God-Tier Fishing System-Chapter 636

"Don’t worry. Just accept it."

Onyx Orchid’s voice echoed lazily within Ethan’s sea of consciousness, carrying an air of certainty.

"That’s it, then." Ethan nodded lightly.

After a brief pause, another question surfaced in his mind.

"How do you know so much about Emperor Sage?"

Onyx Orchid crossed his arms, his tone casual. "I don’t know why either. These memories are simply there. Emperor Sage was too famous. Ancient records, secret collections, forbidden histories—his name appears everywhere. He was the last Great Emperor of this era on Oceanreach Continent."

"So far," Onyx Orchid continued, "Oceanreach Continent has never produced a second Great Emperor."

Ethan frowned slightly. "But aren’t there many powerful existences in the Emperor Realm? The White Emperor, for example. Isn’t he a Great Emperor?"

Onyx Orchid fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"You’ve reached a level where I can explain this properly."

"After fusing with the mask, I recovered part of my memories."

"The so-called Emperor Realm is merely the beginning of becoming a Great Emperor."

"Once a cultivator steps into the Perfect Supreme, they will inevitably encounter a bottleneck after a long period of accumulation."

"To break through that bottleneck, one must trigger a tribulation."

"Not an ordinary tribulation."

"A Heavenly Tribulation."

"Or as many call it... Heaven’s Punishment."

Onyx Orchid’s voice grew heavier.

"Cultivation is a path that defies heaven and nature. To step into the Emperor Realm, one must withstand Heaven’s Punishment."

"The power of this tribulation is terrifying beyond imagination."

"If you survive it, the path to the Emperor opens."

"If you fail... you die."

"There are some who survive but are crippled by it, unable to advance even a single step for the rest of their lives."

"Heaven’s Punishment can only be triggered once."

"One chance."

"Fail, and there is no second opportunity."

"There is another case," Onyx Orchid continued.

"Some cultivators lack sufficient foundation. Even if they endure Heaven’s Punishment, the power of Great Dao is incomplete. The Emperor Path fails to fully open."

"These are the so-called false emperors."

Ethan listened silently.

"Generally speaking," Onyx Orchid said, "the stronger the Heavenly Tribulation, the greater the chance of fully opening the Emperor Path."

"But what determines the power of Heaven’s Punishment?"

"Foundation."

"The depth and perfection of one’s cultivation realm."

"And the accumulation of Heavenly Vein energy and Earthly Vein energy absorbed over countless years."

"Every realm must be polished to perfection."

"As for Heavenly and Earthly Vein energy, Oceanreach Continent is bound by the black chains in the sky. Cultivators here can barely absorb such energies."

"Even those who step into the Emperor Realm under these conditions are far weaker than emperors of the ancient era."

"They are barely comparable to pseudo-emperors of old."

"But you," Onyx Orchid said, his tone shifting, "are different."

"You have guidance from the Original stone tablet."

"You walk the path of body cultivation."

"You possess the technique of the Star Emperor."

"You already know the weakest point of the chains binding heaven and earth."

"You don’t need to worry too much about those limitations."

Ethan’s eyes flickered faintly.

"The Emperor Realm is not the end," Onyx Orchid continued.

"It is merely the beginning of the Great Emperor."

"Above the Emperor Realm lies the true Great Emperor."

"And above the Great Emperor..."

Onyx Orchid paused, then spoke with rare solemnity.

"The Immortal Emperor."

"The Immortal Emperor possesses an infinite lifespan."

"True immortality."

"Eternal existence."

Ethan fell into deep thought.

So that was the structure of the peak realms.

Emperor. Great Emperor. Immortal Emperor.

True immortality lay only at the very end.

Emperor Sage had fallen, likely because he failed to reach that final step.

As for the Hibiscus Sacred Tree...

A Holy Spirit born at the dawn of heaven and earth.

If it still existed today, then it had likely already stepped into that realm of immortality.

"You really know everything," Ethan said quietly. "Like a living encyclopedia."

Then his gaze sharpened slightly.

"So... do you know who forged the black chains hanging over the sky?"

Onyx Orchid shrugged lazily. "Fuse a few more masks. Recover more memories. Maybe then I’ll know."

"I understand." Ethan nodded without hesitation.

Onyx Orchid’s eyes shifted slightly.

For a fleeting moment, a warmth surged through his heart.

Oceanreach was vast beyond measure.

Finding the second mask had already been an absurd stroke of luck.

Searching for all the masks scattered across the world was harder than reaching the heavens.

And yet...

Ethan had taken his words seriously.

"Ahem..." Onyx Orchid coughed twice.

"The masks are scattered everywhere. Collecting them all won’t be easy. I’m already satisfied without the others. You don’t need to force yourself."

"Are you joking?" Ethan replied calmly.

"Since I decided to help you gather all the masks, I won’t break my promise."

"Even if I have to search the ends of the world."

"I will find them all."

His words were steady, resolute.

A surge of warmth struck Onyx Orchid squarely in the chest.

Sincerity, when unguarded, was the most lethal thing of all.

"Hmph..." Onyx Orchid muttered stiffly.

"I’m a ghost god. How could I be moved by a human? Ridiculous."

"What nonsense are you muttering in my head?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Ah?!"

Onyx Orchid jolted, like a rabbit caught stealing.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" he hurriedly replied.

"More than a hundred thousand years have passed. Emperor Sage’s inheritance has finally appeared. Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and take it!"

"Right."

Ethan withdrew his consciousness and focused on the remaining items.

His gaze shifted to the other two transparent boxes.

One contained an exquisitely crafted purple ring.

A storage ring.

Emperor Sage’s personal storage ring.

His life’s accumulation.

Even after over a hundred thousand years, whatever remained inside would certainly be extraordinary.

Ordinary items would have long since decayed into dust.

Only top-grade treasures could survive the erosion of time.

The last box contained a palm-sized golden stone slab.

It gleamed faintly, its surface smooth yet ancient.

Intricate patterns were carved upon it.

Upon closer inspection, they formed a complete Eight Trigrams diagram.

Ethan’s heart stirred.

"What is this...?"

A strange intuition rose within him.

It felt as though everything Emperor Sage had learned throughout his life on the art of weapon refining was condensed on this stone slab.