"Thank you, Dao brother. But we came at the supreme will's command. We will not retreat."
He said no more. As he fought his bloody battle, he watched the space beyond the Soul River's shattered gateway. As a King on the verge of nurturing emperor light, he could not ignore the reflected phenomena cast by the overwhelming imperial might emanating from the Soul River's deepest reaches.
The battle there surpassed imagination, and it would determine the ultimate outcome of this war. After all, which way the scales of victory tipped depended on the battle between Emperors within.
He was not alone. The Kings all watched the depths of the Soul River, where the phenomena reflected from its farthest end and the imperial might surging outward grew ever stronger.
Unlike in the original story, over these million-plus years, the two Ancestors of the human race, Sun and Taiyin, along with the Void Great Emperor, the Emperor Hengyu, the Demon Emperor, and the many Ancient Great Emperors and Ancient Emperors once received by the Land of Ancient Gods, had all entered the Immortal Domain. They had even become Immortal Kings, and quite a few had nurtured emperor light.
The strength these Mortal World Immortals displayed after entering the King realm was truly astonishing. In battles at the King realm now, they could even be said to suppress numerous other Kings. They fared far better in battles at the Immortal Dao level than in the original story. At least among Immortal Kings, they held a certain advantage. Though they were currently outnumbered by the Soul River, each of their Immortal Kings could suppress many opponents of the same realm.
Meanwhile, in the deepest reaches of the Soul River, within a dark stellar abyss where heaven and earth joined as one, the manifested River