The Yama Ancestors were so powerful that it was downright degrading to make them suppress a Divine Sovereign personally, much less all three at once… but Yun Che’s order was absolute, and that was that.

Tian Guhu’s knees hit the ground with a resounding crack. He felt like a million mountains were sitting on his shoulders, and the only body part he could still move was his eyeballs. He didn’t try to struggle, however. Any one of the powers suppressing him right now could wipe out his very existence in the blink of an eye. Resist? Was that a joke?

Bang!

Yun Che summoned a pitch-black cauldron before dropping it heavily before Tian Guhu. It was none other than the devil origin artifact of Yama Realm, the Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron.

Every Yama Devil in the room was stunned by Yun Che’s actions.

Is he planning to… Yan Tianxiao turned cold when a memory flashed across his mind. He subconsciously raised his foot to take a step forward, but immediately restrained both his footsteps and the words that were about to tumble out of his mouth.

Yun Che’s palm swam slowly above the cauldron. When he lifted his palm, a pitch-black flame rose from the cauldron and came to a stop between his fingers.

All light inside the imperial hall was devoured by the darkness of that black flame the moment it appeared. Its presence also pierced through everyone’s eyes and filled up their heart and soul… it was because it was the devil origin power of the Yama Devils, the origin power of a primordial True Devil!

The origin power of a True Devil could be passed down to a chosen successor, but it could never be controlled directly. There had never been a Yama Emperor who was able to interfere with its will.

But now, it was doing Yun Che’s bidding without any resistance whatsoever.

Although everyone here had been made to witness all kinds of impossible things by Yun Che himself, the scene before them still shook them greatly.

“This is the devil origin power of the Yama Devils,” Yun Che said slowly. The devil origin power was floating right before his eyes, but it couldn’t affect the dark gleam in his eyes one bit. “This thing here will grant you power no one in the world even dares to dream of in a million lifetimes, all in a single day. Let’s hope that you’ll live up to your namesake, ‘Lonely Swan’!”

Before Tian Guhu could give any response, he pressed the black light into Tian Guhu’s forehead.

Bzz—

There was a low rumble as the aura of the Yama Devil spilled out of the black flame like a flood. Tian Guhu’s figure was consumed by it in just an instant.

“Argh!”

The Divine Sovereign let out a scream of pain initially, but he held it in almost immediately. After that, he never let out a squeak even when his teeth started breaking loudly from the sheer force he was applying to them.

All Yama Devils revered their devil origin power as a matter of course. Although the Yama Devil Nether Crossing Cauldron could withdraw its power from any Yama Devil, it also had a special restriction where it could only be passed down to people who possessed the Yama Devil bloodline.

Tian Guhu didn’t have any Yama Devil bloodline in him, so it was only natural that he wouldn’t be accepted by the Yama Devil origin power. Could Yun Che really force it to pass down its power to a stranger with no relations to it whatsoever?

“Your Majesty, this…” Yan E sent a sound transmission to Yan Tianxiao. Since time immemorial, the Yama Devil’s power had always belonged to the Yama Devils and no one else. If Yun Che actually succeeded at what he was doing… it was the equivalent of giving away their power to an outsider!

“Keep quiet!” Yan Tianxiao berated him.

An hour passed. Then two hours passed...

Bang!

A huge explosion later, the dark light and the dark aura that engulfed the entire imperial hall in darkness vanished completely.

Tian Guhu’s limp figure appeared before everyone. The young man was panting and sweating heavily on the ground, and a layer of darkness was circulating slowly inside his body. His aura was completely different from what it was before.

When Tian Guhu slowly looked up and opened his eyes, a black gleam flashed across his pupils.

“...” Yan Tianxiao clenched his fists in silence and felt a terrible itch on his scalp.

The Yama Devils’ reactions were even worse than his.

Although Tian Guhu looked incredibly weak right now, his aura was clearly that of a level eight Divine Master!

Normally, it took several days to inject a devil origin power into a Yama Devil’s body and synchronize them fully.

But Tian Guhu, a complete outsider that was in no way accepted by the Yama Devil origin power… was able to gain its power! And the inheritance was completed in just two hours’ time!

Although it was still a little unstable, the Yama Devil aura emanating from Tian Guhu’s body was practically perfect. They couldn’t sense any signs of aura disruption or rejection from him at all.

The Yama Devils couldn’t even begin to describe their shock.

Bang!

Tian Guhu’s knees hit the ground again as he bowed his head deeply before Yun Che. He said, “From this day onward, Tian Guhu’s life belongs to Senior Yun and no other!”

“No, you are wrong.” Yun Che stared at Tian Guhu from an elevated position. “Your life belongs only to yourself. You don’t need to betray your home realm, nor do you need to force yourself to serve the Yama Realm.”

“You are still Tian Guhu! You are not a Yama Devil! I have never wanted to own your life. What I want is your ‘will’!”

Tian Guhu looked him in the eye and swore the words that he would engrave to his soul. “My will needs your guidance, senior! You are the only one who is qualified to guide me!”

“In that case,” Yun Che said while turning his back on Tian Guhu, “I order you to stay in the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness until you have fully acclimated to the power you bear. Then, you may return to the Imperial Heaven Realm.”

“After that…” Yun Che paused for a second before continuing, “The greatest value you have isn’t the Yama Devil power you just inherited, but the influence you have over the Northern Divine Region, especially among the Divine Sovereigns and the younger profound practitioners. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Tian Guhu engraved every word Yun Che said into his heart. His blood was boiling; he could sense that the dream he once thought to be forever out of his reach now floating right in front of him.

“Guhu understands… Guhu will not disappoint senior,” Tian Guhu did his best to control his excitement before declaring unhesitatingly.

“You will now head to the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. Yan Two, you will help him acclimatize to his power.”

“This servant will obey your command, master,” Yan Two replied hurriedly.

At the very end, Yun Che emphasized. “Also… do not address me as senior again!”

“...” Tian Guhu blanked out for a second before bowing deeply. “Yes.”

Rumors of Yun Che had positively flooded the entire Northern Divine Region as of late, so of course he was aware that the great man before him was only thirty years old or so.

The reason he had naturally addressed Yun Che as “senior” was because he had felt like a tall mountain that might never be overcome.

Yan Two led Tian Guhu away after that.

With Yan Two’s aid, he was sure that Tian Guhu would adapt to his newly inherited powers in no time.

With this, he had gained a loyal power that was destined to have great effects in his future plans.

“Please wait, my lord. There is something that only you can attend to.”

Yan Tianxiao called out to Yun Che just when he was about to take his leave. The Yama Emperor was holding a jade tablet with a thin whiff of dark energy around it.

Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly. He immediately identified the dark energy to be the dark aura of the Soul Stealing Realm.

“Is it something the Devil Queen sent over?” Yun Che asked indifferently. He didn’t touch the tablet.

“It is the invitation card the Seventh Witch herself delivered the day before yesterday,” Yan Tianxiao answered.

“Invitation card?” Yun Che frowned slightly. “And what is the time?”

“Seven days from now,” Yan Tianxiao answered, “the Devil Queen herself will be arriving. She also mentioned specifically that you are the one she wants to meet, not me.”

“Seven days?” Yun Che’s frown grew deeper before he let out a sneer. “That’s a curiosity. She normally just barges through any door she wishes to enter before the host can react. An invitation letter? Time to prepare? Truly a curiosity.”

“I was hoping that she would descend from the heavens with her entourage of Witches out of nowhere and pleasantly surprise me,” Yun Che said with a small grin, but the gleam in his eyes was shockingly dark.

Yan Tianxiao was starting to realize that Yun Che wasn’t just planning to take over the Soul Stealing Realm. If his observation was correct, the two of them… seemed to share a deep grudge.

“What should we do, my lord?” Yan Tianxiao asked.

Yun Che thought for a moment before replying, “The stupidest way to deal with this woman is to play her beloved tricks and schemes.”

“She wants seven days? Then I’ll give her seven days and wait for her to show up!”

“But... not here.”

As if realizing something, Yan Tianxiao asked, “Are you going to…”

But he immediately realized his mistake and stopped himself. “Forgive Tianxiao for his slip of the tongue.”

“I will return in seven days,” Yun Che said. “Work on the invitations for my coronation while I’m gone. Remember, the invitation extends to everyone: the upper star realms, the middle star realms, and especially the lower star realms. They are the key. You may choose the wording as you like.”

“Yes, my lord.” Yan Tianxiao accepted the order before asking one last question, “About the new imperial hall, do you have any preferences you’d like to mention, my lord?”

“Unnecessary.” Yun Che was already gone when he left behind his reply. “I don’t need such useless things.”

——————

Yun Che had traveled to the desolate borders of a star realm subordinate to the Yama Realm. It was a dark and lifeless place.

A wood spirit girl was sitting primly next to Yun Che. A cold breeze carried her greenish hair lightly, caressing her face gently with her own hair.

From time to time, she would sneak a glance at Yun Che’s face before turning back toward herself. The light in her jade-like eyes looked as beautiful as colored glass.

She wasn’t the only one who had manifested themselves to reality. Hong’er and You’er were seated to the left and right sides of Yun Che. One was gobbling down the black crystals Yun Che gave her, and the other was nibbling at the desserts He Ling just finished making for her.

“Tasty! Tasty! Tasty!” Hong’er shouted three times in a row. Her cheeks were completely stuffed, and her red pupils were shining with excitement.

You’er was carefully holding her desserts and staring at Hong’er with her quad-colored pupils. She seemed to be envious that Hong’er could eat the black crystals like they were the tastiest things in the world.

Gulp!

Hong’er swallowed, and a flash of darkness flitted across her scarlet pupils. Then, she grabbed onto Yun Che’s thighs and shouted, “I want more! I had no idea that the Northern Divine Region had something this tasty! Why didn’t you give it to me earlier, master!?”

Yun Che gave her another two black crystals the size of a longan. “These are the last two crystals for the day.”

He needed to save the rest… to accomplish a big dream!

“Hmph, still a miser I see.”

That was what Hong’er said, but her movement wasn’t slow in the slightest. She grabbed the two crystals in the blink of an eye, put them into her mouth and started chewing happily.

Some distance away, Yan One and Yan Three were staring at Hong’er eating the “Devil Crystal of Eternal Darkness” that they didn’t even dare to touch and were shivering from head to toe.

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh… what the hell is that monster!?” It took a while before Yan One was able to spit out the question.

“I… I don’t know.” Yan Three shook his head before realizing what Yan One had done. He chided him in a low tone, “Pui! Where are you manners, old ghost? Master is the devil emperor incarnate, and he is as high as the heaven itself. It took eight hundred thousand years of waiting to even get the opportunity to serve him!”

“This girl is clearly close to our master, so it’s only natural that she’s beyond our understanding just like our master! So how can you call her a ‘monster’? So rude!”

Yan One shivered in realization before nodding in agreement. “Right, right… you’re totally right.”

“Master, why did you choose Tian Guhu?” He Ling asked quietly.

The way Yun Che was acting right now was the Yun Che she loved the most. He would only smile like this when he was facing Hong’er and You’er.

Yun Che said, “The stronger a person’s conviction is, the harder it is to twist. However, it also makes them easier to control once you understand what drives them. I gave him the chance to accomplish his impossible ambition, so it’s only natural that he would repay me with his loyalty… and his life.”

“Moreover, Tian Guhu’s personal reputation and influence were always going to dwarf mine, a newcomer. He is a useful weapon of unimaginable value!”

“Does that mean you helped him because you saw him as a potentially valuable tool… and not because you admire his spirit?” He Ling asked. The look in her eyes changed a little when she said this.

“Of course.” Yun Che looked toward the front. “Everything in the Northern Divine Region is just a useful tool to me.”

“Does…” He Ling bowed her head and hid her doubt behind her eyes. “Does that mean… I’m a tool to you as well?”

Since the day Yun Che requested to dual cultivate with her, He Ling had never had a moment of peace. Before she knew it, she was assaulted by all kinds of confusion and doubt...

She didn’t understand why she was feeling like this… she had known that she would live and die as Yun Che’s possession since the day she turned herself into the poison spirit for revenge. However, her anxiety only grew the longer the thought weighed on her.

Suddenly, she felt her small hands being grabbed by Yun Che. He pulled her to her feet and said to her gently, “Come with me.”

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