Chapter 165: The Stone Emperor of Dog Luck?

Darkness.

Boundless and infinite, an absolute darkness capable of freezing souls into shards.

This is the void turbulence beyond the Boundary Wall, a place of exile even True Immortals hesitate to enter.

There is no concept of time, no spatial coordinates—only a violent spacetime storm like a meat grinder, relentlessly tearing apart any foreign matter.

A pitch-black stream of light, like a wounded winged fly struggling in a storm, stumbled and staggered through the turbulence.

That was the Stone Emperor.

The lord of Mount of Immortality, an ancient supreme who once made the entire Burial Emperor Star Region tremble at his name.

Now he was a sight too horrible to behold.

His once-majestic Imperial Dao Emperor Body was reduced to half, the left side mangled as if chewed by some beast, flesh blurred, revealing stark white bone.

This was the result of being grazed by a flick of finger wind casually unleashed by that Gu Family Old Ancestor while he fled.

Merely a graze nearly destroyed both his body and spirit.

As for his natal imperial weapon, the Heavenly Wasteland Halberd—a fierce arm that had accompanied him in battles across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, drinking the blood of countless holy spirits.

It had long since snapped into three pieces, lost all spirituality, now dimly hovering in his qi sea, emitting mournful wails like sobs and complaints.

"Gu Cangsheng…… Gu Yuan……"

The Stone Emperor gritted his teeth, the lone eye left burning with vengeful ghostfire.

He dared not roar loudly, fearing to draw the unknown horrors lurking in the depths of the void, so he could only emit a beast-like growl from his throat.

"You destroyed my dojo, exterminated my fellow Daoists, and even forced this emperor to burn his origin and flee like a stray dog……"

"If I do not avenge this grudge, I, the Stone Emperor, swear not to be human!"

But he knew deep down that this oath was hollow and laughable.

That old monster is too strong.

Strong enough to induce despair, strong enough that he couldn't even muster the courage to face him.

That was a crushing of life's levels, like a dragon looking down on ants.

He had survived in the Burial Emperor Star Region for millions of years, performed the Self-Severing Blade, sparked the Dark Turmoil, devoured billions of beings, and thought he had reached the pinnacle of cultivation.

But before that old man, he realized he was nothing more than a frog-in-a-well joke.

"Could it be…… that this emperor is destined to fall here?"

The Stone Emperor felt the vitality within him waning ever more, despair surging like a tide.

He had drifted in the void for an unknown span—perhaps an instant, perhaps ten thousand years.

His origin was drained, his soul and spirit exhausted; were it not for that stubborn will to live, he would have long since become a speck of dust in this void.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, sinking completely into eternal darkness—

—ahead, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared.

It was not the destructive light of the void storm, but a soft, warm glow carrying a familiar aura that made his very soul tremble.

It was…… vitality!

It was…… law!

And it was the aura of a law more complete, vaster, and higher than that of the Burial Emperor Star Region!

"This…… this is……"

The Stone Emperor's heart, which had long stopped beating, clenched suddenly.

He expended his last shred of strength, burning the remaining drop of Imperial Dao Essence Blood into a black arc, hurtling toward that light without hesitation.

Closer.

Even closer.

Behind that light lay a thick world barrier.

But this barrier seemed to have just endured some great battle, its surface covered in fine cracks through which spiritual energy incessantly seeped.

The Stone Emperor hesitated not at all; even as his body was lacerated by spatial laws while piercing the barrier's cracks, he dove in like a madman.

Boom——

Like a meteorite plunging into the deep sea.

The Stone Emperor slammed hard onto a vast expanse of earth, blasting out a bottomless pit.

Dust flew, shattered stone pierced the air.

Intense pain struck, yet he laughed.

He laughed maniacally, recklessly, tears streaming down his face.

"Hah…… hahaha…… cough cough……"

He greedily drew in great breaths.

The air no longer reeked of the decaying, degenerate, suffocating Dharma-ending aura of the Burial Emperor Star Region.

Instead, it was fresh and rich; each breath felt like swallowing the energy of a minor medicine king.

It was immortal substance!

It was a longevity factor!

Here the longevity substance was so concentrated that even a wayside weed held more vitality than a thousand-year spirit herb from the Burial Emperor Star Region!

"Heaven will not let me die! Heaven will not let me die!"

The Stone Emperor struggled to crawl from the pit's bottom, ignoring his wounds, lying on the ground like a starving refugee, frantically devouring the surrounding heaven-and-earth essence.

As this energy entered his body, his withered flesh began to swell at a visible pace.

Broken bones reassembled, rotting flesh sloughed off, and newly formed skin emitted a crystalline glow.

Most importantly, his originally incomplete Imperial Dao Law, which had relied on the Self-Severing Blade to sustain, began to auto-complete under the nourishment of this perfect world.

The lifespan shackle that had constantly troubled him, forcing him to become the forbidden zone's supreme overlord, has been broken!

Here, the Great Emperor is no longer a short-lived ghost limited to just one or two ten thousand years of life.

Here, as long as he doesn't court death, he can even live for millions, even tens of millions of years!

Is this the realm of immortals?

The Stone Emperor rose to his feet, feeling the power surging within his body, feeling a completeness and strength he had never known before.

He clenched his fists and let out a long howl toward the heavens.

The howl rolled like thunder, shattering the clouds within a radius of ten thousand li; countless birds and beasts fell to the ground, trembling in fear.

I feel it…… that is the threshold of a true immortal!

The Stone Emperor closed his eyes, intoxicated as he sensed it.

In the Burial Emperor Star Domain, becoming an immortal is a distant dream, a burial ground for countless heroes.

But here, that threshold is within reach!

Just give him time—give him a thousand years… no, five hundred years!

Relying on the combat experience he forged in the Age of Dharma Decline and on his Dao heart as firm as a rock, he has absolute confidence in proving the Dao and becoming a true immortal!

Gu Cangsheng… Gu Yuan…

The Stone Emperor opened his eyes; his single eye flashed with a ruthless yet confident light.

You didn't expect that, did you? I didn't die—I turned misfortune into blessing and arrived in the true immortal realm!

When I attain true immortality and reforge the Imperial Armaments, I will surely return to that shattered universe, cut you grandfather and grandson into ten thousand pieces, extract your souls and refine your spirits, to avenge the destruction of my dojo!

He looked around; this was a vast, boundless ancient mountain range.

Each peak towered ten thousand zhang high, piercing the clouds; ancient trees filled the mountains, old vines coiled like dragons, spirit birds flitted about, auspicious beasts roamed.

In the distance, faintly visible were floating immortal isles suspended in the clouds, emanating powerful fluctuations that made the heart race.

This is my hunting ground.

The Stone Emperor licked his lips, revealing the same savage grin he wore on Immortal Mountain, regarding all living beings as blood food.

Since we're here, let's first find a few natives to nourish ourselves. My origin is severely depleted—perfect for using the living beings of this world as offerings to my banner!

He took a step forward, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared before a giant tiger drinking at a mountain stream.

This giant tiger was a hundred zhang long, with twin wings on its back, its whole body exuding an aura comparable to that of a Great Sage; if it were in the Burial Emperor Star Domain, it would also be a demon king of a region.

But in the Stone Emperor's eyes, it was merely a walking slab of prime meat.

Roar!

The giant tiger sensed danger, let out a roar, and spat out a blade of Metal Sword Qi from its mouth.

Insect.

The Stone Emperor snorted contemptuously, too lazy to even use his divine powers; he simply stretched out a hand, ignored the sword qi, and pressed it firmly onto the tiger's head.

Pfft.

The giant tiger didn't even get to utter a wail before being sucked dry into a desiccated corpse.

Vast streams of essence and qi poured into his body, and the Stone Emperor let out a comfortable moan.

Even inside this trash lies an immortal substance as rich as that of a sage.

He casually tossed aside the desiccated corpse, his gaze turning to the farther horizon where sects and cities emanated even stronger auras.

There ought to be even more delicious blood food.

The Stone Emperor's confidence was through the roof right now.

He felt he was the heaven's chosen one.

Having escaped from a deadly desperate situation, he arrived at this holy land of cultivation.

What does this show?

It shows that Stone Emperor's fate was not to die! It shows that he is the true protagonist!

That old man of the Gu Family is nothing more than a whetstone on his path to immortality!

Gu Family… heh, wait for me, Stone Emperor.

The Stone Emperor flew toward the densely populated areas, muttering under his breath, as if trying to vent all the fear he had accumulated along the way.

When I attain true immortality, I will make you know what it means: Don't bully the young… oh no, don't bully the poor old!

He enjoyed his scolding.

He was completely absorbed in his scolding.

He was completely unaware that, deep within the cloud layers above the nine heavens, right above his head…

There lay a pair of eyes, cold to the extreme, gazing silently from billions of li away across the void at this toad that had just leapt out of the well, blissfully unaware, croaking wildly.