A deafening bang detonated in the air as black smoke wafted over all of Center Province. Mount Exalted was nowhere in sight, and neither were the two celestial palaces anywhere to be found.

……

The world grieved for the deaths of the two celestial emperors.

Unlike Zhao Changkong or Tuoba Jie, [1] the Exalted and Truespirit rulers had truly grasped what it meant to be a celestial emperor before their deaths, thereby gaining the recognition of their heavenly mandates. They’d been celestial emperors in the finest sense, and the land itself mourned their passing. The immortal dao trembled, and all beings far and wide wept with sorrow.

“I didn’t expect it to be the Truespirit celestial emperor…” Outside Center Province, Lu Yun stood on the peak of a mountain and silently gazed upon where Mount Exalted had once towered...