Chapter 142: The Collapse of a Great World

Reaching the peak of the Worldbinder Realm had taken over three thousand years.

As for the Paragon Realm, there was no need to say more. By Caelum’s estimate, advancing through it would take tens of thousands of years at the very least.

"Perfect timing. I can take a look around The Infinite Realms."

As the State of Effortless Freedom steadily elevated his Realm, the Hidden Vault worlds within him continued evolving the power of countless Daos, pushing them ever closer to their ultimate limits.

His previous deductions had merely allowed him to gain mastery over the Myriad Daos.

To evolve them to their absolute extremes was an entirely different matter.

Once every Dao reached its ultimate limit, he would step into Dao Extremity.

There was no rushing such a thing.

It could only happen naturally.

Boom!

The moment he stepped out of the forbidden land, he heard the lament of heaven and earth.

A Great World had been shattered by war.

Countless living beings were reduced to ashes.

Endless lives vanished in silence.

Numerous Ascendants were caught in the catastrophe.

Forget Immortals. Even Immortal Kings had little chance of survival.

Only Immortal Emperors possessed enough power to protect themselves against a calamity of this scale.

Vastheaven World. Border of the Starsea.

Brilliant meteors streaked across the heavens, raining into Vastheaven World like a celestial storm.

Countless Ascendants looked on in horror.

Far beyond the horizon, the Starsea churned violently.

Even from the border of Vastheaven World, one could see entire regions of stars extinguishing as the sea of stars convulsed under the impact.

Boom!

The corpse of an Immortal crashed down among the falling stars.

The earth shook.

The world itself mourned.

An overwhelming grief arose within the hearts of countless observers.

"An Immortal’s corpse?!"

"What happened out there?!"

An Immortal King cast an immortal art to investigate.

A moment later, his face turned deathly pale.

He staggered backward several steps, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Deepheaven World has been destroyed!"

A Great World shattered.

Such a thing had not happened since the Primordial Age.

No matter the era, this was the highest order of catastrophe.

"The Imperial Calamity!"

Many Ascendants quickly realized the truth.

"So it couldn’t be avoided after all..."

The Age of Imperial Calamity had finally entered its peak.

The Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth had descended.

And the destruction of an entire Great World marked the beginning of its burial of this age.

Just as it had at the end of the Primordial Age.

Just as it had at the end of the Ancient Age.

Azuretide Immortal Emperor shuddered.

The horror in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

"So it truly is the Great Tribulation..."

He had known the Imperial Calamity was approaching its climax.

Even so, he had never imagined it would be this terrifying.

An entire Great World.

Destroyed just like that.

It was almost impossible to believe.

In the end, the destruction of Deepheaven World had originated from the matter of the Longevity Elixir.

No one could have predicted that it would become the spark that pushed the Imperial Calamity into its final stage.

Back when the Longevity Elixir had entered the Immortal King Realm, its innate Divine Power had already been capable of injuring Immortal Emperors.

No one expected that only three thousand years later, it would ascend to the Immortal Emperor Realm.

Nor was it alone.

Two of its fellow disciples had also broken through to the Immortal Emperor Realm.

Three Immortal Emperors from the same sect.

In the same era.

The very notion was absurd.

Their cultivation speed alone was shocking enough.

Yet each of them also possessed combat power that defied all reason.

No one could understand what kind of master could have produced such monsters.

One sect.

Three Immortal Emperors.

Seven Immortal Kings.

The thought itself was terrifying.

After becoming an emperor, the Longevity Elixir came to be known as the Longevity Immortal Emperor.

Based on the abilities displayed by the other two, one became known as the Oblivion Immortal Emperor, while the other earned the title Zahra Immortal Emperor.

The shattered remains of Deepheaven World drifted throughout the endless void of the Starsea.

Violent fluctuations continued to shake the cosmos.

Fragments of worlds occasionally drifted into the lingering shockwaves and were instantly obliterated.

"Cough..."

An old Daoist with a white beard sat cross-legged atop a fragment of a ruined world.

Blood stained the corner of his lips.

The destruction of the Great World had torn cracks across his Imperial body.

Fortunately, unlike Azuretide Immortal Emperor, whose injuries had damaged his very foundation, the old Daoist’s wounds would heal with a few tens of thousands of years of recovery.

His Dao title was Violetsun.

Thus, he was known as Violetsun Immortal Emperor.

Had he not been an Immortal Emperor, he would never have survived the destruction of the Great World.

He gazed into the Starsea.

The battle still raged.

The Longevity Immortal Emperor and the other two continued fighting against Immortal Emperors from across The Infinite Realms.

Three Immortal Emperors against dozens.

Though outnumbered, the trio held an overwhelming advantage in both cultivation and Divine Powers.

Their innate abilities were simply unreasonable.

Dozens of Immortal Emperors against three opponents, yet they were still gradually being pushed back.

It was utterly absurd.

The Longevity Immortal Emperor wore green robes and carried a solemn expression.

Even after such prolonged fighting, he showed neither fatigue nor injury.

It seemed as though he could battle until the end of time itself.

No matter how many enemies surrounded him, he remained unharmed.

The Oblivion Immortal Emperor wore black robes.

Among the three, he struck with the greatest ferocity and wielded the most destructive power.

He was also the primary culprit behind the destruction of Deepheaven World.

The Zahra Immortal Emperor remained hidden within boundless immortal light.

Her innate Divine Power flowed through the battlefield as ribbons of time itself.

Facing more than a dozen Immortal Emperors alone, she forced them to retreat repeatedly.

Not one dared touch those streams of temporal power.

Watching the battle, Violetsun Immortal Emperor felt as though he were dreaming.

He found it difficult to believe that Immortal Emperors could be this powerful.

He had never seen anything remotely comparable.

"Who exactly are these people?"

Some Immortal Emperors had attempted to trace their origins through imperial techniques.

Several had nearly died from the backlash.

After that, no one dared try again.

Thinking about it now, Violetsun Immortal Emperor finally understood.

These three were the very figures destined to drive the Imperial Calamity to its peak.

The karmic burden surrounding them was simply too immense.

Naturally, no one could uncover their origins.

Fortunately, Violetsun Immortal Emperor belonged to the faction trying to stop the fighting rather than seize the Longevity Elixir.

Otherwise, he too would currently be getting beaten down by those three.

Then his eyes suddenly widened.

At some point, a figure had appeared nearby.

Yet after examining him carefully, the man seemed entirely ordinary.

A mortal.

Violetsun Immortal Emperor immediately became vigilant.

Anyone capable of remaining unharmed in a place like this could never truly be a mortal.

The only explanation was that he could not perceive the man’s cultivation.

And that possibility was even more terrifying.

After all, there were very few beings left in existence whose depths an Immortal Emperor could not see through.

Caelum casually sat down on a nearby fragment of the ruined world.

With nothing pressing to do, he struck up a friendly conversation.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think of those three?"

"Longevity, Oblivion, and Zahra?"

"Indeed."

Violetsun Immortal Emperor replied without hesitation.

"Their cultivation is heaven shaking. Their Divine Powers are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Their combat strength is unparalleled."

"They are figures who will be remembered throughout history."

"With fortune of this magnitude, they are surely the destined bearers of this calamity."

Caelum smiled slightly.

"And do you think your side can stop them?"

"Perhaps if The Infinite Realms stopped treating them as incarnations of the Imperial Calamity, the disaster might simply pass on its own."

Violetsun Immortal Emperor froze.

Then realization flashed through his eyes.

"You mean..."

Caelum answered calmly.

"To put it another way, if you continue to treat them as the embodiment of the Imperial Calamity and regard them as enemies of all The Infinite Realms, then this Great Tribulation may very well escalate into a Boundless Tribulation."