Xu Zimo steadied himself, staring at the position of the gate.
A vast and mighty imperial pressure spread out from within.
In that moment, heaven and earth fell silent.
Countless towering figures stepped out from the seal, walking through the air.
Each of these figures seemed capable of suppressing all realms, sweeping through the desolate cosmos, walking out from ancient times.
The world was deathly still.
Endless Imperial Might descended and suppressed the land.
These were the seals left by successive Grand Emperors. Not even Xu Zimo, let alone Paimon, could break through them.
Unless Paimon forcibly broke through the tenth meridian gate, only then might it be possible.
The figures in the sky radiated overwhelming imperial might.
Each one of these shadows represented a Grand Emperor.
Some carried curved blades on their backs, with blade prisons like seas, flooding the skies.
Some traversed the river of time, walking through countless epochs, moving within the threads of fate.
Some were separated between immortality and mortality, desperately seeking the path to eternal life, their Imperial Might surging to the heavens, challenging the sky itself.
Some could turn a glance into ten thousand years.
Some suppressed multiple eras, incomparably domineering.
Some refined pills like frying beans; others exhaled a single breath and birthed endless formations in the cycle of reincarnation.
San Dao, Time Emperor, Mortal Emperor, Shen Ri, Invincible Emperor, even Zhen Wu...
At this moment, standing in the skies were all the Grand Emperors since the Imperial Era began.
Each had left behind their suppressive power in the seal.
To break the seal was to defy an entire epoch.
Xu Zimo looked up. These shadows had no consciousness.
But their imperial might still roared down, pressing him to the point he could barely breathe.
...
Above the Demon-Slaying Ridge, the demonic aura had now been driven away, replaced entirely by the Grand Emperor’s pressure.
This collective imperial power was even comparable to the will of heaven itself.
All living beings in the Primordial Heartlands could sense this might.
Especially the imperial lineages. With the emergence of this Grand Emperor's aura, the relics once left behind by the Grand Emperors in their lineages also reacted.
No matter who they were, even old monsters who had lived for countless years, could only stare in shock at the scene before them.
“What’s going on?”
“Is a Grand Emperor descending? Why is there suddenly such a strong Imperial Might?”
People were talking in confusion. Some had already dropped to their knees in worship.
Xu Zimo stared at the gathered Grand Emperors.
They too looked back at him with awe-inspiring power.
The infernal force of the Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique surged even more violently. Inside Xu Zimo, his spiritforce rumbled like a roaring sea.
He tried to stand, but the seal left by the Grand Emperors suppressed him completely.
Even with golden blood flowing in reverse and golden bones cracking loudly, Xu Zimo still struggled to rise.
“So what if you're Grand Emperors? Since I’ve been reborn in this life, I’ll crush every obstacle in my way!” Xu Zimo roared. “Being a Grand Emperor is just a realm in cultivation, not invincible, so how can you stop me? I don’t fear even the damned heavens, so why would I fear you?!”
Behind Xu Zimo, a cerulean planet slowly rose into the air.
This was his True Fate.
It had been a long time since Xu Zimo had last summoned it.
When the cerulean planet appeared, Power of Creation surged around him.
Booming sounds echoed around the planet as the space around it collapsed under its overwhelming power.
The planet kept rising.
The so-called Imperial Might was forcibly dispersed, and Xu Zimo slowly stood up from the ground.
They say a Grand Emperor must not be humiliated.
At this moment, the figures in the sky seemed to sense the provocation and released even stronger, more intense Imperial Might.
But the cerulean planet remained completely unmoved.
It represented a true world.
And the power of a world was not something that even a Grand Emperor could rival, let alone these shadows.
With a thunderous boom, the Grand Emperor’s pressure above was completely crushed by the cerulean planet.
Xu Zimo stood tall, chest out, staring directly at the Grand Emperor shadows.
They were nothing.
“Void Spirit Monkey, come forth,” Xu Zimo called out.
From within the cerulean planet, a monkey clad in golden sacred armor flew out.
It stood over ten meters tall, covered in golden fur, eyes sharp and full of power.
It bared its teeth with a fierce expression.
Though it was called a monkey, it actually looked more like a gorilla.
Its body was massive, and upon appearing, it was completely unaffected by the Grand Emperor’s pressure above.
Because it was the Void Spirit Monkey, a being capable of traversing any sealed space.
An existence that could not be sealed.
Xu Zimo could resist the sealed power with his True Fate, but he still couldn’t break the seal.
“Take me inside,” Xu Zimo ordered.
The Void Spirit Monkey grabbed his right hand, and Xu Zimo felt a mysterious force enter his body.
Then, his body suddenly felt light, as if all the suppressive seal power around him had vanished.
He let out a breath of relief and retracted his True Fate.
Now free from the seal’s influence, Xu Zimo once again approached the gate.
Under the watch of countless Grand Emperors in the sky, he slowly pushed the door open.
With a creak, it was as if something ancient and hidden had been unlocked.
What greeted him was mystery.
The moment the door opened, endless demonic energy burst forth.
The aura howled more fiercely than ever.
At the end of his vision was a long staircase.
At the top of the stairs was a pentagonal platform, almost like an altar.
Aside from that, there was nothing behind the gate.
Xu Zimo climbed the steps, walking slowly toward the high platform.
With each step he took, he felt himself merging more and more with the world around him.
The higher he climbed, the more in tune he became with the surrounding space.
Finally, as he reached the top of the platform, his entire being had fused into the void.
The feeling was surreal.
From above the stairs, it seemed as if the platform was empty.
But when he stood upon it, his vision was consumed by darkness.
His body had shifted to another void.
It resembled a starless night sky, surrounded by darkness. Suddenly, from the darkness above, a door slowly opened.
Xu Zimo looked up. Behind that door was an endless storm of demonic energy, and countless shadows kneeling in submission.
“Infernal Archon Hellfire reporting!”
“Infernal Archon Nightmare reporting!”
“Wind Demon reporting!”
“First Vanguard of the Crimson Demon Army, Dream Demon, reporting!”
One voice after another echoed from the other side of the door.
Then came a thunderous roar.
“We greet our Lord. One hundred and three thousand Ancient Demons of the Primordial Demon Cave welcome Your Majesty’s return!”
Xu Zimo looked up, and countless dark figures knelt before him.
Infernal energy roared around them, shaking the heavens.