366: Chapter 366: The Heavenly Abyss

The old man laughed, his body shaking violently, his withered palm slamming onto the bluestone cushion—the hard cushion cracked in response. In his turbid old eyes, tears flickered, sliding slowly down his ravine-like cheeks.

This was not a tear of sorrow, nor a tear of despair—but the excitement and relief of having walked alone in the darkness for eons, watching the Human Race decline step by step, the path to immortality severed, and Prodigies buried, only to finally see a glimmer of dawn!

"How many years has it been... Since the 'Heavenly Abyss' cracked, the path to immortality became ethereal, and the Human Race's Dao Legacy was severed, I have withered away guarding this pass..."

The old man's laughter gradually ceased, but it still carried a choke. He gazed toward the Xuantian Sect, his eyes as gentle as if he were looking at his own beloved descendants:

"Watching generation after generation of Human Race Prodigies rush outside the pass with full hearts of blood, only to end up as a handful of yellow soil before the pass; watching the Human Race territory eroded inch by inch by the Yao Race, retreating step by step, countless families destroyed and displaced; watching the Human Race cultivation world wither, with no successors—I, a single tree unable to support, guarded this last barrier, living a precarious life..."

"I thought that in this life, there was no more hope, I could only watch the Yao Race flatten the Northern Territory, kill their way into the Central State, and watch the Human Race completely perish—I could only rot with this majestic pass, turning into a handful of dust between heaven and earth..."

The old man raised his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes. On his withered face, the most brilliant smile of his life bloomed—in his eyes, scorching divine light surged. That was the light of hope, the light of rebirth!

"Unexpectedly! Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes!"

"My Human Race... Luck is not yet exhausted!"

The old man stood up abruptly!

That hunched spine, crushed by millions of years of time, actually straightened with a boom at this moment!

Although a faint arc carved by time remained, it was like a pillar supporting the sky, forcefully propping up the entire vault of heaven above Yuyao Pass!

A Void Immortal Aura, equally vast and ancient, quietly permeated from his withered body. It was not displayed or flaunted, not released in the slightest—yet it resonated and harmonized with the majestic pass cast from star black iron beneath his feet, and merged and coexisted with the mountains and rivers of the Northern Territory's Human Race land for millions of miles.

The earth trembled slightly, the pass walls hummed—as if the unyielding will of the entire Northern Territory of the Human Race was tightly connected to his Aura at this moment, condensing into an unrivaled, majestic power!

He—Half-step Earth Immortal Jiang Wuya, the Old Ancestor guarding Yuyao Pass!

He was the only Void Immortal on the surface of the Human Race's Northern Territory, the true cornerstone of Yuyao Pass that had stood for eons, and even more, the last and most impregnable barrier for the Human Race when facing the endless iron hooves of the Yao Race!

"Little one... Regardless of your name or Origin—"

A sharp light exploded in Jiang Wuya's eyes; the layer of dusty turbidity had long been dispelled by the scorching divine light.

In his gaze toward the Xuantian Sect, there was an intertwining of hot, eager hope, and even more, a determination to burn the boats:

"Since in this Age of Dharma Decline where the Human Race's Dao path is severed and Immortal veins are withered, you have gone against the trend in my Nanming Continent to attain the Dao, achieving the position of Void Immortal, and stepped onto this Heaven-Defying path of seeking the Dao..."

"Then—the heavy responsibility of the Human Race's rise and fall, the causal bond of heaven and earth—you cannot avoid it, nor can you push it away!"

He raised his hand and pressed it against the cold, mottled stone wall beside him, his fingertips rubbing against the mottled handwriting carved in blood by his predecessors.

Every scratch hid the tragedy of the past, his voice hoarse but every word heavy, shaking the palace:

"This precarious Yuyao Pass, which has nearly collapsed many times, these billions of displaced and precarious Human Race living beings in the Northern Territory, this precarious Human Race Luck that is nearly severed..."

"I... finally don't have to carry it alone anymore!"

He took a deep breath—that monstrous Battle Intent that had been silent for eons suddenly awakened like a sleeping volcano, surging and galloping in his aged but tough Meridians!

Hot as a flame, violent as thunder—even the surrounding air burned and trembled, twisting into waves due to this extreme Battle Intent!

"Pass on the order! Yuyao Pass, the entire army—prepare for war!"

His aged voice, yet clanging like tempered fine iron, carried the Void Immortal pressure, instantly penetrating every city wall and every camp of Yuyao Pass, resounding through the ten thousand miles of the Northern Territory sky!

"Activate the Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation! Awaken all sleeping ancient war puppets! Light the thousand-foot Soul Lamp in the Hall of Heroes!"

"Yao Race beasts... Since you are impatient to fight, delusional about killing my Human Race's new Immortal, seizing my Northern Territory's mountains and rivers, and slaughtering my kin—then—"

The last word sounded like thunder from the Nine Heavens, shaking the heavens and earth, causing the gale to roll back:

"Fight!"

With the order given, Yuyao Pass instantly burst forth with heaven-shaking Divine Might!

The defenders, who had been slightly flustered by the sudden fierce attack of the Yao Race, instantly regained their composure, their Battle Intent burning—erupting with earth-shaking shouts of being ready to die!

Countless Formation runes lit up simultaneously on the pass walls, the ground, and the watchtowers, with ten thousand feet of golden light like stars falling to the ground, weaving into an airtight defensive sky net that enveloped the entire majestic pass.

The giant war beasts sleeping in the secret passages at the bottom of the pass slowly opened their eyes, their bronze beast pupils lighting up with fierce cold light, their giant hooves stomping on the ground with a rumbling sound—shaking the earth until it cracked and gravel flew.

In the Hall of Heroes, thousands of Human Race Heroic Souls awakened at the sound, emitting passionate and unyielding battle roars. Phantoms condensed, armor bright, standing shoulder to shoulder with the defenders—the Aura was like a rainbow!

An extremely tragic and bone-deep Human Race Battle Intent rushed straight into the Nine Heavens, colliding fiercely with the overwhelming violent killing intent of the Yao Race outside the pass!

The Void Realm vibrated violently, air waves surged and swept—the heaven and earth of the Northern Territory actually trembled under the clash of these two supreme wills, nearly collapsing!

The appearance of a Void Immortal was originally a tiny pebble thrown into the river of fate—but the ripples stirred up at this moment had long evolved into a monstrous wave sweeping the entire Northern Territory, turning into a huge vortex affecting the life and death of the Human and Yao Races.

Sweeping billions of living beings into this chessboard of heaven and earth—no one could escape!

And the source of all this storm—the Xuantian Sect Martial Arts Arena, at this moment, turned into a dead, frozen Hell.

Time seemed to be pinched and frozen.

All the aftermath of the attacks, the brilliant Formation light, the hideous or greedy faces—all froze the moment Chu Changsheng's Void Immortal Aura erupted.

Even the dust floating in the air stopped in place, motionless, suffocatingly dead.

The heaven and earth tremors sweeping the Northern Territory, the Divine Thoughts spying from all directions—there was the violent killing intent of the Yao Race, the panic and eagerness of the Human Race, and even the secret calculations of various forces—Chu Changsheng seemed to be completely unaware, or perhaps he simply didn't care at all.

To him, these worldly thoughts and various covetous desires were just dust—not worth mentioning.

He slowly withdrew his palm that was suspended in mid-air.

The Void Immortal Aura around him that suppressed the world into suffocation and made all things submit slightly converged, and the time and space that had been solidified for ten thousand miles finally, like an ice river thawing, made a faint cracking sound and slowly resumed its flow.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Rows of figures suddenly collapsed to the ground, as if their entire strength and bones had been drained.

Every face was as pale as paper, bloodless, their eyes scattered and hollow—only fear deep into the bones remained, as well as the extreme lingering fear of surviving a disaster.

Some people couldn't control their body trembling, even their teeth were chattering.

The arrogant arrogance that had previously clamored to seize the treasure and kill was long gone—all turned into an instinctive fear of death.

The phantom of the Xuantian Sect Ancestor, which had condensed a lifetime of cultivation and tried to suppress everything, had long since shattered into pieces and dissipated into nothingness at the very first moment Chu Changsheng's Void Immortal Aura erupted.

Not even a trace of his Divine Soul remained—as if he had never appeared in this world.

Chu Changsheng glanced indifferently at the crowd collapsed like mud below.

His pitch-black eyes still had no waves, as if he had just glanced at the withered grass by the roadside, or the gravel under his feet—he didn't even carry half a point of emotion.

His gaze finally crossed the mess and wailing, falling on Li Jiuyou, who was the only one standing proudly in the arena.

At this moment, Li Jiuyou's Aura had completely stabilized. The cold divine light surging and galloping around his body was completely restrained, only flowing faintly under his skin, hiding fierce power.

His eyes opened suddenly—in the depths of his pitch-black eyes, nine hideous and terrifying phantom heads of the fierce beast Gao slowly floated, carrying the cold and dead silence of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring, and also carrying the domineering posture of looking down on all living beings.

He raised his head, gazing at Chu Changsheng and Luo Xiaojiu with a complex and indescribable look—there was gratitude for surviving a desperate situation, awe for the Void Immortal, and even a trace of lingering fear that had not completely faded.

"The Dao foundation is established, the Physique is awakened, and the precious technique has been taught."

Chu Changsheng's tone was flat and waveless, as if he were stating the most ordinary little thing, without hearing any joy or anger:

"Inside your body, there is still a trace of the Origin power of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring Divine Water that has not been completely refined. You need to find a place that is extremely cold to retreat and cultivate for a hundred days to stabilize your Realm, and only then can you attempt to initially control the Nine Nether Gao precious technique."

Li Jiuyou heard this, his heart shook violently, his blood surged, and he struggled to bow and perform a great ceremony to thank him for the kindness of teaching the Dao and saving his life—but as soon as his body moved, he was steadily supported by a gentle force waved by Chu Changsheng's hand, unable to bow.

Chu Changsheng no longer looked at him.

His indifferent gaze fell back on the Northern Territory experts who were collapsed on the ground like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

His line of sight swept particularly coldly over the Xuantian Sect Elder who had clamored the most fiercely and had revealed his greed when looking at Luo Xiaojiu, as well as the Old Ancestors from various sects who had rushed over intending to get a share.

That look—as cold as a ten-thousand-year cold pool, as indifferent as ancient ice.

Not a hint of killing intent was seen, but it was more chilling than extreme slaughter—piercing straight to the bone marrow, freezing the Soul.

"What you have done today—"

Chu Changsheng's voice was not loud, but it was like a sharp blade quenched in ten-thousand-year ice, clearly piercing into the ears of everyone present, penetrating the eardrums, and freezing their Divine Soul:

"It is nothing more than greed at work, bullying the weak, and reversing black and white. For selfish gain, you dare to covet others' treasures and wantonly take innocent lives."

"If I were to make a move—in the snap of a finger, I could make your Divine Soul destroyed, turned into ashes, with no chance of Reincarnation."

As soon as these words came out, everyone below was scared out of their wits, shaking like chaff.

Even the strength and courage to beg for mercy were lost—some fainted directly from fear, and some even had incontinence.

The scene was extremely wretched, where was there any demeanor of top experts left?