The collapse of space in Eternal Life Sage City, along with the drastic changes in its laws, was visible not only to Puhe but to nearly every cultivator inside and outside the city.
Everyone watched the violent spatial upheaval in shock. Some had already summoned their flying treasures, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble, while a few cautious cultivators had long since escaped on their flying artifacts. A spatial collapse was no joking matter—it was how world-ending calamities began. Once caught in its wake, escape was impossible.
In just half an incense stick’s time, Puhe sensed something odd. It seemed like destruction, but the damage was confined to a specific area. Moreover, the laws of heaven and earth were actually refining themselves, and the fortune of the realm began to surge.
Since the great holy sects and courts of the Eternal Life Realm started their wars, the realm’s fortune had ceased to grow, and its laws had stopped evolving. Eternal Life Sage City, nominally part of the Great Desolate Divine Realm, had still seen slow increases in fortune and gradual refinement of its laws.
Coupled with the city’s strict management—no bullying, forced transactions, or vendettas were tolerated—over time, nearly a hundred million people had gathered within a ten-thousand-mile radius of Eternal Life Sage City.
For cultivators, this population density was far higher than that of an average cultivation world, let alone a divine realm.
As Puhe continued observing the spatial changes and collapse, trying to discern what was happening, a wild, hearty laugh echoed through the air.
As the laughter subsided, a thin man with an ethereal, sage-like demeanor stepped out of the void. Still mid-air, he declared coldly, “From now on, Eternal Life Sage City falls under the control of my Buzhou Sect. All irrelevant persons, leave immediately, or face death without mercy.”
Puhe’s expression darkened as he recognised the newcomer.
Though he’d remained in Eternal Life Sage City, Puhe wasn’t ignorant. The man wore a white beard and an imperial robe embroidered with the characters “Buzhou,” clearly marking him as Kuachen, the sect leader of the Buzhou Sect.
Wasn’t Kuachen supposed to have disappeared? How had he returned—and not only returned but come to seize Eternal Life Sage City, the Great Desolate Divine Realm’s foothold?
As Puhe pondered this, he felt an oppressive aura ripple through the surrounding space, so intense it nearly compelled him to summon his treasure instinctively.
A third-turn sage? Puhe’s face paled as he confirmed his suspicion. Kuachen hadn’t just returned—he’d surged in strength, becoming a third-turn sage emperor.
“Kuachen, you think you’re worthy of taking Eternal Life Sage City from my Great Desolate Divine Realm? You’re not qualified,” Tifo’s voice rang out. Having secluded himself in the city for years, his cultivation had soared. Though still some distance from third-turn sage, he was confident he could break through here.
“A first-turn and a second-turn dare to obstruct me, Kuachen? Courting death.” Kuachen sneered, his third-turn sage domain unfurling with ferocious force. The area between him and Puhe was instantly crushed into ruins by the terrifying sage domain. A few cultivators who’d ventured too close were reduced to bloody mist.
More cultivators summoned their flying treasures and fled frantically—it was clear this place was about to become a battlefield.
“Third-turn?” Tifo finally saw Kuachen’s strength clearly—a third-turn sage.
“Quite arrogant,” a slightly hoarse voice remarked. A tall, thin man stepped out of the void, accompanied by a middle-aged cultivator.
“Cursed Sage Fang Zhifan?” Tifo frowned slightly, though he sensed this wasn’t quite Fang Zhifan.
Puhe whispered beside him, “The aura resembles Kun Wei somewhat, but the appearance is a bit like Fang Zhifan—yet not quite.”
“It’s likely Kun Wei. The one beside him is Snow Vase Sage Cheng Yuyan. Could Kun Wei have seized Fang Zhifan’s body?” Tifo mused aloud, though his heart sank. Kun Wei’s presence here was unlikely to be in their favor.
With Lan Xiaobu absent, a third-turn sage had arrived, intent on seizing Eternal Life Sage City. If it were just Kuachen, the Buzhou Sect leader, it might be manageable—but now Kun Wei, the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Dao Court, was here too.
On their side, only he and Puhe were strong. Though Meteor’s strength wasn’t weak, he hadn’t reached first-turn sage, and if a battle erupted, Meteor would almost certainly flee.
Facing a third-turn sage, a second-turn sage, and a first-turn sage, how could they fight? Their only hope was to activate the trapping and defensive arrays. But even then, those arrays might not hold against such powerhouses.
As if things weren’t bad enough, something inexplicable was happening at the Dao Lord Mansion in Eternal Life Sage City—space was collapsing.
As Tifo racked his brain for a way to resist, the spatial rumbling seemed to stabilise, and the surrounding fortune surged dramatically. New domains began condensing out of thin air, extending outward from Eternal Life Sage City.
“I understand now! The Great Desolate Divine Realm and Eternal Life Realm have fully merged, and with the blessing of the laws and fortune, not only have they fused, but new fused domains are forming…” someone in the crowd shouted excitedly.
Puhe and the others realised it too—this was the sign of the primal chaos laws successfully merging the two realms.
Not only had the merger succeeded, but new domains were emerging. As they grew more refined, the Eternal Life Realm and Great Desolate Divine Realm would truly become one.
Feeling the surging fortune and increasingly clear laws, everyone understood that the Great Desolate Divine Realm might one day become the premier divine realm of this universe.
“Haha…” Kuachen laughed loudly, then turned to Kun Wei. “Friend Kun Wei, let’s join forces. From now on, you’ll be the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Realm, and the Great Desolate Divine Realm will be mine.”
Kun Wei replied coldly, “Your face isn’t big enough for that.”
Kuachen’s expression darkened. “What? You, Kun Wei, want to claim the Great Desolate Divine Realm too? I’m afraid your appetite isn’t that large.”
Kun Wei said calmly, “The Dao Lord of the Great Desolate Divine Realm is Blue Dao Lord. When Blue Dao Lord returns, the Eternal Life Realm will also merge into the Great Desolate Divine Realm. From then on, fortune will be shared, benefiting all cultivators of the Great Desolate Divine Realm. So, whether it’s the Great Desolate Divine Realm or the Eternal Life Realm, there will only be one Dao Lord—Blue Dao Lord. Today, I’m here to help friends Tifo and Puhe guard Eternal Life Sage City. As for you, Kuachen, I believe when Blue Dao Lord returns, he’ll settle accounts with you.”
“…” Tifo and Puhe exchanged bewildered glances. How fiercely Kun Wei coveted the position of Dao Lord and control over a realm was something even a passing ant could see. Logically, with Lan Xiaobu absent, if Kun Wei agreed to Kuachen’s proposal now, he could surely take Eternal Life Sage City and claim the Great Desolate Divine Realm. Kun Wei’s response left them utterly perplexed.
He’d clearly come to aid Kuachen—so why had he suddenly turned to help them defend Eternal Life Sage City? Since when was Kun Wei so reasonable? This wasn’t the same Kun Wei who’d stirred bloodshed across the Eternal Life Realm as its Dao Lord.
Kuachen was stunned. He sensed Kun Wei wasn’t joking—he was serious. Lan Xiaobu was, at best, a quasi-sage. Since when had Kun Wei become so accommodating, willing to recognise a quasi-sage as Dao Lord?
Before Kuachen could process this, a massive handprint suddenly descended from the void. “A puny third-turn ant dares to covet Blue Dao Lord’s territory? You’re not worthy.”
With those words and the giant handprint’s descent, the space filled with an aura of death. Both Tifo and Kun Wei felt an overwhelming, oppressive sense of doom and retreated frantically.
Kuachen, too, felt a chill run through him. He sensed a fifth-turn sage’s domain suppression—an terrifying force where only death lingered in his mind. The opponent could send him into reincarnation—or deny him that chance—whenever they pleased.
Flee now, or die.
With that thought, Kuachen burned his essence blood, throwing a desperate punch while merging himself into the surrounding space.
“Boom!” The massive handprint struck where Kuachen had stood, erupting in a spray of blood mist. But Puhe and the others knew Kuachen had escaped—albeit gravely wounded, at a steep cost.
As Tifo and the others prepared to pay respects to the powerhouse who’d crippled Kuachen with a single handprint and driven him off, the space fell silent. The figure didn’t descend; after blasting Kuachen away, they departed immediately.
“Who was that senior?” Xi Nianmo stepped forward, having witnessed the handprint’s terrifying power firsthand.
Faced with such a vast and fearsome Great Dao handprint, she doubted she’d even dare to think of resisting.
Kun Wei said slowly, “If I’m not mistaken, that was the Reincarnation Sage. That Charm of the Great Dao is unmistakable.”
“Reincarnation Sage?” Even the veteran sage Tifo was stunned.
The Reincarnation Sage was an ancient powerhouse. Though Tifo had never encountered him, and the sage hadn’t competed with them for sage positions, his existence was universally known.
“Why would the Reincarnation Sage help us?” Xi Nianmo asked, puzzled.
Puhe replied, “He might not be helping us specifically. If I’m right, he’s aiding either the Great Desolate Divine Realm or our Dao Lord.”
Kun Wei nodded. “Likely our Dao Lord. Back on Sage Island, he and the Dao Lord crossed paths, and the Dao Lord saved my life. I should’ve come here right after leaving Sage Island, but my injuries were too severe, and I’ve been recovering…”
“Sage Island?” Tifo and Puhe looked at Kun Wei in confusion.
Kun Wei began explaining his encounter with Lan Xiaobu on Sage Island. He didn’t know that the Reincarnation Sage and Lan Xiaobu had nearly fought, or that the sage would’ve been killed by Lan Xiaobu if he hadn’t fled quickly. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have guessed the figure was the Reincarnation Sage. Even if he knew it was, he’d doubt his own eyes.
