“Who are you… who are you?!” Golden Matriarch roared in fury, her indignation burning beyond reason.
Today had been utterly humiliating—ambushed mid-journey, pursued all the way back to her own estate, and despite the protective formations, she had suffered devastating injuries.
She had already realized that her own panic and confusion had led to this disaster. This assailant couldn’t be an enforcer from the Immortal Domain. If they were, they would have come openly, without all these deceptive ploys to mislead her.
How many years had it been since she had suffered such a crushing defeat in battle?
Thinking back, from the ancient times till now, she had only faced life-or-death crises like this before achieving her Dao and during the great war at the borderlands.
Today, an unknown opponent had toyed with her mind, sowing doubt and panic, leading to her miserable defeat. It was infuriating!
At the last moment, she had sensed something—this opponent, though at the Supreme Being realm, was unstable, likely still young. She had detected the vigorous pulse of youthful vitality.
This only deepened her shame. A newly ascended Supreme Being? And she had been forced to flee from him!
How disgraceful! Against such a novice, she should have turned and cut him down with a single stroke of her sword.
“Hah!” Shi Hao sneered.
Now wielding the supreme techniques of the Chaos Ape Clan, he had mastered the **Seventy-Two Transformations** to perfection. Even divine eyes couldn’t pierce his disguise.
“Who are you? How do you know the **Six Paths Reincarnation Heavenly Art**?!” Golden Matriarch bellowed, glaring at his eyes as if trying to peer into his soul.
There was something familiar about him—those clear, mocking eyes filled her with unease, humiliation, and rage.
Especially that laugh of his—it carried an indescribable weight, making her heart tremble as if a vague suspicion was solidifying into reality.
“Impossible!”
Golden Matriarch violently shook her severed head, blood spraying from the stump of her neck. She was startled by her own thought—because… this person reminded her of that brat from the past.
Though his true appearance was obscured by protective runes, those eyes were too similar.
“**Huang**?!” Her spirit shuddered. It couldn’t be—hadn’t he been crippled? How could he have survived the **Soul-Severing Curse**?
Thirty years had passed. That young man should have faded into obscurity, or even turned to dust by now!
Yet, those eyes… they were identical!
Had any being ever achieved the Supreme Dao in mere decades? No, it was impossible! She shook her head vehemently, dismissing the thought.
In this era, no one under five hundred years of age had ever become a Supreme Being—it was an unbreakable taboo. Huang had been crippled—how could he defy the heavens and ascend instead?
But why were those eyes so alike?
**Sssshhh—!**
A sword beam slashed through the void—the **Grass-Sword Scripture**, peerless in its lethality, capable of sundering the cosmos itself!
Within it flickered a crimson gleam—a remnant of the **Immortal-Slaying Guillotine**’s essence. Though Golden Matriarch dodged it, she feared that scarlet light.
Yet, the **Grass-Sword Scripture** was unpredictable and devastating. In the void, countless blades of grass manifested, each with nine sword-shaped leaves. With every rustle, billions of sword beams cascaded like endless waterfalls from the heavens.
The sight was terrifying—a storm of annihilation!
“**Go!**” The dog pup roared desperately. If they didn’t leave now, they never would—the formation’s remnant spirit was awakening.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
Now, there was no time left.
Shi Hao narrowed his eyes as he saw blood bloom—Golden Matriarch’s skull split open under the deluge of sword beams, like a flood of primordial chaos descending from the sky.
Yet, he sighed. He doubted even this could truly destroy the soul within that skull.
**Whoosh—!**
Following the pup, Shi Hao vanished in an instant, fleeing the Golden Clan and disappearing into the horizon.
Behind them, immortal radiance surged, divine light erupting as the formation’s spirit awakened—its aura vast and terrifying, like a true immortal preparing to strike!
They escaped just as a beam of destruction shattered the land behind them, leveling mountains—but missing them entirely.
“Was it him… was it really him?!”
In the heart of the Golden Clan’s ancestral grounds, a split skull glowed as Golden Matriarch’s soul emerged, murmuring in shock.
The more she thought, the more she believed it was Huang. But it made no sense—how could it be him?!
Lost in confusion, she suddenly shuddered. If it truly was that young man… then the consequences would be catastrophic.
How old was he? In the world of cultivators, he was still a fledgling—yet he had already reached such heights. Given time, who could possibly restrain him?
If he were allowed to grow further, even entering the Immortal Domain, he would stir unimaginable storms!
—
### **The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths—A World in Turmoil**
In the Immortal Domain, discussions of retreat were underway. Most had agreed to withdraw.
But this decision had sparked a crisis—those who had fought the Dark Creatures for too long might be barred from returning.
Fear and resentment spread like wildfire.
No trace of corruption could be allowed into the Immortal Domain—this was an ironclad rule. Even in the past era, peerless experts who had battled the Dark for too long were exiled, their taint too great.
Some of the forbidden zones in the Nine Heavens had originated this way!
“We **must** return!” Some roared, on the verge of rebellion.
But the higher-ups remained firm. While most could leave, those tainted by prolonged exposure to the Dark had to stay behind.
They were even offered a path—entry into certain forbidden zones.
Legends said these were the final resting places of the Immortal Domain’s most illustrious talents.
“After so many years… do those forbidden zones still hold living beings?”
“If we go there, we might be walking to our deaths. None who enter have ever returned!”
—
### **Chaos Everywhere**
The situation was dire—both the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were in upheaval. Even the immortal clans were restless.
News of Shi Hao slaying Golden Matriarch had only just begun to spread. If it became widely known, the chaos would escalate.
Meanwhile, in Boundless Heaven, a grand gathering was underway—a final assembly of this era’s greatest talents.
With the end of the Lawless Age approaching, even the Immortal Domain’s forces were retreating. The Dark Creatures, too, were withdrawing. The elites of the Nine Heavens were left adrift, seeking escape.
This gathering was their farewell—each clan would take a different path.
It was also an exchange—to see where others were headed, which factions they would join.
“Have you heard? The long-reclusive **Ten Crown King** has emerged! He’ll attend this gathering before entering the Immortal Domain!”
“Rumor has it that Shi Yi, the **Double-Pupiled**, has also been chosen by an ancient sect in the Immortal Domain!”
“Ah, geniuses never lack opportunities. The most dazzling will always be taken away…”
As Shi Hao traveled, he listened to these rumors with great interest.
Thirty years had passed—how were his old acquaintances faring?
“This is the final gathering of this era. The strongest of this generation—Great Monk Xu Tuo, Lan Xian, Tuo Gu Yu Long—will all appear.”
“Can we even attend?”
“We may be powerful in our own domains, but we’re not among the very peak. We’ll watch from the sidelines.”
Many lamented their own inadequacies.
With the world collapsing, the true elites would soon depart for the Immortal Domain. This was their last gathering.
“Fairy Wang Xi will be there. Though I admire her, I don’t even qualify to approach her.”
“Wang Xi is no longer the Wang Clan’s top heir. **Wang Shi** has emerged—said to be unrivaled among his peers. He’ll overshadow her.”
“Jin Zhan is also attending. Did he and Wang Xi truly become Dao companions? I heard something happened at the Jin Clan’s ancestral grounds…”
Discussions were rampant.
This gathering marked the end of an era—the brightest stars of this age would soon scatter, never to be seen again.
“Word is that the Holy Maiden of the **Heaven Mending Sect** has merged her dual souls, becoming terrifyingly powerful!”
“And that enchantress from the **Heaven Severing Sect** is no slouch either!”
Shi Hao listened quietly, learning much about his old friends.
Cao Yusheng’s eyes gleamed as he rubbed his hands. “Let’s go. It’s time to return. After thirty years, the world should know that **Supreme Cao** has come back! Who dares claim supremacy? When I bloom, all others wither!”
“You’ll achieve the Supreme Dao in another five hundred years,” the pup retorted mercilessly.
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