All beneath the Heavenly Emperor are but ants.

"Kekeke..."

Gu Qingfeng laughed wildly as he watched his own projection attack him relentlessly, his joy akin to Zhu Bajie devouring a ginseng fruit.

"This is beyond satisfying—a projection with identical strength? That means this Emperor’s power can double!"

At his level of strength, even the slightest improvement was a rare and precious opportunity.

It was like world champions at their peak—no matter how hard they trained, they could only push their limits marginally.

Yet Gu Qingfeng had long since reached the pinnacle of this realm, ascending as the Heavenly Emperor. And it wasn’t just his cultivation—his Supreme Sin and Chaos Body were equally peerless. Doubling his strength now was nothing short of a heaven-defying leap.

The projection attacked without pause, shattering the void with every strike.

But Gu Qingfeng remained unmoved, like a deity seated high above the nine heavens, impervious to all evil.

Each torrent of violent force that struck him was absorbed and converted, vanishing like a stone sinking into the ocean.

Yet the projection was no pushover—its power of Supreme Sin seemed inexhaustible, as if every attack was merely scooping a ladle of water from an endless sea.

"So this Emperor is this... enduring?" Gu Qingfeng murmured to himself.

The longer it lasted, the happier he grew.

Ten days later...

The projection, like a perpetual motion machine, continued its frenzied assault—though its strength had visibly waned.

Another ten days passed.

Gu Qingfeng grew impatient. The damned projection was still going, relentless to the point where he couldn’t even spare time to have fun with Little Corpse Charm.

Too enduring. Too profound.

This was his first true realization of his own limits—never before had he faced an enemy that forced him to fight until exhaustion.

Turns out, he could battle endlessly without rest.

Of course, it made sense. The Chaos Body was the ultimate immortal physique, fused from a thousand constitutions and ten thousand bloodlines.

Supreme Sin was the collective evil of all living beings—an ocean of malice.

As for the demonic path? It had assimilated every dark faction in the Cangming Realm.

Any one of these alone held unfathomable depth, let alone all three combined.

Another ten days later.

The projection still fought. Gu Qingfeng, however, had fallen asleep—so bored that he’d mastered the skill of napping while being pummeled.

......

The end of the Emperor’s Path—also known as the sixth trial.

The Emperor’s Path had six trials: the Emperor’s Gate, the Emperor’s Sea (Weak Waters), the Emperor’s Forest (Forest of Sentience), the Emperor’s Abyss (Endless Abyss), the Emperor’s Shadow (Dark Projection), and finally—the Emperor’s War!

Yes, the sixth trial was the decisive battle to select the Heavenly Emperor.

All who cleared the first five trials would clash in this final showdown.

The victor would seize the Mandate of Heaven and ascend as the Heavenly Emperor!

Only the strongest could claim the title.

Those who walked the Emperor’s Path, tempered by the first five trials, emerged with their power, spirit, and will at their absolute peak.

And from them, the ultimate sovereign would be chosen.

Now, the end of the Emperor’s Path was crowded with figures.

Hundreds of Emperor Corpses stood there.

No—calling them "corpses" no longer fit. Perhaps they should be called... Heavenly Emperors.

Their auras had transformed, each now like a divine deity standing tall in the void, a far cry from their weakened states in the burial grounds.

Their blood energy surged like pillars to the heavens, immortal light swirling around them like radiant stars—manifestations of their former immortal physiques.

Boundless Dao rhythms pulsed from them, suppressing all other laws beneath their might.

These were the Heavenly Emperors of old—supreme beings who once dominated era after era, revered across the cosmos, their very presence crushing all opposition beneath their personal Dao.

Just standing together, their combined pressure made the Emperor’s Path tremble, time itself distorting under their overwhelming majesty.

They had long since cleared the Emperor’s Path, waiting at its end.

For quasi-Emperors, the trials were near-impossible. But for former Heavenly Emperors? It was as easy as breathing.

Had it not taken time to reclaim their immortal physiques and devour their projections to restore their Dao, they could’ve cleared the path in a month.

Reclaiming their Dao alone took over half a month, despite their hidden preparations and familiarity with their own power.

Suddenly, Emperor Qilin broke the silence. "Why hasn’t the Flaming Heavenly Emperor arrived yet? I’ve waited over half a month."

"With the Heaven-Slaying Plan imminent, he dares to keep us waiting? What arrogance," Soul Heavenly Emperor sneered.

"Patience," the Hundred Refinements Heavenly Emperor said calmly. "We’ve endured endless eons—what’s a little longer? The Flaming Heavenly Emperor didn’t enter the burial grounds like us. He underwent a hundred reincarnations. He’s likely still in seclusion, reclaiming his former power."

The Heavenly Emperors fell silent once more.

Three days later, their gazes snapped toward the darkness of the void.

"He’s coming!" one declared, his eyes sharp as divine blades.

"The Flaming Heavenly Emperor?" someone murmured.

A massive black hole tore open in the void, and a quasi-Emperor emerged.

His eyes blazed with lightning, his ancient black robes fluttering as his inky hair danced in the wind. A divine sword gleamed in his grip, his face alight with unshakable confidence.

His spirit, will, and power had all reached their zenith—his heart of invincibility forged.

This was Qingming Daoist, a rogue cultivator of the Cangming Realm—a prodigy who, without the backing of any imperial sect or immortal lineage, had reached quasi-Emperor status through sheer will and fortune.

When the Emperor’s Path opened, he’d joined without hesitation.

None had expected much of him. Yet here he was, the first quasi-Emperor to clear all five trials—a dark horse born in the wrong era.

Confident and proud, Qingming Daoist stepped from the black hole, certain that this era’s Heavenly Emperor would be him.

But then—

The moment he set foot at the end of the Emperor’s Path, his legs nearly gave out.

His freshly forged heart of invincibility shattered in less than a second at the sight before him.

"H-Heavenly... Heavenly Emperors?!" he stammered.

"And not just one?!"

The oppressive weight of their auras alone made the very laws of the universe tremble in submission.

"How is this possible?!"

When he recognized their faces, his shock turned to outright horror.

"The Leaf Heavenly Emperor! Soul Heavenly Emperor! Dao Heavenly Emperor! Qin Heavenly Emperor..."

These were names enshrined in the annals of imperial sects, their portraits worshipped for generations.

"An illusion! It must be!" Qingming Daoist nearly lost his mind. The scene was too insane to comprehend.

The Three Thousand Emperors and Kings of history were never meant to meet—it was an unbreakable rule of heaven itself. Yet here stood hundreds of Heavenly Emperors at once. How could this be anything but a hallucination?

Suddenly, Daoist Qingming’s face turned deathly pale. "Could it be... I’m still trapped in the Forest of Mortals?!"

"How tiresome."

The Soul Heavenly Emperor snorted coldly. With a casual wave of his hand, a wisp of ghostly light shot forth.

In an instant, Daoist Qingming was reduced to ashes, not even given the chance to scream.

The other Heavenly Emperors remained unmoved by the scene.

Only one female Heavenly Emperor let out a faint sigh. "Alas... blame the era you were born in."

Truth be told, a peerless prodigy—one who had reached the end of the Emperor’s Path as a rogue cultivator, with the potential to ascend as a Heavenly Emperor—was nothing more than an ant in their eyes.

Below the Heavenly Emperors, all were but insects.

They had sealed themselves within the Burial Grounds, clinging to life through the ages. By exploiting the unique nature of that cursed land, they usurped the authority of reincarnation, devouring countless souls to sustain themselves. Whatever humanity they once possessed had long since withered away.