Above the clouds, Heaven-Extinguishing God and the robed Daoist stared at the illusory projection before them, speechless for a long time. The robed Daoist took a deep breath, turned to Heaven-Extinguishing God, and asked, "Your Long Clan has such a figure?"
Heaven-Extinguishing God's gaze grew even more complicated, his emotions a chaotic mix. He had never seen Long Zhan before, meaning that Long Zhan had perished before he was even born. He recalled something his father had once said about their ancestral forebear...
When he first displayed his talent, his father had told him that it was an inherited gift, originating from their ancestor, Long Zhan. However, he had always thought Long Zhan was not a true powerhouse, as he had perished shortly after surpassing the Ninth Heaven of the Immortal Dao.
Yet now, seeing Long Zhan's true power, he realized that even if he himself were present in full force, he would still be no match for him. This realization left him utterly baffled. Could it be that Long Zhan had faked his death? Was it possible that his own rise to power was because Long Zhan had secretly protected him from the shadows?
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.
The robed Daoist clicked his tongue in amazement. "The laws of that world seem so refined. It must be a Great Thousand World. But for a battle of this magnitude to go unnoticed by the Heavenly Gods... could it be that this world's Heavenly Gods have already perished?"
"If that's truly the case, then it must be because of—"
Before he could finish speaking, Heaven-Extinguishing God's icy gaze landed upon him.
The robed Daoist chuckled dryly and chose not to continue. With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the illusion before them and looked down at the world below, sighing. "The slaughter there has ended... but here, the bloodshed is eternal."
Heaven-Extinguishing God followed his gaze downward, his eyes returning to their previous indifference.
A magnificent grand hall stood high above the sky, surrounded by layers of swirling clouds, while mist billowed across the floor.
Suddenly, Undying Emperor's eyes snapped open. Seated upon his throne, he gasped for breath, his pupils filled with bloodshot fury.
Behind his throne, a massive silver-white meteorite hovered in the air. Its surface was pitted and scarred, yet wisps of gray mist swirled around it, moving in an unnatural, eerie rhythm.
Undying Emperor lifted his gaze, his eyes burning with rage and disbelief. "Who... exactly are you...?"
He had anticipated the possibility of failure, but he had never imagined that the gap in strength would be so immense. The deaths of his sixteen Innate Golden Immortal disciples sent agony piercing through his heart.
Standing up, he turned his furious gaze toward the meteorite behind his throne. "You told me that man was only a Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal! Then why couldn't I withstand even a single strike from him?!"
His voice thundered through the hall, laced with undeniable killing intent.
The gray mist around the meteorite began to swirl faster. A cold voice emerged from within: "I miscalculated."
"Miscalculated?! My sixteen disciples were not even tied to War Court's fate, and yet they have perished utterly! Among them, seven were top-tier candidates for Abyssal Dao Sea! Compared to me, they were still young! And now, they have died in that Great Thousand World! Do you understand what this means for me?!"
Undying Emperor gritted his teeth, his fury causing an even darker, more sinister gray mist to surge around him, as if it were burning like a raging inferno.
"I never forced you to act. You were tempted by the treasures of the Immortal Palace, were you not?" The cold voice spoke once again.
"You—"
Undying Emperor had just begun to retort when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. His entire expression froze in an instant.
Before he could even turn his head, the hand clenched tightly, and in the next instant, his body disintegrated into dust.
A new figure emerged from the air—Gu An.
[You have successfully extracted 18,208,547 years of lifespan from Undying Emperor (Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal, Late Stage).]
Gu An glanced at the notification before him, his expression full of disdain.
"Not even as much lifespan as those Innate Golden Immortals."
The lifespan he could extract was roughly one-tenth of the target's remaining lifespan. In other words, Undying Emperor had at most one to two billion years left to live.
A name like Undying Emperor suggested he had lived an incredibly long time.
Perhaps, it was precisely because he had sensed his own impending end that he had chosen to launch an all-out invasion on the Heavenly Spirit Great World.
Yet his lifespan paled in comparison to the seven Innate Golden Immortals he had lost.
Each of those seven had granted Gu An over 70 billion years of lifespan—meaning that each of them had at least a trillion years of natural lifespan.
From Gu An's observations, Innate Golden Immortals should have between 500 billion to 5 trillion years of lifespan.
These thoughts flashed through Gu An's mind in an instant. He turned to face the silver-white meteorite before him, his expression completely unreadable.
"Who are you? How did you find this place? Have you already reached the Supreme Purity Golden Immortal realm?"
The cold voice that had been speaking with Undying Emperor now contained a trace of fear.
Gu An slowly raised his right hand, forming a claw-like grip. In the next moment, a shadowy figure was forcibly yanked from within the meteorite, its throat colliding with Gu An's grip.
It was an elderly man dressed in gray robes. His face was gaunt, his graying hair neatly tied behind him. Compared to Undying Emperor, his clothing was far more refined, yet the terror on his face made him look pitiful and weak.
"Fellow Daoist, let's talk this through. I come from Abyssal Dao Sea. If I die, they will surely notice. You're hiding within the Great Thousand World, surely you don't want to invite trouble upon yourself?"
The gray-robed elder gritted his teeth and spoke. From the moment Gu An entered the hall, he had realized that he was completely immobilized, which filled him with unprecedented terror.
He had no idea how Gu An had found this place.
[True Person Nī Hǎi (Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal, Perfection Stage) 49,802,308,928,702/50,000,000,000,000/50,000,000,000,000]
Fifty trillion years of lifespan!
That meant that a Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal had a lifespan ranging from five trillion to fifty trillion years.
Unfortunately, yet another old man who had reached the end of his lifespan.
Of course, if not for feeling the approach of death, who would risk everything?
Gu An had no interest in speaking with Nī Hǎi. His eyes suddenly changed.
This time, it was not the Undying Emperor's Eye Divine Ability, but the Calamity-Annihilating Gaze.
He was about to search Nī Hǎi's soul!
Nī Hǎi's eyes instantly lost their light.
The grand hall fell into absolute silence.
Gu An forcefully probed into Nī Hǎi's memory, completely disregarding his soul's integrity. As the process continued, calamitous energy began to entwine itself around Nī Hǎi's body.
Nī Hǎi was from Abyssal Dao Sea and had a deep relationship with Undying Emperor. Ten thousand years ago, he had visited War Court as a guest and had overheard a complaint from Zhū Tiān Jūn to Undying Emperor.
Zhū Tiān Jūn had raged about the remnants of the Long Clan reappearing, and that they had even killed a powerful being called Annihilation God Emperor.
Upon learning that Long Clan's survivors were within the Heavenly Spirit Great World, and that the shattered world itself was undergoing restoration, Nī Hǎi had immediately thought of the Immortal Palace Supreme Treasure.
The one who had created Heavenly Spirit Great World, Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign, had stolen the Immortal Palace Supreme Treasure. Because of this, Heavenly Court had ordered his execution. However, Heavenly Spirit God had not destroyed the world, leading to speculation that the treasure might still be hidden within Heavenly Spirit Great World and that Heavenly Spirit God had been waiting for it to resurface.
As for reporting it to Heavenly Court, that was not an option. Heavenly Court disdained direct involvement with the Great Thousand Worlds. Even powerhouses like Nī Hǎi had only ever met the Heavenly Gods stationed in those realms.
Each Heavenly God was incredibly arrogant, unwilling to concern themselves with mere mortals.
Without obtaining a Heavenly Dao Immortal Rank, no matter how strong one was, they were beneath the attention of the Heavenly Gods. And ordinary people would never dare provoke them.
The Immortal Palace, after all, was merely a subsidiary of Heavenly Court.
As for how news of the Immortal Palace Supreme Treasure had leaked, Nī Hǎi had no idea. He only knew the vague clues regarding its whereabouts.
The Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign had already fallen, yet the Immortal Palace Supreme Treasure had never been found.
Gu An speculated that Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign had likely left it to An Hao.
Though An Hao had perished, he was an entity nurtured by the world's fate itself. One day, he would return, though perhaps as a completely different being.
Gu An was particularly intrigued by Abyssal Dao Sea.
When he had previously chosen a lifespan breakthrough, the name Abyssal Dao Sea had appeared among the options.
From Nī Hǎi's memory, Abyssal Dao Sea was not part of the Great Thousand Worlds but existed beyond them, in a mysterious and boundless region.
It was an ocean formed by the Laws of the Grand Dao, an infinitely expanding entity that had never ceased growing since its conception.
Even Nī Hǎi, who had been born within it, had no knowledge of its true scope.
As Gu An continued searching through Nī Hǎi's soul, the sound of footsteps echoed through the grand hall.
The hall was vast, and at its far end, a brilliant light shone.
From within the radiance, a figure emerged—Zhū Tiān Jūn.
His silhouette flickered, approaching Gu An at blinding speed.
Then.
He abruptly stopped.
His gaze fixed upon Gu An's back, his brow furrowing deeply.
The attire Gu An wore was completely different from that of Long Zhan's Dharma Body, so Zhū Tiān Jūn did not immediately recognize him.
He didn't even connect Gu An to Long Zhan—after all, this place was unimaginably far from the Heavenly Spirit Great World.
He had just been revived, rushing to find Undying Emperor. How could the one who killed him possibly be faster than him?
"Who are you?"
Zhū Tiān Jūn frowned as he spoke.
Though Undying Emperor spent most of his time in seclusion, he still entertained visitors. Moreover, he had many disciples traveling beyond his domain.
His divine sense could not penetrate Gu An's aura, so he had no idea what was before him.
Gu An slowly turned around.
Only then did Zhū Tiān Jūn see what was in Gu An's hand.
His pupils contracted sharply.
Almost instinctively, he summoned his War God Golden Staff.
He recognized Nī Hǎi.
An ancient existence.
Undying Emperor had greatly respected him.
The impression left upon Zhū Tiān Jūn had been profound.
"You…"
Zhū Tiān Jūn wanted to question him further.
But Gu An spoke a single word, cutting him off:
"Die."
Zhū Tiān Jūn's eyes widened in horror.
A moment later, he disintegrated into a mist of blood.
Longevity True Word!
This was Gu An's Dao Fruit Divine Ability—using the power of causality, it dictated the absolute end of its target's lifespan.
A true manifestation of the power of words becoming reality.
The Nī Hǎi in Gu An's hand instantly crumbled into dust.
His gaze turned toward the outside of the grand hall.
Beyond the great palace, towering halls stretched endlessly.
Countless visions and celestial beasts came into view.
Colossal beings that once dominated countless universes were now about to become mere illusions in Gu An's eyes.
"Everything that once belonged to Long Zhan should now come to an end."