In the dark void,

  on a drifting dead continent,

  the elder who had sat like an eternal stone for ten thousand years slowly opened his eyes.

  He discovered his primordial spirit message had been ignored.

  Dust fell from his body.

  He stood.

  His withered frame gradually filled with life; sagging skin grew taut.

  “Ignored? Refused?”

  The elder murmured, eyes flickering.

  “Some backbone. Worthy of one bearing Emperor Hao’s bloodline.”

  He actually laughed.

  Suddenly,

  the entire dead continent rumbled as though pulled by colossal force, crushing the void as it hurtled toward Five Phoenixes.

  “Refining the ‘Lin’ Array Word has bound you to my Liujia Array Sect’s karma. You cannot escape it.”

  As the continent sped onward,

  his ancient voice echoed through the heavens, fading into the distance.

  …

  Origin Lake, Lake Heart Island.

  Wind rose without warning.

  An invisible gale rippled across the entire lake.

  Morning-glory chrysanthemums, biluo peaches, and other spiritual plants swayed joyfully.

  Ni Yu, hugging the All-Seeing Mirror, felt oppressive pressure.

  She and Little Yinglong on her head looked toward White Jade Capital pavilion.

  Lu, shrouded in dense mist, radiated overwhelming presence.

  Ning Zhao drifted over from the Dao Stele.

  “Ning-jie.”

  Ni Yu called.

  Ning Zhao nodded gravely, staring at the pavilion.

  “Young Master… must have created something extraordinary again.”

  Ning Zhao said.

  They could not guess what.

  The stronger she grew, the more despairing the gap between her and Young Master became.

  Awe-inspiring distance.

  Rumble!

  Spiritual energy churned above the island, forming a massive vortex.

  Atop White Jade Capital pavilion,

  Lu sat in his Thousand Blades Chair, bronze wine cup in one hand, idly spinning his Dark Profound Ring with the other.

  He was motionless.

  Wind whipped his hair and white robes.

  Profound fluctuations surged around him.

  After a long time,

  his brow twitched.

  He slowly opened his eyes.

  They seemed deeper, as though a light flashed in endless darkness.

  He had traversed eons, listening to the Ancient Emperor’s lecture, touching the power of time…

  Ancient Emperor.

  Lu inhaled deeply.

  Mysterious, invincible.

  Even in the River of Time, the Emperor’s image had been towering and majestic.

  Lu felt tempered, his soul baptized.

  The Emperor’s realm, Lu could not yet fathom.

  The wine in his cup had gone cold.

  He set it down, gazing into the distance, thoughtful.

  Fingers tapped the armrest.

  The Ancient Emperor’s final glance, Lu had not missed.

  Was the Emperor watching him?

  Lu frowned.

  Was that existence truly dead?

  When he struggled with the time array, the Emperor’s lecture activated.

  Coincidence?

  Lu doubted it.

  Any event involving an Ancient Emperor deserved deep consideration.

  But he found no answer.

  He let it go, exhaling long.

  The Emperor’s lecture had not only tempered him, it was as though he had walked the River of Time.

  Most importantly,

  through the “Lin” word, Lu now had confidence to build a time array.

  His lips curved.

  With a thought, he entered the Preaching Platform.

  There,

  he sat calmly.

  Though he had failed thousands of times,

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  this time, certainty filled him.

  He raised a hand.

  Spiritual energy churned.

  Terrifying rumbles.

  The “Lin” word spun above his head, radiating grand fluctuations.

  Lu closed his eyes.

  Eight Trigrams runes orbited, arranging in profound patterns, each pulsing with mystery.

  When he opened his eyes,

  everything changed.

  The array platform beneath him became a massive sundial.

  Markings appeared.

  The “Lin” word above became a blazing sun.

  The sundial’s shadow began to move under the light.

  Tick… tick…

  The clear sound of time flowing.

  Lu raised a hand, robes fluttering.

  He formed seals, embedding them into the sundial.

  Eight Trigrams runes locked in, stabilizing it.

  Rumble!

  After a long time,

  a gray river surged forth.

  Where it passed, all decayed.

  “The River of Time.”

  Lu murmured.

  He guided it to coil around the sundial.

  The array was essentially complete.

  The sundial was vast.

  Lu walked upon it as though stepping through time.

  An extraordinary sensation.

  With a thought,

  using the platform’s properties, he created a kitten.

  As the sundial turned, the kitten visibly aged, from kitten to adult, then old, vitality fading.

  In Lu’s divine sense,

  its growth had accelerated manyfold.

  “Time flow ratio… about 1:10, and controllable.”

  “The stronger my divine sense, the higher the ratio…”

  “But the consumption is massive. Too much pressure on my divine sense.”

  “In short, the array grows stronger as I do.”

  Lu pondered.

  The old cat finally decayed into ash.

  Lu opened his eyes.

  Exited the platform.

  “A time array exists. How to use it?”

  “How to strengthen Five Phoenixes’ cultivators?”

  Lu considered.

  Initially, he had a bold idea, cover the entire continent.

  Then Five Phoenixes’ time would differ from the outside, giving cultivators enough time.

  Possible, and if achieved, the effect would be tremendous.

  But to run a continent-wide time array would drain Lu dry.

  Too massive.

  With his current strength, impossible.

  So he chose the next best option.

  Besides the time array, he had many treasures to boost strength.

  Like the Golden Body Fruits from Golden Body Continent, and other heavenly materials.

  Golden Body Fruit greatly accelerated Heavenly Lock cultivation.

  Next,

  instead of immediately building the array,

  Lu refined the Golden Body Fruits.

  Mystic-grade spirit fruit, good but not exceptional.

  Lu attempted to evolve them into earth-grade.

  In the Preaching Platform, he fused origin energy and used time acceleration.

  Finally, he created a new fruit.

  “Golden Body Fortune Fruit.”

  Just two extra words, but a completely different tier.

  Golden Body Fruit, mystic-grade.

  Golden Body Fortune Fruit, earth-grade!

  Consuming it not only forged an extremely strong body, but baptized one in origin energy, granting massive breakthroughs at Nascent Soul.

  Of course, many treasures could boost strength.

  But Lu’s headache was distribution.

  Just hand them out?

  Lu shook his head, that wasn’t his style.

  He thought.

  Both time array and Golden Body Fortune Fruits should be placed in a trial.

  Let the world enter and earn them.

  He rubbed his chin.

  His lips curved.

  Looked like he needed to build another secret realm.

  But this one would be grander,

  more eye-catching than any before.

  …

  Time passed.

  Five Phoenixes was not calm.

  Or rather, its cultivation world was not.

  Though the blood-colored battlefield and three continents had united Five Phoenixes and Tianyuan against a common enemy,

  competition remained.

  Recently, Tianyuan cultivators in the Nine Prisons Secret Realm made frequent breakthroughs.

  Qiannu Palace’s genius Golden Core, Xiao Yue’er, broke through.

  She reached the fifth prison gate before breaking into Nascent Soul.

  Entering at Eight-Turn Golden Core, she reached minor accomplishment Nascent Soul, extremely strong.

  Tianyuan gained another Nascent Soul.

  Exciting for them.

  Discouraging for Five Phoenixes.

  But Xiao Yue’er felt no joy.

  After Nascent Soul, she lost qualification to cultivate further in the Nine Prisons.

  She regretted not going deeper, only reaching the fifth gate before breaking through.

  Three days after Xiao Yue’er,

  Human List top ten genius Feng Yilou shattered his Golden Core, entering Nascent Soul.

  He reached the sixth prison gate.

  Witnesses saw extreme unwillingness as he broke through.

  “Golden Core foundation is insufficient! Compared to Heavenly Lock, it’s lacking!”

  Feng Yilou hated himself.

  With Nine-Turn Golden Core, he entered Nascent Soul at minor accomplishment limit, peerless combat power.

  Yet he despised himself.

  On Feng Yilou’s breakthrough day,

  former Tianyuan genius Zhong Nan rushed over.

  Xiao Yue’er, Zhong Nan, Feng Yilou, three former Tianyuan prodigies stood outside the Nine Prisons, gazing at the prison gates, backs desolate.

  Lu Jiulian had entered the Nine Prisons, his realm soaring, Heavenly Lock nearly perfected.

  About thirty days after Tianyuan’s breakthroughs,

  Five Phoenixes finally produced a public Nascent Soul.

  Kong Nanfei, Nine-Turn Golden Core, shattered his shackles, entering Nascent Soul.

  Five Phoenixes erupted.

  The continent’s first open Nascent Soul was born!

  Kong Nanfei had reached the seventh prison gate.

  Witnesses saw righteous qi surging like a river across the sky on his breakthrough day.

  …

  Beyond Wolong Ridge.

  Tianji Peak, Tianji Pavilion.

  Lü Mudui sat on a withered stone, spiritual energy slowly circulating.

  Bright moon hung high, the peak silent.

  Insects chirped, leaves rustled.

  Suddenly, Lü Mudui sensed something.

  He opened his eyes.

  Under the cold moonlight, a figure appeared.

  Silver blades reflected moonlight, white robes fluttering.

  “L-Lord Lu Ping’an?!”

  Lü Mudui’s face twitched, nearly dropping his bamboo staff.

  Lu glanced at him, nodding slightly.

  The old fisherman by the lake now carried some style.

  “I did not know Lord Lu would visit, this old man is at fault.”

  Lü Mudui rose trembling, bowing.

  Lu smiled.

  They chatted briefly.

  Then Lu asked Lü Mudui to spread messages to the world.

  Lü Mudui listened, growing more shocked.

  “Today, crisis looms. The common people must grow strong quickly.”

  On the wheelchair, Lu gazed at the moon, voice tinged with faint melancholy.

  “This Young Master does not know how long he can hold.”

  “The world must grow strong on its own.”

  Lu sighed deeply.

  With that, he vanished.

  On Tianji Peak, only Lü Mudui remained, trembling.

  He looked at Lu’s departing back, face sorrowful.

  He felt the immense pressure in Lu’s sigh.

  “Young Master… suffers too much.”

  Lü Mudui sighed.

  His eyes held reminiscence, recalling his first meeting with Young Master Lu.

  That day, Young Master Lu floated on Beiluo Lake, facing hundreds of Confucian scholars’ scorn, smiling freely, that carefree spirit when the world misunderstood him had deeply shocked Lü Mudui.

  Inhaling deeply, Lü Mudui calmed his excitement.

  In the distance,

  the beautiful woman and the round-faced girl rushed over.

  “Old Lü, what happened?”

  The woman asked.

  Lü Mudui waved a hand, stood with hands behind back, gazing at the moon, sighing.

  He stood on the peak like a withered tree.

  Wind moaned.

  He looked east, toward the Boundless Sea, eyes deep.

  One hand held a brush, the other yellow paper, as though waiting.

  When the eastern sky showed fish-belly white,

  beyond Dongyang Commandery, in the vast sea,

  BOOM!

  A tremendous explosion.

  Essence qi rushed skyward, brilliant light illuminating the dawn.

  Like a mirage, a void city appeared.

  A divine tree’s shadow bore dazzling golden fruits!

  Lü Mudui saw it, body trembling.

  “Young Master truly foresaw it! An immortal relic!”

  “How can all the pressure fall on Young Master?!”

  “The world… must grow strong!”

  Lü Mudui laughed, showing his gapped teeth.

  He danced like a madman.

  The woman and girl stared, dumbfounded.

  Pfft!

  Lü Mudui punched his chest, coughing a mouthful of blood.

  Brush dipped in blood, he wrote on the yellow paper, characters shocking and vivid!

  Yet Lü Mudui was overjoyed.

  An immortal relic emerged, worth writing in blood!

  How could cheap pig blood suffice?!

  …

  The instant the mirage appeared,

  experts with divine sense felt it, many jolted awake.

  Overlord emerged from his tent, staring at the mirage and divine tree with golden fruits, eyes blazing.

  The scene felt familiar.

  Like the original Wolong Ridge secret realm, Nine Prisons…

  “A new secret realm? I hope it makes me stronger!”

  Dongyang Commandery.

  Four holy lands.

  Nascent Soul ancestors shot skyward, gazing east toward the churning sea.

  Divine tree’s shadow, golden fruits, left them stunned.

  Empress Ni Chunqiu shot out, Qiannu Palace Nascent Souls bowing.

  Martial Emperor City.

  Du Longyang stood atop the city wall, robes fluttering.

  “Is this Young Master Lu’s doing?”

  But soon they rejected the idea.

  Du Longyang looked up.

  With Yin Spirit divine sense, he saw through the heavens.

  Saw the blood-colored battlefield.

  In its depths,

  Lu sat with his back to the world, in his Thousand Blades Chair, suppressing three slowly collapsing continents.

  Holding up the sky for the world!

  So this phenomenon was not Lu’s work.

  Du Longyang, Ye Shoudao, and others quickly gathered.

  They exchanged glances, remembering the Demon Sovereign aura from the desert, and rumors of mysterious immortals.

  “Five Phoenixes Continent is extraordinary… perhaps a true immortal relic! Great fortune, great opportunity!”

  Then,

  they shot toward the Boundless Sea.

  Soon they saw,

  the churning sea parted.

  A vast island slowly rose from the depths, bathed in myriad rays, dazzling and magnificent.

  Even Du Longyang and the others only dared watch from afar.

  On the island, a divine tree blazed with light, heavy with golden fruits.

  Life-filled spring water tinkled.

  Spiritual energy misted, spiritual herbs danced in the wind!

  Even Du Longyang and the others gasped.

  An immortal relic had emerged!