People used to say there is nothing more terrifying than the sky itself.
But that naive belief shattered today.
Every martial artist—myself included, and even Di Shitian—fell into utter stupefaction.
Our eyes went wide, round with disbelief.
This was no illusion.
Something truly was descending.
The world plunged into darkness.
No light remained.
Everyone, by reflex, found the same thought rising: Am I dead?
The pressure from above crushed down, pinning all to the earth.
Aside from a pair of eyes to see with, our bodies refused to answer; even our souls turned blank.
Only the heroes and the believers of the Eternal Faith were spared the paralysis.
Zeal ignited on their faces.
One after another, they slipped into ecstatic madness.
"Great God of Eternity, You have finally come…"
Some believers actually burst into tears.
Xiongba lifted his gaze to the boundless, star-strewn firmament, his heart pounding with exhilaration.
God is arriving.
Just as he had believed: prepare the sacrifice, perform the rite—
Sincerity moves the divine!!!
He dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the cold stone.
With a voice like rolling thunder he cried, "Great God of Eternity, I, Your believer Xiongba, greet Your advent!!!"
"Congratulations on the descent of God…"
Even those who hadn't been weeping before found themselves shocked to the core by the overwhelming spectacle, and they, too, joined the chorus.
Power unstoppable.
Divine might invincible.
When a true god descends, that presence stands above all things.
A bewitching fragrance drifted from the Ninth Heaven.
As the scent spread, a beam of light fell—brilliant yet gentle.
It shone with nine colors.
Not blinding, but awe-inspiring, suffused with a soft, merciful glow.
Gradually, all living beings eased into tranquility.
At some instinctive level, each of them understood: God would not harm them.
The collective thought of countless minds rose like a tide across the Fragmented World.
Liu Che stepped from the gate of light with a faint, calm smile.
His grasp of his own law had deepened yet again.
The Dao of Love was not merely the collection of emotions.
Joy, anger, sorrow, and delight—
These were the powers of all sentient life.
If he released only his fury, the world would collapse; all would be annihilated.
If he released benevolence, all beings would fall into peace.
They would feel his kindness.
Liu Che understood: as he cultivated the Dao of Love to greater heights, he would be able to sway other gods at will—an influence more terrifying than any illusion.
Even the Nightmare God's methods paled beside it.
To the eyes of all beings at this moment, they could not see the god's true face—only a river of time flowing endlessly.
Such was the difference in level.
In truth, Liu Che had arrived with his consciousness only.
His true body still sat within the long river of time, comprehending that power.
"Xiongba."
The ethereal voice rang from the depths of his believer's soul.
"Yes, my Lord. Your believer is here."
Xiongba answered with utmost caution, knocking his head to the ground in pious obeisance.
"Though you have killed many in the first half of your life, and countless deaths followed in your wake, because good intentions now reside in your heart, I shall spare your life."
"Thank you for Your grace."
Cold sweat drenched Xiongba. His robes were soaked in an instant.
God saw his entire life and still felt pity. In the past he had been lost in confusion, ignorant of God's existence.
Had he known there was a god three feet above his head, Xiongba would never have dared to act as he once did.
Liu Che's tone remained even. "You handled Wushuang City well. In the end, they are Our people; you did not press on to slaughter. Whoever believes in Us—anyone in this world—can obtain redemption.
"For your merits this time, I grant you the rank of Two-Star Divine Envoy and a cultivation of five thousand years.
Remember: do not become arrogant. Promote My faith."
Discovering there was no punishment, Xiongba exhaled, relieved.
He bowed his head again and again, thanking profusely. "Thank You for Your reward, my God. I will give my utmost to spread the doctrine, that every stretch of land shall carry Your teaching, and all people shall belong to You…"
He had studied how to speak.
After all, he had once unified the martial world.
His words were poised and precise.
"That will do for now," Liu Che said. "By the way, this Ice Soul Stone is excellent. Remember to seek out the other stones."
"Yes."
Liu Che sent his divine message to Xiongba—and then slowly withdrew from this world.
With him went the Fire Qilin.
From the instant Liu Che appeared, the great beast had been frightened to the point of tears, but under the god's light it transformed into a true auspicious beast, its body now a full thousand meters tall.
The poisonous miasma that once seeped from it was drawn out, replaced by auspicious qi.
Especially as it ascended toward the heavens, the old scales flaked away—like a chrysalis shedding its shell.
The air shimmered with multicolored rays.
The qilin loosed a satisfied cry and, tugging happily at the bright moon, leapt into the divine realm.
Xiongba sighed. "As I suspected—the qilin had problems. It wasn't truly auspicious. It carried a mortal remnant in its bloodline."
Its fire and poison,
its savage temper—
it had not been a proper auspicious beast at all,
but a feral one.
Now, baptized by divine light, it returned to its origin—an authentic auspicious body.
As for the dragon vein, within the divine radiance it became a five-clawed golden dragon stretching for ten thousand li, and it vanished into the sky alongside the qilin.
"Respectfully sending off my God!!"
"Respectfully sending off our God…"
After the believers' devout prayers faded, the sky at last returned to normal.
Only then did the people wake as if from a dream.
Xiongba looked much the same as before, yet there was a new refinement about him.
All of his momentum, all of his presence—
he drew it inward, concealed within.
He turned around and laughed heartily. "Brother of mine—my sworn brother who hid among the crowd—after witnessing the visage of my God, are you willing to submit?"
His voice boomed like thunder, echoing for a hundred miles.
Di Shitian's heart lurched. His body twisted as he circulated his energy, seeking to flee.
But just as he took a step—
a black vortex opened before him.
A vast hand thrust out and slammed him to the ground.
"I can tell your cultivation surpasses everyone else's. Speak—what did you plan to do after watching for so long? And what is your name?"
"Heh… I'm a nobody. Why are you looking for me?"
Di Shitian's eyes flickered.
Clearly, he had no desire to become Xiongba's dog.
The appearance of a god stirred envy in him—
but surrendering would make him a dog. Xu Fu had spent a thousand years doing such things.
He had never liked being anyone's dog.
"Hmph—so you would defy the will of God?"
"You don't represent God. God said I am a subject of this realm!"
"Do you understand? I am the Chief Priest, which, in effect, makes me the master of this entire continent. I'll give you one more chance. Tell me where you truly come from—or die."
What sort of man was Xiongba?
He would never be duped by Di Shitian's lies.
A grandmaster beyond mortal limits had been lurking at his side.
Had he not offered sacrifice to the gods, he would never have discovered him.
And this man still insisted on pretending.
Di Shitian tensed and tried to break free—
only to find his internal force utterly immobile.
"Enough. If you won't speak… then die."
"No—wait! I'll talk, I'll talk—"
Crack.
Xu Fu's head—Di Shitian's true identity—was crushed underfoot.
A cluster of crimson matter oozed from his body.
"What is this?"
Xiongba plucked it up, frowning at the fiery-red meat-like sphere resting in his palm.
It felt… biological.
A strong power pulsed within it.
Was this what gave the man such unnatural strength?
Forget it. No need to dwell on it.
He now held five thousand years of cultivation; his next task was to develop God's faith across the land.
Thanks be to God.
Had that old, crafty dog continued lurking by his side, who knew when disaster might have struck?
As for Wuming and Xiao Sanxiao, after witnessing Xiongba's methods, any desire to escape left them.
They chose to join the Eternal Faith and became glorious envoys.
The next day, Xiongba descended on Wushuang City.
He met with the Dugu Sword Saint.
The two spoke at length, pleased with one another.
By the following day, the Dugu Sword Saint had regained his youth and departed for Japan alone.
God's Domain
Liu Che received the system's rewards.
First came an Eight-Star Auspicious Beast, a Qilin, accompanied by a "Good Fortune" buff—also a type of destiny beast.
He placed it beside the other qilin, intent on letting them develop… and eventually produce more little qilin.
For this purpose, Liu Che even employed the Divine Art of Love.
Ahem… it was quite… energetic that day.
The five-clawed golden dragon also proved intriguing.
As a true golden dragon spanning thousands of miles, it drew fervent pursuit from Ao Qian the moment it appeared.
The result?
It informed him it had no gender whatsoever, and poor Ao Qian finally left in dejection.
The golden dragon then transformed back into a dragon vein and fused into the sun.
In the wake of that fusion, countless fragments of law within God's Domain ran with greater smoothness.
Creatures of fortune such as this—and artifacts embodying luck—
were treasures over which even gods fought.
They could not be sought out with mere will.
As for the Ice Soul, it gave Liu Che pause.
That small Heaven-Mending Stone triggered a ten-thousand-fold amplification.
There was no need for additional stones.
It directly became a sky-barrier.
It turned into a frosted membrane and merged into the world of God's Domain—
instantly multiplying the realm's defensive power tenfold.
"In other words, can my World 1.4 continue to expand?"
Liu Che studied the matter and concluded it was completely feasible.
The only problem:
too few stars.
Even with expansion, the increase in overall strength would be limited.
In the end, he chose to expand by three solar systems, rather than expanding without end.
The Saints' Cemetery World
After Tanjiro Kamado arrived, Murong Fu also joined the battlefield.
This became the third strange force to enter the fray.
The most famous news agency in the Yang Realm evaluated Murong Fu's team…
and assigned them an outrageous rating.
According to their report, this new force also belonged to an Outer-Territory Evil God.
Wherever they went, they recruited believers and granted full-body salvation—including reincarnation, cycle of rebirth, even resurrection…
Damn.
Even the lunatic Wu felt his heart stir at such an advertisement.
Let alone the other factions.
At this moment, Chu Xuanfeng and his four comrades gathered together, discussing how to bring more people into the fold.
Tanjiro Kamado frowned. "This isn't good. We've revealed too much strength lately. The other groups have begun setting up defensive formations, trying to trap us within this state."
The Sun Realm was incomparably vast.
A single province there covered more ground than their entire divine world.
Chu Xuanfeng sneered. "Let them. The more they gather… the more power we'll draw. Once we've accumulated enough, we can summon the Demon Goddess."