Life in full bloom, the one-armed elder and others perished, their paths extinguished.
The desert lay silent. Upon the walls of the Imperial Pass, a group of children collapsed to the ground, hearts shattered, tears streaming as they wailed loudly.
Yet, none of this could be altered by their will. The dead remained dead, never to return.
“Grandfather!”
The cries of the young ones brought glistening tears to the eyes of many on the city walls. Watching the elderly, weak, and infirm meet their heroic end, their hearts twisted in sorrow.
A faint chime rang out. The golden-backed ancient ox moved once more, its hooves carrying the ancient war chariot forward, advancing toward the Abyss.
Within the chariot, chaos reigned, obscuring all but a single hand that reached out, still supporting the Primordial Imperial City!
An Lan, peerless and unmatched, his might shaking the ages, held the city aloft with his glowing palm as he sought to traverse the Abyss.
On the Imperial Pass, a chill ran down the spines of all who watched. Who could possibly stop him now?
“Immortal King!”
Millions of soldiers roared, shaking the heavens and earth, the desert trembling violently beneath their voices.
The army parted, clearing a path for the war chariot.
“They hold a slight advantage now, seeking to break the balance and force their way across the Abyss!” an elder on the walls declared. What could be done?
At this moment, all seemed futile. The gap in strength was insurmountable—no True Immortals, no supreme powerhouses remained to halt their advance.
Despair took hold, a hopeless situation!
“It is our turn to act. If those within the Primordial Imperial City can sacrifice themselves in fury, how can we cower in fear of death?” someone bellowed from the walls.
Yet, they were not True Immortals, nor were they Undying. Could they truly stand against such might?
The will to fight burned, but the strength was lacking.
“I refuse to be remembered as a coward in death! Even if we cannot win, we must fight—let our blood stain the heavens and prove our resolve!” commanders roared in unison.
Within the city, the once-dismal atmosphere ignited. Death was a familiar sight—what was there left to fear? The worst was but an end.
“Charge! Fight now, at this very moment! Let our blood paint the skies!” experts from all clans bellowed.
Morale soared, and all traces of despair vanished, replaced by unyielding battle intent.
Then, an elder stepped forward, sighing as he halted the crowd. “Fall back. Let me go.”
“Master!” Qi Hong cried out.
He was the original master of the Five-Spirit Chariot, Qi Hong’s mentor—an elder known as the Verdant Wood Sage, one of the city’s invincible guardians.
For years, he and the other peerless defenders had stood against the enemy’s supreme beings, spending most of their lives within these walls.
In his prime, he had commanded the Five-Spirit Chariot, dominating the battlefield, unmatched among his peers.
Though his vitality had waned, he remained a supreme being, the city’s unyielding protector.
Now, he would step beyond the gates—alone.
Qi Hong and others rushed forward, unwilling to let him face this alone. Though their master was mighty, how could he halt the steps of an Immortal King?
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. We must activate the ancient stele now, for the chance is fleeting. Once he crosses the Abyss, all will be lost,” the Verdant Wood Sage declared.
His white hair disheveled, his frame gaunt, his resolve was firm. He would fight beyond the gates.
An Lan, wielding immense power to hold the Primordial Imperial City aloft, was inching forward. This might be their last opportunity to strike.
If he succeeded, none could oppose him!
Just as Meng Tianzheng stepped forward to speak, the Verdant Wood Sage stopped him. “No arguments. Hold the fort here—I will go.”
Silence fell upon the walls. The other supreme beings vanished, retrieving an ancient stele to aid the Verdant Wood Sage’s departure.
Before the Imperial Pass, a flash of light heralded the elder’s arrival. He carried a stele upon his back, trudging forward step by step.
At first, the stele was small—barely taller than a man—yet it weighed upon him as if he bore a mountain. With each step, the stele grew, towering into the heavens.
The Verdant Wood Sage strained, his back nearly breaking under the weight. With a roar, the stele left his body, swelling into a colossal monument that pierced the clouds.
His spine straightened. He turned for one final glance at the Imperial Pass before facing forward, never looking back again.
His body blazed with light, countless symbols binding him to the stele as he advanced with it.
“Master!” Qi Hong cried, tears in his eyes. He knew this was the last time he would see his mentor.
The city walls stood silent, hearts heavy.
The wind rose, sand swirling across the desert as the elder sprinted forward, back straight. All knew—he would not return.
“Stele of Immortal Suppression, aid me in slaying that undying creature! Strike down that king!”
The Verdant Wood Sage murmured ancient incantations before roaring, his body erupting with boundless light, his blood aflame as he charged the war chariot.
Simultaneously, the stele glowed crimson, its surface etched with immortal runes of slaughter, hurtling forward with lethal intent.
“Suppress and slay!” the elder bellowed.
Legends spoke of this stele—once activated, it could slay True Immortals and undying beings. But its power would be spent thereafter.
A forbidden relic from the Immortal Ancient Era!
Desperation had forced the Imperial Pass to reveal its trump card.
“Stop him!”
A voice rang out from the enemy ranks as a supreme being stepped forth, accompanied by a silver undying creature beside the chariot.
“An ant and an old stele—what threat do they pose?”
The chariot remained silent, An Lan unmoved, his hand still upholding the city. It was the golden-backed ox that spoke, its voice thunderous, shaking the desert.
The enemy forces halted, none daring to act.
What beast, after all, could pull An Lan’s chariot if not extraordinary?
In the sky, the stele expanded, black as ink, stained with blood. Its runes blazed, unleashing immortal laws upon the world.
This was the Stele of Immortal Suppression—a weapon capable of slaying even True Immortals.
Now, with An Lan locked in struggle against the Primordial Imperial City and the Abyss, this was their only hope.
On the Imperial Pass, all held their breath, tension thick in the air. Hearts pounded as they awaited the decisive moment.
Would it be enough to turn the tide?
**Boom!**
The stele descended, its light crushing downward. Beside it, the elder, drenched in blood, offered himself as a sacrifice to empower it.
“Master!” Qi Hong screamed from the walls, tears falling.
Many grieved—another revered elder was about to fall. Could he wound the Immortal King?
Within the chariot, An Lan remained still, unshaken.
Yet the war chariot, forged in countless battles, bore countless scars—blade marks, arrow holes—now glowing with undying radiance.
Even a mere chariot could unleash such power, its runes intertwining to strike the stele.
**Crack!**
The bloodstained stele shattered, fragments scattering around the chariot, failing to even draw near.
**Splat!**
The Verdant Wood Sage’s body was struck, exploding into a mist of blood. Just like that, he was gone.
A supreme being’s fall should stir the heavens, manifesting omens of grief.
Yet the chariot’s scars pulsed with power, erasing all signs of mourning before they could form.
“A mere insect dares raise arms against an Immortal King? Death is all it deserves,” the golden-backed ox sneered, its voice shaking the world.
The words cut deep into the hearts of those on the Imperial Pass. A supreme being had given his life, only to perish so easily.
Yet none could refute the ox’s arrogance. They were powerless.
Despair deepened. The Imperial Pass’s trump card had failed. If An Lan crossed unimpeded, the world would be overturned—this era doomed.
A true hopelessness!
“Foolish creatures, weak race. Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly deluded,” the ox mocked.
To be ridiculed by a mere beast, a chariot-puller, was infuriating. Yet what could they do?
The Immortal King knocked at their gates—none could oppose him!
“What remains? Only one last card—the First Slaughter Formation!” An elder covered in dust emerged on the walls, his body seemingly sealed away for ages.
The oldest supreme being of the Imperial Pass, his voice laced with sorrow, prepared to unleash a killing array.
“It’s incomplete. The formation is flawed,” Meng Tianzheng sighed.
At this point, without a king, none could halt An Lan’s advance.
Legends spoke of a formation hailed as the First Slaughter Array, yet none had ever seen it—some claimed it did not exist.
Who could have guessed the Imperial Pass held fragments of it?
“Slay!”
The dust-covered elder roared, hurling forth a tattered diagram alongside countless formation banners and platforms, charging from the city.
“Hmm?” The golden ox shuddered, sensing danger.
On the walls, Cao Yusheng gaped. He possessed the Third Slaughter Formation, but his master had once said it paled in comparison to the First—a formation birthed by the heavens across countless eras.
A fragment of the diagram now flew forth, banners and platforms in tow, aimed at An Lan.
Hundreds of banners were upheld by elders, each burning their essence to lend strength.
The oldest supreme being sat upon the broken diagram, his blood flowing as he offered himself in sacrifice.
**Boom!**
Divine might descended, seeking to annihilate An Lan.
At last, the figure within the chariot moved. A single finger extended, tapping the void.
**Boom!**
The world shattered.
Blood painted the sky as all formation platforms and banners disintegrated. The elders burst into mist, and the oldest supreme being sighed, dissolving into light upon the diagram—utterly erased.
“Insects, all dead! Good riddance!” the ox laughed.
The Imperial Pass stood in despair.
No hope remained. No path to survival.
Yet, in using his other hand, An Lan’s grip on the Primordial Imperial City wavered, shaking violently.
At the same time, deep within the city, the last surviving king of the Seven seized the moment, unleashing a force that shook the heavens.
The Abyss roared, supreme immortal laws descending to strike An Lan.
His hand blazed, resisting as he upheld the city. Simultaneously, the five decrees trembled, unleashing undying power.
For a fleeting moment, five Immortal Kings seemed to roar in unison, seeking to tear the Abyss asunder.
**Boom!**
The Abyss quaked, a massive rift splitting open.
This battle surpassed imagination—even the highest immortal laws were torn apart, shaking past and future alike!
A torrent of immortal light surged forth, a mighty river of power disrupting the very laws of the world, destabilizing order.
“Time and space—torn asunder!” Even the enemy’s undying beings gasped in shock.
Such power warped reality itself, threatening the fabric of existence. The River of Time had been unleashed.
“Who dares oppose us? Mere insects!” the ox crowed.
Yet as the heavens trembled and the River of Time surged, the beast fell silent. This was dangerous—a door through time had been breached.
It had heard tales of such battles—events that could spiral beyond even an Immortal King’s control!
**Boom!**
Then, an overwhelming presence erupted. Through the Abyss’s rift, a colossal cauldron emerged, vast enough to eclipse the wasteland!
All stood stunned.
Where had it come from? Its aura shook the cosmos.
None had expected—mid-battle—a cauldron to cross the River of Time, emerging from the gates of time itself to descend upon the wasteland!
Massive stars orbited the cauldron, its interior spewing primal chaos. Its walls, forged of immortal metal, were stained with blood!
At its maw, countless stars seemed on the verge of being devoured.
“How? A cauldron summoned from the River of Time?!” Even the undying were aghast.
The cauldron descended, primal chaos swirling as the desert quaked. The golden ox screamed, its legs snapping as it knelt in the sand.
Such unimaginable power!
“Someone stands upon the cauldron!” a voice cried, spotting a figure atop it.
A towering figure, back turned to the world, bloodied as if from battles in another time. He stood like an emperor descending upon the mortal realm!
Who was this, crossing the River of Time to arrive here? Who could force An Lan’s beast to kneel with mere presence?!
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