The Secret of Heaven and Earth

Gu Changge shook his head and continued forward, like a tourist who had wandered in by mistake, observing the scenery here. Before he knew it, he had arrived at the deepest part of a black palace.

He looked at a massive black crystal coffin standing silently in the center of the hall, exuding a terrifying, heart-palpitating pressure.

Inside the coffin, a figure was sleeping soundly, surrounded by a dense aura of death and annihilation, as if he had merged with this piece of heaven and earth, slumbering for eternal ages.

Gu Changge stopped in front of the coffin, tilted his head slightly, and seemed to be thinking.

"Would it be impolite to wake him up directly..." he muttered softly to himself, his tone carrying a rare hint of hesitation.

Just as he was pondering—

Inside the coffin, the eyelids of the slumbering figure suddenly twitched.

Immediately after, a pair of eyes that seemed to contain endless stars, yet carried the intent of eternal annihilation, slowly opened.

The consciousness of the Lord of Annihilation awakened from its long slumber. At first glance, he saw a white-clad figure standing before his coffin, looking down at him.

Their eyes met.

Lord of Annihilation: "???"

For the first time, clear bewilderment and astonishment appeared in his eternally unchanging eyes.

'An illusion? Have I slept for too long, causing my mind to wander?'

He subconsciously closed his eyes, focused his mind, dispelled distracting thoughts, and then slowly opened them again—

That white-clad figure was still there! Not only was he still there, but he even gave a slight nod and revealed a friendly (though to the Lord of Annihilation, it was incredibly terrifying) smile!

Lord of Annihilation: "!!!"

It wasn't an illusion! A living creature had actually entered?!

At this moment, this ancient existence who had once suppressed an era and looked down upon the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths felt a monstrous wave rise in his heart!

'How is this possible?! This place is protected by the Myriad Annihilations Returning to Origin Grand Array that I set up. It isolates heaven and earth, obscures heavenly secrets, and even a peak Quasi-Emperor would find it difficult to detect, let alone step inside!

'How did he get in?! Why didn't he trigger the slightest reaction from the grand array?! Why didn't he disturb my slumber?!'

He was horrified beyond belief in his heart, but on the surface, the majesty he had cultivated over eons allowed him to forcefully suppress his shaken mind.

"Intruding upon my slumbering grounds, do you... know your crime?"

A cold, hoarse voice that seemed to come from ancient times rang out, carrying a soul-trembling majesty and an endless aura of deathly stillness.

At the same time, an invisible, terrifying pressure capable of instantly crushing the spine of a Holy Lord crashed down toward Gu Changge like a mountain weighing billions of tons!

This was the majesty of a former Great Emperor. Even after slumbering for eons, it still allowed no desecration!

However—

Facing this terrifying pressure that was enough to make heaven and earth change color, not even a corner of Gu Changge's clothes fluttered.

He seemed to feel absolutely no pressure at all, merely letting out a somewhat helpless sigh.

"As expected, disturbing someone's sleep easily makes them angry."

He raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and gently tapped the invisible, terrifying pressure capable of crushing stars ahead of him.

There was no earth-shattering collision, no light of intertwining laws.

That vast and boundless imperial might, enough to make a Quasi-Emperor kneel, silently dissipated like a popped bubble the moment it touched Gu Changge's fingertip.

As if it had never existed.

Lord of Annihilation: "!!!"

Inside the coffin, the ancient figure suddenly sat up! His star-like eyes were filled with unbelievable horror!

The imperial might he had released with all his strength was actually... shattered by a mere tap from the other party so effortlessly?!

This was not a confrontation, not a cancellation, but a complete... erasure!

A fear originating from the depths of his soul instantly seized this Emperor from ancient times!

"You... just who are you?!"

For the first time, his voice carried an undisguisable tremble and terror. Back in the day, he was also a Great Emperor who suppressed an era and looked down upon the world, although he had severed a piece of his own dao to eke out a living and retreated into a forbidden zone.

But in this era where no Great Emperors emerged, the forbidden zones were invincible existences! When had he ever thought there would be a day he would be so easily crushed by someone?!

Gu Changge looked at his shocked and flustered appearance, smiled helplessly again, and kept his tone peaceful:

"Just a passerby who wants to ask you about something."

His voice was very calm, but falling into the ears of the Lord of Annihilation, it was like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens!

He stared fixedly at Gu Changge, as if wanting to see through him. This seemingly ordinary existence before him possessed a level of terror that had completely exceeded his realm of understanding.

In the face of such an absolute disparity in strength, any concealment and resistance seemed meaningless.

After a long while, the Lord of Annihilation took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the stormy waves in his heart, and spoke with a dry voice:

"What... do you want to ask?"

Gu Changge ignored his emotional fluctuations and asked directly, "In the ancient era, although the Emperor's Path was difficult, there were eventually those who could reach the summit and grasp the Heaven's Mandate.

"However, for the past tens of thousands of years, no new Emperor has been born in this world. Even if there were stunningly brilliant individuals who touched the threshold of the Emperor Realm, they ultimately fell short. They either died and had their dao vanish, or they stopped before the Emperor's Pass, unable to advance an inch."

Gu Changge's gaze seemed to pierce through the eternal space and time, falling upon the trembling soul of the Lord of Annihilation. "You have slumbered here for eternal ages, stealing the remnant rhythms of heaven and earth to delay your dao's decline.

"Do you know what exactly happened in this heaven and earth, and why its origin source has been draining away?"

His question pointed straight to the core, concerning the greatest secret of this world!

Upon hearing this, the Lord of Annihilation felt a monstrous wave surge amidst his immense shock and fear!

'He... he actually asked about this?! Just who is he?! Why would he care about the severing of the Emperor's Path?! Could it be that he...'

Countless thoughts flashed madly through the consciousness of the Lord of Annihilation. He forcefully suppressed the trembling of his divine soul, and his voice, carrying an unprecedented solemnity and an imperceptible trace of fear, transmitted through the palace:

"You... just who are you, sir? Why are you inquiring about such a taboo secret?!"

Gu Changge's expression remained unchanged. He merely looked quietly in the direction of the palace without speaking, but that calm gaze brought an unimaginably immense pressure to the Lord of Annihilation, as if he didn't answer, he and this palace would be completely erased in the next moment!

Feeling that silent threat, which was far more terrifying than the overturning of heaven and earth, the Lord of Annihilation felt his divine soul turn cold. Not daring to hesitate or hide anything anymore, he hurriedly spoke:

"The severing of the Emperor's Path... this matter... this matter is indeed not natural!" His voice carried an uncontrollable dread and a trembling tone of reminiscing about the past. "At the end of the ancient era, there was an... indescribable upheaval!

"It was not a great war, nor a great calamity, but a kind of... a kind of extraction! A kind of stripping!"

The Lord of Annihilation's voice became strained. "It was as if there was an invisible giant mouth from an unknowable place, continuously... devouring and extracting the origin source of this heaven and earth! It wasn't spiritual energy, but the deeper... dao foundation! It was the Heaven's Mandate and Good Fortune that supported the birth of the Emperor Realm!

"It was precisely since then that although heaven and earth seemed the same on the outside, its inside was already... already riddled with holes, like a hollowed-out giant tree!

No matter how astonishingly talented the latecomers may be, they are but trees without roots, unable to bear the heavy burden of the Emperor's Throne! To force such a thing will not only result in failure, but will instead accelerate the collapse of one's own Dao, and might even... attract ominous horrors!

Wishing everyone a happy Double Festival, let's party hard during this eight-day holiday!!!