Wenren Li gave a low hum of acknowledgment. His hand left Chen Yixin’s hair while simultaneously catching the hand that had slipped inside his robes.
“A-Rong, if you keep doing this, I won’t be able to hold back either.”
Chen Yixin showed little embarrassment at being caught. He continued lightly scratching Wenren Li’s palm and let out a soft sigh.
“Ah…”
“Hm?” Wenren Li looked puzzled, but he released Chen Yixin’s hand. A moment later, he personally guided Chen Yixin’s hand back beneath his robes. Whatever the reason, he could not bear to hear Chen Yixin sigh.
Chen Yixin’s eyes curved slightly. Rising up, he pressed a kiss to Wenren Li’s lips before finally voicing what he had intentionally left unsaid earlier.
“How is it that I can never get enough of A-Li?”
The moment they were together, he could not help touching him, kissing him, and feeling him. Whether it was some kind of illness or not, he had no intention of seeking a cure.
Still, he did not dare fan the flames too much. His palm remained pressed against Wenren Li’s skin while his head rested against Wenren Li’s shoulder. His expression gradually settled, and he stopped fidgeting or reaching around to touch everything.
The world was quiet, the starry sky brilliant, and the two of them sat pressed close together. The night was peaceful and beautiful.
At dawn, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li returned to the imperial palace and changed into ceremonial robes personally prepared by An Cheng from merman silk. Seated in a newly crafted golden carriage, they departed the Demon Palace and headed toward the floating island above Flame City, where the ceremony would be held.
This floating island was no ordinary island. It had already become an immortal treasure, having been personally refined by both Chen Yixin and Wenren Li. Suspended among the clouds and surrounded by turbulent formations, it could attack, conceal itself, or escape. Even Immortal Lords from the Upper Realm would be powerless against it.
As for the original Demon Palace, it would be relocated onto the floating island after the ceremony and become the island’s Sacred Garden and forbidden ground. Even the Ten Demon Generals would no longer be permitted to enter or leave freely without special authorization from Chen Yixin or Wenren Li.
The golden carriage itself could fly, but it currently rested atop a massive silver hide that carried it toward the floating island.
The silver hide naturally belonged to Yinzi. After sleeping for so many years and receiving occasional nourishment from Chen Yixin and Wenren Li, it had not only recovered to the level it possessed before descending to the Lower Realm but had even surpassed it. Returning to the Void and becoming the ruler of a region would present no difficulty.
Its silver hide was not even fully unfolded. If it were, covering the entire floating island would not be a problem.
The silver hide carried more than just the golden carriage. There was also a thousand-man honor guard, most of them members of the Undying Legion, while the Ten Demon Generals personally guarded the carriage from all sides.
They circled the floating island once before finally entering it.
Inside the island, nearly one hundred thousand Demon Guards had gathered. They were all warriors who had distinguished themselves throughout the southern and northern campaigns and had earned the right to witness their Demon Lord and Demon Consort’s ascension ceremony.
Also present were the sect masters and elders of the former immortal and demonic factions who had gradually surrendered over the years. Most of them bore servant seals planted by Wenren Li. With the northern campaign concluded and everything settled, those seals ensured that thoughts of rebellion would likely never arise again.
Many of them looked at the Ten Demon Generals with envy.
Tribulation Crossing cultivators.
True Tribulation Crossing cultivators.
By remaining at Chen Yixin and Wenren Li’s side, they had shattered the curse that had plagued Taixuan for several eras.
The prophecy of the Heaven’s Secret Sect had not been wrong. Unfortunately, because of outdated beliefs, they had failed to choose the right side at the right time and had missed such a tremendous opportunity. The former disciples of the Jade Cauldron Sect regretted it so deeply that their intestines had practically turned green.
Yet opportunities still remained.
Now that they had surrendered, they too were considered subordinates of Chen Yixin and Wenren Li. As long as they performed well enough, they might eventually obtain a chance to break through.
While they envied the Ten Demon Generals, many rogue cultivators and ordinary Demon Guards envied the members of the Undying Legion instead. Ever since half a year ago, countless people had made joining Chen Yixin’s Undying Legion their ultimate goal.
Their recruitment standards were extraordinarily strict. Talent, cultivation, and mentality all mattered, but loyalty to Chen Yixin and Wenren Li mattered most. The tests of loyalty alone consisted of more than ten interlocking stages, and very few people ever passed them.
Yet among the hundred or so recent recruits were several familiar faces known to Chen Yixin: Shen Xiang, Lin An, who had once been captured alongside Jing Zhihua and later handed over to Wu Fei; and Wen Yun and Wen Xue, whom he had brought back from the Jade Cauldron Sect.
As for people like Xiao Zhe, whose ambitions were too great or who could not endure hardship, Wu Fei had long since sent them to remote corners from which they would never return. Any hope of advancement or breakthrough was nearly impossible.
Under Wu Fei’s guidance, Shen Xiang and the others had been thoroughly transformed. Once they realized the Jade Cauldron Sect had abandoned and forgotten them, they no longer considered themselves members of that sect. Passing every trial one step at a time, their admiration and respect for Chen Yixin had never wavered.
It was that conviction that allowed them to stand out and enter the Undying Legion.
“Today, my beloved and I, Chen Yixin, ascend the throne together. I shall be the Li Kui Demon Emperor.”
“I shall be the Guiming Demon Emperor.”
Following Wenren Li’s declaration, Chen Yixin announced his own imperial title to the world.
The title Li Kui had originally been chosen ten thousand years ago for Wenren Li by the Master of the Heaven’s Secret Sect.
The title Guiming had been selected for Chen Yixin through the guidance of the Three Lives Well.
Of course, the well had only provided the words “Guiming.” The addition of “Demon Emperor” had been Chen Yixin’s own choice.
He and Wenren Li advanced and retreated together. Since Wenren Li was a Demon Emperor, naturally he would be one as well.
Of course, he was still Wenren Li’s Demon Consort too.
No one throughout Taixuan dared object to Chen Yixin and Wenren Li ascending together. Most people considered it perfectly natural.
After all, Chen Yixin could bring the dead back to life—something even ordinary immortals could not achieve. His strength alone qualified him to claim an imperial title, even without Wenren Li.
“We pay our respects to Your Majesties!”
Ze Fang took the lead in bowing before Chen Yixin and Wenren Li as they stepped onto the ceremonial platform.
Rising again, he continued,
“Your Majesties have bestowed blessings upon Taixuan. It is our great fortune. We are willing to follow Your Majesties unto death.”
“We are willing to follow Your Majesties unto death!”
The other Demon Generals echoed his words before bowing once more.
Then the thousand-man guard paid their respects.
Then the one hundred thousand Demon Guards.
Finally, the rogue cultivators and surrendered sect leaders and elders who had been fortunate enough to attend did the same.
Chen Yixin and Wenren Li exchanged a glance.
Stepping forward, Wenren Li said,
“Rise.”
The crowd rose.
But Wenren Li had not finished speaking.
Lifting his gaze toward the sky, he waved a hand.
Immediately, a grim and blood-soaked scene appeared before everyone.
The image was astonishingly clear.
They could see a battlefield where immortals fought not beasts or demons, but countless humanoid monstrosities.
These immortals—beings whom the people of Taixuan regarded as immortal and unfathomably powerful—were clearly struggling against their opponents.
A moment later, one humanoid creature plunged its hand into an immortal’s abdomen.
Visible to the naked eye, the immortal’s essence rapidly drained away until only a dried corpse remained.
Immortals possessed extraordinarily long lifespans. An Immortal Lord could easily survive through an entire era.
But that was only without external interference.
Faced with overwhelming force, even immortals could perish.
“This is what is happening at this very moment on the Void Heaven Battlefield of the Upper Realm. Since the Divine Blood Barrier was broken, peace no longer exists there. Taixuan has not yet been affected, but it is only a matter of time. A-Rong and I unified Taixuan to eliminate future internal threats.”
The rebellion that had once occurred within the Yuxu Palace could never be allowed to happen again.
To fight external enemies, one must first secure the interior.
Only after extinguishing every potential seed of rebellion within Taixuan could they turn their attention elsewhere.
Otherwise, Taixuan itself was not worthy of their concern.
“Your cultivation is far too weak. Before the armies of the Otherworldly Demons, you would be annihilated.”
Wenren Li spoke only the truth.
A single immortal from the Upper Realm could wipe out all of Taixuan.
The Otherworldly Demons were even more terrifying.
“Beginning today, one thousand people will be allowed onto the floating island every month. I will provide the opportunity for advancement. How far you can rise depends on your own efforts.”
Though his words were heavy, they also ignited hope.
For most cultivators, advancement and breakthrough represented the pursuit of a lifetime.
Even with disaster approaching, their desire for greater power remained unchanged.
After finishing, Wenren Li exchanged another glance with Chen Yixin.
Hand in hand, they descended from the platform and headed toward the Imperial Palace that would become their future residence.
The Ten Demon Generals followed close behind, while one hundred thousand Demon Guards took up positions throughout the palace.
Many additional ceremonies remained to be conducted, but those outside the palace walls would not be permitted to witness them.
Among those outsiders stood one particularly unusual figure:
Han Zichuan.
The Heaven’s Secret Sect had been among the earliest groups to surrender.
Yet when Wenren Li had attempted to place a servant seal upon him, Han Zichuan refused.
Instead, he passed the position of sect master to his senior brother and announced his intention to wander the world.
Wenren Li had not forced him to submit.
Still, whether one bore the servant seal or not made a tremendous difference.
At least until Taixuan’s prison-world seal was completely removed, Han Zichuan would never enjoy the benefits granted by Wenren Li and Chen Yixin.
His gaze was unreadable as he watched the Imperial Palace gates slowly close.
Then he turned and departed.
From that day onward, no trace of him would ever again be found in Taixuan.
Within the Imperial Palace, the Three Lives Well and the Myriad Worlds Well had also been relocated.
Chen Yixin produced another silver-blue sphere of light and separated a thread from it.
This time it was not for the much-abused Three Lives Well.
Instead, he fed it into the Myriad Worlds Well.
The scene Wenren Li had shown everyone earlier had not been complete.
Beyond the Divine Blood Barrier, Otherworldly Demons had already begun slaughtering indiscriminately across several lower realms.
Chen Yixin and Wenren Li intended to open pathways to those worlds and send selected Demon Guards there for training.
Comfort never produced growth.
Only battle and slaughter could allow Taixuan’s cultivators to mature as quickly as possible.
In truth, it would have been possible to place everyone within the Silver Tree’s inner world and raise their strength there.
But that opportunity could only be used once.
To spend it so casually would be wasteful.
The future opportunities of Ze Fang and the others lay instead within the Myriad Worlds Well and the pills refined by Qiu Yi.
After arranging everything properly, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li entered seclusion.
The floating island, stripped bare by An Cheng and Qiu Yi, became filled with immortal radiance within only a few days.
The immortal herbs and divine medicines they had planted began sprouting and growing at astonishing speed under the influence of Wenren Li’s aura.
Even An Cheng and Qiu Yi, despite having witnessed it before, remained astonished again and again.
Chen Yixin and Wenren Li themselves were the greatest cheats in all of Taixuan.
With the two of them present, immortal herbs and divine medicines became inexhaustible resources.
Before long, Taixuan would transform into another sacred land.
And the floating island would undoubtedly become Taixuan’s foremost holy ground.
A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
Compared to the countless millennia of the Upper Realm, it was insignificant.
Yet that millennium was extraordinarily difficult.
Immortals were continuously dispatched to the Void Heaven Battlefield.
Though the war remained deadlocked and no defeat had yet appeared, the era was far more turbulent than before.
Even minor cultivators born in the Upper Realm had heard of the Void Heaven Battlefield and the so-called “Source of Calamity.”
To stabilize public opinion, the Ten Emperors and Nine Clans spoke with one voice and shifted all blame onto Chen Yixin and Wenren Li, who had once caused considerable upheaval throughout the Upper Realm.
The Phoenix Divine Clan never publicly commented.
Yet their silence amounted to tacit approval.
Images and aura records of Chen Yixin and Wenren Li spread throughout the entire Upper Realm.
Nearly everyone possessed copies.
Anyone could report them on sight.
Across a vast plain, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li sat atop a captured immortal crane, flying toward an unknown destination.
In Chen Yixin’s hand was a strip of ordinary immortal cloth containing a detailed list of their crimes.
They had already witnessed the shamelessness of those immortals countless times before.
After reading it once, Chen Yixin lost interest and put it away.
Then he leaned forward and draped himself across the back of Wenren Li, who was meditating with his eyes closed.
“A-Li, now that your cultivation has recovered, are you starting to neglect me?”
His voice and expression were full of grievance.
Yet only a few days had passed since they emerged from a thousand years of shameless indulgence together.
Through dual cultivation with Chen Yixin, Wenren Li’s absorption of the relic fragments had accelerated dramatically.
At the same time, Chen Yixin’s soul power had reached unimaginable heights.
The most obvious result was another breakthrough in his Soul Gathering Flame.
At last, it was no longer merely being toyed with by the Silver Tree.
Now it could genuinely fight against the Silver Tree for a time without being defeated.
Chen Yixin was immensely pleased by this.
As a result, he constantly found himself wanting to “fight” with Wenren Li again and again, displaying unyielding persistence.
Futile Devices Scans 
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