Chapter 201: The Original Gate, Parting

For a moment, the aura radiating from the opposite side was terrifyingly immense, leaving the crowd of powerhouses from the Upper Realm in utter shock.

There, Liu Shen's white robes fluttered, like an immortal who would never perish!

"Boom!"

Liu Shen stood motionless, yet erupted with a blazing, immortal-gold-like radiance; in an instant, one hundred and eight branches shot out from its body.

Every single branch, along with its leaves, was golden, brilliant, sacred, and dazzling.

Beside it, the Vajra Pestle was equally radiant, its gilded, boundless immortal light appearing like an endless galaxy, floating and shimmering there in stunning fashion.

On the other side, the Small Tower shone with ten thousand rays of light; from around its tower body, millions of ancient giant fiends emerged, roaring and howling, their boundless momentum shaking the soul.

"Everyone! For the sake of the innocent lives in this realm no longer suffering, I ask you to retreat back to the Upper Realm!"

Liu Shen was calm, but the words were quite overbearing, causing the Upper Realm giants to change color, their expressions shifting uncertainly.

"You are strong, but you cannot withstand our numbers!"

That powerhouse riding the old ox surged with boundless aura, the immortal sword in his hand erupting with sky-piercing cold light.

In this fleeting moment, the other Upper Realm powerhouses also made their choice: to continue the battle! "Fine! Since you wish to fight! Then I shall grant your wish!" Liu Shen spoke lightly, its voice lingering and cleansing to the soul.

"Heh...? Numbers? What a joke! If it weren't for the fact that cultivation is not easy and you might be able to contribute a little to this realm in the future, would you even have the chance to speak?"

The Vajra Pestle hummed and trembled in the void, let out two loud laughs, and then said coldly: "When we were slaughtering the enemy invaders from Yiyu in the ancient years, you lot hadn't even been born yet. How dare you ants spout such nonsense in front of Lord Ancestral Sacrificial Spirit? Fine! Since you seek death, I don't mind trampling a few ants to death."

Hearing this, the crowd of Upper Realm powerhouses frowned one after another. What? The three of them are powerhouses who survived from the ancient era? After the Vajra Pestle finished speaking, it went straight for the kill, its voice cold and sharp: "Then let's start with you, big guy! Being born so large, you are truly a bit of an eyesore."

"Swoosh...!"

Dazzling immortal light erupted, like thousands of brilliant stars flying forth, directly shrouding the black-gold dragon crocodile whose infinitely massive body was hidden within the chaos.

"Ah... what? How can this light be so heavy... Could this be the immortal energy that legend says only the long-lived possess!"

The proud, head-held-high black-gold dragon crocodile felt its body bear a massive force, collapsing in an instant, prostrating in the void and screaming in shock.

"Crack...!"

Shrouded by the immortal light, the bones within the black-gold dragon crocodile began to snap with a crackling sound, piercing through flesh and skin to be exposed.

Almost instantly, that blood, accompanied by absolute divinity, flowed like rivers from heaven, threatening to spill onto the earth, a sight that made one's heart palpitate.

"How is this possible!" The Immortal Venerable, the ox-riding powerhouse, and the great beings of the Divine Flame Sect were all shocked to the extreme.

This black-gold dragon crocodile was famous in the Upper Realm for its astonishing physique; it possessed the powerful bloodlines of both a black dragon and a golden crocodile, its physical strength comparable to the Ten Fiends, yet at this moment, it was suppressed to this state by merely a wisp of light.

For a time, these Upper Realm powerhouses began to re-evaluate the strength of Liu Shen, the Vajra Pestle, and the Small Tower; had they truly been holding back before?! "What divine blood; if it spills onto the earth, it will surely cause a catastrophe for humanity. Let me accept it with pleasure!"

Watching the divine blood that looked like ten thousand heavenly rivers about to descend upon the mortal earth, the Small Tower laughed loudly a few times, and then, from beneath its tower body, vast radiance surged. As if it had opened a great mouth, all that divine blood about to fall was drawn in and absorbed by it.

"This scene, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, is so shocking!" At the peak of the Stone Kingdom Imperial Palace below, Mengchen, Shi Hao, Xiaohuang, Qingyi, Heizi, Xiyao, and others were incomparably shocked, their faces filled with astonishment.

In just a moment, the immensely massive black-gold dragon crocodile was reduced to skin and bones, all its life essence swallowed by the Small Tower, until finally, its vitality dissipated.

"Swoosh..."

Following that, the primordial spirit of the black-gold dragon crocodile, wrapped in chaos, flew out from the lifeless, skin-and-bone body, attempting to flee to the Upper Realm.

"Didn't you want to seize my tower body earlier? Can't do it now, can you! Receive!"

The Small Tower ascended into the void in an instant, its body shining with ten thousand rays of light, shrouding the primordial spirit of the black-gold dragon crocodile wrapped in chaos, and then the power of devouring started again, swallowing it along with its bloodless body into the tower.

This...! At this moment, the Immortal Venerable and other Upper Realm powerhouses were all palpitating with fear, all horrified!

A powerhouse who had been famous in the Upper Realm for a long time had been swallowed by them without any ability to resist, not even a bone or a scrap of fur left behind.

"Everyone! Please follow me into this gate to fight!"

In this instant, Liu Shen moved; as her arm lifted slightly, a touch of boundless light bloomed, and she sacrificed a portal.

"The Original Gate!" the Upper Realm giants exclaimed in unison.

The appearance of this portal brought some past legends to their minds, making their eyelids twitch, deeply shocked.

"This gate involves too much; legend says that those who enter never return."

"The Original Gate is rumored to be the Gate of Death; one must never enter."

After the Original Gate was sacrificed by Liu Shen, it hung in the void, spewing endless chaos, accompanied by immortal light, becoming increasingly hazy.

From within it came faint, indistinct chanting, ancient and mysterious, distant and blurred.

The appearance of this portal caused the scene to fall into silence; the Upper Realm giants' eyes opened and closed, deep as abysses, all wearing expressions of shock.

"The opportunity has already been given to you. Since you are unwilling to leave, then follow me into this gate together," Liu Shen said.

As she finished speaking, she flicked her sleeves, and the three thousand willow branches behind her radiated golden brilliance, shooting out in unison, pointing directly at those Upper Realm giants.

"Not good! Everyone, attack together! We must not be dragged into this gate by her," someone shouted loudly in shock.

The earlier appearance of the Vajra Pestle had already made them feel boundless pressure, and just as they were harboring thoughts of retreat, seeing the Original Gate being sacrificed made them even more panicked.

What worried them most was Liu Shen's sudden attack.

From the Vajra Pestle's way of addressing Liu Shen earlier, it was not hard to know that this was definitely a more terrifying, unfathomable ancient supreme being, perhaps even a legendary long-lived one.

Facing such a powerhouse, how could they still compete?! But there was no doubt they knew that saying anything now was too late; she had already attacked, there was no room for turning back, and they could only fight with all their might to survive the crossing.

"Fourth Killing Array! Rise!"

In an instant, chaotic energy surged, and this place became blurred, turning into a terrifying killing field.

Once this Fourth Killing Array fully erupted, it was unimaginable.

"They actually set up a killing array in advance?"

Mengchen, Shi Hao, and the others below exclaimed, their faces revealing a trace of worry. Had Liu Shen, the Vajra Pestle, and the Small Tower not discovered it beforehand?! However, just then, the void split again, and leaf after leaf emerged, transforming into array flags that fluttered and danced, bright green and radiating precious light.

"There is actually a second killing array!"

Another killing array was sacrificed, shrouding Liu Shen, the Vajra Pestle, and the Small Tower within.

"This killing array was so stunning in the ancient years, having slain countless immortal alien races; in your hands, it is truly buried! So what if I give you a chance? Even if I grant your wish, being inside the array, what can you do to us!"

The Vajra Pestle's voice was like the Great Dao Divine Sound, thick and resonant, spreading throughout this heaven and earth. This sound was specifically directed at the Upper Realm giants, the voice like thunder from the Nine Heavens, deafening every single Upper Realm giant.

"Break for me!"

The Vajra Pestle gave a light hum, and with a "Swoosh!", the immortal radiance became incomparably intense, expanding and shattering the two killing arrays.

"Swoosh...!"

In that very instant, the branches shot out by Liu Shen, like chains of gilded god-metal, arrived carrying holy light, binding the Immortal Supreme and the other giants and powerhouses from the Upper Realm, making it difficult for them to break free.

"You... should be on your way."

With a wave of Liu Shen's hand, the divine chains formed by those branches manifested runes, becoming even more powerful, and then, carrying them, threw them all at once into that hazy Original Gate, where they vanished in an instant.

A moment later, silently and soundlessly, wisps of blood flowed out from within that gate.

It made one's heart inevitably turn cold, for the aura of this blood was very familiar; it was entirely the heart-blood of those Upper Realm giants who had just been thrown in.

"To be thrown in for only a moment and have this flow out, it truly is a Gate of Death." From the depths of the endless horizon, where chaos swirled, a voice of terror issued forth.

Then, in the span of a moment, two or three streaks of light flew out from the Original Gate and escaped into the Upper Realm.

"It seems these Upper Realm giants did not all descend with their true bodies." Small Tower looked at the escaping streaks of light and said indifferently.

Some of the Upper Realm giants previously thrown in by Liu Shen had descended with their true bodies, while others were merely avatars.

Those who had descended with their true bodies were, without a doubt, now completely dead and their Dao dissipated, while the others who died were merely avatars; their true bodies remained in the Upper Realm and had not fallen!

"You have watched long enough; follow me inside as well!" Liu Shen cast his gaze toward the chaos in the sky.

Immediately, the branches glowed and charged into the chaos; in the blink of an eye, one giant after another hiding in the chaos was bound and dragged out, finally being thrown into the Original Gate.

At this moment, Liu Shen had plucked out many giants from that chaos, no fewer than a hundred; they had intended to hide in the shadows and watch the tigers fight from the mountain, but they had not expected that the great fire had now reached them.

The divine chains formed by the brilliant branches flickered continuously in the chaos of the horizon, their divine might unstoppable.

"Go!" someone in the chaos roared in shock.

In an instant, the chaos was filled with demons dancing wildly, as countless giants scrambled to return to the Upper Realm.

Very quickly, a giant who could not run fast enough was bound and dragged out by the divine chains.

This giant was familiar to Mengchen and the others; it was the Dharma Image Golden Body, the leader of the Western Sect of the Upper Realm! He had also been hiding in the chaos, and now he was plucked out by Liu Shen.

The leader of the Western Sect struggled desperately, but it was impossible to break free.

"I was merely observing, seeking a chance for enlightenment; I hope you will show mercy!" Under the circumstances, the leader of the Western Sect begged for mercy.

Immediately after, the leader of the Western Sect glanced at Mengchen in the Imperial Palace below and shouted loudly: "Young friend Mengchen! Please, for the sake of our shared sect, intercede for me!"

Mengchen frowned upon hearing this; the leader of the Western Sect had indeed not made a move earlier, and furthermore, he could now be said to be on the same front as Liu Shen. If the people of the Western Sect in the Upper Realm found out about this, Lao Tuzi's situation would inevitably become dire.

Now that Liu Shen, Gangzi, and Small Tower were about to leave, and Huofeng Zhizun did not know when she would return, for the sake of Lao Tuzi, and for himself, it was indeed time to forge a good connection.

Thus, Mengchen bowed and shouted loudly toward Liu Shen: "Liu Shen! I hope you will show mercy!"

Liu Shen looked over upon hearing this, was silent for a moment, then looked back at the leader of the Western Sect and said: "Very well! I will let you return; I advise you not to commit evil deeds in the future and reap evil fruits!"

As the words fell, Liu Shen waved his hand, undoing his restraints.

The leader of the Western Sect, having escaped danger, bowed and said: "I will strictly follow your teachings, my lord!"

Afterward, he looked toward Mengchen below and said: "Many thanks to you, young friend, for interceding on my behalf! Another day, when you ascend to the Upper Realm, I will certainly reward this kindness handsomely."

Mengchen smiled and said respectfully: "You are too kind, Sect Leader! In the future, I hope you will take care of Jinchanzi at the Lower Realm Dao site; this junior would be deeply grateful."

"Very well! I have noted your request, young friend. I will certainly treat Jinchanzi as an honored guest!" As the words fell, the leader of the Western Sect stepped back and departed, then transformed into a golden light and flew into the Upper Realm.

At this moment, the giants of the Upper Realm had all departed.

"We... should go as well!"

Liu Shen spoke, looking at the Vajra Pestle, then looking at Small Tower.

"Agreed!" the two responded in unison.

Immediately, the Vajra Pestle looked at Mengchen and the others and said from afar: "Mengchen, I will send you all into the Upper Realm now!"

"Mm!" Mengchen nodded heavily; the moment of parting had finally arrived.

Afterward, Mengchen looked at Shi Hao to the side and said: "Brother Shi Hao, will you be coming with us?"

"You go first; I still have matters I cannot leave behind. We shall meet again in the Upper Realm another day!" Shi Hao said.

"Very well! Take care, Brother Shi Hao!" As the words fell, he looked toward Heizi, Xiyao, Xiaohuang, and Qingyi: "We are going to the Upper Realm."

"Mm!" Heizi, Xiyao, and Xiaohuang all nodded.

Qingyi, to the side, glanced at Mengchen; although she did not respond, it was clear to see that she also very much wanted to go to the Upper Realm, as the Upper Realm was, after all, more suitable for cultivation.

"Swoosh..."

The Vajra Pestle made a move, and a brilliant, dazzling pillar of light descended from the horizon, enveloping the five of them: Mengchen, Qingyi, Xiaohuang, Xiyao, and Heizi.

Within the dazzling pillar of light, the bodies of the five of them slowly rose into the sky...

(End of chapter)