Futile Devices Scans

Immortal Emperor Guang Le’s face flushed slightly red, and the same was true of the three people behind him. Yet no matter how they exhausted all of their immortal power to resist, the power of belief contained within those two words still suppressed them so thoroughly that they could neither speak nor move, let alone rise to their feet.

“So these are the lackeys Nangong sent. Truly vile beyond words.”

As Chen Yixin spoke, his fingers tapped lightly against the armrest beside him. He was considering how to deal with the four of them, especially since Lan Xin was among them.

With another motion of his hand, the golden invitation in Guang Le’s possession, which had not yet been read aloud before the gathered gods, flew into his grasp. After reading it, he handed it to Wenren Li, a faint smile curling at his lips.

“So they’ve come to deliver a maidservant to A-Li and me…”

Lan Xin’s face flushed even more deeply. Nangong Chuan had clearly sent her to become Wenren Li’s consort. She had once had a marriage agreement with the former master of the Nine Sovereigns Hall. Though she could not compare to Chen Yixin in legitimacy, formal betrothal documents had indeed been exchanged.

As the Divine Sovereign Wenren Li who dared to oppose Nangong Chuan, how could he possibly leave his woman in enemy territory?

She forced herself to raise her head, her tear-filled eyes turning toward Wenren Li in a pitiful, heart-wrenching manner.

Unfortunately, she was courting death.

“Jiu Yu.”

Chen Yixin turned his head. Jiu Yu, who had been shrinking his shoulders and doing his utmost to reduce his presence, looked up blankly at Chen Yixin. Gritting his teeth, he knew it. The moment that foolish woman appeared, she would undoubtedly drag him into trouble through association.

But Chen Yixin had not yet finished speaking.

“Kill her.”

Had they not done something so disgusting to him, Chen Yixin might not even have remembered Lan Xin. But since they dared, then there was nothing he dared not do in return.

This was the first time since subduing Jiu Yu that Chen Yixin had permitted him to kill someone, yet it was also meant to completely eliminate the trouble Jiu Yu himself had left behind.

“Yes!”

Jiu Yu nodded. Turning around, his dark eyes settled on Lan Xin.

He had entertained thoughts of killing Lan Xin more than once. Had it not been for Guang Le behind her, he would have devoured her long ago.

“Do you understand now? I am Jiu Yu!”

Jiu Yu walked before Lan Xin. His dark hand wrapped around her neck, and he quietly informed her of the truth.

Chen Yixin and Wenren Li had never had the slightest connection with her.

“The ones seated above are Lord Yi and Lord Li whom you hated most…”

As those words fell, his other hand plunged into Lan Xin’s chest and pulled out an exceptionally pure immortal source. Only after watching the shock and fear in her eyes gradually fade away did he stand.

In front of all the gods, he naturally could not make the scene too bloody. Otherwise, he might have preferred to give Lan Xin a more spectacular death.

“Hrr… AHH!”

A furious roar escaped Guang Le’s throat.

Yet despite having once been virtually invincible throughout the Heavenly Realm, he could only watch helplessly as his only daughter died miserably before his eyes.

At that moment, the golden bell hanging at his waist trembled.

This was likely a life-saving treasure Nangong Chuan had left him for a critical moment.

But then a silver palm suddenly descended.

Guang Le and the golden bell shattered into countless fragments.

The two disciples who had accompanied him survived, but although they were alive, they had long since been frightened out of their wits.

“Go back and tell Nangong that this Sovereign awaits battle at any time.”

After Wenren Li spoke, An Cheng instructed the demon guards to throw the two surviving envoys outside Yuxu Palace.

The assembly that they had interrupted continued and lasted another three full days before finally ending.

Yet the assembly and everything that had happened during it had already conveyed a message to all the gods of the Upper Realm:

Wenren Li had truly set himself against Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan.

He was incomparably arrogant and completely fearless.

One possibility was that he was merely bluffing.

Another possibility was that he genuinely feared nothing.

After the assembly ended, a number of Divine Lords still remained within Yuxu Palace.

They stayed because they wished to know Wenren Li and Chen Yixin’s plans going forward.

War was inevitable.

But how exactly would they wage it?

“The Divine Sovereign has instructed all of you to disperse. For the next thousand years, continue as before. After a thousand years, await a summons from the Imperial Palace.”

An Cheng conveyed Wenren Li’s words to Immortal Emperor Chang Dong and the others, then waved his hand and sent them away.

Though Chang Dong and Feng Yuan still harbored doubts, they nonetheless turned to leave.

“A thousand years… Would Nangong truly be willing to wait a thousand years?” Chang Dong murmured.

Rather than suppressing Wenren Li and Chen Yixin before they had fully grown their wings, Nangong would wait a thousand years before acting?

It was simply unbelievable.

As a result, some of them could not help wondering whether Wenren Li’s judgment might have been mistaken.

“Just wait and see.”

Feng Yuan quietly replied to Chang Dong as they walked away.

They had already made their choice.

There was no turning back, nor could they afford to regret it.

Otherwise, Wenren Li and Chen Yixin would be the first to refuse to let them off.

As for why Wenren Li had not explained himself, time would provide the answer.

The time could indeed be given.

And they likely would not have to wait very long before understanding.

In truth, by the time An Cheng was escorting them away, Wenren Li and Chen Yixin had already departed Yuxu Palace through the Myriad Worlds Well.

The place they arrived at was none other than Taixuan.

“I am Yuxu. Today, I grant all of you amnesty.”

Wenren Li’s voice spread throughout every corner of Taixuan.

At the same time, countless silver threads extended outward beneath the feet of him and Chen Yixin.

The Heavenly Prison of Taixuan imprisoned the evil immortals and evil demons that had existed from the Primordial Era until the present day.

The suffering they had endured within the Prison Realm had to be laid at the feet of Dongfang and Nangong. They might not all submit themselves to Wenren Li, but they would certainly find ways to make trouble for Dongfang and Nangong. Releasing them would be enough to buy Yuxu Palace a thousand years of time.

“Crack… crack…”

The sound of the Prison Realm shattering rang out. The barrier that had once separated the divine land of Taixuan from the Upper Realm was gradually weakening as well. At that moment, Chen Yixin made his move. His spiritual wings gathered the resentment that had lingered over Taixuan for countless ages and hurled it against the barrier.

Taixuan was still Taixuan, but from this day forward it would no longer be the Lower Realm’s Taixuan. It had returned to being the divine land of Taixuan within the Upper Realm, and henceforth it would also become territory under Yuxu Palace’s rule.

Five-colored radiance blossomed repeatedly across Taixuan’s skies as portions of the imprisoned immortals had already broken free. Others still required outside assistance, while some immortals and demons within the Prison Realm had been unable to outlast the passage of time and had already perished. The places they left behind would become lands of opportunity for future generations.

Placed within the Upper Realm, these opportunities would make even Immortal Emperors covet them, yet now they belonged exclusively to Yuxu Palace. The thousand years they sought to gain was precisely for the younger generation who would enter these prison-secret realms in search of such fortunes.

“This humble immortal, Dong Lang, kneels in gratitude to the Great Emperor!”

“This humble deity, Li Yue, kneels in gratitude to the Great Emperor!”

Without exception, every immortal and demon who escaped their imprisonment came before Chen Yixin and Wenren Li to offer thanks. Some chose to head directly to Yuxu Palace, while others first intended to return to their clans before deciding their future paths.

The former had no lingering attachments and chose to repay their debt. The latter would likely face even greater disappointment. Dongfang and Nangong had imprisoned and exiled them—how could their clans in the Upper Realm have fared well? Decline, ruin, or complete extinction would be the realities awaiting them.

After all these people had departed, Chen Yixin took Wenren Li’s hand and vanished from the place where the realms had been connected. They descended directly onto Little Bamboo Isle near Zhenhai City. The Demon Palace and floating island had long since been moved away when Wenren Li invaded the Upper Realm.

Within all of Taixuan, only Little Bamboo Isle still remained under Chen Yixin’s name. The steward who had once managed it for him had already passed away, and the one tending it now was some descendant many generations removed.

Little Bamboo Isle remained a small island lacking spiritual energy. The phoenix flowers that had once shaken Zhenhai City no longer bloomed after Chen Yixin’s departure. Only the memorial tomb at the island’s center still remained.

“In all of Taixuan, only this place is still worth looking at,” Chen Yixin said. Taixuan had once again become a treasured land, yet it was no longer a world where he and Wenren Li needed to remain. As he spoke, his hand rested upon the tombstone, imprinting a seal that once more reinforced its protective barrier.

Wenren Li’s hand rose and settled over Chen Yixin’s, drawing it back into his own grasp. “Is A-Rong worried about something?”

“I don’t know. But I’m not afraid. As long as A-Li is by my side, there is nothing I fear.”

In the past, he had always thought that no matter what happened, Wenren Li had to remain unharmed. Yet when he himself was not well, Wenren Li could never truly be well either. It was not as though he had been unaware of that truth before, but whenever faced with a choice, he had always chosen Wenren Li first.

From now on, for Wenren Li’s sake, he would protect himself as well.

Wenren Li released Chen Yixin’s hand, only to place his palm over his chest instead, feeling the completely normal heartbeat beneath. He stepped closer and drew him into an embrace. “I will always remain by your side.”

They did not linger long on Little Bamboo Isle before returning to Yuxu Palace. A few days later, the effects of their previous actions began to emerge. Dongfang and Nangong became occupied suppressing one rebellion after another. Though they remained wary of Yuxu Palace, they did not take the initiative to provoke or attack it.

A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. Yuxu Palace did not expand its territory and, if anything, remained unusually low-profile during those thousand years. The focus of the Upper Realm’s immortals remained on the immortal clans that continuously rose in rebellion and on the immortals and demons who had returned from the Prison Realm.

Within Yuxu Palace, An Cheng quietly reported news from the Upper Realm. “Two Ninth-Rank Immortal Emperors under Nangong personally took action. The Jin Clan has been exterminated.”

This was not the first immortal clan to be suppressed. During these thousand years, Nangong had either recruited or crushed no fewer than a hundred immortal clans. News of each event was delivered to Yuxu Palace immediately, and Chen Yixin and Wenren Li needed to make another trip out.

“With revivals on this scale, I can save at most thirty percent. After a thousand years, the success rate has improved by less than half a percent,” Chen Yixin said as he looked at the bodies the demon guards had arranged before him. A trace of regret appeared on his face, but this was already the limit of what he could achieve.

Originally, the Undying Decree only worked on demon guards branded with the Undying Mark. Yet perhaps because his connection with Wenren Li ran too deep, and because they had exchanged Divine Crystals, Chen Yixin could now use the Undying Decree together with Wenren Li’s regenerative power to perform a soul-summoning art on immortal citizens who had only recently died.

“What more could Your Majesty the Sovereign Consort ask for? A divine art such as this is already a miracle.”

Lin Yu had come along as well. His purpose was to see whether any of the resurrected individuals possessed Heavenly Veins. Whenever Nangong struck, those with Heavenly Veins were invariably among the dead. Nangong would never simply wait for Lin Yu to discover and nurture them.

Moreover, such people had an even greater chance of being revived than ordinary immortals. Some children even awakened Heavenly Veins that had previously lain dormant after passing through the boundary between life and death. Thus, whenever he had the opportunity, he accompanied Chen Yixin and Wenren Li.

“Perhaps,” Chen Yixin nodded. Then divine light swept around him, and he transformed into his phoenix true form. He began to dance and sing beneath the moonlit sky while Wenren Li accompanied him on the zither.

Beneath them, across the blood-soaked scorched earth, vegetation revived first. Then some of the dead immortal citizens awakened. What followed were cries of grief and mourning, making the bloodstained land seem even more sorrowful.

After exhausting his divine power, Chen Yixin descended from the sky. Wenren Li rose and caught him. He nodded toward Lin Yu, and then the two of them departed first from the territory of the Jin Clan.

The people revived in this manner were different from those released from the Prison Realm. They were connected to the secret of Chen Yixin’s divine art and therefore all had to be incorporated under Yuxu Palace’s banner. Carrying the hatred of their exterminated clans, none of them refused and all pledged their allegiance.

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