Chapter 3198: Heavenly Dao is Ruthless

Boom! Rumble!

The entire Zhutian Universe echoed with thunder, shaking violently and unsteadily.

The heavens and earth fell into chaos, and the rules became meaningless.

In the world, bizarre events unfolded everywhere: rivers like Xiong Jiang flowed backward, the elderly regained youth, and one unnamed vision after another materialized, showing scenes from over ten thousand years ago when Xianwu Dizi led a million divine generals into the Taigu Honghuang.

"Has time and space been disrupted?"

Zaohua Shenwang frowned, destroying the demonic pillars while scanning the four seas and eight wastelands.

"It's more than just time and space—everything's gone completely haywire."

Disi Shenjiang spoke up, waving his hand to gather the spirits of an entire realm.

Everything was in disarray.

The Tianting Empress, standing high in the heavens, furrowed her brows even deeper, able to gaze upon the Taigu Road and the Zhutian Universe alike.

Time and space were disordered, and time itself was in turmoil.

Countless people and events seemed to defy the established rules—who knew how many suffered, or how many gained unexpected fortunes from the calamity? For instance, infants suddenly turned white-haired, while the elderly reverted to childhood.

"External force."

Zizai Tian murmured softly.

It was indeed an external force.

Ye Chen was that force, and Zizai Tian seemed to have seen it clearly, his eyes profound and boundless.

He was right; Ye Chen originated from the Heavenly Way, specifically the Heavenly Way of a small universe, which clashed with the Zhutian Universe. This conflict was not obvious at first, but combined with the interference from the Huangdi Tribulation, the collision of multiple forces triggered this catastrophe.

"I shouldn't have come."

Ye Chen took a deep breath, emerging from his dream in an instant, and opened his eyes atop the mountain peak of his small universe.

Indeed, as soon as he left, the Zhutian Universe quieted down considerably. Though the heavens and earth remained chaotic, the rules stabilized.

"It's definitely an external force."

The Empress murmured, her eyes equally profound. A clash of one or two forces might be manageable, but more would lead to utter devastation.

In that moment, countless people steadied themselves, their faces pale as if they had endured total destruction.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Though the rules had stabilized, the demonic pillars from the outer domains continued to emerge one after another.

And the Huangdi Tribulation in the Taigu Honghuang had not dissipated.

In the illusory void, billions of thunderbolts formed a sea of lightning. Yuxian from the Ancient Tianting fought with her body stained in blood, activating countless forbidden techniques and sacrificing vast amounts of her lifespan—or rather, she had driven herself to a dead end: either ascend to Huangdi, or perish completely.

"Seal it."

The Empress glanced over, then closed her eyes and unleashed a great divine ability, freezing the Taigu heavens and earth.

Buzz!

A mysterious resistance struck her hard, causing her to stagger back a step with blood overflowing from her lips.

Of course, she was no longer a Huangdi, so she could no longer perform what only a Huangdi could do.

Zizai Tian ascended to the skies and merged directly into the Empress's body, fully enhancing her eternal power. Just as she could weaken eternity, she could also strengthen it.

"Interesting."

The Saint Demon narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing that Zizai Tian was not from this universe, yet that woman seemed extraordinarily mysterious. She might not excel in direct combat, but as a supporter, she was on a super-divine level.

Boom!

With Zizai Tian's integration, the Empress's entire body radiated eternal light—not only dazzling but also infused with a dreamlike quality. Ancient visions evolved around her, and even the great emperors could not discern what they were, only seeing a faint, ethereal figure dancing gracefully on the distant clouds—that was Zizai Tian.

Apart from her, the Empress herself had an eternal immortal mark etched on her forehead, forcibly stabilizing the heavens and earth while withstanding the mysterious forces. Then, with a light wave of her jade hand, she seemed to be adorning something in the void.

She was realigning the heavens and earth and mending their flaws.

No matter what, the Taigu Honghuang could not afford to have problems; otherwise, even with the Saint Demon present, it might attract the Heavenly Demons to assault the Seven Sha.

To the outside world, only a dozen instants had passed.

But for the Empress, a thousand years had already elapsed. She had frozen the heavens and earth and secretly altered the time rules, using a full millennium to pull everything back to its original course.

Now, a strand of white hair appeared at her temple. Forcibly performing what only a Huangdi could do brought not only mysterious backlash but also the torment of the rules.

A thousand years of time had left her utterly worn and scarred.

"This is too reckless."

Shenzun sent a message, his brows slightly furrowed.

The Empress said nothing, standing silently in the heavens and gazing quietly into the void, her beautiful eyes nearly narrowed to slits.

A formidable opponent had arrived.

The Empress's demeanor clearly conveyed this.

And that formidable opponent was visible only to her; without Zizai Tian's enhancement, she likely could not have seen it clearly.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In the mysterious void, thunderous roars echoed, even more overpowering than the Huangdi Tribulation.

All the emperors looked up, their hearts pounding wildly.

An extremely strong pressure was slowly encroaching on the Taigu Honghuang, weighing on them like mountains. Such a feeling had only been experienced from the present Saint Demon or the former Empress.

"Huangdi."

The old Tianting supreme pondered, realizing that such destructive pressure could only come from a Huangdi.

He was half right.

A Huangdi had indeed entered, but it was not the true form.

Even so, they could not locate it; they only knew of its existence.

"Don't tell me you're well?"

The Empress said calmly, seeing clearly that it was the Tianmo Huangdi.

"You still look as beautiful as ever."

The Tianmo Huangdi chuckled eerily, lurking in the mysterious void without manifesting in the world. His words carried a tone of desolation, authority, and mockery, laced with an supreme demonic power that targeted only the Tianting Empress.

"Even without your true form, you dare to challenge me?"

The Empress parted her lips slightly—it was unclear whether she or Zizai Tian was speaking.

That did not matter. What mattered was that the Empress stepped forward, entering the mysterious void.

Immediately, rumbling sounds followed, even stronger than the Huangdi Tribulation thunder, and all the emperors could clearly hear the sounds of battle.

However, that battlefield did not exist in the physical world.

It was the Empress and the Tianmo Huangdi clashing in the mysterious void.

She was not a Huangdi, but with Zizai Tian's enhancement;

He was not the true Huangdi form, incomplete and inherently flawed.

Both were invincible existences below Huangdi.

The battle was extremely fierce; no one could witness it, yet blood rain poured down.

Each drop of blood seemed like a world-ending light, casting an apocalyptic hue.

"Block it."

All the emperors cast spells, forming a barrier that enveloped the entire Taigu Honghuang.

Even so, the blood rain left everything scarred and desolate.

The world did not pause because of the Empress's battle with the Tianmo Huangdi. The outer domains continued their invasion, and the Huangdi Tribulation persisted, with rumbling sounds like funeral bells echoing through the universe.

Break!

In the Taigu void, Yuxian roared wildly, having fought to the point of madness. Dragging her blood-soaked immortal body and bathing in the endless thunder, she attacked against the heavens, advancing all the way to the highest realm and beholding the gate known as Huangdi.

A barrier stood in her way, and she assaulted it relentlessly.

She succeeded, shattering it with one palm and leaping into the Huangdi gate in a single step.

"She did it."

The emperors were thrilled, their bloodshot eyes gleaming with the brightest divine light.

Splash!

Amid the excitement, a glaring burst of blood light appeared.

For some unknown reason, the Huangdi gate cracked open, and Yuxian, who had just entered, was flung out like a radiant sun falling to earth. In her descent, the most brilliant light faded away.

"This..." The emperors' expressions turned deathly pale.

"Cross-time attack."

The old Tianting supreme's eyes flashed with cold light, realizing the calamity Yuxian had suffered—a precise cross-time kill that struck at the exact moment of her ascension to Huangdi.

"Damn it."

Shenzun snorted coldly, detecting a trace of time and space, and chased it back, sword in hand.

"You dare attack me, a mere quasi-Huangdi?"

A chilling voice echoed in his ears.

Then, the sword he had thrust returned upon him—whoever struck, it struck back!

Shenzun spat blood and staggered back a step, shattering the Taigu Road under his feet. His imperial body cracked open, entwined with time and space forces carrying destructive power, wildly eroding his divine soul.

Splash!

Yuxian also vomited blood, aging rapidly in her fall, her entire body collapsing, even the blood she spat turning to ash.

She had won, stepping into the Huangdi gate.

But she had also lost, suffering a cross-time kill and being expelled from the Huangdi gate.

With no path of retreat, she had none left.

In the void, her blood-soaked immortal body scattered its final light, and the flame of her divine soul extinguished. Whether flesh or soul, she dissolved into wisps of historical dust.

"Heaven's Way is heartless."

These were her last murmured words, filled with exhaustion, sorrow, and anger.

She was buried, turning to ash before the emperors' eyes.

In the ashes, only a radiant golden character remained, like an ownerless object suspended in the void, flickering dimly—that was the Dunjia Heavenly Character, previously refined into her body. Now, with her death, it returned to the world, and even the cross-time kill could not destroy it.

"Damn it."

Roars of fury echoed throughout the Taigu Honghuang, the emperors' eyes blood-red with rage.

She had clearly entered the Huangdi gate, yet suffered a kill that no one could defend against—a precisely timed cross-time strike that extinguished one on the verge of becoming Huangdi.

Would there still be hope for anyone to ascend to Huangdi after this?

Boom!

In the void, blood light appeared as a graceful figure emerged from the mysterious realm, splitting into the Empress and Zizai Tian.

Their battle with the Tianmo Huangdi had ended, and the two blood-stained figures were strikingly vivid.

"I underestimated you both."

The Tianmo Huangdi was in no better shape; though he wished to continue fighting, he was not his true form and was being pulled back by an irresistible force to his origin. With his true self unable to cross over, his time was up.

"Destroy."

Suddenly, a resolute voice rang out—it was Ye Chen's, appearing once more in his dream and launching a devastating strike directly at the Tianmo Huangdi.

"With you?"

The Tianmo Huangdi scoffed coldly, covering the mysterious void with a palm, ignoring the dream realm and aiming to obliterate Ye Chen with one blow.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Ye Chen. Not only did he miss, but he was struck by a sword in return.

"Eternal? Heavenly Way?"

The Tianmo Huangdi spat blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Struck by that sword, his fate was sealed.

In an instant, he exploded into ash, not even managing to return to the Tianmo Domain.

It was his own fault—he was too gravely injured, and with his true form's power withdrawing, that previous palm was all form and no substance, its power greatly diminished. The last flicker of his life force was cut down by a dreamer.

His death was insignificant, but it caused the Tianmo Huangdi's true form to spit blood, suffering backlash.

Splash!

Ye Chen fared no better; half of his sacred body was destroyed upon emerging from the dream. Forcibly attacking from within the dream harmed him as much as his enemy, and the backlash he endured was even more terrifying than what the Tianmo Huangdi had faced.