An alien Half-Step Overlord's eyes flashed with cold lightning. "Great Emperor Hantian, you perished long ago. You are nothing but a wisp of obsession that should have been annihilated from this world ages ago!"
He revealed the true state of Great Emperor Hantian. The true Great Emperor Hantian had indeed fallen long ago. What they saw now was merely a corpse left behind after the campaign against the Primordial Immortal Realm. His Ten Thousand Ancient Times soul had long since shattered, leaving only a single strand of obsession lingering in the world, muddled and confused, existing within the Ship That Slays Immortals.
Originally, it had not yet awakened. However, the moment it saw the alien Giants, it completely regained awareness of everything.
"So that's how it is!"
Many Giants also nodded, feeling this should indeed be the case.
The Great Emperor Hantian of that era was indeed immensely powerful, but after being besieged by the eleven peerless Immortal Kings of the Primordial Immortal Realm, with the participation of the first-generation Immortal Venerable, no matter how heaven-defying he was, his fate was only to fall.
Now, his withered body was covered with countless battle scars, overflowing with the laws of peerless Immortal Kings, all left behind by the Immortal Kings who participated in that battle, unextinguished through the Ten Thousand Ancient Times.
"Today, since I have encountered your final strand of obsession, This One shall personally act to send you into eternal annihilation from this world!"
Boom—
This alien Half-Step Overlord attacked, moving along the River of Time, striking upwards directly at the Ship That Slays Immortals.
This single strike was enough to blast apart a first-generation Giant, to utterly annihilate a Ten Thousand Ancient Times Giant.
Ye Chen wished to block it but lacked the strength, being obstructed by two other alien Half-Step Overlords.
However, a shocking scene unfolded. After the destruction, the Ship That Slays Immortals was not shattered. Great Emperor Hantian's corpse remained. On the contrary, the overwhelming destructive force transformed into surges of vast vital essence, absorbed by Great Emperor Hantian.
Rumble—
Visible to the naked eye, as the vast Ten Thousand Ancient Times might poured into his body, that withered form gradually became full and robust, and his yellowish-gray hair gradually turned black...
"Hmm? Somewhat beyond This One's expectations. A dead man actually retains such methods. However, even if you can withstand it once, can you withstand a second time?"
The alien Half-Step Overlord was indifferent. With a point of his fingertip, a beam of pitch-black light shot towards Great Emperor Hantian, carrying an indescribable power that tore through space-time, tore through the years, capable of piercing through all things in the world.
Pfft—
At this moment, the pitch-black beam pierced through Great Emperor Hantian's fleshly body, leaving a clear, through-and-through bloody hole, yet not a single drop of blood flowed out.
"No—"
Within the Chaos Sea, Garen roared, his eyes crimson as if about to split. That was the ruler of the Eight Desolations Ancient Universe, also his final strand of obsession. Once destroyed, it represented eternal disappearance.
Great Emperor Hantian's figure remained unmoving. That pitch-black beam returned, this time aimed at the space between his eyebrows.
Yet, Great Emperor Hantian roared. The pitch-black beam halted right before the space between his eyebrows, unable to advance even a fraction further.
It was as if an extremely terrifying force was withstanding this pitch-black beam.
"Somewhat interesting. However, This One wishes to see what waves you, a mere surviving strand of obsession, can stir up now." The alien Half-Step Overlord sneered coldly. With a point of his finger, he shot out a second pitch-black beam, smashing fiercely against the first. The two pitch-black beams merged into one, then erupted with even more terrifying might. With a pfft, they broke through Great Emperor Hantian's defense and pierced through the space between his eyebrows.
The space between Great Emperor Hantian's eyebrows was clear through.
Yet, Great Emperor Hantian still did not fall. He looked at him coldly and said, "I am immortal through the Ten Thousand Ancient Times, unextinguished by the years. Even if only a single strand of obsession remains, I can still defy heaven, still reverse space-time. You cannot annihilate me."
"Pierce Through Past and Present!"
Great Emperor Hantian suddenly shouted, unleashing his Forbidden Divine Ability—Pierce Through Past and Present!
Especially upon the River of Time, this Forbidden Divine Ability was performed to its utmost extreme.
They saw the River of Time suddenly boil. From countless splashes of waves flew out innumerable fragments of time. Each fragment of time contained a figure of Great Emperor Hantian—sometimes from his youth, sometimes when he first revealed his brilliance, sometimes during the competition of geniuses, sometimes when he proved his Dao and became an Emperor, sometimes when he became a peerless Giant dominating the Chaos Sea...
Each fragment of time held a different Great Emperor Hantian, representing himself from various periods—young, famous, Dao-proving, and invincible under heaven...
"Pierce Through Past and Present? Is Great Emperor Hantian trying to utterly defy heaven? No, this is already defying the world!"
A first-generation Giant changed expression. Great Emperor Hantian was not merely a Half-Step Overlord; he also possessed extremely profound research into the years and space-time, ultimately creating the Forbidden Divine Ability 'Pierce Through Past and Present.' This spoke volumes.
Clearly visible, these countless fragments of time, each representing Great Emperor Hantian from a different period, now saw the Great Emperor Hantians within these fragments rush out, transforming into illusory figures from various eras, standing tall upon the River of Time.
Boom—
These countless illusory figures suddenly moved, flashing over, ultimately merging one by one into Great Emperor Hantian's body.
And as each illusory figure gradually merged into his body, it was distinctly visible that Great Emperor Hantian's figure grew increasingly majestic, increasingly peerless. He was reversing space-time, returning to his strongest period from the era when he was invincible in the Chaos Sea.
The various Giants were all shocked.
"Extraordinary! Great Emperor Hantian truly lives up to being a peerless Giant who was invincible for three epochs!"
An Immortal Venerable exclaimed in admiration. All could understand how earth-shattering Great Emperor Hantian's methods were, not an exaggeration to call them shaking the past and dazzling the present. Because at this moment, he was reversing everything, forcibly causing his withered body to return to its strongest period.
"Pierce Through Past and Present, truly piercing through past and present. Throughout history, aside from the Space-Time Great Emperor, I'm afraid only Great Emperor Hantian could achieve this."
First-generation Giants also sighed with emotion. Such methods were undeniably astonishing.
The alien Half-Step Overlord frowned, able to sense Great Emperor Hantian's power, yet showed not a trace of fear. Instead, he said ruthlessly, "So what if you return to your peak period? You are still merely a strand of obsession, not the real you. The true Great Emperor Hantian perished long ago. The you before me is merely a paltry strand of obsession attempting to reverse everything. This One can annihilate you with a raise of my hand."
As his words fell, he unleashed another demonic light, far more powerful than before.
"Is that so?"
Great Emperor Hantian, however, raised his head coldly. At this moment, his posture was majestic, his bearing imposing, his shoulders capable of bearing the heavens. With a raise of his hand and a slap, he caused that demonic light to shatter.
Simultaneously, the power of 'Pierce Through Past and Present' did not dissipate. Beneath him, the Ship That Slays Immortals was also rapidly repairing itself, transforming into a sky-shrouding, earth-covering giant ship.
The Eight Desolations Ancient Universe also restored its completeness, containing all living beings of the heavens, with numerous Emperors and Supremes standing tall. World-shaking imperial auras pierced through the River of Time.
It was as if what lay before them was the Eight Desolations Ancient Universe from before the campaign against the Primordial Immortal Realm, not the later destroyed version.
Garen's eyes welled with hot tears. He likely never imagined that one day he would witness the past in its entirety once more.