Chapter 62: The Emperor's Return: A Dao Lord's Embrace
The Abyssal Void, once a place of primal chaos, now hummed with a profound serenity. Liam, a being of serene, cosmic power, stood at the center of the Void, his nascent soul, now a true Dao, resonating with the very fabric of the cosmos. He was a Dao Lord, Initial Stage expert, a master of the Void, and his power was a living embodiment of creation and destruction.
The Dao Lord Guardian, a majestic man with a serene aura and eyes that held the wisdom of a thousand galaxies, stared at Liam, his gaze filled with a mixture of shock, awe, and disbelief. He had seen countless cultivators, some with immense power, attempt to forge their Dao, but he had never seen a mortal succeed. He had never seen a mortal become a Dao Lord, a master of the Void itself.
"Impossible!" the Dao Lord Guardian's voice, though filled with power, trembled. "A mortal forging his Dao in the Void? This is unheard of! You are a monster!"
Liam's gaze was firm. "I am no monster. I am a Sentinel of the Stars. I am here to claim what is mine. This Void, this Dao, it is all mine."
He raised his hand, and with a single thought, he commanded the Void's energies. The chaotic, primordial energies, which had once threatened to tear him apart, now bent to his will. The swirling chaos, the cosmic dust, the primordial rock, all became a part of his Dao, a living extension of his power.
The Dao Lord Guardian, his face contorted with a mixture of shock and terror, unleashed his power. He breathed a torrent of pure void energy, a concentrated blast that tore through the air, aimed directly at Liam.
Liam met his gaze, his eyes blazing with a fierce resolve. He didn't move. He simply became one with the Void. The torrent of pure void energy, a force of nature itself, passed through him, as if he were not even there. It hit the ground far behind him, incinerating everything in its path.
The Dao Lord Guardian stood frozen, his eyes wide with utter horror. His ultimate technique... it had been useless! He saw Liam, unharmed, his form now a shimmering, golden mirage, a true master of the Void. A primal fear, a fear of the unknown, gripped him.
"This is your end, Guardian," Liam's voice resonated, coming from all directions at once. "You have lost." He appeared directly in front of the Guardian, his hands glowing with a golden light. He didn't use a powerful technique. He simply placed his hands on the Guardian's chest.
The Guardian's eyes widened in disbelief. "What...?"
Liam channeled a pure, concentrated burst of his Nascent Soul power directly into the Guardian's core. It wasn't destructive. It was corrosive. It would not kill him instantly, but would slowly and painfully consume his core from within, a fate worse than death for a cultivator.
The Guardian let out a silent, agonizing scream, his body trembling violently as his peak-stage Dao began to unravel. He looked at Liam, his eyes filled with a terrifying mix of pain, hatred, and a dawning realization that he had underestimated the power of the Star Emperor's legacy. He had been defeated, utterly and completely.
Liam, his hands glowing, stood calmly, his figure a golden beacon of triumph. The Abyssal Void, a place of profound chaos and cosmic truth, was now his. He had forged his Dao, and he was ready for the ultimate challenge. He had a world to conquer. He had a family to protect. He had a legacy to build. He was ready for the greatest adventures of his life.