Chapter 327: Emperor Wu Shi's Divine Might
The Sacred City had existed since time immemorial, its origins untraceable. It was already present when the human race first began recording history.
In the Eastern Wasteland, many major powers—the Holy Lands and the Primordial Aristocratic Clans—all desired to claim it as their own. However, this was highly impractical, for there was only one Divine City.
In the end, the major powers held secret discussions and jointly exercised authority to control this city.
As for the secrets of the Divine City, outsiders knew almost nothing. Only a few hidden details were public, having been exposed to the world.
The Primordial Dao Platform, located at the central Heavenly Gate of the Divine City, floated in midair. This was a magnificent Immortal Platform, densely covered with Dao patterns, layer upon layer.
Without a doubt, this was an intricate web of Dao patterns, so profound that even many Saint Lords could not comprehend them. Almost no one could fully understand them.
In the past, everyone believed that one could cross the void from this place to reach a mysterious location. Many had attempted it with excited hearts, trying numerous times.
The facts proved that the patterns inscribed on the Primordial Dao Platform were indeed Dao imprints, capable of traversing the void. Yet no one had ever succeeded in crossing to another region.
Some vague records hinted that the platform could send people to a divine land of great fortune, but no one had ever achieved this.
This claim arose because legends said that several ancient Great Emperors had successfully crossed the void here, though no one could verify it.
However, people discovered other uses. The platform held nine stone tokens. No matter where one went, by holding a token and offering divine power, one could quickly cross the void and return to the central Heavenly Gate of the Divine City.
This was a startling discovery. An old Saint Lord tested it, traveling far to the Central Province. Holding the token and offering divine power, he still successfully crossed back.
Of course, the consumption was immense. For an ordinary person, their divine power would be drained dry, leading to death.
The nine stone tokens were divided among the Holy Lands and Primordial Aristocratic Clans. In those days, there were more Holy Lands than now, and some that didn't receive tokens nearly went to war over it.
The tokens were held by the various Saint Lords. Only they could freely travel and return to the floating Heavenly Gate of the Divine City.
That night, the central Heavenly Gate of the Divine City blazed with dazzling light. The Primordial Dao Platform emitted boundless spatial force, and seven or eight figures appeared simultaneously.
With a sweep of their sleeves, they released a dense, countless crowd of figures from within.
Everyone knew something major had happened. Seven or eight Saint Lords crossing the void together to retreat to the Divine City's Heavenly Gate was unprecedented!
Especially moments ago, when the great bell had shaken heaven and earth. Its lingering chime stirred even souls, causing the Divine City itself to resonate, as if on the verge of shattering.
The bell waves made the Divine City resonate—something never seen in ancient times. The entire city was alarmed. People rushed out, gazing into the distance.
"This is divine might!"
"Heavens, this is the divine power of a Great Emperor!"
Elderly figures exclaimed. Even someone as powerful as a Saint Lord could not produce such a bell chime. Everyone's soul had moved with the bell waves.
No need for thought or speculation, almost instinctively, many associated it with the pressure of an ancient Great Emperor, making hearts and souls tremble.
"Heavens, could an ancient Great Emperor still be alive? This is shocking!"
"No, those Great Emperors cannot still exist. No one can live that long. Could it be… someone has become an Emperor?"
"Good heavens, could a new Great Emperor have appeared?!"
Many showed disbelief. The divine might they had just felt was truly awe-inspiring.
The Divine City, as the center of the Northern Domain, gathered the world's elite. Naturally, there were many extraordinary figures: the Imperial Uncle of the Great Xia Dynasty in the Central Province, a Great Power from the Northern Domain's Golden Clan, and a giant from the Southern Ridge. Several of them charged toward the Heavenly Gate simultaneously.
Ye Fan and the others also rushed out quickly. Even An Miaoyi, whose beauty outshone the world, could not compare to the divine might that had everyone shouting.
That night, the Divine City was destined for sleeplessness. Many could not calm their hearts.
"The Saint Lords are in trouble. It must be that Purple Mountain holds great danger." Jiang Yifei pondered briefly, then turned and mounted his Golden Divine Lion, riding off under the moonlight. His white robes fluttered, exceptionally graceful.
"I will visit Fairy An another day. Farewell, everyone." His voice came from afar as the Golden Divine Lion turned into a beam of golden light, disappearing by the lake shore.
"Farewell. We must leave as well." The Holy Sons of Da Yan and Wan Chu departed hastily. If the Saint Lords were in trouble, it would greatly affect them, determining whether they could become future masters.
"Miaoyi bids you all farewell!" An Miaoyi transmitted her voice.
With that, everyone dispersed, each going their own way.
Two days later, news finally spread, shocking everyone.
The first assault on Purple Mountain by the Holy Lands had ended in failure, nearly resulting in total annihilation!
The Jiang Family, Ji Family, Yao Guang, and Yao Chi all possessed Extreme Weapons. That night, four imitation Extreme Weapons—including the Sun God Furnace and the Dragon-Pattern Cauldron—were all shattered into dust.
Additionally, the weapons of several Saint Lords, which had already interwoven Dao and principles, also turned to ash, reduced to nothing.
All of this was due to a single bell. No true Great Emperor had appeared. When the bell waves rippled, many experts were crushed, unable to resist at all.
The Holy Lands and Primordial Aristocratic Clans had studied Purple Mountain for many days, believing it must hold the secrets of an ancient Great Emperor. Nine dragons arching over a single mountain—such terrain was nearly impossible to find elsewhere in the world.
They devised many plans, ultimately deciding that venturing deep into Purple Mountain was too dangerous. Instead, they would combine the power of all Holy Lands to cut it in half.
Unexpectedly, this led to disaster. Purple Mountain remained unbroken, but it triggered the Extreme Dao Divine Bell to shake heaven and earth. The bell waves destroyed everything in their path, reducing all to dust.
On the spot, over a hundred eminent elders vanished into thin air. They didn't even have time to groan before their forms and spirits were annihilated, utterly unable to resist.
The Saint Lords reacted swiftly, making decisive choices. Using great divine abilities, they gathered the remaining people and crossed the void with the stone tokens. As for the protective imitation Extreme Weapons and Saint Lord weapons, they were all destroyed.
When the news spread, the Northern Domain shook, the Eastern Wasteland shook, and the entire world shook!
The name Emperor Wu Shi re-emerged, surfacing from history with earth-shattering impact.
Most people in the world knew almost nothing about him, but the ancient traditions would never forget this name. In the era when Emperor Wu Shi dominated the world, he displayed the might of an ancient Great Emperor to its utmost.
At the end of the immortal path, who stands as the peak? Upon seeing Wu Shi, the Dao becomes empty!
This was the highest praise the world gave him. Even after over a hundred thousand years, the ancient traditions would not forget: when Wu Shi appeared, the Dao turned to nothing.
The Sacred City boiled, and the world was shocked!
This Great Emperor left no legacy. The Wu Shi Bell had vanished into history, causing deep regret among many cultivators.
Indeed, if Emperor Wu Shi left no Dao lineage, it was a great loss for the human race, an immeasurable regret.
Now, with the Wu Shi Bell ringing, the whole world stirred. Dying old Saint Lords felt gratified, but more people went mad.
The legacy of Emperor Wu Shi, lost for endless ages, might be about to emerge, tugging at everyone's nerves. This was an irresistible temptation.
"Really? The Dao lineage of Emperor Wu Shi is about to appear!"
"Emperor Wu Shi, shaking the past and dazzling the present, unmatched under heaven—an insurmountable monument!"
…
Within just a few days, the world quickly learned some secrets of Emperor Wu Shi. The news spread too fast.
Of course, all of this came from the ancient traditions, including the Holy Lands, the Northern Domain's Golden Clan, and the four immortal dynasties of the Central Province.
"Better to fight a Great Accomplishment Saint Body than to ever see Wu Shi!" This was a saying left by the ancestors of the Heavenly Demon Palace, showing how much the great demons of the ancient era feared him.
In the ancient era, the land was chaotic. The demon and human races often warred, until finally, the ancient Great Emperors suppressed them.
When many great demons roared across heaven and earth, they naturally fought against the Great Accomplishment Saint Bodies and the ancient Great Emperors, deeply understanding their terror.
"This Wu Shi is too terrifying. Before becoming an Emperor, he actually withstood the Central Province's Extreme Weapon with his bare hands!" When the secrets were revealed, even people from the Central Province were stunned, left speechless.
In the past, Emperor Wu Shi's youthful genius needed no elaboration. He absolutely dominated all his peers, and even older figures were awed by him. He was a living "heaven-defying prodigy."
And when he finally achieved success, he became even more unfathomable, impossible to gauge or even glimpse from afar.
Before becoming an Emperor, he fought a great battle at the border of the Eastern Wasteland and the Central Province. That was an era of geniuses, and it was precisely the emergence of countless prodigies that elevated Emperor Wu Shi to an unattainable height.
A peerless genius from one of the Central Province's immortal dynasties, majestic and heroic, rare even in ancient times, was on the verge of creating a miracle in that era—becoming a new Great Emperor after the dynasty's founder.
Across the world, no lineage had ever produced two Great Emperors. If he succeeded, it would undoubtedly be a feat and a miracle.
That genius had indeed touched the edge of becoming an Emperor. Without accidents, he might have succeeded. Unfortunately, he encountered Wu Shi, who had not yet become an Emperor.
At the border between the Central Province and the Eastern Wasteland, he fought Wu Shi, even using an Extreme Weapon, but ultimately lost.
The genius of the Central Province, infinitely close to becoming an Emperor, used the Extreme Weapon left by the founding ancestor, capable of displaying the divine might of a Great Emperor.
Yet Wu Shi caught the Extreme Weapon with his bare hands, not turning to ash, but instead overpowering his opponent, shaking the world.
Emperor Wu Shi was a man of great magnanimity. After becoming an Emperor, he returned that Extreme Weapon to the dynasty, not troubling them.
"This is a heaven-defying prodigy!" Ye Fan sighed after hearing these stories.
Li Heishui said, "If you break the curse and enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm, with your current performance, you'll become another heaven-defying prodigy."
"I'm going to loot all the stone materials from the Holy Lands. I must enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm!" Ye Fan's emotions stirred from the various secrets of Emperor Wu Shi.
"These Saint Lords will leave soon. They won't back down. The temptation of Wu Shi's Dao lineage is irresistible." Li Heishui thought for a moment, then said, "The only thing to watch out for are those Holy Sons. They definitely won't be sent to Purple Mountain. They've all seen you, so don't slip up."
"Sooner or later, I'll block the gates of the Holy Lands and beat them until they dare not come out…" Ye Fan muttered to himself.
"Hahaha…" Li Heishui laughed heartily. "It seems being hunted by these people has filled you with resentment."
"Pity, though. A heaven-defying genius like Emperor Wu Shi, shaking the past and dazzling the present, in the end, is just a handful of dust…" Ye Fan sighed.
"Does the immortal truly not exist?" Li Heishui also sighed.
As expected, the Holy Lands could not give up. They began a second assault on Purple Mountain, rumored to possibly involve Extreme Weapons!
Perhaps it would be the Sun God Furnace, perhaps the Dragon-Pattern Cauldron, or perhaps the Void Mirror…
This second attack would surely be earth-shattering. It might truly open Purple Mountain.