In the 110,829th year of Emperor Hoanh's reign, Supreme God Zhao Dehang overthrew the Virtuous and Pure Emperor Lord Ling Beiyang, proclaimed himself Shun Tian Emperor Lord, and took control of the Celestial Realm.
In the 10,026th year of Emperor Qing's reign, he led his army to the Demonic Realm, exterminated the entire Demon royal family, and annexed the Demonic Realm into the Celestial Realm.
Witnessing the fate of the Demonic Realm, the King of Hell quickly submitted to him, but secretly harbored schemes.
The King of Hell knew that Zhao Dehang's actions were neither good nor honorable, so he quickly submitted to him to facilitate his plotting.
Behind Zhao Dehang's back, the King of Hell secretly collected the lingering soul fragments of Ling Beiyang after his death.
Although he once held the Book of Life and Death for all beings in the world, Zhao Dehang had reclaimed it from him. Thus, the King of Hell could only entrust his hopes to Ling Beiyang.
After Zhao Dehang ascended as Emperor Lord, the Mortal Realm immediately plunged into over 500 years of turmoil.
The vast Tieyuan Continent was split into seven smaller continents: Dongxing, Hongxing, Yuanxing, Lanxing, Tianxing, Yuanxing, and Baixing.
But the most noteworthy thing was that each continent spontaneously manifested an extremely peculiar secret realm in the place with the densest resentment.
From then on, many different legends about them began to emerge.
In the Underworld, the King of Hell sat before a corpse laid out on a large stone slab.
This corpse looked very familiar, but the more he gazed at it, the more it brought back old, lingering memories.
He recalled that Ling Beiyang's original name was Ba Aisi, and it was only after he was fortunate enough to be accepted as a disciple by the former Emperor Lord that he achieved his current status.
"Ling Beiyang, oh Ling Beiyang, you are truly the most foolish person I have ever encountered.
You knew all along, yet you placed far too much trust in that scoundrel Zhao Dehang." The King of Hell sighed softly.
Suddenly, the corpse stirred slightly. The King of Hell quickly stood up to investigate, only to be flung back by a powerful surge of energy.
When he regained his composure, he saw a pair of eyes filled with murderous intent directed at him, no longer as clear and innocent as they once were.
Truly... so much has changed.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Ba... Ba Aisi? You're alive!"
Ba Aisi approached him, his icy gaze sweeping over him before he quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Lord King of Hell. May I ask if there's a particular reason for reviving this junior?"
"How could there be no reason! 200 years ago, no sooner had the Human Race's turmoil ended than the Holy Mother, the Four Great Ominous Beasts, and the Four Great Sacred Beasts were all killed by that Zhao Dehang!" the King of Hell quickly retorted.
"The Holy Mother..." Ba Aisi murmured. "Why? Didn't the Holy Mother possess a lifespan as long as heaven and earth, and wasn't she the one who controlled the Four Great Ominous Beasts and the Four Great Sacred Beasts? How could she possibly die like that?"
"This story begins a very long time ago, Ba Aisi.
At that time, the Holy Mother wished to enter seclusion in Holy Valley, but Zhao Dehang accused her of plotting rebellion.
The ominous beasts and sacred beasts, though they harbored no love for each other, could not accept seeing their strongest rival treated in such a manner. So, they joined forces and stormed the Celestial Realm, causing havoc.
And what did that cunning Zhao do? He ordered the Five Sage Kings to attack and use foul play, resulting in the deaths of both the ominous beasts and the sacred beasts." The King of Hell sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and continued his tale.
"So what happened after that? Could it be that neither the ominous beasts, the sacred beasts, nor even the Holy Mother could reincarnate or achieve nirvana?
What about the Phoenix Clan then?" Ba Aisi frowned, asking with a hint of worry.
“The Phoenix Clan, related to the Vermillion Bird, still exists, but currently serves Zhao Dehang to protect its people,” King Ming replied.
“Hmm, a wise decision, but the Phoenix Clan’s future won’t be secure if Zhao Dehang dies. Are there any enemies of the Phoenix Clan among the Five Wise Kings?” Ba Aisi asked, taking a sip of tea.
Suddenly, the surrounding space seemed unusually quiet.
No answer meant he understood.
He didn’t care whether the Phoenix Clan still existed or not, because interfering in others’ affairs was not good.
Now that he had reincarnated, he had to take revenge on Zhao Dehang, then abandon the Heavenly Realm to fend for itself, and go to the Eastern Star Continent to declare himself the Demon Venerable.
“After wandering for over ten thousand years, how do you feel about being alive again? Wait, I have something special for you.” King Ming took out a ring, and from it, he retrieved a long sword, handing it to him. “This is the Primordial Star Sword of the Mad Demonic Evil Dragon – the leader of the Seven Great Calamity Beasts who disappeared a very long time ago.”
“Good, a fine sword!” Ba Aisi held the Primordial Star Sword in his hand and couldn’t help but praise it. “And who is the Mad Demonic Evil Dragon? What are the Seven Great Calamity Beasts? If there’s anything to tell, please tell me everything you know. Hurry up, I still need to get to the Eastern Star Continent.”
“Don’t rush, just enjoy this life. The Holy Mother, along with the fierce beasts and sacred beasts, have already reincarnated. The Holy Mother has reincarnated as the Mo family’s twin sisters, Mo Yu and Mo Li. As for Hundun and Azure Dragon, they also reincarnated nearby, seemingly named Mou Chengyu and Song Maopang.” King Ming poured another cup of tea and said leisurely.