CHAPTER 1697: CHAPTER 1697: THE SOVEREIGN SEAL OF ALL BEINGS [FOURTH UPDATE]

A soul-shaking voice suddenly resounded.

Then, within the Divine Capital of Cangsheng, Chu Yuan saw an ancient figure walking out. He was God, he was demon, he was spirit, he was human, he was Cangsheng, he was an ancient existence!

He was the Cangsheng Great Emperor, the founder of the Cangsheng Empire!

But Chu Yuan also saw through his reality; the true Cangsheng Great Emperor had died. He was an embodiment of will, the spirit of the entire empire condensed, immortal and indestructible, existing within the Imperial City.

"Though my body has fallen, my will is eternal."

Chu Yuan pondered this phrase.

That supreme imperial might represented the glory belonging to an era of Cangsheng!

"Cangsheng Great Emperor."

Chu Yuan was calm, gazing at the Cangsheng Great Emperor. He didn’t know what catastrophe befell that era, but he knew the embodiment of Cangsheng Great Emperor’s will was terrifyingly powerful.

His aura was like tides, surging waves; he was the Sovereign of Cangsheng.

In his era, his status was akin to the Creator of Divine Realm at the beginning of this era, the Sovereign of that epoch.

"What is the true meaning of cultivation? Is it for one’s own eternity or for the Cangsheng?"

After the will of the Cangsheng Great Emperor appeared, all fluctuations in the Imperial City subsided. He didn’t appoint someone to inherit his power like the Sect Master of the Hunyuan intended.

Because he was the Emperor.

The Emperor of an epoch.

His empire had perished, the Cangsheng had died, even he himself had succumbed to death. It was impossible for any will left to say, "Come and inherit my throne."

Chu Yuan quietly watched him.

"An individual’s eternity is not eternity, an epoch’s eternity is not eternity either. All living beings need a road leading straight to eternity, to see the hope of eternity."

He seemed to be questioning himself.

"My own eternity is not eternity either, my eternity is to make the empire eternal. I do not know what’s at the end of eternity, nor do I know if there is a road to it. If there’s no road, I’ll create one. If there’s no eternity, I’ll fight out a true eternity. The road to eternity does exist."

Chu Yuan was both indifferent and domineering, as if he were engaging in a cross-temporal dialogue of life and death with the Cangsheng Great Emperor of antiquity.

"The power of Cangsheng!"

The vast pressure of the Cangsheng Great Emperor suppressed towards Chu Yuan!

The power of his will surged, and at this moment, he directly struck at Chu Yuan, unleashing Great Emperor-level power!

The power of the entire Divine Capital gathered towards him, making him sacred and grand.

Seeing the Cangsheng Great Emperor strike at him, Chu Yuan suddenly smiled. He knew that to claim all the treasures of the Cangsheng Divine Capital, he must first withstand the power of the Cangsheng Divine Emperor.

He was matchlessly domineering, channeling the divine martial power of the world.

Facing off against the Cangsheng Great Emperor was not like the earth-shattering aftermath in the Hunyuan Secret Realm; instead, it was a battle of wills, a struggle of imperial paths.

The two imperial-level wills were colliding.

Though he was an Emperor, Chu Yuan’s will was different from the Cangsheng Great Emperor’s. Cangsheng Great Emperor represented the Cangsheng, his heart tied to the world yet carrying imperial dominance.

While Chu Yuan was more domineering, more indifferent, more resolute, determined to forge a path with his own strength.

"Living beings of the world."

At this moment, within the Imperial Capital of Cangsheng, a square imperial seal appeared, with the words "Cangsheng" inscribed in the script of their era.

This imperial seal held boundless power.

The Cangsheng Imperial Seal!

This was the Origin Divine Artifact crafted by the Cangsheng Great Emperor, akin to the Divine Martial God Sword of Chu Yuan’s empire, a national treasure, similar to a national jade seal.

Obtaining this Cangsheng Imperial Seal allowed control over the entire Cangsheng Imperial Capital!

The Cangsheng Great Emperor was silent.

But his intention was clear to Chu Yuan: to claim all the treasures of the Imperial City, one must either completely destroy it or withstand the power of the Cangsheng Imperial Seal.

His will’s phantom also merged into the imperial seal, heavy as the heavens. That vast power could crush a sixth realm.

Of course, Chu Yuan could choose to turn around and leave, but he would gain nothing from here.

"Your Cangsheng, I will accept."

Chu Yuan stepped forward with the pace of an Emperor. Facing the Cangsheng Imperial Seal, he grasped it firmly with his large hand, letting his own will sweep into it vigorously.

In the instant Chu Yuan grabbed it, the imperial seal erupted with ten thousand rays of Cangsheng light, its towering might like heavenly wrath, surging down!

Cangsheng.

Representing all beings, gods, demons, spirits, and the like, are all part of Cangsheng.

To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.

Without powerful will, an invincible mind, and fearless pursuit of eternity, it is absolutely impossible to withstand it, instead, one would be directly overwhelmed by the power of the Cangsheng Imperial Seal.

Chu Yuan’s will was too tenacious, his will-spirit swallowing rivers and mountains, a mentality of supreme sovereignty, allowing his grip on the Cangsheng Imperial Seal to remain steady, uncrushed.

He could feel that the Cangsheng Imperial Seal, despite being just an imperial seal, an artifact crafted by a powerful being.

But he knew the gravity of this seal was far beyond, representing a whole epoch of Cangsheng, an epoch’s divine artifact, and the infinite will of the Cangsheng Empire.

The Cangsheng Great Emperor was the will of all beings in an epoch.

"Cangsheng."

Divine light rays, incomparably resplendent, beams of light shooting forth.

In Chu Yuan’s eyes appeared endless shadows, formed by the will of Cangsheng, forming boundless runes, crushing his own will like millstones.

Chu Yuan’s eyes sparkled brilliantly, able to bear all burdens.

"Of the eternal myriad paths, I take only one, which is control. Whether destiny, whether eternity, with the power of control, command it all. If the future has no path, then I will create one!"

In that instant, Chu Yuan’s will erupted with blazing eternal true fire.

At this moment, he stood there like a piece of sky, holding the Cangsheng Imperial Seal, able to bear all life forms upon him.

He was overwhelmingly strong, a true emperor of an empire, the genuine Emperor, how could he fear this power and let it crush him.

If the true Cangsheng Great Emperor reappeared, Chu Yuan admitted he would not yet be an equal match.

But faced with merely an imperial seal, if he could not command it, how could he conquer an epoch?

Radiance of eternity, a magnificent will, Chu Yuan in an instant also condensed a vast image, incredibly immense, stretching out a will-imbued giant hand towards it.

This hand carried the weight of Cangsheng.

Without an absolutely fearless heart, the will to shoulder all responsibilities, it is absolutely impossible to lift the Cangsheng Imperial Seal.

But what Chu Yuan lacked least were these things; he had fought his way from weakness, through countless wars, growing a weak empire into what it had become.

He would not consider himself a benevolent Emperor, but he surely was an Emperor of responsibility.

"Your epoch has already passed, your Cangsheng has already vanished, and it’s left for me to pave the way for the future, to unveil what lies at eternity’s end!"

Chu Yuan’s domineering will thoroughly collided into the Cangsheng Imperial Seal, and in that instant, he captured the entire Cangsheng Imperial Seal within his grasp, making it his own!

And at the moment of seizing control, all the internal will fragmented into light points and dissipated.

Because they had long fallen, belonging not to the present world.