The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

The Upper Realm, the Southern Continent of Heaven.

Within an ancient ruin abandoned for countless years, an incredibly dazzling golden light burst forth in the dead of night, flashing by in an instant before returning to deathly silence.

The instant Chu Xiu appeared within this ancient ruin, he immediately activated one of the powers of the Heaven-Suppressing Ruler—the technique of shielding heavenly secrets and concealing his aura.

He erased his, Murong Si's, and Tu Shanwan's auras from this ruin, as if they had never existed here.

Murong Si was about to say something, but Chu Xiu stopped her.

The next second, a dozen figures flew in from afar on their swords, and several Void Breaking Realm divine senses scanned the ancient ruins inside and out, but they did not detect anything unusual.

"Strange, I clearly saw a flash of light suddenly appear here..."

"You must be mistaken. This ancient ruin was looted by the powerful figures of the Southern Continent tens of thousands of years ago. How could it possibly be our turn?"

"Let's go, let's go. This is such a waste of my time, pulling this in the middle of the night!"

After failing to find anything, the dozen or so figures made a ruckus and fled into the distance.

Chu Xiu watched them leave, but still stood in front of Murong Si and Tu Shan Wan, preventing them from making any rash moves:

"Wait! There are still people who haven't left!"

As expected, before Chu Xiu finished speaking through his divine sense, the figure of an old man in purple robes appeared in the sky above the ancient ruins. After thinking for a moment, he actually landed directly a dozen meters away from Chu Xiu and the other two!

The aura emanating from him was even greater than that of the dozen or so Void Breaking Realm cultivators combined!

Murong Si and Tu Shanwan's expressions changed, and they felt a wave of fear wash over them.

If Chu Xiu hadn't been so perceptive, the three of them would probably have been exposed as soon as they entered the Upper Realm.

The old man in purple focused his mind and spread his divine sense throughout the entire ruins, searching inside and out several times, but still found nothing.

"Could it be... that I'm seeing things?"

"No, it's impossible!"

"As a cultivator at the Transcendent Realm, how could my eyes be deceiving me? This is the tomb of a human emperor from 100,000 years ago! Although this place has long been abandoned, if I can find a trace of imperial aura here, I might very well ascend to the throne of the current human emperor!"

Seeing that the purple-robed elder had no intention of leaving, Chu Xiu knew that he could not sit and wait for death any longer. He immediately turned around, used the power of breaking through the void and combined it with the power of the Heaven-Suppressing Ruler to tear through the void behind the three of them, creating a void rift that led to an unknown destination.

The Celestial Realm, being a vast world, contains countless smaller worlds of all sizes.

In the celestial realm, one can break through the void without entering the chaotic world and attracting void storms.

However, Chu Xiu was new to the place and did not know where breaking through the void within this nameless ancient ruin would lead.

But now, if they want to avoid being caught by that purple-robed elder who has reached the Transcendent Realm, there is only one way to escape!

Chu Xiu didn't say much. He grabbed Murong Si and Tu Shanwan's hands and disappeared into the void.

The moment the void rift appeared, the purple-robed elder sensed the spatial fluctuations. When he turned to look, he only saw Chu Xiu pulling the two women into the void rift. Then the void rift closed tightly and disappeared.

"Hmm? Just three juniors at the Void Breaking stage..."

The purple-robed elder stomped his foot and arrived at the spot where the three had disappeared. He twitched his nose and gave a strange smile.

"There's even a fox demon... Good lad, you've got some tricks up your sleeve!"

"There isn't even a trace of a void rift... How is it possible that a mere Void Breaker's spatial escape technique is so masterful?"

"Something's fishy. Chase after them and find out what's going on!"

The purple-robed elder immediately waved his hand, opening a void rift at the same location. He stepped into it and disappeared. The void rift remained open for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before slowly closing.

The figures of Chu Xiu and his two companions appeared in an endless starry sky, with no path in sight, only emptiness.

Chu Xiu, who already possessed the True Heart Realm cultivation in the lower realm, immediately recognized that the scene before him was merely an illusion.

Although Murong Si and Tu Shanwan had some understanding of the Void Breaking Realm, they had not yet truly entered it and were both temporarily confused by what they saw.

Looking at the two women, who were shrouded in this endless void and illusion, with their eyes closed, their delicate brows slightly furrowed, and seemingly enlightened, Chu Xiu knew that their opportunity to break through the void had arrived.

He simply closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the endless void before him had vanished, and a deep, bottomless tunnel appeared before him.

The three of them actually entered the interior of the ruins, into a large, dark, secret chamber.

Chu Xiu used his divine sense, but found that it could only extend to a distance of three meters around him before it could not expand any further, as if there was an invisible force inside the ruins restricting the detection of his divine sense.

Helpless, Chu Xiu had no choice but to walk around and check the secret room where the three of them were located. Only after confirming that there was no danger did he look at the extremely deep tunnel.

He had a premonition that this tunnel must lead to the depths of the ruins.

However, since Murong Si and Tu Shanwan have not yet completed their advancement, the purple-robed elder who has reached the Transcendent Realm may still come after them. After thinking about it, Chu Xiu decided to give up the idea of ​​going deep into the territory alone.

But the instant he turned and walked toward the two women, an invisible force transformed into a giant hand that reached out from the deep tunnel and pulled Chu Xiu's body into it!

"What the hell is this?! Damn it!"

Chu Xiu tried his best, but he couldn't break free from the large hand's grasp and was dragged into the tunnel.

The next second, Chu Xiu's vision was once again covered and enveloped by an endless void.

What is emptiness?

What is meant by "breaking through the void"?

A majestic voice echoed in Chu Xiu's mind, raising that question once again.

"I've already broken through the Void Realm? Why ask me this question? Who are you? What is your purpose?"

Chu Xiu did not answer the question. Looking around at the endless void where reality and illusion were indistinguishable, he asked a question in return.

"The so-called 'breaking through the void' is merely a shortcut to heaven! It is all illusion!"

What do you mean?

Chu Xiu frowned. Was the Void Breaking Realm merely a shortcut to the end of cultivation?

Why is it a shortcut?

Where does spiritual practice end?

Tell me, in your eyes, what is breaking through the void?

The voice brought up the question again, as if it wouldn't give up until Chu Xiu answered.

Chu Xiu replied without hesitation, "I believe it to be an illusion, not that endless void that blocks cultivators from ascending to heaven!"

"It is the delusion within each practitioner of their own true nature, their past, present, and future!"

"The so-called breaking through the illusion means distinguishing between reality and illusion, and breaking through falsehoods, so that one can ascend to the Great Dao!"

Upon hearing Chu Xiu's answer, the majestic voice fell silent for a few breaths, neither rejecting Chu Xiu's answer nor letting out a sigh:

"What a brilliant way to distinguish truth from falsehood and dispel illusions!"

"But if that's all there is to it, we cannot ascend the Great Road!"

"The so-called 'breaking through illusion' is merely a temporary dismantling of inner falsehoods; it cannot completely eradicate them. It is a trick and a way of escaping!"

"When the time to attain true enlightenment is imminent, the dangers of delusion will arise again. At best, one will fail to break through to the next level; at worst, one will die and perish!"

"Only by completely shattering the illusion and making it impossible for it to reappear can we eliminate any hidden dangers!"

"Shattering the Void is the true path to heaven!"

"Shattering the Void... is the true path to heaven?"

Chu Xiu pondered the words of that authoritative voice carefully, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

Looking at the endless void before him, which even those at the Breaking Void Realm and the Crossing True Heart Realm could not penetrate, he recalled the words of that majestic voice and seemed to have gained some insight.

"Breaking through illusion, just as a broken mirror can be mended..."

"Shattered illusions are like shattered mirrors, impossible to repeat!"

"One thought can be illusory, another can be real!"

"Once I shatter the illusion completely, and make it real, it can no longer be illusory!"

When Chu Xiu opened his eyes again, he could distinguish between reality and illusion in an instant!

Throughout his journey, he regarded fame, fortune, and immortality as illusions, and regarded the righteous path he followed, the justice in his heart, and the common people of the lower realm as real. After becoming the master of the lower realm, he added the lives of all living beings in the lower realm to his life.

The purpose of discerning truth from falsehood is to find the right path in one's own heart!

But Chu Xiu had already figured it out!

If the Great Dao of the Heavens contradicts the righteous path in Chu Xiu's heart, then it is illusory!

Since it is illusory, it should be broken and shattered!

boom!

Chu Xiu stood in the void, his aura rising steadily and then suddenly spreading out!

He clearly sensed an invisible barrier being torn apart bit by bit in front of him.

Chu Xiu knew that it was the barrier that used the illusion of breaking through the void to conceal the path of shattering the void from all living beings!

Who exactly is deceiving the masses, leading later practitioners down a path completely deviating from their true nature?

The thought had just crossed Chu Xiu's mind when he suddenly lowered his body and felt an immense force that he could hardly bear suddenly appear above his head, as if it were suppressing him or even crushing him into mincemeat!

"madness!"

"How dare you, in your current state, seek the truth?"

The majestic voice rang out again, and Chu Xiu immediately felt the immense force on his body being slowly lifted by an invisible giant hand, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

"Quickly sever that thought. Before you reach the Emperor Realm, you must not entertain such a thought again!"

Chu Xiu obeyed the command of the majestic voice without hesitation, and immediately struck his head to erase the memory fragment of that thought!

Only after this step was completed did that invisible force dissipate.

Chu Xiu breathed a sigh of relief, cursing himself for being foolish and almost getting himself killed here.

Just then, the void where he was standing suddenly emitted a cracking sound. Chu Xiu looked down and saw that the void beneath his feet had cracked into countless fissures, which quickly spread throughout the entire space.

Chu Xiu's aura had reached its peak. With a stomp of his foot, he completely shattered the cracked void!

At this moment, he finally succeeded, shattering the illusion and stepping into the realm of shattering the void!