Two more sects quietly approached Daoist Shouren.
They, too, were willing to reconcile with Lu Ye.
However, when asked to help persuade the other sects, they immediately refused—again and again.
What a joke. How were they supposed to convince anyone?
If they failed, they’d have wasted the effort. And if they somehow succeeded, yet didn’t benefit from it afterward, the others would blame them instead.
Only a fool like Daoist Shouren would take on such a thankless task.
And yet... Daoist Shouren couldn’t resist. Once more, he stepped out to try persuading them.
“Shouren, do you intend to become an enemy of the world?” roared Wang Yi. A surge of powerful ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) energy exploded from his body—he was already preparing to strike.
Daoist Shouren still tried, “Does anyone else wish to make peace? One million supreme-grade spirit stones—that truly isn’t much.”
Seeing that Daoist Shouren dared to speak without even acknowledging him, Wang Yi struck without hesitation.
Boom—!
Daoist Shouren was sent flying.
He did not return.
He turned and left.
Though he still felt regret for those so obstinate, he had already done everything he could.
He flew for some time, finally arriving just outside Lu Ye’s safe zone. There, he sent a voice transmission.
“Fellow Daoist, fellow Daoist—six sects have agreed to withdraw. I’ve already collected the spirit stones they offered in compensation,” he said, sounding excited, a smile on his face.
Lu Ye smiled faintly.
“Tired?”
The smile froze on Daoist Shouren’s face.
This Lu Ye... he truly had a friend who once walked the Dao of Protection. Every word he spoke pierced directly into the heart. Without a deep understanding of this Dao, it would be impossible.
“There was a result in the end, wasn’t there?”
“Good. Give me the names of the six sects.”
Daoist Shouren quickly recited their names. Lu Ye gave him that much face—he erased all past grievances with these six sects.
He continued restoring his origin power.
Though it was difficult to restore, Lu Ye had secret techniques that made the process more than ten times faster than normal.
As long as he had enough time, he could recover rapidly.
While recovering, Lu Ye was also setting up a formation.
Not refining it—personally constructing it.
This formation was called the Nine Suns Blazing World Inferno Array.
It was a formation designed for pure slaughter. In his past life, Lu Ye had once used it to wipe out a full tenth of the entire demon race.
Even among them, several monarchs had perished under its might.
Of course, with his current lack of materials, he could only build a version that was somewhat incomplete, its power reduced.
But the arrays of the present era were not necessarily inferior to those of the ancients.
Everything progressed with time.
Meanwhile, the war council had reached its conclusion.
The six sects that chose to withdraw did so under the scornful gazes of the others.
Yes, Lu Ye was indeed a reincarnated powerhouse. By now, it was clear to everyone that he had at least been a Great Emperor in his past life.
But what of it?
So what if he was a reincarnated Emperor? Without powerful backing, even a reborn Heavenly Venerable could still be killed while weak.
If he had simply lived on into his second life, then no one would dare touch him. But reincarnating and starting over? That carried far too much risk.
Their strategy was this:
First, they would make minor adjustments to their sect-protecting formations to render them ineffective. This would prevent Lu Ye from using them to his advantage as he had before.
Second, they would deploy primordial treasures—the highest-tier weapons of the Fourth Heaven.
One was called the Mythic Bell.
Another, the Heaven-Ensnaring Net.
And the last, the Immortal-Binding Rope.
All were long-range attack treasures. If the latter two failed to restrain Lu Ye, they would use the Mythic Bell to shatter him outright.
They refused to believe that with such terrifying treasures—all of which were sect-defining artifacts—they wouldn’t be able to kill a single Heaven-Ascension cultivator.
Suddenly, a cultivator’s nose twitched.
Blood surged in his eyes.
Before he could lose control, he bellowed out:
“Lu Ye is here!”
Boom!
A streak of crimson light tore through the skies.
It circled around Mount Cangmang in a blur. In an instant, countless figures rose into the air.
Lu Ye hadn’t fully recovered, but the formation was complete.
He knew well the principle—strike first to seize the initiative.
“Roar!”
A deafening roar shook the heavens.
What Mythic Bell? What Immortal-Binding Rope?
All thoughts were abandoned.
Only one thing filled their minds:
Devour Lu Ye. Devour him whole!
Lu Ye’s eyes were cold and merciless.
This time... every one of them would die.
As the blood-red light rushed toward the Nine Suns Blazing World Inferno Array, the sky filled with countless figures, all pursuing the lone figure.
Daoist Shouren, observing from afar through divine sense, trembled slightly.
He didn’t know just how powerful Lu Ye had become...
But Lu Ye had always been on the run before.
Now, he was taking the initiative.
And that meant only one thing—
He was ready.
The Fourth Heaven... was about to change.
Daoist Shouren wanted to stop it. He wasn’t protecting those cultivators—he was trying to protect the people of the world.
If all those experts died, what would become of the Fourth Heaven?
Without anyone to hold the line, it would become a paradise for demons.
Dark clouds would shroud the sky.
Blood would flood the land.
But what could he do?
Nothing.
He had no way to stop it.
He could only watch.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Several uninvolved forces, the six sects that had just withdrawn, and all the others who had taken part...
All were watching through secret techniques and magical tools.
Before, Lu Ye had borrowed the formations of two sects to massacre many powerful foes.
Now, as they watched the endless horde of cultivators flooding the sky to pursue one crimson figure—
That blood-red light was blinding.
Suddenly, the red light vanished.
Lu Ye appeared within the Nine Suns Blazing World Inferno Array. The Human Emperor Banner flapped wildly in the wind.
Gulp... gulp... gu-lug-lug...
The banner trembled—excited and afraid.
Excited because it was about to feast. Ever since Chu Ling’s soul had become its master soul, the banner had consumed countless spirits. For the first time since bonding with Lu Ye, it had felt hunger.
Though Lu Ye had recently fed it a large batch of souls, most had been devoured by the two master souls.
It wasn’t starving, but it still hadn’t had its fill.
Now, it was about to be sated.
So many powerful cultivators!
If it ate too much... would it explode?
A blazing sun slowly rose from within the formation.
Then another. And another. A third. A fourth...
Nine burning suns lit the sky, their searing light warping space itself, illuminating the vast heavens and earth.
Come.
