Living in the deep palace

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Chen pointed out with a finger from a distance.

The terrifying spirit's movements suddenly froze, its cruel smile instantly solidified, replaced by an extreme fear stemming from instinct.

"What kind of power is this."

It sensed the aura of its "natural enemy" from that tiny finger—the true "Great Dao" that transcended its false "River Styx"!
But this great principle restrains him!

For the first time, he felt the breath of death as he roamed the long river of time.

As a fourth-realm Great Perfection cultivator, he has few rivals in this long river of time. He was specially created by the Holy Lord of the Underworld Lotus in order to kill Su Chen.

The effort required could even create three, or even more, fourth-realm perfect beings within his inner universe.

however.

Even the Holy Lord of the Underworld Lotus did not expect that the terrifying soul he created would be restrained by Su Chen's Great Dao of Reincarnation.

"no no!!!"

The spirit let out its first scream since its arrival, trying to escape back to the Blackwater, but it was too late.

A tiny "reincarnation millstone" detached from Su Chen's fingertip, ignoring the barriers of time and space, and precisely imprinted itself on the evil black lotus between the soul's brows.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only pure purification and crushing.

"Om-!"

The "Reincarnation Millstone" swelled a billion times the moment it came into contact with the soul, transforming into a towering millstone that was half emerald green and half pitch black, stretching across the long river of time.

As the millstone slowly turned, the soul let out a shrill scream, and its massive body, constructed from billions of remnant souls, crumbled inch by inch.

Those remnant souls bound by resentment were purified of their venom under the vibrant green power of life, and then forcibly sent into true reincarnation under the dark power of annihilation.

"No... Holy Lord... Save me..."

The core will of the soul—that black lotus—issued its final, desperate cry for help.

however.

There was a "click".

The millstone relentlessly ground it down, crushing it and its last will into nothingness.

With just a flick of the finger, a terrifying soul at the Great Perfection of the Fourth Realm was annihilated, body and soul.

The Styx River, which polluted the long river, disappeared without a trace after losing its core, like a rootless duckweed, swept away by the torrent of time.

The "Jianmu Shenzhou" was deathly silent.

"This……"

"A terrifying soul at the peak of the fourth realm has been annihilated just like that!?"

"Su Zun, could it be that you have now transformed into the true fourth realm of perfect combat power?!"

The twenty Venerables, including the Dragon Emperor of the East Sea and the Ancient Venerable of Heavenly One, stared dumbfounded at Su Chen's blue-robed back as he slowly withdrew his fingers, their minds completely blank.

They had considered that Su Chen might win, but it would inevitably be a Pyrrhic victory; they truly hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

"It was just a fluke."

"Life forms of the dead are restrained by my Reincarnation Taiyi..."

Su Chen spoke casually.

But the more casually it was described, the more horrified the twenty supreme beings of the universe became.

……

……

at the same time.

In the ancient void beyond the long river of time, the dark hand of the "Lord of the Underworld Lotus" suddenly froze.

In His palm, the "Native Nether Lotus," representing the core of that terrifying soul, quietly appeared, and then, under His incredulous gaze, it was covered with cracks of the Dao of "life" and "death."

"Bam—!"

The natal Nether Lotus exploded and shattered into ashes.

"puff!"

Even though the "Lord of the Underworld Lotus" had unfathomable cultivation and was one of the strongest beings in the Void Domain at the fifth level, he still suffered a backlash, and his dark body trembled violently.

His eyes, which held the depths of the underworld, widened in shock, and his ancient, indifferent voice cracked for the first time: "This... how is this possible?!"

"Damn it!"

"He merely traversed the Dream Sea of ​​the past, and he's already grown to the fifth realm?"

"Otherwise, how could they have killed my pet so quickly!"

"damn it!"

"It can't be the fifth realm."

"In the Star Sea Universe, it is impossible to be born into the Fifth Realm alone; at most, one can only reach the half-step Fifth Realm."

"What on earth is going on?"

He completely lost his composure.

The "Spirit of the Bound River" was created by Him over three epochs by collecting the ultimate resentment of twelve destroyed worlds and personally transforming it with the essence of the "Nether River". Its combat power has reached the "Great Perfection of the Fourth Realm".

And Su Chen, an ant who had just escaped from the "dream" and reached the "third realm," actually killed him with just one finger?!
The "Lord of the Underworld Lotus" sensed a powerful and unfamiliar aura of reincarnation from Su Chen. Amidst his anger and surprise, he even felt a trace of "fear" that he himself was unwilling to admit!
"Excellent! What a 'Taiyi Seed' of the fifth realm!"

"No wonder you're so hard to kill!"

The "Lord of the Underworld Lotus" suddenly stood up from the black lotus platform, his anger causing the void to boil: "You have successfully enraged me!"

"The 'river of time' is merely a passageway; the 'sea of ​​stars in the future' is my true domain!"

"I'll be waiting for you there, to see how this 'Taiyi Seed' can sprout within the world shrouded by my Nether Lotus!!"

"The Heavenly Calamity has opened the passage!"

"What awaits you is more than just a fourth-realm Heavenly Calamity!"

……

……

As time went by, Su Chen seemed to sense the venom and murderous intent probing from beyond the river.

He glanced calmly in that void before looking away, as if he had merely crushed an insignificant insect.

after all.

Minglian has wanted to kill him for quite some time now.

He walked back to the bow of the ship, leaving the twenty petrified venerable ones behind him with an unfathomable silhouette.

After a long silence, Tianyi Ancient Venerable finally spoke in a dry voice: "Venerable Su... that soul spirit just now was at the 'Great Perfection of the Fourth Realm'... right?"

Su Chen nodded, then shook his head: "Yes and no."

"It has the 'power' of 'Great Perfection', but not the 'Dao' of 'Great Perfection'. It is just a 'puppet' forcibly created by external forces."

A "puppet" at the Great Perfection of the Fourth Realm?! This nonchalant explanation sent shockwaves through the minds of all the Venerables.

“That…that person behind the scenes…”

The Dragon Emperor of the East Sea felt his dragon scales tremble.

Su Chen looked down into the river, his gaze becoming profound: "A very ancient, very powerful... and also very troublesome fellow."

"Only the fifth realm."

"However, that's not something we should worry about right now."

He could feel that the guidance from the imprint on his soul was growing stronger and stronger.

"The exit... is almost there."

Su Chen's voice invigorated all the Venerables.

"The dream is gone."

"The real reality!" A brilliant light flashed in Su Chen's eyes. "It's right before our eyes!"

Traveling through the long river of time, countless years have passed, and finally, we have come to the end.

This is a gateway!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Chen piloted the ark formed from the shadow of the giant tree and forcibly passed through.

"Well!"

Even the mighty Dragon Emperor of the East Sea, with his enormous dragon body, groaned under this immense pressure, his form cracking under the strain. This was the present-day Star Sea!
The Dao of the present world and the Dao of the dream world are not the same. This world is somewhat averse to the dream world and the starry sea, these supreme beings of the universe from the fallen era.

They had a disagreement!
Of the twenty-one figures present, Su Chen was the only one unaffected.

after all.

He was originally a being of this world.

"The Dao fruit of the Golden Immortal is perfectly intact."

"My immortal universe has been somewhat affected."

"The status of the one who reached the top has vanished once again!"

"But it's alright."

After some deliberation, Su Chen realized that although his combat strength had been somewhat diminished, it was not too serious; he could still easily kill an ordinary fourth-realm cultivator.

On the contrary, the twenty supreme beings of the universe behind him are in danger.

By the time they've finished integrating, their strength will likely be reduced by more than half, or even less.

"What a heavy burden this Great Dao is!" Star River Celestial Venerable's face turned deathly pale. "My Star River Great Dao cannot even manifest here!"

"It's rejection!" Tianyi Ancient Venerable's voice was extremely solemn. "We are beings within a dream! This real world is rejecting us!"

They were like a group of fish leaping out of the water, suddenly exposed to the air.

"Don't panic!"

Su Chen's voice exploded in everyone's minds like a thunderclap.

"Enter my Jianmu Universe!"

With a thought, the Jianmu Divine Tree within his inner universe suddenly emitted a Taiyi Daoist charm that encompassed all things.

This Daoist aura instantly enveloped the twenty Venerables, and the terrifying repulsive force from the star sea of ​​the present world was actually forcibly isolated by the aura of the Jianmu tree.

"This breath..."

"Su Zun's Dao is not rejected by this world?!"

"Too."

“Su Zun is a person from this world.”

A sense of relief, as if they had just survived a disaster, began to rise in everyone's hearts.

however.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred!

"Jie Jie Jie..."

A strange laugh, seemingly capable of freezing one's soul, suddenly boomed from the depths of this unfamiliar sea of ​​stars.

"Welcome to……"

"The Holy Lord of the Underworld Lotus... has prepared for you... the Burial Ground of Gods!!"

"Su Chen, ah, Su Chen!"

"You don't actually think that everything in the Star Sea remained the same while you were gone? How naive."

"Even you fled in disarray, who else can withstand Lord Minglian?!"

The moment the words fell!
Rumble, rumble—!
The pitch-black starry sky beneath Su Chen and the others' feet suddenly lit up!
Blood-red runes, formed from the bones of countless vengeful spirits, suddenly lit up at various nodes in this sea of ​​stars!

A terrifying array, large enough to cover several star systems, was fully activated at this moment!
"No! It's a formation!"

"It's a trap set by the Holy Lord of the Underworld Lotus!"

"There's something wrong with the Star Sea in later generations; it's probably already fallen..."

The Ancient Venerable Tianyi was horrified and speechless.

"Su Zun! This formation contains the laws of space, bewitching, and decay! Its core is... separation!"

"It's trying to scatter us!"

"Don't think about it!"

The Dragon Emperor of the East Sea let out a deafening dragon roar! His massive dragon body suddenly coiled up, intending to protect all the Venerables under his dragon might.

However, the crimson rune only flashed by eerily!
A spatial force, far beyond the comprehension of the Fourth Realm and filled with malice and decay, suddenly descended! This force ignored the dragon's might and the protection of the Jianmu tree.

It's not attacking, it's rewriting!
It forcibly rewrote the spatial concept between Su Chen and the twenty Venerables who were so close!
"Su Zun!"

The Dragon Emperor of the East Sea's eyes flashed with bloodshot terror! He watched helplessly as Su Chen's figure in blue robes, who was clearly right in front of him, was moving away from him at an incomprehensible speed!

"Su Zun!!"

"Damn it!"

Star River Celestial Venerable, Myriad Jun Celestial Venerable... one Venerable after another vanished from Su Chen's perception in an instant, like dandelions scattered by a raging wind, under this irresistible force of separation!
Su Chen stood in the center of the great formation, his brows slightly furrowed.

He didn't move.

He could feel that the force of separation receded like a tide the moment it touched his Jianmu Daoist essence.

It seemed that from the very beginning, this grand formation was not aimed at him.

Or is it... a clearing-out?

Su Chen looked around.

The auras of those twenty Venerables had completely vanished; they had been randomly teleported by the great formation to an unknown corner of this mortal star sea.

In the vast, dark star field, he was left all alone once again.

There was dead silence.

The crimson runes made of bones were still slowly turning.

Instead of attacking Su Chen, they exuded a terrifying aura filled with decay and hellish depravity. This aura completely transformed this star field into a desolate wasteland.

Su Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm.

"Since you went to such lengths to lure me into this trap, why haven't you shown yourself yet?"

His voice echoed slowly within the deathly silent formation.

"Hehe... Su Chen... Long time no see."

A hoarse, dry voice, yet with a strange sense of familiarity, slowly rose from the void directly in front of him.

The void rippled out like water, and a figure slowly emerged from the spatial ripples.

He was a Taoist priest dressed in a simple, yet filthy gray robe.

His face was withered, his eyes cloudy, yet they conveyed a sense of deathly silence and despair that seemed to have seen through eternity.

He hovered silently in front of Su Chen, and the pure yet evil aura of the Hell Path emanating from his body had actually reached the mid-stage of the fourth realm!

However, the moment he saw that figure, Su Chen's eternally calm eyes narrowed sharply for the first time!
"...Cang...Taoist?"

The name was so ancient that Su Chen had almost forgotten about it!
Cang Daoren!
That was before he reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm! If it weren't for Cang Daoren's guidance, it would have been quite difficult for him to step into the Golden Immortal realm.

However, hasn't Cang Daoren already left the Star Sea and gone to the outer world to seek the possibility of achieving the fourth realm, or even the fifth realm?

wrong.

Chen Sheng perished in the Ruins Domain, and after Cang Daoren left, he probably also traveled in the Ruins Domain.

I am afraid……

It has already fallen into the hands of the Underworld Lotus!

"You still recognize me?"

On Cang Daoren's withered face, a smile that was more like a grimace appeared.

"Cang Daoren... Ancient Heavenly Court... What distant and ancient terms..."

He looked down at his hands, which were shrouded in the black aura of hell.

"I thought that after I perished in the Ruins, my remnant soul would remain nameless and muddleheaded until it completely vanished into nothingness."

"after all."

"Only after leaving did I realize how vast the real world is... and how many powerful beings there are..."

"But the Holy Lord... the Holy Lord of the Underworld Lotus... He found me. He retrieved this remnant of my unwilling soul and granted me a new life..."

As Cang Daoren spoke, his face was filled with fanaticism. (End of Chapter)