Chapter 419 - 418: The Supreme Grand Elder Awakens, A Desperate Gamble Against the Demon Emperor

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow. "You speak of hope while standing in the ruins of the Grand Court, Emperor Tianxu. I would prefer to hear the details before deciding whether it deserves that name."

Tianxu did not take offense. If anything, Lin Yuan’s directness seemed to help him focus. The young cultivator had already demonstrated that he was willing to challenge established powers when necessary, and empty reassurance would accomplish nothing in front of someone who had witnessed the same catastrophe.

"When the Cultivation Council attempted to stop the demonic hand, Grand Elder Canghe led thirty of our strongest experts into the void," Tianxu explained. "They knew that the task would almost certainly cost them their lives, but they believed that delaying the Demon Emperor might preserve enough time for the rest of us to prepare. Their sacrifice was not made in vain, even if the result was far from what we had hoped."

He paused, lowering his eyes for a moment in remembrance of the fallen experts. "However, Grand Elder Canghe was just one of many within the Cultivation Council. He was a sword, one entrusted with confronting external enemies and carrying out the Council’s dangerous missions."

Ku Ming’s attention sharpened. His knowledge of the Cultivation Council was extensive, yet even he had never encountered a detailed account of the individual Tianxu was about to describe.

The monk had known that the Council possessed ancient reserves of power, but he had not realized that its most important foundation might have survived through an entire era of seclusion.

"Deep beneath the absolute core of the Nine Provinces lies the Supreme Grand Elder of the Cultivation Council," Tianxu continued. "He resides within a sealed chamber protected by layers of temporal formations. Those formations were established three thousand years ago, when the Council realized that the world was approaching a period of instability. Since then, he has remained in deep seclusion, avoiding the changes that have weakened the rest of the Nine Provinces."

Emperor Nanheng lifted her head, her expression becoming more hopeful despite her exhaustion. "He is the oldest living human in the Nine Provinces. His cultivation reached the Half-Step Body Integration realm before he entered seclusion, and he has spent thousands of years studying the final barrier separating him from a true breakthrough. His existence was concealed because the Council believed that revealing his presence would attract the attention of powerful enemies before he had completed his preparations."

Lin Yuan’s gaze shifted toward Tianxu. "Half-Step Body Integration? How has he managed to preserve that level of cultivation while the laws of the Nine Provinces have deteriorated so severely?"

"He survived by drawing upon the residual Origin energy contained within the ancient tectonic foundations," Tianxu replied. "The temporal formations surrounding his chamber slowed the passage of time within the sealed space, allowing him to continue his cultivation while limiting his exposure to the changes occurring outside. His condition is not perfect, but his foundation has remained far more stable than that of ordinary cultivators."

Tianxu took a breath, then continued with greater urgency. "We have already sent an emergency transmission to shatter the temporal seal. The message was prepared for the moment when the Nine Heavens Ward suffered a catastrophic collapse, and the formation should have received it shortly after the first dimensional boundaries began to fail. If everything proceeds as planned, the Supreme Grand Elder will awaken soon."

Ku Ming’s golden eyes widened slightly. "Even at the Half-Step Body Integration realm, he may possess the strength to resist the pressure of the broken laws for a limited period. However, a breakthrough under these conditions would be extraordinarily dangerous. The chaotic energies produced by the merging dimensions could destroy his foundation before he reaches the next realm."

"That is a risk he understands," Emperor Nanheng replied. "The Supreme Grand Elder has spent thousands of years studying the bottleneck that separates his current cultivation from Body Integration. He believes that the collapse of the dimensional boundaries may create a brief opportunity for him to force his way through the restriction. The same changes that have weakened the Nine Provinces may temporarily loosen the barrier that has prevented his breakthrough."

Emperor Beiming gave a slow nod. "If he succeeds, even temporarily, his strength will increase dramatically. With the three of us sacrificing our remaining imperial foundations to activate the Supreme Ancestor’s Array, we may be able to amplify his power enough to confront the Demon Emperor."

His voice became heavier as he described the final part of the plan. "We would not be relying on the Supreme Grand Elder alone. The array was designed to combine the foundations of the imperial lineages and concentrate them into a single force. Under normal circumstances, activating it would be too costly, even if we were facing a powerful enemy. But these are no longer normal circumstances."

"We can take down the Demon Emperor who has just emerged," Tianxu said, completing the thought. "If the Supreme Grand Elder breaks through to Early Stage Body Integration, and if the array successfully amplifies his strength, we may have a chance to force that being into a direct confrontation before he can remove the remaining Nine Wonders."

The plan was desperate. It depended on an ancient cultivator awakening in time, surviving a dangerous breakthrough, and gaining sufficient strength to confront an enemy who had already demonstrated the ability to seize an entire dimension.

It also required the Emperors to sacrifice the foundations that supported their imperial lineages, leaving their own cultivation and the future of their clans uncertain.

Even if every step succeeded, there was no guarantee that the Demon Emperor could be defeated. The power he had displayed suggested that he possessed more than raw strength, and his ability to manipulate the foundational laws of the world might render the Supreme Ancestor’s Array less effective than the Emperors expected. They were preparing to gamble the remaining strength of the surviving forces on an opportunity that might never come.

Yet what other choice did they have?