Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 166 Broken Snow, No Door to the Divine Remains

He gazed at the struggling Qingli divine soul in the sky—her fox shadow was faint, her eyes empty, yet she was looking at him.

He remembered the warmth of her when she was curled up in his arms;

—I remember her turning her back to all living beings in the wind and snow, striking down the enemy for him;
—I remember the fear and trust in her eyes when she was deflowered.

These memories, now transformed into light, flow into the blade.

"It's not just you I'm going to kill."

"And—the distorted destiny behind you."

He leaped up, lightning bursting from the back of his blade, golden patterns coursing across his body like sparks igniting his life.

The Blade of Broken Snow roared in his palm, its blade condensing a vow, causing all things to tremble.

—At this moment, destiny takes hold, and divine power returns to the blade.

He swung that blade.

Without warning, without looking back.

Only when the wind and snow stopped did the colors of the world fade.

The blade flashed across the sky, like the first thunderclap, illuminating the long-silent cracks in the Heavenly Dao.

The divine remains have not yet bowed their heads.

In the next instant, the head flew off at an angle, carrying with it resentment, astonishment, and lingering divine will, before crashing down from mid-air.

At the point of the severed neck, golden-white divine blood splattered like a waterfall of stars, staining the sky.

Heaven and earth fell silent, and all living beings held their breath.

That was the true fall of a god.

"boom!!!"

The red child screamed in agony, his soul shattered like porcelain, blood splattered from his seven orifices, and all the incantations within his body collapsed and vanished in that instant, turning into nothingness like snow meeting the blazing sun.

And from the crevices of the god's bones, a golden-white liquid seeped out.

That is the blood of God.

Chu Ning then fell, the ice beneath his feet cracking like a spider web, and golden lightning streaks shooting out ten feet beneath the snow.

His knees slammed heavily into the snow, his face pale, his soul nearly shattered, and he was on the verge of fainting, yet he still clung tightly to the broken snow knife, refusing to let go.

That was his blade that slew gods, and the oath he swore.

"Chu Ning!" Dong'er screamed as she rushed over, the snow flying everywhere.

She threw herself beside him and saw his wrist, charred and mangled. Tears streamed down her face, seeping into the lines of his palm and rising like mist with the blood.

She shook him desperately, her eyes red: "Don't sleep! You said you'd take me home, you said you'd save her..."

Chu Ning's lips trembled slightly, moving almost imperceptibly.

But in the end, he couldn't utter a sound.

She hugged him as if he were a dying thunder tower, her body trembling against his chest.

Just then, the wind and snow stopped.

She heard it.

A fox's howl, seemingly emanating from the ancient wilderness, broke through the oppression of heaven and earth, soaring straight into the sky.

A bluish-blue halo gently emerged from the broken opening of the divine remains's heart.

Like snow falling into a fire, a desolate figure in white robes appeared—it was Qing Li's soul, breaking free from the dual constraints of her divine remains and the blood curse.

She broke free from the gap between her bones, her long hair flowing, her body transparent, and her steps unsteady.

Her figure was transparent, her long hair cascaded down, and her soul light was so faint that it seemed as if it would dissipate in the wind at any moment.

“Qingli…” Dong’er was startled and finally turned around, seeing the name that Chu Ning had called countless times.

Qingli also looked at her, her eyes no longer reflecting the silence of a god, but the sorrow of a woman.

Her voice was as soft as a sigh in a snowy night:
"Is he... okay?"

Dong'er clung tightly to Chu Ning, tears streaming down her pale face.
"He's dying... Why are you only arriving now?!"

She wasn't blaming anyone, but rather seeking an outlet for her grief.

Qingli remained silent for a long time before slowly kneeling down, like an ordinary person kneeling beside Chu Ning.

She gently placed her hand on the back of Dong'er's hand.

"……Thank you."

Dong'er was stunned, and tears streamed down her face.

"I thought you were a god, that you wouldn't care about him at all..."

Qingli shook her head, a hint of unspeakable tenderness and regret appearing in her eyes.

"I... am not a god."

"I'm afraid too."

She looked at Chu Ning's broken fingers and gently lifted the fractured finger bones inch by inch for him.

"He slew a god for me."

“If I don’t save his life… I am no longer worthy of being called a ‘human being’.”

She turned to look at Dong'er, her gaze, for the first time, not looking down from her divine position, but gazing at her as an equal.

"Dong'er."

"You are...the person he trusts the most."

"That's why I believe you."

"If there is an afterlife, I wish to stay by his side with you."

Dong'er bit her lower lip, gently nodded, and her tears eventually transformed into a few points of unwavering light, quietly igniting in her eyes.

Dong'er murmured softly:

"Did you hear it?"

"She has come back."

Qingli's eyes were empty, yet she stared intently at Chu Ning.

She slowly approached, knelt beside him, and stretched out her trembling hand.

But she could never touch his hair; she could only freeze in mid-air.

"Chu Ning..." Her voice was so soft it seemed to come from another world, "You...how could you be so foolish..."

He suddenly opened his eyes.

His pale, lifeless pupils, upon seeing her, seemed to be struck by lightning, bursting forth with their last glimmer of clarity.

He uttered two words in a dry, hoarse voice:
"Qing...Li..."

His voice was like sand, like wind squeezed out of the throat, yet more piercing than thunder.

She lowered her eyes, and tears slid down from the corners of her eyes, merging silently into the frost and snow.

"You slayed a god for me..." she whispered, "Then I will... die and be resurrected for you."

Qingli's soul shadow drew close, her palm gently pressing against his chest. The divine decree's scorching mark nearly tore his soul sea apart, yet she gently infused it with her remaining soul power.

A beam of icy blue light sealed the most broken corner of his destiny.

That was her last remaining divinity, and her final humanity.

"If I am no longer myself..." she murmured, "Will you still remember me?"

Chu Ning forced a smile, her lips barely moving:

"You are not a god."

"You are Qing Li."

She paused, then a slight smile curved her lips.

That smile was purer than the first clear day after the storm.

Her soul gradually faded, transforming into a wisp of silver-blue light that slowly returned to the Shuoyue Ice Soul in Dong'er's hand.

As Dong'er gazed at her vanishing soul light, tears streamed down her face.

The body of the deity stood on the collapsed ice plain, the skull gaping open like an abyss, snow and wind raging, the world seemingly frozen on the eve of an impending fury.

The divine remains did not fall.

Even with its head severed, that divine body that once made heaven and earth tremble still stands majestically like a mountain on the shattered ice plain.

Blood dripped slowly from the severed neck, a mixture of gold and white. Each drop pierced through the ice and rose into a misty haze, dreamlike yet foreshadowing an irreversible awakening.

The world fell silent.

Suddenly, a low, bone-sounding crackling sound came from within.

The next instant, the divine remains moved.

It wasn't a slight tremor, but rather the entire divine bone body unleashed a world-shaking roar, as if a slumbering being for billions of years had suddenly awakened.

It slowly raised its right arm, its five fingers spread, reaching towards the sky. Undissipated runes and golden light still lingered on the broken bones, as if it were "sensing" something through layers of void.

"Click...click—"

The bones were reforged, starlight spilled from the broken joints, the earth trembled, and waves of energy spread from beneath the divine body's feet. The ice field collapsed like a tide, cracking inch by inch.

But just as the divine remains set off...

"Qiang——!!"

A deafening roar that pierced the sky suddenly rang out.

The golden roots that were originally wrapped around the arms of the divine body, like chains that locked the heavens, tightened to their limit in that instant.

They were originally the last guardians formed by the remnants of the primordial consciousness, with the soul as their root and obsession as their lock. Now, however, they are emitting mournful cries in their violent struggle, as if they are about to be torn to dust in the face of the power of the gods.

Hunyuan stood atop the golden tree, his remnant soul floating like a candle, his figure almost transparent. Beneath him were the God-Locking Roots, cracking inch by inch, and above him was the overturned sky.

Yet he showed no fear whatsoever.

“A thousand years ago, I made a vow—as long as the boundary lock is not destroyed, I will not retreat.”

He murmured softly, as if speaking to heaven and earth, or as if trying to convince himself.

"But I am not a god, nor have I attained enlightenment."

"I am just a gatekeeper... chosen by God, yet forgotten by God."

Golden light peeled away from his soul inch by inch, as if his last strength was being returned to heaven and earth bit by bit.

Chu Ning was now able to sit still and adjust his breathing.

Hunyuan glanced back at him, his eyes clear, as if he saw his younger self.

"Red Child, you ask me what the Heavenly Way is."

"I was unable to truly provide an answer."

"But I know that the true way of Heaven is not in the heavens."

"In your hearts."

However, Hunyuan has ultimately passed away.

His last remaining will was completely extinguished by Chu Ning's devastating strike, dissipating with the wind.

No one was in charge of the locking formation anymore, and no one was able to strengthen the prison of the divine tree with their will.

"Keng——!"

The first chain snapped, like a thunderbolt striking the sky, sending sparks flying.

Followed by.

“Ka-ka-ka-ka!!!”

The sound of the chains cracking was like the groan of the heavens and earth splitting apart. One root after another was forcibly torn apart by the divine remains. A gale howled out from the broken ends, and golden light swept against the sky, turning into thousands of streams of fire that flew down from the night sky, like the wrath of a god burning stars.

Golden light, like rain, melts into the golden trees.

Master Hunyuan slowly closed his eyes.

"I will use my entire life to seal off a realm."

"To guard this gate for a thousand years."

"The realm is about to crumble, the gate is about to collapse..."

"Alright."

"May those who come not have to bear the loneliness of a thousand years for this destiny that does not belong to the human world."

He raised his hand and placed it on the last chain. The divine mark between his brows burned out, and his remaining consciousness was completely extinguished.

But his voice still echoes between heaven and earth:
"Take a look for me, what will the new Heavenly Dao look like?"

"May there come a time when no one walks alone beyond the gates of the boundary."

The divine body trembled violently.

Amidst the intertwined broken bones, it was as if ten thousand mountains had collapsed simultaneously, even the distant floating peaks were shaken open with cracks, the icy plains instantly shattered into deep river valleys, and the rolling snow was swept into the sky, solidifying into a silver-white tornado.

The earth trembled, and the wind and snow howled like a tidal wave.

The divine remains broke free from all constraints.

He stood tall, his neck broken, yet his imposing presence remained. His remaining arm was raised high, pointing to the heavens, a gesture that seemed like a call, or perhaps a command.

At the very moment when the chains of the divine remains completely collapsed and the heavens and earth trembled.

The rift in the void has not yet closed, and the sea of ​​stars trembles like a flickering lamp.

At this moment, all sounds were swallowed up by heaven and earth, except for a whisper that had been almost forgotten by time, which slowly emerged from the other side of time and space.

The primordial soul light, like a faint dawn, still carried an undeniable majesty, and solidified once more amidst the utter silence. It was as if he had returned from beyond the realm, standing at the end of eternally silent snow, gazing at Chu Ning.

That single glance, devoid of emotion, yet resonated with the fates of all realms, like the gaze of the former ruler of the laws of heaven and earth upon his successor.

He spoke, his voice deep and resonant, each word striking like a thunderclap:
"You are a chosen one, a consequence of fate."

"But in your hand—is your own knife."

As soon as those words were spoken, the wind and snow quietly ceased, and even the trembling of heaven and earth seemed to freeze in that instant.

Chu Ning slowly raised his head, his body still covered in blood, his soul shattered like a broken mirror, yet he still stood tall. He supported himself with one hand on the ground, the other gripping the Broken Snow Blade tightly, his eyes no longer showing any bewilderment or hesitation.

"I... am just a mortal."

His voice was soft, yet it struck like thunder, making the heavens and earth tremble.

Hunyuan's soul stirred slightly, as if he smiled gently, but there was no contempt in his eyes, only a hint of comfort.

“But the way of Heaven,” he said, “also needs mortals to witness it.”

Having said that, he raised his hand, and a dark and ancient light condensed at the fingertips of that already broken, phantom hand.

The light was not dazzling, but it seemed as if a divine relic left in the deepest part of time and space ten thousand years ago had been rekindled at this moment.

Before Chu Ning could move, the ray of light fell on its own and touched his brow.

In that instant, he seemed to hear the echo of breaking chains—not the restraints, but the collapse of the old order.

"I entrust the final 'lock' to you."

“This is not divine power,” Hunyuan said slowly, “but a responsibility.”

His gaze toward Chu Ning was no longer haughty, but rather like that of a gatekeeper, handing over the final key to the successor at the end of his life's journey.

"Can you promise?"

This question is not a test, but a ritual.

The world was silent, except for this one question, which weighed heavily on Chu Ning's mind.

He did not answer immediately.

He simply raised the snow-cutting knife in his hand slowly.

The blade was mottled, crisscrossed with cracks, and entwined with golden patterns. Lightning danced on its edge, yet it intertwined with a ray of light falling from the sky.

He stood up.

At that moment, everyone seemed to see a mortal body standing like a pillar supporting the sky, facing the weight of destiny.

Blood churned in his throat, yet he uttered a voice of unprecedented resolve:
"I cannot bear the weight of Heaven's will."

"But this path—I'll take it."

Having said that, he slowly slashed down with his broken snow blade.

This strike was not for killing an enemy, not for seizing power, not for fame or fortune.

— Rather, it is to sever "obsession".

It is the shackles of reincarnation accumulated over billions of years, the net of fate woven by the gods themselves, and the "predestined path" from which countless beings cannot escape.

At this moment, it was cut open by one person's own hands.

At that moment, the wind and snow seemed to be frozen in place.

Time froze, the earth fell silent, only that voice echoed between heaven and earth, like an ancient bell striking the soul, awakening a truth sealed for billions of years:

"...Divine remains, not the true form of the Sleeping God."

The moment the words were spoken, the heavens and earth trembled. The wind and snow suddenly stopped high in the sky, and the snowflakes hung suspended in the air, as if even gravity had ceased to work.

The voice continued to murmur:
“He is the last lock left behind by the Sleeping God after he severed his divine position, to guard the ruins outside the Heavenly Gate.”

In an instant, on the icy plains, everyone's consciousness was drawn into a bizarre, empathic illusion. It was a scene not belonging to this world:
In the realm where all worlds converge, time flows backward.

They seemed to be standing outside of time and space, seeing a huge divine skeleton sitting cross-legged on a floating broken altar, with the shattered "Stairway to Heaven" beneath its feet, and below the stairs was an endless black abyss.

That abyss was like a sea, calm and still, yet it swallowed all light and breath.

That is "Wuwangxu".

A desolate, eternally dead land existing on the edge of heaven and earth, abandoned by the gods.

That divine remains were the shell left behind by the Sleeping God when he severed his divine position to guard this ruin.

"It is not a god."

"It's a door."

In the whispers, a pair of unspeakable "eyes" emerged from the depths of the Boundless Ruins, gazing indifferently at the mortal world, as if watching from eternity to the present. It was not emotion, but an existence beyond the laws of nature, scrutinizing.

Once the Heavenly Gate falls and the Boundary Lock collapses, it will step out of that "Land of No Thoughts".

Chu Ning snapped back to his senses, his mind reeling as if he had fallen from a great height into an icy sea. A chill seeped from his very bones; it wasn't just fear, but the instinctive resistance of a living being—awe of something "not divine."

The divine remains high in the sky, though decapitated, still stand tall like a mountain.

It did not collapse because it still had a mission to complete.

It was not awakened.

Instead, it was "sensing" the tremors of that heavenly gate.

Golden blood flowed from His severed neck, and each drop that fell to the ground condensed into a translucent "crystal of ruins." Within the crystals, faint points of light danced, like pulsating life, yet devoid of vitality.

Dong'er glanced at them and exclaimed in surprise, "Those... are 'breathing'!"

The remnant consciousness of Hunyuan, though faint, was resolute, transforming into a final echo deep within the divine tree:
"If the Heavenly Gate is breached, then within ten years—a border patrol will surely descend."

"That is a reaction originating from the power of 'Ruins'."

“And you are not yet ready to welcome them.”

A heavy, distant "click" echoed from the depths of heaven and earth, like a locked door being pushed open a crack by an external force.

The icy plain trembled slightly, the Milky Way shifted, and a faint glimmer of light began to appear in the distant sky.

The last breath of Hunyuan dissipated in the snow.

Just as the gold chain snapped, a sound like an ancient bell tolled throughout the heavens and earth.

Immediately afterwards, the divine remains moved.

The severed body of the god slowly bent its knees in the wind and snow, as heavy as ten thousand mountains. The kneeling posture was like an ancient god bowing to the sky, or the prelude to the breaking of the seal of hell and the collapse of the sky.

"boom!!!!"

A deafening roar pierced the heavens and earth, like a thousand peaks collapsing. The hundred-mile-long ice plain boiled and cracked as if boiling water had been poured into it. A huge canyon roared out of the earth's core, running down from where the god's knees had shattered, all the way to the extreme cold abyss.

Billions of snowflakes instantly rose into the air, forming a swirling column of wind, with silver snakes dancing wildly, and the laws of heaven and earth were completely disrupted at this moment.

The divine remains's palms fell like the sky, slamming heavily onto the ground.

It was a force that overturned the logic of the world, as if the very source of rules had been reset. The earth trembled like a drum, broken bones echoed like war horns, and ancient divine words were faintly whispered from the depths of His bones, striking directly at the souls of everyone present.

In the next instant, countless soul threads shot into the sky.

Those were the lingering thoughts of the dead who slumbered between heaven and earth, the heroic souls that had not returned for a thousand years, and the fragmented consciousness of gods who perished ten thousand years ago. At this moment, they were all drawn by the power of the divine remains, like snow-white serpents surging from the four extremes and eight wastelands, meandering and swimming, heading straight for the high heavens.

—Towards the lost head of God. He is searching for the head.

The divine remains roared to the sky.

That silent sound reverberated throughout the heavens and earth, like the lament of all beasts and the weeping of all gods.

It is not a prayer, but a command—a command from ancient times, belonging to the true gods.

This roar seemed to traverse eternity, shattering the void and causing a light and shadow hidden deep in the clouds to slowly emerge above the sky.

That was the head of a god.

Floating at the edge of the sky, the golden and white divine halo has not yet been extinguished, and the soul light is shimmering and uncertain, as if it is slowly falling under some kind of instinctive call.

The kneeling remains of the deity, with its empty neck raised high and its remaining arm outstretched towards the sky, cracking with its bones, seemed to be trying to catch the falling "wholeness".

Chu Ning stood frozen in place, her soul almost frozen in place.

“He…is not dead yet,” he murmured, as if even his voice was being absorbed into the aurora.

He felt a suffocating sensation deep within his soul, not from fear of death, but from the instinctive oppression of "complete divinity".

Although His soul chains were broken, His divine essence and blood remained.

He is still maintaining his "divine wholeness".

The spiritual energy deep within the icy plains flowed back to the sea like countless streams, with strands of soul energy gathering from the depths of the void, piercing through ice crystals and time, and being swallowed by the gaps in the bones of the divine remains.

Those soul threads, like blood vessels or spiritual veins, swiftly travel between His broken divine bones, mending, reshaping, and restoring Him.

The power of heaven and earth is healing Him.

This is not a simple recasting of divine remains, but rather, heaven and earth reconstructing the "divine order" on His behalf.

The wind and snow fell silent, spiritual energy surged back, space folded, mountains and rivers floated in the air, as if the entire world was being lifted up by an invisible hand, just to allow this deity to return to "completeness".

The spiritual energy from the depths of the icy plains, like countless streams flowing into the sea, surged wildly into the broken divine body. Strands of soul energy drifted from the void, were devoured by the divine remains, and filled the gap.

The power of heaven and earth is "reshaping Him".

At that moment, the wind and snow fell silent, the laws tilted, and spiritual energy reversed.

This is not the re-creation of gods; this is another, world-destroying return.

"Click, click—"

The sound of the joints turning was like the tolling of a divine punishment bell between heaven and earth.

With each sound, a gray beam of light fell from the sky, causing all the snow on the ice plains to rise and condense into a vortex, swirling around the divine remains, like a white star storm.

The whole world seemed to be unknowingly adding fuel to the fire for the reawakening of the divine remains.

The ice field was silent, and the wind and snow seemed to freeze at that moment.

In the center of the broken divine remains, a skeletal claw slowly emerged, long and gnarled, like a terrifying hand reaching out from the abyss. Unquenchable soul flames burned within the bone crevices, scorching the inner walls of the divine remains.

"Click——"

With a twisting motion of his joints, Ape Lord slowly emerged from the divine remains, his soul fire casting a long, eerie shadow behind him.

That was the Blazing Bone Ape Marquis who had cultivated with Chi Tong for many years. Now, he was no longer the "henchman" he used to be.

His face bore the marks of the cursed seal, half of his face was charred black, while the other half displayed a twisted smile.

He didn't rush to make a move, but instead slowly walked towards the weeping rain child who was lying on the ground, almost unconscious.

The remains of the god were still warm, while the Red Child lay like a discarded offering in the still-warm bone pit of divine blood.

“Red Child.” Ape Lord’s voice was deep, as if it were being ground out from his very throat. “You are injured.”

Chi Tong struggled to lift his head and saw that familiar yet unfamiliar figure. A faint hint of joy even appeared on his blood-stained face:
"You...are still alive?"

“Of course.” Yuan Hou slowly squatted down, placed his hand on his shoulder, and looked at him gently and slowly.

Akado forced a smile, his face etched with exhaustion:

“Excellent… If divine authority is established in its early stages, we—”

"Sharing the throne?"

Ape Lord suddenly spoke, his tone calm and his voice as low as a whisper:

"Do you really think I'm willing to spend my whole life just as a stepping stone for you?"

Chi Tong's smile froze, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Instead of attacking immediately, the Monkey King slowly approached his ear:

“You used my bones as a furnace and my soul as a pact, borrowed my strength to form an array, and led my body to sacrifice to the tower… You have done very well all these years.”

"I...I didn't mean that." Chi Tong's lips twitched. He tried to get up, but found that his soul lock was broken and his blood and qi were disordered, so he couldn't move at all.

Ape Lord sighed, his fingers stroking his shoulder:

"Do you know who left that 'Blood River Secret Manual' before you?"

Chi Tong was shocked, and his face turned as pale as paper.

"What do you mean?"

“I accidentally obtained two Heavenly Rank secret techniques, one is the Blood River Secret Manual, and the other is the Demigod Coffin Seal.” Ape Lord finally revealed his fangs. “That day you were trapped in the maze, I pretended to disappear, but left that ‘fragment’ in the cave you had to pass through.”

"you……"

"You cultivate with such passion and fervor, thinking you've received the mandate of heaven, but little do you know, your path of blood sacrifice was already paving the way for me."

"I use you as my sword, you as my battle array, but the 'Demigod's Coffin Seal' is my true cultivation!"

He suddenly reached out with one hand, his five fingers like hooks, and stabbed into Chi Tong's abdomen.

"His-"

The sound of the soul contract tearing apart echoed like ripping silk across the icy plains.

"You're insane!" Chi Tong roared, spitting out blood and his soul violently trembling. "You want to devour my soul? You'll die!"

“I am not afraid.” Ape Lord revealed a sinister smile. “You are the one who will lead me to godhood.”

Bone flames suddenly erupted in the palm of the Ape Lord, and with his other hand he gripped the forehead of the Crimson Child, peeling away his soul inch by inch.

Chi Tong roared and struggled, his eyes bloodshot: "You lied to me, manipulated me... You used me to set up the formation, used me to build the tower, you planned this all along?"

Ape Lord nodded, his smile calm: "You summon the Blood River, I reap the divine essence."

"You awaken the divine remains, I refine its divine bones."

"You think I wouldn't betray you? But you never thought that there's no shortage of wild beasts in this world that dare to bite their masters back."

Akado struggled and roared:

"You're nothing but a sinful ape I led down this path—"

“Wrong.” Yuan Hou slowly bowed, his voice as low as the tolling of a hell bell, “I am a god.”

"I was the last one to survive."

He closed his five fingers again, the curse seal ignited in reverse, and Chi Tong's soul was as if it had been hit by a giant hammer, shattering inch by inch, with blood gushing out like a spring.

“You…” Chi Tong’s eyes were bloodshot, but he was speechless.

"I don't need your body."

"What I want is your divine curses and blood pacts to complete the 'Coffin Seal' ring for me."

A blood-stained "coffin" character appeared between Ape Lord's eyebrows. His soul flames surged, causing the heavens and earth to tremble. The soul patterns around Ape Lord's body expanded wildly, and his entire skeleton radiated a crimson-gold light, as if a bone god was being reforged in the midst of burning.

Chi Tong tried to roar, but only managed to gasp for breath, choking on blood.

He felt the soul threads within his body being forcibly pulled out one by one by Ape Hou, like a living person having their skull chiseled open, losing consciousness inch by inch.

Ape Lord let out a low growl, and his other bone hand clamped down on Red Boy's forehead.

The curse light exploded, and the soul was torn apart.

At this moment, Chi Tong's eyes were wide open, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and his consciousness collapsed in the tearing pain.

He roared and struggled, his soul power surging, drawing out his last mouthful of blood:

"Monkey Lord!! Have you forgotten the oath of our Blood Refining Hall—"

"Oath?" Ape Marquis grinned, his smile as sharp as a blade.

"If you die, the oath will not stand."

With one bite, it severed the main thread of Chi Tong's soul.

In that instant, Ape Lord's body trembled violently, and streaks of crimson-gold soul patterns bloomed along his bones—these were the cultivation and soul of Weeping Rain Crimson Child throughout his life, which, after being swallowed by him, frantically merged into Ape Lord's bone flames.

His pupils began to dilate, and his consciousness was like a thread snapped by the wind, silently being pulled away.

As his soul shattered, the world seemed to stand still for a moment.

In that last wisp of clarity, he seemed to have returned to a distant past.

That was the Great Zhou Imperial Palace.

Golden tiles and red walls, glazed tiles gleaming.

The snowy night was silent, and the palace lanterns, like stars, swayed endlessly in the dark corridor, just like his figure when he was ten years old, full of vigor and spirit, moving between the double-eaved palaces, dressed in brocade robes and jade belt, a handsome young man.

At that time, he was revered by the world as a "prodigy of imperial lineage".

He entered the ranks at the age of seven and reached the eighth rank at the age of ten, a feat rarely seen in the world.

He practiced boxing in the Ice Palace, shattering the icy pool's black iron with his fists; he sat in meditation in the Scripture Pavilion for a year, breaking through a thousand grandmaster formations with just his willpower.

He was hailed as the "unprecedented Son of Heaven" and was the most promising prince in the dynasty to ascend to the first rank and ascend to heaven.

People say he is a golden dragon descended to earth, destined to soar to the heavens and unify all realms.

That winter, he realized for the first time that under a cannibalistic imperial power, "talent" was sometimes just a reason to die faster.

Political maneuvering is like a knife, its sharpness concealed in a smile.

His elder brother, the one who had once accompanied him in drumming and studying martial arts books at night, secretly set up a gentle trap by taking advantage of the power of the imperial court.

His most trusted master was given poisoned tea and died, and his closest relatives and friends were forced to commit suicide on the Soul-Severing Platform. That night, the palace was sealed by heavy snow and the long street was silent. He could no longer cry out.

He once clenched his fist and questioned fate: "Am I wrong?"

No one responded.

He stood barefoot on the snowy frontier, his clothes as white as paper, his lips pale, yet a suppressed rage burned in his eyes. With trembling fingers, he wrote that vow in the snow:

—If Heaven forsakes me, I will forge my own divine path in the name of blood.

That was the first time he betrayed his identity as a "prince," and on that night, he truly became the "Weeping Rain Crimson Child."

He returned at the age of twenty.

No longer a prince, no longer a genius, but simply an avenger returning from the snow.

That night, he slaughtered the emperor in the Golden Palace, extinguishing all the palace lanterns. On the dragon throne, his elder brother's head rolled down the steps. He severed the imperial surname, leaving only the words: "There are no surnames under heaven, only my own name."

After that, there were no more thirteen princes of the Zhou family in the world, only the "Weeping Red Boy" became famous throughout the world.

He cultivated in solitude for a hundred years, residing on the Mountain of Ten Thousand Bones, sitting atop the Divine Sacrifice Tower, painstakingly comprehending the Way of the Blood Curse, vowing to forge a divine foundation with ten thousand souls, hoping to pry open the long-closed gate to ascension.

He refined his blood, gathered his soul, and sacrificed every inch of his body to exchange for that sliver of hope on the path to divinity.

But he didn't know that the Heavenly Gate that reached the heavens had already collapsed the moment Hunyuan failed his tribulation.

From then on, ascension ceased, and the Heavenly Dao was incomplete.

Throughout his life, he only heard the four words "the immortal gate has been severed," which pierced his heart like a knife.

From then on, he no longer possessed the lifespan of a "physical body." Whenever his lifespan was exhausted, he would devour the souls of others, forcibly seizing their bodies, with even the physical body merely serving as a temporary vessel.

Wherever he went, blood rained down and vengeful spirits wailed. People were terrified at the sight of him, calling him an "evil spirit," and using his name to stop children from crying and to guard lonely graves.

But no one knew that deep within his restless soul slept the dream of that snowy palace.

He remembered the heavy snow that night.

He remembered the light of the palace lanterns reflecting the snow, the fox fur coat his master draped over him, and the tenderness in his friend's eyes when he gave him a tea lamp.

He was never crazy.

I'm just too tired.

It had been too long since anyone had called him "Your Highness".

It's been so long since anyone asked him, "Are you still in pain?"

He could have become the brightest light of this era, but he was thrown into the mire and forced to use sorcery, sacrifice, and devouring to "become a god".

It's not that he doesn't understand the right path, but that he can no longer go back to that path.

Now, my soul is about to dissipate, and my body is about to perish.

Just before his consciousness faded, those swirling dreams fluttered in his mind like falling snowflakes, silently covering him with a layer of white.

He seemed to see himself at ten years old, practicing martial arts in front of the Ice Palace; he also saw himself at twenty years old, standing alone in the Golden Palace with a lamp; he saw himself at one hundred years old, casting spells and refining bones under the Divine Tower; and he also saw himself now, lying before the remains of the gods, blood and tears flowing together.

Those he once loved, hated, and admired... have all disappeared.

He murmured softly, his voice like falling snowflakes, vanishing the moment they touched the ground:

"In the end... can't he escape his fate?"

The snow is still falling.

His body, as broken as porcelain, shattered inch by inch, his soul disintegrated amidst screams, and blood and tears mingled, dripping into the cracks in the snow on the icy plain.

In that final, fleeting moment, he whispered:
"The path of martial arts is clear, but the human heart is unpredictable."

The weeping red child.

Once a prodigy of the Great Zhou imperial lineage, now a blood-soaked soul sacrificed to the gods.

A hundred years of blood refinement, ten thousand bones as the foundation.

In the end, everything returns to dust.

And in that patch of remaining snow, one can still faintly see the last vow he traced with his fingertips:

"With my own bones, I ask the heavens to open again."

The Ape Lord showed no mercy. With a snap of his bone palms, he pulled out the last wisp of Chi Tong's soul and swallowed it whole.

The Monkey King roared.

As the Bone Prison ascended into the sky, its blood flames surged, and its aura instantly surged to an unprecedented level. Its entire skeleton rose like a mountain, and divine runes emerged from its bones, as if from the very beginning of time.

As if sensing something, the remains of the divine body actually turned half an inch toward the Ape Lord on its own.

The Ape Lord has taken over the divine remains.

In an instant, heaven and earth roared.

The divine remains trembled violently, the remnant soul howled, and the curse, divine authority, and blood pact of the Crimson Rain Child all fell into the body of the Ape Lord.

"Hahahaha—" Ape Lord laughed loudly, his soul flames soaring into the sky.

"Red Child, you're saying I can't control my spirit?"

"You're saying I only know how to fight?"

"Now, this divine body is mine!"

He opened his arms, and the remains of the divine body began to disintegrate, transforming into billions of divine lights that flowed into his body.

A new god's shadow is slowly rising in the center of the icy plains.

Yuan Hou finally stepped off the chessboard.

He is no longer the killing tool of the Weeping Rain Child.

He is the player who wields the chess pieces.

The Ape Lord roared to the sky amidst the remains of the gods, his fury soaring into the heavens.

His voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth:
"From this day forward, I shall be the god of this world!"

On this cracked ice, Ape Lord stood still, his face cold and his soul flames surging on his body, as if waiting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Blood mist rose from beneath his feet, and incantations emerged from his bones and blood—each one exuding an ancient killing intent, as if originating from some taboo.

The golden chains snapped, the divine remains went out of control, trembling slightly beneath the sky, like a mountain about to awaken.

Beneath the severed head of the divine remains, the Blazing Bone Ape Marquis sat cross-legged, his soul flames churning like a sea.

He had devoured the Crimson Rain Child, his shattered divine soul flowing into his divine remains, and the runes around his body coiled like dragons and snakes, constantly embedding themselves into the gaps between his divine bones.

At that moment, he suddenly bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of scarlet blood onto the remains of the god.

"—Demigod's Coffin Seal, activate!"

"I offer my broken body as a sacrifice, and my soul as a coffin!"

"boom!"

An incantation older than any blood curse emerged from his spine, spreading across his entire body like an inscription in dark iron, and etched into his bones.

Between the divine remains and him, a kind of ancient "spiritual fusion" was formed—not parasitism, not possession, but a complete resonance.

At that moment, the Monkey King roared to the sky.

His skin began to crack, and flesh peeled away like porcelain shattering, while spiritual flames erupted from between his bones.

He roared and laughed, blood flying from his teeth: "With the soul as the coffin—never to be trapped in the cycle of reincarnation!"

"This... is the price I pay for becoming a god!!!"

In an instant, the boundary between the Ape Lord and the Divine Remains became completely blurred.

The wisp of "sleeping divine will" that originally remained in the divine bone was completely forced into the depths of the divine skeleton's heart meridian under the pressure of his spiritual consciousness, and fell into silence.

The entire severed divine remains began to be "filled" by the will of the Ape Lord, just like a vessel.

The earth collapsed, lightning flashed across the sky, and the world changed color the moment the power of a demigod erupted.

—But at the same time, strange phenomena also occurred.

Within the blazing soul flame above Ape Hou's head, a... distorted human face suddenly appeared.

That's not his face.

It was the face of a soul that had long since died, blurry and distorted, yet full of pain and struggle; its mouth opened and closed as if screaming:

"help me--"

Dong'er exclaimed, "That's... Chi Tong's soul?! No, it's... more than one!!"

Chu Ning's pupils contracted at that moment. He saw more than a dozen faces appear in the soul flame, including old and young men and women. Some were distorted, some were in tears, and some had blank expressions.

"These are... the souls he devoured."

"They...were all locked inside this 'coffin of a demigod'."

The last wisp of the Primordial Chaos Soul's consciousness emerged from the horizon, its voice low and cold:
"The Seal of the Demigod's Coffin is an ancient forbidden spell."

"By forging the body with the soul, one becomes a god who is immortal—but indestructible through countless eons."

“All the souls that are devoured will become his own ‘shackles’. Once his divine will becomes unstable… he will be devoured and transformed into the ‘Abyss of Souls’.”

Chu Ning whispered, "He's not immortal, but... he's not allowed to die."

Ape Lord laughed wildly, his soul flames raging to the heavens: "If it's to become a god, then all these sins—I can bear them!!"

"From this day forward, my name will be etched in the heavens and earth—Ape God Hou Chong!"

He stood up, his divine remains now completely transformed, his bones golden-white, his blood fiery red, and the entire ice field trembled and collapsed beneath his feet.

But high above, within that ball of soul flame, human faces still struggled and wailed, like paper lanterns in the wind, awaiting an inevitable "liquidation" in the night after the sacrifice.

He slowly raised his hand, his five fingers loosely joined together, and a scarlet mark suddenly appeared in his palm—it was a "mark" embedded in his bone marrow, with intricate runes resembling a coffin, yet faintly exuding the power to devour the heavens and gather the gods.

"...Demigod's Coffin Seal, open."

He whispered the incantation, his voice like a low murmur from the depths of hell. The next moment, he plunged his hands into his chest, tearing the cursed seal apart!
"Crack!"

Flesh and blood churned, bones cracked angrily, and a blood-red altar resembling a "coffin" rose from his body. Nine soul locks wrapped around him, completely linking the cause and effect between his soul and his remains.

High in the sky, the still-standing divine remains trembled violently, and the hollow chest cavity slowly cracked open, with strands of divine light, like flowing clouds, escaping from the gaps in the bones.

"Come... God's Body..."

With a roar, the Ape Lord tilted his head back, bit his tongue, and spat out the last "Soul Pact" incantation into the sky.

In the next instant, the body of the divine remains seemed to be awakened by some supreme will, and it actually bowed its head on its own initiative. The immense divine power condensed into a rainbow light, which descended from the sky and merged into the split chest cavity of the ape lord.

"boom!!!"

The heavens and earth trembled violently, thunder roared wildly, all the life force of all things was scattered, and the wind and snow seemed to be swallowed into an abyss, and all was silent.

He roared like a beast, his bones cracking and popping, his skin renewing itself like molten iron, and the white bone patterns spreading out from his body like divine inscriptions. His soul flames surged and turned into gray-gold, and the afterimage of a divine halo appeared in his eyes.

In just a few breaths, a being that was neither human nor god stood on the icy plain.

Ape Lord, by using the "Demigod Coffin Seal" and his physical body as a coffin, swallowed the divine body and successfully stepped into the realm of "demigod".

He grinned, his voice like the clanging of divine iron:
"If I cannot become a god, then I will become a god!"

(End of this chapter)