Chapter 267: Transcendence (Part 23)
Su Chen was puzzled. He could not find any trace of Tian Mingzi. The latter had vanished completely, as if he had evaporated from existence.
"Is that the Heart of the Universe?" Su Chen murmured. He too had arrived at the mysterious location and saw the indescribable existence.
He remained cautious, staying alert for any possible ambush from Tian Mingzi. However, there was not the slightest movement around him.
Su Chen shattered the final barriers. The area was filled with a destructive aura, forming chaotic currents. He did not find Tian Mingzi, but he did find the Heaven Refining Gourd.
Su Chen opened it and released Qin Wujie.
Qin Wujie no longer looked human. His Chaos Dao had nearly dissolved. Had Su Chen arrived even a century later, Qin Wujie would have been completely refined into a Chaos Pill—a supreme tonic.
Qin Wujie still had a faint breath left.
Tian Mingzi, however, had disappeared without a trace.
"It seems Tian Mingzi is dead," Su Chen said softly as he looked at the Heart of the Universe. He did not rush to refine it.
He put away the Heaven Refining Gourd. With his current strength, suppressing one of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures was effortless. The gourd was indeed extraordinary, capable of refining all things in the heavens and earth into cultivation energy.
Su Chen brought Qin Wujie back to the Emperor Court and had him consume the Undying Divine Medicine, hoping it would help him recover.
He then summoned Di Chan and Chi Yao.
"Master… even you are not certain?" Di Chan asked, gripping Su Chen's sleeve tightly when she heard what sounded like final instructions. She could not bear to let him leave.
Chi Yao remained silent, simply staring at that towering figure.
In the end, Su Chen still departed. After arranging everything, he sealed both Di Chan and Chi Yao.
He might return. He might die. But Su Chen believed—he would definitely return! With the path to transcendence right before him, he would not give up, no matter how uncertain the road ahead might be.
...
Su Chen discovered that fusing with the Heart of the Universe was far smoother than he had imagined.
The Heart showed signs of rejection, but he suppressed them effortlessly.
Countless tens of thousands of years passed.
Su Chen opened his eyes with a strange expression. In a single thought, he seemed to have gained control over the entire universe. He had refined the Heart of the Universe without obstruction.
A vast amount of inherited memories flooded his mind—knowledge about the world beyond.
At this moment, he officially belonged to the Void Cosmic Sea and gained the qualification to cultivate there, allowing him to step into a higher realm.
Thirty-six tribulations for Rulers, exchanging for a slim chance at immortality.
Su Chen began organizing the sudden surge of memories in his mind. He seemed to have originated from a place called the End Land. He was the most talented Immortal Spirit born from a region infused with a wisp of aura left behind by a True Immortal. Two mighty figures from the End Land had cast him into the Void Cosmic Sea… specifically into the fallen ruins of a True Immortal.
The Void Cosmic Sea was vast—how vast, Su Chen did not know. His inherited memories did not contain such details. He only understood that universes there were as numerous as grains of sand in a desert, and the world he came from was merely an insignificant speck among them.
In this place, a supreme powerhouse existed. His Dao had established the cultivation rules for all beings here. To become a True Immortal—indestructible across billions of tribulations and eternally transcendent—one had to follow the rules set by that supreme being step by step.
The fall of that True Immortal in the region where Su Chen had been had left an empty True Immortal position in the Void Cosmic Sea. This attracted the intervention of countless powerful forces, who poured in innumerable geniuses…
The Heart of the Universe served as a certificate for the Void Cosmic Sea. Only by obtaining it would one be recognized as belonging to the Void Cosmic Sea and gain the right to compete on the path to immortality.
Refining the Heart of the Universe was no easy task. According to the rules of the Void Cosmic Sea, native beings from a universe within it would face 100% rejection when attempting to refine the Heart. Each accompanying treasure of the universe reduced the rejection value. In Su Chen's universe, every one of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures lowered the rejection by 10%.
Beings from immortal lands outside had special methods that could halve the rejection value without needing any treasures.
This was also where Zhao Wuhen's confidence had come from when he claimed he could transcend after overcoming only the Seven-Layered Emperor Tribulation.
Su Chen's expression darkened.
In his previous life, the rejection value when he tried to break out of the world had reached 200%. He had been directly killed by the backlash. If he had possessed even a single Innate Supreme Treasure back then, he would have already transcended. Unfortunately, he had only held three-quarters of the Death Book and had not even qualified to sense the Heart of the Universe.
In this life, thanks to his identity as an external Immortal Spirit and his possession of three Innate Supreme Treasures—the Wheel of Time , the Heaven Refining Gourd, and the complete Death Book—he had refined the Heart of the Universe with shocking ease.
Meanwhile, that unlucky fool Tian Mingzi had known nothing of these rules. Born from the accumulated fortune of the Nether Mansion over tens of millions of years, he had believed that possessing just one Innate Supreme Treasure was enough. In the end, he had died without leaving even a trace behind—Su Chen had not been able to find any remnant of him.
Su Chen's aura reached its peak, even surpassing that of the Undying Nether Emperor in his previous life.
Peak Three-Tribulation Ruler!
All living beings in the original universe felt an overwhelming terror in their hearts, as if the heavens themselves were enraged and about to unleash divine punishment.
Every action Su Chen took now represented the will of heaven. He was the consciousness of the universe, and the consciousness of the universe was him. This was the path of cultivation in the Void Cosmic Sea. To grow stronger, one needed to continuously devour other universes and turn them into nourishment. Only by enduring the thirty-six tribulations and reaching the peak of the Ruler realm could one gain a slim chance to compete for an immortal position.
In the fallen ruins of this True Immortal, how many universes existed? How many monsters and geniuses? How many undying powerhouses had accumulated over billions of years?
Yet Su Chen did not retreat. His Dao Heart now held only an unyielding will to seek the Dao. Knowing that the road ahead was boundless did not bring him loss or discouragement—only excitement.
This time, Su Chen left the original universe with effortless ease and transcended the heavens and earth.
Beyond the universe lay an endless sea of chaos. Here, there were no heavens or earth. The concepts of time and space seemed to have vanished, completely annihilated, as if all existence had been forcibly stripped of its foundation.
Su Chen, a peak Three-Tribulation Ruler capable of destroying his original universe with a single thought, felt like a drop of water falling into the ocean when placed here—he could not stir even the slightest ripple. The eternal silence was suffocating.
Beside the original universe floated another world, slightly smaller than it—Ten Absolute Martial Emperor's world.
Su Chen did not explore further. He refined that world and merged it into the original universe.
Countless tens of thousands of years passed.
One day, the living beings in the original universe suddenly felt something strange.
"Weird… Why has my cultivation speed suddenly doubled? Could I be a hidden supreme genius who has finally awakened?"
"I broke through! Hahaha! I've been stuck at the peak of Nirvana for a thousand years and finally broke through! Damn you, old rival—prepare to be swept aside!"
"What? You broke through to the Saint realm too?"
"Quasi-Emperor! Some old monster has broken through to Quasi-Emperor!"
"Quasi-Emperor is nothing—someone has become an Emperor!"
"Not good… There's more than one new Emperor… One, two, three, four, five…"
Chapter 268: Transcendence (Part 24)
The original universe trembled.
Powerful existences emerged one after another to become Emperors. Ancient beings sealed within the Emperor Court, peak Quasi-Emperor experts hidden among various races—all of them unsealed and stepped into the world, competing to achieve the Emperor realm.
Five new Emperors appearing in a single breath—what a magnificent spectacle!
Yet this was not the end.
From the depths of the Emperor Court, two overwhelming auras surged forth, sweeping across the universe and shattering all shackles, as if they intended to split the cosmos in two.
"It's those two fairy maidens from the Emperor Court! Have they also come out to become Emperors?"
Among the five newly ascended Emperors, some ancient existences recognized them.
Two of the five exchanged glances, both seeing unease in each other's eyes.
They were none other than the Formless Sword Great Emperor and the Eternal Dawn Great Emperor.
Although they had fallen from the Emperor realm, they had survived for countless years because of it.
Di Chan and Chi Yao—one born from one of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures, the other blessed by the accumulated fortune of the Jade Pool Sacred Land over tens of millions of years—possessed talent no weaker than the Chaos Body or Tian Mingzi. Both triggered the terrifying Nine-Layered Heavenly Tribulation.
"What is happening?"
"Why have I lost control over heaven and earth?"
"I am no longer a Great Emperor… Then what am I?"
"..."
The Formless Sword Great Emperor and the Eternal Night Great Emperor could only look at each other with helpless bitterness. They had known it would end this way.
Di Chan and Chi Yao were simply too strong. There was no way they could compete with them.
...
In another world.
Su Chen felt as though he had undergone nirvana, experiencing a profound transformation filled with both great terror and great opportunity. Fortunately, he overcame the danger without incident and successfully broke through his shackles.
He had refined the Ten Absolute Martial Emperor's world, merging its vast essence and laws into the original universe. This made the original universe even stronger, capable of birthing more geniuses and powerhouses. All living beings benefited from this blessing.
Merging the world of a peak Three-Tribulation Ruler allowed Su Chen's cultivation to advance once more. He broke through his limits and reached the early stage of the Four-Tribulation Ruler realm.
Su Chen sensed the auras of Di Chan and Chi Yao achieving their Dao. A smile appeared on his face. However, the current universe already had too many powerhouses. With Qin Wujie still alive and Di Chan and Chi Yao—both of whom had overcome the Nine-Layered Tribulation and possessed limitless potential—the path forward for many others had been blocked.
If he wanted to carve out a path in this Immortal Ruin Land, he would need far more resources and greater strength.
"Hm?"
Su Chen suddenly sensed a faint aura. Though separated by endless distance, in this conceptless void it shone like a tiny firefly, dispelling the darkness and pointing the way.
He recalled that the Ten Absolute Martial Emperor had claimed to belong to something called the Transmigrator Alliance. Since he had killed the Ten Absolute Martial Emperor, the Alliance would likely seek revenge.
Could the owner of this aura… be from the Transmigrator Alliance?
...
Wang Potian came from the Transmigrator Alliance.
The Transmigrator Alliance was formed by countless Transmigrators. Every Transmigrator carried an immense fortune. Due to various accidents, lonely souls arrived in other worlds. But they had no backing. It was only after powerful Transmigrators rose up, determined to give every displaced soul a warm home, that the Transmigrator Alliance was established.
The Transmigrator Alliance might not be the strongest force. But it was undoubtedly the most united. Anyone who killed a Transmigrator—regardless of their faction—would inevitably face the full retaliation of the Transmigrator Alliance.
More than a hundred thousand years ago. A Transmigrator known as Ten Absolute Martial Emperor died. Before his death, he desperately transmitted a set of coordinates.
This triggered fury within the Void Cosmic Sea Branch of the Transmigrator Alliance, inside an immortal land. An old and powerful Transmigrator immediately issued a bounty.
Wang Potian noticed that the bounty was located very close to his current position.
The target was none other than his sworn brother. Back when both of them were still weak, they had met in the Transmigrator Chat Group and encouraged each other.
Together, they had risen from insignificant nothing to masters of a universe and eventually transcended their world.
Then they had parted ways for millions of years. Ten Absolute Martial Emperor gradually stopped sending messages, and Wang Potian had almost forgotten about his old brother—until he saw the bounty.
"No matter who you are, killing my brother means you must pay the price!"
Wang Potian swore.
Whether for the bounty or to avenge the brother who had walked with him from obscurity, he would kill the murderer and defend the dignity of the Transmigrator Alliance.
As a Five-Tribulation Ruler, this was his confidence.
Suddenly, Wang Potian frowned.
A golden Emperor seal, interwoven with countless Daos, manifested and formed a cage around him.
Everything happened too abruptly. Wang Potian had no time to dodge.
Terrifying energy compressed the void into a destructive space and exploded with unparalleled force.
Wang Potian erupted with terrifying power, transforming into a golden giant. He tore open the destructive cage with both hands. Blood seeped from his indestructible body as he stood with disheveled hair.
"Who dares to attack the Transmigrator Alliance and interfere with our affairs?!" Wang Potian roared. His towering figure rivaled the starry dome.
Though he looked somewhat disheveled, his aura remained overwhelming.
"Transmigrator Alliance? It seems I was right."
Multicolored lights of the Great Dao dispelled the chaos from within, and stepped a supreme figure dressed in an Emperor robe, holding the Undying Nether Blade. A treasure wheel's outline floated behind him, and the Heaven Refining Gourd hovered above his head.
It was Su Chen.
Su Chen sensed the terrifying strength of Wang Potian, which far surpassed that of the Ten Absolute Martial Emperor. His previous strike had only left the man slightly disheveled, without inflicting any serious injury.
Wang Potian finally reacted as he looked at the figure before him.
"So you're the one who killed my brother, Ten Absolute Martial Emperor! A supreme Ruler who overcame more than seven Emperor tribulations—you are indeed talented. But you should never have provoked the Transmigrator Alliance. Our alliance's principle is simple: every member is a brother. Whoever kills one of our brothers, no matter who you are or what force you belong to, will be hunted to the ends of the universe until you are completely dead!"
Wang Potian was somewhat surprised, but not overly so.
Supreme Rulers were rare, but according to the Transmigrator Alliance's creed, anyone who killed one of their brothers was an enemy—regardless of talent—and would be pursued until death.
Su Chen: "..."
In truth, he was also a Transmigrator. But he had never received certification from the Transmigrator Alliance.
Unfortunately, Wang Potian had no intention of listening to reason. This was destined to be a fierce and brutal battle.