N-A-A Chapter 30 The Fall of the Stone Emperor, the Cycle of Reincarnation!
Chapter 30 The Fall of the Stone Emperor, the Cycle of Reincarnation!
The Stone Emperor's roar echoed within the immortal array. Before the dark shadow of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd had dissipated, the pillar of light atop the Hun Tian Ridge suddenly contracted.
All the radiance vanished in an instant, and the countless strange phenomena seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand and abruptly pulled back into that figure.
Then, Yu Dao stepped forward.
A foot landed on the void, causing the entire Hun Tian Ridge to sink slightly. The space itself was dented by this foot, and a visible ripple of void spread outwards from the mountain peak. Wherever it passed, the black mist retreated, rubble floated, and even the tribulation clouds that were gestating in the sky were pushed out of place, creating a huge hole.
His black hair cascaded down to his waist, each strand shimmering with a subtle light. His face was young and handsome, his features deep and sculpted, as if carved by a knife. Beneath his skin, the essence of immortality seemed to flow, each movement causing the surrounding void to hum faintly. Fragments of his fading, aged shell still hung behind him, not yet completely dissipated, forming a striking image with his newborn body: on the left, withered, grayish-white fragments; on the right, a vibrant ocean of life. One side represented the end of eternal annihilation, the other the beginning of reincarnation and rebirth.
His tattered ancient battle robe also completely crumbled during the transformation, replaced by a plain-colored robe formed from the Dao principles. The hem of the robe fluttered slightly in the wind, and with each flutter, a world-shaking phenomenon appeared and disappeared on the surface of the robe.
Dragons and phoenixes sing in harmony, the sun and moon move in parallel, and mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees are born and die one by one in the sleeves of clothing.
He didn't exude any aura, but simply by standing there, the world fell silent.
The wind ceased, the black mist stagnated, and even the lightning rolling in the tribulation clouds seemed to be choked by some higher-level power, emitting a low, muffled sound but daring not to strike. It was not a deliberate pressure, but the natural submission of heaven and earth to a true, flawless supreme being after living a second life!
All things have a spirit, and all paths have knowledge!
Yu Dao raised his head and looked at the Imperial Weapon Calamity that was being conceived. His eyes were as deep as an abyss, and four strange phenomena were rotating in the depths of his pupils: creation, existence, annihilation, and rebirth. Each rotation made his aura even more unfathomable.
He took a step forward.
This step led directly into the depths of the calamity clouds.
Without any probing, confrontation, or gradual process, while the heavenly tribulation was still brewing and gathering momentum, he had already charged in!
His posture didn't resemble that of someone undergoing tribulation; rather, it was as if he were strolling leisurely. Golden blood energy surged into the sky, tearing the tribulation clouds apart from within. One after another, the tribulation lightning bolts that were forming were crushed by his hand. Blazing white lightning exploded between his fingers, without even leaving a trace on his skin.
The Tribulation of the Imperial Weapon is different from the Tribulation of Ascension to Dao. Its core is not to test the one undergoing the tribulation, but to test the supreme divine weapon that is taking shape. But at this moment, Yu Dao used his physical body to withstand the tribulation lightning, taking on all the heavenly tribulation that should have been borne by the Wheel of Reincarnation. His fist smashed through the sea of lightning, his palm shattered the illusory image of the Imperial Weapon that had condensed in the tribulation clouds, and his feet stomped in the void, each step crushing a large area of tribulation clouds.
In a mere moment, he forcefully punched a hole through the entire cloud of calamity!
At the same time, the divine material that had been smelted in the furnace of the Dao finally completed its final transformation.
As the Dao Fire died down and the Dao Furnace dissipated, the outer shell of the Chaos Stone cracked inch by inch. The gray-black stone skin peeled away like a cicada's molt, revealing the crystal-clear Chaos Immortal Marrow within. The Immortal Marrow shimmered with a hazy gray light, and deep within that light, one could faintly see an undeveloped primordial universe slowly rotating. Stars had not yet been born, heaven and earth had not yet separated, and only the purest origin slumbered in the boundless chaos.
The golden liquid of the Dao Tribulation Gold was simultaneously injected into the Chaos Immortal Marrow, leaving a faint golden sheen on the circular artifact embryo. The completely different divine materials intertwined inside the artifact embryo, like a true dragon coiling and dancing in the lightning tribulation, and each intersection burst forth with dazzling brilliance.
Ultimately, they remained frozen in time.
An unparalleled disc was born from the immortal essence. The Reincarnation Disc. Its entire body was an ancient, chaotic color, with patterns formed from the gold of the Dao Tribulation inlaid on its front.
The patterns are countless ancient runes so fine they are almost invisible to the naked eye. They were not carved on by hand, but emerged naturally during the smelting process. They are a true manifestation of the Dao that brought Yu to life.
The Wheel of Reincarnation slowly rose and fell in the clouds of tribulation, each rotation causing the tides of the laws of the entire starry sea.
It doesn't rotate quickly, in fact, it's extremely slow, yet it possesses a rhythm that instinctively sends shivers down the spines of all onlookers. It's as if an entire system of world laws has been compressed into a disc, reshuffling the universe.
Yu Dao stretched out his hand, and the Wheel of Reincarnation gently landed in his palm. The surface of the wheel rotated slightly, and a chaotic light flowed in his palm, emitting a faint hum.
His gaze lifted from the Wheel of Reincarnation and looked at the Stone Emperor in that corner of the Immortal Array.
The Stone Emperor held the Heavenly Desolate Halberd, his armor covered in shards of light left over from the shattered phenomena of the immortal array. He sensed that gaze, and the killing intent contained within that seemingly indifferent gaze.
"Lord of Chaos, do you think you're invincible just because you've lived a second life?"
Even trapped by the immortal array, even facing a flawless supreme being who had lived a second life, the Stone Emperor's cold arrogance remained undiminished. He and the jet-black halberd in his hand were one, and a destructive aura spread from the halberd's tip to every inch of space around him. His eyes remained cold, and deep within his pupils burned a dark imperial flame, a flame that did not waver in the slightest, but only grew more intense in its killing intent and fighting spirit.
"From this day forward, there will be no more Immortal Mountain Lords in the world." Yu Dao's eyes were calm, and his voice was serene, yet it was like a divine decree or a true immortal's edict, with every word resonating with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth!
An invisible order trembled in the void, as if even heaven and earth themselves were bearing witness to this pronouncement!
"Hahahaha!" The Stone Emperor laughed in fury, his laughter like thunder rolling across the earth, causing the fragments of strange phenomena surrounding the immortal array to tremble. "The void has come, Hengyu has come, but they are all dead, while I, the Emperor, have lived until now! The Undying Mountain has existed since time immemorial, and you think you can erase it with just a word?"
"Today, I will use your blood, that of the Ancient Chaos Venerable, to lay the foundation for my path to immortality!"
boom!
The instant his words fell, a terrifying aura capable of tearing apart the universe and annihilating galaxies erupted from the Stone Emperor's body. The laws of the Imperial Dao, like billions of true dragons awakening simultaneously, surged forth from his Immortal Platform, causing the illusory palace wall of that corner of the Immortal Array to shake violently. Every pattern on his armor glowed, and pure black flames ignited on the tip of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd.
His aura was rising steadily, not slowly, but violently surging like a landslide and a tsunami, breaking through one limit after another in an instant!
He surprisingly chose to elevate himself to the highest level without hesitation!
The supreme being who cuts himself off, this ultimate sublimation is the last time he will bloom in this life.
He forcibly mended the cracks in the Sendai, rekindled the broken foundation of his Dao, and briefly returned to the pinnacle of the Dao by burning his very life essence. This was usually irreversible; it was the last time. After burning out, he would turn to ashes, with no way back. The Stone Emperor's choice was chillingly swift and decisive.
"This is the ultimate sublimation; it's a fight to the death." A supreme being spoke from within the Immortal Tomb.
"Heh... Taking advantage of the Lord of Chaos's transformation to launch a killing spree has already created a blood feud. If you still dare to hold back now, when will you?" another will coldly replied.
The dormant supreme beings watched this duel, each with their own thoughts. One side underwent a transformation and rebirth, the other reached the pinnacle of sublimation. The two clashing now were no longer two self-severed supreme beings, but two true emperor-level existences. This was the first true divine war of the post-ancient era, a clash between a flawless emperor who had lived a second life and a being who had burned out his life force and reached the pinnacle of sublimation!
"A long-lost feeling..." In the immortal array, the Stone Emperor gripped the Heavenly Desolate Halberd and murmured softly.
His Dao was ascending to its zenith, reaching an unparalleled peak. It was the flawless Imperial Dao Law, the invincible posture he displayed when he first merged with the will of Heaven, overlooking the entire universe. In an instant, he seemed to return to that era—when he had just attained enlightenment, invincible throughout the world, wielding the Heavenly Desolation Halberd, sweeping across the nine heavens and ten earths, countless brilliant and formidable enemies falling beneath his blade. He was the Lord of the Undying Mountain, the supreme powerhouse of the Holy Spirit Clan, the pinnacle that all living beings of that era looked up to.
"Ten Directions Annihilated!"
As the Heavenly Desolate Halberd was swung, the Imperial Laws poured out like a tidal wave of destruction.
Wherever the halberd's blade passed, the void was not torn apart, but utterly destroyed at the level of laws.
The immortal array that had previously mired him in a quagmire, caused him immense trouble, and prevented him from successfully interfering with the transformation of the Lord of Chaos, finally succumbed to the terrifying power that had returned to the pinnacle of the ultimate path. The illusory palace walls formed from immortal light shattered inch by inch, the chains of divine order were cleaved into fragments one by one by the shadows of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd, and endless killing intent surged forth from the broken array patterns. The entire corner of the immortal array trembled violently under his ferocious onslaught.
"You will reach the pinnacle of sublimation and be transformed back into a flawless master of the imperial path, but how long can you hold out?" The corner of the immortal array was broken step by step under the Heavenly Desolate Halberd, but Yu Dao still watched calmly.
His voice was calm as still water, without sarcasm or pity, simply stating a fact.
"Killing you is enough!" the Stone Emperor said coldly, swinging the Heavenly Desolation Halberd once more, shattering another barrier of the immortal array. He stepped out from the shattered immortal light, his imperial laws sweeping around him like a storm, "I will drink your newborn blood to prolong my life in this world!"
Yu Dao did not reply. He held up the Wheel of Reincarnation, and the light of life and death shone forth. In an instant, his figure transformed into a streak of light and slashed towards the Stone Emperor.
The immortal array, though still possessing some residual immortal light, did not dissipate. As their auras collided, the array rearranged, forming a magnificent and auspicious passage that simultaneously drew Shi Huang and Yu Dao into the depths of the cosmos.
This is another safeguard of the Immortal Array, a mechanism that Yu Dao had pre-set when setting it up. If a battle at the Emperor Dao level were to occur above the Big Dipper, the aftershocks alone would be enough to destroy this ancient star dozens or hundreds of times over.
The two figures soared one after the other into the depths of the starry sky through the celestial light passage. The fluctuations of the Imperial Law leaked from the passage, spreading throughout the six directions and eight wastelands, causing the entire universe to tremble slightly!
The true war of the gods has begun at this moment!
The Heavenly Halberd fell, devoid of any fancy moves, only pure destruction.
The Stone Emperor's halberd technique never required complex variations; his Dao was destruction itself, each strike the end of all things. Wherever the halberd's blade swept across, galaxies shattered, the void collapsed, and chaotic energy surged from the cracks only to be dispersed by the halberd's wind. He was like a god of destruction emerging from the primordial chaos, each strike carrying the terrifying power to bring down stars.
Yu Dao turned slightly, and the Wheel of Reincarnation spun gently. A ripple of chaotic light spread across the surface of the wheel. The ripple was inconspicuous, yet it stripped away the destructive power of the Heavenly Halberd layer by layer the moment it struck. It wasn't a direct block, but rather it channeled that destructive power into the endless cycle within the Wheel of Reincarnation, allowing it to be continuously diluted, decomposed, and ultimately returned to nothingness in the endless cycle of creation, existence, annihilation, and rebirth.
The Stone Emperor's second halberd has arrived.
This time it was a sweeping attack. The blade of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd drew a jet-black arc across the galaxy, and wherever the arc passed, an entire desolate star field silently turned to dust. Yu Dao did not retreat. The Reincarnation Disc flipped in his palm, face up, and the four ancient characters on its surface lit up simultaneously. His figure flashed continuously in the starry sky, each step placed just before the halberd's blade was about to strike, and each palm strike was wrapped with a surge of newly born, powerful blood energy.
The two fought fiercely in the starry sky. The pitch-black shadow of the Heavenly Desolation Halberd intertwined with the chaotic radiance of the Reincarnation Disc, turning that star field upside down. Star after star turned to dust in their battle, galaxies after galaxies were severed by the aftershocks, and even time and space were distorted and shattered in their collision.
But as time went on, the tide of the war began to turn.
The Stone Emperor's attacks remained fierce, but a barely perceptible delay appeared between each strike. That slight delay was clearly visible to a sufficiently powerful being.
The ultimate sublimation is not a true return to the peak; it is the burning of life's essence, a brief bloom after the cracks in the Immortal Platform are forcibly healed. He is no longer the flawless ancient emperor; facing the reborn Chaotic Ancient Supreme, this power is fading bit by bit. His halberd is still sharp, but cracks can now be seen beneath its edge.
"Without seeing the path to immortality, one has not yet achieved immortality; this emperor will not stop here!"
The Stone Emperor roared, his beard and hair standing on end, and the patterns on his armor simultaneously ignited with intense light. He poured all the remaining imperial laws into the Heavenly Desolate Halberd, causing the halberd to hum under its strain. Then, he unleashed the strongest strike of his life.
"I will offer my royal blood as a sacrifice to the immortals!"
On the tip of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd, the dark black flames suddenly transformed into an eerie dark red—a sacrificial fire ignited by his own imperial blood. From the day this forbidden technique was created, its target was any immortal spirit that might appear on the path to immortality. He would sacrifice everything on the path to immortality, ascending to immortality in the most invincible way, stepping over the corpses of immortals!
Today, this forbidden secret technique, created to slay immortals, has been unleashed ahead of schedule.
Dark red sacrificial flames spread from the halberd's blade, staining the entire starry sky blood-red. Countless phantoms emerged from the flames: vengeful enemies slain by the Stone Emperor, beings devoured by him, and even some more ancient and terrifying beings faintly awakened from the Dao traces of heaven and earth by this sacrificial intent. He had used the secret technique for slaying immortals ahead of schedule, intending to use it to bury this ancient supreme being before him!
"It's time to end this."
As Yu Dao watched the Stone Emperor's final, desperate attack, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Stone Emperor's move was indeed amazing. The Supreme Being was still in the realm of humanity, with an insurmountable gap between him and the Immortals. However, this final, desperate, forbidden killing move had reached a level that could pose a slight threat to a True Immortal.
Even the most supreme beings, when fighting to the point of madness, could perish from this single move!
But in Yu Dao's eyes, this earth-shattering move was nothing more than the Stone Emperor's final desperate cry.
Yu Dao slowly stretched out his hand. The Wheel of Reincarnation flew out of his hand and hovered in front of him, slowly rotating.
Within his Sea of Wheels, the golden ocean suddenly changed color. The golden waves receded, and chaos rose. In an instant, the Sea of Wheels transformed into a primordial sea before the separation of heaven and earth—the state before the creation of the world, the absolute origin before the birth of all things. At the same time, the most primordial forms of four extraordinary phenomena simultaneously appeared around him: the phantom of the axe that created the world, the outline of the Tree of Existence, the abyss of darkness of annihilation, and the new sprout of light of rebirth. All four appeared simultaneously at the four corners of the Wheel of Reincarnation.
On the Wheel of Reincarnation, billions of rays of light simultaneously illuminated. From the slightly concave, chaotic celestial essence on the wheel's surface, four ancient characters simultaneously emitted beams of light that pierced through the galaxy: Creation, Existence, Annihilation, Rebirth. The four rays of light intertwined in the starry sky, forming a massive halo that stretched across the cosmos. The halo slowly rotated, each rotation causing the laws of the entire universe to resonate in unison.
An ancient and timeless Dao, transcending all realms, seemed to descend at this moment.
That mysterious and lofty aura swept outwards in all directions. Within the forbidden zone of life, the supreme beings who were watching were all shaken; some even felt their immortal sources cracking under the impact of this aura. Those unconventional cultivators who had sealed themselves within their divine sources and had never participated in any conflicts were awakened from their slumber by this aura, their eyes snapping open deep within their divine sources. Even some terrifying beings, rarely seen in the world and dormant in the remote corners of the universe for countless epochs, cast their gaze upon this at this moment.
"The aura of reincarnation..." From the edge of the universe, a voice that made one's teeth ache emanated from a ball of light shrouded in chaos, its true form obscured. The voice was extremely dry, as if it hadn't spoken for countless millennia. Deep within the chaotic ball of light, a pair of eyes that had slumbered for countless epochs slowly opened a crack, their gaze piercing through the endless sea of stars, landing on the fiercely contested star field in the Big Dipper constellation.
On the battlefield, Yu Dao's voice, like a decree from heaven and earth, had already resounded—
"If you do not bow to the Emperor, your name will be etched on the path of reincarnation!"
"With each step and each bow, half of your sins will be absolved on your path to rebirth, protecting your true spirit!"