Chapter 1653: The Primordial Covenant

Li Luo's gaze fixed on the yellowed ancient page that had appeared in Celestial King Jiang's palm, and his expression grew extremely solemn, because the instant that object appeared, he seemed to feel countless terrifying gazes piercing through layer upon layer of void, projecting from afar.

The ancient page looked to be nothing more than a thin sheet, yet it seemed to bear an infinite, majestic power, and beneath such power, even a Celestial King could not shake it.

"This is..."

"The legendary Primordial Covenant?!"

A storm surged in Li Luo's heart; he had already been the first to guess, for when those Celestial Kings' whispers had arisen earlier, he had faintly divined the answer.

The world of today, though it lacked a colossal entity like the Faceless Holy Sect that gathered the peak experts of an era, and lacked that invincible legendary sect master who could slay a Divine-Fruit Celestial King,

every age had its own methods, and the fact that the Ten Outer Shenzhou had endured, under the pressure brought by the aberrations of the Dark World, in the era after the Faceless Holy Sect, naturally had its own unique aspects.

For instance, this Primordial Covenant.

Formed by the Celestial Kings of the world swearing a blood oath together, it formed a deep-level resonance with the world of the Ten Outer Shenzhou; in a sense, this covenant was forged by the joint effort of the Celestial Kings and the world itself.

Celestial King Jiang held the yellowed ancient page aloft; even with the power of his Divine-Fruit Celestial King rank, bearing this object required his full strength. He slowly raised his palm, and the ancient page rose gently, drifting in midair.

The vast energies of heaven and earth at this moment transformed into a rolling torrent that roared forth, pouring wholly into it.

Then Celestial King Jiang looked toward Li Li Jingzhe and said with a smile, "Celestial King Li Jingzhe, this is the Primordial Covenant. Once any of our Ten Outer Shenzhou's Celestial Kings advances, if they possess the heart to protect this heaven and earth, they may imprint their own aspect affinity upon it, adding a measure of might to it."

"Moreover, to activate it this time, I need three imprinted Celestial Kings to act together to meet the conditions for activating the covenant. At present, only Zhang and I are here, so one Celestial King is still lacking."

"I wonder, Celestial King Li Jingzhe, would you be willing to imprint?"

Li Li Jingzhe stared at that ancient page. Naturally, he had long known of this Primordial Covenant, though previously he had only heard of it and never seen it with his own eyes; after all, throughout the entire Ten Outer Shenzhou, only those Celestial Kings whose heads were seen but whose tails never appeared were qualified to imprint upon it.

In the past, he had not yet been qualified.

"Protecting the Ten Outer Shenzhou is naturally protecting the children at home. If Celestial King Jiang does not find me unworthy, this old man shall certainly do his part." Li Li Jingzhe did not offer a single word of refusal.

The present situation, for the Ten Outer Shenzhou, had already reached an extremely perilous juncture; if the descent of those Great Demon Kings from the Dark World were not stopped, the Ten Outer Shenzhou would surely face a catastrophe of destruction.

Celestial King Zhang wore a smile and teased, "Celestial King Li Jingzhe is the youngest Celestial King in the world today; you really shouldn't be calling yourself 'this old man' anymore."

Hearing these words, Li Li Jingzhe only then realized that, before old-guard Celestial Kings like Celestial King Jiang and Celestial King Zhang, he was far younger in both age and seniority, so referring to himself as "this old man" before the two of them was indeed a little awkward.

He gave an awkward inward chuckle, then extended his palm. A drop of essence blood rose slowly; within that single drop of essence blood was condensed a vast power of rank and aspect, and faintly, one could seem to see a golden dragon coiling and roaring within, the Thunder Bamboo swaying and brandishing lightning across the sky, raging gale winds, and finally accompanied by a deluge of pouring rain.

That was Li Li Jingzhe's fourth aspect, the Rain Aspect.

That drop of essence blood, wrapped in four kinds of rank aspect affinity, fell toward that ancient page; at the instant of contact, it was instantly dyed into it, and faintly, it seemed to transform into Li Li Jingzhe's blurred figure, merging within.

Hum!

Upon the Primordial Covenant, ten thousand streams of radiance surged forth, like a sky full of star rivers, and upon each star river stood a blurred, towering figure.

Their gazes converged upon Li Li Jingzhe, and then they all cupped their fists in greeting with smiles.

Li Li Jingzhe, his face solemn, returned the courtesy. His gaze locked onto one particular figure among them—a youth-shaped phantom. He knew this was the ancestor Li Jun.

The skyful of radiance abruptly withdrew, finally gathering back into the covenant.

Celestial King Jiang held the Primordial Covenant aloft with both hands; the single ancient page now began to grow vast enough to blot out the sky, the shadow it cast even shrouding the entire Great Xia beneath it.

Like a colossal star suspended at the horizon.

Deep within the light-mark between Celestial King Jiang's brows, a verdant Divine Fruit pulsed slowly like a heart, and boundless, endless emerald vitality surged forth like a torrent. This vitality, behind Celestial King Jiang, condensed into a figure that stood tall enough to prop up the heavens.

That figure was unimaginably towering; upon that body, every crease of skin was inscribed with the most ancient Wood Aspect traces in the world, and from afar it seemed as if this were a primordial ancestral tree born at the dawn of heaven and earth.

Li Luo himself also possessed the Wood Aspect, but at this moment he could feel that the power of his own Wood Aspect was quietly vanishing, and the direction of its vanishing was toward that ancient body of Celestial King Jiang's.

It was not only him.

Li Luo saw countless streams of Wood Aspect power rise throughout heaven and earth, finally, like streams flowing into a river and sea, pouring wholly into that ancient verdant body.

As if that body were the source of all Wood Aspects.

"That is the 'Divine-Fruit Ancestral Body' that only a Divine-Fruit Celestial King can condense. It has the power to alter heaven and earth and pluck the stars, and at the same time it can transform oneself into the source of one's own aspect. Anywhere the eye can reach in the world, as long as it shares the same aspect affinity, it will actively converge toward it, providing it with strength." Li Li Jingzhe looked at the shocked Li Luo and explained to him.

"Hiss, how terrifying."

Li Luo drew in a sharp breath. He was now a seventh-rank Unparalleled Marquis, and his own Wood Aspect had reached the mid-ninth-rank tier, yet even so he could not curb the drain of his Wood Aspect power—and this was merely what Celestial King Jiang had inadvertently activated. It was hard to imagine that, if faced in an adversarial manner, in that instant Li Luo's Wood Aspect would essentially belong to the other party.

The fight hadn't even begun, and one of his own aspects already no longer belonged to him?

What a perverse ability.

The Divine-Fruit Celestial King—worthy of being the strongest realm in the world.

While Li Luo was still reeling, the "Divine-Fruit Ancestral Body" behind Celestial King Jiang had already lifted the massive ancient covenant skyward, finally reaching the edge of the firmament, at the fractured boundary wall.

Beyond the boundary wall, those terrifying peeping eyes also ceased at this moment; a hint of wariness had crept into their gazes.

"This is not a place you should come." The "Divine-Fruit Ancestral Body" of Celestial King Jiang uttered a majestic voice that set heaven and earth rumbling and the stars swaying.

The entire Eastern Region Shenzhou heard it clearly.

"Celestial King Jiang, the boundary wall has already been opened into a passage; you cannot prevent the arrival of this War of Unification!" From beyond the boundary wall, within the gloomy world, a low voice rang out at this moment.

In that instant, the beings of the Ten Outer Shenzhou all saw, at the edge of the firmament beyond the boundary wall, a black great sun slowly rising, and within the great sun a massive face emerged, like a demon god, gazing indifferently upon the Ten Outer Shenzhou.

"Eclipse-Sun Great Demon King!"

Celestial King Zhang, upon seeing that black great sun, revealed a look of wariness on his face, for this was a Divine-Fruit Great Demon King, a terrifying existence ranked extremely high among the Dark World.

It had once appeared deep within the Wang Hou Battlefield; at that time the Ten Outer Shenzhou had dispatched several Celestial Kings before they could barely repel it.

And behind that black great sun, one after another terrifying auras appeared, their eyes greedy as they stared at the countless beings of the Ten Outer Shenzhou.

Yet in the end, none of them dared step past the boundary wall at this moment, for the "Primordial Covenant" in Celestial King Jiang's hand had already been activated.

"Celestial King Jiang, do you wish to activate the 'Primordial Covenant'? This is nothing but a futile effort. Moreover, once the covenant's power is used, it will weaken, and by then, deep within the Wang Hou Battlefield, the Celestial Kings of your Ten Outer Shenzhou will likely have to bear a crushing burden." The Eclipse-Sun Great Demon King threatened in a dark, gloomy voice.

However, Celestial King Jiang paid no heed to its threat; after all, the Ten Outer Shenzhou was the great rear of every Celestial King, and if problems arose here, it would surely trigger chaos and dispute.

The Ten Outer Shenzhou of today was already in a precarious state, unable to withstand such internal disputes.

Therefore, today, no matter what, the Great Demon Kings of the Dark World could not be allowed to enter the Ten Outer Shenzhou and launch the War of Unification.

Thus, deep within the light-mark between Celestial King Jiang's brows, the Wood Aspect Divine Fruit erupted with vast vitality, and upon the "Primordial Covenant" being held aloft, one towering figure after another emerged, while the whispers of numerous Celestial Kings resounded through the world.

Celestial King Jiang's eyes flowed with divine light. He drew a deep breath, then, in concert with the whispers of the numerous Celestial Kings, uttered a grand edict that rang through the entire Ten Outer Shenzhou.

"By the Primordial Covenant, I decree."

"Within ten years, Outer Shenzhou shall have no Li Li Tianwang."