The Crown Prince was currently being besieged by endless demonfire, the result of all sorts of spell formations. And yet, he wasn’t being harmed in any way. In fact, it almost seemed like a tempering of sorts for him.

When the Crown Prince spoke, his voice echoed like thunder. “You should abandon any thoughts of capturing me, Great Sage Shroud-Heaven! I’ve already reached out to the immortal planes, and acquired the sealing marks of immortals. I've severed the psychic connection between you and me, and now I'm a Great Sage, making me completely invincible. Soon, I will unite the Rich-Lush Continent under my rule, and eventually, I’ll come to the Hanging Mountain and take your demon head off your shoulders.”

As he spoke, the images of immortal planes flickered in and out above his head.

He was able to communicate with them because of the so-called Operation Azure Heavens. Not only did it allow him to have access to boundless power, it also gave him incomplete immortal motes, which were gathering to himself to increase his strength even further.

Because of that, the demonfire in the area shrank away from him and didn't dare to touch him.

Soon, the power of the fire began to fade, and he emerged from the cocoon.

Looking out into the far distance, he could see the curved heaven and flat earth that was the Rich-Lush Continent and its greyspace. He could see the Planar Pearl at the very peak of the greyspace, and the primal chaos vital energy beneath the continent, as well as all the countless terrain features of the lands.

‘So, Yang Qi actually saved the plane. From that alone, it's obvious that he has a spectacular, almighty backer. Sadly for him, that backer can’t enter the continent in person. Most likely, his backer is just trying to turn him into a puppet.’ Cold light flickered in the Crown Prince’s eyes, as though he were making a calculation of some sort.

‘It doesn’t matter. The first thing I’ll do upon returning is kill Yang Qi, ferret out the truth of his backer, and take his power for my own.

‘Then, I’ll unite the Demi-Immortal, True Dragon, Sun Moon and Sea God Institutes under my authority. At that point, I’ll rule the world.’

With that, he waved his hand to extinguish the final remnants of the demonfire.

‘The most powerful institute in the Quake-Dawn Continent, the fabled Quake-Dawn Cathedral, will soon be mine as well. For now, I need them to keep the chancellors in check. Among all the Great Sages in the Rich-Lush Continent, Chancellor Demi-Immortal is the strongest, and also the most mysterious. I can’t believe he actually helped Yang Qi, and foiled my plans to get the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. Thanks to that, I was injured by that trashy Young Master Shroud-Heaven. What an utter humiliation.’

All the Crown Prince could think about was how to slash down anyone who stood in his way along the path to glory.

‘I’ve already awoken part of my true will. I am an almighty being from an immortal plane, something rare in all creation. Considering the being I represent, no one can possibly be a match for me. Even the Yore-Wilds Continent itself could be considered nothing in my eyes.’

Even his mere thoughts caused everything to shake, and the plane he occupied to sink downward.

** 

Yang Qi was currently in the Rich-Lush Continent, cultivating with the help of the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial. Many days had passed, and the appointed time for the final duel approached. Everyone in the continent was waiting with bated breath.

Of course, Yang Qi had no idea exactly when the Crown Prince would actually return. Therefore, although he allowed himself to seek enlightenment with the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial, he still kept some attention focused outward. The process of working with the ballad felt like connecting with some immensely powerful spirit, and the more time that passed, the more that it seemed that the spirit represented the only truth in the world. That spirit being was the entity that had created the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial, a sovereign being who could lord it over heaven and earth, who could create natural law, and was virtually invincible.

Yang Qi felt like he absolutely had to exercise faith in that great dao, and become a true disciple.

At the same time, he managed to keep his own thoughts clear in his sea of consciousness. He knew that the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial was a tool being used by some immortal to try to gain faith and followers. If that immortal could convert an entire plane to its worshipers, and then help them to spread further out into the universe, it would be a path to immense power.

Any other person would already have succumbed. But not Yang Qi. He was using the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial to directly contend with the will of that immensely powerful immortal. By doing so, he could temper his own spirit, and hopefully, reach the next highest level of enlightenment.

The fluctuations of a great dao swept to and fro over him, and pulses of immortal energy emerged from the top of his head, to the point that they were visible to the naked eye. It was almost as if he were connecting to some unknown natural law, and that the immortal energy was connecting to his soul itself.

‘

The valiant go into the mountains even though they know tigers lurk therein

?’ Nie Chaoguang thought as he looked on coldly. ‘This guy is strong, but I can’t believe that he intentionally wanted to cultivate using the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial, all to provoke his soul and cultivation base, and achieve a breakthrough. Doesn't he know that it's playing with fire? The Ballad of the Dao Testimonial can be used to communicate with a mysterious immortal plane. Once he does that, the will of a mighty immortal will enter his sea of consciousness and brainwash him. He couldn't possibly fight back. Even Great Sages are like absolutely nothing compared to immortals, and this guy is only a wimpy Legendary.”

Of course, Nie Chaoguang didn’t dare to do anything tricky; he knew that Yang Qi’s energy field could crush him out of existence in the blink of an eye.

Anyone other than a Great Sage would be forced to bow and scrape to Yang Qi now.

However, Nie Chaoguang simply couldn’t wait to see the will of the immortal take over Yang Qi and force him to become a disciple. He would become the most powerful disciple Nie Chaoguang had come across so far, and in fact, he was fairly certain the immortal would reward him because of it.

That thought caused his eyes to glitter brightly. 

**

Suddenly Yang Qi’s eyes snapped open, including the Lord's Eye, which sent a beam of light stabbing high into the sky, where a door suddenly appeared.

It was immense, the type that seemed could never be opened for all eternity. It was bronze, covered with spots of age and rust, and emanated the most ancient of auras. However, as soon as the light of the Lord's Eye touched it, the door cracked open.

Bam!

The platform Yang Qi sat on was reduced to rubble, and Yanhaven itself was affected, almost as if by an earthquake, which caused numerous buildings to sway back and forth.

“Be suppressed!”

Porcelain sagelight erupted out, a manifestation of Yang Qi’s mighty power that instantly quelled the vibrations shaking Yanhaven.

He had established a connection with the immortal plane.

‘The brat’s playing with fire,’ Ghost Emperor Yama thought, looking up into the space-time wormhole up above. In the depths of that door was a flickering light that was powerful enough to eradicate Great Sages. ‘Can he really communicate with a higher heaven using only his own will? And can he actually defeat the will of an immortal?’

It was obviously an impossibility for ordinary folk to do such a thing when dealing with the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial. Whatever immortal had created the song must have been shocked at the strength of Yang Qi’s soul, and then directly taken control of his will to make him into a disciple.

After all, a disciple like him would be more terrifyingly strong than any other disciple from the mortal realm.

‘This is the so-called will of an immortal?’ Yang Qi thought. ‘Are you kidding me? So, you think you can enslave me and turn me into your disciple? Guess what? I used the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial to draw you out for training purposes. You’re like a training dummy!’

The light from the Lord's Eye turned into a godly beam that carried Yang Qi’s will into the enormous bronze door.

RUUUUUMBLE!

A moment later, a mountain-crushing, sea-shattering sound erupted from the bronze door, like millions of explosions all occurring at the same time. Thankfully, Yang Qi had already thought to protect Yanhaven, otherwise it would have been wiped off the map, turned into either lava or ash.

The bronze door was actually a space-time wormhole leading to an immortal plane, and not even Ghost Emperor Yama could have entered it if he tried. It was sealed tightly by the magical laws of the plane it led to.

However, Yang Qi had offended the mighty immortal who had created the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial, and in that entity’s fury, it wanted to enter the world, enslave Yang Qi, and destroy everything else in his plane of existence.

To such an immortal, the people of lower planes like the Rich-Lush Continent were essentially bugs. And for a bug to use the Ballad of the Dao Testimonial to try to establish contact in this way was blasphemy.

It was a complete, utter humiliation, like a mighty emperor suddenly being slapped across the face by a beggar.

Without any warning, the space-time wormhole suddenly opened fully.

POP!

The bronze door turned into a meteor, shooting downward as fast as lightning, moving more quickly than anyone could comprehend. In the blink of an eye, it was on top of Yang Qi’s head, about to smash into him.

RIIIIP!

Suddenly, bronze light spread out to cover Yang Qi’s body. At the same time, his aura became different, as though he had been possessed by some ancient god-spirit.

‘That’s…!’ Ghost Emperor Yama’s eyes went wide. ‘A god from heaven descended into the mortal world! He’s been inhabited by some reincarnated being who will destroy any who blaspheme it. Either that, or he’s been transformed into a slave! Hold on. Now it makes sense. That must be what happened to the Crown Prince’s mother, the Holy Daughter of the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. She angered an immortal and then ended up pregnant as a result.’

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