Chapter 1451: A Ray of Light, Darkness Panic

He seemed to be crying, yet also laughing, as he dissolved into dust, scattered by the wind, vanishing from the world forever.

"Brother!" Old Gu's face was streaked with tears as he lunged towards where the rain of light had faded, collapsing and groaning like a wounded beast.

"Master!" Both disciples cried out in anguish, tears streaming down their faces as they knelt, trembling, and cupped handfuls of loose earth.

The female disciple's hands trembled as she clutched the earth to her chest, wishing to hold it close, to somehow keep Li from leaving, but there was truly nothing left.

"You were a peerless hero, unrivaled, you never lost, how could you die? Master!" The female disciple wept uncontrollably, her eyes blurred with tears, her sobs choked with grief.

The other disciple's tears flowed like a fountain. He repeatedly slammed his head against the ground, the thudding sounds cracking the frozen earth of Yin Prefecture. He wished he could die in Li's place, to bring him back.

"Brother, how could you die? You said even the heavens couldn't claim you, that you wouldn't die." Old Gu's voice trembled as he pleaded sorrowfully, "Please, come back, alright?"

In truth, he knew Li could never return. He had dissolved into a rain of light, into dust, leaving no trace, never to be seen again.

"Master, I would give my life for you to remain among us, please don't die!" The female disciple clutched the earth tightly, tears mixed with blood, murmuring his name repeatedly.

Simultaneously, deep in the starry sky, the great battle also concluded!

The colossal furnace shattered, myriad paths crumbled, and all spectral figures exploded into a shower of light. The battle had finally ended.

All that remained of Li at the scene was a tattered battle flag, sinking, poised to fall into the abyss of the universe, plunging into endless darkness.

The end came like this: Li's lingering obsession in Yin Prefecture and the remnants of his blood in the starry sky dissipated almost simultaneously.

"He's dead, Li is actually dead!"

Countless people murmured, finding it hard to believe.

After the battlefield disintegrated, some of the light rain descended, flying out of the starry sky and towards the land of Yang World.

Unfortunately, though this faint light rain was tenacious, it ultimately failed to escape the starry sky, dissipating in the cold universe.

The last wisp of flowing light also extinguished.

Although it had neared Yang World and would soon have landed on the earth, it still vanished without leaving a trace.

"I just wanted to return and see Yang World, see this homeland, see these mountains and rivers…"

These were Li's final, lingering words, weak and ethereal, echoing beneath the starry sky before everything fell silent, into nothingness.

The entire Yang World became utterly silent, devoid of sound.

Such a powerful being had died in this manner, reaching the end of his life before the eyes of the world.

Perhaps he had already died in prehistoric times, and what returned was merely a lingering obsession. He yearned to see his homeland again, to gaze upon the familiar mountains and rivers, and to visit the resting place of his followers. Thus, he had expended all his strength to breach the divide between Yin and Yang, returning to Yang World.

With an obsession that persisted through millennia, had his wish been fulfilled before his dissolution?

On the ground, many felt a sense of sadness. After all, this incredibly powerful individual, whose name was synonymous with invincibility and peerless might, had just now appeared so weak, murmuring those words.

"Li!" someone softly called.

"He's dead!" Some contemporaries who had witnessed his glory now felt a profound sense of loss.

His death saddened many; it was not the Li they had imagined.

Many sighed, wondering how strong Li would have been if he had not met with an accident in prehistoric times and had returned in his true form.

Gradually, Yang World erupted into a clamor.

The tranquility was broken. Li's death, or rather the demise of his obsession, shook the world. All factions were discussing it; some were somber, some sad, while others were indifferent, preoccupied with determining who the strongest truly was.

Deep in the universe, several individuals wore cold expressions.

Whether it was Li's obsession or his true form, the belief of these powerful attackers remained unshaken. At their level, they possessed an unwavering self-confidence, believing themselves unmatched.

Someone's face was grim, clearly unwilling to accept this outcome.

Li had dissipated, and the great furnace had disintegrated, yet the Ten Thousand Mothers Golden Seal was not seen, nor could the Ultimate Tome be found.

Then, someone targeted the only remaining tattered flag left by Li, intending to completely shatter it into cosmic dust.

"Stop!" The Martial Lunatic intervened, his deep eyes like abysses, reflecting terrifying visions of collapsing worlds, falling stars, lightning, and thunder.

He intended to act personally, to trace Li's past, to understand how this long-standing obsession came to be, and where the Ten Thousand Mothers Golden Seal was hidden.

Behind him, someone hesitated slightly. Although they greatly desired to erase everything related to Li and let the remaining flag vanish, they ultimately stopped.

All of them knew that Martial Sovereign possessed extraordinary abilities and unfathomable divine powers, especially his mastery of temporal arts—a supreme forbidden technique capable of observing the past.

Furthermore, upon reaching the highest realm of cultivation, he could even perceive the future, truly comprehending past and present, becoming omnipotent!

Martial Sovereign held the great flag aloft with one arm, his aura surging. The tattered flag fluttered fiercely, causing the starry sky to tremble once more.

Even the Martial Lunatic's expression grew complex. This was the battle flag of Li Sanlong, his emblem, inscribed with the records of his life's battles and the blood and fire he had endured. Now, it was in his hands.

As a former formidable adversary, even though his heart remained as cold and unyielding as iron, he couldn't help but lower his gaze to examine the flag.

The flag's surface was riddled with holes; even the three dragons were broken, and remnants of dry black blood clung to it. Li's entire life of glory and tragedy was encapsulated within this flag!

"From ancient times to the present, time, rewind!"

As the Martial Lunatic spoke, his emotionless voice reverberated beneath the starry sky, rumbling loudly and cracking many celestial remnants.

In an instant, the great flag floated up, emanating a hazy light. The Martial Lunatic used his temporal arts to manifest extraordinary phenomena, pursuing Li's past and searching for the Ultimate Tome.

However, the process was not entirely smooth. Primarily, Li had been too powerful in his time, and some of his lingering rules and forces had not completely extinguished.

Such individuals are generally impossible to trace back; as long as they live, it is difficult for anyone to pry into their past in this manner.

"Alas, you are ultimately dead, and thus cannot withstand temporal tracing. Ultimate Tome, manifest!" Martial Sovereign declared.

Despite his words, it was still a difficult endeavor, intermittent and far from smooth, with various blurry images flickering past.

"Pitch black, with overwhelming Yin energy. Is this truly the Great Yin World?" Someone exclaimed in surprise, staring at the hazy light curtain on the great flag.

Under Martial Sovereign's control, the temporal art was uncanny, instantly tracing the past. Many unimportant, blurry images vanished instantly, leaving behind only critical scenes.

All of them frowned. Li's presence was confined to a limited space, merely a dead land?

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, the Martial Lunatic realized there was a major issue. Even though Li was dead, he seemed to be intentionally concealing the truth, unwilling for his secrets to be known.

"Gentlemen, lend me a hand and blast open this black mist!" Martial Sovereign said.

His actions were too defiant of the heavens, naturally opposed by the cosmos, so he was struggling and needed assistance from the others.

The main reason was that Li had set up countermeasures back then, deliberately obscuring heavenly secrets, which greatly increased the difficulty. Martial Sovereign's heaven-defying act was like rowing against a strong current.

When a swathe of black mist was jointly dispersed by the group, cracks appeared in the hazy light curtain, threatening to disintegrate and collapse.

"Hold!"

The Martial Lunatic raised a hand and pointed, a beam of light covering the flag, stabilizing the image.

At this critical moment, they all took action, unwilling to fail at the last step. They all wanted to see what Li had done and what he had left behind.

Instantly, the Grand Dao rumbled, intricate and terrifying runes intertwined, radiant like rainbows, illuminating the dark sky.

The energy in this shattered starry sky was now denser and more astonishing than during the previous battle, indicating the immense importance these individuals placed on this endeavor, holding nothing back.

They aimed to unveil the mist and see what Li intended to hide.

"Found it, break through!" Martial Sovereign shouted.

A veil of mist was blasted away by him, revealing the truth. Was that the Great Yin World?

Frozen, icy earth, a gloomy sky, chaotic rocky mountains, and a stone coffin locked within a stone forest.

Upon closer inspection, the so-called stone forest was formed by rules.

Perhaps this coffin-locking place was also an embodiment of rules.

"The coffin is real. Li is dead, and his remains are inside? I sense his aura, confirming his corpse has decayed and his true spirit is eternally at peace." Martial Sovereign stated.

At their level, their intuition was terrifyingly sharp, their divine senses acute. After tracing the past, they instantly had their answers.

A dilapidated stone jar… upon closer inspection, it was carved from World Stone?!

Their pupils contracted. To ultimate beings like them, it was also a supreme treasure, the foundational stone of a world, yet it had been refined into a coffin.

Tai Heng spoke, saying, "I sense Li's scattered aura; he died quite terribly. His flesh was eroded and completely rotted away, losing all divinity, and his soul light also decayed, ultimately turning to dust."

"Hmm, what's that…" another person gasped.

Finally, a significant discovery: something was pressing down beneath the coffin lid, preventing it from closing completely.

"A stone?"

"No, it's the Ten Thousand Mothers Golden Seal!" Martial Sovereign declared.

There was a gap in the coffin, and beneath the lid, which hadn't been fully sealed, lay a small, unassuming seal. But the Martial Lunatic was certain it was the Ten Thousand Mothers Golden Seal!

"Li is truly a scoundrel. He did this deliberately, leaving the Ten Thousand Mothers Golden Seal there for anyone tracing him to see, making you hesitate."

One person sighed, feeling a degree of resentment.

It was clear without thought that the coffin's location was extremely dangerous. To actually go there and personally open the coffin to retrieve the seal would surely demand an astonishing price.

After all, that was the Great Yin World!

For evolutionaries powerful enough to trace their way to this location, Li had stopped concealing it, explicitly showing it: "Do you want it?"

"This is a fatal… temptation, involving the Ultimate Tome. That scoundrel deliberately targeted us, putting us in a dilemma!" one person said bitterly.

The Ultimate Tome was crucial, but who would dare to easily step into the Great Yin World for it?

"Trace further!" Martial Sovereign said, wanting to investigate more clearly. He even wanted to know all of Li's experiences back then, what he went through at the moment of his accident.

Unfortunately, Li's past incident in Yin Prefecture could not be traced, as it involved too much.

This might include the Martial Lunatic and a few others, who were partly involved back then.

The Yin mist vibrated, and the coffin became clearer. One could even sense the power of rules there and see various fragments of the Grand Dao flowing.

"Hmm, in the Great Yin World, how can there be the aura of the Grand Dao from Yang World, with Yang World rules pervading it?!" One person exclaimed in astonishment.

"To Yin Prefecture!" Martial Sovereign declared. Then, a brilliant path appeared beneath his feet, piercing through the universe and stretching into the infinitely distant reaches.

All of them set off, hurrying towards the land of Yang World.

Soon after, they landed in Yin Prefecture, by which time Old Gu and the others had already cautiously departed a while ago.

Martial Sovereign had a suspicion that Li's burial place, where his coffin was interred, might be near the entrance to the Great Yin World.

Otherwise, how could one sense fragments of Yang World's Grand Dao flowing, or observe rules and order where Yin and Yang intertwined?

Yin Prefecture's central area was a cursed land. The brilliant gateway to the Yin World remained, its cracks emitting fierce winds, and eerie black mist. It seemed as though the two worlds could merge at any moment.

The Martial Lunatic stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the ancient golden gateway.

His pupils transformed into runes, time flowed, and order materialized as divine chains, flying from his eyes and then sinking into the cracks of the golden gateway.

The earth of Yin Prefecture quaked violently, and black mist surged!

Even a powerful figure like Martial Sovereign was forced to retreat, his face contorted in shock. His expression changed dramatically, revealing profound astonishment; one could imagine how astounding the sight was.

"That scoundrel Li!"

The Martial Lunatic spoke again, grinding his teeth.

The others were astonished and began to investigate, causing the golden gateway to shake violently. The aura of the Great Yin World instantly spread, sweeping across the vast lands.

Black mist surged, covering the entire Yin Prefecture, plunging it into darkness.

"That coffin is right behind the gateway. Is this his way of tempting us?"

"To move that coffin, we'd have to blast through this door. He wants us to forge a path to the Great Yin World ourselves, to actively open that ancient forbidden gateway!"

At this moment, they seemed to see Li's mocking smile: the item was left behind to tempt them. "Dare you personally open the Great Yin World?!"

No one wished to become a sinner for eternity. Even the decisive Martial Sovereign hesitated, stopping in his tracks, while the others were even more indecisive and filled with resentment.

"This is a treasure of our Yang World! How dare Li leave it in the Great Yin World and tempt us to open this passage!" one person exclaimed angrily.

"Not only that, look, there's a chain on each of the eight corners of this coffin. Eight chains lock the coffin, and every single one has an extraordinary origin."

"Hmm, what is that? Some of the chains appear to be… Grand Dao trajectories from other evolutionary civilizations, of which he seized portions and fused them there to lock this coffin?!"

One person was shocked, and the others, hearing this, were also greatly shaken, all visibly moved.

Who would dare to do such a thing? The mere discovery of other evolutionary paths was enough to be a monumental event shaking ancient and modern times, yet Li had actually extracted the Grand Dao rules from those paths to suppress his coffin lid, committing such an audacious act.

"He truly threw caution to the wind. He was desperate then, with no path to revival, having exhausted all his strength, and as a result, he left behind this hateful mess," someone commented.

Undoubtedly, with the addition of Grand Dao chains from other evolutionary paths, it would be immensely perilous; even ultimate beings could easily encounter trouble.

That Li could shift heaven and earth to suppress his coffin lid showed he was a true talent, defying all norms.

"The Ten Thousand Mothers Golden Seal must be recovered. The Ultimate Tome cannot remain outside; it is of immense importance, something retrieved from the Heavenly Emperor's Burial Pit, and cannot be lost," Martial Sovereign stated, making his decision.

Before that, however, thorough preparations must be made, and contingencies set.

The others also made their decisions, immediately ordering their direct disciples to bring the necessary materials, preparing to seal off the area and personally handle the coffin.

"Are we sure Li is dead, utterly annihilated?" someone suddenly asked at this point.

"His physical form has rotted, and his spirit is certainly dead. I once guarded the entrance to the underworld, investigating, and found no trace of him anywhere!" one person replied.

"He's dead!" Martial Sovereign affirmed. He possessed a drop of Li's true blood from back then and had used supreme techniques and temporal arts to deduce that Li had indeed died long ago, and this return was truly just an obsession.

"Yes, he's definitely dead," the other individuals also confirmed. They all had their own methods for deduction and verification.

Opening the Great Yin World was too monumental an undertaking; it could easily turn them into eternal sinners of Yang World. Even powerful figures like Martial Sovereign and the others were exceedingly cautious, continuously making preparations.

Among them, Tai Heng, one of the dark sources of the underground world, even personally set out to invite his father, Tai Yi, to descend!

This was an absolutely earth-shattering event. Tai Yi, who was suspected to have passed away in meditation, had revived and been summoned from seclusion. Those who truly understood felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing.

At this moment, Chu Feng's expression was somewhat dazed. Li had died just like that, a powerful figure of his generation reaching his end, dissolving into a rain of light and dust, thus concluding his existence.

Even such an formidable person could not escape death, eliciting sighs.

"What are these ultimate beings doing, gathering in Yin Prefecture? Is something major about to happen?" Chu Feng wondered.

In fact, all factions in Yang World were filled with apprehension and doubt. After the great powerhouses arrived in Yin Prefecture, they actually ordered their direct disciples to bring large quantities of special materials to set up formations.

"Tai Yi has revived and emerged today!" someone gasped in shock.

"Tai Yi, and his second son has also become one of the dark sources of the underground world. How strong must this old fellow be?" Chu Feng was astonished.

At this moment, he happened to be in Tai Prefecture, keenly sensing the terrifying omens: true phoenixes crying out, flames soaring to the sky, and Qilins roaring, engulfing stars and moons.

Tai Yi's procession was driven by his second son, Tai Heng, renowned and one of the dark sources of the underground world!

The war chariot rumbled, rolling across the sky. True phoenixes, Qilins, and Golden Crows roared, their brilliant silhouettes illuminating the world, yet they were merely divine birds and exotic beasts pulling or guarding the chariot.

"What a grand display!" Chu Feng muttered.

Then, he grew restless. With several ultimate beings mobilizing and ordering their direct disciples to follow them to Yin Prefecture, did this mean their strongholds were now empty?

Chu Feng felt an impulse to really raid their lairs!

Perhaps the cultivation grounds of Martial Sovereign, Tai Yi, and the others contained invincible soil and unfailing pollen fruits, waiting for him to excavate!

"I want to rob the Martial Lunatic!" It was as if Chu Feng's heart was overgrown with weeds. This might truly be a great opportunity.

However, he quickly calmed himself. Doing so would be pure suicide. The territories of such supreme beings, even with their direct disciples gone, likely still held endless horrors, with death lurking at every step.

"Still a bit unwilling, though. How about I first take a look at Tai Yi's secluded cultivation place nearby?"

This was Tai Prefecture. Chu Feng's heart was restless, feeling a little anxious and somewhat reckless, but he managed to restrain himself. In the end, he merely observed from afar.

"Huh, what's that, a beam of light?!"

Chu Feng was astonished. He possessed Super Fiery Eyes, enabling him to see a streaking light, or more precisely, a dark gleam, even from an infinitely distant place.

Light is usually brilliant and bright.

This dark gleam, however, was different; it was too strange, too subtle.

And where was it heading?

Chu Feng widened his eyes. He saw the light flash and disappear, actually heading directly… towards Tai Yi's secluded cultivation place.

Tai Yi had just left! Who managed to sneak in?!

If Chu Feng hadn't happened to be in this prefecture and possessed Super Fiery Eyes, he wouldn't have caught this detail at all.

It was a light, so black… it was unsettling!

Indeed, as Chu Feng watched the fleeting dark gleam, he couldn't shake the feeling that its blackness was unsettling. Who could it be?!