In fact, during the battle with Hua Jiuming, the Devil Celestial Lord had not been injured.
The true culprit behind his current haggard appearance was the Three Corpses United Body!
When its full power manifested, the Devil Celestial Lord’s strength multiplied many times over—otherwise he could never have unleashed the Corpse God Arena technique.
But every gain comes with a loss. The Three Corpses United Body consumed not only Immortal power, but also lifespan and soul-force. That was why the Devil Celestial Lord had never revealed those two entities before.
Regret it? Of course not! Dark arts are like this: they grant tremendous power in a short time, but one must bear the weight that power brings. It’s all fair. Even if it inflicts excruciating pain afterward, it’s worth it!
Indeed, after using the Three Corpses United Body, the body endured immense agony. To avoid pursuit by Hua Jiuming, the Devil Celestial Lord fled immediately to a highly secret realm—hiding there to evade assassination. In his view, an existence that even Lord Ancient God could not eliminate must be invincible in the Celestial Realm. Ye Yu’s demise was simply a matter of time. But he could not die! So he ran.
Yet after two days, he found the outside completely calm—something was wrong. He concealed his form and quietly made for the branch hall. Along the way he did not encounter a single demon. What was happening? Had the Demon Realm army not yet reached the Celestial Realm?
At the branch hall, Du Kun, the hall’s chief, immediately saluted. “Welcome, Lord of the Hall!”
“I have been away from the Celestial Realm these past days and know little of current events. Brief me on what has happened!” The Devil Celestial Lord entered the main chamber, seated himself at the head, rubbed his brow—and looked utterly exhausted.
Du Kun did not hesitate and began his report. Three days ago the demons rebelled: Niepan Prefecture’s Demon Lord Nie Wang slew Juque Prefecture’s newly appointed Demon Lord Qu Congchun, and that same day led his forces back to the Demon Realm. Then Dongyao Prefecture’s Demon Lord Bai Qingsong also withdrew with his troops. Thus, the demons’ war against Heaven was officially over.
At the same time, the Three Corpses Hall’s base was destroyed—thousands of Immortals perished, none survived. The Immortal-energy fluctuations were so fierce that the surrounding environment was torn apart, but who caused it remained unknown.
Hearing this, the Devil Celestial Lord’s eyes snapped open. The Demon Realm had retreated? Why would they retreat? With Hua Jiuming’s power, they could swallow the entire Celestial Realm without issue. The only reason to pull back now would be that Hua Jiuming lay dead or grievously wounded. Otherwise, there was no reason to abandon Heaven!
A terrifying possibility rose in his mind: perhaps Ye Yu was still alive? He shivered, then hastily raised his communique stone to contact Banxia—but she did not reply.
“Split our forces,” he ordered. “One detachment investigates the battle at headquarters; the other stakes out the Wuwei Tower to see if Ye Yu appears. Go!”
Though Du Kun did not know the meaning behind the command, he saw the Lord’s urgency, bowed repeatedly, and set off at once. After he left, the Devil Celestial Lord slumped into his chair, deep fear in his eyes.
...
Three days later.
Ye Yu still had no breakthroughs regarding the path to the Emperor Realm, and he was dissatisfied. But some things couldn’t be rushed—the more anxious one became, the less one accomplished. After much thought, Ye Yu decided to enter a new dream realm, hoping the experience would yield useful inspiration.
Having resolved this, Ye Yu bid farewell to the ladies and returned to his chamber. They were used to it—their husband was perfect in every way, except for his extreme sleepiness. He often slept for days on end, which was not normal for an Immortal. But then again, how could someone who had ascended from mortal to Half-Step Immortal Emperor in less than two years be ordinary?
In his room, Ye Yu successfully drifted into sleep.
“Every time you dream, it is your new life.”
“Loading map and characters...”
“Selection complete!”
“Dream Talent this time: Infinite Synthesis! (Purple)”
“You can fuse identical items from the world. (Note: items of vastly different ranks cannot merge!)”
“A dream talent that truly tests creativity—use it wisely!”
Staring at the purple glow before him, Ye Yu paused. He hadn’t seen a purple Dream Talent in ages. Though not as high-ranked as a gold talent, there was no bad talent—only those who could not wield it well. Ye Yu believed that with skillful use, it might rival any previous talent.
The next moment, the familiar pull came. Ye Yu offered no resistance and passed through.
“Age 0: Ye Yu is born in the Northern Wilderness Continent of the Mortal Realm.”
“A scholar with a face like polished jade stood before him, smiling, eyes full of doting love.”
“This must be the indulgent father of this dream.”
“Honestly, he looked rather handsome—more agreeable than those old men before.”
“His scholarly aura was exquisite.”
“But why was he born in the Mortal Realm all of a sudden?”
“It had been so long since he’d restarted life from the mortal world!”
“It felt nostalgically new!”
“Just as Ye Yu began to reminisce, the scholar took out a book, carefully opened the first page, and began to recite.”
“‘As the ancients said...’”
Ye Yu furrowed his brow. “Old geezer, shut up—stop reciting! Want me to smack you?”
“Reciting classical texts to a newborn baby—are you seriously sick?”
Ye Yu wanted to protest, but in this infant body he could not strike an adult. So he silently endured and noted it in his little journal. “We’ll talk later!”
“Fortunately, the recitation did not last long—only about half an hour.”
“The scholar rose slowly, wearing a robe full of patches, and cupped his hands in salute.”
“Ye Yu turned his head to see a black-faced burly man carrying four pig’s trotters and a bag of silver. He imitated the scholar’s salute, but his movements were rough—no match for the scholar’s refined manner.”
“‘Thank you, sir, for ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) enlightening my child. These four trotters are extra thanks—please do not refuse!’”
“‘Butcher Ye, I cannot decline your generosity!’”
The scholar smiled, took the silver, hoisted the trotters, and departed with flair.
