Chapter 25: The Quasi-Emperor Nearing His End

"Six thousand years! You are actually still alive!" Fang Jin gasped.

"No, that's impossible. You debuted four thousand eight hundred years ago; you cannot be him!"

After the initial panic, Fang Jin quickly regained his composure. This person had debuted four thousand eight hundred years ago; how could he have appeared in the Sacred Land of Tianxuan six thousand years ago? The timeline did not match; this person was definitely an impostor!

"Youngster, I admit you have guts, but what kind of place do you think this is? Since things cannot be settled peacefully today, you shall all remain here! It is fortunate that the entire Luo family is present, saving me the trouble of hunting you down one by one later." As Fang Jin spoke, he borrowed the Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon from the Lord of the Yaoguang Sacred Land, standing above while holding the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron.

Luo Yan waved his hand, and a tattered, fragmented mirror hovered above his palm.

"You think I am afraid of you? At worst, I will sink the Southern Domain!"

He was not the Empress; he could not shatter an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon with a single palm.

"Sink the Southern Domain? What arrogant words! With the defensive formations of my Yaoguang Sacred Land, what do you have to sink it with?" Fang Jin replied, channeling his life essence into the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron, preparing to awaken the Imperial Weapon.

Facing a powerhouse of this caliber, Fang Jin held nothing back. His opening move was a lethal strike, intended to crush his opponent with Imperial Dao laws.

"If you cannot produce an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon today, then be suppressed and killed right here!"

Fang Jin still had not fully committed, waiting for a reaction. If this person truly unleashed an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon, the collision of two such artifacts would likely sink the entire Sacred Land, regardless of the protective formations. The formations within the Yaoguang Sacred Land had been left by a peerless Quasi-Emperor, not a true Emperor of antiquity, and they naturally could not withstand the Imperial Dao laws generated by the clash of two such weapons.

"If a Great Saint were holding this object, I might feel a hint of dread, but you? A thing not even at the level of a Saint King, how dare you?" Luo Yan activated the Mirror of Time. Threads of Dao aura emerged, distorting the vision within the surrounding radius and permeating the air with the laws of the Great Dao.

"Ignorant youngster, do you even know what an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon is?"

The Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron emitted a series of dragon roars, as if a true dragon were awakening. Its power suppressed the heavens and earth, sweeping across the sky of the Southern Domain. Countless people could not help but bow down and kneel.

Everyone froze. The fight had begun; the Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon had awakened!

The members of the Luo family looked toward their ancestor with worry, their hearts rising to their throats. Could their ancestor handle this? Facing that terrifying pressure, even they were affected; the lower-ranked cultivators of the Luo family had already collapsed to their knees, with only a few barely managing to stand.

This was merely the residual pressure radiating from the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron. It was impossible to imagine the sheer pressure their ancestor was facing at the center of the conflict.

The Mirror of Time awakened at this moment, manifesting strands of temporal laws that constantly contended with the Extreme Dao power radiating from the cauldron.

"What... that tattered mirror can actually manifest the embryonic form of Extreme Dao laws... It was once a Quasi-Emperor weapon on the verge of becoming an Imperial Weapon!"

"What a pity it failed. The mirror shattered. Even if it isn't destroyed yet, it won't last many more uses," a powerhouse sighed in the shadows, lamenting the mirror.

Many secretly glanced at the Ji family. It was common knowledge that the Ji family’s Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon was the Void Mirror, which had accompanied the Void Emperor throughout his life. It was also a mirror; could there be some connection?

Immediately, a powerhouse from the Ji family stepped forward with a cold snort to explain: "This mirror has nothing to do with our Ji family! Judging by that aura, it is nine times out of ten the life-bound artifact of that Luo family ancestor! But looking at the miserable state of that weapon, this ancestor must have suffered a cultivation mishap; it is highly likely his realm has fallen."

Hearing this, many breathed a sigh of relief, having nearly feared that the Ji family was bringing out a second Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon.

Everyone looked back at that figure. Extreme Dao laws? A life-bound artifact? Was this man a peerless powerhouse who had touched upon the Extreme Dao? Even if his realm had fallen, how far could it have dropped? How could such a character still exist in this era?

"How is this possible... you..." Fang Jin was once again struck with terror. This person was truly terrifying; even with the partial awakening of the divine spirit within the Imperial Weapon, he could not be killed instantly. On the contrary, he was holding his own!

This was too terrifying!

"Boom!"

Another clash of laws occurred. The heavens sank, the earth cracked, and the mountains and rivers inverted, unable to withstand the collision of two such great forces.

Although the Extreme Dao laws of the Mirror of Time were incomplete and merely in an embryonic state—far inferior to the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron—the person wielding it was at the pinnacle of the Quasi-Emperor realm, a being with one foot across that threshold. In this brief exchange, the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron actually began to retreat, showing signs of weariness.

However, this weariness quickly dissipated as the divine spirit within the cauldron began to awaken fully, breaking free from Fang Jin's control to confront the Mirror of Time on its own.

At this moment, Luo Yan realized for the first time the gap created by that "half-step." It was like an uncrossable chasm; a single Imperial Weapon forced Luo Yan to expend half his strength just to contend with it. A true Great Emperor would likely be able to kill him with ease.

Luo Yan still remembered the scene of the Empress shattering the Taihua Imperial Book with one hand. He could only resist; he could not achieve such a feat. Thinking about it, the strength of the Empress was truly terrifying to the extreme!

"The divine spirit within the Imperial Weapon is nearly fully awake! No matter how powerful you are, you can only die here in regret!" Fang Jin said, looking delighted.

Luo Yan sneered, looking at him as if he were an ant. "Nearly awake? What if I simply don't let it awaken?"

With that, he no longer concealed his aura, letting it radiate in every direction.

It was a terrifying aura that instantly awakened the old monsters hiding throughout the universe. Even some Supremes in the restricted zones were startled and cast their gazes toward the scene.

"A Quasi-Emperor!"

"A Quasi-Emperor appearing in this era? Has something changed?" Several restricted-zone Supremes sensed the situation, quickly discovering that the Quasi-Emperor's aura was chaotic and highly unstable. It was a precursor to the end of one's lifespan.

"So, it is just a Quasi-Emperor reaching the end of his time. It seems he intends to fight to the death with someone. Whoever is unlucky enough to be the target... well, it doesn't matter, as long as it isn't me!" After saying this, the Supremes fell back into slumber. The legendary path to immortality was approaching; nothing must go wrong during this time.

The Supremes were wary of powerhouses who had reached this level and were unwilling to provoke them. Such individuals could be considered to be on their level, though there was still a gap, as the Supremes were once ancient Emperors who possessed complete Extreme Dao laws and had since "slashed themselves," placing them below the level of a true Emperor but above a Quasi-Emperor.

Powerhouses from various races across the universe scanned the scene and, sensing the instability of the aura, withdrew their gazes. Spying was an implicit provocation, and they did not want to offend a dying Quasi-Emperor—who knew if the person might decide to drag someone down with them?

All the old monsters in the Yaoguang Sacred Land were stunned. Over a dozen auras beyond the Saint level awakened from their divine sources. One of them was even a Great Saint! In truth, these individuals had long since sensed the movement outside, but they had not bothered to wake, confident that the Extreme Dao power of the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron would be more than enough to handle any opponent.

But now... a Quasi-Emperor had come knocking, and the Dragon-Marked Black Gold Cauldron, which had been on the verge of full awakening, had been forcibly beaten back into a state of slumber!