252: Chapter 252 Return to the Void and Sever the Dao

Immediately following this, under the gaze of everyone who was Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, Chayuzi's Physical Body, along with the solidified Void Realm surrounding him, began to peel away layer by layer from the edges inward—

Like a sand sculpture that had weathered the frost of eternity, it was brushed away by the power of invisible Laws, turning into the finest dust.

Every grain of dust shimmered with a dim Spiritual Qi, but the moment it touched the air, it dissipated and vanished without a sound, not even stirring the slightest ripple—as if it had never existed.

This was by no means ordinary spiritual power annihilation, but a far more terrifying and thorough "Returning to the Void"!

It was existence itself being forcibly "stripped" and "decomposed" from the current River of Time and spatial sequence, with every trace of its existence being wiped away!

The Laws of the Dao revealed their coldest fangs at this moment, completely erasing all Karma and marks of a Mahayana titan from Heaven and Earth—leaving not a shred behind.

This process was suffocatingly slow, lasting for a full two or three breaths.

It was enough for every pair of eyes in the coalition army to carve this cruel scene into the depths of their Souls: Chayuzi's frozen, ferocious face crumbled bit by bit as his body weathered away, and the lingering arrogance and resentment in his eyes ultimately could not withstand the crushing pressure of the Laws, turning into nothingness.

The remaining Mahayana spiritual power within his body dissipated frantically like a leaking ball, but it didn't even have the qualification to stir up a ripple, being instantly assimilated by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Those suspended blood droplets first evaporated into blood mist, then condensed into blood dust, and finally, together with his Physical Body, Dao Foundation, and Divine Soul—returned to absolute nothingness.

This was a "disappearance" more desperate than death—death still offered the hope of Reincarnation, and Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering still left behind fragments of the true spirit, but for him, even the door to Reincarnation was completely sealed—even the fact that he had "ever existed" was ruthlessly denied by the Laws of Heaven and Earth!

"No… No!!!"

Chayuzi's frozen consciousness let out a final, silent wail within the stripped space-time; that extreme fear and unwillingness, like a tangible cold current, made the surrounding Cultivators feel their scalps tingle and their Divine Souls tremble, even across the invisible barrier—as if their own Dao Heart was about to be frozen by this despair.

But this wail could never escape that isolated Domain; it could only be crushed into nothingness by time and the Laws along with his existence—not even leaving behind a single echo.

Only three breaths.

A Mahayana Peak titan who had shaken the Southern Region and stood at the pinnacle of the cultivation world for countless years, the current master of Burning Heaven Valley—had completely turned into nothingness.

There were no remnant Souls, no true spirit marks, and even the Karma bonds he left in the world—those Disciples who had received his favor, the Sects with whom he had feuds, and even the Legacy he left in Burning Heaven Valley—were all forcibly severed at this moment—as if this person had never appeared in this Heaven and Earth.

The Legacy that Burning Heaven Valley had passed down for ten thousand years lost its core pillar, falling from a top power in the Southern Region to a laughingstock—ten thousand years of foundation, destroyed in an instant.

After doing all this, the figure of the Ancient Honored One on the left became visibly more transparent by another thirty percent, the hazy halo around him dimmed significantly, and fine, stardust-like light spots even drifted off from the edges, like a candle burning to its end, ready to be extinguished by a gust of wind—revealing a decline that suggested he might dissipate at any moment.

Yet he still stood firmly in the Void Realm, slowly withdrawing his withered palm with a nonchalant movement, as if he had merely brushed a speck of insignificant dust off his robe—what he had just erased was nothing more than an ant that had disturbed a dream, not worth mentioning.

Just then, the old voice of the Ancient Honored One in the center rang out again, calm and waveless, yet carrying a chill that could freeze the Soul, like a whisper from an eternal icy abyss—exploding in the depths of everyone's Divine Soul, shaking their minds and causing their blood and Qi to churn: "Is there anyone else who suspects that we are… flickering candles?"

Dead silence! A silence more thorough and desperate than any moment before!

The wind stopped, the clouds froze, and even the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi seemed to solidify, no longer circulating.

The coalition Cultivators were all pale, their bodies cold, teeth chattering, not even daring to breathe loudly—fearful that their own presence would disturb this Ancient Honored One and lead to the same fate as Chayuzi.

Chayuzi, at the cost of his own total destruction of body and Soul, seemed to have "confirmed" that the power of these three Ancient Honored Ones was real and true, but he had also used the most cruel way—to extinguish the coalition's last shred of delusion of resistance.

These were not flickering candles at all! These were clearly three Killing Gods from the ancient past, having endured eternity and remaining immortal, still capable of easily controlling life and death and erasing the Dao!

If even a half-step Undergoing Tribulation expert could be erased like an ant, what did they count for? Resistance? That was merely seeking one's own death! It was merely adding to the joke before the Ancient Honored Ones!

"Swear an oath! Swear it immediately!!" The White-Browed Daoist could no longer withstand this suffocating pressure, almost roaring out, his voice filled with broken fear, even his Dao Heart trembling, unable to maintain any semblance of a high-level expert's demeanor.

Without hesitation, he cut his fingertip, and his essence blood gushed out, drawing upon the Laws of the Dao in the Void Realm, instantly carving out a ferocious blood-colored rune—upon the rune, the pressure of the Heavenly Dao flowed, carrying a resolve that would not tolerate violation.

"I, White-Browed Daoist, swear by my Dao Heart: from this day forward, I will lead the members of the Supreme Dao Palace to never step foot in the Southern Region for all eternity. If I violate this oath, may my Dao Foundation be destroyed, my Divine Soul fall forever into the infinite Hell, and may I never be redeemed!!"

Once the blood oath was issued, the Dao roared, and invisible power of Karma wound around it, carving the oath into the depths of his Divine Soul, forming an indelible mark—once violated, he would suffer the backlash of the Heavenly Dao and never be redeemed.

With someone leading the way, Fen Jiuzhou, the Sorrowful Old Monk, and the others no longer had any hesitation, scrambling to cut their fingertips and swear with their essence blood, fearing that if they were even one step too slow, they would repeat Chayuzi's mistake—turning into nothingness.

In an instant, the Void Realm was dense with blood-colored runes, ripples of the Dao surged, and the thick power of blood-oath Karma permeated, carrying a pungent smell of blood and heavy Heavenly Dao pressure—pressing down until everyone could barely breathe.

"Fen Jiuzhou, leading all Disciples of Burning Heaven Valley, will never violate the Southern Region for all eternity. Violators will have their Divine Souls destroyed and their Legacy severed!" Fen Jiuzhou's voice was hoarse, his eyes full of despair and unwillingness, but he could only grit his teeth and swear, for he knew that only by swearing at this moment—could he preserve the last spark of Burning Heaven Valley.

"Sorrowful Old Monk, swear with essence blood: Disciples of Little Sumeru Mountain will never step foot in the Southern Region. Violators will be struck by Heavenly lightning, their Buddha bodies broken into pieces, and their Souls scattered!" The Sorrowful Old Monk pressed his palms together, his face no longer showing any sorrow, only deep fear, as even his Buddhist Dharma could hardly suppress his trembling at this moment.

"We… are willing to swear!" The leaders of the various small and large Sects were all pale, but they moved quickly, scrambling to make their blood oaths, their ambition long since crushed by fear—leaving only the instinct to survive.

The sound of oaths rose and fell, echoing through the sky; each oath carried resolve and fear, crushing their last shreds of dignity and ambition—completely under the pressure of the Ancient Honored Ones, turning into dust.

The rout truly began. This time, there was no more hesitation, no more luck, and not even a shred of Battle Intent.

The coalition Cultivators were like stray dogs, scrambling to tear open the Void Realm, wishing they had more legs, fleeing at the fastest speed possible from this land that made them Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering—fleeing the terrifying pressure of those three Ancient Honored Ones.

The light of Magic Treasures flashed chaotically, escape lights intertwined in sheets, everyone wore expressions of terror, caring only about fleeing, having no time to care for fellow Disciples left behind, and some even went so far as to attack former allies to fight for an escape route—utterly wretched, showing every ugly side.

Patriarch Tian Yuanzi stood with his hands behind his back, watching all this with an indifferent gaze, his face without a ripple, as if watching an inconsequential farce—or as if watching a group of clowns struggling in vain.

Not until the figure of the last coalition Cultivator disappeared at the end of the Void Realm did Heaven and Earth return to relative calm, leaving only the thick smell of blood and the residual Heavenly Dao pressure—did he slowly turn around to look at the three ancient figures behind him, who were already extremely faint.

At this moment, the figures of the three Ancient Honored Ones were almost transparent, like the moon in the water or flowers in a mirror, ethereal and illusory, as if they would vanish with the wind in the next moment, completely dissipating in Heaven and Earth, never to be found again.

The halo around them dimmed to the extreme, stardust-like light spots continuously drifting off, revealing the decline as their power of projection was about to be exhausted—that was proof of how difficult it was for ancient power to be sustained in the contemporary Heaven and Earth.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you should hurry back." Patriarch Tian Yuanzi waved his hand at the three, his tone plain, without a shred of respect, yet carrying an indescribable tacit understanding—as if he had known these three Ancient Honored Ones for eternity.

The Ancient Honored One in the center nodded slightly, his voice already as faint as a mosquito's, almost dissipating in the wind, yet it carried the vicissitudes and weight of eternity, every word seeming to bear the weight of time: "The power of projection is nearly exhausted… Grand Elder, the 'Gate' is about to open, the storm rises from the end of the duckweed… This child is tied to the variable, take good care of him…"

"We, wait for you in the Immortal Realm…"

The voice lingered and dissipated in the Void Realm, the three ancient figures could no longer hold on, completely turning into brilliant light spots filling the sky, falling like a meteor shower, slowly merging into the Void Realm, leaving no trace—as if they had never appeared.

Only those final words, seemingly carrying the vicissitudes of eternity and a heavy entrustment, were like a brand—deeply lingering in the hearts of Patriarch Tian Yuanzi and Chu Changsheng, not dispersing for a long time, the echoes lingering.

Chu Changsheng looked in the direction where the light spots disappeared, his eyes as deep as an abyss, bottomless.

He could clearly feel the World Dao Seed in his body trembling slightly at this moment, sending a faint resonance and palpitation, as if it had formed some mysterious connection with the departure of those three Ancient Honored Ones—and as if it were echoing that so-called "Gate" and "storm".

The storm rises from the end of the duckweed? The Gate is about to open? A series of questions swirled in his mind, like fog, difficult to disperse.

It seems that this struggle in the Southern Region, this great war that swept through the cultivation world, was nothing more than the beginning of a larger chess game.

And he, Chu Changsheng, seemed to have long been drawn into this chess game, becoming that so-called "variable"—no longer able to stay out of it.

The winds and clouds of Heaven and Earth are about to rise again; the chess game of eternity has already had its pieces placed.