the human race refused to submit to Lie Shan, with the exception being that the Yellow Emperor still had the chance to prove himself against the one who overshadowed him.

When it came to Taiyi… well, he was dead in the eyes of the public and completely transformed into the wheel of a sun, standing guard in the center of the night sky. Haotian would never have the chance to demonstrate his ability and validate his beliefs.

“Taiyi simply borrowed the strength of the Bell of Chaos! If it wasn't for that treasure, I could've beaten him myself!” Haotian shouted.

“You still don’t understand, do you,” drawled the little fox on Lu Yun’s shoulders. “I only lent the bell to Taiyi to boost his appearance, but he never refined it and relied on his own strength from beginning to end.”

Haotian shook from the revelation, a lost look blossoming in his eyes. He quickly recovered with a snort, “Taiyi’s dead, so the truth is whatever you say it to be. But today, you will die here even with the Bell of Chaos!”

A frosty air like no other slowly released from his body, threatening to freeze over time itself in this patch of space.

“This is the power of the realm monsters… Haotian, you’re colluding with the realm monsters!” Huaxu could hardly accept the sight of this particular energy coming from the demon god. She, Leize, and Hongjun had stood strong here for countless of eons, preventing realm monsters from invading their realm. But one of her peers was displaying their unique abilities right before her eyes?!

“DIE!!” She shrieked and spat out jet-black sword light from her mouth, stabbing straight at Haotian.

Crackle—

The radiance froze over before reaching its target, crumbling into dust. Huaxu paled and stumbled backwards, so incensed that she nearly spat fire from her eyes.

Lu Yun descended from above and stopped protectively in front of her. The little fox had put the bell away and Rearbow had taken the form of the black sun. It blazed over Lu Yun’s head, pushing back against the fearsome cold air. Only hellfire was able to withstand the frigidity of realm monster techniques.

Never would it have occurred to Lu Yun that the current celestial emperor would turn his back on the original principles of the celestial court and defect to the realm monsters, thereby obtaining their power!

“No, that’s not right. The opening to the world of celestials is sealed off, so it’s impossible for realm monsters to enter this way. But somehow, Haotian’s become their dog!” Lu Yun coldly assessed the situation.

The celestial army once again assembled together in the great formation they’d created earlier. This time, the formation released glacial blasts instead of golden flames!

“No, I can’t summon the Sal Tree of Life and Death here!” A twinge of warning floated up in his mind when he thought of summoning the tree. He quickly thought better of the idea.

Yes, Haotian was a fearsome enemy, but something even more terrifying laid waiting in the shadows—the akasha ghost that’d escaped from Pangu’s body!

“Break!” He suddenly brought out Worldcarver and hacked down at the arctic waves blasting their way.

“Worldcarver!” Haotian sucked in a sharp breath to see the legendary weapon in the human’s hands.

Momentum unceasing after it hewed apart the realm monster technique, Worldcarver came straight down on Haotian’s head, the sudden move scaring the wits out of the demon god. Though he quickly dodged to the side, he still lost an arm to the shocking blow.

Golden blood flecked with black radiance splashed through space as even Haotian’s imperial seat was chopped to pieces behind him.

“We go!” Lu Yun waved a hand and collected Huaxu, the Yin Prince, Yulei, and Shentu. He blurred into a streak of light and vanished within the deep of space.

Neither he nor Haotian noticed that the stars within a radius of a billion kilometers were arranged into a strange phenomenon—a ghostly face that seemed to be both crying and laughing.

……

Lu Yun quickly darted a billion kilometers away and completely departed the vicinity of where they’d been.

“Why did you run? The Worldcarver in your hands could’ve chopped that blasted Haotian apart with one move!” Huaxu frowned at the slightly pale Lu Yun.

In her eyes, Haotian was the only figure keeping the celestial court together. It would dissolve if he died, which would give the human race an easy opening into the world of celestials without having to go to war.

“There’s more than just Haotian there, there’s an even more terrifying existence where we were.” Lu Yun looked back at where they’d come from. “I wasn’t able to identify where it was hiding.”

“Do you mean the akasha ghost that fled from Pangu’s tomb?” the Yin Prince asked in a trembling voice.

“Precisely.” Lu Yun nodded and frowned slightly. “It’s ready this time. If I’d summoned the Sal Tree and ignited hellfire in space, it would’ve taken both away from me. But if I don’t have hellfire, I won’t be able to project the two creators to suppress it.

“Ah, Your Majesty, your injuries…” he recalled that the Yin Prince was grievously injured.

“I’ll be fine with a bit of rest.” Houtu nodded reassuringly.

Meanwhile, Huaxu peered back at the location they’d left and grimaced at what she saw. “You’re right, there is indeed a very terrifying thing there.”

Her replica didn’t see a thing, but her true form sat at the highest reaches of the world of celestials and overlooked the entire world, including its sky. She wove a map of the stars with a casual wave and displayed it to the group.

The face that seemed to be both laughing and crying peered back out at them.

“It’s that being alright!” Color drained from the Yin Prince’s face.

“The akasha ghost has become one with the stars!” Lu Yun was appalled by the discovery. The patch of space on the map was at least two billion kilometers across! This was a clear indicator of the akasha ghost’s dreadful might—it’d maintained its own form after becoming one with the cosmos!

“Realm monsters are not the greatest enemy…” Huaxu murmured. “Akasha ghosts are.”

“Please bestow unto me a strand of your soul force, Your Majesty!” Lu Yun suddenly bowed to Huaxu.

“My soul force?” Huaxu blinked. “What do you want that for?” Though she asked with curiosity, she handed a tendril over to Lu Yun before she finished her question.

“Not just Your Majesty’s, but Senior Leize and Hongjun’s as well! If you would so kindly do me the favor, Your Majesty.” Lu Yun entwined the strand around his finger tips. “I haven’t heard of your names or legends in the future… I must obtain a strand of your soul force to prevent your demise in future disaster. I will resurrect all of you when I have the ability to.”

“To bring those of us dead back to life? Are you seeking to go against the heavens?” Huaxu’s true form had obtained Hongjun and Leize’s soul force, and handed them to Lu Yun through her connection to her replica.

“It’s not going against the heavens if I collect your soul force in this era. All I can say is that the seeds of karma are planted now to bear fruit in the future.” Lu Yun smiled. The little fox had sealed off the premises with the Bell of Chaos, so even someone like Haotian wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop.

“Your Majesty Houtu.” Lu Yun looked toward the Yin Prince’s party.

Clang!

The bell shook slightly and suddenly devoured the Yin Prince, Yulei, and Shentu.

“You can do without them, I’ve sent them into the bell to cultivate.” The little fox burrowed into Lu Yun’s robes and popped her head back out. “Jing Huaci can’t control Timelight Tower by herself, she needs the combined efforts of several others. Houtu is one of the strongest among the connate great gods, so she’ll do!”

Lu Yun stared dumbly at the little fox, uncertain of what to make of this.