Chapter 669: Ancient Emperor, Unification of Divine Soul and True Form (I)

As the golden thunderbolt pillar dissipated, the oppressive force of the heavenly tribulation that had pervaded the world also subsided. Yet, the sheer pressure left the hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the floating city shaken, their minds trembling for a long time before they could regain their composure.

High above, tens of thousands of meters in the sky, Chen Chu stood with his halberd in hand in the slowly closing black passage. A transparent crystalline barrier shimmered around him, shielding him from the raging void storm and emanating an aura of absolute immovability.

The scene left many advanced cultivators utterly astounded.

"Unbelievable! He actually faced the tribulation head-on without sustaining a single injury!" Countless onlookers below were filled with awe.

The golden thunderbolts from before had been unimaginably powerful, their destructive force reaching the middle stage of the mythical level. Moreover, they carried a soul-shaking force that directly assaulted the soul.

Such attacks were dangerous to most cultivators. Currently, the Federation's research on soul-related cultivation arts remained limited, and those that existed were extremely difficult to cultivate.

Most Ninth Heavenly Realm experts had only managed to condense soul power, and lacked the means to fight with it or defend against soul-based assaults, let alone withstand the devastating impact of the world-shaking force.

While those below remained in stunned silence, high in the sky, Chen Chu slowly exhaled, suppressing the slight turbulence in his vitality.

As a divine ability, the Absolute Barrier would continue to grow stronger as his cultivation advanced.

Moreover, the expansion of his domain to a three-hundred-kilometer diameter had vastly amplified the power of the World Force, forming crystalline barriers of four-layered planar power. This granted him an unparalleled defense, making him virtually impervious to most mythical level attacks.

This was the overwhelming advantage of having reached the absolute peak in every aspect—no weaknesses.

Within the turbulent void around him, wisps of pure golden energy emerged. The instant they appeared, every cell in Chen Chu’s body surged with an intense craving, yearning to absorb them.

This energy.

His eyes flickered as he observed the ten floating strands of golden essence. From them, he sensed a power akin to the creation energy exhaled by the Little Purple Dragon, yet subtly different.

Without hesitation, Chen Chu reached out toward the golden strands. An invisible force pulled them toward him, drawing them into his body.

Boom!

The moment the golden energy fused with his being, the radiant sun formed by the Great Heavenly Sun Flame law behind him erupted with dazzling brilliance, crashing into him violently.

Instantly, transcendent energy rippled across the heavens and earth. Amid the great sun, Chen Chu’s form rapidly expanded, transforming into a 150-meter-tall demon god with three faces and six arms.

At the same time, the burning golden sun above compressed continuously, merging with his True Demon God Form. His aura surged exponentially, instantly shattering the barrier between transcendence and the mythical level.

In that moment, Chen Chu had truly ascended to the rank of a mythical king, wielding supreme mastery over the Great Heavenly Sun Flame—a high-level law.

Furthermore, under the influence of the golden creation energy, his cultivation stabilized instantly. Unlike other newly ascended kings, he did not need to enter seclusion for months to consolidate his realm.

Before he could fully familiarize himself with his newfound power, an even greater pressure suddenly spread across the sky.

A massive rift, resembling a pitch-black eye, split open further, expanding rapidly until it stretched over five hundred kilometers. From its depths, dazzling white radiance surged forth.

Boundless white flames churned violently, coalescing into a two-thousand-meter-long flaming longsword.

Yet, that was not the end. Amid the endless sea of white flames, an enormous beast, its body composed entirely of fire, emerged—a colossal entity with a wingspan of over five thousand meters.

Screech!

The white-flaming colossal beast, shaped like a phoenix, released a piercing cry that reverberated through the heavens. In an instant, a divine yet ferocious pressure, steeped in ancient majesty, swept across the land.

Boom!

The very moment the White-Flaming Phoenix descended, the transcendent energy within hundreds of kilometers surged wildly, spiraling into the sky to form an enormous energy vortex.

As the swirling transcendent energy collided with the white flames, it ignited instantaneously, setting the entire sky ablaze. In mere moments, white flames engulfed the heavens, radiating an unbearable heat.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Below, witnessing the sky consumed by a fire vortex spanning dozens of kilometers, numerous high-level cultivators swallowed nervously, their eyes filled with shock and dread.

Screech!

With another ear-splitting cry, the Phoenix flapped its burning wings. Clenching the sword light in its beak, it dove from the sky, engulfed in a sea of white flames, descending like an apocalyptic harbinger.

Although this strike did not contain a soul-shattering attack, the sheer bloodline suppression from an ancient mythical beast was enough to make countless cultivators’ legs tremble. Many collapsed onto the ground involuntarily.

It was an instinctive fear, buried deep in their genes—the primal terror of facing a legendary ruler of the sky and earth from the distant past, now resurrected in this moment.

Roar!

The mythical beast’s oppressive might triggered an explosive reaction within Chen Chu’s body. In an instant, a resonant dragon roar erupted from within him. A ferocious draconic might burst forth, dispersing the phoenix’s pressure.

Boom!

The atmosphere quaked violently. In Chen Chu’s hands, his halberd radiated golden brilliance, entwined with the Great Heavenly Sun Flame law. The weapon elongated into a two-thousand-meter-long golden halberd, piercing skyward.

All eyes locked onto the impending clash. In the blink of an eye, the golden flaming halberd collided head-on with the White-Flaming Phoenix.

Boom!

A cataclysmic explosion erupted as Chen Chu’s true power—with its unique detonative properties—stacked upon itself. The result was an extreme compression of the heavenly flames, which detonated with unimaginable force. The White-Flaming Phoenix and its sword light were obliterated in an instant.

The unleashed energy was so immense that it seemed as though a ten-kilometer-wide golden-white sun had suddenly materialized in the sky, illuminating the entire world with its infinite radiance and heat.

Around this scorching sun, a ring of white flame swirled outward, sweeping across dozens of kilometers. It shattered the thundercloud vortex that had gathered during Chen Chu’s breakthrough, its impact earth-shaking.

The shockwave, imbued with scorching winds, descended from the sky, incinerating everything in its path.

However, when the scorching shockwave neared three thousand meters from the floating city, a blue energy barrier emerged, enveloping all directions and shielding the people and buildings within.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The raging heat storm slammed into the barrier, triggering a dazzling energy explosion. The deafening roars of impact reverberated through the sky, shaking the heavens.

As the fiery explosion in the sky gradually dissipated, Chen Chu's towering form—three-faced, six-armed, godlike, and demonic—was revealed. Not far from him, a white flame floated quietly, radiating a pure brilliance.

With a slight gesture of his hand, an invisible force pulled the white flame toward him. It landed in his palm and instantly merged into his body.

Whoosh!

The moment the flame fused with him, a surge of intangible power washed over his entire being. His newly formed law-condensed true form grew even more formidable.

Most importantly, under the influence of this white-flaming energy, both his physical vitality and power of law and abilities became significantly more active, as if they had undergone a profound purification.

Roar!

Below, a lightning dragon—manifested by the Divine Thousand-Tribulations Lightning law—let out a resounding roar. It shone with dazzling light before streaking toward Chen Chu. The instant it merged into his body, his aura erupted once again, surging to unprecedented levels.

Encased in intertwining lightning, Chen Chu’s true form continued to expand, his presence growing increasingly overwhelming. The oppressive force of his existence became so intense that the surrounding space cracked audibly, struggling to withstand the weight of his power.

Above, Heavenly King Jiuyou observed the two-hundred-meter-tall figure in the sky, whose aura vastly surpassed ordinary mythical-level cultivators. A smile formed on his face.

“Chen Chu’s strength is terrifying. What would be a perilous mythical heavenly tribulation for other world creators has instead become an opportunity for transformation for him.

“Absorbing two types of tribulation origin power in succession not only stabilized his newly broken-through realm but also tempered his law-condensed true form, completing its first refinement.”

“Indeed.” Bright Blade King Mu Jun nodded in admiration.

Becoming a world creator was exceedingly difficult, as their focus was entirely consumed by comprehending the mysteries of the world and condensing planar worlds.

As a result, under normal circumstances, their transcendent true form, battle techniques, and cultivation arts were inferior to those of peak Ninth Heavenly Realm cultivators. This made the tribulations even more dangerous.

However, for Chen Chu, whose combat power in the late-stage Ninth Heavenly Realm already rivaled the peak of the mythical level, this tribulation had become an opportunity rather than a calamity.

The essence of a mythical heavenly tribulation was actually a resonance between the mythical world’s laws and an individual whose strength had surpassed conventional limits upon breakthrough.

Thus, the stronger the individual, the greater the tribulation’s might. However, its power remained within the mythical level’s range and would not exceed the established limits.

If it did, it would no longer be a tribulation—but a divine extermination.