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Zuo Mo left a few excited emojis in the chat box, but didn't respond any further.

But then, it was obvious that this would thrill her; Kui Lin, Jiao Hai, and Tai Tan were all reputable figures of their respective realms.

Now, here they were, kowtowing, pleading for mercy, and scrambling off in a panic. All of it was caught on video.

If they cut the video and made it even more interesting, it was certain to stir up waves throughout the Upper Three Realms.

"What did you send Zuo Mo to excite her so much?" Xiao Yumei was rather curious. Ye Zichen scrolled through the chat log, found the videos in question, opened them, and passed her his phone.

Xiao Yumei accepted it, and a little while later….

"Was that the Demon Emperor and his followers?"

Ye Zichen was now seated on a stone stool. He smiled and nodded. Xiao Yumei's eyes filled with disbelief, and despite herself, she shook her head. "If this video gets out, they won't be able to show their faces anywhere."

"Tai Tan and Jiao Hai will probably get through it. Even if the videos spread through the Southern and Western Kingdoms, it won't shake their foundations. They'll just have to put on a little pressure, and they'll keep their kingdoms. Kui Lin is the key here…"

Ye Zichen fidgeted with his phone, his eyes filled with a playful glint. "Our dear Demon Emperor has only just been ousted from his throne. If the video gets out at a time like this, I'm afraid the demons still hesitating over who to follow will lose respect for him. After that, rallying them beneath his banner won't be so simple…"

"He sure is pitiful." Xiao Yumei laughed and nodded. It was just one thing after another for Kui Lin. It was hard to even imagine how he'd feel once Zuo Mo's team finished cutting the video and shared it on the official account.

It was then that the sound of light footsteps entered their ears.

When they looked at the gate to the courtyard, they saw Gu Li clad in black.

Ye Zichen had anticipated Gu Li's early arrival, and Xiao Yumei understandingly left the court. Gu Li nodded at her, then walked right up to Ye Zichen and sat on the stool opposite him.

"You got here later than I expected," said Ye Zichen.

"I wanted to come looking for you last night, but I was afraid of disrupting your fun, so I decided against doing something so detestable," said Gu Li with a straight face.

"Haven't you done far more detestable things before?"

When he heard that, Gu Li grimaced, but he didn't argue. "You didn't claim the mausoleum's transcendent fortune!"

Gu Li's burning gaze bore into Ye Zichen. His words were a declaration, not a question.

Ye Zichen didn't argue. He simply nodded.

"You really didn't!" Gu Li fell silent. Even though he'd been about eighty percent certain when Ye Zichen appeared outside the mausoleum, hearing Ye Zichen confirm it still left him stunned despite himself.

That was transcendent fortune! An ultimate treasure even the God and Demon Emperors would go red eyed with lust over, a temptation no one could possibly resist. Yet here Ye Zichen was, calmly nodding and confirming that he hadn't taken it.

"Did something go wrong?"

"Nothing went wrong. I really did see the mausoleum's fortune," said Ye Zichen with a chuckle. "I dare say that had I wanted them to, they would have left with me."

"In that case, why didn't you take them with you?" Gu Li didn't get it.

"It seems you know just what the transcendent fortune was?" Ye Zichen asked, but it wasn't really a question. He glanced at Gu Li.

"Five elemental essence spirits. The Outsider Gu Li told me about them," said Gu Li.

"You knew that they were elemental essence spirits, but it seems the grand dao you've comprehended isn't the Grand Dao of the Five Elements. In that case, why did you persist on entering the mausoleum?"

"The mausoleum naturally had ultimate treasures I needed too," said Gu Li. Then, he promptly changed the subject. "But that's not the point. The main issue is, why didn't you take them with you? The five elemental essence spirits are the kings of their respective elemental powers, and yours is the Grand Dao of the Five Elements. With their help, your comprehension would increase by leaps and bounds, and you'd have a real shot at transcendence!"

"So what?" Ye Zichen said no more. He knew that the five elemental essence spirits were highly suited to him, and that with their help, his cultivation would soar like a boat at high tide.

But he'd heard far too many of their secret scandals!

They were partially responsible for the Second Era's destruction. Of course, Ye Zichen wouldn't pin all the blame on them; had the Second Era's Master of the Stars been strong enough, he could have still ensured the Second Era's safety.

But he couldn't overlook the impact the five elemental essence spirits had had either!

Rather than bringing a bunch of disobedient little brats with him, Ye Zichen thought it better to rely on his own strength. No matter the results, even if he failed, he'd have only himself to blame.

A clear breeze brushed by, rustling the leaves and grasses of the courtyard.

Gu Li and Ye Zichen just sat on their respective stools, not communicating as they stared into the distance.

A long time passed before Gu Li finally sighed. "It's your choice. It's not my place to get involved."

Then, he took a transparent crystal box from his breast pocket. Even from the outside, they could see a stalk of ink-dark, six-leaved medicinal grass.

"This is the Divine Soul Grass you've been searching for. I had my people search the entire mountain, but we only found this one stalk. If you want to use it to treat Xue Mo, I'd urge you to make ample preparations first."

He pushed the crystal box into Ye Zichen's hand, then left the courtyard without a second look.

This was the matter Ye Zichen had entrusted Gu Li with when he lured the giant condor away.

When he saw it, Ye Zichen couldn't help but feel his heart race. The Hermit Emperor had once told him that if he wanted Xue Mo, whose bloodline power had been destroyed, to reawaken, Divine Soul Grass was an indispensable ingredient.

The crystal box was well-sealed. From the outside, they could still see the crystalline, transparent grass.

But even though he had the grass, he didn't know how to use it.

Without any delays, Ye Zichen pulled out his phone, found his chat with the Hermit Emperor, then scanned the box containing the grass and sent it over.

They'd finally found the Divine Soul Grass Xue Mo needed. Ye Zichen trusted that once the Hermit Emperor saw it, he'd get to work on Xue Mo's medicine.

Ye Zichen casually tossed his phone onto the table. Even after resolving the matter of Xue Mo's medicine, his expression didn't relax.

On the contrary, his brows only knit even tighter.

"Were the essence spirits lying? Or was the God Emperor's remnant soul lying?" Ye Zichen frowned and muttered to himself.

Unless he remembered wrong, the God Emperor's soul fragment said his era's Demon Emperor transcended.

This in an of itself wasn't a problem, and recalling what the essence spirits said, it wasn't hard to tell that that Demon Emperor really had transcended.

But then the essence spirits said that, in the end, the transcendent demon emperor joined the Gods of the Outside.

But the annals of history said that the God Emperor sacrificed himself to seal the Demon Emperor away, and that the Four Great Auxiliary Stars of the Second Era buried him within the Transcendent Mausoleum. Furthermore, Ye Zichen really had seen the Demon Emperor's remnant soul within the mausoleum.

In that case, why did the essence spirits say that the Second Era's Demon Emperor had joined the Gods of the Outside in trampling the Second Era?

Could it be that the then-God Emperor had only sealed the Demon Emperor after the era was already destroyed?

But from the essence spirits' words and expressions, it seemed the Demon Emper hadn't really died?

What exactly was going on?

The Immortal Region, Howling Valley.

The imperial experts who'd entered the mausoleum in search of fortune all left and returned to their respective factions, but people were still few and far between in the Immortal Region, and few beasts roamed the earth.

The mausoleum so huge, it occupied all of Howling Valley was still there. The area around it was in shambles; it was clear a grand battle had been fought there.

"What did you come here for?" The Demon Emperor's remnant spirit let out a burst of sinister laughter as it looked at yet another wisp of soul. He now stood upon the glorious paradise countless experts had chosen to remain in, but now, it looked more like hell.

As for the experts who'd chosen to remain behind? Not even their corpses remained.

The one he greeted was the remnant of the former God Emperor. The God Emperor's remnant floated in the air, his gaze mournful as he looked at the hellscape below.

"Are all of them dead?"

"What, are you here to avenge them?" said the Demon Emperor's remnant with a hideous laugh.

"If they're dead, they're dead. This is a rule we agreed upon hundreds of millions of years ago. You didn't break the rules, so naturally, I won't break them either."

"What a self-righteous hypocrite!"

"Say what you want," said the wisp of the God Emperor's soul with a calm laugh. Then, he found a place to put his feet, stood, and muttered, "There's still an hour before the mausoleum disappears."

"If it disappears, it disappears. Why did you come looking for me?"

"If I didn't, I'd have to wait one hundred and twenty million years for my next chance!"

"What exactly is it you want to say?" The Demon Emperor met the God Emperor's gaze, his spiritual body quivering nonstop.

"Surely you feel hatred?" chuckled the wisp of the God Emperor's soul. "You're a discarded piece of soul, his sacrificial lamb, forced to endure one hundred and twenty million years of torment while he's off enjoying himself with the Outsider Gods. Don't you want revenge?"

"And here I was wondering why you'd come looking for me. So that's why!" The Demon Emperor sneered. Don't think I don't know what you're planning. No matter what you say, that's my main body. At a fundamental level, he and I are one and the same. He and I are one. Why would I want to get revenge on him?"

"That so?" The God Emperor's eyes glinted as he stared directly into the Demon Emperor's eyes.

From time to time, the hellscape surged with lava, like a volcanic eruption. The soul wisps' bodies were intangible, so the lava went right through them. When the lava touched the rocks, they melted instantly with a burst of white smoke.

"You really don't resent him at all? You really don't feel any bitterness at all?"

Surprisingly, although he'd sneered earlier, the Demon Emperor's soul clenched his fists.

The God Emperor's remnant then looked at the lava flowing their their incorporeal bodies and chuckled. "This is our final chance. With our remaining soul power, do you really think we'll last until the next era?"

"Hah…" The wisp of the Demon Emperor's soul snorted, but his gaze flickered with unwillingness.

The God Emperor said no more. He just watched the Demon Emperor and said, "I'll ask you one last time. Do you want revenge? Let him see for himself just how hundreds of millions of years with nothing but lava for company feels!"