At the heart of Flying Immortal Star lay a formation of ten thousand dragons soaring into the heavens. Yet at this moment, five Extreme Dao Weapons stood before Xiao Ping'an, their presences confronting it. They had fully awakened.
They blazed with eternal divine light, as though they were splitting heaven and earth apart, each like the hand of a Great Emperor or Ancient Emperor suspended in the void.
One Extreme Dao Weapon after another took the form of its master, radiating an overwhelmingly powerful presence, like Dark Supremes emerging into the world.
The Dark Supremes had not acted in person, but some could no longer hold back. They had actually banded together to persuade Xiao Ping'an.
Xiao Ping'an looked at the five Extreme Dao Weapons and knew that at least five Dark Supremes were dissatisfied.
"Fellow Daoists, what is the meaning of this?"
Xiao Ping'an asked coldly.
"You ask us what we mean? We should be asking you what you mean!"
"This is the Road to Immortality we all deduced together. It is the hope for all our futures. What do you mean by trying to open it now?"
Xiao Ping'an's Overlord Heaven Bell appeared soundlessly above his head.
Shining with divine light of eight colors, it suddenly slammed into a tower and shattered it outright.
Streak after streak of flowing light, each like a sun, scattered into the universe. The Dark Supreme behind it gave a cold snort.
Xiao Ping'an quickly pinpointed the Dark Supreme's location.
"You want to stick your neck out and meddle?"
"Since when did I need anyone to tell me what to do?"
The Dark Supreme was furious. His Extreme Dao Weapon had been shattered, and now Xiao Ping'an was mocking him on top of it.
The supremely confident, nameless ancient Supreme immediately unleashed an utterly supreme presence. Great Dao laws swept across heaven and earth, as though he would emerge into the world the next moment.
Xiao Ping'an waved his great hand, yanked the nameless Supreme out like a burrowing rat, and crushed him to death.
Silence fell over the scene.
After a while, an ancient Supreme said, "We are all Dao attainers, lying hidden in the forbidden zones for the sake of becoming immortals. It truly isn't worth quarreling over this."
Another Dark Supreme said, "The seal here concerns whether the Road to Immortality can open normally in the future. If someone slips inside now, unknown changes may well occur."
"Please reconsider, Overlord Heavenly Venerable."
Although the Dark Supremes seemed to make good sense, Xiao Ping'an had no intention of taking their advice.
According to his deductions, spacetime rifts opened from time to time along this Road to Immortality. Something might fall through them from the Immortal Domain.
According to Xiao Ping'an's deductions, the Undying Heavenly Emperor had most likely fallen through a rift in Flying Immortal Star's Road to Immortality.
He had long regarded the Undying Heavenly Emperor and the Divine Phoenix Immortal Medicine that had fallen alongside him as things already in his pocket.
If they had already fallen through by now, then the Undying Heavenly Emperor and the Divine Phoenix Immortal Medicine had to be in this Immortal Domain rift, somewhere along this Road to Immortality.
He did not want to miss this opportunity.
Entering Flying Immortal Star's Road to Immortality to investigate was something he had planned long ago.
He had not decided to enter the Road to Immortality on a whim.
Xiao Ping'an said calmly, "I am well versed in the Nine Secrets: Zu and the Source Heaven Great Dao. Naturally, I know how much is at stake with this Road to Immortality."
"I can take a detour into the true Road to Immortality without opening its entrance."
"My goal isn't to enter the Immortal Domain either. I only intend to investigate the Road to Immortality," Xiao Ping'an said.
"Hmph!"
"This is neither the right time nor the right place. Even if you enter the Road to Immortality, you absolutely cannot open the entrance and enter the true Immortal Domain."
"Going in like this will only break the agreement we all made."
Xiao Ping'an thought about it. Persuading others was difficult, but beating them into submission with his fists was much simpler.
Xiao Ping'an unleashed a Tyrant Fist. Its fiercely blazing purple radiance shattered swath after swath of Great Dao laws.
Bang, bang, bang.
The other four Extreme Dao Weapons were smashed to pieces by his punch, burning fiercely like blazing suns.
As for the Dark Supremes' incarnations, they were no match for Xiao Ping'an at all.
Xiao Ping'an severed time with one hand and space with the other, then blasted them apart with an utterly unremarkable punch.
Furious roars erupted from several forbidden zones on Flying Immortal Star.
In the eras when these Dark Supremes had attained the Dao, they had been invincible under heaven and above earth. When had they ever suffered such humiliation?
Although the Overlord Heavenly Venerable was widely acknowledged to be powerful, they had never truly fought him and were not genuinely convinced.
Now they flew into a rage.
Their violently raging Supreme presences shot into the heavens as they prepared to emerge and fight.
"Wait!"
"Everyone, hear this old man out."
"The Overlord Heavenly Venerable's strength surpasses all others in the present age. His Qi and blood are vigorous, and he has never severed his own cultivation. Even Emperor Venerable holds him in high regard. Are you certain you can defeat him if you emerge?"
"The Overlord Heavenly Venerable once slew a True Immortal, even if that True Immortal was already gravely wounded."
The ancient Heavenly Venerable's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly calming the Dark Supremes.
They had already severed their own cultivation, and their Qi and blood were depleted. If they emerged, they would most likely suffer the same fate as the dozen or more Dark Supremes the Overlord Heavenly Venerable had slain back then.
At the thought, waves of cold sweat suddenly broke out on them.
It seemed their obsession with becoming immortals had clouded their minds.
After all, Xiao Ping'an had already slain more than a dozen Dark Supremes.
"Since the Overlord Heavenly Venerable insists on entering Flying Immortal Star's Road to Immortality, please do as you wish. I trust the Overlord Heavenly Venerable also knows how much is at stake," another ancient Heavenly Venerable said.
The other Dark Supremes said nothing, so naturally no one else stopped him.
Xiao Ping'an had originally intended to conquer one of Flying Immortal Star's forbidden zones outright, but since they had lowered their banners and silenced their drums, he did not press them any further.
His goal truly was to enter the Road to Immortality and see whether any treasures from the Immortal Domain had fallen onto it over all these years.
Now he studied the rows of stone steles, employing the Nine Secrets: Zu and the Source Heaven Great Dao.
He did not use the Ten Thousand Dragons Charging the Pass to force the entrance open.
His hands traced ceaseless patterns as he employed a spacetime secret technique. Then, combining it with the Nine Secrets: Zu and the Source Heaven Great Dao, he forced a way to a weak point in the terrain of the Ten Thousand Dragons Charging the Pass and charged straight inside.
Countless showers of light immediately erupted outward, and the radiance emanating from the heart of Flying Immortal Star shook the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
Xiao Ping'an had not deliberately opened the entrance, but merely opening a small breach allowed all the Northern Pole Immortal Light that had accumulated for tens of thousands of years, no one knew how many, to burst out.
The terrifying presence immediately alarmed countless living beings throughout the universe.
"What happened on Flying Immortal Star?"
"Has the Road to Immortality opened?" "Has someone become an immortal?"
Countless experts flew toward Flying Immortal Star to fight over the Northern Pole Immortal Light.
In the blink of an eye, Flying Immortal Star became a gathering place for countless experts.
Even Emperor Venerable and the others were alarmed.
Emperor Venerable, accompanied by Chuan Ying, Longevity Heavenly Venerable, Carefree Heavenly Venerate, Annihilation Heavenly Venerable, and others, actually headed there as well.
The Overlord Heavenly Venerable had opened Flying Immortal Star's entrance on his own, and the many Dark Supremes also noticed the astonishing change there.
Some wanted to strike at the Road to Immortality and trap the Overlord Heavenly Venerable inside until he died, but in the end, none dared act.
In the face of the many legends surrounding the Overlord Heavenly Venerable and the strength he had shown in slaying numerous Dark Supremes, they did not dare gamble.
If a battle between Supremes broke out, it would surely bring death down upon them.
Numerous Quasi-Emperors and Great Saints came to fight over the Northern Pole Immortal Light. Incarnations of Dark Supremes also flew out and came here to observe the breach that had been opened.
The Dark Supremes who had been awakened silently observed everything there.
"The Overlord Heavenly Venerable's skill truly rivals Fortune itself. He actually opened the seal established by so many Supremes all by himself."
"The Overlord Heavenly Venerable truly lives up to his title. Could his strength really surpass all others in the present age?"
Every one of these Dark Supremes had once been an expert invincible under heaven and above earth.
Now, having seen the glimpse of strength the Overlord Heavenly Venerable had revealed, they had no choice but to admire him.
After Xiao Ping'an entered the Road to Immortality, he saw one immortal spirit after another-True Dragons, Xuanwu, Vermilion Birds, Qilin, and others. All of them were powerful, possessing strength close to that of a Supreme.
They were like immortal spirits descended from the Immortal Domain.
Xiao Ping'an showed no restraint. He struck at once, blasting an immortal spirit apart with a single punch.
They immediately collapsed, turning into showers of light that were devoured by the Overlord Heaven Bell.
All of it was incomparably pure energy, containing pure Great Dao laws.
They themselves had been formed from the fusion of Great Dao laws and energy; they were not real living beings.
Of course, true immortal spirits did exist in the actual Immortal Domain. The Great Dao laws they contained had been copied and engraved by heaven and earth, which was why they could take form here.
The Undying Heavenly Emperor, for instance, was himself an immortal spirit from the Immortal Domain.
After entering the rift in the Road to Immortality, Xiao Ping'an charged swiftly forward, the Overlord Heaven Bell above his head and the white bone saber in his hand.
Once opened, the Road to Immortality behind him would not close for some time. Thus, after Emperor Venerable arrived, he, Longevity Heavenly Venerable, and Carefree Heavenly Venerate also wanted to go in and have a look while they were there.
According to everyone's calculations, this Road to Immortality would not open for several million years, and many had deduced that someone would surely become an immortal then.
Although their estimates of the number differed, someone truly would become an immortal.
The many Dark Supremes lay hidden here in the hope of seizing the initiative.
On the Road to Immortality, Xiao Ping'an bathed in the Northern Pole Immortal Light and felt utterly comfortable.
It was as though the shackles in his body were being unlocked one after another, leaving him comfortable from head to toe.
The atmosphere here alone felt so comfortable. If he entered the Immortal Domain, wouldn't he feel as though he were ascending to immortality every day?
Xiao Ping'an easily killed one illusory immortal spirit after another, devouring every strand of Longevity Essence they turned into.
Although this Longevity Substance was still somewhat inferior to the Longevity Essence Xiao Ping'an's own body produced, having some was better than having none.
At the very least, after Xiao Ping'an devoured it all, he could feel that his lifespan in this lifetime had increased a little more.
There were countless Great Dao laws and orders here, many of them utterly incompatible with this world. They were clearly traces left behind by immortal Dao runes after they had evolved here.
This was neither the right time nor the true location. Even with the breach in the Road to Immortality opened, there was no way to enter the true Immortal Domain.
It was not difficult for Xiao Ping'an to find rare materials along the Road to Immortality.
For example, he found several Medicine Kings over a hundred thousand years old here. They had lived so long because they had been nourished by the immortal spiritual Qi here. Although they could not compare with an Immortal Divine Medicine, nor even a Semi-Divine Medicine, Xiao Ping'an felt that they had at least half the medicinal potency of a Semi-Divine Medicine.
To Quasi-Emperors and Great Saints without an Immortal Divine Medicine, such things were treasures they could only dream of.
Vast chaos surrounded Xiao Ping'an on every side. He carefully made his deductions, trying to find the right path.
Because this was neither the right time nor the right place, Xiao Ping'an saw no sign of the Chaos Cave from the original text, only those illusory immortal spirits. Ahead lay what seemed to be a vast, boundless expanse of chaos.
Xiao Ping'an relied on his deductions as he continued forward.
At last, he discovered an enormous stone stele. Behind it appeared three great characters: Road to Immortality.
Xiao Ping'an looked at the stone stele once described in the original text, his feelings deeply mixed.
This stone stele had been refined by the Desolate Heavenly Emperor himself. The Desolate Heavenly Emperor had still been very weak then, seemingly only possessing the strength of a Red Dust Immortal. He had not yet become an Immortal King, let alone an Immortal Emperor.
Even so, the stele he had refined still radiated a mysterious divine charm of the Great Dao.
Xiao Ping'an went around the stone stele and continued forward.
Immortal Dao runes began to appear amid the chaos ahead, making it increasingly difficult to carve out a path.
He had no choice but to use the Overlord Heaven Bell and the white bone saber, frantically refining the chaos ahead with utterly supreme Great Dao laws.
At the same time, he had the Overlord Heaven Bell madly devour the chaos here and refine it into the bell itself. Although it could not compare with Chaos Divine Marrow, it still counted as an exceedingly rare material.
The white bone saber rang out, the Overlord Heaven Bell pealed, and Xiao Ping'an's Tyrant Fist displayed world-dominating divine might as he forced open a passage.
Xiao Ping'an continued onward.
Meanwhile, Emperor Venerable and the others also entered the Road to Immortality.
They too continually carved their way through the chaos and pressed onward, but they did not follow Xiao Ping'an's route. As they cut through the chaos, they took a different path.
It was not that they did not want to follow Xiao Ping'an's route, but that the chaos here was very special. Once a path was carved through it, it quickly closed again.
Heavenly secrets were obscured here, and chaos surged around them. They had no way to deduce Xiao Ping'an's whereabouts.
Besides, Xiao Ping'an carried a white bone saber that had once been an immortal weapon, concealing his presence for him.
Just as Xiao Ping'an was absorbed in carving his way forward, the white bone saber suddenly rang with a clang and was knocked back.
Xiao Ping'an found this utterly inconceivable.
Given the material of the white bone saber, it could shatter even an Extreme Dao Weapon. How could it have been knocked back?
What exactly was blocking the way ahead?
Chaos surged and roiled ahead. Xiao Ping'an's Overlord Heaven Bell forcibly devoured it, revealing the treasure beyond.
Xiao Ping'an was greatly astonished when he saw it.
It was an incomparably magnificent palace, mottled with rust and bearing the weathered air of countless years, yet an utterly mysterious immortal Dao presence flowed around it.
(End of chapter)