Chapter 116: The Ruthless One: In This Life, I Will Guide You

Chapter 116: The Ruthless One: In This Life, I Will Guide You

After the discourse on the Dao, Shao Hua bid farewell to everyone, even dismissing Xu Kong and Xiao Zi Cheng without delay.

The Immortal Bell and the Desolate Pagoda had jointly sealed off the entire Mount Immortal.

"Is this..." Xu Kong's eyes flickered, and he quickly realized something, his hands clenching tightly, his brows furrowed.

The great victory in quelling the chaos brought such immense joy that it overshadowed certain details.

Before her Ascension Verification, the Eastern Sovereign's aura and cultivation were clearly at the Great Sage Realm. Yet, when she emerged in a time of crisis, she was already a Supreme Heavenly Emperor.

While Xu Kong was unaware of Shao Hua's coughing up blood after clashing with the Immortal Artifact, he did notice her unusual state before slaying the Golden Roc Emperor.

It was evident that the Eastern Sovereign had acted with great force this time, likely paying an unimaginable price. Otherwise, why would she have hurriedly entered seclusion to cultivate after the discourse?

"There's no need to worry. The Eastern Sovereign's power is unparalleled; nothing will happen to her", Xiao Zi Cheng reassured him.

After all, no one knew which would come first: tomorrow or an unexpected event.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time he had witnessed such a situation. The one in the Forbidden Land of the Desolate Ancient Era also encountered issues during their fifth transformation. It could only be said that the Mundane Immortal Path was not something just anyone could tread.

Ordinary ancient emperors and great emperors didn't even have the qualifications to step onto this path. Even if they did, no one could predict whether they would succeed in their next transformation or if an accident would occur. Everything was uncertain.

"Ultimately, I am still too weak. If I had the same peerless power of a Heavenly Emperor, I could have quelled the chaos alone, without forcing the Eastern Sovereign to take such drastic measures."

Ji Xu Kong let out a long sigh, stepping into the starry sky alone, wandering the universe, contemplating the Dao of the void and time, and repairing the ravaged star rivers along the way.

During the discourse with the Eastern Sovereign, he gained many insights, seeing a more distant path of the Dao.

Xiao Zi Cheng shook his head. Such a person was destined to be an emperor. He turned and returned to the Forbidden Land of the Desolate Ancient Era, continuing to oversee his great gate.

Xu Kong was the first to cultivate the Eastern Sovereign's Sutra to a profound level, earning Shao Hua's personal praise.

Though the sutra was written by the Eastern Sovereign in her first or second life, it was not something just anyone could master, let alone fully comprehend and cultivate to perfection.

Otherwise, Shao Hua wouldn't have personally imparted her Dao to him, and Xu Kong wouldn't have been able to directly touch the realm of time after his Ascension Verification.

"Ah!"

After sending everyone away, Shao Hua remained alone in the empty mountain. Suddenly, she coughed up a large mouthful of blood, her blood-stained robes splattering the Immortal Tears Verdant Gold Pagoda.

"Buzz!!" The Verdant Gold Pagoda trembled violently, and the spirit was awakened, manifesting a figure resembling the Western Sovereign.

"I am fine, there's no need to worry. It's just a minor injury", Shao Hua said, her face pale.

Before the Immortal Tears Verdant Gold Pagoda could react further, she pointed a finger, putting the Emperor Artifact spirit to sleep and sending it back to the Jade Pool Holy Land.

In reality, how could she be fine?

Shao Hua's condition was dire. The injuries to the Dao were becoming increasingly difficult to suppress, with the Dao principles within her body clashing fiercely, akin to two versions of herself in constant battle.

It was a mere trace of the "nothingness" force, not even a true Dao fruit. It was just beginning, finding some direction and still in the experimental stage.

Yet, it clashed so terrifyingly with her "somethingness" Dao fruit from her previous four lives, which was quite astonishing.

"If 'somethingness' represents perfection, then 'nothingness' becomes a flaw. The more perfect the Dao fruit of the first four lives, the more the flaw is magnified", Shao Hua murmured to herself.

"Moreover, this life's Dao fruit, though still in its early stages and insignificant compared to the Dao fruit of the first four lives, is deeply rooted in this body. It draws on the primal power of the Primordial Holy Body Dao Embryo, persisting and even gradually growing stronger!"

Shao Hua's face grew even paler, but her eyes shone brighter.

"Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. As the saying goes, misfortune and fortune are intertwined. Single-minded cultivation may not lead to improvement, but encountering an unexpected event can open up new paths."

Enlightenment comes not just by thinking about it, but through experience. Even the supreme beings desire immortality, yet who can truly understand the path to immortality?

She was no exception. She had initially planned to use this life to shed her cultivation and start anew, walking a completely new path and expanding her Dao.

But after more than a hundred years, she had made little progress.

Now, the two Dao principles were in conflict, the "somethingness" constantly suppressing the "nothingness", and the "nothingness" constantly eroding the "somethingness."

The struggle between the two principles was pushing her Dao to improve, though very slowly but truly.

Thus, Shao Hua, with her injured body, fearlessly faced life and death, beginning a grueling self-struggle in Mount Immortal.

She once again experienced the feeling of being on the brink of life and death, as she had in her first life when she severed all bonds. It was incredibly difficult, and the slightest misstep could lead to eternal damnation.

A thousand years passed, and her cultivation declined instead of advancing, her realm falling, no longer possessing the divine might of a Heavenly Emperor.

Five thousand years passed, and her Emperor Dao fruit was on the verge of collapse, her form and spirit withering, her black hair turning white.

The conflict of Dao principles and the collision of Dao fruits, the battle within herself, were akin to enduring torture every moment.

If Shao Hua had taken the ordinary path, using the Primordial Holy Body Dao Embryo to reverse her life through five lifetimes, she could have lived for seventy to eighty thousand years.

But she chose a more difficult path.

If she could endure, the road ahead would be wide open; if not, she would truly perish and her path would end.

In this situation, all the reversal and transformation methods she had conceived in the past were no longer feasible.

Of course, Shao Hua still had a last resort: using the immortal substances she had gathered from a strange world to prolong her life. But this was something she hoped would never happen.

She wanted to become stronger without relying on external forces!

Time marches on, regardless of human will.

A new generation replaces the old, and the name of the Eastern Sovereign gradually faded from people's minds. However, many still came to pay homage out of admiration.

Once the old witnesses of the greatest chaos in history passed away, this trend would likely subside, and people would be more familiar with the name of the Void Emperor.

No matter what, this age ultimately belonged to the Void Emperor. He was active in the universe, often seen by passing sages as he repaired the starry sky and reshaped the world.

Void had long recovered from his injuries and possessed the Ten-Thousand-Year Divine Herb. He was also on his own path, unwilling to let the Eastern Sovereign stand alone in glory. He had to try to catch up.

"Seven thousand years have passed, and the Primordial Ancient Mine hasn't appeared again. It seems the remaining Supreme Beings won't emerge anytime soon."

Void sighed. Over the years, he had not only been seeking the Dao but also searching for the Primordial Ancient Mine and tracking the whereabouts of the Stone Emperor and the Immortal Emperor.

Alas, he found nothing. Only his Dao cultivation had steadily advanced, reaching the pinnacle of his life.

"I wonder how the Eastern Sovereign is doing. I hope nothing has happened to him." He returned to Beidou and stood before Mount Immortal.

The Immortal Bell and the Desolate Pagoda still sealed this realm, blocking anyone from entering.

Void frowned slightly, but his heart relaxed.

If something truly went wrong, these two immortal artifacts wouldn't remain here.

He didn't dare force his way in, fearing he might disturb the Eastern Sovereign. He then turned and left, heading to the Southern Domain of Eastern Wasteland to visit the Forbidden Land of the Desolate Ancient Era and the Great Completion Holy Body.

Afterward, he settled in the Southern Domain, eventually moving his family here from the outer realms.

The Ji family were not originally from the Beidou domain. Void had his own family, which now flourished because of him.

It's worth noting that after the turmoil ended, during the time when people came to Beidou to pay homage to the Eastern Sovereign, the Jiuli and Shenzhou Divine Dynasties crossed the starry skies to arrive.

They came as entire clans, paid their respects, and then chose to settle in the Central Plains, staying in Beidou.

They brought with them Ultimate Emperor Artifacts, which greatly surprised the people of Beidou.

Both divine dynasties stated that this was a legacy left by their ancestors, instructing them to come to Beidou in the future.

Coinciding with the end of the turmoil, they believed Beidou was now the safest place in the world, with no Supreme Beings in the Vitality Forbidden Zone and the presence of the Eastern Sovereign, so they followed their ancestors' instructions and relocated their clans.

In the years that followed, these two divine dynasties and the ancient Guhua Divine Dynasty, founded by the Eternal Universe Emperor and his beloved companions, formed a tripartite balance of power.

Nearly ten thousand years later, the world entered a special era, or more accurately, a special young man emerged.

At this time, the Forbidden Land of the Desolate Ancient Era showed signs of movement. A slender figure broke free from the immortal golden chains that bound her and silently stepped out of the forbidden zone.

Now, the only Vitality Forbidden Zone left in Beidou was the Forbidden Land of the Desolate Ancient Era.

Because it had never triggered the Dark Havoc and because the Eternal Universe Emperor and the Great Completion Holy Body had once resided there, the people of Beidou did not reject it.

"Whoa~"

Xiao Zi Cheng was startled awake, watching the person leave. He felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but ask, "Emperor, where are you going?"

"To see an old friend." The peerless and proud figure left a cold, clear voice behind.

It was a woman, her hair flowing freely, her eyes as clear as water, surrounded by a layer of mist. She instantly appeared in Mount Immortal.

The two immortal artifacts' seal was useless against her. While the Emperor could not enter, she could not be stopped.

"Are you dying?"

Han Ren saw Shao Hua leaning against the Ancient Tea Tree of Dao Enlightenment, her brows slightly furrowed. Then, as if she had seen something, her gaze returned to calm.

"Not yet, not that easily." Shao Hua managed a smile, her aura nearly gone, like a mortal on the verge of death.

It was hard to imagine that in less than seventeen thousand years, her fifth life had already reached its end.

"A very dangerous transformation method", Han Ren commented.

"Actually, it was an accident", Shao Hua said.

With great effort, she lifted her gaze, and in that instant, her demeanor shifted from that of a mortal to a Peerless Heavenly Emperor, as she also sensed Han Ren's state.

"Congratulations, you're about to take the next step", she couldn't help but remark.

More than ninety thousand years had passed. With some help from Shao Hua, Han Ren had overcome the most difficult times. Her fifth Dao fruit was complete, and she was about to live her sixth life.

"Someone like you, it's a pity to die", Han Ren suddenly approached Shao Hua, bending down and placing her hand on Shao Hua's forehead without giving her a chance to refuse, quite domineering.

"Back then, you helped me, and in this life, I will help you!"

In truth, Shao Hua wanted to say that despite the torment she had endured, she had not gained nothing. She had a chance, however small, to live on to the next life.

But the other party was a bit too domineering.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end