He glanced at the Receiving Ancient Hall, which had once again fallen into silence, then looked toward the Immortal Realm, and finally cast his gaze upon the boundless Boundary Sea, where peril and opportunity coexisted.
He knew that his brief seclusion had come to an end.
He needed more battles, more insights, and even more than that... he needed to seek out that heaven-shaking fortune that might exist, the one capable of breaking through the barrier of the Emperor Realm!
The nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor had used himself as a torch to illuminate the road ahead, and had also ignited an even more surging battle flame within his heart.
Lu Xuan, the Chaos Battle Immortal, would once again step into the Boundary Sea. This time, his target would point directly toward what even Immortal Emperors longed for—the chance to break through!
And within the Immortal Realm, Xi Huang, the Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor seated in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, also faintly sensed the abnormal fluctuations coming from the direction of the Sun Star, as well as Lu Xuan’s unconcealed supreme giant aura soaring into the heavens. His gaze grew ever deeper and harder to fathom.
The turbulent winds within and beyond the Immortal Realm, and the tragic song of imperial war in the Boundary Sea, because of Lu Xuan’s emergence from seclusion and intervention, wove together into an even more complex and magnificent epic scroll.
A new journey had already begun!
Twenty thousand years!
Since the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor stepped into the depths of the Boundary Sea, a full twenty thousand springs and autumns, summers and winters had passed!
To the mortal world, this was a long epic of civilizations rising and falling, of stars turning in their courses.
To Immortal Kings, it was also a prolonged seclusion long enough for seas to turn into mulberry fields.
But to the two figures still waging war in the Boundary Sea, this was a cruel torment that had burned their own Great Daos, wills, and origins to the utmost extreme!
Their battlefield had long since ceased to be a simple movement through space, and had instead delved into the level of the roots of law and the veins of spacetime.
At times, they manifested in the present Boundary Sea, smashing apart starfields and annihilating all things.
At times, they leapt into the surging, roaring Mother River of Time, fighting fiercely amid fragments of past and future, attempting to sever each other’s karmic foundations. At other times, they charged into the Guixu dimension formed from pure laws of destruction, where every collision triggered the most fundamental violent reaction between existence and nothingness.
The nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s green robe had long since been mottled and eroded by darkness, like a guttering candle in the wind.
The tragic, resolute Dao charm of nirvanic extinction surrounding him remained powerful, yet it could not conceal a fatigue that stemmed from the depths of his soul, and... a brilliance that was nearly complete.
Over twenty thousand years of extreme warfare, he had driven his Heavenly Art of Nirvanic Extinction to an unprecedented peak, transforming his longing and hatred for the Xuanhuang Great Realm into the sharpest weapon of offense. His Dao had undergone the utmost sublimation amid destruction, and had already touched a certain critical point.
As for Emperor Cang, this ancient dark emperor, his condition was even more wretched.
His vague body of darkness was covered in countless indelible wounds of nirvanic extinction, like porcelain that had shattered and then been barely glued back together, with pure dark origin constantly leaking out from within.
The near-inexhaustible supply of dark origin he took pride in had its effect greatly reduced under the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s highly targeted Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, which likewise contained some characteristics of devouring and ending.
Compared to twenty thousand years ago, his aura had already declined by nearly thirty percent!
Within that cold will, the initial arrogance and fury had long since been replaced by a heavy solemnity and a trace of incredulous fear.
He could not understand why this newly advanced Quasi-Immortal Emperor could endure for so long.
Why was his Dao charm so troublesome, as though it had been born precisely to restrain and bury dark emperors like them?
The decisive battle erupted at the border of the Sea of Myriad Daos’ Source.
This was a mysterious region said to be near the source of the universe’s laws. Here, laws manifested openly, and the traces of myriad Daos drifted like tangible ribbons, yet it was also filled with disorder and chaos. If an ordinary Immortal King arrived here, he would be torn to pieces by the chaotic laws in an instant.
Two figures, one gray and dim, the other pitch-black, charged fiercely into this region!
“Heavenly Art of Nirvanic Extinction—Final Chapter of the Epoch!”
The nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor let out the most magnificent Dao shout since the beginning of the battle!
He held nothing back any longer, merging all the power, all the insights, all the hatred and obsession he had accumulated over twenty thousand years into this one strike!
His hands embraced the void, as though he were cradling an entire epoch about to draw to its end. Behind him, the phenomenon of the Xuanhuang Great Realm’s collapse appeared clearer than ever before. The illusory silhouettes of countless living beings emerged within it; their weeping, their cries, their unwillingness, and their final prayers all transformed into fuel, igniting this ultimate fire of nirvanic extinction!
A torrent of nirvanic extinction that could not be described by color, as though it contained the ending meaning of all colors, surged forth from his embrace!
Wherever this torrent passed, the traces of myriad Daos retreated and dissolved one after another as though encountering their nemesis. Even the chaotic laws of the Sea of Myriad Daos’ Source itself were forcibly smoothed out and returned to deathly silence!
This was the true power of finality, the final chapter that buried all glory, all existence, and all hope!
“Darkness Eternal Silence—Devour the Heavens and Consume the Dao!”
Emperor Cang sensed a fatal threat and let out a hysterical roar!
He ignited the most core part of his dark imperial source. His vague body instantly swelled, transforming into a dark colossal beast that occupied more than half the border of the Sea of Myriad Daos’ Source!
The colossal beast opened its maw, which seemed capable of devouring the heavens. It no longer merely devoured matter and energy, but sought to completely devour and digest the very concept of this “Final Chapter of the Epoch” unleashed by the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor, along with all the laws, will, and karma contained within it!
This was a direct, unadorned ultimate collision between two Daos of “ending”!
“Boom————————!!!!!!!”
An unprecedented terrifying explosion erupted! Yet the sound did not come from the material level, but from the wailing of the Great Dao’s origin!
A vast, irreparable breach was completely torn open at the border of the Sea of Myriad Daos’ Source!
Within the breach lay absolute nothingness and chaos that even an emperor-level divine sense could not peer into!
At the center of the collision, light, sound, time, space... all concepts lost meaning. Only the purest “nirvanic extinction” and “darkness” annihilated each other!
This time, there was no stalemate!
After that ultimate radiance was extinguished, the scene at the center of the battlefield was revealed—
The nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor still stood, but that green robe had almost completely turned ashen, covered in spiderweb-like cracks, as though it might utterly disintegrate at any moment.
The Dao charm of nirvanic extinction surrounding him had dimmed to the extreme, and his aura was like a guttering candle in the wind, flickering unsteadily.
He had paid an unimaginable price, nearly burning away everything.
Opposite him, Emperor Cang’s enormous body of a dark colossal beast had already shattered!
It was no longer a simple Dao wound, but a true structural collapse!
The massive beast body split apart, transforming into countless dark fragments burning with the residual fire of nirvanic extinction, scattering toward the breach in the “Sea of Myriad Daos’ Source” below and the surrounding void of the Boundary Sea!
Every fragment contained dark imperial laws that made one’s heart tremble, but they had already lost the guidance of a unified will.
Only the most central piece, a dark crystal about one-tenth of its original size, barely maintained Emperor Cang’s consciousness, which had weakened to the extreme, and emitted spiritual fluctuations filled with unwillingness, venomous resentment, and a trace of fear:
“Nirvanic Extinction... you... destroyed my imperial body... this grudge... shall be repaid...”
He had lost!
In the brutal imperial war that had lasted twenty thousand years, he had been defeated head-on by this newly advanced nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor in an almost mutually destructive manner!
His imperial body had shattered, his origin had been gravely injured, and his consciousness was on the verge of dissipating!
On the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s hazy face, there seemed to be no joy at all, only emptiness and calm after exhausting everything.
He slowly raised a finger that could scarcely move, aiming at that dark core attempting to flee, intending to deliver the final blow and erase it completely.
However, at the very instant the Dao charm of nirvanic extinction at his fingertip was about to light up once more—
“Buzz!” “Buzz!” “Buzz!”
From the direction of the deepest part of the Boundary Sea, from the eternal source of darkness, three emperor-level fluctuations of will that were even deeper, even more ancient, and even more terrifying suddenly came!
Like vicious beasts that had slept for countless ages, awakened by the tragic defeat and dying wail of their own kind, they cast over cold gazes!
Any one of these three wills was no weaker than Emperor Cang at his peak!
They did not attack immediately, but that invisible pressure was like three invisible primordial divine mountains crashing down upon the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s heart, causing the finger he was about to point out to freeze!
He understood that if he insisted on completely erasing Emperor Cang’s final core, it would inevitably provoke those three existences of the same level into striking with thunderous force!
In his current state, with his oil exhausted and his lamp dry, there was absolutely no possibility of resisting them!
Should he risk the obliteration of both body and soul to thoroughly bury a great enemy? Or should he preserve this remaining body and wait for the future?
At the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s fingertip, that wisp of Dao charm of nirvanic extinction flickered uncertainly. In the end, it slowly went out.
He looked deeply in the direction from which those three wills had come, then glanced at Emperor Cang’s core as it fled in panic toward the source of darkness, and let out a soft sigh that seemed to contain the vicissitudes of eternity and endless regret.
He did not choose to kill him completely. It was not that he could not, but rather... the price was one he could not bear.
He still had an unfinished mission, and he still needed to preserve a faint thread of hope for those who would come later.
He lingered no longer. Dragging his imperial body that was on the verge of shattering, he transformed into a dim gray streak of light and tore through the void with difficulty, fleeing toward the outside of the Boundary Sea.
He needed to find a place as quickly as possible to stabilize his injuries. Otherwise, even if he were not hunted down by the dark emperors, his broken imperial body and Dao fruit could collapse on their own at any moment.
Within the Boundary Sea, the terrifying fluctuations of imperial war that had lasted twenty thousand years finally... gradually subsided.
Countless Immortal Kings and giants who had been watching from afar were all shaken beyond words by the final outcome!
That mysterious Quasi-Immortal Emperor of Nirvanic Extinction had actually... won?!
He had defeated an ancient dark emperor head-on, nearly blasting apart his imperial body!
Although he had failed to kill him completely and had allowed the other party’s core to escape, this was already an astonishing battle achievement unseen since time immemorial!
“...He won?!”
“Emperor Cang fled in defeat! His imperial body shattered! What kind of mighty power is this?!”
“The source of darkness... is not invincible!”
“Quick! Send the news back to every realm!”
After a brief deathly silence came an uproar that swept through the entire Boundary Sea!
Countless divine senses exchanged messages frantically, filled with excitement, disbelief, and supreme reverence toward that nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor!
The result of this battle was like a beam of light that pierced through eternal night. Though faint, it truly shone into the hearts of all living beings who resisted darkness!
It proved that dark emperors also had enemies!
And in the Immortal Realm, on the outskirts of the Sun Star, Lu Xuan, who had just finished a brief recovery and was preparing to step into the Boundary Sea again, also clearly sensed the final subsiding of the imperial war fluctuations, as well as that dim yet steadfast aura of nirvanic extinction fleeing toward the outside of the Boundary Sea.
He stopped and looked in the direction of that streak of light. In his heart, he let out a long breath of relief, but it was immediately replaced by an even deeper sense of urgency.
“He won... but it was only a tragic victory.”
He could sense that the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s aura was like a candle flame about to go out.
“I must find a method as soon as possible that can help him recover, or allow me to break through faster!”
He knew that after suffering this defeat, the source of darkness would absolutely not let the matter rest.
The next storm would surely be even more violent. And the precious time the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor had won could not be wasted.
His gaze firm, he hesitated no longer. Taking a single step forward, he once again threw himself without hesitation into that vast, boundless, peril-ridden Boundary Sea.
His goal was to seek the ultimate opportunity that might exist somewhere within the Boundary Sea, one related to the Emperor Realm and to breaking the deadlock!
Because of the outcome of this battle, the Boundary Sea temporarily regained a surface calm.
But beneath the undercurrents, there was an even more surging unrest and brewing storm.
The turning point of an era seemed to have already arrived. And Lu Xuan, this newly risen supreme giant, would continue to write his own legend upon this magnificent, turbulent scroll.
Just as the heavens and myriad realms were boiling over the tragic victory of the Exalted Emperor of Nirvanic Extinction, and countless Immortal Kings’ minds were surging, believing that darkness was not invincible, as if a ray of dawn had finally pierced the eternal night—
“Boom!!!!!!”
“Boom!!!!!!”
In the deepest part of the Boundary Sea, the source of darkness that had temporarily returned to silence because of Emperor Cang’s defeated flight, without any warning, once again erupted with two supreme pressures that pierced through the heavens and stood above the myriad Daos!
These three currents of imperial might were boundless, bone-chillingly cold, carrying destructive auras that shared the same origin as Emperor Cang yet each had its own distinctive nature. Like world-destroying colossal beasts that had slumbered for countless ages, they fully awakened at the same time!
Their strength was not in the slightest inferior to Emperor Cang at his peak. One among them was even more ancient and obscure, while another was even more violent and blazing!
The three dark imperial pressures were like invisible tsunamis, taking the deepest part of the Boundary Sea as their origin point and spreading wildly toward the heavens and myriad realms!
Wherever they passed, the Immortal Kings of every realm who had just been cheering for victory and transmitting messages felt as though their throats had been seized, and all voices came to an abrupt halt!
The flame of hope that had just been ignited because of the nameless Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s victory swayed violently beneath the assault of these two currents of imperial might, which made no attempt to conceal their malice and crushing power, as though it would be completely extinguished in the very next moment!
“Wh-what?!”
“There are more?! And... three of them?!”
“Existences on the same level as Emperor Cang... three have appeared at once!”
“It’s over... the dark Quasi-Immortal Emperor is already on the verge of exhaustion. How can he possibly fight two more dark emperors at their peak?!”
Panic, unprecedented panic, swept into the hearts of every living being who sensed this pressure like the deadliest plague.
The exhilaration and courage that had just arisen seemed so pale and laughable before this absolute disparity in power.
A single dark emperor had already required the dark Quasi-Immortal Emperor to burn everything and fight bitterly for twenty thousand years to seize a tragic victory.
Now, three existences of the same level in their peak states had appeared at the same time. This was no longer war, but... a declaration of despair!