Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 431: Desolation

A hazy, chaotic scene unfolded, filled with surging, boundless chaotic energy. Immortal laws intertwined, permeating every corner, and colliding with each other to unleash terrifying sword energy that swept across all directions.

Standing in the starry sky, Li Yao felt somewhat surprised.

Inside the Chaos Cave, there is not a passage, but an endless starry sky.

Ahead lay an endless, deathly still expanse. Li Yao proceeded cautiously, but with each step he took, he could feel a murderous aura approaching.

The immortal runes emitted a dazzling light, a terrifying killing intent capable of severing one's soul and obliterating their physical body.

A blinding light rose up, like a raging flame, and wrapped around Li Yao, making him incomparably holy and impervious to all magic. It was none other than the Primordial Holy Light Technique, which had been sublimated into an immortal technique.

Over the years, Li Yao has not wasted his time. Almost all of his knowledge has been applied to the realm of immortality, and with his unparalleled cultivation, he can fully interpret its profound mysteries.

Holy Light, this great art was one of the earliest divine arts he practiced. It was both offensive and defensive, and he had already reached the pinnacle of its mastery.

If unleashed at this moment, it is no exaggeration to say that even an attack from a Great Emperor could be easily withstood. Li Yao could stand there without retaliating and still leave a flawless Great Emperor helpless.

Therefore, with the dazzling celestial light spreading out, Li Yao walked very fast, and in just a short while, he had walked a long way in the Chaos Cave.

The killing power of those immortal talismans swept across, and the chaotic sword light howled like a gale. When it landed on him, it did not cause much of a ripple. He was like a god who was impervious to all laws.

"It's not the starry sky, it really is a passageway." Li Yao was somewhat surprised.

Ahead, in the boundless starry sky, a deep ravine appeared, its depths unfathomable, filled with chaotic turmoil, and permeated with dense void power on both sides.

That should be the true background color of this starry sky, but it was later torn apart by someone, who forcibly created this passage. To this day, it has not healed, which shows that the person who made the move was truly a master of extraordinary skill.

Li Yao knew that this was the work of the Desolate Heavenly Emperor. He had traveled there before, wanting to enter the Immortal Realm. After careful comparison, Li Yao discovered that the bottomless ravine was actually a fingerprint.

Deep within the great rift, a terrifying aura permeated the air, surging upwards continuously. The power of the Great Dao was incredibly strong, existing even after countless ages, never extinguished.

That was an astonishing battle aura. Li Yao stared at it, and suddenly his heart trembled as an image appeared in his mind.

The silent, deathly dark void suddenly collapsed in patches, and everything crumbled. A finger that obscured all vision pierced through the void, tearing through the boundless universe and heading into the distance.

Immediately following behind, a tall figure appeared, his face obscured, his back to Li Yao.

What a figure it was, surrounded by countless paths, untouched by the mortal world, with five brilliant secret realms within its body, the origin of this great path.

Before him lay chaos, and behind him, nothingness.

Simply by standing there, without uttering a word, his mere presence exuded absolute invincibility.

Li Yao was deeply shaken, having already guessed the man's identity, and murmured softly, "The Desolate Heavenly Emperor!"

"Shh!"

In an instant, the stars shifted, the heavens and earth changed positions, and fragments of the starry sky shattered, giving birth to new stars, which then repeated themselves endlessly.

The person seemed to sense something, slightly moving their head and casting a glance in the direction from which the sound came, but saw nothing.

They remained silent for a long time, separated by endless years.

After a long pause, he slowly said, "Neither in the past nor in this world!"

A few simple words seemed to have angered the heavens, causing a vast sea of ​​thunder to overturn, severing all cause and effect, breaking all the great paths, and the scene to vanish without a trace.

Li Yao felt a jolt throughout his body as an indescribable force descended—the force of cause and effect.

……

At the end of the Chaotic Ancient Era, Huang's body shone brightly, flowing with dazzling light. Every strand of his hair was crystal clear, and his eyes were like lightning. He was astonishingly heroic, like a reincarnation of a war god, with an aura of immortality overwhelming him.

"Such a familiar aura, is it the person who came from the Imperial Pass with the furnace?" He was somewhat puzzled, but did not delve into it further.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen someone from the future; he'd gradually gotten used to it, but his heart still felt heavy.

The power of time is too unpredictable. Even now, he still cannot understand why people from the future have appeared so frequently in this world. What exactly happened in the future, and how tragic it was? Did he disappear in the future?

Or perhaps, it's not the future, but the past that has gone wrong. A great spiritual practitioner went to the past, attempting to change things, which involves cause and effect. That's why people from the future have repeatedly crossed the river of time to set things right.
For Huang at this moment, even though he had already stepped into the realm of immortality, his power was still too weak.

In the past, during the battle at the Imperial Pass, An Lan attacked the pass and nearly died. At the critical moment, someone arrived with a furnace, forcefully entering the world and stepping onto the long river of time. With just a glance, he repelled the arrogant Immortal King. His combat power was enough to overlook the years.

If they hadn't lived in different eras, their reckless killings would have caused even greater consequences, and An Lan might already be dead.

Later, Wu Shang stood with his halberd across the abyss, looking at that person across the distance, and he also showed a look of fear.

This shows that the person was incredibly powerful, definitely one of the best among the Immortal Kings, a supreme giant of his generation.

That battle caused a great upheaval throughout the heavens. Afterwards, people investigated the identity of that person. In the end, several giants confirmed that the person was not a person of this era, but an unparalleled being from the future.

Why would such a person repeatedly interfere with the flow of time? Huang truly has no idea; he can only guess that perhaps something went wrong somewhere.

"So be it, I am invincible. Any difficulties or obstacles can be shattered with a single punch." After saying this, Huang continued forward, clearing a path to immortality, wanting to enter the Immortal Realm.

……

Inside the great rift, Li Yao was somewhat incredulous, unable to understand why such a thing had happened.

The brief eye contact just now was not merely a visual or a manifestation of the Dao, but for some unknown reason, the two of them truly saw each other across countless ages.

"It shouldn't be the reason on my side, but rather the cause and effect on the side of the Desolate Heavenly Emperor?" Li Yao muttered to himself, realizing something.

What happened just now might be rare for others, but it has happened to Huang many times.

The struggle for the Immortal Scripture, the battle with He Wushuang, the journey back to the chaotic past, and the connection with the Butcher—all these events occurred outside of our time, yet they disrupted the flow of history.

It seems that the wilderness itself has such a loophole in the universe, making it easy to transcend the limitations of the long river of time and form karmic connections with people from different times and spaces.

"Then why this time? Is it because I stepped onto the path of immortality, or is it due to the power of cause and effect?"

Huang was used to it and quickly realized what was happening; it was something he was not surprised by.

But Li Yao was different; this was the first time such a thing had happened to him, so he was filled with doubts.

This kind of sudden, beyond his control is what Li Yao dislikes most.

He was already invincible, and could have spent some time developing his strength, but unexpectedly, this sudden change occurred. He had never forgotten that invincibility was only temporary; beyond the universe of "Covering the Sky," there was a group of dark forces ravaging all worlds.

Faced with such a colossal creature, his current cultivation level was utterly insignificant.

Only when the current Desolate Emperor stands guard, wielding a sword that cuts through the ages and blocks the view of darkness, can things temporarily calm down.

But Li Yao knew that this was only temporary, because he remembered that the Desolate Emperor had suffered a major defeat once, and it was Liu Shen who, despite being seriously injured and on the verge of death, led him to fight his way through the plateau, bleeding with every step.

Even someone as strong as Huang had to be carried to survive, which shows how bad his condition was at that time.

At that time, he was barely able to protect himself, so it was no wonder that his power to rule over all ages would have weakened.

Li Yao didn't know when that happened, because the time span was too long, but it shouldn't be too late.

This can be seen from the three emperors' plea for help. They first appeared in the Chaotic Ancient Era, and their cultivation levels were roughly at the Immortal King level. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had so much trouble defeating An Lan and the Crimson King. If they were at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level, even if they were just standing there, the two of them would probably have to kneel down in worship.

It must have been around that time that the power that had held absolute sway for eternity loosened, and a small wisp of darkness discovered the heavens, attacked, and gave the three Heavenly Emperors, who were still Immortal Kings at the time, a severe lesson.

Otherwise, given the strength of the Three Heavenly Emperors, they would be virtually invincible in the realm of the heavens alone, and there would be no reason for them to be looking for trouble.

"Ye Fan, Ruthless Man, and Wu Shi are all unparalleled geniuses, rare even across countless eras. With their talent, it would probably only take them a few million years to reach the Immortal King realm..."

Thinking of this, Li Yao suddenly felt much more relaxed. He didn't realize until he calculated that there were still millions of years left, so there was still plenty of time.

He's thinking too far ahead now. Instead of wasting time on internal strife, he should focus on becoming stronger.

He believed that great power comes from within, and that as long as one is strong enough, no difficulty is a problem.

Li Yao continued forward, not knowing how far he had gone, as countless immortal runes rained down, hindering his progress.

These runes are powerful, containing immense divine power. With each step forward, it is as if an enlightened being is attacking him with all their might.

And the further you go, the more obvious this oppressive aura becomes.

For Li Yao, this level of obstacle was nothing, but for a normal emperor, every step he took would not be easy.

No wonder those supreme beings returned in such a sorry state, with three of them even perishing.

The deep, dark rift was devoid of any light except for some immortal runes, but suddenly, Li Yao's expression hardened.

Ahead, a single, dazzling ray of light suddenly appeared. It was not enormous, but it was like an inextinguishable torch, illuminating the past, present, and future, and was extremely conspicuous.

Upon arriving here, the situation suddenly changed. The aura emanating from the immortal runes became even more terrifying, and every wisp of light that escaped was pure imperial pressure.

"Hey!"

A rune fell, and a rain of light poured down from the sky. Around it, chaotic sword energy swept in like a galaxy, crashing down with a deafening roar.

With tremendous force, the large crack trembled violently, showing signs of tearing open.

The holy light was intense, like divine flames burning, each ray dazzling to the extreme, yet it was suppressed by the chaotic sword light and runes without causing the slightest ripple.

Li Yao remained calm and continued forward without any pressure. Soon, he saw a mutilated corpse lying in a pool of blood not far away, exuding the aura of an emperor.

It was a figure clad in armor, its body split apart. Only the upper half lay there, while the lower half lay not far away. Crimson imperial blood flowed, staining the crack. It had long since perished.

Li Yao recognized that the Supreme Being came from the Primordial Ancient Mine and was one of the two Great Emperors of the Human Race.

He never showed up. We thought he had fought his way deep into the enemy territory, but we never imagined that he would be left here forever.

Judging from the direction he fell, this emperor must have wanted to fight his way out, but he ran out of strength, his life force dried up, and he fell from his sublime state, which led to his demise.

"After waiting for eternity, you can finally see the Immortal Realm. Do you think it's worth it?" Li Yao was somewhat speechless.

He felt a sense of desolation for the people of this world.

The world of Shrouding the Heavens is undoubtedly cruel. The lack of longevity substances causes people to have incredibly strong combat power, but their lifespans are inversely short.

If an emperor-level powerhouse were to unleash his full power, he could easily destroy this universe and wipe out all life. However, even such an invincible figure cannot defy time and can only live for ten thousand years in a lifetime.

This is an ordeal, waiting for death to come, and not everyone can accept it calmly.

Li Yao didn't know why this emperor had committed suicide, but he guessed that he wanted to enter the Immortal Realm, either to achieve immortality or to fulfill his long-cherished wish.

He didn't touch the opponent's body, but simply gathered it up and buried it in the abyss, along with the shattered remains of his soldiers.

After countless battles, it's finally time for a complete rest!

This was a tragic journey. Li Yao felt no grandeur whatsoever; he only saw a group of people struggling against the passage of time, fighting on the path to immortality, and composing a tragic song.

Not long after, he saw another mutilated corpse, the last Supreme Being, lying by the crack, with weapons bobbing around it, constantly clanging, resisting the crushing immortal runes and immortal energy, protecting its master's body.

The chaotic energy surged, and the remnants of the ancient emperor's weapon, wrapped in its own flesh, emerged from the Divine Ruins. It must have been trying to break through.

But without its master, even if the imperial weapon is revived to its fullest extent, it still cannot break through and can only stay here, waiting for its divine power to be exhausted and the gods to fall into slumber. What awaits it is also destruction.

Li Yao couldn't bear to see this happen. He grabbed the weapons and corpses by his side, summoned the Immortal Furnace, and threw them inside.

Even after this supreme being of the Divine Ruins perished, the Immortal Platform was filled with the mournful cries of wronged souls, clearly indicating that he had instigated unrest.

He didn't touch the human emperor because the other party wasn't the Dark Sovereign. Otherwise, the emperor's blood essence and the imperial weapon alone would be supreme divine objects, which he naturally wouldn't miss.

The current Immortal Furnace, complete with all nine colors and the source of all things' primordial energy, radiates a dazzling ten-colored immortal light, magnificent and colorful.

But Li Yao had no intention of stopping there. He continued to refine the weapons, as the quantity of the refinement would definitely have an impact on the weapons.

It's just that in the past, no emperor could be as extravagant as him.

I don't know how far we traveled, but the spots of light in front of us became more and more dazzling and larger, and we could already see a hazy world.

That was a vast and boundless cosmic sea, a boundless immortal land. Even though it was far away, a rich substance of longevity swept over it. The rules of the Great Dao were many times more powerful than those of the Shrouding the Heavens world.

"Fellow Daoist Heavenly Emperor, save me!" Just then, a voice echoed through the rift, carrying a sense of shame and struggle.

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(End of this chapter)