Chapter 1031: That Door (1)

"It’s starting to get interesting," said Oblivion. A glint of excitement flickered in his eyes. The fully sublimated Li Xiaofei had become a dazzling diversion in his otherwise long and tedious existence.

He took a deep breath. The vast sea of purple flames that had filled the sky poured into his body. His originally human-like form was now suffused with a faint violet mist, as though threads of purple energy were seeping out from every pore.

His muscles began to bulge, each ridge brimming with explosive power and visual intensity. He no longer relied on Dao laws to fight. This time, Oblivion chose to confront the fully sublimated Li Xiaofei head-on.

Boom!

A fist collided with a sword. A terrifying burst of energy rippled visibly through the void. These ripples spread outward, shattering the originally solid space barriers of the Land of Annihilation like layers of transparent glass.

The scale of this battle had nearly surpassed that of Emperors. Li Xiaofei’s entire body blazed with pure golden flames. In the end, his saber and sword dissolved into radiant light, fusing into his form and becoming part of his energy.

He felt an unprecedented surge of strength. Even a casual thought felt capable of shattering a galactic river. He struck out with his fist. The flame of his punch carried the edge of saber and sword alike.

A fist infused with both saber intent and sword intent had become the strongest force in this world.

Boom!

Fist met fist. Oblivion’s violet-flame-covered punch finally shattered, and most of his arm disintegrated into dust, reaching all the way to his shoulder. Li Xiaofei was well aware that this heightened state would not last long. If he could not severely wound or kill Oblivion within this short window, then everything would be meaningless.

So he launched a blitz at lightspeed. He gave Oblivion not even a breath of respite.

"Hehehe..." Oblivion chuckled, excitement and madness blazing in his eyes.

His shattered arm regenerated in an instant. But in the very next moment, his right chest was pierced through by Li Xiaofei’s fist. He couldn’t block it as there was simply no way to defend.

He sensed a strange attribute within Li Xiaofei’s burning origin energy. It was something that transcended Dao laws entirely. It completely suppressed his Oblivion energy, and was capable of shattering his body in a single instant.

How fascinating,

Oblivion grew even more exhilarated.

After countless years of existence, for the very first time, he was experiencing what it felt like to be utterly overwhelmed.

This feeling is... novel.

The golden radiance burning from Li Xiaofei’s body grew even fiercer, and the light he emitted illuminated the entire space, bathing the entire Land of Annihilation in a pure golden hue.

It was as if the whispers and blessings of thousands of his fellow human clansmen echoed in his ears. That was the power of faith. Faith was condensing and burning. Golden divine light burst from every pore of Li Xiaofei’s body. His eyes transformed into molten gold.

Every one of his strikes felt like the crystallization of a thousand hopes from the human race. His fists surged like dragons. They shattered Oblivion’s body again and again, but Oblivion regenerated and reformed again and again. The smile on its face only deepened.

"I could have dragged this out until your energy burned out... then finished you off. But what fun would that be?" Oblivion laughed heartily. "Had we been elsewhere, you might truly have dealt me a severe blow. But unfortunately, here... I am eternal and indestructible."

As soon as the words left his mouth, endless purple flames erupted from his body, and for a mere fraction of an instant, they blocked Li Xiaofei’s assault.

Oblivion used that moment to draw a line through the void with his left hand. A spatial rift burst open across an extremely distant plane. Through the crack, another space became visible, one where a final act was about to conclude.

Li Mu’s body had been torn apart. He had been slain by the purple-flame version of his own replica. His Dao foundation and origin had been obliterated, and he had completely perished within the void of the Land of Annihilation.

The primal force of the human Emperor, which had dissipated into the void, was also bound and sealed, no longer able to scatter into heaven and earth. This meant that even if the Emperor’s position remained vacant, the human race could no longer condense a new Immortal Emperor. It was a true extermination that removed the root and branch.

The purple-flame replica of Li Mu stepped through the spatial fissure and dove into Oblivion’s body. The violet light burning across Oblivion’s body suddenly flared, nearly taking physical shape as it radiated a twisted and annihilative aura.

His power increased once more. This increase was not just the result of the replica returning to him. Some of it came from absorbing the very essence of energy left behind after Li Mu’s fall.

Li Xiaofei broke through the barrier of violet flames and punched again, launching a relentless assault without hesitation. But this time, Oblivion’s defenses were noticeably stronger. His body no longer shattered so easily. He could now withstand several consecutive blows before fractures even began to appear.

Li Xiaofei sensed the change, yet his eyes showed no trace of panic or fear. There was only a burning will to fight. If the comrades who once stood beside him had fallen in battle, then those who remained alive had no choice but to pour everything they had into defeating the enemy. At such a moment, sorrow and anger had no place.

Only a single thought remained in Li Xiaofei’s heart: fight. He burned himself without hesitation, pouring all of his energy into the battle and leaving nothing in reserve. If this full sublimation, like a fleeting bloom of an epiphyllum, was destined to last but a moment, then let that moment blaze into an eternal brilliance.

Li Xiaofei shut out all distractions. Only the madness of his fists remained as he continued to strike, determined to destroy everything that stood in his way.

Oblivion began to descend into madness as well.

"Haha! Come on! This feeling is simply exquisite. This... this is exactly what I’ve been waiting for."

His expression twisted into a grimace of wild excitement. It was a face twisted between frenzy and glee. In truth, Oblivion had never been a sane being. The endless, unchanging ages of loneliness would have eventually eroded even a rational mind into madness.

The two most powerful beings across both universes abandoned all ideas of defense. They tore at each other with reckless destruction. Time passed. Even Li Xiaofei was surprised by how long he managed to maintain his state of full combustion.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had gone by. The whispers and prayers surrounding him had grown louder and louder, as if the entire human race were offering their strength, surrounding him with their cries, their cheers, their sacrifices, and their devotion.

Oblivion finally began to falter under Li Xiaofei’s relentless assault. His body started to fracture. Purple blood dyed the sky as it rained down. Li Xiaofei’s own body was also covered in wounds and cracks. Strange violet energies lingered in those wounds, corroding his flesh.

"You’re truly powerful," Even Oblivion couldn’t help but express his admiration.

Li Xiaofei had far surpassed his expectations. The fact that he had lasted this long was astonishing. Such prolonged combustion should have left him completely spent, even if he stood among the human Emperors. Li Xiaofei was clearly the weakest of the six human Immortal Emperors, yet he had endured far beyond what should have been possible in his fully sublimated state.

Was this the reason the other five Emperors had waited so long and nurtured Li Xiaofei in silence?

Oblivion grew more and more excited.

"Then let me plunge you into utter despair," said Oblivion.

He tore open the spatial barrier of the Land of Annihilation once more, allowing another battlefield to unfold before them.

Ding Hao was nowhere to be seen. Only a shattered rusted sword and a broken saber hilt remained, drifting through the void alongside a few bloodstained fragments of green robes. It still bore the mark of an Emperor’s blood.

The purple-flame replica of Ding Hao was left with only half of his body, yet still radiated formidable strength. The outcome was clear at a glance. The replica stepped through the spatial rift and merged into Oblivion’s main body in an instant. Oblivion’s previously fractured form restored itself instantly.

"The last one... has fallen as well," he laughed aloud.

A new spatial crack split open. Another battle had ended. Ye Qingyu’s broken soul drifted alone through the void, his physical body completely destroyed.

"All shall return to me." Oblivion laughed maniacally as he absorbed the purple-flame replica of Ye Qingyu. At the same time, he reached across an infinite distance, seized Ye Qingyu’s lingering soul, and crushed it without hesitation.

His laughter stopped abruptly. He turned to Li Xiaofei with a chilling gaze and said coldly, "Now, not a single one of the reinforcements you hoped for remains. Only you are left."

After fusing five separate clones into his being, Oblivion’s strength had swelled to a terrifying level. It surpassed even the peak of his original might.

But Li Xiaofei remained expressionless. There was no sorrow nor joy on his face. He continued to burn all of his energy. No hesitation or doubt remained. In that single moment, he unleashed everything he had.

By this point in the battle, he no longer feared, nor worried. If the result proved unsatisfactory, then perhaps that was the final answer. He gave it his all, and the rest, he would leave to fate.

Li Xiaofei became a blinding flare of searing light, charging straight toward Oblivion. Oblivion’s form suddenly grew as he transformed into an endless tide of violet radiance that swallowed Li Xiaofei completely.

"It’s all over," Oblivion’s whisper echoed across the heavens and earth.