Chapter 453: Immortal Decree!

The Star Grave detonated.

For Wang Ping, this was the first time he had witnessed such a scene, and from such close range—almost like having a front-row seat.

After all, he was likely the only lower-level cultivator present who could see what was happening. The rest, whether Tianhou or Gu Ying, had been practically swept out of the mortal realm by the descent of a True Monarch's mighty power. Their consciousnesses were frozen, leaving them entirely incapable of sensing their surroundings or the unfolding events.

'Truly marvelous.'

With In the World of Men operating, Wang Ping's consciousness remained incredibly clear. All the profound mysteries originating from higher dimensions that could not be looked upon directly were borne by his merit.

This allowed him to experience the change firsthand.

The world seemed to split in half.

One half was false and elusive, like a movie playing on a screen where all the love, hate, and passion could not stir anything outside the projection.

The other half was unmistakably real, saturated with an overwhelmingly intense sense of existence. That was the battlefield of True Monarchs and Dao Lords. Only entities at the level of a True Person could establish a foothold in that domain. While the difference in their mighty power might be as vast as heaven and earth, fundamentally, they were equally real.

This held true even for a Dao Lord.

Dao Lords, Dao Monarchs, and Daoists—though they did not cultivate reality, their own orthodoxies acted like nails, rooting them in this domain. Moreover, Wang Ping could faintly hear the conversations of these majestic entities, beings who normally stood aloof and unreachable in the eyes of lower-level cultivators:

"Daoist friend, it's a misunderstanding..."

"Why must you do this?"

"No way, you actually blew it up?"

Numerous streams of divine sense clashed and intersected with a boom. Among them were peacemakers, those sighing, and those feeling helpless, but they all carried the exact same emotion.

Astonishment.

Wait, what are you doing?

The three True Monarchs of the Fire Qi were particularly stifled and furious at this moment. After all... we haven't even done anything to you yet, right?

You were the ones who laid a trap to kill our True Person! We just stepped forward to stop it. Though we indeed prepared some methods intending to teach you a lesson, we hadn't even brought them out yet! As a result, the wicked sued first, and you directly detonated the Star Grave. Who played games like this?

That wasn't how the game was played! Both sides were supposed to probe each other, battling with techniques to discern each other's depths, and then try to seize a flaw for a fatal strike. Who just flips the table right at the start?

In an instant, the current leader of the Fire Qi orthodoxy, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming, realized something was wrong and immediately transmitted his voice across the Cosmic Deep Space.

"Why are you all just watching?"

"The Star Grave is shattering! Once the impact spreads across the entire Cosmic Deep Space, everyone is doomed! Hurry and act to suppress it with me!"

At the same time, the True Monarchs surrounding Heaven Defiance Palace began revealing their profound bodies one after another, led primarily by the Gold Qi and Earth Qi orthodoxies. The Wood Qi remained silent, and the Water Qi, though perhaps present, stayed hidden. Immediately after, from the direction of the Gold Qi, the Plain Treading Realm surfaced. A straight beam of starlight shone down as pure yang nature and ultimate true gold converged in one place.

Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch!

The administrator of the Divine Weapon Courtyard, known as the number one True Monarch of the Gold Qi, appeared extremely furious.

"The Ancient Cultivators are simply audacious to the extreme!" he rebuked, his tone rising and falling with intense agitation.

Yet when True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming looked back, he saw that the bastard had shouted loudly with plenty of emotion, but he hadn't moved a single inch. There was only severe condemnation.

He even... seemed to have pulled back a little?

The neighboring Earth Qi was the same. With the heaven and earth supreme station of Mountain-Wind Decay hanging high above, the newly advanced True Monarch Hanguang Danyang likewise showed his face and shouted.

The voice arrived, but the person didn't.

'These... bitch-born bastards!'

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming instantly gritted his teeth. He understood these True Monarchs' intentions perfectly. They were entirely enjoying the show without fearing it blowing up, unwilling to involve themselves in the karma.

Indeed, if the Star Grave were to spread, the entire Cosmic Deep Space would face a massive crisis. However, it hadn't reached that point yet, right? Since the Fire Qi orthodoxy was taking the brunt of it at the front, everyone else could comfortably watch the battle, hoping to probe out some of the Fire Qi's trump cards in the process.

They were simply a bunch of insects!

Despite this, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming did not dare to retreat. If they allowed the Star Grave to expand, the karma would definitely fall upon them.

'A miscalculation...'

In the current situation, they could only endure it by force. At the very least, they had to suppress the impact of the Star Grave's destruction; they couldn't let it expand like this.

However, in the next second, the divine powers the three Fire Qi True Monarchs had just circulated were smashed to pieces by three other profound forces. Not only did they fail to suppress the Star Grave, but their powers even became nourishment that further fueled its shattering expansion, prompting the three Fire Qi True Monarchs to turn their heads and glare furiously.

Three Ancient Cultivator Dao Lords!

Li, Fu, and Dao. The three Ancient Cultivators now shed the twilight aura from their bodies as three distinct Great Daos surged through the Cosmos.

"What... are you doing!?"

Amidst his angry rebuke, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming couldn't help but feel a trace of chill in his heart. This group of Ancient Cultivators... didn't seem to just be threatening the Immortal Gate.

They had truly gone mad!

Shattering the Star Grave was one thing—it could be argued it was meant to tie up their energy—but stopping them from repairing it... was somewhat abnormal.

Did they really want mutual destruction?

Only then did True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming suddenly realize that these eliminated Ancient Cultivators were once prominent figures who shook the world and led the Immortal Dao.

They might have ultimately lost, but looking at it from another angle, to survive defeat, preserve the last sliver of hope for their orthodoxy, and endure countless years of imprisonment and torture for that cause—which of them wasn't ruthless? At the very least, they were as ruthless to themselves as possible. After all, the time had been far too long.

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong was considered ruthless, yet before even bearing a Heavenly Venerable True Mantra, just sitting in dry meditation for thirty to forty thousand years had driven him nearly mad.

And the eight Dao Monarchs inside the Dao Tomb—which of them hadn't suffered through hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years? How could there be no negative emotions piling up over that time?

It was just that they had been far too low-key before, holing up in the forbidden zone of the Star Grave Sand Sea and living almost entirely isolated from the world. This led the vast majority of True Monarchs to ignore them, only discovering now that not only did they have negative emotions, but those emotions were massive!

Right now, they wanted to vent!

People who were ruthless to themselves would only be more ruthless to others. They seemed to completely disregard the consequences of detonating the Star Grave, wanting only mutual destruction!

"Boom!"

The first to act was still Fu. This Ancient Cultivator Dao Lord's aura surged upward rapidly, and a beam of heavenly light between his brows finally revealed its true form.

It was a talisman.

At first glance, it was incomparably complex. Every method in heaven and earth seemed to leave a trace in its runic text, ultimately fusing into this single talisman.

"Kill!"

In the next second, the talisman descended from the sky, striking True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming dead center and dimming the ultimate yang radiance illuminating him by three parts. Fu did not hold back in the slightest with this strike. He not only cleaved directly into True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's profound body, but also smashed the profound force he used to suppress the Star Grave's expansion to pieces, forcing him to turn around.

"Daoist friend..." he said in a low voice. "Even if not for yourself, you should think of the Ancient Cultivators."

Persuasion!

At this moment, even a True Monarch had to lower his stance and softly persuade. The matter couldn't escalate any further, or else no one would be able to bear this karma. However, what responded to him was a cold sneer from Fu:

"The Ancient Cultivators are about to perish, so what is there to think about?"

After saying that, another smashing blow landed. True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming felt stifled inside, but he still had to dissolve the offensive while continuing to persuade:

"It's a misunderstanding. We never thought of exterminating the Ancient Cultivators..."

This was true!

After all, these filthy outsiders didn't need them to deliberately target them at all. As long as they waited patiently, the Ancient Cultivators would perish on their own. Why would they need to deal with them?

Furthermore, these Ancient Cultivators were suppressing the Star Grave for them for free. If they wiped them out, the various orthodoxies would probably have to send people to suppress the Star Grave's expansion themselves, which completely outweighed any gains. Thus, even this time, the Fire Qi orthodoxy merely wanted to teach the Ancient Cultivators a small lesson.

It was entirely these madmen overreacting!

"Screech!"

On the other side, Li had already revealed his Bifang demon body. His two wings seized the light of the sun and moon. Soaring high into the sky, he smashed through the converging profound scenery head-on.

"You all...!"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming gritted his teeth. A trace of regret finally surfaced in his heart, no longer daring to question the resolution of the three Ancient Cultivator Dao Lords at this moment.

They truly possessed the heart for mutual destruction!

"Shenming, Kuigu... act!"

As his words fell, he finally abandoned the thought of persuasion. Swiping his sleeve, his human form was quickly submerged in the increasingly vigorous ultimate yang radiance.

Immediately after, a long cry rang out.

"Roar!!!"

Sounding like the screech of a fierce bird and the roar of a savage beast, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's figure within the ultimate yang radiance also took on the form of a demonic bird.

Not only him, but the other two Fire Qi True Monarchs also stopped hiding their forms upon seeing this. They circulated their profound powers, shedding their human forms. Subsequently, a white-headed, green-bodied ape figure—looking surprisingly peaceful rather than ferocious—and a four-winged, twin-bodied snake emerged amidst the fiery light.

Profound Demons!

When True Monarchs ascended to the pinnacle station, they possessed supreme profound bodies. However, since the Fire Qi fed on orthodoxies, over a long period they became demonized. In reality, their pinnacle station was sensed through the demon body as merit. Thus, they were called "Profound Demons."

For Fire Qi True Monarchs, their Profound Demon true forms were undoubtedly secrets that could not be casually exposed, otherwise hostile True Monarchs could easily trace their roots. But they couldn't care about that anymore. After all, if they continued to maintain their human bodies, they couldn't possibly suppress the Star Grave under the interference of the three Ancient Cultivator Dao Lords. Only by revealing their true forms did they have any hope.

Regarding this, the True Monarchs watching from the outside were naturally happy to see it happen.

"A Three-Legged Golden Crow, a Red-Buttocked Horse Monkey, a Ming Snake... So the Profound Demon bodies of those three are these. Good, good, good, this trip has not been in vain!"

"The Fire Qi is going to be out of luck..."

Boom!

For a time, Dao sounds vibrated once more.

Fu faced True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming, who had transformed into a Golden Crow, while Li met the Fire Qi True Monarch who controlled the Fire-Mountain Wanderer and had transformed into an ape.

Dao had a relatively weaker aura, but compared to Fu's one talisman breaking all methods and Li transforming into the Bifang demon bird, his methods were much more elegant. With a sweep of his large sleeve, tens to hundreds of grand formations were laid out out of thin air. Forming formations with a mere thought, he tangled up the Fire Qi True Monarch who had transformed into the four-winged, twin-bodied snake.

Endless profound forces spread out.

Even the Heavenly Armory, squeezed by the mighty power of six supreme beings, emitted crisp, overwhelmed cracking sounds as fractures continually emerged.

Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch became even happier at this sight.

'Fight! Fight! It would be best to smash the Heavenly Armory to pieces, saving me from acting, and I won't be tainted by any karma... Ah, no wonder the Water Qi loves to play this game.'

'It really feels great!'

At the same time, True Person Chiming, who was also within the Heavenly Armory, was in a terrible mood. After all, he had suffered a completely unprovoked disaster.

However, he was different from Wang Ping, Tiankong, and Gu Han. He was a True Person, a cultivator who had attained immortal reality. The True Monarchs' collisions happened within the True Realm. Those mundane, false entities couldn't reach it, so they were actually fine. Instead, it was him, a True Person, who couldn't escape the aftermath of the collision at all.

A full six supreme beings!

Any single one of them could easily suppress him with a finger and kill him within ten breaths. But now, with six combined, he had to withstand the shockwaves of their clashes all by himself.

'Misery!'

True Person Chiming lamented inwardly, but he could only manifest his Mokilin body, fiercely defending a corner. Then, he looked up at the sky, praying for the great battle to end as quickly as possible.

Taking in the sight, he saw the three Dao Lords and three True Monarchs, each standing in a different direction. Magnificent worldscapes surfaced around each person as they wielded laws entirely distinct from one another, looking like six completely different great universes fiercely and savagely colliding.

The True Monarchs' immortal realms, the Dao Lords' orthodoxies.

One was anchored in the heaven and earth pinnacle station where human will replaced heavenly intent, while the other was the pure Great Dao where human power surpassed heavenly will. These were two ideals that could not coexist.

Thus, when they collided and fought, the universe was created and destroyed in turn, further accelerating the speed at which the Star Grave located in their center shattered.

A pitch-black profound hole lay at the center of the six people.

With every collision, the profound hole expanded visibly to the naked eye, and within that pitch-black abyss, blurred figures faintly emerged.

"Hm? What is that?"

"Someone is there..."

"Impossible!"

In an instant, all the observing supreme beings shifted their gazes, staring straight at the figures deep inside the Star Grave as if they had seen something bizarre.

Even Fu and Dao revealed somewhat astonished expressions. They knew very well that although this historically largest Star Grave connected to the outer domain, there were absolutely no living beings on the other side. After all, they had been continuously feeding twilight aura into it day and night.

They couldn't be clearer on just how terrifying the twilight aura of orthodoxies was.

It was the end of all phenomena. Ordinary cultivators would die just by touching it; even glancing at it would shave away their lifespans. Absolutely no living creature could survive within it.

However, the scene before them broke their understanding. Inside that abyssal profound hole, the boundless twilight aura impressively manifested a brilliant light.

That was—

"A pinnacle station!?"

A True Monarch recognized it. Looking over, they saw two hexagram images slowly becoming clear: one was a hexagram of ultimate yang, and the other a hexagram of ultimate yin.

The Qian Trigram and the Kun Hexagram.

Heaven occupied the top, and earth the bottom. It seemed orderly, but in truth, heaven and earth were at odds, yin and yang did not interact, all things were obstructed, the path of the petty man grew, and thus the path of the noble man faded...

"It's Heaven and Earth Stagnation!"

"This pinnacle station... actually exists?"

Among the sky full of True Monarchs, only Li was entirely unsurprised. After all, over countless years, he had watched bit by bit as this heaven and earth pinnacle station was drawn in by resonance.

The initial Star Grave hadn't been that large. However, as time passed, the eight Ancient Cultivator Dao Monarchs arrived one after another, and massive amounts of twilight aura flooded into it... Frankly speaking, even if one searched the entire Cosmos, they couldn't find a place more favored by Heaven and Earth Stagnation than here!

Put more extremely, this was the only place capable of triggering Heaven and Earth Stagnation!

And it went even beyond that.

Within that pitch-black profound hole, amid the endless twilight aura, that slightly blurred figure impressively presented a faint trace of vitality!

"Stagnation reaches its extreme and turns to peace..."

The Star Grave had operated for countless eras, and Heaven and Earth Stagnation had long reached the extreme of its resonance. The emergence of vitality meant that another pinnacle station was casting its gaze over.

Earth-Heaven Peace!

"The Human Emperor's heaven and earth pinnacle station!"

Instantly, the True Monarchs who were originally somewhat careless, watching the fire from the opposite bank, could no longer sit still. They all began divining and probing the changes within.

On the other side, Li sighed inwardly.

This was the reason why he hadn't agreed to the Human Emperor back then, rejecting the Great Rebellion's invitation. The connection between Heaven and Earth Stagnation and Earth-Heaven Peace was too tight.

He suspected that the Human Emperor roped in the Ancient Cultivators because, through Earth-Heaven Peace, he sensed the Heaven and Earth Stagnation within the Star Grave and wanted to lay hands on it. Although the Human Emperor never made a move until the very end, making it seem like he had judged a gentleman's belly with a petty man's heart, he still had to be cautious.

After all, this pinnacle station could not be validated.

With heaven and earth not interacting and all things confined, there was only one kind of merit capable of validating this station, and that was to cause the Immortal Dao inheritances of the entire Cosmic Deep Space to go completely extinct!

Sever the connection between the True Realm and the mundane mortal world, cutting off communication between earth and heaven.

Only by reaching this step would Heaven and Earth Stagnation resonate with a cultivator. There was no other way. Merely getting it to manifest in the Star Grave was already the absolute limit.

And with the appearance of Heaven and Earth Stagnation, the already expanding Star Grave skyrocketed once more, finally exceeding the capacity of the Heavenly Armory. It was on the verge of spilling out of Heaven Defiance Palace and truly falling into the Cosmos. By then, it would inevitably bring another entirely new wave of changes.

"At least there's a restriction inside Heaven Defiance Palace."

"After all, the Star Grave still can't swallow Heaven Defiance Palace. But once it gets out and starts devouring the Cosmos, the Star Grave's expansion speed will multiply several times over."

"We have to stop it."

Just then, Heaven Defiance Palace, which had previously turned a blind eye to the Star Grave's expansion and seemed to opt out of the affair, suddenly began to tremble faintly.

Immediately after, the heaven and earth pinnacle station situated above the palace, constructed from two Gen Trigrams, abruptly flared brightly, suppressing it down like a profound mountain.

Gen as Mountain!

This station represented stillness and cessation. Revolving with a boom at this moment, it instantly suppressed the Star Grave's expansion, forcibly restricting it within Heaven Defiance Palace.

"Hm? Who is it!"

"Just like Yi Shentong from before... The Great Rebellion still has remnants?"

In a flash, Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch was the first to react, shifting his gaze and locking directly onto the direction of the Earth Qi Protector Courtyard.

'It should be Xuanhua.'

'He is the head of the Great Rebellion's civil ministers. Even if his condition is poor, could he be worse off than Yi Shentong? There's no reason he shouldn't be able to do what Yi Shentong could.'

"Good! Well done!"

Witnessing this scene, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming, whose expression had been ugly, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Things hadn't reached the absolute worst stage yet.

Immediately after, he looked back at Li.

"Daoist friend, the Ancient Cultivators truly won't perish that easily, nor does anyone intend to exterminate them. On the contrary, your actions are dragging the Ancient Cultivators into the abyss."

"We're merely lingering on our last breaths anyway!"

Li sneered. "Since we have no way out if things continue like this, and you guys aren't afraid of the Star Grave exploding, then we'll blow it up for you to see!"

"Today, we'll have the Cosmos be buried along with us!"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming felt helpless! Did this obstinate old fogey not even understand the principle that a bad life was better than a good death? Seeing that Li refused both the carrot and the stick, he had no choice but to change targets.

"Fu, do you also intend to sit idly by?"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming lowered his posture. "If you have any demands, you can just raise them. Stop trying to make jade and common stones burn together at the drop of a hat. It really damages the harmony between our two sides."

"Fine."

Hearing this, Fu grinned broadly. "From the five orthodoxies, gather three True Monarchs and five True Persons to bear the Heavenly Venerable True Mantras for us. Naturally, everything will be fine then."

"This..."

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming was instantly struck dumb.

He didn't even have to think to know this was definitely impossible. Gathering True Persons was one thing, but three True Monarchs was equivalent to throwing the entire Fire Qi into it! What was the point of that?

Of course, if the Immortal Gate's Five Phases orthodoxies cooperated sincerely, with True Monarchs willing to take the initiative to assume responsibility and rotate shifts, this matter would actually be very simple. However, there were no 'ifs' in this world.

The other orthodoxies were fully focused on watching, waiting to see the Fire Qi make a fool of itself. Unless things reached a completely unmanageable stage, they absolutely wouldn't lift a finger to help. Thinking of this, he could only change his target once more.

"...Dao."

His gaze fell upon Dao, who had the weakest aura among the six. Gritting his teeth, he said, "They've gone mad. Are you really going to go mad along with them?"

As far as he knew, this one was not skilled in combat.

The Fire Qi orthodoxy actually had records regarding Dao. After all, their own immortal had ascended by replacing Cultivating the Dao with Cultivating Reality. Although the other party's true honorable title had been erased from the Cosmos because it bore a Heavenly Venerable True Mantra—leaving no one but themselves aware of it—his general personality and style of acting were still documented. And according to the records, Dao should have a go-with-the-flow personality.

There should be a chance to persuade him!

Thinking of this, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming spoke again. "As long as you stop, it will free Kuigu to suppress the Star Grave's expansion. That's all you need to do."

"I know you guys actually can't hold out for very long. An incense stick's time? A quarter of an hour? At most, in less than a quarter of an hour, you'll have to revert to your original positions."

"Whether it's the Five Phases or the dharma body path, neither can allow you to persist any longer. Battling to the bitter end like this holds no meaning."

"Why don't we talk? You name a price!"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming directly brought out his bargaining chips. "I know your intention behind establishing Bright Light City, and I can fulfill it for you."

"I can have the True Persons under the Fire Qi's jurisdiction practice those lightning techniques and divine powers, sensing the Five Phases, to help you convert the remnants of those thirty heaven and earth qi."

"This way, the Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy can reinvent itself through the Five Phases and become orthodox in the Immortal Dao... The Fire Qi will even vouch for you in the future, treating you as a major power on par with the Brahma Nation. All of this can be negotiated, or if you have any demands, you can speak up..."

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Because in the next second, Dao turned his head to look over, and responding to him was a pair of eyes full of desolate despair, along with an indescribable sorrow.

"Talk? What is there to talk about?"

"I think Li and Fu are absolutely right. As things stand, the Ancient Cultivators are beyond saving. Killing one is one earned. We might as well drag people down to be buried with us!"

After speaking, Dao was actually the first to erupt. With a sweep of his large sleeve, he instantly pulled out array formation after array formation, along with countless artifacts and medicinal pills!

However, these pills, artifacts, and arrays were, without exception, tainted with intense twilight aura. In reality, they had not the slightest profound power left to display... This was the sorrow of an eliminated orthodoxy. All related methods had lost their divine anomalies, utterly bereft of the slightest bit of their former glory.

"Boom!"

The next second, a massive explosion shook the Cosmos. Under Dao's manipulation, those arrays, pills, and artifacts shockingly detonated!

"I don't want them! I don't want any of it!"

"Since I will undoubtedly die anyway, what use do I have for these?"

"Let them all explode!"

Dao's laughter was incomparably crazed, drastically different from his usual kindly grandfather demeanor. The exploded objects instantly released a surge of twilight aura!

In this explosion, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming was unharmed. However, the Fire Qi True Monarch tangled with Dao was out of luck. Her four-winged, twin-bodied snake transformation instantly let out a furious hiss. Then, spewing fiery light to sweep away the tainted twilight aura, she let out a fierce roar:

"Zhaoxuan!!!"

A shrill female voice echoed out, carrying intense fury. "What did you say to this madman? You bastard, are you trying to make peace or fan the flames?"

Why had he suddenly gone crazy! In order to deal with the twilight aura, she had no choice but to discard a portion of the fiery light around her, a small amount of which fell from the True Realm into reality.

For a time, layers of profound scenery emerged.

The Ming snake transformed into twin snakes, identical in kind but differing in form. They flapped their wings and swam together, riding the waves and drifting on the surges; seeing them meant disaster, bringing either floods or droughts, as they intertwined and collided within the fiery light.

And upon falling into the mortal realm, these flames rolled on the spot, instantly transforming into four-winged, twin-bodied snakes identical to her Profound Demon body. Developing sentience and turning into demonic entities, their eyes darted around before they rode escape lights, disappearing into the depths of the pitch-black Cosmos in the blink of an eye.

Watching this scene, the Fire Qi True Monarch named Kuigu became even more frantic.

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming was also dumbfounded. He hadn't anticipated Dao reacting like this at all. If you don't agree, then you don't agree. Why attack?

By this point, he could actually see through it as well.

Although Li and Fu had the heart to fight to the death, fundamentally they were still using combat to force negotiations. It was just that one played the bad cop while the other played the good cop.

Much of what they said carried an element of intimidation.

Of course, because Li had decisively detonated the Star Grave, even if he judged it as intimidation, he had to deal with it seriously, not daring to dismiss it anymore.

The problem was, Dao seemed to have really believed it!

At least judging from his action of self-destructing his external items, he seemed to truly feel that the Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy was already a lost cause, deciding it was better to have one last crazy run before dying.

"Damn it!"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming couldn't help but curse.

On the other side, Li and Fu were also somewhat surprised. However, the two of them quickly recovered, feeling that this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Fu still had some scruples after all, so he could only play the good cop. Li could play the bad cop, but he only had the Star Grave as a trump card in his hand. It was the ultimate trump card, and using it was like firing a heavy cannon to kill a mosquito. After all, the opponent had only played a pair of threes; playing the ultimate trump card felt a bit untimely.

Instead, it was Dao.

Among the three, only Dao was proficient in the hundred arts of cultivation. He possessed plenty of items in his hands that could release twilight aura without being as exaggerated as the Star Grave. Using them as a threat here was absolutely perfect!

"Rumble!"

For a time, heavier and heavier twilight aura exploded, causing the Star Grave to tremble slightly. The originally stable suppression unexpectedly began to waver.

Seeing this, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming finally got ruthless.

"You all want to stay out of it?"

"Let's go!"

As his words fell, he was the first to retreat. The remaining two True Monarchs of the Fire Qi also swiftly withdrew, surprisingly abandoning their suppression of the Star Grave outright!

"If you continue to stand by and watch, allowing the Star Grave to expand, then we'll all bear this karma together!"

As his voice fell, the profound bodies outside Heaven Defiance Palace instantly multiplied. True Monarch profound bodies emerged one after another, among which someone chuckled lightly.

"Daoist friend Zhaoxuan, calm your anger..."

"Ultimately, this matter was caused by the Fire Qi. It has absolutely nothing to do with us, so naturally, you guys must bear the karma. We are entirely suffering an unprovoked disaster."

"Bullshit!"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming cursed right back. Did the Fire Qi want to get involved? It was that group of Ancient Cultivator madmen plotting against my orthodoxy's True Person that forced me to act! Even before acting, all the families were kept in the loop.

Now they were turning their backs and denying everything!

"Xuanshi, act immediately to suppress the Star Grave, or else don't expect to have a good time either!"

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming coldly looked at the True Monarch who had spoken.

True Monarch Xuanshi Yiyang.

Earth Qi, cultivating in Earth-Thunder Return!

Hearing this, the latter simply waved his hand in a relaxed manner, and then manipulated his heaven and earth pinnacle station to descend. Seeing this, the other True Monarchs also shook their heads one after another.

"Sigh, the Fire Qi is incompetent!"

"Alright, having seen enough is enough."

"Very good, the trump cards of the Ancient Cultivators and the Fire Qi have been completely exposed..."

During their speech, more than five heaven and earth pinnacle stations surfaced one after another. They belonged to the Earth Qi and the Gold Qi, joining the battle and joining hands to suppress the Star Grave's expansion.

Jokes aside, letting the Star Grave spiral out of control and run amok would truly be very troublesome.

Seeing this, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked towards Li, Fu, and Dao, a cold sneer appearing on his lips.

"Ancient Cultivators... it's time for you to taste the bitter fruit of your own making."

Mutual destruction?

If throwing a fit could grant you what you wished, and if fighting desperately could fulfill your desires, there wouldn't be so many unfulfilled regrets in this world. Reality was always cruel.

Weakness was the original sin.

"The True Monarchs of all families act to suppress the Star Grave first, and then slowly deal with you lot... In my opinion, leaving just one Dao Tomb for the Ancient Cultivators is enough."

"There's no need to keep the Daoist level anymore."

The twenty-four Ancient Cultivator Daoists were ultimately just foils for the eight Dao Monarchs of the Dao Tomb. Their deaths wouldn't be a great loss, and it would serve perfectly to teach the Ancient Cultivators a lesson.

Yet at the same time, someone realized something was amiss.

'Where is the Water Qi?'

Within the Plain Treading Realm, Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch, who had also acted to lend a hand, was suddenly stunned. He then scanned the pitch-black Cosmos.

Wait, the Water Qi hadn't moved!

Besides that, the Earth Qi's Profound-Weighing Impartial-Bestowing True Monarch hadn't moved either... That was normal, considering the old thing had always only dealt with lower-level cultivators.

'But... why hasn't Mingxing acted?'

At this thought, Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch cried out inwardly that things were bad. The sword light originally descending toward Heaven Defiance Palace smoothly changed direction.

Then, it flew right past Heaven Defiance Palace.

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming: "???"

"Fengxian, you..."

Faced with the transmission, Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch spoke firmly:

"What? I'm purely a passerby, just passing through."

"You guys carry on, don't mind me."

After speaking, he rode the sword light, flying back to the Plain Treading Realm at an even faster speed than when he arrived, which also caused a few True Monarchs who originally wanted to act to hesitate.

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's teeth ached with anger.

"Coward!"

He was ultimately just someone's pageboy. Now that so many True Monarchs had gathered, bearing down with the force of Mount Tai, and with only three Ancient Cultivator Dao Lords opposite them, what could possibly go wrong? Unless an immortal descended to the world, whoever came would be useless!

Li smiled.

At this moment, he unexpectedly stopped showing his Bifang demon body. Instead, spinning in the air, he reverted back into human form, and then relaxedly combed his full head of white hair.

'They finally fell for it...'

It was done!

From the very beginning, he had never thought that killing a True Person would be enough to establish the Ancient Cultivators' prestige. To achieve that, striking out against a True Monarch was the only useful way.

Therefore, when Fu informed him of the entire encirclement and kill plan, gradually revealing at the end that the Fire Qi was well-prepared, he knew that True Person Chiming was at most just an addition. The true main target of this battle had to be a True Monarch. Only by sacrificing a True Monarch to the flag could they truly establish their prestige.

"Now is the time!"

At this thought, Li fiercely locked his hand seals.

Almost simultaneously, all the True Monarchs who had acted against the Star Grave, attempting to suppress it, froze. A long-lost chill abruptly swept through their seas of consciousness.

"That is..."

Following their gazes, the originally bottomless Star Grave suddenly grew bright. The True Monarchs' vision pierced through the obstructions, easily beholding the scene within.

Deep within the boundless calamities, past the end of all things, at the very end of the end—in a position that seemed to extend infinitely far, transcending even time and the void—a spot of brilliant gold impressively lit up. It wasn't large, only the size of a palm, yet it instantly seized the gaze of every True Monarch.

The scorching color seemed to burn through their eyes.

It was a piece of paper.

A piece of paper every True Monarch was extremely familiar with. After all, they had seen it in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, in the Divine Farmer Cauldron, and on the God-Conferring Platform.

It was supreme immortal gold; it was the absolute perfection of profoundness.

"Immortal Decree!!!"

In that instant, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming, finally recognizing what that brilliant golden light was, felt as if a chill had exploded across his scalp.

He almost subconsciously wanted to flee.

As a result, when he turned his head, Mountain-Wind Decay, Earth-Thunder Return, Fire-Lake Opposition, and Fire-Mountain Wanderer were all long gone, leaving an empty expanse.

They had all run away!

Not only that, while their main bodies had run, they had left behind profound forces that blocked his escape route, delaying his flight by a crucial instant!

'You animals!!!'

And amidst his furious cursing, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming remained thoroughly perplexed. Why? Why was there an Immortal Decree inside the Star Grave?

'Ignorant junior, naturally you wouldn't understand!'

On the other side, Li's face was full of cold sneers. Let alone True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming, across today's Cosmos, Mingxing was probably the only one who had some understanding of it.

Because this involved the establishment of the Star Grave Sand Sea and the two immortals whose battle shattered the Cosmos back then, leading to the creation of this Star Grave.

That was right during the first great transformation of the Immortal Dao.

To preserve the orthodoxy bearing the character Li, he had made a deal with one of those immortals.

By guarding the Star Grave born from the immortals' clash, satisfying its needs with twilight aura, and bearing the karma for the immortal, he exchanged it for the preservation of his orthodoxy.

'Therefore, strictly speaking, my status is identical to the Heaven's Will Profound Blade inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace. We are both guardian immortal officials decreed by the immortals!'

Among the Ancient Cultivators, only he held this status.

Hence, only he knew that an Immortal Decree was still hidden within the Star Grave. Once the Star Grave shattered and no one could control it, the decree would appear!

'At that time, this decree will first punish me for my dereliction of duty, and then punish all entities whose karma is entangled with causing the Star Grave to shatter. Finally, it will penalize the related orthodoxies... And right now, all the True Monarchs who just participated in suppressing the Star Grave fall within the scope of punishment!'

This was his true killing move!

It was also why he had remained full of confidence after seeing Xuanzhi's deductions. After all, it was impossible for an Immortal Decree to be included within the scope of deduction.

Boom!

In the next second, the brilliant golden radiance overflowed, thoroughly manifesting in the mortal realm. Consequently, the sky filled with divine splendor as the heaven and earth Twenty-Four Qi were completely drawn in by resonance.

The authority of the eight trigrams, the heaven and earth pinnacle stations—without exception!

Everything in this world seemed to pay its respects to that decree, or rather, to the immortal standing behind the decree, circling it like stars surrounding the moon.

Even though no profound phenomena were apparent, its mere existence suppressed the Star Grave that was originally about to burst through Heaven Defiance Palace's blockade. Across the eight wilds and six directions, even looking up at the sky from an abandoned planet on the edge of the Cosmos, one could see the golden radiance that had suddenly illuminated the firmament.

The Cosmos gazed in awe.

Immediately after, that brightly golden Immortal Decree finally moved—like the hands on a clock dial, it abruptly reversed direction. Consequently, time flowed backward.

It wasn't just the Heavenly Armory, and it wasn't just Heaven Defiance Palace; it encompassed all phenomena, wrapping everything within the entire Cosmic Deep Space into the change.

The time of the Cosmos was being turned back!

Immediately after, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming saw the True Monarchs who had just fled out of sight actually being dragged back by the reversed time!

On the other side, the Star Grave that had already expanded to a certain scale was also reverted to its pre-shattered state by the turning back of time. It turned into a pitch-black sphere, quietly floating beneath the decree, while above the decree, endless thunderclouds of the profound sea had already swarmed in!

"Why!?"

Within the Protector Courtyard, a True Monarch exclaimed in shock.

In the Divine Weapon Courtyard, Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch was naturally fine, but the other Gold Qi True Monarchs who had acted had ugly expressions as they saw the thunderclouds locking onto them.

As for the three True Monarchs of the Fire Qi, they could hardly escape blame.

"It shouldn't be..."

"We did not act to interfere with the shattering of the Star Grave, and we even lent a hand to help at the very end. How could it lock onto us? This defies all reason!"

"Reason?"

On the other side, Li, who was similarly locked onto by the thunderclouds of the profound sea, burst into laughter. "The Immortal Decree is the greatest reason in this Cosmic Deep Space!"

Everyone who participated had to be punished!

You didn't interfere with the Star Grave's shattering and still offered help? Useless! You were just as guilty. After all, if you didn't do it, why would you act to help?

If the immortal had a kind-hearted nature, he wouldn't have shattered the Cosmos and created such a gigantic Star Grave back then. Li was perfectly clear about this. This decree was placed here to serve as a warning to the monkeys by slaughtering the chicken, in addition to preventing the Star Grave's destruction. It would rather kill the innocent than let anyone slip by!

"Boom!"

In the next second, tens of thousands of streaks of lightning struck down, directly locking onto the immortal realms of all the True Monarchs who had just acted, carrying an insurmountable will.

"Bastard! Our orthodoxy's destiny... has actually scattered by three parts?"

"So unreasonable!"

"Thank you, Immortal, for bestowing punishment..."

The light of the lightning instantly illuminated the Cosmos. By the time the glow faded, the immortal realms of the various orthodoxies had long vanished without a trace, leaving only the Fire Qi orthodoxy in place.

Seeing this, Li grinned broadly. "Accessories have their orthodoxy destiny shaved off, so naturally the main culprits will suffer even worse!"

Immediately after, he unexpectedly gave himself a shake, transforming into the Bifang demon body once more. All mixed qi faded, leaving only the bright light of the Fire Qi to spread outward!

"From today onward, I am joining the Fire Qi!"

Li spoke these words with utmost self-righteousness. After all, look at me—I've transformed into a great demon. That's a certified demonic path. Who would dare say I don't belong to the Fire Qi orthodoxy?

Right away, Li spread his cloud wings once more, speeding toward True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's direction. And behind him, the Immortal Decree also moved in response, seemingly furious beyond measure—because within its resonance, ninety percent of the karma for shattering the Star Grave lay upon the Fire Qi!

How could it let them off lightly?

In an instant, boundless brilliant golden radiance spread out from the Immortal Decree, directly locking onto Li and True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's direction.

"Don't come over here!"

At this moment, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming's defenses were finally broken, but there was nothing he could do. Li crashed into his immortal realm with practically zero hesitation!

Did you really think I was just talking earlier to scare people?

Let's hit the road together!

Right away, the decree descended.

"Boom!"

The boundless Dao sounds rang out across the Cosmos for the last time. Wherever it passed, the Radiant Clarity Realm cracked inch by inch. The fiery light boiled, yet it couldn't resist in the slightest.

Immediately, the entire immortal realm, along with True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming and Li, was heavily crushed down by the Immortal Decree. They vanished from the mortal realm, collapsing rapidly toward the deeper parts of the True Realm as if plunging into an abyss. After a few breaths, not a trace of profound majestic light could be seen anymore.

For a time, heaven and earth were tranquil.

Within the True Realm, the sky full of True Monarchs and True Persons all lost their voices, looking toward the Ancient Cultivators with complex, stunned, or admiring expressions.

"Too ruthless..."

"Driven into the depths of the True Realm. Returning will be impossible for a thousand years."

"In this era of Dao contention, True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming is essentially eliminated early. With one True Monarch short, the Fire Qi will probably have a hard time making any achievements this time around."

The Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy.

At this moment, all True Monarchs and True Persons changed their way of thinking. They knew they could no longer view the current Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy with their old perspectives.

Stepping on the entire Fire Qi orthodoxy, this group of madmen had forcefully stepped out of the chessboard, arriving before all the True Monarchs of the Cosmos. They finally had the qualifications to wield the chess pieces and make their move!

...