5: Chapter 5 The Power of Faith [

After slaying the last three Supremes, Chu Tianjiao looked into the depths of the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning, where more than ten terrifying auras were still slumbering.

"As expected of the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning."

He restrained the seething aura of the Heavenly Emperor around his body, took a step, and returned to that inconspicuous small mountain gate in the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland on the Emperor Burial Star.

The thatched cottage remained as it was, and the immortal peach tree swayed in the courtyard, scattering specks of immortal light.

Chu Tianjiao sat cross-legged under the peach tree, recalling the battle in the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning in his mind.

At that time, he had only penetrated the outer perimeter of the ancient mine when he was besieged by five Supremes, two of whom had even undergone Ultimate Sublimation. If not for the explosive increase in his combat power after stepping into the Heavenly Emperor Realm, he feared he would have truly fallen into a bitter fight.

"To sweep through the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning, it's not enough to rely on my current Heavenly Emperor strength; even if another Heavenly Emperor were to come, it wouldn't be enough." Chu Tianjiao muttered to himself, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

During the battle, he had sensed the auras in the depths of the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning—a full seventeen Supremes!

This number shocked him.

If all seventeen of these Supremes underwent Ultimate Sublimation, even if he were already in the Heavenly Emperor Realm, he would have absolutely no chance of winning. Seventeen Emperors and Sovereigns returning to their Peak would be enough to shatter the entire Universe.

"Fortunately, these Supremes are all cowards afraid of death. As long as they aren't driven into a desperate situation, they won't undergo Ultimate Sublimation."

A sneer appeared at the corners of Chu Tianjiao's mouth.

This was the greatest weakness of the Forbidden Zone Supremes—to survive, they had severed a part of themselves, long ago losing the spirit that an Emperor should possess. Unless they were truly facing a life-and-death crisis, who would be willing to undergo Ultimate Sublimation and burn away their final brilliance?

"It seems I can only slowly reduce the number of Supremes in these Forbidden Zones."

After returning to the small mountain gate, Chu Tianjiao began to formulate his next plan.

He took out a Jade Slip and used his Divine Thought to carve the distribution map of the seven great Forbidden Zones—the Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning, Undying Mountain, God Ruins, Reincarnation Sea, Immortal Mausoleum, Shangcang, and Burial Heaven Island.

Behind each Forbidden Zone, he marked the estimated number of Supremes.

Ancient Mine of Primordial Beginning: Seventeen.

Undying Mountain: Eight.

God Ruins: Ten.

Reincarnation Sea: Seven.

Immortal Mausoleum: Six.

Burial Heaven Island: Eight.

"Adding them up... fifty-six, and subtracting the ten I've slain, there are at least forty-six Supremes left..." Chu Tianjiao looked at this number, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes.

Fifty-six former Emperors and Sovereigns, having severed themselves to survive, slumbered in the Forbidden Zones, waiting for the road to immortality to open, waiting to devour the blood and Qi of all living things to extend their lives.

This number was too terrifying.

It was no wonder that the Human Race Emperors of past generations could not clear out the Forbidden Zones; even someone as strong as Emperor Wushi could only suppress them for an era, unable to completely wipe them out.

"The reason the future Emperor Ye could clear all the Forbidden Zones was that in his era, the road to immortality opened, and some Supremes went to attack the road to immortality and then entered a strange world."

Chu Tianjiao recalled the plot of the original novel "Shrouding the Heavens."

"Plus, with the passage of time, some Supremes passed away before they could survive until the post-Desolate Ancient era."

"And with the continuous weakening of the Forbidden Zone Supremes by Human Race Emperors in the future—Emperor Void fought bloody battles his whole life, Emperor Hengyu forged imperial weapons of the extreme dao to guard, the Western Queen Mother, the Supreme Emperor, the Nine Li Emperor... each one fought the Supremes to the death in their twilight years."

"Only then did Emperor Ye have the feat of clearing all the Forbidden Zones in the future."

Even so, Emperor Ye broke through the Forbidden Zones one by one, never facing the siege of all the Supremes at the same time.

It was conceivable how terrifying a force these Supremes would be if they united.

"Although I strongly suppressed and killed six Supremes today, that was because they were not united enough." Chu Tianjiao reflected on the battle just now.

Three underwent Ultimate Sublimation, and three wanted to escape.

If all six had undergone Ultimate Sublimation simultaneously and fought to the death, he would definitely have been severely injured, perhaps even falling from the Heavenly Emperor Realm.

"It's a pity; these Supremes have only the road to immortality in their eyes, and survival is their only motivation." Chu Tianjiao shook his head. "The other three missed their chance just like that, and in the end, they didn't even have time to undergo Ultimate Sublimation."

This was human nature—or rather, "Supreme nature."

The longer they lived, the more they feared death.

When they saw their companions destined to fall after Ultimate Sublimation, they were even less willing to risk their lives, always thinking of letting others die while they survived.

It was precisely this mentality that allowed Chu Tianjiao to defeat them one by one.

"However, this battle has completely made the world understand the Heaven-Defying nature of Emperor Jiaoheng!"

Chu Tianjiao's Divine Thought swept across the Universe, and he heard the discussions of countless living beings.

"Emperor Jiaoheng has slain six more Supremes!"

"Including those slain before, it's already over ten!"

"The strongest Emperor in history! Without equal!"

"Our race will erect a statue of Emperor Jiaoheng and worship him for generations!"

Everywhere in the Universe, his battle achievements were being sung, and countless living beings sincerely admired this contemporary Heavenly Emperor who fought for the Human Race and for all races.

"Since I debuted, I have slain over ten Supremes... It is indeed the strongest record of any Emperor in history." Chu Tianjiao himself admitted this point.

Emperor Void fought bloody battles his whole life and slew many Supremes, but he himself was near death many times.

Emperor Hengyu forged the Hengyu Furnace to guard the Human Race, but the number of Supremes he slew was not as many as his.

Emperor Wushi suppressed an era, but that was by relying on the deterrence of absolute strength; the number of Supremes actually slain was not many.

Only he, Chu Tianjiao, with a domineering posture, killed all the way, slaying Supremes like cutting grass.

"So much Power Of Faith?"

Chu Tianjiao, who was deep in thought, was suddenly shocked by an immensely vast Power Of Faith.

That faith was as vast as an ocean, surging from all parts of the Universe and gathering around his Daoist temple.

The golden Power Of Faith almost condensed into substance, illuminating the entire small mountain gate as if it were an immortal Holy Land.

"Is this the worship of the world?" Chu Tianjiao looked toward the eight wildernesses of the Universe.

Because of his terrifying battle achievements and his heavy blows against the Forbidden Zones, the world began to spontaneously worship him, erecting statues and building temples for him, bowing day and night.

Upon understanding, Chu Tianjiao was somewhat dumbfounded.

He fought in the Forbidden Zones originally to settle grudges and protect all living things; he didn't expect to harvest such a massive amount of faith.

"However, this faith cannot be wasted."

Chu Tianjiao pondered for a moment and began to search for Materials in his own small treasury.

Over the years, he had liquidated countless Holy Lands and collected an unknown amount of Heaven And Earth Treasure. At this moment, he took out various immortal metals from his cave heaven—

Dragon-Patterned Black Gold, Dao-Tribulation Gold, Feathered Green Gold, Eternal Blue Gold, Immortal Tears Green Gold, Daoyan Divine Gold...

Nine types of immortal gold gathered together, each of which was enough to forge an imperial weapon of the extreme dao.

"Since the world worships me, I will forge an imperial weapon to specifically collect and carry this faith."

Chu Tianjiao decided to forge a banner.

He used the Law of the Heavenly Emperor as a furnace and Chaos as fire, beginning to smelt the nine types of immortal gold.

This forging process lasted for a thousand years.

During the millennium, the Universe remained calm. The Supremes of the Forbidden Zones were completely silent, not daring to have any more strange movements. The living beings of all races lived and worked in peace, and the prestige of Emperor Jiaoheng spread to every corner.

And in Chu Tianjiao's Daoist temple, the prototype of a banner was gradually taking shape.