Chapter 1643: Gathering of Heroes
Four stone horses galloped like thunder, rumbling across heaven and earth as they pulled a stone chariot. From within stepped a towering Sacred Spirit—the stone man known as Dawei.
Nine patches of tribulation clouds spread out as a Daoist bearing a longsword on his back arrived. He had no immortal aura of a transcendent being; instead, his eyes were as piercing as cold lightning.
These were all overlords renowned on the Sole True Path, possessing boundless dharma power and invincible in battle, never having suffered a single defeat. Yet they were wary of one another and had never clashed.
"This stone man has killed too many people. His bloodlust is extreme—he never leaves a single survivor. All who oppose him die."
"The Nine Tribulation Daoist is no pushover either. The path behind him is drenched in blood."
...
Both had earned their reputations through slaughter. The moment they entered the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, a wave of discussion erupted behind them.
"The Divine Clan's Heavenly Maiden Xin Lan has arrived," someone said in surprise.
From afar, petals danced as a beautiful woman approached gracefully. Shimmering crystalline flower petals scattered through the air, making the place seem extraordinarily resplendent and radiant.
This was a female powerhouse of the Divine Clan. Few dared provoke her on ordinary days, as it was rumored she might share blood ties with the Divine Venerable. Now, no one dared to offend the Divine Clan's overlord.
What surprised people was that the two powerhouses from the Divine Clan had arrived separately, not traveling together.
A gray flood dragon crossed the sky, hundreds of feet long, pulling a chariot shrouded in chaotic mist as it headed straight for the Soaring Cloud Pavilion.
The crowd gasped. This old flood dragon was a peak Great Sage-level existence, yet it had been reduced to a beast of burden pulling a chariot—a truly shocking sight.
Everyone knew who had arrived. It could only be the Divine Venerable. No one else could command such a being. He had tamed eight mounts in total, each a supreme powerhouse from a star domain who had walked the Stellar Ancient Path. Now they served as his draft animals.
The Divine Venerable was being modest, using only one desolate beast to pull his chariot instead of bringing all his mounts. Yet it still drew gasps of awe.
The gray flood dragon transformed into an old man, rose to his full height, and lifted the beaded curtain of the chariot, inviting a man to step out. All eyes were drawn to him.
This was a man of medium build, not particularly tall, but he exuded an aura of authority without anger—a presence that declared him the sole sovereign of the eight desolate realms.
His thick purple hair was bound by an imperial crown flowing with purple-gold light. He wore a Divine Emperor's robe embroidered with scenes of ascension to immortality and patterns of gods and demons submitting in reverence.
His entire being radiated a resplendent glow, exuding nobility and an overwhelming momentum of dominating the world, standing atop all peaks. Though not particularly robust, he inspired awe and fear.
With every step he took, a unique resonance rippled through heaven and earth, harmonizing with his Dao. He seemed less like a mortal and more like the most ancient of heavenly gods descending to look down upon the mortal realm.
All who met his gaze nearly suffocated, involuntarily retreating as their bones and flesh felt like they were splitting apart, unable to resist.
This was the Divine Venerable, the strongest of the current generation of the Divine Clan. He had swept the ancient path undefeated, and after entering the Imperial Pass, he had suppressed all the powerhouses of the myriad races, leaving them unable to lift their heads.
Only after he entered the Soaring Cloud Pavilion did people breathe a sigh of relief and dare to speak.
"This is the Divine Venerable. Too terrifying. Just looking at him makes one feel like they're sinking into an abyss of self-destruction. Who can oppose him?"
"Truly a powerhouse who tames desolate beasts and forces Great Sages to pull his chariot!"
A group of supreme powerhouses entered. Ji Chengdao also arrived, his armor damaged in many places and stained with dark red blood. He went straight upstairs.
He had come to challenge, seeking a battle with the Divine Venerable. This had already caused a stir, and many followed him upstairs, wanting to see the outcome.
The pavilion was tall and majestic, with spatial laws within. It could accommodate not just a few arrogant powerhouses but even a hundred thousand people without issue.
The top floor was ethereal and misty. A vast platform stood there, seemingly formed by cutting off the top of a giant mountain. Chaotic mist swirled around it. On the platform were numerous jade tables, each paired with a stone chair, spaced far apart. The current overlords sat there.
Those with weaker cultivation couldn't ascend the platform, which resembled a severed mountain. They could only look up from below, as the figures above made no effort to conceal their oppressive auras, which imperceptibly blocked the path of all heroes.
This discouraged many. They realized that through this gathering, their imperial path had already dimmed. They couldn't contend with those above—they were defeated without even fighting!
However, some younger faces refused to be disheartened, clenching their fists secretly. They were still young and had time to temper themselves.
"Divine Venerable, dare you fight?" Ji Chengdao was direct. He stepped onto the ancient platform, which was half a mountain high, and let out a great roar that shook the entire building three times.
For so many years, his heart had been bitter. He couldn't see his mother, and his father had gone far away. He still remembered when he grew up, his father—born with an innate pride—had silently packed his bags, donned gray clothes like a bitter slave, and left. He couldn't stop him, and to this day, he didn't know where his father was.
Over three hundred years ago, his father was revered as a Divine King. Whether in the Big Dipper Star Domain or on the ancient path he walked, he was invincible, unyielding. Yet in the end, he faded away so dimly.
After secretly learning much, Ji Chengdao discovered that the past events were related to the Divine Venerable. He had suppressed his mother and defeated his father, driving the Divine King away with merciless, almost humiliating force.
Three hundred years had passed. Ji Chengdao had surpassed his father, becoming far stronger than the Divine King of old. He had reached the peak of the Great Sage realm.
This was a bottleneck that stopped many. Even senior figures were stuck here, unable to cross. Though he was still relatively "young," he was no weaker than anyone.
"Child, you're not ready. I said before, you need at least fifty more years before you can barely fight me. You're still far off," the Divine Venerable spoke from the high platform, hazy and indistinct like a Heavenly Venerable seated in chaos, his expression unreadable.
"Pretentious!" Ji Chengdao sneered, sweeping his gaze over everyone present before fixing it on the Divine Venerable. "Prove it with action—fight me!"
The Divine Venerable sat there like a clay statue, unmoved. "I'm just afraid of crushing your spirit, causing your Dao heart to waver. Go cultivate for another fifty years. I'll wait."
"I, Ji Chengdao, am not afraid of failure. I grew up being tempered by one elder after another. Do you think a little setback scares me?"
Black Emperor nodded at this. Little Chengdao had been tormented by them since childhood. Not only had the true barbarian roared and the dog emperor bitten, but even the unscrupulous Daoist had used the Tribulation-Overcoming Heavenly Art to discipline him, subjecting him to hellish training.
Little Chengdao's greatest strength was his tenacity. He wasn't afraid of failure; the more he was crushed, the stronger he grew. After every battle, he would summarize and inevitably rise to a higher level. For this reason, Ye Tong had passed down several supreme forbidden secret arts to him, including the Presence Secret and the Stride Art, to ensure his survival.
A string of silvery laughter rang out. The Divine Clan's Heavenly Maiden Xin Lan rose and waved at Ji Chengdao. "Good child, you have spirit. Come here, to Auntie."
"Who are you?" Ji Chengdao showed no gratitude. He knew this female powerhouse was also from the Divine Clan and had no goodwill toward them.
"Sigh, you've truly inherited your parents' pride. Auntie means you no harm. I just find your stubbornness adorable. Not bad—what's the Divine Venerable? Cursing him a bit is only right. I support you!" Xin Lan smiled, looking like someone who enjoyed chaos.
Ji Chengdao sneered coldly, ignoring her, and kept his eyes on the Divine Venerable.
"You want to fight me?" the Divine Venerable spoke, his eyes suddenly turning many times colder. Two terrifying beams shot out, startling a large group below into retreating, their faces pale. Many were struck as if by lightning, coughing up blood.
What kind of power was this? Just a glance, yet it was like two divine hammers of heavenly punishment, injuring a group of Great Sages walking the imperial path.
"Yes!" Ji Chengdao stood there like a spear, his expression unchanged, his battle intent soaring to the heavens, his momentum reaching its peak.
"Very well. Come sit by my side. In the future, I'll give you a chance to make a move," the Divine Venerable said.
"Why should I sit beside you?!" Ji Chengdao was indignant.
"I mean well. The people you've followed in the past are all useless trash, wasting your time. In the future, I'll personally teach you," the Divine Venerable said expressionlessly, looking more and more like an ancient divine statue shrouded in mist.
"You're not worthy to say that," Ji Chengdao said, his face darkening.
"He is your maternal uncle. He won't harm you. And I am your biological aunt. I can guarantee that," the Divine Clan's Heavenly Maiden Xin Lan said.
The crowd was stunned, their minds churning. Ji Chengdao's mother was the younger sister of the Divine Venerable and Xin Lan. For many, this was the first they had heard of it, and it seemed unbelievable.
"Your body flows with the supreme blood of my Divine Clan. But when you were young, I sealed the fragments of the Divine Lord within you. Come back to the Divine Clan with me, and I'll help you unlock them," the Divine Venerable said coldly.
"No need. My goal is to knock you down!" Clearly, Chengdao had long guessed their relationship. Though he called for battle and slaughter, he still maintained a shred of restraint.
"You're not good enough. You've wasted too much time with a bunch of useless people. In the future, stay by my side. I'll teach you personally. In fifty years, you can fight me," the Divine Venerable said in a flat, emotionless tone.
"Who do you think you are?!" Ji Chengdao showed no gratitude and instead grew angry. He had been trained since childhood by his father, as well as Black Emperor, Duan De, Dongfang Ye, Li Heishui, Ye Tong, and others. He wouldn't allow anyone to belittle them.
"In my eyes, the so-called Heavenly Court is a joke. A true strong man can shatter the universe alone. All organizations are empty," the Divine Venerable said calmly.
Nearby, someone showed displeasure. It was Jue from the Divine Court, who naturally had to express himself. Both the Divine Venerable, Yin Tiande, and Di Tian made him uncomfortable.
In a corner below the high platform, Black Emperor fiddled with several jade basins, filling them with divine water. He cut open a sealed piece of the Dao's Origin and threw the pieces in separately.
He beckoned Dongfang Ye, Li Tian, and Li Heishui, pointing at their big feet and then at the jade basins.
"You're just too wicked. When the time comes, how will those people face the world?"
No one noticed yet, as Black Emperor and the others were in a corner behind the crowd, using a flawless Heaven-Deceiving Array, operating very discreetly. (To be continued)