The two Dark Supremes were certain that Xiao Ping'an had exhausted the last of his essence blood and would undoubtedly die after this battle.
Even in death, they would drag Xiao Ping'an down with them.
They had already ignited the flames of Dao Dissolution to kill him.
Their entire bodies became dazzlingly brilliant. Flames roared, setting the stars of the heavens ablaze.
The Dao Dissolution power of a Dark Supreme was difficult for even Supremes and Heavenly Venerables to neutralize. They could only flee from it.
But Xiao Ping'an looked composed. He spread his hands, with time runes in his left hand and space runes in his right. The golden runes were endless, like a cloud blotting out the heavens and the sun.
Countless Spacetime Great Dao runes forcibly wrapped up the Blood Demons Supreme undergoing Dao Dissolution.
With a puff, the countless burning stars were extinguished. Within Xiao Ping'an's Spacetime Great Dao runes, the Blood Demons Supreme was reduced to ash and utterly annihilated.
The Blood Demons Supreme had not been wrong in what he said and guessed. Xiao Ping'an had indeed reached the true twilight of his life. Only by forcibly drawing out his essence blood and expending the longevity essence he and his wife had accumulated to nurture an Immortal Fetus could he regain his former peak combat strength and kill the eight Dark Supremes so easily.
Only a few of the Nine Great Heavenly Venerables could have achieved such a display of strength.
There was no suspense left in the battle. Xiao Ping'an seized the last Blood Demons Supreme and, after studying him carefully, slapped his primordial spirit to death, utterly erasing him.
Then he stored the Supreme's essence blood and flesh separately.
There were eight Extreme Dao Weapons in all. Aside from the few Xiao Ping'an had shattered, the surviving weapons tried to flee, but he caught them in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, he erased their weapon deities and reduced them entirely to raw materials.
The raw materials from eight Extreme Dao Weapons were a substantial haul indeed.
The essence blood of the eight Dark Supremes permeated this world, turning it red.
Xiao Ping'an sat cross-legged in the crimson mist of blood.
"Overlord Heavenly Venerable!"
The many sages and other experts spread the news they had obtained through their Heaven-Piercing Dharma Eyes to every corner of the universe.
Many powerful clans and admirers cheered the name of the Overlord Heavenly Venerable. Though it was only an honorific, it set their blood boiling.
The Overlord Heavenly Venerable was invincible under heaven; in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, he alone reigned supreme.
To countless cultivators, Xiao Ping'an's long lifespan across two lifetimes was nothing short of a legend.
Although Xiao Ping'an had reached the twilight of his second lifetime, he had killed eight Dark Supremes in succession, an unprecedented feat in all of history.
Adding the four Dark Supremes of Beast God Mountain and Yun Gen, the Dark Supreme who was an incarnation of the Carefree Heavenly Venerate, Xiao Ping'an had killed thirteen Dark Supremes in all.
Judging solely by the number of Dark Supremes he had slain, no one could compare with him.
After estimating Xiao Ping'an's battle record from historical accounts, someone was immediately stunned.
Countless cultivators erupted in excitement.
Xiao Ping'an sat quietly cross-legged by himself. No one dared approach him, nor did anyone dare seize the blood essence.
Xiao Ping'an quietly and meticulously refined all the source essence blood of the eight Dark Supremes.
He had now accumulated thirteen bottles of Dark Supreme source essence blood.
Xiao Ping'an's strength was too great; he was already a formidable figure among Heavenly Venerables. Drinking the Dark Supremes' source essence blood directly would not extend his life.
That was because these Dark Supremes had mostly been old and frail, their source essence blood already lacking life force and vitality.
Nevertheless, although the source essence blood lacked life force, the Supreme Great Dao laws it contained were real. Each of them had once merged with the Heavenly Heart Imprint and had truly brought a Great Dao to its very limit in this world.
Xiao Ping'an had also studied the Phoenix Nirvana Method described by the Undying Heavenly Emperor in the original text. He had reached the conclusion that, to use this secret art to live a new lifetime, one might need to have Phoenix blood in one's body.
Xiao Ping'an, however, was a human through and through. If he wanted to draw on this nirvana method, he would certainly have to find another path.
At the time, Xiao Ping'an had deduced that more essence blood from Heavenly Venerables or Supremes would probably be needed for a human to undergo nirvana in a similar way and live a new lifetime.
He now had source essence blood extracted from thirteen Dark Supremes. Though he was not sure whether it could bring about his transformation or let him live a new lifetime, to Xiao Ping'an it was mostly a case of something being better than nothing.
Xiao Ping'an continued recuperating there. Just as the Blood Demons Supreme had said, he had forcibly mobilized all the source essence blood in his body, and after the battle, his blood and Qi were indeed exhausted.
More seriously, the longevity essence he had accumulated in his body had originally been meant to nurture an Immortal Fetus so he could live a third lifetime.
During the battle, his source essence blood had run dry, forcing him to expend some of his longevity essence. It was truly a pity.
If he lacked sufficient longevity essence, he might fail to live a third lifetime. Or he might barely manage it, only for his third lifetime to fall far short of his expectations, perhaps becoming much shorter.
However he worked it out, it was bad news.
Although Xiao Ping'an had not died immediately after the battle, as the Blood Demons Supreme had deduced, his condition was truly dire.
He had just forcibly expended nearly half his longevity essence, more than forty percent of it.
He had already reached the final years of his second lifetime. There truly was no time left to nurture more longevity essence.
I must live a third lifetime...
I can't die like this...
I will achieve Red Dust Immortal Ascension...
Xiao Ping'an closed his eyes and silently encouraged himself while striving to mobilize the longevity essence in his body. He hoped to stake everything in the final moments of his life and live a third lifetime.
The path of a Red Dust Immortal was difficult. He had thought that he had not offended those Dark Supremes, and he had deduced a method of cultivating longevity essence from the outcomes in the original text. He had already almost formed an Immortal Fetus in his body.
It could be said that, without this battle, he would have been certain to live a third lifetime.
Moreover, the method was universally applicable. If he passed it on to his friends, family, and descendants, they too could be certain of living a third lifetime.
If Xiao Ping'an succeeded, it would prove that all his deductions had been correct.
If he failed, everything would be over.
He might become the most pathetic transmigrator in history.
Although he had expended a great deal of longevity essence, after some calculations Xiao Ping'an felt that what remained still gave him at least a sixty percent chance of living a new lifetime.
So he kept trying, mobilizing the longevity essence in his body to live a third lifetime.
Xiao Ping'an felt utterly exhausted, so tired that it seemed he could not even open his eyes.
The battle had indeed exhausted his blood and Qi and drained the last of his life.
Fortunately, he had used that astonishing combat strength to beat the eight Dark Supremes to death.
The two clones he had sent flying after the Desolate Pagoda and the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable Formation Diagram never returned. They simply dissipated in the starry sky.
Xiao Ping'an had truly been very weak at the time, and the two clones he had barely managed to split off had failed to catch the Desolate Pagoda and the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable Formation Diagram. Even if they had caught up, they would probably have been killed instantly.
Both precious treasures had escaped and had not fallen into Xiao Ping'an's hands. Thinking of the four Blood Demons and the scarlet sea of blood, Xiao Ping'an felt uneasy.
He knew it had to be a forbidden zone that had also fallen through the rift in the Immortal Domain.
He did not know whether any True Immortals had ended up in this world. Even if there were any, presumably they were already gravely injured.
Thinking of the gravely injured True Immortal whom the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable had once killed, Xiao Ping'an felt that the Lingbao Heavenly Venerable might also have gained considerable benefits back then.
But Xiao Ping'an felt too tired now, too tired even to open his eyes.
He had no mind to work out where that blood-red forbidden zone was hidden, or whether it would fall into the hands of other Dark Supremes.
Just as the utterly exhausted Xiao Ping'an was mobilizing the last of his longevity essence with all his might to live a new lifetime, he suddenly felt the hairs all over his body stand on end.
The Nine Secrets: Ba activated instantly. He severed time with one hand and space with the other, moving with all his might.
In an instant, he crossed dozens of galaxies at a speed pushed to its very limit.
Yet blood still sprayed from his body like a waterfall.
A blood-red bone saber swept through the sky and almost split Xiao Ping'an in two, missing by only a little.
Xiao Ping'an was wounded. A third of his body had been sliced away, and his blood gushed out wildly.
How many tens of thousands of years had it been since Xiao Ping'an was last injured?
Even in his battle against eight Dark Supremes, he had not shed blood.
Yet now, someone had almost killed him with a single slash.
Although he had reached his final days and had just fought an earth-shaking battle, this was enough to show how terrifying the blood-red bone saber was.
A blood-red hand, scarlet and sinister, had reached out of a blood-red ocean, gripped a blood-red bone saber, and attacked Xiao Ping'an.
That was unquestionably a peerless, invincible expert.
From the presence released just now, Xiao Ping'an quickly judged that the blood-red arm belonged to a True Immortal.
He should also have fallen into this world through the rift in the Immortal Domain.
The Great Dao rules of this world should have left him gravely injured, unable to wield the true strength of a True Immortal.
Otherwise, that single slash would certainly have been enough to kill Xiao Ping'an.
A blood-red waterfall cascaded down from the starry sky. Blood-red radiance danced across the heavens, and crimson light filled the sky, as beautiful as the setting sun.
As Xiao Ping'an struggled desperately against death, trying to live a new lifetime, he had taken that slash head-on. His loss of blood and Qi was even more severe, and some of his longevity essence had leaked away.
Even though he had brought this cultivation art, secret technique, and longevity method to their limits through his deductions, he could not help lamenting that he had truly miscalculated today.
He reassembled his body and looked at the blood-red waterfall pouring from the sea of blood and the blood-red arm.
Judging from the presence they gave off, Xiao Ping'an felt that the arm most likely belonged to the Fallen Blood Phoenix clan of the Immortal Domain, while the scarlet ocean was most likely the blood of a Fallen Phoenix expert.
This True Immortal-level Fallen Phoenix had most likely coveted the Great Dao source within the blood-red ocean, only to become trapped in it and fall through that inconceivable rift in spacetime into the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
Ever since Xiao Ping'an had begun walking upon the myriad Daos of heaven and earth, he had felt that his soul had become somewhat spiritually attuned.
With a little sensing now, he deduced part of this person's origins from the Heavenly Heart Imprint. It was truly wondrous.
Though he had deduced who the enemy was and where he came from, it was not much use.
All he knew was that this injured True Immortal wanted to kill him and forcibly seize the imprint and essence blood of a living Heavenly Venerable to heal himself quickly.
He wanted to regain his strength as a True Immortal and continue living in this world, where the Great Dao suppressed him so severely and longevity essence was almost nonexistent.
The Heavenly Venerables who had merged with the Heavenly Heart Imprint did not have sufficient Heavenly Venerable essence and imprints; they would not do.
Only a Heavenly Venerable like Xiao Ping'an, who had broken through the Heavenly Heart Imprint and walked upon the myriad Daos of heaven and earth, would be most effective.
This True Immortal was truly giving it everything he had to kill Xiao Ping'an.
Four clones of the True Immortal appeared in an instant above the blood-red waterfall, all suppressed to the Supreme level.
He had not deliberately suppressed them. He had truly already done his utmost.
He too wanted greater strength so he could quickly slay Xiao Ping'an and recover, lest delay bring trouble and draw a joint attack from the other Dark Supremes.
After all, a True Immortal who had fallen from the Immortal Domain was far too valuable a subject for study.
Just then, an earth-shaking boom came from the blood-red ocean.
The hand gripping the blood-red bone saber swung it with all its might, as though trying to tear itself free from the blood-red ocean.
Perhaps he was too weak, or perhaps the Great Dao rules within the blood-red ocean were too powerful. In any case, the Fallen Phoenix expert could not break free.
The four Supreme-level Fallen Phoenix clones attacked Xiao Ping'an.
They possessed the strength of ordinary Supremes, just like ordinary Supremes who had undergone Ultimate Sublimation. Their strength was truly overwhelming.
If Xiao Ping'an had been at his peak, he could have slapped each one to death.
But now Xiao Ping'an's blood and Qi had truly dried up, and his strength had truly waned.
What he needed most now was time to transform.
Xiao Ping'an knew that he was truly in serious trouble.
That slash had given him a profound understanding of how terrifying a True Immortal was.
Even gravely injured, he still possessed strength at least equivalent to that of a Heavenly Venerable who had lived a fifth lifetime.
If he were uninjured, he would probably possess strength equivalent to at least a seventh-lifetime Heavenly Venerable.
This True Immortal-level expert was much stronger than Xiao Ping'an had estimated.
The bloodlines of the Fallen Phoenixes of the Immortal Domain might even rival the Undying Heavenly Emperor's, and their strength could not be underestimated.
Xiao Ping'an had not expected that in the mythic age, so vaguely recorded by later generations, a True Immortal of the Fallen Phoenix clan, an unlucky fellow, had also fallen into this world alongside the young Undying Heavenly Emperor.
Even more unfortunately, he seemed to have been afflicted by a curse in the Phoenix blood sea.
Yes, such a powerful Phoenix senior had died; he could not have died without suffering harm.
If he truly had to die, he would only have left his bones and essence blood to his clan, not let them end up elsewhere.
Xiao Ping'an even suspected that an enemy of the dead Phoenix expert might have deliberately placed a curse in the blood, using it like bait specifically to trap the geniuses of the Phoenix clan.
(End of chapter)