A month passed in the blink of an eye!
Throughout that entire period, Ren Zu remained in the depths of the sacred lands of the Soul Stealing Kingdom, gradually transforming what had once been the absolute domain of the Devil Queen into a territory revolving around his own presence. Like an emperor enjoying his kingdom, he lived those days without worries or external pressure.
Most of his time was spent conversing with Chi Wuyao and the Nine Witches, visiting different places with each of them individually and taking the opportunity to get to know them more deeply. Naturally, with his unparalleled charm and his almost absurd ability to win others' affection, it was inevitable that their feelings would continue to grow.....
After those weeks of constant coexistence, what had once been mere curiosity, admiration, or interest gradually transformed into something much more genuine and profound.
On the other hand, Ren Zu also ended up developing affection for those women. Little by little, he began to see them in the same way he saw his other wives. And, as he never spared any effort when it came to strengthening and protecting those he considered his own, he naturally extended the same treatment to them.
During those days, he helped each of them become stronger, transforming them into true Devil Gods in the most literal sense of the word. Using his own methods, he permanently altered their bodies, granting them perfect affinity with the profound energy of darkness and elevating their talents to a level that would once have been considered impossible. In addition, he dedicated part of his time to personally guiding them along the Profound Path, sharing teachings that very few beings in the entire universe would ever be capable of comprehending. His perception and understanding of the profound laws were simply unparalleled, allowing him to instantly identify flaws, limitations, and bottlenecks in their cultivation. Under his guidance, all of them advanced at a terrifying speed, becoming far more powerful than they had ever imagined possible.
This only served to further consolidate Ren Zu's position in their hearts. Constant coexistence had already made their feelings grow rapidly, but the way he treated them—without reservations or ulterior motives—elevated those feelings to an entirely different level. For women who had spent their lives fighting, sacrificing themselves, and carrying the weight of countless responsibilities, someone willing to invest time, attention, and resources to strengthen them without asking for anything in return was something nearly impossible to ignore. By this point, the hearts of the Nine Witches and Chi Wuyao had already been completely conquered by him, leaving only for each of them to accept that fact in her own way.....
Of course, although he had spent most of those days alongside his future wife and future concubines, Ren Zu did not neglect his other goals. The rest of his time was devoted to cultivating his profound strength. Even amid the tranquility of those days, his progress never ceased, and every free moment was used to further increase his power.
At the same time, he also completed another important matter. Using the Slave Mark, he engraved his authority directly into the souls of all the inhabitants of the Soul Stealing Kingdom. Only two exceptions were made. The first was Chi Wuyao, whom he had already accepted as his wife. The second were the Nine Witches, destined to become his concubines in the future. Ren Zu had many flaws, but he was not someone who would treat as slaves the women he had chosen to share his bed and his life. To him, there was a clear difference between subjects subdued under his will and women he considered part of his own family.
In any case, with the definitive conquest of the Soul Stealing Kingdom, Ren Zu consolidated his position as the Primordial Devil Emperor, the supreme and unquestionable ruler of the entire Divine North Region. The news spread like an uncontrollable wildfire across every corner of the region. From the great stellar kingdoms to the smallest factions hidden in the shadows, all heard of the man who had unified the Divine North Region under a single banner in an alarmingly short period of time.
The Divine Demon Cult now exercised absolute dominion over the entire Divine North Region! . . . . .
Ren Zu was sitting cross-legged at the center of the enormous luxurious bed that once belonged to the Devil Queen. The mattress, made of celestial black silk interwoven with threads of pure yin energy, seemed to absorb the light around it, making the environment even deeper and quieter.
His eyes remained closed. An indescribable aura surrounded his entire body; it was not merely ordinary profound energy, but Primordial Chaos itself manifesting directly.
He had finally fully comprehended the so-called "Path of Time," reaching an absolute level of mastery over this fundamental law. At this stage, he had essentially become immune to the effects of time itself, capable of manipulating and distorting it at will. With this, his state reached a form of singular transcendence: in practical terms, he could be considered biologically immortal, since the flow of time no longer exerted any influence over his existence. However, this condition did not make him invulnerable—he could still be killed if his existence were destroyed by direct means, even while standing beyond the natural limitations of time.....
More importantly than that, this breakthrough represented the opening of the last of the [Ten Extreme Daos]! Faced with this achievement, he chose the "Path of Nothingness," the final one of the ten Daos required to complete this terrifying cultivation method.....
Regarding the Law of Nothingness, which was extremely mysterious, his understanding turned out to be surprisingly the easiest. This was because he possessed a unique condition: he was a male version of the Ancestral Goddess, carrying within his body Primordial Chaos itself and a profound strength equivalent to primordial energy in its purest state.
Thus, when he broke through the Divine Master Realm, the natural tendency would be for him to ascend directly to the level of an Ancestral God, becoming the absolute ruler of Primordial Chaos due to his own singular nature.....
Why was it called easy? In truth, it was relatively simple for him at that moment: he had completed this path in recent days, which allowed him to fully master the Law of Nothingness. With the completion of his cultivation method, he managed to directly refine the Primordial Chaos within his body, causing his profound strength to increase explosively!
His profound strength rose to the Tenth Level of the Divine Master Realm!
In other words, if he crossed this barrier, he would likely already have fully refined the Primordial Chaos within his body, reaching a state of absolute purification of his energy. In that scenario, his evolution would no longer follow the conventional stages of the profound path: he would ascend directly to the level of an Ancestral God! But this step was still extremely difficult, since he had only refined about ten percent of all the Primordial Chaos present within him, formed from the "Prime World Liquid" he absorbed at the beginning of his journey.....
By his calculations, it would take a few years for this process to be completed, but he showed no concern, as his confidence was based on the fact that, at this stage, he could already be considered practically invincible.....
On the other hand, he used the [Scripture of Nine Serenities] to devour countless demonic cultivators who had been taken prisoner during the conquest of the Divine North Region, converting the absorbed energy directly into fuel for his bodily transformation. With this, he further advanced his cultivation, opening the remaining Dao Palace Stars described in the "Manual of the Celestial Tyrant"; needless to say, at this stage, his physical body had already reached an absurd level of resilience and power...
It had been a productive month....
Ren Zu slowly opened his eyes.
The deep glow in his pupils gradually faded, returning to their usual state of absolute serenity. He let out a long, almost imperceptible sigh, as if releasing the weight of countless eras of cultivation accumulated within his body. A faint smile, yet filled with deep satisfaction, curved his perfect lips.
"Closer and closer..." he murmured to himself.
True immortality no longer seemed like a distant and unattainable dream. At that moment, he could already be considered practically immortal in functional terms, as no one could threaten him directly and even the flow of time no longer affected him; still, that was not the immortality he sought....
He slowly stood up from the luxurious bed. His black robes adjusted perfectly to his body, highlighting an impeccable figure that seemed shaped simultaneously by the abyss and primordial light. His long white hair fell over his shoulders like living snow, contrasting with the deep black of his clothing and the blood-red glow of his eyes.
Ren Zu walked to the large window of the palace, silently observing the dark horizon of the Soul Stealing Kingdom....
Light footsteps echoed behind him.
"Husband..." Chi Wuyao approached, calling him in a soft voice filled with affection. She stopped beside him and said: "Our wedding has already been announced to the entire Divine North Region. It will take place in three days."
Ren Zu smiled and replied calmly:
"Very well."
He then moved closer to her, pulling her by the waist and bringing her body against his in a firm, natural manner, as if such contact had already become habitual between them.
"Are you nervous?" he asked calmly.
Chi Wuyao pressed her body against his without hesitation and whispered provocatively into his ear:
"Eager... rather than nervous. Since I will finally become one with you..."
Her eyes shone with an intense desire.
Ren Zu looked at her for a moment, his red eyes calm and deep. A faint smile curved his lips as he murmured:
"Is that so...?"
Without another word, he leaned in and kissed her.
The kiss began gently, almost exploratory. His lips pressed against hers with controlled firmness—warm and dominant, yet unhurried. Chi Wuyao froze for a brief moment before closing her eyes. His lips were soft, yet possessive, as if marking territory. He tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss with deliberate slowness, his tongue lightly brushing against hers.
Chi Wuyao's entire body trembled. Her heart raced violently, her legs weakened, and heat surged through her body. Her hands instinctively grabbed his robes for support.
The kiss lasted several long seconds....
When he finally pulled back, her lips were parted, red and moist, her gaze dazed.
Chi Wuyao breathed unevenly, her face flushed, becoming even more eager for the wedding—
Since that would be when she would finally give herself completely to him.
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(A/N: Guys, I wanted to quickly talk about my plans for the upcoming chapters.
This story is slowly entering its final stretch, unfortunately... or fortunately, depending on your point of view. This will be the first story I've managed to finish since my old Percy Jackson fanfic, and honestly, that carries a lot of weight for me as an author. I could easily extend it for dozens more chapters, but I feel that the right moment to end it has finally arrived—the story needs to reach its natural conclusion instead of being stretched beyond what is necessary.
From this point onward, the narrative will slow down a bit in terms of large-scale conquests and focus more on Ren Zu's personal development, especially a more intimate and character-driven arc involving him and Chi Wuyao.
I also wanted to open a discussion with all of you: do you think it would be worth developing an individual romance with each of the Nine Witches, or would that end up making the story feel dragged out? I have the impression that giving all of them the same level of focus could hurt the pacing of the final arc, so I'd really like to hear your opinions before deciding how to proceed.
Now, a small spoiler regarding the general outline of the final stretch (there will still be a few events between these, but these are the main ones):
Ren Zu's next major move will be the invasion of the Dragon God Realm, where he will directly confront Long Bai. My current idea is for Long Bai to be completely crushed and ultimately turned into a mount under Ren Zu's control... or perhaps simply killed off for good. I'm still undecided on that one—what do you guys think?
After that, there will be a much deeper focus on Shen Xi and the Samsara Forbidden Ground, which will play a major role in the story, especially regarding its restoration.
Soon afterward, Ren Zu will come into direct conflict with his "father-in-law" (together with Jasmine), followed by a visit to his wife, Xia Qingyue, before beginning the final phase of his complete conquest of the God Realm.
At that point, the story will be approaching its conclusion. Afterward, there will most likely be a timeskip of several years, culminating in Ren Zu completely destroying the Abyss of Nothingness and ascending to the level of a True Immortal, in the style of Emperor's Domination.
I'd also really like to know what you think about the possibility of a continuation: a potential "Ren Zu vs. Li Qiye" story in an entirely new fanfic. Do you think that would work, or would it be better to end everything here and let the story rest?
In any case, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for following this story and continuing to support it all the way to the end.)