Chapter 1296: The Schemes of the Primordial Deities, Seeking the Heaven-Slaying Lord's Favor
Chapter 1296: The Schemes of the Primordial Deities, Seeking the Heaven-Slaying Lord's Favor
Whitebrow Star King, once a trusted confidant of Chu Gucheng, the ruler of the Immortal Chu Vast Land, had been deeply favored and entrusted with many of the land's affairs.
When the Immortal Chu Vast Land faced encirclement and suppression from all sides, he did not flee but instead chose to stand with the generals and ministers to resist the enemy.
However, though he was also an Ancestral Dao Realm existence, how could he possibly escape the joint siege of so many experts? In the end, he was naturally captured and suppressed by the combined forces of the various orthodoxies.
Meanwhile, the void prison where the Primary Hope Saintess had been imprisoned and exiled was eventually located by Xi Yin through a secret technique, who then led a team to rescue her.
The Primary Hope Saintess had been trapped for a full seven days—though not a long time, she had not been worried in the slightest.
She knew that Gu Changge would eventually step in to save her, as it aligned with his interests.
However, it was Xi Yin and others from the Primary Hope Holy Church who ultimately rescued her, which left the Primary Hope Saintess somewhat puzzled.
After her escape, she did not see Gu Changge.
After orchestrating the grand scheme that led to the fall of the Immortal Chu Vast Land, Gu Changge seemed to vanish without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the world.
Subsequently, the Primary Hope Saintess worked with Xi Yin and others to resolve the aftermath left by the Immortal Chu Vast Land.
On the day the great war erupted, Champion General Chu Heng of the Immortal Chu Vast Land did not choose to fight to the bitter end.
Only after obtaining the white jade vial containing Chu Wushang's strand of True Soul did he suddenly realize he had been deceived by Chu Gucheng. Overwhelmed with fury, he immediately led his forces to surrender.
With Champion General Chu Heng's surrender as the precedent—and after revealing the truth of how Chu Gucheng had deceived everyone in the grand hall—many ministers who had been fiercely loyal to the Immortal Chu Vast Land began to waver.
One after another, they followed Chu Heng's lead and chose to surrender.
The Immortal Chu Vast Land collapsed into chaos, with war raging across its territories as many forces took advantage of the turmoil to plunder and seize resources.
The immortal orthodoxies that had participated in the joint siege took away most of the Immortal Chu Vast Land's accumulated wealth and foundations.
The armies of the Beast Court and Purple Sky Mountain, stationed beyond the borders of the Immortal Chu Vast Land, advanced in full force that day, seizing territories one after another.
With this battle, the Immortal Chu Vast Land was erased from the world—an immortal kingdom rapidly crumbling into ruins, becoming nothing more than a relic of history.
Its once-prosperous and vast territories were carved up and occupied by various orthodoxies, reduced to mere territories under their rule.
The aftershocks of this war continued for years.
The remnants of the Immortal Chu Vast Land who refused to surrender fled in all directions, only to be hunted down and exterminated by various clans and orthodoxies.
The former divine generals and Star Kings either surrendered or perished in battle.
Whitebrow Star King, who had been captured and imprisoned, was interrogated by the various orthodoxies. Through probing his Divine Soul, they finally uncovered some secrets about the origins of the Ardent Ruins Cave.
Initially, everyone had believed that the mysterious Ardent Ruins Cave was merely a fabricated name concocted by the remnants of the Black Disaster, not something that truly existed.
However, the memories extracted from Whitebrow Star King's Divine Soul revealed astonishing truths.
The Ardent Ruins Cave seemed to be real—not a fabrication.
Its existence stretched back even further than the Black Disaster Era, possibly even to the primordial myths of the earliest epochs.
Yet some found this absurd. If the origins of the Ardent Ruins Cave were truly so astonishing, how many Great Tribulations had it endured?
Why had it never manifested in the world before? Why had no ancient sages or predecessors ever known of its existence?
The remnants of the Black Disaster had roamed the vast world for countless ages, wielding unfathomable means. Altering the memories and Karma of an Ancestral Dao Realm existence was not beyond their capabilities.
Amidst these conflicting opinions and debates, Whitebrow Star King was imprisoned in the Primary Hope Holy Church's Void Prison, awaiting the return of the ancient predecessor Xi Nu for final judgment.
During this time, the black coffin that Zi Wanhe, ruler of Purple Sky Mountain, had dropped during Chu Gucheng's birthday banquet also drew significant attention.
Many orthodoxies shifted their focus to Purple Sky Mountain, suspecting that its ruler might also have colluded with the remnants of the Black Disaster.
The replica of the World Burying Coffin was the clearest evidence.
However, after the fall of the Immortal Chu Vast Land, Zi Wanhe led Purple Sky Mountain's cultivators in retreat, claiming that the black coffin had been obtained by chance and that he had no knowledge of its connection to the Black Disaster remnants.
He stated that if there were doubts about the coffin's origins, the Primary Hope Saintess and others could investigate it themselves—after all, following the Immortal Chu Vast Land's destruction, the black coffin had been seized by the various orthodoxies.
Even as a replica of a replica of a Civilisation's Supreme Treasure, it still held significant reference value.
Later, the Primary Hope Saintess indeed personally inspected the black coffin, confirming that the black haze within was not Dark Origin matter—though it bore some resemblance.
She speculated that someone had attempted to imitate the Black Disaster remnants, hence creating this black haze that resembled Dark Origin matter.
While this black haze could corrode and infect the Divine Souls of cultivators and living beings, it only posed a threat to those below the Immortal King Realm. Beyond that, it could be easily expelled.
Nevertheless, this black coffin had caused immense trouble for the Immortal Chu Vast Land at the time.
Over the next several centuries, the various orthodox forces of Primary Hope Civilisation worked to resolve the aftermath of Immortal Chu Vast Land's destruction, gradually stabilizing the turbulent situation.
The fall of an Immortal Kingdom was indeed no ordinary event. News had long spread to other civilized nations, causing an uproar.
Many clans and factions who had attended Chu Gucheng's birthday banquet felt complex emotions upon hearing this news. Even the orthodox forces behind Elder Jin of Rising Dawn Civilisation fell into silence—the death of an Ancestral Dao Realm existence in Primary Hope Civilisation was an unbearable loss for any faction.
The birth of an Ancestral Dao Realm cultivator was an exceedingly rare event. Across the vast and boundless expanse of the Boundless Expanse, even after hundreds of epochs, only a handful might emerge.
Immortal Chu Vast Land, blessed by the heavens and possessing astonishing fortune, had managed to produce several Ancestral Dao Realm powerhouses within just over a hundred epochs—an achievement so extraordinary it shook past and present alike.
Naturally, during this time, many clans, factions, and orthodox nations kept a close watch on the movements of the Heavenslayers Alliance.
Gu Changge, the enigmatic and unfathomable leader of the Heavenslayers Alliance, particularly drew the attention of countless civilized nations across the vast expanse.
Yet, in the five hundred years following the fall of Immortal Chu Vast Land, no one had seen him. None knew where he had gone after that battle—it was as if he had vanished from existence.
Then, in the sixth century after Immortal Chu Vast Land's destruction, a branch of the Heavenslayers Alliance silently took root in the former territory of Immortal Chu Vast Land.
Many clans and factions, both large and small, were swiftly absorbed—or rather, they willingly submitted, becoming part of the Heavenslayers Alliance.
This development naturally caught the immediate attention of the orthodox forces within Primary Hope Civilisation.
Logically speaking, for an external force like the Heavenslayers Alliance to establish itself in Primary Hope Civilisation, it should have required centuries of accumulated foundation-building.
During this process, it should have faced suppression and exclusion from the local orthodox factions.
Yet, all the orthodox forces, including the Primary Hope Holy Church, could only watch helplessly as the Heavenslayers Alliance's branch took root and grew like a towering tree, flourishing at an astonishing pace.
Within just a hundred years, it had absorbed the surrounding cosmic Star Domains, Great Thousand Worlds, and Middle Thousand Worlds, amassing countless followers and believers. A torrent of Faith Power, radiant as a galaxy, drifted and gathered in the depths of the heavens.
Across the territories of the Heavenslayers Alliance's branch, Heaven-Slaying Shrines were erected one after another, each enshrining a blurred statue of a young deity, perpetually wreathed in incense smoke, its features indistinct.
This statue seemed to stand at the other end of existence, gazing down upon the boundless sea of living beings—eternal, majestic, and divine.
This was the most mysterious leader of the Heavenslayers Alliance.
Before these shrines, no cultivator or living being dared act irreverently. Those who came with sincere prayers and sufficient offerings would receive the blessings and protection of the Heavenslayers Alliance's master.
With such rapid propagation, Heaven-Slaying Shrines sprang up across vast swathes of the former territory of Immortal Chu Vast Land.
The orthodox forces of Primary Hope Civilisation witnessed all this firsthand.
Though they knew this signaled the Heavenslayers Alliance's expansion into Primary Hope Civilisation, none dared obstruct it—let alone destroy it.
Though the leader of the Heavenslayers Alliance had vanished in recent years, his might loomed over every cultivator and living being like towering mountains and boundless seas, inspiring awe and reverence.
This state of affairs persisted for centuries until, one day, the Beast Court of the Endless Demon Territory suddenly announced its intention to join the Heavenslayers Alliance.
This news shook all of Primary Hope Civilisation, leaving countless orthodox factions trembling in disbelief.
The Beast Court was no ordinary force. Beast Ancestor Di Huang, who had survived eight Decay Tribulations, was even mightier than Chu Gucheng at his peak.
Had even he agreed to the Beast Court's submission to the Heavenslayers Alliance?
After the battle between Immortal Chu Vast Land and the Beast Court, the Seventh Prince Di Kun had rightfully ascended as the new Demon Overlord, ruling over all demonkind.
In recent years, he had personally led the Beast Court's armies in conquest across the Endless Demon Territory, expanding its dominion. Under this pressure, many demon clans that had previously resisted the Beast Court's rule had no choice but to submit.
Though still far from its ancient glory, when it once overlooked all realms and received tribute from countless races, the Beast Court's might had grown immeasurably compared to centuries past.
The new Demon Overlord's iron-fisted rule had cowed even the Beast Court's Beast Sovereigns and Beast Generals into submission. Those who refused to yield were dealt with according to the Court's laws—even Beast Sovereigns were executed without mercy.
The decision to join the Heavenslayers Alliance had been made by the new Beast Court.
As for why Beast Ancestor Di Huang had raised no objections, many Beast Sovereigns and Beast Generals had their suspicions.
In truth, after the fall of Immortal Chu Vast Land, the leader of the Heavenslayers Alliance had personally visited the Beast Court.
At the time, Di Kun—not yet the Demon Overlord—had personally accompanied him. Deep within the Abyss, Beast Ancestor Di Huang had received the Heavenslayers Alliance's master with utmost solemnity.
None of the Beast Sovereigns or Beast Generals knew what was discussed, but they later witnessed Beast Ancestor Di Huang's fury—so great that he nearly stormed out in anger. Only Di Kun's intervention and persuasion had compelled him to stay.
To any discerning observer, it was clear that the Seventh Prince Di Kun had the backing of the Heavenslayers Alliance's master, which was why he had dared to wage war against Immortal Chu Vast Land with such audacity.
The other princes of the Beast Court were filled with resentment, feeling as though they had been toyed with by Di Kun. Had they competed openly, they might not have been any weaker than him.
As for Beast Ancestor Di Huang, having lived through countless epochs, he naturally understood that the conflict between the Beast Court and the Immortal Chu Vast Land must have been orchestrated behind the scenes by Gu Changge.
Even the death of his youngest son, Di Wen, was connected to Gu Changge—a scheme of his making.
Otherwise, why would Di Wen, who had been peacefully residing by the Fusang Tree in the Boiling Valley, suddenly chase after a fleeting rainbow radiance, only to trespass into the territory of the Immortal Chu Vast Land, commit slaughter, and ultimately be slain by its people?
Though this incident had occurred long ago, the thought of it still left Beast Ancestor Di Huang seething with unresolved fury.
What infuriated him even more was that his once-favored son, Di Kun, now seemed to revere Gu Changge more than his own father.
Though none of the Beast Court's Beast Sovereigns or generals had witnessed the confrontation between Beast Ancestor Di Huang and the Heaven-Slaying Lord firsthand, rumors had spread afterward.
After the banquet concluded, Beast Ancestor Di Huang had indeed attempted to strike against the Heaven-Slaying Lord.
The reason no commotion had been heard was simple—the Demon Ancestor had been grievously wounded by a single palm strike from the Heaven-Slaying Lord, leaving him too humiliated to remain.
Subsequently, he secluded himself deep within the void to recover from his injuries, entrusting the affairs of the Beast Court to the Seventh Prince, Di Kun.
It was from that day onward that Di Kun finally solidified his position as the Demon Overlord.
Though these whispers circulated only within the Beast Court, secrets had a way of leaking. Many orthodox forces caught wind of the matter, and the shockwaves were immense.
Even a being as mighty as Beast Ancestor Di Huang had been crippled by a single strike from the Heaven-Slaying Lord.
Was there anyone left in the current Primary Hope Civilisation who could stand against him?
Decades after the Beast Court joined the Heavenslayers Alliance, news spread from the Jing Family of the Magnificent Sun Ancient Territory—they, too, intended to pledge allegiance to the Heavenslayers Alliance, becoming part of its ranks.
Jing Tianyuan, the ancient ancestor of the Jing Family, was a true living fossil, a figure from the same era as the founder of the Imperial Immortal Palace.
His decision sent tremors through the various factions, leaving them stunned and incredulous.
The momentum of the Heavenslayers Alliance's expansion grew increasingly terrifying, far surpassing even the former Immortal Chu Vast Land.
Though the Immortal Chu Vast Land had absorbed many orthodox forces during its rise, none could compare to the likes of the Beast Court or the Jing Family.
At its peak, the Immortal Chu Vast Land had barely managed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with such powers.
Yet the Heavenslayers Alliance, having taken root in the Primary Hope Civilisation for merely a few centuries, had already amassed a foundation no weaker than those of the immortal orthodoxies and ancient nations.
This development left many factions uneasy, stirring faint traces of apprehension and dread.
The Immortal Chu Vast Land had once made them wary—but how did the Heavenslayers Alliance compare now?
A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
For cultivators in the Dao Realm, a millennium was but the snap of a finger.
Within the Immortal Spirit Civilisation, though the Heavenslayers Alliance's expansion paled in comparison to its growth in the Primary Hope Civilisation, it had still assimilated countless True Worlds, large and small, into its dominion.
One after another, Heaven-Slaying Shrines rose across the cosmos, becoming monuments of faith for countless races, factions, and civilisations slowly recovering from the Great Tribulation.
In the Nihility True World, where the aftermath of the Great Tribulation lingered, awaiting the dawn of renewal—
Within the Great Emptiness Realm, before a towering Heaven-Slaying Shrine that stood like a celestial palace atop the heavens—
A graceful figure clad in silver armor, her face veiled, gazed down at the countless cultivators and living beings prostrating themselves in worship outside the shrine.
At last, a faint smile broke through the icy indifference that had frozen her expression for ages.
"Heaven-Slaying Guard Chen Jin-han has fulfilled her duty, ensuring the name of the Heavenslayers Alliance resounds throughout the Great Emptiness Realm."
She stood before the shrine.
As the chants and prayers of the countless worshippers rose—
The statue enshrined within, its features once obscured by mist, suddenly seemed to solidify.
It stirred to life, its eyes—deep and boundless as the cosmos—gazing upon her across the vast expanse of time and space.
"What reward do you seek?"
The voice, majestic and divine, reverberated through Chen Jin-han's mind once more.
Memories flooded back—her sister's betrayal, casting her into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons, and that fateful day in the desolate shrine where she had remade her physical body, gaining the gift of eternal life.
That same maddening, insatiable yearning surged within her once again.
"This humble Heaven-Slaying Guard seeks no reward. She is willing to dedicate everything to the great Heaven-Slaying Lord."
Chen Jin-han stared fervently at the shrine, at the statue that seemed to breathe with life, her voice resolute as never before.
"A soul touched by fate's peculiar hand... How amusing. If you harbor such blasphemous desires, why hesitate?"
"Giggle... Then let me lend you a hand—let us drag this god down to the mortal realm."
From the depths of the void, a gaze brimming with amusement pierced through the vastness of time and space, descending upon the Nihility True World.