Within the Serene Slumber Palace, on the twelfth planet of the Yunyang System.

Three points of light floated within the hall, as dark and inky as a vat of black dye. One of these points, the size of a fist, was milky white at its core, encased in a shell of pitch black, radiating a chilling, malevolent aura of deathly Sha. To its left floated another speck, no larger than a thumb, entirely purple, faintly emitting an air of majesty that inspired worship and aspiration. As for the one on the right, only the size of a mung bean remained, golden in hue, flickering weakly like a candle in the wind, on the verge of extinguishing.

The three points clustered tightly together. The two outer lights had already lost the ability to move; only the central mass of blackness continued to turn slowly, seemingly observing the situation within the Luozhu Hall.

Neither the naked eye nor divine sense could penetrate the viscous, glue-like currents of black air that permeated the vast main hall. Silently, one could faintly perceive swirling, indistinct images flickering within the flow. These seemed to be scenes of brutal slaughter and epic battles, or perhaps diagrams charting the rise and fall of the myriad stars across the heavens. Occasionally, a glimpse of a purple cloud palace would flash by, accompanied by dancing golden dragons, swirling colored phoenixes, and the scattering of celestial light-rain—profound, inscrutable, and beyond description.

Directly in front of the three points of light stood a massive lotus dais, carved from some unknown black material. Below it, thirteen terrifyingly hideous, utterly black demons supported the platform. Above, a throne was carved, featuring nine monstrous, legless dragons, radiating a stern and oppressive demonic majesty.

A towering man, three meters in height, with a pale, beardless face, possessed a striking handsomeness that was sharply contradicted by two faint, star-silver fangs protruding from his mouth, shattering the overall impression and imbuing him with an aura that was both deeply perverse and overwhelmingly dominant. Clad in brocade robes and a nine-layered ceremonial crown, a purple-gold insignia and a pearl token adorning his waist, he leaned back against the throne, staring blankly upward.

Beside him lay a set of heavy, imposing armor, entirely black, within which the faint glimmer of countless stars could be perceived. The armor sat heavily, and slanted against it rested a Fangtian Huaji spear, nine zhang and nine chi in length. Nearby, leaning casually, was a massive treasured sword, nearly three meters long and immensely thick. This armor, the halberd, and the sword perpetually exuded an intense, bloody malevolence, as if they had just bathed in the lifeblood of billions, causing all observers to shudder.

After an unknowable passage of time, the man, devoid of any discernible life sign, suddenly drew a deep breath. His chest heaved, and a sliver of light faintly pierced the emptiness in his eyes.

After catching his breath a few times, a weak, powerless voice drifted from his chest, accompanied by a few cold, mocking, and slightly playful chuckles.

"How interesting. The acquired ants of today grow bolder, and their methods are worthy of admiration. To dare destroy the 'Earth Origin Star'—truly commendable courage."

After a few strange laughs, the man painfully lifted his head and offered a slight smile toward the three clusters of light before him. "But one cannot blame them entirely. Although the Earth Origin Star was one of the Three Great Origin Stars of the Cosmos, it had long lost its Primordial Chaos Spirit Marrow. And after those few calamities, it was shattered to pieces. To have such meager, broken remnants destroyed is, well, not worth grieving over."

The central black cluster of light shifted, and the voice of the Corpse Emperor echoed from within: "Senior, who are you? Why have you confined us?"

"Confined? Such impoliteness from juniors. If this Sovereign had not drawn you into the Luozhu Hall, though you managed to sever a sliver of your soul through secret arts, how could you have escaped the myriad venomous winds and clouds of Luozhu Planet?"

The man frowned slightly, reaching up to scratch his head with a hint of awkwardness, and chuckled dryly. "This Sovereign... ah, well, in this state, propriety matters little. This Sovereign is one of the Nine Luminaries Star Lords—the Luozhu Demonic Star Lord. I am known as a great primordial sage among the Constellations. Have you heard my name?"

The Corpse Emperor was greatly alarmed, crying out, "Luozhu Star Lord! It is truly... it is truly..."

The Luozhu Star Lord chuckled a few times; he shifted his posterior somewhat unnaturally and casually patted the Fangtian Huaji resting beside him.

After fidgeting for a moment, the Luozhu Star Lord finally giggled, "It is indeed this Sovereign. However, do not utter this title in the future. If someone who knew me were to hear it, it would be utterly humiliating."

The Corpse Emperor calmed the shock running through him and asked, puzzled, "A Star Lord is a great sage of the Constellations. Why would you be here?"

Luozhu’s face tightened into a grimace. After a long pause, he spoke dryly, "Why shouldn't I be here? Hmph. Don't laugh, but after relentless warfare spanning hundreds of thousands of years, this Sovereign was gravely wounded. To cover the retreat of my brothers and comrades, I was besieged by five great primordial sages of the enemy, and thus, I perished. What you see today is merely a lifeless corpse, coupled with a wisp of remnant soul that luckily survived."

After a few long, drawn-out sighs, Luozhu spread his hands in resignation. "I was the unluckiest. Others were merely heavily injured at most, but I, caught up in the frenzy of battle, insisted on showing off while covering the rear. I charged headlong into the enemy's main force to fight fiercely. If a fool like me doesn't perish, who would?"

As he spoke, Luozhu’s expression shifted, and he began to laugh proudly again. "But, the Haotian God's Haotian Pagoda was smashed to smithereens and drifted off to who knows where. Hah! My demise is nothing in comparison."

The Corpse Emperor was aghast. He and the two points of light beside him asked in unison, "Who could wage war against the Star Lord and the others?" The voices of the other two lights were even fainter; one belonged to the True Man Han He, and the other to the True Man Baishui. True Man Baishui was the purple point of light the size of a mung bean; his voice was ethereal and weak, sounding like a lamenting spirit humming in the dead of night.

Luozhu's face grew even uglier. After a moment of affected posturing, he snapped irritably, "You junior cultivators below, why concern yourselves with such matters? It is not a glorious tale to tell. Er, but so many years have passed..."

Hesitating for a moment, perhaps unused to speaking after so many years—a whole belly full of words nearly solidifying into stone—Luozhu struggled to restrain himself, but ultimately could not hold back, spilling forth a lengthy account.

The Corpse Emperor and the others listened, mesmerized. Only then did they understand what had truly transpired back then, why the Heavenly Court, which once commanded the Three Realms, had vanished without a trace, and why even the Immortals who occasionally descended to the mortal realms to guide their juniors had disappeared. However, the cause, as it turned out, was rather embarrassing.

The truth was quite simple: it all boiled down to a conflict of interest.

Just as humans on Earth exhausted their natural resources to the point where local supplies could no longer meet demand, forcing them to expand outward in search of new living space, so too was the Heavenly Court. They had controlled this Cosmos for eons; countless Great Calamities had passed. Immortals grew numerous, as did Divine Beings possessing great powers. The Immortals, Deities, and Heavenly Soldiers above the Thirty-Three Heavens were practically packed shoulder-to-shoulder, nearly facing a housing crisis.

Even more dire was the fact that the Spiritual Qi of this Cosmos could no longer support the cultivation of so many Immortals.

The small fraction of Divine Beings standing at the apex of the Heavenly Court—such as the Three Pure Ones, the Haotian God, and other great powers—consumed over sixty percent of the entire universe’s available Spiritual Qi just in their daily cultivation. The remaining four-tenths had to sustain the daily needs of the billions of other Immortals and Deities.

Although Immortals and Deities had reached a state of immortality and required no food or drink to live forever, the drive to ascend, to constantly probe the mysteries of higher realms, was the innate arrogance of nearly all Divine Beings. As time crept forward, a moment arrived when the Haotian God and other great powers realized with shock that the Spiritual Qi was running out. Any single powerful expert, like any one of the Three Pure Ones, could exhaust the entire universe's Spiritual Qi with a single deep, drawn-out breath.

Of course, the universe itself was constantly recovering, continuously generating new Spiritual Qi and ley lines, but this new generation was nowhere near enough to meet the demand.

It was then that dozens of disgruntled Star Lords—according to Luozhu’s memory, the Twenty-Eight Constellation Lords and the faction including the Beidou and Nandou lords—bored to distraction, decided to engage in a massive brawl deep in the void. Initially, it was just sparring for amusement, but somehow, the group grew more exhilarated and passionate, until the combined might of so many Star Lords erupted, tearing a fissure in the void itself.

On the other side of the rift lay a nascent, primordial universe, barely having begun the process of creation and not yet populated by many beings. The scouting Star Lords, Nandou and Beidou, discovered with joyous shock that this new universe was thousands of times larger than their own, and its Spiritual Qi concentration was at least a thousand times higher. More captivating still, the cosmic order of that universe was far superior to their own. The fundamental principles understood there surpassed those in their own world. After merely a few months in that universe, the thirteen Star Lords experienced an entire major realm advancement in their Daoist cultivation!

The Heavenly Court shook. Having ruled the Three Realms for countless Huiyuan cycles, the great powers of the Court, accustomed to absolute supremacy, needed no discussion. They mustered boundless Heavenly Armies and led billions upon billions of Immortals and Deities, cheerfully streaming through the spatial rift into that new Cosmos.

Originally, it seemed like no great matter. That universe was young, with few primordial beings yet born; many great primordial sages were still dormant in their matrices, not yet mature. With the might and means of the Heavenly Court, a peaceful unification was entirely possible, just as they controlled their original Cosmos.

However, the Ascended Immortals—those who had achieved their celestial status through arduous cultivation rather than innate birth—were the ones who precipitated disaster!

The root of the trouble lay here: Innate Divine Beings like the Three Pure Ones and the Haotian God, as well as many naturally born Star Lords and Great Sages, were born accompanied by a set of powerful Innate Treasures; they were inherently equipped to wield such artifacts. But the Ascended Immortals, who had painstakingly cultivated their way up, possessed, at best, top-tier Acquired Immortal Artifacts, never any Innate Treasures.

Upon arriving in this new universe, rich with boundless heavenly materials and terrestrial treasures, and filled with Innate materials suitable for artifact refinement, these Ascended Immortals found that they could forge magical tools that possessed the nascent form of half-Innate treasures. To create true Innate Spirit Treasures or Supreme Innate Treasures, they required the final element: incorporating sentient Innate Divine Souls into the artifacts.

Thus, these Immortals began hunting in droves, slaughtering the primordial sages of the new universe who had not yet even been born. It was akin to what the Great Dull Daoist did to the True Man Taiyang. Upon killing a primordial sage, they would rip out its tendons and drain its essence and divine soul to refine various magical tools. In a short time, nearly every Immortal in the Heavenly Court possessed an Innate magical artifact, while the primordial sages nurtured by that universe suffered catastrophic losses; countless creatures in the gestation phase were massacred.

Perhaps the fundamental laws of the new universe were provoked. Within just a few years, hundreds, even thousands, of innate creatures burst forth and engaged the Immortals of the Heavenly Court.

Ordinary Immortals were no match for those supremely powerful innate entities. In merely three to five months, tens of millions of Ascended Immortals and Heavenly Soldiers were slain.

The Heavenly Court was shaken; the faces of the Three Pure Ones and the Haotian God were livid with rage. The leaders of the Court shared a flaw identical to that of the Sect Masters of the various factions in the later Abyssal Dao Alliance: an overwhelming instinct for nepotism! The slain Heavenly Soldiers were the personal guards and private troops of the Haotian God, fueling his celestial fury; the dead Ascended Immortals were the disciples, students, and direct descendants of the Three Pure Ones, enraging the Three Saints so much that their anger could have punctured the Heavens.

Consequently, the full might of the Heavenly Court mobilized; numerous Star Lords and Great Sages were deployed. They engaged the primordial sages of the other universe without parley; war erupted.

The Luozhu Star Lord and the other Heavenly Great Sages had been born for countless years; their cultivation was profound, and their combat experience exceptional. They held an absolute advantage in magical power, divine abilities, and Dao attainment, easily routing their innate opponents and chasing them across the field. Especially when the Luozhu Star Lords discovered that upon killing an enemy sage, a pure stream of innate power surged into their bodies, continually strengthening their cultivation, the act of suppression evolved into a deliberate, purposeful slaughter.

Within half a month of the Heavenly Court's full offensive, the primordial sages of that universe were all wiped out.

The subsequent transformation was something the Luozhu Star Lord remembered vividly even to this day. The fundamental laws of the new universe went into a near-frenzied state, urging forth all its innate saints! Among them emerged nine beings whose power was equal to that of the Three Pure Ones! Countless others of the Star Lord caliber emerged. Although lacking the experience of the Heavenly Court's Great Sages, the newly born innate entities of that universe, relying on sheer numbers and a death-defying spirit, managed to force the Heavenly Court into a steady retreat.

They retreated all the way back to their origin—the star field where the three major Origin Stars—Heaven, Earth, and Man—were situated.

The saints and great sages of the new universe were still in their nascent, confused stage; they failed to notice that the Heavenly Court was intentionally retreating toward them. They pursued pell-mell through the opening.

It was during a maneuver to intercept and provoke the pursuers, drawing them closer, that Luozhu, succumbing to his nature, lost himself in the bloodlust of battle. He plunged deep into the enemy ranks and was surrounded and attacked by five primordial sages, thus meeting his regrettable demise. Coincidentally, the location of his fall was close to his own main body, the Luozhu Star, allowing him to struggle to drag his physical form, his accompanying Supreme Innate Treasure, and a wisp of his remnant soul back to Luozhu Star.

"Then, what happened next?" the Corpse Emperor asked, startled.

Luozhu let out a cold, dissatisfied snort. He roared angrily, "What happened next? Of course, the fundamental laws of our universe acted, and Dao Ancestor Hongjun personally intervened! Heh heh, obliterating the enemy's nine saints and countless primordial sages. But those disloyal wretches—they assumed I was completely consumed by the Five Decays of Man and Heaven, and never bothered to check if I had left behind anything. They abandoned me alone here, trapping me, and fled to that new Cosmos to reap the benefits!"

The Corpse Emperor did not grasp what Luozhu meant by reaping benefits, so Luozhu impatiently explained.

Reaping benefits meant that because the new universe was vaster and larger than their own, the source essence of its fundamental laws was even richer. The origin of this universe's laws could only sustain Dao Ancestor Hongjun in reaching a single supreme realm, but the laws of the other universe might support over ten saints in reaching an even higher realm. According to Hongjun Dao Ancestor, if that universe hadn't been so newly born, with its fundamental laws still incomplete, the sudden activation of those laws for self-preservation would have manifested not nine innate saints, but at least thirty!

Thirty beings equivalent to the Three Pure Ones—the thought alone made one's scalp tingle.

And ten or more beings comparable to, or perhaps even slightly surpassing, Dao Ancestor Hongjun—that prospect was enough to drive anyone mad.

Every Immortal, major or minor, from the Heavenly Court flooded into that new universe. Luozhu even faintly sensed that Dao Ancestor Hongjun himself had eagerly followed.

Subsequently, Luozhu could no longer sense the aura of any Immortal from the Heavenly Court. This included his brothers, the other eight Luminaries Star Lords, who assumed the Luozhu Star Lord’s soul was utterly scattered beyond recovery. Thus, no one bothered to check if he had managed to retain a wisp of remnant soul. At that time, the Luozhu Star Lord lacked the strength to send even a flicker of divine sense to contact his brothers; he could only watch longingly as the countless Star Lords and Immortals joyfully migrated to the new Cosmos.

"So that is how it was," the Corpse Emperor sighed. "No wonder the connection to the Heavens suddenly snapped, and no more Immortals descended to the world. We had no news at all."

Luozhu stated coolly, "You are acquired ants. What is there to discuss with you? Does His Majesty, the Haotian God, need to issue a formal notice to creatures such as yourselves? Preposterous!"

The Corpse Emperor grumbled. Luozhu’s words were harsh, but they were the plain truth. Let alone figures as high as the Haotian God, even an ordinary Golden Immortal would not show the slightest respect to beings of the lower realms. The power levels of the cultivators in the lower world dictated that they had no right to participate in such world-shattering events.

This also explained why, after the cultivators of Youxian Star and the Angels of the Angel race annihilated each other, the Daoist inheritance on Earth declined rapidly, never regaining its vigor to this day. Without the Heavenly Court’s care, and without guidance or pointers from their predecessors, it was a genuine struggle for cultivators to persist on Earth until now.

After a moment of reflection, the Corpse Emperor asked the Luozhu Star Lord again, "In that case, is there any way we might assist the Star Lord? For instance, could we ask your friends to return and aid you?"

The Luozhu Star Lord hastily shook his head, chuckling dryly. "You cannot reach that new Cosmos; you simply lack the ability. However, speaking of assistance... boy, do you cultivate the Corpse Dao?"

The Corpse Emperor froze for a moment, then admitted straightforwardly, "Indeed, the Corpse Dao lineage. When escaping that catastrophe, this junior used the art of 'Three Corpses to Sever the Spirit' to preserve a wisp of true spirit, and I also brought away some spiritual remnants of my two comrades."

The Luozhu Star Lord rubbed his hands together, chuckling a few times, and smiled at the Corpse Emperor. "You cultivate the Three Corpses art within the Corpse Dao—one spirit manifesting three corpses by refining the three corpses as avatars of the primordial spirit, effectively granting three lives. Heh, heh heh, it aligns somewhat with the Daoist concept of 'One Qi Manifesting Three Pure Ones.' Hmm, the methods of the Corpse Dao, especially this 'Three Corpses Severing the Spirit' technique, share a common root with this Sovereign's own cultivation method."

He paused, then laughed somewhat sheepishly. "Since you cultivate this method, your Three Souls and Seven Spirits must be quite robust, yes? I perceive your Three Souls and Seven Spirits are sufficiently strong."

Without waiting for the Corpse Emperor to reply, the Luozhu Star Lord sighed deeply. "You see, this Sovereign's Three Souls and Seven Spirits are completely shattered, leaving only a single wisp of true spirit. Although all my memories and experiences are preserved, I cannot command my physical body. If I could obtain a complete set of Corpse Dao souls that share the same lineage as my cultivation method, and if this Sovereign's true spirit could replace your true spirit, evolving your Three Souls and Seven Spirits into my own, then my spirit and soul could return to their proper place, allowing me to be resurrected and once again become the Luozhu Star Lord who rampaged across the heavens!"

The light cluster formed by the Corpse Emperor trembled violently, and he cried out, "What does Senior mean?"

True Man Han He and True Man Baishui also shouted in fury, "Senior, are you intending to commit the wicked act of seizing another's soul and destroying their true spirit?"

The Luozhu Star Lord glared, roaring in indignation, "What wicked act is that? This Sovereign merely wishes to borrow your Three Souls and Seven Spirits to control a physical body! This Sovereign will naturally ensure your wisp of true spirit does not dissipate. Should a great opportunity arise later, this Sovereign will certainly help you recast your soul and reforge your body—that is hardly a difficult matter!"

After a few strange laughs, the Luozhu Star Lord chuckled darkly. "Perhaps, in the future, this Sovereign can even find a potent Innate Body for you to inhabit? During that great war, the innate sages native to that other universe fell like rain. Wouldn't a robust Innate Body be far superior to your current, somewhat withered flesh?"

Lest the Corpse Emperor, Cold Crane True Man, and White Water True Man be dismantled, the Star Lord Luozhu eagerly thrust open his great maw and savagely lunged forward.

"You've wrung so many Heavenly Court secrets from me. A mere three souls and six poh for me to use as payment should suffice. Even storytellers on the street demand payment for tea money! I’ve wasted so much breath; you dare to quibble over a few souls?"

His great mouth opened. A black vortex sucked in the cluster of black light formed by the Corpse Emperor's Three Corpse Clone's essence. This black qi threaded directly into Star Lord Luozhu's Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, where he rapidly drew the Corpse Emperor's three souls and six poh into his own inner domain. Dozens of incomparably potent restrictive spells shrieked as they struck the Corpse Emperor's soul, binding his True Spirit and beginning to tear it away from his soul body.

Simultaneously, a wisp of Luozhu’s True Spirit—a speck of black halo light no bigger than the glow of a firefly’s tail—impatiently lunged toward the Corpse Emperor's soul.

Cultivators achieve rebirth through soul and poh possession. Those who reach higher realms can use a thread of their vital True Spirit, enveloped by their soul and poh, to seize another's soul and be reborn. However, when Star Lord Luozhu’s True Spirit moved to seize the Corpse Emperor’s soul, he honorably preserved the Corpse Emperor’s True Spirit first. He was, by nature, a decent enough person.

The change happened at this moment. As Luozhu’s True Spirit touched the Corpse Emperor’s soul, a vast, boundless force of Destiny manifested as an ethereal yellow cloud, enveloping Luozhu's True Spirit and swallowing it whole into the Corpse Emperor's soul. Far from being ripped out of his own soul, the Corpse Emperor’s True Spirit, under the cover of that yellow cloud, pounced toward Luozhu’s True Spirit like a tiger that had sighted fresh blood.

Luozhu’s True Spirit shrieked in terror and turned to flee outside the Corpse Emperor’s soul. But the power contained within that yellow cloud was immense, faintly encompassing the belief and psychic power of billions of people. No matter how Luozhu struggled, he could only escape outward inch by agonizing inch, fraction by agonizing fraction. Meanwhile, the Corpse Emperor’s True Spirit, like a rogue shark in a raging sea, swiftly descended, eagerly snapping toward Luozhu.

It happened faster than words can tell: Luozhu poured all his strength into chanting an incantation, and his True Spirit burst apart into a streak of black light, forcibly shattering a portion of the surrounding yellow cloud. A nearly invisible, extremely fine thread of black essence light rapidly fled outward. This counterattack nearly exhausted the faint sliver of soul power Luozhu had painstakingly accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years; his True Spirit was left utterly defenseless.

Seeing that Luozhu was about to escape the Corpse Emperor's soul—once he returned to his own Sea of Consciousness, he could still muster some of his own strength, and while he couldn't seize the Corpse Emperor's soul, he could at least destroy the souls of the Corpse Emperor, Cold Crane True Man, and White Water True Man—Luozhu couldn't help but inwardly seethe with resentment. If he had known things would turn out this way, he should have chosen a few souls from the mere ants of the Void Realm he had slain days ago as backup.

Alas, at that time, he had his sights set on the Corpse Emperor’s soul, as it stemmed from the same lineage as his own Corpse Dao cultivation art. Seizing the Corpse Emperor’s soul would maximize his own power. Thus, Luozhu had gleefully refined the flesh, essence, blood, and soul of those doomed Void Realm Grandmasters into his own body, adding a sliver of vitality to his physical form.

If only he had known this day would come, he should have avoided the trouble that was the Corpse Emperor. Luozhu blamed himself with near tears, wondering why he hadn't noticed that the seemingly insignificant ant, the Corpse Emperor, possessed such terrifying Destiny?

Destiny is a mystical thing to speak of, yet it is truly a power condensed from the psychic force recorded in the rules of the Great Dao. Most of the time, the power of Destiny remains hidden. But in certain critical moments, such as when the bearer of Destiny faces ultimate mortal peril, the power of Destiny transforms into a marvelous force. This power is untainted by dust, unblemished by karma, capable of shattering all laws, yet itself unbreakable. It is rumored that the Haotian Pagoda of the Supreme Heavenly Emperor was forged from the Destiny of billions of sentient beings in this universe, hence its wondrous might.

That yellow cloud was the manifestation of Destiny’s divine power. If Luozhu’s main body hadn't been robust, and if he hadn’t been experienced and knowledgeable, he might truly have been enveloped by that yellow cloud for ten thousand ages of damnation.

But just as Luozhu was about to escape, a rain of purple light erupted from within the Corpse Emperor's soul. The light, like mist or fine threads, gently adhered to Luozhu’s True Spirit.

The supreme immortal artifact gifted to the Corpse Emperor by Gu Yechen, the "Seven Blood Desire Soul Pouch," flew out from the Corpse Emperor’s soul, transforming into boundless light mist that enveloped Luozhu. This Seven Blood Desire Soul Pouch was most capable of harming souls and damaging foundations. Gu Yechen had specially selected it to present to the Corpse Emperor to compensate for his abundance of physical destructive power yet deficiency in soul attack capability. After refining it, the Pouch had transformed into a thread of pure soul power that merged into the Corpse Emperor’s primordial spirit. Today, it had perfectly trapped Luozhu.

Luozhu shrieked in despair, "Let me go! I promise you boundless benefits!"

The Corpse Emperor, being an ancient, tyrannical zombie monster, possessed the most savage temperament. His kindness and tolerance were reserved only for his disciples and friends. He was already enraged by the betrayal of so many Grandmasters from the Dao Alliance. Luozhu now sought to seize his soul while merely preserving a wisp of his True Spirit—how could the Corpse Emperor tolerate such a great loss?

He let out a sinister, chilling laugh. The Corpse Emperor cursed in a low voice, "Boundless benefits? I'll take them myself. What dog-shit Innate Star Lord, once in my hands, is nothing more than a platter of..."

After laughing maniacally for a while, the Corpse Emperor's True Spirit, large as a fist, lunged toward the wisp of Luozhu’s True Spirit, which was flickering close to extinction, and swallowed it whole. Luozhu wailed mournfully, "I hate this so much!" before being completely merged, disintegrated, and digested by the Corpse Emperor's True Spirit.

Boundless memories and experiences flooded into the Corpse Emperor's True Spirit. He felt his consciousness wildly expand and ascend, as if he had existed since the chaos of the universe opened, watching the cosmos flourish and wither. His soul trembled violently, and streaks of dazzling black light continuously shot out from within it.

Strange, complex incantations drifted out from the Corpse Emperor's soul. His soul gradually morphed into streams of black qi, gradually integrating into Luozhu's abandoned physical body. Luozhu’s body began to tremble, and thick black mist gradually spewed forth from within, entirely covering the flesh. A massive pressure spread throughout the Luozhu Hall, as torrents of black qi continually injected themselves into the body.

Pitiable Luozhu, a Star Lord, had perished because his True Spirit was injured by an Innate Grand Sage from another universe and could not be repaired. After finally waiting for a target whose soul perfectly suited his desire to possess and control his body, he was viciously counterattacked by the Corpse Emperor, whose Destiny was vast and who was protected by an immortal artifact. Luozhu had ended up benefiting the Corpse Emperor with his entire essence. This was all because the power wielded by that Innate Grand Sage from the other universe was unfamiliar to Luozhu; merely keeping his True Spirit from dissipating had nearly exhausted his strength, leaving him with no power to strengthen his True Spirit.

The Luozhu Hall shook violently, and the entire Twelfth Planet shuddered. Boundless dark clouds and black winds roared, swirling toward the hall. The power of the entire planet poured into the Luozhu Hall, now into the body of the Corpse Emperor—no, no longer Luozhu.

The Corpse Emperor’s eyes opened as his soul adapted to the body it had regained.

What a terrifying body this was! The power contained in every single cell made the Corpse Emperor feel dread. He had an awakening: once he fully controlled this flesh, a casual punch could shatter the stars in the sky, and a casual spell could effortlessly annihilate a region of the cosmos. How could the power of the Primordial Wilderness Innate Star Lord be imagined by current cultivators?

The only thing that made the Corpse Emperor feel helpless was that his current soul could only barely control the body to move; it could not gain complete, fluid mastery over the flesh and its tremendous inherent power.

The soul's power was still too weak, much like a three- or five-year-old child trying to operate an interstellar dreadnought. Even if the child had mastered all the operating procedures, they would still find it difficult to succeed.

At this moment, although the Corpse Emperor possessed peerless strength, he lacked the power to even leave Planet Luozhu. Planet Luozhu and this body were originally one; to break free from the planet’s gravity and soar freely through the void, the Corpse Emperor needed to unleash at least one-tenth of the body's power for a chance of success.

"It will likely take quite some time to achieve my wish," the Corpse Emperor muttered, clenching his fist before slowly rising to his feet.

"Fellow Daoists, well, you two will have to keep me company here for a while longer..." The Corpse Emperor curled his lips into a strange smile. "However, Star Lord Luozhu left behind plenty of good things for us. In the secret hall beneath the Luozhu Hall, there are fifteen corpses of the foreign Innate Grand Sages he killed. Six of them practiced disciplines similar to the Daoist methods. Are you two interested in switching bodies?"

The stunned Cold Crane True Man and White Water True Man agreed. The Corpse Emperor casually plucked two incomparably enormous and exquisitely handsome bodies from below, forcefully shoving the souls of Cold Crane True Man and White Water True Man into them, and employing Luozhu’s secret arts to help the two old Daoists forcibly fuse with these new bodies.

Cold Crane True Man and White Water True Man staggered to their feet from the ground, immediately falling on their backsides. When they stood again, they slid into a split stance on the ground.

The two old Daoists faced the same problem as the Corpse Emperor: their souls were insufficient to control such mighty bodies, just as Gu Yechen could not refine the physical body of the Sun God.

"You two, stay here with me!" the Corpse Emperor sighed weakly. "This is, after all, Star Lord Luozhu's lair. Though it appears desolate on the surface, there are countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures underground. Once we cultivate to a certain realm, perhaps we can figure out a way to go wander around. This is both our great fortune and our great trouble!"

Cold Crane True Man and White Water True Man first felt an ecstatic joy as they sensed their brand-new bodies. Such powerful flesh made their hearts pound.

But the Corpse Emperor’s words felt like a bucket of ice water thrown over them. The two old Daoists exchanged a look of powerlessness and simultaneously lowered their heads.

The Luozhu Hall was once again shrouded in dark clouds and black qi. The three of them sat cross-legged within, entering seclusion and commencing an endless cultivation session.

On Planet Wol, outside the west courtyard wall of the Xianzhi Estate, a line of white water surged up from flat ground, and Gu Yechen’s figure gradually materialized upon the surface of the water. Initially appearing as small as a bean, his form slowly grew larger until he recovered his original shape. He checked the communicator on his wrist, and Dukat’s face suddenly popped up on the screen.

"Ugh, I was just figuring out how to sneak in. Can you stop jumping out and scaring people?" Gu Yechen looked helplessly at Dukat on the light screen.

"I’m just curious and really want to ask you: how many women did you just kill?" Dukat looked at Gu Yechen with intense curiosity.

After a moment of silence, Gu Yechen suddenly laughed, "Oh? Perhaps it’s because my mother's grave is gone?"

He casually closed the communicator. Gu Yechen flickered, completely ignoring the multiple layers of formations set up outside the Xianzhi Estate, and walked into the estate as if no one were there.

The Xianzhi Estate of the Xianzhi Family spanned nearly a hundred li, featuring strange mountains, clear waters, and being carpeted with rare flowers and exotic grasses. On giant tree trunks, swaying vines, and scaled boulders, large and small Jade Truffles clung everywhere. The air was filled with the rich, unique fragrance of the Jade Truffles. Visible to the naked eye, vast sheets of crystal-white Jade Truffle spores danced in the wind, sparkling under the sunlight, resembling a rain of light.

Thousands of handsome young boys and girls, clad in short blue shirts, carried jade plates and jade knives, moving lightly through the forest. They carefully turned over thick petals of Jade Truffles. If they spotted a Truffle with a cap diameter exceeding one foot, they would jump with joy and use their Cold Jade Knives to carefully slice off a piece and place it on the jade plate. The intense cold energy clinging to the Cold Jade Knife instantly froze the Truffle body, preventing injury to its fundamental vitality.

Gu Yechen sniffed. The concentration of Jade Truffle spores in the air was too high, irritating his nasal passages until he nearly sneezed.

Muttering a low complaint, Gu Yechen chanted an incantation, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and tossed it toward the sky. Instantly, a burst of earthy energy surged up from below, enveloping his body before he into the earth. He learned this Earth Evasion Art from Xin Jia. Although Gu Yechen cultivated the art of Taiyin, as a primordial body, he possessed the innate five-elemental forces within his five organs, making the Earth Evasion Art not difficult for him.

It had to be said that the Xianzhi Family's cultivation methods had significant flaws. Not only were their clansmen restricted from leaving this planet by the Xianzhi Azure Spirit Art, but their artifact refinement techniques, formation mastery, and so on were all extremely crude. Even the defensive formations they laid underground, if viewed by a disciple from Kunlun Mountain, would only be fit to guard a latrine against flies. Such formations were effortlessly neutralized by Gu Yechen with a mere wave of his hand; he entered the core vital points beneath the manor without expending any effort.

The Xianzhi Estate had its reasons for establishing its foundation in this location. The Yunhua Mountain here was the origin point of one hundred and eight Dragon Veins spanning thousands of li. A hundred zhang beneath the ground lay a massive spiritual nexus. Here, all types of spiritual energy were exceedingly abundant, especially the Wood and Earth dual-elemental energies required by the Jade Truffles, which were so dense they were almost tangible. The spiritual energy was simply too abundant, and for so many years, the Xianzhi Family was the only cultivators on this entire planet. As a result, the underground spiritual energy had condensed into a colossal Spiritual Jade fifty li in diameter!

A secret passage ran from a grand hall on the surface deep into the Spiritual Jade. A spherical space spanning dozens of li had been carved out here. Thousands of massive jade plates floated above the spiritual energy, which had already condensed into various jade liquids. The plates were filled with rare truffle varieties such as Purple Truffle, Orchid Truffle, Jade Truffle, Thousand-Leaf Exquisite Truffle, Nine-Leaf Blood Truffle, and Seven-Star Truffle.

And at the very center of the spherical space, upon a jade platform several zhang in diameter, growing within the spiritual liquid that had solidified into jade and marrow, was a legendary Thirty-Three Heavens Outer Yaochi Immortal Spirit Truffle.

This truffle was no more than three inches tall, slender and crisp as if carved from jade. Nine long, nearly transparent truffle leaves trembled delicately, embedded in the solidified spiritual jade marrow. At the center of the leaves, a stem as thin as a hair held up three thumb-sized purple truffle fruits.

The most wondrous aspect was that above the three truffle fruits, a layer of hazy purple mist supported a small cloud platform, upon which sat a tiny infant figure, indistinct and illusory. This infant sat cross-legged in the Daoist Five-Heart-to-Heaven posture. Its mouth, no bigger than a grain of rice, inhaled and exhaled, drawing in the surrounding spiritual liquid, which transformed into purple mist and was absorbed into its body, while a thread of heart-refreshing, delicate fragrance continuously diffused outward.

Seventeen Loose Immortals, whose bodies emitted a faint golden halo, and whose vital yuan energy had converted about one-tenth into Immortal Spiritual Qi, sat near this jade platform, their faces rapt as they absorbed the constantly emanating fragrance. Behind these Loose Immortals, forty-two cultivators at the Void Realm sat solemnly, also quietly cultivating profound arts.

Including the four Void Realm clansmen Gu Yechen had slain, the strength of this Xianzhi Family was comparable to half the might of the Asian Dao Alliance. If these seventeen First Calamity Loose Immortals were deployed, the Asian Dao Alliance would likely struggle to gain any advantage against them.

However, the family had prospered for over a hundred thousand years, monopolized all the spiritual energy of the planet, and their cultivation methods had never been broken. After so many years of toil, they had only accumulated this small measure of power. Gu Yechen couldn't help but look down on the Xianzhi Family's aptitude—it was too poor! With such favorable conditions, why were there so few masters?

Consider the Asian Dao Alliance: the blessed lands like Kunlun Mountain and Zhongnan Mountain were comparable to garbage dumps next to this spiritual nexus held by the Xianzhi Estate. Even so, they had over forty Void Realm masters. Gu Yechen had obtained a portion of the Xianzhi Azure Spirit Art from the soul of the Third Miss. By his estimation, this technique was at least a cultivation method left behind by an Ancient Golden Immortal.

The Xianzhi Family’s conditions were too superior; having so few masters could only mean their inherent aptitude was too poor, or perhaps they were fundamentally unsuited for cultivation.

"Heh heh heh!"

Gu Yechen looked at these people and suddenly gave a cold laugh.

As soon as the laughter sounded, the seventeen Loose Immortals and forty-two Void Realm experts of the Xianzhi Family let out startled cries: "Who is it?"

Before the words faded, Gu Yechen shook his head. Three Taiyin Thorns coiled up a sky-high wave of profound ice-white energy and roared down upon the assembled Xianzhi Family members.

With a light chime, the True Magnetic Dual Polarity Light Splitting Sword flew from its sheath. Taking advantage of the Xianzhi Family members diverting their attention to block the Taiyin Thorns, the sword light, as fine as silk threads, instantly pierced their vital Dantian points. The Taiyin Qi solidified into a Taiyin Divine Talisman, sealing their cultivation.

"Such a fast sword! I didn't even see the shape of the sword light!"

The infant sitting upon the Immortal Spirit Truffle suddenly opened its eyes and shouted fiercely, "Who are you? Why do you invade my Xianzhi Family?"

Gu Yechen walked slowly toward the jade platform. He first stared intensely at the Immortal Spirit Truffle before speaking calmly, "Oh, I’ve come to discuss business."

He paused, then looked at the infant, "I want the Xianzhi Family. Do you have an objection?"

The infant froze for a moment, then burst into an infuriated laugh, "Are you perhaps a madman? Is that how you conduct business?"

Gu Yechen brought his two fingers together, creating a strand of True Magnetic Dual Polarity Light Splitting Sword Qi that shot toward the infant's brow.

He stated coldly, "If you disagree, so be it. Forced buying and selling never required your consent anyway!"

His sword-fingers moved like lightning, instantly touching the infant’s brow.

The Immortal Spirit Truffle suddenly shone with intense light. A ball of purple qi erupted from the infant's mouth, surging out like a torrent. To know what happens next, please visit [Website Address], where more chapters are available and support is offered.