---

A commanding voice echoed, resonating as if it were reverberating through the corners of the universe, and with Liu Huangshu’s appearance, there was an inexplicable air of high prestige.

As he spoke, Liu Huangshu deliberately leaned back, almost pointing his nostrils at Ye Junlin, showcasing just how proud he was of his status.

The main issue was!

Previously, Ye Junlin had waded through the trial stages with unbelievable tactics, leaving Liu Huangshu feeling rather complicated, as if he had meticulously designed a mechanism that could be casually cracked.

This left Liu Huangshu feeling quite hit, but with his temperament, he couldn’t let it slide, so he wanted to put on a show to deflate Ye Junlin’s confidence.

At that moment.

Time felt like it had been paused, silently without a response.

“Hmph, young one, are you stunned by my intimidation?” Liu Huangshu was ridiculously pleased; this intimidation tactic had worked flawlessly.

Then, a serious question came from the other side, “So, where are your Five Tiger Generals?”

Huh?!

Liu Huangshu was taken aback. What the heck are the Five Tiger Generals?

After seeing this person refer to himself as Liu Huangshu, Ye Junlin pondered for a moment before cleverly posing a soul-searching question.

“Young one, I don’t understand your meaning!” Liu Huangshu replied with a darkened face, shrugging off his sleeves.

He felt that the silver-haired youth’s thinking was a bit off.

But considering the other was from a distant future, maybe it was just that he couldn’t keep pace; Liu Huangshu didn’t pursue it any further.

“Then I’ll call you Senior Liu,” Ye Junlin said earnestly.

“Mm,” Liu Huangshu finally nodded in satisfaction; at least this kid had some sense.

“Senior Liu, so you’re not dead!” Ye Junlin exclaimed, looking at the mystical middle-aged Taoist.

Liu Huangshu: “………”

Are you even polite?

Liu Huangshu replied with annoyance, “What I left on Fallen Immortal Island was merely a remnant of my spirit, not my true body! Thank you!”

“Oh~”

Ye Junlin seemed to have a realization and continued to ask, “So are you alive now?”

Liu Huangshu: “………”

Oh, you’re looking for trouble, aren’t you?

Initially wanting to reply succinctly, Liu Huangshu seemed to remember something, and his mouth twitched a few times: “Uh, that question is quite profound; I don’t even know how to answer it…”

Because he was just a remnant of spirit, he actually had no clue whether his true body was alive or not; his duty was to stay at Fallen Immortal Island, waiting for a fated person to inherit, after which he would reveal the ins and outs, and then vanish.

Ye Junlin’s gaze flickered; it turned out the other party was akin to a programmed mechanism, and as for the programmer’s current state, he had no way of knowing.

Alright, let’s get to the point.

“Senior Liu, do you mean that what I just saw was part of the truth about the Kunlun Realm from back then?” Ye Junlin looked at the dimming star, as if it were a flower wilting and withering away.

“Exactly.”

Seeing as there was no longer an obsession with life and death questions, Liu Huangshu’s unpleasant expression softened as he spoke solemnly:

“This was a battle of immortals that erupted at the end of ancient times, the turning point in the fate of the Kunlun Realm. There were major internal upheavals within the Kunlun Realm at that time, with traitors conspiring with alien forces to corrupt the Star Core of the Kunlun Realm. With the inside and outside working together, the Extraterrestrial Allied Forces seized the opportunity to launch an all-out attack, attempting to destroy our Kunlun Realm; that’s what you saw.”

Ye Junlin raised an eyebrow, sifting through the memories in this body’s mind, discovering he had never heard of the term ‘Star Core,’ and deliberately asked, “Senior Liu, what is a Star Core?”

“You people from the Kunlun Realm actually don’t know what a Star Core is?” Liu Huangshu looked at him in shock, his expression like he was looking at an idiot.

Because in his era, this was something every being was aware of.

Ye Junlin spread his hands and shook his head helplessly.

“Sigh, I didn’t expect the latter-day Kunlun Realm to have fallen to such a state, even basic knowledge like this is unknown.”

“Well then, as a senior, let me enlighten you, junior!”

Liu Huangshu, somewhat pleased with himself, cleared his throat: “A Star Core is the core essence that maintains a planet. The Star Core of the Kunlun Realm is what sustains the operation of the entire world, and the environment for cultivation is closely linked to it.”

“When the Star Core of the Kunlun Realm was polluted back then, maintaining the operation of the entire world became difficult, and the cultivation environment worsened, causing the once brilliant golden age to be cut short, with beings lamenting and thus entering a long decline.”

At this point, Liu Huangshu sighed.

Ye Junlin frowned, “Since the Star Core is so important, how could it be taken easily by a traitor? Wasn’t the Kunlun Realm filled with immortals back then? Why didn’t they notice and stop it in time?”

“Sigh, because that traitor’s strength and status were at the pinnacle of the Kunlun Realm, only three could balance him!” Liu Huangshu gritted his teeth in hatred.

“Oh?”

Ye Junlin narrowed his eyes, “Who is he?”

I thought it was just a petty person causing trouble, but it turned out to be a big shot betraying us!

Liu Huangshu’s eyes gleamed with a fierce light, speaking with deep hate: “He was one of the Four Absolutes of the Kunlun Realm—Luan!”

“Luan?”

Ye Junlin was stunned; that was such a strange name.

“Wait, what do you mean by the ‘Four Absolutes of the Kunlun Realm’?”

“The so-called Four Absolutes of the Kunlun Realm refers to the four individuals who stand at the pinnacle of the Kunlun Realm, also recognized as the strongest beings by all!”

Liu Huangshu spoke solemnly: “They are, Emperor Tian, Empress Fuyao, Elder Changsheng, and Luan!”

“You say that Luan holds such a revered status in the Kunlun Realm, why did he suddenly betray his own world? And after it all happened, why didn’t the other three step forward to confront the Extraterrestrial Allied Forces?”

Ye Junlin questioned.

Facing question after question, Liu Huangshu patiently explained: “The Extraterrestrial Allied Forces you mentioned all come from the Nine Nether and are opposing forces to the Divine Court. Back then, Luan was secretly collaborating with the Nine Nether, conspiring to harm the Kunlun Realm. As for why he did it, and what kind of agreement he reached with the Nine Nether, we are still unclear.”

“And as for the other three, once Luan polluted the Star Core, they were enraged and all made a move to capture Luan. Severely injured, Luan betrayed the Kunlun Realm; those three sought to bring him to justice for the beings of the Kunlun Realm.”

“But during the pursuit, they fell into a meticulously prepared ambush by multiple top experts from the Nine Nether. Emperor Tian was captured, Empress Fuyao fell, and Elder Changsheng disappeared!”

At this point, Liu Huangshu’s eyes reddened, sadness visible on his face; even as a remnant of spirit, he could still reflect his true emotions.

“With the loss of those three and the pollution of the Star Core, the Kunlun Realm inevitably went downhill, and just at that critical moment, the Nine Nether seized the opportunity to launch an attack!”

“That war was unprecedentedly brutal; the immortals of the Kunlun Realm fought valiantly, suffering countless casualties, just to halt the invasion of the Nine Nether allied forces!”

“Originally, the Nine Nether just needed to keep up the consumption, and the Kunlun Realm would face the danger of being breached. Who would have thought that in order to reduce the army’s casualties, they overly clever moved the most terrifying Death River of the universe, trying to destroy the Kunlun Realm? It was because of this move that I found the opportunity to turn the tide!”

Liu Huangshu smirked: “Thanks to the formation I set up in advance, I forcibly altered the direction of the Death River, swiftly crushing the Nine Nether allied forces. That was why the Nine Nether suffered extensive losses and dared not continue their invasion of the Kunlun Realm!”

“Unfortunately, the polluted Kunlun Realm’s environmental conditions continued to worsen, and coupled with the previous assault by the Death River, the Heavenly Dao’s will was damaged, the laws distorted, making it even harder for immortals to survive. To improve this situation, I, along with several powerful beings, united to use formations to transform the Kunlun Realm into the main star domain, gathering the strength of countless worlds to create a new realm known as the Immortal Realm!”

“From then on, every ascended immortal, due to the harsh environment of the lower realm, would be able to ascend to the Immortal Realm suitable for cultivation. Although it couldn’t compare to the peak period of the Kunlun Realm, it was still quite close!”

Upon hearing this.

Ye Junlin was astonished, “Wow, so you guys created the Immortal Realm!”

“That’s right, this was a major project, primarily built on the formation I arranged. How about that, pretty impressive, right?” Liu Huangshu spoke somewhat proudly.

After all, not everyone could accomplish this. Even the Four Absolutes of the Kunlun Realm couldn’t achieve it; only he, as the master of formations, had the qualification to do so.

“Great job!”

Ye Junlin gave a thumbs-up in approval.

“Oh, by the way, regarding the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm, they must ascend to the Immortal Realm to roam the universe; otherwise, they can only be trapped in the Kunlun Realm. Was this rule established by you?”

Ye Junlin thought of this point and asked again.

“Yes!”

Liu Huangshu admitted candidly: “Because there had been large numbers of beings leaving the Kunlun Realm, we decided to enforce a rule that only by ascending to the Immortal Realm can one qualify to roam the universe, otherwise, they must remain in the Kunlun Realm and not venture out!”

“Don’t think we are being too tyrannical with this approach; you should know the Kunlun Realm holds a unique status in the universe, and many alien beings are eyeing it covetously. To prevent more cultivators from being swayed to betray, or being captured when they venture out, we had to do this for the greater good!”

As a once-powerful, unyielding world, the Kunlun Realm held great esteem in the universe, even in decline, it still attracted attention. If cultivators explored, their fates would only lead to two ends—one being swayed to become spies, the other being captured for auction.

It’s that cruel and realistic!

“I understand,” Ye Junlin nodded; this was indeed the safest way to ensure stability within the Kunlun Realm.

“Senior Liu, when the Kunlun Realm was invaded by the Nine Nether, did the Divine Court remain indifferent? It sounds like this Divine Court has a significant background, even sheltering the Kunlun Realm.”

Ye Junlin found it strange; since the Divine Court and the Nine Nether were two opposing camps, being arch-enemies, why didn’t the Kunlun Realm receive assistance?

He suddenly recalled that in the projection, an ancient being from the Nine Nether mocked the Kunlun Realm as being a discarded pawn of the Divine Court.

“Hmph, the Divine Court!”

Mentioning the Divine Court instantly angered Liu Huangshu; his face showed evident resentment.

“Young one, you probably don’t know the origins of the Divine Court, let me explain. The Divine Court was established at the dawn of the universe, overseeing countless worlds, while the Nine Nether was the same; it’s just that the beings there are inclined towards darkness.”

“At first, the two camps got along well, peacefully coexisting in the universe. But for reasons unknown, tensions among the higher-ups escalated, eventually leading to the two camps clashing, infringing upon worlds and robbing living space, which marked the start of the era of conflict between the Divine Court and the Nine Nether.”

“And the Kunlun Realm was, in fact, the second-ranked among the top ten realms under the Divine Court; it held an extremely superior position, playing a significant role in the opposition to the Nine Nether allied forces!”

“Later, when the Kunlun Realm faced calamity, it fell from the rankings of the top ten realms of the Divine Court, leading to the Divine Court turning cold towards it. Additionally, fierce factional struggles within the Divine Court caused intricate relations that resulted in the Divine Court not intervening to help!”

Liu Huangshu was fuming.

Even he couldn’t rashly judge the matter, but no matter how you sliced it, the Divine Court abandoning the Kunlun Realm was an undeniable fact.

“It seems the Divine Court isn’t so noble after all!” Ye Junlin mused, rubbing his chin, reaching that conclusion.

“So, remember, if the Kunlun Realm revives in the future, there may be people from the Divine Court who come to contact you. You must remain vigilant; the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm can only forge their way back to the peak through their own efforts, we can trust no one but ourselves!”

 

---