Chapter 645: Human, God, Demon, As One (III)

The gate!

Gazing at the towering, immovable stone gate in the distance, Chen Chu's eyes flickered with surprise. Despite the shockwaves from the heavenly king battle that had ravaged its surroundings, it remained completely unscathed.

With this thought, Chen Chu shot toward the gate. The moment he neared, it trembled even more violently.

Activating the Insightful Void-Slashing Eye, Chen Chu carefully scanned the gate, ensuring there was no trace of danger or unease. Only then did he place his palm against its surface.

Boom!

The black stone gate trembled with a deep rumble, and an invisible surge of information flooded into his sea of consciousness.

After a pause, Chen Chu's eyes gleamed with surprise and realization. "So the Heart of the World that Xiao Tianyi sought to refine was this very gate."

Known as Heaven's Gate, it was once forged by a mighty being who had long since perished. Now, it sealed the ruins from the outer world.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

When that mighty being, revered by countless alien civilizations, was still alive, this inner world remained fully connected to the outer, with countless beings passing through each day.

However, after that mighty being failed to ascend to eternity and perished, the inner world collapsed in a massive explosion, leaving only this stone gate and this fragment of the world adrift in the void.

Countless years had passed, and under the relentless tempering of the World Force, the unyielding stone gate had become even more resilient and powerful. At the same time, having become the core of this fragmented world, it also gradually developed a faint trace of sentience.

This sentience looked down on Xiao Tianyi, who had snuck in to attempt to refine the world fragment. As a result, it had always kept itself hidden, disguising itself as a mere entrance to the ruins.

After witnessing Chen Chu’s battle against Xiao Tianyi and the overwhelming power and potential Chen Chu displayed, however, the stone gate seemed to have acknowledged him.

"It possesses the special ability to seal and connect worlds." Chen Chu's face lit up with excitement.

His four illusory planar worlds, once expanded to their limit, would require being fused together to complete world creation and ascend into a true world.

This was precisely why the supreme law of world creation was so difficult to master. If merely opening illusory worlds were enough to merge them into a true world, then with the Human Federation’s dedicated efforts over the years, a second or even third world-creating cultivator would have already emerged.

Yet, the requirement of both comprehending the nature of worlds and fusing multiple worlds into one had stopped countless geniuses and freaks in their tracks.

Even among mighty species like the Purgatory Clan, mythical-level warriors who had mastered the laws of world creation remained incredibly rare, with centuries passing without a single one appearing.

Now, however, if Chen Chu could refine this stone gate, it would become the core that connected and stabilized his four planar worlds, greatly easing his path to world creation. It could even serve as a weapon, capable of directly crushing enemies to death.

Holding back his excitement, Chen Chu followed the instructions imparted by the stone gate, forming intricate rune seals with his hands as his spiritual will connected to the complex markings.

Buzz!

As golden light converged around Chen Chu’s hands, two intricate runes took shape. In the next instant, his figure flickered, reappearing atop the colossal ten-thousand-meter stone gate.

Bang!

As Chen Chu pressed both palms onto the gate, he imprinted the refining rune infused with his soul power. In an instant, the entire stone gate rumbled, shaking violently.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ancient engravings surfaced across the stone gate, unleashing a surge of immense energy that erupted outward and swept across dozens of kilometers from its center. Amid the raging currents, Chen Chu’s black hair danced wildly, and he could faintly sense a connection forming with the gate.

However, this was merely the initial link. Fully refining the Gate of the Heavens would take time, and there were still a few matters to attend to beforehand.

With that in mind, Chen Chu flickered into motion and appeared high above the stone gate, forming another seal and sending it downward.

Boom!

The black stone gate trembled again, splitting open slightly. In an instant, a powerful suction force burst forth, and the iron pieces in the hands of all surviving individuals began to glow.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Under this world’s power, An Fuqing, Chen Shuang, and the others, who had been thousands of kilometers away, suddenly appeared in front of the gate. They stared in astonishment at Chen Chu, who stood atop the stone structure.

Apart from Hong Zhen and his six companions, six mighty aliens had also survived, including the three-eyed youth. The rest were all dead.

An Fuqing immediately asked, "Chen Chu, are you alright?"

Chen Chu smiled slightly. "I’m fine."

Hong Zhen looked doubtful. "Chen Chu, that mythical-level being...?"

Chen Chu replied calmly. "Don’t worry. He’s already dead."

Everyone present, including the aliens, was shocked to the core. Earlier, both Chen Chu and the mythical-level being had radiated such an overwhelming aura that their strength seemed to surpass the very limits of the mythical level.

Yet, in such a short time, Chen Chu had actually killed that other mythical being? How could his strength be so terrifying?

Even those who were already aware of Chen Chu’s combat prowess, like Xia Zuo, who had witnessed him summon a colossal beast, couldn’t help but question reality itself at this moment.

As for the aliens, their fear of the human race deepened. If just a single Ninth Heavenly Realm human warrior was this powerful, then what about the mythical-level kings?

However, something felt off. The mythical kings from the Alliance of Gods were certainly strong, but the result of this battle seemed almost exaggerated.

The aliens exchanged glances, their eyes filled with doubt and apprehension. Humanity seemed more mysterious than ever, and it was becoming clear why they had risen so swiftly to challenge the dominance of the Purgatory Clan.

At that moment, Chen Chu spoke calmly. "That mythical-level being got in here through another entrance. He was a traitor of humanity named Xiao Tianyi. However, the one I killed earlier seemed to be just an avatar, not his main body."

"What?! Xiao Tianyi?" Chen Shuang was stunned. She had heard of this freak before.

Meanwhile, An Fuqing looked utterly shocked.

Li Hao widened his eyes. "Holy crap, Chen Chu! You actually defeated that traitor?"

Boom!

At that moment, the entire world shook violently. The land quaked, the sky trembled, and in the distant void, a massive rift spanning thousands of kilometers suddenly tore open.

Chen Chu’s expression turned serious. "We’ll talk about this later. First, I’ll send everyone out."

Boom!

As he spoke, a powerful suction force burst from the gate’s crack, sweeping up everyone except An Fuqing. In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.

Chen Chu then smiled slightly. "An Fuqing, this world is about to collapse. Do you want to stay and observe the destruction?"

"I do."

Just as she was about to say something else, she held back her tongue. Witnessing the destruction of a world fragment was an immense opportunity and one she couldn’t afford to miss. At this point, any questions she had could wait until later.

An Fuqing and Chen Chu stood atop the gate, gazing into the distance, where darkness devoured everything in its path.

Through the connection between the stone gate and the world fragment, Chen Chu's consciousness expanded without limit, enveloping the entire world. Within his perception, more than half of the world had already crumbled.

Massive rifts spanning hundreds to thousands of kilometers split through space, bringing catastrophic destruction. Vast regions of the cosmic void collapsed with deafening explosions, while violent chaotic currents erupted and spread in all directions.

In this moment, all things were perishing. Laws dissolved, and even the principle power's foundation that sustained this world began to collapse.

The laws and principles revealed in this great cataclysm radiated profound traces of mystery. Having once contemplated a complete micro-world, Chen Chu gained immense insights from witnessing this scene.

Creation and destruction were two sides of the same coin. Void and death coexisted, while thunderbolts and flames were merely different manifestations of the laws of heaven and earth.

Black-and-gold vertical pupils emerged in Chen Chu’s eyes as he gazed into the very essence of the collapsing world. A profound aura radiated from him, while the origin power of his inner world burned away at an astonishing rate, transforming into laws that were uniquely his own.

For a cultivator in the late stage of the Ninth Heavenly Realm, grasping laws and tempering their true form signified stepping into the peak, reaching the quasi-mythical level.

Although Chen Chu had only just begun to grasp the laws, with just a few traces of law runes appearing on his body, he was still in the late stage of the Ninth Realm.

As he witnessed the destruction of the world, his comprehension deepened dramatically. The laws of Void, Death, Lightning, and Fire tempered his true form at an astonishing speed. His aura grew ever greater, pushing him to the peak of the Ninth Heavenly Realm.

Meanwhile, An Fuqing, standing beside Chen Chu, also possessed unparalleled comprehension. She had once come close to completing the path of heavenly kings and had observed the origin of a complete micro-world.

Now, as she compared her past insights with the destruction unfolding before her, her understanding deepened dramatically as well. Four powerful sword wills erupted from her body, unfolding behind her to form a vast Sword World.

However, this Sword World, now overflowing with boundless sword qi, was also crumbling. The four sword wills, once suspended in the four directions, gradually merged into a force of absolute annihilation.

This was the pinnacle of the sword, the destruction of a world, the Great Cataclysm.

In the outer world, as the ruins' world began to collapse, the entire Chaotic Ancient Region shook violently. Space fractured, giving rise to massive black rifts.

Throughout the land, howling gales swept across the sky, stirring up storms of dust and debris that shook the heavens and earth.

This sudden upheaval immediately caught the attention of Jing Tai and the others in the distance. One god after another crossed the void, rushing toward the scene.