Entering the Void for the First Time

After spending some time bidding farewell to the few friends he had left in the Xuanhuang Realm, Mo Tianxiao handed the control disc for the imperial-grade killing formation to Li Yu.

“Li Yu, take this bottle of pills. If you ever want to attempt breaking through to the Emperor Realm, you can take the pills inside. They’ll increase your chances of success.”

“Senior Brother, I’ll remember that!”

Li Yu’s expression was solemn as he accepted the small jade bottle with both hands, his fingers trembling slightly.

He knew that his talent was limited. He had only made it this far because Senior Brother Mo had supported him. To him, breaking through to the Emperor Realm was probably an impossible dream. These precious pills would be better left for the younger generation of the Demon Sect.

Li Yu had already made up his mind. He had no desire to pursue the Emperor Realm. He only wanted to manage the Demon Sect properly. In the future, if Senior Brother Mo or any other disciples of the Demon Sect who had ascended ever grew homesick and returned to the Xuanhuang Realm, his greatest wish was simply for the Demon Sect to still exist.

“Keep this sword talisman as well. It can protect the Demon Sect from three calamities.”

As he spoke, Mo Tianxiao took out a tiny, pitch-black flying sword. Apart from a few mysterious patterns carved into it, there was nothing particularly special about its appearance.

“Rest assured, Senior Brother. The Demon Sect will continue to exist,” Li Yu promised solemnly as he accepted the sword talisman.

Mo Tianxiao patted Li Yu on the shoulder. “I don’t know how long this seclusion to break through to the Emperor Realm will take. There’s no need to inform the disciples of the sect, and you don’t need to see me off.”

With that, Mo Tianxiao turned and walked out of the main hall. Li Yu said nothing, merely following two meters behind him.

The two of them reached the sect’s plaza. Many disciples respectfully greeted them, and Mo Tianxiao answered each one with a smile.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Mo Tianxiao felt a sense of profound change. The Demon Sect was still the same Demon Sect, but its disciples had been replaced time and time again.

Most of the senior brothers and junior brothers who had been his contemporaries had already become stewards or elders of the sect. Of course, many familiar faces had also vanished forever.

When they arrived at the entrance of the sect, Mo Tianxiao came back to himself. He raised his head and took one last look at the Demon Sect, his expression complicated.

“I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to come back.”

“You should return. There’s no need to see me any farther.”

Mo Tianxiao turned around, and his figure vanished from the spot.

Li Yu stood motionless before the gates of the Demon Sect for a long time before murmuring, “Senior Brother Mo, you must return safely...”

Forty years later.

Xuanhuang Realm, at the border between the Central Divine Continent and the Demon Province.

A terrifying tremor shook the realm, causing every cultivator above the Saint Realm to stir.

“That direction... It’s Senior Brother Mo!”

Li Yu’s expression changed while he was at the Demon Sect. His figure swiftly rose into the sky as he stared toward the commotion coming from the ascension grounds.

He could not possibly mistake that familiar aura.

The powerful energy fluctuations attracted many cultivators, who hurried toward the ascension grounds to investigate.

“That’s Sect Master Mo! Is he about to ascend as well?”

“With commotion like this, it’s obvious he’s undergoing tribulation to ascend.”

“As expected of Sect Master Mo. I said long ago that he would definitely break through to the Emperor Realm. Sure enough, in only two thousand years, he has already broken through his bottleneck.”

“I just wonder who will come to invade our Xuanhuang Realm this time. Hopefully they won’t be too powerful.”

“And what if they are? With the imperial-grade formation Sect Master Mo set up, even a Quasi-Emperor who dares invade our Xuanhuang Realm will end up dying in a pool of blood!”

Boom!

Dark clouds covered the sky. Scarlet bolts of lightning, like divine thunder heralding the end of the world, locked onto the man in the sky who was violating the laws of nature and struck down viciously.

Facing divine thunder whose power had reached the Emperor Realm, the man merely waved his hand lightly. The thunder, infused with the Laws of Thunder, seemed to have encountered its natural bane. It shattered directly and dissipated into nothingness, as though it had never existed.

Even the ink-black clouds scattered like startled birds.

Above the firmament, a resplendent golden Ascension Gate opened.

Mo Tianxiao raised his eyes toward the Ascension Gate, waiting for an invader to appear.

However, time passed bit by bit. The Ascension Gate gradually drew his body upward, yet even when he reached the gate, not a single invader appeared.

Mo Tianxiao found this rather strange. Could it be that this ascension passage was connected to an exceptionally remote location, and the cultivators of the Voidlands had failed to discover it?

After half a day without any invader appearing, Mo Tianxiao stopped hesitating and stepped into the Ascension Gate of his own accord. In the next instant, his figure vanished, and the Ascension Gate slowly closed.

The cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm were left bewildered.

“This time, there actually wasn’t some foolhardy bastard invading the Xuanhuang Realm?”

“Perhaps they’ve finally learned to keep their eyes open.”

The cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm were sorely disappointed. They had been looking forward to seeing an outsider invade, only to be beaten to death in return. Unexpectedly, no invader had appeared this time.

“Looks like these so-called people from the Upper Realm aren’t anything special after all.”

...

As a wave of dizziness swept over him, the world spun around Mo Tianxiao. He was enveloped by a mysterious and profound force.

Before long, a vortex-shaped exit appeared before his eyes. In the next second, he emerged above a stretch of empty space. Everything around him was dim, like night.

The faint light from the countless stars scattered across the heavens added a touch of color to the darkness.

Mo Tianxiao noticed the unevenly distributed lights on the continent below. Feeling that there was not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy in this world, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

Many strange-looking cultivators were watching him curiously from the ground. Among them, Mo Tianxiao also spotted quite a few human cultivators.

“Is this the Voidlands?”

Through the outsiders who had invaded the Xuanhuang Realm, he already knew quite a bit about the Voidlands.

There was no spiritual energy in the Voidlands, nor were there any laws of the Heavenly Dao. Cultivators could not advance by absorbing the spiritual energy of the world.

Here, cultivators could only rely on pills, heavenly treasures, and other resources. That was also why the cultivators of the Voidlands were always invading lower realms to seize their resources.

Cultivators who ascended from lower realms would arrive randomly in different regions of the Voidlands.

“I wonder which race governs this particular region of the Voidlands.”

The vast universe was boundless, with countless races standing throughout it. As an intermediary destination that received cultivators ascending from lower realms, the Voidlands were divided among an even greater number of powers and races.

“Wow, he’s actually human! Hey, what’s your name? Which realm did you ascend from?”

A clear, crisp voice rang out. Only then did Mo Tianxiao notice that he had already been surrounded by a group of cultivators.

Mo Tianxiao raised his eyes toward the sky. One figure after another, all resembling humans, stared down at him. They wore tight-fitting green clothes and had golden hair. It was obvious at a glance that they were not human.

The one who had questioned Mo Tianxiao was a young woman with delicate, lovely features. Her oval face carried a faint blush, and a pair of large green eyes stared at him curiously. Pointed ears peeked out from beneath her golden hair. Upon closer inspection, he could also see a pair of translucent wings fluttering gently behind her.

Mo Tianxiao glanced at the woman’s long, straight, full, snow-white legs exposed to the air, as well as her appearance, which differed noticeably from that of a human. Doubt filled his heart.

“Could she be an elf?”

“Hey! I’m talking to you, human. Which realm did you ascend from? Answer me!”

A male elf frowned and shouted angrily when he saw Mo Tianxiao’s wandering gaze.

“Looks like this newly ascended fellow still doesn’t understand the situation. The Feather Spirit Tribe may not harbor much ill will toward humans, but they’re still a different race. When you’re on another race’s territory, it’s best to show some courtesy.”

“Exactly. Alas, what terrible luck we had—to ascend in a place ruled by a different race. Who knows if we’ll ever get out of here in our lifetime...”