Upon a small island, the shoals were clear, the sands pristine white, and seabirds circled overhead.
A solitary figure stood alone, gazing impassively into the distance.
Within his line of sight, an enormous white bird soared across the sea from afar, its outspread wings nearly blotting out the sun and sky.
With each beat of its feathers, it traversed dozens of li in an instant, arriving at the edge of the island.
Touching down, it dropped low and transformed into a slender, graceful figure, kneeling on one knee before him.
"Tianxuan greets the Master!"
Luo Chen's gaze remained distant, still fixed on the horizon, as he asked softly, "Where are the others?"
Tianxuan kept her head lowered, her voice tinged with suppressed excitement. "They have all arrived. In accordance with your instructions, they are stationed ten thousand li from the Dongyuan Continent, ready to strike at a moment's notice. For now, they are holding their ground, awaiting your command!"
Luo Chen gave an acknowledging hum, his expression barely shifting.
Tianxuan raised her head slightly in confusion. "Master, when do we strike against the Tianyuan Dao Sect?"
The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched faintly. "We must still wait for an opportunity—an opportunity to wager all our chips at once!"
Indeed, Luo Chen was waiting for the right moment.
He was waiting for the moment Li Canghai had spoken of, when the grand formation was activated and the Tianyuan Dao Sect committed all of its strength into it. That moment would also be the exact instant the Dao Sect's defenses were at their weakest.
When that time came, he would stake all his chips and go all-in!
In his previous life, there had been a joking adage: "Going all-in is a form of wisdom."
Such wisdom manifested primarily in strategic choice, asymmetric information, decisive execution, and resource integration.
Luo Chen was confident that he had gathered and integrated every resource available to him. Never in his life—and very likely never again in the future—would he be able to assemble such a formidable force.
As for intelligence and information, he held a distinct advantage over the Tianyuan Dao Sect at this stage.
Back then, the Tianyuan Dao Sect had sought to swallow the entire Mountain Sea Realm, only to fail and make countless enemies in the process. Both the Northern Sea and the Southern Border harbored deep-seated grievances against them. By comparison, Luo Chen's personal entanglement with the sect would never draw their serious attention. Thus, through his deliberate efforts to prevent information leaks, the Tianyuan Dao Sect would never notice his subtle maneuvers.
When all was said and done, he was merely a Nascent Soul cultivator in their eyes.
Under these circumstances, pouring everything he had into a single-point breakthrough on the Dongyuan Continent—one of the Dao Sect's three continents—was unquestionably his soundest strategic choice and most decisive move.
Yet no matter how sound or decisive the strategy was, the enemy's profound foundation was not something he could contend with lightly.
Therefore, once this card was played, it had to win everything!
Otherwise, his death would bring his Dao to an end, and four hundred years of arduous cultivation would dissolve into a moon reflected in water, an empty dream.
Luo Chen looked down at Tianxuan. This demon beast, whom he had once forcibly subdued, had finally cultivated to the fourth-tier shapeshifting realm over the past three centuries.
The mana coursing through her body felt intimately familiar, originating from the avian cultivation technique he had personally tailored for her all those years ago: the Huanyu Secret Scripture.
Luo Chen had removed the slave seal from her long ago.
She was entirely free, yet she still addressed him as "Master" with every breath, demonstrating the depth of her devotion.
"Among the four great demon beasts under my command, your cultivation is the weakest, yet you are the sharpest of wit. I have a mission for you."
Tianxuan's spirits rose. "Please instruct me, Master!"
Luo Chen nodded slightly. "Once the battle begins, you need not participate on the front lines. Instead, position yourself along the vital transit route connecting the Dongyuan Continent and the Libei Continent. The moment any powerhouses from Libei mobilize to reinforce Dongyuan, immediately notify everyone to prepare to retreat. This mission is not complicated, but it is of paramount importance. It requires quick wits, keen observation, and exceptional flight speed—all of which are your greatest strengths. Can you accomplish this?"
Tianxuan responded firmly, brimming with excitement, "Tianxuan will surely carry out this mission without fail!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly, feeling a slight relief in his chest.
Although Li Canghai claimed to have reached an agreement with the demon beast grandmasters of the Northern Sea—promising that a massive tide of demon beasts would attack the Libei Continent at the critical moment to pin down their top powerhouses—Luo Chen still had little confidence in that promise.
It was not merely that he distrusted Li Canghai—though in truth, he trusted the man very little—but rather that he had no faith in the demon powerhouses of the Northern Sea.
If they merely went through the motions and failed to pin down the cultivators on Libei, sudden variables would erupt on the Dongyuan battlefield.
When that happened, regardless of whether he succeeded or failed, the assembly of powerhouses he had brought from the Eastern Desolation cultivation world would be dragged into a brutal, bitter struggle.
Since he was the one who had brought them here, he wished to bring back as many of them as possible.
"Master, I shall take my leave."
Having received her orders, Tianxuan departed in haste.
Watching her fading silhouette, the lake-like calm on Luo Chen's face concealed surging waves within his heart.
It was drawing near!
After a century of meticulous planning, that fateful day was finally close at hand.
It was time for him to head toward his own battlefield.
Before that, however, he had to make a trip to the Dongyuan Continent to deliver a grand gift to the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
***
With the conclusion of the Jiazi Tournament, the lively bustle of the Tianyuan Dao Sect ought to have given way to a relaxed atmosphere.
In truth, however, it was quite the opposite.
While the surroundings had grown much quieter than before, the air was laden with chilling solemnity.
Across the entirety of the Dongyuan Continent, Dao Sect patrols were everywhere. Cultivators from the various clans were strictly forbidden from moving about freely and were ordered to remain within their clan territories. The vibrant commerce and trade that had gradually revived with the Central Plains' recovery had ground to a complete halt.
All these signs pointed to an impending, monumental event within the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
Among the ranks of the Nascent Soul True Persons, this grand affair was already an open secret.
The Old Ancestor intended to reconverge the Central Plains, rebuild Heaven and Earth Peak, and restore the eternal foundation of that sacred ground which had once held sway over the entire realm!
Toward this end, the Dao Sect had schemed and prepared for over a century. Now that the final hour had arrived, the manpower and resources poured into the endeavor were staggering.
Arrangements had been laid across all three continents.
Within the Lanke Mountain Range, every registered Nascent Soul True Person—thirty-six in total—had been dispatched into the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven.
Furthermore, on the Dongyuan Continent, the four great clans of Lian, Ke, Shi, and Li, along with the nine great Nascent Soul clans, had mobilized all their experts to guard every single formation node.
On the other two continents, the two Dao Palaces also oversaw the grand design, carrying out their respective duties.
Amidst this stifling yet restless, deserted yet murderous atmosphere, Luo Chen traveled upstream along the Shi River and once more arrived at the ancestral seat of the Dao Sect—the Lanke Mountain Range!
This was likely the most desolate the spiritually opulent Lanke Mountain Range had ever been; scarcely any Nascent Soul cultivators remained inside.
At least, under the sweep of Luo Chen's divine sense, he detected only five individuals.
Every one of them was in the late Nascent Soul stage!
*They must be clan elder figures from the four great clans, sent to the Lanke Mountain Range to guard the most critical formation core.* Luo Chen smiled inwardly, not the least bit surprised.
According to the deductions he and Li Canghai had made, aside from numerous minor nodes, the Tianyuan Dao Sect's continent-gathering formation possessed four primary formation cores.
These were the locations of the three Dao Palaces across the three continents, and Tiandi Island.
Each of these four locations was anchored by a fifth-tier spirit vein.
With fifth-tier spirit veins serving as formation cores, combined with the prearranged arrays, reconverging the Central Plains was only natural.
In this process, pulling the landmasses together was not the hardest part; the true difficulty lay in stabilizing each continent, ensuring that massive collisions—and the catastrophic earth tremors they would trigger—did not occur during the convergence and fusion.
When the time came, so long as these four formation cores were destroyed and repairs were prevented, the Tianyuan Dao Sect's grand vision would fall completely flat.
As for the minor nodes on the Dongyuan Continent, Luo Chen would leave them to the experts of the Eastern Desolation cultivation world. But this place, he would attend to personally!
Without pausing his steps, Luo Chen entered the Lanke Mountain Range and turned his gaze toward a mountain peak that towered into the clouds, brimming with spiritual qi.
Its name was Zuowang Peak!
This was the place!
Luo Chen slipped into the mountain like a phantom, venturing deep into Zuowang Peak without alerting a single soul.
With a flick of his wrist, a banner appeared in his hand.
The banner was pitch-black throughout, its pole bearing hairline cracks as though it might shatter at any moment.
Through those fissures, furious howls and roars leaked out from time to time, harrowing to the ear.
"Stop howling. Before long, you shall have your freedom."
Luo Chen spoke with a faint smile, yet his expression was chillingly grim.
With a forceful thrust, he drove the Million Evil Soul Banner deep into the hard rock and earth. Jet-black lines immediately webbed outward from the banner, spreading across all directions like a spiderweb.
Then, Luo Chen's fingers danced through the air, sending one incantation seal after another into the Evil Soul Banner.
Within the banner, a terrifying aura rapidly expanded. A phantom of a ferocious, ox-like beast materialized, roaring violently from the surface of the banner, ravenous for flesh.
Yet under the suppression of those incantation seals, no matter how the Kui ox ghost-god thrashed and roared, it could not break free.
Once Luo Chen finished casting the final seal, the terrifying aura of the fifth-tier ghost-god was suppressed once more.
Now, all that remained was for Luo Chen to detonate this Evil Soul Banner at the opportune moment, unleashing the Kui ox ghost-god upon the mountain.
Having accomplished his purpose, Luo Chen departed cleanly.
In the absence of a Deity Transformation grandmaster personally presiding over the sect, not a single soul within the Tianyuan Dao Sect realized that Luo Chen had buried such a terrifying bomb directly within their mountain gate.
In truth, matters should never have come to this.
The mistake lay back then on the Yellow Springs Sea, when Mo Shouzhuo called out to halt Luo Chen just as he was about to leave.
Since they had insisted on making Luo Chen stay, he would repay their kindness today with a magnificent gift for the Tianyuan Dao Sect!
***
*Buzz!*
Mountain Sea Calendar, year 3780.
On the day autumn arrived, a bizarre sound began rippling outward from Tiandi Island.
It resembled the rhythmic beat of a giant heart, yet sounded like howling winds and rumbling thunder, endowed with a profound cadence.
Though no one was directing the process in unison, the instant the sound rang out, the three continents tens of thousands of li apart resonated in harmony.
The same sound echoed between heaven and earth.
Under this grand resonance, the three continents—Dongyuan, Tiannan, and Libei—began to tremble violently.
An unprecedented earthquake swept across every territory.
Houses collapsed, trees were uprooted, and mountains toppled, giving every appearance of impending doom.
Even over the sunken Western Continent, colossal waves surged, battering everything in sight.
Yet as pillar after pillar of starlight beamed down from the sky, all signs of the earthquake vanished in an instant.
Furthermore!
Centered around these thick pillars of astral light, formation patterns spread at blinding speed, intersecting like the lines of a weiqi board until they gradually blanketed every inch of land across the three continents.
Amidst these densely woven formation lines, the three continents suddenly became as solid as an impregnable fortress!
Then, all the pillars of starlight converged in the void, gathering toward Tiandi Island at the center to form a firmament canopy spanning a radius of tens of millions of li.
Stars arrayed like chess pieces, heaven and earth uniting into one!
From the center of the heavenly vault, an immense pulling force radiated outward, beginning to drag the scattered continents inward.
If one possessed sharp enough sight to look down upon this realm from the highest heavens, they would see the three continents slowly closing toward Tiandi Island at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Within the Lanke Mountain Range, the five late Nascent Soul cultivators left to guard the grounds breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"The spirit vein restrictions have been unlocked!"
"The earth qi flows unimpeded; the formation operates smoothly."
"Ancestor Liancheng's plan has no flaws. With this Heavenly Vault Continent-Gathering Formation, reconverging the Central Plains is indeed achievable!"
"May all proceed without a hitch."
"Matters on our end are naturally secure. Now, it all depends on the other two continents."
At the same time.
Within the Dao Palace of the Libei Continent, seven late Nascent Soul grand cultivators sat in a circle in the center of the hall, gazing down at a lifelike sand table beneath them with eager anticipation.
Even though the terrain on the sand table was miniaturized to the extreme, anyone looking upon it could recognize the full expanse of the Libei Continent.
"Aside from a few major quakes when the formation was first triggered, everything is proceeding smoothly overall."
"As expected of the only sixth-tier formation our Dao Sect brought down when descending to this realm. This Heavenly Vault Continent-Gathering Formation is truly extraordinary. Once activated, it can shift entire continents without harming the earth veins in the slightest."
"Brother Tan, surely you know that during the ancient war, when our Tianyuan Dao Sect established its dominion over the Central Plains, this formation was activated once before. Otherwise, how could the Central Plains have possessed a landmass far exceeding any other continent in the Mountain Sea Realm?"
Amidst this joyful discussion, a cultivator suddenly barged into the hall.
Someone shouted in reprimand, "Gu Yuan, who gave you permission to enter without announcing yourself?"
Gu Yuan looked tense. "Reporting to the Palace Master: a massive horde of demon beasts is invading from the direction of the Northern Sea! Their numbers and intentions are unclear, but according to the garrisoned True Persons, at least three Great Demon Emperors have been spotted among them!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Gu Zhongtian, addressed as Palace Master, wore a frosty expression. He pressed down a hand to signal for calm.
"Petty skirmishes on ordinary days are one thing, but this is a monumental day for our Dao Sect. These wretched beasts must have grown tired of living."
"Gu Daoyin, Tan Linxian, Gu Muye—the three of you... Tan Wushuang, you go as well. The four of you shall join forces to annihilate all invading demon beasts. Leave none alive!"
"The rest of you, remain with me to guard the Libei Dao Palace. Do not lose your composure."
The cultivators bellowed their compliance and took their leave to carry out their orders.
Once they departed, those remaining looked at the still-grim Palace Master Gu Zhongtian and offered comforting words: "Palace Master, you need not worry. The strength of our three great clans was preserved relatively intact during the Central Plains Catastrophe. Dealing with these beasts will pose no issue."
Gu Zhongtian shook his head. "I do not worry for Libei, and with the four great clans and nine Nascent Soul clans stationed on Dongyuan, that side is even less of a concern. What I truly worry about is Tiannan!"
At these words, comprehension dawned on everyone.
Compared to the other two continents, Tiannan was the weakest.
The Mo and Zhan clans, originally the most powerful among the twelve great clans, had suffered the heaviest casualties during the Central Plains Catastrophe, leaving them with only Tiannan—the smallest of the landmasses—as their sanctuary after the war.
If someone were to launch an attack on Tiannan at this critical juncture, it would inevitably disrupt the plan to reconverge the Central Plains.
Contrary to their worries, however...
Within the Tiannan Dao Palace at that very moment, all was peaceful.
Zhan Bingtao and the rarely seen Mo clan patriarch sat facing one another, the miniature terrain of the entire Tiannan Continent clearly visible upon the sand table beneath their feet.
"Have the Masters of the Four Halls been dispatched?"
"Yes. Having our two great clans oversee Tiannan is more than enough. The Masters of the Four Halls have been sent to the four cardinal directions to patrol every formation node and ensure nothing goes awry."
"That is well. So long as we endure these few days, the Tianyuan Dao Sect shall be reunited once more."
"Liheng, have you ever considered truly entering the Tiannan Dao Palace? You know that once the Central Plains are reconverged, the Dao Sect's power structure will not return to what it once was. The three Dao Palaces will become the arena where we vie for influence."
"We shall see. The Mo clan cannot withstand any more turmoil right now."
***
Tiannan Continent, southeastern region.
Fu Qinglan rode a cloud carriage, patrolling the region continuously.
From time to time, Core Formation disciples of Houtu Hall returned from the perimeter to report their observations.
Everything was quiet and unremarkable; no one had disobeyed orders, and no enemies had appeared.
Suddenly!
A figure rushed back in great haste.
From within the cloud carriage, a woman's pleasant voice rang out.
"Fu Bin, why are you in such a hurry?"
Fu Bin bowed respectfully and said, "Disciple has discovered a Nascent Soul clan that, in defiance of orders, began migrating toward the outer sea after the formation was activated!"
"Hm? Which family possesses such audacity?"
Fu Bin took a deep breath and spoke with utmost gravity: "The Zhou family!"
On the Tiannan Continent, Nascent Soul clans were few and far between—certainly nowhere near as numerous as the nine clans on Dongyuan.
And among them, there was only a single family bearing the surname Zhou.
"The family of Fuyou?" The voice inside the cloud carriage underwent a subtle shift.
Fu Bin nodded. "Yes, the very same—the Bailu Marsh Zhou family!"
A momentary silence fell over the carriage.
The next instant, ripples of mana gently surged, and a slender, elegant figure stepped out.
"I shall go see for myself. You may continue your previous patrol duties."
With those words, the woman transformed into a streak of azure light and vanished beyond the horizon.
Chapter 1075