Never before in any age had a dark upheaval been this devastating — the entire world had descended into despair, with only the faintest glimmer of dawn breaking through at the very last moment.

The entire universe was bleeding. The living were suffering beyond measure. Seas of bones stretched everywhere. Even now, no one could say how many had died. This was a world drenched in blood.

“Boom!”

The great formation was cracking. The Stone Emperor, black sky-desolating halberd in hand, came smashing down, intent on breaking the formation apart. A Supreme is unmatched beneath nine heavens and across ten lands — nothing can stand against their advance.

In that moment, the imperial law flew like strikes — like vivid phoenix tail-feathers, piercing through heaven and earth, assaulting the kill-formation that the Void Emperor had laid down.

The great war halberd, forged of dragon-inscribed black gold, was extraordinarily fearsome. Wreathed in primal chaos energy, its snow-bright blade could cleave apart all obstruction. Its radiance flashed — and it was about to slice its way into the formation.

This was a very bad sign. Once the great formation collapsed, “Void” would be in mortal peril — all the effort made up to this point would be wasted. The situation had truly become critical.

From within the emperor formation, roaring voices rang out — shaking the soul. That was the fury of the Lord of Samsara. His blood was spraying. His bones were being snapped. In all his life as an ancient Supreme, when had he ever suffered such a catastrophe? It was nearly unthinkable — for one who had been unmatched throughout an entire lifetime, this was an unspeakable humiliation.

Another forearm went flying out — severed clean away — soaked in blood. His chest was nearly punched completely through, and a powerfully beating heart pulsed within — each expansion sending shockwaves rolling outward like a heavenly war drum being struck.

“Void — is it truly you? I have long looked forward to this — drinking your blood has always been my obsession. Let me fulfill this lingering desire!”

The Lord of Samsara was terrifying. Though soaked in blood from head to toe, he still smiled with that same cruelty, as though the severed arm and shattered ribs were nothing to do with him — and he advanced.

The first ambush had caught him off guard, subjected to three simultaneous strikes — the emperor formation, the celestial mirror, and “Void” — leaving him battered and bloody, very nearly falling. But in this moment, he had steadied himself. The remnants of his cyan-gold battle armor blazed with light. The divine god within it roared, demanding retribution for the shattering of its body.

And furthermore, the Lord of Samsara was certain: the Stone Emperor was about to break in. Once that happened, he would no longer be fighting on the defensive inside the formation — instead, he would tear “Void” apart with his bare hands, settle a lifetime of enmity, and drink the emperor’s blood.

“Void” was a man of few words and said nothing. Average in build, ordinary in appearance, with a quiet bearing — he looked, in his plainness, as though there was something transcendent about him.

Everything he had done was worthy of the gratitude of all living beings — there was no need to say anything more. What he had done was upright and righteous — a light that would shine throughout ten thousand ages — and it was destined to be carved into the hearts of every person, inspiring a grief that resonated in all who witnessed it.

“Boom!”

The celestial mirror shone. A beam of light, like a long sash of silk, bore down fiercely upon the Lord of Samsara. Simultaneously, the forbidden secret art of the Void manifested once more. He channeled it with his entire being — his right arm feeling as though it was melting. With force, he slashed apart the space before him. A great blazing rift spread wide, dividing the whole world in two — intending to sever the Supreme’s body in two halves with this.

“It is… the Void Severance of Two Realms!” The Lord of Samsara let out a cold snort. He had encountered this secret art before. In former days, it was precisely this fearsome technique that had divided another Supreme of the Samsara Sea — sundering his flesh from his primordial spirit and melting both into the void. The impression it left was carved deep — it was extraordinary to the very extreme.

“Rumble!”

Heaven and earth were vast and boundless. A massive rift spread wide, its flames like a vast ocean — cutting the two realms apart, severing heaven from earth, splitting the eternal, shattering the constraints of time.

This was a true forbidden secret art — manifesting once more, its radiance illuminating past, present, and future — horrifying the mortal world.

“Aahh…” The Lord of Samsara roared. From his mouth he sprayed hundreds of millions of threads of immortal light — his law and his Dao, transformed into a star river chart of the heavenly cycles, order chains interwoven — brilliantly blinding.

One sought to cut the two realms apart, to divide and isolate him, wherever he might flee.

The other sought to mend heaven — to seal the rift between the realms, to destroy all laws, to make the void itself truly empty.

Between the two of them, beams of light stretched endlessly — blindingly intense.

“Rumble!”

The celestial mirror trembled. Boundless light poured downward, joining the contest — and the great formation still held, still unleashing its might, still pressing forward to suppress.

With a splashing sound, a burst of blood erupted. The Lord of Samsara’s body was struck by the mirror’s light. He tumbled head over heels and staggered under the formation’s grinding force — nearly pitching over entirely.

The Void Severance of Two Realms, that forbidden secret art, came crashing in. The beam of light blazed and swept across his shoulder. That terrible rift directly swallowed his shoulder blade — soaking him in blood, very nearly cleaving him in two on the spot.

The Lord of Samsara let out a muffled groan. His expression was ferocious. Since the day of his attainment of the Dao, it was only in this day’s battle that he had suffered such enormous losses. In the past he had been peerless in all the world — this was not a defeat. This was humiliation.

His entire body erupted in immortal radiance. The cyan-gold battle armor, forged of phoenix feathers, shone with ten thousand streams of divine light — auspicious radiance by the hundreds of millions — surging and billowing outward in a torrent. His terrifying battle energy flooded out like a vast ocean, rampaging across heaven and earth.

That was his foundational law howling — the Three Realms of Samsara: past, present, and future cycling in alternation, sweeping across “Void,” slashing him upward into the air, causing blood to gush from his mouth, and warping several bones in his body.

A Supreme fighting with absolute ferocity — the Lord of Samsara was furious, completely and totally unleashed, like a return to that night before he achieved the Dao, when he had waged blood-war against the great enemies of the entire universe. His vital energy, spirit, and battle-will rose to the absolute pinnacle of his life.

And in that moment, his primordial spirit resounded with a rolling thunder — shining with undying radiance. This was a sign of imminent ascension to the absolute peak — a return to the imperial position!

Of course, he hesitated. He was restraining himself. After all, the price of doing so was too great — once this battle was over, he himself would inevitably begin to wither.

The battle continued. “Void” was still growing stronger — as though truly returning. He drove the Lord of Samsara to the point of blood flying everywhere, his body ravaged and incomplete — though instantaneous recovery was possible, the vital essence consumed to heal an emperor body was precious enough to feel like a tearing of the heart and lungs.

“Can you kill me?” The Lord of Samsara smiled cruelly.

“In the age of antiquity, Void could slay a Supreme. In this age, the same can be done.” “Void” was not one to speak lightly — but this time he uttered the sound of slaughter. It rang like clashing metal, shaking the celestial vault. Before his end came, this vow would be fulfilled.

All living beings sensed it. They prayed without ceasing. Their thought-force — surging and turbulent — converged upon him, supporting the imperial law that had been dim and causing it to shine with radiance approaching the glory of former days.

The living beings wailed in grief. Thought-force was a wondrous thing. “Void” sensed their terror and despair — and they too, it seemed, were perceiving everything unfolding here.

Ten thousand beings kowtowed, prostrating themselves in this direction, praying without end. Their prayers transformed into an ocean of thought-force, continuing to converge and support — praying that the Void Emperor would triumph over all opponents.

“Spit!”

The Lord of Samsara felt as though he was facing the Void Emperor of over a hundred thousand years ago — not a substitute, but the real thing. This battle had been this arduous — it was almost as though he was about to be battered apart.

One bloom of blood after another burst forth. Before the Void’s forbidden secret art, he sustained grievous wounds. If he did not return to the absolute peak soon, he might actually fall here.

How many people had ever seen an emperor or a sovereign have their arm severed, their body shattered? Yet here it was, truly happening.

“Void” was about to suppress and kill the Lord of Samsara — in this end-of-days despair, carving out the only hope, revealing the dawn of victory.

“Boom!”

A world-shaking explosion rang out. Blood rained in all directions. Bones snapped. The Lord of Samsara went flying sideways. “Void’s” emperor fist had nearly shattered him completely, causing heaven and earth to cry out in anguish.

For that fleeting instant of return, those eyes were indistinguishable from those of the Void Emperor of old. Even the fluctuations of his primordial spirit were nearly identical. The Void Emperor, held within the bloodline of the Ji Family, had revived.

“Aahh…”

The Lord of Samsara screamed. His entire body blazed with light. Defeat was not an option he acknowledged — being unmatched throughout all of heaven was the conviction of his entire life. He would rather pay whatever price it took to return to the absolute peak than allow the Void Emperor to slay him, even if it meant his own death afterward.

But the Void’s forbidden secret art was too terrifying. One palm came crashing down, shaking all creation. The emperor mirror blazed even more intensely, pressing forward in suppression, striking down upon the blade of the sky-desolating halberd and making the great halberd cry out in unceasing anguish.

Blood splattered. “Void” and the Stone Emperor were sent flying in opposite directions.

Both possessed emperor bodies — yet under the force of this kind of power, both were impacted. Speaking relatively, what remained was ultimately no longer the “Void” of former days — he sustained grievous wounds. But the Stone Emperor, too, vomited a large mouthful of blood.

As for the clashing and bloodshed among the emperor-grade weapons — that, too, was fierce. In a collision of this magnitude, one weapon might be destroyed.

Clearly, the celestial mirror was the stronger — its radiance blazing intensely. The sky-desolating halberd, however, had grown somewhat dim, with a notched chip appearing at the blade’s edge and several cracks spreading across it — the weapon itself had suffered heavy damage.

The Stone Emperor and “Void” fought until the battle reached its white-hot peak. The master of the Undying Mountain could scarcely believe what was unfolding. “Perhaps we have all been wrong — the true Void seems to have truly returned!”

For “Void” was growing stronger with every passing moment — far more difficult than before. And in particular, that gaze in his eyes was far too familiar. Those were the eyes of the spirit — representing the light of a soul.

“Kill!” The Stone Emperor roared, fighting with absolute ferocity. He considered himself first under heaven — unmatched throughout all ages. Even if the true Void appeared before him, he was without fear.

“Is that so — Void has returned? I very much wish to see him.” The Lord of Samsara arrived. This time he paid the Stone Emperor no heed, striking directly, shattering the celestial vault.

“Boom!”

The Void Mirror trembled. From within it erupted a torrent of eternal light. A massive ancient formation appeared and fell outward — submerging the Lord of Samsara within it.

“Boom!”

Boundless light erupted. Endless energy surged and churned. A blazing brilliance — this was a kill-formation laid by the Void Emperor countless ages ago, preserved to this day, emerging for the very first time.

And in that moment, “Void” abandoned the Stone Emperor and charged directly into the formation, wielding the celestial mirror to battle the Lord of Samsara.

“Aahh…” The Lord of Samsara screamed, letting out a roar of fury. A blood-soaked arm was severed and sent flying out of the formation — then exploded.

“Void!” Then came another furious roar, accompanied by heaven-shattering shockwaves. The Lord of Samsara was trapped by the great formation. Formation-inscriptions and the emperor weapon operated together — with the Void emperor body delivering strikes from within — the battle armor on his chest was shattered through a large section, and then his chest itself was blasted apart by “Void’s” emperor fist and the emperor mirror. Blood and several bones flew out from the formation.

The emperor formation trapping a Supreme, the emperor weapon executing the kill — had the true Void Emperor truly returned? Ready to slay a Supreme? Every heart in the universe lurched and hammered.

“We pray to heaven — may we offer our own lives to extend the Void Emperor’s existence!”

“This world needs the Void Emperor — let him fight one more battle for his people…”

Across the boundless star regions, an unknowable number of people were praying. The thought-force of all living beings surged and billowed, converging from every direction. All living beings were chanting the name of the Void Emperor.