At the same time, Sui Zimeng, who had been observing everything from outside the world, now fully understood that she had lost the White Tiger Army. Any further moves would be extremely difficult, as her seven adopted daughters had already been sent beyond the world. On the other hand, they had succeeded in driving out all five of Mu Nansi's guardians from this realm.
However, it seemed her entire plan would now have to be completely rewritten. Just moments ago, when she attempted to divine the fate of the Heavenly Tao, she received a strange message from a mysterious voice. That voice conveyed a chilling truth the Holy Son of the Holy Land of the Immortal River intended to use her as a scapegoat for the attack on Mu Nansi.
Conversely, Mu Nansi herself would do the same. That girl had deceived her with perfect precision. But what mattered most was that the voice wanted her to become a stepping stone for the new generation. Dream on.
Sui Zimeng fell silent for a moment before sending out a signal.
Instantly, a man dressed in black emerged from the void and walked toward her, speaking up.
"Empress, everything has been taken care of—"
Before he could finish the sentence, his head exploded. Yet he did not die. Instead, he immediately tried to flee using his power.
Sui Zimeng extended her hand and grabbed him. She proceeded to cripple his entire body, destroying each of his limbs. Then, she concealed his fate and distorted the remnants of his soul, preventing anyone from tracing his condition through those fragments. Afterward, she pulled the man's body closer and retrieved a crystal from his spatial ring, gently touching its surface with the tip of her finger.
Before she spoke, she adjusted her voice to perfectly mimic the man in black, then addressed the crystal with the secret code.
"When the sun turns black, the entire world shall fall beneath the feet of the Zhou Clan. Shadow No. 2 has a report for Young Master Zhou."
A young man's voice responded from the other side, cold and commanding.
"Speak."
Sui Zimeng smiled faintly, a sly curve to her lips, before replying.
"Young Master, the Tomb of the Divine God of Herbs… will open in seven days. All necessary preparations are now complete."
The young man replied with calm indifference.
"Understood. I will begin my journey in five days."
Sui Zimeng continued, her voice laced with false reverence.
"We shall prepare the grandest welcome for you, Young Master."
The moment the exchange ended, the connection cut off entirely.
Sui Zimeng's expression shifted in an instant, turning into a frozen mask of indifference. The true reason she had come to the lower world was not to trap Mu Nansi, but to seal this world off from outside observation.
Her real objective was to seize control of the Secret Realm of the Divine God of Herbs one of the Ten Primordial Deities. The Holy Son of the Holy Land of the Immortal River knew this and had approached her personally for cooperation.
She had found it odd from the start. If he didn't trust the Holy Land of the Immortal River, he still had the Zhou Clan on his father's side or the Su Clan on his mother's side to rely on. At first, she too had intended to betray him, just a little. But that boy… he planned to stab her straight through the heart. So, she changed her plan entirely.
As for Mu Nansi she had once believed her appearance in this world was mere coincidence. But after today, Sui Zimeng was certain Mu Nansi's presence here was no accident.
Sui Zimeng smiled. Her gaze drifted down toward the world below. That beautiful face carried an air of pride mixed with ridicule. Her crimson lips moved as she spoke in a whisper.
"Heh… let's see who the real pawn on the board turns out to be…"
…..
…..
….
In the Upper Realm, within a dark, oppressive hall built from the fossilized bones of ancient beasts millions of years old, the stench of blood and the aura of death filled every corner. A massive blood pool at the center of the hall boiled violently, and the red mist rising from it echoed with wails like the cries of lingering souls unable to reincarnate.
Amidst that cruelty, a young man sat submerged in the center of the blood pool. His long jet-black hair was tied neatly behind him, his eyebrows thick and sharp as blades. In front of him hovered a glowing blue energy screen.
"...Send Shadow Numbers Three through Twelve to the Lower World No. 23," the young man said calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a pitch-black crystal appeared in his hand. Without even glancing at it, he tossed it into the air.
The crystal spun for a moment, then vanished into the void. Instantly, a voice responded from another dimension, respectful and filled with absolute reverence.
"Understood, Young Master."
The young man gave no reply. He simply leaned back, sinking deeper into the blood pool in a relaxed manner.
…..
…..
….
In Lower World No. 23, amidst the lingering scent of blood and the scorched remains of a battlefield that had just endured a great war, Wu Wen hovered in midair. His eyes swept across the ground below, eventually landing on Ye Lin's body, which had been rescued by a Grand Elder of the Holy Land of the Immortal River in a half-dead state. Nearby, the spirit of Hua Jinru drifted slowly, her face pale and her soul on the verge of vanishing.
Wu Wen raised a hand slightly, intending to pull the three of them toward him. But in that very moment, a frigid killing intent surged toward him without the slightest warning.
Whoosh!
A wave of sword energy sliced through the air, grazing Wu Wen's neck. He barely managed to raise a spiritual barrier in time and had to leap aside instantly. Though he avoided the worst, the blade still left a shallow cut across his throat.
"Young lady… since when did you become a Great Emperor?" Wu Wen spoke with a smile tinged with surprise.
Ji Yiren's voice thundered across the sky, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Die, you bastard!"
A colossal wave of sword energy crashed toward Wu Wen without mercy. But just before it could reach him, the ground beneath his feet trembled. Dozens of thick earthen walls surged up in an instant, blocking the blow. A deafening explosion rang out as the sword energy slammed into the barrier, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air.
Before the dust could even settle, hundreds of fully-armored clay soldiers stormed toward Ji Yiren like a raging demonic storm. Wu Wen chuckled in his throat.
"I'd love to kill you right now too, little lady… but I'm not one to take such a risk. If I managed to kill you, the girls you've taught… they wouldn't sit still. And their guardians would surely strike me down right after."
He stopped there and snapped his fingers. A blue teleportation talisman appeared in midair and tore open a dimensional rift. Without hesitation, he pulled the other three into it.
"I'll take my leave for now."
In the blink of an eye, Wu Wen vanished with Ye Lin, Hua Jinru, and the Grand Elder. Ji Yiren clenched her teeth before releasing a burst of power, annihilating every single clay soldier until nothing remained.
Silence fell over her for a moment. Then she turned her gaze, now cold as ice, toward the five girls. Her voice cut through the air, so chilling that even the wind fell still.
"I… wish you all good fortune on your path of cultivation. I can no longer teach you anything. From this moment on, the five of you… and Ye Lin… are no longer my disciples. Farewell."
With one hand, she raised a teleportation talisman and tore it open in the air. Her body turned to light and vanished silently into the void.
"Master! Don't go…!"
Wang Fangxian's trembling voice cried out after her. But it would never reach her again.
Silence blanketed the battlefield. The five girls stood motionless amidst the smoldering remains of the clay puppets. Not a single word was spoken. Even their breaths were heavy. There were no words. No comfort. No path back.
…..
…..
….
Beneath the shade of cherry-hued trees that bloomed across the entire mountain, a gentle breeze stirred the leaves, sending petals drifting through the air like pink snow falling softly from the sky.
Mu Nansi sat silently beneath one of those trees. Her eyes were closed, her expression calm as a still lake, as though lost deep in contemplation.
Until a flash of teleportation light shimmered before her. She slowly opened her eyes as the light faded, revealing the figure of Ji Yiren standing within it. Her face was streaked with tears, her heart weighed down by a burden no mortal could ever hope to bear.
In the blink of an eye, Ji Yiren dropped to her knees with a heavy thud, slamming her forehead to the ground.
"Please forgive me, Sect Master… forgive me for my weakness and my foolishness…!"
Her voice trembled with every word, tears falling one after another, soaking into the earth.
But before she could say another word, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her tightly. Mu Nansi embraced her with all her strength, as if refusing to let her shatter any further. The once-calm look in her eyes now shimmered with gentle warmth.
"I understand you… sister," Mu Nansi whispered, softly stroking the other woman's hair.
"We are all… victims of the Heavenly Tao."
There was no reproach, no punishment. Only a truth far greater than any blame. This world was too cruel for one person to bear everything alone.
The pink petals continued to fall… but now, the scent of sorrow began to fade. All that remained was understanding, and forgiveness soft, yet more unshakable than any stone in this world.