The Eve

Inside the Divine Flower Four Emperors group. "I have good news for everyone: progress on my 'Hundred-Day Plan to Destroy the Palace of Light' is ahead of schedule. "Now, I've already begun the fourth step—a very difficult one!" Qi Yuan's plan was meticulously crafted into four stages. The final stage was also the hardest, rated at four stars of difficulty. "Origin Celestial Venerable, are you forming your Golden Core?" Rogue Celestial Venerable quickly replied. "You're still around? Didn't you say last time you were going into seclusion for a hundred days?" Qi Yuan asked. "I was in seclusion, but... the jade slip lit up, so I clicked in," Rogue Celestial Venerable said awkwardly. "You're addicted. You need electrotherapy," Qi Yuan remarked, steering the topic back on track. "I've already stepped into late Foundation Establishment. I'm just one step away from condensing an Immortal Grade Golden Core!" Qi Yuan brimmed with confidence. He had already given the Liufeng Realm's Heavenly Dao a proper heads-up. An Immortal Grade Golden Core would be a piece of cake. "If memory serves, Origin Celestial Venerable, wasn't it not long ago that you achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?" Rogue Celestial Venerable asked timidly. "Just two or three months. Ah, time flies, and worldly affairs are unpredictable!" Qi Yuan sighed inexplicably. Great Sun Flame Emperor entered the chat at that moment: "Wow! As expected of the genius this sovereign took a liking to! Origin Celestial Venerable is too fierce!" "There's progress on destroying the Palace of Light?" Iceberg Overlord Woman joined in as well, sending several messages in succession. "I gathered a few of my sisters and borrowed several million in high-interest loans from the Palace of Light. Origin Celestial Venerable, you've got to step up your game!" "Don't worry, I won't let your trust down!" Qi Yuan was touched. "I've drawn up a few minor plans targeting the Palace of Light, and I'll need your support!" "What do you need me to do?" "Killing people? I'm best at that!" "I... can only scrape together one spirit stone." "No need for so much trouble. I registered an alt account and am currently exposing the crimes of the Palace of Light. I just need you all to help bump my posts." Qi Yuan explained his posts and ideas to them. Hearing this, Iceberg Overlord Woman's eyes lit up in the mortal world. She rattled off several messages in a row. "Brilliant! Origin Celestial Venerable, you're a true genius!" "These titles are simply magnificent!" "'A Dignified Sword God, Yet His Daughter Lives in a Dog Kennel'—the Palace of Light has gone way too far!" "*Ahem*, actually, I stole someone else's idea." Qi Yuan felt a bit guilty. The last time he plagiarized Wu Tong's line, he had slaughtered Wu Tong directly. No one would know he had copied it, and Wu Tong, the original creator, couldn't climb out of hell to contest it. Now, the people of Blue Star were still alive, and he hadn't wiped them all out. If he claimed credit and got exposed, it would be far too embarrassing. Unless he devoured Blue Star whole, he could never comfortably claim it as his original work. "Rest assured, Origin Celestial Venerable, I'll help bump your posts every day!" "Thank you, everyone!" Qi Yuan was genuinely grateful. He exited the group chat and went back to using his alt account to bump his own threads. ... A branch of the Palace of Light. A glint of rage burned in True Monarch Fengnu's eyes. "Great Shang still hasn't responded?" His disciple, Po Lang, had gone to the Hundred Nations and fallen in Great Shang. Even the envoys sent to Great Shang had sent back no word. "True Monarch Fengnu, please calm yourself," True Monarch Qianghong advised. Though both were in the late Divine Infant stage, True Monarch Qianghong held himself slightly lower before True Monarch Fengnu. This was because True Monarch Fengnu's father was a Purple Mansion grand cultivator! With Yin Gods remaining hidden, a Purple Mansion cultivator was already considered a grand mighty figure in the Canglan Realm! "Hmph! My disciple died an unexplained death in Great Shang. What, I can't even demand an explanation?" True Monarch Fengnu grumbled, dissatisfied. Displeased deep down, True Monarch Qianghong still plastered on a flattering smile. "Our Palace of Light hasn't been entirely peaceful lately. The Palace Master ordered us to keep a low profile for the time being." "Oh? Why is that?" True Monarch Fengnu was oblivious to this. "Over the past few days, quite a few Purple Mansion grand cultivators have come to our Palace of Light each day to borrow money. Rumor has it... we've already lent out over ten million spirit stones." Mentioning this, True Monarch Qianghong felt shaken inside. Purple Mansion grand cultivators coming in groups to borrow spirit stones—this boded ill no matter how one looked at it. "Could it be that our Palace of Light launching the Hundred Nations Blood War has aroused displeasure among certain old fellows? "Yet for the Hundred Nations Blood War, our Palace of Light clearly secured the tacit approval of those exalted figures!" The Hundred Nations Blood War would cause endless slaughter and hundreds of millions of deaths. For a matter of such magnitude, the Palace of Light naturally couldn't act on a whim. If some displeased exalted figure obliterated them on sight, they would have nowhere to air their grievances. Having reported it beforehand changed things entirely. At the very least, nearby exalted figures would not intervene. "The Palace is currently investigating. It's best to be cautious. Furthermore, today in the Divine Flower Society, someone has been publicly accusing our Palace of Light. "That person's title makes them look formidable." True Monarch Qianghong waved his hand, projecting several images before True Monarch Fengnu's eyes. "A Sword God? His daughter living in a dog kennel?" True Monarch Fengnu's eyes widened. "Who did this? This is even more... absurd than my own deeds!" Killing a man was just a matter of decapitation. True Monarch Fengnu usually killed people outright, rarely bothering to humiliate them. To think a fellow cultivator in the Palace of Light forced another cultivator's daughter to live in a dog kennel—that truly crossed the line. "The Palace is already investigating whether this is true or a slanderous fabrication," True Monarch Qianghong sighed. "A storm is brewing!" The recent string of events made them feel as though an invisible hand was targeting the Palace of Light. Yet no matter how the Palace of Light investigated, they couldn't uncover which influential figure was behind it. Would such a grand cultivator even need to resort to petty tricks like this? True Monarch Fengnu felt wary, but he still insisted, "Great Shang is a minor country. Even if I intervene, it won't impact matters of this scale. "I'll wait a few more days for the Palace's investigation results before heading to Great Shang!" True Monarch Qianghong nodded and asked, "True Monarch Fengnu, which fellow daoist do you think humiliated that Blood-Robed Sword God and forced his daughter into a dog kennel?" True Monarch Fengnu pondered. "Most likely True Monarch Wukong, or perhaps True Monarch Fangyuan. The two of them are prime suspects." "Indeed, only those two are capable of such a deed!" Such was the Palace of Light. When Qi Yuan posted slander against them, the first thought of most members was simply: *Which one of our fellow daoists did that?* ... "All right, finally done posting." Qi Yuan looked upon his masterpiece with immense satisfaction. He had put up seven posts in one go. "A pity there's no scheduled posting feature. Otherwise, the posts could keep rolling out even while I'm playing games," Qi Yuan lamented. If there were an automated thread bumper, he wouldn't even need to be present to bump his own posts. "Now that I've pulled maximum aggro, all that's left is to form my Golden Core and smash the Palace of Light in one fell swoop!" Confident, Qi Yuan felt that once his Golden Core was formed, he would become the undisputed number one eldest disciple across all peaks of the Divine Light Sect. "That fellow Kang Fulu hasn't secretly formed a core behind my back, has he?" Qi Yuan mused. Just then, Jiang Lingsu's voice sounded from outside the wooden hut. "Eldest Martial Brother." Hearing her, Qi Yuan hurried outside. "Junior Sister, what is it?" Qi Yuan now held the utmost respect for this thigh-of-gold junior sister of his. So long as she had money, she remained the supreme goddess of gods in his heart. "In a few days, an... elder sister of mine is coming to the Divine Light Sect to visit me," Jiang Lingsu said hesitantly. "Oh? Someone from your family?" Qi Yuan's eyes shone. Wouldn't the sister of a rich woman also be a rich woman? "You could say that. My sister will likely stay on Seven Colors Peak for a while. Would that be all right with you?" Jiang Lingsu asked. With their master unreachable, everything on Seven Colors Peak fell under Eldest Martial Brother's purview. "Yes, absolutely no problem!" Qi Yuan voted with both hands. That was a rich woman! Staying close to absorb some wealth luck sounded fantastic. With another rich woman around, his kitchen knife would have more scraps to scavenge. "By the way, Eldest Martial Brother, when my sister arrives, she and I might get into a bit of an argument..." "What?" Qi Yuan blinked. "Junior Sister, rest assured, your senior brother stands with you. "Even if she's a rich woman, if you two fight, I'll definitely chop her with my knife!" Jiang Lingsu felt a warm swell in her heart. Although Eldest Martial Brother was half-mad, he was truly good to her. "By the way, how rich is she? A billionaire rich woman?" Qi Yuan asked, his momentum visibly deflating, as if he wouldn't dare provoke her if she were genuinely a billionaire. Jiang Lingsu looked at Qi Yuan with utter disappointment, the warmth from before completely evaporating. She huffed, "...She's not as rich as me." "Then don't worry, from now on, I'm your muscle!" Qi Yuan patted his chest. "Qi Yuan the Thug—you won't regret having me!" "She's no ordinary cultivator. She ranks fifteenth on the Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll!" Jiang Lingsu said with pride. Her eldest martial brother was quite skilled in combat, having ambushed and slain a perfection Foundation Establishment and a middle Foundation Establishment cultivator while still at Qi Refinement perfection. He stood out and counted as a prodigy. Now that he had stepped into Foundation Establishment, he could rank in the top five hundred or even top one hundred of the Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll. However, her elder sister held fifteenth place on that list! Barring any catastrophic mishaps, she was practically guaranteed to become a Purple Mansion grand cultivator in the future! "Did she achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?" Qi Yuan asked with a touch of caution. "...No." "Then there's nothing to fear! With my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, I'll crush her outright!" Full of confidence, Qi Yuan chatted a bit longer with Jiang Lingsu before returning to his wooden hut. "Everything's set. Time to log in, play the game, and defeat the boss!" ... In the City of No Return, the ground sank as Qi Yuan, clad in blood-red robes with Xiao Jia in his arm, emerged from the earth. A profound light flickered deep in his eyes. "It's finally drawing to a close." Qi Yuan felt a twinge of melancholy. He looked up at the pitch-black sky, devoid of stars, sun, or moon. "A world like this is truly lonely." A blood-red aura permeated the air. After a dozen breaths, several powerful presences rushed toward the spot. "Big Brother, you're back?" "Greetings, Blood Lord!" Qi Yuan looked at the Sovereigns before him, brushing the dust from his robes. "How has the task progressed?" He was asking about the count of peak Terrestrial Myths. "Big Brother, the City of No Return has gathered seventy thousand... peak Terrestrial Myths!" Chen Huan's teeth chattered as he spoke. Qi Yuan froze upon hearing that. "According to ancient calculation methods, this is practically an army of nearly two hundred thousand?" There were truly an astonishing number of Terrestrial Myths in this world! "Many middle Terrestrial Myth cultivators recklessly burned their lifespans to break through to the peak during this time, all to hear you preach, Big Brother! That's why the numbers swelled so high!" The temptation of becoming a Sovereign was nearly impossible for anyone to resist. "All beneath Sovereigns are ants" was no mere hyperbole. So long as an origin divine ability was intact, a Sovereign butchered Terrestrial Myths like chickens. "Is everyone assembled?" Qi Yuan asked. "All accounted for!" Chen Huan replied. "In that case, I will begin the sermon in ten days." Qi Yuan sighed inwardly. This meant a hundred thousand Sovereigns in total. If converted into experience points, the amount would be unimaginable! The Blood Lord had reappeared in the City of No Return. As the news spread, the world erupted into a frenzy. The peak Terrestrial Myths understood that this was their chance to step into the Sovereign realm. Meanwhile, deep within the City of No Return, Yun He sipped his wine with an air of relaxed ease. "If the Blood Lord had emerged a thousand years earlier, the world would have been at peace, and Master wouldn't have had to struggle so bitterly to hold the line." Drinking his wine, he had never felt so carefree. When the sky fell, having a taller figure to hold it up was truly marvelous. Ten days later, atop the walls of the City of No Return. Qi Yuan stood upon the ramparts, his blood-red robes exceptionally vibrant. Outside the city, seventy thousand peak Terrestrial Myths stood in formation like soldiers. Transposed to the Canglan Realm, this was equivalent to seventy thousand peak Divine Infant cultivators. Every single one rivaled Qi Yuan's former nemesis, Old Demon Black Chicken. Yet in Qi Yuan's eyes, he could slaughter them all with a mere flick of his finger. "Today, seventy thousand peak Terrestrial Myths will become Sovereigns. I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse." Qi Yuan couldn't help but sigh. Once the game ended, he would depart. These seventy thousand peak Terrestrial Myths would become Sovereigns. Adding the previous thirty thousand Sovereigns, that meant one hundred thousand Sovereigns, as though they cost nothing. Such a vast number of Sovereigns would certainly reshape the landscape of the Liufeng Realm. Once his game concluded, he had no idea what fate awaited them. Furthermore, these Sovereigns were not like the Purple Mansion cultivators of the Canglan Realm. Demonic monstrosities lurked within their bodies! When their lifespans ended naturally, demonic monstrosities would emerge! A Sovereign-grade demonic monstrosity was terrifying to even contemplate. He feared he was fostering not over a hundred thousand Sovereigns, but a hundred thousand demonic monstrosities! This world... Qi Yuan dwelled on it no further. Looking out at the vast assembly, his expression became ethereal, like a deity perched atop the clouds. "The sermon... begins..." This sermon was grander and vastly larger in scale than any before. The Blood Lord stood on the ramparts of the City of No Return as celestial notes rang from the vault of heaven, striking straight to the soul. Unlike previous times, a rain of blood abruptly poured from the heavens. It seemed like the tears of heaven, the blood of the firmament. Drenched in the blood rain, none of the seventy thousand Terrestrial Myths noticed it, their entire beings immersed in the Way of the Human-Demon. Meanwhile, the other experts of the City of No Return gazed up at the Blood Lord, feeling as though he were a blazing, blood-red sun. In a world abandoned by gods, devoid of sun, moon, and stars, it was as if a blood-red sun had risen. Light had finally pierced this world—even if that light was blood-red. ... Time passed, and at the Ends of the Earth, a Blood Palace arose. Nearly all Sovereigns of the Liufeng Realm were now gathered at the Ends of the Earth, waiting for the Gate of Myriad Demons to open. Everyone felt a mixture of suppressed tension and excitement. Amid Yun He's excitement lay a trace of worry. "I hope Master can hold out until the Blood Lord arrives." As the opening of the Gate of Myriad Demons drew closer, the Blood Lord showed himself less and less. An eerie silence hung over the entire Blood Palace. Embracing Xiao Jia, Qi Yuan wore an odd expression. "The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture... is only a step away from being inscribed." Presently, Qi Yuan was fully capable of inscribing the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture. Yet he could not bring himself to do it. If he inscribed it onto his Divine Soul or physical body, he feared he would truly go insane. "Does this mean I have to stay at the Microcosmic stage of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture and never inscribe it?" Qi Yuan felt utterly helpless. A Grand Sovereign with an inscribed origin divine ability was on an entirely different level of power compared to a middle Sovereign at the Microcosmic stage. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to inscribe it right now. Doing so would make him truly forget everything, beyond any hope of being awakened. "Alas, this is my path. Even with tears in my eyes, I must walk it to the end." Qi Yuan sighed. He decided not to overthink it. The boat would naturally straighten when it reached the bridge. Perhaps a solution would present itself in due time. ... Meanwhile, inside the Gate of Myriad Demons. He Wu stood shrouded in darkness, deep concern in his eyes. "In a few days, the Gate of Myriad Demons will open. It will be very hard for us... to receive Honored Master." Ling Yayi gazed at the enemy stronghold ahead, sensing the auras radiating from it, his eyes filled with profound dread. "Over twenty Grand Sovereigns and more than a hundred ordinary Sovereigns. The Venerable truly spares no expense!" The Venerable's main force had completely encircled the White Emperor. At the entrance of the Gate of Myriad Demons, the Venerable had stationed numerous other powerhouses. Moreover, to counter the Blood Lord, ten of the twenty-odd Grand Sovereigns were natives of the Myriad Demons Realm, and the hundred-plus ordinary Sovereigns were all demons from the Myriad Demons Realm. This way, they would not be suppressed by the Blood Lord's origin divine ability. "There are only five of us. We're nowhere near a match for these Sovereigns," He Wu fretted. The disparity between the two sides was far too vast. It was only through painstaking preparation that the five of them had managed to slip out and reach this place. The Gate of Myriad Demons swarmed with the Venerable's forces. "How strong do you think Honored Master is? Can he beat these people?" Ling Yayi asked. They had come here specifically to reinforce the Blood Lord. "Probably not," He Wu said gravely. Years ago, the Blood Lord's sword had an origin divine ability inscribed upon it. This showed that their master had suffered heavy injuries in the Gate of Myriad Manifestations and had only recently awakened, having just stepped into the Grand Sovereign realm. Although their master's origin divine ability countered the Sovereigns of the Liufeng Realm, the enchantress's subordinates were mostly Sovereigns from the Myriad Demons Realm. Facing twenty Grand Sovereigns deployed together, the current Blood Lord couldn't possibly be a match. Ling Yayi furrowed his brow, then suddenly said, "What if, when the Gate of Myriad Demons swings wide open, I charge straight into those Grand Sovereigns, detonate my origin divine ability, and shout at the top of my lungs: 'My name is Ling Yayi!' "Would Honored Master then forget the name Nangong Dagou and only remember that I'm Ling Yayi?" "Stop talking nonsense! Detonating yourself would just be throwing your life away. If Honored Master wants to come through, he'll have to confront those powerhouses head-on regardless." He Wu knew that Ling Yayi was contemplating sacrificing his life to buy their master a chance to enter the Gate of Myriad Demons. "*Sigh*, aren't I just trying to find a way out?" Ling Yayi shrugged. "Rather than trusting you to detonate yourself and draw their attention, I'd rather believe Master can slaughter his way inside," a middle Sovereign chimed in. He was also one of the Thirteen Northern Demon Fiends. He Wu nodded in agreement. Ling Yayi glared at the two of them, thoroughly disgruntled. "It must be because you both have the character for 'Demon' carved onto your faces. Looking at you two just rubs me the wrong way!"