Chapter 1353: Black Son of Darkness

The fading face seemed reluctant, its dull eyes filled with sorrow and desolation. He was vanishing, decaying, on the verge of being erased.

In contrast, brilliant golden light, teeming with vitality, surged towards Chu Feng. Was this the Dao Fruit of his previous life?

Even though he had shattered the skeleton, the rich life force, energy, and the thoroughly understood fundamental rules still manifested, intending to merge with him.

Chu Feng remained silent. Only after the radiant Dao Fruit and the golden light, enveloped in profound and unfathomable Dao patterns, completely surrounded him, did he finally make a move.

The void roared, and the heavens and earth seemed on the verge of collapse. He attacked again, steadfastly striking the dazzling golden light with the stone jar in hand.

He was decisive, without a hint of hesitation, directly employing the Dao Fruit of a Great God King, unleashing his strongest energy, and using the stone jar to suppress and kill.

The stone jar was in a peculiar state. Ever since the snow-white skeleton appeared, it had been stimulated by some mysterious energy, causing it to glow with a translucent brilliance.

At this moment, the stone jar emanated an even more breathtaking radiance. It struck the Dao Fruit within the golden aura, immediately triggering terrifying consequences.

A black hole appeared, as if it had pierced through the cosmic star sea, blasting open a path to another realm!

However, as the stone jar glowed, some indistinct patterns on its surface became clear: magnificent mountains, vast rivers, and other elements, all forming legendary terrifying terrains, such as the Supreme Eight Trigrams Furnace, the Immortal Lord's Decapitation Peak, and the Nine Heavens Collapse Great Rift Valley.

Now, these numerous perilous lands, the dreadful terrains from legends across all heavens and ages, seemed to truly reappear, gathering together to unleash their might.

The mountains covered this area, enveloping the Sea of Reincarnation, stabilizing the fractured void, and restoring tranquility to the surroundings.

Chu Feng himself was astonished, not expecting such an anomaly. In the past, when the stone jar underwent changes, he had seen faint marks on it, which resembled topographical maps.

But he had never imagined that these terrains could manifest in such a way, displaying peerless power.

This area was stabilized, the Sea of Reincarnation was confined and no longer collapsing. The Dao Fruit, struck by the stone jar, continued to crack, its golden light pouring out, its Dao patterns breaking apart, and its energy rapidly diminishing and dissipating.

A sigh, tinged with desolation and melancholy, emanated. The blurry, fading figure beneath the water seemed to lament the end of a hero's path.

"Why? This is the Dao Fruit of your past life and mine, offering you supreme power to fight directly beyond this realm, to help you reconnect severed paths. Why did you destroy it all?"

He sounded weak and helpless, more like he had lost all hope. "What a pity. Must you truly forge a completely different path for yourself? So be it. I hope you fare well in this life, become stronger after nirvana, surpass my past self. In this life, you are truly yourself."

Chu Feng remained silent.

The figure sighed again: "Erase all traces of me, sever the past, move forward without hesitation, and forge your unique path. I am willing to turn to dust, to recite eternity for you in reincarnation, wishing you greater strength. Now, I shall erase my past self. Farewell!"

The figure in the water sank, twisting and blurring incessantly, on the verge of vanishing.

Chu Feng, surprisingly, attacked again, blasting through the water's surface and striking deep into the Sea of Reincarnation, showing no mercy as he personally moved to suppress and kill that "past self."

"Why? Even if you want to sever the past and erase your previous life, why be so heartless? I could have done it myself; why did you need to act personally?!"

A weak, sorrowful voice came from beneath the water, seemingly confused and utterly disheartened.

"Ghouls and goblins trying to deceive me? Die!" Chu Feng struck again.

Fearlessly holding the stone jar, he believed that if the opponent could truly harm him, they wouldn't have been so "accommodating," but would have attacked directly.

Water splashed everywhere, surging more than a person's height. And the crystalline Sea of Reincarnation mutated, turning a ghastly yellow, like the putrid fluid of a decomposing corpse.

Moreover, at this moment, a shrill scream came from beneath the water: "How did you see through it? Why wasn't there any hesitation? Do you truly believe you gambled correctly?"

"Because you lack the aura of a Heavenly Emperor. You are not of the same kind as me. A true Heavenly Emperor would never hesitate, leave behind a future self, or harbor obsessions. If I were a Heavenly Emperor, how could I possibly believe in 'strength in the next life'? I would believe in my own invincibility in this life, never entrusting it to a future self. In this life, with me, there is no equal!"

Chu Feng stated coldly, rebuking the figure.

He continued, "You lack that grand spirit. Regardless of whether reincarnation exists, a true Heavenly Emperor wouldn't care. They would only value their present self, believing they are destined to walk alone through all ages, past and future. How could they be as weak as you, leaving behind some 'Dao Fruit of a past life'? You don't match my 'Chu Ultimate' aura. If there truly were a past me, I would possess the might to swallow the world, capable of severing past and present with my physical body. But you are far too wishy-washy!"

Damn it!

The creature beneath the water was furious, having been rendered utterly worthless, as if unworthy even to carry a Heavenly Emperor's shoes. He was so enraged he nearly vomited blood and wanted to strike with lethal force.

But his peculiar state rendered him willing but unable; he was confined there, and the few runes and rules he could release were shattered and dispersed by the stone jar.

Furthermore, Chu Feng gave him no more chances to speak. The stone jar in his hand violently plunged underwater, constantly vibrating. He had already discerned that the glowing stone jar was in a special state, making it perfectly suited for suppressing and killing malevolent entities.

"Don't you want to see the secrets of your past life? This is the Sea of Reincarnation, where bronze coffins appear. You might have an inseparable, intimate connection with certain individuals."

An urgent voice came from beneath the water. The creature trembled, fearing annihilation, because the aura emanating from the stone jar was too terrifying, seeming specifically designed to target and restrain its kind.

"Everything was your manipulation. Why would I believe you!" Chu Feng said coldly.

The stone jar grew increasingly brilliant, like a small sun, threatening to evaporate the Sea of Reincarnation.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't evaporating but absorbing the essence of the water, the crystalline, dazzling liquid, into the mountain and terrain diagrams on the stone jar, forming a puddle there.

Chu Feng immediately gasped. He was stunned. Could it be that the so-called special topographical maps on the stone jar were all absorbed in the past?

According to what he had learned since entering the Yang Realm, such topographical maps could even obliterate the strongest old monsters in the Yang Realm, which was precisely why famous mountains and great rivers were extremely dangerous.

They could kill Grand Universes, destroy Fallen Immortal Kings, and so on; they were truly boundlessly perilous!

And now, the topographical map had another mark: the Sea of Reincarnation, another perilous land!

The water level dropped, revealing an earthenware jar with a creature sealed inside.

At this moment, the stone jar automatically detached from Chu Feng's hand, plummeting downward. With a crash, it shattered the earthenware jar, as if breaking open a vast and boundless great world.

The heavens and earth outside seemed on the verge of destruction; that aura was too terrifying.

At the crucial moment, the mountain and terrain map reappeared, once again covering the area and stabilizing everything.

"Ah..."

A ball of dark light shot out from the shattered earthenware jar, wailing piteously, trying to break free. However, it was ultimately incinerated by the light emanating from the stone jar, gradually dimming, on the verge of disintegrating and vanishing into thin air.

"No, I am the Dark Heavenly Son! How could I die? One day, I shall see the light again, descend upon the mortal realm once more, look down upon all worlds, with all beings prostrating themselves, trampling over heaven and earth! What kind of energy is this? What kind of jar is this? Ah, no!" he shrieked, but grew increasingly weak.

At the same time, it was clear that he was terrified, panicked, and utterly afraid, as if he had witnessed something profoundly horrifying.

Within the disintegrating dark light, a creature's face emerged, staring intensely at the stone jar, filled with terror. In its dying moments, it had a sudden realization.

"I was deceived, made into a whetstone! The creature hiding by the Soul River, it was lying to me! This was never my destined tribulation! It used me as bait to counter a glimpse of truth it saw, to contend with that weapon! How pathetic I am! I am the Dark Heavenly Son!"

Chu Feng was astonished upon hearing this. Could someone truly see a corner of the future and calmly prepare for it?!

Especially upon hearing the words "Soul River," his ears buzzed. He felt the problem was far too serious, that things had escalated significantly.

Because he had already learned, from the black dog, that Heavenly Emperors had fought their way to the Soul River, paying a heavy price to enter.

Furthermore, and most critically, there was a secret in the deepest reaches of the Soul River's end that those individuals had missed. Even Heavenly Emperors hadn't discovered it, never truly reaching the ultimate destination; there was still a hidden final pass.

Even in an earlier era, the individual mentioned by Number Nine, who severed all heavens with a single sword and cut off all ages, had also overlooked that place. Though suspicious, they never excavated the Soul River's end.

"You, it was all of you! You truly treated me as bait! Seeing me imprisoned, you offered no rescue, deceiving me into waiting for some opportunity! I hate you!"

Within the dark light, the creature calling itself the Dark Heavenly Son roared.

At this moment, he saw a peculiar sight: after the bottom of the Sea of Reincarnation dried up, it gradually cracked, and then crystalline energy flowed out, spreading everywhere.

Finally, the crystalline energy intertwined, forming a path that rapidly spread and emanated wave after wave.

A very familiar aura. That path was too strange!

Chu Feng's pupils contracted. What did he sense? It was like the Path of Reincarnation!

However, this Path of Reincarnation was very special; it was composed of energy and emitted ripple after ripple, as if forming a net, with a deep channel at its center.

Faintly, he heard the sound of flowing river water, and also the wails of countless souls, extremely terrifying, making his scalp tingle.

"Soul River!" the Dark Heavenly Son cried out. His soul-light dimmed, disintegrating, about to vanish completely.

Those ripples spread from the bank of the Soul River, extending outwards along the entire Path of Reincarnation, as if exploring and perceiving everything here.

This was very much like the tangible ultrasonic waves emitted by bats, probing the way ahead and sensing unknown situations.

Chu Feng was horrified. He was seeing the Soul River so early. Were there beings resurrecting there? This was disastrous!

The stone jar glowed, like a beacon shining in the boundless mist, upon the dried-up Sea of Reincarnation. It chimed softly, vibrating, seemingly poised to suppress and kill towards the bank of the Soul River!