Fall of the Imperial Armament

The spirit of the Imperial Weapon hovered in the air, the radiant light of its glazed chalice body now dim.

It looked at the bottomless, massive abyss below; the foundation it had guarded for tens of thousands of years had been reduced to nothingness.

An indescribable emptiness and despair, like the coldest of frigid tides, completely submerged its spiritual core.

It was not sadness, nor was it anger, but a kind of... dead silence of utter hopelessness.

Existence itself no longer had any meaning.

What face did it have left to remain in this world? What face did it have to meet the Great Emperor who had once looked down upon the world and shone brightly through the ages?

In a daze, countless dusty fragments of memory flooded into its perception. Those were the eventful years it had followed Great Emperor Liuli—

Following the Great Emperor to cleanse the demonic aura, suppress turmoil, and carve out a pure land for the human race. It had once ventured deep into the edges of the forbidden zones, fighting with terrifying entities. The Emperor's blood had dyed the walls of the chalice red, yet its radiant glow had only grown stronger...

At that time, it shone with boundless light, bearing glory and purpose.

And now... what was it protecting?

Mountains of white bones! Pools of wailing blood!

A decaying patriarch who acquiesced to evil and lingered on his last breath! A filthy lineage that had tarnished all the glory of the Great Emperor!

Disgrace! An absolute disgrace!

This disgrace could only be slightly washed away by the most thorough destruction.

It slowly changed its direction. The mouth of the chalice no longer faced any existence, but pointed far towards the extreme north, to that terrifying forbidden zone shrouded in endless demonic clouds, where even the Great Emperor's campaigns had borne no fruit—the Godfall Ruins.

Since it was going to die, it might as well die with some value.

Since it had no face to exist in the world, it would return to... the place where it had first followed the Great Emperor in battle.

"Great Emperor, I am coming to find you!"

A thought fluctuation, so faint it was almost imperceptible, echoed like a final sigh within its own collapsing core.

There was no earth-shattering light, no metallic hum soaring with battle intent.

The Glazed World-Cleansing Chalice merely transformed into a dim yet incomparably resolute streak of light. Like a moth darting into the flame, or a weary bird returning to the forest, it silently and unhesitatingly charged toward that absolute death zone that devoured everything—the Godfall Ruins.

It was not going to battle; it was going to its death.

Rushing toward its end in a way it believed would best comfort the Great Emperor and best liberate itself.

Just at the moment that streak of light was about to tear through the void and escape to endlessly distant lands, Little Black, high in the sky, flashed a dark gleam in its cold pupils.

Its giant, scale-covered claw raised slightly, and an invisible sealing power instantly spread out, seemingly to intercept the death-bound Imperial Weapon.

In Little Black's eyes, this Imperial Weapon was made of extraordinary materials and might have other uses. Allowing it to destroy itself would be a pity.

However, just as this sealing power was about to close in, a calm and gentle voice clearly rang out deep within Little Black's mind. It was Gu Changge from the Purple Bamboo Peak:

"Little Black, let it be."

"Its heart is already dead, and its will is set. This is the end it has chosen for itself, and also its final answer to Great Emperor Liuli. Forcing it to stay is useless; let it go."

Hearing this, Little Black's raised giant claw paused slightly, and the sealing power filling the void instantly dissipated like a receding tide.

It glanced in the direction where the spirit of the Imperial Weapon had disappeared and let out a low hum, seemingly puzzled, but ultimately obeyed Gu Changge's will, slowly retracting its aura and no longer obstructing it.

That resolute streak of light, now free of obstacles, vanished from the spot in an instant, heading straight for the legendary forbidden zone of life.

The moment the dim streak of light formed by the spirit of the Imperial Weapon resolutely crashed into the Godfall Ruins forbidden zone, which was enshrouded in endless demonic clouds—

"Hmm?!"

"What is going on?!"

"That light is... the aura of the Glazed Chalice?!"

"Bastard! This venerable one was sleeping here, how did I provoke you?! Why are you charging straight into my forbidden zone?!"

Deep within the forbidden zone, several slumbering ancient wills were instantly alarmed, letting out roars of shock and fury.

They had thought they were just watching a fire from across the river, enjoying a spectacle, but never expected this fire to burn directly into their own lair!

"Roar—! A broken lamp dares to run wild here!?"

A Supreme Being of the forbidden zone, disturbed from its slumber, was the first to awaken. It let out an earth-shattering roar and reached out a giant claw covered in black scales, carrying monstrous baleful energy, grabbing directly at the seemingly tottering Glazed World-Cleansing Chalice!

"Clang!"

The spirit of the Imperial Weapon burned its remaining spirituality, erupting with a final burst of glazed immortal light, clashing head-on with that giant claw and producing a deafening boom!

The chalice's body shook violently, and its brilliance instantly dimmed by more than half; its already illusory figure almost completely dispersed.

"Hmph! The light of a firefly dares to compete with the bright moon!" the forbidden zone Supreme Being sneered, its voice shaking the Nine Netherworlds.

"Even if your master, Great Emperor Liuli, came in person, he could do nothing to us back then. Do you, a lingering weapon spirit, think you are worthy of seeking death here? Today, I will completely obliterate you!"

The light of the Imperial Weapon's spirit flickered uncertainly, having reached the point where its oil was exhausted and its lamp dead. That resolute will to die seemed so desolate in the face of an absolute gap in strength.

...

On the Purple Bamboo Peak, Gu Changge's hand holding his teacup paused slightly. His gaze seemed to pierce through the endless void, witnessing that despairing scene within the Godfall Ruins. He frowned imperceptibly.

"Its plight is pitiful. Since that is the case..." he muttered to himself, then formed his fingers into a sword and gently tapped through the air in the direction of the Godfall Ruins.

An invisible and intangible profound Dao rhythm, containing a trace of laws transcending this realm, crossed the boundaries of time and space and silently merged into the soon-to-be-extinguished Glazed World-Cleansing Chalice.

...

Within the Godfall Ruins, the savage smile of the forbidden zone Supreme Being, who was just about to deliver the final blow, suddenly froze on its face.

Because the Glazed World-Cleansing Chalice, which should have been extinguished, suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly resplendent light!

That light was pure, vast, and carried a supreme will to cleanse all evil and reshape the universe, as if a slumbering Emperor had completely awakened at this moment!

"What?! This is impossible!" the forbidden zone Supreme Being roared in terror.

"Great Emperor! Thank you... Your Excellency..."

The thoughts of the Imperial Weapon's spirit were filled with endless shock and a trace of understanding relief.

It did not choose to flee; instead, it compressed this sudden surge of power, which far exceeded its peak state, along with all of its own remaining spirituality to the absolute limit, and then... violently detonated!

"No—!"

That forbidden zone Supreme Being let out a despairing roar, wanting to escape, but was already completely swallowed by the purifying glazed divine light!

"BOOM!!!"

A ball of light, billions of times brighter than the sun, exploded deep within the Godfall Ruins. A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions, dispersing countless demonic clouds and shattering the earth, as if the apocalypse had descended!

When the light faded, only a void of chaos remained in its place, along with the mournful Dao scars left behind by the complete annihilation of a forbidden zone Supreme Being.

And the Glazed World-Cleansing Chalice had vanished without a trace. Only a few dim fragments of glaze remained to prove it had once existed, having dragged a great enemy to mutual destruction in the most heroic manner.

The Godfall Ruins fell into a deathly silence. The other Supreme Beings were all horrified, daring not to make any further moves for the time being.

On the Purple Bamboo Peak, Gu Changge slowly retracted his finger, as if he had merely done an insignificant little thing.

He murmured, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. In this way, your loyalty is fulfilled, and you have done right by Great Emperor Liuli."

Please wait a little longer, everyone. There will definitely be three chapters today. Thank you!