Descent into the Abyss

Xiao Chen fell through the endless darkness, the wind roaring past his ears. He did not know if he would eventually reach the edge of the Death World, but his immediate goal was to escape the demonic land above — it was far too dangerous.

During the rapid descent, the Five Emperors Tower blazed with light. The demon shadow sealed within furiously counterattacked, threatening to break free and turn on Xiao Chen at any moment. With his back against the wall, Xiao Chen had no choice but to channel every ounce of divine power he could muster into the stone tower to refine the demon.

The darkness stretched infinitely, silent and absolute, the demon's roars muffled within the tower.

Xiao Chen activated the Profound Art, recalling the seals the female corpse had once used. He executed the opening form of the Heavenly Stele Profound Art and then, driven by the body's instinct, attempted the next move of the Divine Seal.

Boom!

Testing the waters, he actually succeeded in unleashing a terrifying Divine Seal, which he poured into the Five Emperors Tower, grievously wounding the demon shadow.

Only the female corpse's own seals could fully tap the potential of this vessel's flesh.

Shua, shua, shua — Xiao Chen's hands flowed through a series of gestures, striving to link the divine seals the corpse had used in life.

But he could only execute those profound seals he had committed to memory, and even then only a fraction — he could not sustain the chain.

Remembering was not the same as performing. Were it not for the nature of this vessel, Xiao Chen doubted he could have executed even a single seal.

Yet even this was enough to pose a threat.

The Five Emperors Tower, infused with formidable divine power, had its five phantom figures awaken. As one of the most renowned stone artifacts from the primordial age, it unleashed terrifying might that shook heaven and earth.

Bang!

The demon shadow split apart, issuing an ear-piercing shriek.

Between the surging power of the female corpse and the devastating might of the Five Emperors Tower, it was nearly ground to nothing. Its fading outline struggled and roared furiously.

It was, admittedly, incredibly powerful — able to transform into the primal essence of demonic nature. Ultimately, it broke free, leaving only a black demonic leg behind in the Five Emperors Tower.

Bang!

The moment it burst out, it struck the female corpse a heavy blow.

Xiao Chen, hiding his soul within the corpse's vessel, was on the verge of being scattered. He suffered a severe injury. He met the attack with the Five Emperors Seal, but he could not withstand it. The demon shadow transformed endlessly, its lethal style overwhelming him. It completely suppressed him in the greater realm! The gap was an insurmountable chasm. Had the female corpse's flesh not been strong enough, he would already have been destroyed in both body and spirit.

In this world, only a vessel of the same realm could withstand such transcendent force!

After a series of devastating impacts, Xiao Chen realized that the female corpse's body was now covered in cracks, on the verge of shattering.

Forced into a corner, he pressed the Five Emperors Tower down over the female corpse, shielding himself and switching to a defensive stance.

In a direct exchange, he was no match. Trying to trap the demon shadow in the tower again would be nearly impossible — the shadow had already suffered greatly from the first capture and would not fall for the same trick twice.

The dark abyss was imbued with a mysterious power. The demon shadow roared in fury — the abyss contained something specifically antagonistic to it. Xiao Chen had confirmed this earlier when the shadow used the stone jar to collect the divine energy of the beasts on the far shore.

For Xiao Chen, this was the only advantage.

Seizing the opportunity, he hid within the Five Emperors Tower, rapidly repairing the female corpse's body, finally catching his breath.

In the darkness, a pair of icy eyes glared at Xiao Chen within the tower. The demon shadow attacked several times but could not breach the tower.

Each time it tried to seize him, Xiao Chen fought back wildly, the stone tower blazing with countless beams of divine light to repel its claws.

Xiao Chen was determined not to let the demon shadow gain control of the Five Emperors Tower — if that happened, he would surely die.

For now, it was a war of attrition: could the demon shadow sustain itself?

After several struggles and hesitations, the demon shadow let out a final, piercing shriek and launched its last wave of attack.

Countless black threads of order, like a spider's web, wrapped around the Five Emperors Tower, attempting to lift it upward.

The situation was critical. Xiao Chen acted without a second thought. To protect himself, he detonated the female corpse's right arm. With a roar, divine flames shot into the sky, illuminating the abyss and annihilating the black threads of order.

Then he blew up most of the female corpse's body, letting the divine power burn furiously, finally destroying all those threads of order and freeing the Five Emperors Tower.

The demon shadow, weakened by the abyss's mysterious force, could no longer sustain itself. Its form grew indistinct. With an unwilling roar, it shot upward, returning to the cliff.

Xiao Chen, free from the shadow's grip, continued to fall into the darkness.

Now he began to understand that only beings of the same realm as the female corpse or the Little Stone Emperor could truly unleash the power of the Three Sovereigns Mirror and the Five Emperors Tower.

In the present age, no one could kill the demon shadow.

The Five Emperors Tower gradually darkened. Over a long period, the female corpse's body slowly healed.

But inside this layer of the stone tower was also a black demonic leg, wreathed in roiling black mist and pulsing with immense power.

It was the remnant limb the demon shadow had left behind, trapped here.

For Xiao Chen, this was an invaluable treasure. It contained a terrifying amount of demonic power — more precious than the corpse of a zombie king. He could slowly perform a Sacred Sacrifice on it and use its power.

Moreover, he had accidentally brought out the Five Emperors Tower. With its overwhelming might, already proven, it could rival the Three Sovereigns Mirror. Used wisely, it would terrify any enemy.

But Xiao Chen had another idea for this layer of the stone tower: it could be used as a "divine city."

Yes, when a Stone Man undergoes nirvana, he must construct a divine city. The Five Emperors Tower before him was undoubtedly the supreme treasure among divine cities — nothing was stronger or more magnificent.

If he used this to build his own divine city, its power would be unimaginable — arguably the greatest sacred city in all history! Just thinking about it made Xiao Chen's blood boil. Even he could not resist such a temptation.

As he descended further, the mysterious force in the abyss grew increasingly dense. If not for the shelter of the stone tower, even Xiao Chen would have been melted. This force was not only hostile to the demon shadow but a deadly calamity for any living being.

Xiao Chen was shocked to discover something: during his descent, he noticed many great spatial fissures connected to this abyss.

It seemed that many worlds were linked to it. He did not recklessly enter any of them; instead, he searched for the coordinates of the Death World, hoping to escape by a familiar path.

Finally, he faintly sensed the energy fluctuations of the Death World.

Xiao Chen steered the Five Emperors Tower toward that direction and entered a dark spatial rift.

Grayness dominated the scene, with countless chaotic tunnels before his eyes. He was certain he had arrived at the deepest part of the Death World.

Now he had a suspicion: this dark abyss seemed to have been artificially created, isolated from all the heavens and realms.

Because it appeared that every world had a great fissure connecting to this abyss.

The surging River of Time, the three stone steps that pierced the heavens, the densely packed chaotic tunnels — all were familiar yet strange.

Xiao Chen sighed with emotion. He had finally escaped alive. But he had no idea if his desperate act, luring all those kings into the Otherworld, had brought disaster upon it. He knew nothing of what had happened in the outside world.

The first thing he did upon arriving here was to quickly withdraw his soul from the female corpse's vessel and return to his own body.

It was an awkward experience, but nothing to be ashamed of.

Yet at that moment, something astonishing occurred. The female corpse's precious body began to slowly crack. Like fine porcelain, fine lines appeared on its glossy surface, and traces of blood seeped out.

This was no illusion — it was real.

How could this be? Xiao Chen was baffled.

The female corpse had remained immortal and uncorrupted for countless ages. Why was it now beginning to collapse?

Suddenly, he thought of the Little Stone Emperor. Those of such a realm could not endure in this world for long...

Xiao Chen's heart sank. He quickly placed the female corpse into the Five Emperors Tower, and the cracking halted.

This... gradually made him understand something: why the demon shadow, despite its immense power, dared not appear among the myriad worlds, hiding instead behind that dark stone gate.

Such powerful beings could not exist for long. If they lived in the real world, they would self-destruct.

Too powerful incurs the jealousy of heaven. The stronger one becomes, the closer to destruction.

After careful observation, Xiao Chen felt a trace of worry. Though the corpse appeared to have stopped cracking, in truth the process had only slowed — inside, it was still slowly breaking down.

"Could it be that even like this, the flesh cannot endure? The demon shadow has no physical body. The Little Stone Emperor's body turned to ashes. Before this, the female corpse was sealed by the Demon-Suppressing Divine Art..."

Xiao Chen did not understand the Demon-Suppressing Divine Art. He could only let the corpse slowly decay — perhaps it would take a few thousand or tens of thousands of years for it to vanish completely.

Unable to change it, he stopped thinking about it.

Over the years, though time had felt fleeting, he had no idea that thousands of years had already passed. Many things had happened.

He had guessed at most a millennium.

Thus, on this pure land at the deepest part of the Death World, he began cultivating in peace, attempting to use the Five Emperors Tower to build a divine city. He wanted to grow strong.

Of course, he would not sit for tens of thousands of years. He had gained insight from the Little Stone Emperor's tomb — the path did not have to be the absolute Stone Man path, but he still needed a divine city to cultivate.

The Five Emperors City appeared in his palm, no larger than a hand. Yet it radiated a majestic, boundless aura.

He tossed it into the air. The Five Emperors City rapidly expanded to about ten zhang in diameter, then slowly descended, enclosing him within.

He did not want to transform the city into a mountain-sized giant city. This size was just right to surround and protect him, aiding his cultivation.

Xiao Chen began his long cultivation and contemplation. Over so many years, he had practiced numerous divine abilities and secret arts. Now it was time to elevate them himself.

Years passed. Within the Five Emperors Tower, Xiao Chen gradually built his own Divine Law-Principles, slowly forging his own divine city.

Truly, using the Five Emperors Tower as a divine city was a shocking move. Anyone would marvel. The first layer of this supreme ancient tower was unquestionably the greatest divine city in history.

Time flowed by. A few hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Xiao Chen woke several times, then closed his eyes again, comprehending all kinds of profound Dao rhythms.

Using the Five Emperors Tower as a divine city for cultivation gave rise to many miraculous phenomena. Over those hundreds of years, he seemed to hear five voices speaking the great Dao of heaven and earth in turn. They were both real and illusory, ethereal and indistinct, making it hard for him to distinguish — as if in a dream.

But each time he woke, he had gained something, convincing him it was not an illusion.

Yet the voices were very faint. Though he listened intently, he only grasped a few essential doctrines.

This seemed to require long ages of accumulation to fully understand all the Dao essence.

He was in nirvana here, comprehending the Dao. With the Five Emperors Tower shielding him, the outside world could not perceive him at all, as if isolated in another time and space.

In a flash, five hundred years passed. Xiao Chen's divine sense grew even stronger. A stone shell had formed on the outside of his flesh, while inside, his physical body grew more crystalline and vibrant.

After five hundred years, Xiao Chen finally emerged from the Five Emperors City. He sensed his own strength. Over these centuries, he had often felt mysterious fluctuations from outside, occurring every few decades.

This time, he decided to investigate. He walked forward, step by step.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen's expression changed. He sensed that the source of the fluctuations was the location of the Eighth Heavenly Stele.

Shua! With the Five Emperors Tower hovering over his head, he transformed into a beam of light and rushed forward.

When he was still a few hundred li away, Xiao Chen stopped. Ahead, ten-thousand-zhang bolts of lightning danced madly, splitting the sky and stirring heaven and earth. Blood-red lightning flashed across the void. The massive Heavenly Stele radiated overwhelming power.

"That is...!" Xiao Chen was stunned.

He saw a humanoid figure circling the stele, reaching out a hand to touch the colossal monument from time to time.

No one knew better than him how terrifying the Eighth Heavenly Stele was — no one could approach it easily. Yet this person was repeatedly charging close to it.

He observed with his Truth-Seeking Eyes and saw that whenever the figure touched the stele, ancient characters and diagrams would appear on its surface.

"The Eighth Heavenly Stele has no markings — isn't it blank?"

Xiao Chen was extremely shaken. He had always believed the Eighth Heavenly Stele was an inscriptionless stele. He never expected to see characters and diagrams today.

Clearly, this person understood the Eighth Heavenly Stele far better than he did and had been studying it for some time.

So this is how it worked — only by touching the stele with one's body could the inscriptions appear?

"Thankfully, this being is not flesh and blood..."

Xiao Chen breathed a long sigh. By now, he had developed an allergy to flesh-and-blood powerhouses.

Having witnessed the Little Stone Emperor's peerless genius, felt the demon shadow's terrible killing intent, and seen the female corpse's unstoppable power, he truly feared encountering beings of this kind.

But he knew that such beings could not truly live in this world. Otherwise, no one could oppose them. They were characters who could stand alone against the world — and there were only a handful throughout the ages.

"Who is this Stone King? A supreme powerhouse born in the Death World?"

Xiao Chen knew that this person had been observing here for centuries, and even if he had not studied the earlier steles, he had certainly gained some understanding.

"Strange... he looks familiar..."

Xiao Chen's heart sank. Observing with his Truth-Seeking Eyes, he felt he had seen this person before. "Could it be the ancient god enshrined in that old temple?"