A cold snort rang out, and the River of Time manifested above the heavens. Immortal aura filled the air, celestial music resounded through the void, and golden lotuses shone brilliantly.
An exquisitely elegant figure stepped out of the River of Time. Beneath her feet, the void rippled as though she were walking on water. A long zither rested on her back, and a light, ethereal aura surrounded her spotless form. Her skin was delicate, her breath fragrant as secluded orchids. Wherever she stood, immortal charm blossomed, making it seem like the Immortal Domain itself.
"Is that a king from our Immortal Domain? Why would she intervene?"
Some of the Immortal Domain's observers frowned deeply!
"Divine grace of Ultimate Bliss, ten thousand demonic melodies!"
Her ethereal voice spread like ripples, becoming the words of the Heavenly Dao and shattering the enormous hand of black mist!
"You of the Immortal Domain, why meddle here? Do you not fear death and the destruction of your Dao?"
Above the Foreign Realm's forces, a storm swept across the eight wildernesses and condensed into a pair of enormous eyes. Thunder rolled, lightning writhed like dragons, and the terrifying pressure sent a chill up everyone's feet!
"I feel the sorrow of living beings and lament the anguish of all things. Your deeds violate the Heavenly Dao. Withdraw!"
The queen from the Immortal Domain wore an expression of compassion!
"Hmph! I, Luo Mo, am heaven itself, am the Dao itself! Who dares speak such nonsense? Those who stand in my way will die. Kill!"
The Immortal King named Luo Mo exuded an even more ravenous might than the previous king of the Foreign Realm. Even the Great Dao of heaven and earth trembled around him. Supreme power seemed to dwell within his eyes! Terrifying divine light slashed through the void from his gaze. Chaos filled heaven and earth, and the fissures in the void could not heal. Instead, they expanded without limit, forming an ancient world!
This was a supreme ancient ancestor! The instant he struck, he could split heaven and earth and create a new cosmos!
Without another word, the two plunged into the deepest reaches of the heavens to fight!
The arrival of the white-haired man who wielded the Grass Character Sword Art was like stirring up a hornet's nest. Countless experts from both the Foreign Realm and the Nine Heavens arrived and joined the battlefield!
"Bright moon overhead! Azure Flame Burns the World!"
Terrifying azure radiance blazed like the flames of the Great Dao, burning through heaven and earth!
This was a breathtakingly beautiful woman, like a goddess within the moon. Terrifying azure flames transformed into a divine azure moon behind her, its phenomenon shaking the heavens. Unaffected by All Laws; every divine ability that approached was burned away completely! With the strength of a Quasi-King, she confronted an Immortal King head-on! She was originally from Great Red Heaven. Having been hunted earlier, she had now slain her pursuers and returned to her home world!
Now she unleashed her innate divine flame, hoping to save Lin Yue, but another Immortal King blocked her!
From the deepest reaches of the heavens came one astonishing roar after another. The Phenomenon shook the skies, and even the Great Dao dared not manifest.
Although stars no longer fell, for too many had already been cut down and few remained, the weaker cultivators were even more terrified. The blood of supreme beings was more frightening than stars, falling like a torrential rain.
Stars might injure them when they fell, but at least they could survive! Once the blood of these supreme beings struck them, however, its world-destroying power melted their bodies and primordial spirits together!
On the Great Red Land, the Immortal Kings Yan Cang, Fukui, and Youyu looked toward the heavens and smiled!
Living beings suffered devastation. Some spectators from the Immortal Domain could no longer bear to watch. Apart from those who truly hated the Nine Heavens and had already fled, they began joining the battlefield!
With Lin Yue suppressed, reinforcements had arrived for the Nine Heavens, but no king had come to their aid here. The Nine Heavens' cultivators were already showing exhaustion, driven back step by step! Countless cultivators were slaughtered.
"Aah...!"
The screams of countless Nine Heavens cultivators rang throughout Great Red Heaven! Yet Lin Yue could only watch. Seeing them die in battle hurt him far more than the pain of having his flesh refined.
Chapter 57: Breaking free
Within Great Red Heaven!
Countless supreme figures dragged immortals into self-detonation, determined to take their enemies with them!
The earth rumbled. The Heavenly Firmament split apart in swathes, and the void collapsed. Chaos then spread to fill the surroundings, forming one small world after another. Destruction was accompanied by new birth.
Boom...!
Across the skies of Great Red Heaven, stars were cut down like pouring rain. At last, the Great Red Land could no longer withstand the endless impacts. Abyss after abyss split open, as though reaching all the way to the Nine Netherworlds.
"Heaven collapses and earth rends, the Nine Heavens utterly destroyed! Everything will finally settle!"
"It is over. This war was worthwhile. We will obtain what we desire! And destroy the Nine Heavens along the way! Our next target will be the Immortal Domain!"
Immortal King Fukui spoke.
"Indeed. I have long wanted to trample those people from the Immortal Domain beneath my feet. Their usual lofty airs disgust me!"
Immortal King Youyu likewise began celebrating their victory!
Watching countless beings die, and Yan and Yu about to perish beneath An Lan's spear, Lin Yue had already forgotten the pain. Even the earth-shaking screams in his ears were automatically shut out by his kingly body!
His mind was utterly still! Then ripples began stirring within his heart.
Why did I come here? Was it merely to witness the most tragic battle at the end of Immortal Ancient? Or to witness countless beings of the Nine Heavens die horribly, then tell the world: yes, such a war really did happen. It was real. Everything recorded in the ancient books was true!
No! Absolutely not! That was not why I came. Even if I cannot reverse the Nine Heavens' defeat, I must preserve a spark of hope!
Lin Yue was on the verge of madness. Completely disregarding whether his flesh could withstand it, he unleashed his divine essence to its utmost, as though burning his own life essence! He drew upon the power of every acupoint vault in his body!
Unfortunately, three kings and three heaven-defying ancient artifacts suppressed him. Even a titan would have fallen in bitter defeat. Cracks slowly spread across Lin Yue's body like a spiderweb. Though the three ancient artifacts shook, he could not overturn the situation.
"Damn it! These ancient artifacts are such a nuisance!"
Lin Yue suddenly started. Thinking of how troublesome their innate ancient artifacts were reminded him of his own wheel of yin and yang. His divine sense entered his inner universe. Seeing the clearly divided black-and-white wheel within his dantian, he immediately channeled his divine essence to connect with it.
The wheel of yin and yang slowly began moving, and black-and-white light gradually spilled out.
As the still-suppressed Lin Yue slowly quieted, the Foreign Realm's three Immortal Kings thought he had accepted his fate. Suddenly, however, they saw black-and-white light shine from within his body. The sight startled all three peerless kings.
"Damn it! What madness are you attempting? Accept your fate!"
"Indeed. Having three kings send you into reincarnation is an honor. Stop struggling!"
Immortal Kings Fukui and Youyu spoke, for the three ancient artifacts suppressing Lin Yue were trembling beneath the black-and-white light. They were even beginning to lose their hold on him.
"Damn it! Increase the pressure! There is something strange about his body!"
Immortal King Yan Cang felt it most directly. The black-and-white light resembled Lin Yue's earlier yin and yang energies, yet was even more terrifying. Not only did it devour the flames of the Skyvault Divine Furnace, it also devoured and dissolved the true law-script of all three ancient artifacts.
Beneath the black-and-white light, the pressure the three ancient artifacts exerted on Lin Yue began to lessen, because his flesh was now healing faster than it was being refined!
The black-and-white energies began pushing apart the canopy around Lin Yue, and the wheel of yin and yang emerged from within his body.
"It is that disk from back then!"
Youyu, the Immortal King who had attacked Lin Yue back then, wore a dark expression. He had sensed that the disk was extraordinary and wanted to seize it, but Lin Yue had escaped.
The wheel of yin and yang above Lin Yue's head began spinning madly. A taiji diagram slowly expanded, resisting the Skyvault Divine Furnace and the Black Tower.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As Lin Yue unleashed his divine power to its utmost, the shackles binding him snapped one after another!
"Quickly, suppress him! Strike together!"
Immortal King Youyu roared. He knew this disk possessed heaven-defying power and could briefly contend with a king. Now, it appeared even more powerful than before.
Countless black chains stretched out from Youyu's body and coiled toward Lin Yue. This was his Soul Lock; he was all but employing his innate secret art!
"Heavenly Firmament Divine Flame!"
"Spirit Refining Art!"
Yan Cang and Fukui likewise unleashed their secret arts!
Energies intertwined where Lin Yue was suppressed. Even the black-and-white light capable of devouring divine essence began to be forced down. Three Immortal Kings struck together, concentrating their attacks upon a single point! Such might could suppress almost anything.
Boom...
The wheel of yin and yang seemed to grow furious as well. Black-and-white light erupted, cleaving through every divine ability like a heavenly slash. Yet this eruption seemed to drain all its strength. The wheel returned to Lin Yue's dantian and lay motionless.
A figure shot out from the spreading energies.
Lin Yue could spare no attention for anything else. If he was suppressed again, everything would end!
Drawing upon almost all his divine essence, he stepped forth with Yin-Yang Reversal. Beneath such extreme speed, even the yin and yang energies began evolving into worlds. This was the utmost speed in existence, surpassing the domain of time!
"Damn it! He is after the Small Wooden Box!"
Seeing Lin Yue break free and race toward the Small Wooden Box in the deep pit, Immortal King Yan Cang shot after him like a streak of divine flame. His speed likewise surpassed the markings of time, but he was still a fraction slower than Lin Yue's Yin-Yang Reversal.
"Put down the wooden box!"
"That belongs to our realm, ant!"
"This rat certainly knows how to run."
Lin Yue did not hesitate in the slightest. He scooped up the Small Wooden Box, stowed it in his cave heaven, and fled. Seeing this, the Foreign Realm's three kings recklessly employed blood escape to pursue him.
"Quickly, everyone! Stop him first!"
Immortal King Youyu bellowed. Everyone throughout Great Red Heaven turned their attention here. Seeing the wooden box in Lin Yue's hands, streaks of dazzling light came rushing over, converging like a meteor shower to surround him.
Lin Yue did not dare look back. He could not even tell how many people were converging on him through his senses. This was no longer merely three kings hunting him down. This was the treatment reserved for titans such as Wuzhong and Reincarnation.
The wooden box seemed like a bewitching poison, driving these people of the Foreign Realm who had originally arisen from darkness. Rather than saying the Foreign Realm was seeking this box, it would be more accurate to say the source of darkness was seeking it, intent on corrupting what lay inside!
Swish...
A streak of sword energy emerged from the void and cleaved open the heavens. Even the River of Time was affected as it sought to block Lin Yue's path. Unfortunately, Lin Yue's Yin-Yang Reversal had already surpassed the utmost speed in existence, exceeding even the Kunpeng Method.
Boom...
A war spear followed close behind, sweeping across the heavens to shatter both Lin Yue and the Small Wooden Box, seemingly without the slightest concern for the box in his possession.
"You are too reckless. Several elders have searched for that box for a long time. It would not be wise to displease them."
"Hmph! If it shatters beneath a single strike from me, that box has no reason to exist. Yu Tuo, you are too cautious."
With that, he thrust his spear again. The sky-reaching war spear flashed coldly across the heavens, pulverizing even primordial stars. A single strike pierced the Great Red Heaven World barrier as though it were paper.
Lin Yue stepped forth with Yin-Yang Reversal, twisting even time wherever he passed. Almost instantly, he plunged into the opening in the world barrier.
"Quickly! Leave this place for now. The box comes first!"
"Indeed. I am certain that is what we seek. Our realm has annihilated countless eras for this box. I can feel it in my heart."
In Great Red Heaven, the Foreign Realm's experts all but abandoned the Nine Heavens' cultivators and surged toward the world barrier, determined to stop Lin Yue.
Chapter 58: The Burial Domain
Boom...
Behind him, countless divine abilities pursued him, cleaving heaven and annihilating earth. Lin Yue had almost pushed his divine embryo to its utmost. The spherical divine embryo began distorting and writhing, even losing its original spherical form. This was the consequence of drawing upon its power with utter, unrestrained madness.
Unfortunately, Lin Yue dared not stop now. He did not even have time to look back. The slightest mistake could mean his death and the destruction of his Dao.
After erupting head-on and cleaving through the power of three Immortal Kings, the wheel of yin and yang had fallen dormant. If he were suppressed again, he truly could bid this world farewell.
"This insect certainly knows how to run! He is faster than that Kunpeng from before. Damn him!"
A mysterious ancient world.
This place seemed isolated from all existence, and was exceedingly strange.
Glistening, translucent white bones lay exposed in the wilderness. Some great tombs stood like mountains, towering above the clouds, while others were no more than slightly raised earthen mounds. Yet its strangeness did not stem from being a burial ground for the dead.
Rather, it was precisely because this was clearly a burial ground for the dead, yet it lacked any sinister chill or the desolate scenery of a graveyard.
Not only that, immortal aura permeated the place, and auspicious clouds shrouded it like an immortal sanctuary, without the slightest sense of incongruity. Had one not seen that this was truly a graveyard, it might have seemed an excellent place to settle.
Auspicious beasts lounged around many tall tombs, and immortal birds built their nests there. Ancient beasts and immortal birds rumored to have vanished or gone extinct in the outside world could actually be seen here. It was truly inconceivable.
A streak of Hong Guang shot into this place from outside, its speed stirring ripples. Faced with this sudden intrusion, beasts scattered and myriad birds took flight. In an instant, the tranquility of this ancient world was shattered.
Lin Yue did not know where he had fled. Upon entering, he too froze for a moment. What was going on here?
In that brief hesitation, the sky-reaching war spear's world-destroying strike and countless chains descended behind him! Even with his divine essence nearly exhausted, Lin Yue had to muster all his strength to resist. Being struck down would be no different from stopping.
"How dare you! Who dares disturb this sacred ground?"
A furious roar rose from beneath the earth and reached the heavens. At the same moment, an enormous hand of glistening, translucent white bone emerged from underground and soared skyward, striking directly at the sky-reaching war spear and the terrifying ancient arts bearing down behind Lin Yue!
Boom...
The attacks collided. Killing intent descended like heavenly punishment, and the intertwined energies gave rise to rolling explosions. Thunder dragons filled heaven and earth, lightning streaked across the sky, and the entire ancient world was nearly shattered.
Yet another enormous hand appeared and blocked it. The energy fluctuations of this clash between kings were extinguished directly within that skeletal palm. Clearly, the owner of those bones did not wish to see his own territory damaged.
Although the enormous skeletal hand shattered, the onslaught of the Foreign Realm's arriving kings was likewise dispersed. This revealed how terrifying the one who had acted was. He was certainly no weaker than a peerless king. No one had expected such an expert to be sleeping in this strange graveyard.
"Who dares obstruct us? Do you not fear bearing the weight of karma?"
Immortal King Youyu's expression darkened, but his speed did not slacken. He rushed straight toward Lin Yue, for Lin Yue would not stop.
Before you continue