Chapter 1658: Female Emperor Armored and Armed

Three chapters combined, over ten thousand words.

In a world beyond, a shattered lightning pool, an exploded cauldron, a broken sword, and an almost dried-up chaos presented a scene of desolation and tragic ruin.

Several tall and oppressive dark figures remained silent and still for a long time. They were dim and blurry, seemingly on the verge of fading away, their bodies crisscrossed with cracks and stained with blood.

“Five of them… have perished. Even the power at the end of the plateau couldn't revive them. We never imagined that any of us could be truly killed.”

The surviving Ancestors were extremely weak. Their origins had been pierced many times, their broken arms bled, their eye sockets were shattered, and half of their faces were gone. Had it not been for their ancestral land, their fate would have been uncertain.

Even with the plateau providing them immense power, their bodies were decaying, their souls' fire dim, and both their forms and spirits were riddled with holes.

This battle shattered a certain inherent belief in their invincibility. Not even their ancestral land could protect all the Ancestors from death, leaving them with lingering fears even now.

“I don't know whether to feel fortunate or unfortunate. Although it was incredibly brutal, it ultimately rewrote the terrifying outcome that made us tremble and shudder even in our dreams. Yet, in the end… five still perished.”

However, in that dream, there was also a blurry figure, weeping and laughing. Why did that figure never appear?

Upon realizing this, they felt a chill run through them. They exchanged glances and quickly vanished, returning to their ancestral land to heal their wounds.

If another individual like Desolate or Ye were to appear, their current situation would be dire!

“Kill them all! From this day forward, let there be no Emperors in the world apart from our race!” From the end of the plateau, the cold and ruthless voice of an Ancestor boomed, commanding the strange creatures to purge all surviving cultivators from the battlefield.

The five Ancestors stood at the end of the plateau, enveloped by a dense mist of strange substances.

“Where is the third person?” Even as they healed their injuries and restored their shattered origins, this question weighed heavily on their minds.

Perhaps that person had not yet matured?

According to their initial deductions, that individual might be near the battlefield, perhaps even engaged in fierce, bloody combat.

“Should we try another deduction?”

Soon, a chill ran through them. With only half of the Ancestors remaining, their combined efforts grew increasingly strained, and they found themselves unable to seek further clues.

What they saw before them was a shroud of mist; the individual in question had become indiscernible.

“Bang!”

The plateau trembled violently. Two End-Stage beings had been slain and were only revived once more with the aid of their ancestral land. Upon seeing the Ancestors standing beneath the Strange Clan's Grand Dao Tree, they quickly bowed in reverence.

The Ancestors' faces were cold, their gazes piercing. They could see the fear in these two, who had been terrified by the Empress and the maddened Wu Shi.

Especially the Empress, who had personally condemned one of them to eternal oblivion—even the plateau could not revive him!

Moreover, this was not the first time she had done so. The Chief Sacrificer from over a century ago had also been slain by the Empress, utterly annihilated.

The weakest of the current ten Emperors was one who had only recently gained primeval matter over the last century, evolving to fill a vacant position.

And today, the Willow Deity's celestial rainbow shocked the heavens, and the Empress fought with berserk fury. Both had sent another End-Stage supreme being to their doom, leaving only eight Emperors remaining out of ten.

How could the remaining ones not be afraid? How could they not be wary!

An Ancestor's voice echoed throughout all realms, proclaiming: “Today, kill the Empress, execute Wu Shi! Those who display exceptional bravery will have the chance to obtain the most precious primeval matter, with hopes of advancing into the Ancestral realm!”

Had the Ancestors not been so weak and uncertain about the third person in their dream, which unsettled them, they would have personally launched an attack long ago.

They were very cautious, offering generous rewards to compel the eight Emperors to fight with all their might.

Everyone was astonished. The most precious primeval matter? Capable of leading to the Ancestral realm! While obtaining it didn't guarantee success, it still offered the possibility—a completely new and different world!

As Immortal Emperors, who wouldn't yearn for it?

The eight surviving Emperors instantly went mad, their auras surging, fear completely vanished as they charged towards the Empress and Wu Shi.

In the past, the Ancestors had indeed hinted that if one of them perished, a powerful Immortal Emperor could be chosen to fill the vacant position.

But the End-Stage strange creatures didn't fully believe it.

Today, however, was different. Half of the Ancestors had died, making it truly possible for one or two End-Stage beings, perhaps even three or four, to be chosen to fill the void in the Ancestral realm.

“What about me?!” The Dark Immortal Emperor protested, feeling discriminated against. Was he not worth the strange creatures investing all their resources to eliminate him with full force?!

Hearing his words, even those engaged in the life-or-death struggle paused for a moment in slight surprise.

“Include him; do not let him escape!” an Ancestor commanded.

Even the Ancestors had a deep impression of this Immortal Emperor, who had once been corrupted by primeval dark blood but ultimately broke free from the darkness.

“All Quasi-Immortal Emperors, Immortal Kings, True Immortals, and others, also exert your full strength! Slaughter everyone connected to Desolate and Ye; leave no one alive on that battlefield. Upon completion, primeval matter capable of elevating you to the End-Stage will be bestowed. We will not be stingy!”

The Ancestors spoke again, boosting morale.

On the Dao Ancestor battlefield, all creatures from the Land of Misfortune instantly went berserk, which spelled utter catastrophe for the surviving cultivators of all realms.

“You should leave.” Behind Chu Feng, the woman of the pollen path sighed softly. Faced with such an outcome, where blood and sorrow permeated everything, she too felt powerless.

Although once mighty, she had ultimately perished completely in a bloody battle against the Ancestors.

Had it not been for Desolate Heavenly Emperor, who transformed into myriad ages and used a single drop of blood to trace back to the core of the Sea of Time, journeying to that incredibly tragic era and using heaven-defying means to retrieve a faint shadow of her, nothing of her would have remained.

In that extremely ancient era, she fell at the end of the plateau, was suppressed by several ancient coffins, and then was utterly obliterated, making it impossible for later generations to even manifest her image.

Now, she could only use the stone pot to help Chu Feng conceal his aura. If an Ancestor's true form were to approach, discovery would ultimately be unavoidable.

“I don't want to leave!” Chu Feng's nose tingled, his eyes were bloodshot, and he felt an overwhelming agony, wanting to cry. So many people had fallen: from the Heavenly Horned Ant to Patriarch Meng, then to Pang Bo, Dog Emperor, and the veteran Jiu Dao Yi.

Moreover, Shi Yi, with his dual pupils, charged defiantly into the heavens, his eyes shattering, leaving two trails of blood on his face, as he exploded in mid-air alongside the Emperor's Son.

Furthermore, the Silkworm Emperor and Ten Crown King leaped with all their might, undergoing extreme sublimation and transformation, charging towards the Immortal Emperor realm. Yet, they were forcibly cut off by Imperial Weapons and struck down… What a pity!

Most notably, in the end, Desolate Heavenly Emperor and Ye Heavenly Emperor fell in battle, their sword and cauldron exploding, drenched in blood. This profoundly shocked Chu Feng, and he wished he could have died in their stead.

So many people, scene after scene, such heroic tragedy—how could he not shed tears?

It was too brutal. Chu Feng personally experienced all this, witnessing so much sorrow and bloodshed. He exerted all his strength to rampage through this realm, collecting and refining the Dao Ancestors from the Land of Misfortune who had been blown apart. But human effort has its limits.

Several times, he fell into desperate situations, fighting his way out with difficulty. The stone zither once rang out, clashing against Imperial Weapons, while Chu Feng was covered in blood, his body crisscrossed with cracks.

In the final moments, had the woman of the pollen path not forcibly pulled him from the battlefield, he would have died long ago!

“Let me go! So many heroes have fallen, their blood splattering across the sky. If I can't do my utmost to kill a few more, my heart will be filled with unwillingness and unease!” Chu Feng roared, his eyes wide and bloodshot at the corners, crimson blood flowing down.

“Your going won't change anything. Leave the battlefield; perhaps there will be an opportunity in the future, when the heavens change!” The woman of the pollen path held him firmly.

She calmly informed him that she had done her utmost in interfering thus far. If she were to act further, not even the stone pot could conceal his aura.

“I don't fear death; I fear regretting today in the future, regretting not killing more enemies now!” Chu Feng struggled violently.

“Kill them in the future!” the woman of the pollen path calmly retorted.

But Chu Feng feared there might be no such opportunity in the future. With some Quasi-Immortal Emperors disintegrating under the vast sky now, it was a prime chance to utterly slay them.

“Are you expecting too much of me? I'm not Desolate Heavenly Emperor, nor Ye Heavenly Emperor. The only opportunity I can seize is now!” Chu Feng said sadly, lowering his head to look at his hands. With insufficient strength, this was all he could do!

His true realm had not even reached that of a Red Dust Immortal. For him, being able to slay Dao Ancestors with borrowed power was already enough!

Even those who died in the Emperor Fall era had reconvened their battle souls from the World Sea Dam to fight here. How could Chu Feng not be deeply moved? He too wished to use all his strength, killing as many as he could!

Even if his end was like a moth drawn to a flame, burning away his last drop of blood, he would not hesitate, for he would have, in the end, given his all.

Suddenly, bells tolled loudly, deafeningly, reverberating through all realms. Tragic and resplendent blood, like an evening glow, filled the sky and seeped into the hearts of all.

Wu Shi, beneath the vast sky, transformed into the Dao. Using his flesh and blood as a cage, his primordial soul-light as a flame, and his shattered Imperial Bell as kindling, he dragged a supreme being onto the path of shared annihilation.

Nearby, the other Immortal Emperors of the strange clan surged forward, striving to rescue their comrade.

The Empress, covered in blood, erupted with boundless light. Countless brilliant petals, each stained with her blood, swirled with her, sweeping across heaven and earth, engulfing the End-Stage powerhouses.

She was deeply saddened, bidding farewell to Wu Shi. How could she tolerate anyone blocking his path and interrupting his final wish?

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Amidst the blinding bloodlight, the Empress continuously struck, causing ominous Imperial blood to splatter everywhere, while she herself had once disintegrated.

Several supreme beings who dared to attack her were blown apart by her!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two heaven-shattering long rainbows, like two brilliant stars streaking across the abyss, shattered the darkness and illuminated all realms!

They were two unfamiliar Immortal Emperor auras, flying ferociously from beyond the heavens, severing the River of Time. Their speed was so immense that it was impossible to evade them.

“I, the Butcher, have come to fight!”

“I, the Burial Lord, have emerged!”

They declared their names and engulfed an Immortal Emperor who had been shattered by the Empress. Together, they crushed the disintegrating Immortal Emperor, burning his origin and refining the supreme being.

Those still alive were greatly moved.

In that incredibly distant era, within the coalition attacking the World Sea, these two were the most powerful, second only to Desolate Heavenly Emperor.

In the years that followed, they even ascended to the Heavens, following Desolate Heavenly Emperor, ultimately advancing into the realm of supreme beings and becoming Immortal Emperors.

However, through the changes of eras and successive great sacrifices, Desolate's companions grew fewer and fewer; almost all had fallen in battle.

Even these two could not endure; they had once been buried and annihilated along with the entire grand era.

Desolate, in order to manifest that grand era, had been weakened for many epochs, yet he ultimately brought those people back, and these two were among them.

However, even today, they had not fully recovered to their peak power, able only to seize opportunities to strike at the enemy!

It was not until this moment that they found their chance. They directly transformed into the Dao, becoming inextinguishable flames that engulfed an Immortal Emperor shattered by the Empress.

At this juncture, Wu Shi's transformation into the Dao was so resolute that even in death, he adamantly sought to take an Immortal Emperor with him, sacrificing himself for the Dao. This alone had already made the strange clan's Immortal Emperors tremble and feel a chill down their spines.

Now, these two seized the opportunity, arriving amid the chaos with great success. They suppressed another Immortal Emperor, burning his path forward and obliterating his origin.

Ultimately, these two were not at their peak. It was already remarkable that Desolate could manifest them back to life.

Thus, they combined their strength, content if they could just take one opponent with them.

“Kill!”

The Empress, who rarely spoke, let out another fierce cry of "Kill" today, truly unleashing a massacre. Her dark hair cascaded around her, like an unparalleled goddess of war in the Immortal Emperor realm, striking such terror that no one dared approach, frightening even the supreme beings among the strange creatures.

“Roar!”

The Dark Immortal Emperor roared. He, too, decisively fought with all his might, transforming into light, enveloping a shattered Immortal Emperor, obliterating the opponent's origin. He even manifested a light body and swallowed the opponent whole, sacrificing soul for soul.

“Dong!”

The final toll of the bell resonated as Wu Shi the Great dragged his opponent, incinerating the Sea of Time and manifesting it across all realms, dying together with the strange Immortal Emperor.

The plateau failed to revive that individual.

“Ah…” A mournful shriek echoed. The End-Stage being, enveloped by the combined might of the Butcher and Burial Lord after their transformation into the Dao, struggled desperately, resisting.

But in the end, both sides gradually weakened. Flames surged through heaven and earth, then extinguished!

“Old man, I finally found the chance in the final moments to slaughter an Immortal Emperor!” The Butcher laughed, wildly, and then all traces of his existence vanished completely.

“One era after another has passed. Today, I bury myself.” The Burial Lord murmured. Though he had killed an Immortal Emperor, there was no joy in him. He had given his all, and then came eternal oblivion.

The Dark Immortal Emperor roared, bellowing: “I too once stood unrivaled in the world, illuminating mountains and rivers! Though there were times of darkness, I ultimately returned for this very day, to sever the heads of you swine and dogs!”

Boom!

The years shone brightly, time was boundless. The Dark Immortal Emperor's light body continuously soared, piercing through heaven and earth, then suddenly disintegrated, rapidly compressing to a single point before violently exploding.

He died along with his opponent!

He fulfilled his dying wish, accomplishing his vow!

In that brief instant, Wu Shi was no more in the human realm, nor was the Dark Immortal Emperor. The Butcher and Burial Lord also vanished—four Emperors withered simultaneously!

Though they had taken their opponents with them, such brutality and tragic heroism still caused people to tremble.

Yet, even amidst their sorrow, words failed them. People stood in silence, lips trembling, bidding them farewell.

During this time, at the end of the strange plateau, the Ancestors remained seated on ancient coffins, eyes closed, healing their injuries and restoring their origins. Even with Immortal Emperors of their clan falling, they remained unmoved.

As long as a few of them remained, all glory could be rekindled. The clan on the plateau could still dominate all realms, unrivaled!

Heaven and earth fell silent, no sound was heard. Even the Dao Ancestor battlefield temporarily ceased. Everyone looked towards the distant sky, where only the Empress remained, while opposite her stood five Emperors.

At this point, even with the plateau as their backing, the supreme beings of the strange clan grew afraid. The opposing Emperors had repeatedly taken their comrades with them into death.

How could they not be terrified? Once they truly died, everything would turn to naught. What good would primeval matter be then? It would lose all meaning.

It was clear that the Empress was the strongest, truly unrivaled in this realm at this moment. With the final moment approaching, how many would she take with her if she fought with all her might?

The five Emperors remained silent, none wishing to be the Empress's final sacrifice before her death.

“Only I remain…” The Empress let out a faint sigh. Such a powerful and formidable woman, yet even she finally showed emotional turbulence: sorrow and desolation.

Her voice transcended myriad ages, faintly echoing in the past, the present, and the future.

Looking back, she had shone brilliantly throughout the world, yet now, before her, was such devastation.

Then, she erupted with the most dazzling brilliance. Her white robes were stained with blood, and amidst the permeating ominous aura, she stood peerless and transcendental, incomparably powerful!

“Kill!” The Empress shouted again, and it would be her last time!

Even if she were to fall in battle, turn into light rain, or become kalpa ash, she vowed to kill another Immortal Emperor, resolving to slay enemies without return!

A terrifying battle erupted!

And on the Dao Ancestor battlefield, the final battle was also nearing its end.

The zither chimed, as a strange Dao Ancestor disintegrated. At the ends of heaven and earth, a white-robed man, covered in blood, sat before a zither, his fingers making a final sweep across the strings, and then he himself disintegrated with a crash.

Jiang Taixu, the peerless Divine King of old, had once been manifested by Ye Heavenly Emperor, brought back to life along with many old acquaintances. Today, he fought his last battle, slaying enemies, and perished!

“Ye, Ye Zi, Ye Fan…” An old man, with dishevelled white hair, seemed utterly mad. He was indeed an old madman, calling out to Ye Heavenly Emperor, and ultimately perished with his enemy.

On the other side, a man held an ancient mirror. His body and the mirror shattered together, blood splattering into the void. Ji Zi, whose blood carried the heroic soul of the Void Great Emperor, had slain countless enemies, and now fell amidst a brilliant display.

On the fringes of the Dao Ancestor battlefield, Li Da exploded, and Gu Qing shattered. Although there were few masters in this area, they had only just entered the Dao Ancestor realm and were still far from strong enough.

Only a single Corpse remained on the battlefield, staggering as he fought the enemy, holding the bronze coffin that had changed hands several times in a short period. His face was streaked with tears.

“I'm a failure, unable to become an Immortal Emperor, unable even to fight ten opponents at once. I still haven't killed ten people, and I've watched my nephews, my old friends, die before my eyes. I hate it!”

The Corpse let out a long wail. He was clearly nearing his end, as all the peak Dao Ancestors had targeted him and were rushing towards him.

Beyond the heavens, the most terrifying energy fluctuations swept through myriad ages!

Light rain fell throughout the past, present, and future. The Empress, amidst the dazzling light rain, was invincible, incinerating the Grand Dao, destroying herself along with her enemies.

On this day, the white-robed Empress was peerless, dazzling the human realm!

Boom!

Utter destruction. A strange Immortal Emperor exploded, turning into ashes, never to reappear.

“Ah…” Another Immortal Emperor shrieked mournfully, vanishing into dust and smoke amidst the blinding light rain.

Two Immortal Emperors consecutively fell into eternal oblivion, a truly shocking sight. The remaining three, seeing the Empress's divine bravery and peerless might, grew timid and fearful. They turned and fled, hiding within the plateau.

In truth, the Empress had transformed into light, incinerating her origin and exhausting her Grand Dao. She was at the very brink of exhaustion, her life force depleted.

After all, she had fought for a long time, consuming too much battling seemingly immortal enemies. Despite this, she still utterly slew three Immortal Emperors, sending them to eternal oblivion.

She dimmed within the light rain, her radiance gradually fading, on the verge of completely vanishing from the human realm.

...

Boom!

The ground of the shattered grand world collapsed, exposing a hidden underground palace. Inside lay a massive teleportation array. Alas, when the Ancestors sighed before the battle, a black wall had severed everything, destroying even this teleportation array, leaving no one able to escape.

The strange Ancestors had deduced everything, intending not to spare even the women and children within the underground palace.

The underground palace's seal shattered, and the women and children inside burst forth, fighting. Some were very strong, reaching the peak Dao Ancestor realm even as women, directly protecting their descendants as they fought their way out.

“This is a rare opportunity! Dao Ancestors kill Dao Ancestors! Let our clan's descendants also go all out! Go kill those young people, those youths; spare none of them!”

From the end of the plateau, a cold voice emerged, commanding the lower-realm strange creatures to kill the women, children, and youths who had burst from the underground palace, calling it "tempering" in this final battle.

“Kill!”

In an instant, the battle reached its most tragic intensity. The Dao companions and descendants of the powerhouses from all realms directly faced a heroic tragedy of blood and bone.

They were fearless. Their fathers and grandfathers had fallen in battle, so how could they shrink back? Even if their strength couldn't yet match that of their elders, they would not tarnish their reputation.

However, the battle was truly cruel. Many young people died quickly, and many women's blood stained the blue sky.

“Little Rabbit!”

The Corpse cried out loudly, risking his life to rush towards a silver-haired woman before he himself disintegrated. The woman was pierced by a sword light, her entire being annihilating.

The Corpse roared in fury, doing his utmost to contain the disintegrating woman's form and spirit, trembling as he spoke: “In the end, I still couldn't protect you!”

Amidst the last blinding flash of light, an Imperial Weapon suppressed downwards, and the Corpse along with the Lunar Jade Rabbit vanished together from heaven and earth.

...

Chu Feng was far from the battlefield, yet he could not bear the scenes of tragedy. Seeing women and children fighting, constantly falling, and blood staining the ground, his eyes turned blood red, and he couldn't help but shed tears.

“Let me go!” Chu Feng trembled, pleading to go to the battlefield.

A brilliant butterfly soared, protecting the women and children. Its wings vibrated, causing swaths of enemies around it to explode, but ultimately it, too, became powerless. As it charged defyingly into the sky, it was shattered by an Imperial Weapon. That was the Imperial Butterfly that had once followed Desolate Heavenly Emperor.

There were also two other figures: one unleashed a Chaos Pagoda, almost an Imperial Weapon, and the other activated the Heaven-Overturning Seal, formed from the fusion and refinement of many World Stones, blasting towards the enemies.

In a brutal struggle, they killed and took many extremely powerful enemies with them, but those two also perished. They were the Little Pagoda and the Divine Striking Stone, who had once accompanied Desolate Heavenly Emperor and had transformed into human forms after shedding their true bodies.

“Yao Yao!”

Suddenly, Chu Feng saw Yao Yao. She was surrounded by a group of strange creatures. Even with her talent that astonished ancient and modern times, she was now struggling immensely. These were all peak beings of the same level, powerful strange clan experts who had lived for long ages, terrifyingly strong in their respective realms.

Ultimately, a terrifying beam of light flew in, piercing Yao Yao and nailing her to the earth. Blood splattered, and her form began to disintegrate…

“Yao Yao!” Chu Feng's eyes were about to burst from their sockets.

“Let me go!” He saw Yao Yao being impaled by a creature of a higher evolutionary level. His whole body trembled; he couldn't bear it and demanded that the woman of the pollen path allow him to go to that battlefield.

However, his body was rooted there, unable to move.

At the same time, Chu Feng caught a glimpse of Zhou Xi, flashing by in the crowd. Was she there too?

Soon, he confirmed it was Zhou Xi, in grave danger.

Unable to bear it any longer, he roared at the woman of the pollen path, finally begging her desperately to let him join the battle.

“You can say I'm not calm enough, not patient enough, but… this is human nature. If I stood by indifferently, able to endure watching those so intimately connected to me by blood and kinship die before my eyes, would I still be human? Even if I survived, I would never forgive myself in this life. If I go now, perhaps there's still a ten percent chance of saving them. At the very least, I can still kill enemies. I want to send some of these strange creatures to hell!”

Chu Feng's eyes were wide and bloodshot at the corners, trembling with anxiety.

“If you go, you'll only be throwing your life away. There isn't even one percent of that ten percent hope. I am already powerless to grant you strength or conceal anything for you; I am about to fall into dormancy.” The woman of the pollen path calmly informed him.

Chu Feng was covered in blood, his chest heaving violently, as he said: “The era behind me has ended; an entire generation has been buried. Everyone I knew has died. Ahead, only a few familiar faces remain. An era, a grand age, has utterly turned into blood and bone. Even if I survive alone in this world, what meaning would there be? If even Desolate and Ye couldn't pacify the Land of Misfortune, what could I possibly do in the future? Could I ever be stronger than them?”

“You cannot go now. There will always be a chance to act in the future!” The woman of the pollen path refused.

As she spoke, Chu Feng noticed a young man on the battlefield who looked remarkably like him, practically a version of himself in the Heavenly Venerate realm.

That young man was an Eternal Heavenly Venerate, fighting fiercely in all directions, battling a group of strange creatures of similar cultivation, continuously slaying enemies.

Chu Feng's heart instantly trembled. That young man… was he related by blood? He guessed this because Zhou Xi had been pregnant when she left.

Calculating the time, over a century had passed. If it was his child, it meant the child's talent was extraordinarily powerful, achieving peak Eternal Heavenly Venerate status in just over a century, ready to enter the Primal Chaos realm at any time—a rarity in the world.

That young man was covered in blood, with multiple injuries, and a sword pierced through his chest. Chu Feng felt as if he were suffocating. Suppressing his heartache, he roared at the woman of the pollen path, demanding to be allowed onto the battlefield.

But he was never released. Finally, Chu Feng spoke with a desolate tone: “What the future holds, I don't know. Perhaps you expect too much of me. I might not reach the realm you hope for. I am just myself, a person of flesh and blood, unable to suppress the tenderness within human nature. Seeing my child in distress makes me unable to stop my tears. I am just an ordinary person who wants to fight with all my life. I am a being of flesh and blood; I am not a demon, not an immortal, I have not extinguished the human heart and human nature. Let me go! I must go kill enemies! I must go fight to save my child! If I lose them, what meaning would there be even if I could transcend later, even if I could take revenge?! If I stand by today and watch my wife and child die, and all my old friends perish, how could I ever transcend? This will be an eternal dark region in my heart, and I will never forgive myself!”

By the end, Chu Feng was shouting and roaring.

On the battlefield, the young man who resembled Chu Feng was covered in blood, his body already pierced with several gaping blood holes. Yet, he still moved unrestrained through heaven and earth, battling a group of strange creatures. He had taken down countless powerful enemies in the Heavenly Venerate realm, sweeping across all directions.

However, the Land of Misfortune was not an ordinary place after all. How could the creatures inhabiting it be mundane? There were equally peak experts of the same level.

Soon, the young man was surrounded, specifically targeted. Among the enemies were no fewer than eight Eternal Heavenly Venerates, along with other powerhouses, all hunting him down together!

Even if the young man was incredibly strong, he could not withstand the combined slaughter of so many strange creatures of the same level. Eight battle spears successively pierced him, hoisting him high into the air, his fresh blood staining the wicked weapons!

Those were soul-slaying spears, designed to extinguish souls upon impact—the most vicious kind of soul-destroying weapon. In an instant, the young man's face turned pale, and his soul-light dimmed.

“An’er!”

From afar, a heart-wrenching cry sounded. Zhou Xi's figure appeared, covered in blood, stumbling through the enemy ranks, fighting her way towards him, like a cuckoo crying blood, heartbroken beyond measure.

Chu An, a very ordinary name, without any special features, yet it carried a mother's best wishes and blessings for him: to grow up safely, free from disaster, calamity, and hardship.

But now, he was causing such heartache.

“Ah…” At that moment, Chu Feng's heart tore apart; his entire being felt as if it would shatter, his agony reaching its peak. It was indeed his child.

“Let go of me! Let me through!” Chu Feng roared. He didn't want a future, he didn't want to endure; he only wanted the present. He had to be by his child's side. As a father, how could he stand by and watch that child being impaled in mid-air, his blood almost entirely drained, his soul-light fading?

“There is no path of life if you go. If I release you, I will also be powerless and fall into dormancy,” the woman of the pollen path stated, reminding him that going would only lead to his death, not save anyone.

“I don't want concealment. Even if there's no path of life, I will fight my way through, to be with them, to share their fate! What meaning is there in merely surviving alone in the human realm? Even living for myriad ages would be bleak, looking out into a vast emptiness devoid of splendor!”

In an instant, Chu Feng could move. He roared, cleaving heaven and earth, and charged directly forward.

Boom!

He arrived instantly, shattering the group of people who had impaled Chu An into a mist of blood. He embraced his child, who was falling from mid-air, and with trembling hands, swiftly pulled out the long spears.

But Chu An's eyes were dim, his soul-light almost extinguished.

At this final juncture, he struggled to open his eyes, a look of surprise mixed with weakness. His mouth was full of blood, and amidst the pain, a hint of joy appeared as he laboriously sent out a faint spiritual fluctuation: “You are… my father!”

Though life was ebbing, Chu An still guessed Chu Feng's identity. They looked too much alike, and he had seen his father's portrait and heard his mother recount his past countless times.

“Yes. I'm sorry, I failed to protect you!” Chu Feng frantically tried to extend his son's life, doing everything in his power, injecting his life essence into him. But it was already too late.

“Father, I… finally see you, but… I'm dying. You… protect… Mother.” Chu An laboriously sent out the faintest spiritual fluctuation, almost indiscernible.

Then, he became still. His spiritual consciousness extinguished, his body disintegrated, and blood flowed everywhere, staining Chu Feng's body red.

“No!” Two lines of blood streamed from Chu Feng's eyes as he howled like a wounded beast.

“I want you to live!” Chu Feng clutched the disintegrating body tightly with both hands, but he couldn't hold onto anything.

Their first meeting, their first father-son reunion, the first time he called him father—and also their last meeting, last reunion, last time he called him father… Such devastation drove Chu Feng mad! His eyes were filled with nothing but blood, and the entire world was a deep crimson, devoid of any other color.

“My child!” he roared.

“An’er!” From afar, an even more piercing cry sounded. Zhou Xi, covered in wounds, temporarily broke free from the enemies, her hair disheveled, stumbling towards him, heartbroken beyond measure like a cuckoo weeping blood.

Chu Feng heard the heart-piercing wail, and some of the blood-red haze before his eyes receded. Holding the disintegrating remains, he charged towards Zhou Xi, shattering swathes of enemies along the way.

“Brother Chu Feng!”

Further away, another woman, her waist-length silver hair stained with blood, wore a face of sorrow. Watching Chu Feng and the deceased Chu An, she clutched her chest in pain, murmuring. She was Ying Xiaoxiao, separated for three years.

Swish!

A blinding saber light swept across the battlefield. Zhou Xi, Ying Xiaoxiao, and many others had their bodies severed. Dao Ancestors had intervened, beginning to clear the final battlefield. Few remained, and everything was about to conclude.

That final, tragic, yet beautiful bloodlight was forever seared into Chu Feng's heart, aching to his very bones. He was utterly despairing, charging forward like a madman. He wished he could instantly slaughter all strange creatures, annihilate all ominous beings in the world, and pierce through the ancestral land of the plateau!

Never before had he yearned for power so intensely, wishing he could smash through heaven and earth, shatter myriad ages, purge the Land of Misfortune with blood, and slay every single enemy!

Suddenly, with a thunderous boom, the entire world resonated and trembled violently. Then, all realms quivered as the boundless Grand Dao burned, and brilliant radiance illuminated ancient and modern times.

Beyond the heavens, the Empress's Grand Dao flame, which had been on the verge of extinction, suddenly blazed fiercely, shining brilliantly once more. Her dimmed, blurry figure reappeared, radiating an immense aura that shook the mortal world, other realms, and the vast cosmos. Bathed in the Grand Dao's fire, she stepped forth anew!

In that moment, the Empress's peerless grace illuminated the human realm.

Boom!

From the end of the plateau, a massive hand reached out and struck at her. The Empress met it head-on, directly shattering it!

Next, the Empress radiated boundless light, scattering it across the shattered grand world, teleporting the few remaining survivors to unknown locations, dispersed across different worlds and directions. Before the Ancestors arrived, she interfered with the Sea of Time, disrupted the heavenly secrets, and finally personally erased all traces.

Boom!

The five Ancestors appeared simultaneously at the first instant, charging out. They realized something monumental had happened: the Empress had actually advanced to the Sacrificial Dao realm!

In despair, in a desperate situation, she burned away all her origin and all her Grand Dao, which… remarkably aligned with the true meaning of Sacrificial Dao.

Although she had spent years fighting outside, battling the strange creatures and consequently delaying some of her cultivation time, her years of accumulation had left her Dao foundation solid and astonishing. Today, she reached this step, sacrificing her Grand Dao, transcending beyond, and stepping into a higher realm.

Aside from the strange Ancestors, few throughout ancient and modern times had reached this stage—no more than a handful!

Many, even with sufficient accumulation, would never reach this level in their entire Immortal Emperor lives without that profound enlightenment and opportune moment.

The Ancestors had never imagined that the Empress, in such a desperate situation, in an exhausting, bloody battle with no way out, could still undergo extreme sublimation and transform to the Sacrificial Dao. This was simply inconceivable.

In their view, to achieve Sacrificial Dao required many years of preparation and full commitment, with no external interference, for even a sliver of hope.

The white-robed Empress, in such circumstances, astonishingly broke through the myths. During a life-or-death battle against her enemies, embracing the thought of death, she successfully achieved Sacrificial Dao!

Even as her enemies, the Ancestors wore complex expressions, sighing softly in their hearts. This woman was truly astonishingly talented and brilliant, looking down upon myriad ages and realms.

“In the past, only Desolate had ever broken through so fiercely and irresistibly in such a desperate situation. Now there is you as well—truly astonishing across ancient, modern, and future times!”

An Ancestor murmured