Blood slowly dripped downward as his clothes became tattered. His body was ruined as well with bones visible in many places and smashed flesh. Nevertheless, he maintained a proud and straight posture.
The situation of this epoch lord looked downtrodden but not him. He stood there, determined and even relaxed – mentally prepared for this moment.
The emperors had no comment. For the high-level ones, they could see a bit of them while looking at him.
He was an apex existence, something they were aiming for. Thus, his end was more of a warning to them.
It didn't matter whether he was a good or bad person; a defender of light or walker of darkness. From a cultivation perspective, his achievements were worthy of respect. Moreover, morality was not as black and white for them. People simply had a different perspective on the world.
Thus, the death of this invincible being painted a melancholic feel. They weren't exactly sympathetic to his doom, but they saw many things in this event, including a potential end in the future. Perhaps it won't be as grand and shocking like Samsara's death, but it'll come.
“Time to end this.” Li Qiye said. He had killed too many people already, one more was just fine.
“Yes.” Samsara smiled: “I've been hiding and accumulating strength all along in order to defeat the high heaven. But the truth was to escape death. But now, when death is actually here, there is no fear in me.”
Samsara was aware that his defeat was assured. He knew that Li Qiye still had other methods up his sleeve. Retaliation was futile.
“Any last words?” Li Qiye asked.
“What do I have to say? Those worthy of my attention are long gone, those I love and those who love me. Even my old friend and enemy, Saint, is no longer around. The world has nothing for me to look at now.” Samsara was very calm in the face of death. His attitude was worthy of being a supreme overlord.
He continued: “Well, I guess my last words will be hoping for your victory at the final battle. This path has lasted for too long, the cycles of epochs, so many wise sages and heroes have bent their back. Unfortunate, I won't be able to see it.”
“The day when I return triumphantly will come.” Li Qiye stoically said.
It wasn't only for Samsara to hear but also the rest of the emperors.
“I see.” Samsara looked up towards the wildland epoch one last time back in the river of time. His darkness once loomed over it; the inhabitants there detested him.
He had turned it into an ocean of blood and devoured countless beings. He was the devil, the bringer of nightmares. But ultimately, it was still his epoch where he lived, so he still had to look at it again.
Perhaps this was the only thing worth another glance from him.
“Goodbye.” Samsara closed his eyes and said: “Fellow Daoist, do it. What you want are in my lair.”
“Time to finish this!” Li Qiye uttered calmly.
“Poof!” Samsara's blood erupted like a storm. It was then dragged out by Li Qiye and refined into laws intertwining together to form a key.
In the beginning, when Li Qiye was refining that pond of blood, he had prepared something in there. Samsara thought he had crushed it but it was still secretly there.
This was a way for Li Qiye to obtain Samsara's origin blood, the only way for him to open the guy's lair.
“Boom!” Samsara fell backward to the ground. His body was burning after his origin blood got refined.
There were wisps of smoke left behind, not belonging to light or darkness. He used to be a living person so after death, he turned into smoke. It was a way to return to the roots, a place without light and darkness.
The battle has finally ended. The wildland would become history, no longer shrouded in darkness. The entire region became quiet; the wailings have disappeared.
The emperors involved in the battle heaved a sigh of relief. This was definitely their toughest fight since one wrong move and they would have turned to ashes.
The spectating emperors were speechless as well. The slaughtering of a dark overlord had shocked them, especially his power. If one day, when the darkness finally came, they would be mere ants if they didn't work together.
If it wasn't for the Dark Crow planning the whole thing with the help of someone like Saint and twenty emperors, there was no chance of victory. Emperors like them were nothing before Samsara, not even enough to be appetizers.
“Boom!” Back on the river of time, all the holy light in the wildland epoch started to fly. It had destroyed the darkness entirely and fused with the epoch a while ago. However, it peeled off from the epoch and left.
“Rumble!” Loud explosions echoed on the river of time. The light was gathering together to form a dao heart.
A holy heart once again appeared above the sky of the wildland epoch. It exuded holy strings reaching everyone. Time was no longer a limiting factor so everyone could sense this string reaching their heart. It was warm and harmonizing, worthy of people yearning for it.
The heart began to beat at a slow pace. Each beat was moving across the river of time and everyone could hear it. Their heart also jumped in the same rhythm.
A strand of holiness was born inside and illuminated their own heart. It seemed to be eternal despite its flickering nature. They wouldn't be lost in the shadow since this light would show the way.
They didn't exactly know what was going on but henceforth, holiness was within them. In their most desperate moment, this light would spark some hope into them. Just a little bit of hope, enough for them to move forward.
The thirteen continents were affected as well. The other emperors couldn't actually see all the details happening in Pure but after sensing this heartbeat, they could clearly feel the power of light.