Eternal Emperor's Path to Ascension

The rain continued falling, and neither Tian Yongheng nor Zhu Dong spoke again for quite some time.

Instead, the two figures quietly traversed the skies of the Heavenly Region, moving toward the Eastern Continent.

Mountains drifted beneath them as ancient cities passed by one after another.

Towering sects and supreme families stood proudly upon lofty peaks, completely unaware that two among the most terrifying group of beings currently residing within the entire Lower Realm had just flown overhead.

One was the strongest cultivator beneath heaven, and the other was a reincarnated Immortal Sovereign.

In a sense, they were now considered to be on the same boat.

After all, regardless of Zhu Dong’s previous identity, he was currently living in the Lower Realm.

If the approaching catastrophe truly descended, he would not be spared merely because he had once been an Immortal Sovereign.

There was a high chance that the ones behind the calamity stood above even Immortal Sovereigns.

The calamity would treat everyone equally.

Therefore, their interests had already become intertwined.

Besides, Zhu Dong’s favorability towards Tian Yongheng was now 3-Star, so he could be trusted to a certain extent.

As they traveled, Zhu Dong occasionally explained fragments of history from the Upper Realm.

Meanwhile, Tian Yongheng listened silently, occasionally asking questions to fill in the blanks of his knowledge.

The more he listened, the heavier the pressure within his heart became.

Ever since that incomprehensible gaze descended upon him atop Kunlun Divine Mountain, everything had changed.

Learning about the history of the Divine Sovereign and the truth behind the events of over a billion years ago only made the pressure greater.

Every new revelation made Tian Yongheng feel an increasingly strong sense of urgency.

It was unlike anything he had experienced before.

For hundreds of years after becoming an Immortal, he had always believed he possessed sufficient time.

Even knowing powerful enemies existed, they were too far away to threaten him immediately.

That confidence had slowly dulled his sense of crisis.

He always believed he possessed sufficient time, and within another thousand or two thousand years, he would be able to contend with those great enemies residing in the Upper Realm.

But now, that sense of crisis had completely returned.

Moreover, it was stronger than ever before.

His crimson eyes were calm, without the slightest hint of emotional fluctuation as his thoughts drifted away.

I must reach the Earth Immortal Realm as soon as possible.

That single thought continuously echoed through his mind.

The Vagrant Immortal Realm was merely the beginning of the Immortal Path.

Although he currently stood invincible throughout the Lower Realm, that was only the Lower Realm.

The upcoming calamity would surely be at least at the Earth Immortal, or even the Heaven Immortal level, with shadows of even more terrifying existences behind them.

Even if he possessed monstrous combat power, the Vagrant Immortal Realm was simply not enough to deal with it.

However, once he stepped into the Earth Immortal Realm, his strength would undergo another qualitative transformation.

At that time, even if he still could not confront whatever was approaching... at least his chances of survival would increase considerably.

As a great cultivator once said, the cultivation world is not about who’s the strongest, but who lives the longest.

How many geniuses had shone brilliantly yet fallen before reaching their peak potential, and how many mediocre talents, by living cautiously, had survived much longer than those geniuses, ultimately having the last laugh?

Tian Yongheng had absolutely no intention of dying heroically.

He had never believed sacrificing oneself without hope of success was glorious.

For him, living was always more important.

After all, a dead genius is merely another corpse. Only the living possessed endless possibilities.

His thoughts unconsciously drifted toward the Divine Sovereign once again.

That peerless existence from over a billion years ago had also fled after losing the battle against the Cleansing.

He had escaped, hiding from one place to another and cultivating before eventually returning to overturn the entire Upper Realm.

Call it cowardice or anything else, that was the wisest decision possible in that situation.

If the Divine Sovereign had not escaped and died with the Lower Realm, perhaps the current Lower Realm would never even possess so many possibilities and variables.

Everything the Lower Realm had today was because of that decision made by the Divine Sovereign.

The truly terrifying cultivators were never those who won every battle, rather, they were those who survived every defeat and continued moving forward.

Only by surviving could one obtain another opportunity, and only by surviving could one seek revenge.

Only by surviving... could one continue walking toward eternity.

In that regard, he and the Divine Sovereign seemed somewhat similar. Both valued survival and possibility above temporary honor.

If the worst truly happened, the entire Lower Realm was bloodbathed, and even he proved to be utterly powerless...

Then he would leave, without the slightest hesitation.

The current Tian Yongheng possessed advantages the Divine Sovereign back then never had.

His cultivation was already far beyond the Half Immortal Realm the Divine Sovereign possessed during the Cleansing, and he also possessed the Shuttling Heaven Great Art, an unparalleled Divine Power capable of traversing the boundless heavens.

As long as sufficient preparations were made beforehand, even escaping the Lower Realm would not necessarily prove impossible.

Naturally, going to the Upper Realm was completely out of the question.

Tian Yongheng immediately rejected that idea.

The Heavenly Dao greatly restricted powerful existences above Immortals in the Lower Realm, however, the Upper Realm was different.

That was the home territory of countless Immortals and Gods.

There, those truly ancient monsters, those Profound Immortals and Golden Immortals, could act without restraint.

Entering such a place now would be nothing more than courting death!

Instead, the Myriad Worlds were the best option.

The endless multiverse that served as the foundation beneath all heavens.

Those worlds possessed comparatively weak cultivation civilizations, making him absolutely the strongest existence within.

More importantly, the Myriad Worlds couldn’t even bear a Half Immortal descending, much less actual Immortals; they might collapse the instant an Immortal God did such a thing.

And as the foundation of heaven and earth, there would be countless opposing forces to Immortals actually attempting to descend personally into the Myriad Worlds just to kill him even if they found him.

Although this train of thoughts had many loopholes, such as beings or other means powerful enough to kill him without even personally descending, or them not caring about the Myriad Worlds at all...

He couldn’t afford to think about those things at all!

But at the same time, Tian Yongheng possessed another advantage, which was the Enigmatic Godly Stele.

Using it, he could establish Dao Marks across immeasurable distances.

As long as preparations were completed beforehand, he could instantly teleport to those locations whenever necessary.

That would become his final contingency, his ultimate retreat.

The more Tian Yongheng thought about it, the calmer he became.

In fact, he had already begun preparing for the worst possible outcome!

Even if the Nine Great Mortal Worlds fell, even if every sect collapsed, even if every civilization disappeared, even if his friends, his disciples, his acquaintances, even everyone he knew perished...

He would still leave, and he would still survive!

Some might call such thinking cold, others might call it cowardly, but Tian Yongheng cared little.

He had already died once; he understood better than most what death truly meant!

The dead possessed nothing, only the living retained hope!

His fists unconsciously tightened.

If everything truly came to that, then he would just hide and cultivate for thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of years!

One day, he would kill his way into the 33 Heavens after becoming an Immortal Emperor!

His expression remained calm, but beneath that calmness, a terrifying determination had already taken root.

Beside him, Zhu Dong suddenly glanced sideways.

Although Tian Yongheng’s expression remained unchanged, for some reason, he felt a slight chill.

"..."

What exactly is this fellow thinking about?

Zhu Dong felt somewhat curious, though he naturally had no intention of asking.

Everyone possessed secrets, including himself.

The rain gradually became lighter as they continued traveling eastward.

After several days of travel, the Central Continent slowly approached its eastern boundary.

Just as Tian Yongheng was about to step beyond it, his footsteps suddenly halted.

At almost the exact same moment, Zhu Dong also stopped.

The expressions of both men changed simultaneously.

Someone was approaching.

Very quickly, a hazy demonic aura emerged from the distant horizon, cutting through the rain like a black meteor.

Its speed was astonishing, approaching the limits of the Half Immortal Realm.

Within moments, it had already crossed countless mountains.

Seeing this familiar scene, Tian Yongheng’s expression became somewhat strange.

When he departed from Kunlun Divine Mountain, Zhu Dong had approached him exactly the same way.

Now, someone else had come as well.

What’s going on today?

Did everyone randomly decide to visit me one after another?

Beside him, Zhu Dong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Demonic Cultivator, and not an ordinary one either."

Tian Yongheng naturally sensed the same thing.

Although the aura possessed unmistakable demonic characteristics, it lacked the madness and bloodthirst commonly associated with demonic path cultivators.

At the same time, it carried an ancient, profound feeling, possibly an existence who had lived for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years.

Besides, almost every demonic powerhouse of such a high realm had been annihilated in the Righteous-Demonic War, so who could this be?

A few names flashed through Tian Yongheng’s mind at the thought.

Within only a few breaths, the distant figure finally became visible.

Black robes fluttered gently beneath the rain, his long black hair dancing behind him.

Seeing his face, Tian Yongheng raised an eyebrow, one name solidifying in his mind.

"Demon Lord Nine Calamities?"