Chapter 945 : The Guardian's Final Stand

"Alas, these old bones of mine must still take to the stage."

In that very instant, the Old Tomb Guardian stationed outside the Gale Divine Ridge let out a sigh.

His eyes snapped open, fixing upon the sky-obscuring Path Principles Power [the fundamental power of cosmic laws and principles], and he took a step forward into the void.

With each stride, his hunched and withered form began to straighten and expand. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a colossus of titanic stature, standing a full one hundred thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] tall.

In that moment, the Old Tomb Guardian resembled a Nine Heavens Heavenly God Demons. He spread his arms wide and, with a mighty grasp, wrapped them around one of the pillars within the Seven Demon God Celestial Pillars.

Seized so abruptly, the Demon God Celestial Pillars shuddered, their radiance flickering violently. The Demon God Slaughter Formation [a formation of immense destructive power] they were unleashing could not fully manifest, momentarily thwarted from coalescing into its lethal array.

"BOOM—"

In the space of a single breath, the Demon God Celestial Pillars erupted in fury. Brilliant chains woven from Path Principles [the fundamental laws of the cosmos] lashed out, slashing the Old Tomb Guardian until his colossal form was drenched in blood.

Yet, under the strain of its full power, the pillar itself was now crisscrossed with deep fissures. For a critical moment, it could not break free from the Old Tomb Guardian's iron grip to deliver the final, fatal blow upon Eldrin Chen.

Left with no choice, it unleashed a cataclysmic surge of Path Principles, intent on first shredding the Tomb Guardian to pieces before turning to slay Eldrin Chen. The story continues at audio-novel . com.

Yet the Tomb Guardian [the guardian of the ancient tomb], allowing the myriad Path Principles [the fundamental laws and energies of cultivation] to assail his body, roared out with a blood-streaked visage, clutching the Demon God Celestial Pillars [the seven divine pillars that suppress the demon god] and glaring with furious defiance.

"Argh... RISE!"

With a thunderous bellow, he wrapped his arms tightly around the Demon God Celestial Pillars and exerted immense force, striving to wrench the pillars, whose roots plunged deep into the earth's core, free from their foundation.

"BOOM!"

Heaven and earth roared in protest; mountains and rivers trembled violently.

The Demon God Celestial Pillars were forged from Nine Heavens Profound Celestial Vein [a legendary ore of immense density and spiritual power], their weight surpassing that of a celestial body.

The Old Tomb Guardian [the ancient guardian of the tomb], relying solely on the strength of his flesh, performed the earth-shattering feat of uprooting the Celestial Pillar. For a moment, the world shook for millions of Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] around; countless mountains crumbled and rivers vanished, a spectacle akin to the sinking of a continent.

The Seven Demon God Celestial Pillars, originally an interconnected entity, had been severely damaged while exerting their full power to suppress and slay Eldrin Chen. Now, they struggled to contain the Old Tomb Guardian, who slowly, inexorably, began to tear them from the embrace of the land.

"Slay! Slay! SLAY!"

The dim, instinctual will of the Demon God Pillars [the sentient pillars that imprison the demon god] erupted in furious alarm. A maddened, murderous intent bloomed, and terrifying Path Principles Power manifested as spears capable of piercing Heavenly God [a powerful divine being], lancing down one after another towards the Old Tomb Guardian.

A series of heart-rending, bone-piercing *thwacks* erupted, accompanied by a torrential spray of crimson, instantly impaling the Old Tomb Guardian. Terrible wounds crisscrossed his entire body, threatening to rend him into a cloud of fragments.

Yet, the Old Tomb Guardian remained utterly impassive. He allowed the boundless Path Principles [the fundamental laws and truths of the universe that cultivators seek to comprehend and embody] to assail his form. With a final, desperate surge of strength, he wrapped his arms around the Demon God Celestial Pillars and heaved…

…and with a terrifying groan of earth and stone, he wrenched the Demon God Celestial Pillars free from the very bedrock of the world.

"BOOM!"

A moment of profound silence was shattered as heaven and earth shook, mountains crumbled, and rivers ran dry.

Depleted of his last ounce of strength, the Old Tomb Guardian tumbled from the peak of the divine mountain, clutching the Demon God Celestial Pillars. In his wake, the landscape shattered, and together they plunged into the vast, desolate earth below.

"NO—!"

At that very instant, a roar of unparalleled grief and fury echoed from the Heavenly Vault. A figure clad in blood-stained white robes strode forth from the heart of the Gale's Eye.

Eldrin Chen's wrath was a tempest, an endless tide of hatred and killing intent that swept across the Heavenly Vault.

With the collapse of the Demon God Celestial Pillars, the power of the grand Formation [a complex array or magical construct that channels energy for defense, attack, or other purposes] lost its crucial anchor. Its potency plummeted by more than half, no longer capable of posing a mortal threat to Eldrin Chen.

At this moment, the three types of primal energies within Eldrin Chen's body converged, forging a power of threefold profundity unprecedented in all of history. With each step he took, his physical strength visibly swelled.

In merely seven steps, his fleshly body had transcended the limits of the Mortal Realm [the plane of ordinary mortals] and ascended to the realm of the Immortal Body [a body of transcendent purity and power], a state scarcely found within the mortal world.

The Primordial One Indestructibility Body [the legendary, unbreakable physique of primordial unity], had reached the stage of minor perfection.

Twin trails of bloody tears streaked from Eldrin Chen's eyes. Paying no heed to the power surging wildly within him, he took a single step into the air and arrived before the Old Tomb Guardian.

The Old Tomb Guardian was now drenched in blood, his form reverted to its stooped and withered state. He appeared shrunken and frail, like an old man clinging to the last vestiges of life.

Eldrin Chen cradled him in his arms, realizing the old man's stature was now barely over four Chi-lengths [approximately one point three meters]. He was terrifyingly gaunt and emaciated, bearing no resemblance to the titanic, heaven-shrouding figure of moments before. This chapter appears courtesy of audio . novel . com.

No one knew how many years the Old Tomb Guardian had lived. His Vitality [the foundational life force of a being] had long since withered and dried up completely, sustained only by the final wisp of his Vital Essence Blood [the most concentrated essence of one's lifeblood and cultivation].

His lifespan had already been exhausted. In this battle, his Five Viscera and Six Bowels [the internal organs in traditional Chinese medicine] and even his very marrow had been pierced through by Path Principles [the fundamental laws and truths of the Great Dao]. These grievous wounds had severed his thread of life, consuming the last of his primordial energy.

"Senior... Senior..."

Eldrin Chen murmured, his heart aching with a pain so profound it stole his breath. Holding the old man, he was momentarily lost, words failing him in the face of such loss.

The old man gently patted his head, a smile of profound acceptance gracing his weathered features. "Do not grieve for me," he said, his voice carrying a final peace.

"Before this old man's final breath, to have witnessed the birth of an Immortal Body [a legendary physique of supreme resilience and power] and to have played a part in quelling the lingering calamity of the Gale Divine Ridge... this life holds no regrets."

"Senior!"

Eldrin Chen's heart trembled. Only then did he react, hurriedly retrieving various Spirit Herb [plants imbued with spiritual energy, used for healing and cultivation] to offer to the elder.

After consuming two of the spiritual pills, a flush of color, like the last glow of sunset, briefly returned to the old man's pallid face.

He gazed intently at Eldrin Chen, a look of deep satisfaction in his eyes as he nodded slowly. "I have lived for tens of thousands of years. Within the Purple Seal Realm, you are the one who most resembles this old man."

"I still remember," he murmured, his voice distant with memory, "in my youth, I cultivated three paths simultaneously: the Immortal Body, the Path Principles [the fundamental laws and truths of the cultivation path], and the Path Fruit [the culmination and essence of one's cultivation journey]. I reached the Demigod Realm [a realm of immense power, half-step to divinity] in all three. I was hailed as the most dazzling genius the Purple Seal Realm had seen in a hundred millennia."

"I believed that by walking this path, I might grasp a sliver of hope to ascend to immortality. Alas, the sudden eruption of the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm severed my path to immortality forever."

The Old Tomb Guardian spoke in a low, reflective tone, recounting the tales of his bygone era to Eldrin Chen.

This Old Tomb Guardian had indeed been a man of extraordinary talent, the pinnacle Demigod Patriarch of his generation in the Purple Seal Realm. His ambition had soared high; he dared to cultivate the Immortal Body, Path Principles, and Path Fruit paths in unison, seeking to forge the legendary Great Encompassing Foundation [a perfect, all-encompassing foundation for ascension, the pinnacle of mortal cultivation].

Speaking of this, the Old Tomb Guardian let out a self-deprecating laugh and said, "But such a foundation for the Immortal Path [the supreme path of cultivation leading to immortality]—where is it so easily forged?"

"This old man cultivated bitterly for tens of thousands of years, yet not only did I fail to ascend to immortality because of it, I was instead constrained by it, never able to take that final step on any single path."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen felt a tremor in his heart and said, "If not for the Demonic Abyss Cataclysm [a great calamity involving a demonic abyss], perhaps you would have succeeded, Senior."

"Not necessarily."

The Old Tomb Guardian shook his head, his expression turning grave. "Ascending to immortality is difficult, more difficult than a mortal climbing to the heavens."

"This old man ultimately failed to take that step. However, my Path Fruit [the culmination of one's cultivation path, a profound achievement] and Path Principles [the fundamental laws and insights of a cultivation path] may yet have a chance to endure."

"Oh?" Eldrin Chen was slightly taken aback before asking, "What do you mean by that, Senior?"

As if the medicinal efficacy was gradually fading, the Old Tomb Guardian's aura began to weaken.

He coughed heavily, then spoke, "After Energy Abyss Chen fell, his Lifebound Spiritual Treasure [a magical treasure bound to a cultivator's life force], the Eastern Sovereign Bell, remained within the Eastern Sovereign Mountain."

"Later, I joined forces with Ruins Path Jiang, and Imperial Sovereign Jiang used the Eastern Sovereign Mountain Range as a foundation to lay down a grand formation, nourishing the Eastern Sovereign Bell with the spiritual energy [the vital energy that flows through all living things and the world] of mountains and rivers spanning millions of Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters]."

"As for this old man, I have poured all of my Path Principles and Path Fruit into the Eastern Sovereign Bell, using them as the crucial catalyst for its ascension to an Immortal Treasure [a supreme artifact of immense power wielded by immortals]."

"Should this endeavor succeed, perhaps the Mortal Realm will gain a new Supreme Immortal Treasure [the pinnacle of enchanted artifacts, surpassing even standard Immortal Treasures], and my Path Fruit [the culmination of a cultivator's lifelong cultivation and enlightenment] and Path Principles may endure for all eternity." Find this and other novels at audio~novel.com.