The Nine Saintly Sovereign Projections

A roar tore through the heavens.

The demon king's sacred shadow howled within the rain of pristine petals. Its dark form cracked, forced down the ninety-nine stone steps.

That blinding holy light grievously wounded its substance. It tumbled from the world, crashing into the great earth.

The Otherworld kings cried out in alarm and rushed forward, but the demon king's voice, though not yet silenced, could not rise for a time.

In that moment, the myriad sacred artifacts converged. Petals of light scattered through heaven and earth, filling the realms with fragrance, flowing radiance, and ten-thousand strands of auspicious color.

The cosmos convulsed as if crossing back through the primordial age, as if condensing the primal essences of heaven and earth. The countless worlds of the myriad heavens faded, and in that instant, only the multitude of sacred treasures seemed solid, real.

The thousand ages and ten thousand realms were but a dream, all things mere illusions, the mighty warriors themselves nothing more than phantoms in a cosmic slumber.

Ahead, the light of the sacred treasures recombined, forming a miniature world.

The Heavenly Steles, the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge—all the holy artifacts rearranged themselves, bound by some hidden connection.

In that illusory yet singularly real world, clouds rolled around the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, the stairway to the heavens.

Yes, it stretched toward distant realms beyond the sky, toward an unknown firmament.

In that sky hung a colossal chasm. Even Stone Kings who gazed upon it felt their spiritual sense destabilize and their primordial spirits tremble, as if they would be swallowed into its depths.

Yet across that chasm now lay a great bridge—the weathered, age-worn Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge—linking both sides of the abyss.

Dim and indistinct, before the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge, nine ancient lamps flickered, casting scattered points of light along a mysterious road. The shadowy path stretched ahead, barely discernible.

Farther in the distance, several colored Heavenly Steles stood like signposts, recording all that had passed on this road, or like tall tombstones burying the mighty who had fallen on their journey to this mysterious domain.

All the sacred treasures had reassembled, forming a true world!

At the farthest end of that most mysterious road, everything was blurred. But through the haze, one could faintly see a window—or rather, a door—that had been opened.

The endless rain of petals was falling from that place, scattering across the myriad worlds.

In that moment, crystalline petals drifted through countless realms, their fragrance overwhelming, carrying with them a breath that pierced through the primordial wilderness, shaking all beneath heaven.

"The Sole True Realm!"

"It has opened—the Sole True Realm!"

"All the sacred treasures have gathered—the Sole True Realm manifests!"

"It's real! It truly is!"

Every cultivator, the ten-million-strong bone army, the billions of Otherworld beings, and the Stone Kings of all heavens were stunned. Many could not find words.

This legendary Sole True Realm had actually opened a passage before their very eyes.

"Ten thousand years of yearning! A hundred million years of prayer! Your children of the primordial age call upon you—descend, O sacred body!"

"Ancestral god who stood alone against the myriad worlds, undefeated through the ages! Your most devout descendants summon you—return!"

The Otherworld kings prayed with devotion, calling upon their holy ancestor to descend.

Then, as if waking from a dream, many cultivators realized: the Imperial Sovereigns of the Sole True Realm had never perished. Now that the passage had been opened, what would follow was self-evident.

The Stone Kings of the myriad heavens trembled with fear. A terrible foreboding rose in their hearts.

Yet, contrary to everyone's expectations, no matter how the Otherworld's Stone Kings prayed and summoned, the passage to that mysterious domain showed no response at all.

In that moment, King Pangu suddenly soared into the sky, charging toward the entrance to the Sole True Realm.

At the same time, Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, and all the others shot upward, ascending the ninety-nine stone steps.

On the great earth, the demon king's sacred shadow, though battered and weak, rose again and overtook them all. It planted itself on the stairs of the nine heavens, blocking the path before the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge.

It threw a punch that struck down all the heavens, forcing everyone back. But its own body cracked and fell once more. As it tumbled, it roared at the Otherworld kings: "Stop them!"

"That is the road to the source land—the birthplace of the Sole True Realm! Everything was born there…"

"The Imperial Sovereigns of the Sole True Realm have never died out. But no one has ever reached that place."

"Our holy ancestor wishes to return, to seek the heavenly treasures and build the path to the source."

"To control the source land is to control the Sole True Realm!"

These words were shouted as the demon king's sacred shadow fell. Its form had been riddled and shattered by that holy power.

At these words, ten million warriors surged forward. The endless white-bone creatures, the billions of Otherworld cultivators, and the Stone Kings of all heavens charged with abandon, heedless of death.

Everyone wanted to be the first into the primal source of the Sole True Realm. Even the Imperial Sovereigns of the primordial age fought over it. How important it must be!

"Whoever controls the Sole True Realm need not be an Imperial Sovereign. If I myself seize it, perhaps I will become lord of the myriad worlds!" Such thoughts burned in every heart as they threw themselves forward.

"Aaaah—!"

Fire-seed creatures screamed in agony. All those without fleshly bodies, whose souls were exposed, turned to ash upon the stone steps.

They were not as strong as the demon king's sacred shadow. Beneath the falling petals, they crumbled into dust.

"It kills primordial spirits!" "Yes! That holy radiance shines through heaven and earth, purifying the primal energy, slaughtering souls. Those without a fleshly shell cannot pass through!"

"I understand now. I fell from the Sole True Realm as a corpse. I come from that world!"

The Stone Corpse, as if struck by sudden enlightenment, understood his past and present lives. Light blazed from his eyes. "I will seize that source land!"

In that instant of awakening, his power surged. The profound arts of past and present took form as great Dao imprints in his heart, and he rose to the absolute peak of a Stone King.

The Stone Corpse charged through the ten-million-strong army onto the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge.

He was the first to reach the end of the ninety-nine stone steps, striding across to the other side. A shadow of a corpse, he charged forward.

On that mysterious road, nine ancient lamps hung suspended, casting scattered light. When their radiance fell upon the Stone Corpse, he was struck as if by lightning. His body suddenly shattered, like a clay doll smashed by a heavy hammer!

"No!" The Stone Corpse screamed, retreating as a streak of light. But by the time he emerged, he had been utterly annihilated, his form turned to ash.

Horror seized the hearts of all. A mighty Stone King had been reduced to dust before their very eyes. The terror was palpable.

"This is a road prepared for Imperial Sovereigns. Every step is deadly. Without reaching that level, each advance invites the risk of utter destruction!" Zixiao Wang's eyes blazed with profound light, his thoughts unreadable.

The kings were afraid. Nearly every Stone King from the myriad heavens had gathered, yet at this moment, no one dared take another step.

Suddenly, figures shot into the sky. King Pangu, Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, and others all soared upward, ascending the ninety-nine stone steps and crossing the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge.

"Stop them!"

The Otherworld kings shouted, unleashing their strongest techniques.

"Most of these sacred artifacts are tied to the Nine Provinces' ancestors. Many were forged by them. Block Pangu and the others—this path was prepared for them!"

"Yes, this is the divine road the Nine Provinces' holy ancestors built to lead to the initial source land of the Sole True Realm! They must not enter!"

The Stone Kings of all heavens awakened. No one held back.

Yet when Pangu and his company set foot on that road of no return, they did not perish. Though their progress was slow, they still advanced.

"Boom!"

A torrent of attacks!

The combined divine power of the myriad Stone Kings would make even an Imperial Sovereign blanch. Countless divine laws surged up the ninety-nine stone steps, over the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge, and crushed down upon Pangu and the others.

Brilliant and dazzling, the radiance of the gods blazed.

On that mysterious path, the nine lamps flickered and trembled, blocking the endless laws and orders that came from behind.

The Three Sovereigns Mirror rose and fell. The Five Emperor Tower shook. The Heavenly Steles hummed.

"Even on the road of Imperial Sovereigns, we can pass!"

Lu Zhan shouted, "Consecrate the First Ancient Capital of past and present!"

Lu Zhan, the Twin Stone Kings, and the other ancient ancestors of the Otherworld all vanished into the First Ancient Capital, then drove it soaring. It was about to rush up the stone steps, cross the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge, and enter the mysterious path.

But at that moment, the demon king's sacred shadow, which had lain battered on the ground, roared: "Come back!"

The Otherworld Stone Kings' minds snapped to attention. At his command, they all retreated.

At the same time, every Stone King and all the mighty warriors felt a soul-chilling aura.

The sky suddenly shattered. A billion beams of divine radiance poured down!

Each ray of light was like a sword, piercing heaven and earth. Several screams rang out. Blood rained from the heavens. Countless cultivators fell from the sky, and more of the endless bone beings turned to powder.

Everyone, including the many Stone Kings, was terrified. They fled in all directions.

The stone steps, the ancient bridge, the nine lamps, the Heavenly Steles, and the other sacred treasures had formed a true miniature world, but now it twisted.

Endless light shone down, piercing into that miniature world. The path of Pangu and Fuxi was blocked.

The light in the sky grew brighter. A billion beams blazed down, each one a heavenly sword that could pierce a Stone King!

Now, above and below the heavens, many great worlds were pierced through!

Finally, within that infinite light, nine saintly silhouettes manifested.

The first silhouette had a body like a giant ape, with the scorpion stinger of a hellish creature on its tail and dragon wings of a primordial beast beneath its ribs.

The second was even farther from human form—like an octopus covered in white-bone barbs.

The third, radiating holy light, had nine crow heads and a massive serpentine body.

All nine glowing figures were otherworldly—none had a human shape.

They were not true bodies descending, but projections formed from light.

"Who dares scheme for the initial source land of the Sole True Realm?!"

A heaven-shaking roar came from the sky, instantly shattering tens of thousands of cultivators into clouds of blood, body and soul annihilated!

Imagine the terror of this sacred shadow! A single word had slaughtered countless experts.

"None of us can enter the initial source land. Who seeks an easier path?!" The terrifying bellow made the myriad worlds tremble, filling even the Stone Kings with dread.

Beyond doubt, these were the projections of nine Imperial Sovereigns—the most fearsome beings from before the ancient age!

"They are…" The Otherworld ancestor Lu Zhan's mind trembled. He used his divine sense to question the demon king's sacred shadow, which lay gravely wounded on the ground.

"Hmph."

One of the nine projections snorted faintly, nearly shattering this broken Otherworld. Clearly, no telepathic communication could hide from them.

"They are the projections of nine saintly sovereigns among the primordial gods!" The demon king's sacred shadow looked up at the heavens, his voice cold and expressionless.

"To descend into the illusory realm, we have sacrificed divine power accumulated over millions of years. But it is worth it. With so many heavenly treasures and sacred artifacts offered, the initial source land can be opened!" Another of the saintly sovereign projections spoke. His terrifying voice shook even the kings.

"A futile effort…"

"This is the best gift for us!"