288: Bu Yuanbai becomes his godfather (The End)

Fifteen years ago.

Immortal Domain 9527 Mine.

On the vast square, a dense crowd of people stood in two distinct groups.

On one side were roughly two thousand people wearing tattered mining uniforms, their eyes filled with exhaustion.

On the other side were twenty-two people whose mining uniforms were brand new, their Faces still carrying the bewilderment and anxiety of newcomers.

Liang Jie stood in the queue of newcomers, clutching the mining pick he had just received.

He had ascended yesterday, thinking that embarking on the path of immortality would allow him to live a carefree life. Who could have expected he would end up in this dark, sunless mine?

He had resisted, and the price was naturally a body covered in black and blue bruises.

On the high platform, the cold voice of the Chief Mine Overseer echoed across the field: "You have all heard the rules clearly. Everyone, down into the mine!"

The crowd began to move, walking toward the entrance of the mine shaft a hundred meters away.

Liang Jie was jostled forward by the crowd, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over a hunched figure in the distance.

A profile flashed past.

Liang Jie's heart skipped a beat.

That silhouette looked somewhat familiar.

Could it be a Senior who ascended from the Spirit Realm in recent years?

He tried to squeeze his way through, but the crowd was too dense, and the distance between them grew wider and wider.

One day, two days, three days.

Finally, deep within the dim mining tunnels, Liang Jie caught a distant glimpse of that familiar figure.

He carefully observed his surroundings and found the Overseer's figure lingering in the distance, paying no attention to this spot.

Calming his nerves, he quietly crept over.

Approaching, Liang Jie patted the man's shoulder and lowered his voice, "Brother, you look a bit familiar. Are you also from..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

Liang Jie's pupils dilated sharply.

"Sword... Sword Immortal Gu?"

Gu Qingtian's eyes were dull and numb. He glanced at Liang Jie, said nothing, and slowly turned back, mechanically swinging his mining pick.

Liang Jie was stunned.

Did Sword Immortal Gu not recognize him?

Or was he pretending not to?

Unwilling to give up, he took another step forward, lowering his voice even further: "Sword Immortal Gu, it's me, Liang Jie! Liang Jie of the Asura Palace! From the Spirit Realm!"

Hearing the words "Spirit Realm," Gu Qingtian's swinging motion abruptly froze.

He slowly turned his head, stared at Liang Jie's Face for a moment, and said hoarsely, "It's you."

"It's me!" Liang Jie nodded hurriedly, looking at the numb-faced man before him. He could hardly connect him with the peerless Sword Immortal of his memory, whose Sword Qi used to sweep through everything. "Sword Immortal Gu, how did you end up like this?"

An extremely subtle ripple of emotion flashed through the depths of Gu Qingtian's eyes.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing and just shook his head.

Some humiliations could not be spoken aloud.

His gaze swept over Liang Jie's relatively clean Face and new mining uniform, then glanced toward a fork in the tunnel not far away.

There, Yun An and the Leader of the Brave Heroes Gang were looking over. Gu Qingtian was all too familiar with the meaning in their eyes.

It was the gaze of someone who had spotted their prey.

Back then, he had been targeted in the exact same way.

"I remember," Gu Qingtian withdrew his gaze, his voice dry. "You were only at the Great Emperor First Layer before. How did you get up here?"

A complex expression appeared on Liang Jie's Face as he explained, "I met a Senior and exchanged an Opportunity for a Medicinal Pill. Only then did I go straight from the Great Emperor First Layer to a True Immortal, allowing me to ascend."

"Who would have thought that after ascending, it would be such a state of affairs."

He gripped the handle of his mining pick tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Gu Qingtian frowned slightly. "A Medicinal Pill? What kind of Medicinal Pill can make someone ascend to immortality directly? If there's such a good thing, why didn't that expert use it himself?"

Liang Jie explained patiently, "A mysterious Mr. Cao has emerged in the Spirit Realm in recent years."

"He set a rule: as long as one can offer up one of the ten beauties of the spirit realm from any generation, they can exchange her for a Medicinal Pill."

"I offered up my mother to exchange for a Medicinal Pill, and after a hundred days of secluded cultivation, I..."

His voice stopped abruptly, and his eyes widened.

"Sword Immortal Gu, what did you just ask?"

Gu Qingtian said, "I asked why that Senior didn't ascend to immortality himself if he had the Medicinal Pills."

Liang Jie's Face instantly turned deathly pale, completely drained of color.

Why didn't the Senior take the Medicinal Pill to ascend to immortality?

Why?

Suddenly, a terrifying thought rushed into his mind.

"Could it be that he knew we would end up mining after ascending, which is why he gave the Medicinal Pills to us Great Emperors?"

Liang Jie's voice began to tremble. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable this speculation seemed.

"Bastard! Damn that Mr. Cao!"

He growled, suddenly covering his Face as his shoulders began to shake. "Mother, your son is sorry. Your son was blinded by the desire for immortality and didn't think about this at all."

"Father, if your spirit is watching from heaven, please do not blame your son. It is all because of that Mr. Cao, it's all his fault!"

Gu Qingtian listened quietly to Liang Jie's incoherent weeping and cursing, and roughly understood.

This guy had been scammed.

"You just said 'us Great Emperors'." Gu Qingtian caught the key point. "Could it be that you aren't the only one who received a Medicinal Pill?"

Liang Jie wiped his Face, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yes, before my Ascension, eighty-four Great Emperors had already exchanged for Medicinal Pills in a similar way and ascended."

A hint of surprise flashed across Gu Qingtian's numb Face. "They also offered up their mothers?"

Then he shook his head. "No, the mothers of those veteran Great Emperors are mostly no longer in this world, and even if they were, they would be old and faded. That Mr. Cao probably wouldn't be interested."

He looked at Liang Jie. "And as for someone as young as your mother, she is probably the only one."

He had once chanced upon Liang Jie's mother; she had a Quasi-Emperor Peak cultivation and looked to be in her thirties.

Liang Jie shook his head. "Not all were mothers. Wives, daughters, sisters... as long as they are on the list of the ten beauties of the spirit realm, regardless of which generation, Mr. Cao accepts them all."

This Mr. Cao had quite an appetite.

Having dominated the Spirit Realm for many years, he himself had only possessed three of the ten beauties.

This Mr. Cao had actually taken in dozens of them. He wondered if he could even handle them all.

He shook off these irrelevant thoughts and asked the question that weighed heaviest on his heart: "How is my Gu Clan doing now?"

"Counting the years, I have already ascended for over a decade."

"Are my three wives still doing well?"

The methods he left for Luo Qingcheng were enough to instantly kill the Yin-Yang Heavenly Emperor.

Even if other Heavenly Emperors interfered, they would still be killed without exception.

Hearing this, Liang Jie's eyes darted away, his lips quivered, and he couldn't squeeze out a word for a long time.

Gu Qingtian's heart sank abruptly.

His body swayed, and he almost failed to stand steady.

Liang Jie quickly supported him. "Sword Immortal Gu, there is some good news, and there is also some bad news."

Gu Qingtian composed himself, his voice tight. "Tell me the bad news first."

Liang Jie whispered, "The bad news is: the Gu Clan is gone."

Gu Qingtian's vision went black, and he swayed once more.

Liang Jie hurriedly added, "The good news is, your three wives are all still alive."

Gu Qingtian froze, his chaotic thoughts making it impossible for him to comprehend the meaning of these words for a moment.

Forcing himself to calm down, he scanned his surroundings and dragged Liang Jie behind a more concealed, recessed rock wall.

"Tell me everything you know, from the moment the Yin-Yang Heavenly Emperor left the Myriad Laws Forbidden Abyss, all about the Gu Clan, from beginning to end." Gu Qingtian's voice was extremely low, carrying an unquestionable urgency.

Liang Jie licked his dry lips and began to narrate, "It went like this, and then like that..."

"What? Yun'er and Fenger are dead?!"

"Cao Bu isn't dead? And he even became a Great Emperor?!"

Gu Qingtian's eyes widened, the muscles on his Face twitching slightly, filled with utter disbelief.

Cao Bu, that trash of an Adopted Son.

The entire Gu Clan treated Cao Bu with respect only because they were giving Face to him, Gu Qingtian.

Otherwise, how could a grand Realm King listen to the arrangements of a mere Heavenly Bridge Realm Cultivator?

On the eve of his Ascension, he had faintly felt that something was off with Cao Bu—it was an elusive sense of detachment.

He had once entertained the thought of secretly getting rid of Cao Bu, but considering the other party's dedication over the years, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. He had only instructed his subordinates to clean things up after his Ascension.

Who would have thought that Cao Bu not only didn't die, but even his damaged Dantian had recovered, and he had even attained the Dao and become an Emperor in just ten short years!

"In just ten short years, from a mere piece of trash to attaining the Dao and becoming an Emperor." Gu Qingtian muttered, a sense of absurdity rising in his heart. "Cao Bu, what kind of Heaven-Defying Opportunity did you actually obtain?"

"Sword Immortal Gu?" Seeing his expression was off, Liang Jie asked carefully, "Hearing your words, was that Cao Bu supposed to die in the first place?"

Gu Qingtian did not answer. He breathed heavily, his chest heaving violently. "Yun'er, Fenger, how did you die so silently?"

"The protective Restrictions I left for you could only be broken by suffering thousands of attacks from a Great Emperor, or being besieged and attacked by a Heavenly Emperor more than ten times."

"Could it be that the Darkness Heavenly Emperor and the Heart Demon Heavenly Emperor also intervened?"

"It must be them, otherwise they wouldn't have participated in the plan to destroy my Gu Clan."

"Damn it! If I had known this day would come, I should have wiped them all out back then!"

He was now filled with deep regret.

Had he known this, he should have suppressed his cultivation and thoroughly dealt with the Yin-Yang Heavenly Emperor before Undergoing Tribulation to ascend to immortality.

Who could have known that even after becoming an Immortal, he still couldn't eliminate the suppression of the Myriad Laws Forbidden Abyss.

"Sword Immortal Gu, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Please restrain your grief," Liang Jie comforted in a low voice.

Bloodshot veins appeared in Gu Qingtian's eyes as he pressed further, "What happened after? My three wives, and Cao Bu, what happened to them later?"

Liang Jie sighed, "Later, Clan Chief Cao took the three head mistresses and, joining forces with over a dozen other Great Emperors, charged deep into the Myriad Laws Forbidden Abyss."

"Until my Ascension, there was no definitive news of them."

"Are they all dead?" Gu Qingtian's voice trembled.

Liang Jie shook his head. "I'm not sure about the others, but Clan Chief Cao should still be alive. Someone has seen him in Battle Emperor City."

He paused, then spoke somewhat hesitantly, "Sword Immortal Gu, there is something I don't know if I should say."

"Speak."

Liang Jie lowered his voice. "Actually, in our circle of Great Emperors, there is a matter that has been widely rumored in private."

"What matter?" Gu Qingtian stared at him.

Liang Jie hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "It is that your three wives are probably already Clan Chief Cao's women."

"What did you say?!" Gu Qingtian suddenly erupted, grabbing Liang Jie's collar, his eyes practically splitting open with rage. "Without proof, how dare you spout nonsense!"

Liang Jie said with difficulty, "There is indeed no ironclad proof."

"But we Great Emperors have all experienced our fair share of romantic affairs."

"Your Second Wife, Leng Yue, simply cannot hide the way she looks at Cao Bu."

"And the way Lady Su Li and Lady Luo Qingcheng look at Cao Bu is also by no means ordinary."

"At first, everyone thought they were mistaken. But later, several Great Emperors discussed it in private and felt there was at least an eighty percent certainty that the three ladies have already slept with Cao Bu."

Boom.

Gu Qingtian's body swayed, his hand clutching the collar loosened, and he slumped straight to the ground.

"No... impossible," his lips trembled, his eyes vacant. "Qingcheng wouldn't, and Li'er and Yue'er certainly wouldn't."

His fingers clawed unconsciously into the mine wall beside him, his nails splitting open. Blood mixed with stone dust slowly trickled down.

Liang Jie squatted to the side, looking at him in this state. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't speak.

They said eighty percent, but in reality, it was one hundred percent.

Gu Qingtian was still muttering in disbelief, "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible."

"Bu'er is incomparably loyal. It is impossible for him to do something so contrary to ethics."

"You must be lying to me. Yes, it must be so."

At this moment, heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the mining tunnel.

Two figures, one tall and one short, swayed out from the shadows.

It was exactly those two from the Brave Heroes Gang.

The big man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Yo, isn't this Beauty Gu? Hiding here and feeling sad?"

The Shorty rubbed his hands, his eyes sweeping over Gu Qingtian. "Big brother, is it our brothers' turn to take care of him today?"

Gu Qingtian suddenly looked up, a terrifying killing intent bursting from his eyes. "Get lost!"

The big man laughed out loud, stepped forward in a few strides, and grabbed a handful of his disheveled hair. "Still think you're the Sword Immortal of the Spirit Realm? Here, you're just mine dregs!"

One on each side, the two of them dragged Gu Qingtian toward an abandoned side cave nearby.

Gu Qingtian had resisted last time and suffered significant injuries.

This time, his struggles appeared weak and futile.

Liang Jie stared blankly at all this, only snapping out of it when the three of them were about to enter that dark mine cave.

"What are you doing?"

He took a step forward, wanting to stop them, but sensing that their auras were much stronger than his, he stopped in his tracks.

The big man suddenly turned around and grinned at him. "You're a newcomer, but your skin is quite nice. Shall we get to know each other sometime?"

The meaning in those eyes made a chill run down Liang Jie's spine.

With those words, the big man and Shorty dragged Gu Qingtian inside.

Before long.

Heavy panting echoed from the mine cave.

Liang Jie stood at the intersection of the main mining tunnel and the branch cave, his hands and feet completely cold, his eyes filled with shock.

He had never imagined that the grand Sword Immortal Gu, whose single sword strike once chilled nineteen provinces in the Spirit Realm, would fall to such a state.

He did not know how much time had passed.

The big man and Shorty pulled up their pants and walked out swaying, their Faces filled with satisfaction.

As they passed by Liang Jie, Shorty reached out to pat his Face, speaking with innuendo, "Kid, if you haven't dug up enough Immortal Stones in a year, you can come find me."

With that, the two whistled and swayed as they walked away.

Liang Jie stood frozen in place for a moment. As if possessed, he walked step by step into that side cave.

The light inside the cave was dim.

Gu Qingtian lay on the ground, his body covered in blue-purple bruises and filth.

His eyes were open, staring blankly at the uneven rocks on the ceiling, his gaze completely hollow.

Liang Jie squatted down and opened his mouth, not knowing how to comfort him.

Gu Qingtian suddenly spoke, "Are you here to laugh at me?"

"No!" Liang Jie quickly denied.

He licked his dry lips, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice extremely low, carrying an indescribable excitement: "Sword Immortal Gu, actually, I am the same kind of person as them."

Gu Qingtian's eyeballs turned extremely slowly, landing on his Face.

Liang Jie continued, "I have admired you for a long time."

"Back in the Spirit Realm, I often heard of your legends, and my heart was filled with boundless admiration."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"Since we've reached this point, why don't you..."

He reached out and lightly placed his hand on Gu Qingtian's shoulder.

Gu Qingtian did not move, nor did he speak; he simply looked at him, his eyes empty.

Liang Jie's heart rate accelerated, taking this silence as tacit consent.

"Since you aren't speaking, I'll take that as a yes."

He grinned, excitement surging in his eyes: "Consider this the payment for the news I told you."

A long while later.

Liang Jie straightened his clothes and walked out of the side cave.

His Face flushed with a shallow, unnatural red, and he looked back into the darkness of the cave.

"Sword Immortal Gu, take care. I'll visit often."

"Heh... hehe... hahaha..." Gu Qingtian's hoarse laughter echoed from the mine, sounding worse than weeping.

Liang Jie shook his head and muttered: "To be unable to withstand even this little blow—his Heart-Nature is truly poor. How did he ever achieve Immortal Ascension?"

He turned to leave.

But he had only taken two steps when—

Boom!!!

A muffled, thunderous roar erupted from deep within the mine behind him!

A faint wave of air, carrying dust, surged out of the cave entrance and ruffled the hem of Liang Jie's clothes.

Liang Jie stiffened, turned sharply to look at the now-collapsed mine, and his Face turned pale.

Detonating his Primordial Spirit—obliterating both body and soul.

This once immensely proud Sword Immortal Gu had chosen the most desperate way to find release.

He seemed to understand something in his heart.

The destruction of his Family, the tragic death of his child, the betrayal of his beloved wife, and the humiliation he had just suffered—all of this had given this Sword Immortal Gu the desire to die.

Perhaps the desire to die had been there for a long time; the news he brought had simply crushed his last shred of hope.

Deep within the mine, the dust slowly settled, and there was no longer a sound.

Liang Jie stood at the entrance, staring blankly ahead, not moving for a long time.

Finally, he sighed, turned around, and walked toward the main mining tunnel, his back soon disappearing into the depths of the dim, winding passageways.

That muffled sound seemed to still echo faintly between the cold mining walls.

The Immortal Domain 9527 Mine continued to operate, the clanging sounds of mining endless.

Gu Qingtian's self-detonation caused not the slightest ripple.

No one would remember him.

Perhaps, Yun An would remember those days and nights, remembering that lucky one he had favored.

...

Spirit Realm.

Fifty years after Cao Bu's Ascension.

Above the Pill Alliance, tribulation clouds gathered thickly.

Qin Tian stood in the air, his white robes billowing in the wind.

He held no sword in his hand, yet his entire body was suffused with a sharp aura that sliced through the void.

It was the Law of the Sword, pure to the extreme.

In the sky, a lightning dragon roared and crashed down.

Qin Tian looked up, his gaze calm.

The next moment, he formed his fingers into a sword and slashed lightly toward the sky-filling tribulation lightning.

The invisible Law of the Sword transformed into a sharp blade, rising against the heavens and slicing that violent lightning dragon in two!

One, two... the tribulation lightning fell continuously.

After eighty-one bolts of tribulation lightning, a strand of brilliant Emperor radiance descended from the Nine Heavens, enveloping him.

The Laws resonated, and ten thousand sword shadows appeared behind him, all trembling in unison as if paying homage to a new Emperor.

Sword Emperor, Qin Tian.

Fang Ruodan's former husband.

"From this day on, I, Qin Tian, am the new Sword Emperor."

His voice spread in all directions, and his Divine Sense expanded with it, covering the surrounding ten provinces.

However, the very next moment, his expression changed abruptly.

In his perception, within these ten provinces, there were only the auras of five Great Emperors.

"Strange, why has the Spirit Realm withered to this extent?"

Just as he was wondering, an old figure flew up from below the Pill Alliance.

The person had white hair and beard; it was the Grand Elder of the Pill Alliance.

He arrived before Qin Tian and bowed: "Congratulations, Vice Alliance Master, on attaining the Dao and becoming a Great Emperor."

Qin Tian nodded and immediately asked: "Grand Elder, where has Ruo Dan gone?"

"Why is there no aura of her in the surrounding ten provinces?"

"I cannot even sense my daughter's aura. Did something happen to them?"

The Grand Elder sighed deeply, stepped aside, and raised his hand: "Vice Alliance Master, please come with me."

Qin Tian's heart sank, and he immediately followed, asking as he walked: "How long have I been in seclusion? Why are Great Emperors so scarce now?"

The Grand Elder did not turn back, his voice low: "Vice Alliance Master, over fifty years ago, a mysterious Mr. Cao appeared in the Spirit Realm."

"He possessed a type of Medicinal Pill; as long as a Great Emperor had a woman from the ten beauties of the spirit realm by their side, they could trade with him."

"After taking that Medicinal Pill, within one hundred days, one would surely achieve Immortal Ascension."

"Most of the Great Emperors in the Spirit Realm today have already ascended."

Qin Tian's footsteps faltered: "That's not right. If this Mr. Cao truly had such ability, why wouldn't he ascend himself, instead giving such Heaven-Defying Medicinal Pills to others? Could there be a problem with the pills?"

The Grand Elder also stopped, as if he had only just considered this point.

He continued walking forward, his voice low: "At the time, all the Great Emperors were intoxicated by the temptation of Immortal Ascension; I fear no one thought it through carefully."

"Even if someone did, their Lifespan was nearing its end, so they had no choice but to gamble."

"And those who sensed something wrong are the only twenty-some Great Emperors remaining in the Spirit Realm today."

Qin Tian was silent, following the Grand Elder into the main hall of the Pill Alliance.

The Grand Elder took a yellowed letter from a hidden compartment and handed it over: "Back then, there was a major matter in the Pill Alliance that required the Alliance Master's decision, but the Alliance Master had already gone into seclusion."

"I intended to see if you, Vice Alliance Master, had come out of seclusion, but I found this letter in front of your cultivation cave."

He looked deeply at Qin Tian: "Vice Alliance Master, try to look on the bright side."

Qin Tian took it with confusion and unfolded the letter.

The next moment—

Boom!

His Great Emperor aura erupted uncontrollably, and the entire hall shook violently!

"Cao Bu—!!!"

He roared, turned around, and was about to tear through space to rush to the Gu Clan.

The Grand Elder hurriedly flashed in front of him to block his path.

"Grand Elder, what is the meaning of this!" Qin Tian's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the other man.

Cao Bu dared to control his wife—this hatred was irreconcilable!

The Grand Elder shook his head and sighed: "Vice Alliance Master, the Gu Clan no longer exists; it is now just an empty shell."

"What?" Qin Tian's pupils contracted: "Did the Yin-Yang Heavenly Emperor win?"

"The Yin-Yang Heavenly Emperor lost." The Grand Elder looked into the void, his voice ethereal: "He joined forces with the Darkness and Heart Demon Heavenly Emperors, yet they were still no match and ultimately fell."

"The Gu Clan was also destroyed in that battle."

"The only ones who survived were Cao Bu and Sword Immortal Gu's three wives."

Qin Tian's eyes surged with murderous intent: "Where is that Cao Bu now? I will hack him into ten thousand pieces!"

The Grand Elder pointed to the sky: "Ascended."

"Ascended?!" Qin Tian's entire body shook: "Rumor has it that his Dantian was defective, was it not?"

The Grand Elder said slowly: "The Alliance Master refined a Heaven-Defying Medicinal Pill for him, which repaired his Dantian."

"After that, his cultivation speed skyrocketed, and in just twenty years, he had ascended."

"It was also just a few days after Cao Bu's Dantian was restored that the Alliance Master announced her seclusion."

"A year later, I discovered this letter."

Qin Tian gripped the letter tightly, his body swaying, barely able to stand.

Ascension meant he could not take revenge.

Ascension likely meant that his wife and daughter had already met with misfortune.

His eyes were red, and he asked hoarsely: "In all these years, has no one seen the mother and daughter?"

The Grand Elder shook his head: "In previous years, some people saw the Alliance Master following Cao Bu, but ever since Cao Bu ascended, no one has seen them again."

"Vice Alliance Master, I suspect that the Alliance Master and her daughter have likely met with misfortune."

As for the possibility that Fang Ruodan had ascended along with Cao Bu, it was not that he hadn't thought of it.

But in this world, where would one find a treasure capable of carrying a Mortal during Ascension?

Even the legendary Immortal Artifacts would likely be unable to do so.

"Impossible, Ruo Dan would not die. And my daughter—I only saw her once, and we hadn't even named her yet."

"I hate this so much!"

Qin Tian roared, transformed into sword light, and rushed out of the Pill Alliance, his Great Emperor Divine Sense sweeping across the world without reservation.

He did not believe Fang Ruodan had just disappeared like this.

She must still be in some corner of the Spirit Realm.

He had to find them.

One year, two years, three years.

Qin Tian traveled throughout the Spirit Realm, searching no fewer than a thousand times.

Every time, there was no result.

He finally gave up.

After entrusting the Pill Alliance to the Grand Elder, Qin Tian began a long period of seclusion.

He had to Cultivate.

He had to achieve Ascension.

He had to go to the Immortal Realm, find Cao Bu, and take his revenge.

Time flowed on, and ten thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, under the watchful eyes of the powerful figures of the Spirit Realm, Qin Tian finally relied on his own cultivation to welcome the Opportunity for Ascension.

Before the brilliance of the Ascension passage had faded, Qin Tian's feet had already stepped onto a strange land.

Thick Spiritual Qi of the Immortals rushed toward him; before he could even absorb it, several cold auras had already locked onto him.

"Another new one who has ascended."

"Take him away!"

Several Immortal guards wearing uniform armor surrounded him and, without a word, prepared to take him to the mine.

Qin Tian naturally did not submit, but a guard at the Late Stage of the True Immortal Realm struck out, directly beating him until he had no power to fight back.

He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

They entered a rough iron-wood flying boat and flew toward the depths of a desolate mountain range.

With him were seven other equally bewildered Cultivators who had ascended.

Inside the cabin, there were two Immortals keeping watch.

Qin Tian hesitated for a moment, then stood up and walked over to the two men.

"What are you doing? Want to escape?"

The two guards immediately raised their weapons.

Qin Tian forced a smile and took out the only ten Immortal Stones he had from his robe.

The Spirit Realm was different now than it was ten thousand years ago; it was rich with Spiritual Qi, and those spirit crystal mines occasionally produced an Immortal Stone.

These were all he had saved over ten thousand years in the Spirit Realm, originally intended for cultivation after achieving Immortal Ascension.

Who would have thought he would encounter such a wretched business.

"Two Seniors, I am not escaping; I just want to ask, where are we going?"

He handed over the Immortal Stones, five for each.

Guard A weighed the Immortal Stones, his tone softening slightly: "For this, it wouldn't hurt to tell you. You are going to mine."

Qin Tian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Just mining; the Spirit Realm also had mines, and it wasn't as if he hadn't seen them before.

But he did not know that in the Immortal Realm, once you started mining, it could be for a lifetime.

If one could not break through to the Profound Immortal realm, one would never be able to leave that place.

"Senior, I also want to ask about someone named Cao Bu."

"I wonder if you have heard of him? Or if, among the Cultivators you have captured, there is anyone named Cao Bu?"

Guard A put away the Immortal Stones and kept his mouth shut.

Guard B spoke up: "I will answer this question."

Qin Tian cupped his hands: "Please, Senior, tell me."

Guard B said: "Among the people we have captured, there is no one named Cao Bu."

"However, ten thousand years ago, the 10086 Mine produced a Genius who shocked the Immortal Realm."

"Upon his Ascension, that person was already at the Profound Immortal cultivation level, and his combat power was comparable to the Perfection of the Earth Immortal Realm."

"With a single move, he suppressed the entire mine, later alarming the higher-ups and even attracting the legendary Immortal Emperors."

"That day, several Immortal Emperors nearly fought each other to take him as a Disciple."

"In the end, he chose none of them and instead bowed to the Lingxiao Immortal Emperor as his Adopted Father."

"Lingxiao Immortal Emperor?" Qin Tian was puzzled.

Guard B said: "If it weren't for that incident back then, Immortals of our level would never be able to come into contact with such things."

"It is rumored that the Lingxiao Immortal Emperor was the number one Genius of the Immortal Domain; it only took him three thousand years to walk the path that took others hundreds of millions of years, achieving the position of Immortal Emperor."

"It is a pity that the heavens were jealous of his talent; later, for some unknown reason, he fell."

Qin Tian hurriedly asked: "Then what about Cao Bu? Didn't he bow to the Lingxiao Immortal Emperor as his Adopted Father?"

Guard B slapped Qin Tian on the head and scolded: "Is Cao Bu someone you can address so directly? You must call him the Yin-Yang True God!"

"Yin-Yang True God?" Qin Tian's heart shook.

Although he didn't know what this title represented, it sounded extraordinary just by hearing it.

Guard B nodded: "The Yin-Yang True God's talent was said to be peerless throughout the ages; even his Adopted Father, the Lingxiao Immortal Emperor, had to pale in comparison before him."

"Ninety years after bowing to the Lingxiao Immortal Emperor, he attained the Dao and became an Immortal Emperor."

"It was then that the Lingxiao Immortal Emperor was ambushed; rumors say it was the joint work of the ten Immortal Emperors in the Dark Forbidden Zones."

"After that, the Yin-Yang Immortal Emperor, to avenge his father, single-handedly swept through the ten Dark Forbidden Zones, killing them until only eight remained today."

"Ten years later, he attained the Dao and became a True God, ascending to the Divine Realm."

"He became a True God in a hundred years?" Qin Tian felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

Was this really the Cao Bu he was looking for?

It was absolutely impossible.

Even if Cao Bu became a Great Emperor in twenty years in the Lower Realm, it was absolutely impossible for him to become a True God in the Immortal Realm in one hundred years.

"Believe it or not, the facts are as they are."

Guard B finished speaking, put away the Immortal Stones, and said no more.

Qin Tian silently returned to the corner and squatted down, his whole being feeling lost and dejected.

If that Yin-Yang True God was truly Cao Bu, then how could he take revenge?

The other party had already become a True God ten thousand years ago, while he had only just ascended.

Qin Tian looked at the desolate mountains rapidly receding outside the flying boat, sighed long and hard, and the last obsession in his eyes gradually dissipated.

Revenge, forget it.

Better to think about how to leave this place first.

A few hours later, the flying boat landed in front of a massive mine.

"Mine 9527, we have arrived."

The Overseer's cold voice rang out, and a rough pickaxe was thrown at Qin Tian's feet.

"From today on, your task is to mine. You must hand over fifty Immortal Stones every year. If you don't dig enough..."

The Overseer sneered, looking into the depths of the mine: "There are plenty of ways to make you regret your Ascension."

Qin Tian gripped the cold handle of the pickaxe, looking at the bottomless mine before him, his heart sinking to the bottom.

Soon, he followed the crowd into the depths of the dark mining tunnel.

Days passed by.

One day, a man with a kind Face found him.

"Brother, I heard you ascended from the Spirit Realm?"

Qin Tian looked at him vigilantly and nodded: "Yes, and you are?"

The man excitedly grabbed his hand: "Fellow townsman! I also ascended from the Spirit Realm!"

Qin Tian was stunned, his defenses immediately relaxing a little: "Senior is also from the Spirit Realm? That's great!"

"Brother, what should I call you?" the man asked with a smile.

Qin Tian replied: "Just call me Xiao Tian. I don't know how to address you, Senior?"

A flash of imperceptible darkness crossed the man's eyes, and he smiled: "My name is Yun An; just call me Brother Yun."

...

Immortal Realm.

The ninetieth year of Cao Bu's Ascension to the Immortal Realm.

Above the Lingxiao Immortal Sect, the sky suddenly tore open.

The three thousand Dao turned into tangible tribulations, descending with a roar one after another.

Dao fire burned the soul, the void corroded the bones, Karma backlash... Cao Bu endured all these tribulations head-on.

He stood in the center of the Void Realm, with Yin in his left hand and Yang in his right, the Yin-Yang Two Energies spinning wildly, gradually evolving into a vortex of Chaos that devoured all the tribulation light in the sky.

When the final Tribulation of Annihilation descended.

Boom!

Cao Bu's Physical Body and Primordial Spirit shattered simultaneously, transforming into billions of the most primitive Yin and Yang particles.

The next moment, the particles began to reorganize, Yin and Yang reversing life and death.

He stepped out from the void, and the fragments of the three thousand Dao merged entirely into his Immortal Platform.

"Hum."

The Heavenly Dao of heaven and earth was reshaped, and a Yin and Yang Dao Diagram that blotted out the sky unfolded beneath his feet, instantly covering billions of miles of mountains and rivers.

The Emperors Might of an Immortal Emperor swept across the thirty-three heavens of the Immortal Realm, ten thousand Dao resonated in unison, and the sun and moon shone together.

Cao Bu slowly opened his eyes.

His left eye was as blazing as the scorching sun, and his right eye was as cold as the moon.

The day and night of the Immortal Realm rotated once, and day and night alternated in the instant he opened his eyes.

"From this day forth." His voice was calm, spreading to every corner of the Immortal Realm: "I, Cao Bu, am the Yin-Yang Immortal Emperor."

As his voice fell, the Yin and Yang Dao Diagram rose above the Lingxiao Immortal Sect, transforming into an eternal mark.

The Dao of the Immortal Realm trembled slightly, formally acknowledging the birth of the new Emperor.

"Hahaha... Good! Good! Good!"

A loud, booming laugh came from below, shaking the sea of clouds.

"Worthy of being my, Lingxiao Immortal Emperor Ye Wuya's, Adopted Son! Bu'er, your ten uncles have all arrived, just in time to celebrate your great joy of attaining the Dao!"

Cao Bu looked down and saw Lingxiao Immortal Emperor Ye Wuya standing in front of the main hall, with ten figures with monstrous auras standing behind him.

He cupped his hands in salute, a faint smile on his lips: "Thank you, Adoptive Father."

His figure flashed, turning into a black and white stream of light as he landed in the magnificent palace below.

Night, Heavenly Extreme Hall.

Immortal mist swirled, jade pillars held up the sky.

Stars flowed across the hall's ceiling, directly stirring the starry sky of the Immortal Realm.

On the main seat, Lingxiao Immortal Emperor Ye Wuya raised his cup and laughed, the halo of the Dao surrounding his body like a solar wheel.

Although he had restrained his Emperors Might, the Immortal attendants in the hall still dared not look up, each holding their breath with lowered eyes.

Beside Ye Wuya sat five peerlessly elegant Immortal Venerable Dao Companions:

At the head of the left side, Medusa wore a water-blue flowing Immortal dress, her waist as slender as a willow, and vast water vapor swirled around her, as if she were carrying an entire ocean.

Beside her, Yan Lingji had hair red as fire, a smile playing on the corner of her lips, and a wisp of Origin Immortal Fire danced tamely at her fingertips, causing the surrounding space to slightly distort.

Next to her, Bibi Xi had blonde hair and green eyes, her exotic beauty sharp, with a thin sword hanging at her waist, its Sword Intent contained but not released.

At the head of the right side, Li Muwan was as gentle as jade, holding a jade flute, her temperament ethereal.

Beside her, Shen Youchu was delicate and moving, an ice crystal flickering between her brows, exuding a cold aura.

"Bu'er." Ye Wuya laughed heartily: "Today you have attained the Dao as an Immortal Emperor, and as your father, I am very gratified. Come, drink this cup!"

Cao Bu raised his cup in return, the Immortal brew in the cup rippling with Yin-Yang Two Energies, one black and one white rotating like swimming fish: "It is all thanks to Adoptive Father's many years of cultivation."

"Hahaha, we are Family, no need for such formalities!" Ye Wuya drank it all in one gulp.

On the left side of the hall, ten Immortal Emperors stood up at the same time.

They came from the ten great dark restricted areas of the Immortal Realm, each shrouded in blood energy and towering Evil Qi; they were Ye Wuya's sworn brothers—the Ten Forbidden Lords.

Beside each of them stood an Immortal Venerable Dao Companion, peerlessly beautiful with cold auras.

Cao Bu returned the salutes one by one, his gaze pausing for a fleeting moment when it swept over those Forbidden Lords' Dao Companions.

And none of this was noticed by anyone.

The banquet was lively, and the Immortal music was ethereal.

Dancers danced on clouds, the starry river flowing as they waved their long sleeves.

Beside Cao Bu, Liu Ruyan poured wine for him, her movements gentle.

Fang Qianqian leaned in and whispered something, causing Cao Bu to smile faintly.

Su Li, Leng Yue, and Luo Qingcheng also met his gaze, their eyes swirling with deep meaning.

The Emperors chatted and laughed, exchanging cups.

No one noticed.

The dark gleam that flashed in Cao Bu's eyes when he looked at these women.

And even less did anyone discover the occasional fleeting eye contact between him and the ten Forbidden Lords' Dao Companions opposite him.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere in the hall became even more heated.

Cao Bu's Face flushed with drunkenness, and suddenly he raised his hand, gesturing gently towards the hall: "Wives, why haven't you come into your husband's arms yet?"

The air suddenly went quiet.

The Immortal music stopped, and the dancers halted.

Ye Wuya's hand holding the cup froze in mid-air.

Under the shocked gazes of the eleven Immortal Emperors.

Medusa swayed her waist, sliding towards Cao Bu's left side like a swimming fish, leaning into his arms.

Yan Lingji's fingertip flame extinguished tamely, her red hair cascading as she leaned on his right shoulder.

Bibi Xi, Li Muwan, and Shen Youchu smiled at each other and stepped forward together.

"You?!" The Blood Sea Forbidden Lord stood up abruptly.

He saw his cold and elegant Dao Companion slowly stand up, not even glancing at him, walking straight towards Cao Bu.

The White Bone Forbidden Lord's Dao Companion, the Nether Forbidden Lord's Dao Companion, the Chaos Forbidden Lord's Dao Companion...

The ten Forbidden Lords' Dao Companions, under the livid gazes of their own husbands, gathered around Cao Bu, surrounding him in the center.

"Cao! Bu!"

Ye Wuya stood up suddenly, his Emperors Might erupting, the jade table beneath him cracking with a snap: "You—!"

"Adoptive Father, don't be hasty."

Cao Bu embraced the women beside him, his fingers gently stroking Bibi Xi's blonde hair, his tone calm: "There are some things I have held back for ninety years."

He looked around at those eleven furious imperial Faces and suddenly laughed up at the sky: "A real man living between heaven and earth, how can he live under others for so long!"

Before his laughter faded, he pushed away the women in his arms and stood up proudly: "As for this title of Adopted Son."

The Yin and Yang Dao Diagram appeared beneath his feet and expanded with a roar!

The black and white energies shot into the sky, tearing through the starry sky of the hall's ceiling: "How can I, a dignified man, be your Adopted Son!"

"Shameless rebellious son!" Ye Wuya was furious, Sword Qi ringing around his body, and the entire Heavenly Extreme Hall began to collapse.

"Big Brother, why are you still talking to him! This brat must be executed!"

"Kill—!"

The eleven Immortal Emperors attacked at the same time.

The Nether Yellow Springs poured down, the Chaos Lightning Pool descended, the chains of Karma wove through the void... killing moves capable of destroying the Immortal Realm completely enveloped the Heavenly Extreme Hall.

Cao Bu waved one hand, the Yin-Yang Two Energies turning into a barrier, protecting the women behind him.

He grasped the void with his right hand.

"Clang!"

The sound of an axe rang through the thirty-three heavens.

The phantom of an ancient giant axe traversed time and space, the left half of the blade as dark as eternal night, and the right half as blazing as the scorching sun.

Pangu Axe!

The first axe strike was aimed at Ye Wuya.

Yin and Yang were in Chaos, time and space were severed.

Ye Wuya's pupils constricted, and he summoned his life-bound Emperor Weapon, the Lingxiao Emperor Sword, the sword light spanning three hundred million miles.

"Clang—!"

The moment the axe and sword clashed, the Lingxiao Sword shattered.

The axe light swept past, Ye Wuya's imperial body was torn to pieces, and Immortal Emperor blood splattered across the sky.

"Big Brother!!" The Ten Forbidden Lords' eyes were splitting with rage.

"Run!" Someone shouted, and ten figures fled frantically in different directions.

Cao Bu stood holding the axe, his robes fluttering in the wind.

He looked at the fleeing Ten Forbidden Lords, his voice shaking the thirty-three heavens: "Uncles, why are you running away so miserably?"

The dark and blazing light on the Pangu Axe reflected on his cold side profile: "Adoptive Father treated you as brothers and held a banquet to celebrate my attaining the Dao, yet you took advantage of me offering a toast to sneak attack him."

With every word he spoke, his voice grew louder, and all living beings in the Immortal Realm could hear: "You killed my Adoptive Father!"

"Slander!" The Blood Sea Forbidden Lord, fleeing at the front, turned back and roared.

Cao Bu had already caught up behind him, the axe light descending like heaven's punishment: "Today, even if I, Cao Bu, must bear the crime of killing my uncles, I will seek justice for my Adoptive Father!"

"The first axe, for Adoptive Father, I cut down you ungrateful wretch!"

"No—!" The Blood Sea Forbidden Lord screamed.

The axe light annihilated everything, and the Lord of the Blood Sea Forbidden Area fell.

Cao Bu turned to kill the White Bone Forbidden Lord, his voice filled with grief and indignation: "The second axe, in memory of Adoptive Father's ninety years of cultivation!"

The White Bone Forbidden Lord desperately summoned his life-bound Emperor Weapon, the Ten Thousand Bone Skull Mountain, which grew in the wind to blot out the sky.

The axe light swept past, and the Ten Thousand Bone Mountain collapsed.

The third axe, the fourth axe, the fifth axe...

As Cao Bu chased and killed, he sternly accused them, every sentence piercing the heart: "The third axe, for the Adoptive Mothers!"

"The fourth axe, for the oath you swore when you became sworn brothers!"

"The fifth axe, for the Disciples of my Lingxiao Immortal Sect who died!"

The faster he spoke, the more fiercely he killed.

Every time the Pangu Axe swung down, an Immortal Emperor was cut down.

When the last Nether Forbidden Lord fell at the source of the Yellow Springs, Cao Bu stood in the void, holding the blood-stained Pangu Axe, and knelt on one knee in the direction of the Lingxiao Immortal Sect: "Adoptive Father, the ten ringleaders have been executed."

He raised his head, blood and tears sliding from his eyes.

The teardrops fell into the Immortal Realm, turning into a torrential rain of Imperial blood, staining the thirty-three heavens red: "Although I, Bu, have avenged you with my own hands, Adoptive Father is gone, and this hatred cannot be calmed!"

The thirty-three heavens of the Immortal Realm shook.

All living beings looked up, seeing the Heavenly Dao of the firmament wailing, and blood rain pouring down.

"The ten Forbidden Area Lords are all dead! Even Lingxiao Immortal Emperor has fallen?!"

"What on earth happened?!"

"Did Lingxiao Immortal Emperor really die at the hands of his own brothers?!"

No one knew the secrets behind it.

The history books of the Immortal Realm only recorded: The newly promoted Yin-Yang Immortal Emperor Cao Bu, to avenge his Adoptive Father, single-handedly cut down ten Immortal Emperors of the forbidden areas, staining the firmament with blood.

Not long after, Lingxiao Immortal Sect.

Cao Bu returned to the reorganized Heavenly Extreme Hall.

The women saw him return and flocked to him.

"Husband, has it all been resolved?" Li Muwan asked softly, her eyes full of concern.

Cao Bu put away the Pangu Axe, holding Li Muwan's slender waist with one hand and embracing Medusa with the other, smiling: "Rest assured, not one was left."

The coldness on Bibi Xi's Face faded away, revealing a charming smile: "That's great, finally we don't have to hide anymore."

Cao Bu stroked her fair cheek: "Ninety years of planning, today it is accomplished."

Yan Lingji stepped forward, her slender arms wrapping around Cao Bu's neck, her red lips close: "Cao Bu, since they are all dead, shouldn't we celebrate properly?"

Cao Bu lifted her chin, looking around at the peerless beauties filling the hall, and laughed heartily: "That suits me perfectly—today, we celebrate without end."

The women smiled at each other, undressing, their Immortal bodies glowing like jade.

Cao Bu raised his hand, the Yin-Yang Two Energies turning into a huge canopy, covering everyone.

The spring scenery within the canopy was boundless, and soft moans could be faintly heard.

It was truly:

Immortal Emperor Dao Companions secretly defected, a hundred-year web of passion binding the heroes.

Wind and clouds rose on the Yin-Yang couch, who would have expected soldiers after the celebration banquet.

Ten years later.

Cao Bu took his one thousand wives and concubines into the ten thousand fragrances paying homage to the phoenix diagram, stepping on the void and standing in the air.

The Pangu Axe in his hand vibrated.

"Open!"

The Chaos parted, and the firmament darkened.

Thirty thousand divine tribulations descended one after another, lightning, fire, and gale wind condensing into a world-destroying wheel that pressed down.

Cao Bu swung his axe upwards.

The axe blade was silent, the tribulation wheel split from the middle, turning into rain of light and dissipating.

The second tribulation was the Heart Demon tribulation, past phantoms surging in.

Cao Bu did not stop his steps, the axe light swept past, and the illusions were all shattered.

The third tribulation was the Karma tribulation, thousands of threads entangling his body and binding his soul.

He twisted his hand, and all the chains snapped at once.

The tribulations stacked layer upon layer, and heaven and earth had become a furnace.

Cao Bu's figure gradually faded, only the man and the axe becoming brighter and brighter.

By the twenty-nine thousandth tribulation, time and space froze, and a black spear shot through the air from the long river of time and space!

Cao Bu blocked with his axe horizontally.

"Clang—!"

The webbing between his thumb and index finger split, and Imperial blood splattered.

Where the blood droplets fell, all things grew wildly.

Finally, the thirty thousand tribulation powers collapsed into a point of pitch-black light, hovering three inches in front of his glabella.

Cao Bu stared for a moment, then suddenly raised the axe.

He struck down at himself.

Not striking the tribulation, but striking himself.

Cutting away the last trace of obsession with [Undergoing Tribulation].

The pitch-black point of light annihilated silently.

The firmament opened, and the divine stairs descended.

Cao Bu looked back at the Mortal world, and the Pangu Axe turned into a stream of light and submerged into his glabella.

He took a step upward, stepping onto the divine stairs.

Peak of Mount Tai.

Immortal Emperor Huang's eyes contained mysterious yellow, his voice like a great bell: "Yin reaches its limit and Yang is born, Yang reaches its limit and Yin turns. Respectfully sending off Senior!"

Peak of Mount Hua.

Immortal Emperor Ye's body was filled with Sword Intent soaring to the heavens: "Using Yin and Yang as a blade, cleaving open the eternal night! Congratulations to Senior for becoming a God!"

Peak of Mount Heng.

Immortal Emperor Chu cupped his hands and laughed, his heroic spirit reaching the clouds: "Yin and Yang rotate, forming a Universe themselves! Immortal Emperor Cao, take care on the road ahead!"

Peak of Mount Heng (Northern).

Cao Bu's parents had tears in their eyes, reluctant to see him off.

Boss Cao led all his younger brothers to kneel together, their voices shaking the clouds: "Respectfully sending off Father to Ascend to the Divine Realm!"

Peak of Mount Song.

The experts of the Immortal Realm congratulated together, their voices shaking the thirty-three heavens: "Respectfully sending off True God Cao! Yin-Yang Dao Merged! May the Divine Dao prosper forever!"

Cao Bu did not look back, leaving only a calm voice that spread across the thirty-three heavens: "Thank you all, Fellow Daoists, for seeing me off."

"Everyone, take care."

"If fate allows, we shall meet again in the Divine Realm!"

As his voice fell, his figure turned into a black and white stream of light, rushing into the depths of the firmament.

The firmament of the Immortal Realm returned to clarity.

Immortal Emperors Huang, Ye, and Chu were just about to turn and leave.

Immediately after, the three of them paused their steps in unison.

In a trance, a voice, extremely familiar, crossed endless time and space and rang in their ears: "Cao Bu has drifted for half a life, only regretting not meeting a wise master."

"If Your Majesty does not abandon me, I, Bu, am willing to bow to you as—Adoptive Father!!!"

...

...

...

[End!]