The Dark Emperor shook her head, finding it utterly absurd. This was only her second meeting with Gu Qingfeng—how could they be familiar?
She collected her thoughts and spoke in a clear, ethereal voice, "Everyone."
As her words rang out, the hundred or so Divine Realm experts fell silent, waiting attentively for her announcement.
"I have summoned you all today to deliver important news. The core of the One Hundred and Eight Heavenly Slaughter Demon Array has been successfully forged. The Dark Realm... it is time to counterattack!"
Silence.
The scene was as still as a vacuum.
Then, an eruption of cheers and excitement followed.
"Finally! We won’t have to hide anymore!"
"Hahaha! Those scum from the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom—prepare to die!"
"It’s time to purge the world of demons and restore purity to the heavens and earth!"
......
Gu Qingfeng listened to the fervent outbursts with mild surprise. It seemed these Divine Realm experts had been suppressed for far too long, to the point of losing their composure.
And it was understandable. Divine Realm cultivators were once the pinnacle of power, revered wherever they went. Yet now, they had been hunted like dogs, forced into hiding. Anyone would feel humiliated, let alone these top-tier experts.
But what the hell was this "One Hundred and Eight Heavenly Slaughter Demon Array"? How could it give the Dark Realm such confidence?
Did they not realize that even if they defeated the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, the Holy Clan still loomed behind them?
As long as the Holy Clan remained, forces like the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom could be rebuilt at any time.
Jue Mingzi, standing nearby, seemed to notice Gu Qingfeng’s confusion and quietly explained, "The One Hundred and Eight Heavenly Slaughter Demon Array is the key to the Dark Realm’s counterattack. It can harness the power of the Heavenly Dao to strike back at the demons and sever the passage connecting the Upper Realm to the Qing Realm.
"The Holy Clan’s mighty figures established a channel between the Upper Realm and the Qing Realm, and this passage lies within the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. Once it is severed, the Qing Realm will return to the Boundary Sea, free from the Holy Clan’s control. This is the only hope for humanity in the Qing Realm."
Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. "Wait, didn’t you say the Heavenly Dao leans toward demons? How can we borrow its power?"
"I did say the Heavenly Dao leans toward demons, but I never said it is a demon.
Although the Heavenly Dao is being refined, even a Minor Thousand World’s Heavenly Dao is not so easily subdued. After thousands of years, while it has grown closer to demonic nature, it still retains a sliver of its own will and a fraction of its power.
"So long as the Heavenly Dao isn’t fully refined, we can still borrow its strength—and the Heavenly Dao itself resists refinement.
The Dark Realm exists to protect this world from the Holy Clan’s oppression, so borrowing the Heavenly Dao’s power to sever the passage is well within our means!"
The more Gu Qingfeng listened, the more alarmed he became. So this was the Dark Realm’s trump card!
They never intended to fight the Holy Clan directly—they wanted to cut off the passage and isolate them!
Damn it!
If they really succeeded in severing the Holy Clan’s connection, wouldn’t that also block his path forward?
The strongest demons in the Qing Realm might approach the level beyond Divine Realm, but none had truly surpassed it.
And Divine Realm experts weren’t immortal. If he wanted to grow stronger and achieve true longevity, he had to reach the Upper Realm.
But this world had no means of ascension. The best way to the Upper Realm was still through the Holy Clan’s passage.
Meaning—the Holy Clan’s passage could not be severed!
If it was, his path to the Dao would be cut short.
No, he had to find a way to stop the Dark Realm.
Gu Qingfeng knew this was morally questionable. The Dark Realm had worked tirelessly to save the world, while he was scheming to ruin their plans.
Anyone else would be tormented by guilt.
Fortunately, Gu Qingfeng had no conscience.
Besides, sabotaging the Dark Realm didn’t mean he wanted the world destroyed or humanity enslaved forever.
Honestly, saving the world? He could handle that alone!
There was no need to sever the passage. Let the Holy Clan come—he’d kill them one by one, pair by pair.
In fact, Gu Qingfeng had long planned to launch a solo counterattack on the Upper Realm. If the Holy Clan controlled the Qing Realm, then he’d just go up and annihilate them, solving the problem at its root.
And the passage could remain open, allowing these Divine Realm experts to ascend, pursue higher realms—a perfect outcome.
But the problem was, he couldn’t just say this. No one would believe him. Explaining the System was impossible.
After much deliberation, Gu Qingfeng resolved to undermine the Dark Realm’s plans.
But the moment this thought crossed his mind, he realized something horrifying...
Damn it!
Wasn’t this exactly the kind of thing a villain would do?
The protagonists unite, gather artifacts, and prepare to defeat evil—only for a deranged antagonist to swoop in, sabotage everything, only to be thwarted at the last moment when the heroes miraculously prevail.
Why was he being forced into this role?!
He just wanted to be a good guy!
Gu Qingfeng tried to console himself. Sure, his actions looked villainous, but his intentions were pure. And if he succeeded, the world would be better off—a win-win.
Temporary misunderstanding didn’t matter. Once he succeeded, everyone would thank him.
But then he thought of characters like the Moon Worship Cult Leader from Xianjian, Pain from Naruto, Thanos from Marvel...
Weren’t their motives also about making the world better?
Damn it!
Self-justification failed.
Fine. Villain it was. If the world misunderstood him, so be it. He had never needed others’ approval anyway.
Honestly, Gu Qingfeng felt a flicker of relief. He was glad he had come to the Dark Realm, glad he had passed their trial. Otherwise, he’d never have learned of their plans.
If he had stayed in the imperial palace, playing emperor for two years while waiting for the Holy Clan’s descent, he might have ended up trapped in this world forever.
But how could he stop the Dark Realm?
Directly seizing the array’s core was out of the question. Even if he could take on the entire Dark Realm alone, dealing with the Dark Emperor herself would be a struggle.
Just as Gu Qingfeng was racking his brain, the Dark Emperor provided an answer.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
