Peak Supreme

Earth Immortal Realm. Liu Guanyi finally arrived in the Great Luo Heaven. Behind him, Emperor Yanglong, lord of Yangtian, the ninth of the Nine Heavens, was sleeping like an infant, sobbing periodically in his slumber as though trapped in an inescapable nightmare. "A bunch of traitors, incompetent fools." Liu Guanyi dusted off his hands and strode into the Great Luo Heaven. Emperor Qinghua of Cangtian, Emperor Caiwei of Haotian, Emperor Fuyue of Xuantian, Emperor Quelin of Juntian—all nine great emperors had been knocked down by him. Liu Guanyi had not dealt them fatal blows, however, merely teaching these juniors a lesson. His objective was the Great Luo Heaven. The first Great Luo bodhimanda he reached belonged to Dao Lord Jiugong. Liu Ruyi and the other women were in utter disarray, yearning to fight yet paralyzed by fear, completely at a loss. The Son of Heaven of Zhou stepped forward and asked, "Has Senior come seeking vengeance, or to pay a visit?" Liu Guanyi smiled faintly. "Seeking vengeance." Neither servile nor overbearing, the Son of Heaven of Zhou replied, "This junior is a disciple of Dao Lord Jiugong. With Master away, I must guard the mountain gate. Since Senior has come for vengeance, this junior must shoulder it. Senior, pray forgive me!" With that, he surged with cultivation power and charged forward. Liu Guanyi casually waved his sleeve. The world spun around the Son of Heaven of Zhou, and he was hurled backward through the air, crashing hard onto the ground. Liu Guanyi turned to Liu Ruyi and the others. "Haul him out." Liu Ruyi and the rest dared not resist; they could only lift the Son of Heaven of Zhou and hurry away. Liu Guanyi tilted his head to look at the Great Luo bodhimanda, sneering, "Jiugong, how much longer do you intend to hide?" No sooner had his words fallen than another Daoist Jiugong laughed heartily, descending from the sky and drifting down before Liu Guanyi. He chuckled, "Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch Liu Guanyi, you were exiled to the Dark Domain by Qingxuan back then. To think you could actually escape. Now that you're out, why didn't you go into hiding? Are you truly not afraid of death?" This Daoist Jiugong was Dao Lord Jiugong's Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit. Liu Ruyi and the others had never known Dao Lord Jiugong had a Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit concealed within the bodhimanda. Witnessing this, they were thoroughly astonished. Liu Ruyi in particular, having followed Dao Lord Jiugong for over a hundred thousand years, was laying eyes upon his Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit for the very first time. Seeing Daoist Jiugong appear, the Son of Heaven of Zhou quietly breathed a sigh of relief. 'I gambled right.' Liu Guanyi snorted coldly. "I have come only to ask you: how did Qingxuan die? Will you confess voluntarily, or shall I capture you, search your soul, and peel away every shred of your memory to examine piece by piece?" Daoist Jiugong's expression shifted drastically. Back then, the Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch Liu Guanyi had been a top ruthless figure serving under Qingxuan. Having raided countless tombs and excavated ancient graves, he had amassed an immense variety of esoteric methods, praised by Qingxuan as a veritable treasury of divine arts. Searching souls and stripping memories—he undoubtedly possessed such sinister methods! Daoist Jiugong said, "The death of Supreme Qingxuan had nothing to do with me..." "Whether it did or not, I will see for myself!" Liu Guanyi lunged before him, reaching a hand toward his glabella. Shocked and enraged, Daoist Jiugong sneered, "Ten Useless, now is not then! You were exiled to the Dark Domain for six hundred thousand years. Did you think you could still run rampant today? Behold my Wondrous Realm treasure!" Above his head, the Great Luo bodhimanda suddenly manifested countless magnificent immortal dao runes that cascaded downward. Each rune was formed from a complete immortal Great Dao. As they appeared, heavenly resonances echoed through the heavens, solidifying the Great Luo bodhimanda. Those runes snapped together into a massive, heavy golden tome—none other than Dao Lord Jiugong's Myriad Dao Golden Book! Liu Guanyi held up the heavens with one hand, ten layers of Dao domains erupting to meet the Wondrous Realm treasure head-on, while his other hand clawed straight toward Daoist Jiugong. The Myriad Dao Golden Book blazed with the brilliance of the Great Dao, illuminating the Immortal Realm and forming a golden dome. Its dao light pressed downward, forcing the muscles in Liu Guanyi's arm to bulge and knot under immense strain. At the same time, an immortal sword silently took flight, thrusting straight toward the back of Liu Guanyi's head. It was Dao Lord Jiugong's other Dao-attaining treasure: the Nine Exterminations Immortal Slashing Sword! Though this sword had been heavily damaged by the Far Ancestor and twisted like fried dough, Dao Lord Jiugong had restored it, and its lethal power remained extraordinary. If that blade pierced the back of his head, Liu Guanyi would lose half his life even if he survived! Dao Lord Jiugong had left the Immortal Realm for the mortal world, leaving behind an ostensibly empty bodhimanda, yet it was rife with lethal perils. Even if the Nine Heavens rebelled, they could never hope to shake his sanctuary. Yet behind Liu Guanyi, a coffin suddenly flew forth, radiating a monstrous malevolence. With a sharp chime, it intercepted the Nine Exterminations Immortal Slashing Sword. The sword failed to pierce the coffin. The baleful aura pouring from the casket warped the Great Luo bodhimanda, inducing a profound chill, as if a peerless fiend lay slumbering inside, ready to leap forth and unleash a slaughter at any moment. Simultaneously, Liu Guanyi's other hand clamped onto Daoist Jiugong's face, crushing this Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit's head until it burst. He seized the soul and dragged it bodily from the headless corpse! "Back then, I charged alone into Heavenly Venerable Taiyi's bodhimanda and slew ten of his Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits. Did you truly believe that reaching the Wondrous Realm would keep you safe from me?" Looking downright demonic, Liu Guanyi held the primordial spirit's soul fast in his grip, leapt into the sky, and struck toward the Myriad Dao Golden Book. His figure flickered as he traded dozens of blows with the golden tome. Suddenly, with a sharp ripping sound, he tore away an entire page of the Myriad Dao Golden Book! The sentient treasure suffered damage and instantly cast a beam of golden light over Liu Ruyi, the Son of Heaven of Zhou, and the others. The Nine Exterminations Immortal Slashing Sword flew into the radiance, and people and sword alike were drawn into the book before it tore through the void and vanished. Liu Guanyi did not pursue it, simply stowing the torn page. His golden coffin drifted over, sank into his shadow, and disappeared. Liu Guanyi spread both hands apart, tearing Daoist Jiugong's soul open. It burst into countless moving images. These were Daoist Jiugong's memories. Unfolded, the Jiugong Luo Heaven bodhimanda became populated with figures of Dao Lord Jiugong strolling about—some conversing, some meditating, some laughing boisterously, displaying every kind of countenance. Liu Guanyi inspected them rapidly, scouring for clues of the past. As Dao Lord Jiugong's Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit, he was bound to hold memories concerning Qingxuan's murder. Yet when he reached the memories from six hundred thousand years ago, he discovered that entire period had been deliberately expunged; nothing remained. Liu Guanyi frowned, then flicked his sleeve with violent force. The Jiugong Luo Heaven bodhimanda collapsed into rubble with a deafening roar. He took to the air, leaving the ruin behind, and flew toward Daoist Taiyuan's Luo Heaven bodhimanda. Daoist Taiyuan's Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit had already received word and stood ready in battle array. Liu Guanyi paid no heed and attacked directly. Within a few exchanges, he wounded Daoist Taiyuan's Wondrous Realm treasure, dragged out the primordial spirit's memories, and combed through them from beginning to end. Liu Guanyi's frown deepened. "Still nothing on Qingxuan's death!" With a single palm strike, he blew apart Daoist Taiyuan's Luo Heaven bodhimanda, rose into the air, and hurried toward Saint Luo's Luo Heaven bodhimanda. No sooner had he left, however, than the Master of Mud Pill Palace appeared. He meticulously gathered the shattered pieces of his master's Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit, then collected the scattered memory fragments. His eyes flickered. These were unimaginable treasures: the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit contained the Great Dao Daoist Taiyuan cultivated, while the memory fragments were even more extraordinary, preserving Daoist Taiyuan's cultivation experiences! 'I can use this chance to find out whether Daoist Taiyuan tampered with the Dao Turning Mind Sutra he passed down to me!' The Master of Mud Pill Palace's gaze shifted as he mused, 'He surely wouldn't hide flaws within his own Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit, would he? As long as I discover where he meddled, I can counter him when he finally bares his fangs!' Meanwhile, Liu Guanyi smashed Saint Luo's Luo Heaven bodhimanda and emerged grim-faced from the debris, standing at the summit of the Immortal Realm to gaze down upon the world. Saint Luo's Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit held no memory of Qingxuan's death either. All three of these Wondrous Realm of Great Luo figures had wiped their memories of Qingxuan's murder clean. His expression was dark. Just then, the cosmic Dark Domain caught his eye. In his era, the Mortal Realm had been known as the Dark Domain, a place of exile. At this moment, that expanse of shadow was brightening at an astonishing rate, blazing with dazzling, resplendent radiance! "That is... that old stubborn Ancestral God activating the Mortal Realm's Heavenly Dao!" Sharp light flashed in Liu Guanyi's eyes. "Does the Ancestral God intend to restore his peak strength?" To a fiercely ambitious man like him, the Ancestral God was an incorrigible conservative, a loyalist to the Last Lord of Ziwei. To overthrow the old era, the Ancestral God had to be eradicated first. Back then, Liu Guanyi had been among the planners and participants in the battle of the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, so he held not the slightest shred of goodwill toward the deity. 'Still, the old era has passed. Having the Ancestral God restore the Mortal Realm's Heavenly Dao is ultimately a blessing for the common folk,' Liu Guanyi thought. The Heavenly Dao's light burned brighter and fiercer, spreading at incredible speed until it encompassed more than half the Dark Domain, bathing it in brilliance! Such boundless magic power moved even Liu Guanyi, forcing him to sigh in admitted inferiority. The magic power the Ancestral God had regained surpassed even his state during the battle of the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court! 'His strength has doubled, surpassing the Wondrous Realm to reach another level entirely. Even if I severed the River of Spiritual Light, I likely couldn't trap him.' Just as the thought crossed his mind, another dark force within the cosmic Dark Domain struck back fiercely, colliding head-on with the might of the Heavenly Dao! Liu Guanyi was startled. 'What is that...?' Suddenly, spacetime ripples rolled out from the depths of the universe, reaching the Great Luo Heaven and shattering the already fractured realm until debris flew in all directions. The collision between the Mortal Realm's Heavenly Dao and the darkness unleashed energy sufficient to birth an entirely new Milky Way! Liu Guanyi watched as the territory blanketed by the Heavenly Dao dimmed rapidly, vast swathes falling back into darkness one after another. Clearly, the Ancestral God had suffered heavy suppression in that clash! This power was terrifyingly immense; even with fifty to sixty percent of his peak strength restored, the Ancestral God was pushed back. 'Could the source of this force be that Emerald Rock that fell into the Mortal Realm?' Liu Guanyi wondered, unsettled. At that moment, his body stiffened slightly as he sensed an overwhelming pressure descending from the void. "I knew our old friends couldn't have dwindled until only Jiugong, Taiyuan, and Saint Luo remained." Liu Guanyi turned around and saw a Supreme-grade cave abyss slowly solidifying in the void of the Great Luo Heaven. It belonged to the human race's second Immortal Emperor, Emperor Taihao, known as the Taihao Cave Abyss. The magnificent cave abyss rotated slowly, giving off a deep, subtle cadence of the Great Dao. "Back then, Jiugong, Taiyuan, and Saint Luo were hardly prominent among us. Like me, they were merely second-rate figures." Liu Guanyi gazed at the cave abyss and said calmly, "Second-rate characters like us weren't qualified to call Qingxuan a fellow daoist; we had to address him as Senior Brother Daoist. Yet at the time, there were five or six others who could converse with him as equals. Which one might Your Excellency be?" "Liu Guanyi, how dare you return?" A tall figure stepped slowly out of the Taihao Cave Abyss, remarking languidly, "Qingxuan exiled you to the Dark Domain to protect you, granting you an extra six hundred thousand years of life. By returning to throw your life away, aren't you letting his good intentions go to waste?" Down in the Dark Domain, the Heavenly Dao's light was compressed to its absolute limit, then abruptly erupted again, illuminating the sky with pristine clarity! As that light burst forth, Liu Guanyi shot into the air and lunged toward the tall figure. His ten great Dao domains expanded, unleashing every supreme art he had painstakingly cultivated over hundreds of thousands of years! Through those countless millennia, he had finally synthesized the myriad arts plundered from a lifetime of tomb raiding, attaining ten-fold perfection. His achievement seemed like Great Luo, seemed like Supreme, and seemed like the Dao Realm; the exquisiteness of his techniques fell like celestial blossoms from the sky. Yet behind that tall figure, the Taihao Cave Abyss began to turn, draining nearly all the spiritual qi and spiritual power within it in a single instant. A dao cadence declaring 'Above the heavens and below the earth, I alone am supreme' erupted from the tall figure. Across eternal ages of the Great Dao, I alone stand solitary! The corners of Liu Guanyi's eyes twitched. He saw the gap, and it was so vast as to be insurmountable. He instantly shifted stances, turning from offense to defense, doing everything he could to ward off the incoming strike. Boom! The opponent thrust a palm forward, blotting out Liu Guanyi's vision and entire world. Liu Guanyi strained with everything he had to withstand the blow, yet all ten of his Dao domains shattered simultaneously. An instant later, his physical body also blew apart, spraying a mist of blood. Yet at the very moment his body exploded, a coffin flew out from his shadow. Its lid flung open, and an even stronger Liu Guanyi leapt forth to meet the palm strike! The second Liu Guanyi coughed up blood, his flesh bursting apart. Immediately, another coffin flew out from the shadow, and a third Liu Guanyi emerged, stronger than the second, charging to meet the tall figure's palm. Bang! He still failed to halt the strike and blew apart as well. Then a third coffin flew from the shadow to absorb the impact. Straining with every ounce of his power, this Liu Guanyi finally withstood the blow. Blood seeped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He fell straight backward into the casket. The lid flew back and sealed the coffin shut. Borrowing the kinetic momentum of the tall figure's strike, it tore through the void at a speed that defied belief! The tall figure set off in pursuit beyond the Great Luo Heaven, only to see the coffin transform into a streak of light, plunging into the Realm of the Great Void above the Immortal Realm and vanishing behind the Immortal City of Yujing among the Ten Sights of the Great Void. He gave chase to the rear of the Immortal City of Yujing, but Liu Guanyi and the coffin were already gone without a trace. "Truly worthy of the Grandmaster of Myriad Arts who penned the Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit." The tall figure chuckled in admiration. "When dealing with the Dao Ancestors of the ancestral courts back then, you could always devise all manner of methods. That was why, to eliminate Qingxuan, Liu Guanyi had to be removed first." At that moment, the starry cosmos blazed with blinding brilliance once more, illuminating even the Realm of the Great Void. Down in the Mortal Realm, the Ancestral God had surged with all his strength for a third time to contend against the Emerald Rock! "Has that old fellow Ancestral God truly staked his life?" Gripped by shock and uncertainty, the tall figure flickered and vanished.