Loren Shaw was baffled, following after them. "You really can't just rush in. This place is extremely dangerous—let me lead the way!"
Quinn blocked him with a smile. "Dangerous? Where do you see any danger?"
Loren paused, a little confused. Strangely enough, as they entered the Taichu Divine‑Stone Vein, none of the rumored dangers appeared—instead, everything was eerily calm.
"Could it be that the clan chief was just exaggerating? Maybe there really isn't any danger in this vein." He wondered to himself.
Noel and Grant walked side by side, while the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Palanquin trailed at the rear. Annie stood atop the palanquin, holding a lantern to light the path ahead.
Grant glanced back with a grin. "Quinn, Loren, stick a little closer."
Quinn braced himself and stepped forward. Loren hesitated, "I still want to see if there are any ancestor spirits deeper in the Void..."
Noel turned and smiled, "The Nineteenth Void is guarded by the Void Mother Behemoth. Your divine sense can't go past it, Loren, so don't worry."
Loren thought it over and realized this was true. The Void Mother Behemoth was so powerful that if his divine sense reached the Nineteenth Void, she would surely notice and devour him.
Glowing mist drifted among the grass and trees. Loren looked around, muttering, "Strange. This matches the clan chief's description, but where's the danger? This is the Taichu Divine‑Stone Vein—here, the divine sense in the vein reacts to people's thoughts and turns them into real illusions. Even the strongest Creators could fall for it..."
Quinn's gaze fell on the two figures ahead. He reminded Loren, "Maybe there's some powerful presence suppressing the dangers in this vein."
Loren's heart skipped a beat, his eyes landing on the Gold Coffin up ahead. He said gravely, "You mean the person buried in that Gold Coffin is so strong they're suppressing the whole vein? Who could have such power? Could it be..."
His eyes lit up and he clapped his hands. "I know! It must be Supreme Emperor! The Gold Coffin must hold Supreme Emperor's corpse!"
He grew excited. "I heard the clan chief say Supreme Emperor died in the Blood-Rust War, and the Ancient-God Heavenly Emperor had his corpse sealed here to prevent his resurrection! Supreme Emperor is finally dead!"
Noel's voice drifted from ahead, eerily calm. "Supreme Emperor—the strongest divine sense in history. How could he die? From what I've heard, in the Blood-Rust War, only the Taichu Primal Stone in his brow was shattered. He didn't die. Since then, he's been a stray dog, hiding and running, never knowing a moment's peace."
Grant chuckled, "I also heard that the Heavenly Emperor's victory over Supreme Emperor wasn't exactly honorable. It wasn't the Heavenly Emperor who shattered the Taichu Primal Stone, but Supreme Emperor's wife, Queen Gongyun. And after his victory, Heavenly Emperor killed Queen Gongyun to keep his glorious image untarnished."
Loren blinked his big eyes and smiled, "Brothers, where did you hear all this? Even I, a Creator, have never been told these things by the clan elders or chief."
The two didn't answer, just kept walking.
Loren grew suspicious.
After a long while, they finally reached the eight ancient-god corpses.
Their figures floated up, coming to stand beside the Gold Coffin.
Noel and Grant each stared at the Gold Coffin, eyes deep and silent.
Quinn and Loren approached, Dragon-Qilin following behind, while Annie still stood on the palanquin holding her lantern.
Grant smiled, "The Ancient-God Heavenly Emperor always prided himself on being noble and just, but he used Supreme Emperor's wife, Queen Gongyun. He must have promised her many things—like letting her people live. But to keep his image, he had to kill her. Not only that, he had to eliminate the eight ancient gods who escorted her corpse here."
He lifted his head, gaze falling on Noel's face with a mocking look. "And the best way to get rid of those eight ancient gods was the Taichu Divine‑Stone Vein. The Heavenly Emperor was originally an egg from this vein—he knew its terrors well. So he ordered the eight ancient gods to bury Queen Gongyun's body here, using the vein's power to erase all the witnesses!"
Noel gave a noncommittal "Oh," then said coolly, "What I heard was that Supreme Emperor was the cruel one, afraid the Creators would raise another Supreme Emperor, so he wiped out all the Firststone Clan, killed Queen Gongyun's kin, and even planned to exterminate all Creators. His wife, Queen Gongyun, was heartbroken, had an affair with the Heavenly Emperor, and bore him a son."
Grant's pupils narrowed sharply. "Even if Queen Gongyun betrayed Supreme Emperor, even if she shattered the Taichu Primal Stone in his brow, he never harmed her. But the Heavenly Emperor betrayed Queen Gongyun—and killed her!"
At this point, neither cared about Loren, Quinn, or the others. Clearly, now that they'd reached this place, each had figured out the other's true identity and was ready for a final showdown!
Loren was bewildered. He shook his head and asked Quinn, "Are your human and monster races really that ancient? You know things from the primordial era!"
Quinn's eye twitched. He had to fight the urge to knock some sense into Loren.
Grant and Noel each reached out, grasping the coffin, ready to open the Gold Coffin.
Quinn took a step back.
The two of them lifted the lid, but kept their eyes locked on each other's faces, unwilling to miss any reaction.
Quinn gritted his teeth, unable to resist his curiosity, and forced himself to step forward and peer into the Gold Coffin.
The Gold Coffin was enormous, and the woman inside was a giant too. She lay there with her eyes closed, as if peacefully asleep.
The vertical eye in her brow had been gouged out; her chest was stained with blood—the fatal wound was likely there. Removing her brow eye was just to weaken her divine sense and powers.
She died at the hands of someone close to her. Only someone intimately trusted could have removed her brow eye while she was off guard, crippling her strength.
That person treated her well—even in death, they dressed her in the finest clothes, crowned her with a phoenix headdress, making her look every inch a regal empress.
She held a flower in her hands, and even now the blossom hadn't withered. She clutched it to her chest, perfectly concealing the fatal wound.
Grant chuckled darkly, "Brothers, don't you think the Heavenly Emperor deserves to die?"
Quinn felt a chill run down his spine. He backed away, coughing, "Loren, let's go look for your ancestor spirits!"
Loren wanted to get closer. "I've never seen Queen Gongyun before. Let me take a look..."
"Don't look!"
Quinn snapped, dragging Loren away.
Loren jumped in fright, laughing, "Quinn, you're the fourth brother, but you scold me like I'm your kid. Fine, I won't look—why so fierce?"
Just then, Grant's voice echoed, "Heavenly Emperor—maybe I should call you Taichu. Back when I dug you and the Taichu Primal Stone out, I sensed a terrifying life inside that egg, older and stronger than us Creators."
Loren froze, suddenly shivering with disbelief.
"I sensed your power, but you weren't ready to be born. If you'd stayed in the Taichu Divine‑Stone Vein, you'd have eventually absorbed its strength and become unstoppable."
Grant continued, "I even considered borrowing your body, but I resisted. I got the Primal Stone, grew arrogant, thought I'd never have to fear you—I would always be stronger! So I raised you like a son, even had my clan sacrifice to you to speed your birth."
He chuckled again, "Too bad—I still underestimated you."
Noel said coolly, "You had your clan worship me, trying to force my growth and use the power of sacrifice to control me—turn me into your weapon. Did you think I wouldn't see through you? Even while I was still in the egg, I understood the laws of the Great Dao, drawing power from heaven and earth, born sacred and wise. But you took the Primal Stone, halting my growth, so I used the Creators' power to nourish myself instead."
Loren shivered, unconsciously speeding up his steps toward the edge of the mining district.
Noel continued, "Supreme Emperor, you're not here in person this time. How much power do you really have? You're just borrowing a lowly monster body. Even if you know the past and see Queen Gongyun, what can you do?"
"It's enough to kill you."
Grant replied coolly, "Aren't you just using a reincarnation body too? You reincarnated as a human and often used that body to meet secretly with Lady Yuanmu, making yourself the Celestial Master of the Southern Falling Clan. How much fighting power does your human body really have?"
Noel said indifferently, "Then what are you waiting for?"
Quinn instantly felt two terrifying presences stirring from within the vein, making his hair stand on end. He shouted, "I can't die here! If I die, who the hell..."
"Got it!" Grant and Noel shouted in unison, voices furious.
Behind them, the two terrifying presences subsided a little.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief and called, "Dragon Fatty, Annie, get on the palanquin! Loren, you too!"
Everyone boarded the imperial palanquin. Dragon-Qilin whipped the reins, and the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Palanquin sped toward the edge of the vein.
Just as the palanquin burst out of the vein, a violent surge of divine power erupted behind them. Quinn glanced back and saw Grant's hands emerge from his sleeves!
From his sleeve, Grant pulled out a massive spear. Oddly enough, the spear was incredibly long, yet his sleeve was barely a foot wide. As he drew it out, the spear stretched to over three zhang.
This spear was far from ordinary. Most divine spears are straight, but this one's shaft twisted and curved, resembling a dragon vein.
The spear was forged from the ancestral dragon vein of the clan's ancestral court. Grant gripped it tightly and thrust it forward, and in the minds of everyone outside the vein, a thunderous dragon roar echoed!
Meanwhile, Noel's file transformed—a moment ago it looked like a sword, covered in countless tiny dots, but now it revealed its true form: the Imperial Sword, symbolizing the Heavenly Emperor's rule over all.
The tiny dots along both sides of the blade turned into ancient bird and insect script, forming imprints all along the sword—these were Dao Steel Seals!
When Noel used the file to trim his nails, no one could tell the sword's true form, nor that the neat rows of dots were actually Dao Steel Seals!
There were nearly two thousand seals on the sword, representing the blessings and submission of nearly two thousand ancient gods to the Heavenly Emperor!
The treasured sword met the ancestral dragon spear. When sword and spear collided, the sound of the Dao rang out—like countless ancient gods chanting in unison, empowering their mightiest Emperor!
Eight ancient-god skeletons carried the Gold Coffin; above it, two terrifying figures clashed for the first time.
The shockwaves quickly reached Quinn and the others. Annie darted to the back of the palanquin, merging her spirit and body to become the Dragon-Sparrow Bearing the Heavens, shielding the palanquin.
Boom—
Annie let out a muffled groan, blood trickling from her lips. Her spirit and body were instantly torn to shreds, reverting her to her true form—a chubby girl.
The terrifying force pressed the three-to-five-hundred-pound chubby girl against the back of the palanquin, pushing it forward. The six Heavenly Dragons strained to hold the palanquin, but even they were forced to retreat by the overwhelming power.
They strained so hard that their skin split and dragon blood flowed everywhere.
Quinn traced a circle with his hand, unleashing teleportation magic that formed a great ring behind the palanquin, diverting the residual force from Grant and Noel's clash. But his spell shattered immediately after.
Quinn's fingers spun rapidly, drawing circle after circle, each filled with teleportation runes that formed more spells—one breaking, another forming—to help Annie withstand the aftershock.
Loren immediately summoned a Void Beast to shield the palanquin, but even it was forced to retreat by the pressure.
Finally, after the first wave of impact, everyone sighed in relief. Looking back, they saw the palanquin had been pushed hundreds of miles away.
"Grant is no match for Noel."
Quinn's divine eyes saw the scene in the vein: Grant was already wounded—he was weaker than Noel, especially since he came in a monster body.
Though he was the first monster to split heaven and earth, facing Noel and the Imperial Sword empowered by the Dao, he suffered a heavy loss in the opening move.
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Noel's sword was more than a sword—it was a weapon of the Dao. As it moved, nearly two thousand ancient-god phantoms stood behind him, grand and imposing, including even Earth Lord, Heavenly Duke, and Earth Mother!
"All these years, I've been searching for you. As long as Supreme Emperor lives, I cannot rest."
Noel was calm as the wind, but his sword light was terrifying. Grant's wings burst open behind him and he soared, saying coldly, "To draw you out, I revealed the location of the ancestral court, chatted freely with Lord Quinn, and even held back from searching for other Creators! My goal was to shame you before Queen Gongyun and destroy you!"
"Do you really think you can defeat me?"
Grant laughed loudly as the sky grew dazzlingly bright. A colossal Void Mother Beast squeezed out from the layers of void, its eyes shining like countless suns.
"In later generations, the Dao reigns supreme, while visualization has faded. Heavenly Emperor, I know this body may not be your match—even a sliver of your true power would defeat me. But in the ancestral court, you are not my equal."
Grant's voice echoed from the vein, while the Void Mother Beast pressed through the void, lowering its massive body straight toward the vein!
That unbelievably powerful Mother Beast shrank its body—Void Beasts can be huge enough to swallow sun and moon, or small as a mustard seed.
It was so strong it ignored the might of the Taichu Divine‑Stone Vein, plunging directly into its depths!
"The mightiest Void Mother Beast serves the strongest Creator! All the Void Beasts here are her descendants."
Grant's voice rang with joy and mockery: "Taichu, this is why I chose to face you here!"