Chapter 863: Night Emperor Wuming

The Sword Emperor raised his eyes to the sky. Dusk was settling in.

“It’s uncanny... The scene is just like that day. Twilight drapes the world, darkness on the horizon.” The Sword Emperor sighed softly. “The only difference is that back then, the Four Idols were either dead or mad. Now, they stand whole, and there’s even an extra one among you.”

The “extra” clearly referred to the ancient White Tiger, once estranged, now standing alongside them.

Yue Hongling glanced around, but for the moment, Han Wubing was nowhere in sight.

The Sword Emperor spoke calmly, “If Ye Wuming had been willing to trust the Four Idols back then, or even Jiuyou, things might have gone far more smoothly. She wouldn’t have needed to fight so desperately, to the point of tearing herself apart. But her inability to trust was, perhaps, the most human part of her. Just as I fail to understand why you’ve all so easily placed your trust in me. Was it because I slew Dark Oblivion? They’ve outlived their usefulness, and disposing of them bought me some goodwill. A fair bargain. Besides... that sword strike couldn’t have killed it anyway.”

No one replied. It was not exactly that they trusted him, but yes—by instinct, they had begun to treat this man as a venerable senior or elder.

After all, in most people’s minds, it was hard to imagine someone speaking so casually, so righteously, about cutting down their own supposed allies and using that as leverage. Not even the Four Idols Cult in its most demonic days as a demonic cult would have done something so brazen, much less someone like Yue Hongling.

Perhaps Jiuyou might have done so in the past, but would she do it now?

No wonder Ye Wuming and Ye Jiuyou found trust so elusive. For them, the very concept carried a terrible weight. Piaomiao had trusted Ye Wuming once... and nearly perished, body and soul.

Looking back, the

jianghu

had always been this way. The weaker you were, the more treacherous it became. After all, in the

jianghu

, even a beggar might be an assassin. Ironically, as one’s cultivation increased, one became more complacent, coming to feel that demon gods were not so different from mortals after all.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The Sword Emperor sighed. “Still, the fact that you all can trust one another enough to entrust your backs to each other, is commendable. That’s the true source of Zhao Changhe’s unstoppable momentum. Even people like us have to be wary.”

“Then why?” Yue Hongling asked coldly. “Changhe told us... During the collapse of the last era, your sword qi also rose to pierce the heavens. In the sword intent I received from you, there was the same kind of desperation at the end of the road. Weren’t you once like us? A rebel? Why this change?”

“You still don’t understand?” the Sword Emperor replied calmly. “Did Zhao Changhe ever see what my sword qi was aimed at? Was it directed at the same target as Ye Wuming’s and Lie’s?”

Yue Hongling’s heart stirred. Zhao Changhe had not witnessed that moment. He had only speculated.

“Have none of you wondered why White Tiger, the representative of a hundred weapons, suddenly needed a separate figure like me, the Sword Emperor? And why this Sword Emperor just so happened to reach the third layer of Profound Control, rivaling the Ye sisters and completely overshadowing White Tiger?” The Sword Emperor chuckled. “It was never a coincidence. I was created deliberately. A nail hammered into this world beyond the Night Emperor’s system. Dark Oblivion and the others were mere pawns manipulated by the Heavenly Dao. I am its direct projection.”

The entire group instinctively stepped back, their faces hardening.

“Ye Wuming has awakened. Ye Jiuyou has come to know the truth. The strongest beings have begun to move, and now, so must I.” The Sword Emperor’s voice dropped, heavy with meaning. “Do you know what that lunatic Ye Wuming once did?”

No one answered. He did not need them to.

“She personally shattered the Four Idols, shaking the pillars of heaven and earth. She seized the moment when the three realms were at their most chaotic and fragile, and she destroyed the very foundation of the world, the Heavenly Tome. Though the world still lingers in inertia, all who cultivate can feel that a great upheaval is coming. The heavens will fall, the earth will collapse.”

That must have been the moment Zhao Changhe and Piaomiao returned to the ancient era. Back then, Ye Wuming had already handed the golden foil to Shuanghua. The Heavenly Tome was already gone. Any cultivator could sense the coming collapse.

“At first, the Heavenly Dao believed it could still regain control. It intervened, attempting to reconstruct the Heavenly Tome and erase variables like Ye Wuming. But that was her trap all along. She never intended to destroy the world; she was merely waiting for the Heavenly Dao to commit itself fully to restoring the cosmos. That was when she would strike.” The Sword Emperor sighed. “In its arrogance, the Heavenly Dao had encoded chaos and destruction into Ye Jiuyou’s nature. And in the throes of a collapsing world, Ye Jiuyou could not remain idle. Sensing the repair of the Heavenly Tome, she assumed it was Ye Wuming trying to restore order... and launched a devastating attack against it. But the truth? It was the Heavenly Dao that took the blow. It had never imagined that Ye Jiuyou, of all people, would strike so suddenly.”

Their expressions shifted. It all made sense now. No wonder he had said things might have gone better had Ye Wuming trusted her sister. The way things played out through manipulation and through blind turns was bound to end in disaster. At the very least, the sisters could not fight side by side. Instead, they attacked in turn. Ye Jiuyou went first, and was nearly destroyed, surviving only by clinging to life and drifting through decades of silence.

It was fortunate that Ye Jiuyou kept all her thoughts locked tightly inside, never revealing anything to Dark Oblivion or the likes. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao would have long since learned the truth.

“Ye Jiuyou is not to be trifled with. The Heavenly Dao was already straining to repair the Heavenly Tome when she struck. That blow nearly obliterated her, but it left the Heavenly Dao deeply wounded as well. That’s when Ye Wuming struck as well. And me? My task was to stop Ye Wuming.” He looked up, voice tinged with finality. “That despair you sensed? That was my sword pointing at the end of the world. It was not about rebellion. It was preparation. I was ready to die. Ready to be annihilated. Because I, too, knew the sky was about to collapse. But even I was intercepted.”

So in the end, the Sword Emperor’s suicidal resolve had been aimed at Ye Wuming... That final trace of apocalyptic sword intent Yue Hongling had received must have been the Sword Emperor’s last strike, swung against Ye Wuming herself. Its lingering will remained in the world for an entire era, until it fell into the hands of the one favored by fate in this generation.

It made sense now why Ye Wuming trusted no one. In theory, all primordial demon gods were fundamentally tied to the Heavenly Dao. Their deaths or survival directly affected the Heavenly Dao’s power. Figures like the Sword Emperor, who seemed noble and upright, were in truth its hidden projections. It was entirely rational that she could not even bring herself to trust Piaomiao or the Four Idols. And yet, someone still assisted Ye Wuming. Who was it?

The Sword Emperor said, “Ye Wuming plotted for too long to enter any battle unprepared. Do you know who her true ally was in that war?”

Yue Hongling spoke up suddenly, “Lie. Because he wasn’t a primordial demon god.”

“Exactly...” the Sword Emperor replied, and his eyes showed a rare glint of approval. “Lie was no primordial demon god. He was once a slave of the Spirit Tribe, having risen through cultivation. His growth was his own, clearly traceable, and his power stemmed from blood and flesh, not heaven and earth. If Ye Wuming had to place trust in anyone, it could only be him. I suspect that Zhao Changhe inheriting Lie’s cultivation techniques was no coincidence... but something Ye Wuming arranged. I imagine Zhao Changhe has begun to realize this himself.”

“So it was Lie who engraved the array plate, who raised his blade in defiance of the heavens, and his target was you?”

“Yes,” the Sword Emperor answered simply.

“No wonder. The sword light and saber light Zhao Changhe saw, and the power of Ye Wuming... Though they appeared in different places, they all converged upon the same target, so he thought you were all fighting a common enemy. So that’s what it was. But then why did Zhao Changhe, who started out inheriting Lie’s path, end up walking Ye Wuming’s own?” asked Huangfu Qing.

“How would I know?” The Sword Emperor’s gaze darkened. “Lie and I both suffered grievous wounds in that battle. It shouldn’t have been that devastating, but... that lunatic chose to self-destruct, taking the Heavenly Dao down with her. We were caught in the aftermath, and the subsequent collapse of heaven finished what was left of us. Maybe Lie hated her for it, maybe she had to be wary of him. Who can say?”

“Ye Wuming self-destructed...”

“She was well-prepared. She abandoned her physical body and merged directly with the Heavenly Tome. In a way, she became its substitute, the new Heavenly Dao. Only later did we discover she had long conspired with Piaomiao to preserve the mortal realm. The Heavenly Tome possessed sentience, and as long as the mortal realm remained, even if the heavenly realm collapsed, a new human era could be born. A fine scheme.”

The Sword Emperor sneered.

“But even so grievously wounded, we would inevitably recover. If even we can awaken again, why not the Heavenly Dao? Once the primordial demon gods begin reviving en masse, so too will the Heavenly Dao return. And with that, the great game of this era begins.”

The pieces finally clicked into place. Even as Ye Wuming fused with the Heavenly Tome, she was in a state of severe damage. And after expending her last reserves to betray Piaomiao, she was likely hanging on by a thread; that was why she had only awakened in this era. However, she retained initiative, and she awakened ahead of the others. Thus, she laid her groundwork early.

By now, she must have realized that exterminating the primordial demon gods was beyond the reach of the current world. Not even she could do it. So she reached beyond into another realm, and she summoned outside help.

That help arrived in the form of Xia Longyuan.

Unfortunately, Xia Longyuan turned out to be unreliable. Perhaps he brought others with him too, only for them to all perish. And so the burden finally fell to Zhao Changhe, who ended up setting this world aflame in his wake.

The thing Zhao Changhe saw sealed beneath the Frost Chi... It must have been the fragmented remnant of the Heavenly Dao. Back then, all it held was hatred for Ye Wuming and for all life. The impression it gave was utterly malevolent.

After self-destructing, Ye Wuming sealed that fragment together with the Frost Chi, locking it down with the power of the Black Tortoise and freezing it in place, hoping to suppress that seething hate before it could contaminate the world.

And due to that era’s collapse, combined with Zhao Changhe’s ruthless slaughters in this one, the primordial demon gods had been slain almost to extinction. The Heavenly Dao’s revival was delayed again and again, resulting in it still being unable to rise.

The divine punishment that struck when Dark Oblivion and Papiyas were slain? That likely was not passive retribution. It was the Heavenly Dao lashing out in rage. Even now, with so few primordial demon gods left, someone still dared to exterminate them?

Looking back, it was no wonder that Ye Wuming tolerated Zhao Changhe’s casual insults. Even when he cleaned his little brother on the Heavenly Tome, she still did not retaliate.

Because the moment for summoning reinforcements had long passed. The primordial demon gods were awakening one after another like dumplings in boiling water, and Zhao Changhe, a reckless prodigy though he was, was her last hope. She had to endure.

Had Zhao Changhe known the truth back then, he might have even made some outrageous demands—hugs, kisses... who knows? He might have gotten away with them, too.

Could that be why Ye Wuming vanished after? She simply could not face Zhao Changhe now that he so clearly desired her. Otherwise, knowing his shamelessness, who knew what chaos he might stir...

For all her vicious methods, Ye Wuming’s story still left an overwhelming impression. But then again, none of the people here were saints. Three out of four were former demonic cultists. To them, her tale rang with tragic grandeur.

One woman, against the Heavenly Dao, disrupting the cosmos, redefining the rules of the gods and demons. Jiuyou and Piaomiao, in the end, were only supporting characters in her legend.

Night Emperor Wuming... Her name spanned across the ages. Every major event of the last ten thousand years seemed to circle back to her.

Until she met that one man surnamed Zhao. Then, all her gravitas fell apart.

At last, the Sword Emperor said, “Do you know why I’ve shared all these old tales with you?”

Xia Chichi blurted out, “Honestly, it doesn’t sound like any of this was even meant to be secret. Ye Wuming didn’t bother to explain it properly to our dear husband... Who knows if she had her reasons or if she’s just mentally ill. There aren’t any primordial demon gods among us. What is she even afraid of?”

The Sword Emperor: “...”

Why does it matter whether or not there are primordial demon gods among you? This is a rebellion against the Heavenly Dao. This isn’t a cause for the faint of heart. How could Ye Wuming possibly reveal such things lightly?

That said... after everything I’ve just told you, not a single one of you looks the slightest bit intimidated. You actually even seem... excited?

The Sword Emperor could not help but add, “Opposing the Heavenly Dao is a fool’s errand. No one has ever succeeded. It may seem dormant now, but its preparations are already in place. Ye Wuming’s schemes are doomed to fail. If you repent now, you’ll still have a place when the gods are re-sealed. Why throw away your lives for someone you don’t even know?”

Lady Three yawned. “Eh? Who says we’re doing that for Ye Wuming? We don’t even know her... All we know is, this body of the Spirit Tribe’s ancient god must not be allowed to awaken. We’ll oppose anyone who tries. It’s as simple as that.”

The Sword Emperor’s tone turned icy. “If that’s your goal, then you’ve come at the perfect time, yet also... too late.”

Huangfu Qing smiled. “All these stories you’ve told us... You’ve only been stalling for time, waiting for the moon to rise, for the Four Idols constellation to shine. Of course, we were curious too. So we let you stall, and we satisfied our own curiosity in the process.”

“How confident you all are,” the Sword Emperor muttered, looking up.

The last sliver of sunlight vanished beneath the horizon.

In the western sky, a corner of the constellation of the White Tiger emerged. In the southern sky, a portion of the constellation of the Vermillion Bird’s wings could be seen. Each revealed in part, yet drawing steadily toward the southwest.

Vermillion Bird and White Tiger converge in the southwestern wilderness.

Such a celestial alignment did not occur every Mid-Autumn Festival. In truth, it was so rare it might not happen again for generations. Even in the ancient scrolls of the Four Idols Cult, there was no record of this exact configuration.

Time, space, and stars—all aligned with the ancient prophecy.

Whoosh!

With a sweep of his arm, the Sword Emperor summoned countless swords to hover above.

The Four Idols Formation surged to life, and starlight flared.

Yue Hongling was the first to strike, sword lashing forward in a direct thrust toward the Sword Emperor’s brow.

Meanwhile, far away in the Spirit Tribe’s secret realm, Zhao Changhe was still meditating, tending his wounds. At the same time, he was eavesdropping through a remote link on the Sword Emperor’s conversation with his wives.

But then suddenly, he felt the ground quake violently beneath him. The earth shook, and the very world began to tremble.

A heartbeat later, the sacred mountain, the rivers, and all the surrounding land cracked apart, crumbling like dried mud peeling from skin.

The false sun and moon he had once studied within the Spirit Tribe’s secret realm fell back to the earth, morphing into a pair of eyes.

It was as if something beneath the land, something living, was about to rise from the soil.

That unbearable pressure, the suffocating weight of sheer power... It had not even emerged yet, and already, it felt like the sky itself was collapsing.

This was the power of a world.

Zhao Changhe’s expression remained calm as he looked toward the ancestral burial grounds of the Spirit Tribe.

There stood Han Wubing, still and silent, his gaze seemingly fixed in Zhao Changhe’s direction as well.

“The duel we agreed upon, is it meant to happen at this very moment?” Zhao Changhe said slowly. “Can I ask you something?”

Han Wubing answered, “Go ahead.”

“Some want to awaken the Spirit Tribe’s land to create a corpse puppet. Others want it as a vessel to possess. What about you?”

“This is a foreign god, and He can split the heavens.”

Zhao Changhe fell silent, then murmured, “Even if its resurrection costs the lives of many in Miaojiang?”

“It has no need to slaughter the innocent. Any collateral harm, we’ve already prepared for. We can protect the people. That part won’t be difficult.”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “You’ve thought it through well, but Wubing, do you trust me?”

“...If you tell me to trust you, then I do.”

“Then hear this: you’ve been deceived.” Zhao Changhe’s voice was calm, unwavering. “This land isn’t the resting place of some foreign god. From the beginning, it was always part of the Heavenly Dao, inserted here to weaken Jiuyou’s influence over the world. That’s why it feels alien to everything around it. That’s why it exists like a pocket world, separate from the rest. And now it’s become the perfect bait. Whoever tries to seize this prize, no matter who, will only be serving the Heavenly Dao’s purpose.”

Han Wubing’s eyes narrowed. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“If it truly were an external enemy of the Heavenly Dao, then why didn’t Ye Wuming try to awaken it back in the previous era? Why let it sleep? And in this era, when Jiuyou attempted to touch it, Ye Wuming actively stopped her. Instead, the one trying to revive it now is the Sword Emperor, who himself is a planted agent of the Heavenly Dao. Wubing, this is basic logic. It’s not even as hard as solving cases back when we were still just roaming the

jianghu

.”