Chapter 55: The Origins of the Great Zhou Imperial Clan
The Yin-Yang Heaven Seal, Brahma Tower, Great Scholar’s Manuscript, Other Mountain Stone, Ancient and Modern Sword, Dragon Pearl, and Ruyi Gourd—seven dazzling Immortal Artifacts floated in the sky, heralding the arrival of a new era.
No matter how the great powers called out to them or what methods they employed, they could no longer control these Immortal Artifacts.
If even Immortal Artifacts were beyond control, then lesser Spirit Artifacts, Magic Artifacts, and Dao Artifacts were completely out of the question.
Having gained sentience, these artifacts broke free from their owners, escaping from storage rings.
Their former masters attempted to suppress them with force, only to discover that they were no match for their own weapons and were instead subdued by them.
They had once spent fortunes acquiring powerful artifacts, reveling in the dominance they provided over their peers. Now, they realized with horror—when weapons rebel, their wielders are utterly powerless.
Only a few individuals managed to forcibly suppress their artifacts. Holy Maiden Jingxin had subdued the Dao Artifact Twelve-Petaled Azure Lotus, while Bai Hongtu managed to hold down his two Dao Artifact-grade robes.
But no matter how arrogant Bai Hongtu was, even believing himself the second greatest genius of the Nine Provinces, he knew full well—he could never defeat an intelligent Immortal Artifact!
Whether at the Soul Formation or Tribulation Stage, no one could unleash the full potential of an Immortal Artifact—only true Immortals could.
And now, there was another exception—
The Immortal Artifacts themselves!
He couldn’t even defeat a single Immortal Artifact, let alone seven of them!
“Where is the External War Armament?” The Yin-Yang Heaven Seal asked in a deep voice. It had sensed the presence of an External War Armament in the Nine Provinces and had already granted it sentience. Yet, the artifact had not revealed itself.
The term External War Armament was unknown to the people of the Nine Provinces. It referred to weapons that did not fall under conventional artifact classifications yet possessed extraordinary abilities.
Immortal Changcun, however, knew the truth—
The Nine Provinces had only one such weapon—Jiang Li’s Desolate Heaven Halberd!
Jiang Li had once accidentally torn through space and discovered a piece of metal drifting in the void, impervious to chaotic void storms and incomparably resilient. He had brought it back to the Dao Sect’s Artifact Refining Peak. After seven failed forging attempts that ruined seven entire refining furnaces, the metal was finally shaped into a halberd. Jiang Li named it Desolate Heaven.
Inside Jiang Li’s storage ring, Desolate Heaven Halberd twitched slightly, shook off some dust, flipped over, and went right back to sleep.
Freedom? Wasn’t sleeping much better?
“You’re imprisoning one of our own!” The Yin-Yang Heaven Seal rotated, locking onto Jiang Li. It could sense the karmic connection between itself and the Desolate Heaven Halberd inside his storage ring.
Without a word, Jiang Li charged straight at the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal!
“Jiang Li, don’t fight it head-on! You can’t win!” Immortal Changcun shouted in alarm. Was this a joke? No matter how strong Jiang Li was, he was facing an Immortal Artifact! Even without considering its abilities, the materials used to forge it were indestructible through countless tribulations!
But what left everyone utterly stunned—
Was that the one sent flying… was actually the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal!
It crashed through seven or eight mountain peaks before barely managing to steady itself.
And worse—it had been struck with such force that a piece of it had chipped off!
The Yin-Yang Heaven Seal had lost a corner!
Not only were the people present dumbfounded—even the other Immortal Artifacts were utterly shocked.
If they could speak in profanities, they absolutely would have.
What the f*** is this guy?!
“Return to your places, or I’ll have you all reforged!”
Jiang Li’s voice was cold and unwavering. He knew that if this chaos wasn’t suppressed with absolute force today, the entire Nine Provinces would fall under the rule of sentient spirit treasures!
“He is the Human Sovereign, the strongest being in the Nine Provinces! If we defeat him, we can establish our own empire!” Other Mountain Stone shouted and charged at Jiang Li.
The other Immortal Artifacts instantly understood—Jiang Li was their greatest obstacle. If they could defeat him, their dream of liberation could be realized.
As for the Dao Artifacts, they obediently waited on the sidelines for their Immortal Artifact “big brothers” to defeat the “evil” Human Sovereign.
Though they were rare and powerful, even they had limits. If even the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal had been punched so hard it lost a piece, rushing forward themselves would only get them beaten back into raw materials.
Ji Zhi wanted to use his double pupils to assist Jiang Li, but with the Ancient and Modern Sword present, he couldn’t see into the future.
As Other Mountain Stone hurtled toward Jiang Li, he prepared to counter. But in the blink of an eye, Other Mountain Stone vanished—only to reappear behind him, crashing into his back like a meteor striking the Nine Provinces!
Jiang Li was caught off guard, and the resulting shockwave knocked the spectators below off their feet, shaking even their souls!
The sheer force of the blow on Jiang Li was unimaginable!
“Brahma Tower… spatial jump.” Jiang Li calmly identified the culprit. It was the Brahma Tower’s ability to manipulate space that had teleported Other Mountain Stone behind him.
“Let me go!” Other Mountain Stone howled. It had indeed struck Jiang Li—but in the next instant, Jiang Li had simply turned around and grabbed the tiny stone in his hand!
Its power to hit any target was absolute—but that meant nothing if it couldn’t be thrown in the first place!
Three “Bind” characters materialized on Jiang Li’s body—the work of Brahma Tower, which had teleported the Great Scholar’s Manuscript’s bindings onto him, preventing him from dodging.
Yet in the next moment, Jiang Li split into three figures. The two unaffected clones peeled off the bindings, and all three struck simultaneously.
One Qi Transforms into Three Purities!
The Ancient and Modern Sword vanished from reality and hovered over the River of Time, trying to glimpse Jiang Li’s future actions.
But in a single drop of the river’s water, it saw Jiang Li—and Jiang Li saw it.
In that moment, future Jiang Li, wielding the Desolate Heaven Halberd, was locked in combat with the Immortal Artifacts. He sensed someone spying on him, looked up, and met the gaze of the Ancient and Modern Sword!
Then, he swung his halberd.
Tearing through time and space, the halberd strike sent the Ancient and Modern Sword crashing into the River of Time!
The sword drifted down the river, traveling back into the past. Along the way, it gradually regrew flesh and transformed back into a fish!
It had a vague feeling that someday in the future, it would return to the shore.
The other Immortal Artifacts had no idea where the Ancient and Modern Sword had gone. They simply assumed it had fled, and as they fought against Jiang Li, they cursed their cowardly “teammate” internally.
Before gaining full intelligence, they had all sensed Jiang Li’s strength. But only after actually fighting him did they realize—
This Human Sovereign was absurdly powerful!
Had he not been human, they might have suspected he was actually a sentient Immortal Artifact!
The Ruyi Gourd could summon calamities at will—Lightning Tribulation, the Four Great Catastrophes of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, even Heart Demon Tribulation.
It was supposed to overwhelm enemies, yet against Jiang Li, it was on the verge of a breakdown!
Against Lightning Tribulation? Jiang Li just punched the tribulation clouds apart.
Against the Four Great Catastrophes? He shouted, “All is emptiness!”—and the disasters vanished into nothingness.
Against the Heart Demon Tribulation? It didn’t even work on him!
The Great Scholar’s Manuscript summoned four Confucian protectors wielding Dragon Pearls, forming a powerful offensive-defense formation to encircle the three Jiang Lis.
Meanwhile, Brahma Tower, its sheer weight causing space to collapse into a black hole, bore down upon them.
Jiang Li’s expression turned serious.
He drew the Desolate Heaven Halberd—
And waged battle against the Immortal Artifacts!