The Ancient Saint Emperor of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 154 A Series of Kills Establishes Prestige and Shocks the Heroes; The Mysterious Tomb of Life and Death Opens (6K)

The top of Zhenhuang Tower is a spacious area with a clear spiritual lake, precious trees and flowers, and falling petals and flowing light, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

This place is a gathering place for contenders and supreme figures from various races.

They are all outstanding individuals, representatives of their respective planets, each dominating the world with their aura reaching the heavens. Each possesses a unique and awe-inspiring presence.

Below, hundreds of people gathered, their expressions complex. They were all young test-takers from various races, but compared to the fifty-eight, they were still a step behind. In a sense, those were the future overlords of the universe. If they returned alive, regardless of success or failure, they would achieve great things, at least becoming Great Saints.

A sect leader of a region is a big shot wherever he goes. Quasi-emperors are extremely rare, and you can hardly find more than a few in the entire starry sky.

Throughout history, a Great Sage has been enough to protect and ensure the prosperity of a region, not to mention the group that returned from the struggle for supremacy at the Imperial Pass, all of whom are the best among the Great Sages and can sweep across the same realm.

“Our race was born from the spiritual plants of heaven and earth, so we have extremely strong senses. I can sense that the Holy Venerable is terrifying. There is a world-destroying taboo hidden in his body. Could it be a quasi-royal artifact?” The Green-Blooded Human Overlord sighed. His body was emerald green and his limbs were like green vines. They were also a powerful star race that dominated a large star field.

“I don’t know, but his physical body is abnormally strong. Logically speaking, the Sun Body is not outstanding in terms of physique. That is the domain of the Undying Golden Body and the Heavenly Tyrant Blood. Why is this?” A giant murmured, somewhat puzzled. He was twelve zhang tall and was the strongest bloodline in the legend of the tribe, the Golden Giant, with unparalleled divine power.

Some watched from the sidelines, some were puzzled, some remained silent, and some felt a chill in their hearts. With fifty-eight people present, their terrifying energy and spirit were surging, and some of their auras were even faintly connected, putting immense pressure on the newcomers.

To rise to the top requires strength, and each of them has proven themselves; it's a tacit understanding.

Everyone could see clearly that, in a sense, this was a sign of their fear of the Holy Venerable. This person's reputation was too great; even the most arrogant overlords had no choice but to act this way.

"You disrespect me and press your aura against me, are you trying to provoke me into killing you all by myself?" On the steps, the purple-clad figure ruthlessly crushed the pressure and strode up, his ferocity overwhelming. Like a divine sun in the sky, Wang Hongwu's entire body radiated golden light, and his immortal radiance formed waves of fire that surged forth. His words were cold and even carried a murderous aura that sent chills down one's spine.

To kill all the local overlords by one person—how arrogant! No one has ever dared to do this or say this before.

"Arrogant! Who do you think you are, trying to kill all of us by yourself?" someone shouted on the spot, filled with resentment and bitterness.

This is a mixture of fear and envy towards a powerful figure. The message is clear: to rally everyone here to unite and eliminate this formidable enemy first!

Because this threat is so terrifying and unpredictable, and because it never leaves anyone alive, it is so ruthless that everyone feels insecure and threatened. Eliminating it would benefit the remaining people in their struggle for supremacy.

"A true strongman doesn't need to besiege; a head-on victory is what truly shows his prowess." But some were disdainful. The Overlord coldly denied it, looking down on such behavior. The Divine Blood Supreme also shook his head. He knew that strength and character were never linked. Reaching this point only meant having strength, not morality. Truly virtuous people couldn't survive here.

Some people were indeed tempted by this encouragement. They pondered and set their sights on the Holy Venerable. Most of them were actually using this opportunity to test the Holy Venerable's true strength, because there have always been supreme figures who could fight against many opponents. The sooner they could identify them, the better.

The next moment, a burst of light appeared, and dazzling chains of divine order intertwined, like phoenix feathers dancing and blooming, tearing through the sky. This was the combined attack of the ten contenders, which descended upon the place where Wang Hongwu was.

"What do you represent? You're nothing but ants." Wang Hongwu stood still, not even bothering to move, and simply stretched out one hand to suppress the enemy, causing wind and thunder to rise and battle aura to surge.

Boom! This was hardly a palm strike; it was the will of heaven and earth manifested in a tangible form, with the rotation of yin and yang and the soaring of the Kunpeng, forming a palm print of the Great Dao that cleaved down. Who would dare to challenge it?
The boiling chains of divine order were instantly shattered and suppressed by a single palm strike!
Moreover, the palm, forged from phoenix blood and crimson gold, continued to press down, heading straight for the one who had initially stirred up trouble. Only then did everyone realize that it was a hegemon of the Evil God Clan, ranked among the Saint Kings. This clan had a great feud with the Saint Venerable, and their ancient road had been severed. No wonder they were secretly provoking revenge.

With a single hand covering the sky, it ruthlessly slammed down, terrifying the evil god overlord. He fought back with all his might, but his arms were crushed by the pressure, blood mist gushing out, and he was directly crushed by a single palm! In his panic, he opened his mouth and spat out a pitch-black demonic furnace, from which emanated putrid corpse water and boiling azure ghost fire—a forbidden artifact of the Holy King!

However, the next moment, Wang Hongwu remained unmoved and shook him with his bare hands. With a clang, he slapped him away, and his five fingers still landed steadily, forcing the evil god overlord to bow his head, bend over, and kneel down with a thud.

"How dare you humiliate me like this?!" The once mighty overlord was now filled with rage, covered in blood, and severely injured. He could no longer tolerate it. He had always been the one to slaughter others, destroying countless territories and traversing mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Yet today, he was being brutally beaten and crushed.

However, Wang Hongwu still looked down at him indifferently, without saying a word. His large hand pressed down mercilessly, causing his arms to explode and his body to break apart piece by piece starting from his head, then his primordial spirit, and finally his feet. This process was very strange, progressing gradually, as if the pace had slowed down.

Finally, an unwilling roar echoed through the heavens and earth. He was annihilated, body and soul gone, leaving only a cloud of scarlet blood mist where he had been killed.

With a single palm strike, the man's body shattered into pieces and then exploded on the spot.

“Crushing an ant is no disgrace.” Wang Hongwu coldly looked down at the crowd, slaughtering everyone present like a tyrant reigning over the world, looking down on all the heroes.

Crushed to death with a single palm strike, the scene was extremely bloody, but all the heroes remained indifferent and unmoved. Every one of them who could appear here had crawled through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Sacrificing rivals to test the strength of formidable enemies was worthwhile.

One of the contenders was killed by Wang Hongwu, his blood gushing out. It was a truly powerful display of strength. The remaining allies turned pale, thinking of the terrible fate that awaited them. Their hearts pounded with anxiety, wondering if they would be purged.

The next moment, they stopped hesitating, because Wang Hongwu opened his Heavenly Eye and locked onto them. With all ten fingers pointing, 108,000 swords swept across the sky. Each of the heavenly swords, transformed from golden divine feathers, exuded terrifying killing intent. When they came together, they formed a chilling and destructive aura.

He will kill them all, leaving no one alive!

Boom! As he swept his finger, the entire True Phoenix Tower trembled violently, shaking the heavens and the earth. The sky for thousands of miles became unstable, and the remaining nine attackers were forced out to fight back with all their might.

However, the result was cruel; none of them survived. They were all captured and killed by Wang Hongwu to accompany the evil god overlord, ensuring a complete and orderly end.

Wang Hongwu's ruthless methods in killing ten overlords shocked the entire audience, even making Wuliang Daodu's eyes flash. Compared to when he was fighting for the stone token, his strength had increased dramatically.

The arena, which originally had sixty participants, now has only fifty, a number that aligns with the Daoist principles.

"Holy Venerable, Holy Venerable, is he truly the most revered among saints? In his era, it was a tragedy that there were no saints in the world."

This scene made the trial participants below feel that he was unattainable and that his position was unshakeable. Everyone longed for him, but they could not catch up with him.

He is a living legend, renowned and feared by all races. Since his debut, no one has been able to survive against him.

On the high platform, the two holy spirits seemed eager to make a move. The life-and-death struggle between them no longer needed any reason. Their grudges were too great, and if they were to fight one-on-one, it would surely be a fight to the death!

But in the end, they held back.

Tolerance only earned me a mocking laugh.

Ha, ha, trash! Wang Hongwu glanced at them with amusement, then strode forward and stood atop the platform.

A moment later, the Empress, who had suddenly grasped the essence of the phoenix tree, also revived. With a single step, she came to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. This caused many people's pupils to shrink and their hearts to tremble. She was invincible on her own, so what would happen if they joined forces?
"Fifty people? Fewer than before, but it doesn't matter. I have opened the passage to the end of the Golden Trial Road, but you must remember that if you want to go to the legendary Mythical Ancient Road, you must collect ten kinds of ancient blood that can rival the gods in order to open the altar. As for how to collect them, that is your business."

Soon, the Lord of Golden City arrived, but he was too engrossed in cultivation, and only a wisp of his spirit arrived. He looked around with slight surprise, not expecting that ten people would perish so quickly, and that they would be killed by one person. This was truly unprecedented in all of history. However, it had little to do with him. After briefly explaining the rules, he disappeared, leaving behind only a huge teleportation portal.

It was a swirling blue vortex, shaped like a mirror. When it opened, the divine waterfall was vast and engulfed the area, with countless strands of starlight stretching to the horizon.

After everyone stepped through the teleportation portal, a grand avenue appeared beneath their feet, paved with starlight, accompanied by phoenixes and fluttering flower petals, carrying them to a distant place.

The Golden Ancient Road is actually a series of secret realms, ancient starfields that were first built in the early primordial era. Some areas involve the ancient Heavenly Court and Heavenly Venerables, which makes them special and extraordinary.

An hour after everyone left, a new overlord arrived.

Boom! Outside the city, mountains collapsed and seas roared, clouds scattered, and a vast expanse of celestial energy swept across the sky like a raging torrent.

Three figures descended from the auspicious clouds. The first was red-skinned and golden-boned, with the upper body of a human, eyes closed, and a vertical eye between his brows, while his lower body was that of a snake. The second had the body of a goat and the face of a human, with eyes under his armpits, tiger teeth and human claws, and a black hole-like vortex floating above his head. The third had the body of a tiger and dragon horns, with wings on his back, and was surrounded by a blood moon on which countless evil spirits' faces appeared.

"Zhulong, Taotie, Qiongqi, three of the four strongest tribes of Kunlun have arrived. Tsk, that's quite a big move." The city lord let out a soft exclamation, recognizing the three as the group of near-immortal descendants who had been rumored to have come to the Golden Ancient Road.

The Kunlun remnants have arrived!

Moreover, there were three of them, all of whom were at the Saint King level. Although they were older than the other trial participants, they were still considered to be of this generation.

"That person did indeed come." "Hmph, the Heavenly Dragon King and the Sun King are the same person, so you could say they share both old and new grudges."

"There's nothing more to say. Let's head straight to the Land of Creation, seize the opportunity first, and then settle accounts with the Holy Venerable!"

The three survivors moved quickly, bursting through the portal and heading towards the end of the Golden Ancient Road.

On the other side of the passage, the first fifty people who set off had already arrived at the end.

As soon as he stepped out of the star gate, Wang Hongwu saw a magnificent scene that resembled a Bagua diagram.

In the starry sky, eight enormous continents, like doors, floated upright. The scenery on the surface of the continents was all upside down, yet they still functioned normally. At the very center of the eight continental gates, there was a hazy scene that vaguely revealed the landscape of another world.

"The Eight Gates of Life and Death, this is the terrain from the mythical era, discovered by an ancient celestial being. Legend has it that it can reverse life and death, and invert yin and yang, possessing unfathomable power. But if it is truly used as a burial ground as rumored, wouldn't it be harboring the intention of using corpses to prove the Dao?" The Heavenly Empress knew many secrets, and at this moment, she revealed the origin of this terrain as soon as she spoke, which made people's hearts tremble.

“This young friend is quite right. The terrain of the Eight Gates of Life and Death is infinitely mysterious. Each gate changes with the passage of time. The Gate of Life is hard to find, while the Gate of Death appears frequently. Many fellow Daoists have already perished within it.” At this moment, a Heavenly King observing from afar nodded in agreement. The Land of Creation at the end of the ancient road had appeared for three years, and the news had naturally spread far and wide. Not only had the contenders arrived, but powerful figures from other star regions had also appeared, all in pursuit of the creation left behind by the Ancient Heavenly Venerable.

Over the past three years, everyone has racked their brains and tried various methods, only to discover that every door could be the right path. These doors are constantly changing and cannot be ignored or missed, but they are also terrifying killing fields. During this period, no one knows how many people have died without finding the right path.

In the ancient Celestial Venerable's tomb, every artifact is priceless, and they believed that as long as they broke through the entrance, they would not leave empty-handed.

In the distance, even the Great Sage had arrived, silently looking down. His aura was lofty and superior, unlike that of the other saints. He was indeed a great figure of the level of a regional patriarch.

"Is this the Eight Gates?" "The terrain of the Eight Gates corresponds to life and death. Only those who have attained enlightenment can master and control this terrain."

The arriving contenders were also quite interested and studied the formations here. Among them were experts in feng shui and formations, who demonstrated their skills.

"If Lao Duan were here, things might not be so complicated." Looking at all this, Wang Hongwu couldn't help but think of Duan De. Although that guy was a bit unreliable, his professional ability was beyond doubt.

"The Eight Gates of Life and Death, this terrain has appeared more than once. It has appeared with the tomb 100,000 years ago, 200,000 years ago, and even more ancient times. If we look for historical records, maybe we can find a solution."

After studying this place for a year, the sages finally took action. According to the theory, they confirmed that each of the eight gates belonged to one of the five elements. The Open Gate, Rest Gate, and Life Gate were the three auspicious gates, the Death Gate, Shock Gate, and Injury Gate were the three inauspicious gates, the Block Gate and View Gate were neutral, and the Life Gate belonged to Earth, which governs the revival of all things and the return of Yang energy. Earth gives birth to all things, so it is truly an auspicious gate.

They finally managed to locate the Gate of Life by enlisting the help of a great sage, and then mobilized a large force.

However, after finding the continent that the Gate of Life had transformed into, they failed to activate the array patterns, and a group of experts perished as a result. Even the Great Sage who came to their aid was injured and lost an arm.

"If we can't get through the Gate of Life, should we enter through the Gate of Death? To live by facing death? But one wrong step and we'll be gone from life and death. We can't afford to gamble. Let's see if there's a master who can solve this problem."

Upon learning of this, everyone was deeply disappointed, yet dared not act rashly and could only continue to wait.

As time went by, some strange changes occurred here, causing everyone to talk about it and making people very uneasy.

Some people saw that outside the Eight Gates, there was a large, yellowish-brown river flowing into the distance, filled with a deathly aura, making the entire starland appear desolate and barren.

This great river flowed out of the void, as if it had no source and fell from nowhere. Its yellow water was like corpse fluid, possessing a soul-stealing power.

"How could this happen? A stream of hell descended from the starry sky, as if it connected to the Netherworld, where the yin energy surged."

People were astonished to learn that this mysterious Yellow Spring appeared six months after the failure to break through the Gate of Life, and anyone who approached it would be instantly dissolved.

This is somewhat unbelievable; the appearance of a Netherworld in the brilliant starry sky defies common sense and fills people with both worry and fear.

Could this Heavenly Venerable's tomb be related to the underworld of the mythological era?
Or perhaps the corpse of the Celestial Venerable in the tomb decayed, giving rise to various strange phenomena in the underworld?

People keep speculating, but there's still no definitive answer.

Half a year later, a loud bang suddenly rang out, the eight gates trembled, and the gate of death roared. In fact, a path to life was opened. Someone had broken the formation and found a way out!

"Who has such skills? They even dare to break into the gates of death!"

This undoubtedly caused a huge stir. For four years, no one had been able to enter the depths of the ancient tomb, and now that it was unexpectedly learned that someone had succeeded, it was naturally surprising.

Many experts rushed to the scene, only to find that the one who opened the deadly gate was a group of indifferent soldiers, their entire bodies covered in black armor, from their heads to the soles of their feet, all protected by iron armor, exuding a chilling and eerie aura.

They were carrying a bronze coffin, covered in rust, as if it hadn't been opened for hundreds of thousands of years. There was a strange fluctuation inside, and a great sage was lurking within.

What's been opened is the underworld?!

The appearance of this group of strange people caused a huge uproar. The passage of ghostly soldiers was undoubtedly a reappearance of the underworld. Only they, who were well-versed in the ways of life and death, could see the mysteries of the Eight Gates of Life and Death and successfully open the Heavenly Venerable's Tomb through the Gate of Death.

"The Underworld? They really can pop up anywhere." Wang Hongwu pondered, thinking of some things. The progress of the Underworld had been very unsuccessful, and it had suffered repeated setbacks. It was clear that the Underworld was also looking for ways to remedy and strengthen itself.

"These guys won't do anything without a profit; they're definitely after the Celestial Venerable's corpse!"

Soon, the Great Sages realized their purpose. For many years, the Yin Soldiers had been transporting corpses through various ancient star fields. Legend has it that once these ancient corpses entered the Underworld, they would regain their terrifying combat power.

Here lies the corpse of a Celestial Venerable, a figure straight out of mythology. Even the Underworld is in an uproar, dispatching its experts today to seize the immortal bones and build an everlasting empire!
Boom!

As the underworld unlocked the gates to death, people followed and rushed in, only to be met with a disaster.

There, the yin energy was overwhelming, and the dark mist was surging, as if Hades had opened the gates of hell and descended upon the mortal world. The overwhelming death energy was sweeping across the land. The underworld was clearly not going to let the people gain any advantage, so it directly activated its remaining power, forming a sea of ​​death energy that engulfed them.

Here, the might of the Celestial Venerable is vast and its energy is surging, suppressing everything. The teleportation gate cannot be opened, and even many ancient artifacts cannot be used, as this would stimulate the Celestial Venerable's energy to revive and trigger a battle between the extreme paths.

In an instant, everyone felt threatened and scattered. Wang Hongwu activated the Yin-Yang Dao Seed, summoned it, and began to absorb the death energy. For him, this was also a great opportunity.

At this moment, some contenders looked at each other in bewilderment. This deathly torrent was hard to resist, and it might be a good opportunity to eliminate some competitors.

Ah! Soon, screams rang out. A contender for supremacy had been ambushed, fallen into the Dead Sea, drowned, and completely corroded, his body and soul vanished.

There was more than one person involved; many were secretly plotting against them. The real battle for supremacy hadn't even begun, yet a bloody preview had already started.

In the distance, the Second Prince of the Holy Spirit lineage looked toward Wang Hongwu's location with a glint in his eyes. He realized that Wang Hongwu was cultivating using death energy. At this moment, if an external force were to intervene, it could trigger a riot in the Dead Sea and allow him to assassinate his mortal enemy.

However, it hesitated, wary of the other party's strength, and since it hadn't joined up with the Crown Prince, it wasn't confident of success.

However, Wang Hongwu, who had mastered the Pre-Word Secret, was extremely perceptive. He directly discerned its intentions, and at that moment, he suddenly turned around, his golden eyes fixed on it, and sneered, "Seeking your own death!"

Boom! He directly shattered the void, his fist spanning thousands of miles and striking the Second Prince. The surging fist power was the Sun Emperor Fist, which incorporated the Peng form!

With a deafening roar, the Second Prince was sent flying backward, his arms, which he had crossed to block his chest, were blasted off! The force of the punch sent many people flying backward, groaning in pain as they were caught in the crossfire of the two powerful figures' shockwaves, suffering serious injuries.

"Kill!" the Second Prince roared, using a secret technique to rebuild his arms. The Dao traces within his body fully revived, and he unleashed his ancestral technique, a method that combined extraordinary phenomena to evoke his birth source—a quasi-emperor battlefield originating from the beginning of time. The starry sky where those powerful figures fought had shattered, and the chaotic energy was vast. At this moment, it seemed as if they had all come alive, attacking Wang Hongwu together.

With just this one move, everyone felt threatened, truly deserving of the title of overlord; however, Wang Hongwu clenched his five fingers, a dragon's roar suddenly rose, and an ancient true dragon coiled around his fist, violently unleashing it.

The next moment, the Dragon Fist shattered the heavens, shattering the strange phenomenon. The dragon roar from the ancient era was invincible, directly crushing all ancestral techniques and protective artifacts. The Second Prince's blood splattered, and the fist force tore his body apart, breaking it into two halves. Then, he swung his fists repeatedly, completely blasting him into the void. Blood splattered and body parts flew everywhere.

No! The Holy Spirit was in despair. Its primordial spirit flew out, but before it could even make a move, before it had even had a thought, it was caught up and killed. It was too tragic.

However, he was destined to perish, and Wang Hongwu crushed him completely under his feet.

"Second brother!" The Holy Spirit Prince cried out in grief and anger from afar, but he was too far away to come in time. He could only watch helplessly as his brother fell. He was heartbroken because he was the only one left in the Holy Spirit lineage. There were no other successors. The Holy Venerable was going to kill him out of the lineage with just his fists!
This deeply shocked everyone. To kill another Holy Spirit Overlord so decisively was too brutal. Although this guy lasted longer than the others, he was still suppressed and beaten without any power to fight back.

It's not that the Holy Spirit is weak, but rather that the Holy Venerable is too powerful. He resides in the forbidden realm of gods and has the Heaven-Mending Technique to resolve disharmony, resulting in an unimaginable boost.

Right now, the splattering of Holy Spirit's blood stunned everyone present, sending chills down many spines. This was a powerful Holy Spirit, and yet it had been killed just like that.

"This person is probably almost invincible." This is what many people think to themselves. Not only is he strong, but he also likes to fish and trick people, which is a real headache.

Soon, the area in front of the Netherworld forces and the Great Sages that they were attacking erupted into chaos. Streams of chaotic light flew out, displaying a dazzling array of colors, sparkling like rainbows. The void ripped open, revealing a pair of stone gates ten thousand feet high that were tightly closed.

"It's open? The five Great Sages joined forces and there were no unexpected incidents. They opened the tomb so quickly!" People were shocked and all looked over.

A door appeared amidst the flowing mist, and many carvings were engraved on the door, depicting tribes from the mythical era, including the sun, moon, thunder, lightning, gods, ghosts, and various ancient beasts and strange insects.

At this moment, under the impact of the crowd, the gate suddenly shook, and the ancient paintings on it trembled. Mythical spirits, unknown beasts, flowers, birds, fish and insects seemed to be coming back to life and emerged through the wall.

There was a powerful surge of energy that erupted with a blinding light, like countless stars exploding, fireworks bursting forth, brilliant and eternal, shooting in all directions.

How could this be? !
Then, the group of trial participants suddenly heard screams and were shocked, because the source was actually a patriarch, who was burning, decaying and collapsing in the air.

A great sage has fallen!

(End of this chapter)