Where is Demon Emperor Blood River?
No one knows.
No one is clear.
All that is known is that this void is like an illusory world, ethereal as smoke, resembling the Nine Heavens of the firmament. Winds rise and clouds surge as the Nine Heavens Dragon Soars, as if the judgment of the Nine Heavens were descending—utterly awe-inspiring.
The vast, majestic might of the Nine Heavens, accompanied by the dragon roars of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon, swept over the scene like a tidal wave, causing the Great Dao experts hidden within the ancient ruins to feel nothing but reverence in their hearts.
Even the Seven Elders, including Elder Lin—seniors who had cultivated for countless years and long withdrawn from worldly affairs—could not help but tremble in spirit upon witnessing this scene with their own eyes.
Indeed.
They had seen the might of the Xuantian Immortal Dao, and they had seen the might of the Western Heaven Buddhist Dao. They had even witnessed the might of the Cangtian Great Dao.
But to speak of the might of Xuantian, the might of the Western Heaven, the might of Cangtian, the might of Qingtian, the might of Huangtian...
And so on—the might of all Nine Heavens descending simultaneously.
To be honest.
Neither the Seven Elders nor Elder Lin had ever seen such a thing. After the Great Desolate, Cangtian fell into slumber, Qingtian was no more, Huangtian vanished...
Among the Nine Heavens, only Xuantian and the Western Heaven had revived.
Therefore, after the Great Desolate, it was fundamentally impossible to witness the might of the Nine Heavens.
Let alone the fact that among the Nine Heavens, some slumbered and some vanished; even if all Nine Heavens were to revive, it would likely be extremely difficult to see their might manifest together.
Throughout ancient and modern times, across all realms of the myriad worlds, there was probably no one who could withstand the legendary might of the Nine Heavens, nor anyone qualified to have the Nine Heavens simultaneously deliver judgment.
Since time immemorial, kings do not meet kings, heavens do not meet heavens, Daos do not meet Daos.
Kings avoid kings, heavens also avoid heavens, and Daos avoid Daos.
When kings meet kings, death or injury follows; when heavens meet heavens, doomsday reappears; when Daos meet Daos, calamity is inevitable.
“Grandmother!”
Bei Changqing, who had been standing at the very front, leaned back and stood beside Elder Lin. The Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring, accompanied by the might of the Nine Heavens, made her feel physically uncomfortable, and her spirit was greatly affected.
The might of the Nine Heavens was too vast, so vast it made her both afraid and fearful.
Moreover, this fear and dread felt innate—not something one could endure simply by having a strong spirit, but a deeply rooted terror.
Elder Lin embraced Bei Changqing, patting her back, fully understanding her feelings.
She felt the same way.
After all, the Nine Heavens were the Nine Heavens; what they represented was supreme.
As the old saying goes: none is greater than the heavens, none harder than fate, none more domineering than the Dao.
Its meaning is: no matter how hard your fate, you cannot change destiny.
No matter how domineering you are, you cannot out-domineer the Great Dao.
No matter how powerful you are, you cannot surpass the heavens.
In a sense, this “heavens” represents the Nine Heavens.
Xuantian, one of the Nine Heavens, represents purification; the Western Heaven represents salvation; Qingtian represents justice; Cangtian represents dominion...
Under such circumstances, who could possibly defeat the Nine Heavens?
The answer was certain.
No one could.
Perhaps thinking of this, Bei Changqing felt deeply worried about Demon Emperor Blood River’s safety and could not bear to watch further. She said, “Grandmother, do you think...
Will Xuehe die here?”
“Young Miss, this is merely an incarnation of Demon Emperor Blood River. Whether it dies or not is unimportant to him. Moreover...” Elder Lin said, “Warrior Emperor Wuzang’s Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring is not a true Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon; it is merely transformed from the Nine Heavens Dragon Sword. Though it possesses the form and intent of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon, and the might of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon...
That is all it is.”
Although Elder Lin comforted Bei Changqing with these words, her heart did not truly believe them.
As she said, Warrior Emperor Wuzang’s Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring was not a true Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon; it was merely transformed from the Nine Heavens Dragon Sword, containing only the form, intent, and might of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon.
But then again.
Merely containing the form, intent, and might of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon was already terrifying beyond imagination—far more dreadful than so-called divine sense demonic thoughts.
If those divine sense demonic thoughts were manifestations of the spiritual will of those Great Dao Overlords, then the form, intent, and might of the Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring were akin to the divine sense demonic thoughts of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon itself.
One could imagine how powerful that must be.
In the void.
Miao Rulai sat cross-legged on the palm of that Sacred Great Buddha, one hand held vertically before him, the other turning prayer beads.
Above his head, a golden blazing sun still hung high, and the myriad Buddhas in the sky continued to worship.
Although the radiance of the golden blazing sun no longer illuminated the void as brilliantly as before, and the spectacle of the myriad worshipping Buddhas was not as grand,
Neither the golden blazing sun nor the myriad Buddhas in the sky had ever vanished, no matter how dim or distorted they became.
This was true when Demon Emperor Blood River descended and Darkness enveloped everything.
And it remained true now, as Warrior Emperor Wuzang unleashed the Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring under the overwhelming might of the Nine Heavens.
“No wonder those old fellows of the Xuantian Immortal Dao can remain so composed, not showing themselves even now. It seems they have great confidence in this little Wuzang’s Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring.”
It was strange.
Earlier, when facing Warrior Emperor Wuzang and the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, Miao Rulai had spoken only one sentence before falling silent, not even bothering to glance at them.
But since Demon Emperor Blood River appeared, Miao Rulai’s eyes had opened, his words had increased, and a cryptic smile had been playing on his lips all along.
“Winds rise and clouds surge, Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring!”
Miao Rulai praised, “The might of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon truly resembles the judgment of the Nine Heavens. At least, it looks that way. However...” His tone shifted, and he chuckled, “It only looks like it. The false can never become true, and the true can never become false. Such might of the Nine Heavens Heavenly Dragon might frighten others, but if they think to use it to intimidate Xuehe... hehe...
One can only say those old fellows of the Xuantian Immortal Dao have overestimated this little one, overestimated the so-called Nine Heavens Dragon Sword, overestimated the so-called Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring, and overestimated themselves—while underestimating Demon Emperor Blood River!”
“Hehe!”
As if remembering something, Miao Rulai laughed to himself, “Da Xing the Mad Monk really was right about one thing: those old fellows of the Xuantian Immortal Dao are truly a bunch of self-righteous old fossils. They occupy the latrine without shitting, monopolizing the origin of the Immortal Dao, yet after all these years, they haven’t cultivated a single qualified Lord of the Immortal Dao. No wonder they’ve been suppressed by the Great Sun Yao Emperor, unable to lift their heads since the Great Desolate.”
As he spoke.
Miao Rulai suddenly sensed a change in the void. Though subtle, he detected it.
He smiled.
The smile on Miao Rulai’s lips grew even richer.
Not long after, the Great Dao experts hidden within the ancient ruins also sensed the change in the void.
At first, this change was not too obvious, but soon it grew increasingly intense.
Everyone noticed the change in the void.
It was Darkness!
Yes!
It was Darkness!
Boundless, endless Darkness.
Silent, immeasurable Darkness.
This Darkness felt both familiar and alien to everyone.
Familiar because when Demon Emperor Blood River descended earlier, it was Darkness that swept over.
Alien because the Darkness appearing now seemed different from the Darkness that accompanied Demon Emperor Blood River’s arrival.