"What?!" Rulan exclaimed, her reaction even more agitated than Lu Ziyin's. "Impossible! Gu Junshi is clearly Junior Brother Fusheng's wife! I don't care who you are, you can't just steal someone else's wife!"
"They divorced seven years ago. Besides, she's from the same world as me. Didn't you see who was beside Liu Jiang Fusheng just now?" The Human Emperor replied indifferently.
"She... saved us before. Not just before, but seven years ago too. She's not from your world. You slaughter cities and commit all sorts of evil deeds. She's not like you!" Rulan stated earnestly.
The moment she finished speaking, the Human Emperor's expression turned terrifying.
Yan Tianjiao, however, was more composed. Worried that the Human Emperor might retaliate against the insolent Rulan, he stepped forward to shield them.
"Was she willing?"
The Human Emperor's patience had run out. However, remembering Rulan's earlier words about Gu Junshi having saved them twice, he suppressed his killing intent.
"My affairs with her are none of your concern. I wasted my breath talking to you just to have you deliver a message to Liu Jiang Fusheng—"
His voice rasped, hot and fervent: "Marrying her is the only thing I will not compromise on. Therefore, I will make anyone who tries to stop me disappear, no matter the cost."
—
The Boundless Sea
Wave after wave of demons broke through the coastline. It had taken the sacrifice of tens of thousands of demons a thousand years ago to seal them in the abyss. Now, the demons had returned, catching the other realms off guard.
Furthermore, the disappearance of the Underworld was a massive conspiracy. Countless Yin spirits unable to reincarnate had been accumulating for over a millennium, now wandering aimlessly.
They were now being exploited by the demons, plunging the Twenty-Eight Heavens into a state of spiritual depletion. The resentment and Yin energy were constantly increasing, and it was only a matter of time before the world ran out of spiritual power and fell into eternal darkness.
Ordinary methods were useless against the sheer volume of resentment. Even Buddhist cultivators, working themselves to the bone, couldn't resolve the immense negativity.
Since normal salvation was ineffective, it was suggested that retrieving the Underworld would solve the problem.
After all, each discipline had its specialty, and the affairs of ghosts were inherently the Underworld's responsibility. Yet, for reasons unknown a thousand years ago, all entrances to the Underworld were sealed, leading to the current perilous situation.
The most plausible theory was that the Underworld's disappearance was linked to the demons. But at that time, the demons were confined to the depths of the abyss. So, who was responsible for this, and what was their motive?
Could it be that the demons had been planning this for the past thousand years?
Some thoughts were chilling. If that were the case, was the demons' confinement in the Boundless Sea a result of their inability to defeat the combined forces of the Twenty-Eight Heavens, or was it a means to brew an even larger conspiracy?
The common folk of the Twenty-Eight Heavens were unaware of these matters, but the Heavenly Dao had long since understood.
It knew who was behind everything. But what good was knowing when the culprit's strength was steadily recovering, and it, the Heavenly Dao, could not intervene in the lower realms directly? It could only try to stop it through other means.
"Fu Wanyan" couldn't even deduce where the Heavenly Demon had hidden the entrances to the Underworld. When the Heavenly Demon had self-destructed to sever all passages to the Underworld, it was akin to cruelly abandoning its own kin.
It had left its people trapped in the abyss for a thousand years. Such prolonged confinement and resentment would only empower the demons further.
The Heavenly Dao could not allow the Heavenly Demon to descend to this realm. However, it had orchestrated this long plan, waiting for the most suitable candidate, Liu Jiang Fusheng. But all of this had been ruined by a soul from another world.
And, ironically, this woman named Gu Junshi was summoned by another will of the Heavenly Dao.
The Heavenly Dao possessed two consciousnesses: the Heavenly Dao itself and 'Constraint'. The severed will believed the Heavenly Dao was wrong. While its plan could resolve the threat of the Heavenly Demon, it achieved its goals by manipulating others' fates, which would eventually backfire.
Liu Jiang Fusheng, the Son of the Heavenly Dao, was forced to gradually absorb the fates of others to grow stronger. The so-called villains and enemies were all pushed to oppose him by the Heavenly Dao, so he could establish his authority by defeating them, treading on their lives, fortunes, and powers to fulfill the Heavenly Dao's mission.
Though this method could resolve the Heavenly Demon threat, it annihilated humanity.
It believed that only a soul from another world could save this realm.
But the Heavenly Dao disagreed. It believed that once Liu Jiang Fusheng ascended, the passages between the two realms would open, and the Heavenly Demon's protective barrier hidden in the space between realms would shatter.
At that point, it would have a way to deal with the Heavenly Demon.
However, it was precisely because 'Constraint' had revealed everything to her in her dreams that Gu Junshi had killed Liu Jiang Fusheng repeatedly. This woman had a heart of iron and never showed mercy, forcing it to rewind time again and again.
It had tried to obliterate this soul from another world countless times, but each attempt was thwarted by the other will.
'Constraint' forbade it from harming that soul from another world, threatening to act against Liu Jiang Fusheng in return. Thus, they had made an agreement: neither party would harm these two individuals, and everything else would be decided by their own abilities.
It naturally knew what Gu Junshi intended to do. However, with the Heavenly Demon present, her desire to ascend was a pipe dream. Moreover, the cultivation technique "Great Dao Without Emotion" was specifically designed for Liu Jiang Fusheng. Although she could practice it due to 'Constraint's' intervention, and even comprehend it better than Liu Jiang Fusheng.
But she was a soul from another world, with no worldly ties to this realm. How could she sever them?
Unless she established worldly ties in this realm, there was no severing to be done.
The Heavenly Dao wanted to see if this soul from another world could still bring herself to strike Liu Jiang Fusheng after falling in love with him. Simultaneously, it wanted to know whether its chosen Liu Jiang Fusheng was correct, or if 'Constraint's' chosen soul from another world was.
Little did it know, while it and 'Constraint' were in conflict, the Heavenly Demon had already intervened, further complicating the already chaotic situation.
Its meticulously laid timeline was now in disarray. "Fu Wanyan's" destined path had ended prematurely. It then infused a trace of its divine consciousness into her body.
"Fusheng, do you remember your Divine Mother?"
On the High Mansion's Heaven-Piercing Sacred Altar, six cyan-white pillars stretched towards the sky, shrouded in misty vapor and swirling clouds.
Liu Jiang Fusheng and "Fu Wanyan" stood in the center of the altar.
"You are not the Holy Lord of the High Mansion. The High Mansion is merely a weapon I gave you. You are of true divine blood, and your mother and clan await your return in the Divine Realm."
Divine Mother?
Liu Jiang Fusheng's memories were often fragmented. There were the memories of him being "human," and another set of hazy, unreal memories that frequently troubled him.
There was a gentle, powerful, and noble figure, always calling to him, beckoning him, but he couldn't recall much. The only thing he clearly remembered was that he had a crucial mission.
Grow stronger, ascend... kill the Heavenly Demon.