The Road to the Emperor Realm

The instant the Gate to the Emperor Road opened, a crimson-gold pillar of light pierced the nine heavens. Chaos surged, and the laws were forged anew. The illusory gateway hung above the Central Plains like a sun that never set, illuminating every direction. Beyond it lay the road to the emperor realm, sealed since antiquity—a path to becoming an emperor once monopolized by the nine clans, barred by the blood of Dou Di, and concealed by the Heavenly Dao.

Now, the gate had opened.

"The Emperor Road... has opened?!"

"It really opened! Xiao Yan... he actually did it!"

Across the Central Plains, countless experts fell to their knees and kowtowed, their eyes brimming with tears. Over countless millennia, how many heroes had perished at the emperor's threshold in pursuit of the faintest chance at ascension? How many prodigies had been turned away from the Emperor Gate because their bloodlines were impure? Yet today, a gate had opened for everyone.

"The Nine Flames Emperor Court welcomes all worthy talents!" Gu Ling stood atop the Nine Flames Emperor Stele, his voice carrying for ten thousand miles. "All who have the ambition may enter the Emperor Road's trials and strive to cross the nine gates of emperor flame!"

The news swept across the continent like a storm. Ascetic monks from the Western Desert Buddhist Kingdom, battle souls from the Northern Plains Icefield, gu masters from the Southern Border Poison Domain, independent cultivators from Eastern Sea Penglai... countless experts arrived in waves, converging on the Emperor Ruins Plains. A long, winding queue formed before the Nine Flames Emperor Stele, all of them drawn by the Emperor Road.

"I swear upon my soul to enter the Emperor Road's trials!"

"I will stake my life for a sliver of a chance to become an emperor!"

"I pledge... to become an Heir of Emperor Flame and guard the Central Plains forever!"

Xiao Yan stood beyond the Gate to the Emperor Road, his figure indistinct, yet like a god descending upon the world. Using Emperor Flame as his guide, he reforged the trial gates—nine emperor tribulations, each more demanding than the last.

The first: Heart-Burning Tribulation—face the obsessions within one's heart. Love, hatred, and regret would all become barriers of fire; those who broke through would possess an undying heart-flame.

The second: Soul-Severing Tribulation—sever the old self and abandon one's former identity. Only a soul of Emperor Flame could survive.

The third: Dao-Burning Tribulation—pit one's own Dao against the Heavenly Dao. If one's Dao was not steadfast, one's soul would scatter into oblivion.

The fourth: Nine Flames Tribulation—nine heavenly flames would take turns burning the body. Only those whose flesh survived could obtain an emperor's body.

The fifth: Emperor blood tribulation—cleanse the marrow with emperor blood. None but heirs to the emperor flame could enter.

The sixth: Space-Time Tribulation—travel through past and future and witness one's own ultimate fate. Those whose hearts remained unmoved could pass.

The seventh: myriad flames tribulation—myriad flames would burn the body, including Pure Lotus demon flame, nihility devouring flame, and golden emperor burning heaven flame... all would serve as flames of the trial.

The eighth: Emperor Seal Tribulation—endure the Nine Flames Return to Origin seal. If the seal refused to recognize its master, its backlash would reduce the challenger to ash.

The ninth: Emperor Position Tribulation—the final gate. Face the emperor within one's heart. The victorious could tread the Emperor Road; the defeated would return to the cycle of reincarnation.

"How is this a trial? It's nine chances of death for one chance of survival!" an old man exclaimed in a trembling voice.

Yet still they pressed forward, one after another.

A youth at the Dou Zong realm entered the Heart-Burning Tribulation and saw his mother die at the hands of the Soul Clan. Stricken with grief, he nevertheless gritted his teeth and burned away the illusion. "I cultivate Emperor Flame not for revenge, but for the righteous Dao!"—Passed!

A woman who had once been a slave entered the Soul-Severing Tribulation. She cast off her "lowborn" status and severed her slave brand, and Emperor Flame arose within her. "I am no slave. I am a daughter of Emperor Flame!"—Passed!

An old man at Peak Dou Sheng, who had been stuck at the final threshold for a century, entered the Emperor Position Tribulation. He saw himself ascend to the emperor's throne, only to find all the Common People prostrate before him and blood flowing in rivers. He shook his head. "An emperor does not reign supreme alone. An emperor protects the world." He then destroyed his own emperor manifestation and cultivated his true heart anew—Passed!

Each time another tier of the Nine Flames Emperor Stele lit up, another challenger rose above the rest. In just three months, the Nine Flames Emperor Court gained thirty-six new heirs to the emperor flame. Among them were many Dou Sheng and Dou Zun, and even Dou Zong who defied the gap in rank to slay Dou Sheng and force their way through the gates.

A cultivation frenzy swept the Central Plains. Everyone revered Emperor Flame and set their sights on the Emperor Road. The Nine Flames Emperor Court established "Emperor Flame Dao Lectures," opening its teaching platform daily. Yao Lao, Thunder Venerable, Medusa, and others took turns expounding the teachings and imparting the true meaning of Emperor Flame. Countless sects voluntarily pledged allegiance, offering scriptures, rare treasures, and earth veins, all to obtain a single "Emperor Flame Admission Permit."

"With this move, Xiao Yan is shaking the foundations of the nine clans." In a secret hall of the Soul Clan, the High Priest ground his teeth. "By opening the Emperor Road, he has effectively abolished the supremacy of bloodlines. If we let this continue, our millennia-old legacy will be destroyed in a single day!"

"Then—destroy the Emperor Road!" the Ancient Clan Chief's remnant soul whispered, a bloody gleam flashing through his eyes. "I have already contacted the beings deep within the chaos. They agreed... to lend us a False Emperor Body. As long as we strike while Xiao Yan undergoes his Dou Di tribulation, we will surely kill him outside the Emperor Gate!"

"But... beings like those have never interfered in the continent's affairs..."

"They don't interfere?" The High Priest of the Hall of Souls sneered. "But they also don't want to see a true Dou Di return. If Xiao Yan becomes an emperor, they will be the first he destroys!"

Beyond the Gate to the Emperor Road, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged amid the chaos, nine flames circling his body. Purifying lotus demon flame and nihility devouring flame fused into a chaos emperor flame. He could already sense that his Dou Di tribulation was approaching.

"Master..." he murmured softly. "You once said that Emperor Flame is not fire, but will, conviction, a spark that refuses to submit to fate. Now, I have kindled that spark. Only the final step remains—"

"With my own body, I will prove my Dao and become an emperor."

He raised his head and gazed into the depths of the chaos. There, an indistinct figure stood in silence, as though it had already waited ten thousand years for him.

"I know... you're waiting for me."

"Waiting for me to ask you—"

"Why have all Dou Di fallen?"

The wind rose, the flames stirred, and the Emperor Road was about to open.

And this time, no one could stop it.

Next chapter preview: "The Emperor Tribulation Approaches"

Xiao Yan entered secluded cultivation to unravel the secrets of Dou Di, while the Nine Flames Emperor Court laid out the "Nine Flames Emperor-Protection Grand Formation" to guard him. The allied forces of the Ancient Clan and Soul Clan secretly colluded with beings of chaos, borrowing a "pseudo-emperor body" to infiltrate the Central Plains. The day the emperor tribulation descended would be the moment of the decisive battle—this battle would determine the continent's destiny for ten thousand years!