Amidst such intense collisions, Chengtian could no longer maintain his form. He was sent flying horizontally, smashing through endless spacetime.
The armor on his body became even more shattered, and the ancient battle banner on the war chariot also seemed to gain another tear.
In just that instant, an unknown number of terrifying scenes played out around them: spacetime shifted, great universes were ground into oblivion, and it seemed as if reincarnation had been experienced countless times.
"I am the Heavenly Dao's Will, a Heavenly Avatar. How could I be defeated by the likes of you?"
Chengtian's hair became disheveled, but his eyes grew colder. Shouting low, he gripped his imperial sword and flew back to face them, charging at the three of them.
But as soon as he charged over, the Buddha Lord's great hand slapped toward his face. Even as strong as Chengtian was, he couldn't help but tremble. Then half of his shoulder exploded, and the imperial sword in his hand fell into the void spacetime.
He was injured.
Seeing the Buddha Lord make his move, the other End of the Path existences in the other super multiverses hesitated for a moment, then also took action.
With a thunderous boom, countless stars disintegrated and exploded. A streak of arrow light pierced through the very ends of heaven and earth, like an immortal arrow that sundered the cosmos. On both sides of the arrow, the scene of the creation of heaven and earth was unfolding: chaos being born and dying, ancient ancestors descending into the world, billions of kingdoms praying and chanting sacrificial hymns.
This was an existence who entered the Dao through archery and walked to the End of the Path, known as the Arrow Lord.
This single arrow truly made gods and demons retreat, shaking the myriad heavens, carrying the overwhelming spirit of forging a path of life for future generations.
He stood within the Arrow Realm, bending his bow into a full moon, countless Great Dao symbols steaming and wreathing around him.
Splat...
Blood splattered in the void. Each drop seared and shattered spacetime, forcing back the myriad Daos. Chengtian's other shoulder exploded, and the armor on that shoulder shattered into pieces, flying apart.
Five End of the Path figures entering the fray—such a scene had never occurred from ancient times to the present. Even a Lesser Heavenly Avatar could not withstand it, and in just an instant, he was defeated and injured.
"You rebellious subjects deserve to die..."
"Those below who bully those above should have their myriad clans exterminated, their karma erased, their reincarnation forever severed, and be cast into the boundless blazing hells to suffer endless torment."
Chengtian shouted lowly, his eyes terrifyingly cold. Yet his aura did not weaken; it continued to climb and change.
At the same time, in the spacetime outside the Land of the Nine Heavens, a rumbling sound like thousands of troops and horses galloping echoed, splitting open vast fissures. Spacetime passages were forcibly pierced through.
A mighty army charged in, like an undying death army, traversing and descending across the boundless cosmos like a dark ocean.
"Kill."
"Follow our King, and crusade against the rebellious subjects."
Chengtian's Dependents of Heaven had arrived. The number of troops among them surpassed billions upon billions—calling them immeasurable would not be an overstatement.
Among them were many powerful existences whose auras were nearing the End of the Path, such as a violet-gold giant and a white-robed general astride a white horse, his long-tassled spear pointing askew to the southwest, his killing intent piercing the heavens...
Watching this scene, countless true worlds and civilizations throughout the Vast Expanse were shaken and terrified.
End of the Path-level figures who had not yet taken action also felt a sense of unease. It was as if some supreme will, beyond the comprehension of all beings in the worlds, had been provoked.
All worlds of the Vast Expanse trembled in terror and dread. From End of the Path beings down to ordinary Dao Realms, everyone felt an indescribable chill.
---
At this moment, in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, within the dojo established by the Strength Master.
The Strength Master, his usual demeanor changed, sat quietly on a meditation cushion. Many books and records of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance were placed before him. He had been calmly leafing through them, but now he couldn't help but stop and gaze into the distance.
"The Authority of Strength is trembling slightly, from within it emanates an unprecedented fury..."
"I fear a great problem will arise in the Land of the Nine Heavens."
Thinking thus, the Strength Master frowned. With a swish, his figure vanished from the dojo and appeared in the main hall of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
With such a shocking upheaval occurring in the Land of the Nine Heavens, many high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance had already gathered here.
Now, feeling the terrifying aura of the Lesser Heavenly Avatar, which extended boundlessly and oppressed all worlds, everyone was filled with unease.
As the Alliance Leader, Gu Changge was not here; only Deputy Alliance Leader Ling Yuling was presiding over the situation.
Those figures who had once established their own Forbidden Zones and transcended the mundane world, such as Mu Fuguang, Tong Xian, Beici Chanfu and others, all paled, feeling their own insignificance and powerlessness.
They had far underestimated the power of the Heavenly Avatars, thinking they were comparable to ordinary End of the Path figures.
"The power of a Lesser Heavenly Avatar is far above that of ordinary End of the Path figures..."
"If I were to make a move, I would probably be defeated in the first instant. And there are still eight more such Lesser Heavenly Avatars."
"I originally thought that Elder Immortal-Forgetting, the Lifeless Hall Master, and many other End of the Path existences had an agreement with the Alliance Leader that End of the Path beings would not enter the fray, to give all living beings a period of time to grow."
"But the Heavenly Dao's Will is reviving far too quickly."
The Fire God Zhu Rong wore a grave expression. He had only recently stepped into the End of the Path realm, but he well knew that this realm was also divided into many levels of strength.
Although they were all called End of the Path, he was no match for Number Two from the Slaughter Hall.
The Strength Master had once resolved his doubts for him. In the Strength Master's understanding, the End of the Path was divided into several levels: Initial Step, Foundation Stabilization, Shedding the Superfluous, and Ascension.
Just like the early, middle, late, and peak stages of a realm.
However, this only corresponds to the End of the Path realm.
It is also the understanding and mastery of the End of the Path by living beings. Although it cannot substantially cause earth-shattering changes in strength, there are still differences in power in essence.
Just like him, having only just taken the Initial Step into the End of the Path, he could not possibly be a match for an existence who had already achieved Foundation Stabilization in this realm.
At present, in the Fire God Zhu Rong's view, the Lesser Heavenly Avatars should all be at the Ascension level of the End of the Path.
"Where is the Alliance Leader?"
Soon, the Strength Master appeared in the great hall. Seeing that Gu Changge was not there, he could not help but ask.
His appearance made many in the hall feel a weight lifted. Now, with a figure like the Strength Master present in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, whose might was surely above that of a Lesser Heavenly Avatar.
"The Alliance Leader has not paid attention to this matter and is currently nowhere to be found," Ling Yuling replied.
The Strength Master's gaze flickered. He suspected that the Heavenly Dao's Will suddenly becoming so enraged was very likely related to Gu Changge.
But since Gu Changge was not here at the moment, it was not his place to say much.
"The Heavenly Dao's Will is enraged. Next, the other Heavenly Tombs in the Land of the Nine Heavens will probably shatter one after another, and the other Lesser Heavenly Avatars will also appear," the Strength Master said.
His words caused the leaders of the various Dao lineages, clans, civilizations, and true worlds within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to feel waves of unease.
The Heaven-Slaying Alliance was "treasonous and heretical"—this was known throughout the world. When the time came, they would undoubtedly be the first to face the reckoning.
All high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance would be hard-pressed to escape this fate.
"I fear it is precisely the Alliance Leader's intention to establish the Heaven-Slaying Platform that has angered Heaven, causing the Heavenly Avatars to revive ahead of time..."
Some people's eyes could not hide their worry and anxiety. Before such a great calamity, ordinary Dao Realms were probably no different from ants.
"Slaying Heaven is inherently an act of defying Heaven, and this tribulation is to be expected. With the Alliance Leader here, why should you all worry?"
"Do not lose your composure before the great calamity arrives."
Ling Yuling spoke. At this time, she was quite calm. Her cool words contained a power that soothed the heart, calming everyone down.
Swoosh!!!
At this moment, a graceful figure appeared once more in the great hall of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. Her eyes were like the moon, warm and gentle, and she also emanated the aura of the End of the Path.
Seeing the newcomer, Ling Yuling breathed a slight sigh of relief, but there was also an indescribable feeling in her heart.
"Changge currently has important matters to attend to and cannot appear. All affairs of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance will proceed as usual; there is no need to worry."
The newcomer was none other than Qingyi. She had absorbed and refined the Master of Fate's Dao Fruit. This process originally required a long time, but in the area where she cultivated, Gu Changge had altered the flow of time, allowing her to come out of seclusion early.
The many high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance all knew of the special relationship between Qingyi and Gu Changge. Especially now that she had also stepped into the End of the Path realm, the somewhat restless atmosphere gradually settled down.
The Strength Master glanced at Qingyi, and could not help but be inwardly astonished.
The traces and karma of the Master of Fate's existence had long since vanished. It was as if such a person had never appeared in this world.
To be precise, all of the Master of Fate's creations and fortune had been completely replaced by the Qingyi before them.
"I'm afraid that in this world, only the Alliance Leader possesses such unimaginable methods to forcefully mold an End of the Path figure..."
"Truly defying heaven and seizing creation." He marveled inwardly.
Back then, the Fire God Zhu Rong had been able to enter the End of the Path realm entirely thanks to his own accumulation. After all, the Fire God was an Innate Five Spirits, with sufficiently profound foundations. After experiencing a life-and-death tribulation and undergoing another transformation, coupled with his guidance, he had just barely stepped into the End of the Path.
Qingyi's age was not even a fraction of the Fire God Zhu Rong's, and her foundations were utterly insufficient.
But now the aura on her body was even more profound than that of the Fire God Zhu Rong.
"Ninth Princess, terrible news! A major problem has occurred with the Epoch Mother Tree..."
After Qingyi appeared, the people in the hall settled down considerably. But soon after, a member of the Ji Chan Clan rushed over, reporting with a panicked expression.
"What happened?" Qingyi asked.
"The Epoch Mother Tree has begun to wither and fade. Its vitality is dissipating, and it is rotting away. This sign came so suddenly. Many elders believe that the Epoch Mother Tree is about to die, that it is being rejected by the Heavenly Dao's Will. This is a sign of the end of the epoch of heaven and earth." The reporting clan member was full of panic.
The Strength Master frowned and said, "I'm afraid it's the revival of the Heavenly Dao's Will that has caused the Epoch Mother Tree to begin mutating."
"In the spacetime of the Old Order, there were three mother trees: the Epoch Mother Tree, the Primordial Chaos Tree, and the Myriad Spirit Mother Tree. The Epoch Mother Tree creates worlds and is also called the World Mother Tree. The Primordial Chaos Tree creates matter, all heaven and earth vitality, all kinds of rare treasures, and mysterious creations. And the Myriad Spirit Mother Tree creates all living beings. Unfortunately, the Myriad Spirit Mother Tree never left behind any traces and seems to have never appeared."
"The Heavenly Dao's Will oversees and governs the Epoch Mother Tree, ruling all worlds. It can be said that the Epoch Mother Tree was indeed gestated by the Heavenly Dao's Will. Originally, the Myriad Spirit Mother Tree, which was gestated by the Will of Chaos, could not be born because the Will of Chaos was killed by the Three True Ancestors, and thus the Myriad Spirit Mother Tree could never come into being."
"Now, if this Epoch Mother Tree dies, a new Epoch Mother Tree may appear. The dead Epoch Mother Tree will be rejected and cursed by the Heavenly Dao's Will, becoming a cursed tree. Its surroundings will naturally emit an aura that corrodes all worlds and curses all tangible and intangible beings..."
Hearing the Strength Master's explanation, everyone in the hall paled drastically.
The Epoch Mother Tree was currently planted within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. If it were to die and become a source of curses, it was feared that the entire Heaven-Slaying Alliance would immediately suffer the spread.
"This is the punishment of the Heavenly Dao's Will upon us..."
"Earlier, World-Devouring Insects had already appeared in the Epoch Mother Tree..."
"We can only try to find a way to move the Epoch Mother Tree away from the Heaven-Slaying Alliance."
Many people were terrified, their faces filled with worry and fear.
Hearing this, the Strength Master frowned and said, "Although the Epoch Mother Tree has no will, it possesses instinct. It is itself a part of the Heavenly Dao's power. Even I cannot move it in the slightest. Without the Alliance Leader intervening, it is virtually impossible to move it away."
These words made many in the great hall turn even paler.
"Since the Alliance Leader told us not to worry, he must have foreseen such events," Ling Yuling said.
"The Heavenly Dao's Will suddenly became enraged. I suspect it is very likely that the Alliance Leader is entangled in battle with it..."
"If we want to buy more time for all beings in the Vast Expanse, we must find a way to delay the revival of the Heavenly Dao's Will, or suppress it."
"Perhaps only in this way can there be a sliver of hope to slay Heaven."
The Strength Master spoke, his gaze containing a hint of shock and fervor, as he looked toward a certain realm that ordinary people could not imagine.
But even he could not see it clearly; he could only vaguely sense that in that inconceivable region, a terrifying aura that suppressed him, making him dare not resist, surged and churned.
If it truly was as he guessed, then to what level had Gu Changge's true strength reached?
Had it surpassed the Heavenly Dao Realm, matching the Heavenly Dao's Will?
---
At the same time, in the Ancient Treasure Civilization, within the Divine Hall of Rituals.
The Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler, with a calm expression and hands clasped behind his back, gazed through countless layers of spacetime and universes, observing the scene in the Land of the Nine Heavens.
Beside him were the leaders of the five great royal clans: Calamity, Karma, Longevity, Extinction, and Emptiness. In addition, the World Lord, clad in holy robes, crowned, and holding a scepter, was also present.
In the center of the hall, divine lights flickered, transforming into ropes that bound a figure, preventing it from moving.
It was precisely the Eternal Primordial God, who had come to the Ancient Treasure Civilization under Gu Changge's orders to deliver a decree.
At this moment, his hands and feet were bound by the ropes, his mouth unable to speak, only his eyes could move. Before the Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler, the Eternal Primordial God, at the End of the Path realm, could not possibly be his match.
He had long guessed that this trip would not be easy and might be dangerous. But he did not dare disobey Gu Changge's decree. As a result, the moment he stepped into the Ancient Treasure Civilization, he was suppressed by the Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler.
The Eternal Primordial God was also very resolute, never showing any intention of submission from beginning to end.
He was also a being who had lived for countless years and had followed Gu Changge for some time.
The Strength Master's choice had also given him the intention to stick to one path to the end.
But at this moment, no one in the Divine Hall of Rituals cared about him.
"Imperial Ruler, the Lesser Heavenly Avatar has already appeared. According to the prediction from the other side, should we also make our move?"
The Calamity Master gazed at the great battle in the Land of the Nine Heavens and couldn't help but ask.
"The Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance still hasn't made a move. Could it truly be that he is being constrained by the Heavenly Dao's Will?" the Karma Master beside him speculated.
"Although the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance is far stronger than me, if the power from that side descends, there is nothing to fear."
"The Grand Priest is a descendant of a certain Reckoning Envoy who was left behind here. We cannot let anything happen to her. In this Epochal Reckoning, that Reckoning Envoy will descend here to preside over the overall situation."
"It's just that so far, I haven't seen any other existences who hold Authorities enter the fray."
"I wonder if the Strength Master can hold back." The Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler's gaze was deep, but his words were cold, carrying an eternal chill that would never thaw.
The Longevity Master, an elderly man with white hair and beard, looking aged yet hale, and with a kind face, chuckled and said, "The passage at the deepest part of the Path of Reincarnation has already been constructed, and is constantly being maintained and perfected. Our Ancient Treasure Civilization's billions of universes and immeasurable armies are ready to charge at any time."
The Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler nodded, but his mind couldn't help but recall the humiliating scene before Gu Changge that day.
This great reckoning would start with the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, letting all the worlds of the Vast Expanse know the consequences of defying the Ancient Treasure Civilization and offending him.
At this moment, under the witness of all the super multiverses in the Vast Expanse, from the depths of the shattering land of the Land of the Nine Heavens, a terrifying, thunderous roar resounded once more. Following the shattering of the Ninth Heaven, the seal on the Eighth Heaven was also loosening, cracks appearing.
The Eighth Heaven was about to shatter! Shentian was about to emerge!
Chengtian's Dependents of Heaven surged forth, tunneling through spacetime from various directions, sweeping in with thousands of troops and horses.
From the various heavens of the Land of the Nine Heavens, countless beings also charged out, fighting against these Dependents of Heaven within the great cosmos. The battle was inconceivably fierce.
Flying divine lights and weapon fragments were everywhere, along with all kinds of wreckage. Bits of planes and spacetime shattered and exploded, and some great universes directly collapsed and disintegrated from the shockwaves of the battle.
The Dependents of Heaven were like an undying army, vast and boundless, countless beyond measure, carrying a fearless killing intent as they crashed against the Land of the Nine Heavens.
Such a scene was despair-inducing.
Facing the combined assault of five End of the Path figures, Chengtian was gravely injured. However, he was immortal; even if shattered, he would heal and reform.
Yong Zu, Huang Lord, and the others could only try to stall him, exhaust the power of this physical body, make him fall into slumber, and then find a way to seal him again.
But now, as abnormal movements came from the Eighth Heaven and the earth split apart just as before, their expressions completely changed.