Totem Pillar

A terrifying aura shrouded this patch of heaven and earth. Su Ye felt as if a great mountain were pressing down upon his back; the immense pressure made it difficult for him to resist.

It was not merely a physical oppression, but a spiritual one as well, leaving him with the sensation of standing alone against thousands upon thousands of people.

The power of faith.

Terrifying to such an extent.

However, Su Ye would not be intimidated. Radiance permeated his entire body, making him appear like a youthful god, his internal blood and energy surging and rushing straight toward the heavens.

"What a powerful willpower."

The man in the black robe praised. He took a step forward, and behind him, a horrifying scene emerged. Within that vision was a world, and this world was in a state of constant collapse. Countless living beings were dying miserably in this cataclysmic disaster; the entire scene was a purgatory that made one's soul tremble.

"You wouldn't use such low-level illusions to deal with me, would you?"

Su Ye chuckled lightly. Although the scene behind his opponent was terrifying, that was all it was. For someone who had once enjoyed watching films at midnight, such imagery was nothing more than that.

"This is no illusion."

The man in the black robe spoke with a solemn expression. His eyes were filled with awe and fear as he said, "This is a cataclysm that once occurred in heaven and earth, and now, it shall be mirrored in this world."

Rumble.

The heavens and earth roared, and then endless radiance spilled down from the firmament. The entire valley shook violently, followed by the earth cracking open. Those who were kneeling on the ground in piety did not realize that disaster had descended; they remained kneeling there, motionless.

Su Ye watched the earth beneath him continuously cracking and frowned. Runes swirled within his gaze as he fully activated his Samsara Eye.

Everything before him was real; it was not an illusion.

But how could this be?

Those rays of light possessed no destructive power; how could they cause the entire valley to collapse?

Su Ye did not have time to overthink. He rushed downward, intending to awaken the bewitched villagers and have them leave this place as quickly as possible, lest they all perish here.

The man in the black robe wore a playful smile. He did not stop Su Ye, instead spreading his arms as if to embrace the world. At this moment, he seemed like the master of this heaven and earth.

"Wake..."

Su Ye looked at the people turning into dust before him, his expression horrified. They were clearly living people; although they had been controlled, he could clearly sense the vitality still within them. Yet, the moment he touched one, the person turned directly into dust and dissipated, not even leaving behind their robes, as if they had never existed at all and everything was merely a phantom.

It was not just the villager Su Ye had touched; the other villagers also began to dissipate one after another, turning into dust and ceasing to exist.

Furthermore, it was not just the villagers; even the land and the rocks began to dissipate. Everything was like a dream, a bubble, a shadow.

"Open."

Su Ye shouted, pushing his Samsara Eye to its limit, wanting to see through it all. But everything before his eyes remained exactly as it was, without the slightest change.

Either his Heavenly Eye was unable to see through it—after all, his Samsara Eye was not particularly outstanding in terms of insight—or everything before him was indeed reality, not falsehood.

"It is over."

The man in the black robe said softly. Immediately, this patch of heaven and earth began to collapse continuously; the ground sank, mountain peaks crumbled, vegetation withered, and everything returned to nothingness.

Chaos permeated the void, and all things were extinguished.

"Hoo, hoo..."

The man in the black robe gasped for air, looking at the chaotic region before him. His face was deathly pale and his expression was one of shock. Although this was a terrifying scene caused by his own power, such destructive force still left him stunned. However, it quickly turned into excitement; with this power, he would be invincible in this era.

But why did the opponent have no guardian?

As a powerhouse with the combat strength of a Prince, he truly did not need to unleash such powerful force to deal with a mere existence in the Blood-Moving Realm, yet he had done so anyway.

This was because he could sense that the youth's talent was extraordinary and that he must have come from a major power. In that case, there would inevitably be a powerful expert guarding him. His attack just now was not only to kill the youth but also to eliminate the guardian behind him.

Yet, the guardian would have been killed the moment they appeared, and since they had not appeared from beginning to end, he felt a bit like a fool.

"What terrifying power."

Suddenly, a voice came from the direction of the altar, carrying a hint of shock.

Hearing this voice, the smile on the man in the black robe's face instantly froze. He turned to look at the altar, only to see a figure standing there—it was none other than Su Ye, who should have been dead.

"Let go!"

Seeing that Su Ye actually dared to touch the Bronze Pillar, the man in the black robe's eyes turned blood-red, and he lunged toward Su Ye. That Bronze Pillar was his foundation, his hope for becoming a god and an ancestor in the future.

Seeing the man in the black robe rushing toward him in a frenzy, Su Ye withdrew his hand. It was not out of fear of the man, but because he was wary of the Bronze Pillar, as he felt a heart-palpitating power emanating from it.

"Having lost your reason, your fate is sealed."

Su Ye stood motionless, his aura growing stronger and stronger. Endless radiance surged from within his body, and runes swirled, gathering in his hand to form a long spear.

The spear thrust out like a dragon.

"Pfft."

The light of the spear pierced directly through the crazed man in the black robe, and the violent wind tore his body into a mist of blood.

Having killed the man in the black robe, Su Ye felt no joy; instead, his expression was grave. Firstly, he had failed to save those villagers.

Secondly, he felt this man in the black robe was somewhat strange. Although the opponent had expended a great deal of energy, for a cultivator who had opened a Heavenly Passage, such consumption could be recovered quickly.

Moreover, the opponent's cultivation was strong; even if he could not unleash that terrifying divine ability again, he could have utilized other precious techniques.

He was only in the Blood-Moving Realm, while his opponent possessed combat power comparable to a prince; killing him would have been difficult, yet the opponent had lost his reason in the end, which was the only reason his spear strike had succeeded.

Su Ye looked at the motionless Bronze Pillar standing on the altar. The pillar appeared extremely ancient, covered in patches of verdigris, and one look was enough to tell it was a relic from a very distant age.

Runes swirled within his gaze as he studied the massive Bronze Pillar before him. Although his Samsara Eye was far inferior to the Double Pupil, Fiery Golden Eyes, or other Heavenly Eyes in terms of insight, it was still a Heavenly Eye capable of perceiving things invisible to mortal eyes.

A sacred world emerged within Su Ye's vision. It was a peaceful and tranquil kingdom where the inhabitants lived in contentment; whether they were the elderly, children, or middle-aged men, their faces all bore sincere smiles.

The reason the people of this kingdom lived in such harmony was because the kingdom possessed a powerful Sacrificial Spirit that guarded them.

But a catastrophe descended, and in the face of this terrifying disaster, even the powerful Sacrificial Spirit could not withstand it.

The earth sank, and everything was buried.

This was the Samsara Eye's fate-tracing ability, which could trace the past through the causality of fate.

Through this fate-tracing, Su Ye learned the origin of the archaic Bronze Pillar before him: it was the Totem Pillar of that destroyed ancient kingdom.

A Totem Pillar was a precious artifact forged by a Sacrificial Spirit, containing the spirit's power. It could not only collect the power of faith but also channel the Sacrificial Spirit's strength from hundreds of thousands of miles away to guard a territory.

Such items generally only appeared in powerful tribes and ancient kingdoms, as large tribes and kingdoms spanned vast regions, and since there was only one Sacrificial Spirit, it could not be everywhere at once.

"So it is a Totem Pillar; no wonder it can collect the power of faith."

Su Ye understood. Looking at the bronze Totem Pillar, he said with a smile, "I wonder if you are the lingering obsession of that ancient kingdom's Sacrificial Spirit, or if endless years have allowed you to gestate your own intelligence, or perhaps you are merely a wisp of consciousness from some powerful entity attached to this object?"

He could be certain that the black-robed man's final abnormality was absolutely related to this Totem Pillar, and it was highly likely that the man had been a puppet of this pillar.

"Don't think that staying silent will save you. You had best answer me honestly, or I will suppress you directly into a cesspit."

Su Ye said with a smile, but though he was smiling, his expression was cold.

"Young man, since you have discovered my existence, why do you not flee? Do you truly think this Emperor cannot control you?"

A cold voice emanated from the Totem Pillar. Immediately, the profound patterns on the pillar began to radiate a brilliant glow, and a powerful, vast force permeated the air, causing the heavens and earth to rumble.