Living in the deep palace

Su Chen pondered in his heart.

He previously eliminated the Remnant Star Heavenly King by defining and altering the concept. This method is unpredictable and has a remarkable effect on dealing with pseudo-fourth realm cultivators whose Dao heart is unstable or whose Dao is flawed.

However, if one encounters a true fourth-realm powerhouse like the Dragon Emperor of the East Sea, whose own Great Dao is already perfectly perfect and whose will is as firm as divine iron, this kind of "shortcut" will be much less effective.

The fact that he crippled the Heavenly King of the Flood Dragon Sea with a single punch was a display of pure power. Although it was domineering, it was not refined enough, not... "ultimate".

What he needs is an ultimate killing move that can concentrate all his power, all his understanding of the Great Dao, and all his will into a single point, severing cause and effect and ending all things with a single strike, unstoppable and unavoidable...

He began a long period of seclusion in the ruins of this road.

Time loses its meaning here.

He retraced Chen Sheng's memories again and again.

He observed how the "Chen Saint" created his own "Divine Kingdom of Order" and how, in the final battle with the "Skeleton Lord," he transformed the Great Dao of Order into the "Spear of Heaven" that judges all things.

He dissected the instinct of "Kui" again and again. He studied how the most primitive "devouring" was the ultimate process of reducing all existence to "nothingness".

His "way of the true self" was also constantly refined and purified in this process.

Chaos represents inclusiveness and beginning.

Data represents analysis and process.

And now, he wants to create his own "End" above both of these!
A century may have brought about tremendous changes in the outside world, but in this void of Dao Ruins, it seems to be only a moment.

On this day, Su Chen, who had been sitting cross-legged for a full hundred years, finally slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were calm as an abyss, but hidden deep within that calm was a sharpness that could make even gods and demons tremble!
He slowly extended his right hand, raising his index and middle fingers to form a sword-like gesture, and gently slashed at the eternal, unchanging nothingness before him.

There was no sword light, no sword energy, and not even the slightest energy fluctuation.

However, a tiny, pitch-black crack appeared in the "nothingness" before him.

That's not a spatial rift.

That was a mark of... "absolute termination"!

The instant this mark appeared, Su Chen felt that all his will, all his power, and all his understanding of the Great Dao were completely drained by this stroke, and then returned to him in a more condensed and purer way.

An unprecedented realization welled up in my heart.

He finally created his own first true Taiyi Divine Power.

A supernatural power born for "killing".

"This sword can sever all things, both tangible and intangible, and end all cycles of cause and effect."

Su Chen looked at the slowly fading "End" mark on his fingertip and murmured softly.

"It is then called..."

"【Heavenly Slaughtering Sword】".

……

……

【Heavenly Killing Sword】.

The moment those four words settled in Su Chen's heart, the trace of "absolute end" that his fingertips had traced finally slowly dissipated into nothingness.

An unprecedented sense of control and confidence filled his mind.

This is not merely the birth of a divine power, but also proof that he has completely fused the "Way of the True Self," the fifth realm memories of Chen Sheng, Kui's "Return to the Void" origin, and his own supreme understanding of the concept of "End" into one.

Power needs reins to tame it, and a sharp blade to reveal its edge. The Heavenly Slaughter Sword is the sharpest and most deadly sword he forged for his unparalleled cultivation.

"A century of seclusion has finally yielded results."

"With this [Heaven-Slaying Sword], I am now qualified to kill anyone who encounters a fourth-realm expert..."

"After two thousand years, I have finally arrived here and obtained the power of the fourth realm!"

Su Chen slowly stood up. The powerful aura of a late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal around him had been completely concealed, returning to its original simplicity, making him look no different from an ordinary cultivator.

He looked around at the ruins of the Dao that had accompanied him for a hundred years, this eternal void, witnessing yet another transformation of his power.

"It's time to go find the next 'prey'."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

His goal was clear—the remaining nine forbidden ancient life forms.

These "Children of the Dao," born and nurtured by nature, are the embodiment of the most fundamental power of this universe, and for them, they are irreplaceable and supreme resources.

With each one he devours, his "Path of the True Self" becomes more complete, and his strength increases exponentially.

More importantly, through Chen Sheng's memories, he learned that these forbidden ancient beings had been bewitched by the Skeleton Lord and were among the accomplices that led to Chen Sheng's downfall.

Their existence is itself a "backup plan" and "beacon" left behind by the Skeleton Lord in this universe.

If they are allowed to revive one by one, it will probably accelerate the process of the skeleton being freed.

For both public and private reasons, Su Chen must hunt them down one by one and completely eliminate them!
not to mention.

The Ten Ancient Venerables and the Ten Heavenly Venerables formed an alliance and split into two opposing camps to fight against each other.

If he were to hunt down the Supreme Sects of these two major factions, he would inevitably be attacked by them, which would not be a good choice.

With Chen Sheng's memories, he was able to pinpoint the approximate locations of those sealed forbidden ancient life forms with almost no effort.

He had already chosen his next target—the forbidden ancient life form "Wu," representing the origin of "annihilation" and "decay."

Just as Su Chen finalized his plan and prepared to step out of this Dao Ruins and return to the Fourteen Star Seas, his brows furrowed slightly.

He stopped in his tracks, hovering silently in the void, his deep eyes seemingly piercing through infinite dimensions, gazing at the unfathomable river of cause and effect.

Just a moment ago, he clearly sensed that several incredibly powerful yet distinct wills were attempting to capture his "existence" within the trajectory of fate through some extremely profound means.

That was not a physical exploration, nor a divine scan, but a more fundamental and indefensible "divine calculation".

This power of calculation, vast and exquisite, is like a net woven from countless threads of cause and effect, slowly closing in on him, this "non-existent" point, from all directions of the universe.

"Oh?" A playful smile appeared on Su Chen's lips. "You're quite quick."

"I simply don't know."

"Is this a joint effort by the people from the Ten Ancient Venerables, or from the Ten Heavenly Venerables? Perhaps it's the latter. After all, the Ten Ancient Venerables know me best, are extremely clear about the power of the Mythical Heavenly Dao, and are most wary of me who has killed the Heavenly Dao..." He slightly released a wisp of his mind and gently touched the web of cause and effect.

In an instant, a flood of information poured back.

He "saw" billions of stars arranged in formation under the will of others; he "heard" ancient and obscure incantations being chanted; he "smelled" the mysterious aura of fate and cause and effect...

He could clearly discern that within this large net, there were at least four distinct auras of the Fourth Realm Dao.

One of them was the Way of the Stars, vast yet orderly, exactly the same as the aura of the Star River Celestial Venerable he had sensed before.

One force, the Way of Ten Thousand Jun, is filled with extreme weight and gravity, seemingly about to crush everything into a singularity.

One path is the Way of the Spirit, ethereal and formless, pointing directly to the origin of the soul, attempting to find its traces in the deepest imprints of memory in living beings.

The last, and most crucial, and most powerful force is the pure path of "deduction" and "calculation." This force seems to have transformed into an unimaginable super brain, perfectly integrating the powers of the previous three and becoming the fulcrum to leverage destiny.

“Three Celestial Venerables assisted from the side, and a Celestial Venerable who was proficient in the art of deduction took the lead... They even used a fourth-level treasure of the divination realm.”

Su Chen instantly grasped the opponent's lineup and tactics.

Such a large mobilization suggests that my "appearance" in the Shattered Star Abyss last time put more pressure on them than they had imagined.

Before he comprehended the [Heavenly Slaughter Sword], Su Chen, while not afraid of this level of causal lock, would still find it quite troublesome.

Because the "non-entity of cause and effect" of the Taiyi Path is not absolute.

Under this forced deduction, which brings together several equally powerful individuals and is enhanced by a supreme treasure, his "existence" will eventually be vaguely "identified" by the other party.

but now……

"Just in time."

Instead of showing any annoyance, Su Chen's eyes flashed with a hint of eagerness.

"This is a good opportunity to test the effect of my [Heavenly Slaughter Sword] in severing cause and effect."

He didn't even leave this Dao Ruins; he just hovered quietly in place.

He slowly raised his right hand and made a sword-finger gesture.

This time, he didn't meditate or gather strength; everything seemed so effortless and natural.

Under his will, the concept of "absolute end," which cannot be described in any words, condensed at his fingertips.

That was not a sword, but a principle.

A supreme principle that "everything has an end."

He "saw" that on that metaphysical level of cause and effect, there were four incredibly thick threads of destiny, each shimmering with a different Daoist radiance, that were crossing infinite time and space and firmly locking onto him.

At the end of those four threads lies a mysterious, ethereal stone that seems to reflect the past and future.

That is the "root" that the other party calculated.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Su Chen's mouth.

With his sword pointed, he gently drew a line across the four invisible threads of cause and effect.

[Heaven-Slaying Sword]!
cut!
……

……

at the same time.

The Central Divine Court, the supreme hall that once belonged to the mythical Heavenly Dao—the Hall of Origin.

This place has long been occupied by the newly promoted Ten Celestial Venerables, becoming their highest council venue for discussing major cosmic affairs.

At this moment, in the center of the hall, where the supreme divine throne once stood, a colossal array has been replaced.

The patterns of the formation are drawn with flowing starlight, echoing the stars in the heavens.

Star River Celestial Venerable, Great Evolution Celestial Venerable, Myriad Jun Celestial Venerable, and Spirit Heart Celestial Venerable, four renowned rulers of the universe in the new era, sat cross-legged at the four corners of the formation, their expressions solemn.

They continuously poured their vast, ocean-like power of the fourth realm into the very center of the great formation, into a strange stone no bigger than a human head, yet seemingly containing endless mysteries, upon which hexagrams, runes, and star charts constantly appeared and disappeared.

This extraordinary stone is the most precious treasure that the Great Evolution Celestial Venerable was born with, and it is also the foundation upon which he attained enlightenment—the Great Evolution Divine Stone!
This stone was formed from the "Heavenly Core" of a vast universe when the previous chaotic era shattered. It was born with the supreme power to deduce all things and understand destiny.

At this moment, under the guidance of the Great Evolution Celestial Venerable and with the full assistance of three equally powerful individuals, the power of the Great Evolution Divine Stone was unleashed to its fullest extent!
A vast and boundless picture of cosmic cause and effect is projected onto the divine stone.

It was a three-dimensional network composed of billions of points of light and threads. Each point of light represented a living being or thing, and each thread represented a cause-and-effect relationship.

At this moment, this large net is visibly shrinking and focusing in one direction!
"Found it! Although it's still blurry, I've already caught a trace of its 'existence'!" A look of mixed joy and exhaustion appeared on the face of the Great Evolution Celestial Venerable.

In order to deduce the whereabouts of "Time Celestial Venerable", he almost risked his own Dao Fruit and did not hesitate to consume his own essence, finally managing to pry open that sliver of heavenly secret that did not belong to this universe.

"Where?" Star River Celestial Venerable asked in a deep voice. The starlight around him was already dazzling to the extreme, obviously at a great cost.

"Unable to pinpoint the exact coordinates... That area seems... seems to be a void that 'doesn't exist! My Dao has lost its meaning there!"

The Great Evolution Celestial Venerable said with difficulty, "But... I have already locked onto his causal thread! Give me just ten more breaths, and I can reverse the causal path and reveal his true form!"

"Good!" Wan Jun Tianzun roared. Countless black hole-like singularities appeared on his burly body, and he poured his own Dao origin into the great formation even more violently to support it.

Lingxin Tianzun also closed his eyes, but a vertical eye opened between his brows. The invisible power of his soul, following the line of cause and effect, explored towards that void.

The four celestial beings have devoted all their attention to this high-stakes gamble.

They seemed to have already seen the legendary forbidden being, exposed and utterly defeated by their combined efforts.

However, just as the "ten breaths" period mentioned by the Great Evolution Celestial Venerable had passed, only one breath had elapsed!

A sudden change occurs!
There are no signs!

The Great Evolution Divine Stone, which was suspended at the center of the great formation and was spinning at high speed, reflecting the cause and effect of the universe, suddenly stopped shining!
Immediately afterwards, an extremely fine yet crystal clear pitch-black "crack" appeared out of thin air on the smooth surface of the divine stone!

That crack was so pure, so "black," as if it could even devour and end light itself.

Once it appeared, it spread rapidly in an unstoppable manner!
Click...

A sound so faint yet so clearly rang out, echoing deep within the souls of the four Celestial Venerables.

"No...no good!!"

The ecstatic joy on the face of the Great Evolution Celestial Venerable was instantly replaced by boundless horror and fear! He let out a shrill scream, trying to sever his connection with the Great Evolution Divine Stone.

But it's too late! (End of Chapter)