The Soul-Sealing Patterns instantly merged with drops of Divine Soul Pool Water scattered throughout every corner, which then shot into the air.
They immediately transformed into countless Soul-Locking Divine Chains as illusory as Tan Lin's figure.
Like swarms of golden, silver, and transparent serpents emerging from their nest, the chains formed a net from all directions and coiled toward Tan Lin's remnant soul!
At the same time.
A vast amount of Divine Soul Pool Water within the ancient well beside Undying Daoist broke its stillness and began to boil violently. A terrifying suction force targeting the soul surged forth, seeking to drag Tan Lin's remnant soul into the pool and refine it!
Boom...
A killing formation suddenly unfolded.
Yet.
Faced with this abrupt scene, Tan Lin's remnant soul showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Under the dual states of [Inverted All-Causes Vision] and [All Causes Barrier], he had slipped through the Central Plains boundary wall and infiltrated all the way here, passing unhindered even through the outer perimeter of Human Emperor Hall's territory.
It was only because the Soul-Sealing Patterns and Divine Soul Pool Water arranged within this enormous hall were simply too dense that he had been forced to reveal himself.
But so what?
Buzz...
With a thought from Tan Lin, a Deep Crimson Light Point flew from the dial of the All-Causes Soul Pearl into his palm.
At that instant, just as the countless Soul-Locking Chains closed in, he pushed the barrier state to its absolute limit.
The barrier seemed to temporarily become a physical shell, containing his remnant soul and serving as a buffer between him and the Soul-Locking Chains.
Hiss... hiss...
The fireflies within the Deep Crimson Light Point burned fiercely, and Tan Lin's remnant soul was dyed a deep crimson.
At that moment, he was crimson, and crimson was him.
At that moment, even though Undying Daoist could tell from the chains' movements that his figure had to still be there, he could no longer see anything at all.
Boom!!!
At that very moment.
The chains personally arranged by Undying Daoist, capable of instantly shredding the soul of any Quasi-Emperor, vanished like clay oxen sinking into the sea the instant they touched the formless crimson mist.
They accomplished nothing.
"Hm?!"
Undying Daoist's pupils contracted slightly. He flicked his whisk and shot up from beside the formation core at the well mouth, entering the formation himself.
With the Divine Soul Pool Water's miraculous properties, even though he could not see the other party, he still had Tan Lin's exact position under control.
"I have never even heard of such power. The great secret on your body truly is not as simple as this Daoist sensed back in the Primordial Era..."
Within the formation, Undying Daoist narrowed his eyes at Tan Lin's constantly shifting invisible outline.
The boundless Faith Power within his Faith Body surged, and in the next instant, he erupted with an aura no weaker than that of any Restricted-Area Supreme.
And that was not all. He raised a hand toward the Outer Domain and beckoned.
In an instant, a thread of imperial might pierced through the high heavens. An unimaginably terrifying Extreme-Path Heavy Weapon was crossing the endless cosmic starry sky from the Outer Domain, about to fall into his hand.
The Undying Heavenly Blade!!!
He had never underestimated this former "Human Emperor." Though he could see that the other party's current state was nowhere near a match for him.
But he had not forgotten that during that hunt before the Primordial Era, he had also held absolute confidence of victory. Yet hadn't the other party still escaped with a wisp of remnant soul in the end?
Moreover, what he wanted today was to capture the other party and unearth the great secret on him, not erase him.
That was why he had even temporarily summoned the Undying Heavenly Blade that had originally been guarding the Five-Colored Immortal Egg containing his true body in the Outer Domain.
He had to seal him in one strike!
Boom!!!
The Undying Heavenly Blade reappeared. Before it had even truly arrived and displayed its divine might, merely the trace of aura it leaked while crossing the starry sky caused the heavens over all of Central Plains, and even the entire Big Dipper Star Field, to tremble.
It was as if they might collapse at any moment, and countless people looked up in panic.
"A god? It's the aura of a god..."
"Has His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor returned?"
Some slumbering members of the Primordial Race were awakened by the disturbance, and a feverish gleam flashed through their eyes within their Divine Source.
During the Primordial Era, Undying Heavenly Emperor had been an absolute myth, possessing absolute majesty, revered by all races beneath the heavens.
Even someone as powerful as Fighting Saint Emperor had not held him in the highest esteem during his early years?
Within the great formation of the enormous hall.
Tan Lin's remnant soul used Nine Secrets: Xing, constantly shifting his position to lessen the contact between the All Causes Barrier and the Soul-Locking Chains.
Forcibly solidifying the barrier into a "body" shell naturally consumed far more than before. The drain was terrifying; in merely one or two breaths, the fireflies within the third Deep Crimson Light Point were already nearly exhausted!
And at the exact instant Undying Daoist raised his hand to summon the Undying Heavenly Blade.
Seeing that his opponent intended to seal him far more than kill him, he endured a chain's sealing strike head-on, and his illusory figure arrived within the inner hall.
Then, his deep gaze finally settled behind a screen barrier.
There stood a battle banner that had once followed him through countless campaigns, gathering the heroic souls of innumerable soldiers and generals. Upon sensing his approach, it had already begun to hum and flap loudly.
The instant he saw the battle banner, Tan Lin understood.
He understood why such a large Soul-Sealing Fragment had not shattered into dust and had endured until now.
"The Human Emperor Banner? You did give it a fine name for me..."
Tan Lin's remnant soul gave a soft laugh.
Bang...
At that moment, the fireflies within the third Deep Crimson Light Point burned away completely, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.
The crimson mist dispersed, and Tan Lin's figure reappeared in Undying Daoist's sight.
Separated by the screen barrier, the largest fragment of his true soul within the banner shook violently, resonating intensely with him at that moment.
"After lying silent for ages, I have come today to raise my old battle banner once more."
Tan Lin's voice was calm, yet it carried a vast grandeur that seemed to pierce through the years.
Before his words had faded.
A wisp of his will, wrapped in crimson-gray mist, passed through the formation's blockade and fully connected with the Great Dao traces he had engraved into heaven and earth in his previous life!
Boom...
In an instant, an ancient power hidden in the unseen was completely stirred, as though it had crossed the river of time and space before descending with a thunderous crash!
A million years had passed. Since his whereabouts had already been exposed for so long, there was no longer any need to hide!
Dong!!!
The aura of the Human Emperor Dao Mark and the Undying Heavenly Blade pierced the universe at almost the same time.
Their auras overlapped, shaking the heavens and making the Myriad Daos roar.
At that moment, not only did the heavens tremble, but even the entire land of Central Plains seemed to quake faintly!
Then, an Imperial Dao aura that stood above all living beings and looked down upon the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands erupted from this enormous hall, sweeping across the Five Regions of the Big Dipper!
Above the firmament, endless auspicious radiance poured down. The phantoms of Lunar Holy Emperor and Solar Holy Emperor appeared simultaneously, forming a Yin-Yang Millstone that released an unreal aura of Chaos Qi!
At that moment, Tan Lin's remnant soul merged with his newly condensed primordial spirit, reconstructing his soul.
Connected to the Great Dao traces, the Human Emperor's combat power had briefly returned!
Even though this was destined to be nothing more than a fleeting bloom, and once the time limit passed, the traces of his previous life would be further worn away, even vanish entirely, Tan Lin did not care.
Right now, he only wanted the fragment of true soul within that banner!
Dong...
"The Human Emperor?! It's His Majesty the Human Emperor!!!"
"His Majesty has returned! It truly is His Majesty!"
"That bastard Gong Xuan actually did not deceive us? He sealed off His Majesty's place of attainment, set up altars every day, and burned incense. It has only been three or four months, yet His Majesty has truly reappeared..."
"..."
"I knew it! With His Majesty the Human Emperor's brilliance back then, he must have left behind contingencies. He could never have truly fallen so easily!"
"..."
"I truly never expected that after coming to Big Dipper to pay respects to the Human Emperor's former lands and legacy, I would actually witness His Majesty the Human Emperor return from nothingness?!"
The powers of Lunar and Solar blended in perfect harmony. This distinctive aura reappeared, and the disturbance spread across the Five Regions of the Big Dipper and even into the Outer Domain's starry sky.
At that moment, no one needed to say anything. The cultivators of Human Emperor Hall nearby, who bore the brunt of it, all had their minds shaken.
Those cultivators who had long suffered oppression from Gong Xuan and his confidants, who had dared not speak of their anger at his actions.
Even though they had been born in this later Ancient Era, had only ever gazed upon portraits of the Human Emperor, and could only learn of him from records of his deeds in ancient texts, having never met him.
Yet now, seeing that vast figure overlooking all heaven and earth, every one of them was stirred beyond measure, their blood inevitably boiling.
Thud!
Thud... thud...
As the Imperial Dao aura spread, whether cultivators or mortals, everyone within Human Emperor Hall's territory was moved to tears. They all fell to their knees toward the figure spanning heaven and earth.
Every face was filled with fervor.
"So this is... His Majesty the Human Emperor? Truly heroic and majestic... worthy of the ancestral bearing of the Primordial Era..."
The contemporary Human King Body, who had come to Big Dipper with her elders to pay respects to the Human Emperor, raised her head toward the phantom and murmured, her red lips slightly parted.
Her sword-like brows rose, her starry eyes widened. At that moment, it seemed as though only the Human Emperor's peerless figure remained in her eyes.
Seeing him with her own eyes, she clenched her hands slightly, feeling as though the blood throughout her body could not cool.
With the great era rising once more, she too possessed the Human King Body. Could she one day walk the same path as His Majesty the Human Emperor?
There were also some nearby whose faces had turned pale, whose bodies trembled, their eyes filled with confusion, terror, and disbelief.
"The... the Human Emperor has really appeared? How is that possible!! According to the records, he was attacked in turn by several Restricted-Area Supremes back then. His Ancient Emperor Blood, Origin, and Dao Fruit were all divided up, and even his primordial spirit was destroyed. How could he possibly reappear?"
"Don't be afraid. The Human Emperor has long fallen. Even if he has returned now, it is only a fleeting bloom. He will truly pass away sooner or later. Behind Hall Master Gong Xuan stands a genuine Restricted-Area Supreme!"
"R-right... that's right... Even the Human Emperor fell at the height of his power before the Primordial Era. Even if he has briefly returned today, how could he be a match for a Restricted-Area Supreme?"
"..."
"Where is Hall Master Gong Xuan?"
"He... didn't he personally go to deal with those cultivators from the Ziwei Star Domain?"
"..."
As the earth-shaking disturbance spread, cultivators gradually noticed that Gong Xuan, the master of Human Emperor Hall, seemed to have vanished without a trace.
"That man... has truly returned?"
At that moment, countless ancient beings across Big Dipper were awakened. Terrifying divine senses crossed mountains and rivers, focusing upon Human Emperor Hall in Central Plains.
"Is he the Dao Attainer who cultivated both Lunar and Solar? Though he is far inferior to Lunar Ancient Emperor, he is somewhat interesting..."
"The one who entered Undying Mountain and caused such an enormous disturbance last time should have been this person, right?"
"..."
"Heh, so Undying Daoist had laid out a plan in Central Plains. Now that the Undying Heavenly Blade has also appeared, that Human Emperor will most likely face grave danger once again..."
Before you continue