The End of a Good Life

The silver-armored youth looked up at the dim sky and let out a sigh. “This good life… it’s over.”

“General.”

The bronze demon guards beside him all watched him nervously.

After sighing, the silver-armored youth turned and took a single step, arriving at the distant forbidden zone and the layers of formations surrounding it. He quickly passed through them. Outside the formations, a large group of black-robed figures and members of the Donglin Sect had already gathered. The massive upheaval and the ripples of spatial teleportation had long since drawn the attention of many outside.

“General.” The Donglin Sect Leader hurried forward. “What has happened? Does our Donglin Sect need to serve?”

“What has happened?” The silver-armored youth muttered. Then, with a wave of his hand, a massive phantom mountain suddenly appeared and slammed down directly onto the Donglin Sect Leader. Pu. The Sect Leader’s entire body was smashed into a bloody pulp, instantly reduced to ashes.

The surrounding disciples of the Donglin Sect, including Loose Immortals, Earth Immortals, Primal Daoists, and Wanxiang Adepts, stared in utter disbelief.

Some, however, revealed expressions of pleasure. “Good riddance.”

The Donglin Sect Leader had been a classic sycophant, fawning and servile, which had long infuriated those disciples who still held a shred of loyalty to the sect. The silver-armored general spoke calmly, his voice carrying a cold command: “Hear my order, all disciples of the Donglin Sect. Those who are willing to be loyal to me, to submit to me, and to voluntarily become slaves under my command, kneel down immediately.”

His voice was not loud.

Yet it resounded within the mind of every single Donglin Sect disciple. Instantly, all the disciples scattered throughout the area—whether patrolling, cultivating, or in secluded meditation—were stunned.

“You have ten breaths to make your choice.” The silver-armored general’s voice was indifferent.

“We are willing! We are willing!” Some disciples immediately knelt, their voices fawning.

But many others stared in disbelief.

Loyalty? Submission?

That was simple enough.

But ‘voluntarily become a slave’? That was too extreme. They were cultivators, and they had long harbored discontent. The silver-armored general had previously treated them with a measure of ‘kindness.’ But now he was speaking of ‘slaves’? To be a slave meant that even their lives would belong to another, to be completely at his command.

“Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven…” The silver-armored general slowly counted down. “…Six. Five!”

He suddenly stopped at five.

The silver-armored general laughed. With a single step, he appeared high in the air. The heavens and earth began to tremble as floating mountains began to rise from the southeast, northwest, and all directions. These were the peaks of the ‘Nine Heavens Divine-Poison Flame Furnace’ that had previously been used against Ji Ning.

“Of the thirty-nine thousand-plus disciples of the Donglin Sect,” the silver-armored general’s voice boomed, “over twenty thousand have knelt. Among those who knelt are twenty-one Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, and three hundred and one Primal Daoists. These three hundred and twenty-two are spared from death… all others will die!”

His voice echoed throughout the Donglin Mountain range.

Then—

Endless flames began to split into countless streams, surging towards every corner of the Donglin Mountain range.

“General! Ten breaths haven’t passed yet!”

“General!”

The Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals who had still been hesitating cried out in panic. A few more Primal Daoists, Earth Immortals, and Loose Immortals began to kneel.

“Too late.” The silver-armored general laughed heartily.

Streams of flame flowed to every place, touching those hiding in meditation chambers, those on patrol, those fleeing. Anyone they touched was instantly burned to ash. “Hmph. This Nine Heavens Divine-Poison Flame Furnace poses a serious threat even to Celestial Immortals. How could these Donglin Sect disciples withstand it?”

“No! I submit! I submit, General! I am willing to be a slave!” A young disciple cried out in anguish before being burned to ash by the flames.

“Hmph. A mere Zifu Disciple? What use would I have for you?” The silver-armored general sneered.

Despair engulfed the entire Donglin Mountain range.

Only those who had knelt before the count reached five—the Primal Daoists, Returning-to-Void cultivators, and Earth Immortals—were allowed to live. All other Donglin Sect disciples… were dead. Even those who chose to self-detonate had their souls devoured by the grand formation set up within the Donglin Mountain range, which then crushed them into nothingness. There was no escape.

After a moment, there was utter silence.

“Collect them.”

The silver-armored general waved his hand, and a massive cloth sack appeared high in the air. Its mouth opened wide, sweeping up all the Primal Daoists, Loose Immortals, and Earth Immortals below.

He then returned to the forbidden zone and collected all the crucial items, including the puppet masters and the ancient castle.

“Let’s go.” Leading his group of bronze demon guards, the silver-armored general arrived at the dark mist tunnel and entered it one after another.

A short while later.

The dark mist tunnel vanished completely.

The entire Donglin Mountain range fell into absolute stillness. Every living creature, including the animals, was dead. Even the grand formations of the forbidden zone and the Nine Heavens Divine-Poison Flame Furnace had been destroyed.

Thus, the Donglin Sect was truly erased from existence.

This was a vast world. At the center of this world was a city, and at the heart of the city was an enormous fortress. It was so massive that even a Celestial Immortal could not see its end at a single glance.

“We’re back. Finally back in the Fifth World.”

A dark mist tunnel tore open in the sky, and from it emerged a silver-armored youth and a group of bronze demon guards.

Whoosh. An invisible force swept over their small squad.

“General.” The bronze demon guards looked at the silver-armored youth.

“Go to the camp and await orders,” the silver-armored general said with a sigh. “I’m afraid I’m about to be transferred. You’ll probably have to suffer with me.”

“General, it’s not your fault. It’s that Ji Ning…”

“Right, that Ji Ning knows the **Arcane Art. It’s not the general’s fault at all!” The bronze demon guards spoke anxiously.

The silver-armored youth smiled. “Alright, I’m going to see the Cave Master. You all go to the camp and wait.”

“Yes.” The demon guards acknowledged.

The silver-armored youth transformed into a streak of light, diving down from the sky into the fortress. A passage automatically opened for him. As for the other bronze demon guards, they had to descend to the ground and enter through the city gates. After all, the general was a Celestial Immortal, of much higher status than them.

Within a massive hall.

A man in a fiery red robe sat high upon a throne, looking down from above. The terrifying aura he emanated was in no way inferior to that of the Grand Xia Emperor. The silver-armored youth entered the hall and bowed respectfully. “Your subordinate pays his respects to the Cave Master.”

“Buchasi.” The red-robed man looked down, his brow slightly furrowed. “Weren’t you in the Firefan Commandery of the Grand Xia World? Your task was to oversee the forging of the puppets, and you were not to make any mistakes. Why have you left the Grand Xia World without permission and come here?”

“Cave Master, my base established in the Donglin Mountain range of the Firefan Commandery was infiltrated by someone…” The silver-armored youth, Buchasi, honestly reported everything. He knew well how powerful the organization was. Even if he didn’t speak, the organization would know everything that had happened in the Donglin Mountain range within a day.

“The **Arcane Art? Ji Ning?” The red-robed man frowned.

The silver-armored youth was nervous, sweat beading on his forehead.

“You have truly disappointed me,” the red-robed man said with a sigh of regret.

“Cave Master, I… I…” The silver-armored youth was also filled with unwillingness. It truly wasn’t his fault. Any other base would have suffered the same fate against an enemy who knew the **Arcane Art.

“Merit must be rewarded, and过错 must be punished,” the Cave Master said coldly. “Buchasi, because of you, the occupation of the Grand Xia World has become even more difficult. Your punishment is this… take your squad to the ‘Beishan Major World’ and establish a new base to continue forging puppets. Furthermore, within a hundred years, you must kill at least five Celestial Immortals.”

The silver-armored youth’s heart trembled. The Beishan Major World?

Unlike the unified Grand Xia World, the Beishan Major World was far more chaotic, with battles already raging everywhere. Going to the ‘Grand Xia World’ had been a cushy job, but going to the ‘Beishan Major World’ meant facing the threat of war at any moment. On top of that, he had to kill five Celestial Immortals. Every Celestial Immortal was a formidable opponent, and no one knew what secret techniques a being with such a long lifespan might possess. One might have the advantage, only for the enemy’s friends or master to suddenly arrive. Killing Celestial Immortals was extremely dangerous. Although he had killed over ten Celestial Immortals in the past, that was the accumulation of a very long time, the result of countless deadly tribulations. He had finally earned a good life, being assigned to the peaceful Grand Xia World to forge puppets without any combat missions.

Now, his good life was over. The days of hardship were beginning. He might even die in the Beishan Major World!

This was already a lenient punishment. If Ji Ning hadn’t needed something from him and sworn a Dao Oath not to reveal the secret, his punishment would have been far more severe.

“Yes.” The silver-armored youth acknowledged respectfully.

“Set off immediately. Go.” The Cave Master waved his hand.

The silver-armored youth immediately withdrew and left the great hall.

The hall fell silent.

Whoosh.

A seductive, white-robed woman appeared behind the Cave Master. She was incredibly alluring, her slender waist faintly visible beneath her translucent white robe. She smiled softly and said, “Master, Buchasi was one of your more capable generals. Besides, didn’t that Ji Ning swear a Heavenly Dao Oath?”

“What do you know?” The Cave Master said calmly. “Ji Ning swore a Heavenly Dao Oath not to reveal the secrets of the puppet forging in the castle. But this Ji Ning is very close to the Xia Emperor. He can easily warn the Xia Emperor. This makes the occupation of the Grand Xia World even more difficult.”

“All this trouble for just one Major World,” the seductive woman muttered.

“The Grand Xia World is not an ordinary Major World,” the Cave Master said. “The Xia Emperor is a descendant of the imperial clan of the Primordial Pangu World. How deep are his foundations? Who knows what methods such a descendant of an ancient imperial clan might possess? And that Xia Emperor is a sworn brother of Daofather Yinglong. To occupy the Grand Xia World, we must also be wary of Daofather Yinglong. How could I not be cautious?”

The seductive woman exclaimed in surprise, “Daofather Yinglong? Master, you never mentioned this before.”

“What use would telling you be? You’re not even a Celestial Immortal yet,” the Cave Master said helplessly.

“Is it really true that the Xia Emperor is Daofather Yinglong’s sworn brother?” The woman was still curious.

“It’s a secret to you, but how many experts in the Three Realms don’t know?” The Cave Master shook his head. “That Xia Emperor is so afraid that others might not know, he built ‘Yinglong Mountain’ to be even higher than his own ‘Tianmang Hall’! Tianmang Hall is his imperial palace, representing him, the Xia Emperor. For Yinglong Mountain to be built higher than his own head… who do you think that mountain represents? Naturally, it represents an existence even more powerful than him. In the Three Realms, the only one associated with ‘Yinglong Mountain’ is Daofather Yinglong!”

The woman suddenly understood. “I see. I was wondering why you and the other True Immortals and Empyrean Gods have never made a move.”

“Don’t underestimate the Xia Emperor. Even if Daofather Yinglong doesn’t get involved, occupying the Grand Xia World is no easy task. An ancient imperial clan? Hmph… that’s not just an empty title. Even a branch of the ancient imperial clan is not to be trifled with.”

The Cave Master spoke.