Above the Celestial Realm, the clouds and mist dissipated as a multitude of attacks came thundering down.
Li Chang’an looked up. As far as the eye could see, the sky was filled with a rain of arrows, leaving virtually no room to dodge. However, despite the sheer number of attacks, they clearly couldn’t harm Li Chang’an’s physique.
With a thought, clusters of Bone and Flesh Fire appeared on the surface of his body. All incoming arrows were burned to ash by the Bone and Flesh Fire before they could get within thirty feet of him.
After one volley, the ground of the Celestial Realm was littered with arrowheads, yet Li Chang’an remained completely unscathed.
Evidently, the Celestial Realm had anticipated this.
In fact, they never expected a simple rain of arrows to be enough to kill Li Chang’an. The whole elaborate display was merely to stall him.
The Incense and Candle Divine Dao was prevalent in the Immortal Realm. When experts cultivated this Dao to a certain level—like the True God or even Emperor Realm—their bodies had long since undergone complete Divinization. As long as its Incense was not extinguished, a Divinized body possessed a near-eternal lifespan, completely transcending the category of ordinary living beings.
Of course, a Divinized body didn’t only have advantages; its drawbacks were not to be underestimated either.
Beings who had undergone Divinization would merge with their Incense. Under normal circumstances, without an external force to rouse them, they would find it very difficult to awaken, only doing so naturally once every few decades or even centuries.
The Incense Fire True Gods could not refuse the allure of eternal life. Thus, any being who cultivated the Incense and Candle Divine Dao would inevitably find themselves merging with and being held hostage by their Incense in the later stages.
Of course, these were not problems for a group of common soldiers to consider.
The only thing the soldiers needed to consider was this: an unknown enemy had suddenly invaded. As they had been trained, they had to buy time for the True Gods and Emperors to awaken. Once those beings awoke, they could easily turn the tide of battle.
At first, Li Chang’an didn’t realize this. He just thought it was utterly redundant for the magnificent Celestial Realm to maintain such an army.
But as he advanced, he quickly discerned their intentions.
Therefore, he stopped paying attention to the obstructions of the surrounding Celestial Soldiers and Generals. Ignoring all attacks from anyone below the True God Realm, he charged straight for the core of the Celestial Realm.
However, his realization came too late.
Or perhaps, it wouldn’t have mattered even if he had realized it sooner.
The Celestial Realm had been designed with this very problem in mind. It employed various methods to restrict an intruder’s speed, buying time for the great figures who had forged complete Divine Bodies to awaken from their deep slumber.
「As Li Chang’an neared the core region of the Celestial Realm.」
The once-peaceful Celestial Realm had now fully awakened.
Dozens of True Gods, several even more powerful True Gods, and an Emperor known throughout the realms... It was a terrifying display of power and numbers. Compared to the Mortal Realm, it was an absolute curb-stomp.
Following behind Li Chang’an were the hundred-plus members of his Celestial Realm conquest team. Ordinarily, they would be considered a formidable force, but before the might of the Celestial Realm, they seemed somewhat weak.
The Emperor leading the Celestial Realm’s forces had a large sun symbol above his head. Just by standing there, he shone like a blazing sun, making it impossible for anyone to look directly at him.
When he saw Li Chang’an, the Emperor’s gaze turned cold. "They say heaven has a path, but you refuse to walk it; Hell has no gate, yet you insist on barging in," he said coolly. "To dare trespass in the Immortal Realm with your followers... it seems you’ve grown tired of living!"
Hearing his voice, the members of the conquest team behind Li Chang’an couldn’t help but feel their hearts tremble.
The being hadn’t introduced himself, but with just a single glance, everyone present—including Li Chang’an—recognized him.
There was no mystery as to why. His name in the Mortal Realm was simply too renowned. He was the most famous of the Celestial Realm’s twelve Emperors: the Sun Emperor, who possessed vast lands and countless worshipers.
His origins were rather mysterious. Although he was said to be a newly ascended Emperor, the lands and fame he had amassed over the years suggested his identity was not as simple as the rumors claimed.
After all, if he were truly the newest of the twelve Emperors, he should have the smallest territory and the least renown among them.
But the reality was the exact opposite. The Sun Emperor was the most powerful among the twelve Emperors, and he had been constantly expanding his territory in recent years. If not for Li Chang’an and his people spreading the Martial Dao, the Sun Emperor’s might would likely be even greater than it was now.
Li Chang’an sized him up, mentally comparing their relative combat strengths. "Doesn’t the Celestial Realm have twelve Emperors?" he asked calmly. "Why are you the only one here?"
Hearing this, the Sun Emperor couldn’t help but burst into laughter. "To deal with you alone, you think I need help from the other Emperors?" he said, his voice chilling. "You really overestimate yourself!"
Seeing the Emperor’s condescending attitude, Li Chang’an said no more.
’If the Celestial Realm truly had twelve Emperors and Four Celestial Monarchs, then even if I had two extra arms, I’d be no match for them.’
But given the current situation, it was clear Li Chang’an had guessed correctly.
’I’ve already fought my way to the Celestial Realm’s stronghold, and True Gods are on the verge of falling, yet in the end, the Celestial Realm has only sent out the Sun Emperor.’
’This can’t be because the Celestial Realm is underestimating me.’
’So there’s only one possibility: something has gone wrong in the Celestial Realm. Something major. It’s caused the entire Immortal Realm’s combat power to decline drastically.’
’Since they only have one Emperor, this fight no longer seems so one-sided.’