As soon as the two unholy daredevils—Chen Xiao and Qing Buyi—returned to the world of immortals, they severed their cultivation with the intent of attaining the void realm. Neither of the two unruly hooligans cared about what was happening to their clans.

Meanwhile, crown prince Zhao Shenguang happily left for Xiankan and requested to ascend to the throne. No one paid any heed as to whether or not he actually succeeded.

……

Lu Yun gazed upon Qing Yu with an ardent gaze, causing her to duck her head in embarrassment.

“Let’s become dao partners!” She suddenly looked up directly at him.

“Yes!” Momentarily stupefied, Lu Yun swiftly nodded emphatically.

To become dao partners in the world of immortals was equivalent to getting married in the world of mortals. Lu Yun’s heart pounded, then with one swift kick, he punted himself—er… his replica off into the distance.

“If anyone’s going to become dao partners, it should be the original person!” Lu Yun glared at his replica and started to feel inexplicably jealous of himself.

Qing Yu rolled her eyes at both of them.

“Milord, you can’t become dao partners yet!” Ge Long came charging out of hell. With a wave of his hand, the four swords that’d merged with the gates returned to their resting places in the evil coffins and made their way back to the netherworld.

“Milord, the kingdom of hell has just evolved. If you form a dao bond now, the creation of the heavenly palace world will be halted!” The old servant furtively scanned the surroundings before continuing in a cautious tone, “If that happens, the heavenly palace world will be subjugated to the kingdom. You wouldn’t want milady’s accomplishments to be limited, would you, milord?”

Upon hearing that, Lu Yun turned and looked hesitantly at Qing Yu.

“Whatever you say,” she responded with a smile. Nothing else mattered to her now.

“Alright, then let’s wait until you ascend to immortality,” Lu Yun laughed heartily. “We shall join as dao partners once your heavenly palace matures into a world!”

There was still over a month's time until Qing Yu’s ascension. That amount of time would pass by in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yun was in no hurry either. After her ascension to immortality, he would be able to go about his business uninhibited and truly unleash his great ambitions.

While his hell was evolved from that of human dao, the true world of the heavenly palace had been born from the Dao Flower. It was the very opposite of Lu Yun’s kingdom in hell.

“Milord, I believe it would be best if you paid a visit to the central world before the mistress ascends to immortality. You should take the central world and have it merge with the heavenly palace,” Ge Long suggested in a grave manner.

“The central world?” Lu Yun blinked. Naturally, he knew of its location. The Sovereign World established by the Sovereign Ranking Battles was also the central world, wherein lay buried countless ancient immortals and their teachings and legacies.

He’d always wanted to go there again, but the proper opportunity had never arisen. Furthermore, the gate to the central world was in Destiny City.

After the first Sovereign Ranking held in Destiny City two years ago, the organizers had hosted a second one. A great number of talented immortals had gathered once again in Destiny City, and geniuses sprang up one after another.

Unfortunately after that, the void that hosted the battles and contained the Sovereign World had never opened again.

Thankfully, this didn’t pose a problem for the cultivators and immortals of the world. Their mentalities had long been corrected and set on the right path. The Sovereign Ranking Battles existed for the sake of mutual exchange and progression, not for fighting over ancient legacies and inheritance.

“That’s right, let’s pay a visit to the central world!”

“The central world is the heart of the world of immortals,” Ge Long explained. “It once housed the primordial immortal court and was the final battleground of the ancient war a hundred thousand years ago. Therefore, it suffered the most severe destruction and has almost become a dead world where the immortal dao cannot be made manifest.”

When the Dao Flower was finally repaired and its projection reached the multiverse, Qing Yu had discovered a “void” world that the immortal dao couldn’t enter—the central world. That was also how Lu Yun had speculated that the Sovereign World was the central world.

“Although the central world is now fragmented and dead, it is nevertheless the heart of our world. Moreover, a tremendous immortal restriction is set there! Milord, if you succeed in merging the central world with the mistress’ heavenly palace, the benefits will be no less than waiting for the heavenly palace to evolve into one of its own.”

"How much do you know?" Lu Yun looked at Ge Long with a frown.

Glittering with aureate radiance, the Karmic Tree passed on feedback that Ge Long’s respect was very sincere and came from the bottom of his heart. Not even the Tome of Life and Death was able to prevent the old servant from entering and leaving hell as he would.

“This old servant knows everything… However, my knowledge cannot be shared. Even if I tell the truth, the world itself will interfere.”

To demonstrate, he opened his mouth and made motions like he was speaking... but nothing came out. Even stranger still was that his mouth seemed to be covered by an invisible force that prevented Lu Yun from reading his lips.

"What this old servant spoke of just now is the truth of the primordial war,” Ge Long explained helplessly.

Lu Yun nodded. The war that’d taken place a hundred thousand years ago was incredibly chaotic and cryptic. It’d shattered the world of immortals and hearkened a strange power that established the numerous tombs within the world!

Where all of these tombs had come from, and who’d established them for the immortals fallen in battle, were still unsolved mysteries. Perhaps Ge Long knew the answers to those questions, but he was unable to reveal them.

“In that case… Little Yu and I will set out for Destiny City in three days!” Lu Yun declared.

Qing Yu nodded vigorously, latching onto his arm and refusing to let go no matter what anyone said.

……

“Lu Yun, you must not forget what the immortal emperor told you!” Empress Myrtlestar appeared again after Ge Long departed. She’d found it impossible to forget the venerated one’s appearance. Moreover, she’d clearly heard what the immortal emperor had said to Lu Yun.

The item that could not be seen… was what the enemy had used to annihilate the primordial immortal court a hundred thousand years ago. The treasure of the immortal emperor, an item related to the survival of the world of immortals, would soon appear in the central world. She had a faint suspicion of what it might be.

“I know. It’s time to pay a visit to the central world.” Lu Yun nodded.

……

“Hao’er, make preparations to enter the central world!” Dongfang Hao’s master ordered with a sudden appearance. “The primordial treasures of the central world are about to reveal themselves. However, you must be careful. The changes in the underworld, as well as the movements of the creatures from the Blood Sea, are all due to that treasure!”

Dongfang Hao’s master had gone to his disciple immediately after returning from the underworld.

“What is it?” Dongfang Hao asked with a slight frown. “Can it be the Immortal Subjugation Seal that was used by the immortal emperor to administer the world?”

“No, the Immortal Subjugation Seal simply cannot compare. The item’s existence goes against the immortal dao and the world itself. Its name cannot be uttered. You’ll understand when you see it.”

……

“It has appeared, at long last it will appear! ...Jiangchen, you shameless old bastard! You stole the body of a junior?! Aren’t you afraid the old skeleton will come after you?” Yin Jiuying’s expression changed drastically when he saw the greatly changed Jiangchen Xie.

“That old skeleton already chose this one and modified his body for eventual possession, anyway,” sneered Jiangchen Xie. “Last time, I nearly died at the hands of a junior. This time, I will turn that junior into a zombie!”

“Forget about Dusk Province for now!” Yin Jiuying dismissed gravely. “The treasure of the immortal emperor is about to appear. Go to the central world and obtain it!”