The Dao of Reincarnation (239-240) (Patreon)

Chapter 239: The Undying Nether Emperor (Part 20)

That was the aura of a Great Emperor. Or rather, the aura of one who had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Emperor Dao.

In the very instant he attained the Dao, he slew a flawless Supreme. That Supreme had bathed in Emperor blood in the past. Even in his ordinary state, he could rival an ordinary Great Emperor. He had harvested countless lives and remained at his peak at all times. Yet now, he had been killed with a single slash.

This was the power of one who had attained the Dao through the nine-layered Emperor tribulation. Throughout history, not every era would birth such a being. That single slash ushered in a new epoch.

Su Chen did not stop. A Supreme who had instantly revived and recovered his former Extreme Dao Emperor-level combat strength roared in fury. Like the unrivaled Great Emperors of old, he charged toward Su Chen across the starry sky.

"Admirable courage."

The Emperor Dao reigned over the cosmos. In the eyes of all living beings, only one figure existed. The once-dominant Supreme appeared utterly insignificant before him.

How could the light of a firefly compete with the bright moon? Those former supreme powerhouses were now nothing more than fireflies.

Su Chen's Dao crushed everything before it. There was still an insurmountable gulf between Emperors. He needed only two moves to kill a Supreme whose strength rivaled that of an ordinary Great Emperor—one to crush him, and one to end his life.

The Supremes who had dominated the universe for hundreds of thousands of years finally felt fear. An existence that killed Emperors as easily as stepping on ants was simply too terrifying.

"What reckless fools… They actually dared to challenge someone who passed the nine-layered Emperor tribulation," remarked a Supreme who had hidden back in the forbidden zones at the first sign of trouble. He watched the scenes unfolding in the starry sky. Supremes were now like ants. Even those with ordinary Great Emperor-level strength were merely larger ants.

Some of the oldest Supremes looked on with utter despair.

"Another supreme Emperor has appeared… Will the great war of the past repeat itself?"

In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Su Chen had slain no fewer than twenty Supremes. On this day, countless star domains across the universe turned blood-red. Blood flowed through billions of star regions in a magnificent and horrifying spectacle. Even the most distant star domains experienced blood rain that day.

Su Chen watched the surviving Supremes scatter and flee back into the forbidden zones. He did not pursue them to complete annihilation. Twenty-three Supreme corpses were more than enough for his cultivation for a long time.

As the Supremes of the forbidden zones retreated, Su Chen achieved Nirvana, immortality, and eternal life.

In this life, he titled himself the Undying Nether Emperor. He declared the end of the Dark Era and the arrival of the Emperor Dao Era. All living beings hailed the Undying Nether Emperor. They built ancient statues across countless star domains and prayed to the first Emperor who had ended the age of darkness. Cultivation became much easier in the world.

Su Chen established the Undying Divine Court and ruled over all races. In less than ten thousand years, powerhouses emerged in droves and the myriad races flourished.

Su Chen sat within the Undying Divine Court. Over the past ten thousand years, he had been continuously refining the Supreme corpses he had harvested in that great battle. The daos and laws of ancient Emperors and Great Emperors all became his nourishment.

"Someone wants to challenge me?"

Ten thousand years later, Su Chen opened his eyes. A single gleam from his gaze shattered countless spaces and stirred chaotic clouds.

Outside the Undying Divine Court, a supreme figure stood proudly.

It was a flawless Great Emperor.

Two Great Emperors had appeared in the same era. The situation where Emperors never met other Emperors had been broken.

"So that's how it is…"

Su Chen understood. He had killed too many Supremes. From the beginning to the end of the Dark Era, more than forty Supremes had fallen in just over a hundred thousand years. Nearly half the Supremes in the forbidden zones had perished.

Although Su Chen had refined many of their corpses, the remaining energy had returned to the heavens and earth. The forbidden zones he had pacified had also reintegrated into the universe, perfecting the rules of the world.

A second Great Emperor had been born.

However, this Great Emperor seemed rather arrogant and ignorant of his own limits.

Su Chen's expression turned strange.

All the powerhouses of the Undying Divine Court had come out, only to be completely defeated by this Great Emperor.

The young Great Emperor looked down upon the Undying Divine Court. His Emperor voice echoed across countless star domains.

"Undying Nether Emperor, this Emperor knows you are still alive! Come out and fight!"

The Emperor's might blanketed the starry sky.

Above the universe, a crack tore open. A nether blade swept across thousands of star domains and billions of light years. Within the shattered void, Emperor blood spilled and dyed the heavens red. The myriad realms mourned.

A Great Emperor had died just like that.

Su Chen casually grabbed the fresh Great Emperor corpse. He had only just finished refining the Supreme corpses, and now another fresh Great Emperor had delivered himself to his doorstep. How considerate.

This was a Great Emperor who had passed three tribulations. For an ordinary Great Emperor to charge straight at his door, Su Chen could only say his courage was commendable.

After his eighth Nirvana, Su Chen realized that the energy required for the ninth Nirvana was terrifyingly vast. More than twenty Supremes had only provided about one-tenth of what he needed.

After refining the new Great Emperor, Su Chen relaxed his suppression on the world and waited for new Emperors to be born.

In the past, the Myriad Laws Emperor Court had exhausted all its foundations during the dark turmoil. When Su Chen arrived at its former location, the once-mighty court had been reduced to a small sect. Its strongest member was only at the Void Refining realm.

"Young sir, this is the Myriad Laws Sect. To join us, you must first have your talent tested," a young disciple of the sect blocked Su Chen's path.

Su Chen shook his head.

"I am not here to join the Myriad Laws Sect. I am here to make a deal."

The young disciple was about to ask what kind of deal when he blinked. The black-robed youth had vanished.

"Strange… was that an illusion?"

The young disciple felt as though he had seen someone, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall the person's exact appearance.

A moment later, he muttered in confusion, "Why am I standing here anyway?"

...

Su Chen's strength had grown far too great. Beings of low cultivation no longer even had the qualification to remember him. He had become a taboo existence.

At that moment, the current Sect Master of the Myriad Laws Sect was chatting and laughing warmly with a young man. He did not know who the youth was, yet his mind automatically registered him as a friend who had come from afar.

The youth was Su Chen.

"Thinking back to those years… our Myriad Laws Sect was once an Emperor-level orthodoxy that dominated the starry sky and stood at the peak of all powers," the old Sect Master said with tears in his eyes. "Unfortunately, when the Dark Era arrived, our ancestors fought and died in the stars to protect the sect. After endless turmoil, only this small branch remains. The cultivation methods, divine abilities, and resources left behind by the Emperor Court were all plundered by other forces."

The old Sect Master's voice grew heavy with shame. "The descendants are unworthy. We have failed to restore the supreme glory of the Emperor Court. I have let down our ancestors…"

"You have already done very well," Su Chen said gently. "I believe the ancestors of past generations will not blame you."

The old Sect Master smiled.

Chapter 240: The Undying Nether Emperor (Part 21)

The old Sect Master continued, "However, our ancestors risked everything to preserve one item. It has been passed down from generation to generation without ever being lost. I have followed my master's dying wish and kept it safe and intact, never once opening it."

He led Su Chen into the forbidden ground of the Myriad Laws Sect.

Inside the forbidden ground stood nothing but a single rune.

The Innate Demonic Pattern.

After more than a hundred thousand years, it remained perfectly preserved. It had finally returned to Su Chen's hands.

In his previous life, Su Chen had never managed to comprehend the Innate Demonic Pattern. He knew, however, that it was connected to one of the legendary Nine Innate Supreme Treasures—the Book of Death.

Now that it was in his possession again, his foundation of ten thousand years of comprehension, combined with multiple Nirvanas, had elevated both his talent and insight to a terrifying level.

Su Chen left.

The old Sect Master stared at the now-empty cave in a daze. Why had he come here?

Suddenly, the bare stone wall burst with radiant light as majestic characters appeared.

The old Sect Master read them aloud.

"Myriad Laws Emperor Scripture…"

He dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. The Great Emperor had manifested and returned the lost inheritance to them. The efforts of their ancestors had not been in vain. One day, the Myriad Laws Sect would surely restore the former glory of the Emperor Court.

...

After retrieving the Innate Demonic Pattern, Su Chen returned to the Undying Divine Court and began comprehending it.

He fell into seclusion once more.

Less than ten thousand years had passed since he killed the previous Great Emperor when another new Emperor was born. This time, however, the new Emperor did not attack the Undying Divine Court. The blood of the last one had not even dried yet. Instead, he chose to wage war against the forbidden zones.

Emperor blood once again stained the starry sky. The new Emperor charged into the forbidden zones but fell into an ambush. Although he fought his way out, he was gravely wounded. Outside the zones, Supremes ambushed and killed him, dyeing the cosmos with his blood.

Just as several Supremes moved forward to drink the Emperor blood, a cold voice echoed through the void.

"What a waste."

The four Supremes' expressions twisted in horror. They abandoned the Emperor corpse and tried to flee back into the forbidden zones, but it was too late.

In a single instant, all four Supremes fell without even a chance to sublimate. One Great Emperor and four Supremes—enough to sustain his cultivation for some time.

Su Chen carried the Emperor corpse and Supreme corpses back to the Undying Divine Court.

The Supremes hiding in the shadows were filled with terror.

"He… is using the daos and laws of the Emperors and Supremes as nourishment…"

"What a tragic era. The unrivaled powerhouses of an age have become food. We once fed on all living beings, yet now something feeds on us…"

"Heh…"

Many Supremes watched the departing figure with deep sorrow. Before they had severed themselves and fled into the forbidden zones, every one of them had been a supreme expert who had dominated an era, possessing their own glory and pride. Now they had become mere food.

...

Back in the Undying Divine Court, Su Chen's earlier remark had not been directed at the new Emperor for being killed outside the zones. Rather, he was disappointed that a dignified Great Emperor had only managed to lure out four Supremes.

Su Chen needed far more nourishment to perfect his own laws and prepare for his ninth Nirvana. The ninth Nirvana was crucial. He felt that once he succeeded, he would step into an entirely new realm—perhaps transcendence, or perhaps a level surpassing all Emperors and Supremes throughout history.

Su Chen continued to lie low.

Over the next hundred thousand years, new Emperors rose and fell. Some lasted ten thousand years, others only a few thousand.

Living beings gradually sensed that something was wrong.

In the following hundred thousand years, several more Great Emperors appeared. Most realized the abnormality and chose to sever themselves before fleeing into the forbidden zones in search of survival.

Over two hundred thousand years, countless Emperors and Supremes died. Even the Supremes grew increasingly scarce.

However, Su Chen discovered a critical problem. No new Great Emperor had appeared in five thousand years. He had grown far too powerful. Even though the world could accommodate two Great Emperors, his overwhelming strength unconsciously suppressed the rules of the heavens, preventing other beings from attaining the Dao. If this continued, he would never be able to complete his ninth Nirvana.

One day, the universe let out a mournful cry. The source of the disturbance came from the direction of the Undying Divine Court.

"Could it be… that existence has finally died?"

Some Supremes grew excited, while countless prodigies wept with joy. The Undying Nether Emperor had been far too powerful. His single Dao had suppressed all others. As long as he lived, no one could attain the Emperor realm. All Supremes lived in constant fear that he would simply outlast them all.

Living beings began to test the waters. They gradually launched attacks against the Undying Divine Court. New Great Emperors rose and started to settle scores with the court. They eventually razed it to the ground, yet the Undying Nether Emperor never appeared.

"The Undying Nether Emperor… he really is dead!"

The world celebrated. With a Great Emperor reigning in the sky, the shadow of the Undying Nether Emperor finally lifted.

Tens of thousands of years passed in a flash. The current Great Emperor arrived at the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone. Confident in his invincibility, he decided to explore its depths after hearing rumors of a heaven-defying secret hidden inside.

A peak Great Emperor charged straight into the forbidden zone in search of the truth. When he finally fought his way out, he was in a miserable state and died within a few months.

The Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone was terrifyingly dangerous. It had mortally wounded a peak Great Emperor. Yet the dying Emperor's final words ignited a fire in countless forces.

"There is a heaven-defying opportunity within the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone!"

These were the last words of a Great Emperor. If something could be called heaven-defying by an invincible Great Emperor, it might very well involve the secret of transcendence.

Countless mighty orthodoxies marched into the forbidden zone, only to be completely annihilated.

Tens of thousands more years passed. Some Great Emperors died of old age, some fled into the forbidden zones, and others died while exploring the secrets of the universe.

After severing his own universe imprint, Su Chen had slipped into the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone. He hunted Emperors and Supremes of the past and present. Countless powerhouses had fallen at his hands. Even after self-severing, his strength far surpassed that of ordinary Great Emperors.

Over the years, he had fully comprehended the Innate Demonic Pattern and created the Undying Nether Scripture. He had lived life after life, and his shadow had loomed behind nearly a million years of history.

At this moment, Su Chen had finally pierced through the Bronze Immortal Palace after comprehending its secrets with nearly a million years of accumulated power.

Inside was a living being.

"Hahahaha! I have finally come out!" A disheveled figure inside the Bronze Immortal Palace threw his head back and laughed wildly.

"Who are you?" Su Chen's expression darkened.

The Bronze Immortal Palace—one of the legendary Nine Innate Supreme Treasures—actually contained a living being. His strength was terrifying. His laughter alone caused heaven-shaking changes throughout the Ancient Tomb Forbidden Zone.

"Who am I…"

The being inside the palace seemed lost in memory.

"Some call me the God Burier… Others call me the First Demon of the Primordial Era… I remember I also had another name, the Primordial Demon Lord!"