I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Inside the Black Emperor's Palace.

In the dimly lit hall, Wu Ming walked slowly forward, each step accompanied by the 'tap, tap' sound of his footsteps echoing in the silent and solemn palace.

From the outside, the entire Black Emperor Palace, though magnificent and grand, was only a few hundred feet in size. However, after Wu Ming entered the palace, he walked forward countless steps, spanning at least tens of thousands of feet, yet he was still in darkness, with no end in sight.

Even so, Wu Ming still did not ride the escape light and continued to walk.

step,
Two steps,

three steps,

……

After an unknown amount of time, a crimson light suddenly shone through the dimly lit hall.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a red candle, a red candle hanging on a thick pillar. The candle flame flickered, as if it had just been lit, yet it also seemed to have burned for countless years and would continue to burn eternally.

Wu Ming glanced at the red candle, and a ripple appeared in his eyes. With his current level of cultivation, he could see that the red candle was not a red candle at all, and the burning flame was not a 'fire' at all. Instead, it was a mass of killing intent that was condensed to an unimaginable degree. This killing intent was so strong that once it was unleashed, hundreds of Eight Tribulation Dao Saints would be instantly reduced to ashes!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle
It was at this moment that one 'red candle' after another appeared, illuminating one standing pillar after another. The pillars were covered with mysterious and exquisite patterns, which were the deep manifestations of the Great Dao of Slaughter.

Wu Ming followed the direction lit by the red candles and finally saw an imperial throne at the end of his line of sight.

The imperial throne sits atop nine jade steps, its black and red lights reflecting off each other. A figure sits quietly on the throne, its face obscured, but its posture is casual, its head tilted to one side, its fist supporting its cheek, as if it were in a peaceful slumber.

The moment Wu Ming's gaze fell upon him, the figure on the throne, who had been asleep for countless years, finally slowly opened his eyes. In that instant, a terrifying aura, sharp as an arrow and swift as lightning, seemingly capable of piercing the heavens, suddenly spread out. Even with Wu Ming's current level of cultivation, he was completely unable to resist it. His body was instantly pressed down, and he was forced to kneel down!

hum.

Before Wu Ming could react, the Thunder Eye deep within his primordial spirit seemed to be stimulated and took the initiative to respond. A surge of powerful thunderous pressure suddenly erupted, forcefully resisting the terrifying oppression and allowing him to barely maintain his figure. Then, the Demon Subduing Diagram swayed gently, and an unusual aura spread, instantly causing the entire Black Emperor Palace to light up with a blood-red light.

The figure on the throne remained seated, gazing silently at Wu Ming without showing any surprise. After a brief pause, the oppressive aura subtly dissipated.

"You've finally arrived."

He looked at Wu Ming with deep eyes and spoke slowly.

Wu Ming did not kneel under the previous pressure, but now he took the initiative to step forward, bow to the figure on the throne, and said, "Junior Wu Ming pays respects to the Emperor."

The figure on the throne stared at Wu Ming, shook his head, and said, "I am not the Black Emperor himself, but merely a projection. Since you brought the Demon-Subduing Diagram here, it means that my true self has already passed away."

As Wu Ming listened to the other party's words, many questions welled up in his mind. Finally, he respectfully said, "Your Majesty must have a reason for guiding me here. May I ask what business you have with me?"

From the information revealed by the Thunder Emperor's projection, to the Black Emperor's projection's lack of surprise at his arrival, and from the many pieces of information he has learned so far, he probably understands that it is no coincidence that he was able to obtain the Demon Subduing Diagram, cultivate all the way to this point, and come here. Perhaps this path was one he chose himself, but the destination was already determined from the beginning.

He will inevitably come here, master the third step of the Law of Slaughter, and attain immortality.

The Black Emperor is an immortal emperor, an unparalleled being standing at the pinnacle of the world. He has been planning for millions of years, just to guide him here. It is impossible that he was only nurturing a young immortal being.

"Since you've come this far, there are some things I can tell you."

The Black Emperor projection stared at Wu Ming, observed him quietly for a moment, and then slowly said, "All things in the world have their own causes and effects, and there is a balance between Yin and Yang. Since the birth of the first innate being, and then the birth of countless acquired beings, this world has been extremely prosperous. But where there is Yin, there is Yang, and where there is cause, there is effect. With the existence of beings, there is conflict, and with conflict comes killing and all kinds of evil thoughts."

"These evil thoughts will not disappear; they will only circulate and accumulate in the world until the world can no longer bear them, and then the other side of this world will be born, namely the Asura Demon Realm." "As early as the birth of the Asura Demon Realm, several emperors tried to destroy it, but the Asura Demon Realm was born from the endless evil thoughts in the world. As long as the evil thoughts in the world exist, the Asura Demon Realm will never perish. Even the emperors are powerless to do anything about it and can only join forces to seal off the Asura Demon Realm."

"However, day after day, although many beings pursued the path of cultivation, step by step attaining immortality and even becoming emperors, the Asura Demon Realm also grew stronger. It can be said that the higher the path, the stronger the demons. The blockade could not be maintained forever. Thus, six invasions of the demon realm broke out in the world. Although all six were repelled, eight emperors perished as a result."

Wu Ming listened quietly. Based on his knowledge of ancient secrets, he had roughly deduced most of the information revealed by the Black Emperor's projection, and there were no major surprises.

The only thing that made his eyes flicker slightly was the information that six demonic invasions had resulted in the deaths of eight emperors.

From ancient times to the present, a total of nine emperors have been born in the world. Among them, two were demon emperors, five were innate emperors, and three were human emperors. The Black Emperor was one of the human emperors and the last of the nine emperors.

He had assumed that the Black Emperor was one of the emperors who had perished in the demonic invasion, but according to the Black Emperor's projection, eight emperors had perished in six demonic invasions, and the Black Emperor must have survived the last one.

But the Black Emperor did not live to this day; he also perished a long time ago.

How did this immortal emperor perish?

As if sensing Wu Ming's confusion, the Black Emperor projection calmly answered for him: "The Asura Demon Realm and this world are one in yin and yang, forming a balance on their own. Without the introduction of external forces, no matter how the beings in this world cultivate, they cannot pacify the Asura Demon Realm. Therefore, I sat in the chaos for seven hundred thousand years, comprehending the Dao of time and space, and finally found a way."

"He spared no effort, at the cost of suffering the backlash of time and space, to intercept a being from the end of time and space who did not belong to this world. Because he did not belong to this world, everything about him was not bound by this world. No matter how powerful he grew, whether he was good or evil, he would not cause any change to the Asura Demon Realm."

With this remark,
The fog in Wu Ming's mind was finally cleared, and everything he knew finally came together and became incredibly clear.

So that's how it is. No wonder the Demon-Subduing Diagram ended up in his hands. This was indeed the Black Emperor's plan before his fall. His arrival in this world was not a coincidence at all. Rather, he was forcibly pierced through space and time by the Black Emperor with unimaginable supreme power and was kidnapped from another universe at the end of space and time. He even paid the price of his life for this.

The Black Emperor projection looked at Wu Ming, a hint of apology flashing in its eyes, and said, "Your arrival in this world is not a coincidence, but rather the work of this venerable one, which interfered with your original destiny. Therefore, everything you have gained on your path of cultivation is a gift from this venerable one to you as an apology."

Wu Ming was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "There should be more than that."

"Ok?"

The Black Emperor's projection looked at him.

Wu Ming raised his head, staring into the eyes of the Black Emperor's projection, and said, "Simply guiding me onto the path of cultivation, leading me to break through to immortality, and proving the Dao to become a new immortal emperor should not be the whole plan."

"If I am dull-witted, the path guided by the Emperor may forcibly elevate me to the level of immortality, but to condense the laws into the origin, and even to cultivate the origin to perfection and become an Emperor, is still not something that ordinary beings can do. If I ultimately fail to become an Emperor, how will I resist the invasion of the Asura Demon Realm?"

The Black Emperor looked at Wu Ming, his gaze becoming profound. After staring at Wu Ming for a moment, he said frankly, "That's right. Although I was the last of the nine emperors to attain enlightenment, I am the strongest and most outstanding supreme emperor among them. He paid the price with his own life, so his arrangements could not be limited to this. He must have many backup plans."

"I am merely a projection, and I don't know much about these backup plans, but it wouldn't hurt to reveal some to you... If you are still only at the initial stage of Immortality when the Demon Realm invades, my backup plans can still repel the Demon Realm's invasion, but you will most likely perish as a result and be unable to survive."

"If you can reach the King Realm before the Demon Realm invades, then my backup plan will become your help. After defeating the demons, you will have at least a 30% chance of surviving and gaining great benefits."

"As for cultivating to become an Emperor..."

The Black Emperor projection shook its head slightly and said, "You don't have enough time."

"The seal of the Asura Demon Realm has loosened and an invasion is imminent. No matter how talented you are, it is impossible for you to become an Emperor within a few thousand years, so there is no need to think that far ahead. Hmm... right, you have also obtained the inheritance of the Thunder Emperor, which is a breakthrough. If you can combine the strengths of your original self and the Thunder Emperor, even if you do not become an Emperor, the chances of surviving the invasion of the Demon Realm will be greater, perhaps even reaching 50% or 70%."

"Furthermore, if you can truly survive the demon realm's invasion, then the bottleneck of the Emperor's realm will no longer be able to hold you back. Given time, you will surely become the next new Emperor." (End of Chapter)