The black continent floated silently beyond the stars.
No sun illuminated it.
No moon reflected upon its surface.
Yet everyone could see it clearly.
Ancient mountains stretched across its dark landscape, covered in ruins that looked older than the mortal world itself. Broken palaces stood between endless valleys, while enormous statues watched the void with their heads missing.
At the center of the continent stood a gigantic stone gate.
It was unlike anything Su Chen had ever seen.
There were no heavenly runes on it.
No immortal formations.
No spiritual energy.
Yet the moment Su Chen looked at it, the fourth Imperial Seal inside his soul began trembling violently.
Boom.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Boom.
The Heaven Slaughter Sword began humming.
Boom.
A strange sensation spread through his entire body.
The white-haired woman appeared beside him inside his consciousness.
Her expression was unusually pale.
"The First Ruin."
Su Chen stared at the distant continent.
"You've been here before?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then why are you afraid?"
She remained silent for several seconds.
"Because the Emperor was afraid of it."
Su Chen's eyes narrowed.
"The Emperor?"
"Even after he reached the peak of the mortal world, even after he defeated countless Immortals, he refused to enter this place."
Su Chen looked toward the stone gate.
"Why?"
The woman lowered her voice.
"Because nobody who entered the First Ruin ever returned."
Silence spread across the battlefield.
The Sea Sovereign looked at the continent with an unusually serious expression.
"I've heard stories."
Su Chen turned toward him.
The Sea Sovereign's usual arrogance had disappeared.
"My master once told me that before the Ancient Court existed, there was a civilization that ruled countless worlds."
He pointed toward the ruins.
"They called themselves the First Dynasty."
Mu Xue frowned.
"I thought that was a myth."
"So did I."
The Sea Sovereign sighed.
"Until now."
The Pavilion Master looked toward the gigantic stone gate.
"There is something else."
Su Chen turned toward her.
She raised her hand.
A small golden fragment appeared above her palm.
It was an ancient piece of a star map.
The moment it appeared, the First Ruin reacted.
BOOM!
The stone gate released a deep vibration.
Everyone froze.
The fragment in the Pavilion Master's hand began glowing.
The Sea Sovereign immediately pulled out another piece.
His fragment reacted as well.
Mu Xue slowly removed a third fragment from her storage ring.
The three pieces floated toward each other.
They connected automatically.
A complete map appeared.
The map showed the black continent.
Then—
A single location began glowing.
The stone gate.
Su Chen stared at it.
"The entrance."
The white-haired woman nodded.
"Yes."
Suddenly, the gigantic gate moved.
CRACK.
Ancient dust fell from its surface.
The gate opened slightly.
A terrifying darkness appeared beyond it.
Then a voice came from inside.
"Come."
Everyone froze.
The voice was neither male nor female.
It sounded ancient.
Almost mechanical.
But beneath it—
There was intelligence.
Su Chen tightened his grip around the Heaven Slaughter Sword.
Lin Yanyan immediately stepped beside him.
"I'm coming with you."
Su Chen looked at her.
"This place could be more dangerous than the battlefield."
"I know."
She didn't hesitate.
"I'm still coming."
Su Chen stared into her eyes.
Then smiled faintly.
"Fine."
The Sea Sovereign laughed.
"Well, if the two of you are going, I suppose I can't stay behind."
Mu Xue spun her spear.
"You aren't going without me."
The Pavilion Master sighed.
"Apparently, we're all doing this."
Su Chen looked at the four people standing beside him.
For some reason, the scene reminded him of the Ancient Court.
But this time—
He wasn't the Emperor surrounded by generals.
He was Su Chen surrounded by people who chose to stand beside him.
That difference mattered.
"Let's go."
They moved toward the First Ruin.
The moment Su Chen crossed into its territory—
BOOM!
The universe behind him disappeared.
No stars.
No battlefield.
No mortal world.
Only darkness.
Lin Yanyan immediately reached for his hand.
Su Chen looked at her.
"Still here."
She smiled.
"Of course."
The others appeared around them moments later.
The First Ruin was completely silent.
Their footsteps echoed across the ancient stone floor.
After walking for several minutes, they reached a massive plaza.
Hundreds of broken statues surrounded it.
Each statue was different.
Some looked human.
Some looked like beasts.
Others looked like beings Su Chen couldn't even recognize.
At the center of the plaza stood a gigantic stone tablet.
Words were carved into it.
Su Chen walked closer.
The moment he read the first line—
His expression changed.
THE PRIMORDIAL EMPEROR WAS NOT THE FIRST.
Silence.
The Sea Sovereign swallowed.
Mu Xue stared at the tablet.
The Pavilion Master's expression became serious.
Lin Yanyan squeezed Su Chen's hand.
Su Chen continued reading.
HE WAS THE FIRST TO REMEMBER.
His eyes narrowed.
"Remember what?"
The tablet suddenly lit up.
A projection appeared above it.
A young man stood beneath an endless sky.
Su Chen recognized him immediately.
The Primordial Emperor.
But he looked different.
Much younger.
Not yet powerful.
Not yet a Sovereign.
Not even a cultivator.
He was simply a mortal.
Beside him stood another person.
A woman with long white hair.
Su Chen's eyes widened.
He slowly looked toward the white-haired woman inside his consciousness.
She had gone completely still.
"Who is she?"
The woman didn't answer.
Su Chen repeated the question.
"Who is she?"
Finally, she whispered.
"His sister."
Su Chen's heart skipped.
"My sister?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"The Emperor's sister."
The projection continued.
The young Emperor reached toward the woman.
But suddenly—
The sky shattered.
A gigantic eye appeared.
The same eye Su Chen had seen beyond the stars.
The woman screamed.
The projection ended.
Everyone remained silent.
The Sea Sovereign's expression became grim.
"So that thing existed before the Ancient Court."
Mu Xue looked at Su Chen.
"Then the Immortals weren't the true enemy."
Su Chen stared at the empty space where the projection had disappeared.
"No."
His voice became quiet.
"They were only servants."
The stone tablet suddenly cracked.
A second message appeared.
THE FIRST DYNASTY DID NOT FALL.
Su Chen's pupils contracted.
IT WAITED.
Then—
The entire ruin shook.
BOOM!
Something enormous moved beneath them.
The ground cracked.
Lin Yanyan's phoenix flames erupted around her.
"What was that?"
Su Chen raised the Heaven Slaughter Sword.
"I don't know."
A gigantic hand suddenly emerged from beneath the plaza.
Everyone moved simultaneously.
BOOM!
The hand slammed against the ground.
Su Chen swung his sword.
Golden sword qi collided with the hand.
The entire First Ruin trembled.
A monstrous figure slowly rose from beneath the ruins.
It was enormous.
Its body was covered in ancient armor.
Its face was hidden behind a broken mask.
But the aura surrounding it—
Made everyone freeze.
Even the Sea Sovereign's expression changed.
"Immortal…"
The creature raised its head.
Two crimson eyes opened behind the mask.
Then it looked directly at Su Chen.
For several seconds, it didn't attack.
Instead—
It knelt.
BOOM!
The entire plaza shook.
The creature lowered its enormous head.
"Welcome…"
Its voice echoed through the ruins.
"…successor."
Su Chen froze.
"Successor?"
The creature raised its head.
"Of the First Dynasty."
Silence.
The white-haired woman's expression became terrified.
"Su Chen…"
He looked toward her.
She stared at the kneeling creature.
"That means the Emperor wasn't the first successor."
Su Chen's eyes narrowed.
"Then who was?"
The creature slowly pointed toward the deepest part of the First Ruin.
"Your predecessor."
The ancient gate behind it opened.
Beyond the gate was an endless staircase descending into darkness.
And at the bottom
A faint golden light appeared.
Su Chen felt the Fourth Imperial Seal react again.
The creature spoke one final sentence.
"Your true inheritance is waiting below."
Su Chen tightened his grip around the Heaven Slaughter Sword.
He looked at Lin Yanyan.
Then at Mu Xue, the Sea Sovereign, and the Pavilion Master.
Finally
He looked down the endless staircase.
"Let's find out who came before the Primordial Emperor."