The Ancient Saint Emperor of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 222 The Cycle of Reincarnation

The bronze palace houses heaven and earth, the ancient formation buries the remains of corpses.

The Venerable Ones descended, including beings from the Primordial Ancient Mine and Burial Sky Island, as well as creatures that had been lying dormant in other regions. They gathered here at this moment, and at a glance, there were as many as eight people!

The eight emperors were not all born in their true forms. Some entered the corpses of emperors, while others arrived with divine weapons and killing formations. Four of them descended from various corners of the universe. Two people who had reached the pinnacle of sublimation emerged from the Primordial Ancient Mine, one person from Burial Sky Island also sublimated, and another person was born by fusing his Dharma body with a corpse. All of them came for the immortal artifacts.

Behind them, the two Celestial Venerables, Xiaoyao and Changsheng, also rushed over to aid the Emperor.

"A celestial corpse?" Upon seeing the corpse emanating celestial mist, the two Celestial Venerables' expressions changed. They had actually seen such a thing. There had always been rumors that Celestial Venerable Lingbao had killed immortals and that his divine weapon had been stained with the blood of immortality. But only they knew that it was actually a fragmented celestial corpse that had become spiritual. That battle had destroyed Lingbao's original foundation of immortality, leaving him in a state like a living dead.

Now, such a being has appeared here. If it is spiritually connected, it will probably cause trouble.

Crack! At this moment, the terrifying array patterns surrounding the immortal corpse were disturbed and began to revive, causing the universe to collapse. An immense suction force swept across everything, trying to suppress everyone!
The Emperor remained silent, his body motionless, and with a single punch, the overwhelming power that swept across the imperial path throughout history clashed head-on with the formation, unleashing a fierce confrontation. Cao Yusheng, however, exclaimed with a serious expression, "This is a celestial formation! And it's not just one layer!"

It should be noted that a single immortal array could withstand the attack of four ascended supreme beings, but here there is more than one, and although it is incomplete, it is still extremely terrifying.

"Break the formation first!" The eight supreme beings who arrived joined forces and launched a direct attack, breaking through the formation patterns. It was a rare opportunity to fight alongside an emperor. Xiaoyao and Changsheng exchanged a glance and also made their move decisively. Wang Hongwu's entire body shone with the secret immortal light of the character "Ji," combining and enhancing the power of everyone, making his power even more intense and destroying all obstacles in front of him.

This is a scene that will shake the world to its core, with a total of thirteen ascended emperors! Among them are even the supreme emperors and the ten heavenly beings. With such a combined force, who in the world could withstand them?
Even a flawed immortal array with multiple layers could not withstand the attack at this moment. A gap was forcibly carved out, and an even more terrifying backlash erupted. The killing light was unprecedentedly intense, and each beam could injure a peak Emperor Dao!

Puff puff puff! Even with thirteen top experts joining forces, blood was inevitably spilled and some were injured. Immortals are immortals after all, not to mention there was more than one array here. In the end, even the physical bodies of supreme beings were shattered, and the aftershocks of the immortal light spread out, penetrating the entire universe.

Finally, by joining forces, they broke into the center of the great formation and arrived at the location of the immortal corpse. Upon closer inspection, they found that the immortal corpse was sitting cross-legged and hunched over, with its two palms pressing on the ground as if it were trying to stop something. Its head and legs had disappeared.

Cao Yusheng felt something was off and said intently, "This immortal corpse is very strange. It's like it's sealing something off?"

Changsheng and Xiaoyao stepped forward, wanting to collect the immortal mist and plunder the immortal substances within the immortal corpse, but the Emperor stopped them, shook his head, and pointed at Wang Hongwu. The two showed slight displeasure in their eyes, but they still held back and looked at Mingzun beside them.

"No, this formation isn't for killing, but rather it was set up by him before his death to suppress something!" Wang Hongwu, who was well-versed in the secrets of character formation, noticed something amiss. The immortal formation wasn't for attacking, but for suppressing and protecting, working together with the immortal corpse to seal something away.

"Nonsense! It's clear that your Heavenly Court wants to monopolize this! Kill them!" However, the eight supreme beings who arrived refused to listen. They had come for immortality and attacked fiercely, slaughtering everyone to seize the immortal corpse. Their previous alliance turned into enmity in an instant.

The Emperor's position was the most unique, as he was besieged by the four Supreme Beings who had ascended to the highest level; the remaining four faced off against Changsheng, Xiaoyao, Cao Yusheng, and Mingzun respectively.

The Supreme Being of Burial Sky Island harbored deep resentment towards the Bright Lord. He took a step forward, and his Heavenly Halberd swept across the void, causing it to explode like chaotic thunder, with black mist engulfing the sky. Facing this attack, Wang Hongwu casually flicked his finger, striking the side of the Heavenly Halberd. A deafening sound immediately rang out, and ten thousand chains of divine order bloomed from there. The Heavenly Halberd was seen to be flung high into the air by the flick of his finger, and cracks appeared on it.

Ok? !

Everyone in the arena turned around, their hearts pounding with shock. That finger was too hard; it could actually crack an ultimate divine weapon with a single flick.
The Supreme Being of Burial Sky Island was stunned. What kind of physique was this? It was somewhat terrifying. But Wang Hongwu did not stop. He suddenly pointed his finger, and a thunderous sound rang out in the arena. A phantom of the Nine Heavens fell and transformed into a bolt of lightning that struck the Supreme Being of Burial Sky Island, instantly blasting his body into pieces.

The Thunder Emperor's finger revealed its sharpness, shattering the physical body of a Supreme Being with a single touch, its power far surpassing that of ultimate secret techniques.

"Fellow Daoist, let me handle this. I'll deal with Mingzun first, and you go deal with that fat man." At this moment, another Supreme in red robes and black hair stepped forward and blocked the Supreme of Burial Heaven Island who was reconstructing his physical body. He revealed an extremely powerful aura, and his sharpness and killing intent shook the world. He was definitely not an ordinary Emperor.

The Supreme Being of Burial Sky Island knew he was no match for the Bright Venerable, so he turned to Cao Yusheng and said, "Is there still no easy target? I don't believe that fat guy is also incredibly strong!"

"How dare you! Who are you calling fat? I'll tear you apart!" Cao Yusheng shouted. The two quickly exchanged blows, each unleashing hundreds or even thousands of moves in an instant, all of them peerless techniques. They fought fiercely together. Under the wrath of the Underworld Lord, his methods were also powerful, which made the Supreme of Burial Sky Island quite depressed. Why were the opponents he chose all so strange?

Eternal Blood Sea! The Supreme Being who challenged Wang Hongwu knew his opponent was powerful, so he was very serious and immediately unleashed a strange phenomenon. There, the corpses of the enemies he had slaughtered in his life piled up to form the earth, the Heavenly Tribulation formed the sky, and the killing weapons turned into stars, together forming a death universe.

"This strange phenomenon... I know who it is now, the former Slaughtering Heavenly Venerable!"

"The only Celestial Venerable who attained enlightenment through killing, wasn't he said to have offended Heaven and ultimately died as divine retribution?"

"He's extraordinary. He's much stronger than Bixiao. I never expected that he would ultimately cut off his own life and go into hiding."

With this move, the other supreme beings immediately understood his background. He was an extraordinary figure who had attained enlightenment through killing. Although his lifespan was shorter than that of other Daoists, his combat power was formidable.

This person personally experienced the Dark Turmoil, witnessed the Supreme Being of the Forbidden Zone sacrifice all living beings, and the tragic deaths of all his relatives. After his Dao Heart was shattered, he fell into the Tribulation of Slaughter. He refined the blood and bones of his relatives, and after weeping for three days, he realized that "there is no one in the world who cannot be killed." He slaughtered 108 star domains, annihilated 3,000 races, pointed to the sky and pressed down on the earth, and finally proved his Dao through killing. In the end, he killed the Supreme Being who started the Dark Turmoil, drank his blood and bones, and refined his origin. He was a powerful figure in the Imperial Path.

“In the past, I was indeed punished by the heavens, but it did not take my life. Instead, it helped me to condense an unparalleled divine power. Slaying immortals is too ethereal, so I called it Slaying Heaven, which is used to kill Heavenly Venerables.”

Slaughtering Celestial Venerable murmured, his body covered in porcelain-like cracks, marks left by divine punishment in the past. He was expressionless, with a blood lotus mark on his forehead, and two scarlet points lit up in his dark eye sockets as he stared at Wang Hongwu and said, "Fellow Daoist, I am also very interested in immortal corpses, and I will inevitably have to fight one."

Although he proved his Dao through killing, it doesn't mean he's a madman. On the contrary, he's very ruthless, devoid of any emotion, focused only on gains and losses. If other supreme beings from forbidden zones try to stop him, he will still take action.

“Proving your Dao through killing, you’re the first I’ve ever seen.” Wang Hongwu glanced at him a few more times, then stretched out his hand and said, “Come on, don’t disappoint me.”

"I prove my Dao through killing, there is no one in the world I cannot kill!" Lu Mie stepped forward, pointing to the sky to shatter and the earth to collapse. The materialized killing intent condensed into red and black Dao traces, enough to annihilate all living beings, kill people, kill the earth, kill the heavens, kill emperors, kill himself, and give birth to black Dao divine chains that intersected, carrying demonic nature, and pierced through at high speed.

This chain was extreme, a condensation of ultimate killing intent. The moment it appeared, it caused countless scenes of bloodshed, causing the other supreme beings to frown slightly. The power of this method could be felt as soon as it was used. However, Wang Hongwu remained calm, with one immortal spirit after another appearing around him to protect him. The Golden Crow, Vermilion Bird, Candle Dragon, Transformation Serpent, Taotie, Qiongqi, and Taotie appeared together, rushing forward to kill.

In an instant, all the black divine chains shattered and crumbled inch by inch under the impact of the immortal spirit, turning into specks of dark light, which then burned fiercely and were completely annihilated; he raised his hand again, and a Qilin appeared, surrounded by holy light and auspicious clouds, and suddenly grabbed at the Slaughtering Heavenly Venerable, only to see a pool of blood spreading under his feet, which suddenly rolled up and transformed into a suit of armor, and with the strange phenomenon, he suddenly pushed the spiral of the death universe out to blast out, and directly blocked the palm.

Boom! A violent collision occurred. Wang Hongwu transformed his Qilin Fist into a palm, suppressing the forbidden technique of the extreme way. With one palm, he shattered the death universe, and his five fingers crushed the protective laws. He pressed down on the Slaughtering Heavenly Venerable and slammed it into the ground formed by the immortal array. The shock force spread out and made the universe pause. The point of impact formed a small universe before exploding, leaving countless fragments.

Although his back was shattered, the Celestial Venerable of Slaughter remained indifferent. His armor suddenly transformed into a long sword, continuously slashing out crimson crescent-shaped blade light. Then it turned into a great axe, drawing out an arc of light that seemed to split the heavens and earth. After that, it transformed into a long sword, unleashing billions of sword lights. This power was somewhat similar to the power of flying immortals and the light of ascension to immortality. Although it was not as heaven-defying, its offensive power was still terrifying. It was a forbidden technique.

His Myriad Calamities Slaughtering Weapon can change its form at will to satisfy the needs of various killing paths. This technique has also eradicated all emotions and desires. It is the Slaughtering Emotion Slash, created by tempering the killing heart with the blood and corpses of one's relatives. Wherever the blade light passes, all laws are broken and the soul is destroyed. Furthermore, karmic fire is wrapped around it. Blood and fire dance together with the blade light, which is desolate and chilling.

Undoubtedly, this strike was enough to severely injure an ordinary Supreme Being, demonstrating its overwhelming power; but unfortunately, the Bright Venerable was not among them. He possessed unparalleled strength, and with just a clench of his five fingers, a dragon's roar resounded, shaking heaven and earth, causing the laws of the Imperial Venerable to explode, and this place trembled.

Then he suddenly swung his fist, and the dragon shadow moved with it, shattering the sword light and extinguishing the karmic fire. The Myriad Calamity Slaughtering Weapons were sent flying backward, and the Killing Dao Heavenly Venerable was even blown up on the spot. His physical body was shattered by the dragon fist and he could not withstand the power of the Immortal Dao Scattered Hand. The aftershocks spread out and could even penetrate the universe, leaving behind an indestructible dragon mark.

Seeing this, the Venerables were also somewhat shocked. Even a powerful Celestial Venerable was no match for a Bright Venerable? His current strength is truly terrifying. Is he really no different from a Celestial Venerable who wields a killing array? Looking down upon the Eternal Emperor Venerable from outside the Emperor Venerable realm?

At this moment, the chaotic battle between the thirteen supreme beings also triggered a change in the central immortal corpse.

At some point, his hands, which had been pressing on the ground, changed. Both hands left the ground and were no longer suppressing; instead, they were staggered, one above the other. His left hand was raised to the sky, while his right hand was pressed down to the ground, causing the scene to fall silent.

It was utterly unbelievable that a dead immortal could possess such power. Moreover, his hand pointing to the sky was pressing down, while his hand pointing to the earth was raising. This was originally an invincible magic seal, but now it had changed, causing a transformation in heaven and earth.

The sky was pressing down, and the earth was rising; even more terrifying, endless Dao patterns descended, pouring down from the sky onto the earth; the sky and the earth transformed into two millstones, one gold and one silver, and the immortal corpse displayed its power, mobilizing the power of the immortal array. This was a mysterious law, as if it had opened up a world to seal everyone inside.

In the void, silver light and golden patterns burst forth, and the two millstones spun, incredibly terrifying. The thirteen supreme beings naturally would not sit idly by and wait for their deaths, and they all used their own killing techniques, which shook the heavens and the earth. Under this attack, everyone was scattered, and the place where the immortal corpse had been sitting immediately began to shake.

With his original suppressing hands detached, the place finally shattered, and the ancient seal was finally broken, revealing a massive abyss. Xiaoyao and Changsheng, attempting to seize the essence of immortality amidst the chaos, pursued Changsheng's remains, only to watch helplessly as the immortal corpse plummeted down. It seemed to be a place requiring immortal suppression, and they were naturally unwilling to easily follow, unwilling to exert themselves so fiercely for the Heavenly Court. The others, however, became entangled and fell into the abyss during the battle. Then, the immortal array revived, quickly repairing itself, and the cracks disappeared once more.

"Your Majesty, humph!" "You'd better truly be able to lead your entire sect to immortality, otherwise..."

At this moment, seeing that the immortal opportunity had vanished, the two Heavenly Venerables turned ashen-faced and couldn't help but feel some resentment towards the Emperor. If it weren't for the Emperor stopping them from collecting the immortal mist earlier, they wouldn't have any regrets now, as they had at least obtained some of the longevity essence!

Below, however, was a completely different world. The group had passed through some kind of node and descended into another area, as if they had been teleported.

"Where is the immortal corpse?" "Where did the immortal corpse go?!"

"Damn it, could he be a psychic? Is he taking this opportunity to escape?"

"Ah! My chance for immortality, how hateful, how hateful!"

However, upon landing, the eight supreme beings discovered that the immortal corpse from before had vanished without a trace. They roared in anger, "The chance for immortality has just disappeared before our very eyes. Who can bear it?"

At this moment, enraged, the Supreme Being of the Forbidden Zone turned his attention to the Heavenly Court and launched a furious, venting attack.

Wang Hongwu and the Emperor showed no mercy, launching a powerful attack that directly shattered their ranks. The Supreme Being of the Primordial Ancient Mine was directly blasted apart by the Emperor, who then grabbed the primordial spirit and tore it to pieces, killing it in just a few moves. The Emperor's attack was terrifying.

The other supreme being from Burial Sky Island who had entered the body of the Emperor was grabbed by Wang Hongwu. After the battle, Wang Hongwu used the Kunpeng Fist to shatter him. With a slash of the Heavenly Will in his hand, he suppressed the Emperor's divine sense and shattered the mark in the body, quickly and directly resolving the situation. The Qilin Heavenly Map calmed the storm and trampled the Emperor under his feet.

Having lost two supreme beings in succession, the other six also came to their senses. Their faces were grim, and they chose to walk away on another path, refusing to travel with them.

"We're no longer in that bronze immortal palace. We've been teleported to another world. Who knows where we are?" Cao Yusheng looked around, sighed, and felt quite helpless.

The Emperor did not speak, but simply chose a direction and began to walk in that direction.

The three soon arrived at a new area, where a cluster of palaces stood, dilapidated and almost in ruins. Only a few buildings remained relatively intact. Deep pits between the broken palaces cut through the ruins, forming several desolate areas.

As soon as they stepped in, they heard the wailing of ghosts, and it wasn't just one or two creatures. If they listened carefully, it sounded like billions of living beings were howling and crying, all coming from those deep pits.

“Here, perhaps, an entire era, or even a universe of beings, once perished.” Cao Yusheng’s expression was serious. He sensed something and felt a sense of unease, as if he had touched something he shouldn’t have.

Ah!
Just then, a scream suddenly came from afar, and the aura of a supreme being spread violently.

They frowned and headed straight there, where they immediately saw a city in the distance that looked very similar to the one Cao Yusheng had dug up on Earth. The closer they got, the more solemn their expressions became, suspecting that it was the same city.

Outside the city, they saw various plants: black dandelions rooted in flesh and blood, devouring light and distorting space; eerie peach trees drinking blood, their entire bodies glistening with green; silver walnut trees withering, bearing strange and astonishing fruits; and enchanting flowers swirling, with half a dragon's body remaining in the petals, digesting flesh and blood, the remaining part not yet dissolved.

At this moment, a supreme being screamed in agony. He had unfortunately come into contact with those strange plants and was instantly entangled and enveloped. Dandelions took root in his flesh and blood, peach branches pierced his crown, and alluring flowers wrapped around half of his body, completely devouring and absorbing his essence.

This scene was chilling. All the powerful figures present were shocked. That was a generation of emperors, yet he would encounter such a terrible calamity.
Under this influence, his condition rapidly deteriorated, his breath weakened, and his struggles became increasingly feeble. In the end, he was devoured by the plants of the area and perished.

"What kind of hellish place is this? The Ancient Battlefield, or the battlefield at the end of the Chaotic Ancient Era?" The other Supreme Beings felt a chill in their hearts. It would be better to die at the hands of an Emperor or a Bright Being than to be here. This is too bizarre.

When the group bypassed this area and arrived at the city gate, they were met with another horrifying scene.

All they saw were heads—peacock heads, white elephant heads, Taotie heads… and countless human heads. The scene was horrific, densely packed, piled together, numbering in the hundreds of millions!

This is just one city, yet in one particular spot, so many lives have been severed and displayed.

The sight was chilling; there were rows of corpses, but even more bizarre were the plants and human heads. What was going on? Was this the victors' final show of force?
"Enter the city." In the end, the Emperor uttered only two words, calm and indifferent, and strode towards the city gate. The magnificent city walls were very tall, ancient and worn, stained crimson with blood.

The entire city was stained with blood, yet it radiated a blinding light. Within the city, countless corpses lay everywhere, almost engulfing the entire city and reaching its height, all exuding a terrifying aura.

The corpses occupied one-third of the city's area, while the other third was open space; in the center of the city, there was a huge millstone, made of rough stone, which was so large that it occupied one-third of the entire ancient city!
It's hard to imagine who created such a millstone, which is still slowly turning today, as if it has always been so, never stopping.

Another Supreme Being from Burial Sky Island let out a soft exclamation and extended his divine sense to make contact. However, the moment he touched the object, he was sucked in. The Supreme Being beside him watched indifferently, completely treating him as a sacrificial pawn for exploration, and watched helplessly as the Supreme Being was pulled into the millstone.

Crack! Crack! Suddenly, the millstone, which no one was pushing, began to spin in mid-air. A supreme roar came from within, but it was useless. It was ground down and crushed, its physical body was shattered, its divine sense was crushed, and even the supreme divine weapon and array patterns could not be preserved. They all turned into nothingness, round and round, until nothing was left.

"Died again!?"

The other Supreme Being was shocked. What kind of place was this? How could it be so dangerous? Two Supreme Beings had already fallen, and with those killed by the Bright Being and the Emperor Being before, half of them were gone.

Wang Hongwu looked at the millstone, which started turning again. Corpses in the city were occasionally lifted up by some unknown force, placed on the millstone, fell into the holes of the millstone, and were then crushed.

Although there was only one body at a time, the scene there was too terrifying to bear.

One can feel that an unimaginably powerful fighting spirit and mental obsession have all been extinguished and transformed into pure souls; everything has been ground down, from the physical body to the spirit, returning to its original state.

The enormous millstone was like a sophisticated instrument, constantly running since ancient times, processing the endless corpses, and then transporting the essence, souls, and other elements to a mysterious area behind.

"If we could absorb such a source, it would be of great benefit to us!" A Supreme Being's eyes lit up with excitement, wanting to snatch it, but then he stopped when he remembered the power of the millstone.

Wang Hongwu paid no attention to these things, but stared intently at the millstone. The sacrificial bowl at his waist lit up, and a force helped him see the truth. Inside the millstone were some characters, a line of golden characters, only a few dozen in number, shining brightly, appearing extremely sacred in this blood-soaked land.

"This millstone, these characters, contain the profound meaning of reincarnation and the evolution of life and death, enough for me to innovate upon my original secret techniques." He comprehended this, and a gray millstone interwoven with yin and yang appeared in his hand. He then used this millstone as a reference to create a new evolution. His former enemies were branded and ground within it, reborn and transformed into one god after another.

The supreme figures appeared within, manifesting their unique Daoist charm and forbidden mysteries, becoming enslaved gods. As these gods spun violently, a colossal wheel of life and death appeared, vast and boundless, composed of countless smaller wheels. Every god bowed and submitted below, holding the power of life and death over all heavens, enslaving the emperors of all ages!
He re-evolved the Wheel of Rebirth of All Heavens, creating a forbidden secret technique: the Wheel of Life and Death of All Heavens!

"A technique close to immortality?" At this moment, both the Emperor and Cao Yusheng sensed that this original ultimate technique had been sublimated and could be compared with the killing techniques expanded by the Nine Heavenly Venerables using the Nine Secrets!

This was incredible! This performance startled the other supreme beings. They were all terrified by this wheel, but the Bright Venerable directly created a new law because of it.
What are you doing!
At that moment, the millstone roared, and the contents of its grinding process poured out and began to be transported.

Looking around, they saw a blurry path on the other side of the millstone. The souls that had been ground down to nothing but a faint shadow were walking along that path after they came out of the millstone, heading into the unknown depths of the mist.

"Why does this place have the aura of the Earth ruins I unearthed?" Cao Yusheng sensed familiarity and his expression changed drastically. He then asked in surprise, "Could it be that these two places are connected? Are they nodes to each other? Have we come full circle back here?"

As he spoke, the road brightened up, as if connecting to another world.

A faint echo came from within: "At the end of reincarnation, all spirits find their final resting place!"

(End of this chapter)