Emperor Zun took a single step into the Underworld and came face-to-face with Netherworld Venerable.
"Should I call you Master, or fellow Daoist?" Emperor Zun asked Netherworld Venerable. "Are you still the same person?"
"My dear disciple, do you no longer acknowledge me as your master?" Netherworld Venerable replied.
"After your Corpse Spirit Awakening, you attained Enlightenment as Supreme anew. Your soul hasn't been the same for a long time," Emperor Zun said. "Let me see how much of my master's skill you retained!"
"We fight at the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland!"
The two terrifying figures stepped forward, seemingly crossing the river of time as they rushed toward the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland.
Rumble!
The Cosmic Frontier Wasteland erupted with the most dazzling light.
It illuminated the endless, cold, dark universe and shook the ages.
A battle between Heavenly Venerables!
After so many years, a true battle at the level of Heavenly Venerables had appeared once more.
Their flawless Ultimate Dao auras clashed in a battle at the very pinnacle.
No one had expected Emperor Zun and Netherworld Venerable to share such an unusual bond.
The first thing they did upon meeting was not catch up, but fight.
They unleashed a battle of the most terrifying kind.
Ripples of the Grand Dao spread from them, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
The void shattered and the stars trembled. None could withstand their might.
The entire world was stunned.
Every living creature under heaven shuddered in terror.
Even ancient relics and living fossils sealed away from the world were jolted awake.
The battle between Emperor Zun and Netherworld Venerable was like something out of myth—a genuine Divine War.
In this era, when multiple Heavenly Venerables existed at once, a true Divine War between them had broken out again.
People finally felt what a Heavenly Venerable's peak combat power meant.
Rumble!
Emperor Zun let out a long roar. Galaxies collapsed one after another, and the Eternal Ascension Power he unleashed surpassed every art in the world.
As the battle grew fiercer, people were astonished to see Netherworld Venerable sent flying by Emperor Zun.
Netherworld Venerable was immensely powerful and had displayed invincible might. Many Dark Supremes acknowledged his strength.
Yet now, the newly risen Emperor Zun had sent him flying, shattering galaxy after galaxy in his wake.
It was inconceivable.
This battle was far too terrifying.
Netherworld Venerable's and Emperor Zun's blood was everywhere among the stars...
At some point, people saw that blood had dyed the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland red, with scarlet radiance soaring into the heavens.
It was Netherworld Venerable's blood. It was Emperor Zun's blood.
Their blood scattered across the universe in a storm of blood and gore.
Apart from the Dark Supremes, no one could see the battle itself, not even with the Heaven-Piercing Dharma Eye.
But many people had a vague premonition: Netherworld Venerable was at a disadvantage. Emperor Zun was stronger.
Netherworld Venerable, once a king at the pinnacle, was no longer Emperor Zun's match.
With a deafening boom, the Myriad Dao of Heaven and Earth wailed. Netherworld Venerable's body burst apart, splashing blood across the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland.
That terrifying eruption sent bloody light across half the universe in an instant.
Every sun, moon, and star in the heavens was stained red.
When Netherworld Venerable exploded, he was like a blazing crimson sun, his light shining across half the universe.
Who would have thought that the body of a Flawless Great Emperor like Netherworld Venerable could unleash such incomparable power when it burst apart?
Countless galaxies went dark and were reduced to ash. Even the Chaos Sea at the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland was dyed red.
The consequences defied imagination.
Every living creature under heaven was horrified, their souls trembling.
Some Dark Supremes stared at Emperor Zun's overwhelming power, too stunned to speak.
The entire universe seemed to stand still, falling into an inexplicable silence.
It was as though all life had withered.
"Did Netherworld Venerable just die?"
"Did he really fall like that?"
"This is the legendary Netherworld Venerable!"
The many Dark Supremes looked bewildered.
Boom!
Suddenly, bloody light pierced the nine heavens, and a supreme wave of power at the Heavenly Venerable level erupted again.
Endless scarlet radiance gathered anew, and Duan De's body took shape once more.
With another boom, Netherworld Venerable blasted Emperor Zun's body apart.
It was as though a ghost of the Underworld were splitting heaven from earth.
Mountains of corpses and seas of blood spread everywhere, bearing down on the entire world. Heaven and earth seemed ready to collapse into a wasteland of bones.
"Netherworld Venerable came back to life!"
"He actually blew Emperor Zun apart!"
"Netherworld Venerable truly can't be underestimated!"
"This battle isn't over!"
"I knew Netherworld Venerable couldn't die so easily. How could Emperor Zun defeat him without a struggle?"
"That's right. They say Emperor Zun was once Tribulation Heavenly Venerable's disciple, but he no longer accepts Netherworld Venerable, who attained Enlightenment as Supreme anew, as his master."
"Surely Netherworld Venerable didn't deliberately blow himself up to turn the tide?"
"It's quite possible. Emperor Zun had drawn him into his rhythm. Blowing himself up to seize control of the battle again was certainly effective."
"Netherworld Venerable's body is so formidable. The force of its explosion is hard to imagine."
"Netherworld Venerable is truly ruthless, turning the battle around in such a brutal way."
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
A wave of power at the Heavenly Venerable level rose again, and bloody radiance gathered anew.
With a tremendous boom, as though heaven and earth had given birth to a Sacred Spirit, Emperor Zun's body broke free once more.
His life force blotted out the sky and sun, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
"Netherworld Venerable, you truly are strong!"
"But that's as far as it goes."
Reconstituted, Emperor Zun displayed even greater strength.
The battle continued. Emperor Zun's unique Eternal Ascension Power tore through heaven and earth, growing stronger still.
Brilliant Eternal Ascension Light illuminated the starry universe, dazzling to behold.
People now knew that Emperor Zun was so powerful that even having his body blown apart would not kill him easily.
Even if both his Primordial Spirit and his flesh were destroyed, he could still revive.
Though Netherworld Venerable had blasted him apart this time, it had not affected him in the slightest.
Emperor Zun's momentum still surged like a rainbow as he displayed invincible might.
Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Zun fought until heaven and earth seemed to break apart at the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland, reducing countless stars to ash.
Vast stretches of the endless Chaos Sea evaporated.
As they fought, torrents from the boundless Chaos Sea poured into their bodies like waterfalls, replenishing their divine power.
People were astonished to discover countless fragments of stars and enormous corpses within the Chaos Sea.
Some corpses were even larger than entire galaxies.
As the two evaporated vast stretches of the Chaos Sea, people seemed to glimpse what truly lay inside it.
Their battle raged on. Those colossal corpses could not withstand even its aftershocks and turned to ash in the blink of an eye.
They truly fought until heaven and earth broke apart and ghosts wailed and gods howled.
All manner of terrifying phenomena appeared, and a storm of blood and gore began to fall.
Black lightning crossed the stars, while wave after wave of thunder resembled a Heavenly Tribulation.
People saw Netherworld Venerable wave a hand and summon endless spectral soldiers of the Underworld across the stars.
They also saw what looked like a Heavenly Court behind Emperor Zun, filled with countless Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals.
Who would have thought Emperor Zun's vision would be so unusual? It was a vision of a Heavenly Court itself.
Netherworld Venerable's, meanwhile, was a vision of the Underworld.
Their visions were evenly matched, different paths leading to the same destination.
No wonder Netherworld Venerable had founded the Underworld and Emperor Zun wanted to establish a Heavenly Court. Their visions had been extraordinary all along.
It was as though those visions had kept reminding them since they were weak, like fortune ordained by unseen forces.
In this battle between Heavenly Venerables, all such visions were child's play, extinguished in the blink of an eye.
The real battle lay in the collision of their bodies and their Grand Dao Laws.
Amid the ruins and across the Chaos Sea, towering bursts of light erupted from time to time.
Another deafening boom sent blood-light soaring into the heavens and blood splashing across the universe.
That stretch of the Chaos Sea collapsed, and countless enormous corpses were hurled deep into the universe.
No one knew whether Netherworld Venerable or Emperor Zun had been blown apart.
Either way, a sea of blood-light surged and roiled, staining the Chaos Sea a deep crimson.
For a true battle between Heavenly Venerables to reach this point shook the entire world.
People had heard that Demon Venerable had once fought Carefree Heavenly Venerable and Longevity Heavenly Venerable, but that had been countless years ago.
Now, the battle between Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Zun was unfolding before their eyes.
Seeing that the two could hold such immense power within their bodies left people deeply shaken.
They hoped that one day they, too, could cultivate to such a realm.
"Is the battle over?"
"Who won?"
"Was it Netherworld Venerable or Emperor Zun who was just blown apart?"
A moment later, the auras of Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Zun spread once more, and the fluctuations of their distinctive Grand Dao Laws returned.
Their immense life forces appeared again.
Clearly, both had revived and resumed their battle.
Both were at their peak, in what could be called a flawless Heavenly Venerable state.
With so little difference in their strength, winning was extraordinarily difficult.
In the days that followed,
Netherworld Venerable was blown apart six times, and Emperor Zun four.
Each time, their bodies and Primordial Spirits burst into ash and burned fiercely.
But neither died. Both endured.
After all, they were not mortal enemies. They were testing each other's skills.
When everything finally settled, peace returned to the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland.
Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Zun stood there like gods.
The suffocating fluctuations of their Grand Dao were awe-inspiring.
"So who won this battle?"
"Emperor Zun defeated Netherworld Venerable!"
"Who would have thought Emperor Zun would become so powerful in this lifetime!"
The battle was over, and Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Zun spoke together about something unknown to onlookers.
Cheers rose from all the Life Source Grounds.
"Emperor Zun!"
"Netherworld Venerable!"
Their cheers echoed across the stars.
"Well fought, fellow Daoist Netherworld Venerable!"
After their battle, Emperor Zun and Netherworld Venerable discussed mysteries of the Dao and treated each other with great courtesy.
Emperor Zun did not accept that Netherworld Venerable was still his master, but his master's corpse had awakened as a spirit and attained Enlightenment as Supreme anew.
So Emperor Zun still treated Netherworld Venerable with courtesy and respect.
"The young truly are formidable!"
"As expected of Tribulation Heavenly Venerable's fine disciple!"
"What do you plan to do next?"
Netherworld Venerable asked after they had caught up.
"Of course. There is much I intend to do in this lifetime."
"I want to found the Ancient Heavenly Court!"
"I want the Ascension of the Entire Religion!"
"I want to forge the Immortal Ascension Cauldron!"
"I want to refine the Nine-Revolution Immortal Elixir, so the Dark Supremes can remain at their peak for two thousand years."
"I want to invite all the great Supremes to emerge together and join the Ascension of the Entire Religion!"
Emperor Zun spoke of his boundless ambitions.
"Before I do any of that, I want to challenge the legendary first Heavenly Venerable—the Demon Venerable!" Emperor Zun declared with utter confidence.
Boom!
No sooner had Emperor Zun spoken than his words seemed to stir the unseen Grand Dao Laws, setting the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands resonating.
The Demon Venerable had attained enlightenment and had never severed his own cultivation. When someone as powerful as Emperor Zun spoke his name, he naturally sensed it through that unseen connection.
Li Ming was jolted out of his state of enlightenment!
The moment Emperor Zun finished speaking, a beam of Chaos Divine Light flew from the depths of the Reincarnation Sea toward the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland.
Wherever the Demon Venerable passed, chaos surged.
Countless phantom Immortal Spirits circled him, while terrifying lightning flashed.
A man of heroic, imposing stature and strikingly handsome features walked toward the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland, one step at a time.
"It's the Demon Venerable!"
"The Demon Venerable is on the move!"
"The Demon Venerable has gone to the Chaos Sea in the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland. What's he going to do?"
"Is he going to discuss the Dao with Emperor Zun?"
All along his path, countless cultivators erupted with excitement and shouted the Demon Venerable's honored name.
Boundless Faith Power gathered like a vast ocean and flowed into that mass of chaos.
"The Demon Venerable has reached the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland!"
"The Demon Venerable and Emperor Zun are face-to-face!"
"Are they going to discuss the Dao?"
"Huh? Why are they fighting?"
Many powerful onlookers used their Heaven-Piercing Dharma Eyes to watch the scene in the Cosmic Frontier Wasteland. What they saw left them dumbstruck.
Having just defeated the Netherworld Venerable, Emperor Zun was brimming with confidence.
He had confidently proclaimed his goal for this Lifetime, looking almost like the young man who had once shown off to his master, the Tribulation Heavenly Venerable.
But the moment he mentioned the Demon Venerable's name, every hair on Emperor Zun's body stood on end. A chill ran through his bones.
His heart gave a lurch.
Damn it. I boasted too big!
The Demon Venerable's come knocking!
He pushed himself to the limit. Nine Secrets: Jie and Nine Secrets: Xing erupted at once, carrying him across several universes in an instant at a speed beyond all extremes.
Yet great sprays of blood still burst from his body.
The Nine-Colored Heavenly Saber swept across the sky, nearly cleaving Emperor Zun in two.
It had missed by a hair!!!
Half his body had been split open, and blood poured from the wound.
For untold ages, Emperor Zun had not suffered an injury.
Even when he battled eighteen Perfected Sacred Spirits, he had not shed a single drop of blood.
Even in his battle with the Netherworld Venerable, he had sustained only a slight injury while fighting at his limit, and it had healed in the blink of an eye.
But now, riding high on his great victory over the Netherworld Venerable, he had not even had a chance to show off before the Demon Venerable nearly cut him down with a single stroke.
Even allowing for the fact that he had not recovered to his peak after fighting the Netherworld Venerable, it was enough to show how terrifyingly powerful the Demon Venerable was.
The Demon Venerable's hand was smooth as jade, wreathed in endless chaotic energy.
Holding the Nine-Colored Heavenly Saber, he launched a fatal strike with a gentle swing.
The battle between Emperor Zun and the Demon Venerable erupted!
Another Divine War had begun.
The Demon Venerable had not fought for years, yet now he had attacked Emperor Zun of his own accord.
Rumble!
Waterfalls of chaos poured down from the void. A rain of light danced across the sky as terrifying thunder exploded overhead.
Li Ming looked like the Thunder God descended to earth, or a god born of chaos. His aura was terrifyingly powerful.
For all Emperor Zun's strength, Li Ming had nearly killed him with a single slash.
The Heavenly Demonic Saber had already evolved into an Immortal Weapon, and the consequences of that one slash were dire.
Emperor Zun felt as though the Heavenly Demonic Saber had devoured nearly half his blood essence in the blink of an eye.
Its terrifying aura was beyond anything he could bear.
He re-formed his body and stared hard at Li Ming, who seemed to have become a mass of chaotic lightning.
Hiss!
That jade-smooth hand swung the Heavenly Demonic Saber again, slashing toward Emperor Zun.
The Demon Venerable against Emperor Zun—their battle at the pinnacle was underway.
An incomparably brilliant saber light tore through the eternal cold and darkness.
It was as though heaven and earth were being split apart.
As though a god were awakening.
As though a god were being born from chaos.
Overwhelming and unmatched beneath the heavens.
That breathtaking slash surpassed all understanding and every limit of the world. It shook the universe and the starry skies of ages past.
Nothing could withstand it. No one could face its edge.
Already an Immortal Weapon, the saber displayed even greater, near-immortal might in Li Ming's hands.
Splat! It cleaved Emperor Zun to pieces.
The many Dark Supremes watched the Demon Venerable fight again after so many years. Seeing him more forceful and domineering than ever sent shudders through them all.
The Demon Venerable's strength had grown too swiftly. He was nearly impossible to resist.
Emperor Zun struggled to re-form his body, formed seals with both hands, and unleashed the power of the Great Dao in a frenzy.
One mysterious Grand Dao Rune after another appeared, linking past, present, and future, piercing through the ages, and radiating an indescribable Eternal Ascension Power.
He formed seals with both hands, drawing every Grand Dao Rune together into one. Brilliant Immortal Light burst forth.
His Eternal Ascension Power suppressed the ages and erupted with the force to destroy heaven and earth.
With the power of the Great Dao, he struck the Heavenly Demonic Saber with crushing force.
Eternal Ascension Power bloomed. Great Dao Flowers bloomed.
Dazzling light blazed, and the Grand Dao Heavenly Sound thundered, shaking the ages.
No one had expected that, after untold ages, Emperor Zun and the Demon Venerable would clash in such a terrifying Divine War.
The Heavenly Demonic Saber crossed the sky and tore the universe apart.
Li Ming's mastery reached the heights of creation, eclipsing past and present alike.
Clang!
The Immortal Ascension Cauldron shot into the sky and collided with the Heavenly Demonic Saber.
The myriad beings of heaven and earth appeared upon it, all charging furiously at the Heavenly Demonic Saber as dazzling green divine light erupted.
Had it not been for the Heavenly Demonic Saber, the Immortal Ascension Cauldron, which should have become an Immortal Weapon, would have been the strongest Extreme Dao Weapon of this era.
It was perhaps only one step away from becoming a true Immortal Weapon.
Unfortunately, it had met the Heavenly Demonic Saber, which had already become one.
Boom! The Immortal Ascension Cauldron was cleaved straight in two.
Had Li Ming intended to kill, the Immortal Ascension Cauldron would have been devoured outright.
In this era, Li Ming had won glory without equal.
He had stumbled along the way, defeated every opponent, and attained Enlightenment as Supreme through sheer force.
No sooner had he attained Enlightenment as Supreme than he killed the Carefree Heavenly Venerable, one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables.
Later, he killed the Longevity Heavenly Venerable and many Dark Supremes.
At his most fearsome, he killed eleven Dark Supremes in a single battle.
That had cemented his name as the Demon Venerable.
Now, among the Dark Supremes, the words "Demon Venerable" had become a taboo no one dared utter.
They feared that even the slightest mention would alert Li Ming and bring him to their door.
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