Chapter 1556: Life Without Joy
The next moment, the Imperial Emperor’s divine consciousness was forcibly separated from the Heavenly Emperor’s physical body.
The reason the Imperial Emperor’s eyelids twitched was because he sensed an intense danger, but before he could react, he had already been stripped away from the Heavenly Emperor’s flesh.
His reaction was undeniably swift; he immediately returned to the Dao Tree. However, just as his divine consciousness began to move, he suddenly felt that something about him had changed compared to before.
What exactly had changed, he couldn’t articulate.
But to Qin Mu and the others, it appeared as a completely different scene.
The Imperial Emperor’s divine consciousness was moving, but at the same time, it was materializing. He gained a form, a physical body, a soul, and a primordial spirit.
Thus, the Imperial Emperor transformed from a state of pure consciousness into a living, breathing person!
The Imperial Emperor himself did not notice this change and continued to rush toward the Dao Tree at full speed.
The Dao Tree was the manifestation of his lifelong Dao, and the Dao Fruit was the culmination of his cultivation.
Ling Tianzun gave him an extremely dangerous feeling. Ever since that woman had used her incomplete Unchanging Divine Ability to slay him in the supreme divine consciousness domain of the Great Void back then, he had always regarded Ling Tianzun with the utmost seriousness.
He had even gone so far as to directly use the Heavenly Emperor’s physical body to kill her!
Facing this woman, he was always haunted by an inescapable shadow.
He became tangible and substantial, transforming from a supreme god into a living person. Then, he evolved from human form into an energy state, becoming a pure energy body.
As he ran, he disintegrated.
Behind him, the scattered energy from his own dissolution was blown away by the cold, desolate wind of the Ultimate Void, vanishing between heaven and earth.
This transformation originated from the Dao patterns of the Miluo Palace, mixed with the Unchanging Divine Ability, giving off an incredibly profound and wondrous sensation. Yet it filled Tai Su and Xiao Tianzun with immense terror.
From this single finger strike of Ling Tianzun’s, they could see their own Daos, the Daos of the other Five Supremes of Primordial Chaos, as the Daos of the Five Supremes freely transformed.
Ling Tianzun’s cultivation might still be inferior to Xiao Tianzun, Hao Tianzun, and others, but the Dao conduct displayed in this strike had already surpassed their understanding!
The Imperial Emperor was already the most powerful existence in this universe, and in this battle, he had proven it with his own strength!
Although Ling Tianzun had an element of surprise in her attack, this finger strike made them feel that they, too, were in danger of being destroyed!
As the Imperial Emperor ran toward the Dao Tree, his disintegration accelerated. By the time he reached the tree, it was right in front of him. He reached out his hand, a smile spreading across his face.
The laughter grew fainter and fainter, until finally, a gust of cold, desolate wind swept over, smoothing away the Imperial Emperor’s smiling face like a wave washing over a sandy beach, erasing all traces.
He vanished completely.
The cold, desolate wind blew, its sound like a sigh.
A sigh for the end of an invincible myth, a sigh for the passing of bygone days.
The Imperial Emperor had been reduced to ashes and smoke.
His divine consciousness no longer existed.
Before everyone’s eyes, the leaves of the Imperial Emperor’s Dao Tree began to wither and fall. One by one, yellowed leaves detached from the branches, spiraling and drifting in the cold wind, then gradually fading away, disappearing into the breeze.
The branches also dried up, became brittle, snapped off, and turned to ash in the wind.
The Dao Tree withered, its roots rotted and dispersed.
The Imperial Emperor’s green Dao Fruit also shriveled at this moment, becoming dry and lifeless, as if it had lost all vitality.
The Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven, which had already been torn open with a large hole, now saw more cold, desolate wind pouring in, blowing everywhere, causing the Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven to decay and collapse.
Ling Tianzun watched this scene quietly, her expression devoid of any ripple. Yet within her Dao heart, a trace of sadness emerged. Gradually, this sadness invaded her, affecting her, causing her to unknowingly wet her cheeks with tears, leaving her unsure of where this sorrowful emotion came from.
Perhaps it was the Dao of heaven and earth that was grieving, unknowingly infecting her, affecting her Dao heart, immersing her in this sorrow, lamenting the passing of an ancient existence.
From any perspective, the Imperial Emperor could be called a pioneer, a trailblazer.
In the age of ignorance and barbarism, the Imperial Emperor entered the Dao through divine consciousness, creating a myth. He pioneered divine consciousness runes, Dao patterns, Dao chains, sacrificial methods, and also created the supreme divine consciousness domain.
Although he knew the how but not the why, failing to propose a complete cultivation system and having no profound impact on later generations; although in his later years, the Imperial Emperor went astray, blood-sacrificing and slaughtering the Creator race; although he ultimately could only be considered a half-achiever of the Dao, his contributions remained indelible.
If his intellect had been used to benefit future generations, he could have become the most dazzling Heavenly Sovereign in this world.
Unfortunately, he did not.
The Imperial Emperor died, buried by a single finger strike from Ling Tianzun.
Qin Mu, Xiao Tianzun, Kai Huang, Hao Tianzun, and others could not understand Ling Tianzun’s sorrow, but Ling Tianzun, as the one who had personally buried the Imperial Emperor, was deeply haunted by this sadness.
Suddenly, a Lingxiao Palace descended above Ling Tianzun’s head. Countless magnificent runes on the surface of the palace vibrated and crashed down with a roar!
At that moment, Kai Huang stepped sideways to block her path, drew his sword, and rose. His Sword Dao Dao Tree was lush and verdant, its branches swaying like ten thousand swords soaring into the sky, meeting the Lingxiao Palace and accurately striking every single rune on the treasure hall!
A terrifying shockwave erupted. From within the Lingxiao Palace, Xiao Tianzun flew out, headfirst and feet up, facing Kai Huang’s sword light as he pressed a palm strike down toward Ling Tianzun!
Around him, the Lingxiao Palace runes fluttered. Kai Huang was resisting the Lingxiao Palace’s runes, while Xiao Tianzun was also using those runes to block Kai Huang’s Sword Dao.
Kai Huang frowned. His Dao Flower spun, its petals like the sharpest swords, meeting Xiao Tianzun’s hand.
At the same time, his sword stabbed backward. Behind him, Hao Tianzun stood up straight and, in the next instant, appeared behind Ling Tianzun!
The wound on the back of his head had been healed by the Tai Su Goddess. In his hand, the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel erupted with terrifying Dao might, spinning continuously as it slashed toward Ling Tianzun’s beautiful head!
Behind his head, the Zixiao Palace runes transformed into countless imprints, shining on the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel, pushing the power of both sides of the wheel to their limits, making this strike even more terrifying!
Clang!
Kai Huang thrust his sword into the center of the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel. The power of the Sword Dao, the Primordial Beginning Dao, and the Return to Void Dao erupted. Kai Huang grunted, spitting blood.
Resisting both Xiao Tianzun and Hao Tianzun at the same time was still too much for him.
A sharp gleam flashed in Hao Tianzun’s eyes as he closed in. The Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel flipped, revealing the dark Return to Void, intending to completely devour and destroy Ling Tianzun!
On the other side, Xiao Tianzun’s palm was dripping with blood, soon reduced to white bones. His wrist, under the attack of the Sword Dao’s Dao Flower petals, had its flesh torn away, and his arm bones also turned to white bones. Yet this strike still fell fiercely, heading straight for Ling Tianzun!
Kai Huang let out a long roar, using all his strength to block these two great Heavenly Sovereigns, but he still couldn’t hold out.
Just as the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel was about to devour Ling Tianzun, a figure flashed. Qin Mu stepped sideways to block Ling Tianzun, and with a gulp, he was swallowed by the wheel!
Hao Tianzun sneered coldly and continued to activate the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel. But then, Qin Mu poked his head out from the Return to Void Abyss within the wheel, giving him a sinister smile, completely plugging the mouth of the abyss.
Hao Tianzun’s hair stood on end. He flipped his palm, turning the wheel from the back to the front, transforming it into the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel dominated by the Primordial Beginning Dao.
Qin Mu poked his head out from the front of the wheel again. Hao Tianzun’s black hair exploded upward as he activated the wheel, grinding Qin Mu inside it to pieces!
“Mu Tianzun, will you die or not?”
Hao Tianzun roared, slashing the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel toward Ling Tianzun. But Qin Mu, whom he had already shredded, poked his head out of the wheel again. Not just his head—even his upper body emerged, his arms stretching out, his hands grabbing the edge of the wheel.
Hao Tianzun shouted. The wheel flipped to its back, and the Return to Void Abyss swallowed Qin Mu, grinding him into cosmic waste gas.
“Still not dead?” Hao Tianzun sneered.
“Just won’t die!” Qin Mu popped his head out of the wheel again.
Veins bulged on Hao Tianzun’s forehead. The wheel flipped, refining Qin Mu into Primordial One Qi. Then, within the wheel, the Primordial One Qi condensed, and Qin Mu was stepping out with one leg, trying to emerge from the wheel.
Hao Tianzun let out a great cry and slammed his palm onto the wheel, smashing Qin Mu into dust!
His Dao heart was in turmoil, his ferocity surging. He lifted the wheel, only to see Qin Mu’s face appear again in the center of the wheel, filling it completely.
Hao Tianzun hurled the wheel, not at Ling Tianzun, but at the Heavenly Emperor’s physical body!
At this moment, Xiao Tianzun had already killed his way to the side of the Heavenly Emperor’s body, nearly skinned alive by Kai Huang, and was trying to merge with it.
Hao Tianzun’s strike came at a clever moment, just as Xiao Tianzun was about to enter the Heavenly Emperor’s body but hadn’t fully done so.
Xiao Tianzun sneered. The Heavenly Emperor’s physical body raised its palm to meet the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel, its power vast, even surpassing the Imperial Emperor’s control of this body.
Qin Mu’s face appeared on the surface of the wheel, laughing as it met the strike: “Your Majesty, the moment I touch your body, I can plant thousands of hidden traps, ensuring you’ll have a life without joy!”
Xiao Tianzun’s hair stood on end. He hastily withdrew his hand, afraid to touch the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel.
His Xiao Tianzun physical body exploded. Kai Huang’s sword light drove straight down from the Heavenly Emperor’s crown, burrowing into this body, transforming into a Sword Dao Dao Tree, its Sword Dao swelling!
Xiao Tianzun had just taken control of this body and had no time to defend. A muffled grunt came from within the body, and then Ling Tianzun snapped out of her sorrow, raising her slender jade finger to point at her own brow.
Xiao Tianzun let out a great cry, fell backward, and with a boom, smashed through the Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven, plummeting from the Ultimate Void.
The Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven had already decayed and could no longer support them.
Ling Tianzun frowned, withdrawing her finger. But then Hao Tianzun’s strike missed, and the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel, carrying Qin Mu, slashed toward the Imperial Emperor’s withered and decaying Dao Tree!
The wheel howled as it reached the tree. The tree was rotten, and the impact shook off its bark and branches, revealing a Primordial Beginning Imperial Sword!
The wheel struck toward the Imperial Sword. This time, it was Qin Mu’s turn to have his hair stand on end.
That was the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu’s companion treasure, the Imperial Sword formed from pure Primordial Beginning Dao. Hao Tianzun’s Primordial Beginning Dao was no more profound than Qin Mu’s, so the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel would find it hard to kill him.
But if he were slain by this Imperial Sword, he would likely have no escape from death, unable to revive!
Just then, a hand reached out and gently grasped the hilt of the Imperial Sword.
Hao Tianzun saw who was holding the sword, and a look of terror filled his eyes. He withdrew the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel and fled, taking the wheel and Qin Mu inside it as he whistled away from the Great Luo Heaven!
Kai Huang and Ling Tianzun looked toward that person. They saw the withered Dao Tree behind him slowly ceasing to decay. The yellowed, withered leaves gradually turned green again, and the dried-up Dao Fruit on the tree also began to regain its vitality.
The Dao Tree started to grow anew, and the Great Luo Heaven stopped collapsing.
Thirty thousand zhang of purple qi descended from the sky, like a waterfall or a long river, hanging behind that person.
“Daoist Yun.” Ling Tianzun and Kai Huang greeted him with a bow.