The Dao of Reincarnation (236-238) (Patreon)

Chapter 236: The Undying Nether Emperor (Part 17)

By the time Su Chen returned to the demon nation, everything had changed.

From Jin Da, he learned that many demons had died after his disappearance. Yuan Yuan had stopped at the Saint King realm. When her lifespan neared its end, she had chosen to seal herself in the divine source, waiting for the day Su Chen might return. He had indeed come back.

Yuan Yuan lay within the divine source. When Su Chen awakened her, the first thing she saw was the familiar figure she had not seen for countless years.

"Big Brother, is it really you?"

Su Chen still looked like a young man, peerlessly elegant. The little fox, however, had grown up. The former loli had become a graceful older sister. After years of ruling the demon nation with dignity and comfort, she carried a faint imperial aura. Yet in front of Su Chen, she remained the same little girl at heart.

Su Chen looked at the big fox, who was trying hard to act obedient with wide eyes, and said gently, "You've worked hard all these years, little one."

Yuan Yuan smiled.

"Yuan Yuan isn't tired. But… Yuan Yuan can no longer follow Brother anymore."

Her lifespan had reached its limit. Once she left the divine source, she would only have a few months left.

Su Chen stroked the big fox's head. This fox saint, whose fierce reputation shook several star domains, now looked like nothing more than a little girl.

...

A few days later, disaster struck the Heavenly Yang Divine Sect.

The entire sect was razed to the ground overnight. Even their Great Saint Ancestor died miserably, and all their foundations were destroyed before they could activate.

The annihilation of the Heavenly Yang Divine Sect became an unsolved mystery. Some said the sect had angered the heavens and been struck down by divine punishment. Others claimed they had possessed something they should not have, leading to their extermination. There were also rumors that the current Great Emperor was displeased with them and had personally wiped them out.

A powerful orthodoxy being erased without any resistance in a single night was simply too shocking. The one who destroyed the Heavenly Yang Divine Sect was naturally Su Chen.

The reason lay in the big fox now sleeping soundly before him. He had annihilated the entire Heavenly Yang Divine Sect and refined it into divine medicine, allowing Yuan Yuan to comprehend the Dao and live out a second life.

It was not because he held a grudge over being hunted for a thousand years. As a Quasi-Emperor, how could he care about such a trivial matter?

Unfortunately, Heavenly Heart Great Emperor still existed.

Su Chen muttered inwardly.

While Yuan Yuan reversed life and death to begin her second life, Su Chen spent some time reforging Jin Da, successfully advancing him from a Saint King artifact to a Great Saint artifact.

"Master, what is your current strength?" Jin Da asked curiously.

Even as a Great Saint artifact, he still felt that his master could snap him at any moment if he wished.

Su Chen glanced at the sky and said calmly, "In this universe, aside from 'Emperor' and the Supremes in the forbidden zones, the number of beings who can stand against me can be counted on one hand."

Quasi-Emperor!

Jin Da was shocked. In any great era, powerhouses were not rare, yet his master could rank among the top five in the entire universe.

Several hundred years later, Yuan Yuan successfully lived out her second life. The current Great Emperor still reigned, suppressing all living beings. No one could attain the Dao.

Su Chen, however, did not choose to seal himself away. He was waiting for a good show. Over tens of thousands of years, Heavenly Heart Great Emperor had not only failed to restrain his descendants' arrogance but had allowed it to grow worse. Many powers suffered terribly and chose to seal themselves. Heavenly Heart Great Emperor's own strength was declining far too quickly.

Su Chen sensed that great chaos would soon descend upon the world. Two thousand years later, his prediction proved correct. Heavenly Heart Great Emperor was failing.

That was good news. The bad news was that Heavenly Heart Great Emperor had appeared before him.

Heavenly Heart Great Emperor praised, "A mere mortal crow who could reach this step… unprecedented throughout the ages. You are truly extraordinary."

The visitor came with ill intentions.

"What brings Emperor Heavenly Heart to seek me?" Su Chen asked.

"You are far too extraordinary… You should not have appeared in this era," Heavenly Heart Great Emperor replied.

Su Chen sensed danger, but it was already too late. Heavenly Heart Great Emperor suppressed him directly, tearing off a small world and turning it into a prison. He sealed Su Chen inside.

"You want to suppress me so I cannot compete for the chance to become Emperor," Su Chen said. "You want your own descendants to attain the Dao!"

Trapped within the small world and seated cross-legged, Su Chen stared at Heavenly Heart Great Emperor and questioned him sharply.

For a brief moment, Heavenly Heart Great Emperor felt a trance, as if some ancient sage from a distant era was glaring at him with fury. But he was a Great Emperor, the supreme being of the universe. In an instant, his mind returned to calm.

"What is wrong with that?" Heavenly Heart Great Emperor stood proudly, unrivaled across the universe. He was the Great Emperor of this era. All races in the universe were his subjects.

"Do you know what consequences this will bring?" Su Chen asked.

Heavenly Heart Great Emperor said indifferently, "I have no parents. I was born as an innate lifeform and attained the Dao. Do you understand the loneliness of being alone in the world?

"No… You do not understand. This Emperor merely wishes to pass on his bloodline. What is wrong with that? I know that if anyone else becomes Emperor in this era, the myriad races will never spare my descendants. Only if one of my own bloodline becomes Emperor can my lineage continue and become an Emperor Clan."

Su Chen felt that Yao Tianxin had gone mad. He should have slapped this fellow to death back then.

Throughout history, no Great Emperor had ever cleared away all obstacles just so his blood descendants could have a chance to become Emperor. Would an Emperor born in such a way be anything more than food for the Supremes?

Especially since the current Supremes had already hunted a Great Emperor once before. Some Supremes could probably erupt with Great Emperor-level power for a short time even without full sublimation. If Heavenly Heart died at their hands, and then another Great Emperor followed, Su Chen could not imagine the final outcome. All the hard work of countless Great Emperors across hundreds of thousands of years would be wasted, and the forbidden zones would boil with activity once more.

"You will become a sinner against all races!" Su Chen declared.

Heavenly Heart Great Emperor's action was even more sinister than self-severing his path and fleeing into the forbidden zones.

Heavenly Heart Great Emperor's expression grew complicated. Perhaps, as Su Chen said, he would indeed become a sinner of the myriad races. Even so, he did not regret it. To him, the continuation of his bloodline was more important than transcendence.

Heavenly Heart Great Emperor left.

Su Chen remained suppressed inside the small world, bound by endless Emperor arrays and restrictions. For the time being, he could not break free and return to the universe.

In the end, Heavenly Heart Great Emperor had not chosen to kill him outright. Perhaps his descendants would fail. If that happened, existences like Su Chen would be able to break the seals and become the final hope of the myriad races.

Provided they were still alive.

Chapter 237: The Undying Nether Emperor (Part 18)

No one knew how much time had passed since Su Chen was suppressed.

One day, the unchanging figure finally opened his eyes.

"Yao Tianxin… is dead."

A Great Emperor had fallen. He had not died of old age, but his strength had been worn down to the limit, and he was counter-killed by Supremes. The outcome was exactly as Su Chen had predicted.

Every Great Emperor who attained the Dao possessed unparalleled talent and unshakeable conviction. Leaving behind descendants to continue his bloodline had been Yao Tianxin's conviction.

Unfortunately…

Su Chen let out a soft sigh.

...

In the outside world, the myth of the strongest being of the era—the undefeated Great Emperor—had been shattered.

Heavenly Heart Great Emperor, the current Great Emperor, had been ambushed and killed by three Supremes. Everyone had believed he could slay those Supremes just like the Great Emperors of old. The result shocked the world. The so-called invincible Great Emperor was nailed to death by the Supremes, and even his flesh was divided up completely.

After the Heavenly Heart Great Emperor's death, no new Great Emperor appeared for several thousand years. Such a long period of dark turmoil had not occurred in nearly a million years.

In this era, all living beings were like ants. The myriad races were raised like livestock, and the accumulated foundations built by Great Emperors over a million years were exhausted. Even the true names of many past Great Emperors were erased.

A once-prosperous era marched toward decline.

One day, shocking news spread.

"Someone is attempting to attain the Great Emperor realm!"

"It's an Emperor Son—the most favored descendant of Heavenly Heart Great Emperor. If he succeeds, he may truly end this era!"

"Not good! Supremes are attacking! They dare to strike directly during the tribulation!"

"Hahaha! So what if the Supremes act? They still failed to stop a Great Emperor from attaining the Dao. The dark era is about to end. Another supreme Emperor will rise to suppress all enemies!"

"No… the newly ascended Great Emperor was ambushed by hidden Supremes. He is in mortal danger!"

"The Great Emperor has fallen…"

Su Chen finally broke free of the restrictions.

A newly ascended Great Emperor had been slain by Supremes, his blood staining the starry sky. A peak Great Emperor had died so easily.

From the ancient era to Heavenly Heart Great Emperor, thirty-seven Great Emperors had appeared in total. The myriad races had prospered and orthodoxies had continued without end. Even when past Great Emperors fell into the forbidden zones, they had never cut off all future hope. But now, a newly ascended Great Emperor no longer possessed the power to suppress everything.

Su Chen understood that a new epoch had begun. Since ancient times, the Great Emperors were no longer invincible. Some powerful Supremes, having bathed in Emperor blood, had recovered portions of their former strength. Ordinary newly ascended Great Emperors were now nothing more than prey. If he attained the Dao now, he would only become a snack.

Su Chen chose not to break through. Instead, he concealed his traces. He found a desolate mountain. If the Supremes discovered him now, he would be nothing more than a walking humanoid divine medicine. It was almost an unsolvable dead end.

Su Chen began searching for a way to break the deadlock.

Three thousand years passed. The old Supremes started nurturing new powerhouses, treating countless geniuses as mere food. Even some experts sealed by the Heavenly Heart Great Emperor were dug out, torn apart, and refined into supplements.

Chaos and disorder filled every corner of the universe.

One day, Su Chen arrived at the foot of a mountain. The living beings there had been slaughtered by a passing foreign cultivator to refine a magical treasure. That cultivator was weak—Su Chen could kill him thousands of times with a single thought.

Yet Su Chen did not act.

At the foot of the mountain, a child stood amid the scattered bones. His eyes burned with sky-high killing intent.

"You… want revenge?" Su Chen asked, looking at the child.

The child remained silent, only staring at Su Chen with unwavering hatred. His eyes revealed both an intense desire for vengeance and unbreakable determination.

"You are quite cautious. However, if I wanted to kill you, it would take only a single thought."

With a wave of his sleeve, Su Chen turned the distant mountains and rivers into flying ash right before the child's shocked eyes.

"Immortal… please accept me as your disciple!"

The child dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed until his forehead bled. He desperately wanted the power to take revenge.

Su Chen said calmly, "I will not take you as my disciple."

The spark of hope in the child's eyes instantly turned to despair.

Su Chen continued, "However, I will give you a cultivation method. If you succeed in practicing it, you may be able to kill your enemy with your own hands."

Su Chen wrote down a cultivation technique.

"Cultivating this method might lead to your death."

Those were Su Chen's last words. He vanished without a trace, like a true immortal who came and went without leaving a shadow.

The child carefully picked up the technique. Several large words were written on it.

He read them out softly.

"Spirit Communion Art."

...

Indeed, what Su Chen had given the child was the Spirit Communion Art—the technique left behind by the Spirit Communion King, also known as the Spirit Divine King.

In the past, the Spirit Divine King had revived and fought against the universe's top geniuses. Even multiple Supremes had been forced to act before he was finally killed. That had not even been his complete form.

Su Chen suddenly thought that this ancient existence might be able to emerge again and again, helping him wear down those Supremes. The Spirit Communion Art would give the child hope for revenge, while Su Chen's final words represented a choice.

Under Su Chen's distant observation, the child ultimately chose to cultivate the Spirit Communion Art. In two hundred years, he reached the Profound Connection realm and killed his enemy.

After taking revenge, he sensed the flaws in the technique. He might become someone else entirely. Yet he did not choose to disperse his cultivation and die in meditation.

At the final moment, the middle-aged man kowtowed toward the sky.

"Thank you, Immortal, for giving me the chance to slay my enemy with my own hands… Thank you…"

For a long time, the middle-aged man remained motionless. When he finally raised his head again, his eyes were ice-cold and indifferent.

"The talent of this body… is truly terrible."

Su Chen watched from afar. He knew that the middle-aged man before him was no longer the same person. He was now the Spirit Communion King.

Su Chen did not know the full origins of the Spirit Communion King, but he understood one thing: this was an ancient and mysterious existence. Even if his traces were erased, he could still revive life after life. His talent was astonishing. Mere mediocre talent could never restrain him.

Su Chen continued to hide his presence and disappeared from the world.

The Spirit Communion King rose to power. This ancient being possessed astonishing talent and countless methods. Even with an ordinary mortal body, he was in no way inferior to those with divine or sacred bodies.

Su Chen secretly observed this old schemer as he rose step by step—tricking and killing powerhouses, seizing resources, and turning countless living beings into nourishment. The threat this existence posed was no less than that of a Supreme.

But there were too many Supremes now. If the Spirit Communion King wanted to attain the Dao, he would inevitably clash with them.

Time flew by like a shuttle.

Su Chen fell into a deep slumber.

In the world, a terrifying figure rose, looking down upon the nine heavens and striking a Supreme across the sky. After seven thousand years, another being was about to attain the Great Emperor realm.

A faint spark of hope reignited in the hearts of all living beings. Could this supreme existence truly succeed?

Heaven and earth were devoured. Living beings on billions of stars turned to ash. The being attempting to attain the Dao was even more ruthless and terrifying than some Supremes.

Several Supremes were enraged.

Who dared to compete with them for food? And so savagely at that?

Chapter 238: The Undying Nether Emperor (Part 19)

The Spirit Communion King died. He died miserably.

However, at the cost of heavy injuries, he managed to take one Supreme with him and severely wound several others. The dead Supreme's corpse was torn apart and divided. The heavily wounded Supremes also perished—some assassinated by their own allies, others ambushed by Su Chen.

To Su Chen, a Supreme's corpse was a great medicine. He needed it to begin his eighth Nirvana.

After the Spirit Communion King's death, Su Chen found another young prodigy and handed him an improved version of the Spirit Communion Art. It was now a Quasi-Emperor level technique. A Supreme seized it, only to be ambushed and killed by Su Chen.

The young prodigy cultivated the Spirit Communion Art without hesitation.

Years later…

"This seat has finally returned again!" the Spirit Communion King declared.

Soon after, he fell into deep thought. Why had he said "again"?

Under Su Chen's observation, the Spirit Communion King's memories did not carry over between lives. He had no recollection of his previous existence.

Su Chen had also tried letting a second person cultivate the technique at the same time, but it failed. When two Spirit Communion Kings existed in the same era, the second cultivator's path would be blocked. They would suddenly die upon reaching a certain realm.

Su Chen never revealed himself. He quietly waited for the Spirit Communion King to rise.

In this life, he had carefully chosen a divine body prodigy for him. The Spirit Communion King did not disappoint. He reached the peak in just six thousand years and prepared to attain the Emperor realm. His brutality once again drew a siege from multiple Supremes.

"Not bad this time," Su Chen muttered as he dragged away the corpses of two Supremes and returned to his lair. He had escaped just in time.

Su Chen stayed hidden for three thousand years. Only after the Supremes lowered their guard did he create a small secret realm. Within a hundred years, someone obtained a Great Saint inheritance inside it. His cultivation soared.

"Useless trash."

This time, the Spirit Communion King was detected by a Supreme while still in the Great Saint realm and promptly eradicated.

Hidden in the shadows, Su Chen could not help cursing. He did not stop the cycle. He refreshed the Spirit Communion King once more.

"I'm back… again!" the new Spirit Communion King declared.

This time, he discovered traces left behind by his previous self. He had been preemptively killed by a Supreme. The new Spirit Communion King vowed to avenge his former self and erase the humiliation.

Su Chen nodded in satisfaction from the shadows. This life would surely wound several more Supremes.

With Su Chen covering his tracks, the Spirit Communion King cultivated in secret. After nearly fifteen thousand years, he once again stood at the pinnacle of the starry sky. He needed to attain the Dao. Anyone who stood in his way would be slain.

Su Chen returned with four Supreme corpses, fully satisfied. He had not expected the Spirit Communion King of this dark era to be so ferocious. Facing more than ten Supremes—including several who had temporarily recovered Great Emperor combat strength—he had killed three, heavily wounded eight, while Su Chen ambushed and claimed four.

Su Chen had nearly been hunted down himself, but his aura was now indistinguishable from that of the Supremes in the forbidden zones. The energy he had accumulated was finally enough for his next Nirvana. He refreshed the Spirit Communion King once again.

This time, the Spirit Communion King was unusually cautious, as if searching for something.

One day, a figure in black robes with dark feathers appeared before him.

"Are you… Looking for me?" Su Chen asked.

The Spirit Communion King seemed to have expected this.

"It seems the repeated appearances of this king across multiple eras were not a coincidence."

He was not surprised by Su Chen's emergence. In this life, he had found far too many traces belonging to himself. It was abnormal. One coincidence could be chance, two might be luck, but repeated occurrences across many lives could no longer be explained away. Even the most foolish Supreme would sense something wrong.

The only explanation was that someone had been using him—clearing all traces, erasing his origins, and ensuring no one knew of his legend. And that mastermind was Su Chen.

"You want to use me to kill these Supremes?" the Spirit Communion King asked with absolute certainty.

Su Chen nodded. "This is a transaction, isn't it?"

"Heh…" The Spirit Communion King gave a cold laugh.

This fellow clearly possessed such terrifying strength, yet he had been using him as a pawn all along.

"It seems you no longer wish to continue this deal," Su Chen said with a sigh.

The Spirit Communion King was simply too intelligent. Using him as a pawn again would prove difficult.

In the end, the Spirit Communion King died.

From his mouth, Su Chen learned several prehistoric secrets, including information about the God Emperor. As part of the transaction, Su Chen granted him a swift death.

By now, Su Chen had accumulated enough resources for his eighth Nirvana. One more step, and he would surpass every Great Emperor since the ancient era and become the First Emperor.

Su Chen began his Nirvana. Countless ages passed. With Supremes ruling the world, many former Emperor lineages had been completely erased.

One day, black flames swept across the starry sky. Countless great daos trembled as an unimaginably terrifying tribulation descended—nine full layers.

All living beings fell into turmoil, and the Supremes were shaken.

"Is it that existence? Has he returned again? Damn it!"

"No… it's not him. That's… a three-legged crow? What kind of being is that? He just tore apart a Great Emperor projection with his bare hands!"

"This Emperor remembers him now. The missing Supreme corpses from before—some weren't taken by other Supremes. It was this black crow secretly hunting injured Supremes!"

"..."

The Supremes were no fools. At this moment, everything became clear.

Unfortunately, they could no longer stop Su Chen from overcoming the Emperor tribulation.

"Run… A being who attains the Dao through the nine-layered Emperor tribulation is far beyond what we can contend with. Even at our peak, we wouldn't be able to fight him!"

"What are you afraid of? Even a nine-layered Emperor tribulation only produces a Great Emperor. The myriad races in this universe are already few and weak. How much strength can he actually display after passing it?"

"Kill him! Once he's dead, this universe will be our domain. We can raise living beings as livestock and wait for transcendence!"

"..."

Some Supremes chose to retreat and hide back in the forbidden zones, while others decided to attack and eliminate the terrifying existence undergoing the nine-layered tribulation.

Su Chen successfully passed the Emperor tribulation. At that moment, he once again grasped the power of ‘Emperor.' It was even stronger than in his previous life.

A revived Supreme was instantly cleaved in half by the Myriad Laws Nether Blade. Countless star domains transformed into the netherworld as seas of black fire raged across the cosmos.

Su Chen actually intended to surround these Supremes and prevent any from escaping.

In the myriad races, some ancient existences witnessed the scene and wept with excitement.

"Emperor… this is what a true Great Emperor looks like. An unrivaled supreme Emperor who suppresses all daos across the universe!"

"Ten thousand years… a full ten thousand years. We had already forgotten what a Great Emperor was. We had forgotten the glory that belongs to an Emperor."

"The darkness is finally coming to an end… A new era is about to begin!"