489: Chapter 489 The Heavenly Emperor (54)

Eerie green flames enveloped the withered giant palm as it aimed at a group of prodigies on the eastern side of the treasure hall.

That group of people could no longer run.

Members of the Southern Heavenly Court, Loose Cultivators, and Disciples from several small Sects were huddled together, their legs weak with terror.

At the very edge of the crowd, a woman wearing a pale green dress was jostled and stumbled, nearly falling over.

Xiang Tian's pupils constricted violently.

Su Wan.

A Disciple from the Sect neighboring the Hegemon Palace, and his childhood sweetheart.

She shouldn't have been here.

Her cultivation had only just reached the Breakthrough to the Venerable stage; she hadn't even condensed a Dao Fruit yet.

She had only followed them into the tomb to gain experience because of the relationship between Yun Peak and the Hegemon Palace.

Xiang Tian's mind went blank.

His body moved faster than his consciousness.

Bang.

Stepping out, the bronze divine radiance of his Tyrant Body exploded as he turned into an afterimage, shielding everyone behind him.

The Heavenly Tyrant Body was fully activated.

Overlord Fist.

Heaven-Suppressing Palm.

Mountain-Crushing Kick.

He compressed all his Tyrant Body divine abilities together, condensing them into a barrier formed of pure physical strength.

The fist smashed down.

The sound of bones fracturing was clearly audible.

Bronze-colored Tyrant Blood sprayed from his mouth and nose simultaneously.

But he didn't retreat.

Gritting his teeth, he held on with broken bones and pushed back with torn muscles.

He knew he couldn't block it.

His previous wounds hadn't healed, and the gray Saber Qi left by Xiao Qianjue was still gnawing at his Origin; his current state wasn't even at seventy percent of his Peak.

But he couldn't retreat.

If he took one step back, everyone behind him would die.

Su Wan would die too.

"Xiang... Xiang Tian!"

That familiar voice came from behind him, choked with tears.

Even if he couldn't block it, he had to try.

The fist continued to press down.

Xiang Tian's knees smashed into the ground, and the bones in his legs shattered as well.

His vision began to blur.

Then, the fist stopped.

The withered giant palm hovered three feet above his head, motionless.

The eerie green flames flickered violently, brightening and dimming.

The treasure hall fell silent for a moment.

Everyone was stunned.

Xiang Tian looked up, his face covered in blood, staring blankly at the suspended fist.

He didn't understand what had happened.

Then he saw Ye Yun.

Ye Yun stood directly in front of the remains, the golden Heavenly Eye at the center of his brow shining brightly as a beam of invisible Divine Thought light entered the brow of the remains.

Xiang Tian understood that it was Ye Yun who had acted.

"It's good... to be alive."

Xiang Tian breathed a sigh of relief and lamented.

Inside the hollow eye sockets of the remains, golden liquid slid down once more.

Not just one drop.

But two trails.

"Wu..."

A low, sorrowful wail squeezed out of the withered throat of the remains.

Inside the treasure hall, the surviving prodigies stopped their flight.

They turned back to look at the terrifying remains that had killed so many of their companions.

It was crying.

The remains of the North Sea Heavenly Emperor were crying.

"What's going on..."

"Why did it stop?"

"It's Ye Yun! Look at Ye Yun's eyes!"

Ye Yun's current state was very poor.

Blood flowed continuously from his seven orifices, and his white robe had long since been dyed dark red.

While the golden light of the Heavenly Eye flourished, the unique heterochromatic glow of the Heart Heavy Pupils also flickered deep within his eyes.

Both ocular techniques were operating at full power, supplemented by the power of the Absolute Beginning Legacy within his body.

The triple forces converged into a special torrent of Divine Thought, surging into the remains through the crack it had voluntarily opened.

Images simulated by the Myriad Phenomenon began to surface within the remnant soul of the remains.

The corpses covering the ground, the shattered treasure hall, the terrified prodigies, and the young lives it had crushed with its own hands.

The most outstanding prodigies of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces' younger generation were being killed by it, one by one.

Just like back then.

The fall of the Hundred Emperors.

History was repeating itself.

The remains trembled more and more violently.

Eerie green flames and golden tears intertwined on its face; as one brightened and the other dimmed, two wills were engaged in a final tug-of-war.

Ye Yun's face grew paler and paler.

Stacking the triple powers of the Heavenly Eye, Heart Heavy Pupils, and the Absolute Beginning Legacy to perform illusions on the remains of a Heavenly Emperor level was far beyond the limits of his current level.

His Sea of Consciousness was vibrating violently, and tiny cracks began to appear on his dao seed.

He couldn't hold on for much longer.

"I must cut off the connection to the strange power."

To cut it off completely was impossible with his current cultivation.

But to cut it off temporarily... there was a chance.

Ye Yun bit his lip.

He stacked the power of the Heart Heavy Pupils further onto the Heavenly Eye while simultaneously trying to induce the Chaos Qi within his body.

Chaos Qi naturally countered the strange.

Buzz.

A wisp of gray airflow shot out from Ye Yun's Heavenly Eye.

Suddenly, the eerie green flames dimmed abruptly, nearly extinguishing.

The movements of the remains ceased completely.

It froze in place like a stone statue.

The connection between the strange power and the remains was temporarily severed.

The sound of heavy breathing echoed through the treasure hall.

Countless prodigies collapsed to the ground; some wept aloud, while others laughed hysterically.

Ye Yun did not relax.

He knew this was only temporary.

He had to do more during this window of opportunity.

Ye Yun concentrated his Divine Thought, attempting to establish deeper communication with the remnant soul of the North Sea Heavenly Emperor through the already established channel.

"Senior."

Ye Yun's Divine Thought transmitted into the remains.

"The Restriction—can it be broken?"

There was a long silence.

So long that Ye Yun thought the wisp of remnant soul had completely dissipated.

Then, an old, raspy voice echoed in his Sea of Consciousness.

"I cannot."

Two words.

"My power is bound; I lack autonomy."

Ye Yun's heart sank.

The remnant soul of the remains continued, its voice intermittent.

"Time... is running out..."

"There are things... you must know..."

Ye Yun focused his mind, putting all his attention on receiving this information.

The voice became weaker, yet clearer.

It was burning its final consciousness just to leave behind this truth.

"My name is... Ji Fan..."

"The Three Thousand Dao Provinces once called me the North Sea Heavenly Emperor."

"Later, they changed the title."

"The Eternal Sinner."

When these words were spoken by the remains, there was no anger, no resentment.

Only exhaustion.

Images began to surface in Ye Yun's Sea of Consciousness.

This was not a simulation by the Myriad Phenomenon ocular technique, but an active projection from the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's remnant soul.

He was using his final strength to recount a past that the Three Thousand Dao Provinces had deliberately forgotten.

...

In the images, a boy stood at the edge of a dilapidated small town, his clothes covered in patches.

He had no prominent family background, no startling Bloodline, and not even a decent Master.

But he had a pair of extremely bright eyes.

His gaze was deep and determined.

He started from the very bottom, climbing up step by step.

Body Tempering.

Spirit King.

Three Elements.

Unity.

Cave Heaven.

True God.

Venerable.

Saint Realm.

Every step was extremely difficult, yet every step was taken with extreme resolve.

He had nothing but a stubborn refusal to lose.

A Dao Fruit of nine thousand feet.

He became an Emperor.

The Three Thousand Dao Provinces were shaken by it.

A Cultivator of humble Origins had ascended to the emperor seat through his own hard work.

He entered the Central Heavenly Court, and everyone held high expectations for him.

"Heavenly Emperor Ji Fan! The blessing of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces!"

After ascending as Heavenly Emperor, he did not indulge in power.

He turned his gaze toward the Land of Expedition.

That was the greatest hidden danger to the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

He made a decision.

An expedition.

An expedition of a Hundred Emperors.

He stood at the forefront of the army, with over a hundred Great Emperors of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces behind him.

Everyone believed this would be the most glorious victory for the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

In the Early Stage, everything went smoothly.

They were like a hot knife through butter.

News of victories arrived frequently, and the Three Thousand Dao Provinces rejoiced.

Then, he made a fatal mistake.

Marching into the Heavenly Abyss.

One of the most terrifying restricted areas in the Land of Expedition.

The place where the Abyss Lord resided.

He was too confident.

Successive victories had made him arrogant, and caused everyone to underestimate the true strength of the great terror.

Because they lacked intelligence on the Abyss Lord, they were caught off guard.

Bewitchment.

A sworn brother who had followed the North Sea Heavenly Emperor for over a hundred thousand years was possessed by the Abyss Lord.

With a cultivation at the half-step Heavenly Emperor level, he possessed a pair of extremely powerful Heavenly Eyes that could see through the weaknesses of all techniques.

The Abyss Lord utilized his Heavenly Eyes.

Deep within the Heavenly Abyss, that sworn brother's Heavenly Eyes suddenly changed color.

He turned around.

Those Heavenly Eyes, capable of seeing through all weaknesses, aimed at the flaws of every single one of the hundred Great Emperors behind him.

He struck.

Not only that.

The Abyss Lord learned of the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's obsession through the Heavenly Eye Emperor's memories and, coordinating with the Heavenly Eyes, briefly invaded the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's consciousness.

What he utilized was none other than the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's own obsession.

"Sacrifice everything for the sentient beings of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces."

The Abyss Lord distorted and amplified this obsession, making the North Sea Heavenly Emperor believe for a brief moment that killing these Great Emperors was protecting the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

The two of them joined forces.

The Hundred Emperors fell one by one at the hands of their own.

When the North Sea Heavenly Emperor woke up from that nightmare-like state,

He saw his own hands.

Those hands that had once protected the Three Thousand Dao Provinces were covered in the blood of his comrades.

His sworn brother stood before him, the light in his Heavenly Eyes having completely turned into an eerie green.

That person was never coming back.

With a single sword strike, the North Sea Heavenly Emperor personally decapitated him.

Blood splashed onto his face.

The North Sea Heavenly Emperor's face was ashen as golden tears flowed from his eyes.

He knew he had become a sinner, a sinner to the entire Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

"My only obsession in this life... was to make my own contribution... to the sentient beings of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces..."

"But in the end... this contribution... became the blade that destroyed them..."