Chapter 2988: Ten Monarchs of the Death Clan
In ancient times, there was a giant camphor tree that took eight thousand years for spring, eight thousand years for autumn, and thirty-two thousand years for a single year.
The Divine Camphor Tree was ancient beyond measure, its age unknown. It grew in this forbidden sea zone, where time imprint light points gathered in vast numbers, divine qi was dense, and heaven and earth rules were active—a place of immense benefit for divine cultivation.
The Divine Camphor Tree possessed intelligence, but its combat power was not particularly strong. The successive deities of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, to protect the Divine Camphor Tree, had arranged numerous formations and divine patterns in this forbidden sea zone. Twelve formation towers stood tall on the sea surface.
The trunk of the Divine Camphor Tree was thicker than that of the Peach Tree of Immortality, with countless roots plunging into the seawater along the trunk, some of the smaller roots being hundreds of meters thick.
It was autumn, and the leaves were golden.
The color of the ten-thousand-mile sea zone was reflected into gold.
The army of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization was stationed beneath the twelve formation towers. They stood on the golden seawater, holding sacred spears and sacred halberds, the sacred qi emanating from their bodies intertwining, their momentum like a rainbow.
Luo Jinshu was the second son of King Yu Shen, at the Upper Deity realm, responsible for guarding the Divine Camphor Tree. He wore a Daoist robe, over which hung a golden armor, with a dragon-like frame and tiger-like bones, his gaze firm as he looked at the Death Clan army beyond the layers of formations.
Yue Tong Zhenjun was also an Upper Deity of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, having arrived not long ago, tasked with assisting Luo Jinshu in activating the formations to resist the attacks of the Hell Realm army.
Yue Tong Zhenjun looked at the distant rear of the Death Clan army, where a wide spatial rift lay, and said coldly, "The forbidden sea zone is fully eight million miles wide. Why did the space split precisely here? There must be a traitor, afraid of the Hell Realm, who revealed the location of the Divine Camphor Tree in exchange for a chance to become a slave or servant."
Luo Jinshu's eyes were deep and somber. "Complaining about this now is meaningless. Holding the formation and blocking the Hell Realm's attack is more important than anything. If we lose the heavenly earth spiritual root, the divine qi of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization's great world will dry up, the sacred qi will dissipate, and the world-protecting grand formation will be severely weakened."
"Even the divine formation in the starry sky relies on the divine qi of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization to be fully activated, to withstand the Shura Star Pillar Realm."
"If the Divine Camphor Tree is cut down, we are finished. The billions upon billions of living beings in this great world will also be annihilated..."
By the end, Luo Jinshu's voice was somewhat choked.
Because he knew better than anyone that day would surely come—only a matter of time. Everything they did now was but a desperate struggle, a refusal to accept fate, a stubborn attempt to fight against destiny.
Yue Tong Zhenjun lowered his voice. "I heard that preserving a spark is allowed, where one deity can serve as the spark guardian..."
Luo Jinshu's tiger-like eyes blazed as he looked at him.
Yue Tong Zhenjun saw Luo Jinshu's displeasure but still said, "If we two manage to block the Death Clan army's attack this time, it will count as a great merit. Jinshu, I know you have the heart to live and die with the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, but I, this lord, would rather protect the next generation of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, so that after several eons, it can shine again somewhere in the universe."
Luo Jinshu felt anger in his heart, yet he knew that people had different aspirations, and forcing them was impossible. Moreover, he still needed Yue Tong Zhenjun's power to guard the Divine Camphor Tree now, so he had to suppress his rage.
This filled him with a profound sense of powerlessness!
Faced with death and destruction, most people would feel fear.
Seeking survival was merely instinct.
There was nothing wrong with it!
His heart was desolate, but his gaze was resolute. "The Death Clan army's attack is coming!"
Outside the layers of formations around the Divine Camphor Tree, the Death Clan army continuously surged out from the spatial rift. Gray death qi shrouded the sea surface, eroding the divine patterns, the atmosphere decayed and cold.
The ten monarchs of the Death Clan descended across the realms one after another, each a true god, all overlords in the Hell Realm, with a star domain as their territory, worshipped by trillions of cultivators.
The Crimson Soul Monarch's cultivation reached the Upper Deity Great Perfection, with gray wings on his back.
As soon as he descended into the Heavenly Beginning Civilization's great world, he manifested his giant divine body, tearing through the divine patterns imprisoned in the sea zone with his divine form.
His divine body quickly grew to over three thousand zhang tall, with lightning and thunder around him.
Then, he released his divine realm world. A black earth world had just revealed a corner before it triggered a powerful divine pattern.
"Boom!"
That corner of the divine realm world was destroyed by the power erupting from the divine pattern.
World fragments fell into the sea.
A white-haired man in a silver-white divine robe flew out from the spatial rift. "Be careful, those are divine patterns inscribed by the old Heavenly Lord of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization."
"Greetings, Heavenly God Priest."
The Death Clan soldiers all bowed in reverence.
Even the ten monarchs nodded slightly to show respect.
The Heavenly God Priest of the Death God Temple had a calm gaze, neither arrogant nor impatient. "The formations and divine patterns here are extraordinary. First, build the suppression altar."
"Yes!"
The ten monarchs all manifested their giant divine bodies, each towering like mountains, breathing out rivers of divine qi, appearing at various positions around the Divine Camphor Tree, unleashing divine abilities.
Breaking divine patterns, destroying formations.
Behind them, tens of thousands of Death Clan sacred realm cultivators used suppression stones to build the altar.
The altar was only half-built when the strange power of the suppression stones began to affect the divine patterns and formation inscriptions. This made Luo Jinshu and Yue Tong Zhenjun realize something was wrong!
Relying on the means left by successive deities, even if a top-tier great god of the Death Clan came, Luo Jinshu was confident he could hold them off.
But once the suppression altar was built, it might render the divine patterns and formation inscriptions guarding the Divine Camphor Tree virtually useless. The consequences, Luo Jinshu dared not imagine.
Yue Tong Zhenjun could not stay calm. "Suppression stones are extremely rare. How can they carry so many? No, we must destroy the suppression altar."
"Stay here and guard. I'll go!"
Luo Jinshu had tried before, but his attacks were all broken by the ten monarchs.
He had to break out of the formation, charge through the encirclement of the ten monarchs, to have a chance to destroy the suppression altar. But this chance was very slim, because behind the ten monarchs was also a Heavenly God Priest with unfathomable cultivation.
And beside that Heavenly God Priest, a large number of Death Clan sacred realm cultivators were also building an altar, its purpose unknown, which also made Luo Jinshu extremely uneasy.
To hell with it!
Only with a death-defying heart could he possibly accomplish this seemingly impossible task.
Yue Tong Zhenjun admitted he did not have Luo Jinshu's courage. "Go ahead, leave this to me!"
Luo Jinshu clenched his ten fingers, activated the golden armor on his body, and burst forth with bright radiance. With a long roar, he passed through layer after layer of formations, heading straight for the suppression altar.
Four of the ten monarchs exchanged glances.
The Source Heaven Monarch laughed. "Luo Jinshu is the son of King Yu Shen. Although he is only at the Upper Deity middle stage, we should still take him seriously. Leave him to me!"
The Source Heaven Monarch was at the Upper Deity peak realm.
Most importantly, he had survived an eon calamity, so his combat power was among the top even among Upper Deity peak cultivators. Dealing with an Upper Deity middle stage was naturally more than enough.
From the Source Heaven Monarch's divine realm world, a sea of death qi surged.
The death qi burned, transforming into divine flames.
"Prison Fire Source Blade!"
The Source Heaven Monarch used a divine ability, condensing the divine flames into a several-hundred-zhang-long source blade, slashing through the air, aimed at the path Luo Jinshu must take to reach the suppression altar.
The Prison Fire Source Blade was extremely hot, causing the entire sea zone to boil.
Luo Jinshu knew his cultivation was far inferior to the Source Heaven Monarch's, so he did not clash head-on. He lifted his body upward, rushing into the high sky, dodging the Prison Fire Source Blade.
The Source Heaven Monarch seemed to have expected this, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth as he spat out gray divine qi.
"Whoosh!"
Within the divine qi was a bronze pearl.
Divine characters flew out from the bronze pearl, forming an ancient scripture.
Luo Jinshu had no way to avoid it. He summoned a purple-black wooden staff, swung it, and sent out over a thousand thunder dragons, colliding with the ancient scripture suspended in the void.
"Boom!"
The two vast and overwhelming divine forces clashed, shaking heaven and earth, causing divine patterns to manifest everywhere in the sky.
"Luo Jinshu!"
Suddenly, the Source Heaven Monarch's thunderous divine voice sounded behind Luo Jinshu.
Without turning back, Luo Jinshu sensed a massive Death God phantom behind him, its murderous aura soaring to the sky, its face ferocious and eyes glaring, its hands clasped together, smashing down at him.
At this critical moment, Luo Jinshu did not turn to defend. His gaze fixed on the suppression altar, he burned his divine blood, unleashing his fastest speed, charging straight ahead.
Just as the Death God phantom's fists came crashing down, Luo Jinshu swung his right hand, releasing a formation diagram.
The formation diagram unfolded, transforming into a towering golden stone divine mountain, ten thousand zhang tall, with numerous formation inscriptions flickering on its surface.
"Boom!"
The Death God phantom's fists shattered the golden stone divine mountain, and the powerful residual divine force struck Luo Jinshu.
Luo Jinshu's protective divine light all shattered, divine blood flowing from his mouth, but he paid no heed. A black long spear appeared in his hand, and he hurled it with all his might toward the suppression altar.
"Damn it, he's throwing away his own life just to destroy the altar!"
Having been breached by an Upper Deity middle-stage deity, the Source Heaven Monarch felt humiliated. With a flash of anger, he pursued.
"Do you think your cultivation is enough to destroy the altar?"
The Heavenly God Priest hovered in the air, his whole body radiating silver-white light. He lightly pointed his finger.
The black long spear, flying rapidly toward the suppression altar, melted inch by inch, turning into droplets of metal. The droplets fell among the Death Clan soldiers, instantly causing a chorus of screams.
Cultivators below the Great Saint realm were killed on contact.
Even Great Saints had their bodies pierced through.
The Heavenly God Priest's gaze was cold, as if the deaths of those Death Clan sacred realm cultivators had nothing to do with him.
Luo Jinshu stared in stunned disbelief. A battle weapon close to a supreme sacred artifact had melted like that. The opponent's cultivation was simply too terrifying.
Just as he prepared to charge directly at the suppression altar, a flame divine blade slashed horizontally from behind, like a glaring streak of light, cutting through divine patterns, severing rules, and shattering all of Luo Jinshu's protective defenses like paper.
"Pfft!"
Luo Jinshu's divine body was cut in half at the waist. Death qi invaded his body, pain piercing his soul.
The Source Heaven Monarch, holding the supreme sacred artifact-level flame divine blade, revealed a cold smile. This strike was the true power of an Upper Deity peak cultivator who had survived an eon calamity.
"Junior Brother Jinshu, I've come to help you!"
Feng Qi appeared at the edge of the sky, accompanied by the enchanting Nine-Tailed Heart Fox.
But seeing that the Death Clan had ten monarchs here, the two of them sharply reduced their speed, stopping at a distance, not daring to approach immediately.