Assault on the Red Snake Mountains.

Emperor Cloudcrest appeared before the Ji Brothers as an ethereal mist.

The three brothers bowed their heads respectfully and greeted him.

"Greetings, Emperor!" they said in unison.

Cloudcrest smiled as he looked at them. "Now that you're within range of this scourge that must be erased from the face of the world, Yang Wei, you should quickly destroy him and claim your reward," he instructed. His words may have sounded cruel, but his voice was the exact opposite; that of an angel's.

Ji Wu lifted his head and assured, "We won't disappoint you, Emperor."

Cloudcrest chuckled gently. "There's no need to worry about disappointing me. If you fail, you'll just go back to your normal lives as bottom-tier cultivators struggling to get by in your backwater dao layer," he said bluntly before vanishing, leaving them with his harsh but true words.