48: When the underworld tried to intervene, the Supreme Being immediately informed on it!

Despair.

Boundless despair shrouded them once again.

"Then... then what should we do? Fight him to the death? Gather all our strength to perish together with him?" a Supreme made a frantic suggestion.

"Perish together? You think too highly of yourself." The Lord of the Divine Ruins sneered. "Have you forgotten Undying Mountain? Have you forgotten how those fifteen Fellow Daoists died? Have you forgotten how the Immortal Tomb was wiped out? What do we have to fight him with? Our broken Emperor's bodies, or our meager remaining Emperor's lives?"

Dead silence.

Fighting is a dead end. Waiting is also a dead end.

Amidst this suffocating despair, the Ten Thousand Dragon Emperor's aged Divine Thought rang out once more, but this time, it carried a resolve of burning one's bridges.

"No, there is still one more path."

All Divine Thoughts converged upon him.

"Surrender," the Ten Thousand Dragon Emperor said, emphasizing each word.

"What?!"

"Ten Thousand Dragon Emperor! You're mad! What is our status? We are Ancient Emperors who once ruled the world! How can we wag our tails and beg for mercy from a Human Race junior!" a Supreme roared in anger.

"Status? Dignity?" The Ten Thousand Dragon Emperor's Divine Thought was full of sarcasm. "When you severed yourselves, fell from the Emperor's throne, and instigated the Dark Turmoil to devour billions of living beings just to cling to life, your status and dignity were already fed to the dogs! Now you talk to me about dignity? Laughable!"

"What we want is nothing more than longevity, than Immortal Ascension! Wushi's goal is clearly the Immortal Realm, perhaps even beyond it! To some extent, our goals are aligned! He is establishing the Heavenly Court and needs manpower, managers, and enforcers! And we are the best candidates!"

"Instead of sitting here waiting for death, why not set aside that ridiculous dignity and gamble on a bright future! Submit to him, serve him, and if he truly manages to open the immortal path in the future, as meritorious officials of the Heavenly Court, could we not share in the rewards? This is our only chance!"

The Ten Thousand Dragon Emperor's words plunged most of the Supremes into deep thought.

Indeed, rather than dying in despair in the darkness, it was better to live humbly in the light. At least, only by being alive is there hope.

However, that ancient and arrogant Divine Thought from the Underworld rang out once again.

"Hmph, a bunch of spineless trash. My Underworld governs Reincarnation, overlooks the birth and death of all ages, and is a world unto itself. Whether it was the era of the Emperor Venerable or the era of the Desolate Heaven Emperor, my Underworld never truly submitted. Though Wushi is strong, he expects my Underworld to kowtow to him? Pure delusion!"

"My Underworld will not participate, nor will we submit. If he dares to come, the reincarnation seal in my Underworld is not to be trifled with! We shall stay here in this Nether Underworld, watching him build his high tower, watching him feast his guests, and finally watching... his tower collapse!"

The Underworld's attitude was firm and beyond question.

This gave some of the already wavering Supremes other ideas. Perhaps... the Underworld really had some trump card they didn't know about?

Just then, the Lord of the Divine Ruins' cold Divine Thought suddenly shifted. He had caught a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a perfect chance to offer a token of loyalty to his new master!

Without the slightest hesitation, a minuscule wisp of Divine Thought instantly split off, crossed the endless galaxy, and in an incomparably humble and respectful manner, entered the ears of the majestic figure atop the Hall of Miraculous Mist.

"Reporting to the Heavenly Emperor, the Underworld does not respect your decree. Their words were full of disrespect toward the Heavenly Emperor, and they even claimed... they would watch the Heavenly Emperor's tower collapse..."

Inside the Hall of Miraculous Mist, the Great Emperor Wushi's eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion. On his calm, unruffled face, the corners of his mouth curled slightly into a faint, enigmatic smile.

"Oh? Is that so?"

He spoke softly; his voice wasn't loud, yet everyone in the hall heard him clearly.

The next moment, he slowly raised his right hand.

"Buzz—!"

The entire Heavenly Court, the entire Universe, seemed to freeze at this instant. All the Great Dao Laws were wailing, all were submitting.

In the palm of the Great Emperor Wushi, wisps of Chaos Qi and the power of time intertwined, rapidly condensing into an ancient, vast, illusory bell engraved with the sun, moon, stars, and the worship of all living beings!

It was the phantom of the wushi bell!

This bell phantom was more solid than when it suppressed the Undying Heavenly Emperor, and the Dao rhyme flowing upon it was even more profound, as if it had already surpassed the realm of Emperors and Sovereigns, touching upon a brand new Domain!

Rebuilding the Heavenly Court, accepting the faith of all living beings, and organizing the myriad paths of the Universe, his cultivation had actually improved by another notch in this short period!

"Underworld?" the Great Emperor Wushi murmured, then flicked his finger lightly against the bell phantom in his palm.

"Dang—!"

A bell toll rang out, not within the Hall of Miraculous Mist, but ignoring the distance of time and space, it instantly appeared in the Big Dipper Star Field, above the eerie Life Forbidden Zone shrouded in endless Death Qi—the Underworld!

The bell's toll was melodious, yet it carried a Supreme, grand power that suppressed all ages and obliterated everything!

"Rumble—!"

The entire Underworld, this ancient forbidden zone that had existed since the mythological era and which even the Emperor Venerable had never fully leveled, trembled violently at this moment!

Countless ancient halls forged from Divine Gold were instantly covered in cracks under the vibration of the bell waves! The Nether River that ran through the entire Underworld, claimed to never run dry, surged backward, kicking up massive waves! Deep within the Underworld, the "reincarnation seal," said to be able to obliterate the Dao fruits of Emperors and Sovereigns, let out a shrill wail, its light dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Puff—!"

Deep within the Underworld, those few ancient Supremes who had just been clamoring and refusing to submit all spat out a mouthful of Origin Emperor blood, their Divine Souls suffering unimaginable trauma!

"This... how is this possible?!"

"His power... is even stronger than before! More than just a level stronger!"

"He didn't even descend in person! Just a phantom of a bell toll... almost overturned the entire Underworld!"

Fear! An unprecedented fear completely submerged their Divine Souls!

That bell toll was not just a display of power, but a warning, a crushing blow on the level of Laws! They could clearly feel that the "Reincarnation" Dao the Underworld relied upon was as fragile as paper before that bell toll, liable to be completely erased at any moment!

At the same time, in the Primordial Beginning Ancient Mine, God Ruins, Sea of Reincarnation... all the Supremes who were "holding a meeting" via Divine Thought felt that terrifying fluctuation from the Underworld, as well as that bell toll that made their Souls tremble!

They "saw" that illusory bell hovering above the Underworld and "heard" the screams of the Underworld Supremes, filled with horror and fear.

At this moment, everyone's Divine Thought froze.