138. Leaving Graceful Prestige Behind, Fighting Against the Multitude of Emperors

A total of eight musical notes were played, delivering salvation to all the spirit immortal kings who had been bound by layers of forbidden arts. The eight notes spread outward from Matriarch Sihao's body and vanished into nothingness.

Matriarch Sihao was momentarily stunned. Just as she was about to reverse this incoming force, a massive rift suddenly tore open across the ten days, pouring forth boundless Buddhist light that shone directly upon her.

Emperor Sihao remained calm and composed, her entire being suffused with divine soul power. Four imperial artifacts flew out, forming a defensive array in an attempt to block the illumination of the Buddhist light.

Yet, this Buddhist light ignored all obstacles, piercing through the assembled immortals and shining straight through Sihao.

"How could this be? Why is there no harm done to any of you?" Matriarch Sihao could not believe her eyes. This light was powerful enough to illuminate even the supreme immortal emperors, yet everyone else remained completely unharmed. She alone was covered in a blazing radiance of golden Buddhist scriptures.

"The sea of bitterness is boundless; turn back and the shore is at hand. Lay down your butcher's knife and instantly become a Buddha!"

The shining golden light seemed to carry the echoes of whispered Buddhist chants. Emperor Sihao was seen dissolving into fragments of Buddhist light, which were then drawn into the spatial rift. Meanwhile, her masterless four imperial artifacts were swept up by the ten days and hurled toward Great Emperor Hantuo.

The latter opened his equine mouth and swallowed them all in one gulp. Immediately, imperial bones floated upward, suppressing the four imperial artifacts that had just been subdued by the ten days.

The eye upon the mirror burned with excitement, the Emperor Snake harbored hesitation, and Tongtian looked on in bewilderment, leaving only Zuantian panic-stricken.

After deep deliberation, Emperor Chenliao turned to Wuyun, who stood with his eyes closed and hands pressed together in a Buddhist greeting. "According legend, one can sacrifice everything they possess to summon the power of a higher realm within the divine domain. Could this be the Art of Summoning Deities?"

Wuyun shook his head and replied, "It sounds unbelievable, yet it is true. His power is like an expanding space that blankets all realms, causing countless dimensions to form their own faith in him."

"Wherever his faith exists, he can be called upon. By sacrificing oneself, one trades everything for a strike devoid of both time and space. Just now, I merely sacrificed Emperor Sihao. Since you are all within the domain enveloped by my Ten-Day Array Diagram, you are naturally subject to my control!"

Just as Wuyun finished uttering these bold words, the Emperor Snake shook her head and said, "That is not quite it. Rather, the cultivation technique practiced by Emperor Sihao happened to be the ideal nourishment for this Buddhist light. All of us were illuminated indiscriminately and suffered not the slightest scratch, whereas Sihao dissolved into fragments and vanished."

The Emperor Snake affirmed with certainty, "Much like how I eradicated the Dragon Emperor to allow another to achieve emperorship, it requires specific conditions. As for Sihao, her hands were stained with too much slaughter—not just across the planets of the immortal realm, but even more so within the mortal micro-worlds that belonged to her. Therefore, the heavens reclaimed her!"

Having listened to the Emperor Snake's explanation, Wuyun clapped his hands. Without bothering to offer any further explanation, he praised, "Little Bibi is indeed well-versed in the Dao of Sacrifice. Eradicating one Dragon Emperor can give rise to another demon emperor, and any dragon clan member truly faces extinction because of your sinister arts. However, once the demons you nurture grow fat, they will eventually emerge and devour the entire immortal realm!"

"Heh, spare yourself the worry. By that time, I will have already ascended into the divine domain and will no longer concern myself with the affairs of the immortal realm!" With these words, the Emperor Snake took a step forward, waved her hand, and summoned the Sword of Fear and Hatred out of thin air.

Seeing this, Wuyun hurriedly said, "Fine, let's consider me afraid of you. How about this: I shall unleash a casual strike, and we can consider it your passing score!"

Wuyun opened a spatial passageway and delivered a single blow. Tongtian and Famen wore unsightly expressions, because this strike landed directly within the array space they had used to seal off this region. It destroyed at least half of it, leaving behind a fatal flaw.

As the Emperor Snake quietly retreated, Zuantian raged, "This does not count!"

Yet Tongtian shook his head and sighed, "When we arrived, the four of us traveled together, never expecting that Sihao would take her leave first. Regardless of how filled with regret she might be in another realm, there is no way for us to rescue her. Now, I have no choice but to make a move myself!"

Just as Tongtian finished speaking, Chenliao frowned and said, "Fellow Daoist need not do this alone. Let us all attack together! That offers the highest probability of capturing him alive."

Chenliao subtly signaled the mirror, which nodded as two distinct versions of himself stepped out from his physical form.

This Mirror-Bound Sovereign possessed an indomitable momentum, actually bringing his true physical form along. All three aspects merged into one—not just his mirror avatar, but his primary form and his calamity-avoidance form arrived together.

Having been alerted by Wuyun's previous escape, he was willing to spare no expense this time, mobilizing his full power to intercept Wuyun.

Tongtian furrowed his brow. What he had sent was also a powerful avatar anchored upon an imperial artifact. Though its might was formidable, engaging in a life-or-death battle with the mirror would require him to summon his true body in order to emerge victorious.

Deploying his full strength, the mirror shattered the ten days. Chenliao drew his bow, aiming three distinct rays of light directly at Wuyun. One of them radiated crystal light, functioning as a protective array designed to capture him directly.

Hesitating slightly, the Emperor Snake emulated Chenliao's final strike by releasing her tier-three imperial artifact to envelop Wuyun, guarding against any overwhelming mystical arts from Tongtian and the others.

While those three coordinated offense and rescue, Tongtian, Zuantian, and Famen cast aside all remaining reservations!

"The gods decree that you must die, and you have no choice but to die!" Emperor Famen began chanting, each phrase landing like a true incantation. Once spoken, not only did the immortal emperors feel the impact, but even Luo Huawu felt a strange, inexplicable weakness wash over her. She hurriedly leaped backward, tearing open the space as she cried out in confusion before shouting furiously, "You set up a killing array inside the spatial tunnel?"

Luo Huawu had been leading the immortal kings to assist the valley disciples crying out for rescue within the space. Ignoring her, Tongtian's body suddenly swelled dramatically until it matched the scale of the entire ten days and the surrounding space itself.

When Tongtian grew to a certain threshold, he instantly blocked the might of the ten days, followed closely by the imperial artifacts of Famen and Zuantian.

Those two imperial artifacts were blurred and indistinct, their true nature obscured as they fluttered across the sky toward Wuyun, making his attacks extremely difficult to land.

For a moment, all six immortal emperors unleashed their absolute best, executing their ultimate strikes.

None of them dared to end up like the corpse of the Emperor Dragon or Matriarch Sihao, falling victim to a counter-kill or heavy injury at Wuyun's hands.

When hunting an insect, one must employ the strength of a dragon and an elephant to ensure absolute success and victory in every battle!

In the distance, Hantuo felt an urge to weep. The overwhelming might of Tongtian had already spread to his vicinity; it was entirely possible that after this single strike, they too would end up as captives.

Having gained four unearned imperial artifacts, he still hadn't fled and remained on the sidelines. Did they truly believe Wuyun could escape?

"The Three Flowing Strikes! The Peerless Flowing Strike! The Supreme Firmament Strike! The Selfless Oblivion Strike! The Ultimate Strike: Heaven Destroy, Earth Annihilate, and Gods Eradicate!"

Shouting frantically like a madman, Wuyun channeled black Qi and divine soul power outward from his physical body and soul, struggling to sustain the flowing energy pouring forth from the space.

He acted like a marksman taking aim; once the target was locked, everything else was left to these techniques!

The Flowing Immortal Emperor certainly did not disappoint him. Blended into these offensive techniques were Wuyun's modified combat intents, enveloping every single immortal emperor without a single blind spot.

This was his first time utilizing external power to contend with immortal emperors, and his physical body and soul began cracking open like exploding firecrackers.

The heaviest damage was sustained by Tongtian, who was single-mindedly determined to blast Wuyun apart and acquire his divine soul fragments. Zuantian and Emperor Famen ranked second, having unleashed their natal imperial artifacts to deliver their most formidable blows, shattering the ten days and causing it to temporarily collapse.

Meanwhile, the mirror enveloped the ten days and Wuyun; the Emperor Snake anchored Wuyun's scattering physical flesh; and Chenliao's three-arrow assault struck squarely into the spatial array, scattering Wuyun's continuous wave of offensive energy!

With these preparations complete, the confrontation between the flowing attack and the six immortal emperors truly began!

None could fathom the depth of Wuyun's madness.

He had integrated the flowing imprint into the array's offensive sequence in one seamless motion, exhausting every ounce of it.

Especially the final ultimate strike—Heaven Destroy, Earth Annihilate, and Gods Eradicate! Once unleashed, he was completely drained, hovering on the brink of destruction.

A massive surge of energy erupted, leaving Hantuo powerless to offer any rescue. Space descended into utter chaos, resembling the twilight of the immortal realm.

Even the internal halos of the planets began to glow, and their planetary cores fled independently ahead of the rest, venturing out into the deep void to seek refuge in other worlds, stranded between life and death.

The collision finally subsided within tens of seconds. The three silhouettes of the mirror charging at the forefront transformed into three immensely powerful, blurred reflections, within which Wuyun's location was mirrored.

Yet, when the flowing strike struck outward, it vanished into another space as if hitting nothing at all.

Originally, the mirror had braced himself to withstand this blow head-on. To his utter shock, after neutralizing his offensive, the strike was redirected elsewhere.

It was a strike that hit an ox across a mountain—a genuine, literal manifestation of the technique.

Suddenly seized by shock and fury, the mirror howled as he spun around to shield his son, Niu Chongxing. The strike had bypassed space entirely to directly impact his offspring.

Ten immortal artifacts shattered on Niu Chongxing's person, including his natal weapon, which disintegrated like paper.

Until the moment of his death, he could not fathom why Wuyun would viciously target him.

Even while completely drained, Wuyun shouted with the clarity of a dying flash of brilliance, "Those who kill others must be prepared to be killed! You murdered Wuhao and Jinbu; this is the karmic retribution, this is your end!"

Shattered into nothing more than a stray divine soul by the blow, Niu Chongxing fled frantically, leaving behind only a sliver of true spirit that was rescued by the mirror.

To ever recover his original strength, he would have to start completely over from scratch, much like the Dragon Emperor descending to the mortal realm.

If this strike had merely injured the mirror, it might have been expected. But reducing Niu Chongxing, a supreme immortal king, down to a mere sliver of a soul spirit was something he found difficult to accept.

Instantly, the ox-faced immortal emperor shed tears—tears of bitter regret.

Even when the Dragon Emperor's corpse had been battered beyond control and wrested from his grasp, he had not felt such agony. At this moment, tears streamed freely down his face, and his hair turned white.

He had very few progeny, possessing only a single son and daughter. This particular son had been watched over by him since childhood, and had since branched out to marry and bear children, granting him tens of thousands of descendants.

Someone like Niu Ding was merely one of his more outstanding sons!

One strike obliterated an immortal king. Simultaneously, the attacks of Emperor Zuantian and Emperor Famen collided with the flowing strike, pitting imperial artifact against imperial artifact.

Though the clash lasted only a brief moment, to the two of them, it felt like an entire century had passed.

Hidden within the flowing strike were countless techniques—a single blow encompassing thirty million fractional maneuvers, each subdivided into diverse variations reflecting an understanding and comprehension of the divine soul, physical form, mystical arts, Dao arts, immortal arts, and even space and time.

It was equivalent to matching wits with the peak state of the Flowing Immortal Emperor from that era, compounded with the current eras of Zuantian and Famen.

Had it been merely that, it might have been fine. Both were thoroughly familiar with techniques from over a hundred thousand years ago, and having surpassed their predecessor, they naturally felt no fear.

Their familiarity with the Flowing Immortal Emperor's techniques and divine abilities was exceptionally deep.

However, woven into it was Wuyun's mastery of spatial strikes. It generated a vortex resembling a black hole, trapping the two of them and leaving the pair of immortal emperors struggling within it, unable to break free for a prolonged period.

As for the Emperor Snake, Wuyun's strike had been casual. The latter let out a shrill laugh, sparring with the shadow cast by the strike like a shrew encountering a sturdy brute, issuing playful, startled shrieks.

Against Chenliao's three arrows, Wuyun countered one with a single strike and targeted Chenliao with another. Yet his opponent was far too slippery; while his attacks appeared immensely powerful, he held back in every aspect, directly using his imperial bow to block Wuyun's onslaught.

The imperial bow—which required an infusion of energy to repair before it could be used again—was pierced straight through by the blow, blasting out of the planet and plunging deep into outer space.