Chương 121: Witness of the Era (Part 18)

Su Chen stared into the depths of the cosmos, where an earth-shattering aura erupted in a battle unprecedented in history.

"So this is the power of a Great Emperor…" His scalp tingled. Even though he had become a Saint and witnessed Quasi-Emperors clash, in the face of this terrifying force, Saints and Quasi-Emperors seemed no different at all. A casual wave of a Great Emperor's hand could probably erase the entire Heavenly Profound Domain from existence. What stunned him even more was that the Divine Evolution Great Emperor had faked his death.

This thirty-third Great Emperor to prove the Dao since the end of the primordial era—the one the world had always regarded as the most mediocre—possessed such deep schemes. To draw out the hidden Supremes, he had turned a blind eye even to the deaths of his closest friends, disciples, and grand-disciples. All of it, just to seize a single opportunity. Everyone had underestimated this Great Emperor. In the Western Regions, 'Yu Shukuang' felt that hair-raising aura and felt nothing but relief in his heart.

Fortunately, he had been patient enough, cautious enough. Otherwise, his fate would likely have been no better than those Supremes. He would have been swarmed and struck down without mercy. Deep in the cosmos, Divine Evolution Great Emperor faced five former "Emperors"—now Supremes. Blood stained the stars. With his dying body, he fought relentlessly, slaying two in succession. The remaining three exhausted every method to break the imperial formation and fled back to their respective forbidden zones.

Yet Divine Evolution refused to let them go. Dragging his broken imperial body, he pursued with the intent to claim at least one more Supreme. To buy time for their escape, the other two Supremes turned without hesitation on the one cloaked in silver radiance. Across the cosmos rang that Supreme's furious roar: "You two bastards!" In the next instant, Divine Evolution arrived.

Facing the blood-mad, life-risking Great Emperor, the lone Supreme left behind cursed in rage: "Why would an era produce a Great Emperor like you? Among the thirty-three Emperors, your strength ranks in the top ten. Why pretend to be so mediocre?" The Supreme could not understand. With such overwhelming power, Divine Evolution could have stormed the forbidden zones from the beginning. Why hold back until the brink of death? Divine Evolution severed that Supreme's head. The undying body was erased from existence.

Carrying the severed head, he dragged his ruined form back to the dao cliff. The place lay in ruins all around him. He gazed at the devastation, his eyes dim with sorrow. A few drops of essence blood fell from his fingertip, flying toward distant places. Alone, he sat upon the Dao cliff, the entire universe revolving around him.

"Four Supremes dead… Across all ancient history, how many have achieved such a feat?" Supremes were hard to kill—not because they were overwhelmingly strong, but because they were cunning enough. Even those Great Emperors who had pacified forbidden zones might never kill four Supremes in a lifetime. The cosmic emperor Dao fell silent once more. Divine Evolution Great Emperor sat alone on the Dao Cliff. His broken, damaged body remained upright, unyielding.

Yet there were still unconvinced Supremes lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting to confirm whether this Great Emperor had truly died. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Another century passed. The great emperor battle seemed to have subsided. More and more prodigies of this era set foot on the Path of Ascension. Having witnessed the might of a Great Emperor, who among them did not dream of becoming such an existence themselves?

Su Chen received fresh news from deep in the stars. Wang Yunfei had broken through to the Great Saint realm. He challenged several hall masters of the God-Slaying Hall and directly slew two of them. Only Lin Zhan remained. The two finally clashed—then, by mutual agreement, both withdrew. Lin Zhan had broken through to Great Saint centuries earlier; his foundation ran deeper than Wang Yunfei's. After that heaven-shaking battle, the name of the Young Emperor Wang Yunfei resounded throughout the cosmos!

In the eyes of far too many people, this era belonged to Wang Yunfei alone. His brilliance was simply unmatched. Even Fang Bubai—once personally chosen and taken as a disciple by Divine Evolution Great Emperor—had suffered defeats. Even Lin Zhan, who dominated the God-Slaying Hall and struck terror into countless prodigies, had never reached such heights. Even those ancient monsters who had once contended with Great Emperors treated Wang Yunfei as a grave threat.

Yet over the next century, the Supremes could no longer sit still. Although the Divine Evolution Great Emperor had never campaigned against the forbidden zones, none of those supreme zones had dared extend their claws toward the myriad races of the stars during his reign. He had fixed his gaze solely on the ultimate forbidden zones guarded by Supremes, leaving those beings grinding their teeth in hatred—especially the Primordial Ancient Mountain.

The previous Great Emperor had stared it down; Divine Evolution had stared even harder. If they could not harvest vitality soon, and a new Great Emperor emerged, one supreme forbidden zone might truly be starved to death. The thought was laughable. From the Primordial Ancient Mountain, one Supreme crossed countless seas of stars, intent on harvesting the life force of living beings to replenish his depleted vitality.

But the moment he traversed into the open cosmos, the supposedly dead Divine Evolution Great Emperor abruptly opened his eyes once more. Terrified, the Supreme fled without looking back. Half his body was severed across the starry expanse by Divine Evolution's strike—he abandoned it without hesitation and escaped straight back into his forbidden zone. That single scene caused every lurking covetous aura in the vicinity to vanish instantly.

"Damn it all—Divine Evolution still isn't dead!"

"How long can that old bastard possibly live?" The Supremes of the forbidden zones teetered on the edge of despair. They feared Divine Evolution would lock onto them, trace their aura, and find their lairs. Divine Evolution Great Emperor felt a trace of regret. This time, he had failed to kill even one Supreme. He returned to the Dao cliff. Once again, a breath of final extinction spread through the cosmos. Myriad beings wailed in sorrow… though this time, many of those cries carried an undertone of absurdity.

Su Chen looked up toward the depths of the starry sky, the corner of his mouth twitching. History would surely record Divine Evolution Great Emperor in bold strokes. He might not be the strongest Great Emperor… but he was unquestionably the most cautious. Which Great Emperor had ever feigned death three times? Who else used nirvana as bait for entrapment? Even if the Divine Evolution Great Emperor truly perished now, the Supremes of those forbidden zones would likely not dare emerge for a very long time.

A thousand years passed. Legends of the stars continued to spread. For a full millennium, no Supreme emerged, and no further word came of the Divine Evolution Great Emperor. Su Chen's cultivation reached the seventh layer of the Saint realm. Given another thousand years, he might reach the peak of Saint and glimpse the threshold of Saint King. A Saint lived for five thousand years. Su Chen had cultivated for only two thousand so far.

"Perhaps… Divine Evolution Great Emperor really has died." A thousand years had passed without the slightest ripple. Unless he lived out a second life… but with wounds so grievous, even an undying divine medicine might not have been enough to grant him another lifespan. The forbidden zones began to stir. They tested the waters—first the minor zones, then the major ones, and finally the supreme forbidden zones emerged. Still, no sign of the Divine Evolution Great Emperor. Divine Evolution Great Emperor was dead!

This time, he was truly gone! At the end of the ancient path, figures threw themselves forward desperately, braving the crushing pressure of the remnant emperor dao, and the struggle to become Emperor began! …