Exploring the Frontiers of Heavenly Dao

The Heavenly Dao frontlines no longer bear the aura of the Heavenly Dao, and even the encroaching darkness has become rare.

Looking back, only ruins and remnants remain.

The legendary Five Paths Great Emperor, who once guarded the Heavenly Dao frontlines, is now nowhere to be found. Perhaps he ascended to higher realms, or perhaps he ventured into the depths of the dark reckoning. This is a mystery from thousands of years ago, one that even the Great Emperors themselves are unclear about.

Apart from the ruins, the Heavenly Dao frontlines are also littered with the remains of countless sages, and even the skulls of Great Emperors.

Where there are sage remains, there are naturally their fallen treasures, some of which may be damaged but are still considered sage artifacts.

Ordinary cultivators naturally cannot reach the Heavenly Dao frontlines, as it lies at the highest point of the Great Heaven, in the midst of nothingness.

However, the Great Heaven has seen the rise of many new Heaven Mending Realm cultivators and sages. With the dwindling of opportunities and fortune in the Great Heaven, they naturally covet the Heavenly Dao frontlines, a place that holds countless relics of sages.

Leaving these sage relics amidst the broken Heavenly Dao frontlines would be a waste. It would be better to use them oneself, allowing the treasures to once again unleash their former killing power and restore their former glory.

The bold thrive, while the timid perish. With this thought in mind, a Quasi-Emperor immediately took the lead, organizing a team to venture to the Heavenly Dao frontlines in search of treasures. The minimum requirement was to be a sage.

With a Quasi-Emperor leading the way, the sages' courage grew, and many cultivators from surrounding star regions signed up.

To ensure safety, the Quasi-Emperor even went to great lengths to invite an old sage who had returned from the Heavenly Dao frontlines to guide them, paying a hefty price to secure his assistance.

The team consisted of fifty members: eight Quasi-Emperors, twenty Great Sages, and twenty-two sages. Their strength lay in their numbers.

With the team assembled, the old sage led the way, and the fifty high-level cultivators set off with great ambition, hoping to make a name for themselves.

This event quickly became known throughout the Great Heaven's star regions, but most cultivators held back, waiting to see the outcome of this expedition.

After all, the Heavenly Dao frontlines are not only a place of endless opportunities but also potentially great danger.

Fifty cultivators may seem like a formidable force, but when facing a place where even Great Emperors have perished in droves, this number becomes insignificant. To put it kindly, they were a large group; to put it bluntly, they were a gathering of mediocrity.

If the Heavenly Dao frontlines truly held great danger, these fifty cultivators would not be enough to withstand the remnants of darkness.

Thus, other cultivators suppressed their desire to go, waiting to see if this team would return alive and how many would make it back.

The team of fifty Quasi-Emperors departed, and the cultivators of other star regions began their long wait.

Three hundred years passed, and just as the cultivators were beginning to forget about the expedition, the Quasi-Emperor team returned. Out of the fifty who had set out, only twenty remained: the eight Quasi-Emperors and twelve Great Sages.

The returning Quasi-Emperors and Great Sages were somber, their bodies stained with blood, as if they had been injured. When questioned, they simply said that the Heavenly Dao frontlines were extremely dangerous and advised others not to go.

However, some cultivators soon noticed inconsistencies. If the frontlines were truly so dangerous, how could so many have returned? The old sage who had guided them had perished, yet all eight Quasi-Emperors survived. Not a single Quasi-Emperor had died. Why was that?

It didn't take long for some to speculate that the Heavenly Dao frontlines might not have been as dangerous as claimed. Instead, the other Great Sages and sages who did not return might have been killed by the Quasi-Emperors and Great Sages themselves.

The likely reason? Competition over the treasures.

The cultivators' thoughts raced as they pieced together the clues, and the more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. However, without proof, the Quasi-Emperors denied it, and there was nothing the others could do.

Soon after, a second team set out. This time, the team was even more ruthless: fifteen members, all Quasi-Emperors, with no sages among them.

The fifteen Quasi-Emperors ascended to the heavens, heading for the frontlines.

This move spurred other cultivators into action. Fearing that they would miss out on the treasures, they quickly formed their own teams to venture to the frontlines.

Even Heaven Mending Realm cultivators formed their own groups, hoping to claim a share of the spoils.

Word spread rapidly across the star regions, and more and more cultivators set out for the Heavenly Dao frontlines.

The original eight Quasi-Emperors who had first ventured to the frontlines no longer hid their intentions and soon embarked on a second expedition, effectively admitting their guilt.

This massive expedition to the Heavenly Dao frontlines became known as the First Frontline Treasure Hunt.

Some Quasi-Emperor factions even established dedicated routes to the Heavenly Dao frontlines, using the most advanced vessels to transport cultivators quickly and efficiently.

The Great Emperors who had returned from the Heavenly Dao frontlines did not interfere with these activities. Firstly, the treasures of the frontlines were ownerless, and if others wanted them, they were free to take them.

Secondly, with opportunities and fortune dwindling in the Great Heaven, allowing other cultivators to seek opportunities at the frontlines could strengthen the Great Heaven's overall power.

Thirdly, they simply couldn't be bothered to intervene.

Beings like Emperor Tianhe barely had enough time for their own cultivation, let alone the energy to manage these cultivators.

The broken Heavenly Dao frontlines were divided into three regions: the left, middle, and right fronts.

The middle front was the largest and most dangerous, with the most opportunities, but it was also the most crowded. Cultivators fought tooth and nail over even a single sage artifact.

As a result, more and more cultivators began exploring the other fronts, seeking less crowded areas to find more opportunities.

The Heavenly Dao frontlines were vast, composed of dozens of shattered star regions. After a long period of exploration, the cultivators finally discovered the left front.

For some reason, the left front was even more broken than the middle front, reduced to fragmented sections of a ruined wall, with countless cultivator remains scattered about—Heaven Mending Realm cultivators, sages, and even Quasi-Emperors.

The cultivators cautiously advanced, searching for opportunities as they moved deeper into the left front. They found the remains of sages and continued inward until they came upon a horrifying sight: a remnant of a city wall, upon which hung the heads of fifteen Great Emperors!

The scene was utterly terrifying.

Most of the cultivators present were sages, and they had never seen anything like this. Some were so frightened that they trembled and immediately wanted to flee.

Fortunately, these Great Emperors were long dead. Though their residual aura was intimidating, there was no immediate danger.

The cultivators suppressed their fear and pressed on. Some took a detour to the rear of the left front, where they stumbled upon something even more perplexing.

It resembled a cauldron, as large as a small mountain, standing in the center of numerous other alchemical furnaces. Wisps of smoke rose from its opening, and upon closer inspection...

There was a faint aroma of food.

Utterly baffling.

The cultivators shook their heads, truly unable to make sense of it.