The Heavenly Emperor of Chu

Chapter 202 A new era
Decades after the God Emperor stepped into the Immortal Realm, the Heavenly Heart Mark above the Nine Heavens collapsed, announcing the end of the era of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor.

This celestial being born in the human world left behind countless legends. His ten thousand years of existence are extremely rare even in ancient history.

But in this era, a major event also occurred. The legendary God-Emperor, who had long since passed away, reappeared and ascended to immortality in the mortal realm.

This also indirectly confirms what the Supreme Heavenly Emperor said: even in the mortal realm, one can attain the immortal path, giving later emperors a goal to strive for.

This is the best of times. The Supreme Heavenly Emperor and the Divine Emperor have already proven the feasibility of becoming an immortal in the mortal world, so that future generations will no longer be confused and will still have a path forward after attaining enlightenment.

This was also the worst of times. As Chu Tianshu gave back to the human world, all the dead stars in the entire human world were revived and transformed back into a source of life. The world was also more than ten times larger than before.

The vast space and abundant resources directly led to a population explosion among all races in the universe, with the base number increasing exponentially.

The larger the population, the more geniuses will be born, which will make it much more difficult to attain enlightenment in the future.

In this lifetime in particular, the Immortal Phoenix Emperor has ruled the world for 100,000 years, giving birth to countless geniuses, and many of them have even reached the final stage.

It is foreseeable that once the suppression of the Immortal Phoenix Dao dissipates, this battle for the Emperor's Road will be exceptionally bloody, likely resulting in a chaotic and devastating conflict.

Since the Immortal Phoenix Emperor passed away, the human realm has fallen silent once again, with countless geniuses lying dormant in the divine source, silently waiting for the Immortal Phoenix Dao to dissipate.

……

The sun rises and the moon sets, the moon rises and the sun sets.

Under such peaceful times, nearly eight thousand years passed quickly in the human world.

At this moment, the suppression of the Great Dao by the Immortal Phoenix Emperor is about to dissipate, and a new era is about to begin.

On the edge of the universe, in some void.

The place was shrouded in darkness, with not a single star in the nearby sky. Everywhere was filled with an aura of death and ruin, and traces of a great battle could still be vaguely seen.

"The Great Dao of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor is about to dissipate."

A young prodigy stood with his hands behind his back, watching the Great Dao crumble in the heavens above, muttering to himself.

He could sense that after eight thousand years, the suppression of the Immortal Phoenix's Great Dao had weakened considerably.

"Shall we risk it and try to pass the level?"

This prodigy hesitated. Based on experience, every Daoist who attains enlightenment will have their Great Dao completely suppress the beings of the human realm after their passing, preventing them from taking the final step.

Only after ten thousand years, when the suppression of the Great Dao dissipates, will there be a possibility of attaining the Dao.

Throughout history, many prodigies have chosen to attempt breakthroughs before the suppression of the Great Dao dissipated, hoping to defy the heavens and prove their Dao. Unfortunately, most of them perished, and even those who survived suffered severe Dao injuries. None of them succeeded.

If given a choice, he certainly wouldn't want to risk going through the obstacle course.

However, this time was different. The immortal phoenix had lived in the world for far too long, and with the great changes in the world, countless geniuses were born, and many people reached the final moment.

Once the Immortal Phoenix's Great Dao dissipates, someone will likely trigger a great calamity upon attaining the Dao, and there may even be an earth-shattering war. He has no confidence that he can achieve final victory.

Just as this prodigy hesitated, a suppressed aura suddenly emanated from the depths of the universe, and terrifying tribulation light began to gather.

In an instant, the commotion spread throughout the human realm, attracting the attention of countless aspiring geniuses.

"Damn it! Someone actually has the same idea as me, preparing to attain enlightenment ahead of schedule."

This prodigy was somewhat annoyed. He had only hesitated for a moment, but he hadn't expected that someone else had the same idea as him, preparing to emerge before the Immortal Phoenix Path dissipated and preemptively attain the Dao.

"No, I also triggered the Great Tribulation of Dao Attainment. I absolutely cannot hand over the throne to someone else."

He had waited for over 100,000 years to attain enlightenment, and now he could not care about anything else, so he immediately triggered the great tribulation of enlightenment.

Rumble!
The next moment, boundless light of tribulation began to converge on this young prodigy.

At the same time, the actions of these two also alerted other prodigies. Immediately, several prodigies broke free from their seals and chose to trigger the tribulation of attaining the Dao, fearing that someone might break through the shackles of the myriad paths and preemptively attain the Dao.

After all, although Chu Tianshu gave back to the human world, he still maintained the pattern of one emperor per generation.

If someone were to preemptively attain enlightenment, they would virtually cut off the path forward for everyone else in the world.

In an instant, the situation in the human realm escalated, with an endless sea of ​​lightning engulfing the heavens and earth. Nearly ten prodigies emerged, forcibly attempting to break through their barriers.

Countless chains of divine laws surged within the sea of ​​lightning, their power shaking heaven and earth, as if the world itself were being submerged by the lightning.

"Hiss, it's only been eight thousand years! The Great Dao of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor hasn't even dissipated yet. Aren't they afraid of perishing?"

Some beings, gazing upon the seas of lightning across the vast universe, couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. Such a scene was unprecedented even in ancient history, with more than a dozen beings simultaneously triggering a great tribulation for attaining enlightenment.

"Alas, it's because the Immortal Phoenix has been alive for too long and has accumulated too many geniuses, but there's only one spot, so we can only fight for it." A cultivator sighed.

There is only one Emperor position, but there are quite a few qualified to prove their Dao. Naturally, those geniuses are unwilling to relinquish the Emperor's throne, which is why they have emerged one after another, triggering the tribulation of attaining Dao.

"Don't worry, these people have no chance of succeeding in attaining enlightenment. They're just scouts." An older cultivator said, without a trace of worry on his face.

"Why is that? I think the geniuses who are undergoing tribulation are not to be underestimated. Many of them are no worse than the young Dao-proving masters in ancient history."

“That’s right. For example, the Human King Body of the Ziwei Star Domain, the Burning Heaven Battle Body of the Eternal Star Domain, the God King Body of the God Clan, and the Heavenly Demon Body of the Demon Clan. They are all top-notch geniuses of their time, yet they have no hope of attaining enlightenment?” someone retorted.

Whether it's the Human King Body, the Heaven-Burning Battle Body, the God King Body, or the Heavenly Demon Body, they are all rare and extremely powerful physiques in the human world.

However, in the eyes of his elderly cultivator, none of these people seemed to have the potential to attain enlightenment.

"You are wrong. The real deciding factor is the person, not their physique. The fact that they chose to break through at this moment proves that they lack confidence in themselves and feel that they cannot overpower the crowd, which is why they triggered the great tribulation of attaining enlightenment ahead of time."

"Without the spirit of forging ahead, one will be somewhat hesitant and timid when undergoing tribulation, and the probability of failure is extremely high."

"Moreover, the Immortal Phoenix Emperor is no ordinary Dao Prover; he has lived for a full three lifetimes and a hundred thousand years. I dare say that even if the Immortal Phoenix Emperor's Great Dao dissipates, with their strength, they most likely will not be able to overcome the tribulation of attaining the Dao."

The elderly monk calmly and deliberately shared his views one by one.

He believed that those geniuses who triggered the tribulation of enlightenment ahead of time were inferior in spirit, and could not exert their full strength. They would likely encounter major problems when undergoing the tribulation, so he did not have high hopes for them.

Furthermore, since they were not facing ordinary enlightened beings, all these factors combined meant that the probability of success was almost nonexistent.

After hearing this, everyone nodded secretly, realizing that those geniuses would be facing a lightning tribulation phantom that had lived three lifetimes as an immortal.

A phantom of a celestial being who has lived for 100,000 years under the tribulation of lightning! Its strength is probably far beyond that of ordinary cultivators. These geniuses have no chance of surviving it.

"Could it be...could it be that the events of that year will repeat themselves?"

A middle-aged monk suddenly thought of something and muttered to himself.

"What old story?"

"Please enlighten me, fellow Daoist!"

Some of the younger cultivators, not understanding the situation, asked questions.

"It is said that before Emperor Fuxi attained enlightenment, some geniuses tried to trigger the tribulation of enlightenment, but without exception, they all fell under the illusory lightning tribulation of Emperor Taiyi."

"The Immortal Phoenix Emperor has lived for so long, and his strength is probably no weaker than that of the first Heavenly Emperor. Perhaps even when the Immortal Phoenix Emperor's Great Dao dissipates, no one will be able to successfully attain the Dao."

Recalling the situation before Fuxi attained enlightenment, this cultivator couldn't help but feel a little smug. How terrifying was the illusory lightning tribulation of a celestial being? He estimated that even if the suppression of the immortal phoenix's Great Dao dissipated, no one would be able to successfully attain enlightenment for a very long time.

The other cultivators' eyes lit up upon hearing this. Although many of them had no hope of attaining enlightenment, and might not even be able to become quasi-emperors, it didn't stop them from being jealous of others' success.

As time went by, people forgot the horrors of darkness and turmoil, and naturally did not want anyone to oppress them from above.

It is probably only when they face darkness and turmoil that they would hope for a contemporary enlightened being to appear and quell the chaos.

Not long after the cultivator finished speaking, a mangled corpse fell from the sky, with broken quasi-emperor weapons scattered around it.

Before long, one broken corpse after another lay across the universe. All the geniuses who had triggered the tribulation to achieve enlightenment had failed, and the blood of quasi-emperors in various colors was scattered across the sky.

"It's all...it's all failed!"

"Even the strongest can only last ten moves within the illusory image of the immortal phoenix. Is there really anyone who can successfully attain enlightenment?"

Some cultivators used special methods to glimpse the scenes of some prodigies undergoing tribulations, but the outcome shocked them greatly. None of those prodigies who triggered the tribulation of attaining enlightenment were able to withstand ten moves in the illusory image of the immortal phoenix.

"Could it be true, as that person said, that even after the suppression of the Great Dao by the Immortal Phoenix Emperor dissipates, no one will attain the Dao for a very long time?" someone murmured to themselves.

The era of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor is the closest we are to now. His Dao imprint is everywhere in the world, and triggering the Great Tribulation of Dao Enlightenment will almost certainly manifest the illusory image of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor.

If no one can break the shackles, then we can only wait for the Immortal Phoenix Emperor's mark to gradually fade.

Two thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. With a cracking sound, the Great Dao suppression of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor completely dissipated.

The Heavenly Heart Mark hangs suspended in the sky above the nine heavens, awaiting the appearance of the next enlightened one.

However, having had the good fortune of the past few thousand years, these prodigies have become more obedient. They dare not rashly trigger the great tribulation of attaining enlightenment, and are all desperately honing themselves, hoping to increase their chances of proving the Dao.

(End of this chapter)