paranoianovel Chapter 2157 Where is the Heavenly Emperor?
Chapter 2157 Where is the Heavenly Emperor?
With Chen Fei personally leading the expedition, he directly crushed the pursuing enemy army, and even the ministers who shouted the loudest were punished by Chen Fei later.
Since great power originates from oneself, Chen Fei naturally needs to ensure that his thoughts are clear and unobstructed.
The fourth illusion... the fifth illusion...
As the eighth illusionary world silently disintegrated into nothingness, Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu's consciousness did not sink into darkness for long before they were drawn by an even greater force into a world far exceeding the scale of all previous illusions.
Before the light and shadow before him had fully stabilized, Chen Fei already felt himself enveloped by an unprecedented surge of primordial energy. This energy was incomparably pure, carrying a vast and ethereal Daoist charm that was supremely clear and holy, capable of cleansing away all impurities.
Chen Fei gazed intently, and what came into view was no longer the palaces and pavilions of the mortal world, nor the blessed lands of cultivators, but a truly transcendent and magnificent immortal landscape.
The ground beneath my feet was paved with a strange material that was as warm and smooth as jade and had a faint golden shimmer. This ground stretched endlessly to the horizon.
In the distance, towering palaces, too magnificent to be imagined, float above the boundless sea of clouds, their golden gates and silver palaces adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, bathed in countless rays of light and auspicious colors.
Every tile and every pillar is forged from the finest celestial gold and divine jade, inscribed with intricate and profound innate Dao patterns, spontaneously absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, and exuding an aura of eternal immortality.
A celestial river hangs upside down, cascading from the endless distance, stretching across the heavens in a magnificent spectacle. Pavilions and towers appear and disappear amidst the wondrous peaks and beautiful waters, exuding an ethereal aura and a natural, divine charm.
"The ancient celestial court..."
Even with Chen Fei's resolute will, a slight ripple of emotion couldn't help but rise in his heart at this moment.
This is not the vague impression described in later legends, nor is it the broken walls and ruins left in the ruins. This is the ancient heavenly court where all the immortals came to pay homage, a true holy land of immortals, and one of the sources of the Great Dao.
However, this idyllic scene was shrouded in an indescribable somber atmosphere, losing its carefree, peaceful, and eternal charm.
In the distance, in the chaotic realm beyond the celestial palaces and temples, a vast and chaotic aura, like the rising tide of black seawater, slowly and steadily eroded and spread with a malice that chilled the soul.
Even though they were separated by an immeasurable distance, Chen Fei could sense that the rules of that region were groaning and twisting.
This is the eve of the final battle that determined the fate of all the heavens, before the ancient Heavenly Court was shattered. The air seemed to freeze, filled with an extreme sense of oppression, like the calm before a storm.
"This is... the ninth illusion."
Chen Fei silently recited in his mind, quickly receiving the fragments of information about his identity in this world bestowed upon him by the illusion.
An ancient celestial court's garrison legion guarding the outer perimeter of the South Heavenly Gate, and an ordinary fifteenth-rank celestial soldier.
Chen Fei looked down at himself, wearing a set of silver-white immortal armor that shimmered with a pale golden light. The armor was simple yet imposing, and he held a standard-issue long spear that gleamed silver throughout.
These immortal armor and spears are both fifteenth-tier divine weapons, which would be considered precious even in the outside world, but they are just standard equipment in the ancient Heavenly Court's garrison legion.
Chen Fei scanned his surroundings. At this moment, the square was densely packed with millions of figures, all dressed in silver-white immortal armor and holding standard weapons, just like him. Their auras were connected, and their murderous aura soared to the heavens.
These are all celestial guards, the weakest of whom are at least level 15, while a few who appear to be squad leaders or commanders have an aura that reaches level 16.
In front of the Heavenly Soldiers' formation, on a higher cloud platform, floated dozens of figures with even more unfathomable auras.
They were dressed in magnificent official robes or clad in divine general armor, each with an extraordinary bearing, surrounded by fragments of laws, and exuding a natural Daoist charm.
These were at least seventeenth-level Heavenly Generals, Star Lords, and Celestial Officials, some of whom possessed exceptionally powerful auras, reaching heights Chen Fei had never perceived before.
To the outside world, these are all powerful figures, but here, their faces are filled with solemnity.
Chen Fei's gaze swept past the numerous figures and quickly spotted that familiar, beautiful figure in a formation of celestial soldiers not far to his left.
Cao Feiyu.
At this moment, she was also wearing silver-white fairy armor. This military uniform did not conceal her stunning beauty, but instead added a touch of heroic spirit.
Her long, dark hair was tied back with a simple jade ring, revealing her smooth forehead and delicate profile. She held a silver celestial sword that matched her figure, standing tall and straight among the celestial soldiers.
But Chen Fei could clearly see that the knuckles of her slender hand gripping the sword hilt were slightly white from the force. Her beautiful eyes were anxiously peering over the crowd of figures towards Chen Fei.
She seemed to want to say something, to get closer, but the strict military discipline and the extremely tense atmosphere around her prevented her from making the slightest move; she could only convey her unease through her eyes.
Chen Fei nodded slightly to her, conveying a calm look. Despite being in this unprecedentedly grand scene and having his own power sealed, Chen Fei's state of mind remained largely undisturbed.
He turned his gaze toward the direction of the chaos that was being invaded by the overwhelming aura. The intensity of that destructive aura far exceeded Chen Fei's comprehension.
The terrifying beings contained within are likely the most powerful figures standing at the pinnacle of this universe, and there may even be more than one.
The mere pressure of that aura was enough to make the millions of heavenly soldiers in the square tremble in their souls, like ants facing a collapsing sky.
"After clearing the first eight illusionary worlds, the insights into the cultivation of the Tai Cang Realm given each time progressed from shallow to deep, involving resonance with laws, tempering of the primordial spirit, and even touching upon a trace of the origin of rules..." Chen Fei separated a wisp of his mind and sank into his sea of consciousness.
The insights that had automatically surfaced during his previous eight successful attempts were now piecing together in his mind like puzzle pieces, forming a cultivation scroll that led him straight to the peak of the Tai Cang Realm.
This insight is not about specific cultivation techniques, but rather about the Dao and principles governing the essence of power in the Tai Cang Realm. Its subtlety and profundity far surpass the inheritance of ordinary Tai Cang Realm cultivators, pointing directly to the origin.
"If we pass this level, based on the previous pattern, the insights gained from the reward for passing the level will most likely complete this final step, transferring all the complete insights into the cultivation of the Tai Cang Realm."
A thought flashed through Chen Fei's mind, and his gaze returned to the overwhelming momentum that was slowly approaching like a world-ending tide.
"But it's clear that this illusion level wasn't intended for anyone to pass."
The previous eight illusionary worlds, whether they were desperate battlefield situations, sieges by cultivators, or imperial coup attempts, were all life-or-death situations, but there was always a glimmer of hope. As long as a method was found, it was not impossible to break the deadlock.
But this ninth trial has thrown them directly to the front lines of the ancient Heavenly Court's shattered battlefield. They are facing a terrifying enemy capable of destroying the entire ancient Heavenly Court.
This is no longer a test.
If the conditions for passing this level exist, they definitely cannot be met by the power of a fifteenth-tier celestial soldier. The conventional approach of finding flaws within the illusion's rules will not work here.
Just as Chen Fei's mind was racing...
"Boom!"
It was not a sound, but a vibration that directly affected the deepest part of the souls of all living beings.
"puff!"
Almost at the instant this divine soul impact descended, the celestial soldier formation surrounding Chen Fei shook violently, as if a wheat field had been swept across by an invisible scythe.
More than 70% of the heavenly soldiers turned pale and coughed up a mouthful of pale golden blood. Their auras instantly weakened, their eyes became unfocused, and the light on their immortal armor dimmed considerably.
Even the sixteenth-rank squad leaders were shaken to their core.
The celestial officials and generals on the higher cloud platform, though they did not sway, all had slight changes in expression.
Where is the Heavenly Emperor?
Accompanied by that soul-shaking drumbeat, a grand and majestic voice, devoid of any emotion, came from the chaos at the edge of the universe, ignoring the barriers of space and time, and resounding directly in the sea of consciousness of every living being present.
This voice was not an inquiry, but rather a declaration, a judgment, a provocation and contempt for supreme authority.
Chen Fei himself felt a sudden jolt in his sea of consciousness the instant the sound rang out. The power that directly affected his soul attempted to shake his spiritual platform and disrupt his consciousness.
His gaze quickly swept towards Cao Feiyu's direction.
The moment the divine soul impact struck, Cao Feiyu's delicate body was as if struck by a heavy hammer. She swayed violently, and the silver immortal sword in her hand fell to the ground with a clang.
She covered her forehead tightly with one hand, and faint golden light escaped from between her fingers. Cao Feiyu bit her lower lip so hard that it even bled, but she didn't cry out in pain. However, her body convulsed slightly uncontrollably.
"Where is the Heavenly Emperor?!"
That voice, filled with destructive intent, still echoed in the realm of the soul, like a death knell. With each toll, more heavenly soldiers could not hold on and collapsed to the ground, their immortal souls dimming.
High above, the leaden clouds pressed down even lower, as if the sky itself were about to collapse. In the distance, the overwhelming force seemed to have accelerated its erosion.
Chen Fei's gaze was sharp as a knife, piercing through the chaotic formation of heavenly soldiers and the oppressive leaden clouds, looking down upon this world.
"This war that shattered the Heavenly Court... the illusion could evolve to such an extent, I really want to see what exactly happened back then!"
Chen Fei was indeed eager to see, not out of boredom or curiosity, but because it involved one of the greatest secrets of ancient times: why the Heavenly Court was shattered.
If one could witness it firsthand, even if it were a simulated illusion, one might glean some crucial information from it.
However, Chen Fei suppressed the thought as soon as it arose.
"The risk is too high, and the losses outweigh the gains."
Staying in this illusionary world will definitely lead to unexpected events, and most likely, fatal ones.
First of all, the ninth level is clearly designed to be a death trap.
Secondly, even if he could maintain a clear mind under the impact of this divine soul attack by relying on the Undying True Light Mirror, and even find a theoretical chance of survival by relying on his understanding of the rules of the illusion, Cao Feiyu could not.
Her spiritual senses are sealed, and she becomes fully immersed in the role, truly bearing all attacks and damage.
Finally, and most importantly, the trial itself is no longer normal. Starting from the eighth level, the malice and distortion of the illusion become increasingly apparent.
If they stay any longer, no one knows whether this illusion, tainted by demonic energy, will undergo even more bizarre and unpredictable changes.
Thinking of this, the Yuan Power belonging to the fifteenth-order Heavenly Soldier within Chen Fei's body suddenly began to circulate. Although its quality could not compare with his own power, at the Heavenly Soldier level, he used it to the finest degree.
The smooth, jade-like ground beneath his feet seemed to resonate with him in some way, trembling slightly.
The next instant, Chen Fei's figure transformed into a barely perceptible pale golden stream of light and appeared in front of Cao Feiyu.
Cao Feiyu hadn't fully recovered from the terrifying shock to her soul when she suddenly saw that familiar figure, like a mountain, blocking her path from the source of that terrifying pressure.
Then, a warm hand gently took hers.
The moment their palms touched, a warm and gentle current flowed from Chen Fei's palm into Cao Feiyu's body.
The warmth from her palm quickly dispelled the stinging pain and chill in her soul. Cao Feiyu's pale face, which had been furrowed in pain, relaxed slightly, and she subconsciously reached out and gripped that warm hand tightly.
However, Chen Fei's sudden action was nothing short of earth-shattering in the Heavenly Court's guard legion, which was so disciplined as to be almost rigid.
"Heavenly Soldier, what are you doing!"
A fierce shout, filled with shock and anger, rang out like a thunderclap not far behind Chen Fei. The voice belonged to a divine general clad in golden armor.
At this moment, he was staring intently at Chen Fei, his eyes filled with disbelief and raging fury. In his view, with a formidable enemy at hand and the army in full formation, how dare a mere celestial soldier abandon his post?
This is utterly disruptive to morale, a blatant disregard for military law, and a crime deserving of death.
That sharp shout seemed to have triggered some invisible switch.
The other heavenly soldiers, who were originally in chaos due to the impact on their souls, as well as the celestial officials and generals on the higher cloud platform who had originally had solemn expressions, now turned their heads slowly towards the location of Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu, like puppets on strings.
Countless gazes instantly focused on the two of them.
Those gazes were incredibly complex.
There was shock and anger, but more than that, there was a cold, numb gaze, even tinged with a strange and sinister quality.
With countless eyes focused on it, the surrounding environment underwent some indescribable change.
The ancient celestial court scene, which had been oppressive yet still ethereal, seemed to begin to distort in that instant.
The celestial palace still floated in the air, but the carved patterns on the pillars no longer looked auspicious; instead, they resembled some kind of cursed runes. The Milky Way still flowed, but the starlit waters had a murky, dark red hue, like diluted blood.
Although the Heavenly Court before them had not yet been destroyed, a sinister and eerie aura, filled with resentment and despair, was spreading from nowhere, silently permeating this sacred land of immortals.
It was as if all the resentment and unwillingness accumulated by the Heavenly Court itself at the moment of its shattering had traveled through time and space ahead of time, descended here, and concentrated on Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu.
The two of them seemed to become a discordant point in this soon-to-be-shattered glory, a target that attracted all negative emotions and malice.
"Chen Fei, you...you quickly go back to your position." Cao Feiyu also felt this strange and terrifying change. The countless cold gazes made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
Chen Fei did not let go of Cao Feiyu's hand; instead, she gripped it even tighter.
He raised his head, calmly meeting the countless cold and eerie gazes, sweeping over the dimly colored Celestial Palace and the Milky Way, feeling the sinister aura permeating the air, as if countless wronged souls were weeping in his ears.
A faint smile slowly curved the corners of Chen Fei's lips.
When he deviates from the script set by the illusion and instead makes unusual moves, the illusion's final mask is completely torn off.
It no longer disguises itself as a trial, but directly reveals its ferocious nature, wanting to completely devour and assimilate the intruders.
"I just don't want to watch their performances anymore."
These words, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirred up ripples. Those cold, scrutinizing gazes instantly became even more vicious.
But Chen Fei seemed oblivious.
Eight illusions, eight life-or-death trials, and eight profound insights.
These insights were icing on the cake for Chen Fei himself, but for Cao Feiyu, they laid the foundation for the Dao of the Tai Cang Realm and even allowed her to glimpse an unparalleled opportunity to reach an even higher realm.
For this opportunity, and also to observe, test, and analyze the operating mechanism, power nodes, and most critical weaknesses of this vast illusion in each level.
By now, Chen Fei had long since seen through the underlying structure of the illusion, the framework that supported everything.
Chen Fei stretched out his left hand, and in his open palm, a golden-red star that seemed capable of devouring all light suddenly lit up.
This light came from the spatial grid; it was a strike that Chen Fei had deliberately saved.
There was no deafening roar, no dazzling light.
There is only one kind of ultimate stillness.
It was as if sound, light, and even time itself were swallowed up and frozen the instant that glimmer of light appeared.
"Buzz!"
At this moment, the entire ancient celestial realm, like fragile glass thrown with a boulder, trembled and wailed wildly from the most basic level of its rules.
The sky was distorted, the celestial palace was swaying, the Milky Way was reversed, and the auspicious clouds were scattered.
Those "immortals" who were glaring angrily at Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu instantly froze, their faces contorted with cold, twisted expressions.
The entire world was silent except for the ever-expanding dark light in Chen Fei's palm; it was frozen in a deathly stillness.
But this solidification lasted for less than a breath.
"Crack!"
A deafening, earth-shattering sound erupted without warning from the highest point of the sky, where leaden clouds hung low.
Immediately afterward, under the empty, dull gazes of all the "immortals and gods," an unimaginably huge crack suddenly appeared from the very center of the sky.
The entire sky of the ancient celestial realm was instantly split in two.
Beyond the crack lies not a starry sky, nor nothingness, but a chaotic current of ever-changing, bizarre and surreal phenomena. It is the most fundamental nature of the rules and the turbulent flow of energy exposed after the illusion's structure was violently torn apart.
"Boom!"
Only then did the earth-shattering roar arrive, like a belated thunderclap.
The cracks spread and devoured every corner of this illusory world at a visible speed.
Wherever it passed, whether it was a celestial palace, a surging sea of clouds, or even the stiff, motionless figures of "immortals and gods," everything was like a shattered reflection in a mirror, cracked inch by inch.
The grandeur of the ancient Heavenly Court, the oppressive atmosphere of the war that annihilated the world, the majesty of the immortals and gods, the ferocity of resentment... all of these appear so fragile and so vulnerable in the face of this enormous rift that runs through heaven and earth.
The illusion is beginning to crumble.
The cycle of reincarnation is about to end!
"No!"
Just as the enormous rift that pierced the heavens and the earth was spreading wildly, a shrill, piercing, and extremely venomous scream suddenly erupted from every corner of the illusionary world, from the stiff and broken figures of the "immortals and gods".
The sound was not human speech; it was more like a pure howl filled with endless hatred.
I hate that the sky is not high enough, that the earth is not thick enough, that the gods and immortals are incompetent, that glory is fleeting, that all things are worthless, and that all life and existence are meaningless.
It was formless and intangible, yet omnipresent, like the most filthy tide, instantly engulfing the entire collapsing illusionary space.
The moment the rift that tore through the sky appeared and the world began to crumble, Cao Feiyu was plunged into immense shock and bewilderment.
But as the illusionary world crumbled at an accelerated pace, the bewilderment in Cao Feiyu's eyes began to fade.
The fragmented yet incredibly realistic scenes from the previous eight illusions surged into her consciousness like a flood breaking through a dam.
It was the figure who shielded her from arrows and fought valiantly in the desperate battlefield. It was the resolute cry of "I'll carry this out!" amidst the encirclement of cultivators. It was the warm and unwavering hand that pulled her back from the brink of death before the white silk draped over the palace walls…
Eight worlds, eight reincarnations, eight desperate situations, and eight memories of being protected by him surged forth like a tide, impacting her consciousness that was clouded by illusions.
The illusion is fake, the identity is fake, and the scenes experienced are fake.
But the thrill, peace of mind, and reliance she felt when he protected her, saved her, and made a firm choice for her in that desperate situation were real, deeply imprinted on her soul, and could not be erased.
“Chen… Fei…” Cao Feiyu murmured the name unconsciously. The confusion in her eyes receded like the tide, and a clear and bright light, like the sun breaking through the clouds, suddenly lit up and bloomed in the depths of her eyes.
Cao Feiyu stared blankly at Chen Fei's calm profile beside her, and tightly grasped Chen Fei's hand.
"boom!"
A louder, more muffled explosion than when the illusion collapsed suddenly rang out in her and Chen Fei's senses.
The bizarre and fantastical scene before them transformed into countless swirling specks of light. (End of Chapter)