"Do you believe it?"

Xu Lai looked at the two male cultivators standing outside the hall.

The two shook their heads simultaneously.

As if feeling it was inappropriate, they quickly nodded, large beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads, bodies trembling with fear.

"Daoist Xu, don't make it difficult for them."

The Great Emperor Jin Shi said helplessly, "They're just two cat demons that have evolved, who've never done evil. Please show mercy."

"Alright."

Xu Lai nodded.

Since Jin Shi spoke personally, he naturally had to give some face.

"It really was just a misunderstanding," the Great Emperor Jin Shi repeated.

"Since I became an emperor, over eighty thousand years, about thirty percent of the incense has been absorbed by you, Daoist."

Xu Lai said calmly, "This misunderstanding has lasted quite a while."

The Great Emperor Jin Shi sighed, "Indeed, from the beginning, it never escaped your notice."

"I don't particularly care for incense, but when my possessions are stolen, how could I not be aware?" Xu Lai said.

The Great Emperor Jin Shi smiled bitterly.

All these years, she had been stealing incense under Xu Qingfeng's nose, foolishly believing she'd done so perfectly.

However...

She had quite a few arrangements here, if it truly came to a fight, she might not be without a chance!

While the Great Emperor Jin Shi was contemplating this, a tender voice suddenly rang out:

"Daoist, stop trying to struggle, aren't you aware of your own limitations?"

"Heh."

Jin Shi narrowed her long eyes, looking at the little boy clad in a red bellyband, smiling charmingly:

"Although I survive in disgrace, I was once a great emperor, you should show some courtesy."

"In my era, there was no title like 'Great Emperor,' back then there were not hundreds but at least dozens of emperors."

Sikong Jiu spread his hands, "I, humbly speaking, ranked among the top five then."

"...?"

The Great Emperor Jin Shi's pretty face showed a hint of uncertain suspicion, clearly unable to ascertain this opponent's origins or the veracity of his words.

One hundred eras, one hundred emperors.

Which era could simultaneously have dozens of great emperors?

If this kid weren't standing beside Xu Qingfeng, she definitely would've considered him a madman driven to insanity by cultivation.

"Look, The Supreme Emperor."

Sikong Jiu shook his head and said, "I always said this young girl's power is lacking? Not even knowing about the First Era, ranked seventy or eighty is already high."

The Great Emperor Jin Shi was deeply struck.

She retracted her disdain, sincerely asking, "May I know the name of the Daoist?"

"I, the Tian Gui Yuan Yin of the First Era..."

As Sikong Jiu's words fell, Great Emperor Jin Shi's pupils shrank, question marks appearing on her forehead.

The Great Emperor Tiangui?

Xu Qingfeng was looking for him, yet he appeared right in front of her...

What is this.

Are you two performing a double act at my place?

Just to show off that Xu Qingfeng's Daoist partner?

Sikong Jiu watched Great Emperor Jin Shi's expression with satisfaction before taking a deep breath, "I, Tian Gui Yuan Yin from the First Era, am an arch-enemy of the Emperor Realm in the Nine Kings' Palace, known as Jiu Kongsi."

Great Emperor Jin Shi showed no reaction, but the two male cultivators, transformed from cat demons, were taken aback, one even blurting out:

"Outland Demon Jiu Kongsi!?"

"... Silence."

Great Emperor Jin Shi reprimanded.

The two cat demons' expressions changed drastically, realizing their error, hurriedly kneeling to beg for forgiveness.

"A demon notorious for evil, condemned by all... Heh."

Sikong Jiu seemed indifferent.

History is written by the victors.

The First Era was filled with rising emperors, grievances and disputes too complex to resolve.

But ultimately, Tian Gui became 'the Great Emperor of the First Era,' the Nine Kings' Palace became forbidden territory, while the other Emperor Realms remained mere footnotes.

Even those few lines written in the history books relied on Tian Gui's mood.

Yet good and evil are measured with a ruler, self-evident in people's hearts.

At least in Sikong Jiu's heart, the attempt to use the entire Immortal Domain as a price for immortality by Tian Gui and the slaughter of his brothers by the Nine Kings' Palace were genuinely evil.

Is Jiu Kongsi good?

He admits he's not.

Just not as evil.

…

Upon discovering Sikong Jiu's identity.

Great Emperor Jin Shi solemnly bowed, her gaze filled with shock, clearly astounded that a being could live through a reincarnation.

"I abandoned everything to become a branch of the Heavenly Dao to live until today, only Tian Gui and those old bastards in the Nine Kings' Palace lived long."

Mentioning enemies.

Sikong Jiu's gaze darkened slightly but quickly returned to the innocence and purity of a child's eyes.

Great Emperor Jin Shi nodded, expressing understanding, yet feeling a sense of desolation.

One cannot generalize.

Emperor Realms likewise cannot be generalized.

Some Emperor Realms faded from their peaks, choosing to venture into the Nine Kings' Palace even at life's end, silencing the entire Immortal Domain.

While others could only hide like mice in corners, stealing incense to survive, even forgotten by their followers.

"Daoist Qingfeng, since you were aware of the incense theft all along, why come today?" Great Emperor Jin Shi asked.

"Well, we aren't demons either. We came today primarily for…" Sikong Jiu was startled.

For what?

Clearly to find Samsara Sea and Tian Gui Yuan Yin.

"I'm about to face tribulation."

Xu Lai gestured to the karmic tribulation above.

"The Immortal Domain is aware."

"So, I'm about to die, before death I need to eradicate all instability in the Immortal Domain," Xu Lai said.

"Understood."

The Great Emperor Jin Shi nodded concedingly, "I was merely surviving till now... so be it, Daoists, proceed."

The two cat demons hesitated to speak, yet with three Emperor Realms conversing before them, where would they have room to speak?

"I want you to make an Emperor's vow, never to act against cultivators below the Emperor Realm in this lifetime." Xu Lai stated calmly.

"That's all?"

Great Emperor Jin Shi asked in surprise, "Why not kill me?"

"Daoist Li and Jiu Feng need manpower, I can send you incense to help restore your realm. If you survive, karma between us is settled."

"..."

Great Emperor Jin Shi fixed her gaze fiercely on Xu Lai.

She suspected she'd been schemed against eight thousand years ago.

Either die now.

Or make an Emperor's vow, and venture with Emperor Bahuang and Great Emperor Jiu Feng into the Nine Kings' Palace, life or death left to fate...

It seemed like two paths.

But she truly had no choice. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"You two are too weak, find a small village to hide, many will die in the Emperor's Oblivion Era."

Great Emperor Jin Shi didn't turn back, but Emperor Realm pressure quickly spread across the Immortal Domain.

Simultaneously, thunder roared in the sky, a phenomenon from forming the Emperor's vow.

In the next moment.

Great Emperor Jin Shi's figure vanished.

"Master..."

The two cat demons knelt before the hall, tearful.

Xu Lai stood for a moment before turning to leave, Sikong Jiu following closely.

Meanwhile, the Four Immortal Domains' Holy Lands and Tao Lineages were once again shaken by this unknown Emperor pressure.

...

In the southern Star Domain, far from this Dead Realm.

A woman clad in a blue dress was flying on a sword, with a chessboard floating above her head, she inhaled sharply and said:

"Sister Qi, this pressure is quite strong, it must be at Divinity Transformation Realm, right?"

"..."