Chapter 1049: The Invincible Posture of the Great Emperor

Cangyan Sacred Land.

Countless terrifying qi signatures flooded the heavens and earth, chaotic qi filled the star-rivers; everywhere in the cosmos pressed down with dreadful authority—even an iron mountain here would be crushed instantly into another kind of metal.

Here, then, was the Star River Imperial Palace of the Cangyan Ancient Emperor.

After returning the Cangkong Imperial Son, Yan Shi Emperor entertained merrily with the other Emperors here, easing the conflicts and tensions caused by the Imperial Sons' battle.

Such matters were perfectly normal among Emperors and Ancient Emperors, all within the rules, in accordance with the Jiao Mo Emperor Clan's traditions.

Not just in Cangyan Sacred Land, but between other Sacred Lands, conflicts frequently arose between Ancient Emperors and Emperors, and between Emperors themselves—nowhere was a paradise, so Yan Shi Emperor had no thought of betraying the Cangyan Ancient Emperor, for such conflicts were unavoidable wherever he went.

Even in their fiercest struggles, both sides maintained boundaries.

For instance, even if Yan Liu Imperial Son died, Cangkong Imperial Son would still marry a daughter of the Yan Shi family; the Yan Shi family would still endure, a new Imperial Son would be born from their bloodline, perhaps even stronger—no one lost everything, total annihilation was never the norm.

"I've heard the Mingxu Ancient Emperor has advanced further in power; Mingxu Sacred Land has thus grown far more aggressive, its imperial armies frequently provoking neighboring realms—it's truly worrying…"

During the feast, one Emperor voiced a secret with visible concern.

Since ancient times, every Emperor and Ancient Emperor has desperately sought the realm above Emperor, to become a Jiao Ming Emperor, truly invincible under heaven, with greatly extended lifespan, no longer needing to compromise with anyone.

Such wars had no restraints, no traditions—purely life-or-death slaughter, no tactic too extreme.

Emperors dying in such wars was commonplace.

"Hahaha!"

"Mingxu is nothing, no cause for worry."

The Cangyan Ancient Emperor appeared as a towering blue-flamed unicorn giant, bold and magnanimous in nature; his only flaw was his extreme favoritism toward his illegitimate son, yet he was deeply beloved by all the Emperors.

He laughed loudly: "Even if Mingxu grows stronger, he is still only one man—two or three Ancient Emperors can overwhelm and kill him. No real threat."

"If he truly can defeat me and my other seven old friends at once, then let him be the Jiao Ming Emperor—I'll bow my head in sincere admiration. Nothing to be done about it."

"What I fear is that we are disunited, manipulated by sowing discord, turning on each other, letting Mingxu reap the benefits…"

The Cangyan Ancient Emperor spoke with implied meaning.

It seemed he spoke of himself, yet also of others.

"Your Majesty, rest assured—we shall remain vigilant!"

Yan Shi Emperor and the others said solemnly.

To be fair, they preferred the current loose system.

If

Jiao Ming Domain were unified under a Jiao Ming Emperor, it would become an absolute imperial era—every Emperor would merely be a general under the Jiao Ming Emperor, obeying orders, life and death resting solely in the Emperor's whim, with no autonomy whatsoever.

"Your Majesty,"

At that moment, Yan Shi Emperor's expression changed sharply; he rose abruptly, his face filled with murderous intent.

Surrounding Emperors instantly reacted to this murderous aura, turning toward him; even the Cangyan Ancient Emperor's smile vanished, and a furious, domineering pressure surged into the heavens and earth, suffocating even the Emperors.

"Your Majesty, it is this subject's fault."

Yan Shi Emperor snapped out of it, bowing hastily: "Something has happened in my household—please allow me to withdraw briefly. I shall return after a short rest to feast again with you and the other Emperors."

With that, he ignored whether the Cangyan Ancient Emperor responded and rushed off toward Yan Shi Star Domain, as if in direst emergency.

A misunderstanding.

The Cangyan Ancient Emperor's cold gaze softened; the other Emperors relaxed.

"So urgent—"

"What happened in the Yan Shi household?"

One Emperor joked: "Could it be his newly taken concubine was secretly climbed into bed by some Imperial Clan king? That's definitely something to handle quickly."

"Hahaha, possible…"

Many Emperors laughed heartily, continuing their feast, the scene lively and boisterous.

…

The star teleportation array flashed, then the Mo Shi Xiao Gao Jie teleportation array flared—within mere breaths, Yan Shi Emperor had crossed the vast star domain, returning from Cangyan Sacred Land to Yan Shi Star Domain, and instantly appearing within Mo Shi Xiao Gao Jie.

In that instant, the boundary of the Minor Thousand Worlds sank inward; the world's heavenly and earthly spiritual energy churned violently, oceans reversed, Dahe River flowed backward… myriad strange phenomena erupted.

The entire world manifested strange signs due to the Emperor's arrival; surface gravity and magnetism shifted, as if a colossal entity had stepped into the world, each movement shaking the Minor Thousand Worlds uncontrollably.

"Roar!"

"Maggot… you seek death!"

Yan Shi Emperor flew into a rage, instantly understanding what had happened.

The former Flame Imperial Palace had been reduced to ashes, now a lake of magma—his many kin and children had turned to ash, not even bones remaining.

And all of this was clearly the work of a blood-robed Daoist!

Emperors command rules—not only did he know what had just occurred, but every prior event, through the ruins of the palace, lingering qi traces, and causal qi, flashed instantly into his soul as vividly as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

Humanity had birthed a Pretender Emperor!

And now, amid the thunderous roar of countless ship cannons, the Solar Corona Formation activated, forging a brilliant, annihilating sword of order that slammed into the terrified Yan Liu Imperial Son!

The Flare Army Formation's operation forged a radiant, brilliant Sword of Annihilating Order, slamming into the terrified, screaming Flame Flow Imperial Prince!

The sword fell!

But instead of the expected scene of Yan Liu Imperial Son's flesh and blood exploding, a vast azure flame palm tore through the cloud sea, erupting with ferocity.

This flame palm was woven from countless threads of fire, not containing the quasi-rule power of a Pretender Emperor, but true rule power!

This flame giant palm was woven from hundreds of millions of flame filaments, and on it did not reside the order power akin to a Flame Pretender Emperor, but true Rule Force!

The Taiqing Flying Sword shrieked as it met the flame palm, recoiling violently as if struck by lightning—its sword qi and all solar coronas were instantly extinguished; the blade suffered massive damage.

The Taiqing Flying Sword let out a mournful cry the instant it contacted the flame giant palm, violently recoiling as if struck by lightning; all its sword qi, all its solar flares were instantly extinguished, and the blade suffered grievous damage.

Jiang Ding and the Taiqing Flying Sword both spat blood and reeled backward, rolling like a sphere, smashing through layer after layer of space, the snapping sounds of his bones and tendons unceasing.

Jiang Ding, alongside the Taiqing Flying Sword, spat blood and reeled backward, like a sphere smashing through layer after layer of space, the cracking sounds of his tendons and bones breaking never ceasing.

Not only that, the starry sky fleet's battle formation was caught in the blast, and in an instant over ten thousand unmanned aerospace warships and aerospace fighters exploded into balls of flame, destroyed by the aftershock.

This is the power of a single strike from a Great Emperor!

No, that is not objective.

It should be said that Flame Stone Great Emperor held back, restraining the greater part of his power, because he wanted to take them alive — he felt puzzled, for in an environment like Jiao Jiao Mingyu, a quasi-Emperor of the human race should not have been able to be born; the possibility barely existed.

There were even some chilling guesses that seemed about to surface in his sea of consciousness, but strangely, they vanished for no apparent reason and never truly appeared.