Covering the Sky: Starting from Incarnation in the Forbidden Zone of Life

Chapter 28: The Post-Ancient God War!

The Golden Lion Ancient Emperor stood atop his golden chariot, his Thunderous Heavenly Spear held high above his head.

Thousands of lightning tribulation marks on Ge's body lit up simultaneously, illuminating the sky above Burial Sky Island as if it were daytime. The pent-up frustration and rage that had been building up in his chest for years transformed into a roar that shook the universe, and the Heavenly Halberd swung down fiercely.

Boundless thunder and fire poured out from the Heavenly Spear's blade, transforming into the phantom of an ancient, ferocious beast, the Suanni, that traversed the Milky Way.

The Suanni was formed entirely from pure lightning tribulation and divine fire. Every hair on its body was a bolt of lightning capable of cleaving stars, and every breath it exhaled was a burst of golden flames that could incinerate all things. It stood on thunderclouds, roared to the sky, and a ball of light, interwoven with blazing white and dark gold, condensed in its mouth. Within the ball of light, countless lightning tribulation marks collided, annihilated, and were reborn, each collision unleashing terrifying fluctuations capable of tearing apart star fields.

"Thunder and Fire Annihilate the Realm!"

This is the innate divine power of the Suanni clan. After the Golden Lion Ancient Emperor attained enlightenment, it was pushed to an unprecedented extreme and transformed into a forbidden chapter in his ancient imperial scriptures!

That sphere of light was not simply a fusion of lightning and fire, but rather a fusion of the essence of heavenly tribulation and the natal divine fire of the Suanni, forcibly compressing the two destructive essences of "tribulation" and "burning" into one place using the laws of the imperial path. When it exploded, it would mean the destruction of an entire star field, a doomsday where all spirits and paths would cry out in unison amidst the lightning and fire!

The ball of light burst forth from the phantom of the Suanni, and wherever it passed, the void was not torn apart, but completely annihilated at the level of the laws.

Space, time, matter—all tangible and intangible existences were crushed into primordial nothingness under the crushing force of that sphere of light. Its target was Huntian Ridge, the Huntian Lord who was undergoing transformation and had not yet fully emerged from his old shell.

Just then, a melody from a zither suddenly rang out.

The sound of the zither was initially just a very faint tremolo, as if someone had gently plucked a string on an endless, distant shore.

But in the next instant, that trembling note transformed into an overwhelming tide of celestial music. The sound waves of the Tribulation-Crossing Celestial Melody swept in like a tangible tsunami, each ripple representing a complete tribulation. All the myriad paths of the world became blurred in this music, as if the laws of the entire universe were being reorganized in this piece, allowing one to transcend celestial tribulations in the mortal realm.

The zither music and the sphere of lightning and fire collided head-on in the void. There was no explosion, no roar, only the silent annihilation of two completely different tribulations. The ripples formed by the zither music peeled away the outer shell of the sphere layer by layer, dismantling, assimilating, and swallowing the billions of lightning tribulation traces compressed within. The Golden Lion Ancient Emperor's lightning and fire world-destroying power was forcibly broken into countless tiny fragments of Dao principles before the Tribulation-Crossing Immortal Melody, scattering like waves crashing against rocks.

Gai Jiuyou's black hair was disheveled, and his eyes were like cold lightning tearing through the sky. He took a step and stood between the Golden Lion Ancient Emperor and the Hun Tian Ridge. The Nine Nether Zither hung in front of him, its strings still trembling slightly. The attack just now was merely a greeting; the true tribulation-crossing immortal melody had not yet been played.

"Golden Lion Ancient Emperor, your opponent is me."

"Does someone who hasn't even attained enlightenment really think he can stand shoulder to shoulder with me? He's courting death!" The Golden Lion Ancient Emperor's killing intent was boundless.

Years ago, he tried to kill Gai Jiuyou during his tribulation but failed. Years later, this same person came knocking on his door, demanding the stolen gold. With old and new grudges piled up, there was no point in exchanging any unnecessary words.

"A battle beyond the realm!" The celestial melody of the Tribulation Transcending Immortal Song resounded once more, the music transforming into a golden passage spanning the star field, simultaneously drawing the auras of both individuals outward. Gai Jiuyou's voice emanated from the sound waves, calm yet resolute.

"Ten moves, and I'll kill you!"

The ancient king of the golden lion roared, his voice shaking the entire universe.

His golden chariot rolled through the void, rushing straight into the outer realm along the sound wave channel of the Tribulation Immortal Melody.

Gai Jiuyou followed suit, and two vast streams of energy plunged into the outer star river one after the other, rushing into an ancient battlefield where gods had once been buried.

Let alone ten moves, the two had already fought thousands of times in the instant they made contact!

The melodies of the Celestial Tribulation Melody clashed fiercely with the roars of thunder and fire that annihilated the world on that ancient battlefield. Each clash reduced swathes of broken stars to dust. The incomparably sacred Celestial Tribulation Light and the all-destroying thunder and fire intertwined to form a rapidly expanding sphere of light that completely engulfed the ancient battlefield.

"This young man is extraordinary." In the Primordial Ancient Mine, a Supreme Being spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying an undisguised solemnity. "Originally, everyone thought he was destined to fail after forcibly breaking through the suppression of the Azure Emperor's Great Dao. Unexpectedly, he not only recovered from his Dao injuries but also made further progress. The Golden Lion Ancient Emperor was too careless and will probably suffer a loss."

"It is indeed surprising that this person's rebirth is related to the Lord of Chaos." Another Supreme Being took over the conversation, but his gaze had already turned in another direction.

That's the Mountain of Immortality!

"However, this time, the Supreme Beings who have made a move are not just the Golden Lion Ancient Emperor. The Master of Undying Mountain also seems unable to hold back... The Lord of Chaos's transformation is not yet stable, how does he plan to deal with this?"

Amidst the low murmurs of these two supreme wills conversing, on Mount Undying, the Stone Emperor made a move!

He stepped out from the summit of the dark mountain, his figure breaking through the chaotic mist above the Undying Mountain, and descended directly into the sky of the Eastern Wilderness.

His jet-black armor gleamed with a chilling luster in the dim light of the tribulation. He slowly raised the Heavenly Desolation Halberd, a weapon that had once struck fear into the hearts of countless ancient races, its tip pointing directly at the summit of Huntian Ridge. With just this single movement, the laws of the Imperial Dao surged forth like a tangible black storm, pressing the sky of the Northern Eastern Wilderness downwards and causing it to collapse slightly.

With each step he took, the heavens and earth trembled.

Mountains and rivers cracked in the aftershocks, rivers flowed backward, and all living things along the way prostrated themselves on the ground, struggling to breathe. The Stone Emperor was not tall, but when he stood atop the sky, he resembled a demon god emerging from chaos, placing the entire world beneath his feet.

The Heavenly Halberd fell. Wherever the halberd's blade passed, a pitch-black rift stretching for thousands of miles was torn open in the void. That halberd strike had no fancy moves, only the purest destruction, the killing intent condensed from the slaughter of billions of living beings since the Stone Emperor attained enlightenment.

At the summit of Huntianling Mountain, Yu Dao was at the most crucial moment of his transformation. Most of the old, aged shell around him had fallen off, and his newborn body radiated a warm glow, but it was not yet fully stable.

Facing the descending Heavenly Desolation Halberd, his eyes remained indifferent as water, and he simply raised his hand and gently waved it in the void.

Several beams of divine light flew from his fingertips, landing on the divine jade platforms that had been set up around Hun Tian Ridge beforehand. These platforms had been arranged in advance before he began refining the weapon, and now, activated by the divine light, flawless imperial formations rose up with a roar. The instant the imperial formations began to operate, the laws of the Dao manifested, boundless light flashed, and chaotic energy permeated the air, enveloping the entire Hun Tian Ridge in a magnificent yet dangerous sea of ​​array patterns.

A roc spread its wings, a true dragon coiled, a phoenix bathed in fire, and a qilin treading on clouds—various extraordinary phenomena manifested within the imperial formation. Each phenomenon was a manifestation of a complete imperial law, the essence of formations extracted from the ancient scriptures that Yu Dao had compiled. Several imperial formations echoed each other, their laws intertwining to form a vast, all-encompassing net that enveloped the Stone Emperor.

However, the Stone Emperor merely sneered, the Heavenly Desolate Halberd continuing its relentless advance. The Great Roc was cleaved in two by the halberd, the True Dragon was severed at the waist, the Divine Phoenix transformed into a shower of sparks in the halberd's wind, and the Qilin was crushed beneath the black battle boots. The various phenomena manifested by the Imperial Array were like paper before the Heavenly Desolate Halberd, torn to shreds layer by layer.

"A mere formation drawn by people like us dares to try and stop me, Your Majesty?"

The Stone Emperor's voice thundered across the land. His figure weaved through the fragments of the Imperial Array, each swing of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd shattering a corner of the array's patterns. Although the Flawless Imperial Array was said to rival the power of ancient emperors, it was ultimately just an array, an inanimate object, without a true emperor presiding over its core. For someone like him, a true Daoist at one point, such a thing could only cause some trouble, slightly hindering his progress, but posing no real threat.

"If the Lord of Chaos's only backup plan is a few Emperor Formations, I'm afraid it won't be long enough to complete the transformation." In the Primordial Ancient Mine, a Supreme Being made a judgment. The Qilin Ancient Emperor nodded slightly, his gaze piercing through the void and landing on the young figure who was still sitting cross-legged under the peach tree, his expression indifferent.

However, despite the overwhelming destructive power of the Stone Emperor, they found that the Lord of Chaos, who should have been unable to act, remained completely unmoved in his indifferent eyes. It wasn't the numbness of a dying man, but a confident assurance born of prior preparation.

Does he have a backup plan?

The instant this thought flashed through the minds of the observing Supreme Beings, a beam of immortal light suddenly shone from within the several Imperial Formations that were crumbling inch by inch under the Stone Emperor's onslaught. This immortal light was entirely different from the light emanating from the Imperial Formations; it was neither the golden imperial laws nor the white life essence, but a light that was purer, more distant, and closer to the origin of the Great Dao. It shone through the cracks in the broken formation patterns, like the first ray of dawn piercing through layers of dark clouds before sunrise.

Another large formation appeared.

"A futile effort!"

Shi Huang sneered, and the Heavenly Desolation Halberd, carrying the power to destroy everything, slashed towards the new formation. In his eyes, this was just another imperial formation, no different from the ones he had casually torn apart before. At most, he would slash a few more times, but the result would not change.

But this time, when the Heavenly Desolate Halberd struck the great formation, it produced a deafening clang like metal clashing. The immortal light surrounding the formation was not dispersed; instead, it surged up the instant the Heavenly Desolate Halberd touched the formation's patterns, transforming into a majestic palace phantom.

The palace was enveloped in a soft, ethereal light. Its walls were inscribed with countless ancient runes, each unique and unlike any other Daoist scripture of its time. The palace gates were tightly shut, and a few indistinct ancient characters were faintly visible on the lintel, their strokes incredibly complex, each seemingly carrying an entire Great Dao. Around the palace, the ethereal light transformed into countless chains of divine order, each chain coiling and dancing like a true dragon, weaving together to form a seamless defensive network.

The destructive power of the Heavenly Desolation Halberd struck the chains of immortal light, causing them to tremble violently but not break. An invisible force of recoil traveled back along the halberd, making the Stone Emperor's hand holding it slightly numb. His pupils contracted, and for the first time, he looked directly at the formation.

"What kind of formation is this?"

Not only him, but all the supreme beings who were watching asked the same question at the same time.

When the Emperor and Sovereign unite with the Heavenly Heart Seal, they can reach extremely high levels in various aspects such as formations, alchemy, and talismans, in addition to their own fundamental Dao.

At their level, no one's mastery of formations is significantly inferior to another's. The flawless imperial formation represents the pinnacle of formation techniques in this world. Even remnants of formations left behind by emperors or formation marks inscribed by the Great Emperor Wushi are not necessarily much stronger than those of other Dao-achievers in the eyes of these supreme beings. Before true emperors and sovereigns, formations are ultimately just formations, capable of causing some trouble and slightly hindering progress, but posing no real threat.

But the massive formation before them was completely beyond their comprehension.

The celestial light remained condensed and unyielding, the palace walls as solid as a fortress. Each of the divine chains formed from the celestial light seemed alive, actively resisting every strike of the Heavenly Desolate Halberd. The Stone Emperor charged left and right within the formation, the Heavenly Desolate Halberd unleashing a sky full of shadows, severing the divine chains manifested within the formation one by one, shattering corner after corner of the palace walls. But these chains and walls did not dissipate after being shattered; instead, drawn by the celestial light, they reformed, each reformation stronger than the last. The formation itself seemed to possess a certain sentience, constantly learning, adapting, and evolving. Each of the Stone Emperor's attacks only increased the difficulty for the next.

The aged voice of the Celestial Venerable of Immortality emanated from the Immortal Tomb, and for the first time, his tone revealed genuine shock.

"Could it be that during the Chaotic Ancient Era, there was actually an extremely powerful expert who became an Emperor through the Dao of Arrays?"