Listening to the sounds coming from outside the hall, the Great Emperor Jin Shi withdrew her divine sense from Heaven Beyond Heaven, her opened eyes full of complexity.

The tree falls and the monkeys scatter.

This phrase is applicable in any era.

Back in those days, even before she truly died, the Holy Lands she was allied with and the incense followers already lost their loyalty.

Disheartened, Jin Shi left the former grand hall with only two little cat demons and a handful of followers, struggling to survive in the Dead Realm for several eras.

Jin Shi believed that this was normal, but today, seeing the soldiers of the Heavenly Court, she realized it was not.

"Willing to die for the Supreme Emperor!"

The voice outside the hall was neat, as if one person was standing between heaven and earth shouting in anger, the momentum piercing through the Nine Heavens.

Jin Shi couldn't help but laugh as she listened, her smile tinged with envy.

She knew.

Xu Qingfeng had died, but the Heavenly Court was not dead, the backbone of the Heavenly Court still stood straight.

Therefore.

Xu Qingfeng had never really left, he was always there.

"What a pity."

Jin Shi sighed softly, regretting that she couldn't learn more about Xu Qingfeng, who was born in the Era of the Emperor's Demise but chose not to collude with the Nine Kings' Palace and the Heavenly Ghosts.

Clearly, he could have survived.

Even in the eyes of the Great Emperor Jin Shi, if Xu Qingfeng had abandoned the Immortal Domain, he was most likely to ask the Dao of Longevity and step onto the White Jade Stairway to the Other Shore in the Emperor Realm.

"We should also be going."

Li Bahuang stood up, his back no longer as straight and tall, somewhat hunched, he could barely hold on.

He needed to quickly find the hidden Tian Gui Yuan Yin and protect Sikong Jiu, not Jiu Kongsi.

Giving this elder from the First Era, who had once fought against the Heavenly Ghosts and survived, enough time to recover.

After all, Jiu Feng's stance was unclear.

And Jin Shi, as a measurement unit of Emperor Realm strength, was no match for the Heavenly Ghosts, while others lurked in the shadows with greedy eyes.

Daoist Qingfeng bore all the pressure on his own shoulders, truly not easy.

Now that he's fallen.

It could be considered a release.

Li Bahuang and the Great Emperor Jin Shi left the Heavenly Court.

Apart from Baize, over seventy of the other ninety-nine Divine Generals departed to their respective positions, leaving behind those with weaker combat capabilities, the civil generals.

The more than twenty civil generals were like gears, placed by Baize in the most critical part of the fast-running Heavenly Court.

When only Baize was left in the main hall, she held a white chess piece in her palm, lost in thought, her eyes somewhat moist.

"Brother-in-law... died?" A woman's voice rang out in the hall.

"You're awake."

Baize was startled, subconsciously wiping her eyes, not knowing when Ruan Lan had arrived.

Yesterday.

After the Supreme Emperor and Sikong Jiu left the Boundless Sea, Baize brought the Bronze Mirror Coffin back to the Heavenly Court.

Although Ruan Lan's injuries were severe before, Xu Lai had already healed them, so when the Formation Chessboard hit her stomach, Ruan Lan woke up.

Then she heard the words, 'Willing to die for the Supreme Emperor'.

"Yes."

Baize didn't hide it, lightly nodding: "Your brother-in-law... has fallen."

Ruan Lan, sitting by the door, asked quietly: "Isn't it said that the Emperor Realm is unrivaled in the Immortal Domain? How can he die?"

"...sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me."

Ruan Lan shook her head. She had once introduced Baize to much culture and cuisine on Earth, and the two had a good relationship.

Earlier, it was Baize who brought Ruan Lan from Earth to the Immortal Domain for training.

"Does my sister know?"

"Probably not."

"Can someone take me back? I... I want to be with my sister, and Yiyi and Ping'an."

Ruan Lan clutched at her clothes, speaking softly.

"I suggest inviting the mistress and them to the Heavenly Court; it's safer here than on Earth." Baize contemplated.

"Okay, I'll go back and have them pack their things. Oh, and one more thing, she's dead too, right?"

"Who?"

"The one in the coffin, Yuan Mei."

"Yes..."

"I see."

Ruan Lan wasn't sad, nor did she find it unacceptable, just a bit of a pity.

If not for being on opposite sides, perhaps she could have become friends with the other, just like with Baize.

Baize instructed Taotie to escort Ruan Lan back to Earth, as she couldn't leave the Heavenly Court, with countless tasks that required her personal attention.

The Heavenly Court could manage without Taotie, but not without Baize.

"By the way, Baize, next time you're upset, come find me, secretly crying is so sad." Ruan Lan said before leaving.

"...Will she cry?"

Immersed in grief over the Emperor's Demise, Taotie looked bewildered, unable to believe his ears, feeling guilt rising in his heart.

The words he had said in the muster ground earlier now seemed indeed excessive, for it turned out Baize wasn't unaffected by grief.

But as the backbone of the Heavenly Court now, she had to ensure that the Heavenly Court and the many Holy Lands in the Immortal Domain knew.

The Supreme Emperor was gone.

But the Heavenly Court did not collapse!

"You're not having it easy either—"

Before Taotie could finish, Baize waved her hand, and the main hall doors slammed shut, directly knocking Taotie out.

"Do your job."

A calm voice came from inside the hall: "By the way, go to the Taotie Clan, invite your old ancestor to the Heavenly Court to oversee."

Taotie nodded vigorously.

Actually, there was no need to invite.

Counting the initial three Emperor Realm falls at the Nine Kings' Palace, there were a total of seven Emperor's Demises.

When sensing that intense familiar aura among them, many people started heading towards the Heavenly Court.

There was Senior Sister Yu Guiwan, the old Taotie from the Nine Heavens of the Quasi-Emperor, and two Domain Masters of the Western Twelve-winged Archangels, along with the Southern Immortal Domain's Quasi-Emperor from the Qingqiu Nine-tailed Fox Demon Clan and other deeply allied forces.

They knew the upcoming days in the Heavenly Court would not be easy, so they brought the elite of their clans to assist.

The Domain Master of the East, Fairy Qing Yuan, came alone, without bringing any cultivators from the Green Sect, only carrying the sect's Emperor Artifact, which even Xu Lai hadn't been informed about.

The Green Sect lineage.

The ancestors had also reached the Emperor Realm before.

Ruan Lan, only a Little Golden Core, was unaware of this; her mind was focused solely on her sister and her two nephews.

One day later.

Ruan Lan returned to Haitang Court; even though she'd only left for a few months, she felt a sense of illusion as if years had passed.

"Sister, quickly pack your things, we are going to the Immortal Domain!" Ruan Lan shouted as she entered the door.

"Lower your voice, Yiyi and Ping'an just fell asleep." Ruan Tang came down the stairs.

"Sister, quickly pack, Earth is too dangerous, Taotie is waiting for us at the mountain." Ruan Lan urged.

"I'm not leaving."

Ruan Tang shook her head: "I have to wait for Xu Lai to come home."

"..."

Ruan Lan hadn't cried when she heard about Xu Lai's demise in the Heavenly Court, but hearing her sister's words now, she almost couldn't hold back her tears.

"Sister, he..."

Ruan Lan's lips trembled, unable to speak the words.

"He's dead."

Ruan Tang bowed her gaze, speaking softly: "Isn't he?"

Ruan Lan quickly went upstairs, hugging her sister, wiping her tears: "Sister, don't cry, it's okay, I'm here."

Ruan Tang didn't shed tears.

She just smiled a tired smile: "He promised me he would come back. Ruan Lan, you take Yiyi and Ping'an and go first, I'll wait for him."