Covering the Sky: I Prove the Great Dao Through the Gate of Immortality

"You killed King Wu. If you attack us again, the Human Emperor will not let you off!"

A shrill voice rang out from the crowd at the Prince Wu's residence, filled with fear and a fierce but cowardly tone.

"You are provoking the Stone Kingdom!"

Some people echoed, their voices trembling, trying to use their loudest voices to cover up their inner panic.

They were truly afraid.

The moment King Wu appeared, hope ignited in their hearts—he was their king, the pillar of King Wu's palace, a being who had once rivaled the Human Emperor!

But that hope was ruthlessly shattered in an instant.

They watched with their own eyes as King Wu fell from the void, as the figure they once looked up to fell to the dust, as the blazing sun... was completely extinguished.

Even King Wu couldn't stop this person.

Even King Wu was... utterly helpless.

Who else can they rely on?

We can only hope for the Human Emperor.

We can only rely on the last deterrent force of the Stone Kingdom.

Li Chenzhou looked at those people—those faces that had been ferocious just moments before, but were now trembling with fear.

He smiled.

The smile was light, faint, and even gentle.

"Don't worry."

He said softly.

"You will survive."

The people in the Prince Wu's mansion were stunned at first, then their eyes suddenly lit up!

Yes!

He is the Human Emperor!

Under the Emperor's feet, who would dare to truly annihilate half of the core strength of a great royal family? That would be a blatant provocation! A declaration of war against the entire Stone Kingdom!

Even though this person is powerful, it's impossible for him to truly be an enemy of an entire country, right?

Will they... survive?

Some people even breathed a sigh of relief, their legs so weak they almost collapsed to the ground.

However, Li Chenzhou had not finished speaking.

That faint smile still lingered on his lips, but the words he uttered sent a chill down everyone's spine—

"Because, dying isn't so easy."

Before the words were even finished!

Suddenly, an invisible force surged from the sky!

That power was formless and intangible, invisible and intangible, yet it was like invisible hands, precisely probing into the bodies of every participant from that year!

"ah--!"

The piercing screams rose and fell, tearing apart the silence of the capital!

Some people clutched their lower abdomen and collapsed to the ground convulsing, some rolled wildly with their heads in their hands, and some knelt on the ground letting out beast-like howls—their bodies had no wounds, their appearances were unchanged, but their life force was dissipating at a visible speed!

Cultivation level!

Their cultivation is being destroyed!

That invisible force is gradually and completely erasing the foundation they have built through a lifetime of hard work!

Spirit Transformation... Inscriptions... Everything is slipping away, like sand through your fingers, impossible to grasp or retain!

"No--!!"

Some people screamed in despair, but to no avail.

After a short while, the screams gradually subsided.

Those once high-ranking elders, once powerful figures who once dominated the martial arts world, and once influential figures in the Martial King's Mansion—all of them were now on the ground, their faces pale and their breaths weak.

They are alive.

All limbs are intact, breathing is still going, and the heart is still beating.

But their eyes had lost all their sparkle.

For cultivators, having their cultivation destroyed is more terrifying than death.

That is falling from the clouds to the dust, from the strong to the lowly, a pain and despair that lasts longer than death.

Li Chenzhou watched all this with a calm expression.

He just said that when it's time to cut off a hand, cut off a hand; when it's time to cut off a foot, cut off a foot.

He didn't take their lives.

Because sometimes, living is harder to endure than dying.

In the distance, among the onlookers, some people's legs went weak and they knelt down.

Some people trembled all over, yet they couldn't help but feel a complex mix of emotions welling up inside them—fear, awe, and a hint of inexplicable...pleasure?

Those nobles and powerful figures who were usually high and mighty, those domineering and arrogant people, were now lying on the ground like dead dogs, worse off than ordinary people.

This retribution is truly ruthless.

Li Chenzhou remained standing outside the gates of the Wu King's mansion, not stepping inside.

He glanced at the figures, then looked away and turned to leave.

Behind them, the capital remained deathly silent.

No one dared to speak.

Even deep within the palace, silence remained unchanged.

"Live on."

Li Chenzhou's voice was calm and melodious, like a celestial sound descending from the heavens, spreading to every corner of the capital, penetrating every palace wall, and reaching the ears of everyone.

"You will live on forever."

"Until we witness that day come."

As soon as the words fell, invisible Dao principles suddenly appeared in the void! These Dao principles, like the most primal order of heaven and earth, intertwined into a net, enveloping the Martial King's Mansion—

An invisible barrier isolates the entire Wu Wang Mansion from the outside world.

Those people from the Martial King's Mansion on the ground, those whose cultivation had been crippled and whose faces were pale, felt their bodies sink, as if they were firmly locked by some irresistible force.

They will not die.

They couldn't leave either.

Not even one step.

That barrier, like an invisible cage, trapped them in this once glorious, now dilapidated mansion. They would sit there, day after day, year after year, watching helplessly as time passed, watching themselves fall from grace and slowly rot in despair.

This is not a gift.

This is a punishment more terrible than death.

They must live.

You must live.

Living, waiting for someone.

One day, the infant whose supreme bones they had dug out and who had been abandoned in the desolate mountains will stand once again in front of this mansion.

At that time-

Who is the true supreme ruler will soon be revealed.

Li Chenzhou withdrew his gaze and refused to look at those people again.

He turned around, his back to the once glorious, now sealed-off Wu Wang Mansion, and strode away.

Behind them, the capital remained deathly silent.

No one dared to speak.

No one dared to move.

Only that calm figure gradually disappeared at the end of the street, as if it had never existed.

But everyone knows—

From this day forward, the capital of the Stone Kingdom will have one more mansion permanently imprisoned.

The people in the mansion will live forever, and sit there forever.

The aftermath of a storm is often longer than the storm itself.

Before the gates of the Prince Wu's mansion, that calm figure had disappeared at the end of the street. Yet, a suffocating sense of oppression still permeated the air throughout the entire capital.

No one else stepped forward.

not a single one.

Those beings lurking in the shadows—other kings and nobles, spies from various forces, and even some old monsters who had been in seclusion for many years—were all silent at this moment, staring intently at the direction of the Martial King's Mansion, at the figures on the ground, and at the terrifying pressure that was no longer visible but seemed to be everywhere.

They shared the same judgment—

That mysterious expert, if nothing unexpected happens, is at the same level as the Human Emperor.

Even...possibly even higher?

The moment the thought crossed their minds, they suppressed it. They dared not think about it, they couldn't think about it.

But in any case, one thing is certain:

In the Stone Kingdom, without the Human Emperor present, who can suppress such a being?

nobody.

not a single one.

As for those people from the Martial King's Mansion who were on the ground—

They were dumbfounded.

I'm really stupid.

The moment their cultivation was destroyed, they still thought they could at least live, at least have a future. But when that invisible barrier descended, when they found themselves unable to even take a single step out of this mansion, they truly realized—

This is not living.

This is a prison sentence more terrifying than death.

They would sit here forever, forever trapped in this dilapidated mansion, forever waiting for the infant they had once persecuted... to grow up. He personally visited them.

What kind of torment was that?

What kind of despair was that?

Someone suddenly collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly.

It's not remorse.

It's a crash.

"This madman slaughtered a Martial King, destroyed our cultivation, and provoked the Stone Clan—we beg the Human Emperor to intervene!"

An elderly man with gray hair and beard lay prostrate on the ground, tears streaming down his face, his voice filled with sorrow. His once-proud cultivation was gone, his status in the Martial King's Mansion was gone, everything he had was gone—he couldn't accept it, and his mind collapsed in an instant.

"We beg the Emperor to intervene and suppress this demon!"

Another voice rang out, filled with sobs, anger, and resentment.

"We beg the Emperor to intervene!"

"We cannot let such a brutal villain go unpunished!"

More and more people prostrated themselves on the ground, weeping and kowtowing desperately towards the direction of the palace, their foreheads hitting the ground with loud thuds, blood streaming down their faces.

They cried their hearts out and screamed until they were hoarse.

It's as if they are the victims.

It's as if the infant whose supreme bone was removed back then was the sinner.

It was as if those standing on the moral high ground at this moment were the "poor people" whose cultivation had been destroyed and who were confined to their mansions.

Among the onlookers in the distance, some people frowned.

As they watched the figures weeping on the ground and listened to their distorted and incoherent cries, a complex mix of emotions welled up within them.

These people still don't realize they're wrong.

They weren't crying because their crimes were being punished.

They were crying because they could no longer do evil.

They are not seeking justice.

What they want is for someone to continue to back them up and allow them to continue to be above others.

But deep within that palace—

Still silent.

Dead silence.

no respond.

No response.

The sounds of those weeping on the ground gradually became hoarse, gradually became desperate, gradually became... fearful.

Because they finally realized a terrible truth—

The Human Emperor may not make a move.

Even the Emperor might not dare to make a move.

The gaze left behind by that mysterious powerful figure before he departed, the words "Let the Emperor come out and have a word with me," and the calm, almost indifferent confidence—

The Emperor must have sensed something.

So they remained silent.

So no one stepped forward.

So... they can only be trapped here forever, forever waiting for that day to come.

The sound of sobbing on the ground gradually turned into whimpers, into sobs, and then into deathly silence.

Above the Prince Wu's mansion, the invisible barrier still silently loomed over it.

It was as if it were fate.

It cannot be disobeyed.

Li Chenzhou stood quietly outside the gate of the Prince Wu's mansion for a moment.

He is waiting.

Someone will come out of that palace.

Will that high and mighty Stone Emperor personally intervene for the sake of this dilapidated royal palace and for these kneeling and wailing clansmen?

However, what he waited for was not a person.

It was just one sentence.

"Isn't it embarrassing enough already?"

A majestic voice emanated from the depths of the palace, piercing through layers of walls and echoing across the capital. The voice contained a chilling divine might, like thunder rolling across the heavens, causing countless people to instinctively lower their heads in awe.

"If that mistake hadn't been made, even if the world turned upside down today, I would still protect you!"

The voice suddenly rose in pitch, causing the entire capital to tremble slightly.

"You have utterly disgraced the Stone Clan!"

The last sentence was clearly a rebuke, and the anger was undisguised!

The crowd that had been wailing and crying on the ground in the Prince Wu's mansion instantly fell silent!

They recognized it; it was the Stone Emperor's voice!

That was their last hope!

But now, that last hope is rebuking them!

They're being blamed!

They're...giving up on them!

Their eyes widened, their mouths gaped, but no sound came out. Fear, despair, and disbelief surged up at once, completely overwhelming them.

Meanwhile, deep within the palace—

The owner of that majestic voice, the Stone Emperor, was standing in the empty hall.

Outside the palace, the officials knelt in silence, as if they were cicadas in winter.

He was the only one inside the hall.

His face still held an air of authority and anger. It was an act for everyone outside—for the watching princes and nobles, for the subjects of the entire capital, and for…that person.

But only he knew that his palms were already sweating.

Only he knew that a bone-chilling cold was enveloping his back.

He saw it.

He saw it from the very beginning.

He saw it when the sun shone brightly in the sky.

He saw King Wu make his move.

He saw it when the word "death" fell.

He watched as King Wu—the top king who had once fought him for supremacy and fought countless rounds—fell without the slightest ability to resist in front of that mysterious man, falling from the void like an ant.

For a moment, his heart almost stopped beating.

Because he couldn't see through that person's true nature either.

He also couldn't understand that person's methods.

He only knew one thing—

At the peak of the Venerable realm, it's absolutely impossible.

absolute.

He was already at the peak of the Venerable realm, one of the most powerful beings in the Stone Kingdom and the Eight Domains of the Lower Realm. He knew better than anyone what a peak Venerable could and could not do.

King Wu was struck down in one blow—if he had also made a move, the outcome would have been no different.

It could even be worse.

Because so far, that person has only stood still, only spoken, only... glanced at something.

Just one glance.

Just one glance.

What level of skill is this?

What is this thing?

The Stone Emperor dared not even think about it.

But he couldn't help thinking about it.

Gods.

Only the gods.

That was an existence that transcended the Venerable Ones, transcended the mortal realm, and truly touched that door! That was an existence that only existed in legends, an existence that even he, the ruler of the Stone Kingdom, had never truly seen!

And that deity was standing in the capital, in front of the Wu King's mansion.

What should he do?

What can he do?

He could only speak.

He could only express his attitude by rebuking the people of the Martial King's Mansion—not by protecting or opposing, but by... standing on the side of this deity.

He was betting that the being would be able to understand the unspoken meaning behind his words.

He was betting that some being would be willing to give him that way out.

As for those people from the Prince Wu's Mansion—

The Stone Emperor's gaze pierced through the layers of palace walls, landing on the imprisoned mansion and on the group of figures on the ground, their cultivation crippled.

waste.

A bunch of useless trash.

If they hadn't done such a disgraceful thing back then, how could they have brought this disaster upon themselves today?

If they hadn't committed evil deeds and oppressed their clansmen, how could the Wu King's Mansion have come to this?

Even more frightening is-

If it weren't for them, why would he be in such a dilemma today?

Why be so terrified?

Shi Huang withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his expression.

But those trembling fingers, that tense back, that barely suppressed heartbeat—

They were all silently telling of his inner fears.

They probably won't pursue this matter... right?

he does not know.

He could only wait.

Waiting for that figure to completely disappear outside the capital.

This long, suffocating day is finally over.

I wait for my heart, which had been hanging in my throat, to finally settle back into my chest.

The main hall remained empty.

He was the only one.

And covered in cold sweat.