Translator: Fate Translation Checker: Silavin Amidst the magnificent palace with rows of pavilions, the current Emperor of Ascension Celestial Dynasty stared out onto his vast territory with a look of sorrow. His fists tightened beneath his sleeves. “How can I just leave at such a pivotal time… These are my people and my territory… Ascension Celestial Dynasty was established right here in the Northern Dipper Star Territory and we’ve been here for countless generations now. Are we to turn our backs on our homeland and leave for some other territory now?” He could not bear to do it. He could not resign himself to parting with all of this. Danger loomed over their heads. They did not know what was going to happen. Perhaps the entire Northern Dipper Star Territory would be destroyed, and maybe even the Resplendence Universe itself. The Emperor of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty knew this better than anyone else, but he could not bring himself to leave behind his people and the Dynasty. The Ascension Celestial Dynasty was the oldest Force in the Northern Dipper Star Territory. It had been established by Empress Huang Yu, the first True Daoist after the Era of the Great Annihilation. Empress Huang Yu meant a lot to those from the Northern Dipper Star Territory. In the eyes of countless people, she was undoubtedly the top empress who possessed unparalleled cultivation. After she became the Empress, she was always generous with her knowledge of the Great Dao and left a lot of her comprehension and knowledge behind. Even though it was now an era when True Daoists roamed freely and carried the destiny of the world, they dared not disrespect Empress Huang Yu either. To them, Empress Huang Yu was the forerunner. In a difficult time when no one was able to cultivate, she forged the path of Dao for those who came after her. All of the True Daoists who came after her were forever indebted to her. “Your Majesty, you cannot be hesitant and irresolute at a time like this. All of the Forces who can leave have left. Not many of them remain within the Northern Dipper Star Territory…” “As long as the Ascension Celestial Dynasty’s heritage and legacy remains, we will be able to rebuild ourselves once more. The longer we stay in the Northern Dipper Star Territory, the more dangerous it becomes for us. I beseech you to stop hesitating, Your Majesty.” “All will be lost once the Northern Dipper Star Territory has been destroyed. It will all be gone and there won’t be anything we can do…” The officials kneeled and bowed with mournful expressions as they pleaded for the Emperor of Ascension Celestial Dynasty to leave. Alas, they knew what he was concerned about. “If only the Prime Ancestor were still here… Everything would be fine…” the Emperor of Ascension Celestial Dynasty lamented. He was referring to the first Emperor of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty who was also Empress Huang Yu’s disciple. The current Emperor did not want to go down in history as the one who led to the collapse of the Dynasty, though he could not have done anything to stop it anyway. However, if he packed up all of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty’s legacy and hidden might, and fled to a different territory, it meant that he was abandoning their territory and their people. In the eyes of others, he would be a weak and spineless Emperor who abandoned his people and led to the collapse of the Dynasty! Such humiliation would besmirch his name for countless years to come. Rumble! All of a sudden, a dazzling golden light emerged from the depths of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty. The sky was awash with light as that sacred yet alarming reverberations floated up and down. “That’s…” The Emperor of Ascension Celestial Dynasty and all his officials who were in the palace hall with him had frozen in shock. They were looking at the deepest part of the palace grounds with wide-eyed stares. That was Ascension Celestial Dynastry’s restricted area. Even the Imperial Ancestors would not approach that area unless absolutely necessary. Everyone guessed that it was the place where an old ancestor of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty had retreated into seclusion. However, no one knew for certain whether there was indeed an Ancestor in there. Ever since Empress Huang Yu, none of the future generations from the Ascension Celestial Dynasty ever became True Daoists. The strongest among them were merely in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm. No one was ever able to make contact with the Nivana Realm. “Perhaps an Old Ancestor has awakened…” The Emperor and the other officials were all stunned, excited, and agitated. They kept their eyes fixed on that location. “That’s not the aura of a Quasi-Nirvana Realm expert…” “Why would a True Daoist emerge from that part of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty out of the blue…” “That’s not the aura of an awakening imperial artifact either. It’s the almighty Nirvana Realm. How could that be? Didn’t we only ever have one True Daoist? She only appeared during that time after the Era of the Great Annihilation. It was too long ago.” Meanwhile, among the Forces within the Northern Dipper Star Territory who had not fled yet, their strongest experts were also staring in the direction of Ascension Celestial Dynasty with astounded looks. The light was far too majestic. It was like a pillar of light that ripped the sky apart and broke through the universe as it covered all the lands with its terrifying presence. As of now, there was not a single True Daoist within the Northern Dipper Star Territory. There were still the ancient beings in the Forbidden Areas, who had cut themselves off from the secular world. After so long, their auras had greatly weakened. They were now far weaker than a real True Daoist. As for those in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm, that was an entirely different matter. After all, compared to the number of True Daoists, not just in the Northern Dipper Star Territory, there seemed to be no trace of a True Daoist’s aura anywhere within the vast and boundless Resplendence Universe. Across the other Star Territories, some of the Quasi-Nirvana Realm experts as well as the ancient beings who had cut themselves off, felt the reverberations and reacted in disbelief. After all these years, the aura of someone in the Nirvana Realm had risen from the depths of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty. It was so powerful and formidable that everyone in the surrounding territories trembled and fell to their knees. “How could there be a True Daoist now? It is definitely not the awakening of a Nirvana Grade Artifact. This is a real True Daoist…” “It’s not a sudden breakthrough into becoming a True Daoist either. Could it be the True Daoist used a secret technique or some other method to avoid the Five Immortal Decays?” All of the most powerful cultivators were shocked. They immediately recalled the founder of the Ascension Celestial Dynasty. They began to wonder if there was still hope for the Resplendent Universe after all. “That’s impossible. I fear that even an Immortal would not be able to change anything, let alone a True Daoist. The Resplendent Universe is simply far too weak compared to the other ancient universes…” “The other ancient universes have over ten True Daoists in total whereas we only have one.” Many of the most powerful cultivators chuckled bitterly. The barest glimmer of hope that bubbled up in their hearts quickly dissipated once more. They did not think that the awakening of a True Daoist would change anything. Even so, they still kept their eyes on the Northern Dipper Star Territory. Boom! Divine light broke through the clouds as some kind of seal seemed to have been broken. Everyone saw the magnificent silhouette of a woman dressed in a phoenix dress. Her Dharma Body dazzled brilliantly as she stood above Ascension Celestial Dynasty. Even though she simply stood still, she was still giving off a world-shattering aura. It was as if the universe could not support her true body. “It’s Empress Huang Yu! It’s her!” “How did she manage to stay alive after all this time…” “I can’t believe it. The first-ever Nirvana Realm expert has emerged right at this very moment!” “Is that really Empress Huang Yu?” Everyone was thunderstruck. They could not calm down. She was the first to reach the Nirvana Realm after the Era of the Great Annihilation. She had the Celestial Phoenix bloodline and possessed formidable innate talents. Her true body was that of a Celestial Phoenix and she would not have simply stopped at the Nirvana Realm had she been born in a different era. After that era, all Dao Ability had been destroyed and all traces of cultivation vanished from the world, but she was able to carve out a path herself. All the generations after her were in awe of her bold accomplishments. … While those within Resplendence Universe were stunned by the unbelievable appearance of Empress Huang Yu. Chaos Qi exploded in the distant depths of the universe. The flashes of light that filled the air were like blades as they cut through the universe to clear paths for the grand processions from the Upper Realm who were drawing close. That terrifying aura which seemed capable of turning the entire universe outside down made everyone tremble in fear. One after the other, ancient battleships covered in blood and bones broke through the sky as they shot towards the Resplendence Universe. Even though there had been numerous perils along the way and many had died from the sea of Chaos Qi, it did nothing to quell the alarming might of these powers. After all, the Upper Realm was the centre of the universe and there were far too many ancient worlds under its direct influence. Just a single corner of the Upper Realm alone had existed far longer than the Resplendence Universe. Rather than saying that the Upper Realm was charging towards the Resplendence Universe, it was more apt to say that the other universes were barrelling right towards it with all their hidden might unleashed to bear down on Resplendence Universe. “I sense the aura of the Tree of Epoch. It is indeed in this part of the universe. It’s not very far from here…” Inside one of the ancient battleships, an ancient being with an exceedingly formidable aura spoke up. His eyes were gleaming brightly. He stared at the haze of Chaos Qi ahead of him and sensed the World Principles that seeped out from that area. The World Principles soothed him. All of his pores seemed to open up as they greedily gobbled them up. “I must be the first to get my hands on the Tree of Epoch! Once our True Ancestor becomes an Immortal, we will be the most eminent clan in the entire Upper Realm!” “We must seize the Tree of Epoch.” Other formidable figures were gathered inside the ancient battleship. Although they were not hidden experts, the weakest among them was in the Peak Quasi-Nirvana Realm! They stared off into the distance as their bodies churned with alarming auras. They were the first to lead the charge over, and although they had sacrificed many in this process, their confidence had not been affected in any way. That was because they could sense that this part of the universe was extremely far from the centre of the Upper Realm. The World Principles here were extremely fragmented. Even though the Tree of Epoch was slowly repairing the environment, it would take a long time before this part of the universe could birth enough experts. In other words, the mightiest in this universe would not be all that powerful and would be few in number too. Rumble! Soon, the ancient battleship shot towards Resplendence Universe. The dazzling runes on the battleship coursed as it cleared a path through the Chaos Qi and the walls of the universe. The vanguard of the Upper Realm had finally arrived! The terrifying power made all of Resplendence Universe tremble. The World Principles were on the verge of cracking under the pressure. It could not handle the newcomers and soon, the planets began to crumble into dust. The ancient battleship, one as massive as an ancient continent, forced its way through the universe and descended. It was filled with an ocean of living, all bearing weapons or riding beasts. Everyone trembled at the sight. They could not even see the end of the crowd. This was only the vanguard. The rest of the army that came along was even more terrifying. “The World Principles of this universe is trying to suppress us, but that’s all it can do. It can barely bear the presence of True Daoists. Once the True Ancestor arrives, he alone will be able to squash this entire Universe…” “Hahaha. The Tree of Epoch appeared here of all places! Isn’t it a sign that it’s simply waiting for us to harvest the fruit?” The formidable figures atop the ancient battleship guffawed among themselves once they sense the World Principles of this universe. They were not at all worried that this place would pose a threat to them. [There isn’t even a True Daoist. What a weak universe. It isn’t worthy of the efforts the Upper Realm has put in. To think we had jumped into action as soon as we heard about it.] Full of arrogance, they sent their divine sense out and investigated the place without caution. They pushed forth their auras as True Daoists and did not bother to hide anything. Then, based on what they found out, they drove their ancient battleship straight towards the Northern Dipper Star Territory. They ignored the other Star Territories they encountered along the way. They were not worth their attention and they did not want to waste any time. After all, the whole Resplendence Universe posed no threat to them. However, the other Forces that were coming over were not weaker than them by any means. There would be hidden experts coming over too so they had to make the most of their time and seize the Tree of Epoch first. “Forces from beyond have come…” “This day has come at last. How can we possibly put up a fight? Just from the auras alone, we can tell that there are at least four True Daoists.” Among these Star Territories, the Forces who once had a True Daoist among their ranks immediately brought out their Nirvana Grade Artifacts and awakened them in preparation for a fight. Nevertheless, they began to despair when they sensed the auras of four True Daoists on the ancient battleship. Furthermore, there were Quasi-Nirvana Realm experts for the rest of the army who followed closely behind. According to Resplendence Universe’s records, they could never have two True Daoists at the same time. Their environment would not allow it. It could not withstand such existences. However, on this very day, four True Daoists appeared at once. Just a wisp of their auras was enough to make the worlds explode. In the face of True Daoists, all others were nothing more than ants who could not put up a fight. Even though the Quasi-Nirvana Realm expert brought out Nirvana Grade Artifacts and awakened them all, it was very likely that the artifacts would simply get shattered into pieces. This was Resplendence Universe’s darkest hour. It was the day of the apocalypse. All living beings failed to conjure up even the slightest shred of hope. Their hearts were filled with hopelessness and despair. Meanwhile, deep within the Ascension Celestial Dynasty, divine light blazed as a light shower rained down. Empress Huang Yu’s Dharma Body appeared high up above and unleashed the aura of a True Daoist. However, the Emperor of Ascension Celestial Dynasty and the others who rushed over stood frozen in a daze when they saw what was in front of them. They were filled with disbelief. They found a platform, and all that was sitting on top of it was a skull that was as clear as jade! The massive platform was glowing as Grand Runes circled it. Principles were interweaving as clouds of Chaos Qi fell. They did not see any sign of Empress Huang Yu’s silhouette. All they saw was a skull with a weak spiritual symbol that cast the Dharma Body. It seemed to be channelling some kind of emotion and… was searching for something.