Chapter 1488: Soul River Finale

The moment the powerhouses from the Ancient Underworld and the monsters from the Four Extremities Floating Land emerged, they were engulfed by a dazzling light of fists. This divine might was unstoppable, incredibly fierce, and overwhelmingly dominant!

With a thunderous roar, they felt as if they had returned to their youth, suppressed by a mortal enemy, then exploded, their blood and bones scattering in all directions.

This sensation was unbearable. It was a feeling they should have only experienced before reaching maturity, in the passionate era of their youth when they vied for dominance, surviving countless battles, engaging in fierce struggles against various heroes, and ultimately rising by stepping over the blood and bones of others.

Yet now, they themselves had become mere backdrops; if not for the sacrificial text flowing within their blood, they would have surely perished!

This person was definitely not a being of the same level. Either they had just broken through, or they were able to initially wield such power due to their unique state. The fist-prints now striking were unstoppable.

Everyone saw that the Eight-Headed Supreme Being was in an even worse state than them. Having emerged first, he was now almost blasted to smithereens, utterly annihilated.

In the void, sacrificial texts interwove, connecting the blood and flesh to reconstruct the Eight-Headed Supreme Being’s body.

However, a terrifying fact emerged: all the sacrificial texts belonging to the Eight-Headed Supreme Being were dim and lusterless, threatening to extinguish at any moment!

Perhaps one or two more explosions would lead to his complete demise, his true death and extinction.

The souls of the others turned icy cold. Were they perhaps going to die here?

This was unimaginable. As Supreme Beings, they had long been able to overlook all heavens and transcend, no longer experiencing the threat of death.

Yet now, someone could kill them!

How could they not be afraid? How could they not be terrified?

The silkworm chrysalis was the last to emerge, avoiding the catastrophe of being torn apart. It spun out crystalline threads, which were numerous chains of the Great Dao, weaving into a net that shielded its front.

Its true body, meanwhile, retreated, avoiding the immediate danger. The chrysalis broke through space and time, reappearing far behind the others.

“Now, fear is useless, and worry won't help,” one shouted. “Whether he truly broke through or merely feigned it, he will slay us all. Only through a fight to the death do we stand a chance; we still have trump cards!”

“That's right,” shouted the Ancient Underworld powerhouse. “The message has been sent. I believe reinforcements are on their way!”

“Pfft!”

Yet again, he was struck, blasted away by the fist light, disintegrating in mid-air. The sacrificial texts within his body dimmed considerably; he was nearing his end.

“No!” the Ancient Underworld powerhouse cried out in terror. He, who once held dominion over the lives and deaths of billions of beings, was now facing a life-or-death tribulation himself.

At the end of the Underworld, a line of text was carved: "The Destination of All Spirits!"

He had been high above, standing upon the river of time, watching all things contend and beings pass on. Now, he himself was on the verge of collapsing.

“Kill all the Supreme Beings!” the bald man roared excitedly from the rear, feeling his blood surge like a tsunami through his veins. He yearned to rush forward and join the fight himself.

“Crush the source of strangeness, quell the chaos in the world with one battle, and let there be no more inauspiciousness in the world!” the Dog Emperor also bellowed. He had waited for countless years, and finally, he saw this day.

The Heavenly Emperor he once followed had now returned, truly poised to achieve this—to flatten the source of strangeness!

“How formidable!” Even Li, the Great Dark Hand, exclaimed in awe, feeling deep respect and admiration, and even resonating with the power involuntarily.

“Too strong! Even if we ascend to a higher realm, we couldn't hope to match him!” the owner of the Black Blood Research Institute said with a trembling voice, his own blood boiling with excitement.

The Martial Lunatic remained silent. For countless years, their lineage had pursued greater strength; even his master and successive grandmasters had been on the path, seeking to cross over and reach this legendary level. But now, it seemed like a long and arduous journey, and at the very least, these individuals were still not capable.

He wondered about their progenitor, whose origin was strange, mysterious, powerful, and unfathomable. Legend said he had crawled out of the burial pit!

Every time he thought of it, the Martial Emperor felt uneasy.

Suddenly, a dark void appeared. A path materialized from indistinctness to clarity, and a supremely indifferent being strode out, radiating vast quantities of malevolent aura!

Then, on the other side, an ominous wind howled, scattering bone ash, and another path opened. Dense, inauspicious matter surged forth, boiling from within.

In an instant, more beings arrived from the Ancient Underworld and the Four Extremities Floating Land—each a Supreme-level entity, descending upon the scene.

They had initially stood with hands clasped behind their backs, heads held high, incredibly arrogant and aloof. But in a flash, their faces registered astonishment; they were completely taken aback.

What did they see? Powerhouses from their own side being utterly annihilated by a single individual?!

Most shocking was the newly arrived powerhouse from the Ancient Underworld. His eyes, originally chilling and abyssal as he surveyed the scene, now fixated on a dazzling fist that had appeared directly before him.

He was blasted apart. Mere moments after his appearance, his body shattered, scattering like broken porcelain, his ominous energy dispersing everywhere.

He could hardly believe it. Instead of the respectful welcome he expected from the Soul River beings, his physical body had been directly obliterated!

“Who?! Roar!” he bellowed furiously.

“Quickly activate the sacrificial texts!” someone shouted.

As Supreme Beings, despite their fury, they reacted the instant disaster struck. The sacrificial texts in their blood revived, and at a companion's reminder, an eerie light screen instantly formed within their flesh and blood.

Even so, he narrowly escaped death, a portion of his essence directly scattered, never to return!

“Is this... a breakthrough into the highest realm permitted to exist among the heavens?!” he roared, his heart trembling with terror. How could this be?

He recognized the individual: it was the Heavenly Emperor from back then. How could he have reached this level? It sent chills down his spine.

At this point, the powerhouse from the Four Extremities Floating Land also received a “baptism.” The moment he stepped out of the passage, he was intercepted and blasted apart once, incandescent with rage.

Soon, someone arrived from the burial pit as well—a grotesque and horrifying monster with thick liquid oozing from its mouth, corroding the void and destabilizing time, throwing it into chaos!

Alas, they were still no match. Even with three additional members, they all bled, being blasted apart twice upon their arrival.

Furthermore, something dire happened: the earlier powerhouse from the Ancient Underworld was thoroughly targeted by the man in the chaotic mist, who relentlessly bombarded him.

Finally, with a soft 'thump,' his sacrificial texts dispersed, never to reform.

“No!” he shrieked, knowing precisely what this meant!

Attacked by a powerhouse of a higher level and stripped of his sacrificial texts' protection, how could he survive? He was doomed.

In fact, reality was even crueler than he anticipated. As he fled, and others tried to cover him, he was swiftly engulfed by the fist light, then exploded.

In a series of crushing blows, he was continuously pulverized by the fist light, completely annihilated, body and soul extinguished.

Moreover, something even worse unfolded: the bronze coffin lid, like a mirror, shone with eternal, unextinguishable light, not only reflecting the Heavenly Emperor's figure.

Now, the bronze coffin lid shone again, manifesting a great cauldron!

Although Supreme Beings from several strange sources had come as reinforcements, the situation had grown even more perilous.

With a thunderous sound, the fist-print pierced through all resistance, causing true blood to splatter everywhere.

Concurrently, the great cauldron unleashed an endless primordial essence, pressing forward and directly crushing a monster into an explosion.

Without sacrificial texts, this being would have perished entirely.

Even so, this being lost a great deal of its essence; a few more hits, and it would likely be annihilated!

Swish, swish, swish!

At this moment, all of them vanished, using their sacrificial texts to once again retreat into the eternally unknown realm, transcending beyond all heavens.

However, this place was too sinister; a mysterious, great terror existed there, also threatening their lives.

This placed the Supreme Beings in a dilemma.

“There's no other way,” one shouted. “We must extract most of our sacrificial texts to form a sacrificial talisman, pierce through to the main sacrificial ground, and summon the living beings there to act!”

But the others remained silent.

Because doing so would severely deplete their vitality, causing them to lose a large amount of their essence, and a single mistake could lead to their demise!

“What are we waiting for?” the Eight-Headed Supreme Being roared furiously. “He's blocking us outside, trying to trap and kill us. There's no other choice!”

He was the most anxious, for one or two more hits would surely kill him, rendering him unable to reconstruct his true body.

He was certain that the energy transcended their level; even if incomplete, it had entered a higher realm.

“Here he comes again!”

At this moment, the monster from beneath the Four Extremities Floating Land's voice trembled. Something had attached itself to its back, causing even that strange creature to feel its hair stand on end.

The faces of those nearby changed. Someone shouted, “Everyone, let's join forces! We'll perform a minor sacrifice, offering most of the sacrificial texts within us to make the main sacrificial ground appear and suppress this fiend!”

Then, they rushed out of that place, daring not to remain in that strange and deathly silent realm. Something was indeed peering at them, drawing close, coveting their flesh, blood, and souls—it was utterly terrifying.

They could even smell the scent of their own impending death!

They felt that unless they were in a situation of certain death, they would never enter this place again.

Boom!

After emerging this time, the few joined forces against their enemy. Immediately, they condensed their sacrificial texts to summon the main sacrificial ground, attempting to draw forth its vague outline.

Earlier, they had called upon it, though not as completely. They had once intended to open a path to draw forth wisps of forbidden power.

However, the passage had been blocked and shattered by the man in the chaotic mist using a coffin lid.

Now, the few went all out. The sacrificial texts drifting from their bodies gathered, astonishingly forming an ancient, relatively complete talisman.

Boom!

It emitted immeasurable light, illuminating myriad worlds!

At this moment, the light of sacrificial texts was everywhere, terrifying beyond measure.

Furthermore, the talisman emitted sounds, like prayers, as if billions of beings were making wishes, praying, and calling for something to descend.

“These Supreme Beings, those bastards, forcefully plundered the wish-power accumulated over countless years from all heavens and myriad worlds, all for the sake of communicating with a certain place and performing their so-called sacrifice!”

Behind them, Nine Dao One was enraged, his face twitching. This wish-power had been provided by countless beings and innumerable great realms from the past, all drained dry.

Those great realms had become lands of declining Dharma, and vast numbers of beings had perished.

This was utterly detestable, treating all heavens as sacrifices, yet still leveraging the wish-power of beings from various eras across myriad worlds to communicate with the original source of strangeness.

Abominable! They deserved to die!

Nine Dao One, the Dog Emperor, and others were filled with rage.

The sky tore and the earth fractured. The strange great realm where the Soul River resided was cracking and burning, on the verge of exploding. Even the mountain wall at the end of the Soul River was rustling and collapsing, terrifying beyond measure.

Furthermore, the abyss was disintegrating, continuously shrinking, also on the verge of exploding!

One could imagine how terrifying this action was. The appearance of the sacrificial talisman, summoning the so-called main sacrificial ground, carried immense karma, and its repercussions were simply unimaginable.

Rumble!

At this moment, a booming sound echoed from beyond the Outer Domain of the mortal realm!

Ordinary cultivators could see with their naked eyes that beyond the firmament, a bronze coffin, like a brilliant imperial star, flew from the Outer Domain, plummeting towards the earth.

The bronze coffin, in its complete form, was about to fully descend into the world!

Clearly, the appearance of the sacrificial talisman and the summoning of the main sacrificial ground made the man in the chaotic mist feel uneasy, prompting him to use more powerful means of attack.

Boom!

The bronze coffin descended, moving to suppress the sacrificial talisman and prevent the main sacrificial ground from appearing.

Moreover, amidst booming sounds, the man strode forward to suppress and slay the Supreme Beings.

Swish, swish, swish!

This time, all the Supreme Beings leaped into the abyss below, avoiding combat. They no longer dared to fight, waiting for the main sacrificial ground to reveal its vague outline and suppress the Heavenly Emperor.

“Run!”

At this moment, the vast number of Soul River beings at the end of the river, both on the mountain wall and deep within its belly, were seized by utter panic, trembling with fear, then frantically fleeing for their lives.

This place was no longer habitable.

Even Supreme Beings had fled into the abyss, and their dwelling place—the continuous mountains and vast mountain walls—was cracking, and the Soul River had dried up.

How could they dare remain? Any further battle would lead to their deaths, reducing them to ashes.

Fortunately, the previous battle had not affected this area. The abyss, encircled by these mountain walls, formed a separate universe, where even a speck of dust was a world of deathly silence.

The man in the chaotic mist paid little heed to these beings; he was pursuing the Supreme Beings, determined not to let them escape!

“It's our turn now! We absolutely cannot let these Soul River beings enter the mortal realm!” the Dog Emperor shouted.

“Let's go, kill them all!” Nine Dao One declared, full of confidence, holding his battle spear and blocking the exit leading to the mortal realm.

Furthermore, what gave them the most confidence was the presence of another mysterious powerhouse, enveloped in a thick mist, who had dared to confront Supreme Beings without fear earlier.

Chu Feng remained silent, proactively entering the Soul River. He did not act lightly but merely held the line.

His primary task was to prevent any Supreme Beings from escaping the abyss. Should they charge at the Dog Emperor, Nine Dao One, and the others, or break into the mortal realm, it would be a catastrophe, leading to rivers of blood and the deathly silence of an entire world.

“Kill!”

Masses of Soul River beings fled, only to find their path blocked. Naturally, their eyes turned bloodshot with fury.

Chu Feng, though stating he wouldn't directly act, couldn't ignore the situation entirely. Facing such a surge of beings, he took a step forward, and golden patterns spread out, suppressing large swathes of creatures, causing them to collapse motionlessly to the ground.

Then, Tai Yi, the owner of the Black Blood Research Institute, and others swiftly and decisively made their move.

These were not benevolent individuals; hailing from the underworld, they immediately began a grand slaughter, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

This day was disastrous and terrifying for the Soul River. From then on, the Soul River would completely decline!

“What a thrill!”

Li laughed heartily, plunging in and out, slaughtering among the Soul River beings.

He showed no mercy; his beloved confidante had fallen into the Soul River, brought here to become an unnameable monster, and his heart was filled with hatred.

Moreover, this was fundamentally a confrontation between two great factions, and he delivered his killing blows without emotion or pity.

Li, with his myriad transformations, unleashed divine powers like a sea and wondrous techniques like waves, covering the sky and earth. His large-scale attacks erupted like radiant, unfolding manifestations.

For a time, he was the most brutal in his killing.

Nine Dao One also fought like a berserker. Primarily, he was worried about the figure who had only manifested a pair of feet earlier, leaving a trail of golden footprints, and had not reappeared from the world beyond the abyss. What had become of him? He was deeply concerned!

“This Emperor is pleased and invigorated by the slaughter!” the Dog Emperor howled. “Today, I'll annihilate all you soul brats! Go to your deaths, set off on your final journey! From this day forth, there shall be no more Soul River among the heavens!”

The Dog Emperor barked excitedly. It was thrilled, elated. The Heavenly Emperor it had longed for had returned, filling it with renewed spirit and seemingly endless combat power.

This area descended into complete chaos!

The Soul River beings lost confidence and fighting spirit. They suffered heavy casualties and were clearly faltering. Though numerous, they were constantly routed.

Boom!

However, at this moment, a startling change occurred: all heavens trembled, and great realms were falling, threatening to sink into the abyss.

At this juncture, myriad worlds roared, as if about to ignite and become sacrifices. A sense of impending doom spread through every celestial domain, and terrifying aura permeated to its utmost extent!

The grand event that would reshape this epoch had truly begun!

And this was like turning over an old chapter to usher in the beginning of a new epoch!

A portion of the main sacrificial ground's outline appeared!

It manifested in the eternally transcendent realm, casting its reflection downward.

Whether the sacrificial talisman collectively conjured by the Supreme Beings was suppressed by the bronze coffin or not did not affect the overall situation. Its purpose was merely to project the sacrificial texts and transmit information, and it had already achieved its goal.

Therefore, the main sacrificial ground had appeared!

At this moment, space and time ripped open, revealing a dreadful fissure that reversed time and compressed space. Something was about to emerge from there.

All heavens wailed, and beings across myriad worlds trembled, prostrating themselves on the ground as if stripped of their consciousness. The minds of countless creatures became blank, as if they could die at any moment, turning into dust and calamity ashes.

Whether it was Nine Dao One, the Dog Emperor, or the Corpse, powerful as they were, their soul lights were now flickering precariously, and they could not even look directly at the Soul River.

Chu Feng stood in front, the golden patterns emanating from his feet becoming denser and more powerful. He resisted the unparalleled horrifying aura, sheltering those behind him.

At this point, not to mention others, even the Supreme Beings in the abyss trembled, their soul lights flickering.

“It actually worked! It's been summoned!” a Supreme Being shrieked.

They fixed their gazes on the man in the chaotic mist, and also on his bronze coffin.

“Everything should end now!” the monster newly arrived from the burial pit exclaimed, trembling with excitement, its voice a low growl.

A terrifying aura permeated the air. In the fractured space-time, the river of time became chaotic, as if its flow were being altered. Most terrifying of all, a withered bony hand extended from within!

All the aura emanated from it, suppressing myriad worlds, intending to destroy all heavens, and treating everything past and present as sacrificial offerings. This withered bony hand was utterly chilling; its true power was unfathomable.

On its dry, bony surface, some sparse long hairs grew, making it appear even more horrifying!

The withered bony hand directly grasped towards the man in the chaotic mist, aiming to seize and suppress him!

The Heavenly Emperor in the chaotic mist confronted the enemy!

However, the aura emanating from the withered bony hand was truly too terrifying, causing the bronze coffin to rumble, its metallic clangs deafening and resounding throughout myriad worlds.

This sent shivers down one's spine. That aura seemed irresistible, chilling countless cultivators from head to toe. The energy at that level was simply too immense.

Even the Supreme Beings in the abyss trembled, unable to resist bowing down, rapidly retreating, and yet, at the same time, feeling an urge to celebrate.

Suddenly, another shocking change occurred!

In that unknown realm, a pair of feet appeared, leaving a trail of faint golden footprints in the void. Though not very clear, they were undeniably real.

Those feet moved very slowly, wading through the river of time, simply walking forward, approaching. The steps seemed measured and calm, yet they were inescapable, unavoidable, and directly trod towards the withered bony hand.

To everyone's disbelief, cracking sounds suddenly echoed from there. The great hand shattered and broke apart.

“How is that possible?!” a Supreme Being shrieked.

“Has the Sacrificial Lord not arrived yet? That area is unmanaged, we... retreat!” Even the Supreme Beings were terrified.