Old Ghost: I'm tired, let it be destroyed.

The Heart Demon Lord sneered coldly, and in the next moment, a surge of demonic light erupted from his body, as if he were activating some secret technique.

Gu Qingfeng grew slightly more serious. After all, the guy sounded convincing—could there really be some unknown weakness in this emperor’s body?

"Die!"

The Heart Demon Lord suddenly roared, and the overwhelming demonic light spread outward like tidal waves.

Then, in an instant, he turned into a blurry afterimage, charging straight at Gu Qingfeng.

Gu Qingfeng remained vigilant, ready to counter the attack.

But at that very moment, the Heart Demon Lord abruptly changed direction mid-air, abandoning Gu Qingfeng and instead rushing toward Old Ghost.

At this time, Old Ghost was locked in fierce combat with the Heavenly Dao. Without the Heart Demon Lord’s support, he was struggling, barely holding on.

BOOM—!

A flash of demonic light erupted behind Old Ghost.

His expression instantly twisted in shock—he never expected the Heart Demon Lord to ambush him at such a critical moment.

Caught off guard, evasion was already difficult, let alone while engaged in battle with the Heavenly Dao. There was simply no way to dodge.

The boundless demonic light swallowed Old Ghost’s figure whole.

"ARGH—!"

Old Ghost let out a blood-curdling scream as his body plummeted from the void like a meteor, blood gushing from his wounds. Half his body had been blown apart.

CRASH!

The ground caved in beneath him, forming a bottomless crater.

Lying at the bottom of the pit, his mangled body barely intact, Old Ghost stared up at the Heart Demon Lord with a mix of fury and disbelief.

"You treacherous bastard! Cough—!"

He vomited mouthfuls of blood—had it not been for his innate resilience and monstrous vitality, that single strike would have killed him outright.

"Treacherous? Hahaha..." The Heart Demon Lord burst into maniacal laughter. "A member of the Devouring Heaven Xuan Turtle race dares to call others treacherous? You, who were born into this world, leeching off its essence to grow, only to turn around and devour it—such an ungrateful wretch! Who’s really the treacherous one here?"

"You—! Cough—!" Old Ghost tried to retort, but another torrent of blood choked his words.

Gu Qingfeng, watching from the side, was stunned. What the hell was going on?

A free-for-all?

What was this Heart Demon Lord scheming?

First, he got the Longevity Demon Lord and Oath Demon Lord killed, and now he’s ambushing Old Ghost.

Wasn’t his purpose in coming to the Cangming Realm to deal with this emperor?

So why was he attacking everyone except this emperor?

"Die!" The Heart Demon Lord suddenly snorted coldly, condensing boundless demonic light in his palm into a terrifying black sphere before hurling it straight at Old Ghost.

"NO—!!"

Old Ghost’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets—he could feel the annihilating power contained within that attack. There was no surviving it.

He wanted to resist, but his grievously wounded body could no longer keep up.

Is this the end?

My schemes spanning hundreds of millions of years… my ambitions… I refuse to accept this!!

The terrifying energy sphere loomed closer, expanding in Old Ghost’s vision.

Then, a familiar figure appeared before him once more—towering, fearless, and heroic.

It was Gu Qingfeng!

Gu Qingfeng stood with his back to Old Ghost, facing the black sphere head-on. He casually raised a hand, and when the sphere struck his palm, it was as if it had collided with an immovable divine mountain.

The sphere spun violently against his hand, white smoke billowing from the friction. Gradually, it began to shrink, compressing until it vanished without a trace.

Old Ghost stared blankly at his back, the sunlight casting a long shadow over him.

Cradled within that shadow, Old Ghost’s heart—sealed away for countless eons—quivered for the very first time.

"Why?"

Old Ghost asked the same question again, but this time, his emotions were entirely different.

This was the second time Gu Qingfeng had saved him from certain doom—first against the Heavenly Dao, now against the Heart Demon Lord.

To say he wasn’t moved would be a lie. Especially when Old Ghost recalled how, after the first rescue, he had immediately betrayed Gu Qingfeng. A pang of shame surged in his heart.

And yet, despite that, Gu Qingfeng had saved him a second time.

So Old Ghost truly wanted to know—why?

Was it really as Gu Qingfeng had said before? "Perhaps because… a world without you would be rather dull."

Was that truly the reason? Did someone like him really add color to this world?

Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng turned around.

Old Ghost waited expectantly for his answer—though even he didn’t know what he was hoping for.

Maybe… just a shred of acknowledgment.

SLAP!

A resounding smack landed on Old Ghost’s face, sending two yellowed teeth flying.

Old Ghost was dumbstruck.

Gu Qingfeng’s furious roar echoed in his ears.

"Why my ass! You dare ask this emperor why, you old bastard?!"

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!—

A dozen more strikes, front and back, left Old Ghost’s face so swollen even his own mother wouldn’t recognize him.

"Of course it’s for your power! What else would this emperor save you for? Your age? Your lack of hygiene?!"

THUD.

Old Ghost collapsed to the ground, lying motionless on the cold earth, his eyes vacant.

So… this cold, merciless world held no warmth after all.

I’m tired. Let it all end.

BOOM!

Old Ghost self-destructed—suddenly, decisively.

He knew he had lost. Utterly. Not just his ambitions, but worse—he had opened his heart to someone for the first time, only to be repaid with a dozen slaps.

What struck him wasn’t just Gu Qingfeng’s hand—it was the cruel, unfeeling reality.

And so, Old Ghost departed, leaving behind a world that had shown him only despair. His passing was… peaceful.

Only Gu Qingfeng remained, standing alone as the explosion swallowed him whole.

Ding!

Host has been attacked by Old Ghost’s final strike.

Congratulations, host has obtained the Devouring Heaven Xuan Turtle race’s innate divine ability: [Devour the Heavens].

At the same time, with Old Ghost’s self-destruction, all the Emperor’s Daos he had previously devoured scattered into the void, returning to the embrace of the Heavenly Dao.

The weakened Heavenly Dao, as if injected with a stimulant, instantly regained its vigor.

The shattered projections of the Three Thousand Emperors and Kings throughout history reassembled from the endless void.

Under the Heavenly Dao’s control, these projections began merging, forming a towering giant ten thousand feet tall—a colossus that stood between heaven and earth, majestic beyond measure.

The Heavenly Dao’s eye fused into the giant’s head.

In the next moment, the giant’s face split open, revealing a single massive silver eye—no other features, just that single pupil occupying two-thirds of its visage.

Devour the Heavens?

As the inherited knowledge flowed into him, Gu Qingfeng’s eyes lit up with excitement.

This was an incredibly domineering divine ability—just as the name implied, it allowed one to devour the Heavenly Dao itself. And not just the Heavenly Dao; in essence, as long as one could stomach it (without exploding), anything could be devoured.

"Hahaha—!"

A burst of wild laughter interrupted Gu Qingfeng’s thoughts.

It was the Heart Demon Lord.

He studied the silver-eyed giant with satisfaction, as if admiring a masterpiece.

"So this was why you killed Old Ghost?" Gu Qingfeng asked.

"You wanted to strengthen the Heavenly Dao?"

"Precisely." The Heart Demon Lord smiled, brimming with confidence.