Opening Two Divine Emperor Treasure Chests! Waging War on the Otherworld-We Shall Be the Source of Its Dark Upheaval!

Everyone at the Ancient Emperor Festival heard that thunderous crash.

It came from far away, yet shook the entire sky.

"The Life Forbidden Zone?! Has an uprising broken out inside?!"

The Emperors of the various Emperor Clans abruptly paled and looked up at the ashen sky.

"No... this aura... the Otherworld?!"

The Otherworld was that terrifying realm of legend that attempted to invade the heavens once every countless epochs. Every descent of the Otherworld meant the slaughter of countless living beings and the reduction of innumerable Dao Domains to scorched earth.

Standing on the Emperor Platform, Su Linxian watched the ashen rift with a slight frown.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"My son, come to the Vast Expanse Forbidden Zone."

Father's voice?

Su Linxian's heart jolted, but little showed on his face.

He turned toward Li Junhua nearby and gave an order.

"Stay here and return to the clan with my Su Family members."

"This Emperor will be away for a while."

Li Junhua paused, then nodded.

Su Linxian turned and called to Yu Yao. She sprang out of the rubble, a trace of confusion in her golden slit pupils, but obediently followed him.

The Vast Expanse Forbidden Zone.

This forbidden zone lay at the northernmost reaches of the myriad worlds, shrouded year-round in strange gray-white mist.

The instant Su Linxian entered the forbidden zone with Yu Yao, he felt an ominous aura so dense it had almost solidified.

It was older and more profound than any deathly aura he had encountered in the Ziwei Domain's forbidden zone, as though it had existed here since the world's birth.

Deep within the forbidden zone, all manner of creatures he had never seen poured out of the gray-white mist.

Some were serpentine yet covered in countless eyes, without fixed forms, like flowing shadows. Others were clad in ghastly white bone armor, eerie green flames burning in their eyes. Their auras differed, but every one bore an ancient savagery that did not belong to the heavens.

"Begone."

Su Linxian swept them with a cold glance. Golden Emperor Power surged forth, slaughtering every strange creature that rushed toward him.

Where his Emperor Power passed, it cleaved a passage through the gray-white mist, revealing a desolate ancient road leading into the forbidden zone's depths.

"Let's go."

He led Yu Yao deeper along the ancient road, finally reaching the forbidden zone's heart.

Ahead, an enormous spatial rift stretched between heaven and earth.

It towered over a hundred thousand feet high, its width beyond sight. Strange light swirled in its ashen depths, like a gateway to another world.

An ominous aura constantly spilled from its edges, corroding the surrounding void until it was riddled with holes.

Before the rift stood a figure with his hands behind his back.

Su Qi.

He still wore a plain blue cloth shirt, standing barefoot in the void, his hair casually tied behind his head.

Su Linxian said, "Father?"

But now, an aura Su Linxian had never seen wreathed him—a mysterious power beyond the peak emperor realm, as though the will of the entire world had gathered within him.

Standing before the rift, his slender back resembled an impassable city wall, holding back all the ominous aura pouring out behind him.

Yu Yao followed Su Linxian, her small face paling as her golden slit pupils stared at the rift.

She instinctively clutched the hem of Su Linxian's robe and murmured.

"Master... can I not go?"

She was utterly terrified.

Su Linxian glanced down at her without saying anything, then stepped forward and cupped his hands slightly.

"Greetings, Father."

Su Qi turned around, a faint smile on his youthful, delicate face.

His gaze settled on Su Linxian. He looked him up and down, then nodded slightly.

Then his gaze passed over Su Linxian and landed on the little blond girl with dragon horns behind him.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"You didn't eat her?"

Yu Yao's scales bristled all over. Her golden slit pupils widened, and she sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

She hid behind Su Linxian, both little hands gripping his robe tightly, and peeked out with half her head to watch Su Qi warily.

"I'm Master's capable warrior now!"

"You can't eat me!"

Su Linxian smiled and reached behind him to lift Yu Yao out.

"She's useful alive."

Su Qi nodded without dwelling on it, his gaze returning to the enormous spatial rift.

His smile faded a little, and his tone grew serious.

"Do you see this rift?"

Su Linxian followed his gaze. Strange light swirled deep within the rift, as though some living creature were squirming inside. He frowned slightly and nodded.

Su Qi stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the rift as he spoke slowly.

"In roughly three thousand years, creatures from the Otherworld will descend."

The Otherworld?!

Su Linxian's pupils contracted slightly.

Three thousand years was an unimaginably long stretch for mortals, but for cultivators, it passed in the flick of a finger.

Especially for someone like him, who already stood at the peak emperor realm and had a lifespan measured in hundreds of thousands of years, three thousand years would not even suffice for one long period of secluded cultivation.

Su Qi turned around.

"When that happens, the opportunity to become a Divine Emperor will lie within it. All the heavens, and even the Ten Great Emperor Clans, will help you attain the Divine Emperor realm."

Su Linxian said, "Father, you mean..."

Su Qi smiled.

"I've owed you for many years. Consider this a small token from your father."

"I see you've also found your own path to becoming a Divine Emperor. Dao-Origin Return Flow, with three Order Divine Laws forming its skeleton, nine extreme-rank great daos filling out its flesh, and twelve upper-rank great daos weaving its meridians. There is nothing wrong with this path."

Su Linxian was momentarily taken aback.

He had never told Su Qi about Dao-Origin Return Flow, yet Su Qi knew every detail.

Such were a Divine Emperor's means: understanding past and present, knowing all.

Su Qi continued, "But what I intend is for you to attain dual Divine Emperor status."

His voice was quiet, yet it exploded like thunder within Su Linxian's sea of consciousness.

"Attain the Dao in another world, using the Otherworld's Divine Emperor Fate. An unprecedented feat. Dual Divine Emperor status will grant you greater strength, a deeper foundation, and a broader path ahead than a single Divine Emperor status."

Su Linxian's breathing stopped for an instant.

Dual Divine Emperor!

Attaining the Dao in the Otherworld, using its Divine Emperor Fate to achieve a second Divine Emperor status—no one throughout history had ever done such a thing, or even dared to imagine it!

"In the Otherworld?" Su Linxian's voice tightened slightly.

Su Qi nodded.

"The Otherworld is powerful, and its laws are entirely different from those of the heavens. Attaining the Dao through its Divine Emperor Fate has never been seen in all eternity. You have three thousand years to perfect and prepare your Dao-Origin Return Flow, completely fusing the three Order Divine Laws, nine extreme-rank great daos, and twelve upper-rank great daos."

"When the time comes..."

"Our heavens will invade the Otherworld and seize its Divine Emperor Fate!"

At this, Su Qi paused, the corners of his lips curling into a meaningful smile.

"Times have changed."

"We..."

"Shall be the source of the Otherworld's dark upheaval!"

Standing to one side, Yu Yao was utterly dumbstruck.

Her golden slit pupils widened, and her mouth formed a large circle.

Throughout history, only the Otherworld had invaded the heavens. Every descent of the Otherworld meant the slaughter of living beings and the shattering of Dao Domains!

But had the heavens now grown this powerful? They were going to invade the Otherworld instead and seize its Divine Emperor Fate?

How monstrous!

How terrifying!

She instinctively stepped back, looking at the father and son as though they were two madmen.

Su Qi turned to Su Linxian and gently touched a finger to the center of his brow.

"Linxian, keep this well."

A warm stream of information poured into Su Linxian's sea of consciousness. It contained all the insights Su Qi had gained over a lifetime cultivating the Divine Emperor path, from his first glimpse of its mysteries to his ascent as a Divine Emperor. Every detail, every breakthrough, and every obstacle was imparted to him.

"These are my lifetime's insights into the Divine Emperor path."

"Use them as a reference."

"Are you confident you can become a Divine Emperor of the heavens within three thousand years?"

Su Linxian closed his eyes, sensing the torrent of information pouring into his sea of consciousness.

Those insights were too vast, too profound, like an entire ocean being poured into a well.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and nodded slightly.

"With three thousand years and the Supreme Emperor Bell, it should be no problem."

His sea of consciousness already contained one Order Divine Law, four extreme-rank great daos, and twelve upper-rank great daos.

Aside from the Order Divine Laws and the Ultimate Dao Divine Laws, the materials needed for Dao-Origin Return Flow were not particularly difficult to find.

But the dual Divine Emperor status his father had just mentioned required attaining the Divine Emperor realm again in the Otherworld.

That meant he had to become a Divine Emperor not only in the heavens, but also in the Otherworld!

Two entirely different Great Daos, two entirely different worlds!

Su Qi watched him, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Go."

Su Linxian bowed, then turned and headed out of the forbidden zone.

Yu Yao hurried after him, her golden dragon horns bobbing through the gray-white mist.

Following behind Su Linxian, she could not resist glancing back at the enormous spatial rift.

"Master..." she asked softly, "where are we going?"

Su Linxian narrowed his eyes, gazing at the boundless sky beyond the forbidden zone.

"Three thousand years."

"To seek the Dao."

"To the Star-Lattice Divine Sect. I'll use their stellar divination power to divine the whereabouts of the divine laws."

Order Divine Laws could only be found among Heaven-Destined Protagonists!

On the way out of the Vast Expanse Forbidden Zone, Su Linxian summoned his Spirit Boat and took Yu Yao soaring through the air toward the Star-Lattice Divine Sect.

The Spirit Boat traveled above the clouds, the night wind roaring and starlight cascading like a waterfall.

Leaning against the railing, Su Linxian closed his eyes and sank into his sea of consciousness, issuing a mental command.

Open two Divine Emperor-grade Treasure Chests.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on opening Divine Emperor-grade Treasure Chest ×2!]

[Ding! Divine Emperor-grade reward obtained: Primordial True Beast Embryo (an unknown primordial true beast, born at the emperor realm)!]

[Ding! Divine Emperor-grade reward obtained: Exquisite Chessboard (allows you to control the fates of living beings and lay your schemes across the heavens)!]

Hum.

Two rays of light burst from the system space.

Su Linxian opened his eyes. Two objects had appeared in his palm.

One was a fist-sized chaos embryo, gray-white all over, with chaotic energy swirling across its surface. Something inside pulsed slowly, like a beating heart, or some ancient life slumbering.

The other was an exquisitely translucent chessboard carved entirely from an unknown divine jade. Densely packed patterns covered its surface, flowing slowly like living things, each radiating an incomparably mysterious aura of fate.

"Divine Emperor-grade treasures..." Su Linxian stared intently at the two objects.

Yu Yao had been squatting at the other end of the Spirit Boat, bored and nibbling on a Spirit Fruit. Suddenly, her scales bristled, and she whipped her head around.

"What the hell is that?!"

Her golden slit pupils fixed on the chaos embryo in Su Linxian's palm, contracting violently as her tiny body began trembling uncontrollably.

The sensation came from the depths of her bloodline, like a lesser demonic beast's instinctive submission before a true dragon. Yet this submission was stronger and more primal than anything she had ever felt, as though some indescribably ancient existence were watching her!

"Master..."

"Wh-what is that...?!"

Yu Yao's voice trembled, her golden slit pupils filled with horror, and her whole body shook slightly.

Su Linxian glanced at her and said calmly, "A Primordial True Beast Embryo."

A thunderous buzz exploded in Yu Yao's mind.

"A primordial true beast?! Weren't primordial true beasts already extinct?!"

Su Linxian raised an eyebrow slightly. "You know about them?"

Yu Yao swallowed, her tone carrying an almost reverent awe.

"Primordial true beasts... are the first ancestors of all demons, the source of the Demon Race throughout the heavens. When the primordial age first dawned, twelve primordial true beasts were born between heaven and earth. Each was an ancestor of all demons."

Yu Yao stared at the chaos embryo in Su Linxian's palm. Her voice grew quieter and quieter, yet the submission rising from the depths of her bloodline only intensified.

She finally understood what that sensation had been.

It was the instinctive reverence all demons held for their first ancestors, the natural suppression their bloodline's source exerted over its descendants!

Su Linxian looked at the embryo in his palm and nodded slightly.

He sent a wisp of divine sense into the embryo, sensing the ancient life slumbering within. Its pulse of life was faint yet utterly pure, like the first breath of vitality when heaven and earth first opened.

"System, how do I hatch it?"

[Ding! Hatching the primordial true beast requires it to devour stellar origin!]

[Stellar origin ×1: Villain points required: 300000!]

[Purchase?]

"Purchase."

[Purchase successful! Current villain points: 1940000]

[Obtained stellar origin ×1!]

Su Linxian turned his right hand over, and a stellar origin blazing like a miniature sun appeared in his palm.

The origin sank into the primordial embryo. The embryo trembled gently, immediately sending back a surge of delight.

[Ding! Hatching progress increased by +10%]

[Time until next feeding: One year]

Su Linxian murmured, a hint of wonder in his eyes.

The way a primordial true beast was nurtured was extraordinary indeed. It had to devour stellar origin for nourishment from its embryonic stage, and once it finished developing and broke out of its shell, it would already possess Emperor Realm cultivation.

Such a creature could stir the winds and clouds of any era!

He put the embryo into the system space, then picked up the Exquisite Chessboard.

The chessboard was warm to the touch, and the fate patterns on its surface flowed slowly across his palm.

Su Linxian extended his divine sense into it, and his entire body gave a slight shudder.

Inside the chessboard lay a vast starry sky, with countless points of light twinkling within it. Each point represented a living being.

Those points of light were connected by densely packed lines. Some were bright, some dim, some tangled together, and some already severed.

The fate lines of countless living beings.

With a thought, the scene on the chessboard rapidly magnified, and the details of those points of light unfolded before his eyes.

Bright lines stretched toward the distant future, like vines entwined together.

The fates of living beings.

Encompassing all things.

"Karmic fate lines."

Su Linxian's gaze swept across the chessboard, then suddenly stopped.

Among those densely packed white and golden fate lines, several particularly striking golden lines spanned the chessboard. Each was unimaginably thick, like a bond woven from countless intertwined fates.

He examined them closely, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Golden fate lines.

Heaven-Destined Protagonists!

Every owner of these golden lines was a Heaven-Destined Protagonist!