Backed by the reputation of those two powers, where in the northern and southern lands could they not roam free?

And so, they were used to running rampant without a care.

"Could he be from the Dongsheng Continent? That can’t be right! To cross an entire continent, even with a Vertical Earth Golden Light Talisman, would take a dozen days or more."

As Dong Ge pondered this, he couldn’t help but wonder if this Sun and Moon Emperor’s Life of mysterious origins was actually some True Monarch in a conjured incarnation, just here for a laugh. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The Demon Dao Dharma Lineage had never been short of such seniors who were "disrespectful despite their age"!

...

...

The majestic Profound City Central Palace.

A big, chubby girl lay on the floor, her chin cupped in her hands, and said out of sheer boredom,

"My Lady, that so-called First-class Emperor’s Life seems to be nothing but a pretty face—all show and no substance!"

Seated gracefully on the Jade Platform, the elegant Lady Xuan’nv parted her vermilion lips, her words as crisp and clear as pearls on a jade plate:

"Gui’er, are you looking for a smack again? You always pick such crude things to say."

The big, chubby girl’s eyes darted about mischievously.

"My Lady, why don’t you conjure an incarnation and leave the palace with me to get a look at this bunch with our own eyes?

I’ve read all about it in my storybooks. It’s always something like ’The Lady Toys with the Yin Celestial Emperor Three Times While the Maid Outwits the Young Master’... Ouch, ouch! Stop pinching my face! That hurts!"

Only when Gui’er cried for mercy did Lady Xuan’nv withdraw her hand into her sleeve, revealing a fleeting glimpse of a wrist as white as frost.

The chubby girl’s already cheerful, moon-like face had been pulled even rounder, yet she continued to chatter nonstop.

"But of all the people who left a wisp of their Life Qi on the Three Lives Stone, I haven’t seen a single one who’s worthy of a second look.

There are a few decent Dao Materials from the Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineages, I guess. That kid in the purple robe from the Innate Sect has some fairly strong Life Qi, but he lacks Dao Wisdom. He’s just a rich brat—totally unworthy!

Then there’s one from a Branch Sect. His origins are a bit weak, but his Dao Wisdom is passable. The most he could ever be is a servant for me to order around!"

Lady Xuan’nv turned a deaf ear. Gui’er had always been a motormouth.

The Six Ding True Fire had burned away eighty to ninety percent of the countless ghosts and Fierce Fiends in [Fengdu].

In this vast Profound City Central Palace, through the long and lonely river of time, she had only this nine-headed fat bird to keep her company.

Without Gui’er, she would truly become a lonely, wandering ghost.

"They are here seeking an Opportunity, not for Binding Yin Fate."

Lady Xuan’nv said softly,

"Gong Rong’s wisp of Six Ding True Fire is an Opportunity. The yin fungus and yin water of the Eighteen-Layered Platform are also Opportunities. The fact that the [Ghost Dao]’s destiny is slowly recovering one-ten-thousandth of its strength, nourished by the baleful yin energy, is an even greater Opportunity... In this [Fengdu], besides your dear Lady, every single thing can drive a Cultivator wild with joy."

The big, chubby girl’s eyebrows shot up. She manifested nine ferocious heads, breathing fire and smoke as if she were furious.

"But My Lady, you’re a True Monarch!"

"A fallen True Monarch, suppressed by the laws of the Immortal Dao until I can no longer even raise my head."

Lady Xuan’nv giggled, suddenly appearing as bashful as a young maiden.

"That top disciple from the Taifu Sect spread a rumor that I’m the direct heir of some Daoist Lineage and fabulously wealthy.

If those little ones outside were to learn that Binding this ’Yin Fate’ means sharing the karma of the [Ghost Dao], bearing the oppressive light of the [Tai Yang], and suffering punishment from the [Thunder Core], they’d probably all run for the hills."

The big, chubby girl said indignantly,

"If Your Ladyship sheds your ’yin body’ and achieves your vision for the [Ghost Dao] and the [Divine Dao], hmph! Then even if the Eight Sects True Monarchs were to show up in person, whether or not we’d even grace them with a glance would depend on our mood!"

Lady Xuan’nv smiled without a word. The girl was always a daydreamer.

Ascending from [Ghost] to [God], turning yin into yang, was already as difficult as reaching the heavens.

In the Yanfu Vast Land of today, only the [Tai Yang] was permitted to appear.

In other words, unless she entered into a Binding Yin Fate with that Immortal Dao Emperor, she would never be able to change her Daoist path and reclaim her throne.

But back when Gong Rong of the Eight Sceneries Palace had attacked, this Profound Law Nvqing True Monarch had given a resolute answer—

"Even if my Dao is annihilated in death, even if I close my eyes to this world forever, I will never serve the Emperor by revering the [Tai Yang]!"

The chubby girl puffed up her cheeks, making a funny face to cheer up her Lady and keep her from dwelling on old memories.

"My Lady, My Lady! Gui’er can do a somersault for you! I can roll on the ground like a wheel... Hey! That fellow with the First-class Emperor’s Life is finally making a move! I wonder how many life patterns he’ll reveal, and what his true worth will turn out to be!"

...

...

[Fengdu] was a land of yin. It was rumored to connect to the Netherworld, and it festered with a dense, baleful aura that the essence of the sun could not penetrate and True Fire could not refine away.

For tens of thousands of years, apart from the day the Eight Sceneries Palace blasted open the great gate, allowing the Great Sun to appear and its brilliant light to grant the ghosts and Fierce Fiends a glimpse of daylight, Fengdu had known only darkness.

The rest of its days were spent in a pitch-black, cavernous gloom, thick with a mist of blood, where heaven and earth were like ink.

But today!

Upon the Eighteen-Layered High Platform, a rising sun appeared!

"That fellow finally couldn’t hold it in any longer!"

The man known as Dong Ge was overjoyed. Seated in the Exquisite Magic Tower, Fu Lizi also clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

"Since ancient times, even an Emperor’s Life has been divided into ranks! There are rulers of fallen kingdoms, incompetent sovereigns, and wise and brilliant emperors! This man possesses both sun and moon. Entering the Kitchen God Temple will be no issue for him. We just have to see what kind of destiny he can seize!"

Lou Zhenxiao stared silently into the water mirror.

BOOM!

The doors to the Kitchen God Temple swung wide open.

The very moment Jiang Yi released his Divine Sense and Qi Mechanism, a tongue of fire—far more vigorous and brilliant than any the others had received—descended toward him.

It was a full nine inches long!

Jiang Yi absorbed it into his body without the slightest hesitation.

He had already foreseen the outcome, so of course, he showed no signs of hesitation.

This scene sent All Cultivators on the eighteen layers into an uproar.

But the scene that followed stunned even the "Upper Cultivators" observing from far beyond the chessboard of [Fengdu].

The nine-inch golden flame was like ice meeting a scorching sun—it melted in an instant, without giving off even a wisp of smoke!

"Why did that happen?"

The hand in which Fu Lizi held his wine goblet froze mid-air, astonishment flashing in his eyes.

’Shouldn’t there have been some kind of trial?’

The Kitchen God Temple, buried deep within [Fengdu], was in fact an evolution of the "Six Ding True Fire."

To enter the temple to offer incense, verify one’s life patterns, and measure one’s Life Qi, one had to endure the torment of the golden flame burning the body and refining the spirit!

There were no exceptions, no matter who came!

Lou Zhenxiao, however, seemed to have expected it. He spoke slowly.

"This person is also performing the Combined Refining of Bingding. The moment he released his Qi Mechanism, I saw the candle flame of Ding Fire and the bright furnace of Bing Fire. That golden flame... he refined it in an instant."

Fu Lizi slammed his wine goblet down on the table. Crystalline Jade Dew splashed onto his Seven-Color Dawn Magical Robe as he cried out in disbelief,

"We’ve hit the jackpot! If he’s also performing the Combined Refining of Bingding, couldn’t he take this entire Kitchen God Temple for himself?!

An Emperor’s Life that possesses both sun and moon... If he takes just one more step and uses the intertwined life patterns as a ’framework’ and arranges his Life Qi into a ’layout,’ he can condense a true destiny!"

Lou Zhenxiao was silent. In his eyes, the vast majority of the Cultivators who had rushed to [Fengdu] were just here for the spectacle.

What kind of existence was Lady Xuan’nv? How could she possibly deign to look upon any of them, let alone bestow her favor?

Even if all Ten Great True Inheritance disciples of the Taifu Sect were to arrive, he feared only Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Qi, those two alone, might be worthy of stepping into the Profound City Central Palace to glimpse the splendor of the Profound Law Nvqing True Monarch.

’Perhaps this is a fateful encounter,’ he thought. ’Or perhaps... a True Monarch above is pulling the strings of causality.’

Lou Zhenxiao stared intently at the "rising sun" in the sky.

After refining the golden flame, Jiang Yi’s Qi Mechanism surged and his light flared. With a flicker, his body shot past the seventeen platforms below and he rushed through the gates of the Kitchen God Temple in an instant!

[Fengdu] fell silent.

No one had expected it to be so effortless. It was all over in just a few breaths.

「Not long after.」

A pillar of firelight erupted from the ancient temple. The golden flames were like a great furnace with its lid thrown open, spewing forth layers of illusory, vibrant colors.

A roc took flight, flapping its great wings as it circled the Kitchen God Temple!

"That must be the one with the second-class ’Celestial Star Life,’ right? The verification granted them the ’Golden-Winged Roc King Destiny.’"

「After a good while.」

Another huge tremor shook the temple twice.

Amidst the layers of illusory colors, a fire crow nearly ninety feet tall let out a piercing shriek!

"Though a fire crow is a mortal bird, it can still enter the Qingming and roam the four continents. This destiny is respectable enough. With it, one could cultivate True Monarch Gong Rong of the Eight Sceneries Palace’s ’Sutra of the Five Fires and Seven Birds Returning to the Origin.’"

After these two transformations, a long silence fell.

It was not until the faint light of dawn was about to break outside [Fengdu] that something else happened.

BOOM!

The ancient temple seemed as if it were about to be shattered by the tremor!

It erupted with an unprecedentedly dense and brilliant light!

"A Saint King? A Bright Lord? The Yin Celestial Emperor?"

An cry of alarm came from the Exquisite Magic Tower!

And within the Profound City Central Palace, a certain gaze fell upon the scene!