“Venerated Dao Sovereign, this kind of joke won’t do!” Hongjun frantically corrected when he heard Qing Yu’s explanation. “That great master is one of the two powerhouses in the chaos that’s ascended beyond. If he’s angered, he can destroy the worlds with a casual backhand!”

“That’s right, uh huh, Little Yu and the little fox are joking!” Lu Yun hastily interjected. “Alright, alright, there’s a ton of things to take care of in the world of immortals. We’ll be on our way now!”

He dragged Qing Yu away in a hasty retreat.

“Ah yes, if the holy emperor has the time, perhaps you could pay a visit home. Seniors Leize and Huaxu miss you very much,” came Lu Yun’s voice from the distance.

“Home…” Fuxi trembled and sighed. “Indeed, it’s time to go home.”

“You’re so lucky to still have a home. Mine was gone a long time ago.” Loneliness flashed across Hongjun’s face.

“Isn’t this your home?” Fuxi suddenly smiled. “This is my home too.”

Hongjun blinked, then smiled back. “You’re right, this is my home. We should pay a visit to the chaos when the Hadal Hell is connected with the world of immortals. How is your cultivation recovering?”

“That kid comprehended the forbidden texts within the Dragonquake Scripture. Thank goodness I erased what I knew before, or I would’ve been caught up in the tribulation as well.” Fuxi lowered his head in deep thought. “The kid used the power of reincarnation to build my foundation and the orders of Inception and Creation are fully contained within. I should be as strong as the monarchs now.

“How about you?” He turned toward Hongjun.

“Mmm, roughly the same,” Hongjun mused. “I lived a life for Lu Yun and also endured a reincarnation tribulation in his place. The cycle of reincarnation has bestowed such blessings upon me that I am stronger than I was in my first life. I am well and truly within sovereign realm now.

“I really do wonder who Lu Yun is, that reincarnation would bequeath blessings to me because of him,” Hongjun sighed with emotion. “It isn’t us who chose him, but he who chose us.”

Fuxi nodded gently as well.

Six miniature dao palaces floated upward when Hongjun opened his hand. Lu Yun had extracted the six chaos stars from them and they’d returned to their origin in Hongjun’s care.

“However, this still isn’t enough. Our cultivation realm is far from enough if we want to fight the dreadful existences within the Hadal Hell!” Hongjun took a deep breath. “Though Lu Yun has stripped these dao palaces of their orders, their essence was formed out of the highest orders. You already possess two of them, so maybe you can comprehend the other four from the dao palaces!”

“Mm.” Fuxi nodded without complaint.

Lu Yun’s idea of connecting the Hadal Hell to the world of immortals was too crazy. However, he still hadn’t given up on the idea after his trip to the chaos! Surely he’d learned what it was during this journey.

Fuxi and Hongjun had no idea where his confidence came from; all they could do now was accumulate as much strength as possible so they could help him. They’d once been the seniors helping him, clearing obstacles out of his way and watching over his development.

With his return from the chaos, a new feeling brewed—they were the ones looking up to him instead. However, their stance remained the same.

……

“Why didn’t you let me continue?” The little fox struggled with dissatisfaction as they walked down from Mount Buzhou, puffing up with anger. “If they know that that person is my son, my master won’t worry so much everyday.”

“Lu Qing is indeed your son, but you haven’t located that strand of soul force. You haven’t accepted him yet, which is why he isn’t willing to meet you.” Lu Yun smoothed the velvety fur on the little fox’s body.

She blinked, then fell silent.

“You carved these beads for him before he was born.” Lu Yun had noticed the string of beads long ago. Though Miao was in fox form at the moment, the beads still remained on her wrist. “There were thirty-six illusory formations within them that would block disaster thirty-six times for him. You etched them into the beads yourself, and now he’s refined them anew and regifted them back to you. There are also thirty-six great formations within them.”

The little fox started and Qing Yu turned quiet as well.

“Do you know what this means?” sighed Lu Yun. “He views you as his mother, but you don’t hold the same relationship in your heart. He knows that too. Perhaps he’ll be willing to meet you one day, after you find everything that’s in that strand of soul force.

“Being in a rush to announce the relationship between the two of you will only put you and him in danger.”

The little fox didn’t have anything to say to that. It was true that, in her heart, Lu Qing didn’t occupy the same position as Hongjun, Lu Yun, or Qing Yu did. Lu Qing was just a name, a symbol.

“Mm.” Slightly saddened, the little fox nodded and burrowed back into Qing Yu’s arms.

Her soul force had experienced a myriad of things with Lu Yun, Qing Han, and Lu Qing in the past. She’d formed a deep and undying love for Lu Yun only after countless scrapes with death. After the past Lu Yun transformed into a dao fruit, she’d viewed her son as her world and laid down her life to protect him from all harm.

However, the little fox’s primary body hadn’t undergone any of this and there was only the tie of bloodline between her and Lu Qing. Neither did she bear a love for Lu Yun that was inscribed into her soul and heart.

Lu Yun wouldn’t force her hand in this matter either.

Qing Yu was willing to accept the little fox, but the little fox couldn’t accept herself. The current her was just herself—Tushan Miao of Qingqiu Mountain, monster celestial master of the primordial immortal court, and dean of monster spirit dao of the Dao Academy in the world of immortals.

Apart from that, while she did think fondly of Lu Yun, she wasn’t anymore close to loving him.

Hand in hand, Lu Yun and Qing Yu walked down from Mount Xuanhuang.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion in the world of immortals. After the immortal dao’s previous rapid clip of progress resulted in the appearance of the empyrean, chaos, and creator realms, it had once more reached new heights.

Many made use of its strong activity to attain cultivation levels that they wouldn’t have dreamed of before, and the golden age of immortal dao once foreseen by numerous people truly arrived in the world. Countless experts reached empyrean realm in these times.

After the great war a hundred thousand years ago, the world had fallen apart and then reformed, causing an abundance of cultivation resources. Immortals never had to be concerned about scarcity of resources, and the forest of tombs in the world were constantly excavated by academy disciples.

The primordial immortal dao was no longer superior to the current version, but the wisdom of the primordial immortals still resided in their tombs. For modern day immortals, that wisdom was still priceless treasure to be highly sought after.

One could determine the prosperity and decline of the future upon studying the past. Meanwhile, Lu Yun’s history of the world was also nearing completion.

……

“It’s time to resolve this potential threat.” Lu Yun and Qing Yu stood side by side facing the Blood Sea in Life Province. He took in a deep breath as he looked at the waters glittering like an enormous ruby in front of him.

The first task to be completed before melding the Hadal Hell with the world of immortals was to collect this Blood Sea.