Chapter 459: Primordial Principle, Innate Slumber (I)

In the depths of the void, Chen Chu stood quietly before the grand gate.

A fifty-meter-tall soul projection, identical in appearance to Chen Chu, towered over him from behind. It donned a black imperial crown on its head and a black imperial robe.

The Soul Emperor also held a black seal that radiated an overwhelming sense of oppression.

With the help of this soul path, Chen Chu had finally broken through the first stage of the Taixu Nether Light Scripture. His soul continuously compressed and condensed into the form of an emperor.

Of course, it was only a resemblance in appearance. To reach the level of true soul emperorship with an eternal and indestructible soul—as described in the Taixu Nether Light Scripture—he still had a long way to go.

However, due to being deep within the void, no one was able to witness this scene.

Feeling the path behind him collapsing, Chen Chu suddenly looked over his shoulder. As though his gaze could pierce through endless time and space, he saw something in the distance. Without turning back, he pressed his hands against the grand gate.

Simultaneously, the soul projection behind him extended its right hand as well.

Boom!

Under Chen Chu's explosive force, the black gate, which only a soul could touch, began to tremble. Slowly, a rift cracked open, from which faint white light flickered.

Without hesitation, Chen Chu stepped inside. The black gate shook and slowly closed behind him.

***

Outside.

As Chen Chu entered the black gate, the projection in the sky vanished. Simultaneously, an invisible force stopped the continent from returning to the depths of the void.

"Chen Chu went in! He has entered the gate!"

"What could be inside?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's definitely an inheritance from a being greater than a heavenly king! That's the end of the path to divinity!"

Watching Chen Chu walk through the towering gate, Xia Youhui's face flushed with excitement. "That ultimate backer of mine has really hit the jackpot this time."

Lin Xue, Lin Yu, and all the others from the southern battlefield who knew Chen Chu were equally shocked.

After all, that was the end of the path to divinity.

Xie Chen had once said that on the path to divinity, there were inheritances from twelve monarchs comparable to heavenly kings, and beyond the monarchs were the emperors.

Bredos raised his head, staring at the now-empty Eye of the Sky with a hint of excitement. "That guy... he's even more terrifying than I imagined. I'd love to cut his muscles open and see what kind of structure lies within."

Ji Wuji, standing beside him, couldn't help but cast a strange look at the slightly deranged Bredos. "He'd probably smash you to death in one blow before you could even cut through his skin."

At that moment, the geniuses below couldn't help but be in awe. Even Xie Chen and the other two in the sky felt a hint of excitement.

"He's gone in..."

However, as kings, their expressions remained calm on the surface.

Heavenly King Youming turned and looked down at the crowd below. Calmly, he said, "This expedition is now coming to an end. Most of you have gained something from it.

"Everyone performed well on this path to divinity. Seven have even shown potential worthy of kings. I am quite pleased.

"However, the road of cultivation is long and arduous. I hope that in the future, none of you will become arrogant or impatient. With hearts set on advancing bravely, you must tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice, to ascend to the throne as soon as possible."

The crowd immediately responded with respect, "We humbly accept your teachings, Heavenly King."

Although Heavenly King Youming appeared gentle, everyone knew that he was a powerhouse stronger than even the deities of myth and legend. In ancient times, he would have been considered a supreme god.

They had to show him respect. The moment they lost their reverence for the strong, they would be courting self-destruction.

Heavenly King Youming continued, "For those of you who haven't stepped onto the path to divinity or haven't reached the path of kings yet, do not lose heart.

"The so-called path to divinity is just a test of your current strength. It reflects where you are now, not where you will be.

"We, the cultivators of true martial arts, defy the heavens by nature. Our talent and potential will transform as we continue cultivating, and as our physiques evolve and undergo transformations.

"To those who have obtained inheritances during this expedition, as long as you cultivate diligently and fully digest your harvest from this experience, your strength and foundation will rise to a whole new level.

"However, before entering seclusion, you will have to visit the base over there and transcribe your harvest—be it arts or runes—into the Federation's core arsenal first.

"You also have one more matter to attend to."

A moon with black edges and a white core slowly rose behind Heavenly King Youming. The mystical light it radiated illuminated the entire darkened sky.

Amid its interwoven black-and-white glow, the black moon continued to expand, gradually occupying everyone's field of vision.

Using the laws of the underworld that Heavenly King Youming had under his control, he altered everyone's memories regarding Chen Chu.

What had originally been memories of Chen Chu reaching the end of the path and obtaining the emperor's inheritance was rewritten into him pushing through the path to divinity but ultimately stopping at the later stages of the path of heavenly kings.

Information about An Fuqing was also modified, placing her in the middle stages of the path of heavenly kings.

Ordinary heavenly kings couldn't alter high-level cultivators' memories, which was why Ji Yongning specifically invited Heavenly King Youming from the mythical world.

As a heavenly-king-level powerhouse like Heavenly King Jiuyou—whose law also involved the soul but had a different focus—only he could simultaneously modify the memories of nearly a thousand high-level cultivators.

However, he could only alter memories of recent events. Though much earlier memories could also be modified, the individuals would quickly notice the inconsistencies and break through the mental seal.

After all, every high-level cultivator who had reached this level possessed an unshakable belief and unity of spiritual will, especially those like An Fuqing, who had cultivated sword will.

Thus, the content of the memory alterations couldn't be too drastic, or it would create contradictions. That was why it would be too absurd if he tried to make it seem as though Ji Wuji, who had a talent ranked as "first," had never walked the path of kings.

That was especially true for Chen Chu, who had already slain countless contaminated monsters by himself and accumulated over 700,000 Purple Spirit points before even stepping onto the path to divinity.

Heavenly King Youming glanced at the crowd, who were still under the influence of the Soul Suggestion. He then turned to Xie Chen. "Old Xie, you stay here and oversee things. I'll take them to the base."

"Got it, leave this place to me."

Boom!

Manipulating the darkness, Heavenly King Youming made endless waves of dark power surge forward. Everyone was transported to the nearby base.

Bang! Bang!

As they landed, Xia Youhui and the others blinked as the darkness receded, revealing the brightly lit base buildings and main hall.

On the steps of the base building, several staff members who had been waiting greeted them politely. "Students, please come this way to register."

"Got it."

"There are quite a few people, so please form a single line. Those of you who have obtained inheritance arts, please come this way to upload your consciousness information through the sensor linked to the Celestial Think Tank.

"Those who acquired runic or textual inheritances, please head over there for energy scanning, text-image scanning, and special energy analysis."