In the profound void, the Ten Laws converged, forming the foundation of the universe. All kinds of power revealed themselves in Yun Ye's hands. He took a deep breath and looked up.
Nine Star Points had already appeared within the universe, facing the sun where he sat cross-legged. Ten stars had been born in total.
"The Profound Realm has reached its limit. There's no need to continue."
Yun Ye came to a realization.
His Heavenly Stems Grotto-heaven had now occupied a large portion of Profound Heaven, probably corresponding to the entire Border Continent. Cultivators in this region who cultivated Profound Heaven had to enter the Heavenly Stems Universe and obtain Yun Ye's permission before advancing further. The difficulty had risen another level, and they were also under his control at any time.
More terrifyingly, once a cultivator died, the Self Profound Heaven they had opened would become nourishment for the Heavenly Stems Grotto-heaven.
This allowed Yun Ye to glimpse the terrifying nature of the Three Heavens.
According to the order of the eras, the first Profound Heaven had been born earliest. It was created by a True Immortal named Profound Heaven. After that came the second Azure Heaven, created by the Azure Heaven Faction, followed immediately by the third Red Heaven, created by the Red Heaven Faction.
In other words, these were "heavens" that had appeared only after the birth of the Grotto-heaven Law. Yun Ye saw countless similarities to the Grotto-heaven within them.
Profound Heaven, Azure Heaven, and Red Heaven had probably solidified the Grotto-heaven into a vast dimension, using it to block those who came after and amplify their own power.
In theory, True Immortal Laws and one's own power could not increase. But what if other people willingly created them?
True Immortal Laws were originally the power of echoes and wishes. With planning and perfection, it might indeed be possible.
"Profound Heaven and Azure Heaven..."
Yun Ye had known long ago that he had entered the game. He had opened the Heavenly Stems Universe within Profound Heaven, so Profound Heaven had probably become aware of his existence long ago.
There was a reason Profound Heaven had continued winning until today. It truly was a heaven-gifted genius, capable of breaking Azure Heaven's blockade while laying the foundation for itself to last through the ages.
Fortunately, once Yun Ye died, the Grotto-heaven would be forcibly reborn by the Book of Reincarnation. It would not uselessly add to Profound Heaven's power, something Profound Heaven could never have anticipated.
The Book of Reincarnation's uniqueness was absolutely no inferior to any force of laws. Its ability to reincarnate and oppose the laws of lifespan was proof of that.
"The Ten Heavenly Stems Law—Open Heaven and Split Earth—"
A beam of light pierced through Azure Heaven. The four directions trembled. Even the reality of the Border Continent was affected by this breakthrough, and the disturbance was even greater than when attaining the Venerable Position!
The stronger the power, the greater the extent to which it affected the world, and the more obvious the phenomena and fluctuations it caused. Attaining the Venerable Position was enough for the entire Border Continent to sense it, while attaining the Emperor Path caused Emperor Path Holy Anthems to ring out in every corner of the world, accompanied by countless phenomena.
Yun Ye began his breakthrough. Using the might of the Grotto-heaven Master, he pierced through Azure Heaven. The range of this influence naturally could not be small. For a time, the entire world was shrouded in a profound hue, while azure light emerged hazily within it.
When a Grotto-heaven Master broke through, it was nothing like an ordinary cultivator. They did not merely pierce through Azure Heaven and create another Self Azure Heaven. Instead, the power of the entire Profound Realm Grotto-heaven corroded Azure Heaven, expanding the range of their influence. If an ordinary cultivator's breakthrough was a needle piercing through a barrier, then a Grotto-heaven Master was a meteor colliding with Earth. It all came down to seeing which was harder.
This required accumulation and methods beyond compare. Otherwise, it would be impossible to break through the Three Heavens Barrier, which had accumulated over an unknown number of years.
"Clang—"
The resonant boom of an ancient bell rang across the Border Continent.
Shui Wuge was reviewing various documents when she suddenly heard the bell. She raised her head in surprise. Her gaze pierced through the Dao Palace and saw wave after wave of nearly corporeal ripples spreading outward. She sensed no danger and reached out to touch them, but the ripples swept past without making contact.
But...
The passing ripples caused a vast amount of insight to surge unknowingly within Shui Wuge's heart, concerning space and causality, concerning uniqueness and reality.
"What is this?"
She abruptly rose, realizing that something major had happened.
"Clang—"
The ancient bell rang again, its sound drifting through the air. Heaven and earth were filled with it. Shui Wuge walked out of the Dao Palace, accompanied by a large number of imperial officials. With one glance at each other, they understood. This was not an isolated case; everyone had felt the same thing.
"This sound has spread across the entire Border Continent. It came from the boundary between Profound Heaven and Azure Heaven. The two heavens are trembling, and every cultivator is being affected."
"Only, this influence seems to be beneficial. It appears to have been filtered deliberately."
Shui Wuge spoke.
"His Majesty is probably about to ascend to Azure Heaven. I can see a beam of light piercing through Azure Heaven and expanding. Our Azure Heaven was evaporated the instant it was affected, yet we did not fall in realm. Instead..."
A True-Realm cultivator wore a strange expression. His power was actually growing stronger, as though he could borrow wisps of power belonging to that divine lord, His Majesty.
Clearly, his Azure Heaven was being incorporated into the divine lord's rule, just like his Self Profound Heaven had already been swallowed.
"Clang!!!"
The third bell completely awakened the Dual Heavens.
The heavens and earth split apart. Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire reforged the world, bringing the oppressive feeling of a storm about to break. It pressed down so heavily that every cultivator present was chilled to the bone. If even the slightest trace of this power leaked out, it would probably be enough to kill them ten thousand times over.
The auras of numerous Venerables rose. Though they had lent their authorities to Yun Ye, they themselves had not lost their power. They remained lofty Venerables.
All of them solemnly watched the disturbance in the Dual Heavens, unwilling to see anything go wrong.
At the boundary between the Dual Heavens, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire were reforging the world. That might was the peak power of the Ten Heavenly Stems Law—the power to Open Heaven and Split Earth and evolve the power of a world.
If it spilled out, they would have no choice but to deploy Emperor Path Extreme Weapons to resist it, needlessly consuming their foundations. As for factions without Emperor Path Extreme Weapons, even if they held the Venerable Position, touching it would mean instant death. There was absolutely no other outcome.
"This feeling... Aside from His Majesty, there can be no one else."
"His Majesty is probably about to become a True-Realm Master. This is far too fast—only ten short years. He is almost comparable to the legendary Heavenly Emperor. Could he truly be the second Heavenly Emperor? Though this one has not become an immortal, he is the greatest opponent Future Dao Lord will face in his lifetime, and defeating him will be exceedingly difficult!"
"This Majesty truly seems to possess the bearing to become an immortal!"
"What an astonishing might..."
The Venerables were horrified as well. Their realms were too high, so their sensations upon seeing the Dual Heaven Phenomenon were far deeper than those of ordinary cultivators.
It appeared to be merely a phenomenon, but in truth, the divine lord was moving the Dual Heavens with his own strength. How could this be an ordinary breakthrough?
No wonder the Grotto-heaven Master was called a divine lord, an existence akin to a god in myth and legend. Once he attained the Emperor realm, he would be Unparalleled and Invincible, above and below the heavens.
Just breaking through seemed to be enough to pierce through the heavens. This power was truly impossible to estimate, and he had probably already approached the Emperor realm!
Once this divine lord broke through to the True Realm, even if they held Emperor Path Extreme Weapons and Heavenly Dao Divine Artifacts, their hearts would still quail. Perhaps only complete revival could contend with him.
Mora Dao Lord was especially silent at this moment. He had repeatedly overestimated the power of the Grotto-heaven Master, yet he had never expected the assessment of the Grotto-heaven Master in the myths and legends to be entirely accurate: Unparalleled and Invincible, sweeping across the world and crushing every enemy.
"Five Elements evolution—can it truly possess such might?"
He himself could also evolve the Five Elements. It was only because he had been born with merely four types of spiritual roots and lacked the Grotto-heaven Method that he had failed to open a Grotto-heaven.
In his tests, the power formed by the interweaving of the Five Elements had been nothing special, utterly unable to compare with sect inheritances. Even if opening a Profound Realm allowed one to grow continuously, it should not have become this powerful. The Heavenly Emperor, Shenmie Shi, slaying Venerables in the Profound Realm had seemed somewhat godly to him, and he had been half convinced at best.
Under these circumstances, if someone claimed that a divine lord who had cultivated to the True Realm could rival the Emperor Path, he would never believe it. The Five Elements Grotto-heaven simply did not possess such might!
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