Deep within the Land of the Nine Heavens, ripples spread endlessly through the void, as though infinite spacetime were splitting apart.
As vast swaths of chaotic mist cleared, continents, pavilions, towers, palace halls, and cave abodes revealed themselves. Streaks of rainbow light shot out from within, racing rapidly toward the Land of the Nine Heavens.
With a hum, a figure clad in a yellow robe silently stepped forth from the void.
Beside him, spacetime warped and another figure appeared, dressed in a somewhat decaying dragon robe, face indistinct, crowned with a headpiece from which beads dangled.
Around him, a mysterious, mighty power spread, sustaining the stability of this spacetime domain, like an eternal light piercing through forever.
The moment the two appeared, they stepped forward as if crossing myriad layers of spacetime in an instant, then walked straight into the dojo of the Eternal Life Dao Lord in the Nine Layered Heavens.
"Greetings, Huang Lord and Lord Yong Zu..."
Inside the great hall, the Eternal Life Dao Lord, who had been staring toward the Ninth Heaven in panic and trembling, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the two figures arrive and immediately saluted them.
"Chengtian has broken the seal and emerged. It seems something unexpected occurred..."
Huang Lord spoke, his voice deep and his face extremely indistinct. Apart from a loose yellow robe draping his whole body, even his face was hidden within a blurry yellow mist.
Yong Zu's brows were tightly furrowed as he stared into the distance.
"Ring the Fate-Defying Bell," he instructed coldly.
"Yes, Lord Yong Zu."
Though the Eternal Life Dao Lord was the ostensible ruler of the Land of the Nine Heavens, he dared not put on any airs before these two beings at the End of the Path, and immediately relayed the order.
The Fate-Defying Bell was a rare heaven‑and‑earth artifact forged by the Palace of Fate Defiance in the Land of the Nine Heavens. Once rung, members of the Palace of Fate Defiance, whether in seclusion or cultivating and exploring within unknown deep‑level spacetime, would hear it immediately and rush over.
Clang, clang, clang...
The bell resounded, as if fate itself were being plucked, ancient ballads intoned, and war drums beaten. Ancient notes pierced through the void, spreading across the River of Spacetime.
In many deep‑level regions, countless beings were roused; they tore through spacetime and swiftly converged.
Before long, the void within the great hall hummed again as many figures strode forth. Some were native beings of the Land of the Nine Heavens, while others were subordinates of the Eternal Life Dao Lord. The weakest among them were True Dao Realm existences who had already weathered four Heavenly Decline Tribulations.
Among them were also Ancestral Dao Realm existences.
However, aside from Huang Lord and Yong Zu, no other beings at the End of the Path appeared.
"The Heavenly Tombs are rioting, and the Lesser Heavenly Avatars have broken out. We fear other Heavenly Tombs will also have problems."
"It seemed as though a certain will suddenly awakened just now, which prompted Chengtian to revive..."
Several figures cloaked in an aura of profound ancient vicissitudes spoke, their eyes filled with deep solemnity.
Huang Lord said in a deep voice, "Lord Ju foresaw long ago that the Land of the Nine Heavens would be the first to bear the brunt. Because the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance built the Heaven-Slaying Shrine and held the Grand Heaven-Slaying Ceremony, it will absolutely enrage the Heavenly Dao's Will. Then all the Heavenly Avatars will awaken, or even a Great Heavenly Avatar—something that has never appeared before in history—might emerge..."
His words caused every being in the hall to assume a solemn expression, many furrowing their brows even more.
The Lesser Heavenly Avatars were already incredibly troublesome. Even among those also at the End of the Path, dealing with them was extremely difficult, requiring at least several of the same level to safely seal one.
There had even been existences at the End of the Path who had perished at the hands of Lesser Heavenly Avatars.
Moreover, because Lesser Heavenly Avatars were formed from a portion of the Heavenly Dao's Will's power, they simply could not be killed.
This was the most troublesome aspect. Even if shattered to pieces, the Lesser Heavenly Avatar would eventually reappear.
That Heavenly Avatars could not be annihilated was an eternal truth. No matter how powerful a being, they could never kill a Heavenly Avatar; they could only find ways to seal them.
And from ancient times to the present, a Great Heavenly Avatar had never once appeared. In the past Great War Against Heaven, the Lesser Heavenly Avatars alone had brought inconceivable disaster upon all the former sages who fought against Heaven.
It was actually from that time that the Land of the Nine Heavens had continued onward. Generation after generation of experts and former sages from the Palace of Fate Defiance, with unyielding succession, sealed all those Lesser Heavenly Avatars and Lesser Six Paths Avatars in one Great War Against Heaven after another.
Today, the Land of the Nine Heavens lives up to its name: a Lesser Heavenly Avatar is sealed within each heaven.
These Lesser Heavenly Avatars normally do not revive. Only during an Epochal Reckoning, or when a great upheaval occurs in heaven and earth requiring all to be set right, do they awaken from their slumber.
Whenever that happens, calamity befalls the Land of the Nine Heavens: the seals shatter, the Lesser Heavenly Avatars break out, and in coordination with the Epochal Reckoning, they carry out reckoning upon all civilization true worlds one by one.
"If a Great Heavenly Avatar truly appears, the consequences will be even more terrifying. In the present Vast Expanse, sealing a Great Heavenly Avatar would require at least several True Path level beings. But if True Path level beings move against a Heavenly Avatar, they too will suffer backlash—after all, the Authority of the Heavenly Dao is itself a part of the Heavenly Dao's Will," someone worried.
"Our Palace of Fate Defiance was founded precisely to defy heaven and change fate. Countless former sages have thrown themselves forward in succession; even if it is like moths flying into flames, for this path they begrudged nothing," another declared, voice resolute, words laced with deep hatred.
"Today we shall again suppress the Lesser Heavenly Avatar, with no regret in life or death."
The beings who could reach the Land of the Nine Heavens had all, to varying degrees, seen their former homelands, true worlds, and civilizations cleansed by the Cataclysmic Tribulations. Their former relatives, lovers, friends—everyone they knew had died, leaving them alone to survive. Their determination to resist Heaven was unprecedentedly fervent, and their sole objective in continuing to live was to slay Heaven.
"Chengtian has just broken free from the seal and revived; his power has not yet recovered. This is the best moment to suppress him again."
"If we wait until he fully recovers, the Lesser Heavenly Avatars sealed in the other heavens might also tear apart the seals and emerge. That would be troublesome."
Yong Zu spoke, and with a casual wave of his hand, the layers of spacetime before him shattered, revealing a fissure that led directly into the Ninth Heaven. Through it, one could see the mountains and continents within crumbling.
That boundless land was now constantly collapsing, with terrifying great fissures spreading endlessly in all directions, gushing forth boundless light.
From those great fissures, rivers and oceans converged, seas of fire and lava flowed.
In the firmament, horrific scenes were reflected: the sky corresponding to the Ninth Heaven was easily torn apart like a curtain. Stars shattered, trembling and falling, then cracks spread across the entire expanse until, with a resounding crack, it completely exploded.
It was a sight so terrifying it defied imagination. The heavens seemed torn asunder by an invisible, horrifying giant hand, revealing the endless, boundless void beyond.
The gales of the Great Dao howled within it, capable of tearing even an Ancestral Dao Realm cultivator apart.
And those shattered mountains, rivers, and heavens continued to disintegrate and dissolve in the void, transforming into a sort of torrential substance, then reassembling into a massive, domineering, and fiercely majestic face that looked down sharply upon all living beings.
That face instantly filled the torn canopy of the sky. Its features were clear, as if embodying the imperial majesty and dominance of all eras and all spacetime.
"I am Chengtian..."
"Where are the Dependents of Heaven?"
An ancient, deep, and majestic voice issued from his mouth, resounding through the myriad realms of all heavens, like an ancient sovereign reappearing in the world.
In that instant, all worlds of the Vast Expanse seemed to be battered by a terrifying Great Dao storm. Whether true worlds or super multiverses, all were struck by the impact of this voice.
Terrifying ripples, like scythes, swept swiftly across.
All beings saw a gaze as bright as daylight burst forth from the Land of the Nine Heavens, illuminating the deep and dark barriers of all worlds into transparency.
In some unknown regions of spacetime, equally ancient and majestic voices echoed in response. Some territories shrouded in deep chaotic mist were swept by that gaze, immediately revealing their innermost territories.
Those territories were dark, barren, and immensely vast, as if sealed under eons of ice.
The frozen earth was a reddish‑black, boundless, upon which stood countless billions of figures too numerous to count. These figures were exceedingly peculiar, belonging to all sorts of races: humans, alien races, divine races, demon races... encompassing the many races that had appeared since the creation of heaven and earth.
Originally, these races stood like sculpted clay figures, their entire bodies permeated by an aura of eternal incorruptibility.
Now, as that ancient and majestic voice rang out, it swept through these regions like a gale‑driven tidal wave.
The reddish‑black frozen earth began to crack; the ground trembled. On desolate, lifeless planets, howling sounds rose in response.
These races began to stir with a palpable, reviving aura, and then intense life light flickered from them.
Their eyes slowly moved, from stiff and lifeless to lively. Soon their limbs also began to stir, layers of porcelain‑like cyan radiance surged over them, cracks emerged on their bodies, and those cracks shattered as if emerging from a cocoon.
"We pay respects to our King..."
"We pay respects to our King..."
"We fight for the King!"
They shouted in unison, responding to some supreme voice from high above, with fervor, coldness, persistence, and a chilling, murderous intent, like an undead army capable of sweeping through all worlds.
This frozen land, sealed away in a corner of all worlds, finally saw the light of day again. Vast expanses of spacetime withered and shattered, and black blood of unknown age dripped from those fissures.
The instant the black blood fell, it smashed holes into a great world. From the depths of those holes, slumbering dark giants stepped out.
There were also generals mounted on fierce beasts emerging from desolate planets. Some clay statues enshrined in temples began to loosen and crack, the deities within reviving, chanting softly as weapons flew in from beyond the sky and landed in their hands...
At this moment, all the worlds of the Vast Expanse were greatly shaken. In many great universes and true worlds, different scenes were unfolding.
After slumbering for billions of epochs, Chengtian's dependents revived once more, ready to follow their king to punish the rebellious ministers and set things right.
Within the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm, in the deepest part of a towering, majestic mountain range—sublimely solitary like the ancestor of all peaks—five‑colored clouds and mists rose and five‑colored rivers surged, like the legendary Five Fate Mother Rivers that course through heaven and earth.
And a jade palace paved with flawless immortal jade, dazzling all over, permeated with the aura of the Great Dao and wreathed in rising purple qi, was situated there.
The hall interior was immeasurably vast, as if accommodating an entire universe within. Chaotic mist filled both sides. Ancient jade pillars, seemingly standing since the dawn of creation, lined the corridor on both sides. Following the corridor upward were three hundred and sixty‑five steps of purple jade.
At the highest point of the steps were three meditation cushions emanating the aura of the Great Dao. The masters of the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm, the Three Pure Ones Dao Lords, sat cross‑legged here. The three seemed of one origin, yet each was their own master, all clad in Daoist robes, faces indistinct, auras ethereal.
To the left and right of these three cushions floated five slightly shorter cushions each, drifting in the void as if set within the boundless, profound cosmos.
The masters of the Ten Great Daoist True Mansions of the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm were prominently present: True Lord Wangwu, True Lord Weiyu, True Lord Xicheng, True Lord Xixuan... These were figures recorded throughout history, who had left behind many myth‑mirroring legends.
The masters of the Ten Great Daoist True Mansions were all individuals with the potential and qualifications to touch the realm of the End of the Path, and several among them had already achieved the fruit position of the End of the Path.
Beyond the Ten Great Daoist True Mansions, there were also auras lingering in the depths of this void chaos, though they could only listen in, unable to step forward, let alone be granted seats.
The worlds and universes under the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm were so vast that even those who could only listen here were Cave Masters of Daoist lesser grotto‑heavens outside. Daoist lesser grotto‑heavens, attached to the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm, were in past history not even tainted by Karma Cataclysmic Tribulations, far more transcendent than ordinary supreme true worlds.
"Just now, the Three Pure Ones Three Talents Grand Array stirred slightly. It seems the shattering of the Heavenly Tombs in the Land of the Nine Heavens is connected to the Heavenly Dao's Will..."
"The Heavenly Dao's Will is enraged. Has it been provoked?"
"The Land of the Nine Heavens is destined for this calamity. It is a good chance to see what reserves its present incarnation still possesses. In life, Chengtian was a First Emperor; the empire he founded nearly unified the Vast Expanse. He himself reached the End of the Path. Had he not been beguiled by the Heavenly Dao's Will, abandoning his Dao Fruit to seek eternal life and transcendence, how could he have fallen to become a Lesser Heavenly Avatar?"
Before the Three Pure Ones Dao Lords, a scene was unfolding, which was precisely the current situation in the Land of the Nine Heavens.
In truth, Lesser Heavenly Avatars had no true physical form. They were usually supremely powerful figures from ancient and modern times who abandoned all of their past and willingly accepted the Heavenly Dao's Will, becoming its avatars, sharing the Heavenly Dao's mighty power, living forever with an indestructible body that endured countless tribulations.
Chengtian was once an emperor. When he became a Lesser Heavenly Avatar, his former subordinates, subjects, consorts, and descendants likewise followed him, becoming Dependents of Heaven, sharing the Heavenly Dao's power.
Although Dependents of Heaven cannot be truly immortal like Lesser Heavenly Avatars, they are still extremely difficult to kill. As long as Chengtian is not destroyed, after countless ages, his dependents will return again.
In the past Great War Against Heaven, the Dependents of Heaven brought unimaginable trouble to the Heaven‑Slayers as well.
The Ten Great True Lords did not speak; they merely watched the scene unfold. Now that the various super multiverses had emerged, if the situation was not clearly understood, perhaps even the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm would be drawn in next.
Heavenly Avatars were the most troublesome of all.
Now it was still only Lesser Heavenly Avatars emerging; who knew if a Great Heavenly Avatar would appear next. When that time came, even the Three Pure Ones Dao Realm would have to find ways to seek refuge.
Though the Three Pure Ones Dao Lords were powerful, they had not yet reached the True Path realm. Only by uniting as one did they have the means to resist.
And the might of a Great Heavenly Avatar was absolutely beyond the resistance of any True Path being. The two were of the same origin; in a sense, True Path beings were merely parasites clinging to the Authority of the Heavenly Dao. How could they dare resist the Heavenly Dao's Will?
"The reserves of the Land of the Nine Heavens are unfathomably deep. How many ancient heavenly upheavals have been suppressed."
"A mere Lesser Heavenly Avatar probably cannot stir up much."
The Jade Purity Dao Lord among the Three Pure Ones Dao Lords spoke, his voice calm and rich, reverberating like a Dao sound, with the power to soothe and settle the heart.
"Moreover, it is said that the most ancient clan of the Vast Expanse still lives in the Land of the Nine Heavens. The origin of that clan is also shrouded in mystery. In the most heroic Great War Against Heaven of the past, the epoch of heaven and earth was nearly terminated. In the end, it was that one who sacrificed himself to calm Heaven's wrath, thereby ending the catastrophe. Some even say that that one was struck by an unknown force from the Land of Truth..."
"Even older accounts say that that one was an existence who had contact with the Land of Truth, a so‑called Transcendent one. But transcendence has always been a lie from ancient times to the present."
"When the path ahead is unclear, how could there be transcendence? What the world knows as transcendence is but summer insects prattling about ice—nonsense..."
The Supreme Purity Dao Lord seemed to smile faintly, noncommittal to this statement.
The gazes of several of them continued to rest on the Land of the Nine Heavens. Undoubtedly, with Chengtian's emergence, the Ninth Heaven was rapidly collapsing and disintegrating, and streaks of light were racing in from all directions.
Among them, Huang Lord, Yong Zu, and the Gravekeeper were the most powerful; all three were at the End of the Path. However, when compared with the surging power of the Lesser Heavenly Avatar, they could gain no advantage whatsoever.
Chengtian condensed a true physical form: a fierce tiger's mouth, sun‑like horn, large eyes, and a long sun mark. His heroic ancient imperial robe billowed, and like a Son of Heaven, he overlooked all before him. Merely by standing there, he naturally exuded a terrifying aura that overawed the four seas and eight desolates and suppressed the entire universe.
Wherever his gaze fell, it was his territory; wherever the sword at his waist pointed, all were his subjects.
"I am Chengtian. Why do you all rebel?"