Chapter 22: Opening

Many Heavenly Prides were sighing, marveling.

"I have heard that this time, besides Ye Clan's Ye Tianquan, the renowned Supreme Great Sect of the Nine Heavens… the Fate Sect also has a Heaven's Chosen descending to the mortal world!"

"What? It's actually that unfathomable Supreme Great Sect?!"

"Look quickly, there! It's coming!"

A sharp‑eyed Heavenly Pride shouted!

From another direction, an ancient, profound Fate Aura drifted in…

It was a young man clad in a splendid robe, stepping on the Void, advancing step by step…

With each step, a mysterious, profound Fate fluctuation rippled outward…

"That is… Yun Changming of the Fate Sect! It is said he is a War General under a rebellious demon of the Fate Sect!"

"His cultivation of the Way of Fate is extraordinarily formidable!"

Yun Changming's appearance caused many Heavenly Prides to gasp a cool breath, their faces full of apprehension.

Obviously, any Heavenly Pride from the Nine Heavens is, to them, an unattainable, incomprehensible terror!

This time, the arrival of Ye Clan's 98th sequence Ye Tianquan, the Fate Sect Heavenly Pride and other beings brought incalculable terrifying impact to the layout of the Ancient Imperial Tomb!

……

After a period, the atmosphere over this vast area had reached an extreme climax.

Then, at a certain moment!

Finally!

The deafening roar, like the first thunder of Open Heaven and Split Earth, finally split the ancient little world formed by the Ancient Imperial Tomb; it hung in the sky, the portal dark and deep as the throat of a primordial beast, exhaling a chilling, vast breath.

"It's open! Charge!"

"Opportunity lies before us!"

"Vast Divine Realm, my Dao is complete!"

Countless scorching gazes nearly ignited the portal, and long‑stored greed and yearning erupted instantly.

Streaks of flowing light, bearing a young and powerful aura, surged like a reverse‑flowing Star River, wildly rushing toward the deep entrance.

The scene was chaotic and feverish; Heavenly Prides from the Ten Lands to the Nine Heavens now shed all restraint, engaging in primal scramble.

Yet the seemingly unimpeded portal suddenly erupted with an overwhelming ancient will, and an invisible barrier thundered down!

"Buzz—!"

Amid the muffled rumble, several leading streams of light, whose aura clearly surpassed a certain limit, collided with a Divine Iron Barrier and were reflected back at greater speed.

Their forms tumbled helplessly, blood spurted wildly, faces filled with shock and fury.

"No! Why block me?!"

A hulking man clad in crimson‑gold battle armor, his aura as deep as a abyss, steadied himself, roared, divine flames raging around him, attempting another assault.

But the portal only swayed slightly, and a grander, colder, indisputable will crushed down.

"Puff!"

The man was struck as if by a heavy hammer, spitting blood again; his protective divine flame dimmed instantly, and he was slammed hard onto the ground, buried in earth and stone, his eyes full of despair and resentment.

"Rules! They are the rules of the Ancient Imperial Tomb!"

Someone screamed hoarsely, with incredulous terror, "Cultivation may not exceed the Vast Divine Realm! It… it is repelling us!"

"Above the Vast Divine Realm… entry forbidden? This… what kind of opportunity is this!"

Another youth, surrounded by star‑shadowed void, turned ashen, staring at the portal both within reach and far away; his fingernails dug deep into his palm, blood gushing.

"Damn it! I don't believe it! Let me break it open!"

A powerful figure, wild with frenzy, brandished his Divine Weapon, transforming into a massive blade that tore the heavens, slashing fiercely at the portal.

Divine Light glittered brilliantly, its power enough to cleave the stars!

Yet the terrifying strike landed on the portal, not even a ripple rose, as the invisible will silently dissolved and devoured it.

The portal remained dark and deep, as if mocking all the resentment and futility.

"Useless… forced entry… only a dead end remains."

An elder whose aura also surpassed the Vast Divine Realm sighed dejectedly, watching his companion, still stubbornly striking, be shattered in half by the stronger rule‑force, blood staining the sky, the last glimmer of hope in his eyes extinguished.

The cruel reality, like a bucket of ice water, doused the flames in some hearts.

Those who surpass the Vast Divine Realm, no matter their origin or depth, are mercilessly barred from the entrance.

The ancient will, cold and fair, permits only the "seedlings" that meet its criteria to enter.

Desperate roars and resentful howls echoed beyond the Imperial Tomb.

But more were the qualified Heavenly Prides, filled with relief and ecstasy, seizing the fleeting chance, like minnows crossing a river, rushing madly into the deep portal.

"Hmph, trash, get out! Anyone who blocks me dies!"

A cold, arrogant snort sounded, bearing unmatched dominance.

Lord's Ancient Divine Son Jun Ao Tian, cloaked in a hazy violet‑gold divine radiance, resembled a wandering little sun.

He ignored the failed ones blocked by the rules, stepped forward, and the Void seemed to pave a smooth road beneath his feet, disappearing straight into the portal.

His composure and disdain for the rules made many blocked Heavenly Prides' eyes bulge with rage.

"Fate River follows its own path… cause and end, this gate opens for me."

Fate Sect Heavenly Pride Yun Changming's splendid robe, embroidered with enigmatic star maps and Fate Threads, fluttered without wind.

His face remained calm, bearing a detached insight into all things; he murmured cryptic maxims, a faint distortion of causality flickered around him, and his form merged into the portal's darkness like ink, as if he stepped not into peril but a destined return.

Ye Clan's 98th sequence Ye Tianquan, as if strolling through mountains and waters, casually stepped forward, transforming into an ultra‑condensed blue light that shot into the portal right behind him.

……

Ye Wuque stood among the crowd, his aura dense and still, utterly out of sync with the surrounding clamor.

He swept his gaze over the Dark Shadows that had been heavily wounded or even erased by the rule's force, his eyes showing no ripple.

The pinnacle world of Nine Heavens Ten Earths indeed even its "gate" carries a cruel selection.

He took a step forward, his Dark Shadow instantly blurred, enveloped by a surging Space Power.

The feeling of teleportation was not pleasant, as if being thrown into a wildly spinning kaleidoscope.

The raging Space turbulence tore at his surroundings; everything within sight was bizarre, twisted and shattered.

Occasionally, a Heavenly Pride's Dark Shadow that had also been teleported flickered through the turbulence, its face showing shock and bewilderment.

"Ah! Save me—!"

A brief, mournful scream came from not far away.

A formidable Heavenly Pride, its protective divine light before the twisted Space folds as fragile as paper, was instantly cut and torn by an invisible force; the whole being, soul and all, turned into the finest particles like beans ground in a mill, completely annihilated, leaving not even a trace.

"No! What kind of hellish place is this?!"

On the other side, a Heavenly Pride wielding an ancient bronze shield, its divine sigils flashing wildly, was gradually shattered before an abruptly appearing Space fissure.

The fissure, like a greedy giant mouth, instantly devoured it, leaving only a half‑stifled, abruptly halted desperate howl.

The Space of the Primordial Era Imperial Tomb itself is the first, and the most brutal, trial.

Countless Heavenly Pride were unable even to glimpse this realm's shape before silently falling during teleportation, utterly erased by the raging, chaotic Space Power.

Ye Wuque's heart was as solid as a rock; the unmatched, vigorous force within his body formed an invisible, seemingly thin yet incredibly resilient layer of qi on his surface.

The Space turbulence struck him, emitting a harsh screeching sound, yet it could not move him a fraction.

He calmly observed the turbulence's path, his form subtly adjusting and weaving through the violent energy gaps, like a steady reef amid raging waves.

It was unclear how long had passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps ages—when the violent tearing force suddenly eased.

He set his feet firmly on the ground.

The scene before him cleared, only to instantly bring an even deeper oppression.

He stood at the edge of an unimaginably vast, ruined plaza.

The ground was laid with massive stones, dark as iron and riddled with mysterious Liewen, stretching to the horizon.

Above, a gray, as if solidified by countless ages, firmament, devoid of sun, moon, or stars, only a swath of Dead Silence leaden gray.

Further away, vague silhouettes of collapsed Sky-Pillar, broken mountain‑like wall outlines, and a massive beast bone half‑buried in dust and rubble, exposing only a snarling fragment.

The air was viscous, suffused with a strange scent of dust, blood, and the decay of ages, pressing heavily on the chest; each breath felt stagnant.

Dead Silence is the prevailing tone here.

Only a whimpering wind roamed among the broken walls, like the low lament of Primordial Era lost souls.