The branches quivered, the endless leaves and stems clamored, giving off a sound akin to a mournful tide.

And in that first instant of the heavens’ sorrow resounding through the earth, all the stars on the heavenly dome disintegrated, transforming into pure light, turning into wandering phantom stars and strange radiances, freely painting peculiar patterns upon the cloud-laden sky, sketching out primordial mysterious totems.

This totem itself contains myriad Stars within, outwardly manifesting endless phenomena, and all the light and patterns, stars and clouds, clearly signify one undeniable fact.

[——Heavenly Mandate——]

——Thus it is time, the great mandate of heaven returns to the world!

All who gained Fate Patterns from the prior phenomena were briefly stripped of their Fate Patterns and sensing abilities at that instant. They had just caught sight of the light only to lose it abruptly, akin to a blind person regaining sight then having their eyes covered.

And all the Martial Artists with Fate Patterns had a moment of blackness before their eyes; what they felt was a near-complete void as if their marrow and brain had been drained dry, their whole being—be it soul, body, or part of their intellect—was extracted.

In the next breath, the strongest in heaven and earth, those closest to the Dao, were directly cast out of the Huai Xu Realm!

Intense convulsions felt like an unprecedented level fifty spacetime quake; Qingdu Taoist, Heavenly Cutting Venerable, and the dozen Heavenly Venerates from the Bright Mirror Alliance led by Haotian Mirror, were the first batch flung out of Huai Xu, an unbeatable force swept these Heavenly Venerates out like crumbs from a table, before they even realized it, their true forms arrived in the outer void.

Following this were other Heavenly Venerates, Heavenly Lords, and True Lords from various Great Sects!

From the Nine Heavens Sect to the One Hundred and Eight Upper Sects, all Martial Artists above Manifesting Holy, foundational powers, array spirits, Daoist Soldiers, supreme treasures, all those who could in any way intervene in the ’Great Heaven’, capable of truly transforming the world within the bounds of the Heavenly Dao, were all moved out of the Huai Xu Realm.

[What—what’s happening?!]

The first to cry out was Yin Gujin—this newly ascended Heavenly Venerate, a veteran Emperor’s Throne power, after being subjected to the oppression and torment delivered by An Jing, Grand Preceptor Hong, Mysterious Heaven Ceremony and various Heavenly Dao shakes, finally found himself feeling significantly relieved.

And the price for this relief was being thrown out of his old home, Huai Xu!

Perhaps this counts as a kind of defeat... but regardless, his strength remains, as does his astonishment, with undeniable reason: [My connection with the Dao is completely severed—I am now left with only ’myself’!]

I only have myself, it sounds like an obvious statement that when one is killed, they die, but for Martial Artists possessing Fate Patterns, it is indeed quite serious.

Because a Fate Pattern is a shard of the Heavenly Dao, the Root Seed of the Dao, Martial Artists are wholly themselves, but are also part of heaven and earth.

When I only have myself without heaven and earth, and am directly flung into the void, even a Heavenly Venerate will feel extremely weak, empty, and...

Free.

Freedom is good, freedom is evil, freedom is a right, freedom is a responsibility, freedom is a choice, freedom is unbounded, freedom is neither good nor evil, it is a primal primordial concept.

Freedom is the beginning of attaining the Dao. When life forms situated between nature and the Heaven and Earth Dao realize they can defy the will of nature and start to ’resist’, the true cultivation toward the Dao begins—yet before this alignment and opposition, freedom encompasses another somewhat bad aspect for those martial arts powerhouses expelled from Huai Xu.

They have no anchor anymore.

Chaos-obscured winds stirred within the Void.

A temporal turbulence surged, blowing into the outer void outside Huai Xu, toward a Heavenly Monarch from the Middle Gate Qingjiu Sect.

This Heavenly Monarch did not find it concerning, for within the understanding of Martial Artists from Huai Xu, the strength of Void Turbulence pales even before the Sanmei Divine Wind deep within the Huai Xu Sky Sea; they could withstand it even at the stage of Manifesting Holy, much less now?

Yet, amidst an indescribable chaotic gust, they were astonished to find themselves rapidly blown away from the Huai Xu Realm by this Void Turbulence—within just a blink, they were nearly blown out from the Void Realm that encapsulated Huai Xu, into the chaos!

——Huai Xu no longer constrained and retained, it granted everyone freedom, thus everyone... would no longer be fixed within the Void by Huai Xu!

——They would be blown by Void storms into chaos, into unknown possibilities of other worlds!

Such events should theoretically be impossible because even a Small World would instinctively retain its own world’s powerhouses; the Cause and Effect, the strength of these individuals are parts of their world.

This retention and entanglement of Cause and Effect is not freedom but a sort of anchor and connection, a form of crucial assistance.

However, when Huai Xu granted everyone freedom, all rights and responsibilities, all constraints and assistance, simultaneously vanished.

[Be careful!]

A Heavenly Venerate from the Longevity Sect reached out to grab the Qingjiu Heavenly Monarch, who, still reeling with shock, hadn’t yet expressed thanks, only to see an even greater Void storm blowing in; with the power of this storm, though it may not harm all present, it would easily blow away all Martial Artists beneath the level of Heavenly Venerate.

But this occurrence was impossible.

With a flash of Sword Light, the Heavenly Cutting Venerable sheathed their sword, and before the Void storm could manifest, it was already vanquished.

They frowned, looking towards the direction of Huai Xu, speaking solemnly: [Gentlemen, although we may be foes, perhaps our worst scenario was being mortal enemies who killed each other’s parents, masters, or ancestors, now, the past grudges no longer matter]

[Gathered together, we need to collaborate to create an anchor, to isolate Void turbulences, and to externally anchor the Huai Xu Realm!]

This is not difficult—all present were at least True Lords, their control over the Great Dao and their own powers was effortless. Within almost a few breaths, the scattered martial arts leaders gathered together, forming an initial, foundational Great Formation according to their abilities and camps.

At the center of the Great Formation, Qingdu Taoist exhaled deeply, raising his hand, in which a black gemstone resembling a full moon appeared, with deep blue tides within, deep and like an abyss, where one could easily spot traces of blue fluorescence within its core.

As soon as it was taken out, the surrounding Void storms became sluggish, even halted, tamed.

[Supreme Mysterious Sea Calming Pearl]

To suppress worldly seas, a martial artist can do so with a single hand, yet for the Void Sea, such Daoist Soldiers are required.

[Stabilize!]

Qingdu Taoist commanded, the sphere’s domain expanding continuously, with other Heavenly Venerates also exerting their forces, either taking out talismans or invoking divine skills, completely stabilizing the Void surrounding Huai Xu, allowing even the weakest True Lords to exist stably within the void.

[How did we come to the outer void?]

[Why didn’t we experience Immortal Fall?]

[Exactly what does the Emperor intend to do? We were just combating Heavenly Demons, casting us out is a detriment!]

After doing all this, only did everyone feel incredible, questioning one another, discussing in perplexity, while some who were engaged in battle with Heavenly Demons became extremely anxious, behind them were their homelands or sects, now suddenly kicked out of Huai Xu, naturally inciting a burning urgency within them, wishing to step back into Huai Xu immediately.

[Don’t fret]

However, Haotian Mirror spoke gravely, reminding all the martial artists: [Look at Huai Xu]