Departing the Zhouguang Domain, Huang Tian flew aboard his starship for roughly half an hour before arriving before a slowly swirling wormhole.
*Whoosh!*
The ship plunged straight inside. The moment it entered, spacetime warped, revealing a tunnel brimming with iridescent radiance. The vessel sped through, bursting out the other end after mere breaths.
*Whoosh!*
Emerging from the opposite wormhole, the starship shuddered slightly and promptly sped off in a designated direction.
"The star region where the Divine Pillar Secret Realm resides is indeed rather desolate."
Standing inside the cabin, Huang Tian surveyed the surrounding expanse in every direction. The density of stars and planets was low, and living planets harboring civilizations were sparser still.
Of course, sparse as they were, they existed nonetheless. For instance, along the way he observed a nation on one planet that had just accomplished the feat of manned spaceflight. Its leader was delivering an impassioned speech: "We are the first civilization of the cosmos, the eldest children of the universe! And today, the eldest children of the universe have officially transcended the shackles of our home planet, taking our first step toward exploring the sea of stars!"
Citizens listening to the broadcast over radios were ecstatic, celebrating across the land amidst festive lanterns and colorful banners.
Other planets were even more backward, still mired in eras of feudal warfare, where beacon fires raged incessantly, iron cavalry trampled rivers and mountains, banners fluttered atop city walls, warlords carved out rival domains, endless conflict persisted, and commoners were displaced; or they remained in primitive eras, where consuming raw meat and drinking blood were commonplace. The warp ship, traveling at ten thousand times the speed of light, flew for roughly an hour before finally arriving before a colossal vortex over a thousand kilometers high.
This was one of the entrances to the Divine Pillar Secret Realm.
*Whoosh!*
The ship dove straight into it, and merely a second later, emerged into a magnificent, boundless expanse of starry space.
*The Divine Pillar Secret Realm spans a diameter of 1.5 billion light-years. The Sky-Supporting Divine Pillar sits roughly at its center, nearly eight hundred million light-years from the entrance where I now stand...*
With these thoughts flickering through his mind, Huang Tian stowed the starship. Channelling the Law of Space, he stepped forward through the void, traversing over a hundred light-years in a single stride!
*At my speed, barring any accidents or delays along the way, reaching the Sky-Supporting Divine Pillar will take over ninety days. It is quite a journey, but while traveling, I can still contemplate the Laws without wasting any time.*
Stride by stride, he pressed forward, channeling the majority of his focus into comprehending the fusion of the Laws.
In the blink of an eye, ten days went by. Over these ten days, he crossed most of the secret realm's outer perimeter. What met his eyes was no longer monotonous starfields; every so often, continents spanning hundreds of millions of kilometers, strange mists cascading like waterfalls, and ferocious exotic beasts appeared across the void.
As for people, he did indeed encounter several native humans within the secret realm. Even the weakest of these natives possessed Planetary-rank strength, and the strongest could even rival World Lords!
To him, however, such individuals posed not the slightest threat. He paid them no heed and simply continued past them.
Aside from these native humans and exotic beasts, he had yet to encounter a single Supreme from outside the secret realm. This was only natural; the realm was vast, and most Supremes who entered chose to remain near the Sky-Supporting Divine Pillar to contemplate the Laws, making encounters in the outer perimeter quite rare.
Huang Tian thought nothing of it and continued his trek. Two more days passed in this manner until, at a certain moment, his brows lifted slightly. Approaching from the opposite direction was a Supreme expert with two horns protruding from his head, entirely bathed in fire.
*Is that... Supreme Houfeng?*
The moment he clearly saw the newcomer's appearance, Huang Tian recognized his identity. He was Supreme Houfeng of the Hell Race, a figure notorious for his violent temper and extreme arrogance, who had broken through to become a Supreme 790,000 years ago.
Because his breakthrough had been relatively recent, he had yet to master eighth-rank offensive and defensive secret arts. However, he possessed an eighth-rank battleaxe, placing his overall combat power at the intermediate Supreme level.
An intermediate Supreme was essentially at the bottom of the hierarchy within the Divine Pillar Secret Realm. Newly ascended elementary Supremes rarely left their ethnic domains to roam the cosmos. After all, having just broken through, they were essentially blank slates; facing other Supremes outside would inevitably result in a one-sided thrashing. It was far wiser to seclude themselves for several million or tens of millions of years to master eighth-rank offensive and defensive secret arts, or find a way to obtain an eighth-rank supreme treasure to secure intermediate Supreme strength first.
*Hm? Who is this?* Just as Huang Tian noticed Supreme Houfeng, the latter caught sight of him as well and immediately frowned.
Though the universe was home to countless billions of races, the number of Supremes was actually quite small. Apart from those who kept exceptionally low profiles or deliberately hid themselves, Supreme Houfeng had long memorized the appearances and soul auras of all Supremes.
Yet he was completely unfamiliar with the approaching Supreme. *Could he have just broken through? Or is he some reclusive old monster who felt the urge to roam after long seclusion and came to the Divine Pillar Secret Realm in search of treasures?*
Doubts arose in Supreme Houfeng's heart, prompting him to alter his course to open up some distance. Although arrogant and violent by nature, he was no fool; when dealing with experts of unknown origin, he always kept his distance.
Furthermore, this expert was unmistakably human. Regardless of whether he served in one of humanity's five great factions, walked as a lone wanderer, or belonged to some other alliance, Houfeng had no desire to provoke him. The territories of the Hell Race and humanity bordered each other, and the two races had fought countless wars over territory, harboring bitter blood feuds.
When enemies met, passions flared, and he had no wish to brawl before discerning friend from foe.
However, just as he slightly shifted his direction—
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
On a continent spanning millions of kilometers not far from Huang Tian, tens of millions of thunderbolts and lightning arcs erupted abruptly, dyeing the entire sky purple!
At the same time, an ancient carriage slowly emerged from beneath the continent. Before the carriage, six thunder dragons pulled in harness, thrashing violently as they churned hundreds of millions of crackling lightning arcs.
"This aura... an eighth-rank supreme treasure is being unearthed?!" Supreme Houfeng's expression shifted drastically before breaking into sheer delight. With a flick of his wrist, a hefty axe appeared in his grasp. Surging forward toward the carriage, he simultaneously cleaved a vicious arc of axe light toward Huang Tian, roaring, "Die!"
Though he did not know Huang Tian's background, how could he hesitate with a supreme treasure before his eyes?
*As long as he isn't a Spacetime Supreme, I have nothing to fear. Ordinary advanced Supremes are only one minor tier above me; they cannot kill me at all, and I can escape with ease. Even if I am slain, this is merely an avatar and will not affect my true body—at worst, my Dragon-Conquering Axe will be snatched away.*
*A risk worth taking must be taken. High risk yields high rewards! I refuse to believe my luck is so rotten that a random stranger I bump into happens to be a Spacetime Supreme!*
*Rumble!*
The axe light was terrifying. Wherever it passed, an energy tempest erupted across the void, shaking down surrounding stars and sending boundless nebulae dancing into disarray!
*Decisive indeed...*
Seeing Supreme Houfeng strike without hesitation the moment the supreme treasure emerged, Huang Tian sighed inwardly. Instead of retreating, he advanced, flying straight toward Supreme Houfeng against the ferocious axe light.
*Swish!*
The instant the axe light was about to strike his body, Huang Tian twisted deftly aside to dodge it, and pushed his blade from its sheath!
*Clang!*
A translucent, pristine war saber sliced through the sky. The chilling blade light was as swift as a celestial rainbow, dazzling and blinding to the extreme. In an instant, it traversed tens of millions of li, slashing straight toward Supreme Houfeng!
Alarm bells rang furiously in Supreme Houfeng's mind, and he moved to evade. But right then, the blade light's speed surged explosively, cleaving through his body before he could even react!
*Squelch!*
The blade light carved diagonally through his shoulder and exited past his waist and abdomen, instantly cleaving his body in two. Simultaneously, an overbearingly domineering divine power surged from the blade into his form, wreaking rampant havoc through every corner of his being.
"A-A Spacetime Supreme?!" Supreme Houfeng's eyes widened in sheer horror.
Aside from a Spacetime Supreme, no one could possibly slay him in a single strike. More crucially, he felt the terrifying power of spacetime tracing!
Deep within the territory of the Hell Race, on a crimson planet, Supreme Houfeng's true body sat within a majestic palace. He had been quietly meditating, his aura calm and steady. Yet the instant Huang Tian severed his avatar, he snapped his eyes open, his face draining of color until it was deathly pale.
"How is this possible?!"
He cried out in terror, utterly unable to believe his luck was so wretched that a stranger he had run into at random was an actual Spacetime Supreme!
He knew every single Spacetime Supreme belonging to humanity and the other peak races! How could a brand-new one appear out of thin air?!
*Chii!*
Amidst his panic, a biting blade intent had already slashed across spacetime to strike his true body, causing fresh blood to spurt.
Then, as if countless sharp blades were tearing through his flesh, fine lines of blood surfaced across his entire form. He tried desperately to suppress them, but it was completely futile; the more he struggled, the more bloodlines multiplied.
"No!"
He roared in despair. Seizing his final opportunity, he transmitted Huang Tian's altered appearance to his Supreme friends: "Avenge me! Kill him!"
*Bang!*
With a muffled explosion, Supreme Houfeng's body burst apart completely, crystalline blood spraying everywhere and staining more than half the grand hall.
"Master is screaming?"
"Is there an enemy raid?!"
Outside the palace, many guards were startled by Supreme Houfeng's mournful wails and rushed inside. But the moment they stepped in, they froze where they stood, dumbstruck.
"M-Master is dead?"
"How could our great, supreme master die? Impossible! He possesses eternal life, a great being mightier than the gods themselves—he would never perish! Impossible!"
While the guards were gripped by terror and madness, the friends who had received Supreme Houfeng's message were thoroughly shocked. They quickly contacted one another.
"Houfeng is dead? Didn't he possess an avatar secret art?"
"What good is an avatar secret art? There are plenty of ways to counter it in this world. For example, if a Sovereign or a Spacetime Supreme employs a spacetime tracing technique, damage dealt to an avatar can rebound directly onto the true body."
"Does that mean the person in the image is very likely a Spacetime Supreme? But I have never seen him, and Houfeng made no mention of his title, which means he is definitely not one of the Spacetime Supremes we know."
"Where was Houfeng when he died?"
"I know. He has been treasure-hunting in the Divine Pillar Secret Realm for hundreds of thousands of years. When I asked him recently, he said he intended to stay for another five hundred thousand years, which means he must have fallen in the Divine Pillar Secret Realm."
"Avenge him? Nine times out of ten, the one who killed him is a Spacetime Supreme. How could I possibly have the ability to avenge him?"
"Hmph, the human race! Sooner or later, I will slaughter every human in existence!"
"Avenge him or not, what pains me is that Houfeng's supreme treasure was taken by that person. An eighth-rank supreme treasure! I don't even have a single one on me. Back then, if Houfeng hadn't caught the eye of Supreme Yunqi and been accepted as his disciple, it would have been near impossible for him to become a Supreme, let alone be gifted a supreme treasure."
"Speaking of which, will Supreme Yunqi avenge Houfeng? He is a Spacetime Supreme as well, completely fearless of that person."
"It's possible... If Supreme Yunqi heads to the Divine Pillar Secret Realm in person for revenge, I will go along to lend a hand!"
"..."
"Houfeng is dead?" High above a mountain of corpses stretching hundreds of thousands of li, Supreme Yunqi, who bore fiery wings on his back, wore a grim expression. Flames churned around him, sweeping out in all directions and reducing the countless corpses below to ashes.
"Utterly... foolish!" he cursed under his breath, his tone brimming with disappointment over a wasted talent.
In the early years, seeing that Supreme Houfeng had outstanding talent and firm resolve, he had accepted him as a disciple. Over millions of years, he had successfully nurtured him into a Supreme, giving their lineage two Supremes—a position of immense prestige!
Filled with pride and satisfaction, Supreme Yunqi had endured the heartache to bestow an eighth-rank supreme treasure upon Supreme Houfeng, intending to motivate him to cultivate diligently and reach greater heights.
Who would have guessed that after receiving the treasure, Supreme Houfeng not only failed to work harder, but instead grew impatient and restless, unable to settle his mind to diligently study eighth-rank secret arts, and constantly yearning to roam the outside world.
Supreme Yunqi had admonished him several times, yielding only slight results. Supreme Houfeng obediently researched eighth-rank secret arts, tinkering with them for nearly two hundred thousand years, only to make no progress whatsoever. His momentum drained, the desire to venture forth rekindled. He approached Supreme Yunqi, claiming that varied tempering might better aid him in creating his own eighth-rank secret art.
After long deliberation, Supreme Yunqi had ultimately agreed to let him go. Thus, Houfeng had headed to the Divine Pillar Secret Realm to hunt for treasures and explore mysteries, only to fall at Huang Tian's hands.
"Had you listened to me back then, mastered several eighth-rank secret arts, and supplemented them with your supreme treasure to achieve the strength of an advanced Supreme, how could you have died at another's hands today?!" Supreme Yunqi sighed heavily.
Spacetime Supremes were formidable, but slaying an advanced Supreme was by no means simple. Moreover, Supreme Houfeng could have sent distress signals; as long as he held out a little longer, other Supremes from their race or even the great Sovereigns could have come to his rescue, saving him from death!
"Hmph... I must make a personal trip to the Divine Pillar Secret Realm to find that person!" His sigh spent, Supreme Yunqi's face turned icy. "Even setting aside revenge, I must at least retrieve Houfeng's supreme treasure!"
His mind made up, he flapped his dual wings, shooting toward the celestial starry sea and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Having barely entered the Divine Pillar Secret Realm, I've already reaped two eighth-rank supreme treasures. This place is truly a treasure trove."
With a smile, Huang Tian drew the axe and the newly surfaced carriage toward himself. Sending his divine power inside, he instantly understood their functions.
The axe was called the Dragon-Conquering Axe, a purely offensive supreme treasure.
The carriage was named the Purple Lightning Blue Frost Carriage, a specialized flight-type supreme treasure. When driven, six thunder dragons pulled the carriage; it could discharge lightning to strike foes or unfurl a thunderous barrier for defense, though neither reached the Supreme rank, making them of little use in high-level combat. Its greatest purpose was travel. Powered by divine power, its speed was a notch faster than Huang Tian traversing the void using the Law of Space alone, making it more than adequate as a mount.
"The starship is too slow to serve for long journeys. Now with this carriage, things are much more convenient..."
Half a day later.
*Roar! Roar!*
Across the void, six thunder dragons raised their heads and whipped their tails, their scales gleaming with ghostly blue lightning as they pulled the carriage in rapid flight.
The carriage body shimmered with halos of violet and azure, amidst churning thunder and dancing silver serpents!
Sitting inside the carriage, his robes fluttering in the wind, Huang Tian sped across the boundless starry sea, leaving streaks of thunderous light in his wake.
Chapter 281