The Dao of Reincarnation (259-260) (Patreon)

Chapter 259: Transcendence (Part 15)

Who was the Undying Nether Emperor?

Ning Changqing did not know. Yet this forbidden land was manifesting traces of that supreme expert's past. Fragments emerged from the long river of time.

"This was actually a supreme Emperor-level being!" Ning Changqing was shocked.

Even in the glorious Mythical Era, supreme Emperors had been extremely rare. The indelible imprint left in the world called itself the Undying Nether Emperor. From that distant age, an undying hymn resounded, praising the greatest sovereign of the Emperor Dao Era.

The hymn spoke of great achievements, then turned into a mournful lament. The one who had ended the Dark Era and founded the Emperor Dao Era—the First Emperor—had lived far too long. A single being had represented the rise and fall of an entire era.

Great Emperors and those supreme experts who had severed themselves and retreated into forbidden zones were nothing more than food accumulated by this supreme sovereign in his attempt to achieve transcendence.

Ning Changqing sighed as he watched the traces manifesting between heaven and earth. "So in later eras, there was still such a powerhouse—one who ended one epoch and opened another, treating even Great Emperors as mere sustenance in his pursuit of transcendence."

Such talent would have ranked among the very best even before the Mythical Era. Unfortunately, he had still failed in the end. It was both expected and unexpected. Achieving transcendence was never easy.

Ning Changqing had personally witnessed battles for transcendence. The founder of the Jade Pool Sacred Land had possessed astonishing talent that even he admired, yet she too had failed.

He had lived through countless ages and seen innumerable geniuses perish on the path to transcendence. Not a single one had succeeded. But this life would be different.

Ning Changqing was confident that in this era, he would surpass all prodigies throughout history. This time, he would achieve transcendence!

Before that, however, he had one great enemy he needed to eliminate. Di Chen would be his greatest obstacle on the road to transcendence. It did not matter if he failed once, twice, three times… or even countless times. He possessed the Wheel of Time and therefore had endless opportunities. Di Chen could defeat him countless times, but he only needed to win once. In the end, he would be the victor.

"I hope that guy doesn't show up this time," Ning Changqing muttered as he inspected the arrays he had set up. There were no flaws. The heavenly secrets of the Undying Nether Emperor's place of death were completely sealed. Even if the ancestors of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion revived, they would not be able to probe this location.

Still, the moment he had opened the ancient land, a trace of aura had leaked out. Ning Changqing shook his head. With his cautious methods, he had quickly erased that wisp of aura. Unless the Undying Nether Emperor—the First Emperor of the Emperor Dao Era—was still alive, no one could possibly detect it.

But was that even possible? The Undying Nether Emperor had failed to achieve transcendence, and the remnant world formed from his fall was right here.

Ning Changqing shook his head again. This time, there would be no problems.

...

Inside the Myriad Laws Emperor Sect, Su Chen's cultivation had reached the peak of the Quasi-Emperor realm. He was only one step away from triggering his Emperor tribulation.

Suddenly, he stopped cultivating. He had sensed a familiar aura.

Su Chen's expression turned strange. "Ning Changqing… He actually found the Undying Nether Emperor's place of death."

Truly worthy of being called a treasure-hunting rat.

Su Chen had been racking his brains over how to locate his previous life's place of death. Now he no longer needed to worry. Although the aura had only appeared for an instant, he was certain—it was his own aura from his previous life.

Ning Changqing had found the small world left behind after the Undying Nether Emperor's death.

"What a pity…"

A wisp of immortal mist spread outward. As it drifted past, Su Chen's figure vanished, leaving behind only a soft sigh.

"You have touched something you should not have."

The deeper Ning Changqing ventured, the more he realized how wrong he had been. He had still underestimated the First Emperor of the Emperor Dao Era.

That terrifying corpse remained perfectly intact even after countless millions of years. It had become its own world, rejected by heaven and earth. Its power had already exceeded the limits this universe could contain.

Half of the body had been annihilated by a terrifying force that did not belong to this world, causing Ning Changqing's scalp to tingle with dread.

"This is undoubtedly the taboo power from beyond the cosmos—the same forbidden force that stopped countless supreme experts of the Mythical Era in their tracks!"

"He… actually broke through that taboo power. Half of his body had already transcended, witnessing the truth beyond this realm!"

Ning Changqing's heart surged with shock. Even as the reincarnation of the Mythical Era's foremost Heavenly Venerate, he felt a wave of terror in this moment.

This being had nearly succeeded. He had punched his way out of this world, lacking only a sliver of destiny.

Even the founder of the Jade Pool Sacred Land, whose talent had awed Ning Changqing himself, had never managed to take half a step toward transcendence.

Ning Changqing began searching for opportunities, his heart burning with excitement. After gathering more equipment and raising his level here, he would leave this place strong enough to defeat Di Chen and wash away all previous humiliations.

Ning Changqing truly lived up to his status as a Child of Destiny—no, the Child of this entire era. The Undying Nether Emperor's blade had shattered during his transcendence attempt, yet a tiny fragment of its terrifying core remained. Even as a broken weapon, it surpassed any Emperor artifact in history and willingly submitted to Ning Changqing. He also found the remaining three-quarters of the Death Book fragments.

"What a shame. The final quarter is still missing," Ning Changqing thought. If not for Su Chen's sudden appearance in that forbidden zone within the Chaos Sea, he would now possess three Innate Supreme Treasures.

"Di Chen, I will personally take back that final quarter of the Death Book sooner or later," he vowed inwardly.

After collecting all the available fortunes, Ning Changqing decided to comprehend the Undying Nether Emperor's corpse. This was the remains of a half-step transcendent being. If he could obtain the final quarter of the Death Book, that "half-step" might be removed entirely.

...

While Ning Changqing was immersed in comprehending the Undying Nether Emperor's corpse, he remained completely unaware that a figure had already arrived at his location.

Powerful arrays hidden in the void concealed everything.

"This treasure-hunting rat has actually become so cautious," Su Chen thought.

Ning Changqing had set up numerous formations. Even a Great Emperor would find it difficult to break in by force, and any intrusion would immediately alert Ning Changqing, who would flee without hesitation.

Ning Changqing was indeed very cautious. However, Su Chen also had considerable knowledge of arrays.

Su Chen was in no hurry. He began silently dismantling the formations Ning Changqing had left behind.

...

Ning Changqing had no idea that someone had followed the scent straight to him. He remained fully immersed in comprehending the Undying Nether Emperor's Great Dao.

"Nine revolutions, nine nirvanas… The foundation of the Undying Nether Emperor was actually just an ordinary crow?"

While uncovering the hidden secrets within the Undying Nether Emperor's body, Ning Changqing discovered a heaven-shaking truth.

That existence who had taken half a step toward transcendence had actually begun his journey as nothing more than an ordinary crow.

Chapter 260: Transcendence (Part 16)

The deeper Ning Changqing delved into the Undying Nether Emperor's growth, the more astonished he became. Throughout history, there had been only one such existence. A bold idea formed in his mind—he wanted to refine that terrifying corpse.

Just as Ning Changqing prepared to take action, he suddenly stopped. Without turning around, his voice sank low. "Di Chen!"

Though the aura had been extremely well hidden, Ning Changqing still guessed the intruder's identity.

Behind him, an unparalleled figure materialized. It was Su Chen.

"Ning Changqing, it seems we meet again," Su Chen said with a smile.

He was delighted. Ning Changqing was shocked. It was truly a surprise.

Ning Changqing was puzzled. He had clearly set up heaven-shaking arrays outside the Undying Nether Emperor's ruins. How had there been no warning at all?

"Did you break the arrays I set up?" Ning Changqing asked. He still searched for a third presence, but after looking for a long time, he had to accept the truth. There was no third person here—only him and Su Chen.

Su Chen did not attack immediately. He spoke as if greeting an old friend he had not seen in a long time. "I only have a slight understanding of arrays."

Ning Changqing's expression turned extremely ugly. He did not flee right away and instead continued, "How did you find this place? I was certain I had left no traces."

Su Chen remained calm.

Ning Changqing decisively activated the Wheel of Time.

Su Chen's voice echoed through the small world. "Don't you already have the answer in your heart?"

Ning Changqing's hair stood on end as he sensed a great terror between life and death. The entire small world shook violently, as if an ancient existence was about to awaken.

Under Ning Changqing's incredulous gaze, the Undying Nether Blade slashed through time and space, piercing his body and tearing apart his divine soul. The change happened far too suddenly. Even with the Wheel of Time, one of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures, Ning Changqing could not reverse the injury. Even time itself had been severed.

A figure stepped through the netherworld, reversing the flow of time, and stood before him.

Ning Changqing laughed bitterly. "Are you Di Chen… or the Undying Nether Emperor?"

He had his suspicions, but it was already too late.

Su Chen did not deny it. He said indifferently, "Ning Changqing, you should never have touched something you were not meant to touch."

Su Chen had not wanted to kill Ning Changqing so soon, but the latter had come into contact with the Undying Nether Emperor. That was his taboo.

"What a fine Undying Nether Emperor. What a fine Di Chen!" Ning Changqing laughed loudly. His divine soul had already been torn apart by the Undying Nether Blade.

"I, Ning Changqing, underestimated the heroes of the world. I thought that as the reincarnation of the Heavenly Venerate possessing one of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures, transcendence was certain… Yet in the end, I became a pawn in another's scheme, and all my treasures fell into someone else's calculations."

Blood tears flowed from Ning Changqing's eyes as he laughed. "I, Ning Changqing, was supposed to stand at the pinnacle. Why did a monster like you appear in this era? With me, Ning Changqing, present—why did the Undying Nether Emperor still exist? How unwilling I am… How unwilling!"

He tried to use the Wheel of Time one last time to fight for a chance at survival.

Unfortunately, Su Chen had no intention of sparing him. The Undying Nether Blade erupted with its most terrifying aura. This weapon, once soaked in the blood of countless Emperors and Supremes, had long since transformed. Even though it was broken, it remained the greatest artifact in history and could easily slay ordinary Great Emperors.

With only Great Saint realm cultivation, Ning Changqing was completely annihilated.

Su Chen reached out and, working with the Undying Nether Blade, seized the Wheel of Time to prevent it from escaping.

"Submit to me, or I will shatter you. You should know the consequences," Su Chen said, shaking the Undying Nether Blade in his hand. Though only a small section remained, it still radiated peerless ferocity, enough to slice the Wheel of Time apart.

The Wheel of Time let out a mournful cry. It had just lost its master, only to be cornered by its master's enemy, who now sought to claim it.

"You should also know that my origins are no weaker than Ning Changqing's—perhaps even stronger," Su Chen continued coldly. "Only I can lead you out of this world."

If the Wheel of Time refused again, Su Chen would not hesitate to shatter it. If he could not obtain an Innate Supreme Treasure, he would rather destroy it than allow it to nurture another great enemy.

Sensing Su Chen's killing intent, the Wheel of Time stopped struggling this time. It flew directly into his sea of consciousness.

Waves of information flowed into Su Chen's mind, revealing the miraculous uses of the Wheel of Time. It could carry its owner through time and space, allowing them to reach specific points in the past or future. One could change the past or future, but doing so required a corresponding price.

Ning Changqing had wanted to return to the past to kill Su Chen, but the price would have been far beyond what he could bear. Killing an ordinary person, however, was something he could afford. Afterward, the river of time would naturally correct itself and return to the present.

Time and again, Ning Changqing had escaped danger by using the Wheel of Time to return to the past. He had never interfered with others, only changing his own future. As for peering into the future, the price was too great for him to bear—every thought would branch into countless possible outcomes.

The Wheel of Time had been Ning Changqing's greatest trump card, giving him endless opportunities. Yet it had also caused him to lose the caution he once possessed when climbing from weakness to supremacy step by step.

Perhaps if Ning Changqing had remained cautious and slowly cultivated all the way to the Great Emperor realm, he would have become a truly terrifying enemy for Su Chen. Unfortunately, he had grown too arrogant.

Su Chen looked at the spot where Ning Changqing's soul had scattered. Killing him had yielded rich rewards. Not only had he obtained the Wheel of Time, but he had also acquired the remaining three-quarters of the Death Book fragments. He now possessed the complete Death Book.

Together with Di Chan, three of the Nine Innate Supreme Treasures had fallen into his hands.

Su Chen felt a slight regret. As a survivor of the Mythical Era, Ning Changqing had known far too many secrets. This treasure-hunting rat had learned things he should not have known. In the end, Su Chen had no choice but to kill him.

After slaying Ning Changqing, the Undying Nether Blade had exhausted its final reserves of energy and fallen silent.

Su Chen gazed at the corpse of his previous life. He planned to use it to reforge the Undying Nether Blade.

...

The starry sky trembled. All martial artists, regardless of race, felt a terrifying aura that made them want to kneel and worship.

Ten thousand laws paid homage—it was the aura of an Emperor-to-be.

"Someone is undergoing Emperor tribulation!"

"That aura… it belongs to the Immortal Spirit of the Myriad Laws Emperor Sect. Is he attempting to become an Emperor?"

"What a terrifying Emperor tribulation… Its power even surpasses that of the current Great Emperors!"

"..."

Deep within the Chaos Sea, Qin Wujie opened his eyes and looked toward the distant shore.

"Someone is undergoing Emperor tribulation. It's Di Chen's aura—he is about to become an Emperor!"

Both the Formless Sword Great Emperor and the Eternal Dawn Great Emperor raised their heads at the same time, looking toward the direction of the tribulation.

It was the Nine-Layered Emperor Tribulation! And the one who had drawn it was Su Chen, who had already left the Myriad Laws Emperor Sect.