"You may leave, but from now on, you are forbidden to remain within the Five Elements Universe." Emperor Ye spoke, then raised his hand and tore open the Void Domain.
A look of shock flashed in Kenhaven Sovereign's eyes. He truly could tear through the universe's domain at will—far stronger than he was back then. In the past, he had expended great effort just to come to the Five Elements Universe.
Still, for Kenhaven Sovereign, the fact that Emperor Ye was now sparing his life was the greatest fortune. He barely hesitated and stepped directly into the domain Emperor Ye had torn open, not even bothering to retrieve his own world.
Emperor Ye had no intention of returning Kenhaven Sovereign's world to him. Instead, he led Dylan Lethe and Leon Starfield out of the Great Ken Space.
"Where are your mother and your aunt?" After stepping out of the Great Ken Space with Leon Starfield and Dylan Lethe, Emperor Ye immediately asked about the whereabouts of Leon Starfield's mother, Susan, and the others.
Leon Starfield replied, "After my cultivation improved, I entered the Void for training. When I returned to the Sacred Dao Sect for the second time, I heard news that my mother and the others had gone to the Gate of Destiny before it closed..."
Susan and the others had gone to search for Emperor Ye. Now that Emperor Ye was here, it was clear they had not found him.
Emperor Ye felt as if lightning had struck his mind—Susan and the others had entered the Genesis Universe? Yet he had never heard any news about their whereabouts.
Of course, in the Genesis Universe, even protecting himself was difficult for Emperor Ye, let alone searching for Susan and the others. For them, entering the Genesis Universe meant that if they were intercepted, their strength would not be enough to resist.
No, he must enter the Genesis Universe immediately.
Seeing Emperor Ye lost in thought for a long while, Dylan Lethe couldn't help but ask, "Senior, is my father in the Five Elements Universe?"
Emperor Ye snapped out of it, swept his divine sense outward, and soon smiled with joy. "Come, they've probably been waiting for me a long time."
...
"Looks like we won't need to act after all—Emperor Ye has already arrived." Nick Ning laughed heartily, gazing into the distant void.
At the same moment, Emperor Ye descended from the void with three companions.
Joe Di immediately recognized Dylan Lethe, even though he'd never met him before. When Dylan stood before him, Joe Di knew at once—this was his son. No matter how fast Jaxon Di's cultivation improved, he couldn't possibly have reached Dao Integration by now.
"Lethe..." Nora Xiu rushed forward. Ever since she and Lethe Autumn Waters were separated, this was the first time she'd seen her son again.
Everyone had things to say, but for now, they gave the Di family this moment together.
After a long while, Nora Xiu finally grasped Dylan Lethe's hand and said, "This is your father, Joe Di. Back when we were at Lethe Temple..."
The conversation, full of memories, returned to the days at Lethe Mountains. When Joe Di left, he vanished without a trace. After waiting many years for him in vain, Nora Xiu and Zoe Shen took Lethe Autumn Waters and left the mountains, and the family was scattered across the world.
The three talked for a while before remembering the others nearby. Dylan Lethe immediately pointed to Leon Starfield and said to Joe Di, "This is Brother Starfield. If he hadn't saved me back then, I would've been long dead."
Dylan Lethe was no longer the same as he was back then. When Serena Cheng told him to wait, he actually waited in a daze. Fortunately, Leon Starfield came and took him to the Great Ken Space. Thinking back now, Serena Cheng probably never truly cared about him—being with him was just for cultivation. If he hadn't left that day, she most likely would have killed him.
Emperor Ye added, "When I found them, they were cultivating in the Great Ken Space. That place belongs to Kenhaven Sovereign. Kenhaven is probably from the same era as Chi Yao, and his Dao is truly remarkable—it's likely the Tianhuang Dao."
At the mention of Chi Yao, the mood suddenly dropped. Everyone had gathered here mainly to deal with Chi Yao.
"Chi Yao likely hasn't reached the Fourth Step yet. We should hurry to the Genesis Universe..." Nick Ning steered the topic back.
Joe Di took out a ring and handed it to Emperor Ye. "Emperor Ye, when we first met, I forgot to give this to you. Here, take it now."
"What is it?" Emperor Ye asked in confusion as he accepted the ring.
Joe Di sighed. "Just open it and you'll see."
With a wave of Emperor Ye's hand, a coffin appeared floating in the void before him. Emperor Ye sighed as well.
"Is it Nina Swan?" Serena Green's expression changed slightly—her divine sense had already detected the remains of Nina Swan, who had taken her own life inside the jade coffin.
Emperor Ye nodded, remaining silent. When it came to Serena Cheng, he truly had no words to describe the tangled emotions between them.
Joe Di said, "When I met Serena Cheng, she was being kept under soft confinement. I destroyed that place. She told me about what happened between you and her, and then, right before my eyes, she chose self-annihilation—a final act from which she would never return. I didn't stop her."
After a long silence, Serena Green suddenly asked, "Did she say anything before she left?"
Joe Di thought for a moment and replied, "She said, 'If one day you see him, tell him that I let him down. I don't expect his forgiveness, I only hope...' That was all. She didn't finish. Oh, and she sang a few lines: 'Yesterday is gone, never to return; happiness is more precious than anything; spilled water cannot be gathered again...'"
"Thank you, Brother Joe." Emperor Ye sighed inwardly once more, gently placing Nina Swan's jade coffin into his own world.
"Brother Ye, is there any way to save Nina Swan?" Serena Green couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling with hope and sorrow.
With Emperor Ye's strength, and with Serena Cheng's physical body still intact, it should be possible to bring her back.
Emperor Ye shook his head. "Her soul has been utterly destroyed. When she chose self-annihilation, it was a final farewell—she had no intention of reincarnating. Someday, when I return to Earth, I'll bury her coffin there. Perhaps that's what she would have wanted."
She is gone now; there is nothing left to dwell on.
"All three of us are from Earth..." Joe Di and Leon Starfield spoke almost in unison.
The three exchanged glances, a strange feeling passing between them. In this vast universe, how many planets are there? How many star continents drift in the void? Even within the Five Elements Universe, there are countless small worlds like Earth. Yet now, as they stood before the Gate of Destiny, the existence of the Five Elements Universe—and even the fate of the cosmos, whether it would be enslaved or set free—hinged on the coming clash between the three of them and Chi Yao.
(This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting content ahead!)
Emperor Ye snapped out of his reverie and said, "This is indeed strange. And have you noticed that some of the legendary cultivators rumored on Earth, we've encountered here? Leon Starfield and I have met Nether River and Lord Chaos—the latter's treasure is the Chaos Bell. Also, I even suspect that Senior Zixiao is somehow related to Ancestor Hongjun..."
Joe Di was also surprised and said, "Me too. I've heard of Lu Ya—and even wiped out the family of Lu Ya's descendant."
Leon Starfield asked urgently, "Senior, do you mean the Lu family on Luming Star? We were forced to hide and cultivate in Great Ken Space because of the Lu family."
"Yes, the Lu family," Joe Di nodded. "But Lu Ya never came to settle the score with me. I actually wanted to see what treasures Lu Ya possessed."
Everyone calmed down. Emperor Ye spoke in a deep voice, "It's certainly no coincidence that we all come from Earth. Moreover..."
When Emperor Ye trailed off, Leon Starfield said, "Emperor Ye, here's our plan: Joe Di and I will reopen the Gate of Destiny here, then enter the Genesis Universe. No matter what, we cannot allow Chi Yao to step into the Fourth Step—the highest cultivation realm, where only one can exist, or the cosmos itself will collapse. If Chi Yao achieves the Fourth Step, it will be catastrophic."
"Exactly. If Chi Yao truly wants to reach the Fourth Step—the ultimate realm in cultivation where one transcends all cosmic laws and only a single being can exist at a time—he must go to the Universe Sovereign Plaza outside Genesis City. We'll block his way there..." Joe Di added, referring to the final stage where a cultivator surpasses all cosmic laws and becomes unrivaled.
"If I'm not mistaken, even if Chi Yao steps into the Fourth Step, he'll still lack a trace of the Dao of Vitality—the essential law of life. That means his strength won't be the absolute peak of the Fourth Step," Emperor Ye said, revealing Chi Yao's weakness to benefit their strategy.
(That's all for today's update—good night, friends!)