The Fallen Heavenly King was dead.
Powerful as he was, he had only managed to let out a single terrified cry before exploding apart on the Heaven-Reaching Platform, his blood evaporating in an instant, becoming a scatter of drifting ash.
“Ah—!”
The screams continued. Another person became dust.
The moment the Divine Register of the Gods appeared, all deities trembled into submission. This had been the legend of that age. Now it had flown out from the vast wilderness, suppressing ancestor-kings, sweeping all before it.
It was a staggering scene. No force in heaven or earth could obstruct it. Wherever it passed, ancient kings fell. Sage Kings bled. Even those with the potential to become Great Sages were erased without mercy.
“Ah—!”
These were cries of terror, coming from the ancient kings. On an ordinary day, no one would dare even imagine that there existed anyone who could kill them—but certainly no one had ever made them fear to such a degree as this.
Yet in this moment, every single person was overwhelmed with dread. Even their very souls trembled. They stood frozen in place, shaking, unable to move.
This was the aura of the ancient Great Emperors. Their instincts would not lie to them. Not a single shred of resistance arose in their hearts. It was far too powerful—incomparably terrifying. The urge to prostrate themselves in worship welled up from within.
At last, one ancient king could no longer bear it. His legs gave way and he fell to his knees on the platform floor—not out of genuine submission, but because of an incomparable suppressive pressure that compelled him.
This aura surpassed the heavens in height, surpassed the sea in breadth, surpassed the star domains in depth. It drove them close to despair. They possessed not a single shred of ability to resist.
“Ah—how can this be?!”
Some ancestor-kings had lived through untold ages. They had once paid homage to the supreme Battle Sage Emperor at the end of the primordial era, and had sensed this kind of aura from him alone.
“The ancient Great Emperors… truly, one of them has not died. It is them. We are finished!”
This dread spread swiftly. The various primordial clan branches in the distance were all stricken with terror, and then their entire bodies began to tremble—they too had felt that overwhelming might.
What a terrifying sight. Their own ancestor-kings were on their knees, kowtowing toward that brilliantly radiant divine register. The mere thought of it made people shudder.
“No—!”
An ancient king cried out. Another was suppressed and killed, becoming a corpse of ash on the spot. Any resistance was utterly futile.
The Divine Register of the Gods illuminated the heavens, its light breaking through ten thousand li of mountains and rivers. Endowed with boundless divine power, its brilliant radiance penetrated the nine heavens and ten earths.
It had been personally tempered by the Wushi Great Emperor. Legend had it that it was originally forged to suppress immortals—but as there were no immortals in this world, only beings that resembled divine spirits, it was ultimately named the Divine Register of the Gods. Though it was not primarily a weapon of attack and its greatest use lay in sealing and suppression, it had still been forged by an ancient Great Emperor, and so naturally possessed boundless divine power. It was said that suppression beneath it was equivalent to a single hand of the Wushi Great Emperor pressing down—and what a supreme act of deterrence that was.
As powerful as the undying Daoist from Sacred Cliff had been, a single suppression had held him for over a hundred thousand years. Unable to escape from beneath the divine register, he had been refined alive, leaving behind only a remnant thought.
The arrival of the Wushi Great Emperor’s divine artifact was a development of enormous impact. It killed ancient kings one after another, turning them to ash in a single strike. What was this if not imperial might? This was tantamount to a declaration: the human Great Emperor yet lives.
“Ah—!”
A final scream rang out. The divine register sent down a beam of sacred light, erasing one last ancient king—and only then did it stabilize, hovering in the void.
The various primordial clan branches were seized with terror. A boundless, sky-filling dread surged up from the depths of their hearts. They could barely even breathe. The Wushi Great Emperor’s divine artifact hung there like an immortal deity, its light illuminating the Jade Pool, causing even the black Heaven-Reaching Platform to shine like crystal.
The ancestor-kings of the ancient clans were all pressed to their knees. What remained to oppose it?
Human cultivators were shouting and crying out. The depression and humiliation in their hearts had all transformed into great shouts that surged out from their bodies and rose to the clouds.
On the Heaven-Reaching Platform, only the White-Robed Divine King stood alone. He was the only one who could still stand. All the other ancient kings could not move an inch—they were on their knees and could not rise.
“The hopes of our ancestors, the flourishing of our clan—the Great Emperors achieved this long ago. On what basis did you humiliate the human race?” The Divine King Jiang bellowed, holding a radiant Divine King Sword as he faced the kings kneeling on the ground.
The Divine Register of the Gods hung in the air, brilliant throughout its whole form, sending down strand after strand of divine-power silkwork, transforming the entire area into a sacred land of the divine.
“Out of control—cannot rise. Just as when I went to pay homage to the Battle Sage Emperor in former days—this is the power of an emperor!” An ancestor-king of staggering age was drenched in sweat, unable to move even a single finger.
“The flourishing of the past does not represent eternal brilliance. Even if the ten thousand clans rise—so what? If it means war, then war it shall be. A revived human Great Emperor looks down upon us. We need only press forward!”
Divine King Jiang’s words were stirring and ringing clear. When he had finished, he paid the Divine Register of the Gods a great salute of reverence, proclaiming that the Wushi Great Emperor would live forever, undying and undecaying.
In the distance, the blood of human cultivators boiled. They vented the oppression in their hearts at last, every one of them roused and exhilarated.
But among the various ancient clan branches, each face had gone the color of ash. What a blow this was. What had transpired today was too dreadful—it had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
BOOM!
The Divine Register of the Gods seemed to respond to the White-Robed Divine King’s words, shaking once with great force. Its radiance pierced through the nine skies, illuminating tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of li—as though a Great Emperor were nodding his head, rumbling as it moved.
Below, the various primordial clans collapsed to their knees, one after another, unable to endure the suppressive pressure. Within the Jade Pool, save for the human race, all prostrated themselves in worship—they simply could not remain standing.
Divine might shook the world!
This was a supremely powerful act of deterrence.
From afar, Ye Fan’s heart was surging. The gambit of the Divine Register of the Gods—he himself had contemplated it countless times before, yet had lacked the power to act. Now the White-Robed Divine King and others had carried it out with another, perfectly aligned with his original intentions. This was a great scheme that he himself had been unable to execute.
“How can this be?” Cold sweat broke out on the kneeling kings. They could not comprehend it. Their hearts ran cold. A chill crept through them.
“Why—another reversal has happened. The Fallen Heavenly King is dead, and the White-Robed Divine King has survived.” In the crowd, the Celestial Prince ground his teeth, speaking privately with Yuangu. He was consumed with hatred and rage. This was the third time he had been slapped in the face.
“I want to—” He was about to say more.
But Yuangu quickly cut him off: “Celestial Prince, it would be best if you said nothing.”
The Celestial Prince’s expression immediately changed. Although reversal had struck at the moment of success every time, being interrupted like this and told to hold his tongue was too disregarding of his face.
Yuangu said: “Do not misunderstand. I feel that although you were born with great fortune, for this period of time it is as though you have been cursed. You must absolutely not make any vows—otherwise, you may always find the ground giving way just when you are at the highest peak.”
The Celestial Prince’s expression shifted as he said: “I understand. A significant enemy has appeared, competing with me for the first opportunity to prove the Dao—and this is what has been generating these reversals.”
The Undying Celestial Emperor’s learning encompassed heaven and man. His divine power surpassed the divine. He had founded a Dao lineage inheritance like that of an immortal scripture, one that touched upon the arts of defying heaven and altering fate. It was because of this that the Celestial Prince was fearful in his heart, sensing something was amiss. Several times he had been certain of an outcome, only for someone to change the ending.
“If you kill us, ancient imperial weapons will come crashing down upon this place—the Jade Pool will be destroyed…” On the Heaven-Reaching Platform, one ancient king forced out these words with great difficulty, drenched in sweat, stating this hard truth.
PFFT!
The divine register pressed down, and in an instant he was turned into a streak of bloody light that dissipated between heaven and earth—his name erased from the world forever.
“The supreme might of the ancient Great Emperors—none may question it!”
At the sight of this, human cultivators all raised their heads and cried out, spontaneously bowing toward the divine register. The entire place was in a state of fervent excitement.
“Ancestor-kings have fallen in succession, and the aura of an ancient Great Emperor surges forth. Does the Jade Pool truly have such audacity? Has the Immortal Tear Green-Gold Pagoda been deployed?”
From within a range of towering ancient mountains, an ancient king let out a low roar, gazing toward the direction of the Jade Pool, his eyes emitting a formidable, imposing light.
“Aim the ancient imperial weapon at the Jade Pool and press it down!”
An aged ancestor-king issued a terrifying demonic command, like the opening of the gates of hell itself.
At the same moment, from another range of magnificent ancient peaks, a similar command was given. A terrifying ancient imperial might shot up to the nine heavens and pressed toward the direction of the Jade Pool.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—!
Heaven and earth erupted in violence. The entire northern domain land was on the verge of collapse. Every powerful cultivator was seized with terror, gazing up into the void, their very souls trembling.
On this day, the countless living beings of the northern domain shook in fear, unable to find peace for even a moment. The ancient imperial weapons were reawakening—to a degree of terror that reached the absolute extreme.
A sound like a tidal wave surged toward the Jade Pool—like an entire star domain collapsing, shuddering, and then crashing down.
Extreme Dao imperial weapons pressed to the boundary. Boundless power boiled over.
“The divine artifact of an ancient Great Emperor is here. A trace of his divine thought has entered the Jade Pool. Do you dare profane it?!” The White-Robed Divine King roared, his voice shaking in all ten directions.
BOOM!
At the same moment, from within Divine King Jiang’s body surged a crimson divine furnace the color of blood. Divine phoenixes sang in harmony. Crimson clouds drifted, intoxicating and beautiful, and deathless brilliance billowed upward.
The Eternal Universe Furnace! He had been carrying the Eternal Universe Great Emperor’s weapon on his person.
Simultaneously, the Jade Pool’s Western Emperor Pagoda blossomed with a heaven-reaching green radiance, breaking free from that small world and hovering in the firmament, streaming down ten thousand strands of silkwork.
BOOM!
From another direction, an ancient mirror shot toward the heavens, its light shattering the myriad realms of all ages—as though it intended to open heaven and earth anew.
The Void Great Emperor of the Ji Family’s weapon had also appeared. This ancient mirror fixed in place the nine heavens and ten earths, all of the ancient past and all of the future.
Three Extreme Dao imperial weapons moved as one, appearing in the sky above the Jade Pool, confronting from afar the two ancient imperial weapons in the distance, releasing a world-annihilating degree of power.
At that moment, the Divine Register of the Gods blazed with light, illuminating the entire Heaven-Reaching Platform. Human cultivators felt no oppressive pressure—every one of them could stand.
“Human race, is this a provocation on your part? You have used Extreme Dao imperial weapons to kill ancestor-kings. Do you understand that once ancient imperial weapons emerge, your clan faces the catastrophe of total extermination—and no one will be able to stop it?!”
A shout descended from the sky, incomparably majestic.
“You are the ones who cannot read the situation. Do you understand—the Wushi Great Emperor has manifested, the Divine Register of the Gods has appeared? You are bringing destruction upon yourselves.” The White-Robed Divine King stood beside the Eternal Universe Furnace and shouted loudly.
“What?! Impossible—how can Wushi still be alive?!”
“How can that be? Wushi has been gone for eighty thousand years—hasn’t he?!”
Cries of shock rang out from the distant sky. Those who did not yet know what had just occurred within the Jade Pool were filled with uncertainty and disbelief, utterly staggered.
“Do you dare question the might of a human Great Emperor?” The White-Robed Divine King roared.
“We—!” Before they could say another word, from within the Jade Pool a brilliant sacred light shot upward, slicing through the sky and hurtling away.
“What?! You dare attack the ancient imperial weapons?!” The ones controlling the weapons were stunned, frantically urging them with all their might. At the far end of the towering mountain ranges, the two great imperial clans were equally shaken, watching intently with taut nerves.
“Ah—!” The divine register surged through in a single rush, leaving only screams in its wake, along with a wave of boundless, heaven-filling divine power.
Then light flashed. The divine register reversed direction and surged toward another location. Another cry of alarm rose—and the one controlling the ancient imperial weapon perished violently, suppressed and killed, becoming drifting ash.
“The Wushi Great Emperor’s divine decree has arrived. All under heaven yields in awe. Who dares profane it?!” A thunderous roar rang out, accompanied by the resonance of the Heavenly Dao. Auspicious light engulfed the land, resounding throughout the northern domain. The ten thousand clans were all shaken. In that moment, every single person knelt in worship.