Eternal Emperor's Path to Ascension

As time passed, news began to spread across the entire world regarding the battle between the Eternal Lord and the resurrected Demon God.

Though it was not a real battle but a one-sided beat down, those who personally witnessed the entire thing didn't reveal too much about it, and everything related to the Upper Realm was directly left out.

It would cause too much chaos if the news that beings of the Upper Realm were supporting the demonic forces were to spread.

The Eternal Peak's fame spread far and wide, countless cultivators already recognizing it as the second most powerful major faction in the world, right below the Kunlun Divine Mountain.

The Eternal Lord was also recognized as the strongest cultivator in the world, killing the Demon God like slaughtering a chicken.

Had the Kunlun Divine Mountain's foundation not been so strong, the Eternal Peak might have already been called the most powerful force in the Mortal World.

On the other hand, two of the Four Great Immortal Families, the Tian and Qin families, had a tense atmosphere brewing within.

At this moment, in a secret realm located in the Tian Family's ancestral grounds.

Several people, all high level figures of the Tian Family at the Half Immortal Realm gathered together in the air, sitting on cultivation cushions.

Among them, there were two Perfected Human Immortals, two Late Stage Human Immortals, two Mid Stage Human Immortals, and 3 Early Stage Human Immortal. One of their Mid Stage Human Immortals had been killed by Tian Yongheng back on the Isle of Heavenly Demons.

Out of these people, naturally, there were also Tian Shenming and Tian Zhaojun. Tian Zhaojun and the other Perfected Human Immortal were the ancestors of the Tian Family from many years ago and had only come back to the Mortal World this time for the incident of the Demon God and the orders of the Upper Realm.

This was the true foundation of the Tian Family, and most of these beings usually wandered the Outer Void beyond the Second Great Mortal World to search for opportunities.

In reality, almost all the powerful Half Immortals of major factions never stayed in the Mortal World, exploring the Outer Void. This was also why the number of high level Half Immortals was barely a dozen or so in the Second Great Mortal World in a time period such as the Mythical Era.

There were at least a dozen living Perfected Human Immortals in the righteous path's major forces!

These high level members of the Tian Family had come back from the Isle of Heavenly Demons to the Central Continent right after Tian Yongheng left.

No one stopped them, as the other major factions could also clean up the remaining Demons and demonic cultivators by themselves, even obtaining great benefits such as the powerful Dharma Artifacts, treasures, and other inheritances of those demonic cultivators and Demons.

The main reason they didn't delay was because the threat Tian Yongheng left behind was too chilling, like a blade hanging over their neck at all times.

No one knew when that unimaginable prodigy seen once in several Heavenly Karmic Cycles would come looking for them.

"So, you are telling me that monster only had Five-Elemental Spiritual Roots over 600 years ago? And he hadn't even started cultivating when the Jiangnan Branch was destroyed?"

The domineering voice of the other Perfected Human Immortal ancestor echoed across the secret realm, filled with indignation and anger.

"What absolute, utter bullshit!"

*Smack!*

With a crisp sound ringing throughout the secret realm, Tian Shenming was slapped on the face, his figure flinging out like a broken kite, crashing thousands of miles away onto a mountain, turning it into a pile of rubble.

"First you ignore the potential of such a great Providence bearer, do not calculate the heavenly secrets, and then try to make excuses in front of me!? Is this how you run the family?"

The fury of the Tian Family ancestor was almost seeping out of his voice, his slightly wrinkled face, like that of a 70 year old man's, full of cold murderous intent.

He would have slapped Tian Shenming to death had the other party not been the head of the Tian Family or a Human Immortal!

The other Human Immortals of Tian Family didn't dare intervene at this point, lowering their head and not even looking to see if Tian Shenming was alright.

It was because partially, they knew that this ancestor, even older than Tian Zhaojun, was normally a reasonable person, and his anger was completely justified right now. Another reason was that they also wished to slap Tian Shenming!

Had they not antagonized Tian Yongheng, all of them could have a great chance of becoming powerful figures of the Ancestral Heavenly Family after ascending to the Upper Realm.

Not only would they have immense merits for having such a genius be born within their bloodline, but they would also have a certain future paragon like him to rely on.

Alas, now they had reached a point where reconciliation with Tian Yongheng was a fool's dream. The other party would never forgive the Tian Family with how his attitude was back at the Isle of Heavenly Demons.

Tian Zhaojun's eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent, his mind drifting back to that figure he encountered just outside of the Mortal World.

"Cough, cough..."

Tian Shenming slowly rose from under the pile of rubble, spewing put a mouthful of blood, daring not to speak. He knew the ancestor's temperament and dared not speak at this point to prevent angering him further.

How could he say that he had indeed calculated everything before taking action, and Tian Yongheng's fate and karma appeared utterly ordinary at that time?

"So, how do you plan on fixing your mistake now?"

At that moment, the Tian Family ancestor's voice spread throughout the realm, reaching his ears.

Tian Shenming immediately stood up, his self healing abilities as a Half Immortal already working to heal him, and he appeared before the others in a moment.

"Ancestor, I do have a way in mind, but the chances of it working are only around 40%."

He said in a serious tone of voice.

The ancestor nodded, looking at Tian Shenming's determined eyes before speaking, "Very well, let's hear it then."

...

At that moment, in a realm unbound by the conventional laws of space and time, a beam of Providence materialized flashed past, surpassing the speed of light by countless times.

Upon closer look, it was actually the manifestation of the Heavenly Devil System previously bound to Ye Ling.

The beam sped up, rushing past a sea of chaotic heavenly rules and collapsed spacetime. It was as if this sea was beyond the rules of existence yet within them at the same time.

On the way, countless other beams of Providence crisscrossed, each flying in different directions.

The Heavenly Devil System quickly entered a dimensional fissure over the sea, appearing in an even more chaotic space, all rules of existence bent towards a singular entity seated cross-legged in the middle of the space, his size impossibly large.

Immortal Qi surged towards him like a tide, only to be absorbed in a mere instant, yet it still seemed to be nearly infinite in this enclosed plane of reality.

As the Heavenly Devil System got closer to the colossal entity, the latter opened his eyes, a divine light bursting forth from them, nearly lighting up the entire space.

[Master, the task had been completed, however, due to an unknown variable, the Archaic Forbidden Demon God died too suddenly...]

Before the Heavenly Devil System could continue, the voice of the majestic figure came from above, booming in all directions like a divine decree.

"I know. It was all within expectation. The main purpose was never the revival of that Demon God. It was transforming the Chosen One into a Heavenly Devil. The transformation may be incomplete, but the seed of the True Devil had already been planted. Your task has been completed."

Then, the Heavenly Devil System was drawn towards the colossal being, and merged into the latter in an instant, like a drop of water returning to the ocean.

The entity finally lowered his gaze, peering through layers of space towards the Lower Realm, specifically, the Second Great Mortal World.

"An anomaly... As expected, it must be the one from over 600 years ago.."

At that moment, his lips shockingly curved upward in a calm smile, appearing divine and incomprehensible on the shadowy form, the kind a god gives lesser beings while observing them.

"However, it does not matter. With the appearance of a True Devil in the Mortal World, it's only a matter of time before the plan succeeds. As long as everything goes according to the plan, I will be able to become a follower by that great one's side."

His eyes returned to their godlike indifference, and the smile slowly subsided from his face.

"As long as everything goes as expected, reaching that realm will no longer be a pipe dream...

To attain the status of a Sovereign, everything is worth it."