The pitch-black dragon cave sat at the edge of a precipitous cliff. At its mouth grew ancient Medicine Kings that had flourished for over a hundred thousand years, not merely one but several, releasing an astonishing fragrance. Some withered stalks lay scattered about too, clearly having decayed over countless ages into medicinal mud upon the ground—yet from their seeds, new Medicine Kings had grown again.

A silver dragon stretched across the sky, resembling an endless range of snow-capped peaks, vast beyond measure, its majestic head raised high, its massive pair of horns gleaming crystalline, its scales translucent and radiant, its cry resonating through the nine heavens.

“Is this really happening?!” People trembled, unable to believe what they were witnessing—a true dragon manifesting in the mortal world, like something from a fantastical tale.

The aura of an ancient Emperor spread through the air, striking terror across the eternal heavens. Entire ranks of ancient Sages fell prostrate, unable to help themselves, a trembling of the very soul driving them to kowtow.

All the heroes present found their legs going weak, unable to stand. Cultivators near the precipice were torn apart entirely, their bones shattering, reduced to pools of blood and flesh.

This was the pressure of an ancient Emperor—even Sages could not withstand it, like ants gazing up at a colossal dragon, mayflies trying to shake the heavens; the gap was simply too vast.

“Eternal Demon Emperor, sovereign supreme of a generation—we mean no offense, we come here to pay our respects, to kowtow before you.”

Not a single Great Sage was exempt, all kneeling prostrate on the ground. Not one among them could withstand even a single thread of aura leaking from this silver dragon—it was terrifying, a gap between heaven and earth itself.

The silver true dragon raised its head, soaring into the nine heavens, circling once before descending again, resembling a supreme deity, its entire body radiating silver light, suppressing past, present, and future alike.

It possessed a vitality as vast as the ocean, its life force blanketing everything, making all living beings tremble. By now no one doubted anything anymore—this was without question an Emperor-level being! Even the Stone Man, who stood just half a step from the Quasi-Emperor Realm, knelt down, trembling where he knelt—more than enough to prove everything.

With a thunderous boom, the precipitous cliff split apart, half the stone mountain collapsing, falling into the boundless abyss below.

Dragon energy rolled forth in waves. Beside that pitch-black dragon cave, dozens of Medicine Kings swayed, their radiant light scattering, releasing a fragrance potent enough to make one feel as though they might ascend to immortality on the spot.

All the Sages’ eyes went wide, yet none dared act rashly—before an ancient Emperor, even a Quasi-Emperor would appear insignificant and weak.

Yet the shocking turn of events continued. Even the dragon cave itself split apart, several Medicine Kings tumbling loose along with the rock, falling into the abyss below, wasted entirely.

Everyone stood frozen in shock. Had the Demon Emperor grown angry? Even the dragon cave had been destroyed—was he intent on annihilating everyone present? Never mind them—if every cultivator across the heavens and every realm had come here, they too would have met their end.

Every person present felt their scalp go numb. Hundreds of thousands of years had passed—how had a generation’s Demon Emperor appeared once more? It was said he had fallen on his road to immortality, but what had truly become of him?

This was clearly a true dragon, a genuine Emperor manifesting once more in the mortal world, striking a powerful blow to everyone’s hearts, leaving them questioning whether they were dreaming—even the Great Sages were stunned.

“Puff!”

A Sage King exploded, blood and bone fragments scattering everywhere, a shocking sight, simply because he had drawn too close to the dragon cave. This left everyone terrified, cold sweat breaking out across their bodies.

Ye Fan had retreated swiftly enough, yet even hundreds of miles away he still felt the crushing pressure. Had it not been for the radiant glow emanating from the green bronze Cauldron, if he had tried to remain standing without kneeling, his knees would likely have shattered.

Pang Bo’s entire body shook violently, gripping the Demon Emperor’s Ruler tightly. The two blue-gold halves of the ruler radiated immortal light in his palms, waves of brilliant light pouring down, finally allowing him to remain standing without kneeling.

“Too powerful. Is this truly what an ancient Emperor is like? Even a single leaking thread of his aura is unbearable, forcing even Great Sages to kneel. If he actually struck with full force, how terrifying would that be? I imagine he could destroy this entire universe.” Pang Bo trembled.

The two of them hailed from the other side of the starry expanse. Even after years of cultivation, certain deeply ingrained ways of thinking remained difficult to shake, their perspectives still occasionally clashing with this world’s.

Still, after some thought, the two of them found peace with it—what hadn’t they seen by now? After everything they’d experienced, this was merely a brief moment of shock, nothing more.

“Greetings, Demon Emperor!” Baijie Daoren trembled with excitement, prostrating himself, striking his head against the ground repeatedly, kowtowing step by step—a gesture of genuine, heartfelt reverence.

In the sky above, the silver dragon’s entire body of pure white, crystalline scales shimmered with flowing light, its eyes holding visions of stars collapsing into oblivion, terrifying scenes of cosmic evolution.

It clearly possessed a powerful pulse of life, yet it paid no heed whatsoever to Baijie Daoren’s words, coiling in the heavens above, gazing down over the vast cosmos, lost in a distant daze.

“No, this isn’t the Demon Emperor—the soul has long since departed. This is an Emperor’s corpse, a body bearing only a fragment of imprint.” Suddenly, Qing Huang Daoren cried out. Though aged and frail, on the verge of passing into stillness, his clouded eyes shot forth two beams of sharp light, seeing through the truth of this silver true dragon.

Everyone stood in stunned silence, a chill spreading through their bodies. This wasn’t an Emperor at all—this was a corpse that had somehow given birth to sentience? Nothing could be more terrifying than this.

Hundreds of miles away, Ye Fan and Pang Bo exchanged glances, both feeling an icy chill run through them. An ancient Emperor truly defied comprehension—merely a corpse, and it was already unbearable to withstand.

“Quickly, strike down the people from the Underworld, drive them away from here, don’t let them get close!” one of the human race’s road guardians shouted.

The Primary God of the Divine Organization had already sprung into action, charging toward the black-robed demonic figure, launching the fiercest of attacks. Before entering this place, the Great Sages had already been wary of the Underworld’s people, fearing they might act in defiance of heaven’s order.

“Heh heh…” The Great Sage of the Underworld, clad in black battle robes, laughed with an eerie, sinister tone. With a sharp whistle, tens of thousands of yin soldiers surrounded the area, each one reeking of death, closing in from every direction.

“Suppress them all!” Qing Huang Daoren roared.

The Stone Man, the Bull Demon King, and several evil gods all changed expression as well, joining together to block the tens of thousands of yin soldiers—it was said yin soldiers were lethal to corpses; once they drew close, they could assimilate one.

If an Emperor’s corpse were to fall into the Underworld’s hands, the consequences would be unthinkable!

In an instant, this place became a scene of carnage. Even tens of thousands of yin soldiers weren’t enough to withstand it—a single strike from a Great Sage turned them to smoke, ashes scattering across the universe.

Yet more reinforcements arrived from the Underworld. Yin drums pounded, the Netherworld’s hell manifesting, rows of white bone ships and dark palaces materializing within the void, releasing even more yin soldiers.

A hundred thousand yin soldiers!

Each one powerful, gathered from ancient yin tombs across every ancient star region in the cosmos, assembled together—a force capable of making all realms across the heavens tremble.

They hadn’t come to throw their lives away, and didn’t charge at the Great Sages—instead they sat cross-legged in the void, chanting scripture. This was the Underworld’s Corpse-Summoning Scripture, meant to transform the Emperor’s corpse into one of their own.

“No!”

Everyone cried out in alarm. If the Demon Emperor’s body truly fell into their hands, the consequences would be unimaginable—the entire universe would be thrown into chaos.

“Retreat!” Qing Huang Daoren suddenly issued this command at this critical moment.

Beside him, Baijie Daoren stood, his expression dark and grim, clearly harboring deep resentment toward the Underworld’s intentions—this was the Demon Emperor he revered most, and he would not allow this desecration.

The Bull Demon King, the Stone Man, and the evil gods, seeing this, also retreated, choosing not to fight the Underworld’s Great Sage to the death—only the Primary God of the Divine Organization continued the fierce battle.

An ancient bronze coffin flew in from the depths of the cosmos, streaked with green rust, as if it had existed for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. Its lid suddenly opened, releasing the sound of chanting scripture, radiant light shooting forth in every direction.

It drew closer, intent on summoning the Emperor’s corpse away.

“Are we really not going to stop this?” The Bull Demon King grew anxious. If the Underworld truly obtained this silver true dragon, it would undoubtedly spell disaster.

“Watch and wait.” Qing Huang Daoren said only this much—he held tremendous prestige upon the Ancient Road.

“Even if the Demon Emperor is dead, not just anyone can lay a hand on him—not even the Underworld!” Baijie Daoren sneered coldly, filled with bitter resentment.

“Boom!”

The Primary God of the Divine Organization rode his Cauldron away, leaving only the Underworld’s army and the sound of chanting echoing across the heavens. That ancient coffin, along with the black-robed demonic figure, sat cross-legged in the void, summoning the Emperor’s corpse.

A hundred thousand heavenly soldiers radiated yin energy from every pore. Some Sages who drew too close instantly had their souls scattered, leaving behind nothing but empty husks.

This was the Underworld’s formation, capable of trapping and killing Great Sages, eerie and terrifying—ordinary cultivators dared not approach, lest they be claimed by vengeful spirits, their souls dragged away.

“Puff!”

Suddenly, the black-robed demonic figure’s entire body split open, dark bloodstains appearing all over him, his body trembling violently before suddenly exploding outward.

Then, that ancient coffin shook violently as well, the chanting abruptly cutting off as it exploded in the void, metal fragments scattering in every direction.

After that, the hundred thousand yin soldiers vanished into nothingness, as if some heavenly deity had struck them down with a single slap, instantly reducing them to dust, erased from the world, gone forever.

The Underworld’s Great Sage, like a mere clay chicken or roof tile dog, had exploded during the summoning process himself—what a terrifying scene this was. He hadn’t even made true contact yet; he’d intended to use the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers as a medium, keeping himself at a safe distance, yet had still suffered the backlash, his body and spirit both obliterated.

Boom!

The dragon cave, radiating an ancient, weathered aura, mysterious and unfathomable, split apart completely at this moment. Threads of dragon energy surged in every direction, while the Medicine Kings growing at its mouth tumbled down into the abyss beneath the cliff.

This place was being destroyed. The entire Demon Emperor’s mausoleum was cracking apart—amid the thunderous booming, mountains and rivers collapsed, the magnificent Emperor’s tomb suspended in the cosmos crumbling, soon to cease existing entirely.

Every Sage’s heart bled at the sight. Beside the Demon Emperor’s cave, clusters of Medicine Kings, dozens in total, all tumbled into the abyss. What other heaven-defying treasures might still lie within the cave remained unknown—likely even more astonishing—but they could only watch helplessly.

A silver true dragon stretched across the sky, blocking everything, having brought down even the Underworld’s Great Sage and his hundred thousand supremely powerful yin soldiers—how could this not strike terror into every heart? Not a single person dared to cross even half a step further.

Boom!

Suddenly, the silver true dragon in the sky also dissolved, its scales vanishing, its vital life force surging as it transformed into a pool of Emperor’s blood, revealing its true origin.

“This… this isn’t a complete Emperor’s corpse at all—it’s merely a pool of blood! And yet it’s extraordinary, for within it remains the Demon Emperor’s undying resolve, guarding this place!” Baijie Daoren cried out in shock, sensing a wave of emotion, feeling it as his own, overcome with sorrow.

The great tomb disintegrated, the abyss splitting open as well. The Demon Emperor’s cave upon the cliff shattered into pieces, everything laid bare.

Within, there lay a jade box, no more than a foot long, crystalline and translucent, its color unfading after hundreds of thousands or even millions of years, radiant light flowing across its surface.

Everyone’s hearts stirred, unable to help themselves any longer. With the Emperor’s corpse gone, transformed back into a pool of blood, the Sages could not resist rushing forward, desperate to seize this final treasure.

Without question, this was clearly the item the Demon Emperor had cherished most—otherwise it would not have remained by his side, inseparable from birth to death.

Yet that pool of blood, containing his lingering resolve, transformed into crystalline light and surged forward, wrapping around the foot-long jade box, refusing to separate, guarding it there. For a moment, everyone froze in place, not daring to act rashly.

“Secure the Medicine Kings first!”

The Sages sprang into action, searching through the split abyss below for the dozens of ancient Medicine Kings that had fallen.

“Crack!”

Suddenly, the jade box split open, releasing a soft, gentle light. Everyone present felt their souls tremble.

A withered flower was revealed, without a trace of luster, long since wilted—yet through the Demon Emperor’s technique, it had not turned to dust, preserved exactly as it had been.

Anyone could see this flower held no divine medicinal properties, was no rare ancient herb, held no value whatsoever—yet the Demon Emperor had preserved it to this very day. Was this truly his most beloved possession?

Scene after scene surfaced, images of days long past.

“Are you really leaving?” By a small lakeside, a delicate young woman spoke softly, her face filled with reluctance, gazing hopefully at a young man dressed in white as pure as snow, longing for him to stay.

“I must grow stronger. Unrivaled beneath the heavens.” The young man in white, spirited and full of confidence, his eyes gleaming with a brilliance that could outshine the sun and moon.

He was determined to walk the ancient starry road, to embark on an unrivaled journey, to become the sole figure standing between heaven and earth, to defeat every young sovereign and stand at the very peak, unrivaled.

He was so full of youthful spirit and ambition that he failed to notice the sorrow hidden in the young woman’s eyes. He pressed forward without hesitation, embarking on his heavenly road, determined to fulfill his dream.

“Will you… will you come back? Will you come see me again?” The young woman’s eyes brimmed with tears as she called out from behind him, filled with reluctance to let him go.

The young man in white turned back in the sky and laughed heartily, a laugh bright enough to dim the sun and moon, radiating confidence, saying, “Of course. When I become an Emperor, I’ll make sure the whole world’s brilliance shines down upon you.”

With that, he descended once more to the ground, plucking a bundle of wildflowers from a mountain cliff and handing them to the young woman, before turning without looking back, rushing beyond the realm, setting foot upon the heavenly road.

“I’ll wait for you. Don’t forget me. Come back.” The young woman wept, calling out across the land, waving her hand with all her strength.

Xue Yueqing fought his way along the Emperor’s Road, passing through one ancient star region after another, contending with countless powerful rivals, battling for who knows how many years, tempering himself through blood, pain, and triumph alike.

He fought his way across the ancient road, rarely meeting a true match, defeating one peerless enemy after another. His brilliance spread across the starry road, and in the end he even took on the fight against some of the most powerful ancient stars of all.

During this time, he made enemies of the entire world, facing the most terrifying pursuits imaginable—every great ancient star region hunted him down, for the Emperor’s Road was this cruel.

He had no way to see his old friend again, no way to turn back—all he could do was fight his way forward through blood, carving out a clear path through the chaos.

In the end, he became an Emperor, sweeping aside every formidable rival, standing unrivaled beneath the heavens, his brilliance stretching for ten thousand miles, shaking past and present alike—across the nine heavens and ten realms, not a single soul could contend with him.

He had done it—truly become an Emperor, unrivaled beneath the heavens, revered by all realms across the heavens as the Demon Emperor, destined to be recorded in the annals of cultivation history, an existence unmatched throughout all ages, past and present.

Xue Yueqing, following the path he had once walked, made his way back toward that ancient demon star, embarking on his journey home. Yet what awaited him was no longer that young woman—only a handful of aged, withered demons remaining.

The young woman had passed away, her fragrance extinguished, five hundred years earlier, buried at the place where they had once parted, never to appear again.

Xue Yueqing was overcome with grief, roaring skyward, the universe itself cracking apart, his Emperor’s aura sweeping across all directions, nearly destroying the boundless cosmos itself.

“I beg the heavens for five hundred years!” This was his anguished cry—yet nothing could be changed now.

The aged demons told him the young woman had encountered complications during her cultivation, dissolving into the Dao in the end, not even a body remaining. As she transformed into rays of light, tears had streaked her face, her lips murmuring his name.

Xue Yueqing wailed in grief—an Emperor, unrivaled beneath the heavens, unmatched throughout all eternity! Yet he could not change any of it, could not bring that woman back, this regret to last his entire life.

The delicate young woman had dissolved into the Dao, vanishing alongside the rays of light, leaving behind only a bundle of flowers—the very ones he had given her upon his departure, long since withered and faded.

Within the shattered Emperor’s tomb, everyone stood in stunned silence, finally understanding why the only thing that had remained by a generation’s Demon Emperor throughout his life was a single withered flower—in his heart, this was the most precious thing of all.

Even unrivaled beneath the heavens, there remained moments of powerlessness. He had ascended to glory’s very peak, yet looking back, he came to realize that the simplest, most ordinary things were the truest of all.

Ye Fan felt something stir within him, unable to hold back a long sigh: “Having tasted every splendor this world has to offer, none of it can make up for a lifetime’s bitterness and regret.”