Chapter 327: The Great Jing Immortal Dynasty (Part 15)
"Your existence has indeed brought this Immortal Monarch some amusement," Burial True Immortal Monarch said, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. It was impossible to tell whether the expression was real or illusory—mockery, perhaps, or mere playfulness.
He waited quietly as the Strategic Chess Emperor Lord stepped into a new realm, making no move to interfere.
"I have succeeded… I, Strategic Chess, have finally broken through to the immortal realm and become a True Immortal!" Strategic Chess Emperor Lord laughed wildly. At this moment, he felt more powerful than ever and no longer feared Burial True Immortal Monarch.
He gathered his killing move, surging with murderous intent, and charged straight at the Immortal Monarch. Yet just as he was about to reach him, he saw Burial True Immortal Monarch looking at him as if he were an insect.
Faced with his full-powered strike, Burial True Immortal Monarch simply extended a single finger and pressed forward gently.
Countless barriers appeared before the Strategic Chess Emperor Lord. No—he had been reduced to a mere mortal!
"Immortality is not merely a matter of strength," Burial True Immortal Monarch said indifferently from on high, watching Strategic Chess Emperor Lord struggle. "I had thought you would understand, yet you remain so foolish. Immortal dao fortune? Is this what you relied upon?"
Burial True Immortal Monarch flicked his finger lightly. The vast fortune enveloping the Strategic Chess Emperor Lord began to shatter layer by layer.
"Anyone who slaughters beings protected by immortal dao fortune will suffer the immortal dao curse. This is an unchanging rule of eternity," he continued. "But did you truly believe this rule was meant to bind me? You actually thought to use a rule I myself established to oppose me?"
With a casual wave of his hand, Burial True Immortal Monarch restored every force and expert Strategic Chess Emperor Lord had destroyed. The sight shattered Strategic Chess Emperor Lord's Dao heart completely.
All the effort of countless epochs had been nothing but a joke.
Blood and tears streamed down his face as he alternated between crying and laughing like a madman. "Why… why… I am a sinner… I am a sinner… hahaha…"
Despair. What utter despair.
Strategic Chess Emperor Lord's Dao heart had been utterly broken.
Burial True Immortal Monarch regarded the raving figure as if admiring a carefully crafted work of art. The stage play that had entertained him was nearing its end. He did not mind showing a bit of mercy.
"Why?" the Immortal Monarch asked. "Because it was amusing, of course. Don't you think it is entertaining to watch an ant climb higher and higher, only to plunge it back into despair the moment it grasps all hope?"
For long-lived beings, boredom was the greatest torment. To Burial True Immortal Monarch, toying with fate was his greatest pleasure. Strategic Chess Emperor Lord was neither the first nor the last.
The immortal dao fortune dissipated. Strategic Chess Emperor Lord's body vanished.
Burial True Immortal Monarch turned his gaze in one particular direction—the direction of the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty.
"Now, this Immortal Monarch has found a more interesting toy."
The corners of his mouth curved upward.
...
The immortal dao fortune vanished. Countless human powerhouses died violent deaths, plunging the race into tragedy.
Inside the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty, the impact was slightly lessened due to the extra protection, but the situation was still dire.
Su Chen's Great Wisdom Heaven suffered heavy damage. The strongest expert of the human race, Strategic Chess Emperor Lord, had attempted to become an immortal—and failed!
The consequences of that failure had dragged the entire human race down with him.
"A True Immortal… there is a True Immortal plotting against the entire human race!"
Su Chen had no issue with a True Immortal scheming against the human race in general. The problem was that he himself was currently a member of the human race, and now he had been marked by one.
He understood the terror of True Immortals all too well. With his current strength, facing a True Immortal-level existence was impossible.
But he still had time to grow.
From the final memories of Strategic Chess Emperor Lord, Su Chen knew that the terrifying Burial True Immortal Monarch intended to turn him into the next Strategic Chess Emperor Lord.
A chess piece appeared in Su Chen's hand.
"Giving me time… will be your greatest mistake."
In the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty, the Strategic Chess Emperor Lord had fallen while attempting to become an immortal, taking the entire human race's fortune with him.
Ever since that day, Heavenly Martial Emperor had also vanished without a trace.
Gradually, rumors began to spread throughout the dynasty. They claimed that Heavenly Martial Emperor had been suppressing the dynasty's fortune and was now gravely wounded by the backlash from the dissipation of the human race's immortal dao fortune. He was on the verge of death and no longer possessed the strength to suppress the various foreign races.
The rumors grew wilder by the day. The Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty tried every means to suppress them, but the stories continued to spread. Even in the most remote corners of the dynasty, word circulated that Heavenly Martial Emperor was severely injured and on the brink of death—despite many people having no idea who he was.
...
Purple Sun Heavenly Province.
Of the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty's three thousand provinces, only eighteen were known as upper provinces. Each one had been forged into a pure land through the blood and sacrifice of countless human ancestors. These provinces housed innumerable forces, including several pillar-like immortal-level powers with Emperor-level experts guarding them.
The Zhuge Clan was one such power. As the colossal entity overseeing Purple Sun Heavenly Province, their mission was to protect the entire province and ensure the dynasty's vital lifeline never fell.
"Will we still receive reinforcements?"
Zhuge Yao, renowned across the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty for her ability to calculate the workings of heaven, looked at the dimming world and gave a bitter smile.
This was already the three-thousandth year of Purple Sun Heavenly Province's siege. Ever since news of Heavenly Martial Emperor's disappearance had spread, the forces he had once suppressed began to stir. When they realized he would not appear no matter how far they went, their actions grew bolder. What started as probing soon turned into outright invasion.
Without its leader, the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty fell into disarray. Internal factions fought for power and cultivation resources. While foreign races remained wary, the internal powers tore at each other without restraint. Only a handful of province-level forces, led by Purple Sun Heavenly Province, continued to resist.
As a result, Purple Sun Heavenly Province had become a thorn in the eyes of many foreign races.
Before Zhuge Yao stood a woman holding a red-tasseled spear. Cold light gleamed off her armor, stained with immortal blood. After thousands of years, Nan Hongsang had grown tremendously. She had become the Martial Goddess guarding Purple Sun Pass, single-handedly suppressing countless foreign prodigies.
Ever since leaving the capital, Nan Hongsang had never returned. All messages seemed to have vanished into the sea.
"Reinforcements…The entire Purple Sun Heavenly Province has been cut off from contact. There is no word from the capital, and the other provinces fear the foreign races' strength and have abandoned resistance. If Purple Sun Heavenly Province falls and becomes a paradise for foreign races, our human race will never have another chance to rise."
Nan Hongsang understood the critical importance of Purple Sun Heavenly Province all too well. Her red-tasseled spear stood like an unyielding banner.
Without reinforcements, the foreign races did not even need to send their Emperor Lords.
"Yes… our human race will never rise again. Perhaps today we will fall here."
Zhuge Yao reached out with her slender hand and touched the void, manifesting countless worlds. Those worlds had turned into ghostly domains. Above the barriers of Purple Sun Heavenly Province stood a towering giant, its head bowed low, all signs of life gone. Yet even without vitality, it continued to fight.
Streams of light constantly poured into its body—light drawn from the ancient altars across Purple Sun Heavenly Province. Every second, countless lives were extinguished. Geniuses who had once been unrivaled in their realms had become nothing more than insignificant nourishment for the giant.
Although half of Purple Sun Heavenly Province's territory still held, the living beings within those lands had already been reduced to less than one in ten thousand.
"The Zhuge Clan's Heaven-Seizing Grand Array won't hold much longer," Zhuge Yao said. "I will use the last strength of Purple Sun Heavenly Province to send you away. As long as you survive, there may still be hope."
Zhuge Yao looked at Nan Hongsang with a faint smile. At this point, how could someone as clever as her fail to understand the situation? The only way to resolve Purple Sun Heavenly Province's crisis was if Heavenly Martial Emperor appeared. But that was impossible.
Nan Hongsang shook her head.
"Why not? Don't you want to return to the capital? For the past seventy thousand years, you've been talking about that husband of yours nonstop," Zhuge Yao said. A trace of envy appeared on her ethereal, fairy-like face. "I still don't understand what's so special about him that a remarkable woman like you would think about him for so long."
A rare, gentle smile appeared on Nan Hongsang's face, softening her usual battle-hardened aura. "To me… everything about him is good. He prepares pastries for me, always comforts me when I'm upset, watches me practice spear in the snow, and plays the zither for me…"
Zhuge Yao could not understand. There were countless men in the world who could do such things. What kind of charm did that man possess to make a prodigy like Nan Hongsang depend on him so deeply? The Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty had countless geniuses, yet that man's name had never appeared among them.
"Since he's that good, you should leave even more. You still carry immortal dao fortune. The Zhuge Clan's grand array can send you away—they won't be able to stop you."
Although Zhuge Yao did not fully understand, she did not want to see Nan Hongsang die here in vain.
Nan Hongsang smiled. "Precisely because of that, I must stay. If I escape, the historians of the world will not let me go, nor will they let him go."
The towering giant's body gradually stopped moving. From its feet to its head, it stiffened inch by inch. No matter how powerful a corpse was, in the end it was still just a corpse. Purple Sun Heavenly Province's final trump card had been exhausted.
The black tide of foreign races, countless as locusts, surged into Purple Sun Heavenly Province. The last remaining human cultivators of the province, even when they poured out in full force, seemed insignificant before the overwhelming numbers of the enemy.
Nan Hongsang's red-tasseled spear snapped. She drew the sword at her waist and carved a path of mountains of corpses and seas of blood through the foreign races. Her cultivation broke through once more, yet she continued fighting until her true essence was depleted, her laws ran dry, and not a single drop remained in her Dao source.
The human population of Purple Sun Heavenly Province dwindled rapidly.
Nan Hongsang gripped her sword hilt with all her remaining strength and looked around at the god-like enemy figures surrounding her.
"Has the human race's Heavenly Martial Emperor truly died?"
"This human prodigy carries immortal dao fortune on her body."
"We cannot kill her directly, but we can suppress her. Once the immortal dao fortune protection dissipates, we will be able to end her."
"What a pity about Heavenly Martial Emperor as an opponent. With Purple Sun Heavenly Province destroyed and the number one genius of the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty falling into our hands—if Heavenly Martial Emperor were still alive, he would never accept this outcome."
"..."
Chapter 328: The Great Jing Immortal Dynasty (Part 16)
Those terrifying figures were actually scheming against Heavenly Martial Emperor!
Nan Hongsang struggled to raise her head. She watched the powerful beings celebrate their victory with smug expressions. Was she merely a pawn in their game?
Nan Hongsang smiled bitterly. The current situation was dire beyond words.
Zhuge Yao believed that as long as the Heavenly Martial Emperor was still alive, he could save the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty. But Nan Hongsang knew better. Even if Heavenly Martial Emperor were still alive, he could not reverse the tide of this war.
Facing the judgmental gazes around her, Nan Hongsang seemed to abandon all resistance. She leaned against her broken spear and carefully placed the last piece of Worry-Free Pastry into her mouth.
Worry-free… worry-free…
Nan Hongsang thought back to her first meeting with Su Chen. Ever since the time she had accidentally pushed him into the river, causing the powerless Su Chen to fall gravely ill, she had kept coming back. She was never particularly fond of Worry-Free Pastries. She simply wanted to close the distance with that lonely figure.
Yet even now, she could not abandon the convictions in her heart. She had witnessed too many human tragedies, seen her people reduced to livestock—or worse than livestock. She could not forsake her beliefs for the sake of love.
"I only hope that when my husband hears of my death, he will not grieve… May he marry a good woman and live out his remaining days in peace, free from the world's scorn."
Nan Hongsang savored the soft, sticky sweetness of the pastry.
The powerful beings watched her actions. Just as they prepared to suppress and erase her, the entire world suddenly shook violently.
A towering figure rose from the abyss, radiating overwhelming Emperor pressure.
"That is…"
The surviving beings of Purple Sun Heavenly Province looked on in disbelief. The long-vanished Heavenly Martial Emperor had appeared!
They erupted into cheers. With his arrival, countless foreign experts turned to nothingness in an instant.
Heavenly Martial Emperor raised one hand, intending to tear open the barriers. From the vast chaos beyond came a majestic voice.
"Heavenly Martial Emperor, you have finally shown yourself!"
"As expected, you were gravely wounded and forced into hiding."
Eight terrifying figures emerged from the boundless chaos and surrounded Heavenly Martial Emperor. It was clear they had been waiting for this very moment.
A broken sword filled with annihilating aura sliced through an entire world. A battle capable of destroying everything engulfed the battlefield.
"You dared to scheme against me?" Heavenly Martial Emperor said. "None of you have the courage to do so on your own! Let the true mastermind step forward. I want to see who has betrayed the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty!"
Heavenly Martial Emperor looked at the eight figures. Each one possessed Emperor Lord-level strength, yet he did not seem to regard them at all. Even though he knew he had fallen into a trap, he showed no fear. Even heavily injured, he still carried an unmatched bearing.
As his words fell, a ninth figure appeared faintly behind the eight. It was a young man in white robes, as pure as white jade. Before the figure fully materialized, a familiar yet strange voice caused Heavenly Martial Emperor's pupils to contract sharply.
"Father… it is time for you to abdicate. You have grown muddle-headed. Your son had no choice but to resort to this measure—for the safety of the human race and to preserve its final spark."
The surviving beings of Purple Sun Heavenly Province stared at the newcomer in fury. Rage flooded their minds.
"It's you… Why did you betray me?"
The Heavenly Martial Emperor's expression changed drastically. His face turned deathly pale, his eyes burning with fury yet laced with a trace of desolation.
Even when surrounded by eight powerhouses of the same realm, he had not lost his composure. But as that figure fully materialized, his last shred of hope crumbled into dust.
The Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor... the current Crown Prince.
The Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor spoke calmly, "Father, your methods have been far too aggressive. You have offended too many supreme clans. If this continues, our Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty will eventually face reckoning. Why not submit to the supreme clans while we still can? Even if it means becoming their servants, we can at least preserve the final embers of the human race."
The Heavenly Martial Emperor stared in disbelief. "So... you were the one who handed over the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty's killing arrays to them?"
The Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor nodded. "I revealed the flaws in the Great Jing killing arrays to the supreme clans. I also spread the news of your mortal wounding and death across the heavens. I concealed all information from the various realms, so even while you were in seclusion recovering from your injuries, you remained unaware of what was happening outside."
"Today, you will fall here. Under my control, the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty will only grow stronger, more prosperous, and enjoy eternal peace."
The Heavenly Martial Emperor roared in rage, "This Emperor has dominated the world for eighty million years. How could I have raised a beast like you!"
With a furious shout, he charged straight at the son he had once cherished most, showing no mercy.
A surge of power erupted from the Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor, rivaling that of the Heavenly Martial Emperor himself. The two terrifying auras collided violently.
Seeing the shock on his father's face, the Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor said, "Father, what good did supporting the Wisdom Divine Cult and nurturing Nan Hongsang do? True prosperity and longevity come only from submitting to a True Immortal. Your stubbornness defies the survival laws of the Heavenly Gang Immortal Domain. Opposing an Immortal Monarch will bring only ruin, and the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty will sink deeper into the abyss."
"The power of Lord Immortal is beyond your imagination. A single blessing allowed this son to surpass you. We can never contend against him."
Multiple auras locked onto the Heavenly Martial Emperor.
As the brutal battle drew to its grim conclusion, the Heavenly Martial Emperor let out a bitter laugh. "You will face heavenly retribution. You will die in the most miserable way imaginable..."
The Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor severed the Heavenly Martial Emperor's head, gouged out one of his eyes, and then obliterated the rest of the body with a single palm strike.
"No need for Father to worry about me," he said. "You are the loser now. I will make sure you watch as the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty flourishes and prospers under my rule."
The Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor plucked out one of his own eyes and placed the Heavenly Martial Emperor's eye into the empty socket. He then tore open a spatial rift, turned toward Nan Hongsang with a faint smile, and said, "Without you, I could not have plotted against Father so easily. As repayment, I will personally send my ninety-ninth brother to accompany you on the road to the Yellow Springs, so you won't be lonely."
At that moment, the Benevolent and Virtuous Great Emperor was no different from a devil.
...
Inside the Heavenly Capital.
Su Chen watched as the national fortune of the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty dissipated. The father he had met only once had fallen... Even the True Self, the Lord of Great Wisdom, had gone silent.
"Hongsang is in danger, and my true self is unreliable."
As the Human Emperor, Su Chen took a light step forward.
The entire Heavenly Capital trembled.
Countless eyes turned toward the scene in shock.
The entire fortune of the Great Jing Heavenly Dynasty had converged upon a single person. Even the most terrifying heavenly tribulation could not stop that figure.
"Is that... the Ninety-Ninth Prince?"