Chapter 1352: I Am the Heavenly Emperor, Who Can Oppose Me

“Hmm.”

Chu Feng suddenly recoiled. Just as the stone jar was about to touch the water, he saw a face—his own face—but it was smiling eerily, revealing a mouth of stark white teeth stained with strands of blood.

It looked as if he had just consumed human flesh, the blood shockingly vivid and seemingly still carrying tissue, making the sight terrifying, chilling, and repulsive.

This wasn't a re-enactment of past events or a memory from a previous life; it felt like something happening right before his eyes, causing Chu Feng's pupils to constrict.

With a *bang*, the water's surface broke open, and a pale hand emerged. It was that very same figure of himself, reaching out to grab him, blood staining its fingernails.

Chu Feng swiftly retreated, his Fiery Golden Eyes fixed intently on the figure.

There was definitely something wrong with this Reincarnation Sea.

The lake's surface became still once more, showing only his own reflection, smiling eerily, cold and terrifying.

“If you could truly harm me, you would have acted already. Why bother with such intimidation?” Chu Feng said coldly.

Then, without hesitation, he charged forward with the stone jar and forcefully pressed it down.

He was certain that if the other party could kill him, it would have done so already, instead of resorting to such elaborate scare tactics.

The crystalline water surface instantly fractured like a shattered mirror, followed by a violent splash.

The eerie face in the water immediately contorted, then rapidly vanished, but as the waves surged, blood also splattered.

“Ah!”

Abruptly, a piercing shriek, sharp enough to puncture eardrums, shattered the previous silence. It exploded with shocking intensity.

Even Chu Feng was startled. This area had been relatively calm just moments before, and such a sudden high-decibel outburst felt like it could pierce one's brain, truly unnerving.

Then, he saw himself beneath the water, covered in blood, appearing disheveled and desolate, with disheveled hair and eyes dripping blood.

“You’ve finally arrived. Do you remember who you are now? Everything in this world cycles through reincarnation—a speck of dust, a vast ocean, a blade of grass, an endless cosmic sea, the mortal world of desires, and all realms and seas. You and I struggle amidst the countless dust motes, drifting in the long river of antiquity, suffering the hardships of life, aging, and pain. Will we struggle in vain, or will we rise like a hundred racing boats? How will you choose to pass through darkness, wade through the sea of light, from ignorance to awakening? You are here to become one with me; the true us is about to awaken!”

From beneath the water, this voice resonated, and the figure itself exuded a sense of ancientness, loneliness, and melancholy.

“You are me?” Chu Feng asked, staring at him, still holding the stone jar.

“Yes, we are one. You are my future life, and I am your past life. I have waited for you here for many years,” the man beneath the water replied. Like a true dragon dormant in an abyss, waiting to emerge and ascend to the heavens, his restrained yet formidable aura gradually diffused. He became imposing, like a towering mountain or a vast cosmos, growing ever more intimidating.

Chu Feng shook his head, his gaze intense, and said in a deep voice, “If you are my past life, how can you be here? Reincarnation means one person, so how can there be two separate souls, you and I?”

“I feared reincarnation failure, so I left behind a wisp of remnant spirit. This is not a true soul, but my obsession, guarding our past life’s ‘Dao fruit’ here. Today, you have returned, and we will rise again, looking down upon all heavens. We will punch through the firmament and fight our way back!”

The man’s voice was low, but then he suddenly lifted his head, exuding an arrogant, domineering aura that defied past, present, and future. His eyes were like two flashes of lightning, ready to burst forth.

“How did you know I would come here and eventually meet you again?” Chu Feng pressed further.

The man beneath the water replied, “Because, in our time, you and I were powerful enough to stand at the pinnacle of the evolutionary path. We could glimpse a corner of the future, see through the vastness of time, and penetrate the barriers of eternity. At that moment, you and I foresaw your arrival in this present life.”

“You can foresee the future?” Chu Feng’s expression changed.

“Perhaps you don’t know just how powerful you and I were back then. I was the Heavenly Emperor; who could stand against me?” As the man beneath the water spoke, his aura surged, truly enough to awe the Thirty-Three Heavens, with no one daring to challenge him.

Chu Feng seriously wondered if, without the stone jar, he would have instantly exploded under such an oppressive aura, or perhaps collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Then, he witnessed a shocking scene from the past. The figure’s aura was overwhelming; merely by spreading a hand, it fractured the universe, shattered darkness, and its colossal fingers and palm entered another realm.

What immense power! With a mere lift of its hand, it severed two realms, tearing the heavens apart with a single grip.

As he opened his mouth, countless stars dimmed. With his breath, the river of time became chaotic. Finally, he strode forward, each step an eon, moving against time, disrupting past and present. He ventured alone beyond the realms, witnessing myriad worlds stained with blood and all their splendor fading, until, bathed in a crimson sunset, he entered the eternal unknown, piercing through darkness, traversing light, and stepping into the land of variables.

Golden symbols flickered fiercely in Chu Feng’s eyes, his Fiery Golden Eyes glowing as he boosted their power to the extreme to observe everything.

“You and I have an unfinished wish. What you’ve seen is only half of our journey. We failed, falling midway, perishing due to an accident. There’s still half a journey left to complete. In this life, we must reconnect the broken path, fight our way through, and reach our true destination.”

The man beneath the water spoke, his gaze firm. He clenched his fist and, in the annals of reincarnation, he had shattered through all heavens.

Chu Feng remained silent, watching him quietly. After a long pause, he finally said, “Since you can see the future, do you believe I will trust you? What choice do you think I will ultimately make?”

“Naturally, you will merge with me. Perhaps you feel resistance, but you are me, and I am you. Once we merge, my final obsession will completely dissipate, and all past events will become like smoke. From now on, this life will be yours to live. What you are to inherit is our ‘Dao fruit,’ so it’s best to return to your proper place sooner. Your current strength is too weak. How can you reach the end this way? How will you reconnect those broken paths? You don’t know what you’ll truly face in the future—those beings, those substances, those entities that can, with a mere flick of a finger, cause an entire realm to bleed and flow like a river, plunge heaven and earth into chaos, and leave past, present, and future without peace.”

Chu Feng fell silent again after hearing this. After a long while, he asked, “Then what must I do? How do I merge with you?”

From beneath the water, a sigh echoed. Then, waves churned, and a snow-white skeleton emerged, crystal clear and translucent like white jade, a work of art, seemingly heaven’s most perfect masterpiece.

The only pity was that, upon closer inspection, the pristine skeleton bore many fine cracks. As it gradually rose to the surface, numerous broken bones became visible, hinting at the brutal intensity of the battle it had endured.

In the past scenes, he had been so powerful, yet now, as the skeleton fully emerged, it was terribly fragmented, emphasizing the ferocity and terror of the past conflicts.

Even after countless ages, the sword cuts and blade punctures on this skeleton still exuded an energy aura so potent it felt as if one would explode, sending shivers down the spine.

At this moment, the stone jar glowed.

A mere skeleton, yet the aura emanating from its wounds caused the stone jar to undergo such an unusual change. How could Chu Feng not be surprised?

Chu Feng was shocked; it was rare for the stone jar to undergo such a transformation. It had shown unique changes on the path of reincarnation, and when facing a wooden city with a scar from a sword strike that severed eternity, it had also reacted.

And now, it was happening again.

Suddenly, Chu Feng moved. Holding the stone jar, he fiercely smashed it towards the snow-white skeleton, which was covered in cracks. His action was abrupt and violent, without the slightest hesitation or mercy, utterly resolute.

“What are you doing?” the figure sighed softly, offering no resistance.

With a *crack*, the stone jar directly struck the skeleton, causing it to tremble violently, then disintegrate and fall apart, unable to remain whole.

Chu Feng’s gaze was firm as he held the stone jar and stared at the scattered bones.

“I knew it,” the voice said. “Just as I saw in that glimpse of the past, you don’t believe in your past life; you only acknowledge this present one. But it doesn’t matter. I will still give you everything, because you are me, and I am you.”

At this moment, shimmering golden light steamed up from between the scattered bones. It was dazzling and sacred, like a blazing sun rising, illuminating all things, warm and full of vibrant life.

“This is our past life’s ‘Dao fruit’—it’s for you,” the figure said sorrowfully, then whispered, filled with immense loneliness, “I will now vanish like smoke. You will always be just you. Live well, fight on. You are still on your journey. In this life, you will complete the unfinished business that I and others left behind.”

The light was resplendent, like a cosmic furnace descending, brilliant and scalding hot, possessing an ocean of powerful energy that enveloped everything.

The man gradually weakened, his eyes dimming, his face slowly blurring. With a final look of melancholy, he said, “Take care. I hope you fare well in this life, clear the broken path, and reach that place. May you have no regrets in your next life.”