Chapter 350: Gold Emperor is Born! Seven-Color Bodhi Fruit! A Flash of Thirty Thousand Years

Chapter 350: The Golden Emperor Emerges! The Seven-Colored Bodhi Fruit! Thirty Thousand Years in a Flash!

[...]

Qin Feng’s gaze swept slowly across the long list of names shimmering with icy murderous intent, finally settling on the title at the very top—a name etched into his soul: The Golden Emperor.

The initial shock, like a pebble cast into a lake, rippled outward before quickly subsiding, replaced by a stillness as profound and undisturbed as an abyss.

He felt no anger, nor did he harbor fear.

At his current level of cultivation and state of mind, he had long since perceived the fundamental truths governing the cosmos.

"So that is how it is..."

Qin Feng whispered to himself, his voice sounding unnervingly clear in the cavernous grotto.

"A Golden Age... is this the way the Golden Age begins?"

He closed his eyes slowly, his thoughts racing like lightning, instantly weaving all the disparate threads together.

Since he stepped out of the Island of Dead Meteors, pioneered the "Divine Path," and forged his [Ultimate Body], the gaze of the cosmic will had shadowed him like a specter. From the initial public missions that pitted him against the hunt of sixty thousand marquises, to this very moment, where the entire Star Abyss was turned into a chessboard for a terminal trap encompassing countless powerhouses.

None of this was accidental.

The so-called Golden Age was not a gentle bestowal of fortune, but a brutal and highly efficient "culling" initiated by the universe to confront some unknown catastrophe or to achieve its own sublimation.

It would filter out the strongest beings of this era, concentrating all resources and destiny into the hands of a select few, or perhaps, a single "victor."

And he, Qin Feng, having embarked on an unprecedented "Ultimate Divine Path" with infinite potential, and possessing the terrifying combat power to slay kings while still a marquis, had undoubtedly become the most dazzling and uncontrollable variable in this grand culling.

The cosmic will possessed no independent emotions; it followed only the most fundamental laws of balance and evolution.

An "anomaly" like him must either prove his worth to lead the era through the harshest of trials, or be used as a whetstone to sharpen the true "Child of the Era."

Or, perhaps, he would simply be erased entirely in this grand experiment of "raising venomous insects."

The current trap was the first, and perhaps the most lethal, examination question tailored specifically for him by the cosmic will.

It had locked him and his greatest opportunity—the [Weeping Divine Metal]—together within this cage known as the Kurgan Star Abyss.

It had given him a seemingly impossible task: to refine one of the thirty-six divine metals, coveted even by emperors, within thirty thousand years.

Then, it sent out invitations to every powerhouse in the universe who held a grudge against him or possessed the qualifications to contend with him.

His life, along with all the treasures he carried, served as the ultimate prize for this bloody feast.

The Golden Emperor, that nemesis who viewed him as a mortal threat and sought to strangle him in his cradle, would naturally not miss this "officially sanctioned" opportunity for a kill.

The Sky-Plundering King, who had also embarked on the Divine Path and viewed him as fuel for his own enlightenment, would surely be stirred to action.

And the hundreds of names on that list, every one of them a notorious king within their respective races, either harbored blood feuds with humanity or simply coveted his inheritance and divine metal.

The cosmic will had used the simplest and most effective method to turn the entire universe against him.

"In thirty thousand years, when the restrictions are lifted, this place will become the most insane slaughterhouse in the cosmos."

Qin Feng’s analysis was cold and objective.

By then, the Golden Emperor would come, the Sky-Plundering King would come, and countless kings—even emperors awakened from hidden realms—might descend upon this place.

And if he had not yet succeeded in refining the divine metal to push his strength to a new peak, his only fate would be to be torn to shreds by an endless tide of powerhouses.

"However..."

A sharp, piercing light flashed in Qin Feng’s eyes.

"Risk and reward are always directly proportional."

His gaze fell upon the mission reward.

[Three Thousand Ancient Secret Arts].

These were no ordinary techniques.

The rewards from the cosmic will were never mundane.

When he completed the death-level mission years ago, the reward was the [Terminal Singularity], which forged his supreme foundation.

This time, the grade of the reward might not be as heaven-defying, but its value was exactly what he needed most at this moment.

Knowledge!

Massive, high-quality knowledge sufficient to support his sublimation from "Dao Seals" into "Laws"!

His greatest bottleneck in ascending to the rank of King lay in the accumulation of knowledge.

He needed to perfect his "Ultimate Dao" and solidify it into a unique law that would endure forever within the universe.

This required an unimaginable amount of calculation and reference material. The standard secret arts of the Holy Academy could no longer satisfy the demands of his Divine Path.

And these "Three Thousand Ancient Secret Arts" were, without a doubt, the fuel for his ascension, prepared specifically for him!

As long as he could complete this mission, the greatest obstacle on his path to becoming a King would be swept away in an instant!

"A high-stakes gamble."

Qin Feng exhaled a breath of stale air, and the last trace of gravity that had arisen from perceiving the full picture dissipated. In its place burned a roaring, fiery will to fight and resolve.

From the day he stepped onto the path of martial arts, his life had been one high-stakes gamble after another.

He was long accustomed to walking on the edge of a blade and surviving in desperate straits.

The cosmic will wanted to use this trap to test him, to erase him?

Then let it come!

He would like to see whether the trap it laid was harder, or if his own life was harder!

Besides, he had the Twin Masks to preserve his life; no one could kill him!

...

With his mind made up, Qin Feng wasted no more time.

He surveyed his surroundings; this natural grotto formed from the skull of a giant beast was undoubtedly the safest and most concealed place for seclusion in the entire Star Abyss.

The laws here were chaotic, capable of shielding him from the vast majority of probes.

His figure flickered to the deepest part of the grotto, and with a wave of his hand, he deployed several concealment and defensive formations powered by fragments of the [Ancient Luo Bell].

While they might not hold off a powerhouse of the Golden Emperor’s caliber, they would at least insulate him from initial disturbances.

Having done all this, he sat cross-legged and suspended the [Weeping Divine Metal] before him.

Gazing at this light of eternal sorrow from such close proximity, Qin Feng could feel the terrifying power contained within even more acutely.

It was not merely sorrow on the level of laws, but an embodiment of the "Dao" itself.

It seemed to be one of the concrete manifestations of the universe’s concept of "End."

"Thirty thousand years..."

Qin Feng’s brows furrowed slightly.

He began to carefully analyze the feasibility of refining the divine metal.

"This thing is fundamentally different in nature from the [Primordial Fire]."

His consciousness sank within himself, comparing it to the [Void Black Flame] within his Dao Seal.

When he refined the Void Black Flame, it had cost him forty thousand years, yet that was with the protection of the Weapon-Refining King and the Heavenly Cold Emperor, and with the flame itself possessing a certain innate sentience.

This so-called sentience refers to the cosmic wonder’s instinctual drive to seek out the host most suited to its nature.

Once it acknowledges a host, the refining process becomes less of a conquest and more of a fusion and an oath of fealty; all the host must do is guide it with their own Dao and resonate with its essence.

But the Weeping God-Gold has no mind.

Qin Feng’s pitch-black spiritual energy, like a thousand slender probes, touched the surface of the Weeping God-Gold with agonizing caution.

What returned was nothing but a cold, vast, and oceanic law of sorrow, paired with a material structure as indestructible and eternal as time itself.

It held no thought, no wisdom, only instinct.

To refine it, there was no room for trickery. The only path was to use a stronger, more domineering spiritual force and Dao seal to grind away its original imprint, bit by bit, until his own could be forcibly branded upon it.

The process was akin to using one’s own flesh and blood to polish the hardest diamond in existence.

Without the pitch-black quality of his spiritual energy, Qin Feng knew with absolute clarity that no King-ranked master could refine it—not in thirty thousand years, nor three hundred thousand, nor three million.

Ordinary spiritual energy, upon touching the Weeping God-Gold, would be instantly corrupted and eroded by the laws of sorrow contained within. Before refining could even begin, the practitioner’s own Dao heart would crumble.

Only his spiritual energy, forged through the Terminal Singularity, the Twin Masks, the Emperor’s Blessing, and countless brushes with death, possessed the absolute purity and all-consuming nature required to refine it without succumbing to corruption.

Even so...

Thirty thousand years is far too tight.

His spiritual sense calculated that at his current maximum speed, it would take at least fifty to sixty thousand years to fully refine this divine metal.

And that was in the most ideal of circumstances.

Time is not enough.

Qin Feng’s gaze grew heavy.

This was the dead knot tied by the will of the universe.

It had presented a problem that appeared solvable, yet was, in reality, impossible.

Was he truly to fail?

No!

The word "surrender" had never existed in Qin Feng’s lexicon.

There must be a way! There must be a way to accelerate this!

He forced himself to remain calm, his mind racing at an unprecedented speed, scouring every hidden card he possessed.

The Nine Tribulations War Canon? No, that was a divine art for amplifying combat power, offering no direct aid in refining external objects.

The Silver-White Body? That was a matter of the physical form; even less likely.

Just as Qin Feng’s thoughts reached a stalemate and his indomitable will was pushed to its absolute limit, a sound emerged.

Hum...

A faint, yet warm and sentient light flickered quietly from the subspace storage unit at his waist.

It was Xiao Qi!

Qin Feng understood in an instant. With a flick of his will, a delicate, palm-sized tree, flowing with seven-colored radiance, appeared before him.

It was the Seven-Colored Bodhi Tree—Xiao Qi—which had already ascended to the Domain Lord level and birthed a complete self-consciousness.

At this moment, the seven-colored halo on its trunk pulsed with frantic urgency. Its emerald leaves swayed gently, and a clear intent flowed through their soul link into Qin Feng’s mind.

It was a yearning to help.

Then, under Qin Feng’s astonished gaze, all the light from the tree’s body began to converge toward a single branch at its crown.

That branch grew dazzlingly bright at a visible rate, as if it were burning.

The surrounding void warped under the pressure of such pure, concentrated life and enlightenment energy.

Finally, all the light condensed into a single point.

A strange fruit, dreamlike and iridescent, covered in natural Dao patterns, appeared. Its mere scent brought clarity to the soul and a surge in one’s capacity for enlightenment.

The moment the fruit fully formed, the light on Xiao Qi dimmed instantly.

Its leaves grew withered, and its seven-colored halo flickered erratically; clearly, the creation of this fruit had exacted a heavy toll.

Master...

Xiao Qi’s crisp, weakened voice echoed in Qin Feng’s soul.

This is the Seven-Colored Bodhi Fruit. It is the first Dao-fruit I have condensed since my ascension, costing me nearly half of my origin essence. It... it may be able to help you.

The fruit, containing half of Xiao Qi’s life essence, drifted gently from the branch and floated before Qin Feng.

Qin Feng reached out, catching the fruit that still radiated a gentle warmth.

A sense of blood-bound connection surged from it. He could clearly feel the immense, pure power of enlightenment contained within.

Xiao Qi...

A wave of warmth washed over Qin Feng’s heart.

He looked at the withered Xiao Qi, his voice tinged with tenderness. You have worked hard.

To be able to help you, Master, is Xiao Qi’s honor.

Xiao Qi’s leaves rustled softly, filled with deep affection.

Qin Feng said nothing more.

He carefully returned Xiao Qi to the subspace storage unit, channeling a wisp of his own purest life essence into it to aid its recovery.

Only then did he turn his gaze back to the Seven-Colored Bodhi Fruit in his hand.

Master, the Seven-Colored Bodhi Fruit can provide an essential amplification to the quality of your spiritual energy, thereby... accelerating the refining speed.

Xiao Qi’s final words still echoed in his mind.

To elevate the quality of his spiritual energy!

Qin Feng’s eyes ignited.

His spiritual energy was already of the legendary pitch-black quality, which, by all accounts, was the absolute pinnacle.

But that did not mean it lacked room for growth.

Quality, too, is divided into "initial" and "advanced" stages.

If his previous pitch-black spiritual energy was a flawless piece of obsidian, then the role of this fruit was to polish and temper that obsidian into an indestructible diamond of black gold!

It would allow him to maintain the "pitch-black" quality while becoming more condensed, more razor-sharp, and more efficient!

This was the only key to breaking the current deadlock!

Good! Good! Good!

Qin Feng repeated the word three times, a surge of heroic spirit rising within his chest.

"Xiao Qi, once I succeed, I shall surely help you become a true Tree of Enlightenment!"

He made this vow to the void.

Then, without a shred of hesitation, he opened his mouth and swallowed the seven-colored Bodhi fruit, which held all of Xiao Qi’s boundless devotion and hope.

BOOM!

The fruit melted upon contact, transforming into an indescribable torrent of seven-colored light that surged instantly into his sea of consciousness.

It was not a violent surge of energy, but a primordial force, incredibly gentle and brimming with the essence of life and wisdom.

It did not batter Qin Feng’s soul; instead, like the softest spring rain, it merged into the "ocean" of pure black spiritual power that defined his mind.

"Sizzle... sizzle... sizzle..."

Qin Feng’s entire sea of consciousness lit up.

He could "see" his pure black spiritual power undergoing a cataclysmic transformation.

Every thread of his spirit was being repeatedly washed, refined, and compressed by that seven-colored power of enlightenment. The infinitesimal impurities were purged, and its structure became sturdier and denser than ever before.

If his spiritual power had once been mere "thread," it was now being woven into "steel cable."

If it had once been "mercury," it was now condensing into "crystals of the Dao."

A leap in quality!

This was a true, essential sublimation.

The entire process lasted for a full year.

When the seven-colored torrent was finally absorbed, Qin Feng’s sea of consciousness returned to its state of pure darkness.

But this darkness was vastly different from the one a year ago.

It had become deeper, purer, and more profound.

Though the total volume of power had not increased, its "density" and "sharpness" had grown more than tenfold.

Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes.

Within his pupils, two black holes seemed to rotate, capable of devouring all the light in the world.

He reached out with his spiritual power once more, probing the Weeping God-Gold before him.

This time, the sensation was entirely different.

If before, his spiritual power had been like a "finger" touching a block of ice,

Now, it was like pressing a red-hot "branding iron" against it.

"Sss—"

A sound, so faint it was almost imperceptible, emanated from the surface of the divine metal.

For the first time, his sublimated black spiritual power, without being completely repelled, had forcibly scorched a tiny, indelible mark of his own onto the surface of the God-Gold.

It worked!

A wave of wild joy surged through Qin Feng’s heart.

He recalculated the time required for refinement.

"Twenty thousand years! Thirty thousand at most!"

"Time, it is enough!"

The thirty-thousand-year countdown to death had, at this moment, been pried open to reveal a crack leading toward "life."

"Then..."

Qin Feng took a deep breath, gathering all his emotions, his gaze becoming unshakeably firm.

"Let us begin."

He closed his eyes, his entire consciousness sinking deep into this protracted war of refinement.

His sublimated black spiritual power, like endless strands of dark silk, flowed from his brow, wrapping layer upon layer around the seven-colored orb of eternal sorrow.

A war of will and law, fought on a microscopic scale and destined to last for millennia, had begun.

Inside the cavern, the silence of ages returned.

Only the seven-colored orb wrapped in black silk and the solemn, cross-legged youth with flowing black hair remained, a constant, unchanging tableau.

Yet outside the cavern, the Kurgan Star Abyss, sealed by chains of golden law, began to grow increasingly "lively." Countless powerful beings, having received the news like sharks catching the scent of blood, began to swarm from every corner of the universe toward this cage destined to run red with blood.

The thirty-thousand-year countdown had quietly begun.

...

For Qin Feng within the cage, every instant was a struggle against the will of the God-Gold, a billion-fold cycle of washing and branding at the microscopic level.

But for the vast universe outside the cage, this place was rapidly evolving from a forgotten, chaotic wasteland into the storm center of an entire era.

The "invitation" of the Universal Will arrived in the perception of every "invitee" in a form that transcended all means of communication.

The first to arrive was not some illustrious king.

It was a pitch-black raider ship, its prow branded with the totem of a three-eyed crow.

The ship halted tens of thousands of kilometers from the golden chains of law. The hatch opened, and a gaunt figure, wreathed in gray mist and clutching a bone staff, stepped slowly out.

He was the "Crow-Bone King," a rogue king known in the border sectors for plunder and curses. His strength was merely average among the titled kings, but his perception and instinct for self-preservation were exceptionally keen.

"The prohibition of the Universal Will..."

The Crow-Bone King muttered in a voice like rubbing dry bones, two points of ghostly green soul-fire flickering violently in his hollow sockets. "There is no mistake; this aura belongs to one of the thirty-six legendary God-Golds... the Weeping God-Gold!"

His soul-fire was instantly filled with boundless greed.

Yet, he did not approach.

Like a patient vulture, he chose a massive meteorite, sat cross-legged, and waited in silence.

He knew well that such a divine object was not something he could claim alone.

The first to act on impulse would only become a stepping stone for those who followed.

The arrival of the Crow-Bone King was like the sounding of a gathering horn.

In the months and years that followed, beams of light tearing through the void, ships of diverse styles, and magnificent mobile fortresses began to appear on the periphery of the Kurgan Star Abyss.

Each extinguishing light heralded the arrival of a king—a being capable of suppressing a star system, worshipped as a god among their own kind.

At first, the space outside the abyss remained calm.

Newcomers simply found a spot, released their own domains of law to declare their presence, and then, like the Crow-Bone King, lapsed into silent waiting.

Even among kings who were mortal enemies, a strange, tacit understanding held until the final prize appeared.

But this understanding was fragile.

In the fifth year, when a giant beast the size of a moon, wreathed in ghostly blue flames, smashed through a belt of meteorites with arrogant force and descended upon the sector, the balance was shattered for the first time.

"The Nether Wolf King!"

A titled king from the Treant race, who had arrived long ago, let out a roar filled with boundless fury. "You piece of filth, to think you would dare appear before me!"

The colossal beast known as the Netherwolf King slowly turned his massive head, his three deep-blue eyes brimming with cruelty and disdain. "So, it is the King of Withered Wood. Tell me, how did that 'Heart of the World' I devoured last time taste? Has your tribe managed to find a new home star yet? Hahaha..."

"You seek death!"

The King of Withered Wood erupted in a flash of fury.

His true form was an ancient tree of war that had survived for millions of years, and the Netherwolf clan happened to be his race's natural nemesis; their nether-fire possessed a devastating, restrictive power over plant-based life.

Ten thousand years ago, it was this very Netherwolf King who had raided his home world and swallowed the "Heart of the World" that sustained his entire species, causing the withering of hundreds of millions of his kin. This was a blood feud of genocide!

"Law—Ten Thousand Woods Ensnare the Dragon!"

With a roar, the King of Withered Wood’s seemingly desiccated body surged in size. Countless thorny vines, shimmering with emerald-green runes of law, sprouted frantically from the void like ancient dragons awakening, coiling toward the Netherwolf King!

Each vine contained enough terrifying power to strangle a peak Marquis-level warrior, and the barbs growing upon them glittered with toxins of law that could extinguish the very spark of life.

"Trifling tricks!"

The Netherwolf King did not dodge; he opened his blood-drenched maw and unleashed a violent blast!

"Awoo—"

Accompanied by a howl that shook the galaxy, an endless sea of deep-blue nether-fire swept across the heavens, rushing to meet the sky-filling vines.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."

The moment the flames touched the vines, a teeth-gritting sound of incineration filled the air.

Those indestructible vines of law, under the burning of the nether-fire, turned charred and withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, the life laws within them swiftly neutralized and erased by the power of death and annihilation in the flames.

In a single collision of laws, the disparity was clear.

The King of Withered Wood’s laws were clearly held in a death grip by the Netherwolf King.

"Trash! Ten thousand years later, and you are still such pathetic trash!"

A fierce light flared in the Netherwolf King's eyes, and he prepared to press his advantage and slay his old rival here and now.

Just then, a cold and indifferent voice drifted in from another direction.

"Enough. You may settle your grievances after we have seized the God-Gold. From this moment on, whoever dares to waste a single shred of law-power here shall be considered an enemy of me, the Myriad-Blade Machine King."

With these words, a massive mothership, constructed from countless silver cubes and radiating a cold, geometric beauty, appeared silently at the edge of the battlefield.

Atop the mothership stood a hundred-meter-tall silver giant composed entirely of liquid metal.

Across his surface, billions of nanomachines flowed and reorganized incessantly, while behind him hovered ten thousand energy blades of various forms, humming with lethal intent.

"The Myriad-Blade Machine King!"

The Netherwolf King and the King of Withered Wood stopped simultaneously, their eyes filled with deep apprehension.

The observers in the distance let out gasps they could no longer suppress.

"Hiss—it is the Machine Race's Myriad-Blade Machine King! The monster who once single-handedly crushed the Human Race's Seventh Frontier Fleet!"

"Crushed? It is said that in that battle, three Human Kings fell, one of whom was the long-renowned 'Crimson Flame King'! The Myriad-Blade Machine King’s law domain, 'Absolute Armament,' claims that within his reach, he is the master of weapons and the king of all laws; among his peers, few can stand against him head-on!"

"The Machine Race has arrived too... It seems the Limit God-Marquis truly has no wings to fly with this time."

The appearance of the Myriad-Blade Machine King was like a massive boulder dropped into a boiling lake, forcibly suppressing the surface. His deterrent power was far beyond that of the likes of the King of Withered Wood.

The Netherwolf King snorted and retracted his flames, though his three giant eyes remained locked on the King of Withered Wood, as if to say, "Just you wait."

The King of Withered Wood also withdrew his vines, his face as dark as water.

A battle of kings that was on the verge of eruption was temporarily quelled.

But this was merely the beginning.

In the decades and centuries that followed, more and more "legends" descended.

"Look! That... that is the 'Mountain-Crushing Ape King'! The most hot-tempered king among the Beast Race. Rumor has it that thirty thousand years ago, for the sake of a secret treasure, he fought three peers for ten years, and in the end, he used his bare fists to shatter the King-level Dao Seal of one of them!"

Deep in the starry sky, a golden giant ape, carrying a small neutron star on his shoulder with muscles knotted like mountain ranges, stepped through the void, shattering space with every stride.

With every step he took, ripples visible to the naked eye spread through the surrounding space, as if the physical laws of the entire universe were distorting before his terrifying physical strength.

"My god... the 'Shadow-Devouring Snake King' is here too! One of the most insidious kings of the Abyss Demon Race! He never fights head-on; his law, 'Kingdom of Shadows,' can turn an enemy's shadow into the most lethal weapon. It is said that the Kings who died by his hand never even knew how they perished!"

In another sector, a shadow that blended almost perfectly into the darkness of the universe emerged silently.

The shadow writhed, eventually taking the form of a man in black robes with a face so beautiful it was almost demonic.

His pair of snake-like pupils were slit-shaped, and a single glance was enough to make one feel as if their soul were being sucked into an endless abyss.

"And over there! It is the 'Thousand-Eye King' of the Hundred-Eyed Ghost Race! His law-eyes are said to see through all illusions in the world, pointing straight to the origin! Any formation or illusion is useless before him!"

"That is the 'Bedrock King' of the Stone Spirit Race! His defensive power is said to be in the top ten among all Kings!"

"..."

One after another, kings who had left behind illustrious names in the universe, or who were only seen in epic records, descended in succession.

Some were lone wolves, others were masters of their own races;

Some had auras as wild as fire, others as cold as ice;

Some possessed peerless physical bodies, others wielded laws of unfathomable trickery.

In just a hundred years, the number of King-level powerhouses gathered outside the Kurgan Star Abyss had exceeded three hundred!

More than three hundred Kings!

What a terrifying number this was!

One must know that even in a "King-level" campaign between the Human Race and the Myriad Races to decide the fate of a star sector, the number of Kings deployed by both sides rarely exceeded one hundred.

And now, merely for one Limit God-Marquis, for one legendary [Lamenting God-Gold], three times that force had gathered!

This star abyss, once ignored by all, had become a powder keg capable of detonating the entire universe at any moment.

The kings divided themselves into distinct camps.

The Human Kings, led by top-tier figures like the Heaven-Swallowing King and the Thunder-Storm King, occupied one sector, their expressions grave.

They had received the same mission, but their task was to "protect."

Yet, facing an enemy several times their size, even the Heaven-Swallowing King felt unprecedented pressure.

The Machine Race, Zerg, Demon Race, and other major races with blood feuds against humanity formed a loose encirclement, their gazes filled with killing intent and greed sweeping repeatedly toward the human camp and the star abyss sealed by golden divine chains.

Beyond them were numerous rogue kings and those from neutral races, drifting outside the two major camps, eyes flickering as they clearly intended to watch the tigers fight from the mountain and snatch the chestnuts from the fire.

The air was thick with suffocating tension.

Hundreds of different king-level laws collided, rubbed, and intertwined in this narrow space, making the area more chaotic and dangerous than a cosmic singularity.

Even a Marquis-level powerhouse, if they were to stumble into this place, would likely be torn to shreds by the violent turbulence of laws in an instant.

Everyone was blocked outside by the golden chains of law; no one could take a single step into the abyss.

The only thing they could do was wait.

Wait for the thirty-thousand-year restriction to end.

Wait for the prey known as the "Limit God-Marquis" to walk out of the cage himself.

This waiting eroded everyone's patience, and the long-accumulated hatred and killing intent surged like magma beneath the earth, ready to erupt.

Finally, after a vigil spanning nearly a millennium, a true war of kings had at last inevitably erupted.

The ignition point was the Mountain-Crushing Ape King and the Shadow-Consuming Snake King.

"Demonic brat, withdraw those stealthy, underhanded tricks of yours!"

The Mountain-Crushing Ape King's voice, resonant as a grand bronze bell, exploded within the very souls of all present, "Dare to use your filthy shadow to spy on this king again, and today I shall skin you alive, you overgrown worm!"

As it turned out, the Shadow-Consuming Snake King had attempted to use his own laws to silently sound out the depths of the Mountain-Crushing Ape King's power, only to be detected on the spot by the latter's near-bestial intuition.

"Hehehe..."

The Shadow-Consuming Snake King let out a chilling sneer that sounded like the flicking of a serpent's tongue, "An ape is but an ape, possessing naught but brute force while his brain is stuffed entirely with muscle. I merely wished to see just where beneath that pelt of yours your proud, king-tier Dao Sigil is hidden."

"You court death!"

The Mountain-Crushing Ape King erupted into absolute fury!

His massive fist, comparable to a neutron star, bore no fancy flourishes as it simply and directly smashed out toward the space occupied by the Shadow-Consuming Snake King!

Rumble—

This punch unleashed no wave of energy light, yet it struck a chord of terror in everyone's hearts.

For what he had unleashed was pure "Might"!

It was the Law of Might!

The space before him instantly creaked into violent folds, collapsing and warping like a canvas fiercely gripped by an invisible, gargantuan hand!

A pitch-black spatial rift leading to an unknown dimension was violently torn open by this single blow, hurtling frantically toward the Shadow-Consuming Snake King!

Faced with this horrific strike that would make ordinary crowned kings retreat from the field, a bizarre smile crept across the handsome, unnatural face of the Shadow-Consuming Snake King.

"Law—Shadow Substitute."

His form became blurred and illusory in an instant, like ink dropped into water, before quietly merging into his own shadow.

The punch capable of shattering stars struck empty air, its horrific law-force turning that patch of space upside down, yet failing to harm the Shadow-Consuming Snake King in the slightest.

"Over here, foolish monkey."

A cold voice abruptly sounded from behind the Mountain-Crushing Ape King.

There, within the massive shadow cast by starlight behind the Mountain-Crushing Ape King, the silhouette of the Shadow-Consuming Snake King slowly materialized like a phantom.

In his hand, a dagger formed of pure shadow had appeared from nowhere, thrusting silently toward the Mountain-Crushing Ape King's heart from behind!

This thrust ignored physical defense and bypassed energy shields, directly targeting the law-nodes where the Mountain-Crushing Ape King's Dao Sigil connected to his physical flesh!

However, the Mountain-Crushing Ape King had not survived to this day by brute force alone.

"Roar!"

He let out a sky-shattering roar as the golden fur across his body stood on end like needles, a heavy, profound rune lighting up upon every single strand.

"Law—Myriad Jun Body!"

Hum—

His bodily density and mass skyrocketed ten-thousand-fold in a single fraction of a second!

The gravitational field around him instantly underwent a horrific aberration, warping even the rays of light!

The moment before the shadow dagger could pierce his flesh, it came to a violent halt, as if striking a divine iron of infinite density, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch further!

"Get out of there!"

The Mountain-Crushing Ape King swung his palm backward like swatting a fly, slamming it fiercely toward his own shadow!

Boom!

The Shadow-Consuming Snake King was forcibly blasted out from the shadow, tumbling wretchedly through the void several times before stabilizing his stance.

The briefest confrontation between two top-tier kings had displayed entirely different, yet suffocatingly powerful applications of law.

"Must we still fight?"

The cold voice of the Myriad-Blade Machine King rang out once more, the tens of thousands of energy blades floating behind him pointing simultaneously at both combatants, emitting an ear-piercing hum.

The Mountain-Crushing Ape King and the Shadow-Consuming Snake King locked eyes, intense murderous intent burning in both their gazes, but in the end, they each let out a cold snort and slowly backed away.

Just as the Myriad-Blade Machine King had said, now was not the time to risk their lives.

Yet everyone knew this was merely temporary.

Once the restriction opened, this place would become ten thousand times more terrifying than the cruelest hell.

Time trickled away slowly amidst this bizarre, powder-keg calm that felt ready to explode at a touch.

A millennium, five millennia, ten thousand years...

The kings gathering here grew more numerous by the day.

Four hundred, five hundred, six hundred...

Every newly arrived king made the atmosphere here a fraction more oppressive.

Until twenty-nine thousand years had passed.

Only a final millennium remained before the thirty-thousand-year restriction deadline.

The number of crowned kings gathered here had reached an unprecedented, terrifying figure—over eight hundred!

Eight hundred kings trapped in a cage!

All to hunt down a single man!

Such an array had never appeared before throughout the hundreds of millions of years of cosmic history.

"Marquis Limitless... just what kind of sacred existence is he to draw such an immense gathering..."

"After this battle, regardless of whether he lives or dies, his name will be enough to be passed down through the ages."

Even those crowned kings of the myriad races who hated him to the bone had to admit at this moment that Qin Feng had created a record without precedent, and one that would highly likely have no successor.

And just when everyone's patience was on the verge of being utterly exhausted, when the scent of gunpowder in the air was so dense that a single spark could detonate the entire universe.

The change descended without warning.

At first, it was but a microscopic shift.

The background radiation of the universe seemed to acquire a faint, imperceptible tint of gold.

Immediately following this, the gold began to grow denser and purer.

It was not light, nor was it energy, but a higher-dimensional color, an attribute originating from the very source of law.

Under the brush of this golden hue, the spectral blue flames of the Netherworld Wolf King seemed no longer so frigid;

The wild, violent gold of the Mountain-Crushing Ape King appeared somewhat dimmed;

Even the all-devouring darkness of the Shadow-Consuming Snake King seemed lined with a golden edge.

Every single king stopped all motion in the span of a heartbeat.

They discovered to their horror that their proud king-tier laws, which were enough to suppress entire star domains, began to tremble, shrink back, and submit uncontrollably before this sudden influx of gold, like ministers encountering their sovereign!

"This... this is..."

The Heaven-Swallowing King’s countenance shifted violently, his eyes betraying an expression of disbelief for the very first time.

"The Laws of the Emperor!"

The Thunderstorm King gasped, his voice trembling with sheer terror, "It is an Emperor! An Emperor-level powerhouse has descended!"

BOOM!

The entire King’s Cage erupted into absolute chaos!

An Emperor!

Such beings stood at the very pinnacle of the entire universe!

They were the anchors of every peak race, supreme entities capable of dictating cosmic laws and obliterating civilizations with a mere thought!

Ancient monsters of this caliber were rarely seen, usually hidden away in the forbidden sanctuaries of their clans or seeking breakthroughs in cosmic death zones where even Kings dared not tread.

Why would they appear here?

For a mere Marquis? For a piece of divine metal?

It defied all reason!

Yet, the reality was beyond dispute.

The pressure of those Imperial Laws, suppressing all paths and asserting absolute sovereignty, grew increasingly terrifying.

Finally, under the gaze of every King—filled with shock, reverence, and dread—

Directly above the Kurgan Star Abyss, the void, now completely saturated in gold, slowly parted like a heavy curtain drawn aside.

A single figure drifted forth from the rift.

Of the Star-Devouring Beast kin—the Golden-Armored Beast clan!

The Golden Emperor!

(End of this chapter)