Chapter 217

Chapter 217: Golden Heart

Green Lotus Demon Emperor’s eyes were spiritless, fixed apathetically upon the man in black like a puppet’s gaze. His aura was profound, aloof.

"A mere avatar dares obstruct me?" The man in black’s voice was cold. "Had your true form descended, I might have held some caution. I grant you one breath. Withdraw. Lest I cease being lenient."

He appeared privy to certain secrets of the Burial Soil, aware that the Green Lotus Demon Emperor before him was but an incarnation, no longer a Great Emperor of the demon clan.

"This Daoist friend misunderstands," Green Lotus Demon Emperor said. "My presence here is not to bar your path to the destination, but to beseech you to convey a message to that individual."

"Speak," uttered the man in black lightly.

"Chaos approaches. A great change will sweep across all realms," Green Lotus Demon Emperor smiled. "Perhaps he and I might join forces against those beings dwelling above."

"Your words shall be relayed. Whether an alliance is forged lies not within my power to decide," the man in black retorted impatiently. "Now, clear the path."

"Please!"

As the Green Lotus Demon Emperor’s voice faded, the Green Lotus closed in upon itself and vanished from heaven and earth.

The man in black moved as if flying, charging into the depths of the Burial Soil.

Rustle! Rustle rustle!

With each step, everything shifted. Rustles rustled incessantly to his ears.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "It prepares to break free too."

He looked down at the Burial Soil beneath him. It flowed with an unnerving speed, an eerie energy stirring awake. Coffin after coffin reemerged from the dust.

The man in black frowned.

"This entity’s continued existence is a blight upon the world. Yet the moment for its eradication has not arrived." Discarding distracting thoughts, he darted away.

The Burial Soil flowed. Emperors awakened.

This scene played out repeatedly across the Burial Soil.

The man in black paid it no mind. After the time it took a stick of incense to burn, he reached the very end of the Burial Soil. Here, chaotic tides surged. Ahead seemed blocked.

The man in black flicked his sleeve lightly. A wisp of power plunged into the chaos.

BOOM!

The chaotic tide parted, revealing a patch of land. The ground, cast from celestial bronze gold, was engraved with countless words in the language of innate gods. The sound of the Dao reverberated, echoing faintly through heaven and earth.

But the sound was profoundly terrifying. Exploding within his Purple Palace, it rendered his foundation brittle—truly a danger of merging with the Dao.

The man in black was prepared. Within his Purple Palace, a violet-gold divine talisman arose. Its brilliance radiated in all directions, coalescing into a violet-gold protective barrier shielding the Purple Palace.

He stepped onto the ground. The chaotic tide receded. Ornate pillars carved from stone came into view.

This appeared to be a palace, magnificent beyond measure.

The man in black walked deeper, arriving before an ancient hall. Its gate was tightly shut. Yet, despite ages without cleansing, it remained without a speck of dust.

Thump! Thump thump!

Suddenly, drum-like reverberations resounded from within the palace.

With each pulsation, heaven and earth shook violently.

Weng!

In the next instant, seals woven from countless innate divine patterns manifested upon the palace walls, endless and unfathomable, formed from innumerable intricate spell formations.

Boom!

Above the palace, a thunderclap exploded, revealing an enormous solitary eye. Its pupils were interwoven with heavenly divine patterns, exuding an overwhelming pressure of heavenly might.

Thud!

The man in black possessed no power to resist; he was forcibly pinned to his knees. The celestial gold beneath him shattered under the force, blood streaming freely from his wounds.

"Rebels! Rebels!" he roared hoarsely from his throat, eyes blazing with furious fire, as if he could tear the divine eye apart and devour it.

"The hour has not arrived. The seal remains intact," came a calm, resonant voice from the palace depths. Though measured in tone, it carried an undeniable note of command. "With your strength, you cannot break his seal. Retreat."

"Two days hence, marks the day of my emergence. Await my return peacefully," another directive followed.

"Your servant obeys!" The man in black kowtowed, then slowly rose to his feet, hesitating as if words strained against unspoken lips.

"My Lord," he finally spoke. "Your servant has met the human ancestor."

"In two days, he will come to the Yuan Realm. With the aid of the human ancestor, Your freedom is all but assured."

"Retire."

The voice from the palace paused briefly before issuing the command again.

The man in black’s gaze was heavy, yet stirred with profound emotion.

After millions of years imprisoned, his master could finally break the seal and reclaim his liberty.

Inside the palace…

A golden heart pulsed with vigorous life. Upon its surface were branded layer upon layer of heavenly divine patterns and innate divine patterns. Countless forces combined to bind this heart.

Moreover.

Dark-golden chains pierced through the very fabric of the golden heart, shackling it with unyielding finality.

Every sign indicated this heart was no ordinary thing.

The booming drumbeat from moments before? It was the sound of this heart’s own throbbing.

Crack!

Suddenly, one of the chains detached from the heart. The instant it fell away, the chain disintegrated into ash.

Forged of celestial gold, after aeons enacting the seal, its divine power was exhausted utterly, reducing it to mere dust.

With the shattering of that chain, the heart’s throbbing quickened slightly.

Not long after, one innate divine pattern was obliterated.

Then, a second innate divine pattern was obliterated…

After a stick of incense, the innate divine patterns were almost entirely obliterated, leaving only the three hundred sixty-five heavenly divine patterns still firmly suppressing the heart like stubborn parasites.

"Emperor’s Desolation, you are truly my greatest opponent in this life!"

From the heart came a burst of laughter.

"With such an opponent, my life is complete."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Clang!

Chains shattered and fell off at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The aura of the heart grew increasingly powerful.

Golden light pierced through the void, and within the heart, golden symbols, like eternal and indestructible, began to resist the heavenly divine patterns, and the destruction of the heavenly divine patterns accelerated.

This heart had already reached the state of eternal indestructibility.

Suppressed for tens of thousands of years, with great magic and powerful arrays unable to obliterate it, one could imagine how terrifying it was.

Boom!

This area of void trembled violently.

Chaos was destroyed, and heaven and earth were overturned.

"Just a single heart has the mighty power to shake heaven and earth; how strong was that person at their peak?"

In the Burial Soil, the Green Lotus Demon Emperor sensed the movement in the ancient palace, and his spirit was shaken.

"There are only two days left until his emergence day."

"Heh heh…"

"It’s getting more and more interesting."

…

Above the Godfall Ridge.

A mysterious eye slowly opened.

In its pupils, it held numerous heavenly divine patterns, and it was clearly of the same origin as the eye in the ancient palace, identical.

"The seal I set is nearing its final deadline."

This eye turned, seeming to see through the Godfall Ridge seal, and gazed at the golden heart in the palace.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the golden heart also stopped refining the heavenly divine patterns.

A golden eye appeared.

Two eyes traversed the spatial boundaries, across distant time and space, gazing at each other.

"Long time no see!"

Two streams of thoughts converged, with identical words.