Chapter 199: Encountering the Dark Forbidden Zone

Chapter One

It was the 314th year of the Kaiyuan Heavenly Court.

Three more years had passed.

Instead of striving for good governance, Emperor Dao acted like an invader from another world. He plundered the planet's resources, frantically ordering people to dig up soil, collect water, pluck stars from the sky, and seize all kinds of treasures from this realm.

Seated on the imperial throne, Emperor Dao, with his eight-armed golden body, held the Thunder God Hammer, the God-Beating Whip, the Jianmu Root, the God-Slaying Blade, and the Ancestral Witch Pot.

“Hahaha, we finally rule the world!” Little Meng was delighted.

“We’ve merged again. We’re really good at merging,” Bell couldn't help but say, “But can I please have my body back?”

“We’re back to our Cthulhu evil god era, where a group of us combine bodies to rule the world. It’s just that this time, there are two native Heavenly Emperors among us,” said Yamada, the Thunder God Hammer, his voice dismissive but with a hint of relief at surviving a disaster.

But what in the world? Two Heavenly Emperors were the main bodies, and they themselves had become Heavenly Emperor weapons??

They had no ruling power whatsoever.

There was no other way. This was an extraordinary time. The eleven Ancestral Witches were about to emerge, and the Great Luo Heaven would open in less than five years. They would certainly erupt upon seeing a new Heavenly Emperor.

Furthermore, according to their deductions, the Ancestral Witches would likely be at the Half-Saint realm when they next appeared, ready to purge the world and initiate the Ancestral Witch Tribulation.

“Are we really going to do this?”

“If we destroy this world, Daojun will kill us!”

“Foolish! Don’t panic, have some faith in yourselves! Signs of activity have appeared in the Forbidden Zones of Life, and the Dark Turmoil has begun. Ancient Emperors are about to emerge to devour people, seeking to ascend to immortality and achieve the Primordial Chaos Dao. Our actions are righteous, undertaken to resist this Dark Turmoil!”

“What we’re doing is even more terrifying than the Dark Turmoil, isn’t it?”

They were communicating in Huaxia language.

Even the Golden Crow, the solar furnace in his dantian, and Emperor Duan, couldn't understand a word. They were used to being confused and assumed these primordial beings, born with the creation of heaven and earth, must be speaking an ancient primeval language.

On the imperial throne, Emperor Dao asked, “Jingwei, Kuafu, have you collected the water from the oceans and rivers?”

A man and a woman, two immortal officials, slowly stepped forward. “Reporting to Your Majesty, all the water from the world’s rivers and oceans has been collected by the gods in heaven. The land is parched and cracked, and the people are suffering greatly.”

A deathly silence hung in the air.

Upon ascending the throne, the Heavenly Emperor had immediately ordered the gods to gather all the world's water, causing famine across the land. His motives were utterly inscrutable.

“If the people are suffering, let the gods provide rain, just enough to barely sustain their livelihoods.”

Emperor Dao calmly continued, “Old Man Yu, have you led the gods in moving the mountains?”

Another Heavenly God stepped forward.

“A thousand mountains have been moved, and countless more are underway.”

Silence fell once more.

Across the land, massive pits of earth had been dug, the environment severely damaged and a horrific sight.

The Heavenly Emperor then asked, “What about the vegetation and all living creatures?”

Xu Wei, the God of Seasons, replied, “I have led the Cloud Gods in collecting a great deal.”

The surrounding gods fell silent again.

Many trees across the land had been uprooted, leaving behind a devastated landscape, as if locusts had passed through.

“Then we can begin.”

The Heavenly Emperor nodded slightly and pointed towards the sky.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, nine gaping fissures appeared in the sky. Through these cracks in the void, nine other barren worlds were visible.

Over these past three years, Dao Changsheng had continuously devoured and expanded, incorporating the inner worlds of countless cultivators from various holy lands since the creation of heaven and earth. His nine apertures combined now amounted to nearly half the size of the Heavenly Realm, roughly equivalent to twenty mu.

“Lead the gods, take these resources, and enter to arrange the world.”

Three months later, the nine apertures had transformed into heavenly grotto-heavens, filled with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

The Heavenly Emperor then commanded, “Gods, lead the cultivators from the various holy lands and mortal kingdoms, and transfer all living beings from across the world into my body!”

Everyone was greatly alarmed, finally understanding his true intention.

The Heavenly Emperor was going to rebuild a living world inside his own body?

Emperor Dao had already devastated this world, extracting all its water, life, and plants!

It was no longer possible to survive here; they could only enter.

Three more months passed.

The world became desolate, almost devoid of human presence, with only patches of green vegetation and soil remaining.

The nine apertures were now overflowing with people, packed together in a tight mass. The twenty mu of space was incredibly crowded.

The Heavenly Emperor further ordered, “Dig up plants if you can, bring animals if you can. If you cannot bring them, kill them and take their souls!”

Inside Emperor Dao’s body, Emperor Duan was drenched in cold sweat.

This was madness!!

He was a tyrant, destroying the entire world.

“You are aware of the impending great tribulation of heaven and earth, but you haven’t yet resolved to make sacrifices!” Dao Changsheng said to Emperor Duan inside him. “Do you think reaching the peak of the Indestructible Golden Body is the limit? No, that’s not the limit. The true limit is the Pangu Golden Body! One person becomes one world!”

“Within me, a galaxy forms, with nine great stars revolving around a central dantian that houses a sun. The beings residing within, like a solar furnace, constantly offer incense and provide me with energy!”

Emperor Duan was drenched in cold sweat; this was an unprecedented undertaking.

Could one person truly become an entire world?

“In this way, the myriad beings of an entire world live within me, providing me with incense. Their emotions, emanating every moment, become an eternal and ceaseless source of power for me! This is the true Pangu Primordial Body!”

Dao Changsheng honestly stated, “A world resides within me, self-sustaining through birth, aging, sickness, and death. Its myriad beings stand behind me, supporting me in battle. Naturally, I alone can fight against those eleven Ancestral Witches!”

Xu Zhi was asleep.

After all, he had grown stronger; his immortal cells were continuously spreading through his body, and his daily sleep time had increased to four hours. He hadn’t noticed the developments outside.

After all, only five or six years had passed in the Primordial World, while just over an hour had elapsed in reality.

When he finally reacted, his face was a question mark.

Xu Zhi: ???

“What in the world are you scoundrels doing?”

Alarmed, he quickly went down to the cellar, utterly bewildered. He saw that the once green mountains and clear waters had been turned into vast expanses of dark brown earth, as if gnawed by dogs a dozen times over, utterly lifeless. Even the water he had painstakingly piped in and sprayed was gone...

Had ghosts entered the village!?

Not even a needle or thread was left behind?

The ground had been dug up three feet deep, and any creatures that couldn't be taken were simply killed, their souls extracted and stuffed into inner spaces?

“This is utter devastation!”

Xu Zhi’s scalp tingled. He quickly logged into the forum and found it incredibly lively.

Akina Mountain Speed: “Hahaha! That’s exactly what we needed to do! Dark Turmoil? Ancient Emperors from the Forbidden Zones coming out to devour people? A great tribulation of heaven and earth? When they emerge, they’ll surely be bewildered. ‘Did we cross over? Where are the people? Where did everyone go?’”

Haruko Loves Learning: “Ancient Emperors: ‘Motherf***er, encountering you idiotic players, we’ve truly met our match! Can’t you play normally? Did you get your heads caught in a door?! Shouldn’t you be gathering the world’s strength for a decisive, honorable battle right now? Shouldn’t the contemporary Heavenly Emperor stand alone through the ages, fight bloody battles across the eight wildernesses, and single-handedly guard the various Forbidden Zones?’”

Everyone was laughing uncontrollably. This was the outrageous maneuver they had devised.

“Do you think our thought processes are that normal? Only an idiot would stay and fight you; we’ll just pack up and run.”

Medicine to Save Other Worlds: “Hahaha, those Great Luo Heaven Forbidden Zone Emperors, trying to be ruthless compared to us players? Trying to invade? Don’t they know we’re famously known for leaving no blade of grass alive! Not only no life, we won’t even leave you any water, so you have no world to destroy, and not a single person to eat. We’ll just take an entire world and run away. Come and bite me? (Witty face)”

Little Brain Tiger Down the Mountain: “You guys are toxic! Is this really okay? You tricked Dao Changsheng into believing he could fight eleven Ancestral Witches alone, and he actually fell for it! In reality, you just wanted him to use this method to abscond with everything. I can already imagine that honest scholar getting beaten to death. (Sad face emoji)”

Little Meng Wants to Evolve into a Dragon: “Calm down, we didn’t trick him! Our Nine Revolutions Profound Art did indeed deduce this: a world of living beings residing within him, providing incense, truly approaches an eternal power source. However, infinite energy doesn’t mean his combat power will increase by that many times. He’s definitely going to get a beating; those are eleven Heavenly Emperors, you know!

If a group of powerhouses surrounds you, wouldn’t you be scared?

Having a group of people inside providing energy just makes him more durable; he’ll continue to be a human sandbag. (Benevolent little eyes)”

Nameless Dragon: “Cough, cough, it will indeed significantly boost combat power! Theoretically, he really could fight eleven Emperor Duans; we didn’t lie to him. But if Emperor Duan can conceal his strength, why can’t the eleven Ancestral Witches? You underestimate them too much.

Each of them possesses terrifying cunning and power, capable of overthrowing thirteen primordial ancient gods. Even that old schemer, Bell, was caught off guard by them… They are truly no weaker than us red-named players. If they don’t have a deadly number of trump cards, I could twist off the Ancestral Witch’s head and use it as a ball! (Ancestral Witch’s Head.jpg)”

Bell, Apex of the Food Chain: “Says the one who wasn’t caught off guard? (Nameless Dragon hanging upside down.jpg)”

Xu Zhi: ???

A bunch of little b*stards.

Xu Zhi stared blankly at the forum, and after a long moment, he silently uttered this single sentence.