As Raven commanded everyone to clean up the scene, Zier showed off the medical knowledge he had gained over the years working with poison.

He treated everyone’s injuries while Blaze came to Ozul’s side and observed everyone in silence.

The distress signal would have alerted the Sect instantly, so their forces would arrive anytime. Not daring to wait any longer, the group departed, heading straight back to Phoenix City.

As they got closer, the surrounding areas became more barren, a testament to the harsh wars these lands had endured.

However, as the huge barrier dome appeared in their sight, it became apparent that the relentless onslaught of the Sect and the Wilderness had never once managed to break the defenses of Phoenix City.

Despite the barren surroundings, the city stood tall and proud. Inside the barrier appeared a bustling community.

If someone were to look closely, they would notice the increasing number of soldiers mixed in within the crowd.

The few times that it came close to breaking was when the Heavenly Virtue was involved and the Celestial Phoenix was forced out of her nest.

"How long can it last..." Ozul thought out aloud to himself, trying to suppress the churning feeling in his stomach.

For the last decade, he had almost given up on finding a dead Sage. Both sides protected theirs with extra caution. It couldn’t be helped as the Sages were, at a large scale, the real faces of this war.

The Empyreans seldom participated, only keeping each other in check.

The Heavenly Virtues and the Celestial Beast were even less likely to make an appearance.

"All of this is stupid..." Zier muttered to himself, watching the worry wash away from the faces of his newly made friends.

Raven went to brief Rai about their mission while Blaze acted as if he hadn’t heard him at all.

Zier thought that maybe they didn’t agree with his thoughts, but it was simply because they knew nothing could be done about it.

"It really is all futile," Ozul replied, sighing as he walked back to his room.

Anyone with self-awareness would question how meaningless their hard-fought battles were in the grand scheme of things.

Their deaths and their victories mattered little as the end results would always be decided by the Empyreans and those above them.

If the final battle would be decided by the fight of these people, then why were thousands of cultivators sacrificed in each Realm?

But Ozul had realized at this point, that this was just how the world worked. In the battle of the strong, the weak fought, and only the weak lost.

The strong knew no defeat.

In her office, Ember was also brooding over similar thoughts.

She did not think that the war would stretch for so long with neither side showing any signs of giving up anytime soon.

By the looks of it, she estimated that the war might even go on for more than a hundred years!

Hitting the table in front of her, she resolved herself to raise her voice in front of Baoshi and Qingyu the next time they met.

Unfortunately, even she understood that once faced with those old monsters, her resolve wouldn’t stand as firm as she imagined.

The Heavenly Virtues were one of the few people who could stand face to face with the Heavenly Emperor and not quiver in fear and awe at his presence.

Each of them exuded an aura that could not be contended by even the strongest of the Empyreans.

’And here I thought becoming an Empyrean would relieve me of most of my worries...’ she thought with her hand on her eyes.

Sadly, her time as an Empyrean appeared to be even more hectic and miserable than when she had lost her cultivation and was stuck in the Origin Realm.

. . .

In the Land Above All, clouds covered the bright sky, although there were no intentions of raining.

Yet, thunder clapped right in front of the royal palace of the Heavenly Emperor.

A legion of palace guards clad in golden armor surrounded an old man with shabby clothes. For the palace guards to be so agitated, the outsiders would surely wonder about the identity of the old man.

The head of the palace guards was rumored to have crossed the boundaries of the Empyrean Realm and was half a step into the domain of the 7 Heavenly Virtues.

He stood in the middle, facing the old man with his longsword resting on the latter’s shoulder.

"State your purpose here, old man!"

The old man in question was someone the head guard was all too familiar with.

There was a reason that even with a legion of guards surrounding him, they were all still on edge because of him.

"You point your sword at me as if I was an enemy?" Old Gu teased with exaggerated expressions.

"With everything that is happening in the lower Realms, how do I know you’re not?"

The head guard was in charge of the palace security, he had to be suspicious of everyone. Even among the 7 Virtues, Old Gu was the most unpredictable, so he couldn’t let the old man walk into the palace as he pleased.

"You have some nerve trying to stop the Emperor’s guest, don’t you?" Old Gu did not bother putting up his defenses against the increasing number of palace guards.

"Do not dare lie!" The head guard shouted, but his resolve was still faltering.

It was well-known that the Heavenly Emperor had retreated from worldly affairs for more than a century now.

Still the mere possibility that he was holding back a guest of His Majesty frightened the head guard.

"You fear too much, kid. When have I ever caused trouble in His presence?" Old Gu spread his hands, appearing like a fragile old man.

Though the head guard knew reality was far from that, his hands wavered. At last, he lowered his longsword.

"Do not stir up anything, old man. I will be watching."

"Heh," chuckled Old Gu, "You act as if you could stop me."

It hit a nerve. The head guard glared at him but still gestured to his subordinates to make way.

The Empress was also informed of Old Gu’s presence. She further instructed the guards to keep watch over his movements.

Old Gu could care less about the guards keeping watch over him. He directly went toward the highest room where he felt the unearthly presence of the Heavenly Emperor.

Announcing his presence at the door, he spoke, "Can I enter, My Lord?"

The doors opened on their own, and a voice was heard, "You think a lord of me?"

Old Gu took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The Heavenly Emperor sat on a comfortable chair beside the open window, his hand resting under his chin while the wind made his hair flutter ever so gracefully.

"There is no man alive if not you who deserves the title of a Lord," Old Gu spoke calmly, his usual amusements were absent.

The Heavenly Emperor was maybe the only being in existence who could make Old Gu speak so respectfully.

"Man? I thought everyone now thought of me as a God..."

"At this point, does it even matter?" Old Gu answered.

The concept of God was eerily similar to the existence of the Heavenly Emperor. He was a man who had blurred the lines between what was mortal and what was imagined divine.

"Haha.."

The Emperor laughed softly. The birds chirped in sync as if delighted to have witnessed a smile from this godly being.

Old Gu did not interrupt him, patiently waiting for his thoughts.

"No wonder you two were friends. You even speak like him."

He knew the Emperor was talking about the Wise Sage. The thought of him stung at his heart, but he remained quiet.

"You do not have to pretend. I know how you have resented me for his death," The Emperor smiled again.

"It seems, however, that you have let go of it?" He finally turned his head toward Old Gu, tilting it slightly like he was trying to look through him.

Old Gu was not surprised that the Emperor had read him so well.

"I did not want to let his death go in vain," he answered truthfully.

The Wise Sage died partly for the sake of his master. If the Heavenly Emperor still died, then his death would be meaningless. He also knew that his friend would have wanted him to protect his master.

"Is that all?" The Emperor turned his head back, looking outside the window again. It almost seemed like he was disappointed.

Clenching his fists in anger, eyes darkening, Old Gu spoke through gritted teeth, "His death meant nothing to you?!"

For a time, only the sweet melodies of the birds were singing outside the window.

Silence settled into the room for a solid minute before the Emperor finally spoke,

"Why are you here?"

"So the ’Eternal Light’ remains eternal."

"Haha..."