The Ancient Saint Emperor of the Heaven-shading

Chapter 295 The Ten Emperors' Chaotic Era, the Old Man Who Destroyed the World
The River of Souls, the Ancient Underworld, the Burial Pit of the Heavenly Emperor, and the Floating Soil of the Four Extremes—these ancient sites, which have witnessed the fall of emperors time and again, have reappeared in the mortal world.

The Azure Emperor, the Hong Emperor, and the Feather Emperor have always cooperated with them. They were the collaborators who harvested the heavens and were in charge of the minor sacrifices during the years when the Evil Land was at war with the Heavens.

The formation of the Boundary Sea is also related to it, except that it is related to another Dao Ancestor who came earlier and who controlled the destruction of countless Boundaries.

"The source of the Emperor's fall has finally appeared." The First Emperor's expression was solemn. It seemed that many unpredictable things had happened during the years since his death.

Most notably, the three emperors were stronger than before, and their cooperation with the four ancient lands deepened.

Wang Hongwu remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the creatures emerging from the four ancient lands. Some were covered in a dense, gray substance that billowed with mist; others were covered in a black, blood-like substance that spread across their bodies, growing into animal fur; still others were creatures covered in silver patterns, both radiant and ominous; and yet others were filled with a substance of golden scales interspersed among their flesh, utterly terrifying.

These are the strange substances they have accumulated, corresponding to their different terrifying backgrounds and representing different sources of misfortune. The four ancient lands are responsible for the minor sacrifices, but in fact they all have a common ultimate land and the same background. At the end of each era, a major sacrifice is required, which is the legendary Calamity Land.

"Back then, it was you who, by taking advantage of the ancient underworld, invaded the heavens and disrupted the gestation of the Lotus of Eternal Reincarnation." The monster in the Heavenly Emperor's Burial Pit also spoke at this moment, blood and foam dripping from its mouth. Its tone was like the overlap of two beings, speaking at the same time, one high-pitched and one low-pitched.

Shi Hao sensed something and looked back. Back then, they used the ancient underworld to enter the heavens, thus interfering in that period of time in a different way, causing changes in the contest between the four ancient lands and the heavens. Of course, this was also due to the intervention of the supreme beings, who dissolved the cause and effect.

"Only three people. Even if they are variables, they can be eliminated." Suddenly, a cold wind blew, and ashes floated up, filling the sky. The floating earth creature was terrifying, flowing with ominous substances and covered by special soil. It looked like a corpse, or a creature composed of some special product. Generally speaking, creatures from that place rarely appear, but today was an exception.

Because these three Dao Ancestors are too powerful to be measured by common sense, if they were to restore the heavens and assist the heavens, the impact on the four ancient lands would be immeasurable. Therefore, it is better to strike first.

When the Supreme Being of Floating Earth spoke, the other creatures were all wary. Although the four ancient lands shared the same origin, they were also different. The creatures from the evil land of Floating Earth in the Four Extremes were the most mysterious, each one extremely strange. There was even a saying that they were the most strange of all, simply because these creatures were suspected to be corpses that were to be completely destroyed and cremated. Heaven knows what their origins were.

Some speculate that they are mostly related to the heavens, and that the corpses were transported from there to be cremated in the special place of the Four Extremes Floating Soil; of course, others speculate that the corpses under the Four Extremes Floating Soil were smuggled back, not for the sparks, but to be nurtured and restored to their unparalleled power.

But one thing is certain: the creatures that come from this place are all more sinister than the last, each one different, all abnormally powerful, and have strange and eerie appearances.

Not only in the Dark Lands, but the atmosphere in the outer realms was also tense.

Today, everyone feels an indescribable sense of oppression, especially the powerful, who all feel as if the end of the world is coming.

They felt that a corner of some terrible catastrophe had been revealed, and that unpredictable changes had occurred.

The dark place was somewhat silent and desolate.

With the arrival of the four ancient lands, four supreme beings suddenly appeared in the arena. Those who dared to participate in the battle of the Dao Ancestors were not weak. Although their strength was not as great as that of the true Dao Ancestors, they were still very powerful. They were originally quasi-Immortal Emperors. After being corrupted by the ominous substance, they would naturally be stronger than before. Some of them were even emperors of the heavens and the heavens when they were alive!
The original three-emperor battle instantly turned into a seven-person siege.

"There are no eternal and indestructible protagonists of heaven and earth. You may be the anomalies of this era, but what can you do when you encounter us, the same kind of beings? Can you defy the heavens?" Emperor Yu spoke, quite indifferent and extremely domineering. In particular, the Emperor Spear in his hand was dripping with blood and emitting a bewitching blood light. With a thrust forward, it pierced through countless universes.

The Feather Emperor's spear became part of his body, invincible and capable of destroying eternity. Wang Hongwu snorted coldly, and his body suddenly reflected the vast heavens. The Origin Mother Gold covered it, reflecting a dreamlike brilliance, encompassing all colors, constantly rotating. He actually directly confronted the Emperor's spear with his bare hands and blocked it.

Clang! A deafening sound rang out. The spear that had once pierced the emperor's brow met its first resistance, failing to penetrate Wang Hongwu's palm. The large metal hand stood firmly in front of him.

What an incredibly tough body! All the powerful figures present were taken aback. Just this kind of body was astonishing enough. Then, the creature from the Heavenly Emperor's Burial Pit emerged and stared at Wang Hongwu, saying, "I'll deal with him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he made his move. A massive fist light burst forth, resonating with the illusory images of countless worlds from the past. Wang Hongwu raised his hand to block it, grabbed the fist and crushed it, then flung it away, smashing through a large swath of cosmic clusters. His gaze gradually turned cold and fierce, and he uttered only two words: Heavenly Emperor!
"In the past, or rather, this body once was, but now, we have been reborn." The creature in the burial pit smiled, its shattered fist restored, revealing a body that looked as if it had been pieced together. Half of its body still vaguely showed the majestic and handsome figure of the former emperor, while the other half was dry and decayed, full of dark matter, as if it were a corpse monster that had been conceived by merging two dead creatures together.

The Heavenly Emperor's Burial Pit is naturally where the Heavenly Emperor is buried! Of course, only the strongest among them have this origin, and there are also beings who have ascended to this level using ominous substances, who make up the majority. However, today's battlefield is special, and all those who have come are extremely powerful.

In other words, it is not only the place where the emperors of the heavens met their end, but also the gathering place of the powerful people of all realms and even the heavens after their 'divine nirvana'. That burial pit was born to bury the common ruler of the heavens and the powerful people revered by countless beings.

You must know that there are countless heavens and myriad worlds within the sacrificial sea. Where have all those emperors and their corpses gone? Where are the bones of those once-rising quasi-immortal emperors buried?
The answer lies in the Heavenly Emperor's burial pit and the floating soil at the four corners of the earth.

"Hehe, I'm quite interested in this guy. He ruined my Underworld's grand plan back then." Then, the creature from the Ancient Underworld made its move. With a bull's head and a human body, and blood-red roc wings on its back, it appeared in front of Shi Hao in a flash. It raised its fist and punched. The power of that punch was earth-shattering. The mere gust of wind from the punch tore apart and blew away entire cosmic clusters.

Undeterred, Shi Hao unleashed the Heavenly Emperor runes formed by the fusion of the Ten Fiends Technique, the Willow God Technique, and the Supreme Technique. He met the attack head-on, striking directly at the bull-headed supreme being, causing the bull-headed supreme being's body to tremble violently. Upon seeing this, the Hong Emperor suddenly intervened, saying, "What a pity, what a tragedy, what a lament! No matter your thousand-year reign, your eternal pride, it will all turn to nothing. You have wasted your years and obliterated your imperial body in this lifetime!"

His cold voice, like a curse, suddenly conjured up an ancient kingdom stretching to the horizon behind him. It was an aura, more like a divine secret, stirring up the universe and foreshadowing Shi Hao's fate. The Emperor Hong's words carried weight, and he used a death curse to stop them.

Curses are considered mysterious and unpredictable supernatural powers, no matter where they are used, and they are impossible to defend against. At this moment, with the interference, Shi Hao's aura was immediately weakened. The power that originally suppressed the bull-headed supreme was now reduced to a slight advantage. Then, the Hong Emperor pounced and surrounded and killed the Desolate Emperor.

The First Emperor looked solemn and was about to attack the strange creatures in the Four Extremes Floating Land when he saw the Supreme Soul River blocking his way. It had three golden scales and rotting wings, and said in a low voice, "Your previous generation of emperors of the heavens were harvested by my Soul River, and you will be no exception."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately played a terrifying melody, the source of the Chaos Tribulation Song, the true Soul River Summoning Song. As soon as it was played, the First Emperor was affected. Although he quickly got rid of it, the Azure Emperor had already used the Imperial Law to "offer sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and the heroic spirits!"

He roared, his eyes filled with terrifying light. As his eyes moved, he created all things, and an ancient altar appeared before him. Even his own state seemed to change as he used his blood to communicate with the altar constructed from symbols of the Great Dao.

He wants to sacrifice the First Emperor alive!
At this moment, every emperor was besieged. The monster from the Four Extremes Floating Earth sneered, "Since that's the case, I'll lend you a hand. Let's perform a small sacrifice first and reap the rewards of this land!"

Everyone felt a chill, for he was truly about to make his move. Intricate and profound sacrificial texts appeared before him, indicating that he would bring all the myriad realms of the heavens and the earth to the altar for the second minor sacrifice since the fall of the emperor.

Wang Hongwu and Shi Hao exchanged a glance. They were separated by a long river of time. They were under attack, but under the combined power of the Emperor and the Law, they had nothing to fear. However, there was a way to break the deadlock. Suddenly, ten fierce totems appeared on Wang Hongwu's body. They had been sublimated by the Origin Mother Gold and were now all combined together!

Each of the Ten Fiends was originally a combination of a fallen being and its original self. Now, the ten of them have come together to form another terrifying existence. With the Thunder Emperor as its body, the True Dragon descends to become its head, the Kunpeng soars to become its wings, the Divine Phoenix's feathers burn all over its body, the Heavenly Horned Ant becomes its unicorn helmet, the God-Slaying Stone spreads out to become its armor, the Nine Netherworld Hound's tail swings out from behind, the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass becomes its crown, the Gu gu transforms its left hand into time, its right hand into space, and the Qilin transforms into its legs, thus forming an unparalleled fiend.

This fused being also possesses unparalleled combat power, enough to hold back the beings of the Four Extremes Floating Earth; after all, Wang Hongwu is only a newly established Dao Ancestor, and no matter how heaven-defying he is, it is impossible for him to turn all ten fierce totems into quasi-immortal emperors in an instant. That is a pipe dream. They need to be nurtured and developed. When they are successful, they can directly separate ten emperors or even higher combat power to sweep across the world.

At this moment, the ferocious spirit launched a frenzied attack, its fist imprint glowing, shattering the heavens and earth of eternity, and trampling the river of time under its feet. At the same time, the monster from the floating earth of the four poles also activated its palm imprint, unleashing boundless demonic flames. These were special flames specifically designed to burn supreme beings, based on the divine chains of the Great Dao Order. Within them, the flames contained the fire of the Great Void and the flames of the ancient universe!
The small festival was interrupted, and the chaotic battle in the arena became even more intense.

"Having reached this point, you still think about protecting all the heavens and myriad realms? If you don't die, who will?" Emperor Yu sneered, a crimson glow shooting out from his palm and transforming into a guillotine, its intense heat carrying a scarlet blood light. It was the condensation of his path of slaughter, capable of killing even emperors. He slashed at Wang Hongwu, aiming to disrupt his system and sever his path of evolution!

"What are you so confident about?" Wang Hongwu's system connects all the heavens. At this moment, the myriad worlds outside gather countless Dao traces, while the energy of the human body and the heavens inside transforms into a complete Dao divine chain. The two combine to form a Dao boat that severs space and time, causing time to flow backward and reverse. The scene is extremely terrifying.

Boom! In an instant, the waves stopped the flying boat, and the Dao boat crashed directly into the guillotine. The power of this attack was unimaginable. In an instant, it was enough to turn all the heavens and myriad worlds into the end of the Dharma era. It shattered on the spot. Moreover, Wang Hongwu's figure appeared at the bow of the boat, crossing countless ages and killing his way to the monster in the Heavenly Emperor's Burial Pit.

"This guy can summon the power of all the ancient heavens? Is it a special feature of the system?" Burial Pit Supreme instantly sensed the threat. The other party's pupils contained a vision of the creation of the world. He did not utter a word, but he was getting closer and closer. At this moment, all the ancient heavens seemed to be under his control. He transformed into some kind of essence, and his unparalleled imperial power erupted. He unleashed a fist imprint that shattered the past and present, and this spacetime was also shattered! Burial Pit Supreme screamed. He was blasted apart by a punch, and he suffered the most terrifying direct hit of the imperial fist. This can be said to be a supreme method evolved from the system, gathering the Dao of all the ancient heavens to suppress all enemies of the past, present and future.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Yu frowned slightly. "Why haven't the Dao Ancestors from your four regions appeared?"

"The Dao Ancestors are all above the Heavens, that is the main battlefront. As for the heavens, they are protected elsewhere." The Supreme Burial Pit reassembled his body, his expression somewhat grim, after all, the feeling of being smashed to pieces by a single punch was not pleasant.

At this moment, Wang Hongwu did not give them much time to discuss. He directly crushed over them, and even pulled the Supreme Being of the Four Extremes Floating Earth over with a grab. The Supreme Being of the Fierce Spirit also arrived, and the ancient river of time was immediately stirred up with turbulent waves.

Ten Quasi-Immortal Emperors! Fighting each other in the long river of time across the myriad realms, their battlefield jumped directly out of their individual timelines and into infinite time and space.

The Primordial Throne hangs high, the Singularity rotates freely, and time loses its color on Wang Hongwu. This essence allows him to travel to any point in time on any timeline and constantly traverse the long river of time.

He attacks everything that happens afterward in the long river of time, starting from the very source of all things. A vast net woven from cause and effect covers everything, and every move he makes can reach into spacetime multiple eras in the future.

Emperor Yu and the Supreme Being of the Burial Pit were also attacking frantically. With each punch and each thrust of the spear, more afterimages moved behind them. They were communicating with each other and attacking together from different points in time on different timelines. Although they were not true supreme beings, they could still use their methods to constantly shift time points and achieve the effect of 'imitation'. However, this speed was very slow, the scale of coverage was spreading in epoch units, and it was limited to the heavens from which they originated.

Because of the system's uniqueness, Wang Hongwu exists at the origin of the universe, which connects all the heavens. In other words, he exists simultaneously within the origin of all realms, thus achieving a unique ability to cover time nodes. His efficiency is much higher than that of the Feather Emperor and the Burial Pit Supreme. Ten million years ago, his fist collided with the Feather Emperor's fist, causing the heavens to collapse.

The floating earth material of the Feather Emperor poured out, creating a grand cemetery in the space-time of 990 million years later, to bury the then-King Hongwu.

However, the supreme arm of the burial pit was torn apart by Wang Hongwu's bare hands a billion years ago, turning into a meteor that traveled through two billion years and crashed into the cemetery formed by the floating soil, destroying it.

Four eras ago, the Supreme Being of the Underworld fought a great battle with Shi Hao. His body was cut into pieces by a sword, and the resulting blood and flesh meteor shower was observed by people a generation later, becoming one of the 'Years of the Fall of the Emperor' that was passed down by word of mouth among the kings.

The Soul River Supreme went berserk, borrowing the power of many nodes to fight the First Emperor. As a result, ten thousand years later, the First Emperor used the Bone Tower to suppress him, which directly led to the First Emperor blasting through the bodies of all the Soul River Supremes who had borrowed power in every battle ten thousand years ago.

They expanded the battle to infinite space and time. It was a battle that spanned countless years and occurred at the same moment for all the parties involved. Most subtly, this great battle did not affect anything that had happened in the past. They were merely using time and space to influence only themselves.

However, such a great battle that spanned the ages and spacetime could not be kept secret from powerful beings of the same level, and it stimulated the resurgence of some ancient creatures.

Beyond the land of darkness, a desolate universe trembled, cold and dark, silent for billions of years, but today it has changed.

One of the drifting corpses suddenly opened its eyes, and the light it emitted pierced through the universe. The two beams of light were even more terrifying than a celestial sword, and were too sharp.

"Why bother? Why go through all this trouble? A grand sacrifice to the heavens is inevitable."

As he whispered, he slowly rose to his feet. His old black robe, stained with blood and torn, looked very old. As his body revived, the tattered robe began to flutter wildly, and then burst forth with towering black mist.

The next moment, he took a step, piercing through the void, breaking through the long river of time between the heavens, and descended with boundless pressure, intervening in the great battle among everyone.

The original situation of the seven emperors surrounding and killing each other has changed again. Eight powerful figures have surrounded Wang Hongwu, Shi Hao and the First Emperor. In particular, this old man has a vast and unfathomable dark power in his body, which is extremely powerful. Even the three emperors Cang Hongyu are not as powerful as him. He has already touched the limit of the Dao Ancestor realm.

Even the beings from the four ancient lands were wary of him. He nodded. He was their original collaborator and the practitioner of the Lesser Sacrifice to the Heavens. His strength was so great that if he hadn't been influenced by the source of darkness and taken the wrong path, he would have had a "sliver" of hope to advance further.

"Senior!" the Azure Emperor said, surprisingly using such a form of address. The Hong Emperor was also very polite, addressing him as "Senior." The Feather Emperor, however, was arrogant and merely cupped his hands in greeting. Clearly, among the four emperors, the old man was the leader.

“Three Dao Ancestors, what a pity. It was not easy for you to get to this point. Why not abandon your distracting thoughts and join hands with us to make a small sacrifice to the heavens in exchange for the possibility of going further?”

"You must understand, after the passage of time, your hearts will be weathered, and everything you once cared about and valued will have vanished. At that time, only the Dao will remain eternal." The old man then turned to Wang Hongwu and the other two, seemingly trying to recruit them.

This left the four supreme beings speechless, and Shi Hao even scolded, "What's the use of pursuing the Dao if you don't even care about anything?"

"If one can achieve true supremacy, all that has passed away can be resurrected. Therefore, abandoning it now is not a problem. It's that simple." The old man spoke calmly, explaining the reason. The three emperors, Cang Hongyu, also nodded in agreement.

Otherwise, even if they were the most ruthless of all, they wouldn't have done those things that could be described as insane.

"Ha, how can you be so sure you can succeed? If you were going to succeed, you would have already." The First Emperor scoffed, "It's all just wishful thinking."

However, the Supreme One of the Four Lands shook his head and said, "Wrong. They do have a chance. The battlefield above the heavens is too cruel, and some supreme beings have already begun to wither. If an accident really happens, they may be able to fill in. That is the reason for our cooperation."

Wang Hongwu understood the key point: the battle between the heavens and the land of calamity had reached a point of devastation, and the Lord of the Pollen Road had likely already made his move, perhaps even sacrificing the supreme being of the land of calamity. That was why they had given hope to the Four Dark Emperors. Only such tangible and visible benefits could convince these old monsters.

However, he was too lazy to drag it out any longer and immediately stepped in, saying, "You're such a nag! If you're going to do something, just do it! Stop with the endless whining!"

"My name is the Old Man of Annihilation, who controls the destruction of all heavens and the overthrow of all worlds. Who dares to disrespect me, who dares to be presumptuous?" The Old Man of Annihilation sneered and suddenly made a move to stop him.

Legend has it that this old man once broke through to the next level, but nearly died and his cultivation was destroyed. He sealed himself away. At the same time, this old man was also the "guide" of the three emperors of Canghongyu. In order to achieve the status of Immortal Emperor, they resolutely came into contact with the darkness, hoping to find a breakthrough here.

Because they had tried every path and could not go any further, but the source of darkness had made them evolve slightly, and they saw hope on the dead end, and saw a glimmer of success.

However, at the moment of their attack, the eleven Quasi-Immortal Emperors present simultaneously sensed something and looked towards the lower reaches of the River of Time, where several extraordinary beings seemed to be rising up, dazzling and radiant.

Then, the eleven saw someone going against time, treading through the years, approaching this dark place, about to descend upon it!

They seem to be engaged in fierce fighting as well?
"The chaotic battle among ten emperors has indeed caused many variables to arise," Emperor Hong murmured. He was most proficient in the arts of fortune and celestial secrets. If it was a future creature that jumped out from the long river of time, it might be very unusual and an unpredictable variable.

Once it involves emperors, even they cannot deduce the past by going back in time.

At this moment, the river of time is turbulent and violently shaking. There is a hazy scene there, where people are fighting against the years, going up the river of time from the distant future, and fighting their way to this side.

However, they are all shrouded in mystery, enveloped by time, their true forms obscured, only their general outlines visible, yet even so, they are still awe-inspiring.

Is the visitor friend or foe? What are their intentions?
(End of this chapter)