"In the end, it still came."

Wang Xu's face was somber.

Ever since he knew the purpose of this mission, he had a premonition that something extremely significant would occur.

After all, this was a task personally entrusted to them by the Great Emperors—how could it be a trivial matter?

"But I didn't expect it to be a war in the Chaotic Cosmos."

Even if Wang Xu had never heard of the Chaotic Cosmos war, he knew its horrors.

At that time, the participants would no longer be Celestial Gods or Saint Venerables, but Great Emperors and Ancestors. Each individual at the pinnacle of chaos would engage in a frenzied battle for their respective chaotic cosmos!

It was foreseeable that once the chaos of war erupted, the future would be a stormy and bloody scene!

Thinking of this, Wang Xu felt uneasy.

"No, I must go to the Celestial Trees."

The Celestial Trees, which Wang Xu read about while organizing the Scripture Transmission Hall at the Rebellious Divine Palace, stood at the central region of the Kedan Chaos Cosmos, as if supporting the heavens and earth, a marvel within the Kedan Chaos Cosmos.

Now, besides Wang Xu, all other apex talents had been captured, bound to the Celestial Trees. Both emotionally and rationally, Wang Xu felt obligated to make a trip.

...

Leaving the Land of Chaos, Wang Xu headed to the central region of Kedan.

Several decades later.

"Fengyong."

A prosperous land in Kedan, its vastness surpasses even several Divine Continents combined.

The Power of Laws surged, and Primordial Qi was abundant. It was the place in the entire Kedan Chaos Cosmos where cultivation speed was the fastest.

But at the same time, it was also a "land of turmoil."

Fengyong had a hundred thousand cities, each prosperous, no less than the Six Great Holy Lands.

Only the strongest Ancestor in the Ancestor Realm had the qualifications to become a City Lord of Fengyong, possessing wealth beyond measure and enjoying endless luxury.

Other cultivators wanted it too?

They could, either by choosing to submit to the City Lord or by challenging the City Lord.

The victory goes to the king, and defeat to the bandit; power is paramount. Here, as long as there is strength, anything is possible.

"Fierce Dragon City."

In disguise, Wang Xu removed his cloak, his deep gaze looking far at the massive steel city standing tall.

It seemed like a gigantic dragon made of steel, roaring skyward, daring to challenge any formidable enemy.

The value of the cities within the hundred thousand Fengyong cities would continuously increase from the outskirts to the core. The more central the location, the more the Power of Laws surged, and Primordial Qi grew denser.

At the same time, the strength of the City Lord would equally increase.

Fierce Dragon City, whose City Lord was the "Fierce Dragon Ancestor," was one of the rare Heaven-Defying Ancestors in Kedan.

What is a Heaven-Defying Ancestor?

An Eternal Ancestor in realm, yet with true strength comparable to a Great Emperor—this is a Heaven-Defying Ancestor!

Entering Fierce Dragon City, the noisy atmosphere hit like a gust.

With an Ancestor comparable to the Great Emperor Realm guarding Fierce Dragon City, how could it not be extremely prosperous?

However, Wang Xu did not come to Fierce Dragon City to conduct business or trade treasures but to ascend the "Fierce Dragon Platform" and gaze upon Kedan's marvel—the Celestial Trees.

"So, this is someone from their cosmos? They don't look any different from us."

"Haha! I heard that a few of them are apex talents from the Fengye Chaos Cosmos, coming from great clans and the Divine Palace! Seeing them in such a woeful state is truly laughable!"

"How powerful is our Kedan? A mere Fengye Chaos Cosmos dares to covet Kedan, isn't that courting death?"

"..."

As soon as Wang Xu stepped onto the Fierce Dragon Platform, he was met with the ridicule and sneers of many Kedan cultivators.

Wang Xu's gaze turned cold.

Lifting his head, his gaze locked onto the famous Celestial Trees of Kedan.

It was a massive log reaching the clouds, like a timber post bracing the heavens and earth.

The log was engraved with many mysterious and strange runes, as well as many extinct birds and beasts. Some areas even recorded secret techniques left behind by powerful figures... but Wang Xu cared not for any of this, his eyes fixed intently on the few small figures bound to the Celestial Trees.

Golden Crow Yunzhan.

Qing Xian.

Nine Phoenix Blood Jade.

Celestial Net Thousand Proofs.

Jiao Chui.

Ke Gu Youmu.

...

"Damn it!" Wang Xu's fists clenched tightly, his eyes brewing with fury.

Fengye had sent thirteen apex talents in total; now, except for Wang Xu, the other twelve were all bound to the Celestial Trees.

Their clothes were tattered, faces pale, and their Life Force was being continuously siphoned, never able to recover.

The once glorious apex talents from Fengye had now met such a fate!

Recalling the past, though they were unfamiliar with one another, together they had crossed vast distances to another chaotic cosmos, soaked in the Dragon Pool of Annihilation, cleansing their auras...

Wang Xu felt an urge; he wanted to rush out and cut down that so-called symbol of Kedan's eternal celestial wood, to save everyone!

But he had to restrain himself.

As long as he dared to approach the celestial wood, not to mention anything else, the City Lord of Fierce Dragon City, the Fierce Dragon Ancestor would strike first and kill Wang Xu!

It's true that Wang Xu now has a strong life-saving ability, but that only applies to dealing with ordinary Eternal Ancestors.

If a Heaven-Defying Ancestor were to make a move, it would be equivalent to a Great Emperor Realm attacking him. How could Wang Xu have any ability to fight back?

"Why were they all captured?" Calming down with great difficulty, Wang Xu began to question in his heart.

Twelve peak talents, spread across the Six Great Divine Palaces, all had long purified their auras, detectable only by those of the Great Emperor Realm.

Yet they were all captured without exception.

How could such a coincidence occur?

"Could there be a traitor among us?" As soon as this thought appeared in his mind, Wang Xu immediately shook his head, "Impossible. If there truly was a traitor, they wouldn't all be tied to the celestial wood. If there was a traitor, the biggest suspect... would be me."

Thirteen peak talents, and twelve were captured.

Only Wang Xu remained safe, having disappeared for millions of years.

From any perspective, Wang Xu was the most suspicious.

Wang Xu pondered bitterly.

Soon, he suddenly raised his head.

"Could it be... related to that matter!"

The matter Wang Xu referred to was when he was still at the Immortal Tang Divine Palace, just after leaving the Ancient Luo Cosmos, he was assassinated by two Primordial Saint Venerable Realms.

The Great Emperor had mentioned this to him before; the assassins came from another chaotic universe, and they were after the Fragment of Destruction Truth he held.

"I always found it strange; why, just after I obtained the Fragment of Destruction Truth and left the Ancient Luo Cosmos, was I immediately targeted? It couldn't be that simple!" Wang Xu thought to himself.

If the Kedan people knew early on that the Fragment of Destruction Truth was in the Ancient Luo Cosmos, why not enter directly to seize it? Why would they have to act outside the Ancient Luo Cosmos, isn't that just making it difficult for themselves?

"Could it be that what the Kedan people wanted was not the Fragment of Destruction Truth!" Wang Xu thought of this point.

If viewed this way, all problems could be easily solved.

The Kedan people were not after the Fragment of Destruction Truth; they might not even know that Wang Xu possessed such a treasure.

"Then what could they have tried to assassinate me for? I seem to have nothing worth coveting..." Wang Xu mused.

If there was a treasure to lust after, it would only be his never-before-seen right-hand Heaven-Shocking Secret Collection.

But to cross a chaotic universe distance for the mere Heaven-Shocking Secret Collection of a single Saint Venerable Realm seemed too trivial, didn't it?

"Haha! Look, that guy can't hold on any longer!"

"Being continuously drained of life for a million years, even if they're genius, they can't withstand such a heavy blow. In only a few hundred thousand years, they won't be able to hold on and will perish!"

Hearing the laughter of the Kedan cultivators, Wang Xu hurriedly looked up.

As expected, Celestial Net Thousand Proofs could no longer hold on, showing signs of life collapse.

"Damn it!"

Wang Xu gritted his teeth, "The Kedan people are truly ruthless, using such insidious means to drain their life forces. They even deliberately slow down the drainage speed so that their recovery ability balances with the drainage force, creating a cycle of continuous destruction and repair, causing their life to collapse!"

Draining life force makes a cultivator feel weak and painful.

Restoring life force makes a cultivator feel comfortable.

The Kedan people used this, balancing the drain and recovery to cause Jinwu Yunzhan's and others' life forces to keep losing and recovering, shifting between pain and comfort, going back and forth between heaven and hell.

This life cycle doesn't harm cultivators in the short term, but if it lasts long enough, the cultivator will inevitably weaken and show signs of life collapse.

If it cannot be stopped in time, within hundreds of thousands of years, Jinwu Yunzhan and the others will completely perish.

This is an excellent method of torture and murder.

"Mechanical Ancient Eye, open!"

Upon activating the Mechanical Ancient Eye, Wang Xu scanned everyone's life force.

In more cases, hundreds of thousands of years; in fewer cases, tens of thousands of years, they would all show signs of life collapse.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!"

Wang Xu roared in his heart.

But he was powerless.

At this moment, Wang Xu suddenly seemed to realize something, his face changed drastically.

He stretched out his hand, touching the warm Mechanical Ancient Eye on his forehead.

"That's right... besides the Heaven-Shocking Secret Collection on my right hand, there's also this Mechanical Ancient Eye!" Wang Xu suddenly awoke, "Could it be that the Kedan people were not after the Fragment of Destruction Truth in my hand, but the Mechanical Ancient Eye?"

Wang Xu guessed correctly.

The Great Emperors of Kedan weren't aiming for the Fragment of Destruction Truth, they were after the Mechanical Ancient Eye on Wang Xu!

...

At the same time, in the Outer Nine Heavens, a mechanical warship shaped like a tower floated in the vast void.

"Haha! Delightful! Absolutely delightful!"

"To see Jiufeng and Jinwu in such a sorry state, joining forces this time was indeed the right choice!"

"The hatred between Fengye and us has not been a day or two. The more embarrassed and downcast they are, the happier we are! Haha!"

Feng Zhen the Great Emperor from the Earth Chaos Cosmos, Luya Great Emperor, looked at the images displayed within the projection and laughed heartily. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)