Someone had walked the Sole True Path to its very end — passed the final barrier. From this point forward, this mysterious road to emperorhood would perhaps be fully revealed before all eyes. Immortal light without end shone across the cosmos.

In a state of trance and half-waking, it seemed as though a vast immortal domain had been opened up and connected to the mortal world, shaking all under heaven.

“Unknowable in the past, uncertain in the present, and not necessarily to be understood even in the future — what kind of place truly lies beyond the nine Imperial Passes?” An infinite number of cultivators speculated, each longing to know.

Many rushed toward the nine Imperial Passes, hoping to witness this miraculous moment. Of course, to reach that level, one would have to be the supreme powerhouse of their respective clan — otherwise they had no right to step foot there.

Yet everyone faced one and the same unavoidable obstacle: they would need to walk all nine Imperial Passes from the beginning, fighting their way through without any shortcut.

But by the time they arrived, all of it would likely be too late. Perhaps the ultimate secret had already been seized by someone else, and the dust had settled. Rushing there at that point would be pointless.

This world was never short of brilliant heroes. Some could not help but feel regret — in the past they had not gone, and now they had missed this magnificent moment of the age. There, perhaps, one might have glimpsed traces of immortality.

“Unless one defies all limits — possessing the power of someone like the Sovereign or the Undying Heavenly Empress — they might be able to penetrate deep and appear before that vast and great chaotic immortal land even from midway.”

The entire cosmos was abuzz. This was a monumental upheaval — the greatest event commanding all eyes and attention since the Dark Turmoil. The gaze of all ten directions was turned toward that place.

“Is someone on the verge of attaining emperorhood?” someone asked in a trembling voice.

To attain emperorhood — two words that sent a shudder through the nervous systems of every supreme powerhouse. Throughout all ages, those who had done so were the singular figures of their era — people whose march forward even the heavens themselves could not obstruct, the supreme designation for the mightiest of all antiquity.

In this age — would someone succeed?

Once every ten thousand years, or every several tens of thousands of years, this path would be opened. But in most cases it likely came to nothing, and no emperor was necessarily produced. Not every opening bore fruit.

In the last hundred thousand years in particular, only one person had attained the Dao — the Green Emperor — and he seemed not to have made his breakthrough in that mysterious immortal land, but had instead found another path.

In this age, what great upheaval would come? Every person longed to know. Every person harbored hope. Some had already gone dry-mouthed with excitement, blood boiling with fervor.

“Hmm, so quickly — what of Ye Tong and Yang Xi? Have they reached the end?” Inside the Celestial Court, there were also those who discussed it among themselves.

Several years had passed. The Celestial Court had consolidated its gains, and the territories under its domain had grown more stable than ever. No one dared to challenge them any longer. They had become a true colossus.

The Divine Court, by contrast, continued its slow decline. Were it not for people’s wariness of the Sovereign, some would likely have already set out to attack and seize their territory and resource stars.

But none of this was the focus now. The gaze of the entire cosmos had converged upon the far end of the Sole Imperial Road. The greatest change of all was unfolding there.

Would someone attain the Dao? Or would this age pass in emptiness, and no one ever reach that place? People anticipated, and trembled, and waited.

BOOM!

Beyond the nine Imperial Passes, a stunning explosion resounded. Its divine might shook ten thousand domains. People understood — someone was assaulting the barrier, attacking that immortal land, striving to seize the secret of attaining emperorhood.

No one could remain still. Countless powerful forces set out at breakneck speed toward that place, burning with desire for everything there.

“Let us move as well. We should go and keep an eye on Ye Tong and Yang Xi.” Li Heishui said.

“In terms of timing, it is already too late to make it in time. Walking all nine Imperial Passes again would take a very long time.” Yan Yixi said.

“If we are going to observe the battle, there should be no problem. That place has a particular quality — we should be able to witness the miracle from outside the passes.” The Black Emperor said.

The members of the Celestial Court set out. The Black Pearl was now far more imposing than before — its entire body blazing brilliantly, its length stretching to several thousand li. Its cold hull sliced through the cosmos at tremendous speed, heading toward the place where this great change had unfolded.

When that Quasi-Emperor warship arrived, there were already countless people gathered before the Imperial Passes — and many had even been willing to force their way through the passes then and there, just to reach the far end to bear witness.

“We cannot see anything…” The Black Emperor led the way. They arrived at a place that seemed to float in a vast emptiness, where they could only see endless immortal light erupting forth, along with the phantom silhouettes of ancient mountains one after another, and endless arcs of electricity coiling and weaving through it all. Beyond these, a golden expanse of something flickered in and out of visibility.

As for the true reality of what lay further in — it was completely impossible to pierce through with one’s gaze. And no one could fight their way to it either. This place bore the true prohibitions laid down by an actual great emperor.

BOOM!

From within, violent and fierce collisions rang out. Supremely powerful fluctuations were crashing into that immortal land.

This feeling of vagueness — of being unable to see through to the truth — was agonizing. People could not help themselves from wanting to force their way through for a single glimpse. What was unfolding there might be a battle touching on the very matter of attaining emperorhood.

No one could have imagined that they would wait three years — three full years of unceasing battle cries and fighting, with no one truly breaking through into the chaotic immortal land. The sheer scale of events left everyone stunned.

The people aboard the Black Pearl had been riveted at first, then bewildered, then petrified — and finally, simply accustomed to it all.

Before the First Imperial Pass, armies continued flooding in without cease, and from time to time people plunged deeper inside, seeking to reach the end — for over these three years, far too much information had leaked out.

“That place is an immortal grotto, inscribed with the law and Dao of an emperor supreme!”

“The Emperor Supreme’s immortal scripture is not recorded at the first pass, but within the chaos cavern at the very end!”

The moment this kind of news spread, there was no staying calm — for there were those who had personally witnessed it with their own eyes. The chaos cavern there had been seen blazing with light, with entire scriptures manifesting and inscribing themselves across the void.

Some had even obtained fragments of the scripture, which were profound and boundless, supreme and wondrous beyond measure.

Others said that not only were the Emperor Supreme’s Dao inscribed there, but that the enlightenment diagrams of other great emperors and ancient sovereigns — and even of heavenly supremes — could be found as well. It was a place that bordered on true immortality.

This naturally caused a tremendous uproar!

Countless great clans and many powerful experts could no longer remain seated. They all set out toward that place, hoping for great gains.

RUMBLE!

On this day, the First Imperial Pass opened wide. The crystal stele vanished, no longer blocking the path of cultivators. Anyone at all could now enter, and this triggered a massive sensation throughout the world.

“What is happening? Why has this come about? Who moved it?”

“Could it be that someone has broken through into the chaotic immortal land and gained control of everything there, opening all the prohibitions?”

Many were astonished, yet the greater portion believed this to be heavenly grace and divine benevolence. No small number of great forces led their battle companies in charging into the Imperial Pass, seeking to carve out a share for themselves.

By this point, attaining emperorhood was no longer the goal for most people — that ambition was limited to only a select few. The vast majority of cultivators had come for the immortal burial, pressing forward together in joint assault, competing for the inheritance of a great emperor.

The whole world had been in ferment for four years. The nine Imperial Passes had become a battlefield of chaotic fighting, with every great power having thrown itself into the fray.

Then, in a sudden moment, people were astounded to realize: seven years had passed. And still, not one person had broken through that final chaotic land. There it remained — blazing with electric light, its palace silhouettes visible, still untouchable and unreachable.

In the eighth year, Ye Fan and his companions came as well. Unwilling to leave Ye Tong and Yang Xi to their own devices, they worried deeply for them — this place had become a land of a hundred battles, and heaven only knew what might unfold.

“How has it come to this? In the past, only a small number of people could ever enter, was that not so? How has this age brought such a sea of cultivators here, and yet none are blocked?”

Even Ye Fan — who had once stepped off the imperial road and in theory should never have been permitted to enter again — passed through the passes without incident, appearing on this road for the third time.

“KILL!”

Battle cries shook the heavens. This was a land of blood and chaos.

They kept a very low profile. They had no intention of drawing attention, and did not compete for dominance. The Black Pearl had transformed into an inconspicuous little boat, always sailing at the periphery, avoiding every great power.

In the eighth year, they arrived at the Ninth Pass. From here they emerged into the most mysterious of ancient lands.

ROOOAR!

A golden lightning bolt, woven and shaped into a heavenly dragon, blazed across the sky. It stretched for tens of thousands of li, its enormous body cleaving through the chaos, and its primal, savage aura struck fear into the soul.

Then came a bird’s cry. A divine bird of chaos spread its wings and split the heavens, smashing across a hundred thousand li in a single blow, its force surging and billowing — and this was merely a strange phenomenon from within the chaotic immortal land, yet even Great Sages trembled and shook with dread before it.

How was anyone supposed to force their way through? These manifestations of chaos and lightning could take the form of countless terrifying wild beasts and fierce birds, every one of them possessed of awe-inspiring divine might — impossible to approach.

“Eight years ago, someone forced their way in — but they must have failed. Otherwise these phenomena would have long since dissipated, and it would not still be swirling in cloud and mist like this.”

“Hmm, quite a few people have made it inside. Whether they died or simply disappeared is unknown.”

People talked among themselves. This place was packed from end to end with observers. Never in any previous age had events unfolded like this one — with people who had not even participated in the blood battles making it all the way here.

This was nearly beyond comprehension. Who had changed all of this?

Unlike anything before, this implied that the road to emperorhood in this age might be completely laid bare. The final secret land would no longer hold any secrets — all under heaven would come to know what rested upon those ancient mountains wrapped in chaos.

The great mountains surged and swelled. Though enveloped in lightning elements, they were also filled with the breath of life, moving slowly with the chaos — as though the act of creation itself were being performed.

Dimly, people could see that the mountain faces were covered in ancient trees — and strangely, these trees were composed of lightning elements, blotting out the sky, growing luxuriantly.

This struck everyone as quite extraordinary. Lightning elements were a special and unusual thing — a manifestation of heaven’s punishment, the expression of a supremely powerful force. Every cultivator faced it when crossing tribulations.

That these lightning elements should be so dense here — mixed with the chaos — was there anything more primordial and fundamental to be found? Could this be the immortal palace of the heavens?

“Look! There is an undying divine tree there!”

It was impossible to say who first called it out, but the cry triggered an uproar. On the mountain face, a golden fusang tree was flickering in and out of view — was that not the ancient tree of the Solar Sacred Emperor?

“A Vermilion Bird!”

Then suddenly, someone caught sight of a flame-red bird, its feet sprouting root tendrils, rising up from one ancient mountain and alighting upon another.

“A Vermilion Bird immortal medicine!”

This shook everyone. That medicinal herb had also followed a great emperor — what was it doing here?

“No — these medicines have appeared in other places before. They should not all be concentrated here.”

The powerful figures of every great clan had arrived, each leading a battle company, all of them watching with predatory eyes, preparing to charge in and seize the immortal medicines and scramble for whatever fragment of the Emperor Supreme’s immortal scripture they could claim.

“Look! Who is that, coming?”

A figure bathed in blazing light strode forward and stepped upon the chaotic immortal land. With a single punch, she shattered the very sky — and drove straight through!

She was Huo Lin’er — daughter of the Qilin Ancient Emperor — her entire body enveloped in brilliant radiance. Of all the people to appear here, no one had expected her. The sight triggered a tremendous commotion.

Aboard the Black Pearl, Ye Fan’s brow furrowed. The fighting here had escalated — this place was destined to become the most terrifying killing ground of all. Two bright lamps appeared above the ship, their flames swaying, burning long and without end.

“Ye Tong and Yang Xi are both fine — their flames of life burn strongly.” The Black Emperor nodded.

These were the life imprints left behind by the two before they had set foot on the ancient road. As long as they lived, these two lamps would not go out.

A roar of voices filled the air. The battle companies of the various clans grew more numerous by the moment. The supreme powerhouses of every domain across the cosmos had almost all arrived. Eight years had now passed, and everyone waited with necks craned, hoping to witness an ending.

Of course, terrible and fearsome fighting was inevitable. The moment any great emperor scripture emerged, the moment any undying immortal medicine came to light, there would certainly be those who would stop at nothing to seize it.