The Nine Saint Shadows

Nine sacred shadows descended abruptly, their pressure overriding the heavens and myriad worlds, striking fear into all the kings present. No one dared to speak.

"Petty ants dare to dream of entering the Primeval Sacred Land? A thousand ages of effort, ten thousand epochs of toil—all a fantasy!"

The nine sacred shadows in the sky blazed with ten-thousand-zhang radiance, brilliant as suns. Their divine light suppressed all worlds; many ancient realms teetered on the brink of collapse under the vibrating celestial sound.

A shadow shaped like a ferocious ape, with a scorpion stinger and dragon wings, swept its gaze across the eight directions before fixing on the demon-saint shadow below. A single finger pointed down; a beam of sacred light shot forth.

The demon-saint shadow resisted. His right hand clawed, gathering a pitch-black mass of great Dao origins into a boundless expanse, drowning the entire Otherworld in an instant.

"Merely a soul without a fleshly shell. Even if you've reached the imperial realm, you're nothing but a wandering ghost!"

The ape's wings spread, transforming into two radiant beams that chopped down like true heavenly blades, cleaving the black Dao origins apart!

A roar shook the heavens. Though the black mist was pierced, the demon-saint shadow was ferociously powerful. It transformed into countless glimmering black threads that surged toward the sky.

Each black thread was a supreme law—the emperor's devastating strike!

A thousand layers of golden light, ten thousand wisps of sacred glow. The ape in the sky was pierced through, dissolving into scattered light rain.

To be fair, the demon-saint shadow was formidable. Even wounded by the myriad sacred artifacts earlier, it still displayed extraordinary combat power, filling all the Stone Kings with dread.

He was the only one present daring to raise a hand against the emperors.

The ape shadow was not angered. It sighed lightly: "I forgot this is merely an incarnation descending. Were my imperial body here, how could you be so insolent!"

"Do not just watch. Finish him first," said the emperor beside him, who had nine bird heads atop a thick serpentine torso. In that moment, all nine shadows struck together.

The nine imperial shadows wore solemn, dignified expressions. Though none had human form, they loomed so grand that many cultivators felt inferior and were moved to prostrate themselves. Such was the pressure of the enemy emperors.

Nine emperors striking together could shatter heaven and earth, destroy the myriad worlds. Fortunately, all their divine laws converged on a single point, hammering the demon-saint shadow.

With a single exchange, the demon-saint shadow burst apart, falling to the earth wreathed in trails of black mist.

Such was imperial might. Nine striking as one — nothing could withstand it. Even the demon-saint shadow, who could sweep through Stone Kings, could not escape disaster.

In the distance, Lu Zhan, the Otherworld Ancestral God, trembled inwardly.

"Do not come closer. Do not throw your lives away," the demon-saint shadow sent a telepathic message. "They are coeval with the ages, born in the Sole True Realm—primordial gods. In ancient days, even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had to avoid their edge."

"The only emperor of the Illusory Realm—the only threat—can now be eliminated!" The ape shadow on high cast a cold, indifferent glance. Then the nine struck together once more.

On the earth, black mist roiled and then turned to smoke, slowly dissipating. The mighty demon-saint shadow dissolved into wisps of black vapor, vanishing like steam.

"Holy Ancestor!" A Stone King of the Otherworld could not hold back a cry of grief and took a step forward. Lu Zhan tried to stop him, but it was too late.

A beam of sacred light shot down. The Stone King was pierced through. Struggling to rise, he charged toward the sky, roaring: "The Holy Ancestor of our realm will not forgive you!"

"Feeble existence. Pitiful worm. Dare to rebuke me without being an emperor?"

Several beams of sacred light struck down. That Otherworld Stone King, despite his shocking combat power, met his end. He ignited in the sky and crashed down, reduced to ash.

All the cultivators in the sky dared not utter a sound, not even to breathe loudly. Such ruthless methods chilled the heart with dread.

With the sole imperial-level threat eliminated, the nine sacred shadows felt that nothing in the myriad worlds could threaten them now. They turned their gaze to the stone steps, the ancient bridge, the nine lamps, and the Heavenly Stele, letting out cold, contemptuous laughter.

"I sense the aura of an emperor. Only the emperors of the primordial age knew the secrets of the Sole True Realm."

"Trying to create conditions for future generations to enter the Primeval Sacred Land—ultimately a mere fantasy! Impossible!"

The nine sacred shadows stood side by side in the sky, staring ahead. Then they all unleashed their divine laws.

The nine beams merged into one, crossing the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge in an instant, entering the mysterious ancient road, and shooting toward Pangu King, Fuxi, Suiren, Shennong, and the others.

Nine divine lights combined — a force capable of killing even a Stone King. In that moment, Pangu King and the others retreated, charging deeper into the ancient road.

"Sever!"

The nine sacred shadows spoke calmly. With nine experts striking together, the power was incalculable.

They severed the ancient road. A massive fissure opened before Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, and the rest, an impassable chasm.

"Kill!"

At that moment, the nine shadows struck again. A brilliant divine light swept across. If it struck, many of the human ancestors would surely fall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In that instant, the nine ancient lamps all burst forth with sky-scraping divine fire, igniting even that mysterious little world. A resplendent light curtain slowly rose.

Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao, and Shun—each held an ancient lamp, standing tall on that ancient road, facing the nine saint emperors. Their imposing figures were like mountains, like continents.

The ninth lamp flickered, not held in anyone's hand. Pangu King stood alone, gripping a stone axe.

"Familiar aura. An emperor who did not perish?"

"No—the tombs of emperors!" The nine holy shadows seemed to understand something instantly, their expressions turning icy cold.

"The tombs of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors..."

"Even if they remain, what use are tombs? Better to return dust to dust, earth to earth!"

With a continuous roar, the nine saint emperor incarnations all blazed with light, displaying overwhelming, terrifying divine power. Deadly killing intent surged into the little world.

With the combined strength of nine, a host of heavenly Dao swords shot forth, all condensed from great Dao origins, enough to pierce an emperor!

Thud... Thud... Thud...

All nine ancient lamps were struck, cracks spreading across their surfaces. Facing the fierce Dao origins of nine emperors, even sacred relics could not block them.

With a roar, all but Pangu King's lamp—which he guarded behind his axe—remained intact. The other eight lamps exploded, their flames gushing out. The area became a sea of fire.

Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao, and Shun were engulfed by the flames, merging with the eight shattered lamps!

Their radiance grew brighter and brighter, their imposing figures taller and more majestic.

"The lamps are tombs. When the lamps die, the people perish. What tricks can you still conjure? Disappear completely!"

The nine saint emperors' voices were cold, as if pronouncing a decree of the Dao.

All cultivators in the distant sky trembled in fear.

The ancient lamps were the tombs of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors—forged by enemy emperors from the primordial age. This revelation was deeply shocking.

And now the lamps had been shattered by the nine saint emperors—the tombs extinguished, the graves looted!

A flash of even more brilliant light swept toward that little world. The Dao laws of the nine saint emperors were fierce and boundless, their divine sources mighty, their great Dao overriding all worlds.

With a roar, the eight figures at the front were crushed to pieces. But they were not destroyed. They merged with the undying, ever-living brilliant flames, reforming their fleshly bodies.

"Indeed! You are the imperishable primordial spirits of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors!" When the nine saint emperors spoke these words, the myriad worlds shook. All cultivators were stunned.

"But what a pity. You are so withered. Your forms decay, your lamps serve as tombs, your primordial spirits are fading. How can you match us?"

"Refining the Primeval Sacred Land will require your primordial spirits' sacred flames. You are the perfect sacrifices!"

With these words, the nine saint emperors' bodies grew stone armor. They stepped together onto the ninety-nine layered worlds, crossed the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge, and walked onto that mysterious ancient road.

"Everything has been prepared for us. All that remains is to seize the Primeval Sacred Land and control the Sole True Realm!"

The nine saint emperors appeared in that little world. But the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors stood fearlessly before them, the Three Sovereigns Mirror and the Five Emperor Tower suspended above their heads.

Pangu King, gripping his stone axe, strode forward and stood at the vanguard.

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors have not perished. Their primordial spirits remain. I take it you are the same. But today, you will vanish forever!"

The nine saint emperors charged forward. Heavenly Dao divine sources surged boundlessly, grinding down all resistance.

With a thunderous roar, the stone axe swept the heavens. The Three Sovereigns Mirror shone. The Five Emperor Tower shook. Fire reached the sky. Nine figures blocked the nine emperors!

But all were shattered in an instant, their bodies destroyed.

Yet when the nine saint emperors pressed forward, their forms coalesced once more, restored within the flames.

"Even in your former prime, you might not have withstood us, the Primordial Sage Emperors. Now, you merely struggle in vain."

"Weak races, even if they cultivate to this level, can they truly defy the Primordial Gods?"

"All below the emperor are like insects. In ages past, if not for your obstruction, we would have nearly exterminated all insects. Now you yourselves have become insects. How can you change anything?"

Hearing this, the many cultivators of the Nine Provinces burned with fury. But they knew they could not stop these beings.

"Hahaha!" At that moment, a bone-chilling laugh erupted. Billowing black clouds surged from the Death World.

The Death World was connected to the Otherworld; everything in that realm was clearly visible.

From the deepest ancient battlefield of the Death World, a titanic battle form slowly crawled out from a split in the cracked earth, revealing a terrifying demonic body. It had human shape, three heads—the center a human head, the left a dragon head, the right a tiger head—its whole body covered in white bone scales, with nine bone tails.

Xiao Chen knew, though others did not, that this fearsome form had emerged not far from the original site of the Eighth Heavenly Stele. Though not the stele's exact sealing location, it had surely been influenced by it.

"You are the 'Xu' from the primordial age?!"

"Indeed. The emperor born of illusion—the Holy Ancestor of Xu power!"

"Since you are an emperor, why did you not enter the Sole True Realm?" The several saint emperors were greatly startled.

Xu sneered coldly: "The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors schemed endlessly, yet it came to nothing. I endured in vain for endless ages, worrying needlessly. Still, I have waited for the chance to open the Sole True Realm."

This was a living emperor! Every expert in the myriad worlds was astonished.

"How can you endure in the Illusory Realm?" The nine saint emperors were deeply puzzled.

"First, I crippled myself from emperor to king. Then I cultivated slowly, hiding near the Eighth Heavenly Stele, recovering to the imperial realm while using the divine stele to suppress myself, maintaining immortality," Xu said, laughing uproariously. But his expression was ice-cold: "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, you have died after all. All your efforts have lost their meaning, serving only to benefit me. The Sole True Realm and Primeval Sacred Land have already opened for me!"

Everyone was shocked, and a chill crept into their hearts. This Xu was vicious beyond measure—he had crippled himself from emperorhood rather than enter the Sole True Realm, enduring for so many years. Truly a terrifying man.

"Your forbearance is impressive. You are a figure to be reckoned with. But facing us nine emperors, all your efforts are futile."

"Nine emperors? So what? All of you are merely incarnations! How can you contend with me? Although I cannot dwell in this world forever, I have enough time to kill you. I am the 'Xu Emperor'! None can stop me!"

"Despicable race. Worms of the earth. Before the primordial age, you were nothing before us." One of the nine Primordial Sage Emperors spoke with contempt.

"You Primordial Gods slaughtered countless beings, but you are nothing but arrogant, self-satisfied fools. Even with nine sage emperors, so what? The mortal races you despise have produced twenty-seven emperors and thirty-six sovereigns. What is there for you to boast about? Although I have not entered the Sole True Realm, I imagine that among the many emperors and sovereigns there, you are merely average!"

"In the Sole True Realm, the emperor is supreme. There is no distinction of high or low, whether Primordial or mortal born. Our purpose is one: to burn the countless Illusory Realms and forge the immortal True Realm. Your cultivation and insight are still lacking..." One of the nine sage emperors coldly rebuked. "Even as incarnations, we can kill your true body!"

Suddenly, from the distant void, three powerful divine thoughts erupted. Three gods charged forth in an instant, landing on the ninety-nine stone steps.

The nine sage emperors changed color, deeply startled. Three more emperors had appeared.

Xu Emperor's expression also shifted drastically. He had never imagined that besides himself, other emperors still survived in this world.

"The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors labored in vain for a billion years. In the end, it was a reflection of flowers in a mirror, the moon on the water—all serving to benefit others."

Though the three did not come from the same place, they seemed to know of each other's existence.

"It seems we were overly cautious. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors did not amount to much after all!"

"Haha!" All three laughed heartily.

"What say we four join forces? We are the only remaining emperors. Refine the primordial spirits of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, annihilate the incarnations of the nine Primordial Emperors. Then, when we enter the Primeval Sacred Land, there will be no more unexpected reversals. We will become the masters of the Sole True Realm!"

"Though we are the last emperors to emerge, our endurance has won us the final victory."

The three emperors had sealed themselves in the void for endless ages, surviving by a hair's breadth. Their continued existence was a miracle.

Now Xu Emperor and the three surviving emperors from the primordial age quickly reached an agreement: they would join forces.

All cultivators of the myriad worlds were ashen-faced. Emperors had never truly vanished. Living beings were ants before them. The great Dao lay ahead, and they had no right to speak.

Xiao Chen watched silently, turning to Shi Zhongdi. How could they fight this? What hope was there?

Four ancient relics—so vicious, so forbearing—who could subdue them?

The nine sage emperors laughed coldly: "The one who laughs last is the true victor. It is still too early to decide!"