Chapter 1567: Imperial War

The peerlessly beautiful White-Clad Empress passed through the mists and stepped forth, traversing all heavens and myriad realms as if a celestial immortal treading on water, charging towards her great enemy.

She intended to kill the Chief Sacrificer!

Throughout history, how many have dared to do this, and achieved such a feat?

Though a woman, she was overwhelmingly powerful. Even when facing the supreme beings from the source of the anomalies, she attacked fearlessly, looking down upon all creation.

Ancient history is an abyss. Era after era passed, and apart from the one mentioned by Nine Paths—who single-handedly dominated all ages and swept away all enemies—and the golden age when the Three Emperors of later generations rose to prominence, this world has always been shrouded in darkness, like a cold netherworld.

The source of the anomalies, like a vast, boundless dark cloud, hung over all heavens, permeating ancient history. It made the progenitors of all races tremble, for the rise and fall of ages, past and present, lay at their whim. How many could resist them, how many dared to break through the darkness?

The Road-End level beings of the Sacrificial Ground were simply insurmountable; the entirety of ancient history was overshadowed by them.

Now, a woman acted directly, initiating a killing spree without a single word!

She resolutely attacked the Road-End level beings from the source of the anomalies!

At once, people's hearts surged with excitement and exhilaration; many couldn't help but roar and shout.

The ominous shadow had covered the sky of history and loomed over all races for countless eras; now, an Empress was about to tear a corner of it away!

"How dare you?!"

The Chief Sacrificer roared, astonished even himself. Those who stepped onto the death bridge could never return; how did that woman achieve it? Even reversing time would be futile; there was no turning back from that path.

Yet, the reality was that the figure, incomparably powerful, traversed the ancient currents of history, riding the wind and waves, and arrived in an instant.

Her robes fluttering, the Empress stepped over myriad realms, following the river of time, arriving outside the Sacrificial Ground. A powerful aura erupted, causing the hazy ancient land to tremble violently.

The Chief Sacrificer quickly counterattacked. This was the Sacrificial Ground, and any breach was unacceptable. He feared the Empress would truly break in and cause irreversible, terrible consequences.

In an instant, billions of runes illuminated the space, transforming into a vast ocean before igniting. They bloomed outside the Sacrificial Ground, as if a grand universe was being sacrificed and burned, engulfing the battlefield between the two.

This was an unimaginable battle!

At once, the sound of the Dao resonated through all heavens. The Chief Sacrificer chanted scriptures, seated cross-legged before the Sacrificial Ground. Even if it caused him harm or demanded a terrible price, he would ensure the Sacrificial Ground remained unharmed.

He also realized he had been overconfident earlier, bringing the Sacrificial Ground so close to the current era, which now constrained him.

However, he truly found it hard to believe that this ancient land, long shrouded in their shadow, had once again given birth to a Road-End level being—and a stunning woman at that, who had crossed the death bridge and returned.

As the Chief Sacrificer chanted, boundless runes bloomed, vast and unfathomable. They surpassed the stars of all heavens, numbering in the trillions, endless. Even a great universe would seem as faint as a firefly by comparison, utterly incomparable.

*Rumble!*

All manner of laws, and wondrous divine arts and secret techniques ever conceived, were unleashed by him alone in an instant. Each rune embodied a Dao, possessing astonishing destructive power, shaking the past, present, and future.

Road-End level beings lived for an unimaginably long time; he himself no longer knew his age, truly ancient and terrifying.

Through countless eras, he had witnessed the rise of myriad heroes, the quiet demise of countless giants, and the fall of numerous God Lords and Great Demons who had reigned supreme in their respective ages.

Thus, Road-End level experts had accumulated countless profound and wondrous arts, mastered a vast array of immortal and secret techniques, and delved into various paths of the Great Dao.

Now, the Chief Sacrificer unleashed all the various laws and Great Daos he had witnessed throughout the long expanse of history; everything erupted at this very moment!

In an instant, time flowed backward, then reversed direction.

This was one such Dao; the Chief Sacrificer manifested a clone to trace back the river of time, intending to slay the Empress in her childhood.

Alas, he failed.

The White-Clad Woman gently raised her hand, like a crisp imperial sword slicing through the long sky of history, severing the primordial river. It caused the Chief Sacrificer, who was tracing back time, to suffer a split in his forehead, bleeding continuously.

Furthermore, that timeline was severed!

Of course, tracing the timeline was merely one of the Chief Sacrificer’s myriad offensive techniques.

In this split second, an interval beyond the measure of time, he unleashed thousands upon thousands more attacks.

For instance, his true body, seated cross-legged within the Sacrificial Ground, plucked a string—the string of destiny, an act of extremely high and terrifying profoundness.

Even Nine Paths One and the Dog Emperor, separated by vast stretches of space and time, felt their souls tremble. They sensed their lives were about to be manipulated; even powerful Immortal Kings found their minds blank, as if they had already died forever.

This was the outcome even from afar, safely away from the heart of the conflict. Had they been even slightly closer, or merely cast a glance, their fate would likely have been grim.

The Empress's gaze was brilliant; with a single glance, it was as if she had witnessed the passage of vast ages, observed all human phenomena, and experienced the ebbs and flows of destiny.

At this attack, the Chief Sacrificer himself was horrified. He couldn't pluck the string of destiny further; he was utterly terrified, feeling as if he was about to suffer a backlash, potentially having his own destiny manipulated in reverse.

The string of destiny snapped, his fingers bled, and he let out a muffled groan.

And this, too, was one of the Great Daos among his myriad attacks.

A dripping sound was heard; as the Chief Sacrificer's fingers bled, a trembling resonance emanated.

Then, boundless runes bloomed, and one type of attack silently began to corrode the Empress.

It was the power of karma!

The Chief Sacrificer's dripping blood was not in vain; it seeped into the threads of karma, specifically targeting the White-Clad Woman.

One could imagine how heaven-defying the Chief Sacrificer's destructive power was. Any casual art or Dao he unleashed was a peerless skill that reverberated through ancient and modern times. A single such technique, mastered by a powerful figure in the mortal realm, would be enough to dominate without restraint and reign supreme for half an era.

But now, the Chief Sacrificer conjured and unleashed them with ease; there were simply too many, and when combined, they were utterly unimaginable.

Primarily, the Chief Sacrificer had witnessed countless heaven-defying beings across innumerable eras.

Even beings like demon ancestors and Dao ancestors were, in the eyes of Road-End level experts, merely fleeting guests of life, a brief memory, mere passing smoke and clouds.

Compared to invincible Road-End level experts, peerless demon ancestors and Dao ancestors were hardly capable of overturning the heavens. Once targeted, their paths seemed only marginally impressive, merely worth referencing and drawing inspiration from.

Throughout the Chief Sacrificer's long and ancient existence, these were but minor interludes. He noted down their laws and Daos, but as for the individuals themselves, they were swiftly forgotten.

The Empress's crystalline hair swept through the void, severing countless karmic ties. Various Great Dao chains instantly shattered and exploded there.

It was like the destruction of a star sea, or the collapse of past and present!

Throughout this process, the Empress remained silent, nor did she unleash complex and dazzling divine arts and secret techniques like the Chief Sacrificer.

She only had one palm, striking forward!

The Chief Sacrificer's expression changed. At this level, the more deceptively simple an attack appeared, the more he feared it.

Because this was tantamount to abandoning all else, focusing solely on the true self, letting countless eras pass while one's true form remained constant and indestructible.

The Empress's concentration, her utterly simple attack, contained boundless Dao; infinite power was already rooted deep within her flesh, organs, tendons, and bones.

For her, any Great Dao, any peerless divine ability, all were shattered with a single palm strike!

*Boom! Boom!*

The Empress charged forward, intent on entering the Sacrificial Ground. Her palm print shattered everything, piercing through all obstructions, causing the Sacrificial Ground itself to crack open with terrifying black fissures, and blood to flow from its boundary walls!

This was a terrifying sight. Did the Sacrificial Ground space possess life?

"Aoooo..."

A scalp-tingling low growl emanated from the deepest part of the Sacrificial Ground, where spiritual tablets began to sway, causing the Chief Sacrificer's face to turn ashen.

He let out a fierce roar, empowering the Sacrificial Ground at all costs to confront the Empress.

Clearly, this Sacrificial Ground held special significance; the Chief Sacrificer would rather suffer injury himself than allow any mishap to occur within it.

He empowered the Sacrificial Ground, but in doing so, he was beaten until his hair was disheveled, his face caved in, and his physical body severely damaged.

For such beings, their true bodies were incredibly difficult to kill. Even if they perished, if someone remembered or thought of them in the future river of time, they could potentially be revived—a truly terrifying ability.

However, for the Chief Sacrificer, the most significant aspect of this damage was not the physical injury, but the profound spiritual humiliation.

This queen-like arrival, charging powerfully to his very doorstep, beating and blasting him within the Sacrificial Ground he guarded, caused him immense shame and a potent sense of humiliation.

"Ahhh..."

With a roar of fury, he exerted all his might, activating his invincible Dharma body to attack the Empress.

"Do you truly believe that focusing on your true self, being singular, encompassing all universal powers within yourself, is the correct path? You, a mere latecomer, are still too green, far from understanding!"

The Chief Sacrificer roared, once again unleashing a strange and eerie art. A great fog engulfed the area; he intended to overturn the tide of battle and slay the Empress.

However, he felt a sudden palpitation, his body instantly tensed, sensing impending disaster.

Indeed, almost instantly, his pupils contracted as his great fog was shattered and dispersed.

Around the Empress, boundless flowers bloomed, all crystal clear. Each petal reflected a different grand universe, and upon each petal appeared the Empress's figure, along with the most intricate Dao patterns.

*Boom!*

At once, it was as if countless universes and endless spacetimes materialized.

Various beams of light assaulted them from different eras, reflected from the petals. Upon each petal, the Empress seemed to manifest, wielding her unadorned hand, as if about to obliterate the heavens with her singular might!

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Almost instantly, the Chief Sacrificer's myriad transforming, peerless secret arts were shattered. Even he himself was pierced through, blood splattering.

His face, in particular, was almost obliterated.

Most terrifyingly, the Sacrificial Ground grew unstable, and the enshrined spiritual tablets began to sway, emitting faint, intermittent sobs and low cries, as if whispering right into his ear, right before him.

The blood color on the Chief Sacrificer's recently mended face immediately drained away again.

"No!" he shrieked in terror, as if some horrific catastrophe was about to unfold.