White robes fluttering, Lu Ping’an moved forward slowly.

  He felt as though he had stepped onto an ancient battlefield. Terrifying clashes thundered endlessly.

  The earth collapsed, mountains and rivers exploded, the sky was torn open like abyssal scars.

  Stars shifted, continents overturned.

  White bones carpeted the ground; blood formed rivers where corpses and wailing souls drifted in and out of view.

  Everything before him resembled a hell on earth, the underworld reborn.

  Yet… the more he looked, the more familiar it felt.

  Lu raised a brow and suddenly laughed.

  Wasn’t this exactly the scene he had created on the final floating palace barrier in the Dragon Gate Secret Realm—the one depicting ancient evil demons invading Five Phoenix and destroying the primordial cultivation era?

  Though the events and characters differed…

  The overall structure and plot were eerily similar.

  Seated in the Thousand Blades Chair, Lu couldn’t help but clap in amusement.

  Was everything before him real… or illusion?

  Could the General of this tomb have deliberately arranged this—just as Lu had crafted scenes for others to see?

  Who could say? When true is false, false is true.

  Lu’s smile gradually faded.

  He continued across the ancient battlefield.

  He saw a familiar figure—Ancient Emperor “Ha,” shrouded in mist high above the Ninth Heaven, like a god or demon.

  A palace city appeared on the battlefield.

  A heavenly pass towering over the vast field, as though connecting earth and sky, guarding everything within.

  The walls were stained with blood, scarred by terrifying claw marks and weapon traces.

  They told of endless sieges across countless ages.

  Atop the walls stood a white-robed figure—now dyed crimson with blood. Hands behind his back, he watched the Emperor ascend step by step, array runes coiling around him.

  He stood unmoving, seeing the Emperor off to battle the Ninth Heaven.

  Waiting eagerly for his triumphant return.

  But the wait had no end.

  The Emperor never came back.

  Only devastating slaughter rained down from the heavens.

  The heavenly pass fell. Seas of blood flowed.

  The land sank and shattered.

  Lu reached the end, having witnessed it all—yet his heart remained calm.

  He had orchestrated a similar tragedy in the Dragon Gate Secret Realm, so this stirred little emotion.

  “A tragedy.”

  Lu said.

  The vision dispersed.

  The three armored skeletons continued leading the way.

  The dilapidated third palace city emerged.

  One skeleton stopped, its dark eye sockets watching Lu and the remaining two proceed.

  Entering the third city, Lu saw mountains of spirit stones, rare ores, sealed beast cubs in stone, and radiant giant eggs.

  Treasures that dazzled the eye.

  Even dust-covered spirit tools glowed faintly.

  Lu paid them no mind. The two skeletons shuffled onward.

  A city overflowing with riches.

  Past the third city, another skeleton halted, sending Lu and the last one on.

  Lu guessed these skeletons had been unparalleled existences in life.

  The fourth city held only a massive pool—dozens of plazas wide. Crimson liquid mixed with gold flowed within, radiating oppressive energy and faint traces of dao patterns.

  Lu glanced at it, brow raised.

  The final skeleton—clad in full armor—stepped aside, gesturing for him to proceed.

  The Thousand Blades Chair rolled forward.

  At last, the gates opened.

  Beyond the fourth city lay a simple palace.

  Unadorned, unpretentious.

  At its center stood a stone coffin.

  At one end, an ancient ever-burning lamp flickered faintly.

  White-robed Lu swept his gaze across the palace, finally settling on the coffin.

  The master of this tomb—the General the skeleton spoke of—should lie within.

  The palace was deathly quiet.

  So quiet it made one uneasy.

  Suddenly—

  A soft laugh rang out.

  “You’re younger than I expected.”

  An elegant, gentle voice echoed through the palace.

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  The ever-burning lamp swayed, casting shifting light and shadow.

  “After the Emperor fell and the Void Heaven was shattered, supremes set down rules, sealing it away, turning it into a world of ruins where no High Martial could be born…”

  “Yet now, you—a young man—have broken those rules.”

  The voice continued leisurely.

  The lamp’s light seemed to form a faint silhouette.

  The figure sat on a meditation mat, like a refined young noble.

  Lu looked at the lamp-shadow and smiled.

  The General’s Tomb—so this silhouette was the blood-clad general who had stood atop the walls for countless years.

  “How shall I address you, Young Master?”

  The lamp trembled as the figure asked.

  “Lu Ping’an.”

  Lu propped his chin on one hand, watching the shadow.

  “You’re not afraid of me? Not worried I invited you here with ill intent?”

  “You should know—even if this is only your clone, if I wished to possess you, I could easily follow the thread of your primordial spirit.”

  The General said.

  Lu laughed, leaning back in his chair and spinning the Profound Ring on his finger.

  “Try it.”

  Silence fell over the palace.

  The ever-burning lamp flickered.

  After a long while, it stilled.

  “I do not know how you obtained the tomb-relocating token. Perhaps… it is the Emperor’s will in the darkness, sending me to aid you—to protect this frail newborn High Martial world until it grows strong…”

  The General said.

  “You made this world High Martial and shattered the Void Heaven’s rules. Do you know what that means?”

  Lu rubbed the Profound Ring and shook his head.

  He truly didn’t.

  His goal was simple: make Five Phoenix stronger and stronger.

  He merely wanted to create an ultra-fantasy world.

  Turning Five Phoenix into High Martial was just one tiny stepping stone in a long journey.

  The General seemed surprised.

  “Guess…”

  “No.”

  Lu shook his head.

  “By creating a High Martial world, you have officially stepped onto the chessboard—become a piece in the game of supremes.”

  “You may fight your way to becoming the most important piece on the board… or you may be eaten and discarded.”

  The General said.

  “So you appeared to protect me—or this world—and ensure it becomes the most important piece?”

  Lu asked.

  The General fell silent. The ever-burning lamp burned quietly.

  “Funny. I love playing chess too… but I don’t like being a piece.”

  Lu said.

  “Amusing. Yet sometimes, even if you say so, you have no choice.”

  The General replied.

  Lu smiled, tapping the armrest lightly.

  “But this world is my world.”

  “In my world, I make the rules.”

  His voice was calm.

  The ever-burning lamp swayed.

  “I will aid you until this world grows strong enough…”

  The General’s tone held a ripple of emotion.

  Lu turned his chair, back facing the coffin.

  “You’re not dead?”

  After a long pause, the General answered, “One breath remains.”

  Lu’s gaze sharpened.

  Alive from the Ancient Emperor’s era to now… how long had this General lived?

  What price had he paid?

  “Then why lie in a coffin? Isn’t it stuffy?”

  “Why not come out and play a game of Go?”

  Lu continued.

  This time, the silence was longer.

  Finally, a voice came from the coffin.

  “I’m waiting for someone.”

  Lu raised a brow. The wheelchair rolled slowly forward.

  The lamp-shadow seemed to watch his retreating back.

  “The tomb holds four great inheritances that can nurture four supreme experts. Do you wish to designate four people?”

  The General asked.

  Yet Lu, seated in his chair, merely raised a hand and waved.

  “Let fate decide.”

  Then he left the palace.

  His spiritual-qi clone dispersed into the tomb.

  The ever-burning lamp continued burning quietly. The stone coffin trembled once, then fell still.

  …

  Origin Lake, Lake Heart Island.

  Lu opened his eyes. Lines flowed within them.

  “The blood-clad General who still draws one breath…”

  Lu smiled.

  He had long guessed that as Five Phoenix grew, it would catch the eyes of this world’s powerhouses.

  He just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

  Whatever the General’s purpose…

  Lu didn’t care.

  The tomb had opened. Inheritances would emerge…

  No matter who in Five Phoenix received them, it would feed back to strengthen Lu. So he was happy to let it be.

  Even if the tomb had some scheme, Lu didn’t mind—as long as its goal aligned with his: Five Phoenix, the Void Heaven’s only High Martial world, could not be destroyed. It could only grow stronger.

  When Five Phoenix grew stronger, so did Lu.

  Thus, he allowed the tomb to exist—as long as it did not shake his foundation or massacre Five Phoenix cultivators on a large scale.

  Besides, the tomb’s philosophy seemed… identical to his own.

  So Lu could not lose.

  Hm?

  Suddenly, Lu’s brow raised. He looked beyond Five Phoenix.

  “This guy… came back?”

  …

  The bronze warship crushed through the void.

  Aboard—

  The Joyful Buddha beamed, holding the Northern Palace Holy Lord’s hand at the ship’s bow, enthusiastically expounding Buddhist principles.

  Behind them, novice monks sat cross-legged, treasures balanced atop their heads.

  The Northern Palace Holy Lord’s face grew uglier by the moment.

  He desperately wanted to pull his hand free.

  But the Joyful Buddha was stronger—he couldn’t.

  This only deepened his unease.

  The more he thought, the more wrong it felt.

  Why would the Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm—after losing a Venerable—send gifts to a newborn High Martial world?

  The Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm, overlord of Pingyang Heaven, Derivation Six—when had they become so humble?

  It defied all reason.

  He cautiously asked the Joyful Buddha.

  The Buddha chuckled merrily.

  “The Great Venerable issued a decree. That evil Buddha committed countless killings and brought his fate upon himself. This monk was specially sent to apologize for the trouble he caused this realm.”

  As he spoke, he gently stroked the Northern Palace Holy Lord’s hand.

  The Holy Lord froze—then chills ran through him.

  How ruthless!

  The fallen Venerable had been discarded as a scapegoat, branded an “evil Buddha” in the blink of an eye.

  Heartless and thorough.

  At that moment, the Northern Palace Holy Lord realized—there must be a terrifying power behind this newborn High Martial world.

  The Buddha Realm was protecting itself.

  Rumble!

  The warship tore through the void and soon appeared before Five Phoenix.

  Misty arrays shrouded everything.

  Outside the tomb—

  Qi Liujia’s heart stirred. His wrinkled face changed slightly.

  Tuoba and Azure Spirit Holy Lords exchanged glances, expressions strange.

  “The Northern Palace Holy Lord… came back?”

  They clearly sensed his aura. He had fled carrying his warship earlier—none expected his return.

  What courage!

  “Sirs, excuse me for a moment.”

  Qi Liujia said gravely.

  He rose step by step into the sky, leaving the sea.

  Outside the void—

  The bronze warship appeared.

  Qi Liujia emerged, face solemn. He saw the Northern Palace Holy Lord aboard—and the beaming Joyful Buddha, along with many novice monks.

  Experts from the Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm?!

  So soon?!

  This speed… was terrifying!

  Young Master Lu had just slain their Venerable, and now they came for retribution.

  Yet soon, Qi Liujia was stunned.

  The amiable Joyful Buddha dragged the Northern Palace Holy Lord forward, all smiles, warm as a spring breeze.

  Nothing like an army come to punish.

  “This monk is the Joyful Venerable of the Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm. By the Great Venerable’s decree, I come to atone for the sins committed by the evil Buddha who disturbed this realm.”

  The Joyful Venerable chuckled.

  He waved a hand.

  The novice monks lined up, treasures gleaming atop their heads.

  Then he tugged the Northern Palace Holy Lord forward, pointing cheerfully.

  “On the way, this monk encountered this man. A quick divination revealed he too was tainted by the evil Buddha’s sins. Thus, I have captured him as a grand gift.”

  The Joyful Venerable said.

  Qi Liujia stared blankly, disbelief washing over him.

  The Northern Palace Holy Lord was dumbfounded at first.

  Then his face turned deathly pale. His lips trembled—he nearly cursed aloud.

  He glared at the Joyful Venerable, eyes blazing.

  This… is this something a human would do?!

  That damn bald donkey—screwing him over!

  No wonder everything felt off. No wonder the monk had been so warm the whole journey.

  He had been the “grand gift” all along!

  BOOM!

  Furious aura exploded from the Northern Palace Holy Lord.

  Yet the Joyful Venerable gently tapped his shoulder with a flower-pinching gesture.

  The Holy Lord found his shoulder immobilized.

  His furious eyes nearly shot flames.

  He had never offended this monk!

  Why such vicious betrayal?!

  Truly, one can know a man’s face but not his heart.

  The monk had smiled the entire way—yet his heart was this filthy!

  Tuoba and Azure Spirit, watching the drama, were stunned.

  The Northern Palace Holy Lord… had been brought back as a prisoner.

  No wonder he returned after fleeing.

  But the next moment—they nearly laughed.

  Yet behind the amusement lay a chill.

  The Little Thunder Sound Buddha Realm… was actively showing goodwill?

  The background of this newborn High Martial world… was truly unfathomable.

  As Qi Liujia stood stunned—

  Lu’s voice transmission reached his ear.

  Qi Liujia straightened his robes, glanced at the Northern Palace Holy Lord, then cupped his hands toward the Joyful Venerable.

  “Young Master has received the gifts. Venerable… you may return.”

  Qi Liujia said.

  The Northern Palace Holy Lord’s body went limp.

  He might be the most tragic Holy Lord in history—turned into a gift by a bald donkey.

  Yet—

  The Joyful Venerable’s smile only grew warmer.

  “Sect Master Qi, this monk comes by the Great Venerable’s decree with important matters to discuss with Young Master Lu in person. Please inform him—this monk wishes to speak face to face.”