Ch. 322 - Prestige of Grand Emperor Beginningless

The Celestial City had existed since time immemorial, its origin impossible to trace. Since the dawn of human history, it had always been there. In the Eastern Wilderness, many great powers, ancient holy lands and primordial clans, had long coveted it, hoping to claim it for themselves. But that was impossible. There was only one divine city in the world. In the end, all the great powers held secret talks and agreed to jointly rule over it.

As for the true secrets of this divine city, almost no outsiders knew. Only a few fragments of its mysteries had been revealed to the world.

At the very center of the city, suspended in the heavens, stood the Desolate Dao Altar, a vast celestial dais covered with countless Dao Runes. It was an intricate array of divine runes so profound that even many Sacred Lords could not comprehend them. In ancient times, everyone believed it was a gateway across the void, a bridge to some mysterious realm, and countless people had tried to traverse it.

In truth, the engravings on the altar were indeed imprints of the Grand Dao, runes that could pierce through space itself, but no one had ever successfully crossed to another world. Some ancient records hinted that the altar could send one to a divine realm full of unimaginable fortune, yet no one had ever proven it true.

Such tales arose because it was said that a few ancient Grand Emperors had once succeeded in crossing the void from this very altar. But these were only legends; no one could verify them.

What was confirmed, however, was another miraculous property. Nine stone tokens rested upon the altar. Whoever held one could, by offering godpower to it, instantly cross the void and return to the city’s central heavenly palace.

It was an astonishing discovery. An old Sacred Lord once tested it, he traveled all the way to Middle Continent, and by offering his godpower to the token, he successfully returned to the city. But the cost was enormous. For ordinary cultivators, their godpower would be completely drained, leaving them dead and desiccated.

The nine stone tokens were divided among the great holy lands and ancient clans. Back then, there were even more holy lands than today, and those who failed to obtain a token nearly went to war over them. Each token remained in the hands of a Sacred Lord, and only they could freely use them to travel back to the suspended heavenly palace.

That night, the city’s center blazed with radiant light. The Desolate Dao Altar surged with immense spatial energy, and seven or eight figures suddenly appeared. With a sweep of their sleeves, they released a flood of cultivators, too many to count.

Everyone in the city knew that something monumental had happened. Seven or eight Sacred Lords had crossed the void together and retreated to the heavenly palace, something that had never occurred before.

Moments earlier, a great bell had rung out, its sound like the clash of golden gongs and bronze drums, reverberating through heaven and earth. Its echo stirred the very souls of those who heard it, shaking even the Celestial City itself to its foundations.

“The might of an Emperor!” someone cried. “Heavens, that’s the power of a Grand Emperor!”

Even the oldest cultivators were trembling. Not even Sacred Lords could produce such a sound. The tolling of that bell had reached deep into their souls.

“Could it be that one of the ancient Emperors never died?” gasped another. “That’s impossible, no one can live that long! Then… could a new Grand Emperor have been born?”

Disbelief spread like wildfire. The city, the heart of the Northern Region, was filled with extraordinary figures. An uncle of the Grand Xia Emperor, a Grand Elder of the Imperial Gold Bloodline, lords from the Southern Mountains. All of them soared toward the heavenly palace.

Ye Fan and the others rushed out as well. Even the stunning An Miaoyi could not compare to the commotion outside.

“The Sacred Lords must have encountered grave danger in Purple Mountain,” Jiang Yifei said after a moment of thought. He mounted his golden beast, its hooves gliding over the moonlight. “I’ll visit you another day, Fairy An. Farewell!” His white robes fluttered as he rode away, vanishing in a streak of gold.

“Farewell, we must go as well,” said the Saint Sons of Grand Yan and Myriad Beginnings, leaving in haste. If the Sacred Lords had truly suffered losses, it could affect their succession to power.

An Miaoyi watched them depart and transmitted her farewell softly. The gathering dispersed.

Two days later, shocking news spread. The combined attack of all the great holy lands on Purple Mountain had ended in disaster, nearly total annihilation. The Jiang Family, the Ji Family, Yaoguang, and Yaochi had all deployed replicas of their Paragon Artifacts, like the Solar Furnace and the Dragon Pattern Cauldron, but they were all destroyed, reduced to dust.

Several Sacred Lords had brought out their personal holy weapons, each resonating with Dao and Law, yet all of them were obliterated into nothingness.

The cause was a single bell. No new Emperor had arisen, it was the toll of the Beginningless Bell. Its waves shattered everything in their path; even powerful cultivators were pulverized in an instant.

The great holy lands had studied Purple Mountain for years. They were convinced it hid secrets of an ancient Grand Emperor. The formation of nine dragons encircling one mountain was an unparalleled geomantic configuration. They devised countless plans and finally decided to join forces to sever the mountain in half.

But that act brought disaster. The mountain was not split, instead, the supreme bell awoke. Its resonance crushed everything.

Over a hundred seasoned masters perished instantly, body and soul annihilated. The Sacred Lords reacted swiftly, using their great godpowers to collect the survivors and flee through the void using the stone tokens. Even their protective Paragon Artifacts were destroyed.

When news spread, the entire Northern Region trembled. The Eastern Wilderness shook. The whole world was astounded. The name of Grand Emperor Beginningless resurfaced from the depths of history, shaking all realms.

Most common people had never heard of him, but the ancient sects could never forget. In the age when Grand Emperor Beginningless reigned, his might embodied the pinnacle of the Dao itself.

“At the end of the Immortal Path, who stands supreme? One glimpse of Beginningless, and all Dao turns to emptiness!”

This was the highest praise ever given to him. Even after tens of thousands of years, the oldest lineages still remembered, when Beginningless appeared, even the Dao itself was eclipsed.

Celestial City boiled with excitement; the world was in uproar. The Emperor had left behind no inheritance, and his bell had vanished from history. It had always been considered humanity’s greatest loss. If Grand Emperor Beginningless had left his teachings, it would have been an immeasurable boon to mankind.

Now, the ringing of the bell had awakened the world. The dying Sacred Lords felt solace, but most people were driven mad with desire.

The inheritance of Grand Emperor Beginningless, lost for endless ages, might soon reappear. The temptation was irresistible.

“Is it true? The Dao Lineage of Grand Emperor Beginningless is about to emerge?”

“He was peerless across the ages, an unshakable monument in history!”

Within just a few days, stories about him spread across the world, too fast to contain. The information came from the oldest sects, the great holy lands, the Imperial Gold Bloodline, and the four immortal empires of Middle Continent.

“It’s better to fight a Grand Completion Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique than to ever face Beginningless.” That was what the ancestors of the Godfiend Palace had once said, showing how deeply the ancient demons feared him.

Before the Desolate Era ended, the world had been chaotic, constant wars between humans and demons. In the end, the Grand Emperors suppressed them all.

The ancient demons had fought both perfected Primeval Desolate Sacred Physiques and Grand Emperors, so they knew their terror well.

“Beginningless was terrifying. Before becoming an Emperor, he fought barehanded against a Paragon Artifact from Middle Continent and survived.” When people learned of these secrets, even the Middle Continent cultivators were dumbstruck.

In his youth, Grand Emperor Beginningless’ talent was unmatched, utterly overwhelming his peers. Even the older generation was awed. He was a true prodigy who defied heaven.

When he finally ascended, his power was beyond comprehension. None could measure his depth.

Before attaining the immortal throne, he once fought across the border between the Eastern Wilderness and Middle Continent against a peerless genius of one of the immortal dynasties. That was an age of countless prodigies, but even among them, he stood supreme.

That Middle Continent genius had been on the verge of becoming a new Grand Emperor, the second ever within his dynasty, a feat never before achieved. He had already touched the boundary of Grand Emperor realm. But fate brought him against the yet-unascended Beginningless.

In that battle at the border, even the dynasty’s Paragon Artifact was used, yet he was still defeated.

That genius, despite wielding a Grand Emperor’s weapon left behind by his founder, could not prevail. Beginningless caught the Paragon Artifact with his bare hands, unscathed, and subdued his opponent, shocking the world.

Later, when he himself became Grand Emperor, he returned that Paragon Artifact to the dynasty, showing his magnanimity.

“What a heaven-defying monster...” Ye Fan murmured after hearing these tales.

Blackwater laughed. “If you can break your curse and step into the Four Pillars Realm, with your current power, you’ll be another heaven-defying monster.”

“I’ll plunder every stone mine of the holy lands,” Ye Fan said. “I must enter the Four Pillars Realm.” He was stirred deeply by the legend of Grand Emperor Beginningless.

“These Sacred Lords won’t give up easily,” Blackwater replied. “The lure of the Beginningless inheritance is too great. Just be careful of those Saints, you’ve been seen by them. Don’t let them recognize you.”

“One day,” Ye Fan muttered, “I’ll block the gates of every holy land and beat them so badly they won’t dare to come out again.”

Blackwater burst into laughter. “Looks like you’ve got some grudges to settle.”

“What a pity,” Ye Fan sighed. “A man as brilliant as Grand Emperor Beginningless, peerless across the ages, and in the end, he too turned to dust.”

“Does true immortality really not exist?” Blackwater also sighed.

As expected, the holy lands didn’t give up. They began their second assault on Purple Mountain. Rumor had it they would bring out Paragon Artifacts again, the Sun God Furnace, the Dragon Rune Cauldron, or even the Infinite Void Mirror. \

The next attack would shake heaven and earth and perhaps truly open Purple Mountain.

Grand Emperor Beginningless’ spirit seemed to rise once more, calling upon all immortals for support.

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