Chapter 603 357: I am a Divine Being (The Grand Finale)

High above the void.

Two figures, their auras sharp and menacing, confronted one another, stirring up massive storms that swept across half of Ascension Island.

Lu Mingyuan held his saber in one hand. In the palm of his other, a simple, rotating, disc-like Crown Divine Artifact materialized, an ancient golden aura flowing within it.

"Do you think you can stand against me?"

The Night Shadow Emperor's gaze was indifferent, like that of a divine being looking down from the Nine Heavens. His Emperor's Robe fluttered in an unfelt wind. Specks of starlight dotted his black hair, through which Immortal Qi flowed, making it as dazzling as the constellations.

Nine dazzling jade fragments assembled themselves at his fingertips. They were peerless Treasure Artifacts forged from Divine Moonstone, each piece radiating a pressure immense enough to crush mountains.

The Nine-leaf Emperor Jade.

It was a supreme Immortal Artifact capable of reversing day and night. In the age of the Celestial Court, it was a Divine Artifact revered even by the deities.

It was also the Night Shadow Emperor's Lifebound Treasure.

"How will we know if we don't try?"

Lu Mingyuan's momentum was no weaker. A spark flared between his brows, completely igniting his Holy Qi.

WHOOSH!

The gilded Holy Qi became a torrent of flame, instantly engulfing his body and transforming him. His blood-red hair whipped in the wind.

The Divine Blade Zhu Xie in his hand hummed, and a monstrous, ocean-like Sword Intent surged forth. His Dao Realm Form transformed into a forbidden domain of countless blades.

Above the clouds, a veritable sea of blades filled the sky.

Both advanced, unleashing their full power.

Although the Forbidden Array Divine Patterns protecting Ascension Island were powerful, they were beginning to dissolve under the influence of the Power of Darkness from the Night Shadow Emperor's avatar.

「In the distance.」

"Thunder Dragon, they're heading toward the altar!"

The Thunder Dragon Venerable stared at the slowly dissolving Divine Patterns and said calmly, "There's no need to rush. Everything is under control."

Meanwhile, all the experts of the Old Celestial Court were poised to invade Ascension Island at a moment's notice.

They were just waiting for the altar to open.

The treasure they had failed to seize one hundred thousand years ago, the goal they had failed to achieve—this time, they would not let it slip through their fingers again.

Inside a hidden spatial passage, the expressions on Yu Xuanji and the others grew incredibly grim.

Yun Qinghe couldn't help but sigh. "I never thought that even with the Ascension Platform's powerful Forbidden Array, we wouldn't be able to hold back the Evil God Army. We underestimated the Old Celestial Court's determination to break through."

Without a doubt, the situation they dreaded most had finally come to pass.

"Zichuan," Yu Xuanji said to Princess Zichuan with utmost gravity, "as I told you before, once the Ascension Platform's Forbidden Array is breached, you must send our seniors into the altar's passage. These ruins are vast; we still have a chance to protect the World Origin and secure the key to this world."

Princess Zichuan nodded. "Don't worry. You can leave it to me."

Fewer and fewer people were left to command. All they could do was give everything they had, even if it cost them their lives.

"Even if it costs me my life, I will never let the Celestial Court's scheme succeed. They want to destroy the Central Plains World? I will not allow it," the female Imperial Tutor, Yu Xuanji, declared, her gaze fixed on the sky and her voice brimming with power.

Though the other Awakened remained silent, their eyes showed a grim determination. They were ready to protect this world, no matter the cost.

HISS... SIZZLE...

The jet-black Divine Power intensified. Large numbers of Divine Patterns fractured, and the links between them grew unstable.

BOOM!

At a certain moment, after countless Divine Patterns had been utterly annihilated, the Forbidden Array protecting the Ascension Platform finally began to crumble.

The instant the Forbidden Array collapsed, a majestic surge of Divine Power erupted, sweeping outward in all directions like a tidal wave.

In an instant, colossal waves churned the sea, and a destructive aura permeated the air.

However, just at that moment, an unprecedented shockwave of energy swept in from the Sea of Void.

A Black Gold Sky-Reaching Pillar appeared above the clouds, wreathed in boundless thunder and radiating an unparalleled divine might. Wisps of Merit Golden Light emanated from the pillar, and brilliant golden runes cascaded down like a rain of stars, completely suppressing the destructive power within the void.

Emperor Yu's Sea Stabilization Technique!

Lu Mingyuan stood high above, his eyes brilliant and his features god-like. He gazed down into the distance, like a divine being looking upon the Mortal World.

At that moment, everyone looked up at the sky.

They stared at the pillar that held up the heavens.

And at the red-haired man standing upon it.

'A Middle Ancient Great Divine Technique… To think such a powerful skill still exists.' The Night Shadow Emperor's eyes narrowed.

He had heard of this technique back in the Middle Ages.

It was created by a peerless Human Emperor and was said to be capable of suppressing anything in existence.

It had also been lost for a very long time.

'But how did Lu Mingyuan come to possess such a technique?'

"AHH!"

Some of the experts in the Evil God Army reacted too slowly and were instantly engulfed by the runes of Merit Golden Light from the Black Gold Sky-Reaching Pillar, their piercing screams of despair the only thing left behind.

"Attack!"

The Night Shadow Emperor roared, taking the lead by conjuring a black Emperor Jade.

The Emperor Jade was as smooth as polished stone. Spurred on by the Power of Darkness, naturally formed Secret Patterns surfaced upon it, erupting in a brilliant divine light that blocked the destructive Divine Power.

At the same time, it shot toward Lu Mingyuan!

The four Demon Generals from the Abandoned Heaven Demon Emperor's old guard, along with the Demon Soldiers and Generals from the various legions, did not hesitate. They summoned powerful Battle Artifacts and Secret Treasures, unleashing their full might to withstand the residual Merit Power.

"Is that the Stabilizing Needle?"

Watching from afar, Yun Qinghe's jaw dropped, her voice filled with utter shock.

She never imagined that the iron rod Lu Mingyuan had mentioned possessed such terrifying power.

"The Stabilizing Needle… What's that?"

Hearing this, Yu Xuanji searched her memory, but she couldn't recall ever hearing that name before.