Chapter 526: Chapter 432: Initial Exchange

Ephemeral Realm, the Cloud Sea hung low, interwoven with faint red patterns from the celestial dynasty’s golden web, covering the entire domain like a spider’s web.

The Great Sage of the Seven Skies stood upon the source node of the realm, his black robe billowing in the wind.

He was one of Chen Sheng’s core incarnations, thoroughly versed in the secret technique of severing the network of fate.

"Sever!"

He uttered in a low voice, forming a complex Dharma Seal with his fingertips, infusing the power of origin shared with the Demon Immortal through it into the earth.

The mountains and rivers of the Ephemeral Realm trembled in response, and a pitch-black fissure spread from the depths of the earth, advancing directly towards the core node of the network of fate.

Just as the fissure was about to touch the faint red pattern, ripples like water waves suddenly appeared high above the realm, and a mystical portal emerged out of thin air.

The portal towered immeasurably high, with a frame condensed from chaotic energy, inscribed with the trajectories of countless stars, and behind it lay an unfathomable void, emitting an aura that suppressed the universe.

The Great Sage of the Seven Skies’ pupils contracted sharply, and before he could retreat, a cosmic hand covered in purple-gold imperial patterns reached out from the portal, hanging like a mountain, crushing the space into solid light particles.

"The True Body of the Supreme Emperor Taihao!"

The Great Sage of the Seven Skies keenly recognized the owner of this hand.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he let out a piercing howl, and a golden-red flame erupted around him.

This was a sacrificial explosion burning his Primordial Spirit for an ultimate eruption, pushing the divine techniques in his bloodline to the extreme, and he formed a spear of annihilation in his hand.

"Boom!"

The spear clashed fiercely with the imperial cosmic hand, and the Great Sage of the Seven Skies shattered like porcelain, with his Primordial Spirit flame crushed by the imperial might, scattering into countless light particles that merged into the mountains and vegetation of the Ephemeral Realm.

All that remained was the mystical portal still suspended high in the sky, from which a low voice tinged with surprise emanated.

The silhouette of the Supreme Emperor Taihao emerged slowly from the portal, clad in an imperial robe with a twelve-emblem pattern, his face hidden by a hanging crown.

In his palm, a deep, bone-reaching wound oozed black qi—a remnant of the "Annihilation Evil Qi" left by the burning Primordial Spirit of the Great Sage of the Seven Skies.

He brushed over the wound with his hand, as the golden light of his indestructible Dharma Body circulated, causing the flesh of the wound to regenerate visibly, purging the black qi with the refining power of the imperial dao.

"To be so decisive in burning the Primordial Spirit without leaving a trace, truly, the mastermind behind this is significant." He remarked, gazing in the direction where the Great Sage of the Seven Skies had dissipated, the hanging bead chain swaying slightly, as if deducing something.

...

At the node of the network of fate in the Cang Sky Realm, a white-browed daoist stood holding the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

With eyes slightly closed, his divine sense locked onto the weak node of the network of fate, the Dragon-Slaying Sword hummed, ready to strike that decisive blow.

Just as the sword momentum was about to form, the white-browed daoist suddenly sensed a drastic change in the surrounding environment.

The Spiritual Qi in the air turned into a thick white mist, and the distant mountains and rivers began to distort, ultimately coalescing into a vast, boundless world.

Within this world, stars rotated, Immortal Palaces stood tall, and each light and shadow contained boundless mysteries, directly penetrating his Sea of Consciousness.

Instantly, the white-browed daoist’s gaze turned blank, his Dragon-Slaying Sword slipped limply from his grasp, with his Primordial Spirit firmly bound by this world.

"Buzz——" The silhouette of the Supreme Emperor Taihao stepped through the air, still holding that portal, with boundless mysteries reinforcing that vast world.

He raised a hand in a virtual grasp, and the white-browed daoist’s Primordial Spirit was drawn from his shell, becoming a faint golden soul shadow.

The imperial dao energy condensed into chains, binding the soul shadow in his palm.

Subsequently, countless golden runes flooded into the soul shadow—this was the Supreme Emperor Taihao’s unique "Nine Heavens Soul Refinement Technique," capable of stripping all thoughts and memories from the Primordial Spirit.

As the runes flowed, the Supreme Emperor Taihao’s brow gradually furrowed.

In the white-browed daoist’s Primordial Spirit, beyond basic cultivation techniques and fate-severing secrets, there wasn’t a shred of memory about the mastermind behind the scenes.

Even his own origins were blurred, as if he were a pawn born out of thin air.

He dispelled the refining runes, allowing the white-browed daoist’s Primordial Spirit to dissolve into light particles, casting his gaze towards the depths of the realm, a hint of gravity flickering in his eyes:

"To be so meticulous, even the memories of the Primordial Spirit have been precisely erased."

...

In the Golden Roc Nest of the Nine Suns Realm, the Golden-Winged Roc abruptly opened its eyes, the golden light in its daoist eyes illuminating the Nine Suns True Fire within the nest with a dim hue.

Suspended in the palm was a multitude of dim light particles, each representing a fallen incarnation.

"What is that portal?"

"It can bypass the Source Suppression of the Small Thousand World, instantly linking multiple realms, eradicating dozens of my incarnations in a short time."

Initially, he chose to stir the winds and clouds in the Small Thousand World precisely because of the Source Suppression it exerted on cultivators above Void Refining.

But that mystical portal, to his dismay, could perfectly evade the suppression, completely disrupting his plans.

More alarming was the secret technique the Supreme Emperor Taihao used to send the white-browed daoist’s heart spirit into slumber—capable of instantly binding the Primordial Spirit, rendering one’s heart spirit dormant.

At the cost of dozens of fallen incarnations, Chen Sheng finally gleaned some insights into that world.

"That power is the ultimate expression of phantasmal heavenly evolution, transforming a heart into a world, shapeless, formless, exceedingly mystical."

"Indeed, this path has another way ahead."

Chen Sheng’s eyes flashed with a touch of fervor. He had always admired the cultivation system of this realm, advancing swiftly, yet directly reaching the Great Dao!

"Unfortunately, even celestial kings and lords of heaven can at most stop at opening the mind image illusion heaven, with no subsequent techniques."

Clearly, the continuation of this path had long been concealed by the Celestial Emperor. He gently shook his head, then gathered his Heart Spirit and pondered silently:

"However, this time wasn’t entirely in vain. Although many secrets were exposed, at least it forced out the true body of Taihao Celestial Emperor, uncovering his realm and hidden cards."

With a thought, Chen Sheng’s other avatars instantly restrained their aura, either blending into the mortal marketplaces or hiding within the Power of Origin of the realms, completely silent.

In the following months, Taihao Celestial Emperor held the Heart Gate, opening it multiple times in different Small Thousand Worlds. Each time was accompanied by the crushing of the mind image world, slaying one avatar after another.

Chen Sheng sacrificed dozens of avatars as the cost, gradually probing and finally understanding Taihao Celestial Emperor’s method of detection.

He combined Secret Techniques learned from the Spirit Realm, completely disguising the remaining avatars as part of the realm’s Power of Origin, finally evading Taihao Celestial Emperor’s subsequent pursuit.

...

Above the nine heavens, countless Dao Pattern Runes suspended, illuminating the figure seated on the black and yellow meditation cushion at the center.

Taihao Celestial Emperor had shed the twelve-patterned emperor robe, wearing only a plain white Dao robe. The mighty celestial power of the emperor was entirely restrained, with only the "Heart Gate" in his palm emitting a mystical glow.

The Heart Gate was about the size of a palm, its material neither jade nor gold, covered in intricate lines, with each pattern being a snapshot of a legacy.

As the finger of the Celestial Emperor flowed with golden brilliance, the patterns suddenly lit up, countless shadowy techniques unfurling within the chamber.

The Celestial Emperor’s gaze wandered among the myriad techniques, his expression calm and unchanging.

He had slain hundreds of exceptions disturbing the Small Thousand World, also capturing some of their underlying details.

These exceptions must be from the same person rather than a vast organization!

The next moment, his fingertip gently tapped, all technique shadows instantly dispersed, leaving only one legacy slowly manifesting in the center of the Heart Gate — "Grand Freedom Unmatched Boundless Heavenly King Secret". 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In the shadow of this legacy, a heavenly king clad in an attire of freedom stood proudly in the void, with countless avatars emerging around him, some as immortals, some as demons, some as mortals.

It was precisely the same source of avatar techniques as those exceptions.

"Though different, the foundation is similar."

"The other party obtained the heritage of the Heavenly King of Freedom, but abandoned the illusionary appearance, focusing on the essence of ’One Heart and One Mind between avatar and true self,’ forging his path."

His eyes flashed with a hint of admiration, tempered with the ancient sorrow of overlooking eras:

"Indeed, every era has individuals of astonishing talent."

While exterminating the exceptions, he had already discerned their essence — only the avatar technique with ’One Heart and One Mind’ could allow the numerous avatars scattered across various realms to coordinate so closely, leaving no trace of flaw.

The Celestial Emperor glanced briefly, then calculated the strength of the mastermind:

"Each of these avatars possesses the combat strength of a seven or eight-star Ancient Immortal, the true self’s cultivation must have reached at least eleven-star Ancient Immortal, nearing transcendence."

This conclusion did not surprise him; although strong, eleven-star Ancient Immortal had not yet touched his bottom line, and he estimated in his heart:

"Stirring the fortunes of three thousand Small Thousand Worlds is merely to disrupt my path of empire, to prevent my earlier transcendence, thereby cutting off his way forward."

The Celestial Emperor gently shook his head, with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth:

"It seems this person, though inheriting past era legacies, is unaware of other secrets, thus worrying unnecessarily."

"The path of empire does not work, neither does the avatar path of the Heavenly King of Freedom."

"The Heavenly King of Freedom, back then with unmatched prowess, traversing and suppressing eras with countless avatars, unrivaled and invincible in countless eras, yet similarly fell at the last step."

Heart Gate then revealed shadows of the Heavenly King of Freedom’s demise.

Countless avatars simultaneously collapsed, the true self of the Heavenly King perished in retaliation, the scene tragic yet helpless.

The Celestial Emperor’s body was unique, knowing too many secrets of this realm; at this moment, his gaze turned to the most central rune above Heart Gate, his expression becoming extremely solemn:

"The Dao respects the law, only the path of the heart is the sole feasible route of transcendence in this realm."

"Sadly, in three hundred eras, none have succeeded."

Heart Gate spun again, revealing moments of past shadows.

There was a Buddha King who secluded for a hundred thousand years in meditation, ultimately passing beneath the Bodhi Tree; there was a Daoist who severed his seven emotions and six desires, condensing a heartless Daoist Body...

These individuals were invincible existences of their era, none of whom could successfully comprehend, thus forging alternative routes, opening various paths.

Ultimately, these cultivation paths were all engraved on the Heart Gate, leading to the descent of Taihao Celestial Emperor.

"Transcendence is exceptionally difficult!"

Taihao Celestial Emperor sighed softly, the plain white Dao robe lightly trembled among the rune shadows.

His current mind image illusion heaven had already reached Perfection, only one step short; sadly, this step was like being shrouded by an invisible mist, visible yet intangible.

Though he was Heart Gate incarnate, he remained trapped in the same predicament as his predecessors.

The Celestial Emperor contemplating the individual hidden in the shadows, suddenly harbored a thought:

"Perhaps..."