The once-golden palace now emanated a deep, obsidian luster, as if forged from black immortal metal.
Clearly, the dark forces had corroded this place!
Within the central grand hall, a majestic voice reverberated, rumbling like thunder, shaking the palace and amplifying its solemn, sacred, and inviolable aura.
Yet, Shi Hao strode forward with unwavering determination, his steps firm and resolute. Each footfall sent tremors through the palace complex, as if the entire dark celestial court might lift off the ground at any moment.
The grand hall was vast and empty, devoid of the so-called heavenly soldiers. Instead, it bore an air of antiquity, desolation, and sorrow.
As Shi Hao advanced, he noticed signs of ruin—broken remnants and ancient corpses strewn across the floor, their deaths dating back countless epochs.
Dust blanketed the ancient hall, covering statues and nearly burying the skeletal remains beneath layers of neglect. The scene was one of utter desolation.
It was in such a place that a cold, imperious voice addressed Shi Hao:
“To meet the Emperor and refuse to bow—your true fate is forfeit. Your name is etched upon the stele of reincarnation. Kneel with each step, and your sins shall be halved on the path to rebirth, sparing your true spirit.”
The voice resonated with the heavens and earth, shaking the vast land as if an Immortal Emperor had descended, his might pressing upon the mortal realm.
Shi Hao frowned. This being was indeed formidable, surpassing all previous adversaries, sending tremors through his very soul.
For any other, those mere words would have been enough to shatter their spirit and cast them onto the wheel of reincarnation.
Such was its power—uttering a single phrase could send even a supreme Immortal King to rebirth, stripping them of their immortal destiny.
**”Boom!”**
Facing this oppressive might, Shi Hao unleashed a punch, his yang energy surging like a tidal wave, domineering and unstoppable, aimed straight into the depths of the hall—intent on annihilation.
“Playing tricks with ghosts and gods? I stand as a Quasi-Immortal Emperor—who dares claim my fate? Who dares speak of sending me to rebirth? On the path of reincarnation, I shall send *you* forth!”
Shi Hao’s voice boomed like an edict from the Heavenly Emperor, his words manifesting as law. Great Dao runes condensed in the void, forming a golden decree that surged forward alongside his strike.
The sheer force of his attack illuminated the entire dark palace.
At this moment, Shi Hao blazed like a radiant sun, his light dispelling the darkness of the celestial court, bathing every corner in sacred brilliance.
He stood unyielding, transcendent, his Heavenly Emperor’s majesty unveiled, his golden radiance transforming the very fabric of this place.
“Audacity!”
From the dust-choked ancient hall came a furious rebuke, laced with killing intent and endless dark sigils. The being had made its move.
A withered, skeletal gray hand stretched forth, slow yet crushing, carrying the overwhelming might of an emperor.
Within its grasp, suns and moons revolved, stars swirled, universes were born, and chaos swirled. A faint path of reincarnation flickered in and out of existence.
The hand appeared ordinary in size, yet it held dominion over all creation—capable of cleaving heaven and earth, commanding the cycle of rebirth. A sight both awe-inspiring and terrifying!
“Who dares speak of audacity?” Shi Hao’s voice thundered as he stood proudly, his white robes fluttering. He formed a fist seal and met the withered gray palm head-on, unleashing boundless immortal might.
**BOOM!**
A cataclysmic collision ensued. The entire dark ancient land quaked and wailed, the earth splitting apart, the heavens cracking, birthing an endless storm.
The palace crumbled. The Dark Celestial Court, standing unbroken for countless eons, now collapsed, its ancient halls reduced to rubble.
This place had been fortified with Quasi-Immortal Emperor-level formations, impervious even to the ages. Immortal Kings who came to pay homage would be suppressed if they showed disrespect—this palace had seen no shortage of their blood.
Massive stones flew, thick pillars shattered, and dark immortal-metal tiles exploded into fragments.
The clash of these two supreme beings shook the cosmos, as if even the river of time had been severed.
Shi Hao stood unshaken, his white robes untouched by dust, his black hair dancing in the wind. Though his features were refined, his eyes grew ever sharper.
Opposite him, the ruined palace revealed its secrets—corpses floating in the void, disintegrating before vanishing entirely.
Further away, among the fallen halls, more remains emerged—armor-clad, weapons in hand, long buried beneath dust, now exposed.
Heavenly soldiers and generals, reduced to skeletons, reappeared in the mortal realm only to be annihilated once more, leaving no trace behind.
Under the clash of imperial might, nothing endured, no being remained unbroken. Even the Dark Celestial Court, guarded by Quasi-Immortal Emperor formations, had been destroyed.
Shi Hao’s pupils contracted. The fallen halls revealed rows of uniform armor and weapons—clearly the remnants of a once-mighty celestial army.
This place had once thrived, glorious beyond measure.
In its prime, countless heavenly soldiers had guarded this court. Yet, for reasons unknown, they had been slain and buried beneath dust.
The entire palace complex had become a domain of darkness.
And then, Shi Hao saw *him*—the so-called Emperor.
A gaunt figure sat upon a jade throne within the fractured but still-standing central hall, gazing down with cold detachment.
He was the only living being within the grand palace.
The self-proclaimed Emperor.
Undeniably powerful, peerless, seated high above, unharmed by Shi Hao’s strike, exuding an aura of immortality and eternal existence.
Yet his body was emaciated, gray and withered—unnaturally so, skin stretched taut over bone.
Only his eyes held terrifying power—like twin golden lanterns, or perhaps suns within the dark cycle of reincarnation, capable of guiding lost souls.
His hair was gray, his sclera dull, but his golden pupils gleamed with a light sharp enough to rend Immortal Kings.
His imperial robes, ancient and tattered, hung loosely on his skeletal frame.
Upon his head rested an imperial crown, radiating nine-colored light—yet intertwined with strands of ominous black energy.
“A fallen Quasi-Immortal Emperor?” Shi Hao asked coldly.
“The Emperor is supreme. As epochs shift and cycles turn, even if all heavens perish and all things wither, I remain eternal. What fall is there to speak of?”
The gray-haired figure’s voice was indifferent, carrying an air of absolute supremacy, as if he alone stood above all creation.
Shi Hao remained silent, scrutinizing every inch of the being. This was no puppet—he lived.
Yet something felt *off*.
Why was a Quasi-Immortal Emperor so withered, his flesh desiccated, leaving only skin clinging to bone?
Still, his strength was undeniable—Shi Hao recognized a formidable foe.
“Was this vast celestial court your creation?” Shi Hao demanded.
“Indeed.”
The self-styled Emperor nodded, his gray hair lifting as his piercing gaze radiated dominance, as if he alone stood atop the pinnacle of existence.
“Why did the heavenly soldiers perish?”
“They defied the Emperor’s decree. I executed them myself.”
Shi Hao inhaled sharply. Among those generals had surely been Immortal Kings, mighty cultivators who had sworn allegiance. Why had they rebelled? Why had they been slaughtered?
His gaze turned icy. “The corruption from beyond the Boundary Sea, the rise of the Burial Grounds and the Foreign Realm, the ebb and flow of the Reception Ancient Halls—are these your doing?”
“You may think so.” The Emperor’s response was frigid, his golden pupils shimmering like the ruthless laws of heaven. Darkness and chaos began to envelop him.
“And the sea of bones nearby—whose remains are those?”
“Subjects of the celestial court… and pilgrims.”
“You killed them?!” Shi Hao’s voice was like winter itself. A sense of foreboding crept over him—this was more sinister than he had imagined.
The figure on the jade throne did not answer fully. “For them, sacrifice was the noblest end.”
“And what of those lured from beyond the Boundary Sea, corrupted by darkness—where are they?” Shi Hao roared.
He longed to see the Willow Deity, Elder Meng Tianzheng, Huo Ling’er. He refused to believe their bones lay among the ancient remains outside.
“You ask too many questions.”
“Then let us fight!”
With a metallic *shing*, Shi Hao drew his immortal sword, its radiance piercing the darkness, awe-inspiring in its brilliance.
Sacred light enveloped him, lending him the majesty of a Heavenly Emperor descended to earth, his aura peerless.
This sword was a Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s weapon—unbreakable, soaring through the air like a streak of light, aimed at the gray-haired figure’s throat.
**”Clang!”**
In response, the enemy raised a bone-white ruler, lustrous as mutton-fat jade, emitting a soft glow.
Another Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s weapon.
Their collision sent sparks flying, the resulting runes so profound they seemed to sever the river of time, freezing this instant into eternity.
**”Boom!”**
Then, the gray-haired figure spat out a bone seal!
It expanded rapidly, bearing down on Shi Hao with terrifying force, infused with the power of epochs and supreme laws.
Above Shi Hao’s head, a pool of manifested laws appeared, weaving the rules of all creation, shielding him from harm.
The bone seal struck, causing the pool to tremble, but it repelled the attack with a surge of radiant energy.
“Interesting. It has been epochs since I last fought.” The gray-haired man’s eyes gleamed with cold malice as he rose from his jade throne, descending step by step toward Shi Hao.
**”Clang!”**
Shi Hao summoned his artifacts, letting them clash with the enemy’s weapons.
He himself advanced bare-handed—now was the true test of his Quasi-Immortal Emperor’s power.
“Across time and space, I have stood unrivaled, longing for defeat yet finding none. Now you appear—but you are merely another sacrifice.”
“Those who spoke to me like this are all dead,” Shi Hao replied simply.
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