Inside the Slumbering Emperor Coffin, the battle between Chu Kuangren and the endless hordes of ghouls and demons raged on.

There was no telling how much time had pa.s.sed since then.

Was it one month, or two months perhaps?

Chu Kuangren had lost track of time.

However, the more he fought, the more immersed and carried away he was. Throughout the process, his understanding of the Dao rose rapidly.

Within his subconsciousness, it was as if there was a barrier in front of him.

'Break it down!'

'Tear down that barrier!'

Every single thought and nerve inside Chu Kuangren's brain was yelling frantically, 'Break it down! Break it down!'

"This is bad. Is he going to reach the Emperor's Dao?!"

The Underworld G.o.d's willpower thought form had a slight change of expression.

He was not afraid of Chu Kuangren becoming an Emperor. After all, he could not even destroy the Slumbering Emperor Coffin nor kill the Underworld G.o.d even if he did.

However, the Underworld G.o.d was here to kill Chu Kuangren.

Yet, he ended up helping Chu Kuangren to become an Emperor instead. How could he bear to see this?

"Gate of the Underworld, close!"

The Underworld G.o.d's willpower thought form wanted to retract his divine power.

Seemingly aware of his thoughts, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from Chu Kuangren's back. Then, it manifested into a gigantic avatar that rushed towards the Gate of the Underworld, forcefully holding it open.

That avatar was incredibly powerful as it contained the energy of several Supreme Daoist Physiques. Even the power of Chu Kuangren's newly acquired Chaos Physique was within it as he had integrated it into his Almighty Avatar during the battle earlier.

The Underworld G.o.d's expression changed drastically. "This guy…"

Due to his opponent's Almighty Avatar, he could no longer shut the Gate of the Underworld completely. At the end of the day, he was only a willpower thought form, so there was no way he could control the divine power that well.

Besides, his true body was still sealed away.

"Come to me quick, you demons and ghouls. The more the merrier!"

Chu Kuangren laughed.

His Almighty Avatar brutally forced the Gate of the Underworld open, causing the countless ghouls and demons that were the Underworld G.o.d's soul energy manifestations to appear in hordes.

Chu Kuangren then rushed towards them and attacked.

The more he cast his Invincible Dao and Invincible Technique, the more perfect they became!

Crack…

A clear sound seemingly rang in the depths of Chu Kuangren's mind.

It was as if something had cracked.

The barrier!

It was the barrier that was blocking his path towards the Emperor's Dao!

"Out of my way!!"

Chu Kuangren let out a long roar as a loud explosion akin to a lightning strike rang in his mind. That barrier was instantly shattered into pieces!

An immeasurably dense Emperor's Aura emanated rapidly from him, causing the entire Slumbering Emperor Coffin to tremble!!

On this day, Chu Kuangren has affirmed his Dao inside that coffin!

Forbidden Barren Wastelands, in the land of black soil.

Known as a place of great misfortune, the land of black soil was the resting place of the Slumbering Emperor Coffin. Hence, everyone generally avoided that area.

However, the land of black soil started to quake today.

A terrifying ripple began to spread from the center of the land. Soon, the whole Emperor Road was affected by this ripple.

In that instant, the weather changed while the heavens and earth trembled!

Mysterious Daoist chimes echoed in the skies as various prosperous conjurations appeared. There were manifestations of golden lotuses, dragons and phoenixes flying, golden clouds spreading as far as a thousand kilometers, and many more.

All of the archaic ancient orthodoxies in the Emperor Road were startled.

"What's going on? Where did all these crazy conjurations come from?"

"By the heavens, has someone become an Emperor?"

"There's no way. The Emperor Mountain hasn't even opened yet. Who could become an Emperor now?"

"Where do all these conjurations come from? Why can't I even pinpoint its source?"

"Whatever that's causing these conjurations is undoubtedly terrifying. Even at our level, this is no longer within the realm we can perceive."

"The Emperors. This definitely has something to do with the Emperors."

The strong cultivators of every orthodoxy were alerted by this. All of them quickly rushed into the sky and mobilized their spiritual thoughts to do a quick sweep across Emperor Road.

Countless Sovereigns were trying to find out the source of all those conjurations.

However, no matter how hard they channeled their spiritual thoughts or looked through every nook and cranny within Emperor Road, none of them could determine the source of those conjurations.

The spatial fluctuations caused by those conjurations were so powerful that they were spread to every corner of Emperor Road, affecting countless beings and creatures. However, they could not accurately sense its source.

Far above in the Nine Heavens.

The Emperors had also noticed the spatial fluctuations.

"This aura… Has someone affirmed their Dao and become an Emperor?!"

"That can't be right. Emperor Mountain has yet to open. How can anyone affirm their Dao and become an Emperor at such a time? Hold on. If the Emperor Mountain is still closed, could it be…"

Some of the Emperors gasped upon recalling something.

Becoming an Emperor before the Emperor Mountain was opened…

There was only one way to achieve that.

That method was to affirm one's Dao through strength alone!

The process of affirming one's Dao through strength alone was an incredibly challenging one. Even during the archaic ancient times, not many had succeeded in doing it.

Let alone for the cultivators in this era.

'What kind of freak must he be to be able to affirm his Dao through strength alone?'

"Wait a second. Could it be that little guy?"

"The one that got rid of the demonic invasion?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Word says that this person has entered the Emperor Road since then. He has also caused quite a ruckus in there too, having offended several archaic ancient orthodoxies."

"It's impossible. There's no way it could be him."

During this time, an apathetic voice came from the vast universe beyond them.

The Emperors were shocked.

"It's Heavenly Imperial Yu."

"Heavenly Imperial Yu, were you disturbed by that Emperor's Aura too?"

The voice rang out once more. "The disaster that is the Slumbering Emperor Coffin was stopped by this person. But because of that, he was dragged into the Slumbering Emperor Coffin. It is too far-fetched to think that he actually affirmed his Dao and became an Emperor inside the Slumbering Emperor Coffin."

"I see. That's a shame, then. This person's talents can be considered unparalleled. If he becomes an Emperor, he'll undoubtedly have a great and bright future."

"That's right…"

The consciousness of the fellow Emperors continued to exchange conversations before dispersing for a while later.

The vast universe once again returned to the cold and dead silence.

Meanwhile, inside a palace somewhere deep in the universe.

An elderly man in long white robes suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze pierced through the dark universe, then the clouds, and eventually arrived at the Emperor Road.

"I can't believe someone has actually affirmed their Dao through strength alone in this era, and under such special circ.u.mstances as well. There seems to be an immense fortune swirling around that person's fate. Perhaps he might be the key to our salvation in the future."

"Chu Kuangren… This person is worth paying attention to, it seems."

Somewhere else.

Atop a gigantic asteroid floating in s.p.a.ce, a middle-aged man in long purplish-golden robes was gazing towards the Firmament Star.

A dubious light flashed across his eyes as he mumbled, "The Slumbering Emperor Coffin… Is this what you're up to, Chaos?"

At this time, a blood-red mist appeared thousands of kilometers away. It tore through the void and swiftly headed towards the Firmament Star.

The middle-aged man grunted as he unleashed an immeasurably powerful strand of golden Emperor qi, and his attack landed on that bundle of blood-red mist in the blink of an eye.

Amidst the collision, the blood-red mist let out a terrifying scream before it exploded like fireworks in the cold vastness of s.p.a.ce. The middle-aged man's strength qi continued sweeping across a thousand-kilometer radius, shattering countless asteroids in its path.

The cosmic wind produced from that attack blew through the middle-aged man's robes. His cold gaze turned toward somewhere else. Multiple bundles of b.l.o.o.d.y red lights sparkled from a far distance away with a treacherous intent.

"They're starting to act more and more frequently now. How annoying."

…

In the Emperor Road, an Emperor's Dao ripple that appeared out of nowhere has caused a great reaction throughout the Nine Heavens, the Three Realms, and even the territories beyond.

At this moment, another great commotion occurred in the Emperor Road once again.

The Emperor Mountain that was shrouded in golden mists seemed affected by the sudden Emperor's Dao ripple as the golden mists started to disperse. The Emperor Mountain was appearing ahead of time!

For a moment, countless archaic ancient orthodoxies were shocked while all of their sky-prides looked towards the Emperor Mountain with great excitement.

Everyone knew that their opportunity to become an Emperor had arrived!

He's referring to the Chaos Daoist Celestial.

Referring to the normal world, demon realm, and Emperor Road