Months later, the epic battle between the World-Destroying Demon Emperor and Immortal Venerable Wuji had finally come to an end.
The entire Meteor Abyss had undergone earth-shattering changes. What needed repairing was repaired, and what needed rebuilding was rebuilt. All things radiated vitality, presenting a thriving and prosperous scene.
Because there were no immortals in the world, the entire world was at peace. People had generally settled down, each going into secluded cultivation, terrified that their strength would recover too slowly.
After all, when wandering the martial world, how could one not have a few enemies? When they were powerful, they feared no one, but once they lost all their cultivation, everyone had to start leveling up from zero. It was truly a race against time, for fear of falling behind others.
The common people spontaneously renamed this era the Immortal-less Era, meaning a world without immortals.
As the new master of the Meteor Abyss, Gu Qingfeng, however, was exceptionally busy during this time—even busier than when he was fighting Immortal Venerable Wuji.
He was busy receiving the Immortal Venerable's inheritance and taking care of the Immortal Venerable's widow.
As a kind-hearted person, Gu Qingfeng deeply understood a principle: troubles should not involve one's family. Although he and Luo Wuji were mortal enemies, he would never do something as cruel as exterminating his entire family. On the contrary, he would take good care of the Immortal Venerable's widow to demonstrate his noble character.
Luo Wuji's greatest inheritance was his lifelong cultivation and the Meteor Abyss.
Gu Qingfeng spent several full months successfully refining Luo Wuji's cultivation and merging the Meteor Abyss with the Eternal Demon Domain, leaping to become a true Immortal Venerable!
Having obtained Luo Wuji's memories, he also figured out the situation outside the Meteor Abyss.
The Eternal True Realm was infinitely vast, just like the universe in his previous life, expanding with every passing moment.
Precisely because it was infinite, it held infinite possibilities. The real Eternal True Realm had countless experts, and no one knew how many powerhouses were hidden within.
However, experts at the Immortal Venerable level, even in the infinitely vast Eternal True Realm, were top-tier powerhouses.
It could be said that every Immortal Venerable was a regional overlord. If the Eternal True Realm were compared to the mortal world, then Immortal Venerables would be the kings of countless nations. Although Immortal Venerables varied in strength, a king was ultimately still a king.
And above the Immortal Venerable was the Immortal Emperor! The legendary existences who controlled the Origin.
Even though the Eternal True Realm was infinitely vast, the number of Immortal Emperors was limited.
Because Origins were limited and unique. Take Gu Qingfeng's Calamity Origin, for example. He controlled the Calamity Origin, and once he fully mastered it, he could become an Immortal Emperor.
As long as he did not die, latecomers, even if they comprehended the Dao of Calamity, would never be able to obtain the Calamity Origin to become an Immortal Emperor.
Immortal Emperors sat at the top of the pyramid in the Eternal True Realm, with limited seats. Each Origin represented a seat. Whoever controlled an Origin was an Immortal Emperor, and latecomers could only take the throne by killing their predecessors.
However, Immortal Emperors who controlled an Origin were nearly immortal and indestructible. No power other than another Origin could kill them.
Only an Origin could fight an Origin.
This meant that if the Immortal Venerables below wanted to rise to power, they basically had to rely on fate, wait for opportunities, or wait for Immortal Emperors to slaughter each other, causing one to fall and give up their seat.
Otherwise, they would need the good luck of Gu Qingfeng to obtain an ownerless Origin.
Of course, Origins were not easy to control. Like the Calamity Origin, no one from ancient times to the present had been able to control it. No one could withstand the burden of billions of calamities—except for Gu Qingfeng, who possessed a system.
Because of the unique nature of Origins, the situation in the Eternal True Realm was basically that Immortal Emperors sat high in the clouds, looking down on all living beings, and rarely engaged in death matches.
Even if one Immortal Emperor was clearly stronger than another, they rarely fought to the death. Because a single move could affect the whole situation, and there were always people waiting to reap the spoils—whether it was other Immortal Emperors or the Immortal Venerables below.
Other Immortal Emperors hoped to control more Origins to strengthen themselves, ideally plundering all Origins to achieve the legendary supreme realm.
The Immortal Venerables, on the other hand, wanted to ascend to become Immortal Emperors.
Meanwhile, the Immortal Venerables below the Immortal Emperors fought quite frequently.
With no hope of ascending, they mostly slaughtered each other, fought for territory, and devoured each other's Dao Domains to strengthen themselves while waiting for an opportunity. After all, if an Origin truly fell from the sky one day, the most powerful Immortal Venerable would certainly have the best chance of claiming it.
Having sorted all this out, Gu Qingfeng felt quite pleased.
At the very least, in the outside world, he was considered a figure of some importance.
It was just a pity that he wasn't a paramount figure. A true man born between heaven and earth, how could he be content living under others for long?
Sooner or later, he would become an Immortal Emperor!
Thinking of Immortal Emperors, Gu Qingfeng felt a bit worried again. Immortal Emperors felt like the Saints in the Primordial Era—immortal and indestructible. They seemed to rarely take action, but in reality, they secretly controlled the overall situation and plotted across the world.
Most importantly, Immortal Emperors were also immortal and indestructible, and only an Origin could fight another Origin. This made him faintly worried that his own immortal body might fail when facing an Immortal Emperor.
But a moment later, Gu Qingfeng had a change of heart. It didn't seem to be the case. His Origin was different from the Origins of other Immortal Emperors. His Origin was the Calamity Origin, which even the Eternal True Realm couldn't suppress!
It was the cancer cell of the Eternal True Realm, clearly superior to other Origins.
Why did the Eternal True Realm seal the Calamity Origin back then? Wasn't it because destiny was predetermined in the unseen world? Nothing in this world was truly immortal and indestructible. Even for the Eternal True Realm, once tribulations accumulated to a certain level, it would also be destroyed by calamity and then reborn. This was the cycle of reincarnation that all things in the world could not escape.
This meant that when the Calamity Origin grew to a certain level, it was an existence capable of destroying the Eternal True Realm.
It was like the opposite side of the Eternal True Realm. If the Eternal True Realm represented life, then the Calamity Origin represented destruction.
All Origins in the Eternal True Realm were based on existence and life, while only calamity represented destruction.
Didn't that mean that once the Calamity Origin grew, it could destroy all other Origins? Calamity was greater than or equal to everything else!
At this thought, Gu Qingfeng's ego swelled once again.
Since even the Eternal True Realm could do nothing about the Calamity Origin, the Immortal Emperors who relied on the Eternal True Realm were nothing more than younger brothers, completely unworthy of his attention.
After inflating his ego for a while, Gu Qingfeng suddenly felt a bit puzzled. Since such a powerful Calamity Origin could be subdued by the system, what exactly was the system?
Obviously, the system was an existence that transcended the Eternal True Realm!
Could it be the legendary, unspeakable supreme existence above the Immortal Emperors?
After pondering for a moment, Gu Qingfeng stopped thinking about it. Perhaps he would come into contact with such secrets after becoming an Immortal Emperor.
"On my first day out of seclusion, I'll use the Poison Demon as my first target," Gu Qingfeng muttered to himself.
After all, with such an obvious family member out there, how could he not hurry to reunite with him?
Mainly, Luo Wuji had the Poison Demon's poison in his body, and since Gu Qingfeng had absorbed the toxins, he could use them to search for the Poison Demon's location.
"After all, the Eternal True Realm is so dangerous. I won't feel secure without a family member by my side!"
...
Within the Eternal True Realm.
Above a vast and boundless land, Gu Qingfeng's figure shuttled back and forth. He didn't choose to cross through the void, mainly because he wanted to admire the scenery of the Eternal True Realm.
However, he was greatly disappointed. It was no different from some of the immortal blessed lands inside the Meteor Abyss.
After traveling for several days, Gu Qingfeng grew tired of the scenery. Fading into the void, he headed straight for Poison Demon's location.
With his current cultivation base, a single thought could cross hundreds of millions of miles.
As a powerhouse at the Immortal Venerable level, Poison Demon naturally had his own territory, the Poison Demon Cave!
The place was foul and pestilential, overgrown with toxic miasma. Human-head flowers, ghost-face trees, and various poisonous plants bloomed all over the mountains and plains. Ancient exotic insects crawled among them, making it an absolute ocean of venomous creatures.
Boom!
A stalwart figure resembling a demon god descended from the sky, crashing into the Poison Demon Cave and smashing a shallow crater into the surface. The ancient poisonous insects and Gu bugs within a radius of several miles were instantly shattered to death by the shockwave.
"Which fellow Daoist has come to visit my Poison Demon Cave?" A gloomy, hoarse voice echoed through the heavens and the earth.
As an Immortal Venerable powerhouse, it was naturally impossible for Poison Demon not to sense another Immortal Venerable suddenly appearing in his territory.
As soon as the voice fell, the figure of a man appeared, as handsome as a youth and sporting a head of long silver hair.
The man had pale skin, lips as bright red as blood, and wore a black robe. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking as if he were proudly standing amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. When he opened and closed his eyes, demonic light shone brilliantly, seemingly able to see through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
This was none other than Poison Demon.
Poison Demon calmly sized up the demon god-like man before him. Although his expression was placid, he was secretly alarmed. The demonic nature emanating from this person was not inferior to his own at all, and perhaps even a few degrees more evil.
"So it is a fellow Daoist of the demonic path. May I ask your esteemed name?" Poison Demon asked.
"This Emperor is Gu Qingfeng," Gu Qingfeng smiled.
Poison Demon immediately frowned. A mere Immortal Venerable dared to call himself an Emperor?
"Daoist Gu looks unfamiliar. I wonder what brings you to my Poison Demon Cave?"
"I have long heard of Poison Demon's great name. This Emperor came today to borrow something."
Poison Demon's frown deepened, feeling somewhat displeased in his heart. He did not know Gu Qingfeng, yet this stranger wanted to borrow something right off the bat.
If it weren't for the fact that the other party was also an Immortal Venerable whose background he couldn't yet fathom, he would have turned hostile long ago.
"I wonder what fellow Daoist wishes to borrow?"
The smile on Gu Qingfeng's lips gradually turned ferocious. The demonic light in his eyes blazed as he bared his eerie white teeth: "To borrow the head on your shoulders."
Poison Demon was taken aback for a moment before sneering: "Your Excellency is quite direct. I wonder what enmity exists between us?"
"This Emperor has always been direct with family. As for enmity? There really isn't any."
Poison Demon snorted coldly: "Hmph, all things in the world have a cause. If Your Excellency wants to kill me, there must be a reason. If there truly is no enmity, why would Your Excellency kill me?"
"Jiejiejie... Destroying you, what does it have to do with you?" Gu Qingfeng laughed malevolently.
He had always been this simple and brutal when treating his family.
Facing such an arrogant Gu Qingfeng, even a powerhouse like Poison Demon couldn't help but get angry.
"What an arrogant boast!!"
Poison Demon was about to make a move when Gu Qingfeng spoke again: "If you insist on a reason, then it would be because of Luo Wuji."
Hearing the name Luo Wuji, Poison Demon's pupils instantly shrank. He quickly expanded his senses, searching the void for hundreds of millions of miles around, seemingly afraid that Luo Wuji would launch a sneak attack from behind.
However, after searching for a long time, he could not find a trace of Luo Wuji.
Seeing him act so cautiously, Gu Qingfeng mocked: "No need to be nervous. Luo Wuji didn't come. He's dead."
"Dead?" Poison Demon was slightly stunned. Could he have died from my poison?
As soon as this thought surfaced, Poison Demon dismissed it. He knew Luo Wuji's strength well. Although he was heavily poisoned, that bit of toxin was absolutely not enough to kill an Immortal Venerable.
If he, Poison Demon, were truly that incredible, he would have become an Immortal Emperor long ago.
"How did he die?"
"This Emperor killed him," Gu Qingfeng said frankly.
"You killed him?" Poison Demon was stunned, failing to understand Gu Qingfeng's motive.
"That's right, it was indeed this Emperor who killed him. Therefore, this Emperor has come to seek revenge against you."
"What!? You killed Luo Wuji, and then came to seek revenge against me?" Seeing Gu Qingfeng's serious expression, Poison Demon suddenly felt that the other party might have suffered from qi deviation and come here to act crazy.
Gu Qingfeng, however, did not care: "If you hadn't poisoned Luo Wuji, could this Emperor have killed him so easily? So, in the end, the blame falls on you."
"Bastard!!" Poison Demon finally realized. This Gu Qingfeng was clearly just here to amuse himself and deliberately pick a fight.
He was just forcing a reason to kill him; if he couldn't find one, he would just make one up.
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."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
