Chapter 3186: Emperor's Courage

Within the divine domain, the Yongheng God Furnace stood like a towering peak, its deep hum resonating ceaselessly throughout the four seas and eight lands.

No one spoke; they merely watched in silence.

Tai Shang hovered in the ethereal void, his presence majestic and dignified. Streams of Yongheng light cascaded from his form, enveloping Ye Chen and Zhao Yun. This light was exceptionally peculiar—as it touched them, their shattered bodies began to reconstruct inch by inch. The killing intent within them was methodically purged, and along with it, the dust of ages on their bodies, the impurities in their systems, and even their Yuan Shen were all refined and purified.

Indeed, Tai Shang was healing their wounds.

Everyone understood why he was doing this.

It wasn't out of kindness; he simply didn't want those filthy impurities to taint the Yongheng.

In other words, Tai Shang regarded Yongheng as a work of art.

By healing Ye Chen and Zhao Yun now, he was meticulously polishing that art into a masterpiece.

Simply put, Tai Shang sought the purest form of power.

After all, the Yongheng he was refining would belong entirely to him, and he demanded perfection.

This was easy to comprehend.

It was like slaughtering a pig for meat—you'd naturally discard the useless waste.

Ye Chen and Zhao Yun remained silent.

They understood what the world understood. Back when Wu Wang Mo Zun had refined them, the process had been the same.

So-called perfectionists like Wu Wang were no different from Tai Shang.

With someone healing them, the two welcomed the respite.

Even if they didn't, they had no choice. They might want to break free and fight, but they lacked the strength. Even at their peak, they couldn't shatter the seals. Tai Shang was no Wu Wang Mo Zun—daring to heal them meant he had the foundation to keep them contained. The supreme laws, the many Dun Jia Tian Zi, all ignored the weaving of Yongheng.

Uh...!

Groans of pain escaped them involuntarily.

Healing and refinement happened simultaneously. For every bit of injury that mended, a portion of Yongheng was refined away.

The agony was like being slowly dismembered.

Looking inside their bodies, everything was already marred and broken—their limbs, organs, meridians, Dao roots, Yuan Shen, and sacred blood were all tainted with dark light, gradually eroded by Tai Shang's Hun Dun. Even their life-bound spirits were poisoned, and their minds were slowly sinking into oblivion.

"My heart is not dead, my spirit is not extinguished."

Their roars came from the depths of their souls, forged with unyielding determination. Whether Ye Chen or Zhao Yun, both carried a certain belief on the path of Yongheng—a belief that could never be extinguished.

Though Tai Shang was powerful, he couldn't make them submit.

Even if refined, Yongheng remained Yongheng; Tai Shang would never achieve that perfect state.

"I quite like those two young ones."

One Zhi Gao Shen stroked his beard, his gaze shifting disapprovingly towards Tai Shang.

Most of the Zhi Gao Shen felt the same way.

However, they had united as the Heavenly Dao and couldn't interfere in worldly affairs—that was the rule.

Boom!

As they watched, a beam of Yongheng light descended straight from the void, forming a dreamlike silhouette.

It was the Gu Tian Ting Female Emperor.

She possessed true divine abilities, having crossed the cosmos itself. No longer just a projection, it was her true Huang Di form arriving, unleashing supreme Zhi Gao pressure that spread across the four seas and eight lands. The once-calm Shen Jie was now filled with flashing lightning and thunder.

Tai Shang opened his eyes and turned his head, his brows furrowing slightly.

He could tell she was a Zhi Gao Shen from an outer universe, and she shared the same origin as Ye Chen.

Clearly, she had come for Ye Chen.

Yet, he felt no fear. The Heavenly Dao had its rules, and the assembly of Zhi Gao Shen wasn't just for show.

"Heavens! Another Zhi Gao Shen has descended?"

The gods of the world were all astonished, their hearts trembling under the Female Emperor's pressure, feeling an urge to kneel.

"No, she's not from this universe."

Many ancient gods narrowed their eyes, able to detect that certain origin.

"What audacity!"

Countless supreme beings sighed in amazement; daring to arrive in her true form was clearly challenging the Heavenly Dao's authority.

"Are you insane?"

Ye Chen's voice was hoarse and raspy, his dim eyes streaked with bloody veins, turning them crimson.

He had never imagined the Female Emperor would come to this universe in person.

He knew all too well what she would face. With the Heavenly Dao as ruler, she wouldn't be up against just one Zhi Gao Shen, and there was an innate suppression. No matter how strong Yongheng was, it couldn't withstand the combined might of the heavens.

Without a doubt, she would meet her end here, body and soul destroyed.

The Female Emperor said nothing, standing gracefully in place. From the moment she entered this universe, she hadn't moved an inch. It wasn't that she didn't dare; she couldn't. Any movement would invite Heavenly Dao's retribution, and even as a Huang Di, she could be obliterated.

"Dao friend, what gives you the audacity to act so recklessly?"

The Zhi Gao Shen spoke indifferently, all rising as their combined pressure formed a devastating force of dominion.

In the vast void, a sun had already taken shape.

This wasn't an ordinary sun; every ray of its light was destructive, capable of extinguishing even a Huang Di.

And the facts proved it.

Even as a Huang Di with Yongheng supporting her, the Female Emperor struggled immensely against the dominion's light.

"Esteemed predecessors, please show some mercy."

The Female Emperor parted her lips lightly, opting for courtesy before conflict.

"You won't do; let your Heavenly Dao come."

The Zhi Gao Shen replied coldly. Indeed, the Heavenly Dao only recognized the Heavenly Dao—nothing else would suffice.

"Heavenly Dao is heartless."

The Female Emperor murmured softly. She didn't represent the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao didn't represent all living beings.

"Leave now, and we'll have peace."

The Zhi Gao Shen snorted coldly, the sun in the void shining even more brilliantly.

The Female Emperor remained silent, reaching one hand into her own body.

Then, she pulled out a cluster of light and casually dispersed it into the world.

In an instant, her pressure plummeted.

In an instant, the Yongheng throughout her body dimmed significantly, her Huang Di cultivation dropping rapidly.

Yes, like Tai Shang, she had severed herself with a blade.

Since Zhi Gao Shen would face retribution, she was no longer one now.

"What a bold young woman, truly remarkable courage."

The Zhi Gao Shen, who had risen, all sat back down, their combined dominion dissipating. As long as she didn't disrupt the rules and order of this universe, they, as the Heavenly Dao, couldn't intervene.

Thus, the Female Emperor's boldness came at a terrible cost.

It was all forced upon her. Going to war with the Zhi Gao Shen offered no chance of victory; she couldn't save Ye Chen and would likely perish herself. But by severing herself, she could evade heavenly retribution and only face Tai Shang, provided she didn't disturb the universe's order and rules.

"Are those from outer universes all this fierce?"

The Zhi Gao Shen sighed in admiration, clicking their tongues. Ye Chen was unyielding, and the Female Emperor was an absolute force of nature.

"That Ye Chen must be quite important in the outer universe."

One Zhi Gao Shen stroked his beard; a Zhi Gao Shen willingly severing herself was the best proof.

"This is getting interesting."

"The outer universe has two instances of Yongheng; this one seems to have reached perfection."

"In a one-on-one fight, we might not beat her."

Most of the Zhi Gao Shen had settled in, glancing from the Female Emperor to Tai Shang.

"Old boy, you're on your own now."

That was the unspoken message in the eyes of the Zhi Gao Shen.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The starry sky echoed with thundering steps—it was the Female Emperor's lotus feet, causing the void to tremble with each step.

Even after severing herself, she still commanded the universe with her presence.

In terms of Yongheng, she absolutely crushed Ye Chen and Zhao Yun. In the same realm, she feared no one, not even Tai Shang.

Most importantly, her laws were complete.

The only disadvantage was the innate suppression. Coming to this universe was like the Tian Mo entering the various heavens—they were outsiders, and that subtle suppression couldn't be reversed.

"What immense pressure."

The gods in the remote edges of the universe felt their souls quiver at those booming steps.

Straining their eyes, they caught sight of that approaching silhouette.

She seemed to tread upon the river of time, emerging from the end of ages, more distant than a dream.

"She's severed herself too?"

The ancient gods were shocked, sensing from the Female Emperor's pressure that she was no longer at the Zhi Gao Shen level.

"Truly remarkable boldness."

"This is going to be exciting; Tai Shang isn't invincible anymore."

"Who's stronger?"

The world's discussions buzzed, murmurs rising as hearts trembled.

Who was stronger?

Not just the world, but even the Zhi Gao Shen were curious, all folding their hands as if watching a grand spectacle.

At equal cultivation, one with Yongheng and one with Hun Dun, both having severed themselves and with complete laws.

This battle would certainly be fascinating.

Ye Chen's eyes were as if stained with fresh blood, his sacred body trembling uncontrollably.

To save him, the Female Emperor had severed herself.

This gamble by the various heavens came at a price more devastating than he imagined.

Tai Shang had already risen.

He had to stand; a madwoman was coming for a fight. He could ignore Ye Chen and Zhao Yun's Yongheng, but he deeply dreaded the one opposite him, for it was flawless Yongheng.

"Are you all just decorations?"

Tai Shang snorted coldly, glancing toward the void as if he could see the Zhi Gao Shen.

Someone was here to cause trouble—weren't they going to do something?

"We can't intervene."

The Zhi Gao Shen were all sly old foxes, ignoring Tai Shang's glare and shaking their heads dismissively.

If a Zhi Gao Shen came to stir things up, we could handle it.

But she's not one anymore, so we can't. Unless she disrupts the order and rules.

Besides, aren't you, Tai Shang, supposed to be so powerful? Go fight her yourself!

In that moment, Tai Shang's dignified face turned pitch black, an urge to curse welling up inside him.

"Hand him over, and I'll leave."

The Female Emperor's words were indifferent, her voice arriving before she did—cold and desolate.

"And if I don't?" Tai Shang sneered.

"Then we fight." The Female Emperor replied flatly, her words devoid of emotion yet overwhelmingly dominant.

"With just you?"

Tai Shang let out a cold shout, striding across the Hun Dun Immortal Sea with destructive might. Both had severed themselves and had complete laws—if you face innate suppression, I don't believe I can't beat you. Come, and don't think about leaving.

Behind him, at the edge of the universe, the order shifted dramatically.

The Yongheng God Furnace remained, as did the Dun Jia Tian Zi; the refinement didn't stop just because he left.

In addition, seals were reinforced.

Around the Yongheng God Furnace, four divine steles rose from the ground, each inscribed with dark divine patterns and chains of order dancing about, locking the furnace at the center to prevent Yongheng from escaping.

The seal wasn't that simple.

The Zhi Gao Shen all knew it well—it was a seal woven with Hun Dun, an illusory existence.

To save Ye Chen and Zhao Yun, one had to turn the illusion into reality.

One could see it as a prison, with the key held by Tai Shang; defeating him was the way.

Of course, even without defeating Tai Shang, it wasn't impossible to reverse.

The Zhi Gao Shen could do it easily, and someone like the Tian Ting Female Emperor could too, but it would take time. However, Tai Shang wouldn't give her that time.

Compared to that method, fighting was more straightforward—just cripple him.

In essence, to free Yongheng from the seal, take down Tai Shang—he was the obstacle.

"Retreat, retreat quickly."

The gods of the world shouted in panic, scattering faster than one another. These two great powers were about to clash.

The commotion would be immense.

Watching this spectacle required staying far back; get too close, and you wouldn't even know how you died.