83: Heavenly Emperor Palace

Lin Hao walked along the ridge covered in ancient swords.

The higher he went, the stronger the Sword Intent became, with countless shattered Dao of the Sword wills attempting to assault his Divine Soul.

"Mere remnant wills, and you dare to block me?"

The Sword Soul within his body vibrated slightly, and a cyan sword light flowed naturally.

Before the incoming Sword Intent could get close, it was shredded by his pure and sharp Sword Intent.

At the summit, a rusty ancient sword was embedded in the center.

As Lin Hao stepped onto the summit, the ancient sword trembled, and an aged phantom of a Sword Spirit appeared: "Latecomer, to receive my 'Heaven-Splitting Nine Swords' Legacy, you must endure the pain of Sword Intent flooding your body and the danger of your Divine Soul being torn apart..."

Lin Hao interrupted directly: "No need for nonsense, come."

The Sword Spirit was stunned, then transformed into a torrent of monstrous Sword Intent that rushed into Lin Hao's glabella.

However... in Lin Hao's Sea of Consciousness, his own Sword Soul transformed into a small cyan sword, directly absorbing and refining the torrent of incoming Sword Intent.

The Sword Spirit's terrified voice trembled: "Your Sword Soul... how is this possible..."

"Your Dao of the Sword is not pure enough."

Lin Hao's Sword Soul vibrated, completely refining that ancient Sword Intent.

The rusty ancient sword turned into powder, and a pure Origin merged into his body.

The Sword Intent around him rose again, just a hair's breadth away from the next Realm.

Desert Blood Pool.

Ye Chen stood before a churning lake of blood, where a crimson lotus bloomed in the center—the Myriad Demon Blood Lotus.

It was here that he had previously defeated Fierce Heaven Demon.

"The energy of this blood lotus is violent; it is perfect for tempering the Sacred Body."

He leapt directly into the blood pool.

The violent energy madly assaulted his body, his skin cracking inch by inch, only to heal under the powerful recovery ability of the Ancient Desolate Sacred Body.

"Satisfying!"

Ye Chen immediately circulated his Cultivation Technique, madly absorbing the energy of the blood pool.

Blood Qi surged within his body, emitting a long roar like a Dragon.

Every inch of flesh and blood became stronger through destruction and rebirth.

When he drained the entire pool of blood, that Myriad Demon Blood Lotus also transformed into a pure Origin, which he swallowed.

He opened his eyes, a crimson-gold light flashing and vanishing in his pupils.

"Still not enough... I need stronger opponents."

Ancient Star Palace.

Lin Yun stood in the center of a great hall constructed of starlight, the galaxy swirling faster within his Star Heavy Pupils.

The surrounding walls were engraved with star trajectories, evolving the birth and death of the Universe.

"Seemingly correct, yet wrong."

He raised his hand, starlight condensing at his fingertips, tracing new trajectories in the air.

The star engravings on the walls changed accordingly, and the starlight of the entire great hall converged toward him.

His Star Heavy Pupils operated on their own, reflecting deeper Law structures.

He easily cracked the Legacy core of this ancient palace, extracting the most fundamental Star Power.

"The stars outside should also be changed."

The starlight in his Star Heavy Pupils flared brightly, and the entire ancient palace began to collapse, transforming into pure Star Power that poured into his eyes.

Mountain of Flames.

Phoenix Spirit hovered in the air, her Phoenix wings spread behind her.

Below, Phoenix Nine Songs had an ugly expression; the True Sun Fire around her was suppressed by Phoenix Spirit's Phoenix True Fire.

"Your Golden Crow fire is nothing more than stolen Origin power of the sun."

Phoenix Spirit had a wisp of crimson-gold flame dancing on her fingertips, "This is the true sovereign of all fires."

Phoenix Nine Songs gritted her teeth, the Golden Crow Divine Mark on her glabella burning as she forcibly increased her power: "I am of the Golden Crow Divine Clan..."

Phoenix Spirit couldn't be bothered to hear her finish, flapping her wings, and the crimson-gold flame transformed into a Phoenix form and swooped down.

The two flames collided, and Phoenix Nine Songs' True Sun Fire retreated steadily, eventually collapsing.

She spat out a mouthful of blood and fell.

Phoenix Spirit didn't even look at her, her gaze fixed on the depths of the mountain range: "There is a purer Phoenix aura there."

Myriad Dao Corridor.

Lin Feng walked along an endless corridor, with countless Great Dao imprints appearing on both sides.

Fire-type Laws roared, Ice-type Laws froze space and time, Thunder Laws rumbled...

He did not stop his pace.

Wherever he passed, all Laws retreated, and all Daos were submissive.

His Innate Dao Body resonated with the Myriad Daos; he did not need to deliberately comprehend them, as these Great Dao Laws were naturally understood, absorbed, and integrated by him.

Walking to the end of the corridor, he stopped.

"Myriad Daos returning to one; it is nothing more than this."

He raised his hand, and the Myriad Dao imprints condensed in his palm, evolving into Chaos, finally returning to calm.

Yin-Yang Realm.

Yang Yan and Moon Radiance stood in a flow of Chaos Qi, with a piece of Yin-Yang Chaos Stone floating before them.

The siblings joined forces, their Taiyin and Taiyang Divine Power intertwining to form a millstone-sized Yin-Yang Taiji diagram.

The Chaos Stone was enveloped by the Taiji diagram, trembling violently, and finally transformed into a stream of pure Qi that split in two and merged into their bodies.

The siblings' aura surged, the Yin and Yang Qi around their bodies circulating in Perfection, flawless.

"It's time to find the others," Yang Yan said.

Moon Radiance nodded: "The Secret Realm core is about to open."

Secret Realm core area.

A towering Heavenly Emperor Palace hovered in the air, with ten thousand feet of rosy light cascading down.

The palace gates were tightly shut, covered in ancient runes.

Battle Vault, Mysterious Heaven Son, the Buddhist Son, and several successors of Emperor-level Factions had already arrived, each occupying a side, their auras colliding.

"The people from the Lin Clan haven't arrived yet?" Battle Vault shouldered his battle halberd, his Battle Intent boiling, "Could they have died somewhere?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Seven figures appeared almost simultaneously in front of the Heavenly Emperor Palace.

The seven, including Lin Hao, stood shoulder to shoulder, their auras connecting, actually faintly suppressing all the Prodigies present.

Battle Vault's pupils constricted; he felt the heart-palpitating Blood Qi on Ye Chen, which was even stronger than before.

Mysterious Heaven Son flicked his whisk, his expression grave.

He looked at Lin Hao and Lin Feng; these two gave him an unfathomable feeling.

Several successors of the Emperor-level Factions also began to take them seriously, putting away their previous contempt.

"Everyone is here." A cold voice rang out, coming from the successor of Zixiao Heaven, "Then let's use our own abilities to open the Heavenly Emperor Palace."

Everyone's gaze focused on the tightly shut palace gates.

Lin Hao stepped forward: "Why bother with the trouble."

He joined his fingers like a sword, and a cyan sword light, condensed to the extreme, slashed onto the palace gates.

Boom! The palace gates shook violently, runes flickered, and a crack spread out.

Seeing this, the other Prodigies attacked one after another.

Battle Vault's battle halberd slashed down, Mysterious Heaven Son's whisk swept, the Buddhist Son's palm print was like a mountain, and the Nine Nether Mansion successor with chilling Devilish Qi clawed out...

With the combined strength of everyone, the palace gates finally slowly opened.

A pressure that transcended Reincarnation and stood above all living beings surged from within the gates.

Outside the Secret Realm.

Lin Dao suddenly opened his eyes, looking at the golden gates.

"It's about to begin."

He could feel that the barrier of the Secret Realm core had been broken, and that immortal aura was spreading.

Several Emperor-level chariots also vibrated slightly, and the beings within them had evidently also sensed the change.

The Heavenly Emperor Palace gates swung wide open, and ten thousand feet of rosy light burst forth. Extremely pure Innate Spiritual Qi mixed with ancient immortal Dao charm washed over every Prodigy standing before the gates like a tide.

Behind the gates was not the scene of a palace as imagined, but an endless Void Realm of Chaos.

In the center of the Void Realm, an ancient stone staircase wound upwards, leading to an unknown destination, suspended in the air.

The stone steps were mottled and covered in moss; they looked ordinary, yet they exuded a heart-palpitating pressure, as if every single step bore the weight of a world.