An enormous explosion from Jadeite Manor shattered the short-lived serenity. A small mushroom cloud rose into the air, the result of Lu Yun knocking into a building with great force. He was drenched with blood and on the brink of death.

“Don’t touch him!” Empress Myrtlestar hurriedly stopped Qing Han from throwing herself at Lu Yun. “The old senior can save him!”

Empress Myrtlestar and Scarlet Ape turned to Ge Long at the same time.

It’d been Ge Long who’d placed his hand on Lu Yun’s back and injected him with that strange energy, enabling Lu Yun to recover some mobility and break out of the Sword of Chaos’ restraint.

A grave look overtook the old servant’s face as he splayed the fingers of his hand and manifested a dark pearl. Then, he forcefully shoved the orb into Lu Yun. The young man’s body gained an inky shine and his injuries began slowly knitting together.

……

The Sovereign Meet had concluded.

It had been a fruitful experience for many cultivators, but none of them had entered the final battle and been listed in the Sovereign Ranking. The ranking looming over Destiny City had disappeared, as had the treasure of the immortal dao. The stone stele remained firmly planted at the center of the city; however, all names on it had disappeared.

In short, the Sovereign Meet was a complete failure. No one had earned a place in the ranking, and cultivators hadn’t really had a chance to fight one another.

“Damn those two shitheads!” someone cursed. “They’ve ruined one of the greatest events in the world of immortals!”

“I’m going to kill them, Scarlet Ape be damned!” declared an origin dao immortal.

Many immortals of his level had come to Destiny City. Although their severe injuries prevented them from tapping into the true power of an origin dao immortal, they were the most powerful beings in the world while the nine former celestial emperors were preoccupied.

They’d been recovering in the shadows, unwilling to be dragged into the matters of the world. However, the Sovereign Meet was much more than a tournament to determine the hierarchy of the younger generation—some of the rewards might have healed their dao injuries.

How could they not be furious about how things had turned out?

Seventeen origin dao immortals gathered above Destiny City, besieging Jadeite Manor.

“You can’t protect those two youths, Scarlet Ape!” spoke an origin dao immortal with a youthful appearance but an aged voice.

“Do you have a death wish?” Scarlet Ape took to the air with its blazing cape over its shoulders, leveling its black iron rod at the would-be attackers. It fixed its fierce gaze on the youthful-looking immortal.

The immortal tensed, but didn’t back down.

“Hehehe, we’ve all got half a foot in our graves. The Sovereign Meet was our only hope for recovery, and now our hopes have been destroyed...” A man with fiery long hair dressed in a similar long robe stepped out in front of the youthful-looking origin dao immortal.

“You may be able to kill some of us,” he cackled at Scarlet Ape. “But the seventeen of us will be able to destroy your incarnation and, in turn, Levitating Island!

“Don’t threaten us with death, we’re already suffering a worse fate. Death would be a merciful release! And don’t threaten us with our people, or we’ll detonate ourselves on your little island!”

There was a vicious edge to his expression. None of his peers feared death. Many of them had survived torment upon torment from the ancient era; their hearts were long twisted and they now viewed people as nothing but tools.

Scarlet Ape fell silent. Levitating Island was too important to the monster spirits. If it was destroyed, they’d never be able to rise again.

“I will protect them within Destiny City,” Scarlet Ape allowed, upon facing the crowd. The vicious feared the foolish, and the foolish feared the suicidal.

“So you’ll abandon them once they leave the city?” an origin dao immortal demanded with narrowed eyes.

Scarlet Ape remained quiet.

“Alright, we’ll give you three days,” scoffed the man with fiery long hair. “If they don’t leave the city by then, we’ll break into the manor!”

……

“This is the most I can do for you.” Scarlet Ape turned its blazing eyes at Lu Yun.

Lu Yun had come to. Although every single bone in his body had been shattered, Ge Long’s pearl had fully healed his consciousness and nascent spirit.

“I advise against deploying your weapons of war. Those origin dao immortals are crazed. If they knew who you are, or gained even an inkling of your identity… Heh heh, Dusk Province would be razed to the ground in the next second.” Mockery floated onto Scarlet Ape’s expression.

It needed Lu Yun to rescue its dao partner. If the human died, Scarlet Ape would have to wait until it recovered to its peak and could venture into the desolate land itself. That, however, would take an indeterminable amount of time. Lu Yun wasn’t its only option, but he was a highly ideal one.

“Three days will be enough.” Lu Yun breathed out, his physical injuries healing at great speed as Qing Han applied ointment to his body. “However...”

He looked up at the faint shadow cast over the city by the Sword of Chaos. He was certain that once he left the city, the origin dao immortals would be the least of his problems. Sword Divine would be after him as well.

The divine had made it clear: he’d only tapped into a ten thousandth of the sword’s power back in the Sovereign Arena. If he could use the sword’s full power… Well, Lu Yun would be dusted into ashes with the slightest pressure.

There were many tricks that he couldn’t use while Scarlet Ape was with him. The ape wasn’t going to forgo any chances to observe Lu Yun and figure out his secret weapons; there was bound to be a war between Dusk Province and Levitating Island at some point, due to the bad blood between them.

Lu Yun wasn’t foolish enough to let Scarlet Ape witness what he was capable of, either; three days were also more than enough for him.

Hell was a unique realm. Not even Scarlet Ape could detect the ripples he created when he returned to the netherworld. Empress Myrtlestar had only somewhat sensed hell’s existence because of Qing Han.

“Perhaps I should deal with them,” said Empress Myrtlestar.

She’d manifested herself with the aid of a starstone, allowing her to wield power great enough to defeat anyone within a short period of time. However, she would be quite weakened for a while afterwards, since she was only a fragmented soul at the moment.

Scarlet Ape flicked a wary look at Empress Myrtlestar. If both of them were at their peak, there was no telling which of the two would actually win if they were to battle.

“The seventeen crippled origin dao immortals outside wouldn’t pose a threat if I work with the old senior.” Empress Myrtlestar turned to Ge Long.

Scarlet Ape’s expression darkened. Ge Long was another enigma! He was able to influence the immortal dao!

“Who are you?” the monster spirit piped up, staring at the old man.