Within its icy will, beyond anger, there was now a greater measure of gravity and… a trace of agitation not easily perceived.
It had never expected that this newly ascended Quasi-Immortal Emperor would be so difficult to deal with, that his obsession and will to battle would seem inexhaustible!
As for the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor, the marks of dark corrosion upon his green robe had grown ever more apparent, spreading like spilled ink.
The tragic, resolute Dao rhythm of extinction around him remained powerful, yet it could no longer conceal a trace of deep-seated exhaustion.
Ten thousand years of ceaseless, ultimate conquest had burned away his origin, his Dao Fruit, and even more so the flame of obsession that carried the endless blood feud of the Xuanhuang Great Realm.
His offensive was no longer as violent as it had been at the beginning, but it had become even more condensed. Every strike pointed straight at the origin of the Great Dao, engaging Emperor Cang in the most perilous entanglement on the level of laws.
The imperial battle had fallen into an even more brutal and monotonous stage of attrition. Both sides were gritting their teeth and persisting, waiting to see who would reveal a fatal flaw first—or… who would be the first to await the arrival of a variable.
At the same time that the imperial battle in the Boundary Sea had sunk into a ten-thousand-year deadlock.
In the Immortal Domain, at the core of the Sun Star, the primordial Fusang divine tree that supported heaven and earth was undergoing an unprecedented upheaval!
“Dong—!”
“Dong—!”
“Dong—!”
One muffled boom after another, as if originating from the heartbeat of the universe, rang out from deep within the heart of the Fusang tree, shaking the entire Sun Star and even spreading across nearly half of the Immortal Domain!
Endless solar essence fire and chaotic qi seemed to have received the summons of a sovereign, gathering madly toward the heart of the tree and forming an incomparably vast, resplendent cocoon of light intertwined with dark gold and chaotic hues!
Inside the cocoon of light, Lu Xuan sat cross-legged, his body seeming to have transformed into a vessel of the Dao.
The left side of his body burned with the Battle Immortal fire that could incinerate the heavens, while the right side flowed with chaotic qi that embraced all things. And within the sea of consciousness between his brows, the illusory figures of his good, evil, and self three corpses had already solidified to the extreme. They were no longer simply separated, but slowly revolved along an incomparably profound trajectory, as though they were interpreting the ultimate principles of the universe’s birth and destruction, of reincarnation and recurrence!
Over ten thousand years of seclusion, he had absorbed the immeasurable solar origin accumulated by the ancient Fusang tree, refined the dark insights and battle experience he had brought back from the depths of the Boundary Sea, and pushed the method of “severing the three corpses” to an unprecedented realm—the three corpses revolving, chaos returning to one!
He no longer clung to “severing,” but had comprehended “fusion.”
With chaos as the furnace and battle intent as the fire, he refined the good, evil, and self into one, returning to the origin and source, illuminating the one and only, imperishable true self Dao Fruit!
“Crack!”
At a certain moment, a clear fissure appeared upon the enormous cocoon of light! Immediately afterward, like a chain reaction, countless cracks spread across the cocoon in an instant!
“Boom!!!”
The cocoon of light exploded completely! A boundless, majestic aura that made the ten thousand Daos submit erupted like a sleeping primordial beast awakening, sweeping across the eight荒!
A figure stepped out from within the endless rain of light and chaotic qi.
It was still that same face, yet it had become even more profound. Within his eyes seemed to be hidden scenes of the splitting of heaven and earth, and the flames of war that conquered myriad realms.
His aura was no longer the sharp, fully exposed edge he had possessed when first entering the Immortal King realm. Instead, it had become like a vast sea of stars, unfathomably deep. The magnitude of his pressure had already completely surpassed that of ordinary Immortal King giants and reached an entirely new level—a supreme giant!
Moreover, he was no ordinary supreme giant!
His Dao Fruit was founded upon the unique “Chaotic Battle Immortal Dao” and formed by refining the origins of the three corpses. The depth of his foundation and the vastness of his potential far surpassed those of his peers!
Merely standing there, the chaotic Dao rhythm naturally circulating around him caused the surrounding void to constantly undergo birth and destruction, as if he himself were a miniature chaotic universe in the midst of evolution!
“After ten thousand years of seclusion, I have finally reached this realm.”
Lu Xuan slowly opened his eyes, sensing the vast power surging endlessly within him, as though with a single thought he could govern the birth and destruction of starry domains. His heart was utterly calm.
He felt not the slightest self-satisfaction, for his gaze had long since turned toward the depths of the Boundary Sea, toward that imperial battle that was still ongoing.
He knew that a supreme giant might still not be enough to matter in the chessboard of the Boundary Sea at this moment. But at the very least, he now possessed the initial qualifications to set foot upon that battlefield!
He was no longer an ant who could only watch from afar.
The commotion of his emergence from seclusion instantly alarmed the entire Immortal Domain!
Above the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor Xi Huang abruptly rose to his feet. His gaze pierced through layers of void and looked toward the direction of the Sun Star, his face filled with shock and complexity.
“This aura… is Lu Xuan?! He… he has actually reached the realm of a supreme giant?! How is that possible?!”
Ten thousand years, from a newly ascended Immortal King to a supreme giant?
What terrifying speed of advancement was this?!
Even as a Heavenly Emperor who gathered the fortune of the Immortal Domain, he asked himself and knew there was absolutely no way he could accomplish such a thing!
Lu Xuan’s speed of growth made even an Emperor-light giant like him feel a trace of horror and… an indescribable sense of urgency.
Powerhouses of the Immortal Domain such as Pan King and Immortal King Hunyuan were likewise alarmed, each casting over a shocked gaze.
Lu Xuan paid no attention to the upheaval in the outside world. After slightly adapting to his sharply increased power, he took a single step, left the core of the Sun Star, and appeared above the firmament of the Immortal Domain.
He gazed into the distance toward the Boundary Sea. The fluctuations of the imperial battle that had lasted ten thousand years were still clearly discernible.
“Ten thousand years… and the battle still continues…”
He murmured to himself, a trace of determination flashing through his eyes.
He did not immediately head for the Boundary Sea. Instead, his figure flashed and appeared at a hidden chaotic node somewhere in the Immortal Domain.
This was the place where he, the Golden Crow Ancestor, and the others had once sealed that Ancient Hall of Reception.
After ten thousand years of research, especially after his own realm had broken through, he had gained an even deeper understanding of this ancient hall.
He needed to use this object to further peer into the essence of darkness. At the same time, he also wanted to see whether he could use it as a medium to establish a faint connection with that Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor who was fighting a bitter battle—or… find a way to intervene in the battle.
He sat cross-legged before the ancient hall. The divine sense of a supreme giant spread like spilled mercury, penetrating deep into the core of the ancient hall.
This time, what he sensed was no longer simple darkness and resistance, but countless interwoven karmic threads and veins of dark laws leading toward the depths of the Boundary Sea!
His Chaotic Battle Immortal Dao Fruit and the spiritual perception born of the three corpses returning to one gave him a partial ability to overlook the essence of this dark creation.
And at the same time, in the depths of the Boundary Sea, that imperial battle which had continued for ten thousand years also seemed to produce an almost imperceptible… ripple because of Lu Xuan’s emergence from seclusion.
Within the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s still, ancient-well-like state of mind, there seemed to flash the faintest trace of resonance from a distant direction.
And Emperor Cang’s icy will also seemed to detect that the aura of some kind of “variable” was beginning to breed.
The ten-thousand-year deadlock might soon be broken.
A new storm had quietly begun to gather at an accelerated pace because of Lu Xuan’s breakthrough from seclusion!
Lu Xuan sat cross-legged before the sealed Ancient Hall of Reception. His supreme-giant-level divine sense was like the most precise carving knife, delving deep to dissect the core of this dark creation.
His Chaotic Battle Immortal Dao Fruit shone brilliantly, and the spiritual perception of the three corpses returning to one made him seem to transform into a dustless bright mirror, reflecting the intricate veins of dark laws and karmic threads within the ancient hall, as complex as a neural network.
The vast majority of these veins extended toward that heart-palpitating dark source in the depths of the Boundary Sea, tightly connected to Emperor Cang and even to other dark emperors who might exist.
However, amid these endless dark veins, Lu Xuan keenly captured an extremely faint yet distinct tremor!
This tremor did not come from darkness itself, but originated from a certain resonance between the ancient hall’s structure and the energy of the imperial battle in the outside world!
It was a subtle feedback produced when the ancient hall was swept by the afterwaves of the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s extinction Dao rhythm!
“An opportunity!”
A sharp gleam flashed in Lu Xuan’s eyes.
He did not attempt to analyze or destroy those core veins pointing toward the source of darkness. That would be no different from striking a stone with an egg.
Instead, he gathered all his mind and spirit upon this trace of “resonance” produced by the imperial battle!
Using his own Chaotic Battle Immortal power as the guide and the transcendent Dao realm of the three corpses returning to one as the bridge, he carefully guided and amplified this trace of resonance!
This was not the direct transmission of information. That would immediately draw the backlash of the rules of the Great Dao.
Rather, it was like tuning the strings of a zither, allowing the frequency of his own Dao rhythm to achieve a subtle synchronization with the tremor produced by the power of extinction!
In the depths of the Boundary Sea, the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor, who was engaged in a perilous entanglement of laws with Emperor Cang, suddenly felt a clear ripple arise within his state of mind that had remained unchanged for ten thousand years!
He sensed an extremely faint yet strangely “familiar” and “newborn, vigorous” fluctuation of Dao rhythm. Through some method he could not understand, it crossed endless spacetime and quietly touched his extinction Dao domain!
This fluctuation did not come from an enemy. It contained not the slightest darkness or malice. Instead, it carried a thriving vitality like chaos first opening, a soaring battle intent, and a kind of… clear spiritual perception that seemed capable of illuminating the essence of all things.
“Is it… him?”
Upon the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s indistinct face, there seemed to be the faintest change.
He thought of the young Immortal King on the dam who had tried to warn him and who bore the mysteries of spacetime.
Ten thousand years had passed, and that child had actually grown to the point where he could touch the edge of an imperial battle from such a vast distance in this way?
Although this strand of fluctuation was weak and insufficient to change the battle, it was like a drop of clear spring water falling into the lake of his heart, which had burned for ten thousand years and was filled with hatred and extinction, bringing a trace of indescribable… solace?
Or perhaps, confirmation?
Confirmation that he was not fighting completely alone. Beyond the heavens shrouded by darkness, new sparks were still burning, still growing!
This faint fluctuation of emotion seemed to make his extinction Dao rhythm condense another degree, and an imperceptible trace of agility appeared in his offensive.
As for Emperor Cang opposite him, it let out an even more furious and impatient roar.
It, too, had vaguely detected that discordant noise. Though faint, it gave it an inexplicable unease.
Dark origin surged. Its attacks became even more violent as it tried to end this ten-thousand-year entanglement as quickly as possible!
At the same time, in the process of guiding that trace of resonance, the contact between Lu Xuan’s supreme-giant Dao Fruit and the deep structure of the Ancient Hall of Reception also allowed him to glimpse some even more horrifying secrets!
Through the direction and intensity of those dark veins, he faintly perceived that at the source of darkness in the deepest part of the Boundary Sea, existences like Emperor Cang… numbered more than one!
Although most were silent, as though sleeping or paying attention to something else, that kind of emperor-level pressure, born of the same source and standing above the ten thousand Daos, was absolutely not unique!
“As expected… those three Quasi-Immortal Emperors are sleeping…” Lu Xuan’s heart grew heavy.
He had to do something!
Even if he could only transmit a negligible trace of power, or… a warning!
He concentrated all his will. No longer merely synchronizing Dao rhythms, he attempted to send his own newborn Chaotic Battle Immortal intent, filled with infinite possibility, as well as the sense of crisis he had gained from glimpsing multiple dark emperors, along the bridge of resonance toward the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor!
This was not concrete verbal information, but a pure Dao-rhythm warning and spiritual support!
“Buzz—!”
The instant he attempted to transmit it, the Ancient Hall of Reception trembled violently. Those dark veins emitted a warning ghostly light, and a powerful backlash surged over through the connection, attempting to crush Lu Xuan’s divine sense!
At the same time, the suppression of the rules of the Great Dao descended once more from the unseen!
Lu Xuan let out a muffled groan, a strand of chaotic blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. But his gaze was as sharp as a blade, and his Chaotic Battle Immortal power circulated madly. He forcibly endured the backlash and sent out the “Dao-rhythm imprint” condensed from all his thoughts like an arrow leaving the string!
After doing all this, he immediately severed his deep connection with the ancient hall. His figure swayed slightly, and his aura became somewhat disordered.
That single act just now had nearly exhausted more than half of his mind and spirit, and he had also suffered no small backlash injury.
But he had no time to regulate his breathing. His gaze remained fixed on the direction of the Boundary Sea.
In the depths of the Boundary Sea, the Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor, who was clashing head-on with Emperor Cang, suddenly shuddered!
He clearly received a weak yet incomparably distinct Dao-rhythm imprint!
The chaotic meaning contained within moved him, but what shook his mind even more was the intense crisis warning transmitted from the core of the imprint concerning “multiple dark emperors”!
Although it was only a vague perception and not conclusive evidence, it coincided perfectly with the guesses he had made about the source of darkness over the long years!
Moreover, this warning had come through a dark creation like the Ancient Hall of Reception. Its significance was anything but ordinary!
“So… that is how it is…”
The Nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor understood in his heart. For the first time, a powerful sense of resolve and a trace of… release surged into that state of mind frozen for ages.
He knew his final outcome.
But he felt no fear and did not shrink back. Instead, he erupted with even more dazzling extinction divine light!
Since he was destined to fall, then before the curtain closed, he would burn himself to nothing, clearing away more obstacles for those who came after and winning them one more thread of life!
His offensive suddenly became even more tragic and fierce, even carrying a hint of… mutual destruction!
For a time, he actually forced Emperor Cang to retreat again and again, adding several extinction Dao wounds to its dark imperial body that were difficult to heal!
“Madman!”
Emperor Cang was both shocked and furious. It did not understand why the other party had suddenly become so resolute.
From far away, Lu Xuan sensed the suddenly heightened fluctuations of the imperial battle deep within the Boundary Sea, filled with tragic grandeur. He understood that his “Dao-rhythm imprint” had already been delivered.
He slowly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth, his gaze incomparably firm.
“It still isn’t enough… I must become faster… and stronger!”