The martial luck flames of the Great Heaven continued to burn, reaching the outermost void, even affecting the slumbering Way of Heaven.
Sitting on the shattered walls of the border, Yan Zi lowered his head and gazed into the deepest, darkest depths of the Great Heaven, yet he dared not look too long, nor too deeply.
There lay a great terror, and it was a terror far greater than he had imagined.
It was the Martial Emperor.
And who else could it be, someone who could wage such a fierce battle within the Great Heaven with the Martial Emperor, and do so for a thousand years without being defeated? This person's power, while not necessarily on par with the Martial Emperor, must have been formidable enough to resist.
The answer was obvious: the other was also a supreme being. If Ancestor Zhu had become the light of the myriad worlds, then this supreme being must be Daoist Suppressing Heaven.
Yan Zi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. It was said that Daoist Suppressing Heaven was the progenitor of all Taoist doctrines, a generation older than even the Dao Ancestor. Legends held that he was the Dao Ancestor’s senior brother, though the truth remains unverified.
For such a revered figure of Taoism to face potential demise was a somber thought for Yan Zi, who had grown up practicing Taoist arts and had achieved the rank of a Great Emperor of three Taoist paths.
Yan Zi was certain that Daoist Suppressing Heaven would fall. The Martial Emperor’s reputation was simply too formidable, a being who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Way of Heaven, the peak of all cultivators throughout the myriad worlds. He had reigned supreme for hundreds of thousands of years, slaying countless Great Emperors.
This battle lasting a millennium was proof enough that the Martial Emperor’s resolve to kill was unshakable.
As the martial luck flames continued to burn, this fierce battle was nearing its end.
Yan Zi shook his head slightly, seated cross-legged on the wall, and waved his hand to disperse the burning martial luck flames around him. Gazing at the shattered chessboard before him, he suddenly sighed.
"In this chaotic age, with no clear victor in sight, where are you now, Chen Saint? Have you ascended to become a Great Emperor, or are you still wandering the myriad worlds?"
The profound starry sky (unknown vastness) did not respond, but the flowing, burning martial luck flames flickered a bit brighter.
The Immortal Realm underwent noticeable changes after Chen Xia’s merge with its original core. The Great Death Realm, tied to East Jia State, and other realms naturally underwent significant transformations.
The Great Death Realm was initially linked to Chen Xia’s humble initial realm. Cultivators from this small realm would ascend to the Great Death Realm. As more and more cultivators ascended, the Great Death Realm became more lively, with some reaching the level of Great Sage.
Compared to the entire myriad worlds, the Great Death Realm, with its Great Sages, could be considered a lower-middle tier realm.
However, after Chen Xia merged with the Immortal Realm, the Great Death Realm underwent further changes. As Chen Xia, the Way of Heaven, grew stronger, lower-level cultivators benefited immensely, with higher-level cultivators receiving even greater fortunes. As a result, within two thousand years, a Semi-Great Emperor emerged, and following the merger with the Upper Cloud State and Xuanying Continent, a true Great Emperor appeared.
This was the transformation of the Great Death Realm.
The Treasure Ring Scale State, originally a medium-upper tier realm, saw even greater prosperity under Chen Xia’s favor. Over the past two thousand years, it had produced four Great Emperors, marking an unprecedented prosperous era for the realm.
The title of "Chen Emperor" quickly resonated throughout the Immortal Realm, with cultivators regarding Chen Xia as a revered ancestor figure.
"Who is the Nine Mountains Sovereign? Not familiar at all."
Currently, the Nine Mountains Sovereign only held territories in the five major states surrounding the Ninth Mountain. But even this was more of a symbolic claim, as if Chen Xia demanded it, the Nine Mountains Sovereign would have no choice but to hand it over obediently.
Chen Xia, out of respect for Huang Qingyue, would certainly not kill the Nine Mountains Sovereign, but making him lie in the sea like Emperor Witch, contemplating life, was certainly within his capabilities.
Just look at Emperor Witch—after emerging, his entire mindset had shifted, directly distancing himself from the Immortal Realm.
Integrating East Jia State took the longest time, while the integration with the Treasure Ring Scale State took two thousand years. However, the simultaneous integration of the Upper Cloud State and Xuanying Continent was faster than even the Treasure Ring Scale State, with signs manifesting within a hundred years and Chen Xia’s Dao manifestations becoming apparent within five hundred years.
Chen Xia sat on the surface of the sea, with four faint streams of energy flowing around him. His eyes were closed, and a small, bright light flickered above his head.
A false Way of Heaven would show no such manifestations, because the Way of Heaven transcends ordinary displays.
From the beginning of his enlightenment to its completion, Chen Xia became the supreme and singular being, requiring no external proofs.
Currently, among the five Dao Great Emperors of the Immortal Sword, only the Nine Mountains Sovereign remained, since Chen Xia had only four Daos—he could merely kill a five-Dao cultivator.
The Nine Mountains Sovereign would often glance in Chen Xia’s direction, particularly when he observed the manifestation of the fifth Dao, and couldn’t help but marvel.
The fifth Dao was impossibly vast, so immense that it was difficult to imagine any cultivator being able to embody it.
Yet, if Chen Xia could comprehend it, he would become an undeniable peak force within the myriad worlds, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Martial Emperor.
"Unparalleled," the Nine Mountains Sovereign murmured, then glanced at the Ninth Mountain beneath his feet. It seemed it was time to yield his claim to this land.
After all these years as the Nine Mountains Sovereign, it now seemed he was only that—the Nine Mountains Sovereign. There was no qualification to be called the true master of the Immortal Realm’s original core.
The integration of the Upper Cloud State and Xuanying Continent proceeded even faster, with Chen Xia successfully merging the two states within six hundred years. The Immortal Realm’s nine states were now halfway merged, with the fifth Dao taking shape. Chen Xia now held sway over the Immortal Realm, with some of the authority to command the Way of Heaven.
This time, he stepped toward the other states, standing in the heavens, and gently lowering his head, waving his sleeve toward the Nine Mountains Sovereign below, with a smile.
"Ah, I want to gorge myself and become a real fatty in one go. How about you let me have the five states?"
The Nine Mountains Sovereign stepped forward, meeting Chen Xia’s gaze. Never had he imagined that the once-inferior Chen Xia had risen to such heights in such a short time. With a sigh, he responded,
"I will not obstruct you. Show me your capabilities."
"Whoosh, time for a buffet," Chen Xia chuckled, choosing not to integrate the five states, but instead heading straight to the highest point of the Immortal Realm.
He had declared his intention to gorge himself, so this time, what he sought to merge…
was the entire Immortal Realm itself!