Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Gu Changjin stepped into the rift, and the vast universe behind him vanished instantly.

There was no dazzling starlight as expected, nor was there absolute darkness and tranquility.

All around him were layers of chaotic light and shadow of indescribable colors, sometimes very far away from him, and sometimes brushing past his face as if close.

This place is not inside the vast universe, nor does it resemble a truly complete world.

It's more like a gap that was forcibly torn open between two worlds.

As soon as Gu Changjin steadied himself, the Heavenly Dao Emperor Seal within his body trembled violently.

The connection that was originally linked to the myriad paths of the universe was severed with a single stroke.

The imperial seal dimmed, and the Great Dao around it also became momentarily disordered.

Even the Star Gate Disc he had just seized emitted a low, mournful sound in his palm, and the countless star patterns on its surface went out one after another.

The power of this imperial weapon is based on the starry sky and spatial principles of the Xuanheng Great Universe.

Now that it can't even sense the vast universe, where else can it open a door to?

If it were an ordinary Great Emperor, suddenly losing the foundation of myriad paths, his cultivation would probably drop by more than half on the spot.

If they were to encounter the omnipresent spatial turbulence here again, it would be hard to say whether they could preserve their physical bodies under the backlash of the Great Dao.

No wonder none of the quasi-emperors who brought imperial weapons into this place were able to return.

It wasn't that they didn't want to go back, but from the moment they stepped in, everything they had cultivated had lost its foundation.

Gu Changjin felt the changes within his body, but his face showed little tension.

The next moment, the Dao Fruit trembled slightly, and a pure white radiance fell from the depths of the sea of ​​consciousness.

The once somewhat chaotic avenue instantly became quiet again.

Although the connection between the Heavenly Dao Emperor Seal and the Great Universe is still broken, the Great Daos within Gu Changjin's body, which were devoured and reorganized by the "Burial Heaven Devouring Dao Scripture," have all been suppressed by the Dao Fruit.

His path did not originate solely from this vast universe.

Blue Star, Kyushu, Martial Spirit Continent, demons, and that Middle Thousand World that has already become a real world.

He has come a long way, and he has swallowed more than one world along the way.

If a mere universe loses its connection, do you expect his cultivation to collapse as a result?

It's somewhat disrespectful to the Dao Fruit.

Gu Changjin raised his hand and clenched it. The aura of a late-stage Red Dust Immortal flowed smoothly within his body without any decline.

"It's a good place to kill someone."

He spoke softly, and as soon as he finished speaking, a gray-white turbulent current suddenly surged from the front.

There was no wind or spiritual energy in the turbulent currents, only countless broken rules colliding with each other.

The ancient bronze lamp lit up on its own, and the imperial fire, which had just been lit, was constantly shaken by the turbulent currents.

Gu Changjin reached out to protect the ancient lamp, stepped through the turbulent current, his robes fluttering in the wind.

Apart from that, nothing else has changed.

Continuing forward, the first skeleton appeared at the edge of the crevice.

It was a golden skeleton sitting cross-legged, having been dead for countless years. The bones still shimmered with a precious light, and the spine resembled a golden dragon shrunk countless times.

His hands were still in a hand seal position, clearly trying to stabilize his own Dao before he died, but it was no use.

The skeleton remains intact, but the Great Dao has long been worn away by the power here.

Further ahead, there is a reddish-jade skeleton embedded in the cracked stone wall.

That person's physical body was even stronger. Even though only bones remained, the surrounding void still couldn't withstand that weight and kept cracking open with tiny gaps.

In his right hand, he still held half of the imperial weapon.

Gu Changjin stopped in his tracks, and darkness emerged from his fingertips, swirling around the two skeletons.

A moment later, only a few faint traces of the original essence were drawn back.

"So poor they're nothing but bones."

Gu Changjin looked somewhat disgusted.

None of the people who made it this far were weak in their lifetimes.

Even the strongest quasi-emperor, with the most robust physical body, would be reduced to a mere empty shell after being worn down by this crevice for countless years.

The deeper you go, the more skeletons you find.

Some were as clear as jade, some as black as ink, and one skeleton had half of its body radiating divine light, while the other half was completely obliterated by some kind of force.

They fell in different places.

The closer you get to the depths, the stronger the skeleton's cultivation level becomes in life.

Gu Changjin's interest grew stronger.

It's something that makes so many powerful individuals willing to die here rather than give up and keep moving forward.

What lies behind the crack seems even more alluring than the half-written immortal scripture.

I don't know how long it took.

The chaotic light and shadow ahead gradually faded away.

An aura not belonging to the vast universe seeped out from the deepest part of the crack.

That power was extremely pure; just a wisp of it caused the Great Dao within one's body to generate an impulse to transform into a higher level.

Gu Changjin raised his head.

In the distance, another world can be vaguely seen.

The fairy mountain hangs in the air, the divine spring hangs upside down, and even the mist flowing between heaven and earth carries a rich vitality.

It looks so close.

It felt as if taking just one more step would allow me to truly enter it.

Occasionally, a drop of divine spring water would splash down from the edge of that world.

It was right in front of him, but when Gu Changjin reached out to grab it, his fingertips passed through countless layers of folded space.

The drop of spring water did not approach.

Instead, the entire world seemed to recede as he moved.

It's not an illusion.

It truly exists there, but the distance between them is forever fixed by some higher-level rule.

It seems within reach, but in reality, it is impossible to reach.

Gu Changjin glanced at it once and then looked away.

Because before that world, there were other things.

A wisp of energy.

Two paths.

three...

Gu Changjin stood still and began to count carefully.

By the time he counted to the tenth number, he could no longer suppress the smile on his face.

Ten immortals of the mortal world.

Moreover, none of them are at their peak.

Some of them had even deteriorated to the point of exhaustion, and were only kept alive by the special power in front of them.

"Ten?"

Gu Changjin licked his lips.

"We really made the right choice coming here."

……

The deepest part of the crack.

Ten figures formed a huge circle, separated by tens of thousands of miles, yet connected by chains of great roads.

On the left side of the circle are five human immortals.

On the right are five ancient emperors of different races, each with a unique appearance.

The two sides suppressed each other's auras.

However, outside the circle, a layer of transparent celestial light descended from that fairyland, constantly eroding their Great Dao.

The celestial light contained a rich substance of longevity, making their lifespans incredibly long.

Yet this same force is constantly eroding their very essence.

For every bit of recovery, another bit will be worn away.

So they were trapped for countless years, and no one was ever able to return to their former glory.

Among the five humans, there was a white-haired swordsman carrying a broken sword, and an ancient empress whose body was half petrified.

The other side was equally formidable.

Some have twelve wings on their backs, while others are left with only a divine soul enveloped in imperial runes; each of their auras once dominated an era.

The ten men were enemies, yet they had no choice but to join forces.

Whoever withdraws their power first will immediately press forward.

However, if there were no ten people to resist together, that layer of immortal light would refine everyone together in an instant.

And so, this strange balance was maintained for countless millennia.

At the forefront of the five human immortals sat a black-haired man wearing a tattered imperial robe.

He was the Heavenly Emperor who mysteriously disappeared during the Heavenly Emperor Era.

Later stage of the Immortal Realm.

He is also the person with the highest cultivation level in the human race.

Now, however, his imperial robes are stained with blood, there is a crack between his brows that can never be healed, and the Great Dao behind him collapses every few moments.

Opposite them, at the very front of the alien camp, sat an old man with four arms and vertical eyes on his forehead, covered in silver scales.

Canggu Tianzun.

One of the earliest pioneers of the Celestial Venerable era.

The nine Celestial Venerables were not all human, and he was one of the ancient origins recognized by the emperors of the alien races.

"The Heavenly Emperor."

Canggu Tianzun opened his vertical eyes, his voice hoarse.

"If this continues, how much longer can we hold out?"

The Heavenly Emperor didn't even open his eyes.

"At least I can hold out until you die first."

Cang Gu Tian Zun sneered, and was about to speak when the Great Dao chains behind the ten people trembled simultaneously.

An unfamiliar aura of immortality from the mortal world is rapidly approaching from outside the crack!

In that instant, everyone, whether human or alien, suddenly raised their heads.

It maintained a five-on-five balance for countless years.

Finally, the eleventh person has arrived!

The Heavenly Emperor opened his eyes for the first time.

Canggu Tianzun also stared intently at the source of the crack, his four arms unconsciously clenching.

Are the visitors human?

Or a different race?

The gazes of the ten mortal immortals simultaneously turned toward the slowly encroaching darkness.