Seeing his family at Jade Pool and sharing his experiences with them brought Ye Fan immeasurable happiness. But when Li Heishui, Ye Tong, and the others returned to the Village of Heaven in Southern Ridge with twelve sages, they found it reduced to ruins. Not a single member of the Heavenly Court remained.
"How did this happen? Who did this?"
"It's over! Someone wiped out our Village of Heaven! Aaaah..."
Li Heishui, Li Fei, and the others threw back their heads and roared in fury. After setting foot on the Starry Sky Ancient Road and enduring a hundred years of life-and-death trials, they had finally returned in triumph. They had wanted to share their joy with everyone, only to discover that their home was gone.
"Grandpa Qi, Uncle Black Emperor, Junior Brother Huahua, Xiaoque, where are you?"
Ye Tong searched like a madman within a thousand li of the Village of Heaven, but found none of its people.
Eventually, Li Heishui and the others learned what had happened from the Demon Race of Southern Ridge. The Golden Crow Great Saint of Fire Mulberry Star had attacked and gravely wounded the assassin Qi Luo. The Buddhist Sect of Western Desert had captured Monk Huahua and converted him into a servant. The Silver-Blooded Twin Emperors had been taken away by the Ancient Race and forced to acknowledge their ancestry and return to their clan. The Black Emperor had vanished altogether.
Long Xiaoque, Dongfang Ye, Jiang Huairen, and their companions had stormed the Buddhist Sect to rescue Huahua, only to be wounded and scattered in flight.
After recovering from his injuries, Qi Luo had taken the remaining Heavenly Court members and fled to the Outer Regions. Their whereabouts were unknown.
Each piece of bad news struck Ye Tong, Li Heishui, and the others