Chapter 241

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Protagonist:

Jiang Xuan

The Emperor roared at the heavens, his whole body bathed in blood, fresh blood gushing from his severed arm. He no longer cared about Ye Fan and the others blocking the way; even though he had suffered severe injuries, his eyes still showed determination, his mind set on catching up and delivering a fatal blow to Jiang Xuan.

"Too late!!"

Just then, a deafening boom rang out.

Within Jiang Xuan's shattered body, dazzling light burst forth. Jiang Xuan's figure slowly emerged, stepping through the waves from the endless long river of time.

At first, he was merely a tiny silhouette the size of a fist, but with every step he took, his body expanded drastically. By the time his figure fully manifested, he had already become the height of a normal person.

Jiang Xuan showed no fear, facing the Emperor head-on, and suddenly threw a punch.

In an instant, the power of the Divine Rules surged forth, heaven and earth cracked apart, chaos first opened.

"Boom—!!"

Hundreds of millions of strands of auspicious light shot out, and in the blink of an eye, a vast expanse of the Chaos Sea was shattered into ruin.

Everything turned to nothing in this earth-shaking collision.

Brilliant immortal light illuminated the entire chaos, causing all races in the universe to be terrified.

With just one exchange, both sides were evenly matched, and both were simultaneously knocked backward.

"You..." The Emperor stared fixedly at Jiang Xuan, his heart full of unwillingness and resentment, yet he was already powerless to turn the tide.

At this moment, the opponent before him had climbed to a level equal to his own. Even in a one-on-one duel, the Emperor no longer had any certainty of victory.

Before this, in his haste to seize every second, the Emperor had forcibly taken the attacks of Ye Fan, Qing Di, and the others, sustaining heavy injuries.

Yet looking at his opponent, not only had he completed his transformation and returned to his peak, his strength had even risen another level.

A thread of doubt flashed through the Emperor's heart. By all reason, his opponent's strength had been inferior to his own before, so his expenditure should have been even more severe. Yet he had not absorbed any external power; even after completing his transformation, he should have been depleted of power, so how could he be in a fully charged state?

Furthermore, his opponent's combat power after the breakthrough was terrifying, instantly surpassing his own insights accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years in the Red Dust Immortal realm, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

Just what Dao does he cultivate? In the Emperor's eyes, Jiang Xuan's whole body exuded mystery, too many unsolved riddles.

"Emperor, your road ends here!"

Jiang Xuan's gaze was like a torch; as his eyes opened and closed, a soul-shaking power circulated, causing even the Emperor to tremble involuntarily.

Jiang Xuan looked inward at himself; the immortal blood in his body surged like a crimson river, dazzlingly brilliant.

His magic power had completed another transformation, vast and majestic, his aura boundless; every strand of hair seemed like immortal gold, crystalline and clear.

In this transformation, all the divine weapons and Dao rules in his entire body had completely fused; there was no longer the Eight Trigrams Furnace, the Xuanhuang Body, the Jin Gang Zhuo...

Yet all divine abilities could still be applied at will, and were even more powerful.

Especially at this moment, Jiang Xuan clearly perceived that behind the gate of potential within his body seemed to be hidden inexhaustible power, and some subtle thing had been born. This thing wiped clean the scratches on his Life Wheel, making it forever smooth and lustrous, emitting a clear, pure glow.

"So this is a Red Dust Immortal? Indeed, longevity substance has begun to generate on its own within the body." Jiang Xuan's heart was full of joy.

A Red Dust Immortal is not truly immortal and undying.

If imprisoned in a dried-up world, unable to draw a shred of power from the outside world, he too would eventually reach the end of his lifespan.

After all, a Red Dust Immortal is merely the lowest realm of longevity, still dependent on the outside heaven and earth.

Simultaneously, all the visions around him completely shattered, fused into himself, and became Jiang Xuan's unique power.

Jiang Xuan took a deep breath, his gaze like lightning, staring straight at the Emperor, and said in a deep voice: "Now, let's start over!"

As his words fell, he showed no mercy, blasting out a fierce fist seal, pressing straight toward the Emperor.

"Boom—" a huge sound, immortal radiance surged turbulently.

The Emperor was not to be outdone, fiercely counterattacking, likewise mobilizing the power of a Red Dust Immortal.

In an instant, divine light shot into the sky within the chaos; the entire chaos seemed like a boiling ocean, churning wildly.

Two Red Dust Immortal-level powerhouses collided intensely; the power to destroy heaven and earth surged unrestrained, domineering and peerless in might.

After his transformation, Jiang Xuan had long since returned to his peak state; in contrast, the Emperor had already suffered severe injuries before.

As the battle continued, Jiang Xuan's advantage grew larger and larger like a snowball.

After over a thousand moves of fierce combat, Jiang Xuan turned into a streak of brilliant immortal light, sweeping heavily onto the Emperor like thunder of myriad jun. The Emperor instantly spat blood, every bone in his body shattering inch by inch.

"Clang!!"

A huge sound rang out, directly shattering the Emperor's body; even his Primordial Spirit exploded under this power.

A generation's Emperor, thus fell.

"The Emperor has finally been executed." Ye Fan sighed softly, his tone mixed with a few parts emotion and relief.

Everyone saw Jiang Xuan suppress and kill the Emperor with a domineering posture; the boulders hanging in their hearts all dropped, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

The Ruthless Emperor merely gazed quietly, not uttering a word, his aura restrained.

Jiang Xuan waved his hand casually, and the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror flew out.

After becoming a Red Dust Immortal, he had already thoroughly comprehended this magic treasure.

The Hongmeng Treasure Mirror has a very high rank; inside it are recorded the brands of countless divine weapons and magic treasures.

This mirror itself, however, possesses no offensive or defensive power whatsoever.

"Composed of the Dao, it can serve as a vessel for the Dao!"

"My body is the strongest magic treasure; this Hongmeng Treasure Mirror can also forge my Great Dao divine weapon."

As for the previous absorption function, it was merely the power passively accumulated by the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror over its long years, and then it fished treasures from the endless Chaos Sea; in essence, it still consumed the mirror's power in exchange for what was obtained.

His gaze fell upon it, only to see a new blood-colored brand had been added to the mirror's surface — that was precisely the Emperor's mark.

This brand was ancient and heavy, emitting a powerful aura; compared to the brands of other Great Emperors, it possessed an additional indescribable unique Dao rhyme. After all, this was the brand of a Red Dust Immortal, a Quasi-Immortal King level brand; naturally it was extraordinary.

"I have finally stepped into the Red Dust Immortal realm, only I never expected my Red Dust War Immortal path would actually be achieved in this manner." Jiang Xuan put away the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror, and waves of emotion could not help but surge in his heart.

By his original breakthrough method, even if successful, wanting to thoroughly stabilize the realm would probably still require consuming over ten thousand years of time.

But now, under the Overlord's powerful pressure, he actually succeeded in perfectly integrating the cultivation results of his One Lifetime World into the Refining System, and his realm was already thoroughly stabilized.

"The Divine Treasure Dao Principle can now also be considered to have thoroughly become my solid reserve." Jiang Xuan examined the Divine Treasure Dao Principle closely, pondering silently. This breakthrough had consumed the profound foundation accumulated by the Divine Treasure Dao Principle until it was completely exhausted.

"However, this body of mine..." Jiang Xuan's gaze shifted, looking at that old body which had been beaten to pieces by the Overlord, and he raised his hand to recall it anew. This old body had after all gradually reached an extremely high realm, yet it had already begun to heal on its own, its healing ability in no way inferior to existences like the Phoenix that possess heaven-defying recovery power.

"Perhaps this breakthrough method of mine bears some resemblance to the Ruthless Emperor's Dao?" Jiang Xuan mused for a moment, staring at this old body, an inexplicable feeling rising in his heart. This body was incomparably powerful, even stronger than everyone present. Moreover, it still retained fragments of his Primordial Spirit, these were what he had discarded during his transformation.

"Perhaps, further nurturing this body, waiting until the time is ripe to shatter it, letting the power return to his true self, could help him break through to the Immortal King realm?" Jiang Xuan's thoughts flew. "The Ruthless Emperor buried her own body in the Ten Thousand Dragons Nest, did she not also harbor the intention of using dragon qi to nurture the flesh body? After all, in each of her bodies, there remained partial residual Primordial Spirit."

After pondering for a long time, the Hongmeng Realm trembled slightly. He made a decisive decision and carefully received this body of his into it.

Then once more he received the Overlord's immortal corpse.

After properly settling this body, Jiang Xuan cast his gaze toward Ye Fan and the others not far away.

"This great battle has cost you all several thousand years of lifespan." Jiang Xuan spoke softly.

"No matter. Still better than the Overlord refining the universe." Ye Fan's expression was calm, his words full of broad-mindedness.

In these thousand years, he had consulted Jiang Xuan on the Red Dust Immortal path several times, and had confidence to live another lifetime.

"Huh? Divine materials! But not enough!"

Jiang Xuan felt some regret in his heart; the Overlord had emerged this time with empty hands, and who knew where his treasured possessions were hidden. Otherwise, with the Overlord's wealth and foundation, it would certainly be even more astonishing.

You must know, the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill formula was passed down from the Overlord's hands; he definitely still had more materials hidden away.

"After the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill is refined, I will present three pills to each person!" Jiang Xuan collected all the materials in one sweep, his figure flashed, and he instantly returned to Beidou.

Having comprehended the One Lifetime Eight Trigrams Furnace, Jiang Xuan would naturally refine pills.

Although he claimed three pills per person, in reality it was mainly for the Ruthless Emperor and Ye Fan, two people, totaling six Golden Pills.

"Fellow Daoists, this battle I have reaped enormous gains, and also need to return for a period of Closed-door Cultivation." Having spoken, Jiang Xuan flicked his sleeve, tore open the universe, and returned to the universe starry sky.

On the way back to Fenbao Cliff, Jiang Xuan conveniently brought Xia Yao Xi along as well.

A light flashed at the Ruthless Emperor's brow, Xiao Nian Nian appeared beside Ye Fan, while her true body transformed into a streak of flying immortal light, returning to the Ancient Forbidden Land to live in seclusion.

Ye Fan left last, bringing Xiao Nian Nian back to his own Heavenly Court.

As this group of people returned one after another, news quickly spread from the Heavenly Court and the Demon Clan Immortal Court: the Overlord was not dead, he had attempted to refine the Human Realm, and was finally jointly slain by everyone.

The moment this news spread, it instantly shocked everyone. The Heavenly Court's founder the Overlord had actually not died, and had been secretly plotting such a terrifying event — this was far more horrifying than the Dark Turmoil triggered by those Forbidden Zone Supremes.

"Jiang Heavenly Emperor!" "Ye Heavenly Emperor!" "Female Emperor!"

In an instant, shocking waves surged through the universe, numerous sages cried out the names of these people, this sound wave driving even more people. After all, their magnificent feat was equivalent to saving all living beings.

On this day, throughout the universe, all powerful races rushed to where these few people were to pay homage and audience the Great Emperors. Cheers rose and fell continuously in the universe, unceasing.

Such a grand scene lasted for several whole months before gradually subsiding. Simultaneously, the prestige of these few people reached an unprecedented peak. Even the Ruthless Emperor who had borne infamy for hundreds of thousands of years completely cleared her name, and was revered and recommended by many.

Everyone could tangibly feel that the Faith Power during this period was far more abundant than in the past.

A hundred years passed, the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill had already been successfully refined, numbering as many as thirty pills. Six pills were distributed to Ye Fan and the Ruthless Emperor, and Jiang Xuan still retained twenty-four pills for his own and Xia Yao Xi's cultivation.

Jiang Xuan was quietly organizing the Longevity Method he had summarized.

For a long time, he had always intended to organize and summarize the Longevity Method.

Now, he had already fathomed the profound true meaning of the Hongmeng Treasure Mirror; setting about summarizing it now was undoubtedly a great undertaking to benefit the world.

He transplanted the Enlightenment Tea Tree into the Hongmeng Realm; he wanted to turn this tree into a World Tree.

This process was not only an experiment advancing toward a higher level, but also an excellent opportunity to re-accumulate his own foundation.

During this period, he infused the brand marks of numerous divine weapons into it, to nurture the World Tree.

Not only that, rare treasures like Chaos Qi were also fused into it by him. Jiang Xuan did not hesitate to expend the divine liquid nurtured in his own Life Spring, using it to irrigate this World Tree.

In terms of Jiang Xuan's current Red Dust Immortal, quasi-Immortal King cultivation, the divine liquid in his Life Spring was in no way inferior to the medicinal liquid of Undying Divine Medicine, containing vitality beyond imagination. After a full hundred years of careful irrigation, significant changes gradually occurred.

As the World Tree grew vigorously, the Hongmeng Realm's origin recovered at a speed beyond imagination. This recovery speed was fully dozens of times faster compared to Jiang Xuan's previous calculations.

In merely a hundred years, the entire world's origin obtained tremendous replenishment.

That World Tree also gradually displayed the bearing a true World Tree ought to have.

Faintly visible, auspicious light circulated on this quasi-World Tree, specks of light like stars intertwining around the tree body, as if brilliant Star Rivers hung one after another. Every leaf was slowly transforming, as if each upheld a resplendent star.

These flashing lights projected from the space where the World Tree resided to the vast heavens and earth outside, causing the entire world to be shrouded in a brilliant radiance. Starlight poured down like flowing water, illuminating this world.

Jiang Xuan's gaze locked tightly on this world and the World Tree within it, not shifting for an instant. His Heavenly Eye burst forth with awe-inspiring light, concentrating fully on observing this world's Great Dao transformations, witnessing the process of its Qian Kun turning from decline to prosperity.

Without doubt, this process held extraordinary significance for Jiang Xuan; the mysteries contained within were difficult to imagine.

It can be said this had an extremely profound impact on his Cultivation Path. Before reaching the Immortal King realm, cultivators actually cannot truly detach from the world and exist independently. Therefore, observing a world's Great Dao transformations, witnessing a World Tree's growth, is like precisely capturing a world's operational trajectory.

Starlight shone unceasingly, the World Tree grew increasingly vigorous, the world origin became ever more abundant. The world once again gave rise to strands of Longevity Substance, internal power continuously strengthening, even beginning to actively draw in the power and rules of the greater outside world.

"Reaching this stage counts as hitting a limit. The stronger the Hongmeng Realm, the stronger I am, and vice versa."

"Saying I am this Hongmeng Realm's Heavenly Lord would not be an overstatement!"

Jiang Xuan mused silently in his heart, then his thoughts turned: "Then again, where there is heaven and earth, there ought to be all living beings."

Jiang Xuan's mind stirred, and in an instant his gaze locked onto the World Tree in the Hongmeng Realm. He concentrated fully, focusing his energy to let the World Tree bask in the grace of the Heaven and Earth Great Dao. Not only that, he also cleverly instilled the Great Dao into the World Tree, injected vitality, to nurture its spirituality.

Afterward, Jiang Xuan sat leisurely in meditation on the Dao Platform, his gaze like a torch, staring fixedly at the World Tree, not letting a single bit escape. Time flowed leisurely, one day after another, one year pressing against the next, he persisted throughout, witnessing the World Tree's spirituality gradually emerge under the gentle caress of the Heaven and Earth Great Dao.

Time flew like a white colt through a crevice; in the blink of an eye, another five hundred years of long years had already elapsed.

In the center of the Hongmeng Realm, a World Tree over a thousand zhang tall propped open heaven and earth, resembling clear glass, emitting a warm luster, its whole body flowing with brilliant colors, like a dreamlike gorgeous scroll.

"After enduring long years, it has successfully transformed into a World Tree; next, just need to proceed in an orderly fashion, continuously nurture, and it will smoothly grow strong."

During this long period, Jiang Xuan always observed this World Tree's growth process without blinking. Standing at the height of a World Lord, with a macroscopic and profound perspective, he perceived every subtle change within it.

This unique experience was like a key that opened a brand new door of wisdom for him, benefiting him immensely.

"After countless painstaking efforts, my Immortal King path is verified upon this Hongmeng Realm and World Tree!" Jiang Xuan murmured softly; though he deliberately suppressed his voice, he still could not conceal that trace of irrepressible excitement and pride.

But the Emperor Venerable was already dead, and he himself had reached the Hong Chen Xian Zeng Ji level, so Jiang Xuan couldn't help but feel a trace of relief, thinking he no longer needed to race against time as before in the short term.

For a long time, the several great mountains pressing on his mind and driving him forward now only left the Ting He, the Underworld, and the Tian Di Zang Keng as the most terrifying existences. But to him, these were still in the distant future, at least separated by a million years of time, possibly as long as one and a half million years.

He entered the Fairyland cultivation realm five hundred thousand years earlier than Ye Fan's ascension in the original work, and was more than seven hundred thousand years ahead of Ye Fan and the others entering Xian Yu.

Moreover, in the original work, Ye Fan and the others only provoked the Ting He, the Underworld, and the Tian Di Zang Keng at least after becoming Immortal Kings. After all, with the Ting He's immense power, facing opponents below Immortal King level, they could easily destroy them by sending out just a subordinate.

Speaking of the time required to advance from Hong Chen Xian Zeng Ji to Immortal King, the Desolate Heavenly Emperor took five hundred thousand years. Even though Ye Fan and the others had Unparalleled Talent, it was difficult for them to far surpass the Desolate Heavenly Emperor in this aspect.

Therefore, inferring from the Dimension of time, at least a million years remained before the Ting He Powerful Force began to stir up trouble, and at most, perhaps several million years.

"A million years, this time is neither long nor short." Jiang Xuan thought to himself, "But with the Road, advancing to Immortal King within a million years should not be difficult."

"But if one only buries oneself in bitter cultivation, that is not a good thing either. After such a long time, it's time to go out and take a look around. Moreover, after becoming an immortal, one's state of mind is already different; looking at those mundane matters again, one will surely have different insights." (Chapter End)