Chapter 3860: Unrest Across the Lands
The dark strangeness spread rapidly through this desolate cosmic region of the Hell Realm, shaking all parties.
Because of the Immortal battle between Yan Renhuan and Yan Jun, and because of Zhang Ruochen and Void Heaven's involvement, this place had long been the center of attention—a starry battlefield watched by the Ten Clans of Hell and the Myriad Realms of the Heavenly Court.
Boundless Realm God Kings and God Venerables risked approaching the edge of the battlefield, sending real-time messages out.
Now, a star domain spanning over five light-years in diameter had been engulfed by darkness. Those few Boundless Realm cultivators were also fleeing, terrified of being swallowed by the dark.
A white-haired skeleton, while leaping across space in the starry sky, shouted in terror: "The darkness has reappeared in the universe! If we don't stop him, the destruction of the Sword Civilization may happen to us again!"
His voice was extremely loud, amplified by his divine soul, crossing time and space as if broadcasting across the stars, reaching many great worlds and life-bearing planets.
"Darkness? What is darkness?" A panicked divine voice rang out from a gray, hazy Yin Realm.
The white-haired skeleton's eyes burned with flames as he replied: "Darkness is the Dark Calamity. You understand calamity, don't you? World destruction, all things cease to exist, a new era begins anew."
"Ten eons ago, three hundred thousand years ago, one hundred thousand years ago, powerful beings stopped the calamity, buying us time to survive. Now, it's time for the tall ones to step up again. I call upon the Heavens of the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm to march out together!"
A God King also fleeing the scene moved closer to the white-haired skeleton and asked: "What exactly happened ten eons ago, three hundred thousand years ago, and one hundred thousand years ago? How is it related to the calamity?"
The white-haired skeleton was blunt: "Your cultivation is too weak. There's no need for you to know."
That God King was nearly choked by the reply. He was a dignified Boundless Realm cultivator, yet he was being so underestimated. If the world was truly about to be destroyed, he was willing to contribute his strength!
"Senior, just who are you? How do you know so many secrets?" The God King shamelessly pressed on.
The white-haired skeleton said: "This is no secret. I've just lived longer than you, so I know a bit more!"
As a God King, and one from the Middle Three Clans, this God King believed he knew everything about the Middle Three Clans. Yet he had never heard of such a senior figure among the Bone Clan.
Just how long had this old monster lived?
The white-haired skeleton's words spread rapidly, causing a stir among the gods of the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm.
No one believed the calamity had already arrived.
Could the legendary great tribulation of heaven and earth actually be real?
Elder gods emerged from seclusion one after another. They knew many secrets, and their expressions were grave as they issued multiple summons, informing their clans to enter doomsday-level combat readiness.
"Ark Plan," "New Era Plan," "Reproduction Plan," "Heritage Continuation Plan"... all sorts of racial survival plans were activated.
But few cultivators dared to rush to the star domain being devoured by darkness.
At this level of crisis, going there without being at the Indestructible Infinite level was no different from seeking death. Unless an Indestructible Infinite-level Heavenly Venerable led the formation of a divine army.
But was there enough time?
...
Heavenly Court, Heavenly Man Academy.
"Boom!"
Deep within the academy, in the mountain range covered by the Heavenly Man Chess Formation left by the Second Confucian Ancestor, black flames suddenly erupted from underground, refining the formation.
The hazy multicolored light within the formation was continuously being refined away.
One hundred thousand years ago, even the Minor Calamity that struck the Heavenly Court had failed to destroy the Heavenly Man Chess Formation. But now, the formation was torn open by an unknown force from underground, causing many mountains to collapse.
A waterfall of dark, strange energy surged from underground, shooting straight into the sky, punching a hole through the Heavenly Court's defenses.
The gods of the Four Great Continents of the Heavenly Court and the Myriad Realms sensed it immediately, turning their gazes westward.
"Activate the Heavenly Punishment Divine Light and the Heavenly Order."
The Valley Master of the Chixia Feixian Valley issued this order and immediately rushed to the Heavenly Man Academy.
The Truth Hall Master and the Five Elements Temple Master, who had remained in the Heavenly Court, arrived first.
They all knew that a great terror was sealed within the Heavenly Man Academy. Now, it seemed that terror was being influenced by the dark power from the Hell Realm and was about to break free.
It had to be stopped, or countless cultivators in the Heavenly Court would die.
Moreover, they feared that the great terror sealed beneath the Heavenly Man Academy might be connected to the darkness on the Hell Realm's side.
If it broke free and the two combined, the consequences were unimaginable.
Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, Luo Shuihan, Nalan Danqing, Zhang Yuyan, and other cultivators training at the Heavenly Man Academy stood on the cliff behind the academy, gazing into the distance at the dark, strange energy surging from the earth fissures.
"Master Candeng!"
The Truth Hall Master's voice came from behind.
The Truth Hall Master had already met Candeng and knew that this Buddhist cultivator's cultivation was unfathomable, so he treated him with great respect.
Candeng wore a gray Buddhist robe, his entire body glowing with treasure light. His handsome, breathtaking face was set with a pair of deep, wise eyes. He nodded gently at the Truth Hall Master.
Seeing that Zhang Yuyan and the others were still there, the Truth Hall Master immediately put on a stern, elder-like expression: "Why haven't you left yet? Don't you know the Heavenly Man Academy is very dangerous right now?"
Zhang Yuyan and the others were indeed a bit afraid of the Truth Hall Master. After all, even her father had to be polite in front of him.
"No matter."
Candeng remained very calm, a smile on his face: "This place not only has the Heavenly Man Chess Formation, but also two other layers of seals. Those two layers... Ah, another layer has been broken..."
A great earthquake struck the Heavenly Man Academy, shaking violently.
Deep within the academy, Ancestor-level multicolored light and spiritual power clouds appeared.
The space also showed subtle fluctuations.
The dark, strange energy surging from underground was no longer just a single stream; more than a dozen had appeared.
In many places, the earth had split open, and mountains had sunk.
"Such a powerful spiritual power fluctuation! The Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm is indeed deep within the academy. He used the Ancestor Realm to suppress the great terror, but now it seems the Ancestor Realm has been breached as well! Should we use the Heavenly Punishment Divine Light and the Heavenly Order to forcefully intervene?"
The Five Elements Temple Master emerged from a bamboo forest, seeking the Truth Hall Master's opinion while also communicating with the Chixia Feixian Valley Master, who had arrived later.
The Chixia Feixian Valley Master said: "The Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm is only initially damaged. It still has a strong sealing effect on the unknown great terror. If we use the Heavenly Punishment Divine Light and the Heavenly Order now, we will only shatter the Ancestor Realm first. Wait a little longer!"
The Truth Hall Master looked at Candeng, who remained calm, and asked: "Master mentioned earlier that there were two layers of seals. Besides the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm, what is the other layer?"
"It should be appearing soon!"
Candeng was as calm as a still lake, as if holding a wisdom pearl in his hand.
Even though the cataclysmic collapse of heaven and earth was right before him, he gave off an infinite sense of peace, influencing those around him.
About a quarter of an hour later, amidst the violent shaking of the Heavenly Man Academy, the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm was completely shattered. Countless streams of dark, strange energy surged from underground like ten thousand dragons galloping.
The Truth Hall Master, the Chixia Feixian Valley Master, and the Five Elements Temple Master were all tense to the extreme, ready to give the order to activate the Heavenly Punishment Divine Light and the Heavenly Order at any moment.
"That is... look quickly..." Grand Minister of Works exclaimed.
A wisp of nine-colored Ancestor Divine Radiance, like a strange flower, bloomed spontaneously in the space, growing brighter and brighter, covering an increasingly vast area.
Then, a magnificent celestial realm appeared within the nine-colored divine radiance—flying eaves and upturned corners, forests of palaces, towering divine mountains, springs converging into rivers—like a celestial domain or divine mansion.
Above this celestial realm, a second layer appeared, then a third, a fourth...
A total of nine layers of celestial realms appeared, all thick with Ancestor Qi and dense with Ancestor Rules.
Between the celestial realms, chaotic great rivers flowed, firmly suppressing the escaping dark, strange energy.
At this moment, the entire West Ox Continent was shrouded in nine-colored clouds.
Even the Five Elements Temple Master, the Truth Hall Master, and the Chixia Feixian Valley Master lost their composure.
The Five Elements Temple Master exclaimed: "It's the Great Venerable! So the Great Venerable had already visited the Heavenly Man Academy, knowing the great terror was sealed here, and left behind the Nine Layers of Celestial Realms. These are real celestial realms!"
"Yes, real celestial realms! The Great Venerable cultivated a total of twenty-seven layers of celestial realms, and one-third of them are left here." The Chixia Feixian Valley Master said.
The celestial realms cultivated by the Great Venerable were equivalent to an Ancestor Realm.
Most importantly, the Great Venerable was the closest Ancestor to this era. His Ancestor Divine Power had not yet diminished much. The power contained in the Nine Layers of Celestial Realms he left behind naturally far surpassed the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm.
When Zhang Ruochen first came to the Heavenly Man Academy, the Ancestor Divine Qi within him had stirred. Even then, he knew the Great Venerable must have left some means in the academy and that the Heavenly Man Academy was extraordinary.
The Truth Hall Master breathed a sigh of relief while falling into deep thought: "Back then, Qishier Pin Lian killed the Fourth Confucian Ancestor here. It seems it was no coincidence. She wanted to seize the Hunyuan Brush and open the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm. She failed to release the great terror underground, certainly because of the Nine Layers of Celestial Realms left by the Great Venerable, and also because she didn't get the Hunyuan Brush—the Fourth Confucian Ancestor had guarded against her."
The Truth Hall Master felt a chill of fear. If Qishier Pin Lian had seized the Hunyuan Brush one hundred thousand years ago, and if the Great Venerable hadn't left the Nine Layers of Celestial Realms, the great terror would have emerged one hundred thousand years ago, and the Heavenly Court would have been destroyed.
Candeng stepped on Buddhist light, walking through the void, and landed atop the Nine Layers of Celestial Realms.
Ten thousand Buddhist lamps flew out from his body, suspending themselves across the Nine Layers of Celestial Realms, suppressing the dark, strange energy back underground.
The shattered earth also restored itself, the cracks disappearing.
...
Hell Realm, Wuchang Ghost City.
Wuchang Ghost City ranked second among the nine great ghost cities of the Ghost Clan, situated on the banks of the Santu River.
Feng Tian stood atop the towering city wall, the Yin Moon hanging high above her head. Under the moonlight, her skin was exceptionally bright, like immortal crystal or divine jade.
She stared intently at the Origin Divine Temple she had just struck out.
The Origin Divine Temple had fallen into an endless black mud wilderness, causing the surrounding earth to collapse as if struck by a falling divine star.
Within the Origin Divine Temple, blood springs continuously surged from the giant stone altar, spreading in all directions.
The blood springs were filled with dark, strange energy.
Feng Tian had seized the Origin Divine Temple in Jiannan Realm and had been studying it.
Just now, while dueling with Huangquan Dadi, she had sensed the anomaly in the Origin Divine Temple and immediately threw it away, not daring to touch the strange blood surging from within.
"Is it due to the influence over there?"
Feng Tian raised her head, revealing her snow-white chin, her gaze peering into the depths of the starry sky.