Xing Huan Tian.
Clusters of purple bamboo rustled in the wind, scattering crystal-clear dewdrops that glistened like a rain of immortal light.
“Senior Brother, I specially sent people to Yunyang Realm to gather thirty-thousand-year cloud dew and brewed it for a full millennium with over a thousand sacred herbs. Only then did I obtain this cloud brew. Will it suit your palate?”
The Second Adult appeared in a human-like form, with a tail, hair like fleshy vines, and the look of a man in his forties or fifties. He was impeccably dressed, yet carried none of the ferocious aura that made the entire Death Race revere him, nor any trace of mystery.
His smile was sincere, his eyes held a touch of humility.
The drunkard sitting opposite him was utterly different. His robes were tattered, he reeked of alcohol, and he looked no better than a beggar. He took the cup, sipped, closed his eyes, and savoured it with evident delight.
“Not bad. Among all the wines I have drunk in my life, this would rank in the top five!”
The Second Adult sat upright and spoke gravely. “Since Grandmother Tian has stepped forward to deter all sides and protect the remnants of the Nishen Clan, and with Tian Nan’s full support, there should be no more dissent in the Hell Realm!”
“Senior Brother, return with me to Tian Nan. Bring the Nishen Clan too. You may choose any great world in Tian Nan. Whichever one you fancy will be yours. If none suits you, you may choose from all the great worlds of the Death Race.”
He continued earnestly. “You spent the longest time with our Master and shared the deepest bond with him. Even before entering the Death God Temple, Master was still speaking of you!”
The drunkard stopped drinking. A sombre look appeared in his eyes. “Master has entered the Death God Temple again?”
The Second Adult nodded, his gaze filled with boundless reverence and pride. “When Master emerges from the Death God Temple once more, he will be invincible under heaven. Senior Brother, we are now in an era of great upheaval. The war between the Heavenly Court and Hell will only intensify. In such a grand age, no one can remain neutral.”
“Those who stay neutral can only die.”
The drunkard looked at him with an odd expression.
“Of course, anyone who dares to oppose Senior Brother will be opposing Tian Nan.” The Second Adult spoke earnestly again. “Once the Heavenly Court’s first starry defence line is breached, the star domain where Xing Huan Tian and Xing Tian Ya are located will no longer be the fringe of Hell Realm, but a sharp blade thrust into the Yellow Spring Star River. At that point, you will become a stumbling block to Hell’s continued advance. If you do not choose a side, the consequences will be unpredictable!”
“After all, Master has entered the Death God Temple, so Tian Nan’s influence has been somewhat weakened. The Nine-Death Heterodox Emperor of the Dark Temple, Yan Renhuan of the Yama Clan, the one from the Asura Clan, and the one from the Stone Clan are all extremely aggressive. Now, after a hundred thousand years, Xu Tian has emerged from the Great Tribulation Palace, and his first battle was to cross the Heavenly Court’s starry defence line. The message he sends is self-evident.”
“Your junior brother is truly worried that Senior Brother will make the wrong choice and be used by others.”
“Second Junior, did you come all the way to Xing Huan Tian to teach me how to act?” Coldness flashed in the drunkard’s eyes.
The Second Adult remained calm. “Those from Kunlun Realm were already wildly ambitious a hundred thousand years ago. Otherwise, how could they have ended up in such a state? It was pure overreach! Unless one’s cultivation reaches the Ancestor level, no one can hope to change heaven and earth single-handedly. To force it is to invite heavenly punishment.”
“An Ancestor appears only once in millions of years!”
“At present, to change heaven and earth and to possess the power to protect oneself when the Quantity Tribulation arrives, we must devour the realms of the Heavenly Court as quickly as possible, thereby elevating Hell Realm’s strength to its peak. This is the great trend, and we must follow it!”
“If Senior Brother and the one from Xing Tian Ya join us, within one yuanhui the Heavenly Court will surely fall. Senior Brother’s cultivation will also rise by several tiers.”
The drunkard said, “Do you truly believe that this will stop the Quantity Tribulation, rather than leaving both sides crippled by war?”
“In fact, in the century since the war began, the overall strength of all clans has greatly increased,” the Second Adult replied.
The drunkard said, “Will it really be that simple? Do you truly think it is Hell Realm driving this war?”
“Does Senior Brother mean the Quantity Organisation?”
The Second Adult said, “That is merely baseless rumour! Even if they truly exist, how could a mere band of shadowy rats influence the decisions of all heavens?”
The drunkard said, “I am speaking of the war itself. In truth, it is not Hell Realm driving the war. It is the war driving Hell Realm. It is the desires in the hearts of the cultivators of all clans that drive you. In Hell Realm, apart from a few far-sighted individuals, do the vast majority of cultivators, including the gods, ever truly think about the coming Quantity Tribulation?”
“They merely wish to devour souls, thirst for blood, consume flesh, seize, destroy, and revel in the pleasure of slaughter and enslaving living beings, to possess wealth and resources, to flaunt their martial might.”
“Even if the Heavenly Court falls, Hell Realm will descend into internal war.”
“From the very beginning, the war has been leading you. Your original purpose has long been lost amid desire. To resist the Quantity Tribulation? No, you are doing it for yourselves.”
“From top to bottom, billions upon billions of cultivators are the same. No one can reverse this, not even if Emperor Fengdu returned. If he tried to force it, the ten clans of Hell would disintegrate even sooner.”
“You only see the Heavenly Court’s weaknesses, yet you fail to see your own.”
“If the Twenty Heavens of Hell Realm could truly unite as Kunlun Realm once did, with shared ideals in their hearts, then even though I dislike Hell Realm’s ideology of relentless slaughter and destruction, I would long ago have chosen your side.”
The Second Adult stared at the drunkard for a long while, took a sip from his cup, set it down, and said, “You are not my Senior Brother. My Senior Brother would not lecture me so much. He would simply flip the table and kick me out.”
“I was fooled by appearances just now!”
The drunkard smiled, and his form shifted.
The Second Adult looked at the old woodcutter now sitting opposite him. “Ju Ren, I never expected to be deceived by you. It seems your spiritual power has surpassed mine!”
“You have been burdened by worldly affairs, which has delayed your cultivation. If you had left Tian Nan and cultivated in seclusion like me, your attainment in spiritual power would surely exceed mine.”
The old woodcutter continued, “In truth, your Senior Brother foresaw your coming and set up an illusion array here in advance.”
The Second Adult knew his Senior Brother must have gone to the Royal City of the Hundred Clans. He rose, his humility gone, his entire being sharp as an unsheathed divine sword. “The war controls Hell Realm? Hmph! Yuan Ju Ren, oh Yuan Ju Ren, you simply do not understand. The greatest power in the world is the desire of all cultivators under heaven to grow stronger. Once we master that power, Hell Realm will be unstoppable.”
The old woodcutter smiled but said nothing.
When ideals differ, further words are meaningless.
Suddenly, both the Second Adult and the old woodcutter sensed something. They looked toward the starry battlefield, their faces growing grave.
A brilliant light, as if from an exploding star, spread across the cosmos.
“Haotian has actually taken action himself!” The Second Adult was both shocked and delighted.
He was delighted, naturally, because once Haotian acted, Emperor Fengdu, who had remained hidden, would surely respond.
King against king, general against general.
Many rules of the war, though never openly stated, were tacitly observed by both sides.
The old woodcutter sighed. “Ghost God Venerable has fallen!”
The Second Adult laughed even more joyfully. “If that is so, the Nine-Death Heterodox Emperor should emerge too!”
Sure enough, not long after, a vast darkness rose from the starry region of the Dark Temple, covering the Yellow Spring Star River and sweeping toward the starry battlefield.
That terrifying aura swept through the universe.
Cultivators on every great realm and every star felt the oppressive pressure.
This was heavenly fury!
The Nine-Death Heterodox Emperor’s cultivation was unfathomably deep, yet he rarely acted. His last appearance had been a hundred thousand years ago, so his renown in Hell Realm was slightly less than Emperor Fengdu’s.
Even so, when Hell Realm named its Twenty Heavens, heavenly-level figures had nominated him as Heavenly Venerable, though he declined. Moreover, it was he who personally recommended Emperor Fengdu as Heavenly Venerable, revered by all heavens.
Now darkness shrouded the universe, the Yellow Spring Star River dimmed, all proclaiming the Nine-Death Heterodox Emperor’s dominion over the cosmos and his devouring rage.
Xu Tian stood atop the majestic Mountain of Destiny, beside the Stream of Fate, golden flowers blooming at his feet. He snorted. “Old schemer, you plotted and plotted, yet one of your God Venerables was killed. Finally you can’t pretend any longer! Let’s see if you truly match Haotian!”
In the present age, those whose cultivation Xu Tian could not fathom were few, and the Nine-Death Heterodox Emperor was one of them.
From the Death God Palace emerged a woman of peerless beauty, graceful as a startled swan, her aura transcendent.
Xu Tian gazed into the distance, looking her up and down, his smile growing increasingly wicked.
The peerless woman soared into the void, transforming into a phoenix in the starry sky, vanishing into the cosmos in an instant.
“She flies so fast. Such vibrant feathers. They must feel very soft!” Xu Tian grinned broadly.
…
The old woodcutter said, “Who knows where this storm will end?”
“This storm was stirred up by you people, wasn’t it? It will not last long. The time for all-out war is still far off. However, the fall of a God Venerable should bring many neutral old monsters out into the open. The Nine-Death Heterodox Emperor leaving the Dark Temple will surely herald the prelude to full-scale war between Heavenly Court and Hell. On the whole, it is a good thing. Next, it depends on Emperor Fengdu’s stance!”
The Second Adult laughed. If the death of one God Venerable could unite Hell Realm in shared enmity, it was indeed a good thing.
With a flick of his finger.
The old woodcutter’s body dissolved into a wisp of green smoke.
A single white hair drifted down from the smoke.
The Second Adult shook his head with a smile, looked toward the Royal City of the Hundred Clans, his gaze gradually turning cold. “The situation truly changes in an instant!”
…
Royal City of the Hundred Clans.
In less than ten breaths, the Qingyun Platform was cleaved in two, Lord Huoze fell beneath seven ancestral soul swords, and ? Emperor was shattered by the Nishen Stele, his bones scattered.
“Pfft!”
Xiang Ruyue of Fengdu Ghost City was pinned to the ground by Zhang Ruochen’s rust-spotted divine sword, divine light leaking from his body, his divine frame convulsing.
