Time began to reverse for the Golden Scholar.

It was as if someone was rewinding a movie. The Heavenly Emperor, who had just fused with his body, started to separate from him again.

With a serious face, the Golden Scholar shouted, “Path of time, obey me!”

Inside his body, a similar power of time began to spread and go against the Heavenly Emperor’s [Light Wheel Reversal] magical technique.

The Heavenly Emperor’s power wanted to free itself from the Golden Scholar’s body, while the Golden Scholar’s power wanted to keep the Heavenly Emperor in place. The two different forces of time were in a stalemate.

Within the Golden Scholar’s body, a woman’s voice sounded, “It’s too risky for you to forcibly absorb the Heavenly Emperor this way. You should spend some time with the Heavenly Emperor and figure things out so that you can have a much smoother merging.”

The Golden Scholar smiled bitterly, and said, “I know, but we don’t have the time to figure things out. I have to take advantage of the Heavenly Emperor’s weakened state to complete everyone’s path. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult to find an opportunity to do so in the future. Moreover, if I let the Heavenly Emperor leave this place… I’m afraid that none of you will ever be able to be free in the future.”

Inside the Golden Scholar’s body, the woman sighed. “I’ll take charge of keeping hold of the Heavenly Emperor. Before she frees herself, you have to continue with the Imperial Rune Contract and finish things quickly.”

The Golden Scholar said, “Thank you.”

The woman said, “Is there still any need for such politeness between you and me… If you really want to thank me, then when are you going to deal with Fairy White Dragon’s matter?”

The Golden Scholar: “…”

The woman chuckled. Then, she replaced the Golden Scholar in suppressing and keeping hold of the Heavenly Emperor.

The Golden Scholar once again used his strength to maintain the Imperial Rune Contract.

The Golden Scholar urged, “Hurry, hurry!”

The fifth Immortal stretched out his hand and got ready to write down his daoist name. However, just as he raised his hand, his figure began to get petrified. In the blink of an eye, half of his body had become a stone statue.

It wasn’t only him; the bodies of the sixth and seventh Immortals also became stone.

“It looks like it’s already too late.” The fifth Immortal smiled at the Golden Scholar and sighed.

The Golden Scholar said anxiously, “No, it’s not too late! Quickly write down your daoist name, don’t give up on saving yourself!”

The fifth Immortal slowly replied, “I… can no longer move.”

Let alone writing, he couldn’t even lift a finger.

At this time, half of the Heavenly Emperor’s body had broken free from the Golden Scholar. She slowly said, [I see… You and I are the same, we’re both fragments. Death-Seeking Song, I’ve truly underestimated you. I did not notice this point during our time in Heavenly City.]

The Golden Scholar gritted his teeth, and said, “Because I am different from you.”

The Heavenly Emperor slowly said, [We are indeed different from one another. We might have the same origin, but we have long been divided, and we have developed our own personalities. We are already different individuals.]

When Song Shuhang met Striped Dragon Two, the latter had asked him to help him collect Cheng Lin’s fragments. Back then, he also mentioned that the Heavenly Emperor of the ‘Ancient Heavenly City’ was secretly collecting Cheng Lin’s fragments.

Moreover, the concept and the methods by which the Ancient Heavenly City was constructed were very similar to that of the new world created by the Third Wielder of the Will, the Striped Dragon. And so, Striped Dragon Two speculated that the Heavenly Emperor might have acquired a great amount of information from Cheng Lin Fragments, which then allowed her to create her path and the Ancient Heavenly City.

And now, it seemed like the Heavenly Emperor herself was one of the fragments.

The Golden Scholar called out, “Suppress her.”

At the same time, the Great Northern Emperor, the Great Soul-Seizing Emperor, the Great Western Emperor, and Daoist Priestess Flat Peach all moved in unison to return the petrified fifth, sixth, and seventh Immortals behind the 70,000 golden armored soldiers.

The Golden Scholar clasped his hands and forcibly closed the red-golden space.

“I can’t suppress her any longer.” The voice of the woman inside him said, “The Heavenly Emperor’s reincarnated body still contains another power.”

The Heavenly Emperor was not a mere fragment. Within her body, there was another kind of power that was too powerful to stop.

With the assistance of this power, the Heavenly Emperor successfully freed herself from the Golden Scholar.

The Golden Scholar gritted his teeth and said, “Without the assistance of this other power, the resurrected body of the Heavenly Emperor would not have been able to remain hidden for so long without being discovered. This is something we’ve speculated long ago.”

After the Heavenly Emperor’s projection got free, she casually made a move.

Soft Feather’s body, which was on the ground, was summoned over.

“Don’t even think about it.” The Golden Scholar took a step forward and brought out a scripture page, which he then sent to protect Soft Feather. With that, Soft Feather’s body was set in place, and the Heavenly Emperor could no longer summon her.

However… from Soft Feather’s body, an illusory figure was pulled out and brought to the Heavenly Emperor’s body.

It was Soft Feather’s ghost spirit.

Soft Feather’s ghost spirit danced and gesticulated in joy while being forcibly absorbed by the Heavenly Emperor.

The Heavenly Emperor’s resurrected body merged with the ghost spirit.

The appearance of Soft Feather’s ghost spirit changed, turning into that of a majestic woman wearing a golden dragon robe, as well as a flat imperial hat…

That flat imperial hat looked just like the one that the virtuous lamia had.

❄️❄️❄️

In midair, the Heavenly Emperor opened her eyes. They were pitch black, without a hint of white in them. She lowered her head and stared at the Golden Scholar. The corners of her mouth raised. “I seem to have remembered some very interesting things. Anyway… You failed, Song One.”

While she spoke, a projection of the Ancient Heavenly City appeared behind her. It was a projection of her path to immortality.

The Heavenly Emperor said, “Since you failed, you must pay the price.”

When the projection of the Ancient Heavenly City appeared, the fifth, sixth, and seventh Immortals, who had turned into statues and were inside the red-golden space, turned into sand.

Then, the figures of the three Immortals appeared in the projection of the Ancient Heavenly City.

The Golden Scholar called out, “NO!”

“They belong to me, Song One.” The Heavenly Emperor stretched out her hand and pressed it on her lips. “Even you, are to be mine. One day in the future, we shall merge once again. However… At that time, I will be the dominant one.”

The Golden Scholar did not spout any nonsense, and instead, instantly erupted with attacks.

Tens of thousands of different magical techniques and martial arts covered the Heavenly Emperor.

All the colors in the world faded. In that small stretch of space, only the light effects from the countless magical techniques and martial arts were visible.

While facing the tens of thousands of attacks, the Heavenly Emperor simply stood there, with her hands behind her back.

In the air, a pair of golden hands emerged and protected her.

All of the magical techniques, martial arts, and intent attacks were annihilated and disappeared as soon as they encountered the huge golden hands.

The big golden hands then held the Heavenly Emperor and brought her with them as they slowly retreated into a spatial channel.

[Your Majesty, there is still hope… So don’t be discouraged.]

[Your Majesty, don’t cry. Stand tall and rub one out.]

Behind the Heavenly Emperor, within the projection of the Ancient Heavenly City, the three Immortals comforted the Golden Scholar, [Perhaps for us, this is also a way to achieve freedom.]

While they were speaking, the Heavenly Emperor disappeared and took away the three Immortals with her.

❄️❄️❄️

The Golden Scholar stood there in a daze.

After a while, the red-golden space opened behind him again.

The Golden Scholar turned his head, smiled bitterly, and said, “Are the seeds of their paths still there?”

The Great Northern Emperor nodded slightly, spreading his hands and revealing three small balls. Inside each of the small balls, there was a strange plant growing.

The Golden Scholar said, “Fortunately, their path seeds are still there. There is still hope.”

The Great Western Emperor said, “Your Majesty, I did tell you earlier that you have no fate with the scholarly faction. You have to avoid wearing scholarly clothing the next time. You wore it this time, and an accident ended up taking place.”

Fairy Flat Peach said, “Senior Western Emperor, don’t beat His Majesty when he’s down. Can’t you see that he’s on the verge of crying? You’re supposed to comfort him at a time like this.”

The Great Western Emperor sighed, his solemn face showing gentleness. “Alright, Your Majesty. Don’t cry, stand tall and rub one out. Their path seeds are still here, so we still have a chance. We will definitely be able to rescue them.”

The Golden Scholar raised his head, and looked at the sky, the sadness on his face becoming stronger.

Is ‘stand tall and rub one out’ the only line you know to comfort others? Who invented this line? Do you believe me if I say that I’m going to turn whoever came up with that line into ashes?

At this moment, the Great Northern Emperor frowned and asked, “Who did those golden arms belong to? Were they from an ally of the Heavenly Emperor?”

The Golden Scholar sighed faintly.

After a long while, he said, “I suspect that those golden hands were the materialization of the current [Wielder].”

Fairy Flat Peach asked doubtfully, “Isn’t there a problem with the current [Wielder]? Why would they make a move to save the Heavenly Emperor?”

The Golden Scholar said, “The one who currently holds that position is in a programmed state, and they merely follow the will of the Heavens. However, don’t forget that they were not born like this. Before they entered this ‘programmed’ state, they definitely arranged some contingency plan.”

The voice of the woman within the Golden Scholar asked, “Why do you have such a guess?”

The Golden Scholar said, “If I were in their place and found that I was lacking a part, I would definitely find a way to supplement that which I’m missing. It would be impossible for me to leave things be.”

The Great Northern Emperor rubbed his brows, and said, “Do you mean that the Heavenly Emperor and the Ancient Heavenly City are the [Wielder]’s contingency plan to supplement that missing part?”

This was bad news.

This meant that they had to save their companions from the current Wielder of the Will. Even if the current Wielder lacked a part and was already in a programmed state, it was still the Wielder of the Heaven’s Will. In the entire universe, who could afford to fight the Wielder of the Heaven’s Will?

The Great Western Emperor said, “I have a question. If the Ancient Heavenly City was part of their contingency plan, how is it possible that it was destroyed?”

The Golden Scholar looked up at the sky, and said mysteriously, “Perhaps it’s because someone destroyed their plan and wanted to use the Ancient Heavenly City for their own benefit? Or perhaps there is an even more complicated reason…”

After saying that, his figure squeezed back into space.

In the same way that he came, he squeezed into space and gradually disappeared.

Only a dead Heavenly City was a good Heavenly City.

❄️❄️❄️

Inside the spatial turbulence.

The White Dragon protected Su Clan’s Sixteen, while the virtuous lamia protected Song Shuhang as they swam through the chaotic space.

At this time, spatial fluctuations came from ahead.

Afterward, the pair of golden hands that protected the Heavenly Emperor earlier appeared.