Cao Yusheng had fallen at last.
A hundred years later, after the emperors of the Nine Heavens had worked together to slaughter every last being on the side of darkness, Cao Yusheng reached the natural end of his life beneath the starry sky. The life represented by his sixth Six Paths of Reincarnation Seal finally ended, its curtain falling.
As with each of his previous deaths, few people learned of the Netherworld Venerable's passing. In accordance with his wishes, Wan Qing and the others buried his body on Gou Chen Ancient Star, one of this realm's many Life Origin Stars. The Heavenly Nether Treasure, Source God, Source Ghost,
and Source Demon guarded him after his death.
Though they knew that he would inevitably awaken one day, Yuangeng and the others still gathered most of their fellow Dao Provers and held a simple funeral for the Netherworld Venerable.
"Master Cao had it hard. He dragged out the life of his sixth Six Paths of Reincarnation Seal for over a hundred thousand years. He said his seventh rebirth would probably be very short-lived. To become an immortal, he would have to expend an immense amount of his origin essence to dissolve the Dao Injuries and hidden dangers accumulated over the years."
Wan Qing spoke more than anyone else at the funeral. As the emperor whom Cao Yusheng and the Desolate Pagoda had chosen and raised together, he had witnessed many of Cao Yusheng's deaths and knew the pressure and pain his teacher had endured in secret.
Fortunately, the long war against darkness had ended, and this time, Cao Yusheng had died peacefully.
"He never liked standing in the spotlight. But when the sky fell, someone had to hold it up. Fortunately, he managed to bear that weight and hold on until now."