The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

A great battle was about to break out. Shen Yifei had already gripped the Long Sky Sword tightly, mobilized all his spiritual power, and was about to unleash the Rift River Sword, preparing to fight Lu Ya to the death.

Ye Ling's black spear had begun to gather demonic energy, He Lian Tie's two thousand demon vanguard troops were eager to move, Feng Qingyin's three thousand phoenix elite soldiers were ready to go, and Ao Ting's eight thousand dragon riders were also itching for battle.

The golden three-legged golden crow phantoms of the four Golden Crow Sect ancestors behind Lu Ya had already taken off into the air, and the disciples of Wanjian Villa and Golden Crow Sect were also desperately activating the formation.

The two sides' momentum clashed fiercely in the air, and a life-or-death battle was about to break out.

"kill!"

Shen Yifei roared, and Lu Ya, not to be outdone, shouted back, "Charge!!"

The two stood one in front and one behind, while the army behind them was about to charge!

Just at this critical moment, a blinding white light descended from the sky.

The white light appeared without warning, directly above Mount Cangwu.

Where the white light passed, time seemed to stand still.

Everyone!

Shen Yifei, Ye Ling, Feng Qingyin, Ao Ting, Lu Ya, the four Golden Crow Sect ancestors, thousands of Golden Crow Sect disciples, tens of thousands of cultivators from various sects, and the Tianyan Sect members on Cangwu Mountain all remained motionless, as if frozen in ice.

Shen Yifei felt that he was still conscious, but his body was completely unresponsive.

He couldn't even move his eyes; he could only stare straight at the white light in front of him.

The white light grew brighter and brighter, until finally the entire world was engulfed by it.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a vast, white space.

There was nothing around him, but he could move.

"Where is this?" Shen Yifei looked around and called out, "Wife! Princess! Ao Ting!"

However, there was no echo from the surroundings.

"Stop shouting, they can't hear you." A voice came from behind him.

Shen Yifei recognized that voice!

He slowly turned around.

A man dressed in white stood not far behind him, his hands behind his back, his face handsome and his eyes carrying the familiar smile.

Shen Yifei's lips trembled twice, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"father……"

Shen Changtian looked at his son and a relieved smile appeared on his face. "Yifei, you've grown up."

Shen Yifei stood there, stunned, his mind blank.

"Father...aren't you...aren't you dead?"

"Who told you I'm dead?" Shen Changtian retorted.

Shen Yifei was stumped by the question.

Yes, who told him his father was dead?

His father's grave was empty, his father's sword was found at an auction, and the phantom image his father left in his mind never said he was dead.

"But... Leng Rushuang said she saw you being ambushed..."

"It's true I was ambushed, but it's also true I didn't die." Shen Changtian stood with his hands behind his back, his expression somewhat complicated. "I was indeed struck by that force, and I almost died. But just as I was about to dissipate, someone intervened and saved me."

"Who?"

"The one punished by the gods."

Shen Yifei's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard. "Immortal Punishment? They want to kill you, but they also want to save you?"

"They didn't really want to kill me; they wanted to recruit me," Shen Changtian sighed. "That sneak attack was actually a test. They wanted to see my strength, to see if I was worth being absorbed into the Immortal Punishment."

Shen Yifei felt his brain was starting to malfunction. "And then...you didn't join the Celestial Punishment, did you?"

"No, I refused."

"and you……"

"They rescued me, but they didn't let me go." Shen Changtian gave a bitter smile. "They took me to the Immortal Realm and made me work for them. I kept delaying, citing damage to my cultivation. And that delay has lasted for so many years."

After listening, Shen Yifei remained silent for a long while.

His father hadn't died; in fact, he'd become a celestial being. Although it was forced upon him, the news was still hard for him to accept for a while.

"Father, are you... an immortal now?"

Shen Changtian nodded. "Immortal, that's where you should go after successfully transcending the tribulation. But it's not as good as you imagine. There are too many rules and regulations, and you always have to be bossed around. I'd love to come down here and live a carefree life with your mother."

Shen Yifei recalled what Yun Zhonghe had said, "Father, is that so-called ascension really a scam?"

"It's a hoax, and it's not a hoax." Shen Changtian's expression turned serious. "Ascension does exist, but it's just one path to the Immortal Realm. Once you reach the Immortal Realm, cultivation doesn't end. After successfully transcending tribulation, there are even higher realms and a wider world. But the people in the Immortal Realm don't want the cultivators in the cultivation world to know about these things."

"Why?" Shen Yifei asked, puzzled.

"Because they're looking for someone, or rather, they've been looking for something."

"They're all immortals, what can't they find?"

Shen Changtian remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "The people of the Immortal Realm have been searching for the Nine Demon Gods."

Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat.

Nine Great Demon Gods!

Ye Ling once told him that he might carry the aura of the Five Elements Demon God, and that he also possessed the Cauldron of All Things and the little monster, all of which were related to the Five Elements Demon God.

"Father, the nine great demon gods you mentioned... isn't one of them the Five Elements Demon God, Wan Shuo?"

Shen Changtian was somewhat surprised. He nodded. "You know about the Five Elements Demon God?"

"I have a wife who is a demon god of war, and she told me all this. Moreover, she suspects that I have a connection with the Five Elements Demon God."

Upon hearing the word "wife," Shen Changtian was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "You're quite something, kid, you even managed to win over the Demon God of War."

"Father, why are the people from the Immortal Realm looking for the Nine Demon Gods? Aren't these ancient demon gods long dead?"

"The Nine Demon Gods are beings that existed since the beginning of time, possessing nine primordial powers. I suspect that those in the Immortal Realm want to use the power of the Demon Gods to achieve some kind of goal."

"What's the purpose?"

Shen Changtian shook his head. "I don't know yet, but it's definitely not a good thing. I've been secretly investigating for years and discovered that the people of Immortal Punishment seem to be preparing for a major operation. And finding the Nine Demon Gods is the key to their plan."

Shen Yifei was silent for a moment, then asked, "Father, so you're currently in the Immortal Punishment... are you considered an undercover agent?"

"I suppose so," Shen Changtian said with a wry smile. "However, my cultivation level is limited, so there are only so many things I can access. If you hadn't caused such a commotion this time, I wouldn't have had the chance to come down and see you."

"Father, how can I help you?"

"Your most important task right now is to improve your strength." Shen Changtian looked at him with expectation in his eyes. "Your mother went to another cultivation world. Before she left, she left some clues that may be related to the remains of the Five Elements Demon God. If you can find the inheritance of the Five Elements Demon God, you might be able to master the power to resist the divine punishment."

"My mother went to another cultivation world?" Shen Yifei's eyes widened. "She...wasn't she captured by the demon race?"

"Demons?" Shen Changtian scoffed. "Those demons, could they possibly capture your mother? She left voluntarily back then because she noticed something was wrong with herself."

"What's wrong?"

"When your mother was pregnant with you, she discovered some strange changes in the demon royal bloodline within her. That power was more ancient and stronger than any demon royal bloodline your mother had ever seen. Later, she consulted ancient demon texts and discovered that she might contain a trace of the Five Elements Demon God's inherited aura within her."

Shen Yifei was dumbfounded. "So... the Five Elements Demon God aura within me is inherited from my mother?"

"It's not genetics; it's all been given to you!"