On Origin Island, a gentle breeze blew.

  The air carried a quiet, cool serenity.

  Micah stood by the lakeside, speaking earnestly with a resolute, unwavering determination.

  Ning Zhao, Ni Yu, and Yi Yue all instinctively looked up, their gazes drawn to him.

  Severing his own cultivation? Restarting his path with the Immortal Scripture?

  Was this truly something a Quasi-Emperor would say?

  Micah was a Quasi-Emperor—hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation. Was he really willing to discard it all?

  Even Lu was slightly surprised.

  Ruthless.

  This Micah was indeed a ruthless man.

  What kind of audacity did it take to make such a decision—willingly severing his cultivation to walk the path anew?

  But upon reflection, Lu realized Micah was precisely that kind of person.

  From the moment he first sensed the birth of the Five Phoenix Heavenly Dao, he had staked his future on it.

  All for the sake of breaking through—to prove that, given sufficient resources, he was no less than any Ancient Emperor.

  Compared to Gu Mangran, Micah was sharper, more stubborn.

  Perhaps it was precisely this stubbornness that gave birth to such genius.

  Lu smiled.

  “Very well.”

  He did not refuse—nor had he any intention to.

  Severing cultivation and restarting the path was, for Lu, a good thing.

  With Micah’s talent, he would likely break through rapidly once more.

  And when he did, Lu would receive massive spiritual energy contributions.

  How could he refuse such a benefit?

  Micah stared at Lu, his eyes blazing with vitality and excitement.

  Originally, his gaze had been dim—worn down by endless years.

  But now, having glimpsed hope in the Five Phoenixes, the darkness had lifted. He had found his opportunity—his chance.

  He would pursue it with everything he had.

  Under the normal cultivation system of the nine heavens, even if he transcended the Heavenly Dao and reached Emperor realm, the path forward remained shrouded in darkness.

  After Emperor… there was nothing.

  The reason for the ancient war was unknown to Micah, but that cataclysm that engulfed the nine heavens—likely tied to transcending the Emperor realm—had been a tragedy.

  And Micah, though a heaven-defying genius, had been born in that tragic era and could not access its deeper secrets.

  But now, he had encountered the Five Phoenixes.

  He had heard of the Great Luo Immortal Scripture—a truly profound immortal technique.

  In Micah’s eyes, it was a genuine immortal scripture.

  Cultivation through the accumulation of fortune, using the entire world as the foundation of practice.

  Golden Immortal equaled Ancient Emperor—and the scripture described a realm beyond: the carefree, unbound Great Luo Immortal.

  That was what Micah yearned for.

  “Thank you, Young Master Lu.”

  Micah bowed deeply.

  His gratitude toward Lu was sincere.

  Though Lu was younger, to someone who had tasted true despair, even a sliver of hope was equivalent to being given the entire world.

  Lu nodded slightly. Then, lazily, he picked up a chess piece and placed it on the board.

  Boom!

  The Heavenly Gate appeared.

  After thanking Lu, Micah and the Saints who followed him stepped forward one by one and ascended the gate.

  Beyond the Heavenly Gate lay the Ascension Land.

  Upon entering, Micah immediately sensed an ancient, distant aura.

  He looked around—seeing forbidden zones and the backs of Ancient Emperors.

  Though as a Quasi-Emperor he knew many secrets, he was still profoundly shaken.

  Perhaps… the Ascension Land truly was a contingency left by the Ancient Emperors?

  Behind Micah, the many Saints also hovered.

  They were all awestruck.

  They had heard of the Ascension Land and Underworld in the Five Phoenixes—but this was their first time seeing them.

  “This place may be a relic from a previous era. The Ancient Emperors once came here—perhaps they discovered something extraordinary.”

  Micah said.

  The many Holy Hall Saints sighed in admiration.

  Saints lived for hundreds of thousands of years—many of them ancient beings.

  Naturally, they were knowledgeable.

  “Even Ancient Emperors face the end of their lifespan. How many Great Emperors have been born in the nine heavens since ancient times? No one knows.”

  “But every era ends with the fall of Ancient Emperors.”

  “Perhaps in the ancient era of the nine heavens, there existed beings who transcended Emperor realm—and thus left behind the Great Luo Immortal Scripture, guiding cultivators onto the correct path.”

  Micah sighed.

  With so many Saints entering the Ascension Land,

  Lu Jiulian naturally sensed them.

  A green lotus bloomed. He appeared before Micah and the others.

  Upon learning Micah had come to view the Great Luo Immortal Scripture, Lu Jiulian did not refuse.

  He instructed Tang Guo to lead Micah and the others to the site where the Great Luo Immortal Scripture had been unearthed.

  This was the original location of the scripture—the most complete record.

  Micah and the Saints following him breathed heavily, staring intently.

  They were captivated by the magnificent descriptions in the Great Luo Immortal Scripture.

  “Great Luo Immortal—carefree and unbound, transcending heaven and earth, untouched by rules…”

  “This is a realm beyond Ancient Emperor!”

  Micah’s body trembled faintly.

  Within the Ascension Land, many Immortals watched them.

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  Lu Jiulian sat upon his green lotus platform, expression calm.

  The Great Luo Immortal Scripture was never meant to be a secret. Let them see—it mattered not.

  Moreover, Micah and his Saints had helped the Five Phoenixes in the previous battle.

  Lu Jiulian had even less reason to refuse.

  However, cultivating the Great Luo Immortal Scripture required cultivation not to be too high. Below Xuan Immortal, there was still a chance to switch paths.

  Once one reached Xuan Immortal, their Dao was fixed.

  Cultivating the Great Luo Immortal Scripture at that point would yield little benefit.

  As expected.

  After sitting for a month,

  The many Saints shook their heads regretfully. They rose and dispersed—either wandering the Ascension Land or seeking blessed lands to cultivate.

  They did not return to the Five Phoenixes. The Ascension Land’s environment resembled the upper realms more closely and suited their cultivation better.

  Though they coveted the Great Luo Immortal Scripture, the fact remained: having already reached Saint realm, they could not cultivate it.

  Unless they severed their cultivation—but after hundreds of thousands of years to reach Saint…

  Who would be willing?

  Moreover, severing cultivation meant starting over. Whether they could even reach Xuan Immortal again with the Great Luo Immortal Scripture was uncertain.

  The risk was too great.

  The many Saints dared not choose.

  Soon, only Micah remained seated.

  He gazed outward for a long time, then drew a deep breath.

  He committed the entire Great Luo Immortal Scripture to memory—deeply engraving it in his mind.

  After bidding farewell to his former subordinates, he left the Ascension Land and returned to the Five Phoenixes.

  He sought out the Nine Hells Secret Realm.

  Legend said the Nine Hells connected to the Underworld—the destination of the dead. The first Human Emperor had transformed into the Underworld King, ruling the Underworld.

  Micah ventured deep into the Nine Hells.

  Soon, he came upon a massive rift exuding endless deathly aura.

  A terrifying Saint-realm ferocious beast guarded the entrance.

  It was the Hell Hound—protector of the Underworld Gate.

  The Hell Hound roared. Micah tried to enter, but it blocked him.

  Thus, Micah clashed with the Hell Hound. With Quasi-Emperor strength, he gave it a thorough beating.

  But Micah had come seeking the Dao—he did not kill the Hell Hound.

  The nine lords of the Underworld cities emerged.

  Micah explained his purpose and stated he had Lu’s permission. The nine lords stepped aside.

  Finally, Micah entered the Underworld.

  With his Quasi-Emperor body, he stepped into the Yellow Springs. Enduring the corrosion of the Springs, he drifted downward until he reached the Underworld’s land.

  This was a vast realm—ten cities suppressing the directions.

  Upon entering the Underworld, Micah sensed an overwhelming aura.

  He looked toward the Yellow Springs. Deep within, a powerful presence was brewing.

  “Quasi-Emperor?”

  Micah’s eyes narrowed.

  He had not expected the Five Phoenixes to hide such a powerhouse.

  This person… was likely the King of the Underworld?

  “Not quite Quasi-Emperor… but only half a step away.”

  Micah drew a deep breath.

  The more he learned, the more mysterious the Five Phoenixes seemed.

  Perhaps the future of the Five Phoenixes would not be inferior to the nine heavens.

  Moreover, now independent from the nine heavens with its own Heavenly Dao, the Five Phoenixes would only grow stronger.

  Micah kept a low profile as he walked through the Underworld.

  Observing and understanding.

  He came to the abyss, gazing at the massive Buddha statue and the figure seated in its palm.

  He drew a deep breath—another Ancient Emperor’s back.

  Entering the abyss, he saw the stone murals and discovered the Six Paths Reincarnation Visualization Method. He was shocked.

  So the cultivation of the Underworld differed from the Ascension Land.

  It seemed a technique comparable to the Great Luo Immortal Scripture!

  Micah’s scalp tingled as he devoured the method with his eyes.

  Though he could not cultivate it, his heart was satisfied. Two cultivation methods—like twin beacons—illuminated his path forward.

  After wandering the Underworld a while longer,

  Micah chose to leave.

  He returned to the Five Phoenixes.

  He found a blessed land and sat cross-legged.

  The current Five Phoenix Continent was vast and sparsely populated—filled with blessed lands, yet few true inhabitants.

  Deep into the night, stars filled the sky.

  Micah looked up, somewhat entranced by the starry expanse.

  Countless stars radiated vibrant life force, hanging high above.

  In hundreds of thousands of years, he had never seen such a magnificent sight.

  “Young Master Lu calls this ‘starry sky’—truly breathtaking.”

  Micah knew every star in this sky had been formed from the low-, mid-, and high-martial worlds.

  They existed in different forms but were far more stable than in the nine heavens.

  Even for him, destroying a high-martial star would be extremely difficult.

  Each star received the blessing of the Five Phoenix Heavenly Dao and bore fortune.

  Under such operation, the entire world became harmonious.

  In the nine heavens, the destruction of worlds and the death of lives were commonplace.

  But in the Five Phoenixes, everything had changed.

  “Every Heavenly Dao has its own way of operating. This is the way of the Five Phoenixes.”

  Micah pondered deeply.

  Just as cultivation was the Dao of humanity, humanity was also the Dao of cultivation.

  The Heavenly Dao had its rules—humans could only transcend by walking their own path.

  With this realization,

  Micah understood: the time had come for him to decide.

  Reflecting on his long path of cultivation,

  He felt a surge of emotion.

  From his youth—full of ambition and brilliance—rising step by step, breaking into Saint realm with dazzling speed.

  Becoming the youngest Saint, hailed as the one with the greatest hope of becoming the next Emperor.

  Yet hundreds of thousands of years had passed.

  From ambition to twilight.

  Stuck at a bottleneck for hundreds of thousands of years—because the world offered no new slot for Emperor.

  In the nine heavens, there could be only nine Emperors.

  Unless he outlived the current era and waited for an Emperor to perish, there would be no place for him.

  Outliving an Emperor—whose lifespan was several times that of a Saint—how could he?

  So reality was despair.

  But now, Micah had found hope.

  Deep in the night, atop the peak of his blessed land.

  He smiled.

  Making this decision was not so difficult after all.

  He laughed freely.

  The next moment.

  His eyes blazed!

  That night, the entire Five Phoenix Continent was illuminated.

  A colossal energy blade appeared between heaven and earth.

  Countless cultivators were startled awake.

  Overlord, Tang Yimo, and other Xuan Immortals looked toward one direction.

  There, a dazzling blade light slashed down.

  Three slashes.

  After three cuts, it was as though heaven and earth bled.

  Countless energy collapsed like an avalanche, sweeping across every corner of the Five Phoenix Continent.

  “Self-severing three blades—shattering all cultivation… who is it? Such audacity?”

  “A Quasi-Emperor crippling himself? Has he gone mad?”

  In an ancient tomb.

  Gu Mangran stared blankly at the night sky—now returned to calm after that burst of extreme light.

  His heart still trembled with incomparable shock.

  “Holy Hall Master Micah… actually chose to sever his cultivation?”

  “That’s Quasi-Emperor cultivation… half a step from true Emperor realm!”

  Gu Mangran was shaken by Micah’s resolve.

  Micah had once sought him out and spoken of this. Gu Mangran had not believed it then—but now, he did.

  Because Micah had not hesitated.

  When he said “sever,” he severed.

  Above White Jade Capital pavilion.

  Lu watched the fleeting brilliance and was slightly astonished.

  He really did it.

  This Micah was ruthless.

  Restarting the path of cultivation—unknown risks. Such resolve—even Lu admired it.

  Most importantly, the risk.

  Micah’s lifespan was nearly exhausted. Whether he could break through before his time ran out was the key.

  “Since ancient times, the path of cultivation is littered with bones.”

  Lu suddenly felt curious.

  “I wonder… who will be the first in the Five Phoenix Continent to step onto the path of Emperor?”

  He withdrew his thoughts.

  His divine sense sank into the Origin Space.

  He wanted to check on Little Yinglong’s work.

  Had this salted fish dragon been slacking?

  But upon looking…

  Lu was utterly astonished.

  The Dao essence surrounding the Five Phoenix Heavenly Dao star had already been refined in large amounts.

  This speed… was even faster than if Lu himself refined it.

  He saw Little Yinglong transformed into a massive winged dragon. Its wings blotted out the sky as it swallowed countless strands of Dao essence.

  Like an evil dragon roaring through heaven and earth.

  This was how it accelerated refinement.

  Lu was stunned.

  He looked at Little Yinglong. Perhaps because it was working so hard to refine Dao essence, it had forgotten time—forgotten everything.

  Its eyes held only longing for freedom.

  Father said: refine all this Dao essence, and you’ll be free.

  Then he could return to Ni Yu, eat pills, munch spirit fruits, and live as a carefree salted fish dragon!

  Freedom!

  He wanted freedom!

  “As expected… you really do have potential when pushed.”

  Lu laughed.

  Seeing that nearly five hundred thousand strands of Dao essence had already been refined, he felt even more satisfied with his decision.

  And during this process, Little Yinglong’s cultivation was steadily rising.

  It swallowed and refined Dao essence—its body even beginning to fuse with countless strands.

  Looking at Little Yinglong working so hard, Lu felt a touch of sympathy.

  Those eyes filled with longing for freedom. That dragon roar was a cry against fate.

  And that back bent by life.

  Truly pitiful.

  Lu withdrew his divine sense.

  After thinking for a moment, he transmitted the hundreds of thousands of Dao essence strands devoured from the Dao incarnation by the Heaven-Stealing Tower into the Heavenly Dao star.

  “Only through bitter suffering can one become a dragon among dragons!”

  Lu silently blessed Little Yinglong.

  Then he sat back in his thousand-blade chair, leaned against the railing, listened to the wind, drank Heavenly Immortal Wine, and played chess.

  Gazing at the flickering lights on the Spirit-Pressure Chessboard, Lu paused mid-sip.

  His brows furrowed slightly.

  He murmured softly.

  “The Five Phoenix Continent has humans and demons… but overall, the numbers are still too few.”

  Lu raised his hand, fingers brushing the chessboard.

  “The demon race was created by me. However, their cultivation speed is slow, and the spiritual energy they contribute is not much… Perhaps I can create another race—a more perfect and powerful one.”

  Lu’s gaze shifted to the vast, untouched Western Continent.

  Though creating a race required immense effort,

  Lu no longer minded such things.

  Since the idea had formed, he would prepare.

  Now, he was still a short distance from Qi Refining Layer 10.

  But he needed to plan for what came after.

  How would he acquire more spiritual energy then?

  Breakthroughs for top-tier powerhouses were difficult. Lu could not rely solely on them.

  This was why he had decided to create another race.

  With a thought, his mind sank into the Transmission Platform.

  Creating an ordinary race would be simple for the current Lu.

  But this time, Lu aimed to accelerate his spiritual energy contributions—to lay the foundation for the Five Phoenixes becoming an immortal martial era.

  So he wanted to create a powerful race—born for cultivation.

  Lu sat in the Transmission Platform.

  His eyes were like paintings—glorious scenes flowing within.

  “This race shall possess powerful flesh, innate divine abilities, innate divine souls, no cultivation bottlenecks…”

  “But heaven must be fair. Though this is only for contributions and to establish the immortal martial foundation, the more powerful the race, the more restrictions it should have.”

  Lu rubbed his chin.

  An idea gradually formed in his mind.

  He raised his hand. The flesh on his fingertip was suddenly sliced away. Countless blood cells scattered and floated within the Transmission Platform.

  “This perfect and powerful race—born from my flesh and blood.”

  “Shall be called… the Witch Clan.”