258: Chapter 258 Emperor Ye

The stone door of the secret chamber, after remaining silent for who knows how many days and nights, was finally pushed open from the inside.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no burst of ten thousand rays of light. Just a very slight muffled sound as the stone door slid slowly along its track. A pressure that had been building for too long spilled out from the crack, like a sleeping dragon finally rolling over. The disciples on duty in the corridor were pushed back several steps by this pressure, only managing to steady themselves when their backs hit the wall. When they looked up, the expressions on their faces shifted from alertness to shock, and then from shock to wild joy.

Hun Feng walked out of the secret chamber. The dark black robe was still the same dark black robe, and he was still the same person. But the aura around him had completely changed—it was no longer the sharp, exposed, intimidating pressure of the past, but a deeper, more restrained composure that was almost one with the world itself. It was as if he had not walked out of a secret chamber, but out of the world itself. He stood at the end of the corridor, the morning light shining in from behind him, casting a long shadow at his feet. In his eyes, silver light flowed in the left pupil and golden radiance in the right, but unlike the sharp, exposed edge of the past, the silver-gold light now was as gentle as jade, like two slowly rotating stars.

Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme. It was done.

He raised his right hand and gently clenched his five fingers. There was no circulation of spiritual energy, no activation of laws, just a casual clenching motion, yet the space around his fingertips collapsed silently in a circle, and time itself experienced a minute stagnation at that instant. Space and time responded to his will—not controlled by him, but actively complying. He lowered his head to look at his palm, a faint smile appearing on the corner of his mouth. All the accumulation before his seclusion—the life-and-death struggle in the South Sea, the collision of laws when clashing head-on with Maha Tian, the extreme pressure of fighting the Blood Shadow Twin Demons alone in the depths of the void, and the countless days and nights of repeatedly polishing the intersection of the two great laws—all came together at this moment. He was more than ten times stronger in every aspect. But he was also very clear that compared to the old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years, the Palace Master of the Great Thousand Palace, he still had a long way to go. That old man had stood at the peak of the Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme for who knows how many years, while he had only just crossed the threshold.

Hun Qian arrived first. This Grand Steward of the Spirit Hall came sprinting from the other end of the corridor, his robes blown askew by the wind. By the time he ran up to Hun Feng, he had even forgotten to offer a salute. He felt the bottomless aura around Hun Feng and saw the two slowly rotating silver-gold lights in Hun Feng's eyes. His lips moved several times, and finally, he could only squeeze out one sentence: "Palace Master, you have finally come out."

Before Hun Feng could answer, the sky above the Imperial City suddenly darkened. It was not dark clouds, nor volcanic ash, but a golden light piercing through the heavens and earth that shot up from the direction of the Holy Spirit Mountain. The golden light pierced the firmament, clearing away the clouds for hundreds of thousands of miles around. An ancient and vast will awoke from within the golden light, spreading in all directions like a tide. The will carried no emotion, yet it made everyone who felt it instinctively give birth to a sense of awe. The volcanoes in the Burning Heaven Mountain Range stopped erupting simultaneously, and even the magma river that had flowed for hundreds of years at the foot of the mountain solidified at this moment. The spirit arrays on the walls of the Imperial City lit up on their own, and all the disciples guarding the palace looked up at the golden light, with those of lower cultivation kneeling down on the spot.

Holy Spirit Mountain, firmament tablet. It only opens when a sufficiently powerful expert is born.

At the same moment, all experts above the Heavenly Supreme level throughout the Great Thousand World sensed this will. In the Sword Domain, the Green-Shirt Sword Saint opened his eyes, the long sword on his lap unsheathed three inches on its own, the sword hum like a dragon's roar. In the West Heaven War Palace, the War Emperor strode out of the palace, looked up at the golden light piercing the heavens and earth, and grinned. In the Luoshen Clan, Luo Shen Clan Patriarch Luo Tianshen stood in front of the ancestral hall with a cane, his hands trembling slightly. In the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan, Budu Xuan put down the teacup in his hand, his expression complex. In the Mohe Ancient Clan, Maha Tian stood in front of the window of his secret seclusion chamber, the old injury on his left shoulder still aching faintly; he watched the golden light for a long time, but in the end, he said nothing. In the Great Thousand Palace, the Palace Master opened his eyes in the quiet room, his gaze, deep as the starry sky, falling on the golden light, a smile of expectation appearing on the corner of his mouth.

On the ramparts of the Imperial City, Cai Lin watched the golden light, the reflection of the golden light shining in her purple snake pupils. She did not speak, only tightening her fingers slightly on the railing. Yao Yao walked from behind her, her peach-blossom eyes filled with smiles, twirling the bone whip in her hand: "I knew he wouldn't be able to hold back for long."

Zi Yan lay on the railing, her golden eyes shining frighteningly bright, the corners of her mouth curling up so high they couldn't be pressed down. Gu Xun'er and Yun Yun stood side by side at the door of the side hall, one holding a teacup and forgetting to put it down, the other still holding scissors and half a sprig of untrimmed spiritual grass in her hand. Cao Ying rushed out from the thick smoke of the alchemy room, her face covered in soot, but her phoenix eyes were astonishingly bright. Xiao Yi Xian straightened her back in the herb field, her white hair blown across her cheeks by the wind, her fingertips still stained with soil, watching the direction of the golden light for a long time.

Xue Wei leaned against the base of the city wall, her arms crossed, her blood-red long hair shimmering with a dark red luster in the golden light. She looked at the golden light rushing into the sky, then at the dark black figure who had just walked out of the secret chamber, a faint smile appearing on the corner of her mouth. This Demon Emperor who had defected from the Extraterritorial Evil Clan and been tricked into the Spirit Hall by a chocolate bean, stood at the base of the city wall of the Imperial City at this moment, feeling for the first time that her choice was not wrong.

Hun Tiandi stood on the eaves of the side hall, his gray-white robes fluttering in the wind. He watched the golden light rushing into the sky in the direction of the Holy Spirit Mountain, silent for a long time, then spoke softly: "Void, do you still remember when we were in the Fighting Qi Continent?"

Void Swallowing Flame stood beside him, black flames surging silently around his body, without answering.

"At that time, I thought unifying the Fighting Qi Continent was the end for the Hun Clan. Dou Di was the peak." Hun Tiandi shook his head slowly, a self-deprecating smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, "Only later did I know how big the world is. The Fighting Qi Continent was but a drop in the ocean. The path of the Hun Clan should not stop here."

Void Swallowing Flame still did not speak. But the black flames surging around his body quietly rose by three points at this moment.

Hun Feng sensed the call of that will when the golden light descended. He did not hesitate, a spatial rift cracked open on its own under his feet, and his figure flashed and disappeared from the spot. The next moment, he was already standing on the top of the Holy Spirit Mountain, in front of the firmament tablet.

That was a scroll floating in the void for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, its width and height unknown, as if it hung down from the zenith to the abyss, or as if only a small section had been unfurled, with the rest hidden in the invisible end of the firmament. The surface of the scroll was as smooth as a mirror, yet bottomless, as if it were an ancient mirror that could reflect all things in heaven and earth. There were already a few names on the scroll, each name exuding an aura enough to make the heavens and earth tremble. Each of these names represented an expert standing at the very top of this world.

The Great Thousand Palace Palace Master had long been standing in front of the tablet. He was still in that washed-white moon-white robe, his hair and beard all white, his face refined, his hands tucked into his sleeves, like an ordinary old man sunning himself in his own courtyard. He looked at Hun Feng who had arrived in the air, no surprise in his eyes, only the relief of an elder watching a junior finally catch up.

"You came?" The Palace Master spoke, his tone as casual as if he were greeting someone.

"I came." Hun Feng landed beside him.

"Have you decided what name to write?" The Palace Master pointed to the blank firmament tablet, "Leaving a name on this tablet connects you to the laws of heaven and earth once written, and it cannot be changed. Most people use their own real names, but a few use titles—for example, the Immortal Great Emperor used his title. What title do you intend to write?"

Hun Feng looked at the blank firmament tablet, silent for a moment. Leaving a name on the firmament tablet was the symbol of breaking through to the Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme, and also the proof of being recognized by the rules of this world. Once the name was written, it would live as long as heaven and earth; as long as the Great Thousand World did not perish, this name would never be erased from the rules. He could, of course, use "Hun Feng, Emperor Shitian"—this was the name given to him in this world, the name of the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall, the name by which everyone knew him. But his soul came from another world, and only he himself knew that name. Hun Feng was his identity in this world, but that name was his root.

He raised his hand, using his fingertip as a pen, and slowly wrote three characters on the firmament tablet.

Ye Tiandi.

The Palace Master's brows twitched, and he glanced at Hun Feng. This name had never appeared in any records of the Great Thousand World—it was not a surname of the Hun Clan, not a title of the Spirit Hall, and not even the name of any known ancient expert. Why these three characters? He waited for a moment, and seeing that Hun Feng had no intention of explaining, he did not pursue it. Having lived for tens of thousands of years, he understood one thing best—everyone has their own secrets. A name that a Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme could solemnly write on the firmament tablet must have its weight.

Golden light shot up from the surface of the scroll, making the three characters "Ye Tiandi" shine dazzlingly, and then slowly receded into the tablet after a few breaths. The handwriting sank into the scroll surface, quietly flowing on the firmament tablet along with those previous names.

Throughout the Great Thousand World, all Heavenly Supremes simultaneously sensed the new name added to the firmament tablet. It was not "Hun Feng", but "Ye Tiandi". Countless people were curious about the meaning of this name, but no one could give an answer.

Only Hun Feng himself knew. Ye Bufan—this was his name in his previous life. Having traveled to the Great Thousand World for so many years, he had killed his way from the Fighting Qi Continent to the Great Thousand World, from Dou Sheng to Dou Di to Heavenly Supreme, everyone called him Hun Feng, and even he himself had almost forgotten what the soul from Earth was originally called. Today he wrote this name on the firmament tablet, not for anything else, but just to leave a mark that truly belonged to himself on the origin of the rules of this world before leaving this world. As for how others guessed, that was their business.

His gaze swept casually across the other names on the firmament tablet. The Palace Master's title was ranked first, followed by the Immortal Great Emperor, the Demon-Slaying Venerable, and then the names of the ancestors of several ancient clans. Then his gaze suddenly nailed onto a name. His pupils shrank violently.

Martial Ancestor, Lin Dong.

These two characters were quietly lined up on the firmament tablet, the strokes vigorous and powerful, each stroke revealing an unshakable steadiness and dominance, no different from the other names. But Hun Feng's expression became extremely wonderful in an instant—first disbelief, then realization, and finally a complex look that was hard to tell whether it was wariness or a wry smile.

Lin Dong. Martial Ancestor Lin Dong. He was too familiar with this name. That Son of the Plane from the Tian Xuan Continent, that ruthless man who killed his way from the Body Tempering Stage to the Ancestral Realm, that Martial Ancestor who held the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, the Great Desolation Imprisoning Sky Finger, and the power of devouring, was actually also in this space-time. And judging from the position of the name on the firmament tablet, the time he broke through to the Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme was far earlier than his own. He was still alive. And the Martial Border also existed.

Hun Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the raging waves in his heart. He realized he had made a mistake. For so many years in the Great Thousand World, his attention had been focused on the development of the Spirit Hall, the power struggle of the Great Thousand Palace, the power balance of the Five Ancient Clans, and the threat of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. He had, of course, heard of the Martial Border, but it had been too low-key in the north for too long, so long that people thought it was just a reclusive sect that did not ask about world affairs. Lin Dong might have broken through to the Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme far earlier than him, just without acting high-profile. This forbearance and patience were more daunting than any flamboyant dominance. And the owner of the Martial Border was not just Lin Dong. There was also that Ice Master, Ying Huanhuan.

He had originally thought that after he broke through to the Saint-Rank Heavenly Supreme and touched the power of the rules, unifying the Great Thousand World was only a matter of time. Now it seemed that this path was much harder to walk than he had expected.

"What's wrong?" The Palace Master noticed his abnormality and looked at the name on the firmament tablet following his gaze, "Martial Ancestor Lin Dong. Do you know him?"

"I don't know him." Hun Feng withdrew his gaze, his expression restored to normal, "I've just heard the name. The owner of the Martial Border is very low-key."

The Palace Master nodded slightly, his tone flat but meaningful: "The Martial Border has indeed been low-key these years. But the strength of the Martial Ancestor is not below this seat's. The Great Thousand World has hidden dragons and crouching tigers; it is not easy for you to have come this far. The road ahead is still very long."

Hun Feng did not answer. He looked at the four characters on the firmament tablet again—Martial Ancestor Lin Dong—deeply carving it into his mind. Then he turned around and cupped his hands to the Palace Master: "Thank you for your guidance, Palace Master. This junior will take his leave."

The Palace Master nodded. A spatial rift cracked open under Hun Feng's feet, and his figure disappeared into it.

The peak of the Holy Spirit Mountain returned to silence. The Palace Master stood alone in front of the firmament tablet, looking at the "Ye Tiandi" that had just been written, and then looking at the "Martial Ancestor Lin Dong" next to it, his hands tucked into his sleeves, a thoughtful expression appearing on his aged face.

"Interesting." He said softly.

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