The Ancient Saint Emperor of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 229 The Ascension to Immortality Ends, the Heavenly Court Collapses

The path to immortality has been shaken to its core; such a dramatic change has never occurred before in history.

Behind that immortal gate, there was a force blocking the way, even causing the laws of the immortal realm's barrier to burn, transforming into various creatures that ravaged the area.

After the appearance of the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and others, they all merged together, vaguely piecing together a huge humanoid figure, as if a combination of various beings that did not belong to the mortal world had formed a terrifying ancestral body. To its left and right, black lightning was thicker than the Milky Way, blood rain poured down, and in an instant, the cold wind howled, the world was in great turmoil, and all sorts of terrifying scenes appeared.

"Yes, are they beings from the Immortal Realm trying to stop us?"

"I saw celestial beings, not mortal creatures, and strange humanoid figures. What on earth happened?"

This scene, when it fell upon the myriad realms of stars, was a shocking anomaly. They truly believed that someone from the other side of the Immortal Realm was obstructing the Emperor's ascension to immortality.

"First there was the Mingzun who combined the characteristics of multiple immortal spirits into one, and now there is this aggregation of immortal beings. It seems to be a supreme path indeed." On a purple planet, someone also noticed this place and looked at the ancestral humanoid body composed of multiple beings with a strange expression.

They are the renowned Azure Heaven Bloodline, a lineage that is famous throughout the universe, but they did not participate in this conflict.

On the path to immortality, the arrival of the Lord of the Ancient Mine and the Lord of the Heavenly Island immediately created a strange atmosphere. Both of them were extremely eager to become immortals, and their strength was very powerful, which immediately caused chaos.

The Lord of the Ancient Mine had an aged face, with half of his hair being withered and yellow and the other half being pale. He was clad in armor made from Primordial Life Stones and held in his hand a twenty-four-section metal whip that was entirely black and shaped like a sword. It was crackling with black lightning and accompanied by chaotic energy, and it even bore the marks of the ancient underworld!
The Lord of the Heavenly Island was covered in a stone skin garment with bronze rust, exuding the aura of nine dragons pulling a coffin. A solitary lamp stood on his shoulder, burning with the flames of ten thousand paths. His body not only carried the aura of the mythical era but also radiated the decaying sense of the ancient underworld.

These two are very strange. As the ancient masters of the two forbidden zones, they seem to have survived from the ancient times. This is unbelievable. Moreover, they are now staring at Wang Hongwu, their eyes revealing an eerie light. "Strange, this person also gives us a sense of being one of us, not belonging to this era?"

“You are not beings of this era. No wonder some say that the master of the forbidden zone is extremely ancient, even older than this era.” Looking at them, Wang Hongwu understood. Perhaps only such people would dare to come out and attack the Emperor. Otherwise, the other supreme beings of the forbidden zone would not come at all. What difference would that be from sending themselves to their deaths?
Only such beings could retreat after surrounding and killing the Emperor, returning to the forbidden zone to prolong their lives, although in the end they were still killed by the Emperor who broke in.

“Young man, you are right and wrong. I have changed my physical body and part of my primordial spirit, and now I am no longer the pure me.” The Lord of the Ancient Mine laughed, which was somewhat frightening no matter how you looked at it. His snow-white teeth flashed with a cold light, and two voices rang out at the same time, saying in a deep voice, “And the original me was indeed a person who survived from the ancient era, but I was not far from death and was fortunate enough to be reborn.”

"I am similar to him. After the battle in the underworld, I went into seclusion. At the beginning of this era, I met someone who was about to attain enlightenment. His tribulation was earth-shattering. He almost stepped into the realm of the Emperor. I took his place. In comparison, I changed my physical body and devoured a primordial spirit." The Lord of the Heavenly Island said. He lived in the deepest part of the heavens, and the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin extended his life for another lifetime.

His voice wasn't loud, as if he were talking about something very ordinary, but it sent chills down one's spine. He had actually stolen someone's destiny. In that life, he suppressed the one who was undergoing tribulation to achieve enlightenment, seized that person's body, and merged his primordial spirit with that person's, becoming who he is now.

"This method of stitching together the primordial spirit and prolonging life reminds me of the Ancient Temple of Reception. Could it be a remnant of the battle at the end of the Chaotic Era, rekindled from the ashes?" Wang Hongwu's expression turned slightly solemn, but he immediately felt it was impossible. The Heavenly Emperor had cleansed the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, so there shouldn't be any left, unless it was also related to Earth.

"Stitching? Haha, you could say that. Those people were all 'digested' by us. The primordial spirits that were blended together were mostly our own. This is also the essence of our ancient era, nurtured in the endless pit of corpses. You wouldn't understand. It's a method of immortality performed by beings from various systems." The two lords of the forbidden zones said that this could also be considered a method of immortality.

But clearly, they weren't just chatting idly. They had joined forces to summon the strange phantoms of the Primordial Ancient Mine and Burial Sky Island and suppress them here. There were also incomplete immortal array patterns intertwined within them, and two near-immortal artifacts appeared in their hands, approaching immortality step by step.

"Only one person can become an immortal at a time in the Immortal Sect. Do you trust each other that much?" A Supreme Being spoke up, sensing something was amiss. But the two shook their heads and said, "Our primordial spirits can be united, and our physical bodies can be pieced together. When we enter the Immortal Realm, there will be no difference. At worst, we can separate again then!"

These words left everyone stunned, finding them rather unbelievable.

boom!
The next moment, a roar came from another area, someone shouted, and then Xiaoyao, Changsheng, Jiemie and Zhenyu were seen flying out. The four Heavenly Venerables coughed up blood, all of them seriously injured.

Within that sword formation, a figure shrouded in black smoke and celestial light slowly emerged—it was the Emperor!

He broke through the Spirit Treasure Sword Formation.

"The spiritual sword formation activated by four Celestial Venerables has been broken through? Is he really going to astound the world with his extraordinary abilities?!"

The supreme beings of the forbidden zones present were all shocked. It was too terrifying. This meant that the Emperor had reached an unparalleled level of combat power.

When the Emperor saw Wang Hongwu return, his dark eyes trembled slightly, and he let out a sigh. He didn't say much, but rushed towards the Four Heavenly Venerables. Only the Immortal Ascension Cauldron flew over to help the Bright Venerable.

The Immortal Ascension Cauldron roared, constantly colliding with the masters of the two forbidden zones, illuminating countless strands of green light in the Immortal Path, swallowing the universe, repelling the incomplete immortal array and near-immortal artifacts, possessing unfathomable power.

At the same time, the Emperor punched forward, the sound of the Great Dao was deafening, and the universe trembled and wailed. The Heavenly Venerable of Annihilation cried out that his forbidden secret technique had been destroyed by the Supreme All-Word Secret Technique. His whole body was tattered and torn, and the Emperor grabbed him with his five fingers.

"Gu, kill me!"

The Celestial Venerable of Nirvana struggled, preferring to die in battle rather than submit.

"Killing you would be too easy for you. I will strip you of your immortality, so that you will be forever confined to the path of immortality, unable to enter it, and wither away here!" The Emperor spoke coldly, his five fingers clenching tightly. He severely injured the Heavenly Venerable of Annihilation and forcibly extracted the medicinal power of the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir from his body.

Ah! A mournful howl of despair escaped its lips, but it was powerless to do anything. Large swaths of golden mist billowed from its head, causing it to collapse and its face to show despair. It was sealed by the Emperor on the path to immortality, and even had snake-like chains of law engraved on it, ready to be sacrificed at any time.

It's not just punishment, but also the Emperor's own contingency plan to prevent any unexpected events from happening in this battle!
"Emperor! Emperor, you deserve to die!" Even the snake-transformation couldn't escape the demon's clutches and was suppressed, becoming sworn brothers with the Heavenly Venerable of Annihilation.

The two great emperors met such a tragic end, forever unable to become immortals, only able to gaze longingly at the gates of immortality. This was the cruelest punishment, and they were utterly devastated, with no hope left in this life.

They devoted their entire lives to it and struggled for millennia, yet in the end they faced such a disheartening fate, with no possibility of ever embarking on the path to immortality again. How could they not feel grief and fear?

Xiaoyao, Changsheng, and Zhenyu sensed something was wrong and decisively summoned the Immortal Bell, hoping to fight their way out of the Immortal Path to survive. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, a deafening wave was transmitted. Mingzun was being besieged. Not only was he being strangled by Supreme Beings, but even the Lord of the Ancient Mine had made a move, tearing the universe apart with his black whip. The killing intent spread out, making the other Supreme Beings tremble, and it directly attacked Wang Hongwu.

But then flames erupted from his body, burning the immortal path and forcing back the supreme being of the forbidden zone in front of him. The aftershocks caused this great universe to groan, tremble, and twist. Then, he turned around and raised his hand to strike the black whip. He was not afraid of the bombardment of this near-immortal weapon. His crystal-clear palm and fingers were too terrifying, piercing through all obstacles!
Clang! He blocked the near-immortal whip with his bare hands, causing it to burst into sparks that illuminated the outside universe, a terrifying sight. That was an existence close to an immortal artifact, yet he was sent flying by his bare hands—unbelievable.

"Insects, no one can save you. You have nowhere to go, neither to heaven nor to earth!" Wang Hongwu then took a step and chased after the previous supreme being. With his left hand he roared like a dragon and his right hand he cried like a phoenix, directly slaying him. Blood of a royal figure flew everywhere, which was extremely terrifying. It was truly shocking that someone dared to attack a supreme being with such power and dominance.

"Do you bully the supreme ruler and disregard the imperial way?!"

The crowd was shocked. Now, someone was so powerful, wanting to fight and kill at will. How could the supreme beings present accept this? They were once invincible, but today they were slapped, sent flying backward, their imperial blood splattering everywhere, completely outmatched.

During the exchange, the Supreme One roared in anger. Facing the combined attack of the dragon and phoenix, even his strongest secret technique was shattered, and he himself was pierced through, with blood splattering everywhere.

His head, in particular, was almost completely destroyed by the blow. Wang Hongwu slapped it down and pressed it into his chest cavity, where it swelled up like a ball. The surrounding Supreme Beings also fared poorly. The Bright Venerable moved with incredible speed, engaging in a series of battles with them in an instant, so fast that even the Ascended Supreme Beings could hardly react.

When everything settled down, the Supreme Being of Burial Sky Island staggered back, clutching his severed arm, his face filled with horror.

The Ancient Mine Supreme was stunned, blood gushing from his wounds and bones shattering, half of his body torn apart.

The lone supreme being from the starry sky was in the worst condition. Blood was flowing from his brow, his limbs were cracking, and his spine was cracking as if it were about to break. His five secret realms were violently shaking, as if they were about to be destroyed. Wang Hongwu almost broke through his secret realms.

"How can he be so strong? Fighting multiple opponents single-handedly, does he possess a magical array pattern similar to a spirit treasure array diagram?"

For the Venerable Ones, this was an unimaginable event. Their scalps tingled, and they trembled with shock. How could the Venerable One's strength be so formidable? At this moment, a series of battles had caused damage to the path to immortality, and too much time had passed. The cracks in the path to immortality that had been created earlier were gradually closing.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats. That was their hope of becoming immortals. Was it really going to disappear like this?

"In this life, no one will become an immortal." The Emperor turned around coldly and launched a full-force attack, his combat power increasing more than tenfold. He directly summoned the Immortal Ascension Cauldron and completely destroyed the Heavenly Gate formed by the condensation of laws.

Om!

The Heavenly Gate collapsed, plunging this place into boundless chaos, and the path to immortality was deliberately disrupted!
To reappear, one can only wait for the next path to immortality, but it is unknown when that will be; perhaps a million years from now.

This was a devastating blow to the Venerable Ones, enough to drive them mad. Whether they could become immortals was one thing, but the desire to become immortals and have their hopes destroyed before their eyes was another.

Every Supreme Being believed they had a chance to become an immortal, but now, that hope has been destroyed by the Emperor himself. All that remains for them is madness and killing!

"Your Majesty! I'll fight you to the death!" "You deserve to die for daring to cut off the path to immortality!"

The two masters of the forbidden zones were enraged and attacked. A chaotic battle broke out among the venerables. At this moment, light rained down on the path to immortality, rushing towards all parts of the universe. It was incredibly brilliant, as if immortals were dancing. It was as if the immortal realm had opened up and connected with this world.

"I wonder when the next path to immortality will open."

"It's a pity that we could have become immortals in this life, but we didn't leave this world because we had some concerns."

In the forbidden zone of life, some sighed, filled with regret, desolation, and helplessness. This time, their calculations were wrong; it was indeed possible to become an immortal in this world, but they missed their chance.

During the great battle, the auras of the two lords of the forbidden zones were fully unleashed, and the aura of the underworld flowed, leaving many people puzzled and wondering what exactly had happened there. First, beings from the Immortal Realm came to obstruct them, and then remnants of the underworld tried to seize creation. It was truly a series of unexpected events.

Their battle was so fierce that even the path to immortality began to collapse. Endless cracks spread, the path to immortality was exploding, and everything would cease to exist. This life was coming to an end.

But those inside are still locked in a fierce battle, fighting their way from one chaotic area to another, a relentless struggle to the death. There are no superfluous words now; both sides are consumed by an unending grudge.

At a glance, the Emperor's severed limbs were flying wildly, and blood splattered everywhere, causing a great uproar. This battle involved too many people, making many living beings shudder.

"Ha, ha, what is the purpose of this life? How ridiculous!"

"I am not reconciled! I failed to become an immortal, why did it have to be this way!"

A supreme being in the forbidden zone roared in despair, for their time was up; they would fall from their elevated state and cease to exist.

This time, there was no suspense. Even if they could devour endless life essence, it wouldn't work. They had endured too many years and undergone sublimation. Unless a miracle occurred, with the Emperor and the Bright Lord by their side, they would never allow them to live.

This will be a major disaster; the entire defensive zone will be severely weakened by this battle.

There are the laws of the other side of the immortal realm taking form to snipe at them, the ancient masters of the forbidden zone blocking their way, the four Heavenly Venerables activating immortal formations to strangle them, people wielding immortal artifacts to attack, and more than ten supreme emperors besieging them. This is a true immortal war, with all the venerables joining forces in a world-shaking battle, together composing a tragic song of the mythical era's decline from its peak.

In this final battle, the Supreme One went mad, merging with his weapon, exhausting everything, obliterating his divinity, and even turning divine gold and immortal materials into scrap metal, losing their original efficacy.

Even the Emperor was covered in blood. The creature formed from the laws of the Immortal Realm was the most terrifying, with strength no less than his. It was the backlash from forcibly breaking through and destroying the Immortal Path. While fighting against it, he also dealt with other Supreme Beings. He was even able to smash a Supreme Being who had ascended to the next level to pieces. It was truly chilling.

"A war of immortals, a war of immortals like never before! Will this war destroy the world?!"

All living beings trembled. The intensity of this battle was unprecedented. Even though it broke out on the path to immortality, the aftershocks continued to spread. If this continued, the universe would be destroyed, and all races would suffer calamity.

They could clearly sense that the aftershocks were spreading wider and wider, and eventually other life-bearing star systems would be affected.

Ah! Just then, a supreme being roared, exhausted and destroyed, falling from his peak. The Emperor Ruthlessly wielded the Immortal Ascension Cauldron and smashed him into a cloud of blood mist. His entire primordial spirit struggled and was imprisoned in the cauldron wall, becoming a large totem on it.

Then someone roared and exited the sublimation state, their body dimming. They were killed by Wang Hongwu's Ten Thousand Fists, turning into blood mist and disappearing. Their Dao was also integrated into the trajectory of the fist technique, making it even more powerful.

Even the Divine Phoenix Maiden fought fiercely and killed a Supreme Being who had fallen from grace. She transformed by burning her imperial blood, and her strength continued to rise, making her increasingly ferocious.

The Immortal Path came to an end, the final battle. No one knows what happened in the end. They only saw the light spread and the desolate edge of the universe collapse. A small number of supreme races saw some light and shadow through the ancient magic array and heard mournful howls and wild songs.

Boom! With a final, deafening roar, the entire Immortal Path exploded, showering down in a shower of light. It was all a dream, leaving nothing behind.

In the end, before the Immortal Gate, only a desolate scene remained. Countless star fragments were scattered, and the universe was stained red with blood. That was the blood of the Supreme Beings. They exploded, but there was not a single intact bone or flesh. It was a gruesome sight. Even the fragments of weapons could be seen everywhere, but they were all completely useless. Even the Immortal Gold had been reduced to scrap metal.

Almost all the supreme beings who emerged from the forbidden zone were wiped out, with only two former lords of the forbidden zone surviving. Xiaoyao, Changsheng, and Zhenyu, relying on the Undying Immortal Array and the Spirit Treasure Array Diagram, managed to break through and headed straight for the Heavenly Court to compete for the fortune there.

Buzz! As soon as they emerged, the Spirit Treasure Array Diagram and the Four Killing Swords broke free and flew back to a certain place in the universe, disappearing from sight; the Immortal Array also disintegrated and fell into the Heavenly Court.

The Celestial Venerable of Immortality coughed up blood and was seriously injured by the Emperor. He suddenly stormed into the Heavenly Court, opened his mouth and inhaled, shattering many living beings and turning them into essence to fill the cracks in the Celestial Platform. He also searched for things that could prolong life within the Heavenly Court.

Xiaoyao raised his hand and uprooted the humanoid divine tree that the Emperor had left in the Heavenly Court, intending to take it away. However, he did not expect the Emperor's hidden power to erupt here, which made him cough up blood with a muffled groan. He had no choice but to cut off only a branch. He then entered the palace to scavenge immortal gold in order to rebuild the destroyed supreme artifact.

The Heavenly Lord of Prisons had a cold gaze as he searched for the Nine Secrets within the Heavenly Court, and in the end, he actually found some of them.

Boom! As they fought for it, the Heavenly Court completely collapsed and split into several parts. The part of the Chaos Immortal Land connected to the South Heavenly Gate fell into the Eastern Wilderness of the Big Dipper, where it burned fiercely and became the ruins of the gods.

The remaining main body remained in the universe, while a portion flew into the chaos and disappeared.

At this moment, however, they were all surprisingly in agreement. After the harvest, they stayed in the underworld to guard against the Emperor who might not be dead. Previously, he had fought a deadly battle with the beings of the Immortal Realm, and the power of his laws was so terrifying that it gave them a chance to escape.

Finally, the Emperor who had shattered the laws of the Immortal Realm appeared, forcibly reopening the closed path to immortality. He glanced at the collapsing Heavenly Court, his eyes flashing coldly, and charged towards Burial Sky Island, intending to destroy the Lord of the forbidden zone there.

On the other side, inside the closing passage, Wang Hongwu and Shenhuang Nu slowly emerged, gazing at everything with complex expressions, knowing it was about to end.

The age of mythology is coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)