"Fall back! Quick!" Qin Ming shouted into the night sky.
At Moon Palace Ferry, deep within the primeval forest along the great river, the grandmaster-level experts were all seasoned combatants. Naturally, they had already sprung into motion at the first sign of danger.
Those in lower realms did not initially comprehend what was happening, but hearing that roar roll across the night sky like booming thunder, they reacted swiftly as well, fleeing into the distance.
In the Crimson Forest, an intensely piercing light erupted—many times fiercer than if the sun were rising anew. It seemed as though dozens of blazing suns existed simultaneously, incinerating everything and illuminating heaven and earth.
Moments later, people realized this was no illusion. Across that vast, boundless territory, sun after sun hung suspended in the sky, flames of light billowing to the heavens, laying bare every minute speck of dust.
Cries of agony rang out as blood wept from the corners of people's eyes. The Crimson Forest had become a realm of pure light, impossible to gaze upon directly. Even grandmasters facing that direction suffered a scorching, unbearable pain, blood and tears streaming down their cheeks.
In truth, not only the domain behind them, but even the enclave before their eyes was lit as bright as day, so bright that the drifting trajectories of dust motes were plainly visible.
Within those dozens of blazing suns hanging above the Crimson Forest, a silhouette stood within each one. It was precisely their abrupt emergence that scorched all of creation.
The curtain of night was torn to shreds, and the entire landscape glowed.
Qin Ming looked back, enduring the burning sting of hot tears flowing from his eyes, and saw those colossal figures.
A Seven-Headed Dragon opened its vertical pupils amid a brilliant disc of light. Each of its massive heads was as gigantic as a mountain peak, radiating sheer oppression.
There was also an Undying Butterfly Immortal spreading its wings within a blinding sun, immediately causing grand peaks to collapse and lofty mountains to crumble to ash.
There was also a supreme powerhouse of the Divine-Eyed race from the Abyss civilization. Across his entire face, over a thousand golden eyes snapped open, twisting everything, evaporating the great river, and shattering the canopy of the sky.
Supreme powerhouses of the Seventh Realm had descended from all three major factions—the Celestial Clan, the Abyss, and the totem faction. Sparing no expense of Taichu qi, Xuanhuang qi, and other primordial energies, they unleashed their divine might.
They were furious, brimming with an unyielding murderous aura. Standing within sun after sun, those colossal silhouettes took action, deploying secret arts to retrieve and guide the descendants, disciples, and followers of their respective lineages back to safety.
The blood and turmoil wrought by the parasitic civilization had been laid bare.
Within the three great factions, victims were not limited to grandmasters; even higher-level core figures had fallen prey, reduced to flesh Dao fields. This had provoked monumental wrath among their core leadership.
Now, those old clan patriarchs and sect founders had personally intervened, forcibly gathering their wandering clansmen and disciples at the earliest possible moment.
The old monsters of the parasitic civilization made their move as well, summoning dark seeds and Dao seeds. Unleashing forbidden arts, they pulled them into the fallen supreme sanctuary.
A select few seeds carried sacred talismans of their own, allowing them to briefly lie dormant or even teleport to unfathomably distant realms.
The Celestial Clan's Silver Sea descended, crashing toward the Crimson Forest to bore straight into the subterranean sanctuary.
The Abyss civilization's instruments of war reemerged as well—pitch-black and profound, their presence dimming the dozens of blazing suns considerably as they too struck toward the fallen supreme sanctuary.
A grand altar belonging to the totem faction hung suspended in the air, Dao rhythm pouring down like torrential rain and tearing the entire forest apart.
The leadership of the three great factions harbored boundless killing intent. What brazen civilization was this, daring to strike against all three of them at once? Not only had saints fallen victim, but even high-ranking figures had suffered unforeseen disasters.
If the enemy were allowed to slowly erode them, successfully parasitizing their members one by one, would the Celestial Clan and the Abyss still be their original supreme civilizations centuries from now? They would have been subjected to a change of dynasties, overthrown without a drop of blood shed in direct warfare.
"Among my descendants, an Eight-Headed Dragon rarely emerged, yet he actually met with foul play—!" The Seven-Headed Dragon's massive frame radiated overwhelming pressure, crushing the lofty mountain ranges below into powder. His fourteen eyes hung suspended like enormous blood moons, his expression dark with fury.
From the Abyss civilization, a giant shrouded in billowing black mist spoke: "Within my Abyss civilization, a core descendant with hopes of becoming a Heavenly God was also struck down. Heaven is truly jealous of genius!"
The Undying Butterfly Immortal flapped its wings, causing the landscape to disintegrate. Standing amid the dazzling sun, it unleashed limitless killing intent.
Every faction was scrambling to extract people, guiding their disciples back in hopes of rescuing them and purging the demonic presence. Meanwhile, the parasitic civilization was equally determined to save its dark seeds and Dao seeds. The Crimson Forest was torn asunder.
In truth, other outsiders were present as well, such as explorers from the cultivation civilization and experts from the Society of God-Like Beings. Some fled, some cried out for aid, and some suffered collateral damage as innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
There were also opportunists striking amid the chaos, sweeping immortal light toward the enclave.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The jet-black cloud layer burst apart as golden radiance spilled down, blocking the outstretched massive hands and chains of divine order.
The Golden Roster could not simply sit by. After suffering misfortunes of their own, some wished to drag others down with them—how could it tolerate such behavior?
Within the primeval forest, pale-gold luminous mist materialized across many areas. Cast down from the heavens, it enveloped people on the ground and carried them aloft.
"Quick, step onto the teleportation formations!"
Qin Ming gripped Tang Yushang by the wrist and caught Bai Meng by the collar, traversing the night sky at unprecedented speed. He had noticed an old monster casting its gaze his way.
It was an ancient cicada possessing over a thousand wings, unfurled in blooming layers like an immortal celestial awakening. That gaze across the void brought with it the creeping shadow of death.
Bai Meng's hair stood on end. Held by the collar, he curled into a ball in midair, nearly frightened out of his wits. When that gaze from behind swept over him, he felt as though his soul were sinking into oblivion and his physical body were about to shatter.
Tang Yushang was equally shaken. Goosebumps rose across her creamy skin, and her fine hairs bristled. Involuntarily, she drew closer to Qin Ming, standing shoulder to shoulder with him to huddle together for warmth.
A sheet of golden glow cascaded from the night sky, blocking the terrifying gaze behind them.
In the void, a materialized gaze resembled severed sword energy, shattering into pieces within the night mist.
Amid the grand turmoil, that Seventh Realm Thousand-Winged Cicada had actually looked this way, attempting to make a move. The targets it had fixed its sight upon were not just Qin Ming and Tang Yushang, but others as well.
Fortunately, the Yujing faction had prepared in advance.
The shadow of death dissipated, and Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Meng looked up and saw Brother Ming flying side by side with his elder sister, resembling a pair of birds soaring together. As for himself, he hung suspended below like a quail with its head tucked in. Looking at this scene, he was entirely a piece of roadside grass, a mere background prop.
With a flash of flowing light, Qin Ming returned to the Mountains and Seas domain of the Golden Roster. Tang Yushang and Bai Meng descended with him onto a mountain peak enveloped in white mist.
Only now were they finally safe, having returned without incident.
Within the enclave, everyone surged toward the zones draped in pale-gold mist. As though ascending in a display of rosy clouds, they pierced through the dark cloud layer and entered the Mountains and Seas domain one after another.
After a brief scramble to snatch people back, the Crimson Forest was ripped to shreds.
Those dozens of suns each retreated toward the Silver Sea, the Abyss, and the Totem Sacred Mountain. They could not remain outside for extended periods; they simply could not afford the sustained expenditure of Taichu qi and Xuanhuang qi, which only dwindled with every use.
***
Mountains collapsed, vegetation turned to ash, and magma surged. The entire region was utterly destroyed.
A confrontation of this scale was cruel and tragic.
Neither side needed to exchange words; both understood the other's origins, and a supreme blood battle had become inevitable.
A parasitic civilization was a scourge to any race. What was more, they had already extended their bloody claws toward the Celestial Clan and the Abyss. Who could tolerate that?
In the past, the Crimson Forest had been profoundly mysterious and unfathomably vast.
Today, every inch of its soil burned and collapsed. All the towering peaks and mighty mountains ceased to exist, completely breached and smashed apart.
Beneath the earth, the fallen supreme sanctuary emerged.
Within the Great Abyss, purple qi resembled a sea, crimson clouds rolled like an ocean, and precipitous cliffs stretched across the expanse. From those ruins, a terrifyingly peerless will rose, spreading into the void.
The parasitic civilization had sought to flee, only to discover that their super teleportation formation had encountered an issue.
This faction was extraordinarily powerful, yet under normal circumstances, they favored striking from behind, covertly and bloodily eroding their rivals.
If forced into an open confrontation, they feared no civilization.
It was only that today, their opponents were a bit too numerous.
From the subterranean world, a magnificent voice echoed: "The Celestial Clan, the Abyss, and a secondary civilization like the totem faction... Without your supreme sanctuaries arriving in person, you dare make a move against us?"
That voice, a blend of countless men and women speaking as one, caused even the Seventh Realm experts far away in the Mountains and Seas domain to feel a chill through their bodies. Giving it careful thought was truly terrifying.
For that place was already the base of the parasitic civilization.
Such a domain was a place on par with Yujing—profound and unfathomable.
"The world is as it is: Heavenly Immortals have fallen into the dust, and the Eighth Realm has decayed. What use are higher attainments? Do you dare step out? You would turn to dung on the spot," the Undying Butterfly Immortal said calmly.
Furthermore, they had long established contact with the supreme sanctuary behind them—Celestial City.
The Abyss civilization was unyielding as well, currently in dialogue with the Ancestral Abyss.
Only the leadership of the totem faction was displeased. Damn it all, being dismissed as a secondary civilization by this parasitic civilization was an outright humiliation.
"Then feel free to come and try. What fresh and delicious flesh-food you will make." The terrifying will rising from the parasitic civilization fully materialized, warping the vault of heaven and manifesting tangible tentacles of divine order clad in scales of law. Horrifying and gruesome, they tore straight through the celestial canopy.
That will continued to expand, proactively rising to meet the Silver Sea and the Abyss.
A voice came from the Abyss civilization: "If you were truly that formidable, you wouldn't have resorted to such underhanded, thieving tricks. Today you kicked an iron plate; you picked the wrong factions to provoke."
The Celestial Clan's Sun Bug Ancestor flapped its wings, tearing the void apart as it shouted loudly, "Your super teleportation formation is damaged, isn't it? Let us see how you manage to escape!"
*Rumble!*
Between heaven and earth, beams of light shone in succession, all of them manifestations of divine order and embodiments of the laws. Massive tentacles, as if living creatures, reached out from the depths of the earth, lunging toward the night sky.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Clan, the Abyss civilization, and the totem faction pushed their instruments of war to the limit. Beams of law showered down like torrential rain, pounding into the depths below.
This was a clash between the pinnacle factions.
The Crimson Forest was thoroughly obliterated, devoid of vegetation from this day forth. Over a dozen majestic rivers traversing the region and boundless giant lakes were instantly evaporated clean. Every mountain range overturned, crumbled, and ceased to exist.
Underground, the fallen supreme sanctuary rose with a deafening roar, radiating ripples that distorted heaven and earth. Purple mist billowed, and crimson clouds churned, as though carrying an ocean upward.
It truly possessed unfathomable divine might, bearing the weight of the Silver Sea, the Abyss, and the totem faction all at once, seeking to tear through the three major factions with those scaled tentacles of law.
"So ferocious?" Within the Golden Roster's Mountains and Seas domain, the expressions of several Seven-Sun Stackers changed.
They felt as though supreme powerhouses were unleashing their might one after another, joining together to sweep across the night sky, crushing all in their path with the intent to destroy everything.
*Buzz!*
In the night sky, a hazy, colossal city materialized, densely covered in endless patterns of Dao rhythm and wrapped in majestic forces of law, weaving suns, moons, and astral rivers out of order.
This was the Celestial Clan's supreme sanctuary—Celestial City. Currently projecting itself, it had already awakened in a distant realm, suppressing the parasitic civilization across the void.
"Inverted?" Sitting cross-legged on the ground in the Mountains and Seas domain, the Sage suddenly slapped down with force, striking the Big Red Dragon beside him so hard that the dragon's leg swelled up.
Many wore astonished expressions. Celestial City hung upside down, just as Yujing did.
Shortly after, the Ancestral Abyss materialized as well. From an unfathomably distant realm, it radiated the power of law to suppress the parasitic civilization, as though present in person.
Similarly, people noticed that as it hung high in the night sky, it was also inverted. Its pitch-black opening pointed toward the ground below, as if capable of swallowing all things, a tangible manifestation of a cosmic black hole.
A grand totem spoke up: "Our supreme totem ancestral land is still in a dormant period; the power it can radiate here isn't quite as abundant."
Neither the Celestial Clan nor the Abyss civilization paid them any mind, having long regarded them as a secondary civilization and deeming them of little consequence.
The night curtain was torn open. In a daze, onlookers seemed to see a blurred cosmic expanse, as if hundreds of millions of stars were about to plummet into the world of night mist.
Even an Earth Immortal could not resist asking with an astonished look, "Ah—is that a real scene?"
The Golden Roster responded, "No. Those are merely a star curtain!"
The Crimson Forest had become a chaotic battleground. Great hands of law manifested, and tentacles of divine order lashed about, battering out remnants of the sun and moon and pulling in phantoms of a sea of stars. Boundless Dao patterns intertwined; even an Earth Immortal entering the fray would likely not survive long, crushed until they detonated into pieces.
Overall, influenced by this cruel grand era, no Eighth Realm arts appeared. That Heavenly Immortals had decayed and fallen into the dust was no mere turn of phrase; it was the bloodiest truth of the present age.
Yet that endless light and those terrifying ripples represented cluster after cluster of Seventh Realm peak power blooming at once.
"If an Eighth Realm art is a steel needle, the Seventh Realm is a bamboo needle. Right now, bamboo needles are gathered in cluster upon cluster, prevailing through sheer quantity."
Such a collective instrument of war was naturally terrifying beyond measure.
Unless an individual could single-handedly counter an entire battle array composed of peers at the same level, they would inevitably be ground to dust under this overwhelming tide.
Yet what lone soldier could withstand ten thousand troops? A warrior of ten thousand was merely a legend, an exaggeration born of romanticism.
In the former Crimson Forest region, heaven and earth overturned. Terrifying giant claws of law and colossal serpents of order were everywhere, blasting one another apart.
Ordinary people could not even look upon the spectacle. The radiating power would cause their eyes to burst. Without the Golden Roster's protection, many would have been unable to remain standing even from such a great distance.
For now, the Mountains and Seas domain remained peaceful, completely unaffected.
Across the peaks, immortal mist drifted. Large cauldrons bubbled, no longer stewing precious medicines, but rather the flesh of various monstrous beasts.
In addition, the mud seals of numerous wine jars were shattered open, releasing an intoxicating fragrance.
Before long, the scents of wine and meat mingled within the Mountains and Seas domain, creating an unexpectedly tranquil atmosphere. The Golden Roster was rewarding the troops.
"This—" Many wore dazed expressions, feeling as though they were in a dream. In the distance, a supreme blood battle raged across the heavens, threatening the collapse of civilizations.
Yet here they were, eating and drinking their fill, watching safely from the sidelines. The contrast was utterly striking.
"I truly never expected us to withdraw from the battlefield in this manner, sitting back to watch the tigers fight," a grandmaster sighed, deeply moved.
By now, they all knew that a parasitic civilization lurked beneath the Crimson Forest, having brought about blood and chaos.
Many breathed a sigh of relief. This battle had not been as bleak as they had envisioned. Though there was bloodshed and casualties, such things were unavoidable.
They had never anticipated that the situation would develop to this point.
Soon, the sounds of string and wind instruments even drifted from various hilltops.
"Keep it down, everyone. A supreme blood battle is raging ahead. Playing zithers and singing at the top of your lungs is practically begging for trouble. Just drink your wine, eat your meat, and watch the fight."
The atmosphere within the Mountains and Seas domain was indeed a bit too cheerful.
Qin Ming, Tang Yushang, and Bai Meng were together, having been teleported to the same peak.
By now, Tang Yushang and Little Bai had grown accustomed to it. They no longer minded the heat waves radiating from Qin Ming, feeling slightly warm themselves.
"This is the meat of the Lightning Beast, hiss!" Bai Meng inhaled a breath of immortal mist. Having already eaten grandmaster meat, he was now actually tasting meat from one of the Celestial Clan's Seven Heroes.
A stir swept through the Mountains and Seas domain as many people finally noticed just how extraordinary their food was. Quite a few dishes came from grandmaster-level creatures. For instance, the Divine-Eyed King's mount—a black giant elephant fifteen fathoms tall—had ended up as a feast on their plates.
"What I'm enjoying is the grandmaster-level Flying Cloud Beast slain by Fairy Yun Jianyue."
"Ah, this is the giant thousand-legged centipede killed by Li Wanfa."
"This is a grandmaster-level beast slain by One Sword!"
Without a doubt, it was not just One Sword who boasted remarkable battle achievements. Yun Jianyue, Li Wanfa, Qian Cheng, Yin Tian, and others had all confronted the Six Kings of the Abyss and the Seven Heroes of the Celestial Clan, each slaying several grandmasters.
Their opponents had all been formidable.
For example, the Eight-Headed Dragon on par with Daoist Peng, as well as the Heavenly King and Abyss King among the Six Kings of the Abyss, had all been exceptionally powerful.
"Why hasn't anyone mentioned me?" Tang Yushang waited eagerly. She had slain the Lightning Beast, one of the Celestial Clan's Seven Heroes. Why was no one singing praises of her illustrious feat?
"Remarkable!" Qin Ming offered praise at just the right moment.
"Did no one see my glorious battle?" Aloof in public, Tang Yushang was proud and petulant in private. Haughtily kicking a rock in irritation, she felt aggrieved that no one was paying attention to her "monumental achievement."
Instead of praise, however, a crack sounded. Her black-gold combat boot, already fractured during the fight, broke apart, exposing her pale, radiant toes.
Bai Meng conscientiously looked straight ahead, gnawing on a meat bone.
Qin Ming, completely unfazed, quietly admired the view.
"What are you looking at!" Tang Yushang immediately swapped her footwear, then threw a punch with a *thud*.
Bai Meng nearly wept from the pain. Rubbing the large bump on his head, he felt wronged to death. He hadn't even been paying attention, all right?
Indignantly, he said, "Hit Brother Ming! He was the one looking, not me!"
Tang Yushang had indeed intended to strike Qin Ming. But remembering how swiftly he had dispatched the Divine-Eyed King, she felt the gap between them had grown wider. At the crucial moment, she had chickened out, fearing she would be counter-subdued, so her fist had changed trajectory and landed on Bai Meng's head instead.
Of course, she had clearly misunderstood. The Divine-Eyed King's demise had begun with internal collapse; otherwise, no peer could have slain him so easily.
Qin Ming chuckled. "Little Bai, I was gazing openly and uprightly with an appreciation for beauty. You were shifting your eyes around, clearly feeling guilty. If she doesn't hit you, who else should she hit?"
Bai Meng felt terribly wronged. "Where did I shift around? I didn't even look! Sis, hit him!"
Qin Ming said, "Hush. Someone was just praising Fairy Tang's achievements. You interrupted and missed it, didn't you?"
"...!" Bai Meng gave up on speaking.
A moment later, he sensed something was amiss. His body felt warm and restless. "Brother Ming, could your condition be contagious?"
Tang Yushang looked suspicious as well, feeling somewhat feverish herself.
"A calm mind naturally keeps you cool." Qin Ming felt it was no big deal. The side effect would only last two days and pass in the blink of an eye.
Bai Meng's eyes shone brightly. "You know, this restlessness... actually makes me feel like everything in this world has become so wonderful."
He was staring at a nearby mountain peak where a golden-furred elephant stood. To his surprise, he actually thought the creature had refined features and captivating grace today.
Yet that giant elephant was covered in long golden hair.
Bai Meng fell into deep thought. Had his aesthetic standards plummeted? Or had his mindset simply improved? This was truly bizarre.
"Whose elephant maiden is that? Quite delicate and lovely," he muttered involuntarily.
Qin Ming already knew that Bai Meng's ancestor had actually been a heavenly elephant, but had been cursed. As a Heavenly God, the ancestor had had his trunk severed and tusks ripped out by an opponent, leaving even his descendants with physical defects.
Otherwise, Bai Meng's talent and strength would have been even greater than they were now.
That curse could only be broken by his own efforts.
"Look at you, have some dignity!" Tang Yushang glared at him.
"Sis, why is your face flushed? Are you drunk? Damn, Brother Ming, we really caught it from you! What kind of potent medicine did you take? Did you overnourish yourself? Even your breath is this terrifying?" Bai Meng had an epiphany.
Tang Yushang touched her burning cheeks, unable to hold back from giving him another punch.
"A calm mind naturally keeps you cool," Qin Ming reiterated, drinking wine from a large bowl and eating generous mouthfuls of meat.
Overall, the atmosphere in the Mountains and Seas domain was harmonious. A bloody battle raged in the distance, while they were free to sit and watch.
Yet in certain areas, some people sighed, and in others, some wept in sorrow. How could an external war not claim lives?
Grandmasters of the Newborn path and experts of the esoteric sects had both suffered casualties, to say nothing of the fourth-realm youths.
Even the old mountain strongholds in the sky had lost several peerless geniuses. For instance, Xie Muze of Star Mountain had seen his favorite second son die a tragic death.
Cui Chongxiao's paternal uncle had also fallen in battle at the Gui Heaven Ruins. Every clan and sect had sustained losses.
Even a portion of the Earth Immortals had perished.
While Yun Jianyue, Qian Cheng, Wei Shouzhen, and others held the ground, battles exceeding conventional strength had also occurred on a localized scale.
When Qin Ming looked up into the night sky at Yinhan Gorge, he had seen immortal light tearing the void above the clouds—at that time, pinnacle experts had been clashing.
Many noticed that the Golden Roster had remained silent for quite a while, appearing unusually quiet.
An Earth Immortal spoke up to ask whether it was worried about the supreme blood battle.
"Storms gather without warning in the heavens; misfortune and fortune befall mortals overnight," the Golden Roster sighed.
Everyone sensed that something was wrong. The clamor vanished in an instant, and the area fell dead silent.
The Golden Roster said, "Everyone, eat and drink your fill, and reflect more on the fond memories worth cherishing from your past. Well, the wills that needed to be written were all written before coming here. If you have any regrets, make peace with them in your hearts."
A grandmaster could no longer hold back and asked, "Senior, what are you saying? Why does it sound so chilling?"
In truth, these words from the Golden Roster sent a dreadful chill running through the gods and immortals of the Seventh Realm, stirring profound unease in their hearts.
Chapter 559