At this time, the world was frozen like a painting with everyone holding their breaths…
In their eyes, even the defeated Xiao Qingtian was worthy of respect. He displayed a power befitting his prestige. Even though he eventually died along with his dao, this was still a kind of honor.
It was not due to his own weakness, it was because his opponent was too strong. Few could stop this devilish South Emperor. He was the one most likely to become Immortal Emperor, only one short step away.
The two halves of the saber were still floating in the sky. They seemed incredibly tranquil, but even those at a higher realm like G.o.dkings still paled before them.
Some people once felt that they were strong enough to look at the world with disdain. But today, they suddenly realized their own limits. Some considered themselves to be insignificant as well.
An ordinary G.o.dking was strong enough, but they were countless times weaker than Xiao Qingtian and South Emperor.
But Xiao Qingtian and even South Emperor couldn’t oppose a real Immortal Emperor!
“The world is vast, there will always be a better person and a higher mountain.” An old G.o.d-Monarch commented with a dejected expression.
Some of the stronger characters here became a bit sentimental. In this battle, even if Xiao Qingtian could stop South Emperor’s attack, he would still have died because he had already offered his body to the saber. There was no way back for him.
Even an invincible existence like the prime general succ.u.mbed to death and only left behind two broken halves of his blade for his descendants. Compared to Xiao Qingtian, they couldn’t reach the apex.
“He was a worthy adversary. It has been awhile since I’ve met such a strong opponent in a one-on-one.” South Emperor held his Sky Piercer and nodded his head.
Despite being defeated and dying, to earn such an evaluation from South Emperor was a type of honor; this was respect shown to true masters.
South Emperor now glanced over at s.p.a.ce Trample Mountain.
“Buzz!” He instantly threw his Sky Piercer in its direction!
“Rumble!” There seemed to be an endless barrage of meteors slamming into the mountain even before the halberd descended. The terrain started to shake violently.
“No—” The lucky experts from this sect that survived watched the descending halberd from the sky. They screamed in despair. Once it arrived, there was a chance that the entire mountain would be penetrated.
Everyone a.s.sumed that this was going to be the end of the s.p.a.ce Trample Mountain. Its disciples all closed their eyes, devoid of hope.
“This is the end of the s.p.a.ce Trample Mountain…” Someone murmured, unwilling to witness such a scene.
However, there was no destructive impact as expected. There was no explosion either. Once the halberd touched the mountain, the entire world turned quiet.
After a long time, people regained their composure and opened their eyes. They saw that the s.p.a.ce Trample Mountain was still floating in the air.
Something outside of their expectations was happening. A pale hand devoid of a sanguine shade reached out from the ground of the mountain and clutched the Sky Piercer.
Anyone, no matter who they were, would feel an indescribable sensation in their mind after seeing this bloodless hand. It was an ominous and bizarre feeling.
At this time, an archaic door opened on the ground of the mountain. A figure slowly came out then flew into the sky. His appearance was not accompanied by a heaven-shattering blood energy. There was no dazzling brilliance, but the entire universe stopped all the same.
This person in the sky was the lord of the cosmos, the tyrant of myriad realms. He was the overlord of the supreme grand dao and in control of the reincarnation cycle as well as the Yin and Yang.
He was the emperor of the nine worlds — supreme and untouchable; there was no one higher than him.
“Thump, thump, thump!” In a split second, countless people involuntarily kneeled on the ground as their legs failed them.
Even though the newcomer did not have an aura that suppressed all sentient beings, the cultivators here felt an instinctive fear emanating from the depths of their hearts and had no choice but to prostrate.
Even Virtuous Paragons couldn’t suppress this primal fear. Only experts above the G.o.d-Monarch realm could stand firm. Nevertheless, these G.o.d-Monarchs still felt trepidation.
The man in the sky had a square-shaped face and couldn’t be described as handsome. However, there was a certain charm and charisma to him. He was dignified and awe-inspiring without having to resort to an angry outburst. People felt that they were in the presence of an emperor the moment they saw his face. This face represented power, authority, absolute control over all things in the nine worlds!
However, this face was pale without any color.
His eyes were quite large. One could almost imagine just by staring at his eyes how wondrous they must have been back then as they looked down on the rest of the world and how sentient beings used to wors.h.i.+p him… Alas, this pair of eyes were now empty. There was only the void within the emptiness without any signs of life or expressions.
Nevertheless, those who looked into his eyes were still amazed. Their heartbeats sped up because this pair of eyes once saw through everything in this world.
“Immortal Emperor Ta Kong!” Even Old Devil was shocked the moment he saw this person and uncontrollably staggered backward.
“Immortal Emperor Ta Kong!” The prostrating crowd lifted their heads to look at this supreme existence in the distance.
This was an untouchable existence. Many people found glory in just looking at the magnificent appearance of an emperor.
“Is that really Immortal Emperor Ta Kong?” Those who had never seen him before murmured to themselves.
The G.o.d-Monarchs who were still firm lost their balance after seeing who this supreme existence was. Since they came from his era, they kneeled in astonishment and were dazed from fear.
This was not because these monarchs were too weak, it was because an Immortal Emperor was too powerful. Very few people could stand tall in the face of one. Even G.o.dkings might have to kneel on the ground.
The G.o.dkings who could still stand steady despite their fear glanced at each other. After a while, they realized something: “This, this is not a real Immortal Emperor.”
“It is an imperial corpse.” Li Qiye looked at the person in the sky. His eyes narrowed before speaking: “Incredible. Daring to preserve even an imperial corpse without fear of the potential backlas.h.!.+ It looks like Xiao Qingtian was presiding over the mountain to suppress the corpse.”
An imperial corpse was the body of an Immortal Emperor. Legend states that it was full of terrifying corpse energy. Once it acc.u.mulated to a certain level, it could immediately annihilate a G.o.dking.
However, these were only parts of the legend because, for millions of years, no one had seen the corpse of an Immortal Emperor, let alone its energy.
In fact, ever since the Desolate Era until the particularly radiant Emperors Era, there had always been new emperors. However, no one knew about their final destination.
No one knew whether they could die or not. Perhaps they would eventually turn into the grand dao. In short, across the ages, this remained an unsolved mystery. At the very least, those who couldn’t reach a certain level remained ignorant to the answer.
There was a long-running joke among cultivators: “Meeting an Immortal Emperor is an honor, but meeting the corpse of an Immortal Emperor makes you the biggest jackpot winner in history!”
Although this was just a joke, thinking about it some would find that this was indeed the case. Many people had seen Immortal Emperors before, but no one had seen their corpse.
To see their corpse was a million times more difficult than reaching the heavens.
But today, everyone saw the imperial corpse of Immortal Emperor Ta Kong. This might be the first time in history.
“Patriarch!” The lucky survivors from s.p.a.ce Trample Mountain were all prostrating and hitting their heads on the ground. They didn’t know whether they should be happy or sad. In short, tears ran down their faces as they kowtowed continuously.
Perhaps it was a bittersweet feeling. They were happy to see the patriarch answering their prayers as the mountain was on the verge of destruction, but only sadness was in their hearts to see their invincible emperor’s corpse. This was a devastating blow to the sect!
“The legend is true.” The kneeling spectators were shaken to see the corpse, especially those from the previous generation. They recalled a legend that everyone in this world knew.
A G.o.d-Monarch muttered: “The Black Dragon King really did tear the Heaven’s Will apart.”
Another G.o.dking took a good look at the corpse and felt a bit creeped out. He spoke with great astonishment: “The Black Dragon King did more than just that. He probably killed the emperor as well, or maybe both of them perished together. Regardless of the dragon king’s fate, Immortal Emperor Ta Kong is truly dead!”
An emperor had fallen. It didn’t matter whether his true fate was there or if he was hiding in this world, leaving his body behind was a sign of death! At the very least, it showed that an emperor was defeated and had no choice but to give up his own fles.h.!.+