All living beings stared blankly at the sky. After a few breaths, someone knelt on the ground, bowing their head in reverence, their eyes fervent, murmuring, "The Heavenly Dao! It's the Heavenly Dao!"
On this continent, only the Heavenly Dao could possess and control the power of creation.
The Demon King and the Demon Lord, whose heads were held high, lowered them slightly in respect, their hearts filled with trepidation.
Everyone knew that the Heavenly Dao favored the human race the most.
Now that the Heavenly Dao had appeared, the human crisis was clearly completely resolved. However, it was unknown whether this would involve the demon and monster races.
"You few who want to fight, go fight in the Upper Realm. Do you really think I'm dead, to fight here!"
A furious voice reached Xu Yi's ears.
Xu Yi's eyebrow arched. This voice...
She looked up and indeed saw a man dressed as a middle-aged scholar, cursing as he emerged from the clouds, his expression quite indignant.
"Dean... Dean?"
Xiong Zhuangzhuang, Yu Xiaoyu, and others’ eyeballs almost popped out.
Wasn’t this the Dean of Kunlun Academy?
He had been missing for hundreds of years, and today he appeared here?
Could it be...
"Heavenly Dao?"
Liu Jinghong eyed the Dean askance, brimming with resentment.
No one knew she had once spoken to the Heavenly Dao, at the moment she ascended to the Upper Realm.
At that time, she had, with the help of Ji Xiu and others, opened the Heavenly Ladder and was feeling exceptionally proud. She heard someone speak in her ear.
"Soul from another world, do not ever set foot on the Kyushu Continent after you leave."
"Who are you?"
"I am the Heavenly Dao of this realm. Remember my warning."
Liu Jinghong was in a state of panic for a long time, but she gradually forgot this memory. Now, upon seeing the Heavenly Dao, her memory resurfaced, and her gaze towards the Heavenly Dao was filled with both hatred and caution.
The Dean nodded slightly in Xu Yi's direction, then looked at Liu Jinghong with a chilling gaze. "Soul from another world, you have broken the rules."
*Boom!*
Liu Jinghong felt as if a dull hammer had struck her head heavily. Her ears buzzed, her head throbbed violently, and her body staggered a few steps.
The Heavenly Dao wanted to kill her!
This realization made Liu Jinghong burn with fury. She endured the intense pain and roared, "I didn't! I was led here! You can't blame me!"
The Dean ignored her explanation. With a thought, Liu Jinghong's body floated out of the pit uncontrollably and then ascended rapidly.
Liu Jinghong's eyes split wide with rage. She wanted to struggle but was powerless.
"That day, I was careless and brought you into this realm, allowing you to act as you pleased. Now, you must pay the price."
"No, no..." Liu Jinghong's heart trembled, and cold sweat broke out.
The next moment, her eyes suddenly widened, her features contorted, and she let out a painful wail.
Countless points of light peeled away from her body and then quickly merged into the void. The spiritual energy that was originally thin in the world and between heaven and earth gradually became replenished.
Seeing this, everyone was struck silent with fear. Ji Xiu and others who had descended with Liu Jinghong had stiff expressions, wishing they could flee far away, lest they suffer the same fate as Liu Jinghong.
In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Liu Jinghong underwent a drastic change. Her skin, which was originally as smooth and delicate as silk, became rough and dull. Her hair withered, and fine lines appeared on her face and neck. The entire person seemed to have aged over a dozen years.
She no longer had the strength to even cry out, her breath faint. Her gaze towards the Dean was filled with boundless hatred.
He had ruined her!
"Liu Jinghong, these things were never meant for you to possess. You should be content," the Dean said lightly.
"Pah!" Liu Jinghong spat out with difficulty, then shouted with all her might, her voice hoarse and her demeanor frenzied, "I am not convinced! I have already stolen everything from Xu Yi and completely replaced her! Why are you harming me! Is it just because Xu Yi is the protagonist in a storybook! I am clearly more outstanding than her!"
Liu Jinghong had now fallen into madness, no longer concealing her past. Her words revealed countless pieces of information. If not for the Heavenly Dao's presence, the Dao hearts of the cultivators on the Kyushu Continent would have been shaken by her words.
The Dean shook his head slightly and sighed, "Liu Jinghong, you still haven't realized that the Kyushu Continent is not a world from a storybook, but a complete world. Otherwise, I would not exist."
The Heavenly Dao is the representative of the world's will.
Only a complete world can give birth to a Heavenly Dao and maintain its operation.
Liu Jinghong's expression froze, and then she shook her head madly, "No, impossible! I've seen that book! In that book, Xu Yi is the protagonist! When she was still in swaddling clothes, she was taken into Xuanji Sect by the Sect Master, then followed the Sect Master in cultivation, and later obtained countless fortuitous encounters! Finally, she led the righteous path to kill demons and subdue monsters, earning the name 'Demon-Slaying Ancestor'! I remember it all! I remember it all!"
It was precisely by relying on the content recorded in the book that Liu Jinghong was able to replicate Xu Yi's path and replace Xu Yi to become the "Ancestor Jinghong."
Therefore, she firmly believed that this was the world from the book.
As her words fell, the Dean's expression turned peculiar. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "Have you never considered that it wasn't a storybook, but a biography?"
Liu Jinghong:!
Xu Yi:!!
Everyone:!!!
"The storybook you speak of is a biography I wrote for Xu Yi out of gratitude. Little did I know that the sentient being in the biography, while I was napping, traveled to another world. By chance, this brought your soul from another world to this place, disrupting the original trajectory. In a way, I have failed Xu Yi."
"No, I don't believe it! You are the Heavenly Dao! How could you write a book for a mortal! You're lying to me! You're lying to me!" Liu Jinghong roared, tears of blood streaming from her eyes.
Xu Yi felt hidden gazes directed at her from all directions, her scalp tingling.
Don't look at me, I don't know anything.
Xu Yi only knew that she was a remarkable person in her past life, which was why Liu Jinghong would snatch her opportunities. But no matter how powerful she was, she couldn't possibly be related to the Heavenly Dao.
What had she done to make the Heavenly Dao write a book for her?
Xu Yi thought and thought, and felt that perhaps only one thing could make the Heavenly Dao grateful to her.
Saving the world.
"Saving the world."
The Heavenly Dao's voice overlapped with Xu Yi's thoughts.
Xu Yi's brows relaxed.
As expected.
The Heavenly Dao seemed to deliberately vindicate Xu Yi. Under the guise of punishing Liu Jinghong, he recounted a thrilling past event to everyone.
The protagonist of the story was Xu Yi, but it was a Xu Yi completely different from the one everyone knew now.
This Xu Yi, just as Liu Jinghong had said before, began to show her talent after becoming a disciple of the Sect Master of Xuanji Sect. Later, she shone brilliantly and became the renowned Demon-Slaying Ancestor.
But this was not the end, but the beginning of another story.
When Xu Yi ascended, she discovered that the seemingly stable Kyushu Continent was actually depleted and running out of oil. Spiritual energy was leaking, making it impossible to maintain stable operation. The Heavenly Dao, the will of the world, had even fallen into a semi-slumber.
Once the Heavenly Dao completely entered slumber, the Kyushu Continent would very likely become a dead land.
Therefore, Xu Yi devised a plan. She cultivated diligently in the Upper Realm, searching for treasures everywhere. Finally, just as the Heavenly Dao was about to fall into slumber, she used all her spiritual energy and savings to awaken the Heavenly Dao, but in doing so, she fell into a state of near-death.
The Heavenly Dao, grateful for Xu Yi's life-saving act, flowed through time and sent Xu Yi back to her birth, intending to help her embark on the path to godhood once more.
In addition, the Heavenly Dao regretted that Xu Yi's efforts were unknown to anyone. Therefore, he wrote a biography of her experiences on the Kyushu Continent for preservation.
This was originally just a small quirk of his, but little did he know that it would lead to an unexpected change.
Furthermore, as Liu Jinghong was a soul from another world, and had come to the Kyushu Continent due to the Heavenly Dao's mistake, the Heavenly Dao could not directly interfere. He could only create a physical body and wait for Xu Yi to return.
Thus, there came to be Kunlun Academy in this world.