"Thump!"
The Eternal Ancient Ruler fused with Yuangeng's flesh, and the Lunar Dao Seed within it began to awaken. Like an illusory heart, each beat set the myriad Daos roaring and made this supreme Ancient World tremble.
Yuangeng's aura climbed. Even the Undying Heavenly Emperor felt immense pressure. Without a doubt, the man before him was someone worthy of adding "Heavenly" to his title.
"The Dao Seed method? An ancient cultivation path from my realm. A powerhouse like you must have been a towering figure even in that era."
Clearly, the Undying Heavenly Emperor recognized the Dao Seed method. In other words, this Phoenix from the Immortal Domain had not been entirely ignorant of that realm. He had already learned a great deal before arriving in this world.
"Are there still people practicing the Dao Seed method over there?"
Yuangeng spoke. When the Undying Heavenly Emperor fell into this world, it should have been only several million to ten million years after those imperial battles at the end of the Chaotic Ancient Era. He was rather concerned about the state of the Immortal Domain at that time.
"I've met cultivators like you."
At those words, a look of reminiscence crossed the face of the man holding the Five-Colored Heavenly Blade. Only after a long while did he speak of that past.
"Although the Desolate Heaven Emperor's method is more widespread, as long as the great realm endures and Dao Seeds are still born in the universe, there will always be people cultivating the Dao Seed system."
There was a touch of wistfulness in the Undying Heavenly Emperor's voice. In truth, he knew little about the Immortal Domain. But after millions of years of cultivation, as his understanding of this world deepened, he had come to understand much of what he had seen and heard in his youth.
"How is the Burial Domain?"
Yuangeng continued questioning him. Such an opportunity was rare, and naturally, he wanted to obtain more news about the worlds beyond from the Undying Heavenly Emperor.
"The Burial Domain? Another realm? I've never heard of it."
"Does anyone still cultivate the path of Sacrificial Spirits?"
"A declining path. I've never seen it. Supposedly, only some of the oldest ancient kingdoms follow it."
"How is the Golden Crow Clan? How many kings do they still have?"
"...I've never heard of them."
Yuangeng asked one question after another, while the Undying Heavenly Emperor's answers grew increasingly uncertain. Clearly, the Five-Colored Phoenix had been a minor cultivator when he fell into this world, still struggling in a corner of the Immortal Domain. Never mind the Burial Domain-he had not even heard of the Golden Crow Clan, a major clan of the Immortal Domain.
Yuangeng wanted to continue, but the Undying Heavenly Emperor had run out of patience. Five-colored blood energy surged. The Phoenix, who had lived through endless ages, was beginning to lose face. He interrupted Yuangeng, revealing wisps of killing intent:
"You know many ancient secrets. Dissolving your Primordial Spirit should yield quite a harvest."
In the Heavenly Emperor's eyes, this ancient man, Yuangeng, had an extraordinary origin. His knowledge of the Immortal Domain exceeded all imagination. He was an enormous treasure trove, holding far too many precious memories.
"Roar!"
As the tension between Yuangeng and the Heavenly Emperor mounted, the Qilin Emperor actually took the initiative to attack. With a roar from the old emperor, the Eternal Blue Gold Staff swept across the sky, unleashing a brilliant slash at the Undying Heavenly Emperor.
Clearly, the old Qilin had heard enough of their conversation. He could not understand a thing the two were saying, so he simply cut to the chase and ignited the battle.
"Boom!"
Under the reigning emperor's full-powered strike, the towering ancient hall shook violently. Its two doors, heavier than stars, went flying, and many of the Imperial Dao Formation Patterns upon them were erased.
Yet this blow, powerful enough to shatter Heaven and Earth, failed even to brush the Undying Heavenly Emperor's robes. His five-colored feathered robe fluttered as he flew high into the sky, holding the enormous Blood Pool steady without the slightest damage.
"Clang!"
The Heavenly Blade hummed, and clear anger appeared in the Undying Heavenly Emperor's eyes. As a powerhouse bearing the title "Heavenly," he hardly considered the Qilin Emperor, a reigning emperor, worth his attention. But if the Qilin Emperor destroyed this Blood Pool, which he had expended tremendous effort to forge, his grand plan for Nirvana would be delayed by at least several hundred thousand years.
Without hesitation, he slashed his blade. A radiant Phoenix manifestation immediately appeared high in the sky. Its wings spread, and its five-colored wings overlapped with the Five-Colored Heavenly Blade. In the next instant, the strike descended before the Qilin Emperor.
"Clang!"
The slash was unimaginably fast. The Qilin Emperor barely had time to hold the Eternal Blue Gold Staff across his body before the Undying Heavenly Blade collided with the Qilin Staff. That region was instantly engulfed in five-colored immortal light and azure Qilin flames. Everything was ground into nothingness by the two forces of Imperial Dao might.
Soon, the five-colored heavenly light completely extinguished the Qilin flames. The Qilin Emperor could not match the Undying Heavenly Emperor. Defeated in a single exchange, he was sent flying, coughing up great mouthfuls of blood in midair. A closer look revealed numerous cracks even on the Eternal Blue Gold Staff, whose cultivation was bound to his very life.
A single blow had completely overwhelmed the reigning emperor!
"Screech!"
Seeing this, a sharp gleam flashed in the Heavenly Emperor's eyes. The Five-Colored Phoenix behind him cried out, and its wings overlapped with the Heavenly Blade once more. The blade slashed down fiercely, seeking to press the advantage and further cripple the reigning emperor.
This sudden turn left the Qilin Emperor's soul quaking in terror. He truly had not expected the god of the Myriad Races to be so overwhelmingly powerful. An old emperor like him, nearing the end of his second life, did not even have a chance to strike back.
"Boom!"
This time, however, Yuangeng acted first. In an instant, he stood between the Heavenly Blade and the Qilin Emperor. A pitch-black ocean of lunar essence unfolded behind him, and within it appeared an enormous Giant Kun stretching untold tens of thousands of miles. With a mighty, forceful sweep of its tail, it sent the Five-Colored Heavenly Blade flying backward.
"Fellow Daoist Huo, fall back."
Yuangeng had intended to let the Qilin Emperor experience the Undying Heavenly Emperor's might, but he could not possibly allow his ally to be cut down so easily. A reigning emperor possessed far too much blood energy. Letting the Undying Heavenly Emperor obtain it would be no different from supplying the enemy.
"I know!"
The Qilin Emperor gritted his teeth, but decisively retreated to the entrance of this realm. He had known he was probably no match for either the Undying Heavenly Emperor or Yuangeng, but he had never imagined the gap would be so vast. Just one blow had robbed him of his will to fight.
There was no doubt: without Yuangeng's intervention, the Eternal Blue Gold Staff would shatter on the third strike. After that, even if the Qilin Emperor burned his origin, he might not withstand another five slashes from the Undying Heavenly Emperor.
"Hmph!"
The Undying Heavenly Emperor snorted coldly at the sight. But faced with an unfathomable cultivator of his own level like Yuangeng, he dared not be careless. He directly drew the Blood Pool into his Immortal Platform, preparing to meet his opponent in peak condition.
"Woooo..."
Yuangeng formed a seal, and the great Kun behind him immediately let out a long, far-reaching cry. The enormous beast, tens of thousands of miles long, leaped through the dark heights of the heavens. Its massive tail swept across the sky, cleaving toward the Undying Heavenly Emperor with boundless radiance.
The Kun Peng was a renowned race in the Primordial Ancient Realm, once presided over by an Immortal King-level being. That king united his great Peng form with solar essence and his great Kun form with lunar essence. With yin and yang joined as one, his fame resounded throughout the Primordial Ancient Realm.
Among the many immortal arts of the lunar essence Great Dao that Yuangeng had cultivated, the great Kun was also one of the most powerful.
"Flying immortal!"
Overturning this opposing
universe with a sweep of its tail, the attack left the Undying Heavenly Emperor no room for carelessness. Brilliant radiance shone from his Immortal Platform. Dao light streamed forth, transforming behind him into a waterfall reaching into the depths. Silver light flooded the heavens, pressing down upon the enormous black Great Kun below.
"Boom!"
The two supreme forces collided. Even the towering palace below could not withstand it. The halls inscribed with Imperial Dao Formation Patterns fractured inch by inch, finally turning to dust that drifted into the distance.
Far away, the Qilin Emperor was shaken. Neither Yuangeng nor the Undying Heavenly Emperor was remotely ordinary. In their first direct clash, neither had used a common move. In all fairness, both techniques far surpassed the so-called Taboo Methods of Ancient Emperors, offering the Qilin Emperor tremendous insight.
In the end, the pitch-black Great Kun and the silver waterfall shattered simultaneously. Yuangeng and the Undying Heavenly Emperor both retreated half a step almost at the same time, calming the surging Dao laws within their bodies.
"A rare opponent."
The Undying Heavenly Emperor nodded inwardly. Since attaining the Dao, he had never encountered such a formidable opponent. For the first time in ages, the five-colored immortal blood within him boiled. He would unleash his full strength and slay this ancient being.
"You've got something."
Yuangeng was also assessing the Undying Heavenly Emperor's strength. This fellow had, after all, cultivated in this world for over a million years, and his Dao attainment was already profound. Below the immortal path, few could rival him. Yet in all fairness, that clash had merely shown he had something to offer. He had not reached the level of the Foreign Realm's quasi-immortals.
He knew this Five-Colored Phoenix did not seem to place much importance on combat strength. In the original story, the Heavenly Emperor had lived from the end of the Mythical Era to the end of Desolate Antiquity, yet still fought to a draw with a youngster like Wushi, who had not even recalled his past life. That said a great deal.
Still, Yuangeng was quite willing to give the Undying Heavenly Emperor a chance and test his limits:
"Little Phoenix, let me see how strong you really are!"
Before you continue