The skies over the Literati Continent were as dark as ink. The entire continent was shrouded in endless darkness reminiscent of an eternal night.

Deep within the dome of heaven, terrifying lights flashed, intermittently illuminating the entire world. Every time that happened, the strongest of the Heavenly Monarchs could just barely discern a heaven-shaking battle between Heavenly Sovereigns raging beneath the firmament. It was indistinct, and every time this scene appeared, it vanished in a flash. Nonetheless, it shook the Heavenly Monarchs to the core.

The old monsters of the Southern Darkness Sword Sect gazed into the dome of heaven. There was no hiding the astonishment on their faces.

“Su Yi will struggle to escape disaster this time.”

Yun Qiaojun sat nearby, dejectedly drinking wine. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. The world is so big. Why isn’t there space for Su Yi? Those Heavenly Sovereigns are so lofty. Why can’t they spare a single reincarnated sword cultivator?

...

In the Blueleaf Sword Sect, the rims of Mo Lanhe’s eyes reddened. He was visibly frantic. Su Yi had escorted him back to the sect just yesterday. He would never have guessed that Su Yi would face such a terrifying threat so shortly after.

“If something happens to Su Yi, it’ll mean that the Red-Robed Heavenly Sovereign was defeated. What will become of the Blueleaf Sword Sect then?” someone said softly. “Will we be implicated?”

The crowd stood there in silence, their hearts heavy. The atmosphere was suffocating.

Not long after the expedition into the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone, Lu Hongpao announced that the Blueleaf Sword Sect and Light Beam Sword Pavilion were under her protection. But if she were defeated, they’d lose their backer, and it was highly likely that Su Yi’s enemies would come to get even!

“Even if the Red-Robed Heavenly Sovereign is defeated, she won’t die! No Heavenly Sovereign has died in battle since the start of the New Beginning!” said Founder Qi Jingzhen with staunch assurance.

But then, he sighed, his heart full of grief. “My only concern is for Fellow Daoist Su’s safety.”

The crowd sank into silence.

...

Light Beam Sword Pavilion.

Bu Meng stared into the sky in a daze, his gaze full of agony, hatred, fury, and concern.

“Lass, if anything happens to Fellow Daoist Su, I’ll leave for the Five Great Continents immediately! I might be too lacking in skill to defeat the Heavenly Sovereigns, but I can at least kill some of their disciples and grand disciples!” He gnashed his teeth so hard that they almost shattered. “I’ve never seen such blatant, egregious bullying before!”

Fu Lingyun’s gaze was staunch. “I’ll cultivate hard, and one day, I’ll point my sword at those Heavenly Sovereign factions, too!”

......

Meanwhile, beneath the distant dome of heaven, the starry void churned. Space had been thrown into disarray.

Hei Ya and the four Heavenly Sovereigns were furious. All of them tried their utmost to kill Lu Hongpao. Especially Hei Ya, who fought in a frenzy. He presented the most lethal threat.

Within just a few breaths of time, Lu Hongpao’s sword had snapped in two. Her tall, thin frame was covered in countless bloody gashes to the point that her skin looked like cracked porcelain. It seemed she might shatter at any moment. She repeatedly tried to flee, only for her enemies to intercept her each and every time. All attempts ended in failure.

“Lu Hongpao, you’re a Heavenly Sovereign, yet here you are, throwing your life away for that little wretch. You’re simply sick in the head!” Heavenly Sovereign Wen’s face was ashen.

Su Yi had been lucky enough to survive the God Domain’s Battle for Order. To the Heavenly Sovereigns, that was grave humiliation. This time, they’d meticulously planned a death trap, and they’d been completely assured of their success, only for Su Yi to escape again. How could they possibly tolerate this?

“Let me tell you, even if Su Yi manages to escape the Literati Continent, he’ll soon face disaster! There’s an inescapable net waiting for him on the River of Destiny!” Heavenly Sovereign E said icily, his gaze terrifying to behold. “Without you to protect him, he’ll be doomed!”

“Just give up, Lu Hongpao. You’re no match for us! Relinquish your Eternal Throne, and we’ll leave you a chance at life!” Heavenly Sovereign Changhen said gravely.

“A chance at life? I most certainly don’t agree to that. That bitch must die!” said Hei Ya, his eyes bloodshot. His whole body seethed with murderous intent, and his face was hideously contorted with fury.

He drew his sword and attacked furiously. Lu Hongpao’s body couldn’t withstand the force of this blow, and it shattered into pieces.

The other Heavenly Sovereigns didn’t hesitate to gather the pieces of her flesh. This was the body of a sovereign; every chunk was full of the supreme power of the Grand Dao. Even though it wasn’t the source of her powers in the Grand Dao, her flesh was still a rare and precious treasure.

Even a hint of a Heavenly Sovereign’s blood essence could suppress an entire world, shattering the mountains and rivers, let alone a piece of a Heavenly Sovereign’s true body!

Lu Hongpao disregarded that. All that remained of her was her soul origin, but it too was badly injured and covered in wounds.

She’d finally returned to her true, female appearance. She looked young and beautiful, with natural, amorous charm and a graceful figure. Hers was a natural, elegant beauty far beyond the masses, with the pride of an empress gazing down upon the world from on high.

But she was ultimately just a soul, and a badly injured one at that. Her figure was like a candle flickering in the wind, dull and fading rapidly.

“Die!” Hei Ya didn’t let up. He swung his sword and attacked once more.

The four Heavenly Sovereigns joined in, their eyes blazing. So long as they destroyed Lu Hongpao’s soul, they could seize her Eternal Throne from the shattered remnants of her Eternal Source!

“What a useless bunch.” Lu Hongpao chuckled and shook her head. She was as calm as ever, with no sign of fear, anger, or unease in her expression. “I said that even if I died, I’d drag one of you down with me. I naturally can’t go back on my word.”

As she spoke, her soul origin lit up with dazzling light, illuminating the entire stretch of stars.

It was indistinct, but an illusory divine mountain appeared within her soul origin. Its grand slopes surged with chaos power, and it was immeasurably vast. Every inch of it was as red as blood. This was her Eternal Throne. Its name was Celestial Peak.

Destiny resided on the Celestial Peak. It reigned over all other mountains. During the Primordial Era, it suppressed the four extremes, and it controlled all other mountains and rivers. During the Devastation, Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue used the Eternal Throne of the Celestial Peak to sweep through the nine heavens.

Now, Lu Hongpao ignited her soul origin, fully awakening the source power of the Celestial Peak.

“It’s a pity. I’d planned to give this Eternal Throne to that good brother of mine...” Lu Hongpao sighed softly.

Had she merely been up against the four Heavenly Sovereigns, she was confident that she could have found a path to life, but the addition of Hei Ya had sealed off all possible escape routes. Her only choice was to fight to the death!

She didn’t regret her decision. She just found it a pity that she couldn’t realize her desires, and that she wouldn’t live to see Su Yi sit upon the Eternal Throne of the Celestial Peak with her own eyes.

“That woman’s gone insane. She’s gone so far as to ignite her Eternal Throne!” The four Heavenly Sovereigns looked stricken.

Hei Ya, however, broke into a contorted, hideous grin. “I’ve seen plenty such death throes on the Far Shore of Destiny. How could I not be on guard for this? I’ve been waiting for you to try something like this!”

He’d only just said this when he roared and took out a black bone cauldron. The hum of a sword emanated from inside it.

Practically simultaneously, Lu Hongpao’s burning soul origin froze, unable to move any further. Her eyes widened, and she glanced down, only to see a streak of sword qi. It was blue, clear, and crystalline. Dazzling vital energy flowed over its surface, mystical and unfathomable. Yet this very streak of sword qi had run her through, ruining her last-ditch attack!

She raised her head with great difficulty and saw the four Heavenly Sovereigns making no effort to disguise their delight. They looked at her as if she were rare and precious prey.

Hei Ya held the black cauldron aloft and laughed hideously.

Lu Hongpao gazed past her enemies and into the devastated starscape. She suddenly felt a bit of regret. She regretted that she’d never told her good brother that she’d sworn to protect him, both in his past life and in this one.

Alas, it was too late. Her life force was rapidly flowing away, and her field of vision grew fuzzy and indistinct.

......

A little silver boat covered in intricate, blood-red markings hurtled through turbulent spacetime. Su Yi stood on deck and gripped the Sword of the Nine Hells, his heart full of frustration and bitterness.

Lu Hongpao was too domineering! She’d sent him off without giving him any chance to argue, nor did she let him help.

Su Yi would rather have died in battle. After all, since when were sword cultivators afraid to die?

“Do you blame yourself? Are you depressed? Do you feel frustrated? Or helpless? Do you hate me for not intervening?” The heart devil’s voice suddenly emanated from the rusted sheath.

Su Yi slowly sat down and took out a jug of wine, but he was in no mood to drink. In the end, he just sat there in silence.

“Lu Hongpao has done far too much for you. From the moment you entered the River of Destiny, she’s made arrangements for you from behind the scenes. Everything you’ve done, both in the Blue Peak Continent and in the Literati Continent, was part of her plan,” the heart devil continued. “Admittedly, she had nothing but the best of intentions, and she helped you without the slightest reservation. She wants you to succeed in Jiang Wuchen’s everything, including the Divine Hunt Edict and the Nine Luminaries Edict.

“But her methods will harm you. It’s like yanking on a growing shoot to make it grow faster; she’ll only negatively influence your cultivation. If you live under her protection, you’ll never be able to truly temper yourself.

“Someone as clever as you must have realized that both in the Blue Peak Continent and in the Literati Continent, no matter what dangers crossed your path, there was no way you could have died. That knowledge is a form of invisible influence.

“You didn’t seek out Lu Hongpao’s assistance in the Sin-Severing Dungeon or the Endless Expanse Hidden Realm, but I’m sure you knew that she wouldn’t just stand back and watch you die. Her presence represented an additional layer of confidence, one you couldn’t refuse. And that's no good.

“Of course, you didn’t do anything wrong. All I can say is, Lu Hongpao went too far in looking out for you. She was so desperate to give you the very best that she forgot the proper limits.

“Today’s disaster is indeed targeting you, but isn’t it also the consequence of her arrangements?”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. “I know all that already. What exactly are you trying to say?”

The heart devil pondered briefly, then asked, “Do you hate me for not lending a hand?”

When they first left Rosy Dew Pavilion, Su Yi spoke with the heart devil and requested his aid, not for his own sake, but to prevent Lu Hongpao from needing to fight to the bitter end.

But the heart devil refused!