Chapter 1052: Heavenly Dao’s Form, Divine Fusion (II)

As Chen Chu’s cultivation surged from absorbing the boundless world origin, a portion of that power followed the soul passage into the Destructive Dragon Emperor’s body. It repaired the dragon’s shattered cells and restored its collapsing life essence. Of course, that bit of feedback couldn’t truly reverse the Dragon Emperor’s wounds; it merely slowed the rate at which it was fading into nothingness.

As the two true spirits clashed, the heavens and earth within tens of millions of kilometers were being destroyed. The void collapsed, giving birth to countless black holes filled with annihilating storms. If it took place within a single galaxy, such a battle would be enough to destroy everything, including the stars themselves.

The power of a peak true spirit could shatter the heavens and earth within a million kilometers with a single strike. While it likely wouldn’t be able to destroy a star in one blow, it could easily destabilize one enough to trigger its detonation.

At the entrance to the battlefield, the fighting was just as brutal. Against the endless tide of the dark legion, the kings, heavenly kings, and even divine kings were being rapidly exhausted. From time to time, someone would be struck down and fall from the skies.

Without Chen Chu’s absolute suppression, even with the semi-true-spirit-level Divine King Tarodell holding the central region, they could only barely withstand three demon gods, one of which was Tyretis, greatly weakened in its phantom form.

Boom!

A colossal beast over eight hundred meters long exploded, torn apart by two demon kings working together.

How dare you kill a war general of my Dragon Palace! You are seeking death!

The Silver Colossal Dragon bellowed in fury, white light flashing from its maw.

Boom!

A breath of absolute frost struck into the demon phantom army, exploding instantly. Freezing air spread across thousands of kilometers, sealing everything into ice and turning the horde into countless sculptures.

The Silver Dragon, bloodlust rising, was about to dive into the surging black tide when a low growl came from afar.

Saixitia, do not rush out. Stay at the rear.

At once, the redness in the Silver Dragon’s eyes faded. With a beat of its wings, it steadied itself.

That was close; I nearly charged straight into the darkness.

The formless dark aura radiating from the Primordial Ancestor was laced with sinister and evil wills, stirring and magnifying the negative emotions in the hearts of all beings, both humans and colossal beasts. A moment of inattention could see one’s will clouded, bloodlust taking over, and a reckless charge into the endless dark.

Even the strongest divine kings, faerie kings, and ancient titans could be slain if surrounded by the countless demon phantoms within. From the moment Chen Chu had returned to the Blue Planet until now, only a little over two hours had passed. In that time, five mythical-level experts and two mythical colossal beasts had already rushed out and been torn apart.

The Silver Dragon caught its breath and glared fiercely at the boundless dark legion ahead, when suddenly, in the distant horizon, an incomparably dazzling light erupted.

Boom!

A golden-black sphere over two million kilometers across burst into radiance, tearing open half of the Abyssal Demonic Domain. The sky split with massive rifts, each one stretching across the heavens.

The destructive shockwave pierced through space-time. In the crimson glow of the Dark-Red World, vague, terrifying silhouettes could be seen on the other side of those hundreds of millions of kilometers of fractures.

"Humans, your end has come!" As the world itself trembled and the heavens roared with the force of the blast, the Ancestor’s killing-intent-laden roar echoed through the chaos.

In that instant, fear appeared on every face. Even the ancient titans showed panic in their eyes. The Dragon Emperor’s life and soul aura of the Dragon Emperor had vanished. The monstrous beast whose combat power defied the heavens had fallen.

Impossible. How could the king fall?

The Ancient Ray-Beast couldn’t accept it.

Thunder Fiery cannot be dead

. The Golden-Blue Colossal Dragon’s voice held disbelief.

Other colossal beasts roared, but there was a note of retreat in their voices. Without the Dragon Emperor to hold the line, none of them could stand against the terrifying Primordial Ancestor. With a single strike, it could destroy their true forms and souls, erasing them entirely with a turn of its hand. The gap between the ancient titan level and the peak of the true spirit level was simply too vast, a difference of an entirely separate stage.

"So it has come to this after all." At the rear of the Forbidden Zone Battlefield, the Celestial King let out a quiet sigh. His hundred-kilometer mech-like form unfolded and extended, transforming into an immense, ornate mech.

His voice sounded in the ears of every divine king. "This place can no longer hold. As planned, take everyone and withdraw. I will stay behind to cover the retreat."

I will not leave. The great Saixitia does not believe Ao Tian could die like this!

The Silver Dragon’s wings beat as it roared in defiance.

The Dragon Emperor’s aura suddenly reappeared on the horizon. In the center of the golden-black explosion, a hundred-meter-wide drop of golden-purple blood materialized, radiating an unimaginably powerful life aura.

The blood seemed not to belong to this space-time. The instant it appeared, it began to transform without end, regenerating flesh and bone until, in the blink of an eye, a golden-black colossal beast twenty thousand meters long stood there once more.

"A resurrection ability. No wonder you dared to destroy your life essence." Sensing the Dragon Emperor’s aura returning as strong as ever, the Ancestor halted the step it had been about to take, its expression darkening.

It hadn’t expected this beast to possess such a rare ability. Resurrection-type divine abilities were extraordinarily scarce across the vast world, for they completely defied the supreme principles of life and death. One that could instantly resurrect a true-spirit-level colossal beast was so precious and rare as to be nearly unmatched.

Even the Ancestor couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. If it had possessed such a divine ability back then, it could have risked its life to kill that human. Many extreme gambits it had never dared to attempt would have been within its grasp.

Boom!

The heavens and earth trembled. From the sea of annihilating light, the Dragon Emperor strode forth, its gaze locking onto the vast and boundless Ancestor as it let out a deep, resonant growl.

The next round begins now.

Boom!

Endless red light burst from the Dragon Emperor, drawing the Dark-Red Power into itself. Black flames surged across its form as its size swelled in an instant to 110,000 meters. At the same time, ten ability runes surfaced in its eyes and shattered.

Roar!

The feral, brutal cry shook the world. Its genetic sequence chains began to collapse, every cell detonating. In the very moment of its resurrection, the Dragon Emperor once again entered its World-Ending Form.

The black hole spanning a million kilometers reappeared. The power fluctuations left even the Ancestor shaken and furious.

"Are you insane? Is it worth going this far?" the Ancestor roared, unable to understand why the Dragon Emperor was pushing itself so recklessly.

It has already used the trump card of instant resurrection, and yet it came charging again. Is it truly unafraid of death? Or can this monster’s resurrection ability be used more than once?

The thought sent a mad chill through it.

In this world, how can any being possess a rebirth ability that defies the supreme principles more than once?

The Dragon Emperor had no interest in conversation. It tore through the void, appearing before the Ancestor with a force that suppressed space-time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The earth-shaking battle exploded once more, and this time the Ancestor was directly forced onto the defensive, steadily falling behind. Its fear that the Dragon Emperor might still have more lives to spend made it wary, unwilling to burn its own origin in desperation. If its reserves were overdrawn, there was a real possibility it could be dragged down with this beast.

A faint thought of retreat began to form. This was only an ordinary race after all; if it couldn’t be destroyed today, so be it. Compared to avenging the sword strike from the past, returning to the Supreme Abyss was far more important.

It had already evolved its Purgatory bloodline to the peak. Now, by returning to its clan and receiving the blessing of the Lord of Eternity, it would have a sliver of hope to break through into a primordial true demon.

The Dragon Emperor’s rebirth shocked every divine king and ancient titan on the battlefield, filling them with disbelief. Just as the Ancestor felt, the Dragon Emperor’s abilities were terrifying enough, and its battle power defied the heavens, but to have an ability that could instantly resurrect a true spirit was almost beyond reason. How were other colossal beasts supposed to live under such unfair fortune?

Even though the divine kings and colossal beasts here were on the same side, there was still a sense of fate’s unfairness.

How generously the world has favored the beast named Thunder Fiery. No, there is also a human. His talent is just as monstrous, his combat strength just as exaggerated.

Many instinctively looked up to the heavens, only to see that the solar system’s world above the sky had stopped its fall through the layers of space-time at some unknown moment.

"The second mythical surge has been stopped." At this sight, every human king and heavenly king lit up with joy, their hearts wild with excitement. With the second mythical surge halted, the solar system where the Blue Planet lay now stood independent between the mythical world and the original universe.

Holding the advantage of both universes and their principles, the Human Alliance now had the foundation to become a peak race of the mythical world. An age where all could be powerful was no longer just a dream.

It was this reason that humanity had been able to rise so far in only fifty years since setting foot in the mythical world. Every cultivator’s speed of progress was extraordinary. Kings, heavenly kings, even supreme powerhouses emerged one after another.

As life from another universe, the soul mark of humans was fundamentally different from the creatures of the mythical world. The difference ran through their cells, genes, and life sequence chains. Simply put, the people and creatures of the Blue Planet were filled with instability. No one knew to what heights they could evolve, or if they would grow weaker instead.

In contrast, the life forms of the mythical world were fixed in form, shaped and stabilized by its principles, even down to the time imprints entwined upon them.

"Kill, brothers! Today, victory will be ours!" Heavenly King Xuanwu roared with renewed vigor. His colossal form surged forward, shattering a great demon king’s phantom with his massive body.

"The Alliance will prevail!” The Golden-Winged Divine King shone with blazing light. Ten wings flared wide, blotting out the sky as golden radiance illuminated the land. It wasn’t only humanity’s strongest who saw hope. The powerhouses of the Heavenly Feathered Race and the Faerie Race felt their spirits lift, smiles spreading across their faces.

As allies of humanity, they knew that even if they couldn’t stand as equals now, humanity’s unity and willingness to give would ensure they were not treated poorly. Under the shelter of a people destined for greatness, their races would flourish again, perhaps even stronger than before.

Indeed, their choice back then had been the right one.

Over the course of this war, the powerhouses of all four civilizations had seen their spirits soar and plummet again and again, from despair to hope and back. Even divine kings like Tolstoy now felt mentally exhausted.

As the great war in the mythical world raged on, deep within the solar system’s world, an overwhelming true-spirit-level aura spread out from the Heart of the World.

Boom! Boom!

The sun’s surface, already expanded by a third, flared with even greater violence. Tongues of fire hundreds of thousands of kilometers high leapt into the sky in a magnificent display.

Hum!

Brilliant radiance seeped into outer space, spreading through the cosmos until half of the solar system was bathed in its light. Under that sacred brilliance, the Blue Planet’s atmosphere shimmered in seven colors, and all who saw it felt their hearts stir, as though the Heavenly Dao itself was about to be born.

“This... is the Heavenly Dao’s rank?” Deep within the Heart of the World, rich seven-colored radiance blazed. Chen Chu, towering fifty thousand kilometers high, stood tall, exuding the unmistakable aura of a true spirit.

With the endless origin and principles of the world sustaining him, and guided by that trace of heavenly-tier aura, he had already become a genuine true spirit. Yet, as he looked ahead at the ancient, pure-white seal that had formed, and at the transparent text floating before him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

[Heavenly Dao Seal. A supreme object, forged from the core principles of this world using a heavenly-tier aura as a medium, it is forged from the core principles of this world]

[Hint 1: By merging with the Heavenly Dao Seal, you will gain absolute authority over this world, becoming an existence akin to the Heavenly Dao itself. With a mere thought, you will be able to change the heavens and earth, and hold dominion over all life and death.]

[Hint 2: Once merged with the Heavenly Dao Seal, you will forever be bound to this world, unable to transcend.]

[Note: Should you forgo the Heavenly Dao Seal, everything gained from holding up the heavens will be stripped away, including the cultivation you achieved through the origin and principles of this world. There is even the possibility of dying from exhaustion. Choose carefully.]

Reading the transparent words that only he could see, Chen Chu’s expression remained calm. He had already decided. For anyone else, the cultivation of a true spirit and the authority of this great world’s Heavenly Dao would be an irresistible, maddening temptation. Among billions upon billions of living beings, even after cultivating for thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years, a true spirit could potentially never appear.

Even to Chen Chu, the realm of true spirits was alluring. However, when such a realm demanded freedom as the price, it became worthless.

He turned slightly, his gaze falling on Luo Fei, whose true form had swelled to two hundred thousand meters. Nine golden halos spun behind her, radiating an ancient and mighty aura.

“Luo Fei, you keep this for me.” With that, Chen Chu slowly placed the ancient seal that represented the Heavenly Dao’s position into Luo Fei’s hands.

Boom!

The moment Chen Chu chose to give it up, the Heavenly Dao Seal, as if sensing something, released a surge of violent repulsion and tore itself free from Mech No.1’s grasp.

At the same time, a terrifying force enveloped Chen Chu. Without resisting, he felt his life aura and soul fluctuations rapidly fade. His towering true form began to collapse and disintegrate.

In outer space, under countless stunned gazes, the majestic figure standing at the heart of the seven-colored radiance, holding the sun like Pangu, slowly toppled.

“Chen Chu! How is this possible?” The Primordial King’s eyes widened in disbelief as he sensed Chen Chu’s aura vanish.

“Brother!”

“Ah Chu!!”

On the Blue Planet, Chen Hu and Zhang Xiaolan felt something deep in their bloodline, staring up in shock at the immense figure crumbling in the sky.

In the mythical world, on the Forbidden Zone Battlefield, Heavenly King Xuanwu and the others snapped their heads upward, horror flashing across their faces.

What happened? Hasn’t he succeeded in holding up the heavens? Why is Chen Chu’s projection collapsing?

Just then, within the brilliance of the million-kilometer-high true form breaking apart, a figure devoid of life aura appeared. Like a meteor, it pierced through layer after layer of space-time. Under an unseen force, it tore open a world passage that connected to the mythical world.

Roar!

Spotting the falling “corpse” from above, the Dragon Emperor, which was battling the Primordial Ancestor, suddenly whipped its head around. In full view of all, it struck the Ancestor back with one blow, then soared upward, its massive maw opening wide toward the descending figure.

Before the eyes of countless stunned witnesses, the Dragon Emperor swallowed Chen Chu whole. In that instant, a voice rang within the Dragon Emperor's mouth.

Divine Fusion!