Chapter 273

On the Nine-Layer Altar.

Countless Human Dao radiance gathered around him, the shadows of many sovereigns encircling the Human Emperor's body, his expression indifferent, he stood proudly between heaven and earth.

He held a pale gold longsword in his hand, reciting the memorial text with a solemn and reverent tone.

As his voice continually rang out, the Nine-Layer Altar beneath him lit up layer by layer, as if it had gained its own spirituality.

The shadows of the land, mountain gods, and other divine spirits on the lowest layer appeared vividly, rays of light shining in all directions, as if connected to the entire True Realm's earth, causing the authority of regulations to begin coalescing for every mountain and every inch of land, forming various divine positions unique to the Human Dao Dynasty.

Rumble.

The entire True Realm began to tremble continuously, strands of unique qi converging from all parts of the True Realm onto the Nine-Layer Altar, forming a vivid map of mountains and rivers, like a microcosm of the entire True Realm.

At the same time, the Myriad Worlds seemed to be interconnected, around this map of mountains and rivers formed smaller maps of mountains and rivers, representing the Myriad Worlds governed by the dynasty.

Within the True Realm, including the entire Myriad Worlds, specks of Human Dao radiance gathered, surrounding the Human Emperor's sides, causing his internal Human Dao aura to become ever more vast and unfathomable, making the Myriad Worlds' Grand Achievement-level Divine Adepts uncontrollably feel a tremor in their hearts and spirits.

"Alas."

"If it weren't for the Human Emperor's overly grand ambition, perhaps we could indeed initially achieve Human Dao Unifying Heaven."

This thought arose in their minds, and the Great Divine Adepts turned their gaze to the Nine-Layer Altar, mainly looking at the five smaller altars around it representing the authority of the Five Directions Five Emperors.

Light on the Nine-Layer Altar lit up layer by layer, and the silhouettes of divine spirits appeared, soon illuminating the Star Officials and Star Lords, the Great Sages of the Myriad Heavens, and other high divine positions.

In an instant, stars appeared in broad daylight; huge ancient stars emerged in the heavens, shooting down starlight that entered the corresponding positions of the Nine-Layer Altar, causing its qi to become ever more vast, as if connecting to the Stellar Expanse of the Myriad Heavens.

Within the Myriad Worlds, the Great Divine Adepts gazed at this scene for no apparent reason, yet none intervened; they all waited for the crucial moment.

After an unknown amount of time, the light finally reached the level of the Five Directions Five Emperors.

The five altars surrounding the Nine-Layer Altar, symbolizing the Five Directions Five Emperors in red, azure, yellow, white, and black, also lit up with various colors, bringing celestial changes to the five directions—east, south, west, north, and center—above the heavens.

Seeing this, everyone in the Myriad Worlds revealed a look of anticipation, as if watching a good show.

They seemed to see one of the Five Directions Five Emperors, or several joining forces, striking down the Human Emperor to the dust.

Hum.

At the moment the altars symbolizing the Five Directions Five Emperors lit up, the gaze of the five towering emperors above the heavens also changed.

As the celestial phenomena shifted, brilliant radiant light burst from within the bodies of those five emperors, manifesting the authority of the Heavenly Dao, causing the entire heavens to tremble violently.

In the next moment, amidst the dazed gazes of all the Great Divine Adepts, brilliant divine light did not fall upon the Human Emperor, but instead landed directly upon the five altars symbolizing the Five Directions Five Emperors, fully illuminating the engraved figures of the emperors upon them.

In a blur, the five altars of red, azure, yellow, white, and black seemed to show the figures of five emperors, who simultaneously bowed to the Human Emperor upon the Nine-Layer Altar.

Boom.

At the infinitely high place of the Near Dao, a tremendous roar sounded, as if celestial bells and drums rang, and the Myriad Worlds displayed various heavenly and earthly portents, as if heaven and earth celebrated together.

Layer upon layer of misty heavens and earth appeared upon the Nine-Layer Altar, as if nine different realms of heaven and earth, carrying a lofty and elusive qi surpassing the Myriad Worlds; in the uppermost layer stood a vast ancient tree indescribable in words, as if supporting the entire Myriad Worlds.

"This is."

"Ninefold Heavenly Realm."

"This Human Emperor has truly accomplished the plan to unify heaven with Human Dao!"

The Myriad Worlds seemed to fall silent, the Great Divine Adepts wore expressions of disbelief, feeling as if they had fallen into an illusion.

Everyone understood that, having reached this point, as long as no external force interfered, the Human Emperor's completion of the plan to unify heaven with Human Dao was practically a certainty.

"How is that possible?"

"Among the Five Directions Five Emperors, there are four true Other Shore Heavenly Wills!"

"How could these Other Shore Heavenly Wills allow a Human Emperor who has not yet ascended to the Other Shore to command their authority and stand above them?"

"Even the Azure Emperor, who exists thanks to the grace of achieving the Dao and thus supports the present Human Emperor as an Other Shore being, should not do this!"

"Moreover, Time Heavenly Emperor, you once suppressed an age as the Ancient Heavenly Emperor—how could you bow so low? Where is your pride?"

At this moment, the Great Divine Adepts of the Myriad Worlds all felt their worldviews refreshed.

"In this world where the Heavenly Will has always been a lofty and difficult question, the Human Emperor, who has not yet ascended to the Other Shore, actually completed the plan to dominate the Five Directions Five Emperors, utterly surpassing them!"

Not only many Great Divine Adepts, but also beings like Amitabha Buddha and the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi, who are Other Shore beings unaware of the specifics, now feel some suspicion.

Within the Bodhi Pure Land.

The Azure-Gold Buddha, who has just perfected his own Great Dao, has his eyes flickering, and the light of wisdom continually flows around his body.

"The Time Heavenly Emperor has actually bound himself completely to this Human Emperor, supporting him at any cost, even relinquishing Heavenly Emperor authority!"

"What on earth has happened to cause the Time Heavenly Emperor's attitude to change so dramatically?"

Even the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi, this ancient being, now feels that the situation has completely surpassed his expectations.

Given His understanding of the Time Heavenly Emperor, having experienced the Thunder God's betrayal and the fall of the Heavenly Court, one would think He would no longer trust any ally—so how could He wholeheartedly support this Human Emperor?

Know that the Heavenly Emperor's authority is fundamental to the Time Heavenly Emperor; once the Human Emperor completes Human Dao Unifying Heaven, wielding the authority of the Heavenly Dao and the power of Human Dao, this Heavenly Emperor would be utterly cast down to the dust.

"Could it be to escape the fate of 'Epoch's End, Heavenly Emperor's Fall,' but even so, this is excessive!"

"Although there is still time before the Epoch's Destruction, the Time Heavenly Emperor has already placed nearly everything upon the Human Emperor; if he does this, should the Human Emperor ever regret it, he would have no chance for remorse."

"Even if it is to escape the fate of falling together with the Epoch, there is no need to go to such extremes, right?"

Gazing at the figures of the Five Dao Emperors within the True Realm, the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi increasingly felt something strange.

"Amitabha Buddha, the Golden Emperor, and the Virtuous Heavenly Honored One suddenly found themselves opposed by Fuxi Emperor, this Other Shore being; neither would yield to the other, silently altering their own Great Dao, ascending to the Other Shore—now even the Heavenly Emperor and the Five Directions Five Emperors unreservedly support the Human Emperor's governance of the Five Directions."

The more he reflected, the more the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi felt that the Myriad Worlds had undoubtedly undergone some extremely special change.

As for this change, the other Other Shore beings seem to have some understanding of it, while He alone has been kept in the dark, knowing nothing.

"This is likely an important secret comparable to the mystery of the Dao Fruit; otherwise, it would not cause so many fellow cultivators to undergo such great change!"

"Am I being excluded?"

After a long while, the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi's Buddhist eyes grew somewhat dim, and he looked upon the figure of the sovereign standing upon the Ninefold Altar.

"Human Emperor."

Thinking of Amitabha Buddha's fellow cultivator's recent abnormal behavior and the changes in the True Realm, the Ancient Buddha of Bodhi suddenly felt an inexplicable premonition that perhaps everything is related to this suddenly appearing Human Emperor.

Amitabha Buddha, fellow Daoist, I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong target; the Fu Emperor is merely a smokescreen—this Human Emperor is the fundamental one!

"No, I must fully understand what changes have occurred in the myriad worlds!"

Thinking of this, the Bodhi Ancient Buddha's whole body glowed faintly, the Buddha's golden body clear inside and out, his form like glazed glass, carrying the immutable Buddhist aura, he slowly extended his Buddha palm.

Within the true realm.

The illusory shadows of the Nine Heavens continually condensed, slowly descending onto the Nine-Layer Altar, as if overlapping the entire altar.

And with this overlap, the bell and drum celestial sounds reverberated between heaven and earth, echoing throughout the myriad worlds.

The illusory forms of myriad deities surrounded the nine-layer altar, with the images of the Five Directional Five Emperors at the top, collectively encircling the Human Emperor's form at the center.

At this moment, it seemed as if the entire heaven and earth, all the gods of the myriad worlds, submitted beneath the feet of the Human Emperor's form, making him the sole sovereign of the myriad worlds.

The aura of the Human Emperor's form grew ever more majestic and divine; though he had not yet escaped the sea of suffering, he was nearly indistinguishable from the true will of the other shore.

The Human Emperor's form, with indifferent gaze, drew the pale gold longsword from his hand and plunged it into the core hub of the Nine-Layer Altar, to complete the final step and truly achieve the Human Dao's sovereignty over heaven.

Boom

Just then, the heavens darkened, and above the Divine Capital appeared a huge Buddha palm suffused with azure-gold glazed color, as if containing the entirety of the myriad worlds, descending toward the Nine-Layer Altar.

This Buddha palm was not only obstructing the Human Emperor's form from completing the plan to unify heaven under the Human Dao, but also seemed intent on taking down the Human Emperor's form altogether, utterly disregarding the backlash of the Human Dao's power and the Heavenly Dao's authority.

In an instant, the entire Divine Capital seemed to have entered a flawless Buddha-land pure land, at its center stood an ancient, vigorous Bodhi tree, wisdom's light flowing, illuminating this Buddha-land pure land that spanned countless eons.

"Bodhi Ancient Buddha!"

"It's not Amitabha Buddha, but this ancient Buddha who is the first to act to stop it!"

"His path seems to have no conflict with the Human Emperor, right?"

Seeing the sudden appearance of the Buddha palm, many mighty divine beings felt a hint of doubt.

Amitabha Buddha's path of reduction to emptiness is to establish an earthly Buddha-land, fulfill his great vow, and is inherently incompatible with the Human Emperor's Dao.

In the middle ages, the candidate for Amitabha Buddha's path of reduction to emptiness, the future Buddha Maitreya, was one of the Human Emperor's greatest rivals.

It is quite normal for this Buddhist other shore to intervene.

But the Bodhi Ancient Buddha needs not establish an earthly Buddha-land, and his path has no conflict with the Human Emperor's, so why did he act first?

Could it be that the two Buddhist other shores have joined forces?

Before their thoughts had fully settled, a clattering illusory water sound rang out, and an ancient, restrained long blade emerged from the river of time and space, directly slashing at the giant Buddha palm that covered the heavens.

In an instant, a river of light and shadow appeared around the azure-gold glazed Buddha palm; the power dissipating from the palm turned into points of light, flowing into the river, pouring into the void at the river's end, vanishing.

The entire azure-gold Buddha palm instantly dimmed somewhat, hovering in the high heavens, unable to truly descend.

"Heavenly Emperor."

Seeing the light-and-shadow blade appear, the hearts of many mighty divine beings grew ever more astonished.

The Light-and-Shadow Heavenly Emperor had hidden for so many years, yet now for this Human Emperor he exerts himself wholeheartedly, not hesitating to oppose an ancient being—is this still the Light-and-Shadow Heavenly Emperor they know?

However, even if the Heavenly Emperor acts, facing the Bodhi Ancient Buddha whose Great Dao is now perfectly complete, he seems insufficient, merely able to weaken the palm's power but unable to truly stop it.

The azure-gold Buddha palm's aura shifted, its Buddha-land pure land within becoming ever vaster, once again slowly descending toward the Divine Capital.

Cry

Just then, a heaven-shaking phoenix cry rang out, a phoenix-wing black-gold spear fell from beyond the heavens, directly piercing the Buddha-land pure land at the center of the azure-gold Buddha palm.

The Five Virtues' qi circulated, the world‑burning flame blazed, boundless killing intent surged from the spear tip, destructive opportunity enveloped the Buddha-land pure land, and it thrust straight toward the core Bodhi ancient tree.

At the same time, the light-and-shadow blade changed again, its light flowing to become a vast, enduring river of light and shadow, evolving a new realm of the myriad worlds; together with the phoenix-wing black-gold spear, it trapped the azure-gold Buddha palm within this newly opened realm, preventing it from affecting the Human Emperor's form atop the Nine-Layer Altar.

Two of the Five Emperors not only supported the Human Emperor's plan to unify heaven under the Human Dao, but also did not hesitate to contend with an ancient being.

Upon the Nine-Layer Altar, the Human Emperor's form had deep, double pupils, his expression unchanged despite the Bodhi Ancient Buddha's intervention, and he directly plunged the Human Emperor's sword into the core hub.

Boom

The supremely grand sound of the Great Dao rang forth; the illusory shadows of the Nine Heavens realm and the pattern of the true realm's earth carved upon the Nine-Layer Altar completely merged, heavenly and earthly authority wholly unified, all gathered into the Human Dao.

Vast, boundless purple qi fell from the infinite heights, like an immense, boundless azure dragon, directly merging into the Human Emperor's form.

Boom—

Within the Human Emperor's form arose a roar as if heaven and earth were being split open; his qi instantly expanded, though his physique hardly changed, it seemed as if he had encompassed the entirety of the myriad worlds within his silhouette.

At this moment, the Human Emperor's form felt itself become unprecedentedly powerful, as if the myriad worlds lay within his grasp.

His gaze shifted slightly, looking toward the Nine Nether Realm, meeting a pair of mad, obsessive eyes.

"Heaven Earth Human"

A vague insight arose in the Human Emperor's form's heart: only by also bringing the Nine Nether Realm under his control could his path be considered truly complete.

His thoughts turned; after a while, the Human Emperor's form gradually withdrew his gaze.

Now is not the time.

His mind and spirit sank into his body, sensing his own change, the Human Emperor's form's qi shifted slightly.

"It's time to ascend to the other shore!"

Hum

At the moment the thought settled in his mind, a faint glow appeared at the Human Emperor's form's brow, boundless kingly Dao qi rose from his crown, ultimately forming an illusory fruit that words cannot describe.

Sun, moon, stars; mountains and rivers; the Nine Heavens cosmos; the myriad worlds; immortals, gods, demons, monsters; and all beings of the Human Dao.

Within this fruit seemed to lie a Human Dao paradise that embraces all, eternal and singular yet ever‑changing, bearing an exalted, confident Human Dao will.

Meanwhile, five smaller fruits appeared around this fruit, as if embracing it, jointly supporting the Human Emperor's form's Great Dao.

These six fruits had just taken shape, and the Human Emperor's form felt them drawn by the 'Dao' from the infinite heights, transforming into a Dao vessel that bore his true nature spirit aloft, seeking to transcend the river of time and space, reach a place near the Dao, and from a wholly new viewpoint look down upon the myriad worlds.

Having fulfilled the plan to unify heaven under the Human Dao and grasped the authority of both Heaven and Human, the present Human Emperor's form is stronger than the pre‑ascension Azure Emperor, nearly on par with the other shore.

For the other perfected great divine beings, escaping the sea of suffering is exceedingly difficult, yet for the present Human Emperor's form it feels remarkably easy.

Clatter

An illusory water sound rang out, echoing throughout the myriad worlds.

The whole heaven and earth seemed to turn illusory; an eternal, everlasting river of time appeared between heaven and earth, within which appeared one after another imperial silhouettes.

"The Human Emperor is about to ascend to the Other Shore!"

Seeing this, all beings in the myriad heavens turned their gaze to the True Realm, their eyes showing a complex expression of both envy and jealousy.

The myriad heavens are about to gain another Heaven's Will!

The Green Emperor had just stepped ashore not long ago, and yet the Human Emperor actually seeks to transcend the Sea of Suffering and ascend to the Other Shore!

In the past, an era would never produce an Other Shore Heaven's Will, but now they have appeared in succession!

Could it really be that the final calamity is at hand?

(End of Chapter)