Translator: Fate Translation Checker: Silavin The Immortal Kings that were gathered here now would not have believed these things about the ancient past if Ao Ling had not previously spoken of them. There were even more distant and ancient eras before the Forbidden Epoch, including numerous flourishing civilisations. The art of cultivation that they knew of today had actually been passed down from those ancient eras. Furthermore, the stability of the current cultivation system was in fact a result of numerous Ancestors’ efforts to refine and perfect it. A long time ago, titles such as Immortal King and Immortal Emperor were just general terms. There had only been a vague idea of the Realms of cultivation. “You have always admired ‘that being’ the way Father did, Third Brother, but you have to accept reality… He is no longer the same person we all looked up to in the past. He is now cold and indifferent as if he had become an entirely different person.” Ao Ling said quietly with a complicated gaze. She had attended the gathering of Immortal Kings at Queen Lunar Residence and saw Gu Changge with her own eyes. His seemingly ingrained indifference and callousness towards all living beings made him feel like a total stranger to her. Perhaps Gu Changge did not know her. But, in her youth, she heard a lot about him. Even her Father who was one of the most powerful beings alive showed nothing but deference and respect towards him. He said that after the great battle, the Mountains and Oceans True World suffered devastating losses and the True World’s vitality declined, but none of the other True Worlds had dared to attack them because that being was still around to protect them. “I understand what you’re saying, but I’m inclined to believe that he must have had a reason for what he did.” Ao Teng shook his head. He knew what Ao Ling meant by her words. As soon as he woke up, he immediately took the time to understand the present world. Therefore, he knew who Ao Ling was speaking of and what had happened during the Forbidden Epoch. Ao Teng knew that the Forbidden Epoch came before the Second Great Purge. And yet, just as the Great Purge was upon the world, that being had chosen to annihilate the world and cause the collapse of the epoch. Everyone died and was buried in darkness. But, why were so many people awakening now then? Was it not too much of a coincidence, considering the present situation? Ao Teng speculated that there could be an unknown reason to explain everything. “I will find the chance to meet with him myself. We just don’t understand him enough, so how can we come to a conclusion about these things? The future generations will determine right from wrong. It is not our place to judge.” Ao Teng waved his sleeve. His stern face turned a little grim. Ao Ling wanted to respond, but she stopped herself. She did not know how to refute her Older Brother. She too felt that there could be some kind of secret behind all of this. The Immortal Kings remained silent. It was not their place to get involved in this conversation either. Ao Teng gave the order to gather the might of the Endless Sea Clan. He planned on heading over to the Boundless Battlefield to take a look for himself. As the Son of the Founding Dragon Ancestor, he had once led the Dragon Race into a battle Against Heaven. He had not been afraid of death then, and he would certainly not be bothered by the so-called Great Purge this time. In his eyes, even though the Boundless Expanse was boundless and filled with numerous perils, Mountains and Oceans True World had already survived two Great Purges. This meant that the world itself had been elevated in some way. Many powerful experts had to have risen throughout these years. Therefore, in terms of strength as a whole, they did not need to fear this Great Purge. … Over at the Azure Sea Realm, the Elders of the City of No Return saw an unexpected person. A muscular man dressed in a silver robe rode in on a white horse. A machete was hung at his side. He looked like he was in his thirties, but he had infinite wisdom in his eyes. “You’re all grown up now, Cen Shuang…” The man’s eyes softened. He could not resist smiling faintly when he saw Cen Shuang who was covering her mouth in shock. Her eyes were teary. The oldest of the Elders was stunned with disbelief too. “Uncle Yi… You’re still alive!?” Cen Shuang’s voice was shaky. Her eyes misted over as she choked out those words. She had clearly witnessed his death in the Immortal Palace. He died beneath that palm without even being able to put up a fight. His body had been shattered into pieces and his Soul was destroyed. So, how was it possible that she was seeing him now? “Are you Commander Yi? Lord Yi?” The Elders recognised the man and exclaimed in trembling voices. They could not mask their shock. This man was the most trusted subordinate of Cen Shuang’s Father, the Immortal Star King. One could describe them as bosom friends. Commander Yi was also a powerful figure who could single-handedly hold off an entire army of millions of soldiers. “I never thought I would see so many familiar faces again, though you’ve all aged by quite a bit now.” The man in the silver robe glanced at the familiar silhouettes before him with a look of nostalgia in his eyes. Cen Shuang and the others were emotional too. They never thought they would meet an old acquaintance here today, and at a place like this as well. It was something completely unimaginable. With a plaintive expression, the middle-aged man in the silver robe reminisced with them and described what happened to him. Initially, he thought he died during the chaos in the Immortal Palace after being hit by the Demon Lord. To his surprise, he woke up at a random place many years later. However, he had forgotten about his past and only recently regained his memories. After hearing the news, he set out in search of the Azure Sea Realm. He was confused. He was supposed to have died, so how did he come back to life? “Recently, there has been a lot of news of numerous ancient beings from past epochs emerging once more, including many who had supposedly died.” The Elders of the City of No Return harboured complicated emotions over this. Naturally, they had heard of such reports. Initially, they thought these were simply rumours. None of them expected this old commander to appear before them in this manner. “Does this mean that Father might not have died in that upheaval too?” Cen Shuang became quite agitated. Someone whose death she witnessed was now standing in front of her again. Her Father’s cultivation had been even stronger, so there was a chance he could be coming back to life too. “Then, just what was the reason for the upheaval back then?” This thought left Cen Shuang feeling even more perplexed. All of a sudden, she remembered that when Gu Changge abruptly appeared in the City of No Return, he said he was looking for someone, though he did not say who it was. From the looks of it now, he was probably looking for someone who had died during the Forbidden Epoch. [Did that not mean that he knew about this all along? He knew that those from the past had not died, or rather, would not have died. Could it be that he did everything on purpose?] A bold guess shot through Cen Shuang’s mind. … Soon, many years passed. The situation in the Upper Realm and the Immortal Domain became more and more turbulent. The return of many experts put an end to the chaos, and a rare moment of peace returned to the lands. Nevertheless, everyone including the ordinary cultivators could sense the undercurrent. This was merely the calm before the storm. During this time, all kinds of news surfaced. Some said that the emergence of the ancient beings was an omen of the major upheaval that was happening in the world. Naturally, other explanations were given. Some believed that there were beings who would step forward in these troubling times and save the world. The supreme experts from the various Families and Sects returned, which led to a marked change in the rankings of various Forces of the world. Even the Immortal King Families in the Immortal Domain dared not underestimate some of the Forces from the Upper Realm. In a way, the Immortal Domain was rooted in the Upper Realm. Some of the Families in the Immortal Domain had come from the Upper Realm, so their ancestral roots lay there. “Even the ancient imperial Ancestors of the Unrivalled Celestial Dynasty from bygone eras have emerged, including the first sovereign…” Yue Mingkong massaged her brows as she rested on a chaise in a palace in the Divine Empire. She found it difficult to grasp the whole situation of the Upper Realm right now. She was a regressor, but everything that was happening was entirely unexpected to her. Nothing was happening as per her memories. Still, she no longer cared about that. Perhaps the memories of her past life had only been a dream. “Isn’t it better like this? All manner of living beings, Demons and Humans alike, are emerging from the shadows now.” Gu Changge chuckled. Dressed in a simple green robe, he was standing in the palace while the hazy patch of the void in front of him acted like a mirror that reflected all the various happenings in the world. Everything was just as he predicted, but this was only the beginning. The chess pieces he moved had not truly come forth yet. Yue Mingkong knew he had other plans, so she was not all that worried. Lately, she had been hearing far too many rumours about Gu Changge. It seemed as if his silhouette could be found all across the River of Time, even during the Primordial Mythical Era and the Forbidden Epoch. Following the reemergence of the ancient beings, many secrets that had been buried in time were unearthed as well. Even ordinary living beings knew about these periods in history and learned about the hidden truths of the past. The rumours regarding Gu Changge were highly debated. Some considered him a vicious Demon who was the embodiment of evil for he had destroyed the ancient epoch and brought chaos to the world. Others believed that all the present living beings were indebted to him as he had personally reunited the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm. He even got the Other Domain to slowly merge with the Immortal Domain too. The refinement of the World Principles and the surge in Fortuity were credited to him as well. Nevertheless, Yue Mingkong did not care about all of that. Even when she found out that Gu Changge was the Successor of Demonic Arts a long time ago, she chose to stand resolutely beside him despite knowing that it meant standing against the rest of the Upper Realm. “I think I’ll need to enter into seclusion for a very long time,” Yue Mingkong said softly.