I searched for corpses in the Wuding River to extract entries

Xie Que looked at the Heavenly Emperor and said coldly, "Don't you think what you're saying is ridiculous...?"

When you personally interfere with the game, you've already lost.

"You have crossed the line!"

At this moment, Xie Que did not make another move.

Suddenly, the Wujiang River surged back into a raging flood, swallowing up the entire army led by Han Xin.

However, at this time, Han Xin was not leading the Han army!

Behind him stood an enormous Qin state!

At that very moment, the elite warriors that Meng Tian had urgently dispatched from the border were already arrayed like an iron wall on both banks of the Wujiang River.

These soldiers diligently practice martial arts every day, tempering their bodies with endless sweat and effort.

Beneath their armor, their muscles were clearly defined, as hard and powerful as if cast in bronze.

As Xiang Yu charged towards the front lines like a storm, wielding his Overlord Halberd, a centurion in the front ranks was seen using the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) step.
Faced with the thunderous blow of the Overlord Halberd, he did not flinch at all and forcefully blocked it with the iron shield in his hand!

However, this is just the beginning.

What's even more terrifying is that the resonance of the Qin army's blood and qi is so powerful!

When the archers in the back row shot their arrows, the arrows were imbued with the martial will of thousands of soldiers.

These arrows converged in the air into a golden, dragon-shaped rain of arrows, which rained down on Xiang Yu!
Even though Xiang Yu possessed the heart of the Heavenly Emperor and extraordinary strength,
But even he couldn't help but feel a bit strained by such a terrifying rain of arrows.

Standing on the central command platform, Wang Jian waved his command flag, and the entire army formation rapidly changed its shape.

These martial arts formations were like a net, tightly locking Xiang Yu in the core, making it difficult for him to escape.

Xiang Yu roared again, and his fighting power surged once more!

However, the Qin army's martial arts formations had long surpassed individual combat; Wang Jian suddenly waved his command flag.
The thousand elite soldiers in the rear simultaneously planted their spears into the ground, forming a large formation.

The magnificent dragon aura representing the Qin state has also condensed into a golden dragon of destiny!
This Heavenly Mandate Golden Dragon, fused with Xie Que's "Emperor's Heart" suppressive essence and the blood and will of the Qin army's ten thousand soldiers, instantly shattered Xiang Yu's destiny.

"With my strength I could uproot mountains..." Xiang Yu's roar was stuck in his throat, and at that moment his head was cut off by Wang Jian.

With a thunderous crash as the Overlord Halberd struck the ground, the Daoist aura condensed by the Heavenly Emperor also suddenly dissipated.

With Xiang Yu's defeat and death, the entire chess game manifested by the Heavenly Emperor's "Dao of Heavenly Evolution" collapsed in an instant, as if it had been forcibly torn apart by an invisible hand.

The once perfectly aligned chess game is now in disarray, with pieces scattered everywhere and the chessboard reduced to nothingness.

At the very moment the chessboard collapsed, a massive flow of gold erupted like a surging wave.

This golden stream was not an ordinary stream of water, but rather a manifestation of the Heavenly Emperor's chessboard.
It contains the profound understanding and boundless power of the Heavenly Emperor's lifelong understanding of the Great Dao such as "deduction", "cause and effect" and "destiny".

This golden flow, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, surged directly into Xie Que's body with an unstoppable momentum.

Xie Que felt a powerful force raging through his body like a flood bursting its banks, impacting his physical form and soul.

Under the infusion of this power, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in Xie Que's mind.
He gained an unprecedented understanding of the word "fate".

He finally understood why the Celestial Emperor Tianyan thought he was incapable of attaining enlightenment; it wasn't due to a lack of ability on his part.
Rather, it was all preordained by Heaven, the answer given to the Heavenly Emperor by the Heavenly Emperor after countless divinations!
Just then, the voice of the Heavenly Emperor rang in Xie Que's ears: "Congratulations, you have defeated me. You now have a chance to prove your Dao..."

Xie Que was somewhat puzzled, but looking at the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Emperor,

With a flick of his finger, the Heavenly Emperor sent seventeen strands of Daoist energy into Xie Que's body.

Every wisp of Daoist essence that entered his body caused his soul to tremble violently.

"This is..." Xie Que was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

At that very moment, Xie Que's aura surged like a volcanic eruption, rising at an astonishing speed.

The power within him surged like a mighty torrent, continuously converging to form an indescribably powerful force.

The barrier of the peak Dao Source Realm was shattered instantly like paper under the impact of this force.

His realm underwent a qualitative leap in that instant, and he officially stepped into the Dao Extreme Realm!

However, this is not the end.

Because Xie Que absorbed the Dao essence that best suited his own martial arts origin, as well as the Dao essence of a peak Immortal Emperor,

His breakthroughs did not stop, but continued to move forward triumphantly.

Ultimately, his strength reached the peak of the Dao Realm!

At this moment, Xie Que felt as if he had merged with the void, and his understanding of martial arts had reached an unprecedented level.

He could clearly sense everything around him, including the most subtle rules of the Heavenly Dao.

In his perception, the Blessed Land of Reincarnation and the Martial Sect Grotto-Heaven had also undergone earth-shattering changes.

Under his influence, the originally somewhat flawed rules of Heaven became more and more perfect, and the entire blessed land and grotto-heaven were full of vitality.

The creatures living within it also experienced a significant increase in potential due to these perfect Heavenly Rules, and their cultivation speed increased several times or even dozens of times faster than before.

At the same time, the aura of the Heavenly Emperor became weaker and weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

His figure gradually became ethereal, as if he was about to disappear into the world.

When Emperor Yanxian watched Xie Que break through, there was no resentment in his eyes, but rather a sense of relief and liberation.

He knew that his mission was complete.

The Celestial Emperor Tianyan laughed and said, "The Great Dao is fifty, and the Celestial Evolution is forty-nine!"

"Do you know why I dare to call myself the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Emperor?"

Xie Que looked at the seventeen strands of martial arts essence that had returned to his body, and then looked up at the Heavenly Emperor.

He had only thought of Buddhism before, but he never expected that the Daoist essence sealed by the Absolute Martial Heavenly Coffin would actually appear here.

He spoke slowly, his voice ethereal:

"I... am that 'one who has escaped'... or rather, what I have pursued all my life is to become that elusive ray of hope."

The Celestial Emperor Tianyan then explained that, as the most powerful being of divination in the previous era, he had no hope of attaining enlightenment in that era.

After living into this era, his divination skills advanced further, and he deduced the secrets of heaven, even finding a glimpse of an opportunity to attain enlightenment.

That is closely related to Xie Que's martial arts philosophy!
The Celestial Emperor Tianyan deduced that these eighteen strands of Daoist rhyme contained a sliver of possibility of transcending eras, and were the true manifestation of "one of the escapes" in the martial arts.

So he used an astonishing method to steal these eighteen strands of Daoist essence across time and space before Xie Que had fully matured.

Even at that time, Xie Que had not yet developed martial arts to this form.

Unfortunately, even so, Xie Que still managed to reach his current position in the martial arts world. The Heavenly Emperor sighed and said, "In each era, there is only one 'Dao Prover' who can truly transcend the constraints of the era and become an eternal Dao Lord."

"But did you know? Like those who have attained the Dao, those in the 'Dao Yi Realm' are unique in each era."

"As long as you can break through to the Dao One Realm, you will have the opportunity to prove your Dao!"

Xie Que took a deep breath and asked, "So... if I reach the Dao One Realm, I can prove the Dao?"

The Heavenly Emperor's aura was weak at this moment, resembling that of an ordinary old man.

He shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Throughout countless eons, the void of heaven and earth has been constantly cycling, and very few have been able to attain enlightenment. On the contrary..."

At this point, the Heavenly Emperor looked into the depths of the Dao path: "There are countless Dao Ones, but because of this, their Dao hearts have been affected, and they have not yet been able to attain the Dao."

"However, even though I have calculated all the secrets of heaven, I cannot fathom you."

"For stealing your Daoist essence, your path should have been severed!"

"Not only did you not perish, but you also arrived here in an even more incredible way..."

"Perhaps I am wrong, that 'one that has vanished' is not something I stole..."

His gaze swept over Xie Que with a meaningful look.

The Celestial Emperor's form grew increasingly transparent, finally transforming into specks of starlight and dissipating into the void, leaving only his last words:
"Then... congratulations in advance on becoming a Dao Lord... transcending the era..."

Xie Que suddenly realized that perhaps the essence of martial arts was not something that had been hidden away.

The one who truly escaped should be... Xie Que looked at the Death Inquiry Chart in his mind.

Two peak Immortal Emperors fell one after another at Xie Que's hands, though the news remained silent.
However, the Daoist aura permeating the path and the desolate aura of fallen powerhouses were enough to shake the minds of all who sensed them.

A deathly silence fell around Xie Que, and no one dared to spy or obstruct him anymore.

He felt as if he were walking on a silent sea of ​​death.

Xie Que sat cross-legged on the ground, organizing and absorbing the original seventeen strands of martial arts essence.

These are mostly Daoist principles related to physical enhancement and martial arts technique enhancement; they are considered the most basic Daoist principles in martial arts.
However, it was precisely because these Daoist principles were stolen by the Heavenly Emperor that Xie Que's martial arts path went astray.

"The martial arts of today already contain twenty strands of Daoist principles."

Xie Que pondered, based on the information he had received...
To attain enlightenment, one must possess at least thirty-six strands of Daoist essence in martial arts.

In other words, as he moves forward, he needs to constantly hone his martial arts skills so that they can generate sixteen strands of Daoist charm.

Xie Que embarks on a new journey, stepping onto the ancient path leading to the final place of enlightenment.

The path itself seems to be composed of frozen time and broken laws, exuding an aura of desolation, sorrow, and heaviness.

As Xie Que walked, he comprehended the Dao, and also grasped four strands of Daoist rhyme.

Looking into the distance, he could occasionally catch glimpses of blurry figures.

These figures either sat cross-legged on the scattered rocks at the edge of the path, their auras incredibly powerful, yet tinged with a deathly stillness, as if devoid of life.

Or perhaps they wander aimlessly, their eyes vacant and numb, showing absolutely no reaction to Xie Que's arrival.

These people are actually those who once struggled on their path but ultimately chose to give up the struggle.

They retreated to the city of Jidao, but their inner resentment prevented them from completely calming down.

Thus, they could only linger on the edge of the path, becoming a kind of "living dead" who was neither alive nor dead.

As Xie Que continued his journey, more and more corpses of various shapes and sizes began to appear along the way.

These skeletons were as clear as jade, some still entwined with terrifying Daoist auras that had not yet dissipated, while others exuded a chilling pressure.

These skeletons are all those of former Celestial Emperors!
These Celestial Emperors represent those beings who, throughout countless eras, attempted to attain ultimate enlightenment but ultimately failed.

They may have once enjoyed unparalleled glory and brilliance, but on this thorny path, they ultimately fell before the finish line.

There was a skeleton sitting cross-legged, its bony palm holding a dim star core, as if it were deducing something.

There are skeletons leaning against the broken wall, with finger bones deeply embedded in the stone, carving lines of Taoist text filled with resentment and indignation, denouncing the injustice of fate.

But what shocked Xie Que the most was a skeleton that remained standing, its frame tall and imposing, exuding an indomitable pride even in death.
On the ground at his feet, several shocking characters were written in his own dried golden imperial blood:
"May I ask, are there any Daoist masters still existing in this world?"

These words seemed to contain endless sorrow and doubt, striking Xie Que's heart directly.

Xie Que stared at the scene before him, a feeling of indescribable regret welling up in his heart.

He took a slow step, each step feeling unusually heavy, as if he were carrying the weight of the entire world on his back.

His steps were slow, as if he were traversing the river of time, each step landing on a frozen moment in time.

As he walked forward, the surrounding scenery gradually unfolded before his eyes.

He sensed the various Daoist auras remaining on the path, these auras intertwined.

Destruction, annihilation, madness, resentment...

Xie Que was immersed in these great Dao auras, as if he were reading tragic epics of losers.

He saw those who had once sought enlightenment, who had persevered on this difficult path but ultimately failed.

These images constantly reminded him that the path to enlightenment was so cruel and the hope so slim.

Continuing onward, Xie Que crossed a region formed by the laws of shattering.

The fragments of laws here stand like tombstones, giving people a gloomy and solemn feeling.

However, even in this realm of death, Xie Que's powerful senses detected an extremely faint but vibrant life force and soul fluctuation.

This is completely different from the numb apostates and lifeless skeletons we encountered before!

Xie Que immediately became alert and slowed his pace.

On the path, any living thing can be a competitor or an unknown danger.

He slowly approached the source of the aura.

On a relatively flat platform made of some kind of warm, jade-like stone, he finally saw a figure.

The man had his back to Xie Que, his figure was slightly hunched, and he was wearing a gray robe of unknown material, covered with the dust of time.

He sat on a rock, seemingly gazing down at something, or perhaps asleep.

His aura was extremely restrained; if Xie Que hadn't been so highly skilled and the other party hadn't seemed to be deliberately concealing it, it would have been almost impossible to detect.

He didn't possess the numb despair of a forsaken, nor the deathly stillness of skeletons; instead, he exuded a...serenity born of endless vicissitudes, even carrying a hint of indescribable weariness. (End of Chapter)