148: Slay the heavens and break through the boundaries, ascend to the immortal realm!

"Are you finally willing to show your face?"

Chen Xu's voice, like thunder, echoed throughout the Heaven and Earth.

On his thousand-zhang body, muscles bulged.

Every inch of his skin shone with immortal Divine Light.

He showed no fear; instead, he grinned: "A mere Jailer's Law dares to judge me?"

RUMBLE—!

His arrogance immediately enraged the giant eye.

In an instant, destructive lightning bolts began to gather frantically within the gray pupil!

The lightning was gray.

Every bolt of lightning twisted the surrounding space.

Exuding a terrifying aura capable of annihilating all things.

This was not the Heavenly Tribulation of this realm, but a Law of Eradication specifically aimed at Soul Transformation Cultivators, targeting criminals like them who attempted to escape the cage!

It was the Heavenly Punishment of the Upper Realm!

ZZZZZT—!!!

Without any warning, the first gray Divine Thunder, like a world-destroying gray electric Dragon, tore through the Void Realm.

It struck fiercely, heading straight for Chen Xu's head!

Wherever the lightning passed, space collapsed piece by piece, leaving behind pitch-black Void Realm trails.

As if even this piece of Heaven and Earth could not withstand its power!

Seeing this, Chen Xu slowly raised his right fist, which was even larger than a mountain.

Primordial Violet Qi coiled around his fist.

Golden Divine Runes burst forth with dazzling light.

The next moment, he punched out toward that world-destroying gray Divine Thunder!

"Shatter... for me!"

This punch contained no flashy Divine Abilities, nor complicated Laws.

It was the supreme might, capable of smashing through stars, achieved after the perfect Fusion of the Grandmist Dao Body and the Divine Skeleton Origin!

The fist and the gray Divine Thunder violently collided in mid-air!

Accompanied by an earth-shattering boom.

That gray Divine Thunder, before Chen Xu's fist, cracked and disintegrated inch by inch, from beginning to end!

Finally, it exploded violently!

Turning into gray electric arcs scattered across the sky, vanishing into nothingness!

One punch! Just one punch!

It shattered the Heavenly Punishment originating from the "Upper Realm"!

"ROAR!!!"

Chen Xu roared toward the sky, his cries sounding like the roar of a Dragon and a tiger.

Shaking the Nine Heavens!

He launched a punch, and the momentum did not decrease; the terrifying aftershock of the punch slammed heavily onto the sea surface.

RUMBLE—!!!

The entire Sea of the Extreme North seemed to have been struck by a star!

Centered around him, the sea surface for ten thousand miles suddenly collapsed downward.

Forming a giant, bottomless void!

Immediately afterward, endless seawater poured back in, raising terrifying tsunamis tens of thousands of zhang high.

Sweeping frantically in all directions!

This was true power capable of overturning rivers and seas.

This was the true might of a God and Devil!

Above the sky, the giant eye was also enraged by Chen Xu's ferocious posture, and its gray pupil suddenly constricted!

BUZZ—!

A beam of destructive light, a hundred times more terrifying than the gray Divine Thunder.

Shot out from the deepest part of the pupil!

The beam was so fast that the moment it was fired.

It had already arrived before Chen Xu's glabella!

"Good timing!"

Chen Xu's Battle Intent soared to the heavens; instead of retreating, he advanced!

With a thought!

"Suppress!"

With a fierce roar, the purple-gold jade seal that had fused with his Primordial Spirit in his glabella.

Burst forth with brilliant light!

BUZZ—!!!

A complete human emperor seal, coiled with nine Divine Dragons and inscribed with the ancient character "Emperor," appeared out of thin air!

It swelled against the wind, instantly transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang golden mountain, blocking Chen Xu's path!

"AUNG—!!!"

Nine Imperial Dao Golden Dragons let out roars that shook the heavens, and ten thousand zhang of golden light shot up into the sky.

Forming an absolute Imperial Dao Domain!

HISS—!

The gray beam of light fiercely struck the human emperor seal!

However, the earth-shattering collision that was expected did not occur.

The moment the gray beam touched the golden light of the human emperor seal, it was forcefully blocked three feet in front of Chen Xu, unable to advance even an inch!

The golden Imperial Dao Luck and the gray Law of Eradication violently clashed and annihilated each other!

The terrifying energy that leaked out.

Caused the entire sky to turn into Chaos!

"Is this all your strength?"

Chen Xu's thousand-zhang body stood behind the human emperor seal, completely unscathed.

He looked at the giant eye in the sky, his eyes full of mockery.

"If you, Jailer, only have this much capability, then today, you shall remain here!"

The instant his voice fell, he suddenly beckoned with his left hand!

CLANG!!!

A sword cry echoed throughout the Heaven and Earth!

The dark-gold sword tip, stained with the blood of countless Immortals and Gods and radiating an aura of extreme slaughter, flew out from his glabella.

Landing in his palm!

The immortal slaying sword tip!

After Chen Xu achieved the Soul Transformation Breakthrough.

He could now initially activate the full power of this fragment of the ancient supreme artifact of slaughter!

Holding the sword in one hand, his thousand-zhang body raised this mere three-inch sword tip high above his head.

Pointing it far away toward the cold giant eye in the firmament!

At this moment, the Battle Intent, killing intent, and Imperial Dao Qi on his body.

Climbed to their peak!

His voice, echoing throughout the entire world, carried an unmatched determination!

"Today, I, Chen Xu!"

"Shall slay this wretched heaven of yours!"

"For my Chen Family, and for the hundreds of millions of unyielding beings in this Sin Blood Realm, I shall usher in eternal peace!"

The Divine Power within him, the Primordial Violet Qi in his Purple Mansion, the endless Luck connected to the human emperor seal... all his power, at this moment.

Was poured entirely into the immortal slaying sword tip in his hand!

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ—!

The dark-gold sword tip instantly shone with dazzling brilliance!

A ten-thousand-mile-long dark-gold sword beam shot up from the sword tip, tearing through the Chaos.

Illuminating the entire pitch-black firmament!

This sword strike gathered all his will!

This sword strike carried the eternal resentment of the Human Race's ancient sages!

This sword strike was named... "Heaven-Splitting!"

Chen Xu roared, and his arm swung down fiercely!

BOOM!!!

The ten-thousand-mile-long dark-gold sword beam shot out of his hand!

The moment it flew out, it actually transformed into a lifelike.

Purple Giant Dragon roaring at the Heaven and Earth!

The Giant Dragon's body was coiled with Imperial Dao golden light and shimmered with Primordial Violet Qi.

And it exuded a supreme killing intent capable of slaying Immortals and Gods!

It went against the current!

Charging forward fearlessly!

Carrying the unyielding wrath of a world, it rushed toward the high and mighty giant eye in the firmament!

A trace of fluctuation appeared in the giant eye.

It was surprise, shock.

And a hint of... fear!

It seemed to want to evade, but it was too late!

Under the horrified gaze of countless beings in the entire Cultivation World, the purple-gold sword light Dragon fiercely crashed into the pupil of the giant eye!

CRACK—!!!

Immediately afterward, a crisp sound of shattering, like the collapse of the Heavenly Dao.

Instantly spread to every corner of the world!

Above the sky, the giant eye, which represented the supreme Law of this realm.

Began to show cracks starting from its center.

Immediately, the cracks spread frantically like a spiderweb!

BOOM!!!

The giant eye violently exploded!

Turning into a sky full of scattered gray light rain.

Dissipating between the Heaven and Earth!

The sky had been cleaved open!

The huge rift that the giant eye had propped open.

Did not heal because of the eye's disappearance.

Instead, due to the residual might of the "Heaven-Splitting" sword strike, it was torn even wider!

A massive wound spanning the entire world appeared horrifyingly in the firmament.

And remained unhealed for a long time!

Chen Xu retracted his Heaven and Earth Manifestation, returned to his normal size, and hovered over the calm North Sea.

He was panting heavily, his face pale.

That single sword strike had nearly drained all the power from his body.

But he had still won!

However, right at this moment!

He suddenly saw that behind the pitch-black rift was neither the Upper Realm he had imagined, nor the boundless Void Realm.

But a layer of thin film... shimmering with faint golden light!

That thin film enveloped the entire world.

Through that layer of golden film, Chen Xu could vaguely see that outside the film, there seemed to be another space.

In that space, several figures stood indistinctly.

Just as Chen Xu looked at them, those figures also seemed to sense the anomaly here and cast their gazes down.

A voice carrying surprise and amusement slowly drifted over.

"Huh? In the Sin Blood Realm, an ant actually managed to break through the cage defense of the Minor Thousand Worlds?"

The voice penetrated the world's film and echoed above the North Sea.

Hearing the word "ant," Chen Xu smiled.

Ant?

Heh heh... Soon, you will know who the ant truly is.

The next moment, Chen Xu had a thought, and his thousand-zhang Heaven and Earth Manifestation body, resembling a God or Devil, began to shrink rapidly. The Primordial Violet Qi and golden Divine Runes coiling around him were entirely retracted into his body.

In the blink of an eye, he returned to his normal physical size.

His simple black robe flapped loudly in the sea breeze.

He hovered above the sea surface, his figure appearing slender.

Yet he gave the illusion of being capable of propping open the Heaven and Earth.

Just by standing there, the surrounding hundred zhang of space silently twisted and trembled, as if unable to bear the terrifying power contained within his Physical Body.

A Deity Transformation Dao Monarch!

He had already surpassed the limits that this realm could bear!

And the moment he retracted his aura.

The entire world came alive.

BOOM!

The ten-thousand-mile rift in the sky that he had cleaved open with a single sword strike.

Was no longer a symbol of death.

Streams of pure Spiritual Qi poured down frantically from behind the rift!

That was not ordinary Spiritual Qi; it was Immortal Spiritual Qi from the "Upper Realm"!

Spiritual Qi rained down, sprinkling onto the mortal world.

In the Eastern Wasteland, a crimson desert spanning tens of thousands of miles, where not a blade of grass had grown for ten thousand years.

When the first wisp of Immortal Spiritual Qi descended.

BUZZ!

A massive Spiritual Vein deep underground, which had dried up ten thousand years ago, actually let out a roar like a Dragon's cry.

Instantly reviving!

Immediately afterward, emerald green sprouts stubbornly broke through the sand, growing rapidly against the wind!

In just over a dozen breaths.

The entire crimson desert transformed into a boundless green grassland! Countless ancient Spiritual Plants, only recorded in ancient texts, sprouted wildly here!

...In the depths of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in the Southern Territory.

An old Ape Demon King, whose Lifespan was nearly exhausted and who was lying in its nest waiting to die, suddenly had a flash of light burst forth from its cloudy eyes.

It abruptly raised its head and opened its mouth.

Greedily inhaling the dense aura of life in the air.

"ROAR!"

An earth-shattering roar echoed through the mountains and forests.

Its shriveled Physical Body rapidly filled out at a visible speed, and its pale fur turned golden yellow again!

Not only did it extend its life, but its cultivation Bottleneck shattered violently!

In Central State, within countless Immortal Cities.

The Cultivators who had just been despairing over the Dao Incarnation Tribulation were all stunned.

"My hand... my hand has recovered!"

A Nascent Soul Ancestor looked at his palm, which had originally begun to dissipate, now perfectly intact, and couldn't help but burst into tears of joy.

"Bottleneck! My Bottleneck, which had been stuck for three hundred years, has loosened!"

"This is... this is Immortal Qi! It's Immortal Qi from the Upper Realm!"

"Alliance Leader! It's Alliance Leader Chen! He succeeded! He broke the cage! He brought us a chance at life!"

After a brief silence, a frantic cheer echoed throughout the entire world!

Countless Cultivators sat cross-legged, greedily absorbing this once-in-a-thousand-years Opportunity.

At this moment, the entire Cultivation World seemed to have been fast-forwarded.

Countless people broke through on the spot!

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul!

The Spiritual Qi level of the entire world was recovering at an unbelievable speed, returning to the glorious prosperity of ancient times!

Chen Xu quietly watched this scene, his expression calm.

He wasn't immersed in the joy of saving the world; he knew better than anyone.

The real crisis had just begun.

He took one last look at the hugecrack in the northern sky, and his figure flickered.

Tear!

The space in front of him was easily torn open like a thin piece of paper.

He stepped in, and his figure instantly disappeared above the North Sea... Central Continent, Chen Family Holy Land.

Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Chen Daoxuan, Murong Zhuyun, the Sect Master Ba Dao, and others all looked at the sky with grave expressions.

The destructive pressure and the indifferent giant eye from earlier still left them with lingering fear.

"Father, he..."

Chen Daoxuan's face was filled with worry.

He didn't know if his father had won or lost, lived or died.

Just then.

A ripple suddenly appeared in the space in the center of the main hall.

The next moment, a black-robed figure appeared out of thin air before everyone.

It was Chen Xu!

"Father!"

"Alliance Leader!"

The moment they saw Chen Xu, Chen Daoxuan and the others were first stunned, then their faces showed ecstatic joy!

Chen Xu was back!

He was still alive!

"Welcome back, Family Head!"

"Welcome back, Alliance Leader, in triumph!"

The entire main hall, and even all the Chen Family members and Alliance Cultivators who had rushed to the plaza outside the hall upon hearing the news.

All of them erupted!

Countless people wept with joy, knelt excitedly on the ground, and shouted loudly.

The overwhelming sound waves almost overturned the dome of the entire Holy Land!

They didn't know what had happened deep in the Return to the Void.

They only knew that the Dao Incarnation Tribulation was gone!

Spiritual Qi was back!

All of this was brought about by the man before them!

He was the God of this world!

However, facing the fervent worship of the entire Family.

There was no smile on Chen Xu's face.

He merely waved his hand, and an invisible force lifted everyone up.

"Rise, all of you."

"Dao Xuan, Murong, all core members of the Alliance, follow me into the inner hall. I have important matters to discuss."

A chill ran through everyone's hearts. From Chen Xu's solemn expression, they realized that things were probably not that simple.

Soon, in the inner discussion hall, only the highest echelons of the Chen Family remained.

"Father, you..."

Chen Daoxuan was about to ask, but Chen Xu raised a hand to interrupt him.

"I succeeded, and I failed."

Chen Xu's first sentence stunned everyone.

Succeeded?

And failed?

What did that mean?

Chen Xu's gaze swept over the crowd, and he slowly said, "I broke the cage, beheaded the Incarnation of this world's Heavenly Dao Law, allowing the Spiritual Qi of the Upper Realm to pour into this world. From now on, the Dao Incarnation Tribulation no longer exists, and the path to Soul Transformation has reopened."

Hearing this, joy appeared on everyone's faces.

But Chen Xu's next words were like a basin of ice water poured over their heads.

"However, I also alarmed the guardians outside the cage."

He briefly recounted his memory of fusing with the divine skeleton "Cang" deep in the Return to the Void, and finally seeing the figures from beyond the heavens and hearing the word "ants."

After hearing it, the entire inner hall fell into a deathly silence.

Jailers?

Sin Blood Realm?

The world they had lived in for generations was actually just a place of exile for prisoners?

And they were the descendants of Jailers?

This truth was too cruel, too subversive!

Murong Zhuyun was the first to react, her eyes filled with solemnity: "Sir, do you mean that those people from beyond the heavens are by no means benevolent? They could attack us at any time?"

"Not 'could'."

Chen Xu shook his head, his tone cold.

"It's 'will definitely'."

"They see us as ants in a cage. Now that the ants have broken the cage, what do you think the guardians will do? Let us go, or... thoroughly crush us and replace us with a stronger cage?"

Everyone felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to their crown.

The Sect Master Ba Dao said in a rough voice, "Alliance Leader, what should we do then? Fight them! You even beheaded the Heavenly Dao, are you still afraid of them?"

"It's different."

Chen Xu said in a deep voice, "What I beheaded was merely a projection of this world's Heavenly Dao Law, a guardian left behind by the overseers. But beyond thecrack are true living beings, and their power far exceeds our imagination."

"Although I have entered Soul Transformation, I still don't have absolute confidence against them."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's hearts sank further.

Even Chen Xu, who was already invincible in this world, had no confidence, then they... Seeing the worry on everyone's faces, Chen Xu changed the subject.

"However, there's no need to be too despairing."

He slowly stood up, walked to the entrance of the main hall, and looked up at the sky.

"Crisis is also Opportunity."

"This world has already connected with the Upper Realm, and Spiritual Qi has recovered. In the future, my Chen Family will inevitably give birth to more Nascent Souls, and even Soul Transformation Cultivators!"

"What we need to do is buy time!"

He turned around, a domineering aura of looking down upon the world flashing in his eyes.

"As long as we are given enough time, what are mere Jailers?"

After speaking, he pointed two fingers like a sword at the Holy Land beneath his feet, tapping in the air.

Buzz!

Centered on the entire Holy Land, an invisible ripple instantly spread out.

Deep underground, the Purple Gold Imperial Dao World Suppressing Grand Array, personally arranged by Chen Xu.

At this moment, it roared into operation!

Countless profound runes emerged from the Void Realm, connecting with the earthpulse, and resonating with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The mountain protection grand array, which had already reached the peak of the fourth-tier, under Chen Xu's singlerefer to.

Its aura began to surge wildly!

Rumble!

The entire Chen Family Holy Land trembled violently.

Everyone could feel an even more indestructible, more profound invisible barrier.

Firmly protecting the entire Holy Land.

A fifth-tier grand array!

A fifth-tier immortal array capable of withstanding the full-power strike of a Deity Transformation Dao Monarch!

Under everyone's shocked gazes, Chen Xu simply pointed his finger.

And completed such a world-changing feat.

"This is just the first step."

Chen Xu withdrew his finger, speaking indifferently.

However, the moment his voice fell.

Boom!!!

Above the sky, that ten-thousand-milecrack that spanned the heavens and earth.

Suddenly burst forth with golden light!

The golden membrane that originally separated this world from the Upper Realm slowly melted away under the illumination of ten thousand feet of golden light, like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

Immediately after.

A colossal, incomparably majestic and sacred gate, entirely condensed from golden Immortal light.

Slowly descended from the center of thatcrack!

The gate was ten thousand zhang tall, carved with countless immortal birds and Auspicious Beasts.

It was enveloped in an intoxicating aura of the Immortal Dao.

At the very top of the gate, two ancient characters, written in a vigorous Dragon-and-Phoenix style, exuded infinite temptation.

—Reception!

"Heavens! What... what is that!"

"The Reception Immortal Gate! It's the legendary Reception Immortal Gate!"

"Ascension! We can ascend!"

At this moment, not just the Chen Family Holy Land, but all Cultivators in the entire Cultivation World who witnessed this scene.

All went mad!

They thought this was a reward from the Upper Realm for Chen Xu breaking the cage!

This was the path to Ascension they had dreamed of!

Under the fervent gaze of billions of living beings.

That colossal "Gate of Reception" slowly opened a crack.

A majestic and resonant voice, like a decree from Heaven and Earth, came from within, echoing throughout every corner of the world.

"Lower Realm Cultivator Chen Xu, for breaking the ancient Restriction of the Sin Blood Realm and acting against the heavens, his crime deserves death!"

The first half of the voice was cold and merciless, instantly plunging all the ecstatic Cultivators into an ice cellar.

However, the voice changed its tone.

"Nevertheless, considering his ignorance, and his merit in breaking the boundary, allowing the Upper Realm to see this world's light of day again. His merits and demerits cancel each other out, and his crime is hereby specially pardoned!"

"You are granted the Opportunity for Ascension, as a display of heavenly grace!"

"Chen Xu is permitted to immediately ascend the Immortal Gate and Ascend to the Upper Realm! And is allowed to bring one hundred of his Family members and followers to enjoy immortal blessings!"

"The time limit is one day; no waiting after the deadline!"

Boom!

These words, like a heavy bomb, exploded throughout the entire Cultivation World!

First, deserving of ten thousand deaths, then a special pardon of heavenly grace?

And even allowing him to bring a hundred people to Ascend together?

Such a tremendous gift, such a dramatic turn of events.

Caused countless Cultivators' brains to crash.

After a brief silence, an even more frantic wave erupted!

"Ascension! One hundred people can Ascend!"

"I want to join the Chen Family! I am willing to be a cow or a horse for the Chen Family, just for one spot!"

"Alliance Leader Chen! For the sake of my Sect having helped you before, please take me with you!"

The entire world was in complete Chaos.

Countless Nascent Soul Ancestors whose Lifespans were nearing their end, Grand Elders of major Sects, and even some half-step Soul Transformation Cultivators who had been living in seclusion, all turned red-eyed at this moment.

They went mad, transforming into streaks of light, rushing from all directions towards the Chen Family Holy Land in the Central Continent!

What dignity, what face, were worthless in the face of the temptation of eternal life and Ascension!

They wanted to snatch!

At all costs, to snatch a spot for Ascension!

..."Reception Immortal Gate?"

Inside the Chen Family inner hall, the extremely solemn atmosphere was instantly broken by a sense of absurdity.

The Sect Master Ba Dao's eyes widened, his rugged face filled with disbelief.

"Alliance Leader, what... what does this mean? Weren't they trying to kill us? Why are they voluntarily opening the door for us to Ascend?"

"First a slap, then a sweet date?" Daoist Yuqing stroked his beard, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes full of vigilance, "This method is a bit too clumsy."