Covering the Heavens: Starting from the First Great Emperor

Chapter 160: Advancement
"what……"

After an unknown amount of time, the Cat Immortal Emperor finally broke through countless dimensions, and all the myriad spacetime shackles that had been placed on him shattered.

"Even if one transcends the path to enlightenment, so what? In this era, even beings in the realm of sacrificial rituals dare not so easily tamper with the course of fate; death is the only possibility."

The Little Cat Immortal Emperor sneered. He didn't think Xu Yuanming would continue to make a move. Their clash had already affected countless years and caused the collapse of countless broken universes.

The number of people who died was far too many. He was living in the "present world," but Xu Yuanming disregarded everything and attacked the past from the future. This method violated the laws set by the creator god, and he could not possibly survive.

Now, Xu Yuanming's attacks have all dissipated, the trajectory of fate has returned to its original state, the laws of the creator god are rewinding, and the battle that should never have existed has been reversed.

"I can't believe I fought and defeated someone who had reached the pinnacle of their cultivation..."

After a long while, the feeling of surviving a calamity welled up in his heart, and the Little Cat Immortal Emperor shivered. If the other party had made a move in the "future" time and space, he would have died.

But the other party chose this option anyway.

"Perhaps it's because the other party is arrogant? It's impossible that I'm still in their grasp..."

After he finished speaking, the Little Cat Immortal Emperor's body exploded instantly.

Blood sprayed, staining this space and time red. The power of correction was eroded, hindering the Great Dao Laws of the Creator God.

After regaining consciousness, the body of the Little Cat Immortal Emperor reappeared. At a glance, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, and countless systems shone brightly. Countless scriptures and wonderful methods all turned into branches and leaves, forming a towering tree that reached the heavens.

Including the Little Cat Immortal Emperor himself, whose body was a huge root system under a big tree.

"It's impossible to turn the tide!"

The Little Cat Immortal Emperor spat out blood, his body began to turn into countless tiny points of light, revealing a desperate smile.

He was defeated, utterly defeated. His own path to becoming an Immortal Emperor had become nourishment for Xu Yuanming.

The reason I stopped earlier wasn't because Xu Yuanming was restricted in any way, but because I wanted to gradually succumb to his power as an Immortal Emperor, making him fall into my hands and willingly be devoured.

"What a ruthless tactic! I am today, and you will be tomorrow!"

The Little Cat Immortal Emperor began his final resistance. His strength had reached its peak, and all the power of the past, present, and future had converged at this point.

"Tongtian!"

A great road shattered the ages, tearing apart all dimensions like blank sheets of paper. All the great roads in the world exploded, making way for this path that could truly lead to the gates of heaven.

This is an unparalleled path that spans this era, and even beings in the realm of sacrificial rituals cannot forcibly extinguish this great path.

A top-tier expert at the mid-stage of the Immortal Emperor realm poured all his strength into this attack, which could easily injure even a powerful expert at the end of their cultivation journey.

Xu Yuanming realized something and understood why no one could defy the rules of this world.

In this era, every Immortal Emperor is a cornerstone, a being whose existence is governed by the rules set by the Creator God.

Violating this rule is tantamount to your own Great Dao attacking yourself, causing you to fall from your own realm and ultimately perish.

This also has a great advantage, namely, that one can truly be almost immortal. This means that as long as one is at the Immortal Emperor level, even if one has reached the peak, so what?

Unless you reach the pinnacle of your cultivation, achieve perfection on the path to becoming an Immortal Emperor, and break through all paths, it is impossible for you to kill an Immortal Emperor of the same realm.

"Who can cover the sky? Not even the Daoist priests can do it. With the Dao I have cultivated my whole life, I will kill!"

The body of the Little Cat Immortal Emperor suddenly burst out from the tree, replacing the Great Dao and launching a powerful attack on Xu Yuanming.

"what……"

Faced with the desperate attack of the Little Cat Immortal Emperor, Xu Yuanming no longer held back. Under that great tree, all the myriad great paths and countless systems dissipated, transforming into a single great path.

At this very moment, beneath the vast expanse of time and space, a great path leading to the heavens is approaching.

On the main road, there was a solitary figure. He waved his hand, and all the divine power dissipated, turning into the most ordinary and primitive attack.

"Offering sacrifices to the Way!"

The Little Cat Immortal Emperor already understood that although Xu Yuanming had just entered the Immortal Emperor realm, his cultivation had already reached the sacrificial realm, which was above the Immortal Emperor realm.

He was performing the ritual from beginning to end!
Before long, Xu Yuanming will be able to transcend all realms and sacrifice all the Great Daos!
How could such a creature have ever existed in the world?

The opponent didn't perform the Dao sacrifice when crossing the threshold of the Immortal Emperor realm, but rather when they were still in the Dao Ancestor realm!
In this era, there are no secrets between heaven and earth; the realm of sacrificial arts has long been revealed.

The Little Cat Immortal Emperor saw Xu Yuanming's attack and discerned Xu Yuanming's Great Dao.

……

……

The world is clean and pure, and the universe is renewed. Spacetime is being corrected in one place after another.

The rules of the creator god gradually pulled this place back to its original state.

Xu Yuanming has eternally silenced a Celestial Emperor, not just as before when he merely created a phantom image, but by completely killing a truly flawless Celestial Emperor.

call……

Mid-stage Immortal Emperor.

After absorbing all of the little cat immortal emperor's cultivation, he felt the power surging through his body and clearly understood the domain he was in.

Xu Yuanming did not linger; after dismantling the spacetime of destiny, he returned to his original spacetime.

"Don't rush, I'll settle accounts with them one by one."

He had not forgotten the two Celestial Emperors and the being who had ascended to the pinnacle of life.

Xu Yuanming waved his sleeve, and the previously destroyed Taoist temple was restored to its original state.

This time, Xu Yuanming did not choose to immediately attempt a breakthrough, but instead chose to consolidate his realm and digest the improvements he had gained during this period.

We've already come this far, there's no need to rush.

……

……

Ten thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. Xu Yuanming had firmly established himself at the Immortal Emperor level and was now close to becoming a tiger.

Over the years, he has compressed all the systems he possessed into a unique system of his own.

Moreover, this road is still evaporating from all directions, as if it might disappear along with the world at any moment, becoming nothing more than fleeting smoke.

The system that Xu Yuanming created himself has now been integrated into him. He is now completely alone, without any extra paths, just an ordinary person.

The extraordinary level of skill that comes with entering the realm of cultivation is no longer evident in Xu Yuanming at this point.

If one had to choose, only the word "Dao" could describe Xu Yuanming's current state.

Xu Yuanming emerged from the pass. He gazed into the distance, looking back at the place where he had first come from.

Before he could make a move, the two Immortal Emperors seemed to sense that Xu Yuanming had emerged from seclusion, so they came together.

"I, Wan Zhen, congratulate you on attaining the Dao and becoming an Immortal Emperor."

"I, Shangbei, congratulate you on attaining the Dao and becoming an Immortal Emperor."

Upon seeing Xu Yuanming, the two greeted each other in unison.

Xu Yuanming nodded slightly and looked at the two Immortal Emperors in front of him with a smile, saying, "Fellow Daoists, you have come from afar, but it's a pity we have no good wine to entertain you with."

The Immortal Emperor of Shangbei asked solemnly, "Fellow Daoist Xu Yuanming, now that you've emerged from seclusion, do you intend to make a move against Mingxuan?"

Mingxuan, that Great Explosive Dragon Immortal Emperor, has reached the pinnacle of his strength. Within a million years, he will surely be able to reach the end of his path and undergo a sublimation.

Xu Yuanming shook his head.

"That's good... Fellow Daoist Wanzhen and I came here for this very reason. We know your strength is considerable, but in this world, without breaking through the Sacrifice Dao Domain, there's not much difference. If you actively hunt Mingxuan, you might be violating the rules of this place..."

The Immortal Emperor of the North advised.

He was sincere; from the very beginning, the two expressed goodwill towards this being who was comparable to the one at the end of the road in the Dao Ancestor realm.

Such a talent will surely become an unparalleled powerhouse in the realm of sacrificial arts in the future. In fact, both of them wondered if this person might be the first being to break through the realm of sacrificial arts, besides the Creator God.

Xu Yuanming nodded: "I know."

"That's good. Don't act rashly out of youthful impulsiveness. You're still young. If you break through to the Sacrifice Path in the future, not to mention Mingxuan, even the current peak existence in the path of sublimation, Saint Turbid, can be completely eliminated if you just endure for a while!"

Emperor Wanzhen breathed a sigh of relief. Even he was somewhat surprised that Xu Yuanming hadn't actually lost his mind.

"My purpose in leaving seclusion this time is to kill Sheng Zhuo; Ming Xuan is just a side effect."

Xu Yuanming said casually.

Upon hearing this, the two Immortal Emperors were dumbfounded and stood there stunned for a while. Just as they were about to offer some advice, they discovered that Xu Yuanming's figure had already disappeared.

They tried to give chase, but found no trace of him.

"Could he... he have already reached the pinnacle of enlightenment and transcended all obstacles?"

The Immortal Emperor of the Northern Frontier rubbed his eyes. These eyes could judge yin and yang, reverse the ages, and distinguish between truth and falsehood, but at this moment, they could not detect Xu Yuanming's movements.

“Strictly speaking, Fellow Daoist Xu Yuanming’s current strength is at the peak of the mid-stage of the highest level of the Path of No Return. However, the strength he has shown so far has far exceeded expectations. Even among the experts in the sublimation stage of the Path of No Return, no one can reach this level.”

Emperor Wanzhen sighed and continued, "This... this is fucking beyond the bounds! How can someone be a Dao Sacrifice before even reaching the end of their cultivation path? It seems they'll naturally become a Dao Sacrifice right after completing their Immortal Emperor realm!"

"No...no way? There's never been a precedent like this before..."

As the Immortal Emperor of Shangbei watched Xu Yuanming's disappearing figure, he suddenly turned around and looked towards the Daoist temple of Shengzhuo.

The Immortal Emperor Wanzhen asked, "Shall we go?"

The Immortal Emperor of the North shook his head.

"What would we be doing there? You'd be a harmless little tiger, and I'd be a little cat following behind you? We'd only be making things worse. Are you going to help Shengzhuo?"

"Don't slander me. If we were to make a move, Fellow Daoist Xu Yuanming might be the first to deal with us..." Immortal Emperor Wanzhen shuddered.

Others might not know, but these two did: Xu Yuanming had indeed killed a Celestial Emperor not long ago without sustaining any injuries; it was a complete and utter crushing defeat.

It's just that the Celestial Emperor is hard to kill; otherwise, given the difference in strength, the outcome would probably be decided in an instant.

……

……

"who?"

Within the Sacred Turbid Realm, a tiger immortal emperor suddenly emerged from seclusion and slashed at a crack that had cleaved open the path of destiny.

Xu Yuanming extended two fingers, stopping the blade manifested by the Great Dao in his hand.

"Little Doyle."

After saying that, he flicked his wrist and threw the severed blade downwards.

"presumptuous!"

Tiger Immortal Emperor was furious. His attack just now was indeed just a test, to let the newcomer know that this was the Holy Turbid Realm, the territory of the Holy Turbid Immortal Emperor who had reached the end of his path of ascension.

But instead of stopping, the opponent used his attack to cut this world apart!

This is the first time in history that a being whose realm is lower than his, the third most powerful being in the Holy Turbid Realm, has actually come to attack the Holy Turbid Realm alone!

If it weren't for the fact that this person was indeed just a cultivator at the end of the road, even the Tiger Immortal Emperor would have thought that this was a cultivator who had gone mad and reached the sublimation stage at the end of the road.

Many supreme beings, unable to reach the realm of sacrificial rites, drift in a daze, burning their own souls and going mad; such people appear every now and then.

Xu Yuanming seemed not to have heard what the Tiger Immortal Emperor said. He simply smiled slightly, and the Great Dao Sword appeared in his hand. Stepping on countless years, he aimed at the Tiger Immortal Emperor.

Tiger Immortal Emperor dared not hesitate and took action to counterattack, ignoring the sword that had been removed from his body.

If one does not become an immortal emperor, one will remain an ant in the end.

He has no reason to get hurt because of the creatures in this world.

As long as we kill this strange supreme being and fill the gap, this place will return to normal in a few million, tens of millions, or hundreds of millions of years. It's no big deal.

The moment the two clashed, the Tiger Immortal Emperor was shocked. Wasn't his cultivation level higher than his opponent's?
How come his broadsword was shattered by Xu Yuanming's sword, which was manifested from the Great Dao, during their first direct confrontation?
Within it, the Tiger Immortal Emperor sensed the power of "Tongtian" and coldly asked, "Are you Xu Yuanming?"

"kill you."

Xu Yuanming did not deny it, but simply stated his purpose for coming.

"Good, good! No wonder Tongtian has been nowhere to be found all these years. It turns out you broke through to the Dao Ancestor level and became a supreme being. Not only that, you also killed Tongtian!"

"The Tiger Immortal Emperor sighed."

It must be admitted that Xu Yuanming was truly exceptional.

"You choose the path to heaven but refuse to take it, you barge into the gates of hell! If you had cultivated peacefully for hundreds of millions of years, even Saint Zhuo might not have been your match, but... you were too impatient!"

Xu Yuanming remained silent. Holding the Sword of the Great Dao, he unified all things and once again shattered the longsword that the Tiger Immortal Emperor had just revived.

Each of his sword strikes seemed ordinary, as if one could easily dodge them with a slight movement. However, when facing an enemy head-on, one would find there was no way to escape.

From top to bottom, inside and out, from ancient times to the present, everything is blocked; all we can do is resist!

(End of this chapter)