Chapter 662 - 657: Deceiving Heaven to Cross the Sea
Within the Taihuang Realm, streaks of crimson light shot toward the heavens.
As heaven and earth trembled, the great forbidden areas cracked apart. Figures emerged one by one, their Blood Qi flooding the sky. Their auras clashed, refusing to yield to one another—each was a figure who had once reigned supreme over an entire generation!
One hundred thousand years of cultivation in the Taihuang Realm had produced ten Emperor Venerables.
The Emperor Yi Venerable of a bygone era had long ago become a living forbidden area. Now, he reemerged in the world, a greatbow in hand. His youthful face was devoid of its former spirited vigor, replaced only by the weight of ages and a grim resolve.
"Immortality... To become an Immortal!"
"I can feel it. My Blood Qi is reviving, and old age is slowly receding from my body... The Path to Immortality, the legends of the Immortal Sect... they’re all true!"
Besides him, the Emperor Venerables of every generation emerged one after another.
"[Profound], [Origin], [Principle], [Azure], [Age], [Demon], [Artifact], [Celestial]..."
Each name had once reigned supreme for ten thousand years.
Among them were demons, humans, flora, stars, and even artifact spirits. Their origins were all different; the only thing they shared was their power.
RUMBLE!
At this moment, the Qi traces of the Emperor Venerables blanketed the heavens. They were bolstering their Blood Qi and returning to their peak, preparing to charge into the legendary Path to Immortality in their strongest state.
This was an irreversible step, the driving obsession of every Emperor Venerable through the ages. Their time had long run out; they had only managed to cling to life thanks to scattered crystals of temporal imagery from years past. Now, by shattering those crystals, they had restored themselves to their peak. After this one battle, the inevitable result would be their deaths and the dissipation of their Daos.
"There is still one left. Where is [Tai]?"
"The Path to Immortality is manifest, and we are all gathered. How could he be absent?"
Emperor Venerable after Emperor Venerable spoke, their voices like rolling thunder, echoing directly into the Flint Fire Forbidden Area. But their words were suppressed by a majestic aura of Blood Qi, dissipating into nothing.
The figure of [Tai] emerged.
But unlike the other fervent Emperor Venerables, [Tai]’s expression was perfectly calm. His gaze, as it swept over the others, even held a hint of contempt.
Such an attitude naturally caused the other Emperor Venerables to frown.
After all, every single one of them was a peak expert who had once dominated the world. They possessed an unshakeable, invincible will; how could they ever admit to being inferior?
"The First Emperor Venerable. Your reputation is great indeed."
"We never had the chance to meet in our respective eras. Seeing you now, you’re as arrogant as they say. Do you truly think we are beneath you?"
Facing the other Emperor Venerables’ challenges, [Tai] waved his hand dismissively. "The First Emperor Venerable? It’s just an empty title. If you want it, you’re welcome to it."
’Are you kidding? As if I care.’
’How could these youngsters from later generations possibly imagine the world-shattering opportunity I’ve encountered? Emperor Venerable? Please. We’re not even in the same league anymore.’
’I’m the Immortal’s dog now!’
At this thought, [Tai] was once again filled with a sense of arrogant superiority, as if he were the only sober one in a world of drunks. He glanced around, and the look he gave the others—as if they were fools—grew more and more pronounced.
"Hmph!"
Although some of the Emperor Venerables were still displeased, the Path to Immortality was the more pressing matter. So they restrained themselves and turned their gazes to the portal in the sky.
"I’ll go first!"
Emperor Yi Venerable was the first to act. As the youngest of the Ten Emperor Venerables, his fighting spirit soared, and he gathered the celestial light, condensing it into an arrow in his hand.
He then strode forward and drew his bow taut as a full moon. He nocked the Celestial Light Arrow, pouring his own overwhelming Emperor Venerable’s Blood Qi into it as well. A dazzling, fiery radiance erupted before being completely drawn in, until not a single trace of its infinite Divine Power was visible.
"Open!"
In that instant, a soft *twang* seemed to explode in the ears of everyone in the Taihuang Realm. The arrow left the string and, in the blink of an eye, slammed into the portal of the Path to Immortality.
The next second, a brilliant light blossomed.
Almost simultaneously, the other Emperor Venerables, not to be outdone, also made their move. Their majestic Blood Qi gathered together like a raging inferno, threatening to evaporate Heaven and Earth itself.
BOOM!
Under the assault of this fiery Blood Qi, any so-called immortal light or auspicious signs were burned to cinders. Just like that, the ten Emperor Venerables stepped through the portal!
Meanwhile, [Tai] was still looking around.
’Where’s the Immortal?’
’The Immortal made a stunning but brief appearance back then before vanishing again. His goal seemed to be the Path to Immortality, but now that the path is open, he’s nowhere to be seen.’
’Why?’
[Tai] was puzzled, but he remained completely unaware that a phantom-like figure had been standing silently beside him the entire time.
Not just him, none of the other Emperor Venerables had noticed either. Lü Yang stood silently among the Ten Emperor Venerables. This time, he wasn’t present as a wisp of spiritual perception but had come in his physical body. His Qi trace had long since blended with the erupting Blood Qi of the Emperor Venerables—after all, it was his blood to begin with.
Then, he summoned the [Centome].
’Divination Lottery!’
This was the Talent Skill born from Fortune. By consuming Fortune, he could draw a lot, anchoring a future that was favorable to him. It was an incredibly valuable ability.
Immediately, Lü Yang began to form a Daoist Hand Seal.
He unleashed a Qi Fortune Secret Technique he hadn’t used in a long time, a technique that involved exchanging karmic links for Fortune. He proceeded to strip the fortune from the billion-plus cultivators of the Taihuang Realm, taking one wisp from each person.
He then poured all of this accumulated Fortune into the [Divination Lottery].
Soon, lines of text appeared:
[Event: Conceal your Qi trace and mix in with the Ten Emperor Venerables, using their Blood Qi—which shares your origin—to mask yourself and deceive the perception of the "Celestial Human Residual Consciousness."]
[Great Evil: A deception of cosmic scale. You’re courting death!]
[Lesser Evil: The net of Heaven is vast; though its mesh is wide, nothing escapes it. You will ultimately be blocked at the gate.]
[Moji: You will manage to slip past, but you will find it difficult to act freely.]
Without hesitation, Lü Yang chose [Moji]. He immediately sensed the resistance and rejection emanating from the celestial portal weaken significantly.
’I’m getting in...’
Overjoyed, Lü Yang seized the opportunity. With a single thought, he followed close behind the Ten Emperor Venerables and forcibly squeezed his way into the Immortal Sect’s portal, faintly hearing a muffled straining sound coming from it.
CRACKLE! CRACK!
The portal of the Immortal Sect, seemingly unable to bear his presence, was being forced open little by little.
’My Position is too high, my very essence too massive... Just bear with it for a moment.’
Holding fast to the fortune he had drawn, Lü Yang suppressed his Qi trace and Position to the absolute Extreme. Then, just at the critical point before the portal shattered, he barely managed to step onto the Path to Immortality.
The next second, the portal vanished.
Lü Yang stood shoulder to shoulder with the Ten Emperor Venerables, silently surveying his surroundings. He felt as if he had fallen into an abyss; there was only darkness in every direction—above, below, and all around.
’Is space folding in on itself?’
Lü Yang raised an eyebrow. Amid the gloom, only the Path to Immortality shone, radiating a Splendid Light. It sat suspended in the darkness, stretching into the deepest reaches of the void.
On the Path to Immortality itself, they saw layers upon layers of images weaving together. The temporal imagery here was concentrated to the Extreme, acting like a mirror that reflected their past, present, and future. Merely witnessing these scenes was enough to shake one’s Dao Heart.
In that moment, all Ten Emperor Venerables were shaken.
They saw their futures, and without exception, each one was slain. Their killer was a flash of Sword Light, wielded by a youth in white robes!
"There’s a great enemy on the Path to Immortality?"
"Is it an Emperor Venerable who came even before [Tai]? Did he obtain some immense Creation?"
"No matter who it is, those who obstruct my Dao must be slain!"
The Ten Emperor Venerables advanced shoulder to shoulder. Though they came from a mere Little Realm Heaven, each was a hero of their era. Even seeing a future of certain death did not discourage them.
Their invincible will was not a matter of external dominance born of arrogance and pride, but of internal invincibility—of maintaining a Dao Heart that could not be shaken by any distraction. It was the resilience to start over, even in true defeat; the courage to fight desperately, even when facing certain doom. This was the unique cultivation philosophy of the Taihuang Realm.
’They’re less like Cultivators and more like warriors.’
Lü Yang stood among them, musing to himself. Perhaps because these Emperor Venerables focused their cultivation on Blood Qi, they possessed a raw, visceral courage.
’That’s something worth learning!’
Lü Yang was not an arrogant man. He believed in gathering the strengths of others; if someone had an advantage, he was never shy about humbly learning from them and making their strength his own.
In his opinion, while the Taihuang Realm’s Blood Qi cultivation system itself was nothing special, its methods for tempering one’s Dao Heart were certainly not without merit.