At the end of ancient times, a celestial cataclysm descended upon the world. Countless immortals and demons perished in this calamity, buried forever within its wreckage.

Back then, not only the heavenly realm was in chaos, but also the three thousand mortal realms were affected to varying degrees. Many places became desolate wasteland.

Although many years have passed since the great celestial tribulation, and spiritual energy between heaven and earth has gradually recovered, there are still some places that remain barren. The Chiyan Ridge in the northwestern border of the secular world 'Cangxuan' is one such place.

Speaking of Chi Yan Ling, it has another name, also known as the Burial Emperor Ridge. Legend has it that during the Tribulation of the Heavens at the end of the ancient era, the legendary Nine Nether Emperor, who shook the immortal demons, fell here.

Of course, the reason legends are legends is because no one has ever seen them with their own eyes, and naturally, no one takes them seriously. After all, over the years, rumors about the burial site of Emperor Jiuyou have ranged from eight thousand to ten thousand.

The Red Flame Ridge was a vast, barren wasteland. It was filled with bogs, swamps, and valleys, but in its center lay a patch of desolate desert where no grass grew.

At noon that day, the sun blazed fiercely. Under its scorching rays, this desert shimmered like countless golden grains of sand.

Suddenly, a strange purple flame ignited in the desert. At first, it was very weak, but soon it grew rapidly, and the fire spread outward. The raging purple inferno quickly turned the surrounding desert into a sea of flames.

After an unknown amount of time, the purple flames gradually faded and weakened until they mysteriously extinguished entirely. The desert remained desolate as before, but at some point, a person appeared within it.

He was a somewhat dishevelled young man, looking to be in his early twenties. His hair was tousled, his robes were tattered, and he bore the marks of having just fought for his life.

He lay quietly in the desert, a faint purple flame burning above him. The flames flickered like mysterious runes under the scorching sun, blurring, twisting, and dissipating...

As the runes-like purple flames one by one extinguished and disappeared, the young man's fingers twitched slightly, and then his eyes gradually opened. Whether it was because he had been in a coma for too long or something else, they seemed to be unaccustomed to the scorching sun; just as soon as they opened, they closed again quickly.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes. They were very tranquil, like deep abysses, filled with a sense of mystery.

"Alive... It turns out I, Gu Qingfeng, am still alive..."

The young man named Gu Qingfeng was also known as the Nine Nether Emperor by the world. He looked rather weak and frail, swaying his blurry head. As he lifted it up, a pale face appeared with a look of confusion and uncertainty in its eyes...

"Why am I still alive... The Heavenly Calamity... Is it over?"

Close your eyes, the scene of the apocalyptic catastrophe is vivid in my mind. The heavens collapsed, the earth cracked, the sun and moon vanished, and countless divine judgments intertwined, judging all wickedness between heaven and earth.

As a being who has slain immortals and demons, challenged for the thrones of both Immortal and Demon Emperors, and even ruled over the Nine Hells as its master, Gu Qingfeng had long been branded with the mark of wickedness. He was also one of the primary targets of Heaven's judgment.

When the great calamity of the heavens occurred, Heavenly Tribulation also descended. Gu Qingfeng's foundation was destroyed, the Immortal Demon Throne was seized, and the Nine Nether Emperor Throne was annihilated. Even cultivators were judged and scattered. Everything he had cultivated in his lifetime was wiped clean by Heavenly Tribulation. In the hazy memories, the last thing he remembered was being judged and left with only a mortal fetus.

But... how could he be alive?

Could it be that Heaven has taken everything from me, seeing my pitiful state and deliberately sparing my life?

No!

Impossible!

The great road is nonexistent, and the heavenly way is even more nonexistent. To say that the heavenly way pitied itself, I wouldn't believe it even if I killed Gu Qingfeng.

Why are you still alive?

Huh?

When Gu Qingfeng was doubtful, he inadvertently saw a bone jade pendant on his neck. The jade was about the size of a thumb and didn't look like jade. It resembled ancient wood more than anything else, or even a piece of bone.

This trinket he found in an ancient Buddhist site years ago and has been wearing it ever since. During the celestial catastrophe and the heavenly judgment, all his powerful artifacts were destroyed, but this piece of bone jade remained intact.

"Jiemie Guyu... it must be Jiemie Guyu..."

"...only this piece of desolate bone jade could possibly save my life..."

What exactly was this piece of bone jade, the Silent Extinction Jade? Ancient Qingfeng had spent a lifetime researching it without ever figuring it out. Right now, why he was still alive, whether it was the Silent Extinction Jade that saved him, he no longer cared to think about it.

Gazing at the surrounding desert and then at the scorching sun hanging in the sky, he knew he had escaped that terrifying celestial catastrophe...

"The great catastrophe of the heavens has ended...ended..."

Gu Qingfeng slowly stood up, unable to help but sigh helplessly.

"Fighting against humans, fighting against immortals, fighting against demons, fighting endlessly but ultimately unable to overcome fate..." This was his greatest realization after experiencing countless celestial catastrophes. A cold and stern face held a complex expression as he muttered, "No matter what, as long as I'm alive... As long as I live, there is hope..."

As long as one is alive, there is hope...

If cultivation is lost, it can be cultivated again. If the fundamental principles are lost, they can be regained. If the throne of the Immortal Demon King is lost, it can be challenged again. Everything can start anew...

Gu Qingfeng has never been afraid of anything, and if he were afraid, he wouldn't have dared to challenge the heavens back then. He wouldn't have vied for the throne of the Immortal Demon King, nor would he have sought the position of Nine Nether Emperor, a title that Heaven had always viewed as an eyesore.

Under the scorching sun, Zhe Li Ri Cang Qiong let out a disdainful laugh and said arrogantly, "Heaven, hmph... Even though you took everything from me and reduced me to an ordinary human, one day I will rise again and take back ten times what you stole from me..."

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and continue walking.

How long the cataclysm of the heavens had passed, he didn't know. He knew nothing about where this place was.

After crossing the desert and entering a desolate, mountainous region, the environment here was appalling. Not only was there no spiritual energy, but the air was also thin and scarce. There were ferocious beasts everywhere. Fortunately, Gu Qingfeng's body had been tempered by the Nine Nether Fire before, so every inch of his skin, bones, meridians, and even his viscera were extraordinary.

Even though his cultivation base was now scattered by the Heavenly Tribulation, his sheer strength alone was enough to destroy a mountain peak with one punch. The only regret was that, despite his immense power, he could only rely on his two legs to walk. His cultivation base was completely gone, not even a trace of spiritual energy remained. Forget about flying with wind, he couldn't even perform light kung fu.

Most importantly, he had just awakened and his soul was extremely weak, his energy also very exhausted. He needed to find a place with abundant spiritual energy to cultivate for a while first.

He just kept walking aimlessly, but the more he walked, the more he felt something was off about this place. Even though everything was desolate, for some reason, he just had a bad feeling about it.

"This couldn't be the Chi Yan Ridge, could it?"

Chidianling was where Gu Qingfeng practiced during his younger years, it's also where he grew up, and the place where he first gained fame in this world. One could say that Chidianling carries all of his memories from his time practicing here.

Recalling the events of the Heavenly Catastrophe, he remembered being judged by Heaven as neither human nor demon. He had fled from the Heavenly Realm in a hurry, returning to his homeland, the Azure Profound World. At that time, he thought that even if he died, he would die in his hometown, back to where everything began. And the Chi Flame Ridge was precisely the place where he was born, grew up, and started his cultivation journey.

Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat. He murmured, "I remember now, this is really Chiyan Ridge..." Looking at this desolate mountain range, he felt mixed emotions and couldn't tell if it was the apocalyptic catastrophe that destroyed Chiyan Ridge.

With a sigh, he continued walking until he left the barren mountains and wasteland. To his surprise, at the foot of the mountain was a huge cemetery. The cemetery was vast and looked ancient, with some wear and tear. Some of the buildings seemed to have even collapsed. People came and went in the cemetery. Finally, they arrived at a stone tablet in the center of the cemetery, seemingly worshipping something.

That stone tablet was very tall, as majestic as a mountain peak. The tablet was inscribed with a poem.

The once-famous prodigy, Gu Tianlang.

The red flame ridge surprised all directions.

On the path of madness, burying immortals.

Smiling proudly, defying the heavens and shocking the world.

One Song Judges the World's Sorrow

From this day forth, there shall be no king in this world.

When Gu Qingfeng entered the cemetery and saw the inscription on the stele, he was stunned. The inscription read "Gu Tianlang," which was his real name in the mortal world, while "Chi Xiao Monarch" was the title he had once sought for the throne of immortality.

"Is this my mausoleum?"

Gu Qingfeng never expected that this place would be his own mausoleum. Perhaps he was too shocked, so much so that he stood before the tombstone for a long time, unable to speak. He remained there, frozen in shock, for quite some time.

"I can't believe that after all these years in the mortal realm, there are still people who remember the name Gu Tianlang..."

His path of cultivation throughout his life was extremely arduous, having been judged by the Immortal Dao, Demon Dao, and Heavenly Dao in turn. He could be said to have experienced three rises and three falls. Ancient Tianlang was his given name, carrying with it the boundless frenzy of his youthful, wild years. During his time cultivating in the mortal world, he had moments of brilliance and obscurity. When brilliant, he dominated the world, with everyone bowing to him; when obscure, he was as low as dust, unacknowledged by anyone.

When he left the mortal world and decided to forget everything, he changed his name after ascending to heaven. From then on, he never used the name Gu Tianlang again.

"Back when I was young and reckless, I offended many people and even faced judgment from the Immortal Dao. I don't know who would have such high regard for me to build such a magnificent mausoleum in my hometown, Chiyan Ridge."

Standing beside the stone monument, people came and went, but not a single one did I recognize. Some were praying, some were paying respects, and some were sighing or expressing their sorrow. Of course, there were also those who seemed to be here simply as tourists.

Gu Qingfeng took a look for a while, but it was the conversation between his two sons that caught his attention.

These two women, one with a stunning appearance and an alluring charm, dressed in red like a dust-blown beauty. The other, a younger girl who looked about ten years old, was tall and beautiful, wearing a white military uniform that made her appear spirited and heroic. Walking into the cemetery, she glanced around and said to her elder companion with a slightly mournful tone: "Auntie, it seems like more and more people are coming to pay their respects at the tomb...than a month ago..."

That Yanzi glanced at the people in the cemetery, sighed softly, and said: "After the catastrophe, the ancient times ended, and it has been a hundred years since now. Talented people emerge in large numbers from all over the world, creating one legend after another. How many people still remember the immortal glory of King Chixiao in the past..."

“Nowadays, young people are all so arrogant. Any with a bit of talent is proud and overbearing. If they gain a little fame outside, they want everyone in the world to know about it. Some ignorant youngsters even compare themselves to King Chixiao... It’s really laughable…”

Staring at the stone tablet, Yanzi's eyes were filled with admiration and reverence. She said softly,

"In the past, kings stomped on the world's geniuses atop the celestial ladder, how arrogant they were!"

"In the past, a king ventured alone into Mount Wan Yao, his sword pointed at the Black Mountain Old Demon, what a majestic sight!"

"In the past, the king single-handedly fought against masters from various sects. How arrogant he was!"

"In the past, emperors laughed at the heavens from the clouds, shaking the immortal court with their might! What a domineering presence!"

"It is madness that a king would kill his own brother and taint the land!"

"In the past, a king wielded a scarlet sword, cleaving the sky in two. What a mighty feat!"

Those who have not lived through that era cannot possibly understand what kind of awe-inspiring figure the Red Sky Emperor was back then…

"Auntie, it seems you haven't experienced that era either..."

"You little brat, your aunt grew up listening to the king's legendary stories..."

(Editor in charge:dexter novels)