Judgment

Making his way up the grand staircase that was built purely of marble, Zǔ Zhòu made his way inside through the wide-open front entrance.

The inside was spacious, with a long and wide expanse. A giant red rug greeted his feet, while pillars on the sides supported the roof.

As Zǔ Zhòu walked ahead, he caught sight of a grand golden throne featuring dragon patterns, slightly elevated on its own platform, which overlooked the entire room.

"Found it," he whispered to himself.

Just as Zǔ Zhòu was about to take another step, he abruptly halted, his ears perked up.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

The thumping sound of a beating heart could be heard.

"Ah~ it seems I've missed someone," Zǔ Zhòu thought to himself, doing a cute little smack to the side of his head with his hand as he stuck his tongue out in a playful manner.

He genuinely was happy that someone was still alive.

It would pain Zǔ Zhòu's heart if he had killed everyone.

After all, he loved being face-to-face with the last survivor of a group or place he had slaughtered. It was thrilling to see their despair.

Each quiver of their lips, each tremor in their eyes, each uneven breath, and every moment they were on the verge of tears—it was all too pleasurable.

Zǔ Zhòu clapped his hands together. "Wonderful, just wonderful!" He spoke aloud, not caring if the other person could hear him. After all, they couldn't do anything either way.

Using Shadow Steps, he materialized right on the seat of the golden throne, facing the backrest. Resting his hand on the flesh side of his face, he leaned slightly forward, peering downward with an amused expression.

"Come now, don't be shy! I promise I don't bite!" Zǔ Zhòu's voice dripped with mockery.

The Holy Son, who was curled in a fetal position, rolled back and forth, his eyes squeezing tightly shut as he cowered. He fought against the urge to cry, desperately trying to ignore the demon.

"I'm invisible… I'm invisible… I'm invisible… I'm invisible…" He muttered to himself, repeating the words over and over, hoping that it would actually come true.

Amused, Zǔ Zhòu' let out a small chuckle. "Oh, but you are so very visible! How could I possibly miss a trembling little ant like you?"

The Holy son's voice trembled as he said back, "just an ant… Just a little ant… Nothing to see here…"

Zǔ Zhòu leaned further over the edge, and as he did, his entire head began changing. Flesh and features twisted and contorted, morphing into a grotesque visage.

Feeling an icy breath against his neck. The Holy Son slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with a terrifying sight: a giant skull distorted with razor-sharp bone teeth looming ominously above him.

"You see, fear is a delicacy, and you have served it up so willingly. But don't worry; I'll make it quick. Your soul will join the countless others I've consumed," Zǔ Zhòu said in a distorted voice.

"WAIT—!" Before the Holy Son could scream any louder or beg for his life, in one massive motion, his entire body was eaten.

Seconds later, Zǔ Zhòu's head returned to its normal appearance as he stepped down from the seat.

He let out a burp. "That was tasty." He gave his stomach a gentle pat.

With every living being in the sect killed, Zǔ Zhòu finally shifted all his attention to the reason for his presence here.

He tended to lose focus easily.

With one hand, Zǔ Zhòu forcefully tore the throne from its platform, and just as he was about to toss it, he noticed a small hatch at the bottom.

"Hmm?" He used his free hand to forcefully open the hatch and found a small glass box adorned with golden lines.

When Zǔ Zhòu saw what was inside, he couldn't help but break into a smile on his flesh side face.

"Finally! I've found it!" Reaching his hand inside to grab the box, he grabbed the treasure before he hurled the throne aside.

The box contained the Dao's Heart, a vibrant and multicolored organ that pulsated slowly.

This precious treasure, which Zǔ Zhòu had sought for thousands of years—a treasure that could help him advance beyond heights once thought impossible—was finally within his grasp.

Despite being the strongest in all the Nine Heavens and at the peak of cultivation in the Omnipotent Realm, he still was restrained by the Heavenly Dao.

And Zǔ Zhòu couldn't accept that.

He longed to live fully, unrestrained by the chains of consequence.

Zǔ Zhòu craved destruction. He longed to watch everything ignite in flames, to drown in oceans of blood. He yearned for an unending chorus of cries.

He loathed everything in existence. Now he could finally shatter the chains that had bound him and plunge everything into profound despair.

Not wanting to waste another moment, Zǔ Zhòu shoved the glass box into his mouth, too lazy to open it. As he swallowed, his body suddenly froze.

The Dao's Heart started beating rapidly within him.

A minute later, as Zǔ Zhòu was trying his hardest to stay on his feet, collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood, while a radiant glow enveloped him, shimmering with every imaginable color.

"AARGH! YEAH, I'VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE!" He screamed, as suddenly, he was struck by an intense pain, gripping his forehead while his flesh eye turned bloodshot.

Blood began to flow forcefully from Zǔ Zhòu's ears, nose, and even the skeletal part of his face, cascading onto the surrounding floor.

Despite all this, he felt himself ascending to the next level of cultivation—a realm of the unknown, a level no being had ever reached before.

Zǔ Zhòu knew all he had to do was to cultivate the treasure and burn it within his body, allowing it to fully merge with him.

Ignoring the pain, he forced himself to sit cross-legged, focusing intently as he closed his flesh eye.

But suddenly, out of nowhere, a Heavenly Tribulation descended, a bolt of lightning crashing through the roof and striking him.

Zǔ Zhòu's robe disintegrated on impact, his skin searing as it began to peel away, yet he simply smiled, as he knew his forbidden bloodline would kick in soon.

He was, in fact, quite pleased by what was happening. The more damage dealt to his body, the more pain he endured, the stronger his forbidden bloodline became.

There was a reason why he didn't care about death, as he should have died millions of times by now, but he simply couldn't.

No matter how close Zǔ Zhòu came to the brink, his forbidden bloodline pulled him back.

Death was powerless against him.

Quietly cultivating the Dao's Heart, Zǔ Zhòu let its power flow throughout his entire body.

The Heavenly Tribulation that he was in grew weaker and weaker, until finally, it vanished completely, leaving behind only the lingering crackle of dissipating energy.

"Finished alrea—?" Zǔ Zhòu began, but before he could finish, it started to rain.

With the rain pelting down on him, he opened his flesh eye and looked upward.

Abruptly, thunder began rumbling ominously in the sky outside, and the mountain where the Celestial Sect stood shook violently, causing the ground inside and outside to fracture and collapse in every direction.

All the formations which were protecting the Main Hall completely shattered as cracks spread across its walls, and the entire structure began to collapse.

Out of nowhere, something strange happened.

Zǔ Zhòu felt his bones begin to shatter repeatedly, rendering him unable to move. His meridians felt blocked, and as he focused on his dantians, he realized he couldn't draw any Qi from them.

"AHAHAHHA," he began laughing crazily. "IT'S YOU! This has to be your doing!"

As Zǔ Zhòu's forbidden bloodline surged, everything in his body began regenerating itself, fiercely resisting.

The sky turned a deep crimson as a giant eye, filling the entire expanse above, slowly materialized. Its multicolored iris glowed brightly as it fixated its gaze directly below.

"Ahahaha, Heavenly Dao! YOU DARE STAND IN MY WAY!?!" Zǔ Zhòu laughed even harder, as he began coughing up more blood as he attempted to move.

With his forbidden bloodline faltering, he collapsed onto his back. Reaching both his trembling hands toward the sky, as if he wanted to strangle the Heavenly Dao itself.

Zǔ Zhòu couldn't help but go insane as his entire flesh-side face twisted into a smile, even as the bones beneath cracked and shattered.

He understood precisely what was happening.

The Heavenly Dao itself appeared for one purpose and one purpose only: to punish those who dared to break the Laws of the Dao.

Zǔ Zhòu couldn't help but laugh at himself internally. He had been so close to fully cultivating the Dao's Heart, yet he realized he didn't have enough time to complete it.

Time slowed, then stopped, as the voice of the Heavenly Dao resounded throughout, as it proclaimed its judgment in distorted, overlapping voices:

"Under my authority, I judge you for disturbing the balance. Your being threatens the very fabric of existence. Thus, your punishment shall be nothing less than soul death. How do you plead?"

Boiling with anger and hatred, Zǔ Zhòu, opened his broken mouth, his tone seething with rage:

"I spit on your so-called Laws of Dao! I live only to revel in the suffering of all creation! I have toppled nations. I have destroyed sects. I have SLAUGHTERED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS. I HAVE MURDERED LEGENDS! I am the STRONGEST cultivator the Nine Heavens has ever seen!"

And just like that, nothingness.