Heaven Palace.

The dispersing Innate Gods had expressions that were all somewhat... odd.

Baffled.

They were truly baffled.

With different Great Dao, different ages, different experiences, at this moment they shared the same question.

"What do you think has happened to His Majesty?"

"Could you keep your voice down when you're passing messages! Do you have a death wish? Here you dare speak... speak... speak of His Majesty! Can't you wait to discuss it back at your own temples? Go, go... to my temple."

"His Majesty's power seems to have increased a lot. Just now, one look from His Majesty made me tremble with fear, hardly weaker than Candle Dragon in those years."

"But why does His Majesty... why does it seem that He's become easier to understand?"

These few Innate Gods murmured among themselves, then had their attention drawn by a calling voice not far away.

"Earth God! Earth God! Please wait a moment!"

A call stopped the Earth God, who was about to summon his mount and leave this place.

Suddenly, several Strong gods hurried over from behind and circled around the Earth God. They bowed their heads to pay respects, then expressed their own concerns.

One said, "It's like His Majesty has suddenly changed his disposition. Could it be that He was seeking a breakthrough to a higher level of power and had previously put Himself to sleep, only to have awakened now?"

Another said, "Earth God, do you know what was in that letter His Majesty received? Why did His Majesty first snort coldly after reading it, then show a bit of a smile? That expression... He definitely took great interest in it. What exactly has happened to His Majesty? Previously, He never showed His happiness or anger, but now He seems rather capricious, making me somewhat fearful by His Majesty's side."

"Indeed, Earth God, His Majesty now... seems a bit frightening. Do you have any insider information? Please make sure to fill us in."

"There is no need for concern," the Earth God intoned gravely, his expression solemn as he spoke in a deep voice. "I, for one, think that His Majesty now actually has more of His true disposition. Previously, His Majesty was an incarnation of the Dao of Order, and His thoughts and considerations all adhered to maintaining the current order of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, many times we found ourselves constrained in action, indeed bound by order. Now, you may all look forward to the developments that will follow. His Majesty has regained His own nature, and the position of the Heaven Palace in the world will undoubtedly become even more stable."

"Why? Earth God, do you have any proof for these words?"

"Because the incarnation of the Dao of Order, after all, exists only to maintain order itself."

The Earth God smiled calmly, his hands resting on the belt around his waist, his burly figure radiating an aura of profound dignity.

In front of him, a sand whirlpool appeared out of nowhere, and an Earth Tortoise slowly crawled out from the center of the whirlpool; its shell was about a hundred feet in diameter, with simple seats set upon it.

The Earth God continued, "His Majesty, who has regained His own nature, is actually more concerned about the Innate Gods who have established order—which is to say, about His Majesty Himself and us. The opposition between living beings and Divine Spirits is becoming increasingly obvious. Whether or not we can suppress the rising momentum of living beings is of utmost importance for the continued existence of the Heaven Palace. His Majesty has long prepared for this, and all we need to do is obey."

The few Strong gods showed a dawning realization and pondered carefully.

The Earth God continued to walk forward, crossing the air and stepping onto the back of the Earth Tortoise to take his seat, driving the Earth Tortoise back into the sand whirlpool.

A bit of dust drifted by, and the Earth God had disappeared without a trace.

The few Strong gods murmured to each other, then headed towards the various temples suspended above the sea of clouds. Before they left, they did not forget to turn back and look, only to see that the gates of the Heavenly Emperor's Palace had been closed.

"Let's go back."

"I hope what Earth God said is true."

"Thinking back carefully, His Majesty of today indeed resembles the one from before Shen Nong of the Human Domain took his place."

"That Order incarnation was too cold and detached; His Majesty Himself is not like that."

The few Strong gods communicated via Divine Thought for a while and gradually moved further away from the palace.

Inside the palace, Emperor Shun lay diagonally on the throne, propping his head on his hand, his gaze gradually becoming peaceful.

Compared to the usual solitude of Emperor Shun, today's temple was quite lively. Several Divine Guards stood quietly by the side, a few beautiful women of the Hundred Races played music in the distance; and then there was the Sun Goddess with her thousand charms and peerless elegance, adding a few more flashes of light to this place.

Xihe's tall figure was wrapped in a pale gold dress, and a golden crown on her long black hair that fell like a waterfall added to her grace without a hint of vulgarity. Her phoenix eyes contained a slightly complex gaze as she looked at Emperor Shun beside her.

"What's the matter?" Emperor Shun inquired.

"Your Majesty," Xihe replied with a gentle smile, lightly shaking her head and saying softly, "If Your Majesty feels uncomfortable, you can rest for some time. Let Earth God handle the affairs of the Heaven Palace."

"I cannot rest," Emperor Shun said indifferently. "The Candle Dragon is watching me from the Outer Sky, and the Human Domain has long become a malignant tumor between Heaven and Earth. If I cannot solve these two problems, I will never have a day of peace."

"But Your Majesty," Xihe said softly, "the Human Domain is actually a part of Heaven and Earth."

Emperor Shun's frown eased slightly as he turned to see Xihe's face, his gaze becoming much softer. He spoke in a voice only audible to the two of them, "I am well aware of these facts; the Human Domain is also a ring in the order. The growth of the Power of Living Beings and the contraction of divine authority was the plan we set long ago. It's just that the Power of Living Beings has grown faster than we anticipated. These are all controllable. The only uncontrollable factor was Fu Xi's sudden move, causing me to be unsteady over these years, but now I am finally able to return safely. These years have been hard on you."

"As long as Your Majesty has returned safely," Xihe shook her head gently and stepped forward.

Emperor Shun opened his arms, embraced the Queen of Heaven, lowered his head to smell the fragrance of her hair, and his eyes showed a trace of emotion.

"Your Majesty needn't worry too much," Xihe said softly. "The humanity that Fu Xi forcefully gave you actually just magnified 'the half of yourself that is truly you.' During the long years we've been apart, I've been watching your trajectory closely. You underwent continuous reincarnations in the Human Domain, struggling to shake off Fu Xi's influence, and went through great hardships for it. In fact, you today are more qualified to sit on the throne of the Heavenly Emperor than you were in ancient times. Shun, you have always been yourself, just with some experiences you are not yet willing to acknowledge. That is all."

Emperor Shun's gaze flickered slightly, but he hugged the Goddess in his arms even tighter.

He invoked Divine Power to examine himself and couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.

The 'forced unification' when he awoke was meant to extinguish the excess consciousness within. What Emperor Shun hadn't expected was that those two consciousnesses representing Sanxian and Fu Xi had indeed perished. His Divine Soul was complete and flawless, the sea of his memory shone with golden light, and there were no longer any rifts in the depths of his heart. This was almost a perfect divine body. However, his personality hadn't reverted to that of the Heavenly Emperor, Emperor Shun, from his memories before Fu Xi's sneak attack. Instead, Emperor Shun found that the thoughts constantly emerging from the depths of his heart greatly resembled the conscious entity—ThreeOld Daoist Sanxian—that had been shaped, cultivated, and continuously reincarnated in the Human Domain. He was now somewhat unclear whether he was the Heavenly Emperor in the guise of Sanxian Daoist or Sanxian Daoist in the guise of the Heavenly Emperor.

Fu Xi had won. Indeed, he had won. And Emperor Shun, after pondering for five years, finally came to a realization and understood what had truly happened to him. Fu Xi didn't know how to make beings reincarnate; the Reincarnation Grand Dao had shattered in the divine battles of the era before the last. The only being capable of continuous reincarnation between Heaven and Earth was he, the creator of order. It turned out he himself was dragging Fu Xi's remnant soul through continuous reincarnations in the Human Domain, attempting to rid himself of Fu Xi's influence and gradually erode Fu Xi's will...

Emperor Shun suddenly asked, "On the day you welcomed my return, did you only ever see me?"

"From start to finish," Xihe said softly, "Shun, you were only ever you."

Emperor Shun nodded and spoke no more of the matter. He lifted his left hand, and a piece of cloth appeared in his palm with the words 'Just Awakened' written on it. A faint Divine Light passed over, and the cloth spontaneously combusted to ashes. But then, Emperor Shun frowned slightly, his fingers moving gently. The remnants of ashes, encircled by Divine Light, unexpectedly started to reform back into the cloth.

Emperor Shun appeared contemplative, unmoving for a long while.

Xihe seemed to fall asleep, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly. Her skin, which seemed to emanate a soft glow, was so thought-provoking, almost inviting one to reach out and gently touch.

Emperor Shun suddenly let out a light sigh. "Sanxian is a part of my experience, and I am indeed the Sanxian Daoist."

"You will always be yourself; do not be bewildered by it," Xihe whispered. "There are still many things we need to do, many hidden dangers in Heaven and Earth that have not been suppressed."

"What do you think of Wu Wangzi?"

"Does Your Majesty see him as a disciple?"

"Hmm," Emperor Shun frowned slightly. "The mark of Sanxian has taken shape as an obsession... Strangely, the Order incarnation feels affinity for Wu Wangzi, and the main body also has some closeness to Wu Wangzi's Divine Power. After my souls unified, I find that aside from you all, Wu Wangzi is the spirit I care about the most. Perhaps it would be better to erase him."

"Wu Wangzi is the son of the Ice God, whom the Ice God treasures above all else." Xihe pondered for a while and then said slowly, "Your Majesty, the Ice God probably wouldn't allow it. If we are to confront the Candle Dragon and settle the matter once and for all, the Ice God and the Water God are the most worthwhile allies to recruit."

Emperor Shun fell silent again.

"Then, must I really take on a disciple?"

Xihe smiled and said, "It might not be a bad idea."

Emperor Shun suddenly seemed somewhat excited and declared firmly, "I am the Heavenly Emperor, the Lord of Order! To take a human as a disciple, would I not be laughed at by the endless Divine Spirits throughout the ages?

"Such an act would leave a mark on all Three Thousand Dao!

"I truly mean it!"

Xihe was already smiling, her eyes narrowed with mirth, and she said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, why not let me handle this matter."

"How do you plan to deal with it?"

"The Human Domain has gotten a bit too close to the Candle Dragon Divine Faction."

Xihe slowly stood up from Emperor Shun's embrace, and the sentiment of the moment... was somewhat indescribable.

She said, "Since Your Majesty has returned, I will no longer stand idly by.

"In the recent times, Your Majesty can rest assured and recuperate your Divine Soul. If the return of the Candle Dragon is inevitable, only the Dao of Order can counter it.

"If we cannot reclaim the Dao of Fire soon, we must plan other methods."

"Shen Nong still has a thousand years of life," Emperor Shun said solemnly.

"The return of the Candle Dragon can be delayed until a thousand years later," Xihe responded.

Emperor Shun said, "We can start preparing from the position of the next Human Emperor."

"Your Majesty, it's not necessary for the Human Domain to submit to the Heaven Palace, as long as the Human Domain contributes to the Dao of Order," Xihe said softly. "I travel with the sun, overseeing Heaven and Earth. The prosperity of the Human Domain is, in fact, quite beneficial to the growth of the Dao of Order.

"Only by nurturing a powerful enough Order can we counter chaos and disorder."

Emperor Shun nodded slowly, his eyes reflecting a trace of contemplation.

"Let's deal with the affair of Wu Wangzi first. I truly do not wish to have too much to do with him. He is a fine adversary, and that is enough."

Having said that, Emperor Shun placed the cloth in his sleeve.

Seeing this, Xihe said nothing more, her figure dissipating faintly with a shallow smile.

"I shall return to Yang Valley and make some arrangements."

"Hmm, do not overexert yourself."

Emperor Shun said warmly, and then sat in contemplation for a while.

A long strip of Jade Talisman appeared in his palm.

"HUMPH! I merely wanted to use this to scheme for the Dao of Fire! I certainly do not truly care about some minor demigod."

With those words, the Jade Talisman flickered lightly. A Divine Guard by his side was summoned, and Emperor Shun instructed him to deliver this message to the Human Domain.

And so, the thirteenth letter from the Heavenly Emperor came to be.

「Within the Annihilation Sect, the Sect Master's hall.」

At this moment, one could see steam rising from the center of the pool. Several men and women, with beads of sweat on their foreheads, were busily engaged in fervent work.

Ling Xiaolan's delicate brows were slightly furrowed. She sat at a distance, unwilling to come closer lest she become sullied by filth.

Hot pot was a proper group activity that Wu Wang had discovered in the Human Domain and improved upon based on memories from his hometown.

In fact, it was fine like when they were in the Women's country, where each person had a small pot, which didn't seem greasy, and even Fairy Ling could accept it.

But today, Wu Wang had opened a spicy hot pot gathering to entertain several old friends. Ling Xiaolan wanted to join, but she really couldn't persuade herself to do so.

The table was indeed too filthy.

Yang Wudi and Mao Aowu, standing not far away, each sniffed and continued to play chess with their heads down. Wu Wang had called them over earlier, but they were too embarrassed to join the table, claiming they were not interested in gastronomy and were focusing on the Dao of Chess. But unexpectedly, when the pot began to bubble with aromatic oil, they found themselves enticed by the fragrance.

The Sleep god wiped the corner of his mouth, took a chilled fruit brew in his hand, tipped his head and took a swig, and said with a laugh, "Wu Wang, has the Heavenly Emperor really taken a fancy to you? I heard that in six years he has sent you twelve letters?"

Wu Wang's mouth twitched as he cursed, "Big brother, since you came from the Heavenly Emperor's side, isn't it because he didn't favor you, and you left in dissatisfaction?"

"Pah!" The Sleep god rolled his eyes, his slightly chubby face full of smugness. "Emperor Shun doesn't even know that I spent so many years under his command. But tell me, what happened in the Southeastern Region? That day I felt the explosion of the Dao of Fire, and I sensed the Eight Trigrams Dao of Fu Xi, as well as Emperor Shun's Dao of Order and his own Dao. I thought the Human Domain and Heaven Palace were about to go to war; I was even ready to pack up and flee!"

Wu Wang: ...

"Can we not speak of fleeing with such righteousness?"

The Sleep god shook his head with a smile, feeling no attachment to the Human Domain.

The Grand Elder and Miao Cuijiao standing by had much they wanted to say but held back, remembering Wu Wang's earlier instructions not to pry.

Lin Suqing was sitting next to Wu Wang, pouring his wine, adding vegetables, and dipping Spirit Meat, whispering, "Anyway, I think this Innate God, the Heavenly Emperor... must be sick in the head!"

Wu Wang laughed without saying a word.

Sitting opposite Wu Wang was Xiao Jian Daoist, who, after delivering Wu Wang back to the Annihilation Sect, had been idling and hadn't returned. He too was indulging in the feast, his mouth greasy as he said in a low voice, "The Heavenly Emperor keeps sending letters to Wu Wang, which is a bit fishy and might lead to speculation."

"Who dares to engage in gossip?" The Sleep god hummed, "You said it yourself, hasn't Wu Wang, my dear brother, done so many tangible things for the Human Domain? With such contributions, is there a problem with giving him the second-in-command position? The Human Domain still talks about seniority and ancient qualifications. That's really problematic!"

"Human relations, if we didn't have that, the Human Domain wouldn't be the Human Domain anymore," Wu Wang laughed. "I never intended to climb so high. After visiting the Annihilation Sect, I plan to spend some time in the Northern Wilderness."

"Northern Wilderness?" The Sleep god immediately frowned. He wasn't very keen on visiting the territory of the Ice God, especially since he had previously made up stories about the Ice God and the God of Fortune, and that was in front of Wu Wang's necklace. But after a brief consideration, the Sleep god still said, "When will you go? Take your big brother with you. It's quite fun hanging out with you. Shen Sheng is long, and mostly dull."

"You're the same, brother," Wu Wang laughed. "You want stability but find it boring; you don't want others to know about your existence, yet you seek some sense of presence in the world."

"Such is the nature of spirits." The Sleep god picked up a piece of boiled meat, rolled it lightly in the oily dish in front of him with a few slightly reddish condiments, coated it in the glistening oil, and popped it in his mouth, chewing carefully. A slight pain blossomed on the tip of his tongue, his taste buds getting a 'just right' stimulation. This made the Sleep god comfortably groan for half a moment before exhaling a weak flame from his mouth.

"Awesome!"

Wu Wang smiled and remained silent, not teasing the Sleep god further.

At the side, the little princess from the Feather Country and the young girl from the Northern Wilderness were carefully bringing a freshly processed Spirit Beast to the table.

Xiao Jian Daoist shouted, 'Nobody move!' The Longsword in his hand flashed, its light swaying, and hundreds of sword lights merged into the Spirit Beast. Meat flew, and the view was pleasant. Suddenly there was a series of CLANGS, a complete skeleton scattered, and next to it, plates of freshly cut meat with a nice mix of lean and fat appeared.

Everyone suddenly gave a thumbs up, and Xiao Jian Daoist calmly returned the gesture.

Wu Wang exclaimed, "Brother Xiao's mastery of the Sword Dao is truly extraordinary!"

"It's nothing, really, nothing at all!"

"Xiao! Jian!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the cave, causing Xiao Jian Daoist to shiver instinctively. A gap appeared in the Heaven and Earth outside the Annihilation Sect's Formation, and several figures sprang out, led by Master Liu Baiyi of the Human Emperor Pavilion.

Despite the Mountain Protection Array and the numerous restrictions surrounding the Sect Master's hall, Master Liu Baiyi cursed loudly, "Did I teach you the Sword Dao so you could slice meat here!?"

Xiao Jian Daoist internally sighed, quickly got up, and rushed outside to meet him. "Teacher, hear me out! No, teacher, why did you suddenly come here? If there's anything, just send your disciple on the errand."

Wu Wang and the Sleep god exchanged looks, then both laughed heartily, not giving Xiao Jian Daoist any face.

So, after a while...

Master Liu Baiyi took Xiao Jian Daoist's original seat, eating meat voraciously and gulping down wine from the jug. Because the matter was quite important, he chose to talk while eating.

"Wu Wang... The Heavenly Emperor has sent another letter... After some discussions, everyone thinks, shouldn't this letter be made public, at least for the higher-ups of the Human Domain to take a look? It's not that we don't trust you; it's just hard for some to accept this. Also, this is for you, from His Majesty for me to pass on to you, your Yan Emperor command token."

As he spoke, Master Liu Baiyi casually tossed a jade talisman over.

Even though Master Liu Baiyi's throwing gesture was very casual, Wu Wang detected a deliberate touch in the casualness. When Wu Wang caught the jade talisman, Master Liu Baiyi obviously sighed with relief.

Was Master Liu afraid he would refuse the Yan Emperor's command, and so acted that way deliberately? Perhaps.

"The thirteenth letter," Wu Wang thought for a moment and said indifferently, "There's nothing so terrible about that. It wouldn't hurt to let them have a look. Where is the letter?"

"I brought it." Master Liu Baiyi raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Let's eat first, let's eat. This stuff is really good. We can set up some Image Projection Balls later. If the content of the letter isn't suitable to be made public, then we will just destroy the balls."

Hearing this, Wu Wang felt somewhat relieved at heart. He really feared that the Heavenly Emperor would have some shocking quote.

...

[PS: I recommend two books: one is the new work 'Immortal Fox' by the senior and revered Frog God, and the other is 'The Master of the Nine Stars' by Guigui's friend Yu. Give them a try if you're looking for something to read~

Burning the midnight oil writing, just writing, writing.]

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