The primordial immortal source shattered. The elemental spirit struggled. Radiance overflowed in all directions. The Daoist corpse shuddered — a body that had seemed composed of a hundred million stars, once dark and still, now blazed with brilliant light.

The Canonization Roll enveloped all of it and plunged directly into the primordial chaos cave — shaking every heart.

“No!”

The Undying Daoist let out one final howl, then his voice faded into silence. Within the Canonization Roll, three hundred and sixty-five seal runes blazed — all pressing down together, shackling him and the ancient corpse, sealing them, and forcing them into the despairing ascension cave.

The world was thunderstruck!

This was beyond staggering. The Wushi Great Emperor’s methods were truly of a grand and sweeping scale. A peerless and unmatched Daoist — and yet he had been blood-sacrificed. Used as what? A demon-suppressing stone, or an offering — simply sealed into the immortal ascension cave like that!

“The Undying Daoist — one of the masterminds behind the dark chaos in ages past, a great source of disaster. To think he would end this way!”

All who witnessed it were struck with awe. The many aged Great Saints in the outer regions trembled. Countless sect founders could not restrain themselves from lowering their heads in obeisance, their bodies and hearts jolted by that surging divine authority.

“Who stands at the peak of the immortal path’s end?!”

From within the Canonization Roll, a voice rang out — shaking the heavens, setting the myriad domains trembling with a resounding rumble, spreading to the six directions and eight wastes.

In the outer regions, the assembled mighty trembled uncontrollably, their feelings profound, their hearts shaken.

And upon the immortal path itself, some of the living supreme beings let out cold snorts. Though they had reached the end of their road, standing at the edge of life itself, each of them still retained a supreme and self-sovereign bearing, bowing to neither heaven nor earth.

“A divine spirit of a mere weapon — and it dares question the world? Let Wushi come himself!” The Stone Emperor said coldly.

He was drenched in blood, gleaming white bones exposed, gripping the great black Heaven-Desolating Halberd — still divine and martial in bearing, magnificently imposing. His thick black hair was matted with blood.

The Canonization Roll entered the cave, carrying the Undying Daoist within, driving him into the primordial chaos cave. A divine thought was transmitted: “Upon the immortal path, I have a part to play — I lend what strength I can!”

Boom!

Heaven and earth changed. The immortal path laws that the Wushi Great Emperor had laid down in his time reappeared in the mortal world — terrifying beyond measure. The river of time, the sea of space, all became primordial chaos, boundless and vast, pressing down together.

“This is… well done, Wushi!”

Upon the immortal path, someone sighed softly. The eyes of an ancient supreme being blazed with brilliant light, fixed upon all of this.

“Wushi is no longer of this world. Yet through his instrument, he has released the radiance that should have been his — the equivalent of acting himself!”

This was a power of immense scale. A supreme being had been blood-sacrificed and driven into the ascension cave. The Canonization Roll was now burning — incomparably brilliant, with countless seal runes ringing out clearly from within the cave, spilling outward.

The person was no longer of this world, yet his Dao and his seal runes remained. They were still equal to the action of a supreme being — and moreover, the Undying Daoist had been offered up as a living sacrifice!

The Wushi Great Emperor had been forceful his entire life — this was no idle claim. He had sealed away a peerless figure of the ages and kept him until today, with no fear of his rebellion, no worry of his escape. Even though he himself was no longer in the mortal world, he could still control the man absolutely.

To keep a supreme figure of an era in reserve and use him to fill the immortal ascension cave — such a grand and sweeping method was staggering. Who would dare act this way? That was a figure who had shaken antiquity and illuminated the present age!

Dong!

The great bell rang on, long and deep. The universe shook. The Wushi Bell flew over, releasing supreme and transcendent immortal path laws, striking into the primordial chaos cave — causing catastrophic collapse within.

And moreover, when this bell rang, the entire universe trembled. Most terrifying of all, the earth of the Eastern Desolation shook — and deep within the earth’s veins, an ancient tower resonated in response!

The ancient tower stirred. From deep within the earth’s veins, it shook forth wisps of heaven-opening, earth-splitting presence. Countless beams of radiance surged skyward, pressing down into the primordial chaos cave.

“What — this is… the Desolation Tower!”

“The Desolation Tower, which had vanished for countless ages, has stirred — drawn by the Wushi Bell, raining down boundless radiance. That is the power of heaven-opening!”

“Can it be that to become immortal, one must open heaven and split the earth?!”

The people were thunderstruck. In this world, three instruments were especially unique: the Green Cauldron, the Immortal Bell, the Desolation Tower. Each was older than the last, the most mysterious and terrifying of all.

Now, with a single toll of the Wushi Bell, the power of the Desolation Tower had been set in motion — shaking forth wave upon wave of immortal path law vibrations. Naturally, this made every hair stand on end.

The Wushi Great Emperor was unfathomably deep. He was no longer of this world — yet the seal runes carved into his sacred instrument were the equivalent of his revival in this place, acting just as he would have in the past, able to forcefully sweep away all things.

Boom!

The sky and earth shattered. Within the primordial chaos cave came a massive explosion — clearly things had been pushed to the point of frenzy. The Canonization Roll seemed destined to be destroyed upon the immortal path, carrying the Undying Daoist as its offering — both transformed into a fundamental source, opening heaven and splitting earth within the cave.

Across heaven and earth, only one Wushi Bell swayed — suspended at the entrance of the immortal ascension cave, releasing one beam of radiance after another.

But in the end, all light vanished. Within the primordial chaos cave, blood energy swirled — the blood of supreme beings, the pulverized flesh of the Undying Daoist. Still, the immortal realm could not be pierced through.

“I too cannot enter the immortal realm…” The great bell rang on, long and deep. It appeared to be cast of primordial chaos itself — ancient and grand, holding down the blue vault of ten thousand ages, suspended above the immortal ascension cave.

“You… are you Wushi?!” an ancient supreme being asked.

“I… am not Wushi. And so I cannot break through.” The great bell transmitted a divine sound. It was only a weapon. The true Wushi could no longer appear in the mortal world.

“At this point, I actually believe more strongly that Wushi may yet be alive!” One ancient supreme being, though drenched in blood, remained supremely dignified. He cast an indifferent glance at the Wushi Bell and said nothing more.

Was this lifetime to end this way? The true Wushi had ultimately not emerged — his death in stillness eight thousand years ago remained unverified, which left people with a deep sense of regret.

“It is not yet over!”

From the Western Desert, someone spoke in a low voice — yet it shook the six directions and eight wastes, sweeping all the way to the Eastern Desolation and beyond, carrying even into the outer regions.

In the Western Lands, a colossal Buddha statue rose up, towering hundreds of millions of zhang in height, shifting from formless into solid — as though a true presence had descended upon the world.

Upon Mount Sumeru, Buddhist radiance illuminated all directions. The Great Thunder Sound Temple erupted with an incomparable force of life. That Buddha statue transformed into a heaven-opening, earth-splitting giant, then rose to its feet, stepped onto the immortal path in one stride, and struck into the primordial chaos cave.

Boom!

Fierce and violent battle. Boundless Buddhist power boiled over, causing the primordial chaos cave to be even more thoroughly broken and shattered, until it was hardly recognizable. He too had plunged inside!

“This is… the dharma body of the Amitabha Great Emperor?!”

“How could such a thing have been left behind? Can it be that he too is still alive?”

“The Amitabha Great Emperor walked the immortal path with extraordinary depth, and meticulously studied the methods of undying. If he displayed some unimaginable manifestation of longevity, it would be no great surprise!”

…

This was the dharma body of Amitabha — condensed anew from the void, striking directly inside. But in the end, it too failed. It could not succeed.

Yet matters did not stop there. The earth-shaking transformation in the Western Desert continued.

Mount Sumeru blazed with light. The boundless power of faith surged like a vast tide. From within the mountain’s body came a tremendous chant. A true great Buddha appeared within the Great Thunder Sound Temple, seated in cross-legged meditation, with the azure vault of ten thousand ages above his head!

There, auspicious mist billowed. Ten thousand streams of rosy radiance suffused the air. An immeasurable force of faith surged like a churning tide — vaster than any ocean — sweeping through the Western Desert in all directions.

Mount Sumeru was like a great living entity that had nurtured a great Buddha over endless ages, receiving the prostrations and obeisances of all living beings. None had known such a transformation could occur.

“That is… Amitabha. He has appeared once more!”

“Is he truly a Great Emperor of the Buddhist faith, and is he still alive? That kind of blood energy, that kind of power — it is unmistakably him at the very pinnacle of his golden age!”

Many were seized with fear. How could this be? A Great Emperor proven long ago to have passed into nirvana — he had appeared again, and in such power, standing at the absolute apex of existence!

Everyone knew that once the immortal path opened, many things beyond understanding were bound to happen — yet no one had imagined that a Great Emperor proven to have passed into stillness would reappear in such magnificent force.

He was an aged monk — head touching the heavens, vast and immense — manifesting upon Mount Sumeru. His face was full of compassion, grieving for all heaven and earth, as though he had been seated there since before ten thousand ages.

“Can it be that he intends to walk that road?!” The Longevity Celestial Lord’s aged brows jumped. He coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.

The Stone Emperor laughed coldly, hair hanging loose, gripping the great black halberd, still possessing an unparalleled presence. He looked indifferently toward the Western Desert and offered no comment.

Upon Mount Sumeru, all the Buddhas were shaken. Even they had not known. Only a very small number of aged monks had insight. All others were stunned — and then, one by one, performed the Buddhist salutation, bowing in reverent worship.

A venerable one recited a sutra, sending forth a chant: “The world is a sea of suffering. Amitabha the Great Emperor made great vows — to ferry all living beings across, to transform all calamities, so that the Buddha’s radiance would shine forever!”

“If I achieve immortality, I vow that in my immortal land, so long as there remain those who fall into the three evil paths of the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm, I shall not take the supreme immortal position.”

“If I achieve immortality, I vow that in my immortal land, so long as any among the heavenly beings and mortal people fall back into the three evil paths after their lifespan ends, I shall not take the supreme immortal position.”

“If I achieve immortality, I vow that in my immortal land, so long as any among the heavenly beings and mortal people do not all fully attain golden bodies, I shall not take the supreme immortal position.”

…

The aged monk seated upon Mount Sumeru — Amitabha himself — continued to make great vows. This voice was immensely powerful, resounding throughout heaven and earth, spreading outward into the universe.

In that moment, in every ancient domain, beyond the starry sky, at the farthest edges of the universe — wherever Amitabha had walked, wherever there were followers of the Buddhist faith — all blazed with light. The boundless power of faith all converged in one place, flooding and overwhelming, arriving in the Northern Dipper, submerging Mount Sumeru.

Gathering the faith-power of all living beings, seeking to open the immortal realm — this method was heaven-defying, powerful enough to inspire fear. Combined with an Amitabha Great Emperor — truly terrifying to the utmost extreme.

Boom!

In the end, Mount Sumeru shrank and crashed into the immortal ascension cave. Living beings recited the sutras, shaking the entire immortal path.

“Amitabha — extraordinary!” An ancient supreme being sighed inwardly.

Boom!

In that very moment, within the ancient forbidden zone, the woman of peerless, otherworldly grace in white garments also acted. In a single step she crossed over, then brought her palm down into the immortal ascension cave!