The moment the celestial envoy in a white robe stepped out of the void, it seemed as if the laws of the entire Northern Territory had ceased to function. The Heaven-Stabilising Ruler in his hand emitted a pure yet cold white light. This light had the power to purify, stripping away the properties of matter. Anything swept by the light, be it rubble or severed limbs, instantly disintegrated into the most primordial spiritual particles.
[System Logic Warning: Intrusion detected into the underlying architecture.]
[Judgement: the other party is executing a 'formatting' command.]
[Functional warning: The damage rate of the host's Void Body has increased, consuming 5% of reserve energy per second for reconstruction.'
'Mortal, kneel to receive your just destruction.' The celestial envoy's voice was like a cold torrent. With a gentle wave of his ruler — a blade of white light traversing the heavens and earth — a wave of destruction swept across the snow.
'Destruction? The Great Qian Dynasty was destroyed three thousand years ago!" Xiao Wuchen's eyes widened and purple flames transformed into two tangible pillars of light in his eye sockets.
'Undying Dragon Guards, Fusion of the Void!' Three thousand Dark Gold Dragon Guards let out a muffled groan simultaneously, their bodies undergoing a strange fluidisation. Their wills were forcibly combined through Xiao Wuchen's system core and transformed into a massive, semi-transparent force field shimmering with dark red patterns. The white blade of light struck the force field and the resulting shockwave lifted Xiao Wuchen three feet off the ground outside Shengjing City. Yet the wall forged from the souls of the three thousand soldiers remained unmoved.
Xiao Wuchen stood behind the formation, his system core operating at billions of times per second as he observed, analysed and searched for the code flaws behind this 'god-like' avatar.
Deep analysis by the Eye of Truth…
Captured characteristics: The spiritual energy supply originates from the upper realm and the interdimensional passage is located at the top of the Law Ruler.
[Flaw location: coordinates (102, 45, 11); energy return gap: 0.003 seconds.]
'Found it.' A cruel smile curled the corners of Xiao Wuchen's lips.
He suddenly pulled a spear made of pure negative energy out of the Ruins of Return furnace, turning himself into a bolt of purple lightning. As soon as the force field dissipated, he charged towards the celestial envoy, moving against the white light. 'An ant dares to approach?' A glint of disdain flashed in the Celestial Envoy's eyes. He swung his magic ruler back, attempting to smash Xiao Wuchen into a bloody mist.
However, Xiao Wuchen performed an acrobatic manoeuvre in mid-air, using 'Lightning Flash' to teleport instantly to the side of the magic ruler. Rather than dodging, he used his physical body as bait, tightly embracing the scorching-hot Heaven-Fixing Magic Ruler.
His dark gold armour rapidly melted under the intense celestial light and the acrid smell of burning flesh was clearly audible, but he didn't let go. Instead, he let out a low, sinister laugh. 'This ruler will henceforth belong to the Great Qian Dynasty!' He slammed the Causal Spear into the gem at the top of the magic ruler — the coordinate core connecting to the upper realm.
As the gem shattered, the once aloof celestial envoy avatar began to flicker violently and the continuous flow of celestial power supporting him was instantly severed.
"You… you actually destroyed the guiding stone? Do you know what this means?" The celestial envoy's face contorted and the holy white light turned into chaotic grey.
'It means,' Xiao Wuchen said, grabbing the celestial envoy by the neck and pulling his face close to his own, 'that I will kill you and the heavens cannot interfere!' The Guixu Slaying Blade slashed diagonally upwards.
There was no blood or flesh, only the collapse of laws. The celestial envoy avatar was cleaved in two amidst screams. The pure energy that had originally belonged to the Celestial Realm was frantically devoured by the Guixu Slaying Blade and transformed into a dark golden torrent that flowed into Xiao Wuchen's depleted body and nourished him. The golden pupils behind the clouds slowly dissipated amidst the furious roar. At that moment, even the Heavenly Dao seemed to feel a trace of fear.
Xiao Wuchen stood in the centre of the battlefield, gripping the now dull but still incredibly heavy Heaven-Stabilising Ruler. He slammed it into the threshold stone of Shengjing City. The sect leaders of the thirty-six sects around him were completely paralysed with fear; they had witnessed this man slaughter a god. 'This battle is just the beginning,' said Xiao Wuchen, picking up the ruler and gazing at the gradually darkening sky. 'Tell those in the heavens that the banner of the Great Qian will one day be planted on top of their Lingxiao Palace.'
As the inspector's avatar disintegrated, the previously sealed space burst open, unleashing an immense torrent of extremely pure immortal energy. This energy did not originate from this mortal realm; even the slightest hint of it would cause an ordinary cultivator to explode and die. However, to Xiao Wuchen, it was the perfect adhesive with which to reshape the fate of the Great Qian Dynasty. System command: Execute 'Return to the Void Devouring'.
Current synchronization rate: 98.2%
Core logic: Divine and demonic unity. Objective: Reforge the 'Heaven-Stabilising Ruler' into the Mandate of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Xiao Wuchen stood in the centre of the battlefield. His tattered, dark-gold armour absorbed the dissipating white light greedily, while the 'Heaven-Stabilising Ruler' trembled violently in his hand, seemingly resisting mortal touch. However, as the Return to the Void power violently dismantled it, the runes on the "Heaven-Stabilizing Ruler" were forcibly peeled away, one by one.
'Leng Wuxue, open the furnace!' Xiao Wuchen roared.
In response to the commander's summons, the black-gold tower at the heart of Shengjing City erupted from its summit, unleashing a torrent of purple-gold lightning and fire that seemed to reach the heavens.
Forging Technique: Using divine essence as fire and the magic ruler as the embryo.
Xiao Wuchen flashed and appeared instantly atop the black-gold tower. He tossed the cracked Immortal Realm Magic Ruler into the centre of the lightning and fire. Then, with a backhand grab, he pulled all the spiritual veins of the sects he had previously absorbed, as well as the last wisp of Lu Qingyun's refined divine soul, from the void.The rigid structure of the Immortal Realm Magic Ruler melted in the Returning Void's lightning and fire. The undying military spirit of the Great Qian Dynasty, which had endured for three thousand years, was infused into it, imbuing the cold laws with a raging will. The ruler was no longer a strip; under pressure, it compressed and squared continuously, ultimately transforming into a jet-black Nine-Dragon Returning Void Seal. A dark golden lightning dragon coiled around its tip.
As soon as the seal took shape, a tangible ripple swept across the entire cultivation world, centred on Shengjing.
The reclusive old monsters who had been scheming to besiege Shengjing simultaneously coughed up blood when they discovered that their connection to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had been forcibly severed by a mysterious force.
Xiao Wuchen stood on top of the tower, holding the heavy black jade seal aloft with one hand. His voice echoed through the heavens as he declared, "Three thousand years ago, you borrowed the mandate of heaven to destroy my Great Qian Dynasty. Today, I will use this Seal of Return to Nothingness to rewrite the destiny of this world!" He pressed the jade seal abruptly into the void and, at that moment, the previously crumbling Great Qian earth veins were completely revived.
A pitch-black barrier rose from Shengjing and expanded rapidly outwards to encompass the entire Northern Territory. Within this range, all foreign immortal laws apart from the 'Great Qian Laws' specially granted by Xiao Wuchen were considered rebellious and instantly erased.
With the establishment of the national seal, the factories within Shengjing underwent a qualitative change.
Xiao Wuchen used the 'Fragments of Law', extracted from the Law Ruler, to upgrade the standard weapons of the Dark Gold Dragon Guards. 'Master, it's done!' Leng Wuxue held a massive crossbow that gleamed with a chilling light; its bolts were wreathed in black flames that could destroy the laws.
'This is the Immortal-Slaying Crossbow.' The crossbow didn't require the user to have a high cultivation level; simply pulling the trigger activated the 'law-stripping' effect on the bolts, which could easily tear through the protective aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Fully equip the brothers." Xiao Wuchen looked at the trembling sect prisoners below the city walls, his eyes devoid of pity. 'Our task is not just to defend this city.'
As the final seal of the Nine Dragons Returning to the Void Seal descended upon the Black Gold Tower, a deep, rumbling sound like the roar of dragons resounded across the entire Northern Territory.
This was not an earthquake, but rather the 'national destiny' that had been absent for three thousand years was being frantically restored across the river of time. In Shengjing City, wells that had previously run dry now gushed forth dark purple spiritual springs, while broken stone bricks, nourished by the energy of the Returning to the Void, reformed into an indestructible black gold wall.
[System Report: Core Synchronisation Rate: 99%! Function Lock: Host's Will has merged with the Northern Territory's Earth Veins."
'Current Domain: Mortal Forbidden Zone (within this range, the effectiveness of Immortal Laws is weakened by 80%).' Xiao Wuchen stood atop the tower, with white light and purple lightning intertwining behind him to form a colossal divine wheel. His dark gold armour underwent its final qualitative transformation under the influence of the seal's energy. The armour plates rubbed against each other, gradually smoothing their originally menacing edges and evolving into the subtly luxurious 'Return to the Void Dragon Robe Armour', which flowed with a dark red light. This armour contained no silk or embroidery; all the dragon patterns were etched from solidified killing intent and lightning.
'Leng Wuxue, look upon this world.' Xiao Wuchen's voice resonated through the earth's veins, echoing like a divine pronouncement in the ears of every creature in the Northern Territory. 'Before, they called us ants. Now, I will show them how ants can bite off the neck of the heavens.'
Beneath the Black Gold Tower, the remaining disciples of the thirty-six sects were completely defeated. When they saw Xiao Wuchen holding the jade seal and wearing dragon armour, their last illusion of 'orthodox immortality' shattered. Before them stood not a vengeful ghost, but a new emperor who had returned from hell with the power of life and death. 'This sinful subject pays homage to Your Majesty!' An elder was the first to succumb, completely giving up resistance as he slammed his forehead heavily onto the cold metal ground. Immediately afterwards, thousands of cultivators fell like wheat being harvested; no one dared to look directly at the figure atop the tower.
Xiao Wuchen slowly raised the Guixu Slaying Saber, pointing it towards the Southern Territory and Central Plains, which had not yet been subdued.
Below his feet, the three thousand Undying Dragon Guards were all armed with Immortal-Slaying Crossbows, which radiated a chilling black light. These crossbow bolts required no spiritual power to trigger; they were powered by a long-range transmission from the Shengjing Furnace. Each shot represented a small collapse of Guixu.
'Issue my imperial decree,' said Xiao Wuchen in a cold, resolute voice. 'From this day forward, the Great Qian Dynasty is restored. All sects are dens of thieves. Those who do not surrender within three days will meet their end when the Immortal-Slaying Crossbows reach them.'
From the vanished cloud fissure, the will of the Upper Realm seemed to be watching resentfully still.
Xiao Wuchen looked up and raised the Nine Dragons Guixu Seal high, a sinister smile appearing on his face. The black light emanating from the imperial seal turned the sky pitch black once again. 'In this round, I have won.'