3: Chapter 3 Battle! The Primordial Ancient Mine!

The second stop, the Eternal Star Domain, the Mechanical God Clan own.

This race specialized in combining technology with cultivation; back then, they had bombarded Chu Tianjiao with a forbidden weapon, nearly causing him to perish on the Ancient Starry Sky Road.

"Great Emperor Jiaoheng, we can negotiate! Our race is willing to pay any price!" The Clan Chief of the Mechanical God Clan own was a powerhouse at the Ninth Heaven of Quasi-Emperor, but before Chu Tianjiao, he was like an ant.

"Negotiate? When you fired that shot at me back then, did you ever think of negotiating?"

Chu Tianjiao swung his blade, and the ancestral star of the Mechanical God Clan own was split in two.

He did not exterminate the race, but he destroyed all their weapons of war and took half of the clan's foundation.

"This is the interest. The principal will be repaid with your lives."

The third stop, the fourth stop, the fifth stop...

Chu Tianjiao's liquidation continued for a hundred years, his footsteps spanning hundreds of Star Domains and involving tens of thousands of Holy Lands and great sects.

He did not wipe them all out entirely, instead treating them differently based on the severity of their past grievances.

Some only had their foundations taken, some had their high-level members slain, and some were directly exterminated.

During these hundred years, wails of grief filled the Universe as countless Holy Lands were uprooted.

But some people also cheered—among these Holy Lands, many were forces that bullied the weak and committed numerous evils.

"Although Great Emperor Jiaoheng is overbearing, he distinguishes clearly between kindness and grudges, and only targets his enemies without involving the innocent."

"Indeed, he is much better than those Great Emperors who are benevolent on the surface but hypocritical in reality."

"I heard he even protected several small ethnic groups that were being oppressed by those Holy Lands."

The myriad races' evaluation of Chu Tianjiao was complex. They revered his strength and feared his methods, but they also admired his principles.

After the liquidation ended, Chu Tianjiao returned to the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland on the Emperor Burial Star.

He established a Daoist arena on a small hillside—it really was just a small hillside, without even a mountain gate, only a thatched hut.

But everyone knew that it was Great Emperor Jiaoheng's Daoist arena, and no one dared to act wildly there.

"These Holy Lands really have some substance; with so many good things, should I find a few excuses to launch another liquidation?"

Looking at the mountains of Heaven And Earth Treasures piled in his grotto-heaven, Chu Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh.

These resources were enough to cultivate dozens of Quasi-Emperors.

"Forget it, liquidating those Holy Lands was justified. Other Holy Lands haven't provoked me; if I strike them, it would be very bad for my reputation."

He ultimately gave up on the idea of continuing the liquidation.

"Next, I will refine my Great Dao and prepare for my second life. With my talent, the second life should be quite easy; I'm not like those wastes!"

Chu Tianjiao sat cross-legged in the thatched hut and began his secluded cultivation.

...

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, two thousand years passed.

During these two thousand years, Chu Tianjiao's prestige grew even louder. Although he did not launch any more large-scale liquidations, he would occasionally strike to suppress some lackeys of the forbidden zones who initiated turmoil.

Outside his Daoist arena, Prodigies of various races often came to pay their respects.

Chu Tianjiao neither refused nor met them, only erecting a stone tablet outside the arena with three blade marks carved on it.

"One who can comprehend one blade mark can become a Saint; comprehending two can make one a Great Saint; comprehending three can make one a Quasi-Emperor."

This was his gift to the younger generations.

On this day, Chu Tianjiao woke from his secluded cultivation.

"The Tyrant Blade Heart Method has finally reached Major Achievement."

He stood up, his entire Aura even deeper than it was two thousand years ago.

If he was sharp and exposed when he first became an Emperor, he had now returned to a state of simplicity.

But when he gripped the Tyrant Blade, that overbearing Aura that dominated the world returned.

"It's time to take another trip to the forbidden zones."

This time, Chu Tianjiao chose the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning—the oldest and most unfathomable of the seven major forbidden zones.

The Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning was located in the Northern Plains of the Emperor Burial Star, shrouded in Chaos Qi all year round.

Rumor had it that this place already existed in the Mythical Era, and perhaps even earlier.

However, Chu Tianjiao knew that this Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning had existed as far back as the Desolate Era; it was a very ancient forbidden zone.

But even so, Chu Tianjiao was not afraid in the slightest.

"Wastes of the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning, come out and fight!"

Chu Tianjiao called them out directly, peerlessly overbearing.

In the depths of the ancient mine, six terrifying Auras awakened.

But no one responded, and no one came out.

"Not coming out? Then I'm coming in!"

Chu Tianjiao stepped into the ancient mine.

As soon as he entered, he felt a suppression even more terrifying than that of the Undying Mountain—the Laws of heaven and earth here were even more ancient, as if returning to the beginning of the creation of the world.

"Great Emperor Jiaoheng, you have gone too far," an aged voice rang out.

"Too far? You wastes who linger on in the forbidden zones are worthy of saying I've gone too far?" Chu Tianjiao sneered.

A great battle erupted.

The Supremes of the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning were stronger than those of the Undying Mountain; they had survived for much longer, and their methods were even more bizarre.

The battle lasted for a full seven days, turning most of the Northern Plains into Chaos.

Ultimately, Chu Tianjiao retreated, with three difficult-to-heal wounds added to his body.

"The Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning... truly lives up to its reputation." He returned to his Daoist arena and began to heal.

Although there were no kills in this battle, his understanding of the forbidden zones had deepened.

There were at least ten Supremes in the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning; only five came out today, and at least five or more were still in slumber.

...

Another three thousand years passed, and Chu Tianjiao struck again.

This time, the target was the God Ruins.

The God Ruins were located in the Central State, rumored to be the ruins of the Heavenly Court from the Mythical Era, burying countless secrets within.

Chu Tianjiao charged into the God Ruins and fought fiercely against five Supremes.

He paid a heavy price in this battle, but he severely wounded one Supreme, leaving an eternal blade mark on that Supreme's Dao foundation.

A hundred years later, that Supreme could no longer endure the torment of the Dao injury and walked out of the God Ruins to initiate a Dark Turmoil, intending to devour the blood and Qi of living beings to heal.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Chu Tianjiao was well-prepared and intercepted this Supreme in the starry sky.

This time, the opponent had no way out and chose Ultimate Sublimation.

A Supreme who returned to the Great Emperor position was boundlessly terrifying, but Chu Tianjiao was even stronger!

The battle lasted for half a day, and finally, Chu Tianjiao severed the opponent's head with his Tyrant Blade and completely obliterated their Primordial Spirit.

The Universe shook!

This was the first Supreme Chu Tianjiao had slain since becoming an Emperor!

"Great Emperor Jiaoheng is mighty!"

"The Human Race's Great Emperor protects all living beings!"

The myriad races cheered, and countless living beings bowed in the direction of Chu Tianjiao's Daoist arena.

Meanwhile, the Supremes in the forbidden zones became even more wary.

In the six thousandth year, Chu Tianjiao attacked the Reincarnation Underworld.

The Underworld was the most mysterious forbidden zone, rumored to control the secrets of the Reincarnation of life and death.

Chu Tianjiao paid a tragic price in this battle—one of his arms was severed by an Underworld Supreme using a forbidden secret technique, and his Chaos Blood splattered across the starry sky.

But he also slew an Underworld Supreme and brought their corpse back to his Daoist arena.

"Reincarnation? Merely parasites that feed on all living beings." Chu Tianjiao refined the corpse of that Supreme and fused it into his Tyrant Blade.

The Tyrant Blade transformed once more, with patterns of Reincarnation appearing on the blade's body, its power even greater than before.

In the eight thousandth year, Chu Tianjiao was in his prime!

Chu Tianjiao's blood and Qi, Great Dao, Chaos Body, and Tyrant Blade Heart Method had all reached the limit of his first life.

He campaigned against the Undying Mountain once again!

"Stone Emperor! Come out and meet your death!"

This time, Chu Tianjiao was even more overbearing, directly charging into the core area of the Undying Mountain.

"Chu Tianjiao! You have gone too far!" Stone Emperor roared, meeting the challenge along with three other Supremes.