The Fall of the Supreme

Under that absolute pressure—enough to drive any living creature to the brink of madness—the Great Emperor of Annihilation and Little Black remained strangely calm.

The Great Emperor of Annihilation merely raised the hand that had been casually carrying a certain Supreme of the Sea of Samsara.

That Supreme’s aura had long since weakened to the extreme. He hung there like a dead dog, his lifeline clutched in the emperor’s grasp.

He no longer even had the strength to struggle. Only endless fear and hatred remained in his eyes.

Little Black tilted his head slightly, his golden eyes sweeping over the figures in the heavens above.

There was not the slightest trace of fear in his sharp gaze. Instead, it held a gleam of eager anticipation!

“Heh.”

A soft scoff escaped Little Black’s nostrils.

“Take your own life?”

“Do you really think you’re qualified to say that? You’re nothing but a bunch of rotting corpses that should have been buried long ago, clinging to life by stealing the blood and vitality of all living beings!”

His gaze slowly lifted at last, passing over Ancient Emperor Lei Peng, the Radiant Tiger Emperor, and Ancient Emperor Tianming.

It swept over every Supreme whose aura was overwhelming, yet whose bodies could not conceal their deathly silence and decay.

“You stole the essence of Heaven and Earth, crippled yourselves, and hid away in those so-called forbidden zones.

“Like rats in a gutter, you waited for the revival of the world’s vitality before crawling out to gnaw on the living beings of later generations, prolonging those filthy, rotten lives of yours that should have ended long ago…”

Little Black’s words were like the sharpest blades, mercilessly exposing the nature these ancient Supremes least wanted mentioned.

“A bunch of withered bones from the grave—and you think you’re worthy of making this emperor take his own life?”

He shook his head, as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Boom—!”

Having been so thoroughly scorned and struck directly at their deepest wounds, the eighteen Supremes fell silent for an instant before erupting with fury and killing intent that soared into the heavens!

“On the verge of death, yet you still dare to spout such nonsense!”

“Tear them apart! Extract their imperial souls and burn them for all eternity!”

“Kill!”

The last trace of calm vanished from Ancient Emperor Lei Peng’s eyes. The other Supremes likewise boiled over with killing intent, their auras exploding forth.

The annihilating net that covered Heaven and Earth suddenly tightened, beginning to collapse inward and grind everything within it to dust!

The wails of Heaven and Earth grew even more intense. Space shattered inch by inch, while Yuan Tiangang, Xiao Ruobai, and the others below felt the pressure on their bodies surge.

It was as though an invisible millstone were crushing them. Even the radiance of their imperial weapons trembled violently, as if it might be extinguished in the very next moment!

Despair reached its peak at this instant!

The eighteen Supremes had attacked in fury. Their might was enough to flatten the entire Southern Region in an instant!

Yet just as this storm of destruction was about to descend completely—

the Great Emperor of Annihilation moved.

His gaze fell upon the Supreme of the Sea of Samsara, whose frail body he had been carrying so casually.

That Supreme had once been an ancient existence who looked down upon the eternal ages and ruled over reincarnation. Now, he hung there like a dead dog, his lifeline clutched in the emperor’s hand. Even his struggles had been reduced to instinctive, feeble spasms.

“No! Save me…”

The Supreme let out one final cry for help.

Then, under the nearly frozen perceptions of every Supreme above and every living being below, the five fingers of the Great Emperor of Annihilation, already clamped around the man’s throat, gently tightened.

“Pfft—!”

A muffled sound—not particularly earth-shaking, almost faint—came from within the body of the Supreme of the Sea of Samsara.

Then, beneath the horrified gazes of all the Supremes, their pupils contracting—

the body, soul, Dao fruit, and even the final trace of the ancient emperor’s imprint remaining in this world all began to dissolve beneath that seemingly casual squeeze from the Great Emperor of Annihilation.

It was like remnants of snow cast into a furnace of annihilation. In an instant, everything melted away, disintegrated, and returned to nothingness!

An intense source of life force and fragments of imperial laws, rich enough to seem almost solid, scattered from between the Great Emperor of Annihilation’s fingers like crushed fireflies, transforming into specks of shimmering light.

Before they could even touch the ground, they were completely devoured and purified by the invisible aura of annihilation surrounding him, leaving not the slightest trace behind.

An ancient Supreme—an unrivaled existence who had once shared the lifespan of Heaven and looked down upon an entire era—had fallen completely just like that.

His body and spirit were annihilated, as though he had never existed in this world at all.

It was as if the will of the Xuanhuang Great World had released an inaudible, relieved sigh.

These parasites that had stolen the essence of Heaven and Earth and lurked for countless ages should have been reduced to ashes long ago, returning to the embrace of the world.

All was silent!

Time itself seemed to freeze at this moment.

Everyone stared rigidly at the hand hanging casually at the Great Emperor of Annihilation’s side, and at the specks of light drifting from his fingertips.

Those were the final traces left behind after an ancient Supreme had been utterly obliterated.

After the silence came a shock as tremendous as collapsing mountains and surging seas!

“He just crushed him to death?”

Yuan Tiangang’s entire body trembled. The wail of the Demon Emperor Bell in his hand abruptly ceased, and his eyes were filled with disbelief and terror.

A Supreme—an existence who had once looked down upon the eternal ages—had been crushed so effortlessly, without even the slightest chance to struggle!

“Arrogant!”

The fury of the eighteen Supremes erupted after their brief moment of stunned silence!

Ancient Emperor Lei Peng’s eyes were scarlet with rage. The Radiant Tiger Emperor’s decaying holy light burned wildly around him, while the netherworld deathly aura of Ancient Emperor Tianming almost solidified into substance.

The fall of one Supreme did not make them afraid. Instead, it completely ignited their savagery!

“Kill! Tear him to pieces!”

The annihilating net tightened once more, even more violently than before. The aura of destruction nearly crushed the entire Southern Region to pieces!

Yet the Great Emperor of Annihilation remained calm, as though he had merely crushed a mosquito.

He raised his eyes toward the furious eighteen Supremes in the heavens and spoke indifferently:

“Take this battle beyond the heavens?”

The eighteen Supremes paused, hesitation flashing through their eyes.

Though they were bloodthirsty, they understood the importance of the Xuanhuang Continent.

If a death battle between an emperor and eighteen Supremes broke out here, the entire continent would inevitably shatter. Even the countless lives and vital essence they coveted would be reduced to ashes.

“Fine!”

The Golden Crow Ancient Emperor was the first to respond, his voice cold as iron.

“Then we’ll go beyond the heavens and kill you two irritating insects!”

The other Supremes nodded one after another. They were confident that, by joining forces, they could suppress and kill even a fully empowered Great Emperor.

“Go!”

With a low shout, the Great Emperor of Annihilation tore open the void first and transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward the chaos beyond the heavens.

Little Black spread his wings. The figure of the Golden-Winged Great Peng blotted out the sky and covered the earth, while his golden eyes swept over the eighteen Supremes, filled with battle intent.

“Let’s go. We’ll finish this quickly.”

The eighteen Supremes exchanged glances, suppressing their killing intent as they transformed into streaks of destructive light and followed the emperor into the rift in space.

One terrifying aura after another vanished from above the Southern Region, and the annihilating net that had covered Heaven and Earth dissipated with them.

The five patriarchs of the Azure Profound Sect watched the two depart, unable to set their minds at ease.

“Ruobai, the four of you will each wield an imperial weapon. Guard the Southern Region and protect the surviving inhabitants.”

Xiao Ruobai and the other three exchanged glances. Though their hearts were brimming with the desire to fight, they understood the gravity of the situation and bowed in unison.

“Understood!”

The five patriarchs withdrew their gazes, raised their imperial weapons, and shot into the sky. Five waves of supreme imperial might intertwined into a net, their imposing presence awe-inspiring.

The pressure over the Southern Region suddenly eased. Space that had been on the verge of shattering began to repair itself slowly, and the wails of Heaven and Earth gradually subsided.

Yuan Tiangang let out a long breath and collapsed onto the ground, his entire body already drenched in cold sweat.

Xiao Ruobai, three others, and Lao Huang stood shoulder to shoulder. The radiance of their four Supreme Imperial Weapons intertwined into a sturdy barrier of light, enveloping the central region of the Southern Domain and shielding the surviving living beings within.

They gazed at the slowly closing spatial rift in the sky, their eyes filled with resolve.

Beyond the heavens, the Great Emperors, patriarchs, and Supremes were locked in the ultimate battle—a confrontation that would determine the future of the Xuanhuang Great World.

Their mission was to defend this land, already scarred by endless suffering, and await news of victory.

The spatial rift finally closed completely, and relative peace returned to the Southern Domain.

Yet everyone understood that the true decisive battle had only just begun beyond the heavens.

Lao Huang, who had burned through most of his blood essence moments earlier, still looked weak. His head drooped as he glanced up at the imperial weapons held by the five patriarchs soaring into the sky, then lowered his gaze to his own empty hooves.

He next looked at the Supreme Imperial Weapons in the hands of Xiao Ruobai and the other three, his face full of grievance as he muttered, “So, all of you have an imperial weapon of your own, and I’m the only one without one? I burned all that blood essence for nothing!”