Immortals of the End Times

As Zhao Wuji forced aside the numerous meteorites that were about to fall, he descended.

Deep within the cold, desolate planet, a faint golden light suddenly emanated from the massive sword-shaped rift that pierced the Earth's crust.

"This fluctuation of will."

A weathered and majestic voice echoed in the void, and golden light gathered within the rift valley, revealing the figure of an old man.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sharp as lightning, staring at Zhao Wuji who had descended from the starry sky.

"Da Luo, you've already fused with the Heavenly Soul Will so quickly in this life?"

The golden divine soul of the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable trembled slightly, his voice carrying a hint of surprise.

"Senior Nine Tribulations."

Zhao Wuji stood in mid-air, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture, his expression solemn.

Then, with a slightly strange look in his eyes, he looked at the powerful but bodyless divine soul before him.

One can sense the perfect fluctuations of the laws within.

With his Mahayana stage insight, he could naturally see that although this divine soul was strong, it was less than half of its peak strength due to the loss of its physical body.

Just then, the nine-leaf sword grass in his sleeve suddenly rang out!
"Zheng!"

A clear and melodious sword chant resounded through the void, and the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass, like a dragon emerging from its sheath, transformed into a streak of emerald light and swept towards the Nine Tribulations Heavenly Venerable.

As the sword grass unfurls, its nine blades swirl like a celestial sword.

The interplay of reality and illusion flows between the veins of the leaves, sometimes solid as jade, sometimes ethereal as mist and haze.

"Old buddy."

A smile immediately appeared on the face of the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable, and his golden hand gently stroked the sword grass.

The moment your fingertips touch the blades of grass, sparks fly, like the joy of reuniting with an old friend.

The sword grass leaves trembled slightly, as if in response, and circled the old man's phantom three times before flying back to Zhao Wuji's side.

"No need to doubt."

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable seemed to see through Zhao Wuji's thoughts and calmly said, "Back then, when the Great Luo Transcending the True Immortal Tribulation broke through the realm and fought with the True Immortal of the End of Dharma, he unintentionally dragged me, who was passing by, into this realm, and I have been trapped there for tens of thousands of years."

Amidst the golden light, the old man sighed.

Even a Mahayana Quasi-Immortal's lifespan is only 50,000 years.

Ten thousand years ago, I abandoned my Dao body, which had been corrupted by the rules of the Dharma-ending Age.

He raised his illusory arm, his voice growing deeper: "Now only this divine soul remains. If the True Immortals of the End of Dharma are not eliminated, even if I reconstruct my physical body, I will not escape being corrupted by the rules of the End of Dharma."

At this point, the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable's gaze pierced through the void, looking towards the distant depths of the starry sky.

"Besides."

He withdrew his gaze, his voice carrying the weight of years: "My lifespan... is only a few thousand years left."

"Now, I just want to go back to the True Immortal Realm one last time. These past years..."

"I've been waiting for you to successfully reincarnate in this life and come find me."

His gaze fell on Zhao Wuji.

"You finally came."

Zhao Wuji was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and the golden lines in his eyes revealed a hint of surprise.

This Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable had actually been waiting for him all along?

Moreover, the other party was originally from the Realm of True Immortals?
He frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "Senior, were you waiting for me? Could it be that my predecessor, the Great Luo, left behind some kind of plan that you are aware of?"

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable slowly shook his head, his aged voice tinged with solemnity: "This old man is unaware of the specific arrangements of the Great Luo, but..."

His gaze was sharp as he stared at Zhao Wuji and continued, "I had brief contact with the first Heavenly Venerable and personally nurtured the second Heavenly Venerable."

Each of your reincarnations faces the same predicament: the inability to fully inherit the magical power passed down within the remains of the Great Luo!

"That is why, in this Dharma-ending Age, you find it difficult to attain true immortality, let alone truly contend with true immortals of the Dharma-ending Age and break through this predicament!"

Zhao Wuji's gaze sharpened: "Then what is your intention in waiting for me?"

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable suddenly raised his hand, and a drop of golden blood suddenly appeared in his palm. It was icy cold, yet it exuded a boundless spiritual power!
"This is the blood of the Great Luo Primordial Spirit."

His voice was deep, as if recalling memories from countless ages ago: "Before the Second Celestial Venerable and others perished, they entrusted this blood to me, telling me to quickly escape to the vicinity of the entrance to this True Immortal Realm."

"And entrusted it to me."

"If the next reincarnation of the Great Luo can successfully stand before me, then I will extract this blood!"

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable's expression shifted to one of complexity, and he slowly said:

"Feng Xian, Guang Sha, and Yu Jing must have already found some clues back then."

He raised his hand and pointed to the golden drop of blood in his palm, his voice low and deep: "This Great Luo Primordial Spirit Blood may be the key to breaking the deadlock. It's just a pity that they can no longer turn back."

"The next Celestial Venerable, Zhao Zheng, should have come to find me."

A trace of regret flashed in the eyes of the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable: "But he suffered at the hands of that True Immortal of the End of Dharma. Fortunately..."

He looked intently at Zhao Wuji: "Today, you have finally come."

"Is this Great Luo Primordial Spirit Blood the breakthrough point?"

Zhao Wuji's eyes flashed, and he raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

That drop of primordial spirit blood instantly transformed into a stream of light and flew over.

Ordinary primordial spirit is an illusory power; how can it be condensed into substantial blood?

However, this drop of primordial spirit blood not only appeared as a liquid, but also exuded a rich aura of the Great Luo, flowing endlessly between the real and the illusory.

This is clearly the essence of the primordial spirit condensed from the rules of illusion and reality!

Such wondrous power is impossible to replicate even for those who have attained the highest level of cultivation, such as true immortality.

Because the principles governing the real and the illusory are not the same.

"Buzz!"

The moment he came into contact with the primordial spirit blood, Zhao Wuji's mind and spirit were shaken violently!
Within his sea of ​​consciousness, his three souls surged and his six spirits trembled, an irrepressible thirst growing for this drop of primordial spirit blood.

Even the laws of illusion and reality around him resonated with him, and his Dao body constantly shifted between illusion and reality, sometimes like a reflection in a mirror or the moon in the water, and sometimes like a solid mountain.

It seemed that once this blood was refined, it would surely advance the laws of illusion and reality to a higher level.
A flash of insight struck Zhao Wuji, and he instantly understood the cause of the incident.

That's it!

The previous generation of the second Heavenly Venerable Feng Xian and others found this drop of Great Luo Primordial Spirit Blood as the key to breaking the deadlock, but sealed it away for future generations.

It's not that we don't want to use it, it's that we can't!

How incredibly talented were the first generation of Heavenly Venerables, Pangu, Nuwa, and Fuxi?
Even such beings, before the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was completely exhausted, could hardly become true immortals without the assistance of the remains of the Great Luo Immortal.

How could the Second Generation Celestial Venerable be an exception?
The path of "Three gods ascending to immortality, and then returning to oneness"
It was wrong from the very beginning!
By the time the second Heavenly Venerable realized the truth, it was too late to reverse the situation.

As for the third generation of Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Wuji's gaze darkened slightly.

Strictly speaking, Zhao Zheng is not actually a true reincarnation of the Great Luo, but merely a vessel that carries the will of the Great Luo Earth Soul, having already embarked on his own path.

Therefore, even if he had awakened to the truth at that time and upheld the righteous cause of upholding justice for heaven and earth, he simply did not have time to inherit the will of the Great Luo and switch to cultivating the path of illusion and reality.
"No wonder."

He stared at the drop of primordial blood in his palm, a mixture of reality and illusion, as if he were seeing a cultivation path shrouded in mist.

It turns out that after Zhao Zheng was severely injured by the True Immortal of the End of Dharma, he resolutely separated his human soul from his heavenly soul, allowing his human soul to be reincarnated and rebuilt, all for the sake of today!
To set things right and return to the true path of reality and illusion.

And at the end of this road.

The key to breaking the deadlock, which the Second Celestial Venerable had actually planted long ago, was right before our eyes.
Zhao Wuji was speechless for a moment, looking at the Nine Tribulations Heavenly Venerable with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"Senior, why didn't you tell me about the Primordial Spirit Blood sooner?"

He shook his head slightly, his expression a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have had to rack my brains all these years trying to find a way out of this predicament, wasting so much energy and effort.

It's not that I, an old man, refuse to speak out.

A bitter smile appeared on the aged face of the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable as he sighed, "Back then, you only gave me a single sentence's time before severing all contact."

He pointed to the starry sky, his illusory figure swaying slightly: "Moreover, this item can only be handed over to you if you come to me in person. If you cannot even reach the entrance to this True Immortal Realm, all your preparations will be in vain." Zhao Wuji was taken aback upon hearing this, then fell silent.

indeed.

Back then, when he used techniques such as star divination, dream marriage, and summoning immortals to contact this Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable, he still went through many difficulties and only managed to maintain the connection for a short while before the dream shattered.

Given their strength at the time.
It is indeed difficult to traverse the starry sky and arrive at such distant coordinates of the True Immortal Realm.

"Now that you have obtained the blood of the Great Luo Primordial Spirit..."

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable's voice grew deeper, and his illusory figure dimmed further: "As for how to proceed from here on out, this old man can no longer help you."

He stared intently at Zhao Wuji, his gaze deep: "Everything depends on you alone. I only hope that you can truly resolve the issue of the End of Dharma True Immortals and bring me back to the True Immortal Realm."

He looked up at the endless starry sky, his gaze piercing through the void: "If even you can't do it, given the increasingly harsh environment of this universe and the ever-recovering power of that True Immortal of the End of Dharma, I'm afraid you will have no chance for a fourth reincarnation."

Having said that, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the entrance to the True Immortal Realm in the starry sky, which resembled a deep blue vortex, his expression solemn:

"And this anchored entrance to the True Immortal Realm won't last much longer. Perhaps the day I reach my end will be the day this passage collapses!"

Zhao Wuji was startled upon hearing this.

It turns out that the entrance to the True Immortal Realm was not naturally formed, but rather artificially anchored!

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable gazed at him and said, "If you can attain the status of a True Immortal, or fully recover your strength during your peak as a Great Luo Immortal, you will naturally understand how to open this entrance."

He raised his hand and pointed to the dark blue vortex, his voice filled with reminiscence: "Back then, it was Da Luo who personally opened this passage between the two worlds leading to this realm."

"I see."

Zhao Wuji's eyes flashed as he stared at the entrance of the vortex, his brows furrowing slightly: "Could it be the power of illusory rules that has kept it in place for tens of thousands of years?"

His divine sense spread out like silk threads, carefully sensing, but he only detected strong fluctuations in the sealing rules.
Yet, the aura of the rules governing reality and illusion was not revealed at all!

This discovery deepened his doubts.
Zhao Wuji stared at the deep blue vortex, his mind racing.

"Perhaps the methods of a True Immortal are indeed beyond my current comprehension."

His eyes flickered slightly, suppressing his many guesses.

The most urgent task is to return to the Nine Provinces and refine that drop of Great Luo Primordial Spirit Blood to see if we can break the deadlock and inherit the vast magical power within the remains.

With this thought in mind, he straightened his clothes, bowed to the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable, and solemnly bid farewell.

"Ugh"

The Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable sighed, his voice weathered and aged: "When you finally find this place, my mission will be complete. Back when I helped the first and second generations fight against the True Immortals of the End of Dharma, I was already severely injured by the rules of the End of Dharma. It is a miracle that I have survived until now."

"Until Zhao Zheng's next life."

He shook his head slightly, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness: "I am willing but unable to do anything. Everything depends on you."

Zhao Wuji nodded slightly and bowed solemnly once again.

He naturally understood the predicament of the Nine Tribulations Celestial Venerable.

Now, the opponent only has a remnant soul left. Even in its prime, it was powerless to directly confront a True Immortal of the End of Dharma. Back then, it could only provide support from the sidelines.

And in this life.
His gaze deepened, becoming as unfathomable as the sea.

The only option is to fight alone and completely sever ties with that immortal of the end times!

Otherwise, if he fails...

Not only will the Nine Provinces and the world perish with him, but even the remnant soul of the Nine Tribulations Heavenly Venerable will be annihilated along with him.

There will never be a fourth reincarnation!

"Senior, say goodbye!"

Zhao Wuji immediately waved his sleeve and put away the trembling and wailing Nine-Leaf Sword Grass.

He then used a Dao incantation to instantly return to the Nine Provinces Heaven and Earth through the space between the Dao Foundation and the Nine Provinces Heaven and Earth.

On the return journey, there's no need to exert any more effort using the laws of illusion and reality or the technique of teleportation.

After returning to the Ninth Heaven, he flew down with his hands behind his back onto the towering, mountain-like remains of the Great Luo Immortal.

With his robes fluttering, he took out the crystal-clear blood of the Great Luo Primordial Spirit and examined it closely in his palm.

The moment the blood droplet appeared, it burst forth with dazzling golden light, illuminating the entire Nine Heavens as if a divine kingdom had descended!
The remains of the Great Luo seemed to resonate and tremble violently, like a mountain collapsing.

The dark lines of the end times that were wrapped around the immortal's eye sockets broke off and dissolved as if struck by lightning.

The drop of primordial blood suspended in the palm of the hand contained illusory images of stars reversing and the sun and moon shining together, with each ray of light containing illusory and real rules that made the void tremble.

"The Primordial Spirit Blood of the Great Luo Immortal"

Zhao Wuji's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly pressed the primordial spirit blood to his brow.

The moment the blood droplet touched the skin, the entire remains of the Great Luo suddenly emitted a deafening roar.

Suddenly, the single eye of the Heavenly Dao opened, its gaze piercing through time, like the gaze of the Heavenly Dao itself, meeting his eyes across the void.

"Buzz!"

Zhao Wuji let out a muffled groan, and his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly erupted with a deafening roar.

The drop of blood, as clear as amber, exploded instantly, transforming into a towering wave of blood that swept across the entire universe of consciousness.

His primordial spirit trembled violently, and his three souls and six spirits shattered like glass under the impact of this primordial power.

The soul tremor caused by the return of the Heavenly Soul was forcibly suppressed, and the three natal spirits, as if under the decree of Heaven, slowly merged in the sea of ​​blood.

Where the souls intertwined, a dazzling divine light, like the sun and moon shining together, burst forth, illuminating the entire sea of ​​consciousness as bright as day.

"Buzz!"

A vast amount of long-forgotten memories surged into my heart like a bursting dam.

Countless ancient images flashed one after another in the clear mirror of the mind.

There are scenes of the world-ending destruction when thousands of celestial palaces collapsed in the ancient immortal realm, the solitary figure of a Great Luo Immortal fighting against a True Immortal of the End of Dharma to open the entrance to the True Immortal Realm, and the awe-inspiring scene of seventy-two silver rays piercing through the chaos to create the heavens.

Each image, imbued with the vicissitudes of time, resonated deeply within him, stirring his very soul.

At the same time, the eighteen Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearls trembled simultaneously, and the seventy-two sets of silver tadpole-like characters on their surfaces suddenly burst forth with a blazing golden light that pierced the universe.

The runes that were originally like a galaxy have now all transformed into numerous cloud-patterned Daoist scripts, each stroke and line seemingly re-tempered by the true fire of the Great Sun.

The oppressive aura emanating from it distorted even the void within one's sea of ​​consciousness.

Even more astonishing changes followed!

"Keng!"

The seventy-two silver seal scripts suddenly spun and combined on their own.

The water-restricting talisman culture forms a deep blue dragon, borrowing wind patterns to condense a phantom of a blue phoenix; the fire-starting talisman culture unleashes a surge of Samadhi True Fire; and the earth-element talisman culture forms the Xuanhuang earth veins.
The Five Elements techniques, one after the other, eventually intertwined to form the four golden ancient seal characters 'Great Escape of the Five Elements,' each character as heavy as a mountain, exuding a terrifying Daoist aura that could turn the world upside down.

"Crash!"

The cloud-summoning runes surged like snow waves, the mist-spreading patterns fell like gauze curtains, the sun-concealing characters transformed into golden crows spreading their wings, and the moon-capturing spirit patterns condensed into jade toads soaring into the sky.
Amidst the interplay of myriad phenomena, the four characters "移星换斗" (Shifting Stars and Changing Constellations) appear and disappear amidst the clouds, each stroke seemingly imbued with the swirling of stars and rivers.

The black runes of the Spirit Communication Technique and the crimson Dao patterns of the Disaster Relief Technique rotate like yin and yang fish, eventually transforming into a 'reversed yin and yang' Tai Chi Dao diagram.

The life force of the Green Wood from the Head-Continuing Technique and the Netherworld Fire from the Soul-Chasing Technique intertwined and merged, condensing into the Azure Phosphorous Ancient Seal of 'Resurrection'.
Countless Heavenly Daoist runes revolved and disappeared in the sea of ​​consciousness, each one seemingly containing the power to create the world, illuminating the entire sea of ​​consciousness like the Purple Heaven Palace!
"This is."

Zhao Wuji was greatly shocked. As he browsed through the numerous and varied pieces of information, he clenched his fists involuntarily.

The legendary Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals Technique!?
The 'Five Elements Great Escape' Heavenly Gang Method is composed of five earthly evil techniques related to the five elements, such as water prohibition, wind borrowing, fire generation, earth element, and pot heaven.

The "Shifting Stars and Changing Constellations" Heavenly Gang Method is composed of earthly techniques that manipulate celestial phenomena, such as summoning clouds, spreading fog, obscuring the sun, and seizing the moon.

The 'Inverted Yin and Yang' Heavenly Gang Method consists of the psychic arts of discerning Yin and Yang and the calamity-reversing arts of reversing misfortune.

The "Resurrection" Heavenly Gang Technique consists of the head-regeneration technique for repairing the body and the soul-summoning technique for recalling the soul.

The 'Mastering the Five Thunders' Heavenly Gang Technique evolved from the fire-controlling flame-breathing technique, the water-controlling rain-praying technique, and the qi-controlling qi-suppressing technique.
In that instant, countless Heavenly Divine Daoist scriptures swirled and shone like clouds and smoke in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The eighteen Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearls shone brightly in the sea of ​​consciousness, their dazzling golden light penetrating the primordial spirit and illuminating the entire universe of the sea of ​​consciousness.

Zhao Wuji felt his mind tremble, as if he had touched some supreme truth of the Great Dao.

At the same time, he increasingly felt a cold and ruthless will emanating from his three souls and six spirits, penetrating his sea of ​​consciousness like snow from the heavens, crushing his last thoughts and emotions.

This will is as majestic as the Way of Heaven, as indifferent as a deity, as if it wants to crush all his emotions, desires, and obsessions, and then rebuild him with cold rules, transforming him into a supreme being of order and rules.

Without emotion, without thought, only the Great Dao remains.
(End of this chapter)