Slaying the Heavenly Emperor

"Screee!"

Deep within the Mars Sea Eye, in an ancient great world, an immortal bird's long cry shook the heavens. The Five-Colored Phoenix spread his wings and fled toward the depths of the world at tremendous speed.

The Undying Heavenly Emperor did not want to spend another moment in this Ancient World. Since attaining his Dao, he had never been suppressed so miserably. Whether in combat strength, reserves, techniques, or even breadth of knowledge, that terrifying ancient creature had crushed him in every respect.

Even the Kunlun Immortal Bell, which he regarded as his greatest trump card, had been suppressed. That utterly broke the Heavenly Emperor's will to fight; he dared not engage his opponent again.

Fortunately, he still had confidence in his ability to survive. Although the immortal phoenix race was not renowned throughout the worlds for supreme speed like the Kunpeng, they were birds nonetheless, and their speed was equally astonishing.

He did not leave this Ancient World. Instead, he flew into a peculiar stretch of void and slashed at it repeatedly with the Heavenly Blade. Soon, he tore through a seal, causing the myriad Daos there to collapse and Heaven and Earth to split apart, revealing a deep Chaos Cave.

It was an ancient cavern filled with chaotic mist, suspended high in the sky. Though only a dozen or so zhang tall, it surged with the most powerful laws of longevity, mysterious and unfathomable.

What drew attention was that its entrance had not opened naturally. It was shaped like a bell, as though an ancient bell had forcibly battered such an opening into existence.

"Longevity substance? That's the Road to Immortality!"

Even Yuangeng was startled by the Undying Heavenly Emperor's methods. The Chaos Cave was extraordinary, with small amounts of longevity substance continually flowing out of it.

He was especially sensitive to longevity substance. The era he came from had been filled with this miraculous substance, yet scarcely a trace could be found in the era of Shrouding the Heavens. Seeing it again now felt deeply familiar.

Aside from places such as the Primordial Ancient Mine and the Immortal Mausoleum, only the Road to Immortality contained longevity substance.

Recalling the original story, Yuangeng understood at once. There did indeed seem to be a branch of the Road to Immortality beneath the Mars Sea Eye. In the future, this place would become the battlefield of the Undying Heavenly Emperor and Great Emperor Wushi. The two would hold each other in check before this Road to Immortality for many years, then enter that peculiar world together.

It was not the Immortal Domain, but it was still a world that possessed longevity substance.

"My plans spanning the ages have been ruined because of you. Yuangeng, I will remember you!"

The Road to Immortality had appeared, yet there was not the slightest joy on the Undying Heavenly Emperor's face. He took out another Nine-Turn Golden Pill and swallowed it. As he refined it, his five-colored eyes remained fixed on Yuangeng's face, determined to remember his appearance forever and exact revenge in the future.

Once the Nine-Turn Golden Pill dissolved, the Heavenly Emperor's complexion improved slightly. He hesitated no longer and charged straight toward the Chaos Cave.

This was by no means the proper time for this branch of the Road to Immortality to open. The Undying Heavenly Emperor had located it and battered it open with the Immortal Bell. Forcing his way in now would be just like the Lunar Essence Human Emperor's attempt all those years ago: ninety-nine chances of death and only one of survival.

Yet the Undying Heavenly Emperor remained utterly resolute. He understood his predicament all too well-he had no choice left. In today's battle, Yuangeng's combat strength and methods had far exceeded his control. He had even lost the Immortal Bell, robbing him of the confidence to keep his true body in this world.

As for fleeing?

Vast though the universe was, a being approaching immortality had far too many ways to find someone. Once Yuangeng subdued the Immortal Bell, he, the Undying Heavenly Emperor, would be fish on the chopping block, without even a chance to resist.

Only by forcing his way onto this almost certainly fatal Road to Immortality and making his opponent hesitate to strike for fear of the consequences could he find a sliver of hope!

"You dare!"

Yuangeng's thoughts raced, and he understood his opponent's intentions. The Dao Seed at his chest suddenly throbbed. The laws of death pervading this world awakened and, drawn by Yuangeng's mighty lunar essence power, became dark, illusory seawater that blocked the Chaos Cave's entrance.

Since he had made his move against the Undying Heavenly Emperor, he could not leave him a path of retreat!

He formed seals with both hands. Brilliant black light flashed once more between his brows, and an illusory universe filled with the laws of death appeared, instantly locking onto the Undying Heavenly Emperor.

"Bury Ten Thousand Lifetimes of Reincarnation!"

It was once again that Burial King Method from the Burial Domain. Yuangeng's primordial spirit unleashed a beam of supremely dazzling radiance. His speed seemed to transcend time and space, bringing him before the Undying Heavenly Emperor in an instant.

Boom!

The burial light exploded. The Undying Heavenly Emperor had no time at all to defend against this Burial King Method. Even though he had just swallowed a Nine-Turn Golden Pill, he was still sent flying. No wounds appeared on his body, but his primordial spirit dimmed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Bury Ten Thousand Lifetimes of Reincarnation-the power of death stripped away an enormous amount of his essence in an instant.

"Get out of my way!"

The Undying Heavenly Emperor gritted his teeth and actually took out another golden pill. This was not a Nine-Turn Golden Pill, but a mighty pill refined from an emperor's primordial spirit. He crushed it forcefully, drew its medicinal light into his primordial spirit, then circled around Yuangeng and continued charging toward the Chaos Cave.

Without realizing it, he had already lost his composure. Though far stronger than an ordinary Ancient Emperor, he had still lost a staggering amount of essence after being struck by Yuangeng's burial technique. If he suffered another blow, even if he survived, he would struggle to make another breakthrough for the rest of his life.

"Woooo..."

But the pitch-black waters of death surged, and another Giant Kun appeared. Its immense body stretched across the entrance to the Chaos Cave, completely blocking the Undying Heavenly Emperor's path.

"I offer my immortal phoenix blood!"

The Heavenly Emperor gritted his teeth and spat a mouthful of five-colored immortal phoenix blood onto his Five-Colored Heavenly Blade. The blade awakened, transforming into an immortal phoenix with outspread wings. Its cry wept blood, Dao fire soared into the heavens, and it slashed at the pitch-black Giant Kun.

"Bury the Immortal!"

The strike, fueled by a mouthful of the Heavenly Emperor's five-colored blood essence, truly possessed peerless heavenly might. Powerful though Yuangeng's Giant Kun was, it was still cleaved into black droplets that filled the sky. But before the Heavenly Emperor could rejoice, Yuangeng's figure appeared amid those droplets. One of his fingers was black as ink; it crossed time and space and pressed firmly against the Undying Heavenly Emperor's Immortal Platform.

This was an ultimate technique Yuangeng had created himself, exhausting the utmost reaches of the lunar essence death Dao. In the terminology of the present era, it was a Taboo Method.

"No!"

Confronted with this sudden reversal, the Undying Heavenly Emperor roared in defiance. He acted decisively, directly shattering his own Immortal Platform and destroying everything within it. His voice stopped abruptly as densely packed, pitch-black runes spread rapidly from Yuangeng's fingertip.

First came the Immortal Platform, where the foundation of his primordial spirit lay. Then the black runes spread along his spinal dragon to his four extremes, Dao Palace, and Sea of Bitterness. After that came the Heavenly Emperor's blood, bones, sinews, and flesh, all thoroughly permeated by the pitch-black runes.

This was a Sealing Method, but also a lethal move. The intense lunar essence death intent rapidly stripped the Undying Heavenly Emperor's flesh of all vitality. The small five-colored phoenix between his brows tried to flee, but in an instant, death intent chilled him to the marrow and froze him solid. A light touch was all it took to turn him completely into shards of ice.

Humm!

Elsewhere, the Undying Heavenly Blade cried mournfully. It dared not linger, immediately transforming into a streak of five-colored fire that cleaved through this world's barrier, seeking to flee.

But how could Yuangeng give it such a chance? With another light touch, pitch-black runes instantly covered the Five-Colored Heavenly Blade. The blade itself remained

unharmed, but the divine spirit within screamed and, like the Heavenly Emperor's primordial spirit, froze into a scattering of luminous fragments.

Only then did Yuangeng withdraw his hand and stand still. He watched the Undying Heavenly Emperor's lifeless corpse fall, transforming into a Five-Colored Phoenix a hundred zhang long, and felt a momentary surge of emotion.

Had the thread of fate remained unchanged, perhaps he should have become an Immortal King who ruled a region of the Immortal Domain. Yet after so many twists and turns, he had ultimately come to this end.

"Dao brother, you... slew the Undying Heavenly Emperor?"

Only after a long while did the Qilin Emperor fly over from afar. Looking at the radiant corpse of the Five-Colored Phoenix above the pitch-black sea, he could scarcely conceal the horror on his face.

The god of the Myriad Races had died just like that?!

"I slew him, but I probably haven't slain him completely."

Yuangeng hoisted the Stone Coffin suppressing the Kunlun Immortal Bell onto his shoulder, preparing to first subdue this rarely seen Immortal Artifact. At the question, he smiled and replied.

"What do you mean?" the Qilin Emperor asked, puzzled.

"The phoenix race excels above all at the Nirvana Method. I don't believe he had no fallback measures. There's also his faith Dao body, which could likewise become a point through which he returns."

Yuangeng shook his head. The Undying Heavenly Emperor's faith Dao body called himself the Undying Daoist. By this stage, he should already have regained his freedom and nurtured a new primordial spirit. Yet the Heavenly Emperor had never summoned him throughout this battle, presumably keeping him as a fallback.

Then Yuangeng smiled. "Of course, the Heavenly Emperor's true body, his strongest incarnation, is already dead. He relied too heavily on his bloodline. Without this body, no matter how he undergoes nirvana, he won't be able to stir up any waves. Of his remaining fallback measures, only the Undying Daoist poses much of a threat. Once I deal with him later, that will be one scourge removed from this world."