Chapter 351: The Millennial Battle

Chapter 351: The Millennial Battle

"I'm being honest."

Chen Qiu looked at the black mist enveloped in the long robe before him and said seriously, "I do know you're here, but these words are also meant for you. Although we are adversaries, I believe your measures aren't entirely bad."

"Hahahahaha!"

As his words fell, the black mist within the long robe erupted with a chilling and grating laughter. Then, with a sinister tone, it said, "In that case, why don't you hand over the cat in your arms and surrender to me?"

"Alright."

Chen Qiu nodded.

"Huh?"

July Cat, who had been hiding in Chen Qiu's arms all along, couldn't help but poke her head out, looking at Chen Qiu in disbelief, "Are you serious?"

Just then—

Chen Qiu couldn't help but chuckle, waving his hand. The mysterious figure in front of him instantly turned into smoke and disappeared. Then, he raised his head towards the impending tribulation clouds forming above and said softly, "I was just teasing you. I created him using a method based on the information you left behind."

"This method can completely replicate his appearance and aura, and it has about three-tenths of his strength."

"I just wanted to test the strength of my enemy and scare someone. I didn't expect you to be so easily frightened."

"Huh?" July Cat, having realized what was happening, was both embarrassed and angry, "Can you not joke about such things? You know..."

Chen Qiu completely ignored her and turned his gaze towards the tribulation clouds above, his expression gradually becoming dazed.

This was the effect of the "Rainbow Entry."

With only three layers of strength replicated, the imposing aura it carried made him feel suffocated. Could he really withstand such an enemy?

The Heavenly Dao Proclamation clearly stated that he had collected entries of all ranks.

However, he hadn't fully collected the Gray Entries and Black Entries.

This revealed some information.

When the Nanong Continent was initially split into numerous parts, the Heavenly Dao had already established a complete set of logic, which included the twelve statues in the Xuan Tian Continent, random special events, the battle for the Heavenly King title, Immortal Cancer, and the entry system.

These were all set from the beginning.

But as the Heavenly Dao gradually regained its strength and its methods became more varied, the manifestation was the addition of Gray Entries and Black Entries. However, these entries weren't promptly updated in the Heavenly Dao version.

This led to the discrepancy in the Heavenly Dao Proclamation, where it mentioned that he had collected entries of all ranks, but in reality, he hadn't collected all the Black Entries and Gray Entries.

In other words,

There was a discrepancy between the logic set by the Heavenly Dao and its own implementation.

After all, the Heavenly Dao awakens once every thirty thousand years, and upon awakening, it must first address the 'bugs' that have accumulated over the past thirty thousand years across numerous continents. In such a situation, it would undoubtedly prioritize fixing the typical and important issues, leaving the less significant ones untouched.

This might present an opportunity, a chance for him to defeat the Heavenly Dao.

But—

At this moment, there was no time for him to think about all this. The first tribulation thunder had already descended with a mighty roar.

"Boom!!!"

Chen Qiu stood in his original spot, unharmed, and withstood the tribulation thunder. After obtaining the Rainbow Imperial Banner, a supreme treasure formed by the fusion of the White Imperial Banner and the Seven-Colored Imperial Banner, he had become an invincible and immortal existence.

Even the Ninth Rank Tribulation couldn't harm him!

He stood there calmly, letting the raging storm and rain engulf him, and looked up at the incessant tribulation thunders striking towards him.

The Ninth Rank Immortal Emperor Tribulation wasn't just nine thunders; it was nine hundred and ninety-nine thunders.

"Boom, boom, boom!!!"

Countless heavenly thunders reverberated, and for a moment, even Chen Qiu's figure was obscured by the countless thunders exploding overhead!

This scene attracted the attention of countless people.

Not only those from the Eleventh Rank Immortal World but also the powerful cultivators from the other ten Eleventh Rank Immortal Worlds were startled and emerged from their seclusions to witness this extraordinary feat!

The Ninth Rank Immortal Emperor Tribulation!

For the first time in the mortal world, perhaps at this moment, they couldn't fully grasp the significance of this event. Still, they could clearly sense that the heavens had collapsed, and from this moment on, the throne of the world's number one had been claimed by someone else. Their lifelong goal of becoming the strongest could now only be second-best.

". . ."

Standing at a distance, Jiang Buying's face was filled with complex emotions as he watched this scene. In his life, he had only met two Mocking Heaven Sect Leaders—the former sect leader and Chen Qiu. Both leaders shared one thing in common: their formidable strength.

But there were some subtle differences.

For instance, the latter's strength was even more formidable, and...

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt that Chen Qiu possessed something that the former sect leader lacked.

Dark clouds filled the sky, and tribulation thunders roared.

This moment was destined to be the most memorable scene in the history of the Eleventh Rank Immortal World, the Universal Immortal World. When the nine hundred and ninety-ninth tribulation thunder fell before the crowd's eyes,

Amidst the purple thunders,

A man in a green robe, holding the Heaven's Wisdom Umbrella above his head, stood suspended in the midst of the raging storm and rain.

This scene left a profound impression on countless hearts.

They believed that even after many years, they would still remember this moment.

That day,

A man named Chen Qiu emerged from nowhere, becoming the first person in history to successfully pass through the Ninth Rank Tribulation!

Then,

A hoarse and emotionless Heavenly Dao Proclamation slowly sounded.

"Heavenly Dao Proclamation: Heavenly Dao Sensation, Universal Immortal World. The Human Race cultivator, Mocking Heaven Sect Leader, Heavenly Dao Sage, Heavenly Dao Villain, Human Race Guardian Deity, World-Defying Talent Chen Qiu, with astonishing means, successfully passed through the Ninth Rank Tribulation, 'Dominating Heavenly Tribulation' at the peak of Immortal Lord cultivation!

He is the first 'Dominating Heavenly Tribulation' talent in the history of the Universal Immortal World!

Furthermore, he is the first cultivator from all continents to pass through the 'Ninth Rank Tribulation' at the Immortal Lord stage. This proclamation will echo throughout the Universal Immortal World and all its subordinate continents."

The Heavenly Dao Proclamation had just been issued when a new one quickly followed, also repeated three times, but this one reverberated across all the continents.

"Heavenly Dao Proclamation: A Heavenly Dao Sensation, the human cultivator Chen Qiu, leader of the Mock Heaven Sect, is the first existence across all continents to successfully pass through the First Rank Tribulation to the Ninth Rank Tribulation."

This achievement is unprecedented, with no one before him and none to follow, a unique existence in the heavens and earth.

This proclamation will echo across all continents.

Mortals, take heed and observe, but do not follow this as an example.

".

Chen Qiu stood calmly in the void, gazing at the dissipating tribulation clouds above. As a crack appeared, sunlight shone through.

At this moment, he had become an Immortal Emperor.

He had reached the pinnacle of cultivation.

He turned to look at his cultivation panel once more—

"Cultivation: Immortal Emperor."

There were no parentheses or percentage indicators after the words "Immortal Emperor." These two words alone represented that he had reached the end of this path. Perhaps he was the first in tens of thousands of years to attain this level solely through his own strength, without exploiting any rules to become an Immortal Emperor.

After becoming an Immortal Emperor, he could feel his strength increase manifold.

All his Entry techniques and methods became fully integrated with him, allowing him to wield these powers at will. His divine sense could instantly envelop the entire Twelfth Rank Immortal World, and the pressure he emitted was difficult to resist, even for other Immortal Emperors.

He looked at the rewards of the two Heavenly Dao Proclamations, his face expressionless as he remained silent.

The second Heavenly Dao Proclamation had no reward.

This meant that this proclamation was still a reminder to the Heavenly Dao.

He could now understand the logic of the Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao had placed a large number of living beings on these continents and used methods like Heavenly Dao Proclamations and Entries to rapidly enhance their strength. However, it also set up some checkpoints to remind itself if someone reached a certain level, fearing the emergence of a bug-level existence.

It was similar to a stop-loss point.

This was the reason for the "All Continent Proclamation," which also had no reward.

However, this also revealed that the Heavenly Dao's mechanisms were not very intelligent and could only operate based on predetermined settings. Even though Chen Qiu had openly opposed the Heavenly Dao, it still granted him a strand of "Dominating Heavenly Tribulation," a rigid response.

The Heavenly Dao was well aware that these measures would give everyone a glimmer of hope for advancement.

But there was also an extremely small chance of producing extremely abnormal beings.

Although this probability was incredibly low, probability theory states that even events with a zero probability have a chance of occurring when the timeline is infinitely extended.

And so, under these circumstances, Chen Qiu arrived.

The Heavenly Dao, more than anyone, understood the potential for the emergence of a monstrous entity, hence the All Continent Proclamation.

However, it seemed that the Heavenly Dao was in a deep slumber. Despite the All Continent Proclamation being issued three times, there was no sign of it awakening.

".

Chen Qiu glanced at the surrounding crowd, including Jiang Buying and July Cat, before pausing for a moment and speaking softly, "Then, we shall meet again in a thousand years. By then, I will be at the forefront, but for now, the gap is still significant."

"Do your best during this millennium, at least... live a life without regrets."

July Cat and Jiang Buying exchanged a glance, seeing the determination in each other's eyes. They looked back at Chen Qiu and nodded without saying a word.

Everyone knew that a thousand years might be the end of their lives.

But they had no regrets about this battle.

In the blink of an eye, a thousand years passed.

During this millennium, Chen Qiu accomplished many things. He pushed his strength to the pinnacle, exhausting every possible avenue for improvement, including collecting numerous Rainbow Entry Jade Slips during this time.

The unique cultivation method of an Immortal Emperor is the "Immortal Dream."

When recited, the dream awakens.

When the recitation ends, the dream fades.

An incredibly formidable technique, akin to a domain, where one becomes the sovereign within. Whatever one imagines can become reality, usable for both defense and offense. Over the years, Chen Qiu's "Immortal Dream" had reached the level of 99,999, just one step away from 100,000.

Yes, 99,999, one step away from the ultimate level.

This level was the limit; he couldn't improve further.

According to July Cat, these techniques were the Heavenly Dao's own methods, suggesting that the Heavenly Dao itself also possessed the "Immortal Dream." Presumably, the Heavenly Dao was at the 100,000 level and set this as the upper limit to ensure that no one in its nurturing cauldron would surpass its strength.

During these years, Chen Qiu led the Mock Heaven Sect back to Daxia Kingdom and allowed the sect's disciples to defeat the puppet personally, freeing them from the control of the Heavenly Dao.

With the help of spiritual fruits, the disciples' cultivation reached the Immortal Emperor level.

Thus, the entire Mock Heaven Sect became Immortal Emperors, a glory they had never achieved before. However, even all these Immortal Emperors combined were no match for Chen Qiu. There were still differences among Immortal Emperors.

During this time, Chen Qiu even attempted to bring Badan back to Daxia Kingdom to see if he could prevent Badan from being controlled by the Heavenly Dao, but the experiment failed. Badan had to be in the Celestial Prison from the beginning and then break out to be free from the Heavenly Dao's control.

In this millennium, Chen Qiu had done everything possible, pushing himself to the extreme.

But where was the Heavenly Dao?

Chen Qiu stood on the wasteland of the Twelfth Rank Immortal World, his expressionless face turning to Jiang Buying. A few decades ago, the Heavenly Dao version had changed, and the twelve Eleventh Rank Immortal Worlds competed, with the winner being promoted to the Twelfth Rank Immortal World.

With Chen Qiu in command, the Universal Immortal Realm effortlessly became a Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm.

When this version of the Heavenly Dao began to change, it signified that the Heavenly Dao was gradually awakening. Next, billions of demons and monsters would appear in the Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm, wreaking havoc, and then the Heavenly Dao would officially awaken, marking the start of the great battle.

After all, although he had said a thousand years before entering closed-door cultivation, in reality, only nine hundred years were left until the Heavenly Dao's awakening. The thousand years was just a rough estimate.

But now...

A thousand years had truly passed, and it had been exactly a millennium. The Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm had been promoted for several decades, and not only had the Heavenly Dao not appeared, but not even a trace of a demon or monster had been seen.

"This..."

Jiang Buying scratched his head in confusion and muttered, "I don't know either. According to reason, during the last awakening three million years ago, not long after the Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm was promoted, billions of demons and monsters appeared, and soon after, the Heavenly Dao officially awakened."

"Could it be that it overslept this time?"

"We don't have specific information about the awakening six million years ago, so we can't make an inference. We can't say that the timing is fixed; there might be fluctuations. Why don't we wait and see?"

"Okay."

Chen Qiu silently nodded.

Time flew, and another hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Qiu stood atop a high mountain in the Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm, looking down at the mountain peaks that were sometimes visible and sometimes hidden in the clouds below. He whispered again, "Where is the Heavenly Dao?"

Yes.

Over a thousand and a hundred years had passed, and there was still no sign of the Heavenly Dao. The grand battle he had anticipated in his heart was nowhere to be seen, and the promised great battle seemed to have been a no-show.

Moreover, wasn't the Heavenly Dao supposed to awaken every three million years, severely injured and on the brink of death?

"Is it possible that the Heavenly Dao has died during these three million years and didn't make it through?"

"Impossible."

Jiang Buying shook his head firmly. "In these hundred years, although the Heavenly Dao hasn't appeared, the Heavenly Dao Proclamation still echoes across the continents. Although the Heavenly Dao on these continents is just a split consciousness of the 'Heavenly Dao Entity,' it can only follow the program and has no self-awareness."

"But if the Heavenly Dao Entity died, they would also dissipate."

"The fact that they haven't dissipated means the Heavenly Dao Entity is still alive. As for why it hasn't appeared yet, maybe it really overslept?"

"Why don't we wait some more?"

This time, they waited even longer, a full five hundred years.

Six hundred years had passed since the day of the initial grand battle. During these years, Chen Qiu had used various means to gather all the traces left by the former Mocking Heaven Sect in this world.

For example, he learned about the past of the Mocking Heaven Sect from the "Fairy Maiden."

The Fairy Maiden was the only one whose memories hadn't been erased by the Heavenly Dao.

But...

There was still no trace of the Heavenly Dao's appearance.

At this point, they had to face the possibility that something had happened to the Heavenly Dao, and it wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

"This..."

July Cat spoke with a hint of schadenfreude, "Could it be that it's trapped somewhere? The Heavenly Dao is extremely vulnerable when it's not awakened, so vulnerable that even a Golden Core cultivator could easily kill it. If it's really trapped, I can only hope it stays trapped for a long time."

"Let it be trapped for tens of millions of years, so that without receiving any supplies, it will die on its own."

"It's just a pity we can't find its resting place; otherwise, if we could find it before it wakes up, our chances of winning would be much higher."

Although he didn't want to admit it,

In reality, Chen Qiu's current strength was still far from that of the Heavenly Dao. For instance, the 'Gray Entry,' 'Black Entry,' 'Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure,' and other such things were still manifestations of the Heavenly Dao's power, and these were means that Chen Qiu lacked.

It was a gap that was hard to bridge.

His chances of winning were indeed very slim.

"Let's keep searching."

After a moment of silence, Chen Qiu stood up and walked towards the distance, "Let's send more people to look. Maybe we'll find it; perhaps in the backyard well of a farmer or an abandoned cave. Let's check everywhere."

During these years, they hadn't been idle.

They mobilized all their connections and thoroughly investigated each First Rank Continent, especially those with long-standing legends, like a forbidden area that had persisted for tens of thousands of years, where death was certain upon entry.

Such places were the most likely to be the Heavenly Dao's resting place.

However, even so, they had only investigated less than a tenth of the First Rank Continents. There were simply too many First Rank Continents, and even with orders from the Twelfth Rank Immortal Realm, and then passing through the Eleventh, Tenth, Ninth, and Eighth Rank Immortal Realms,

Through this method, they mobilized all the forces in the Immortal Realms.

Urging those under them to conduct thorough investigations.

But...

There were still many uncontrollable factors.

And so, another hundred years passed, and the Heavenly Dao still didn't appear. Jiang Buying no longer had the same determination as in the beginning; he had started to doubt himself, questioning if his mind had been tampered with by the Heavenly Dao. Was it really true that the Heavenly Dao would awaken every three million years?

As for July Cat, she had long since given up and was lounging on a chair nearby, basking in the sun.

Whether or not her memories returned,

The attitude of giving up seemed to be ingrained in July Cat's very being. For her, even if the world were to end tomorrow, she would still bask in the sun today.

The happiest thing in life was to bask in the sun for a while, and if there were something even happier, it would be to bask in the sun for twice as long.

Just then—

Chen Qiu, holding a cup of tea, sat quietly on a nearby stone pillar and spoke softly, "Seven hundred years have passed since the initial battle. At this point, we must admit that the Heavenly Dao most likely won't be able to awaken normally. It's highly possible that it's trapped somewhere."

"And I suddenly feel that our initial logic was flawed.

"At first, we all believed that the Heavenly Dao's slumbering place would be on the First Rank Continent. There were many reasons for this, such as the higher cultivation limit on the First Rank Continent, or the fact that there were enough of these continents, and so on."

"There were many reasons, but there was one crucial point we overlooked—the high likelihood of the First Rank Continent's collapse."

"The Heavenly Dao is extremely vulnerable during its slumber. If it were to suddenly fall into the void, even if it doesn't die, it would likely sustain severe injuries, right?"

"In other words..."

"The Heavenly Dao could fall asleep anywhere, but it would never choose the First Rank Continent."

"That makes sense." Jiang Bu Ping suddenly realized and slapped his thigh, "That's right! The Heavenly Dao can't awaken within these thirty thousand years, so when choosing its slumbering place, the most important factor is ensuring the location won't suddenly collapse. So, it should be in an Eleventh Rank Immortal World, right?"

"No, that's not right."

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head, "There are too many powerful beings in the Eleventh Rank Immortal World. It would be difficult for the slumbering Heavenly Dao to find a sufficiently hidden and safe place. In fact, there's a better choice—the Celestial Prison."

"This is a space personally created by the Heavenly Dao, and it won't collapse."

"Isn't that so?"

Jiang Bu Ping was a bit puzzled, "The Celestial Prison is indeed extremely secretive, almost unknown to the world, and it won't collapse. But the Celestial Prison is usually attached to a First Rank Continent. When that continent collapses, the Celestial Prison will collapse along with it."

"Hmm, that's true, but what if the Heavenly Dao left a backup plan to ensure the First Rank Continent won't collapse?"

Chen Qiu remained silent and slowly closed his eyes.

Perhaps he had guessed where the Heavenly Dao's slumbering place was.

A long, long time ago...

On the First Rank Continent, the Xuan Tian Continent, the Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch, Bu Tian, obtained a thousand merits and virtues and traveled to the Second Rank Continent, the Vast Continent.

There, she encountered an old woman who had built ninety-nine eighty-one merit and virtue golden houses to achieve immortality.

Due to an accident, these few individuals became entangled.

Through their conversations, they vaguely learned that these people seemed to have existed thirty thousand years ago and had some sort of love-hate relationship with the Liu Family's ancestor. The Liu Family was just a small clan that he had casually destroyed.

At that time, the Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch held the Virtue Defense Token and the Virtue Attack Token. She hid behind the door of the merit and virtue golden house and launched a sneak attack on him. Before activating the Virtue Attack Token, she said, "I gave you a chance. I didn't want to take away your Heavenly King Title so soon, as my plan is not yet complete. But do you know..."

Before she could finish her sentence, he permanently exiled her into a mini-world.

After all, at that time, he couldn't withstand the Virtue Attack Token.

After that, he never bothered with such trivial matters again. He wasn't one to meddle in affairs, and the old woman was killed by the Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch inside the merit and virtue golden house. Now it seems that the Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch might be the Heavenly Dao's backup plan? Her primary task was to prevent the collapse of the First Rank Continent?

This is possible.

He needed to go to the Second Rank Continent and find the "Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch," who had been exiled to a mini-world less than two thousand years ago. She probably hadn't died yet, and he wanted to see if she could reveal some information.

However, if the Second Rank Continent collapsed, the Xuan Tian Continent would also be destroyed. So, how did the Heavenly Dao ensure that the Vast Continent or the Third Rank Continent, the Heavenward Continent, wouldn't collapse?

Thinking further...

Why, out of all the First Rank Continents, was there only evidence of the Xuan Tian Continent having traces left by the Mocking Heaven Sect? Perhaps, thirty thousand years ago, many things happened that he still didn't know about.

But one possibility stood out.

That was, the Heavenly Dao might have been slumbering in Daxia Kingdom all along.

"Daxia Kingdom" was initially just a Celestial Prison, with nothing in it, until the Mocking Heaven Sect transformed it, creating the four puppets and the grand formation of the East, South, West, and North. The Heavenly Dao might have been suppressed beneath the Boundless Snow Mountain.

If the entire Boundless Snow Mountain were excavated, perhaps the Heavenly Dao would be revealed.

"..."

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes, feeling that the Heavenly Dao might indeed be in Daxia Kingdom, beneath the Boundless Snow Mountain, and suppressed. This could explain why Chen Qiu hadn't awakened yet.

Without further delay, he said, "I'll go out for a bit."

After a few breaths, Chen Qiu appeared on the Second Rank Continent, the Vast Continent. His divine sense instantly enveloped the entire continent, and the countless mini-worlds that existed within the Heavenly Dao's shackles, like water bubbles, immediately appeared in his mind.

There were many.

Some were undiscovered mini-worlds, some were abandoned mystic realms, and some were yet to be revealed.

Among them, three mini-worlds were created by him.

He had exiled the Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch, Duke Gongzi, and the White Crane Daoist to these three mini-worlds, and it had been nearly two thousand years since then. These three individuals hadn't broken out of their prisons.

Apparently, they hadn't been putting in much effort.

However, perhaps time had indeed taken its toll. Not only were their bodies gone, but even their flesh had disappeared, leaving only their dry bones.

"Sigh."

Chen Qiu let out a soft sigh. He had originally wanted to ask the Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch about the situation, but it seemed that she had a poor psychological capacity. He had used his divine sense to reveal the past lives of these three individuals, and after quickly reviewing them, he found no crucial information.

The Xuan Tian Sect Matriarch didn't say anything important and left no messages. All three of them struggled for hundreds of years before committing suicide.

Even though they still had a long life ahead, they all chose to end their lives. Why couldn't they have endured a little longer? If they had held on until now, perhaps he would have granted them all amnesty.

They always chose to die in the night before dawn.

Sigh.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end