The Way of Heaven remained silent.
Why?
Because it couldn't speak.
In the future, Chen Xia also remained silent, but not because he couldn't speak. No, he had already stepped forward.
The surrounding Emperors didn't concern him. In his eyes, they were too insignificant, not worth his attention. They couldn't even stir a hint of fighting spirit in his heart.
His brows suddenly lowered as he gazed into the depths of the void, spotting the Ancestral Dragon leaving in dejection. He chuckled softly.
"An interesting past incarnation."
A streak of light suddenly hurtled toward him, a remnant of an Emperor carrying its own Dao, intent on fighting him.
Chen Xia in the future flicked a finger, not even bothering to look at the incoming streak of light.
A radiant glow bloomed from his fingertip, shooting upward and illuminating dozens of Star Regions.
There was no trace of the Emperor remnant anymore. It had been reduced to cosmic dust, scattered to who knows where.
Chen Xia in the future still wore a smile as he slowly walked toward the Way of Heaven, each step increasing his momentum, like climbing a mountain, rising higher and higher.
Yan Zi was still trapped in the depths of a shattered Star Region, frowning as he watched Chen Xia. He felt that this Chen Xia was vastly different, though he couldn't pinpoint why.
With only three Dao paths, he couldn't see through the past and future in the River of Time, but he could clearly feel that this Chen Xia was far stronger. Just the momentum was enough to make him struggle to breathe.
Was he at five Dao paths?
A quasi-Emperor or an Emperor?
He was uncertain, puzzled by Chen Xia's sudden transformation, with no clue as to what had happened.
"Halt." A calm voice echoed, and the strongest Emperor from the dark remnants, a five-Dao Emperor, stood before Chen Xia in the future.
But Chen Xia didn't even glance at him, continuing his ascent.
"The Way of Heaven lies ahead! How dare you proceed?!" The five-Dao Emperor roared, his aura shaking all the Star Regions, causing ordinary Emperors to fall, barely stabilizing themselves with their Dao to protect their bodies.
Chen Xia in the future lowered his gaze, his crimson eyes locking onto the five-Dao Emperor, devoid of any emotion as he retorted, "You know I'm here to fight the Way of Heaven. Why would you dare to stop me?"
The question left the five-Dao Emperor speechless, unsure of how to respond.
Fortunately, Chen Xia in the future was considerate and didn't require an answer. He simply extended his hand, and a crimson tide surged forth, like a flood of blood and wailing spirits, covering his hand.
The five-Dao Emperor froze, forgetting to resist.
Because he saw that among the countless wailing spirits, the leader looked just like him—another five-Dao Emperor.
What was going on?
He didn't have time to figure it out.
His head was already seized by Chen Xia in the future. With just a squeeze, his body withered by half, as if his flesh, spirit, and essence had been drained.
A five-Dao Emperor, capable of making an entire realm a great one, had no resistance against the peak Chen Xia in the future. He shouldn't have been able to resist, not when the peak Chen Xia in the future was on par with the Way of Heaven.
Chen Xia in the future released his grip, not killing the five-Dao Emperor completely. First, time was limited, and second, it saved energy.
Saving the small amount of strength needed to kill a five-Dao Emperor might be the crucial factor in his battle against the Way of Heaven.
Such coincidences often determined the outcome of battles.
Chen Xia in the future continued his ascent, his momentum now the highest peak, standing toe-to-toe with the Way of Heaven, not yielding, almost like another Way of Heaven in the same realm.
In an instant, a chill swept through.
Chen Xia in the future turned his head and saw a figure standing far off to the side, not walking with him, only watching.
"I didn't expect to see you in the past," Chen Xia in the future remarked.
"So it seems I'm still quite famous," the Martial Emperor chuckled in response.
"Not bad, I suppose. You've got a lot of schemes, though none have succeeded. Your fighting skills are passable, I guess."
"Why didn't they succeed?" the Martial Emperor asked.
"Every time has its reasons. Maybe in another timeline, you succeeded. Who knows?"
"Well, I'll take that as a good omen."
"Heh, if you don't intend to fight the Way of Heaven with me, then stay far away. Don't get in my way."
The Martial Emperor, usually hailed as invincible, rarely fell silent momentarily before actually stepping back, watching from a distance.
Chen Xia in the future looked up and smiled.
"Way of Heaven?"
He quickened his pace, his momentum surging once more. In this past timeline, he was now suppressing the Way of Heaven, the ripple of his aura causing the entire Great Heaven to tremble, even faintly affecting the myriad realms.
The Martial Emperor's expression tightened, raising Chen Xia in the future's rating in his mind even higher.
Chen Xia in the future suddenly spread his arms, the crimson tide surging again, like a raging flood. With a fierce pull, he grabbed hold of the surrounding shattered Star Regions, covering them in crimson, all crawling with wailing spirits, hurtling upward.
A hundred layers of Star Regions, engulfed in crimson spirits, formed a massive wave sweeping across the Great Heaven, crashing toward the Way of Heaven.
In the future, Chen Xia stood at the forefront of the crimson wave, his face filled with an arrogant smile.
The Way of Heaven?
Even the Way of Heaven had to take a beating!
The crimson wave smashed forward, the hundred layers of Star Regions colliding, causing the Way of Heaven to wail, the entire Great Heaven to tremble and tilt, countless cultivators terrified, unsure of what was happening.
The Great Heaven lost all its light, sinking into endless darkness.
The Way of Heaven's presence fell silent.
As if it had fallen into slumber.