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In the grand river of stars, the Milky Way.

Amidst this dazzling starscape, the light of the Emperor Star shone the brightest, like an emperor among his followers. The Auxiliary Stars around it seemed to lower their heads, while the ordinary stars of the night sky flashed, as if bowing before their ruler.

However, amongst the countless stars, there was one star that seemed intent on breaking free from its ordinary celestial fate. It flashed continuously, and although its radiance practically blotted out the surrounding stars, its light couldn't shake the Emperor Star in the slightest.

"Ugh!" In a forest garden, the purple-robed Zhou Wu hacked up a mouthful of blood.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, and he seemed to have entered a near demonic state. His unkempt hair fluttered about, stirred by his divine power. Even more shocking was that his black hair had turned as white as snow.

He supported himself against the ground with both hands, blood flowing continuously from his mouth.

Those dark eyes were as ferocious as could be. He savagely clawed at the earth, leaving marks even in the stones of the garden.

"Why? On what basis?" Zhou Wu looked up into the heavens and roared. He'd just released his light, holding nothing back, amidst the countless stars. That star which had seemed so intent on replacing the Emperor Star was none other than him.

He'd locked down his borders the past few months.

He showed no interest in what went outside; he was completely fixated on finding the path to transcendence.

Hard work paid off.

During his seclusion, he really had gained some enlightenment. His new insight was this: if he wanted to take that final step, he had to become the Emperor Star, the master of the countless stars of the night sky.

At first, he'd had no star at all, but he'd found a way to usurp the Five Elements Great Emperor's imperial celestial fate.

In order to take that final step, he'd used various methods to forcefully seize the stars from some of the star bearers he'd recruited.

He'd used their light to attempt to replace the Emperor Star.

The results didn't meet his expectations.

Perhaps he'd underestimated just what kind of an existence the Emperor Star was. Even though Zhou Wu held nothing back, even though his light obscured that of the surrounding stars until it was barely noticeable, even though he was so bright, the starry sky could no longer ignore him…

In the face of the Emperor Star's radiance, his was as paltry as a firefly's.

No matter how much effort he put into it, he couldn't outshine the Emperor Star's radiance.

He couldn't accept this!

He had imperial celestial fate, which proved that he was fated to rule heaven and earth. Why couldn't he become the Emperor Star? Back in the Five Elements Great Emperor's era, Five Elements and Zhou Wu had been the most dazzling figures of the Upper Three Realms. Zhou Wu's brilliance hadn't been the slightest bit weaker, so why had the Emperor Star chosen Five Elements and not him?

Why was it that, even after seizing Five Elements' celestial fate, the Emperor Star still refused to acknowledge him, instead acknowledging someone else entirely?

"Why!?"

Zhou Wu vented his fury on the garden, over and over again. In just a few breaths of time, the once elegant garden was in ruins.

Everyone in the God Emperor's Estate could sense the ground shaking. Their hearts clenched, and they shrunk back.

In his current state, Zhou Wu's cultivation was enough to gaze mockingly down on the Three Realms. Even if he couldn't take that final step towards transcendence, even as he was, no one could restrict his freedom.

But everyone had their ambitions, and Zhou Wu's ambitions were grander than anyone's.

"Dammit!" He gnashed his teeth and stood up. When he took in the damaged garden, his gaze was indifferent.

Was he really not fated to transcend?

Zhou Wu couldn't help but wonder. Then, he furrowed his brow and stepped forward. Before long, he was outside its gates.

"God Emperor."

There were three people in total guarding the gate. One was the Divine Arbiter, while the others were patriarchs of two of the grand factions he'd raised.

Yuchi Kong and Huangfu Youming.

They'd always been stationed on other Divine Mountains, but then, so much had changed pf late. Due to his various concerns, Zhou Wu had calle them back to Heavenly God City, and their factions had migrated to the Central Divine Mountain with them.

When the three of them saw the God Emperor, they bowed in greeting. Although the God Emperor was clearly in a terrible state, none of them dared bring it up.

Just moments ago, he'd let out a furious roar, and even the ground shook. They already knew his seclusion had ended in failure.

No one dared take the lead, so they could only wait for the God Emperor to address them first.

"Has the Transcendent Mausoleum descended yet?" asked Zhou Wu.

"It's already descended, however, this time, it didn't descend into any of the Upper Three Realms. Instead, it appeared on a lower plane," said Huangfu Youming hurriedly.

"If it's already descended, why didn't you inform me?" The God Emperor's eyes flashed with fury.

"I told them not to disturb you," said the Divine Arbiter, taking a step forward and cupping her fist. "Before closing your door, you said that this time, your seclusion was of the utmost importance. I feared them sharing this news would distract you, which is why we waited here for you to come out before telling you. If you wish to blame someone, Your Majesty, please blame me."

"It was you…" Zhou Wu looked at her in befuddlement, but his infuriated expression gradually mellowed. He snorted, then nodded. "I don't blame you, but Divine Arbiter, it seems you've grown a bit distant of late. You're constantly apologizing and accepting blame, but when have I ever really blamed you for anything? Forget it. Have the other Divine Mountains made any movements?"

"Several of the Divine Mountain's emperors have already left the God Realm," said Yuchi Kong.

"Hmph. I hadn't thought they were still interested in transcendence, too." Zhou Wu snorted, then said, "But that's perfect. If I can obtain good fortune in the Transcendent Mausoleum and step into transcendence, those who disobeyed me will never escape! I expect the key fragments are in the Emperor Star's heads, so this is also a perfect chance to see just who this mysterious Emperor Star really is."

The Divine Arbiter said nothing. Zhou Wu twisted his neck, then said flatly, "Is there news from the liches?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. The liches have always transcended the Three Realms. I have no way of obtaining news about them," said Yuchi Kong.

When he heard that, Zhou Wu stared intently for a while, then smiled. "Forget it. All will become clear soon. There's no way that bunch will ignore the Transcendent Mausoleum."

Although he didn't know it, at that precise moment, in a barren wasteland…

A group clad in beast skins stood around an altar that looked straight out of ancient times. There were twelve thrones arranged in the platform's center.

With a strange sound, the firepit at the altar's center burst into flames.

Suddenly, twelve people, both men and women, appeared on the thrones. They looked human, yet inhuman at the same time. When they appeared, the tribe around them prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Greetings, Lich Ancestors!"

The men and women never so much as looked directly at the group in beast skins. They looked at each other instead.

"The Transcendent Mausoleum has already appeared. The mausoleum will inevitably produce a transcendent; this is an ancient, unbreakable law. The era is already nearing its close. If we wish to preserve our safety, we liches must subordinate ourselves to the transcendent. The time has come for us to make our choice."