723: Chapter 724 The Beginning

At this thought, a trace of cold light flickered in the depths of Gu Changge's eyes.

Since that mysterious powerhouse could control the World-Devouring Beasts and was hiding on the edge of the Immortal Domain, he would always be a hidden danger; today was the perfect time to settle the score once and for all.

Gu Changge took one last look at the Immortal Emperors Dojo and the golden Formation, and after confirming everything was correct, he gave a slight nod to Yue Liuli.

Then, he took a step forward, bringing Xiaobai with him as their figures merged into the Void Realm and vanished from this ancient battlefield.

He did not tear through space, but his power in the Heavenly Emperor Realm allowed him to easily capture the lingering marks of time and space and the trajectories of Karma within the void that ordinary people could not perceive.

Back then, when that World-Devouring Beast was destroyed, the connection between its core and the controller was weak, but it had not been completely severed.

After promoting to the Heavenly Emperor, this originally blurred trajectory was now as clear to his eyes as a firefly in the dark night.

Following this trajectory, Gu Changge's figure flickered continuously through the vast Chaos and the shattered Immortal Domain, each flicker crossing a vast distance.

Xiaobai's eyes scanned the surroundings alertly; it could feel the restrained majesty on Gu Changge that was enough to suppress the heavens, as well as an increasingly obvious, icy killing intent directed toward a certain direction.

After transmigrating through an unknown number of chaotic currents, Gu Changge's footsteps finally stopped at an extremely remote chaotic rift.

The Evil Qi here was at its most dense, with disordered Laws and chaotic air currents interweaving, perfectly masking the mysterious powerhouse's aura; if his Divine Thought had not increased greatly after promoting to the Heavenly Emperor Realm, it would have been difficult to pinpoint the location accurately.

Gu Changge raised his hand and waved, and a soft Heavenly Emperor Dao Rhyme enveloped his body, isolating him from the external Evil Qi; his gaze pierced through the chaotic rift, clearly seeing the scene inside.

Deep within the rift, inside a hidden space wrapped in layers of chaotic Evil Qi, a black-robed figure sat cross-legged.

He was closing his eyes to heal his injuries, and as his aura fluctuated, chaotic phantom images flickered in and out of existence, as if he were breathing in and out a miniature shattered world.

His Realm was impressively the Heavenly Emperor Realm!

However, this aura was extremely unstable, its majesty carrying an unmistakable decay and cracks; he was clearly suffering from a injury to his dao foundation and was currently in the most dangerous, critical period of healing.

Three massive World-Devouring Beasts, their bodies covered in pitch-black scales that seemed capable of absorbing Divine Souls, prostrated before him like the most loyal servants.

What they spat from their mouths was no longer ordinary Origin, but wisps of refined, pure world origin.

These Origins were being slowly absorbed by the Black-Robed Man to repair the terrifying Heavenly Emperor Dao wound within his body.

Gu Changge's gaze narrowed; this person was indeed the source of the Karma that had controlled the World-Devouring Beast back then.

But what made his heart chill even more was that the aura of the Dao wound on this person actually shared a common source with the lingering Dao Rhyme of the Guardian, Senior Taichu!

“A lurking, remnant Heavenly Emperor!” Gu Changge understood instantly.

“What Senior Guardian was guarding wasn't just the passage, but... this person!”

With a movement of his body, Gu Changge led Xiaobai and stepped silently into the hidden space.

The Black-Robed Man was fully focused on absorbing the Origin, with Evil Qi and the aura of the Origin interweaving around him, completely unaware of the movement outside.

It wasn't until Gu Changge walked to within three yards of him, stopped, and spoke indifferently that he suddenly jolted awake.

“I found you.”

The voice was flat, yet it carried an invisible pressure like a mountain pressing down, instantly enveloping the entire hidden space.

The Black-Robed Man's body shook imperceptibly, and his tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open.

Two gazes as black as the abyss burst forth, devoid of any humanity, containing only eternal coldness and violence as they stared directly at Gu Changge.

Even though he was critically injured and his dao foundation was crumbling, the instinctive pressure originating from the Heavenly Emperor Realm was still as vast as the sea.

In an instant, it swept through the entire hidden space, and the chaotic Evil Qi surged back frantically, almost crushing the void.

“To dare intrude upon this seat's place of secluded cultivation and disturb the repair of my dao foundation...”

He spoke slowly, his voice as raspy as metal grinding against stone, yet carrying a cold indifference that held power over life and death and looked down upon the heavens, as if Gu Changge's appearance was merely an ant interrupting his healing.

“Do you know how the word 'death' is written?”

Before his voice had even faded, pitch-black Dao patterns suddenly lit up around the Black-Robed Man, each pattern inscribed with the Profound Truth of destruction and plunder; as they circulated, phantom images of shattered worlds vaguely flickered within the patterns.

He did not move his body, but the chaotic Evil Qi around him had already condensed into a pitch-black war spear, the tip pointing directly at Gu Changge with a sharpness that could tear through the heavens.

Gu Changge's expression remained unchanged, and with a slight circulation of the Heavenly Emperor Dao Rhyme around him, he blocked all of that bone-chilling pressure and the spear's sharpness outside his body; even his robes did not flutter in the slightest.

He calmly sized up the Black-Robed Man, his tone still flat: “I know the word 'death' better than you. But before that, I have a few questions to ask you.”

The Black-Robed Man's gaze darkened abruptly, his pitch-black eyes churning with violence and suspicion.

He had lived for endless years and seen as many powerhouses as there were fish in a river, but he had never seen anyone who could remain so composed under his Heavenly Emperor's pressure.

What shocked him even more was that he actually could not see through this person's Origins, cultivation, or Karma.

“You have the aura of a Heavenly Emperor on you.”

The Black-Robed Man slowly stood up, the Evil Qi around him retracting, but the sense of oppression became even greater; as his broken dao foundation was forced to operate, an even more majestic remnant Heavenly Emperor's prestige swept out.

“Besides that old thing Taichu, there is actually a second Heavenly Emperor in the Immortal Domain?”

With a bit of thought, he instantly connected this to the aura belonging to Taichu that had suddenly vanished from the depths of the ancient battlefield.

His gaze darkened suddenly, his tone carrying a hint of ruthlessness and inquiry.

“Did you seize Taichu's Dao Fruit, or did you take over his position?”

Gu Changge shook his head slightly and did not answer directly; with a slight flick of his finger, a wisp of pale gold Heavenly Emperor Dao Rhyme quietly diffused:

“Taichu? So that Senior Guardian was named Taichu. As for who I am, it's not important. What's important is, who are you?

Where do you come from? Was the Dao wound on Senior Taichu back then caused by you?”

Upon hearing the name Taichu, the Black-Robed Man's aura suddenly became violent, his pitch-black eyes churning with sky-high hatred, and a trace of black blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

Clearly, mentioning the past had agitated the Dao wound inside his body.

“That old thing Taichu...” He gritted his teeth.

“If it weren't for his desperate resistance, this seat would have already opened the boundary passage and led the army down; the Immortal Domain would have long ago become nourishment for my Black Abyss Realm!”

Before he finished speaking, he stopped wasting words; the chaotic Evil Qi around him surged frantically, and although his dao foundation was damaged, his methods as a Heavenly Emperor were still terrifying.

Countless strands of pitch-black Evil Qi condensed into claws, carrying the Laws of destruction as they clawed fiercely at Gu Changge; wherever the claws passed, space shattered directly, revealing the disordered chaotic currents beneath.

At the same time, the few World-Devouring Beasts prostrated beneath him also seemed to receive an order; they suddenly raised their hideous heads, their crimson beast pupils locking onto Gu Changge, and let out roars full of greed and violence.

A terrifying devouring force instantly filled the air, and even space began to warp slightly, attempting to swallow Gu Changge along with this entire area!

And after launching this attack, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in the Black-Robed Man's eyes; ignoring the backlash of his injuries, his figure suddenly flickered, turning into a streak of pitch-black light as he fled frantically toward the exit of the hidden space.