The Undying Empress had arrived, with an air of absolute dominion over all creation, demanding that the old woodcutter relinquish the ruins of the Heavenly Court.
“Bathed in the blood of emperors, reborn through nirvana — just how terrifying is this lineage…” Everyone felt a chill creep down their spines as their minds raced with dark possibilities.
In that distant antiquity, how many bloody massacres had taken place? If word were to spread, it would shake the heavens and move the spirits to tears. Many felt a bone-deep dread settle over them.
The deaths of certain great emperors throughout history had always seemed so extraordinary — could they be connected to this?
Still fresh in memory was the uproar when the Grand Emperor’s dismembered corpse had been discovered within the Central Continent’s Immortal Palace World of the Northern Dipper Star Region. That supreme being of staggering offensive power — one who had walked the path toward immortality — had met his end with his body shattered to pieces, and the blood he had shed still burned to this day.
Moreover, some had heard terrifying roars of rage from an existence at the Ancient Emperor level emanating from that region, loudly cursing the Undying Celestial Emperor. Connecting all of this sent a chill through one’s entire being.
Just how ancient must such a being be — could they truly span the entirety of this long cultivation history? That such a person still existed was beyond comprehension, enough to fill one’s heart with terror.
A long howl rang out, shaking the heavens. The Phoenix Nest remained shrouded in haze, veiled in a swirling blood-mist, its outline — formed from row upon row of Blood Phoenix Wood — only vaguely visible. In that moment, a towering figure stood above it all, gazing down with cold, detached eyes. “The Celestial Emperor is a divine immortal — none beneath the heavens can fathom him.”
Sun, moon, and stars fell in orbit around him, as if he were the center of the universe itself, with ten thousand rivers of stars sweeping around him in breathtaking spectacle.
He was a man of extraordinary beauty, godlike in appearance. His full head of silver hair cascaded down to the small of his back, shimmering with crystalline radiance, without a single trace of age upon him.
He appeared young — radiating heroic vigor, like a youthful divine being who had walked forth from the most ancient of times and lived to this present age, revered by all beneath the heavens.
This was none other than the Sun-Moon Divine General. And this was no mere projection he had used when dealing with Ye Fan and the Demon — this was his true self, emerged from the tomb, his vital energy flourishing and robust.
“Hmph. The legendary Eight Great Divine Generals — every one of them once shone brilliance across ten thousand ages, their power so overwhelming it defied the natural order. I never imagined more than one had survived. What a pity. None of you are what you once were. In your day, one among you nearly achieved the Dao — and now you’ve all become plucked phoenixes, stripped of your feathers.”
The slovenly old man with a mouthful of yellow teeth muttered this, then turned back to lead his grandson in watering the immortal tree, not even lifting his head as he added: “The wind is fierce up there — watch you don’t get blown off. This is no longer the age it once was. If you’re not at your peak, don’t stand at the mountain’s summit. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall, and a man does not stand atop a bird’s nest.”
Boom!
The blood-mist surged. The enormous Phoenix Nest pressed forward, blotting out the sky itself. The ruins of the Heavenly Court trembled and shook as the Undying Empress and the two Divine Generals closed in.
“Since the Empress wishes to fight to the death — I shall be glad to oblige!” On the Yin-Yang Dao Platform, the old Daoist rose to his full height and faced the high heavens, his gaze clear and profound.
Behind him, Zhou Yi and Lin Jia both shuddered. It had been a long time since they had seen the old woodcutter like this. In this moment he was no longer old and frail — he was like an unsheathed divine blade, slashing toward the sky.
Crack!
The piercing light that shot from the old woodcutter’s eyes carved two great rifts through the void — a sound like blades crying out, like swords clashing in fierce, ringing battle!
“Can you still fight? That battle back then left none of us unscathed. Continuing to clash now serves neither of us.” The Phoenix Nest continued its approach, and from within came the Empress’s clear, crisp voice.
Without a sound, the Earthen-Heaven Divine General appeared as well, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Sun-Moon Divine General atop the crimson Blood Phoenix Nest, both having already prepared themselves for a decisive confrontation.
At that very moment, the great barrel-chested man with his face full of thick, curling whiskers stepped forward, coming to stand beside his own master. At the same time, the slovenly old man with yellow teeth tossed down the wooden bucket in his hand, released his grandson, and came forward as well — standing in opposition to the two Divine Generals above.
“Let us see just how formidable these ancient Divine Generals truly are — and how much of their former power still remains.” The big-bearded man laughed with bold, sweeping vigor.
The yellow-toothed old man shook his head. “I detest fighting. All this killing and slaughter — it’s utterly meaningless. What I love is studying all manner of flora and bloodlines. The Empress’s bloodline — I imagine it must be something very special. I’m truly quite looking forward to it.”
“You’re courting death!” The Earthen-Heaven Divine General’s face went cold and sharp. With a single step forward he plunged downward in an instant, striking toward the slovenly old man.
Though the Eight Ancient Divine Generals stood beyond all earthly station, their arrogance towering to the clouds, and would never show particular deference even to the Undying Empress herself — they would not tolerate an outsider showing her disrespect.
The slovenly old man gave not one inch of ground. A whirling yellow-furred cyclone surged up around him as he shot skyward, and one withered, yellowed palm met the Divine General’s weapon head-on in a direct, crashing blow.
A thunderous explosion rang out. Suns and stars shattered. Every onlooker was aghast — this grotesque old man was actually this formidable. He had raised his hand and dared to trade blows directly with a former Divine General. The sheer madness of it.
Runes filled the sky. A swath of stars was obliterated. The Earthen-Heaven Divine General’s divine arts were focused on commanding heaven and earth, seizing the fundamental essence of the cosmos for his own use — but the expanse of cosmic star-space he had grasped was blown apart by the old man.
The black Celestial Spear in the Earthen-Heaven Divine General’s hand hummed and trembled violently, as though it had taken a severe blow. The General himself rocked three times from side to side, narrowly avoiding severe injury.
The result left no one anything less than utterly stunned.
These were the Eight Great Divine Generals of old — beings who had left behind so many legends. And yet someone could actually meet them head-on in equal contest.
“Sure enough — a phoenix without its feathers is worse than a chicken. How much of your former power remains? Can you even recover to your peak? If you still had the strength of your prime, this old man would be running away on the spot.” The yellow-toothed old man cackled with a sly, leering grin, looking more grotesque than ever.
The Earthen-Heaven Divine General fell silent. The fact that he had survived at all was itself a miracle. Had he not consumed fragments of immortal elixir, he might never even have awakened.
“What a surprise — you, the woodcutter, have actually produced another peerless master to stand at your side. Not quite a match for the Divine Generals of old — but not far off.” From within the Phoenix Nest came the Undying Empress’s voice — clear and melodious, like a young girl pouting in mock displeasure.
“Empress — give me two hundred catties of Phoenix Blood, and I’ll sell myself into your service and pledge you my loyalty.” The slovenly old man made this completely shameless declaration without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
“Grandfather!” From beneath the immortal tree, the child pouted in unhappy protest, feeling his grandfather was making a complete disgrace of himself.
“Who do I do it all for? It’s all for you, isn’t it — I’m just trying to get some Phoenix Blood to use on you, so you’ll be better equipped to deal with that stone egg in the future.” The old man muttered, then looked up at the sky with burning eagerness, projecting his voice toward the Phoenix Nest: “What do you say, Empress? How about I give you a fifty percent discount — let’s call it an even hundred catties of Phoenix Blood.”
Everyone was inwardly astonished. They looked at the child, then back at the slovenly old man — just what kind of background did they have, to be talking about going up against that egg? Was it the one beneath the Undying Celestial Emperor’s blade? This was beyond staggering!
The Earthen-Heaven Divine General dove down, attacking the slovenly old man, while the Sun-Moon Divine General shook his full head of silver-white flowing hair and charged toward the big-bearded man — and a fierce, intense battle erupted.
A moment later, a voice came from within the Phoenix Nest, calling the Earthen-Heaven and Sun-Moon Divine Generals to fall back, fearing they might come to harm. After all, neither had fully recovered their once-perfect divine arts.
“Are you afraid? Admitting you’re no match for me?” The slovenly old man wore a look of complete elation, strutting about like a victorious rooster, chest puffed and head held high.
But the moment he turned back, his expression crumbled into that of a bitter melon. He shook his hands furiously, crying out in one agonized wail after another: “It hurts like death — what the hell? Aren’t they supposed to be plucked phoenixes? How are they still this terrifying?”
The onlookers were left speechless. Just moments ago this grotesque old man had clashed bare-handed against his opponent’s weapons and shattered suns and stars with a single finger — and now he was crying out in pain? Was his sense of feeling just severely delayed?
The child under the immortal tree covered his face, burning with embarrassment at his grandfather’s completely shameless display.
“If the two of us were to fight to the full, we would both certainly face risk of death. Let us decide this in three blows.” The Empress’s voice drifted out from within the Phoenix Nest.
“Fine. To live a few more years, I’ll spare myself a few exchanges.” The old Daoist raised his head, then launched himself skyward.
In an instant it was as though a furious ocean had burst its banks. The area went white — a vast, blinding expanse — as enormous divine reverberations and shockwaves caused many onlookers to lose consciousness where they stood. It was fortunate that the ruins of the Heavenly Court held supreme restrictive formations — otherwise one could not say that every single person would have been caught in a spray of blood, but it would have been close.
The old woodcutter and the Phoenix Nest were swallowed up, hidden from sight — their battle impossible to see. But even so, the onlookers could sense the immensity of those reverberations.
They had gone directly into the cosmos itself to fight, shattering great rivers of stars one after another, as if the laws of imperial might were erupting in bursts. What three-blow agreement? That had long since passed — already more than thirty great collisions had taken place.
The force of each impact chilled one to the very bone, each one greater than the last, until onlookers felt they could barely breathe.
In the cosmos, the star cluster where they fought was smashed to ruin and obliterated utterly. People counted carefully and in horror realized the battle had escalated — as time passed, three hundred exchanges had already been reached.
“This is a fight to the death,” Pang Bo said in a low voice, heavy with feeling.
Ye Fan, the Monkey, the Demon, the Black Emperor, and the others all wore grave expressions, their eyes fixed on the distant battle. A clash of this magnitude had enormous significance for all of them — each one gazed into the distance, hoping to witness it in its entirety.
And so too did the other Ancient Emperor’s children — opening their Heavenly Eyes and gazing out into the battle among the stars.
Stars shifted and time moved. This battle did not conclude until three thousand exchanges had passed. The Undying Empress’s Phoenix Nest slowly moved — and then departed from that star cluster.
Before she left, her cool, clear voice spread throughout the area: “Those of Ancient Emperor bloodline — follow me. In the future, there is a true immortal realm awaiting your arrival.”
That day, one astounding thing followed another. The Undying Empress had openly recruited the Ancient Emperor’s children, in plain sight of all, and had directly revealed this extraordinary revelation — enough to drain the color from every face present.
Pfft!
The old woodcutter made no attempt to conceal his condition. He coughed up several great mouthfuls of fresh blood in rapid succession, his body on the verge of shattering. Even the space between his brows had opened into a bloody wound, as he descended onto the ruined Dao Platform.
Every onlooker went pale. What kind of battle had just been fought?
Zhou Yi and Lin Jia rushed forward, taking out a blue-skinned gourd and pouring out a golden elixir for the old Daoist to consume.
He had been wounded to this extent — and yet the Undying Empress had not pursued him. It was clear that the peerless woman within the Phoenix Nest had also suffered grievous injuries. She could be no better off than the old woodcutter.
Whoosh!
A crimson light came shooting down to kill. No one had anticipated it — just as the Undying Empress had departed and calm seemed to have settled, a crimson dragon suddenly materialized and slashed downward, aiming directly for the old woodcutter.
The reverberations were extraordinarily violent — terrifying beyond measure — causing every formation inscription throughout the ruins of the Heavenly Court to light up in response, unleashing their power.
“The Lord Emperor has arrived!”
“He intends to enter here as well!”
Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others turned pale.
The old woodcutter let out a single light reprimand, expelling a beam of immortal light from his mouth to slash toward the crimson dragon.
“Insolence!” On the other side, the slovenly old man with yellow teeth also let out a sharp shout. Another crimson light came streaking this way — reaching for the withered immortal tree.
In truth, it was this second light that was the true threat. Though the crimson dragon attacking the old woodcutter possessed tremendous combat power, it was merely a projection.
Boom!
The slovenly old man was sent staggering backward, unable to stop the Lord Emperor.
“It is him — the master of the Spirit Court. One who stands on the verge of achieving the Dao. He would never fall short of either the Undying Empress or the old woodcutter — he is a peerless master of the same tier.” Many voices rang out in alarm.
Rumble!
The immortal tree was wrenched from the earth, roots and all, rising into the void above the Heavenly Palace — suspended between the two figures. The Lord Emperor had come, striking with overwhelming force, causing everyone to tremble. It seemed no one could stand against him.
Even Ye Fan and Pang Bo found it hard to believe.
“You’ve come for this immortal root — yet even if it were given to you, you could not achieve the Dao.” The old woodcutter spoke.
He drove back the projection with one step and came to stand before the immortal tree, anchoring it in place — facing down the supreme powerhouse clad in crimson dragon armor, his entire body blazing with crimson light.
People recalled a legend — that the immortal tree of the Heavenly Court had absorbed the laws and Dao of the Supreme Emperor, that he had recited sutras before it daily and nourished it with the divine fluid of his own life spring. This tree was surely a priceless, supreme treasure beyond all reckoning.
The Lord Emperor had come here evidently to claim the Dao within the withered tree — to seize the fragments of the Supreme Emperor’s Great Dao, hoping to find in them the final great secret of achieving the Dao. He had waited for this far, far too long.