This battle platform was truly small, capable of holding only a single person. Above it stretched the heavens and stars, like a condensed universe, with Dao patterns branded across its surface—profound and immeasurable beyond reckoning.
Brilliant radiance had constructed a gateway, as though connected to the Immortal Realm, its light so piercing that none could open their eyes. It was as if some existence was preparing to step through.
Faintly, indistinctly, a clear sound of footsteps could be heard—and with each step that fell, all the heavenly star domains trembled in unison, as though something were treading directly upon the sea of one’s heart.
Who could this be? These footsteps, separated by a single gateway, were already shaking this entire universe. This could only be emperor-level power!
“This blood… belongs to Wushi!” the Stone Emperor suddenly declared, revealing the origin of the blood.
At those words, the battlefield grew somewhat quiet. Several of the Supreme Ones showed expressions of shock, their gazes fixing upon the precious vial in Ye Fan’s hand. It was crystalline and translucent, with radiant blood flowing within—blood that suppressed ten thousand Daos across all the heavens!
“Indeed, it is his blood!”
“Unbelievable—this is actually Wushi’s essence blood!”
The eyes of the several Supreme Ones gleamed, their expressions deeply unsettled. They seemed thoroughly stunned by this revelation. What had Wushi intended by leaving this behind?
It was known throughout the world that the Great Emperor Wushi had been supremely dominant in his era. He faced everything with overwhelming force and had never once compromised, always sweeping obstacles away to their complete destruction.
Whatever this person had left behind would absolutely not be something that allowed others peace of mind. It would certainly be extraordinarily unyielding and fierce—guaranteed to strike awe into any heart.
Yet, in the end, they had all once been emperors and sovereigns. Each had attained the Dao, each had once ruled over the primordial universe and received the reverence of all living beings. Every one of them considered themselves supreme above all others.
After a brief silence, the Supreme One of Samsara was first to step forward, and first to speak: “Wushi, and nothing more. I’ve heard he was very powerful, but regrettably we never crossed blades. Hmph—leaving behind mere blood is all he managed. Even if the man himself stood here, what of it?”
“Ha. The living ones aren’t our match either, so what use is a dead Great Emperor? Even if he himself emerged, we’d cut him down all the same!” the Light-Dark Supreme One said with equal coldness.
All of them had their gazes locked on the precious vial in Ye Fan’s hand. Now that they knew it contained Wushi’s blood, their anticipation only deepened. Essence blood refined by a peak Great Emperor and sealed into this era—to them, it was a supreme medicinal treasure of the highest order.
“Wushi’s blood… I eagerly await it!” the Heaven-Forsaking Supreme One said, revealing a mouth full of snow-white teeth.
Boom!
At that moment, the footsteps within the gateway seemed to grow heavier, drawing closer, as though descending into this era—shaking each of the Supreme Ones.
“What is happening?” The battle continued. The Stone Emperor, the Lord of the Divine Ruins, and others were locked in combat across the void and the eternal expanse when they sensed that something behind that gateway truly seemed about to come through.
Rumble!
A sound like heaven and earth shattering rang out. Within the gateway, a massive silhouette appeared—towering to the sky—as though it were about to step through.
Supreme-level fluctuations surged outward. It was virtually identical to a living Great Emperor!
“Shatter the gateway!”
The Lord of the Divine Ruins spoke. Though an ancient Supreme One of world-covering might, he had no desire for an unknown Great Emperor to appear unexpectedly mid-battle. Another unforeseen emperor materializing would truly be disastrous.
This time, it was not a single hand that acted. The Light-Dark Supreme One, the Lord of the Divine Ruins, and the Supreme One of Samsara struck simultaneously, unleashing the laws of the Imperial Dao in a combined assault forward.
Yet a flood of bloody radiance erupted as the precious vial in Ye Fan’s hand released dozens more drops of blood, causing the entire battle platform to ignite as though ablaze—and the gateway on the other side was pushed to its absolute maximum extent.
Three varieties of Imperial Dao law came crashing in, yet they failed to shatter the great gate. A silhouette materialized in full, on the verge of descending into this world.
“Is that… Wushi’s true body?!” the Stone Emperor was first to cry out in shock. It seemed almost beyond belief.
The seven great forbidden zones of life had once all sensed it. Eighty thousand years ago, the Great Emperor Wushi appeared to have passed away in seated meditation upon the Purple Mountain—the terrifying fluctuations of that event had awakened all the Supreme Ones of that time.
If his true body had already transcended, how could it possibly reappear?
In this moment, they felt a premonition of dread. Could it be that Wushi had not truly passed away back then? If that were not the case, then only one possibility remained.
“Wushi? Wushi! Even if you yet live, even if you truly emerge into this world—we will destroy you all the same!” the Supreme One of Samsara bellowed.
In this moment, all of them readied themselves for battle. None present had ever fought Wushi, yet all were deeply aware of his fearsome reputation and dared not take him lightly.
Above all, the unknown breeds wariness. Should this be some killing formation, it could very well spell enormous disaster for them.
They conserved their strength as best they could, closing in to surround Ye Fan while keeping their gazes fixed on that massive gateway. Every Imperial Dao law was primed and ready—the moment anyone stepped through, they would execute an absolute kill.
Clang!
As though a distant, resonant bell toll were drifting through, a towering silhouette planted one foot forward. A tremendous storm erupted with that step—a thunderous concussion that shot directly toward the Supreme One of Samsara.
Crack!
It was overwhelmingly powerful, overwhelmingly swift. Imperial Dao laws were launched to intercept, but they failed to hold. That beam of light came crashing through, sweeping across the Supreme One of Samsara’s body.
He was sent flying directly, blood spraying from his mouth. The fragments of his azure-gold battle armor shattered still further, and his entire form shuddered violently. He had clearly suffered a catastrophic blow.
“This is power that has never undergone self-severing. How could Wushi have achieved this—and still survived?!” The Supreme One of Samsara was finally shaken. He steadied his form and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Thinking carefully, it made sense. How else could that figure step forward with a single foot and immediately deploy an Imperial law to send the Supreme One of Samsara flying, causing him to cough up great mouthfuls of blood? This was unmistakably a Great Emperor without any self-severing whatsoever.
“You would force me to push to the absolute limit of sublimation to fight you? Who destroys whom remains yet to be seen!” The Supreme One of Samsara’s eyes reddened.
Being wounded by Ye Fan had been the result of carelessness—he had not regarded him as worth notice at all. But now he had been sent flying by a single step from a Great Emperor. That was a difference of fundamental nature.
In the eyes of those who had reached their level, the question of who was weaker than whom carried enormous significance.
Each had once stood alone as supreme across heaven and earth, without equal across all nine heavens and ten lands. Each had been the protagonist of their era—supremely confident, believing themselves invincible throughout all eternity.
That was their conviction: in this human world, they could not be defeated.
Yet now, it seemed a supremely powerful Great Emperor was about to shatter that conviction. With only a single foot—stepping out just like that—he had sent the Supreme One of Samsara flying, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. It was the greatest humiliation of his existence.
“Kill!”
The other Supreme Ones moved as well. Should a truly undiminished Great Emperor reappear, it would be an enormous catastrophe—it would force some among them to push to the absolute limit of sublimation in battle; otherwise there would be no containing him at all.
But what were the consequences of doing so? All of them knew. Even if they defeated their enemy, they themselves would most likely die.
Boom!
Light of every kind flew through the air. The Stone Emperor endured a blow from the void, then launched his great halberd along with boundless radiance forward, intending to shatter that silhouette.
This was a fundamentally different kind of power from the Void and the Eternal Expanse. Those two had barely managed to reawaken their Imperial Dao laws, leaving them in a worse state than even the Supreme Ones.
Wushi, by contrast, appeared completely undamaged. If he truly came through, it would be an absolute catastrophe.
The Heaven-Forsaking Supreme One, the Lord of the Divine Ruins, and the Light-Dark Supreme One all attacked once more. The Supreme One of Samsara in particular turned ice-cold, ripping away a corner of his battle armor and burning it into azure-gold radiance, launching it forward—within it was a strand of his true blood.
Boom!
Still just a single step. Everything was obliterated. The fragments of the azure-gold battle armor were reduced to ash, and he was not harmed in the slightest.
The attacks from the others were swallowed whole by the gateway—every Imperial Dao law vanished without trace. The terror of it was without limit.
“Wushi, come out! I, this sovereign, will push to the absolute limit of sublimation and fight you! Who destroys whom is yet unknown!” the Supreme One of Samsara roared.
Now, seeing this outcome, his heart turned to ice. This was unmistakably the complete and unsevered Wushi—no self-severing had occurred. Otherwise there could not be such world-covering, supreme power.
That one step had crushed not merely a corner of his battle armor. It had also been the equivalent of a foot planted directly upon his face. Stamped down upon like that—what more was there to say? To be treated thus.
“Wushi, come out and fight!” the Stone Emperor also bellowed, raising his great halberd high to the heavens—brilliant, dazzling, terrifyingly awe-inspiring—then aiming it at the gateway.
The five Supreme Ones unleashed their Imperial Dao laws in unison, standing cold and frostbitten outside the gateway. They harbored no fear. Those who had attained the Dao were never afraid; each possessed a heart that knew no defeat.
Yet after a long wait, that silhouette was unable to step through. It seemed unable even to hear their words—not a single response came. Only half a step had been taken.
Wushi was trapped—unable to advance, unable to retreat. He could not appear in this world.
Ye Fan’s heart sank. He understood: because he was not a Congenital Holy Body of the Dao Womb, he could not allow Wushi’s battle soul to descend—there was simply no way for it to truly manifest.
In this moment, through his discussion with the Black Emperor not long before, combined with what he now witnessed before him, he understood what was happening. He would serve as a vessel to receive Wushi—to receive the descent of his laws and Dao fruits.
“So close to success, yet falling short at the final moment!” Ye Fan lamented inwardly, filled with unwillingness. In this age of chaos and bloodshed, the Great Emperor Wushi’s presence was truly needed.
“This is not Wushi’s true body—only the most powerful dharma body he sealed away. Regrettably, it cannot appear,” the Stone Emperor said.
“Remarkable Wushi. Whether true body or projected dharma body, having never once self-severed, preserved into the present era and possessing such world-covering power—one cannot help but acknowledge the awe he inspires!” the Lord of the Divine Ruins said.
“What a pity, then. Let him die!” The Supreme One of Samsara began his frenzied assault.
This place descended into complete chaos: a great battle against the Void, an exchange against imperial weapons, and a direct confrontation with Wushi’s laws—countless Imperial Dao laws interweaving throughout.
“Wushi, come out and die! Unable to manifest, what use is anything you left behind?” someone bellowed.
Ye Fan felt the battle platform growing unstable, on the verge of collapse. He sighed inwardly and gazed into the depths of the universe—where his companions were, where the woman who awaited him was, where Xiao Nannan was, where the Black Emperor was. It seemed as though today he would spill his blood here and never return.
At his level of cultivation, one’s spiritual awareness was already supremely keen. Before death, a premonition would arise—that life was approaching its end, that one was about to fall into endless darkness.
This would not be wrong. The feeling was utterly real. In this moment, he glimpsed a corner of his own future—or perhaps it could no longer be called a future, for it was darkness, with nothing at all. He would cease to exist.
“I am about to fall. I have fought without regret—let me battle on until my blood runs dry!”
Ye Fan roared, taking the Green Copper Cauldron directly in hand, prepared at any moment to detonate it and perish together with his enemies.
“You wish to die in battle? That is not for you to decide. I say you live, you live. I say you die, you die. The power to grant life or death does not rest with you!” the Supreme One of Samsara fixed his gaze on him, then continued: “That includes Wushi. The essence blood he left behind amounts to nothing more than a sacrifice offered to us—it serves no other purpose!”
This manner, this arrogance, made Ye Fan long to plant his foot upon the man’s face. Yet the other party did indeed possess the power to speak such words—invincible beneath the heavens. Who could do anything about it?
Boom!
In that moment, the gateway dimmed. Wushi’s foot withdrew, the footsteps receded into the distance, and he appeared no more.
“Ha ha ha…” the Light-Dark Supreme One laughed aloud, then shook his head.
“So this is what Wushi left behind—laughable!” someone said with cold contempt.
Boom!
Suddenly, an explosion erupted. The universe cracked apart. The gateway shattered. Though Wushi had departed, a surging and mighty aura burst forth—sweeping across heaven and earth, shaking all of eternity!
In the instant the gateway and the battle platform beneath Ye Fan’s feet were destroyed, something flew out and landed in his hand.
“It’s this—it’s actually this!” Ye Fan cried out.
“Kill!”
The several Supreme Ones all attacked. In Ye Fan’s hand, light blazed forth with a resounding ring of steel. First, a massive palm shot outward—and with a crack, landed squarely upon the Supreme One of Samsara’s body.
That slap was solid beyond measure. Blood sprayed three thousand feet into the air. The Lord of Samsara was sent flying like a tiny chick, letting out a furious roar as blood scattered everywhere.
Boom!
Then a great foot stamped forward—without beginning, without end, transcending the river of time—leaving the Light-Dark Supreme One with nowhere to dodge. He was trodden upon the chest and sent hurtling away.