The heavenly court enveloped Witherdew Major the second it was established. Previously devastated by the chaos lightning tribulation, the Witherdew court stirred to life and began to rebuild. As reconstruction efforts commenced, Lu Yun raised the Xue Clan—former peak faction of Witherdew Major—as the royal clan of the major.

Patriarch Xue Chujiu of the Xue Clan was the new lord of Witherdew major. This was the youth who’d weathered his immortal tribulation in the East Sea and swore fealty to Lu Yun after becoming a void ascended immortal. That brought the Xue Clan under Lu Yun’s banner as well and made them one of the largest factions in Dusk Province.

Their immortals had mostly all died in that chaos tribulation, and what few remained fell to numerous ambushes from other experts in the world. But after a few decades of support from Lu Yun and nurturing by a thriving immortal dao, the Xue Clan fully recovered and added a dozen dao immortal to its ranks.

Xue Chujiu was now a Supreme Immortal of Original Order, though he and his clan weren’t part of the Dao Academy. Lu Yun’s plans for them all along were to have them take over Witherdew Major and put that major firmly in his court.

Xue Chujiu fully lived up to his benefactor’s expectations and led the Xue Clan to new heights, thoroughly surpassing their previous iteration. When the clan’s heritage was lost in the disaster that’d struck their home and their immortals all met their end, it’d been Lu Yun who took them in, bequeathing them cultivation methods and immortal crystals so they could train and grow in peace.

Apart from the Lus and Qings of Dusk Province, the Xues of the Witherdew Major were the most loyal to Lu Yun. In fact, their loyalty exceeded those two clans’ in some regard.

……

The moment Xue Chujiu took control of Witherdew Major and ascended to his throne, an enormous ripple traveled between heaven and earth. The rulers of the nine majors, ten lands, and four immortal seas lifted their heads at the same time to look into the high reaches of the sky.

Evolved from the previous Central World, the heavenly palace was the new heart of the world of immortals. Rays of milky-white brilliance streamed out from it to meld into the twenty-three facets, thus dissolving the last hint of a burial layout over the world.

Upon this happening, the nine majors, ten lands, four immortal seas, and previous Central World truly came into their own and interlocked as the twenty-four facets of the world, completely demolishing the world’s burial layout and freeing the world’s inhabitants from a state of being burial goods.

Although the regular denizens of the world had no idea what’d taken place, the various facet monarchs immediately understood what had just occurred.

“The establishment of the world of immortals was the hope of our kind, but our enemies also used it to construct a tomb to bury us all.” The rulers of the ten divine nations in the ten lands cast complicated gazes at the magnificent heavenly palace. They still refused to bend the knee despite everything they’d seen.

These experts had slumbered in the protection of their tombs since the Primeval Age. Their purpose in doing so was to vie for a chance, a future opportunity to become masters of the realm.

If they swore fealty to that heavenly emperor and the immortal sovereign and headmaster behind him, that would render all of their plans meaningless. Survival wasn’t their primary goal. They wanted to carve out a territory of their own in this realm and become utmost masters, so that they could ascend to the creator realm.

……

“Greetings to the Heavenly Emperor!”

“We greet the Heavenly Emperor!”

“All hail the Heavenly Emperor!”

Worship and greetings rose and fell in waves as the citizens of Witherdew and Nephrite Majors fell to the ground, kowtowing to the Central World.

“You may all rise.” Qing Taxian waved a hand and looked in the direction of the Dao Academy.

Lu Yun and Qing Yu stood at the peak of Mount Xuanhuang and nodded gently at him.

“The twenty-four facets are just a revolution of the minor cycle. There’s thirty-three layers to the true world of immortals!” Lu Yun suddenly murmured to himself.

When he’d returned from the great wilderness, he’d seen the world of immortals as thirty-three layers instead of twenty-four facets! Nephrite, Lazuli, Primus, Witherdew, Enlightened, Aureate, Thundergale, Truespirit, and Exalted Majors; Heaven Locus, Odyssey, Horizon, Mist, True Water, Yang Fire, Heaven Descent, Yellow Springs, Crimson Abyss, and Demon Measure Lands; Unsullied, Unmeant, Unselfish, and the Untroubled Seas; and the Central World made up the twenty-four facets.

There were nine more shadows beneath them that those of the world couldn’t see. These were the nine lost layers of the world of immortals. The world would never be perfect or be the world of Fuxi’s plans if the layers remained nonexistent. However, the nine had been completely destroyed in the great war a hundred thousand years ago.

Thus, the foundation of the world of immortals had been completely cut off.

……

“You want to use the kingdom of hell to supplement the world of immortals?!” Qing Yu quickly grasped what her beloved wanted to do when she read the look in his eyes.

“If the world of immortals remains incomplete, you will also be a flawed immortal sovereign and will face your own cataclysm one day. How can I stand by and watch that happen to you?” Lu Yun reached out a hand and stroked Qing Yu’s long hair.

“But the kingdom of hell should transform into the eighteen levels of hell! It’ll be the dao of yin to the world’s dao of yang. If you use your kingdom to recreate the nine layers, wouldn't that… no. I won’t allow it!” Qing Yu firmly disapproved, unquestionable resolve shining from her eyes. If Lu Yun dared use his kingdom to complete the world of immortals, she would immediately give up the immortal dao to stop him.

“That’s not it.” He shook his head. “The kingdom is a world projected by the Tome of Life and Death. If we incorporate it into the world of immortals, it’ll eat away at the immortal dao. Maybe the reincarnation cycle will even replace it at some point to become the great dao of the world.”

He flashed a grin. “Do you remember the Hadal Bonefire?”

“Eh?” Qing Yu’s eyes gleamed.

The Hadal Bonefire was called thus because it’d been born in the endless Hadal Battlefront. That battleground had now become nine massive prisons incarcerating terrible criminals in the void of hell.

“I’ll take out the prisons from the abyss of hell and connect them to the world, making it whole again!” Lu Yun declared firmly.

“But…” Qing Yu hesitated. “The prisons are in the deepest depths of hell and the prisoners there are so dreadful that even Ge Long and the blood demon can only barely manage to keep them in the Hadal Battlefront…”

“I’ve met Holy Emperor Fuxi, Leize, Huaxu, and Hongjun in the great wilderness.” Lu Yun smiled. “They’ve been making their plans since then and never put a foot wrong. None of their plans have ever been anything but a success either—even their enemies have to do as they’re manipulated to do. The most they can do is make the best of the setup they’re caught in!”

Whether it’d been the Dao Tree, curse on great emperors, or turning the world of immortals into a great tomb… all of that had been a result of chaos creatures being unable to ruin the plans of Fuxi and the others. They’d had to settle for second best and read the best they could to the circumstances.

“Hongjun is on Mount Buzhou now. If we ask him for help, he’ll be able to make the world of immortals whole again!”