Chapter 168 The Fall of Heaven

The blazing flames surged in the sky, igniting the enemies and burning their souls to ashes. Zhurong wielded his long blades with both hands, slashing forward relentlessly. Above, the sky was filled with flame-like dragons.

In the end, the Turbid Qi could not withstand Zhurong's furious, large-scale attacks.

Under the flames that directly represented the concept of [Annihilation], it had no choice but to converge inward, condensing itself to avoid the endless golden flames spreading across the sky. Countless flames gathered together, like a flowing river of ten thousand miles, yet it strangely emitted no heat.

Only those who entered it could sense the terrifying, contained heat.

A power sufficient to incinerate time and space, to obliterate all things.

Ji Xuanyuan pulled himself out of the rubble where he had been blasted by the previous exchange. Clutching his aching back, he looked at the radiant light and said, "...Forced to condense into a solid form? Good... before, when it was dispersed as Qi, it was difficult to catch. Now that it has gathered Qi into form, it's easier to kill."

"Did you think I would let you pass?"

A god wielding a long blade stood in front of Ji Xuanyuan.

Suddenly, the blood-soaked former Human Emperor smiled strangely, tilting his head. A pure white light, seemingly harmless and without even the sound of breaking through the air, pierced through the god's armor with terrifying destructive force, tearing through his abdomen and scattering flesh and blood.

The god shrieked, clutching his wound and staggering backward, his weapon supporting him as he knelt on the ground.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead.

"Leizu."

Behind Ji Xuanyuan, high on the Xuanyuan Hill of the human race, a woman who had transformed her soft, long skirt into battle armor held an ancient and heavy war bow in her hand. Her white hair was tied into a high ponytail, and her pupils were like blood-colored gemstones. She nocked an arrow and drew the war bow once more.

At the same time, Ji Xuanyuan lowered his body and sprinted forward, holding his sword in his right hand, the Xuanyuan Sword's blade scraping the ground.

The sword Qi was sharp, his steps changed, and then he suddenly spun and slashed horizontally.

"Dream on!!!"

The tall Quanrong giant held a shield to resist the Xuanyuan Sword. The collision of immense powers caused the earth to tremble, and a nearby mountain collapsed directly, countless rocks pulverized. The Quanrong giant successfully deflected Ji Xuanyuan's sword.

The muscles in his arms bulged as he swung heavily to the left.

The sword Qi dissipated into the ground.

The Quanrong giant breathed a sigh of relief.

In the next instant, a silent light pierced through his armpit, a weak point exposed when he defended against Ji Xuanyuan, and flew out diagonally through his heart. At the same time, Ji Xuanyuan swung his sword to the right.

The sword Qi severed the Quanrong giant's Achilles tendon.

His right leg lost its strength for a moment, causing him to kneel down subconsciously amidst his screams.

And the next moment, a perfectly timed arrow shot into his eye socket.

The Quanrong giant god spread his arms and fell backward heavily, dying on the spot. The power of the god dissipated, and his body lost the god's power, changing rapidly, swelling rapidly, transforming into a mountain hundreds of miles long, his eyes turning into two spiritual springs.

Ji Xuanyuan exhaled, not looking back, only rushing forward.

His swordsmanship was fierce, pointing straight ahead, completely disregarding defense.

Because of his every move, his wide-open but flawed swordsmanship.

There would always be silent arrows appearing at the most crucial moments, filling his flaws.

Turning his flaws into the deadliest killing intent.

Ji Xuanyuan swung the Xuanyuan Sword directly, smashing it horizontally, causing the weapon in the hand of a tall giant-like god to be knocked away. The latter's expression was ferocious and sluggish, seemingly unable to believe that this tiny human would choose to clash head-on with him, and more importantly—

He was actually at a disadvantage in terms of pure strength.

The opponent was also in a state of having his hands go numb from the rebound.

Leaving a wide opening.

Such a reckless attack, was the guy across from him, that damned Human Emperor, a brute?!

However, the next moment, an arrow made of special material spun and pierced through the void, directly nailing the god who had his defense broken by Xuanyuan, and the arrows continued to fly and fall. The battle situation was too severe, and Leizu could no longer continue to guard the rear, leaving enough Qi luck defense for Xian before rushing to support.

Zhuanxu panted as he carried bundles of special arrows, stacking them around Leizu for her convenience, while also controlling the overall situation of the formation. Leizu looked at the blood-soaked man still laughing loudly and bit her lip, reaching out and shooting out streams of light.

Ji Xuanyuan soared into the sky, holding the Xuanyuan Sword.

Fire dragons roared, and the fire flowed for thousands of miles. Without the obstruction of other enemies, two ferocious dragons bound the Turbid Qi that had transformed into a solid form. Zhurong had exhausted all his strength, and even the surrounding space began to fluctuate due to the extreme heat. Seeing Ji Xuanyuan out of the corner of his eye, Zhurong released his right hand slightly.

The fire dragons slightly lessened their force.

The Turbid Qi, bound by them, roared and rose, raising its eyes to see Ji Xuanyuan in front of it.

Seeing the latter covered in blood, the corners of his mouth lifted, revealing a mocking and dangerous smile. Then, the Xuanyuan Sword, representing the ultimate of humanity, erupted with extreme terrifying power, directly piercing through the Turbid Qi. Zhurong spun around, clenched his right hand, and the golden fire that had spread for thousands of miles instantly gathered.

Transforming into a long spear, he threw it with all his strength at the same time, piercing through the Turbid Qi's head in one breath.

The high temperature sufficient to incinerate time and space instantly evaporated the Turbid Qi's transformed head, which was larger than a city, in an instant, disappearing without a trace, never to exist again. Zhuanxu, who controlled the entire battlefield situation and the formation, and was already exhausted, breathed a long sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.

"Win, won?"

He looked at Ji Xuanyuan, who was still cleaning up the battlefield, and at the fiery flow that stretched for thousands of miles. Under the joint efforts of Ji Xuanyuan and Zhurong, the powerful enemy transformed from Turbid Qi finally died outside Xuanyuan Hill. Leizu still held the war bow tightly, saying, "...It's Gonggong."

"Ah?"

"The power source of these Turbid Qi is sealed under the earth veins."

"Gonggong is probably trying to seal off these broken earth veins, suppressing all the Turbid Qi... The power of Turbid Qi has been greatly reduced, so it was suppressed and eliminated..." Leizu's expression softened a little, looking at Ji Xuanyuan, who was propping himself up with his sword, and said, "Winning is still winning."

"In any case, Turbid has been killed."

Bai Ze sat among the corpses, coughing violently. The armor that had experienced many battles in the past had cracks, and he was seriously injured, grimacing in pain, "Next time, I won't fight like this again..."

Bai Ze breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Ji Xuanyuan, who stood proudly, with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, Bai Ze's pupils shrank violently, and his heart suddenly began to beat faster. His innate sacred instinct made him feel an unprecedented terrifying killing intent and aura of death. Even the heavens and earth instantly became dim, losing their color. The sky, the earth, Ji Xuanyuan in front of him, and the human settlement ahead.

All of them turned into [Black], representing death.

"!!!"

Bai Ze paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, looking in the distant direction. In fact, the others were only a little slower than Bai Ze, because the movement was too huge and terrifying. Accompanied by a world-destroying tremor, everyone felt as if death was imminent.

The [Heavenly Pillar], which could be observed in the Three Realms, Eight Desolations, and even the Heavens and Myriad Worlds, supporting this Great Wilderness and Mountains and Seas, and allowing countless worlds to revolve around this place, slowly collapsed to one side in the observation of countless beings.

The previous annihilation of the earth veins caused the collapse of the Heavenly Pillar, which should not have happened. It appeared before the eyes of all living beings in this way. Almost instantly, they saw countless stars crashing down to one side, and even the concept and power of [Heaven] were crashing down.

"The sky... is falling?!"

"The sky is falling!!!"

Almost instantly, all living beings felt the despair, powerlessness, and fear rising from the bottom of their hearts. This was not the sky of a small world, but the heaven and earth of the Great Wilderness and Mountains and Seas, the world cornerstone with the highest level of power, supporting [Heaven], maintaining [Earth], and determining [Six Voids] and [Order].

This was the collapse of the [Cornerstone of the World].

Representing a return to a state of disorder, meaning that the weak would never be spared.

Bai Ze's pupils shrank, and he instantly realized where the feeling of impending doom came from—the order of breaking the earth veins was set all the way from Xuanyuan Hill. Even if Gonggong tried to restore these damaged earth veins afterward, they would still be three points weaker than the earth veins in other places.

This led to this place being the easiest direction to collapse, leading to...

The direct target after the collapse of the sky was the Human Xuanyuan Hill.

And those scattered streamers that appeared at the moment of the sky's collapse would completely envelop all the remaining human hinterland outside Xuanyuan Hill. Even if Ji Xuanyuan and Zhurong held back part of the Heavenly Collapse tribulation in Xuanyuan Hill, the remaining Central Plains areas, the Yan tribe, the Jiu Li tribes, and the remaining humans would be affected.

There, there were no such powerful experts.

"Aze."

The sky collapsed and the earth cracked. Ji Xuanyuan suddenly spoke. Bai Ze looked at Ji Xuanyuan and said:

"You!!!"

The Xuanyuan Sword sang loudly, Ji Xuanyuan turned his back to Xuanyuan Hill, holding the divine weapon upside down, looking at the scene of the destruction of the heavens and earth along the long sword. His right hand pressed against the blade, slowly sliding down, and blood fell on the blade of the Xuanyuan Sword. The divinity of the long sword was stimulated to the maximum intensity.

Ji Xuanyuan held the Xuanyuan Sword with both hands.

Then, the True Spirit did not hesitate, leaving his physical body, and rushed into the sky mixed with the power of the divine weapon. At the same time, he sensed and grasped all the human settlements, including Xuanyuan Hill, directly facing the scene of the sky collapsing and the earth cracking, as well as the most direct threat.

Bai Ze's eyes turned red in an instant: "Xuanyuan!"

"Aze."

Bai Ze struggled to stand up, panting heavily, holding the yellow battle-axe in one hand and the scabbard of the Xuanyuan Sword in the other, roaring loudly. The space behind him suddenly twisted, revealing a huge white beast, with a tiger's head, vermilion hair, and horns, and the aura of overlooking all laws overflowed.

Bai Ze ignored his own injuries and forcibly leveraged his own origin.

In the long roar, the already broken sky was forcibly stabilized for a short time. Because he knew all laws, he could use one law to leverage all laws, using the most forbidden method to create a short-lived harmony of all laws. His right hand heavily knocked on his heart, Bai Ze spat out a mouthful of golden blood, his eyes resolute.

Completely using one type of law to leverage the surging of all laws.

A yellow streamer spanning thousands of miles appeared in the sky, like a yellow dragon soaring into the sky.

And Ji Xuanyuan's divine soul stood at the head of the yellow dragon.

Everyone saw the greatest hero of the human race, saw that his expression was still firm, just like when he killed Chi You, beheaded Xing Tian, and exiled Nüba and drove away Yinglong. Then, he held the Xuanyuan Sword and directly rushed towards the first impact of the Heavenly Collapse, which was also the most violent.

Then, the huge aftermath swept across the entire Great Wilderness and Kunlun, causing the waters of the four seas to rise.

Bai Ze was thrown away, exhausted, without any resistance, and directly fainted.

Zhurong's power was too inclined towards annihilation and destruction, and could only protect the Zhurong tribe.

Zhuanxu was directly shaken until his eyes were white, and he knelt on the ground, regaining his senses after a long while. The huge impact of the collapse of the [World Foundation] caused cracks to appear in the earth, water flowed wildly, flames and thunder continued to fall from the sky, but the biggest impact still disappeared.

In all the places where the human tribes were located, they saw the remnants of Ji Xuanyuan's sword Qi.

Zhuanxu saw Zhurong defending part of it, saw Bai Ze covered in blood, his armor shattered, lying aside, and saw his grandfather Xuanyuan, who seemed to be riding a yellow dragon, in the sky, and heard cheers.

"Fortunately, fortunately..."

Zhuanxu's lips trembled. Fortunately, his grandfather's True Spirit directly faced that level of impact and did not collapse, so there was still hope, there was still hope...

At this time, Ji Xuanyuan's True Spirit, which was riding the 'Yellow Dragon', tilted his eyes slightly.

His face was calm and gentle, looking at every human tribe, looking at the children, the elderly, looking at the familiar faces, and said to himself in a relaxed tone: "Fortunately... everyone is fine, well, it's enough to be called a great victory!"

He looked at the trembling white-haired woman, just like the young hero who broke into Xiling back then, smiled brightly, and winked his right eye playfully. His body began to shatter, starting from his hands.

Zhuanxu's body collapsed due to intense emotions.

Seeing the yellow dragon created by Bai Ze's release of his greatest authority, [leveraging all laws with one law], dissipate, and seeing the invincible Xuanyuan Emperor's soul also slowly dissipate with this yellow dragon, transforming into a brilliant streamer covering all human tribes.

People subconsciously stretched out their hands.

And Ji Xuanyuan's physical body on the battlefield swayed and fell down as people reached out.

First, his knees knelt heavily on the battlefield, and then he fell to one side, just like every enemy he had killed before, falling on the dirty battlefield. In front was Xuanyuan Hill, a city intact under the protection of Human Qi luck.

His black hair was stained with blood, and his face was soaked in rainwater, and Ji Xuanyuan's black pupils lost all their brilliance.

Around him were the cheers of the surviving humans, and the Human Emperor smiled and no longer spoke.

Enough to celebrate, enough to shout and be proud, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, the foundations and pillars of the world collapsed, and the vitality was chaotic. In such a terrifying and unprecedented disaster in the Three Realms and Eight Desolations, the human race was able to survive and continue to thrive as usual.

And even in later legends, when they talked about the collapse of heaven and earth, the collapse of the heavenly pillar, the northwest tilting of the sky, and the southeast sinking of the earth, they often only talked about Nüwa's benevolence and Gonggong's tyranny, but they did not say that there were any records of heavy casualties among the hundreds of human tribes and common people in the Central Plains at this moment due to the collapse of the sky.

After all, those who died in battle because of the collapse of the sky.

In the end, there was only one person.

The Xuanyuan Sword fell into the blood and stopped roaring.

Emperor Hong, the first Emperor of Xuanyuan.

Reigned for a hundred years and [collapsed], at the age of one hundred and ten.

————《Taiping Yulan·Volume 1》