Chapter 631: The Prelude to the Opening of the Golden Age! The Panicked Qilin Ancient

Yet the life essence plundered from the myriad races of the universe was like water without a source, a tree without roots—though it could prolong the lives of the Supreme Beings, this practice was not only unsustainable but also inflicted subtle yet severe negative effects upon them.

This was why, upon sensing Luo Fu’s uniqueness, among the Seven Life Forbidden Zones, only the ruthless Emperor who cared nothing for immortality and spent all her thoughts waiting for her brother, was unmoved.

All other Supreme Beings were now fixedly watching Luo Fu.

The appearance of the Emperor Weapon had plunged Beidou into unparalleled panic.

After all, anyone with even a basic understanding of the Life Forbidden Zones would realize what it meant when they stirred.

Dark Chaos.

Even among the cultivators attacking Luo Fu, when some finally realized an Emperor Weapon had flown out from a Life Forbidden Zone, those who had been swept up in frenzy and intended to strike Luo Fu now felt overwhelming terror.

They longed to hide somewhere immediately, fleeing from the coming Dark Chaos.

Of course, those unaware of Dark Chaos, upon seeing the emergence of the Qilin Staff, instead showed delight, even expressions of united hostility.

Even Luo Fu had not expected a Supreme Being to intervene so quickly.

After revealing his Luotian Law, Luo Fu had already anticipated that once his existence was discovered by the Supreme Beings of the Life Forbidden Zones, he would inevitably have to deal with them.

He had prepared for this—but what he hadn’t expected was that these Supreme Beings would arrive so fast; after all, he hadn’t even acted against the cultivators surrounding him yet.

But he didn’t need to.

As an Emperor Weapon, the Qilin Staff’s power far exceeded the comprehension of contemporary Luotian Law cultivators.

In the Luotian universe, the Dao of heaven and earth itself ebbed and flowed like tides, cycling endlessly.

Every few ten thousand years, a Golden Age would emerge.

Strictly speaking, this Golden Age was not a law of the universe itself, but the effect brought by a Great Emperor’s ascension.

Whenever a Great Emperor achieved ascension, after his Heavenly Heart Seal shattered, heaven and earth would fall into a period of silence, during which the entire universe seemed unfit for cultivation—or rather, cultivation became countless times harder than during a Golden Age.

Each Great Emperor, upon achieving ascension, inflicted a violent shock upon the Dao of the universe; this shock spread like ripples, gradually fading as the Heavenly Heart Seal collapsed.

When all settled, it became the prelude to the next Golden Age’s opening.

But it was not absolute.

This cyclical tidal rhythm originated from the Great Emperor’s ascension; yet if no extraordinarily brilliant being emerged to complete ascension over an extended period, the entire universe would sink into prolonged silence.

The ancient Huanggu era had precisely been such a period, lasting tens of thousands of years without a single Great Emperor.

Fortunately, nine successive Great Saint Bodies arose, shouldering the burden of protecting the myriad races.

Though they earned immense renown for the ancient Saint Body lineage, this lineage was also cursed as a result.

Now, this era was merely the quiet period following the collapse of the Heavenly Heart Seal of the previous Great Emperor, Qing Emperor.

Throughout the universe, even Immortal Platform Level Four or Three were now rare, elite masters.

Of course, this did not include those sealed within divine sources, preserved since even older eras.

Beyond that, only a few deeply rooted clans and sects, or a handful of dying old monsters, remained.

This led the new generation of cultivators to know that Great Emperors were powerful, yet lacked any clear understanding of just how powerful they truly were.

Even facing the Qilin Staff flying from a Life Forbidden Zone, many cultivators made no move to dodge; instead, they stared dumbly, even waiting for the Qilin Staff to obliterate Luo Fu.

Unaware that once the Qilin Staff unleashed its power, whether Luo Fu died or not, they themselves would be the first wave of cannon fodder.

The truth proved exactly this: when the Qilin Staff flew forth, though Luo Fu was its primary target, even the residual shockwave shattered countless cultivators who had been attacking him.

After the shockwave pulverized countless cultivators, reducing them to dust, just as the Qilin Staff’s Emperor Divine Radiance collided with Luo Fu’s Divine Tree Divine Light—

An utterly bizarre phenomenon occurred.

The Emperor’s Divine Radiance and the Divine Tree’s Divine Light resembled two decorative objects colliding and shattering endlessly.

Because everything happened too inexplicably and without concealment, countless witnesses saw it.

Between the Emperor’s Divine Radiance and the Divine Tree’s Divine Light, there was total incompatibility—like matter and antimatter colliding, they annihilated each other.

The scene now appeared as if the Qilin Staff and the Divine Tree were competing to see which could endure longer.

Luo Fu, at the epicenter, had immediately thought of activating his Divine Wei World to flee into another dimension and escape far away the moment the Qilin Staff flew toward him.

Yet, an inexplicable intuition stirred within him, giving rise to a strange impulse.

His heart was flooded with an intense premonition: the revived Qilin Staff posed no threat to him.

This premonition came so inexplicably that, had he not known he was not being manipulated and that everything arose from his own will, he would have suspected he’d been secretly targeted.

Precisely because of this inexplicable inner confidence, Luo Fu did not choose to flee. Still, he did not abandon the idea of escape.

After all, the one striking him now was a Supreme Being from a Life Forbidden Zone.

Even if a self-decapitated Supreme Being, under ultimate transcendence, he became a flawless Great Emperor.

He was comparable to an alternative path to ascension—even a Peerless Emperor would be firmly overshadowed by such a Supreme Being.

Facing such a master’s targeted strike, retreating now was not shameful.

As long as the green hills remain, firewood will never be lacking.

Yet the Divine Tree’s Divine Light brought Luo Fu a surprise so great it stunned even its originator.

Others might not perceive it, but Luo Fu clearly saw: the Divine Tree’s light was suppressing even the Emperor Weapon’s Divine Radiance.

At first glance, the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree and the Qilin Staff seemed evenly matched.

Due to the Qilin Staff’s intense Divine Radiance and its inherent power, some even mistakenly believed the Qilin Staff held the upper hand.

But as the one directly involved, Luo Fu clearly felt: his Nine Heavens Treasure Tree, which wasn’t even a half-finished artifact, barely stronger than a Sea of Qi-crafted weapon, was truly suppressing the Qilin Staff.

Of course, this did not mean Luo Fu’s Nine Heavens Treasure Tree equaled an Emperor Weapon.

Rather, in the struggle of Dao and Law, the Qilin Staff was utterly defeated; the reason it appeared evenly matched was because the Qilin Staff’s master was the self-decapitated Supreme Being, Qilin Ancient Emperor, while the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree was wielded by Luo Fu, a Luotian Law cultivator whose strength barely matched Immortal Platform level.

Thanks to his master’s backing, even if the Qilin Staff was suppressed in Dao and Law, it could not easily collapse—and under Qilin Ancient Emperor’s support, it might even seize control of the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree.

The Nine Heavens Treasure Tree suppressed the Qilin Staff in Dao and Principle—because Qilin Ancient Emperor’s Dao was suppressed before Luo Fu’s Dao.

Luo Fu’s cultivation base was indeed weak; his path of Luotian Law now reached no higher than Immortal Platform level.

But this was due to his cultivation level, not flaws in his Dao.

Remember, Luo Fu possessed the Dao and Principle of twelve celestial worlds simultaneously.

A Red Dust Immortal achieved ascension nine times; Luo Fu was effectively ascended twelve times.

He had completely broken all standards, surpassing the conditions to become a Red Dust Immortal.

The Nine Heavens Treasure Tree had indeed brought Luo Fu a tremendous surprise.

Yet simultaneously, upon witnessing the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree’s Divine Light completely suppressing the Dao of the Qilin Staff, the many Life Forbidden Zones could no longer remain passive.

Countless Supreme Beings could no longer sit still.

In their understanding, only a celestial artifact surpassing an Emperor Weapon could achieve such a feat.

Unaware that the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree was merely powerful in Dao and Principle, yet in substance, it wasn’t even a legitimate magic treasure—barely on par with a Sea of Qi-crafted weapon.

Though the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree had resisted the fully revived Emperor Weapon, this indeed brought Luo Fu a great surprise.

But Luo Fu would not be ungrateful or delusional enough to believe he could now stand against a Supreme Being.

No matter how self-decapitated, how much their Heavenly Heart Seals were severed, the Supreme Beings of the Life Forbidden Zones remained, without doubt, second only to perfect Great Emperors.

They were beyond Luo Fu’s reach; the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree was merely an unexpected boon.

Feeling the Qilin Staff’s Dao and Law now held a safe distance from him under the Nine Heavens Divine Tree’s suppression—

Luo Fu’s heart stirred with an inexplicable sense of impending crisis.

In that instant, without hesitation, he activated his Divine Wei World; as space rippled violently, his figure vanished from the spot.

Without Luo Fu as its master, the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree’s Divine Light instantly dimmed, swiftly dissolving under the Qilin Staff’s force.

Boom.

The Qilin Staff, now unimpeded, slammed violently into the earth, obliterating a once-lush landscape into a crater several kilometers wide, like a meteor impact.

The countless Luotian Law cultivators crushed by the residual shockwave were not mentioned by anyone—they were as if entirely forgotten.

The Qilin Staff struck empty air; Qilin Ancient Emperor froze in shock.

“Damn it.”

Watching from afar, Wan Longhuang nearly leapt out of his hiding place in desperation.

Do not assume the Supreme Beings of the Life Forbidden Zones were all casually lurking outdoors.

Quite the opposite: these Supreme Beings were nearly like amber, encased in solidified life essence so dense it could not even be sealed by divine sources—otherwise, they would have sealed themselves in divine sources now.

Once they broke free from this dense life essence, they would inevitably have to devour the life essence of myriad races to prolong their own lives.

“Qilin Ancient Emperor, what did Itachi do?!” Wan Longhuang roared in fury.

Indeed, Luo Fu’s appearance had given these Supreme Beings a genuine hope of immortality.

Yet after Qilin Ancient Emperor’s Emperor Weapon, the Qilin Staff, launched its attack, Luo Fu vanished into thin air.

This was not because the Supreme Beings could not sense spatial fluctuations; rather, because an Emperor Weapon was the concentrated Dao of a Great Emperor, and the collision between the Qilin Staff’s Divine Radiance and the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree’s Divine Light was a clash of Dao and Principle.

Under such conditions, space itself had been disrupted.

Moreover, the Nine Heavens Treasure Tree now embodied the Dao and Principle of twelve celestial worlds; under such circumstances, unless one was within the enveloping Divine Light or Divine Radiance like Luo Fu, spatial fluctuations were utterly undetectable before such a magnificent collision.

Even Qilin Ancient Emperor himself was bewildered.

This being, seemingly an immortal, whose artifact with twelve branches radiated Dao and power that had already put his own Emperor Weapon at a disadvantage—why did this seemingly immortal appear weak, even… almost illusory in power?

Before Qilin Ancient Emperor could make sense of it, his Qilin Staff had lost its target, striking the ground uselessly, altering only the terrain without achieving anything.

Coming to his senses, Qilin Ancient Emperor’s heart tightened sharply.

Though he still harbored doubts about Luo Fu, at this moment, Qilin Ancient Emperor would never voice them; instead, he must firmly insist Luo Fu was an immortal.

Otherwise, he himself might be the one to suffer.

Remember, these Life Forbidden Zone Supreme Beings—some seeking survival, others immortality—had already performed self-decapitation, and in past Dark Chaos events, devoured countless life essences of myriad races.

If these creatures began to doubt him, Qilin Ancient Emperor was certain he would be the next to suffer.

“He is an immortal.” Qilin Ancient Emperor declared firmly.

At this moment, in the heart of the Ancient Emperor Kirin, Luo Fu might not be an immortal, but he certainly had to be one—otherwise, who knew whether these deranged Supreme Beings might turn their attention toward him.

Especially since Luo Fu’s disappearance was something even the Ancient Emperor Kirin himself could not fathom.

(End of Chapter)