Chapter 422 - 421: The Nine Wonders’ True Purpose, Gu Cangming’s Ambition

"The One True Emperor!" the horde screamed in response. "Lead us to the golden gates! Let us drink the blood of the false gods and trample their thrones beneath our feet!"

The chorus grew louder as more demons joined the cries of worship. Some struck their chests with their fists, while others lowered their heads until their horns scraped against the black stone. The atmosphere was filled with a mixture of terror, devotion, and barely restrained bloodlust, and the combined noise of billions of voices threatened to drown out every other sound within the abyss.

Gu Cangming listened without moving.

The praise meant little to him. He had lived through too many eras to confuse the admiration of weaker beings with genuine recognition, and he understood that most of the creatures kneeling below him would abandon their devotion if they ever encountered a force powerful enough to threaten their survival. Their loyalty was useful, their numbers were convenient, and their collective strength might eventually become a valuable resource. Beyond that, their worship was little more than background noise.

He slowly raised his hands, examining the dark markings that covered his arms. The ancient patterns glowed faintly beneath his skin, each one representing a complex arrangement of laws that had been refined through countless years of cultivation. His meridians had undergone an extraordinary evolution, and the power circulating through them was no longer limited by the restrictions that had once defined his existence.

"I, Gu Cangming, have slumbered through the turning of eras," he said.

His voice was not particularly loud, yet the sound reached every demon on the plateau. It entered their spiritual seas directly, bypassing the need for ordinary hearing and forcing the words into their consciousness. The chorus of worship died away almost immediately, replaced by a silence so complete that even the distant storms of the Hollow Beyond seemed to recede.

"I watched the Grand Ascendants forge their cages. I watched the cowards of my own race flee before the ancient powers, and I watched the mortals squabble over the remnants they were left to inherit. They called their weakness wisdom and their imprisonment peace, convincing themselves that the world had been arranged according to some sacred design."

His gaze shifted toward the compressed Great Sea Realm. He extended one finger and lightly traced the surface of the blue sphere, causing a ripple to spread across its contained oceans. The movement was almost gentle, yet the entire plateau trembled as the compressed dimension responded to his touch.

"They called them the Nine Wonders," Gu Cangming continued. "The mortals believed these treasures were sacred pillars, gifts from the heavens designed to sustain their fragile existence. They built religions around them, established powerful lineages to protect them, and fought wars over the spiritual Qi they released into the surrounding world."

A cold smile appeared on his face.

"Fools. They spent countless generations guarding the very materials that could have elevated their own existence, yet they never understood what they possessed. They treated the Nine Wonders as environmental anchors and blessings of life, never considering that such extraordinary structures might have a purpose far greater than preserving the world they knew."

He withdrew his hand from the blue sphere and spread both arms wide. The dark markings covering his flesh ignited with an archaic light, and the pressure surrounding the plateau increased until the weaker demons struggled to keep their bodies pressed against the stone. Several Demon Generals trembled violently, their Soul Transformation cultivation proving insufficient to resist the overwhelming authority radiating from their sovereign.

"The Nine Wonders are supreme forging materials," Gu Cangming declared. "They are remnants of a foundation so extraordinary that the laws of the universe itself were shaped around them. The Grand Ascendants understood their value, but even those so-called supreme beings lacked the strength or courage to refine them into the treasure they were meant to become."

His golden eyes blazed as he looked across the kneeling horde. "They left these materials behind, believing that the restrictions of the lower dimensions would prevent anyone from gathering them. They built their precious order upon that assumption, confident that no being could accumulate enough power to challenge the structure they had established."

Gu Cangming let out a low chuckle. The sound carried no warmth, and the nearby acidic oceans briefly froze beneath the pressure of his aura. "They were wrong."

The words spread through the demonic horde, provoking another wave of trembling excitement. The demons understood little of the deeper principles he described, but they could recognize the confidence of a being who had already accomplished something that countless powerful cultivators considered impossible. Their sovereign had seized the Great Sea Realm, captured the core of the Exotic Realm, and demonstrated that even the ancient structures sustaining the world could be broken by his strength.

"I will not waste my existence ruling over a fractured dimension," Gu Cangming continued. "Nor will I spend eternity fighting over the scraps left behind by beings who believed themselves superior. The Nine Wonders have endured for countless ages, and their foundations contain the potential to support a treasure unlike anything that has existed in this era."

He raised his hands higher, and the markings on his body began to shine more brightly. Dark energy surged from his shoulders and spread across the plateau, forming enormous patterns in the air. Each pattern carried a faint resemblance to one of the foundational laws contained within the Nine Wonders, and their overlapping structures produced a pressure that made the surrounding space tremble.

"I shall refine the oceans, the forests, the mountains, and the skies into a singular core," he proclaimed. "I shall combine the fundamental laws of the Nine Wonders and forge a treasure with such extraordinary conceptual density that it will rewrite the very foundation of my existence. The restrictions that have bound this era will no longer be able to contain me."

The demonic horde erupted into cries of awe, but Gu Cangming continued speaking without acknowledging them. His ambition had grown far beyond the desire to conquer the Nine Provinces or defeat the cultivators. He intended to gather the remaining Wonders, refine their laws, and use the resulting treasure to force his way toward a realm that even powerful beings feared to approach.

"With that treasure, I will shatter the bottleneck that separates me from the absolute Peak of Grand Ascension," he declared. "I will establish a foundation so immaculate that the laws of this era will be unable to suppress me. No restriction, no ancient pact, and no so-called Heavenly judgment will possess the authority to prevent my ascent."

His gaze rose toward the bruised-purple heavens of the Hollow Beyond. Beyond those clouds lay the invisible boundaries of the universe, along with the Imperial Domain where the most powerful cultivators had withdrawn from the conflicts of the lower dimensions. Gu Cangming’s expression darkened as he imagined the golden gates that had protected those cultivators for countless generations.

"And then," he whispered, "I will march upon the Imperial Domain."