One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Heaven Condemns, Earth Destroys, Gods Obliterated

And the ultimate strike, capable of destroying heaven, earth, gods, and all existence, fell entirely upon Tongtian.

Other Immortal Emperors maintained a shred of courtesy and held back to some extent. Even Emperor Snake, Chen Liao, and Jing Shang had come for his treasures, yet none sought to deal a fatal blow right from the start.

But Tongtian was different. What he could not have, he would destroy, ensuring no one else could possess it either. He was that ruthless and decisive.

He was ruthless, but Wuyun was even more ruthless!

Imbued within the world-destroying strike was Wuyun's profound comprehension of the Dao. This was a transformation unprecedented throughout the entire Immortal Realm.

The entire onslaught shifted from resembling the elegant Great Emperor to taking on the appearance of Wuyun. Controlling this strike, the latter altered countless mixtures of mass and immortal arts.

Tongtian grew grave, incomparably grave. Though this was merely an avatar, it possessed even greater power than Zuantian and the others. This avatar carried over thirty percent of the main body's might, along with another natal imperial artifact belonging to the true form.

"Rise!"

With a resounding roar from Tongtian, his body—which was as massive as an array diagram—dissolved into the void, subsequently forming a sharp blade. He had integrated his natal imperial artifact into his very flesh, making his body the imperial artifact and the imperial artifact his avatar.

This belonged to the path of bodily refinement. However, no sooner had the triangular blade-like imperial artifact formed than the attack controlled by Wuyun swept around in a slant.

The world-destroying blow produced no grand commotion; it felt merely like a gust of cold wind sweeping past. Amidst trembling and struggling, Tongtian remained completely unharmed.

Yet, aside from Tongtian, Emperor Snake, Jing Shang, and Chen Liao turned pale with fright, while Zuantian and Famen, suppressed within the spatial folds, shared a chilling sensation.

Tongtian was dead!

Yet Tongtian's avatar was alive and well; how could he be dead?

The Great Immortal Emperor Tongtian gazed in bewilderment at Wuyun. To outsiders, the preceding attack had looked like a cold breeze, but to him, it felt like a brush of karmic fire.

His divine soul, his physical body, and the imperial artifact were all stained by it, yet it inflicted no substantive damage whatsoever.

However, he perceived clearly that his true form could no longer be sensed—it had either been annihilated in death or severed from him entirely. The true form was the true form, and the avatar was the avatar, making the two unique, independent existences.

"Ha-ha!" Amidst his loud laughter, Wuyun coughed up blood continuously. The blood varied in color, and with every mouthful he spat, his divine soul shrank a fraction. Just as he was about to dissolve and vanish entirely, a tear suddenly ripped open within the space sealed by the ten days, and a shadow burrowed into Wuyun's body.

The dreamt-of evil ghost Duoduo appeared, forcibly running amok within Wuyun's consciousness.

"You must be either a supreme overlord or a mighty expert passing through our world, just like the Eyeless Equilibrium Beasts in our realm. Since your divine soul is destined to perish, you might as well hand this body and your remnant soul over to me!"

Amidst Duoduo's roar lay a note of entreaty. Wuyun shook his head and replied, "Even if I give you my soul, they will not let you leave!"

"That is my concern. Will you do it or not?"

"I can only give you this body. As for this soul, come and snatch it; take whatever you can seize!"

Wuyun closed his eyes, and his soul began to disintegrate. Countless fragments fluttered upward, depicting everything he had seen and heard within this dimensional space—including his experiences as a cloud within the Qianluo space, and the moment he was forged into human form by Emperor Ba.

In short, everything he had witnessed in this dimension was laid bare. Through Wuyun's perspective, Duoduo even caught sight of the space where his own world resided, separated from the Higher God Realm by merely a single level.

Just as a mound of gods stood like a massive hill among thousands of flocks of chickens, his world languished in the lowliest corner at the base of that hill.

Trembling with excitement, Duoduo leaped into Wuyun's divine soul, devouring Wuyun's memories along with the divine soul itself without leaving a scrap.

The assembled Immortal Emperors simply watched as Wuyun vanished into thin air, dissolving ultimately into a wisp of cloud that drifted away amidst the ten days.

Immediately following this, the ten days coalesced, converging into the floating corpse of the Emperor Dragon. The dragon corpse stirred as if brought back to life, tore open a spatial passage, and plunged straight inside.

Faced with this sudden transformation, even Chen Liao was dumbfounded. Was this fellow dead or alive?

Because the previous attack had not targeted her, Jing Shang was the first to charge forward. She circled the body of Wuyun and the corpse of the Emperor Dragon. The moment Wuyun's body tore open a spatial rift and fled, she pursued the Emperor Dragon's corpse instead.

Emperor Snake turned and vanished alongside her male concubine. Meanwhile, Immortal Emperor Chen Liao calculated with his fingers over and over. Sensing that Wuyun's divine soul had completely vanished from heaven and earth, he let out a long sigh. Even so, he could not let Wuyun's physical body escape, so he too sliced open a passage and pursued the fleeing form.

In mid-air, only Tongtian's avatar hesitated!

Having formed a unique consciousness of his own, Tongtian's avatar tore open space, turned his head, and vanished without a trace.

After breaking free from Piaoyi's strike, Zuantian and Famen emerged and stood frozen in place. They considered pursuing Wuyun and the Dragon Emperor's corpse separately, but Zuantian said, "No good ever comes from associating with that Emperor Snake. She trades with demons and is utterly untrustworthy. We cannot take any more risks. Granny Sihao is dead, and Immortal Emperor Tongtian's avatar has developed an independent will, which is tantamount to death. Not only that, but his true form will also suffer catastrophic damage, forever barred from returning to the peak might of a Second Calamity Immortal Emperor."

"Things have come to this; our only option is to awaken the Old Ancestor and have him guard against Piaoyi's return!" Famen nodded gravely, tearing open space and departing. Only Zuantian remained, staring at the Qantu in the sky.

The creature wailed bitterly, entirely unconcerned that the four imperial artifacts were still suppressing its imperial bones. Zuantian initially intended to retrieve these four imperial artifacts, but recalling Granny Sihao's fate sent a sudden chill through his entire body.

He understood that certain karmic entanglements were best left untouched. This was the ultimate lesson that had allowed him to survive grave robbing and corpse excavation down to the present day. Just as he waved his hand to take Dongyin Gonggong away, his disciple appeared, dragging the Dragonrider along.

Zuantian glanced closely at his grand-disciple and said coldly, "Consider him clever for hiding in the center of a planet to escape disaster; otherwise, he would have been doomed. Let's go!"

Seeing Dongyin Gonggong staring at the howling, weeping Qantu and his companions while gesturing toward the four imperial artifacts, Zuantian admonished, "You haven't even perfected your own natal weapon, yet you covet those of others. Granny Sihao's possessions will be claimed by her descendants."

With that, sudden enlightenment struck Zuantian's heart. These four imperial artifacts had already become Qantu's possessions. As for the reasons why, he chose not to spell them out nor let his disciple become entangled in that karma. He tore open space and departed immediately with the two of them.

Having harvested the most spoils, he was thoroughly satisfied. Without a doubt, he was the ultimate winner!

When no other figures remained in the sky, Qantu ceased his tears. Looking out at the immortal fruit planet riddled with thousands of holes, he let out a deep sigh!

"The Planet Piaoyi is no more!"

With those words, he too opened space, but when he waved his horse-like hooves, they lacked any strength.

The imperial might of his past life had been exhausted; the only one who could carry him away now was the severely injured Rongya.

Stopping the weeping and sobbing Teacher Bear, Dou Wang, and the others, the group joined forces to tear open space and sought a safe passage through the rifts.

However, three Immortal Emperors had jointly sealed off this stellar region. After searching for a long time amidst immense danger, Qantu could only proceed along an unhealed fracture carved out by the Dragon Emperor's corpse.

Every time they passed through, the multicolored spatial passages healed almost instantly. Brother Bear praised the senior's foresight, noting that even in death, he left behind a backup plan to help everyone escape a sea of bitterness.

They traveled onward for an unknown duration. The Sword of Hatred and Terror, which had been carrying and protecting the group, suddenly trembled, shook them off, and vanished through a crevice.

Overjoyed at the sight, Qantu assumed this crevice would allow them to bypass the three Immortal Emperors' blockade. To his astonishment, no sooner had they followed it than space blurred. When they reappeared, they found themselves in a shattered, desolate starry sky.

This starry sky was blazing with light as countless stellar fragments burned fiercely. At a single glance, numerous familiar faces could be seen fending off swarms of gigantic firebirds.

These stellar fragments had evidently transformed into firebirds!

"Look!" Gao Le pointed toward the very center, the brightest spot, where a three-headed firebird the size of a small asteroid was displaying divine might, beating back its attackers one by one.

Leading the charge was Luohua Wu, gripping the Pagoda Suppressing a Hundred Thousand Evils. Layers of suppressing might emanated from it, reaching a height of three hundred thousand meters. Occasionally, she would hurl it forth to forcefully meet the flapping wings of the colliding three-headed firebird head-on.

By this time, Qantu had lost track of the Dragon Emperor's corpse. As for the Sword of Hatred and Terror, after circling around and failing to find a way out, it revealed a visage—it was the shadow of Emperor Snake. Her voice sounded like that of a young girl as she shrieked, "I must find my master! I must find my master!"

Among the group protected by the imperial bones, Brother Bear cried out, "You said the senior left us our only lifeline and that following the dragon's corpse would let us escape, yet you chased after Emperor Snake's sword and plunged right in here! There is a path to heaven which you refuse to take, yet you willfully march into the flame-filled purgatory. Senior Black Horse, don't mess this up!"

Qantu's face darkened, though the others failed to notice, feeling only that the black horse's aura had tightened with a do-or-die expression. Reassured, Brother Bear shouted, "Senior Black Horse, if your imperial bones can no longer bear it, just abandon us! The senior is already dead anyway, and living holds no meaning for me!"

Qantu let out a prolonged snort, neighed softly, and silently followed the Sword of Hatred and Terror. Only when the sword concealed its form and a line of large characters materialized as it hovered in mid-air did his heart skip a beat, making him realize he truly had followed the wrong guide.

The immortal script inscribed on the surface of the blade read—*The Sword of Emperor Snake, the Dragon's Hatred and Terror!*

So that was the origin of the Sword of Hatred and Terror!

Filled with remorse, Qantu also concealed his form, but amidst the brilliant light, darkness had nowhere to hide. The darker it tried to be, the brighter it shone; the stronger they grew, the more these firebirds gathered.

This place was originally a sealed array that had birthed this space. Upon closer inspection, the three-headed firebird should originally have possessed nine heads; its true name was the Nine Phoenixes Welcoming the Song, a collateral branch of the phoenix lineage.

As for why those heads were missing, it must have been the work of Wuyun, whose strike had slain the Nine Phoenixes Welcoming the Song six times over.

Qantu constantly shifted and dodged, even cooperating with Rongya to deploy array formations. Aided by Great Elder Lingtong, Yisheng, Qingzhousheng, and other late-stage Mysterious Immortals, they managed to evade all attacks using illusions.

Yet, as Qantu watched intently, Luohua Wu unleashed a sweeping strike with the joint power of all immortals from the Hundred Flowers Valley, shattering the Nine Phoenixes Welcoming the Song. The creature subsequently underwent nirvana and resurrected, leaving only two heads remaining.

Fewer heads meant diminished power. Just as the two heads were about to be reduced to one, and that one to nothingness, Qantu the black horse roared, "Hold your hand! I am the reincarnation of the mount of Great Emperor Qantu, and I have words to speak!"

Qantu's actions left Brother Bear dumbfounded. Beside him, Luohua Wu and nine Immortal Kings looked on in bewilderment, while Grand Elder Hao Shicun of the inner sect cried out in grief and fury, "This firebird beast has slaughtered numerous inner and outer sect elders and disciples of our sect. Its crimes are unforgivable; it must be put down! And that black horse brought about this disaster; capture it and interrogate it rigorously to uncover..."