"Boom!!!"
A muffled thud came from within the King of Creation, a sound like some kind of shackle being forcibly torn off, or like some kind of connection being completely erased.
The King of Creation's body suddenly stiffened, and he looked down at his chest.
Inky black lines spread from his heart, then spread wildly to his limbs, to every inch of his skin, to every pore.
On those patterns flowed an extremely eerie rune, containing a terrifying power that could devour everything!
"No!!!"
He roared, Creation Force within his body surged wildly, attempting to suppress those patterns!
But those patterns seemed to be alive; the stronger the Creation Force, the faster they spread and the more fiercely they devoured!
It's clearly designed to specifically restrain him!
"No... no..."
The voice of the King of Creation trembled; he sensed it.
His soul was being squeezed, driven away, and forcibly torn from Di Cang's body!
Now that his true form has been refined, if even Di Cang's physical body cannot contain him, he will surely die on this Emperor Path Battlefield!
" Shi Wentian!!!"
He roared to the sky, his voice filled with madness and despair. "You will die a horrible death!!!"
"You've schemed against me for eternity! You'll die a horrible death!!!"
But the roar was of no use.
"Pfft!"
A soft sound.
The soul of the King of Creation has completely separated from Di Cang's physical body!
It was an illusory figure, radiating a faint golden light, with a ferocious look in its eyes; it was the true form of the King of Creation.
His soul floated in mid-air, entangled by countless dark patterns. These patterns, like chains, imprisoned his soul and devoured it frantically!
"No..."
He struggled and roared, but his soul grew fainter, thinner, and weaker.
But Di Cang's physical body has completely changed.
Dark patterns covered his entire body, and an extremely terrifying aura slowly awakened from within him. That aura was ancient, desolate, and domineering to the extreme!
"Boom!!!"
Di Cang's physical body suddenly opened its eyes.
Those eyes no longer held the lofty authority of the King of Creation, but rather a deeper, more terrifying majesty!
The First Divine General!
That gaze swept across the entire Epoch Battlefield, and all the powerful figures whose gazes were swept felt a chill run down their spines, their very souls trembling!
"Big brother..." the Second Divine General murmured, his whole body stiff.
That gaze swept over the Second Divine General without lingering, finally settling on the illusory divine soul of the King of Creation.
" Creation, it's been a long time." Di Cang's physical body spoke.
"Stone! Question! Heaven!"
The soul of the King of Creation stared intently at that gaze, gritting its teeth and speaking each word with boundless hatred.
"When... when did you start plotting against me?!"
"From countless ages ago," Di Cang's physical body spoke, its tone calm, "From the moment you first imparted your teachings to Di Cang."
"It all started when you chose to possess his body."
"From the moment you enter the Emperor Path Battlefield."
"From the moment you stepped onto this battlefield, it was all destined."
"Why?!" The King of Creation's soul struggled frantically, the black chains rattling loudly, yet his soul grew fainter and fainter. "I have treated you well!"
"I consider you my dearest friend! I discuss the Dao with you! I will pass on my Inheritance to Di Cang! I trust you so much!!"
"Yes." Di Cang's physical body nodded slightly, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "You have treated me well, you regard me as a close friend."
"But what does that matter in the face of the Emperor Path?"
"You..."
The King of Creation wanted to roar and struggle, but his soul had already faded to the extreme, and the pitch-black chains almost completely swallowed it up.
"I'm not reconciled..."
His voice grew weaker and weaker, and the golden light faded.
"I'm not reconciled..."
The voice seemed to come from eternity ago, carrying a deep-seated sorrow.
Images began to appear before his eyes.
That was a long, long time ago.
A boy, he had a pair of eyes, a pair of eyes that never bowed down.
"One day, I will stand at the pinnacle of All Heavens."
The young man stood atop the mountain, shouting at the vast sea of clouds, full of vigor and high spirits.
The scene changes.
The boy has grown up, his talent and brilliance unparalleled, dominating an era, with countless geniuses bowing before him.
He swept through the land, invincible, slaughtering his way through, singing triumphantly.
Finally, he stood at the pinnacle of the Epoch!
He led the Immortal Realm to victory in that year's Emperor Path Strife, gathering the Fortune of Myriad Heavens and Worlds, and launched an assault on the Emperor Realm.
That was the closest he ever came to the Emperor Realm!
But he failed, clearly underestimating the difficulty of becoming emperor.
The backlash from his attempt to break through to the Emperor Realm plunged him into a long slumber, during which he would occasionally awaken for a period of time.
He won against everyone, but lost the Emperor Realm.
When he woke up, he found that he had grown old.
He was no longer that spirited young man, no longer that All Under Heaven King of Creation.
On one occasion, the King of Creation awoke from his slumber and traveled through the All Heavens, transforming into an inconspicuous old man, walking in the most remote borderlands of the Immortal Realm.
He met a boy.
The boy was being surrounded and attacked by a group of cultivators. He was covered in blood, but he fought to the death and refused to retreat.
The King of Creation stood at a distance, watching; the boy's eyes were strikingly similar to his own from countless ages ago.
That kind of fierce determination to grit your teeth and push through even if the sky were to fall, that kind of madness to stab the enemy even if you only have one breath left.
The King of Creation has made his move.
He disguised himself as a reclusive old monk who was passing by, easily repelled the group of monks, and saved the boy.
"Old man, why did you save me?" The boy looked up at him, his body covered in wounds, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.
"Because you resemble me." The King of Creation smiled.
From that day on, the boy followed the King of Creation.
The King of Creation taught him cultivation, taught him to fight, and taught him how to survive in this cruel world of cultivation.
The boy possessed extraordinary talent and astonishing comprehension. No matter what the King of Creation taught him, he could grasp it in a very short time, and even apply it to other situations, creating new insights.
The more the King of Creation teaches, the more alarmed and delighted he becomes.
This young man is even more outstanding than he was back then!
That period was the happiest time in the history of the King of Creation.
He was no longer the Supreme King, but simply an old man traveling the All Under Heaven with his descendants.
He led the boy across countless mountains and rivers, watched sunrises and sunsets, and on countless nights, sat by the campfire, telling the boy legends from ancient times.
The boy listened intently, occasionally asking a question or two.
"Grandpa, how long have you lived?"
"It's been a long time, so long that I can't remember."
The boy didn't believe it; he thought the old man was just making excuses. How could a person live that long?
The King of Creation didn't say much, he just smiled and shook his head.
Their destiny began from this moment.
Trust begins to be built from this moment!