Time rewinds to the moment when the Sword of Three Realms' Judgment slashed into the pseudo-black hole. Instantly, the six divine realms trapped inside sensed an external force break through the endless darkness and silence of the black hole, if only briefly.
"Huh? Such powerful energy—it can actually break the gravitational restraints of the black hole, even if just for a moment!"
Within the Skystar Divine Realm, a white-robed, white-haired youth keenly detected the invading energy. This was Emperor Tian Hen, who desperately needed external variables to increase the six divine realms' chances of escape.
He immediately locked onto the source of this energy.
At that moment, not only Tian Hen, but also the Light King Changgong Wei of the Son of Light Realm, the Mad God Lei Xiang of the Mad God Realm, the gentle Death God A Dai, the Immortal Emperor Hai Long from the Only I Am Immortal Realm, and the Zither Emperor Ye Yinzhu from the Zither Emperor Realm—all six divine kings sensed the immense power within the Sword of Three Realms' Judgment.
Their spiritual senses instantly left their respective realms and appeared together within the black hole, gazing at the fleeting five-colored sword light, each showing regret.
"I thought we were getting a new visitor in the Divine Realm Graveyard. Guess it was a false alarm," said Immortal Emperor Hai Long, clad in golden armor and wielding a golden staff, disappointment in his tone.
"This power… It seems like a combined strike from five divine kings. To actually pierce the black hole—if we could get their help, our chances of escape would skyrocket," sighed the handsome and radiant Light King Changgong Wei.
"No need to be too discouraged, Big Brother Chang Gong. Even without outside help, we'll find a way out," Tian Hen quickly comforted him.
Though each was a master of their own realm, years of hardship and cooperation in the black hole had built deep trust and unity among the six kings. Changgong Wei, righteous and without ambition, had become their de facto core leader—even the proud Hai Long respected him.
"Over a hundred divine realms were pulled into the black hole by the time-space turbulence, yet only the six of us remain. I believe we will make it out," Zither Emperor Ye Yinzhu spoke up to boost morale. He knew if even the kings despaired, what hope would the gods of their realms have? Were they really doomed to eternal oblivion within the black hole?
"No need for reminders—we all have reasons to escape. No matter how hard it gets, I'll never give up until the very end," said the stern Mad God Lei Xiang, determined not to let his realm perish as so many others had.
"Alright, let's all return to our realms. Maintaining spiritual senses here is draining, and our energy is limited. We can't afford waste," said Changgong Wei with a resigned shake of the head. Even as divine kings, their power could not last long in the black hole, especially now that faith and willpower from followers were cut off—each bit of energy spent was gone forever, which could jeopardize their escape plan.
Just then, Emperor Tian Hen, master of space, sensed something and turned sharply toward the endless darkness of the black hole.
"What's wrong, Emperor?" Ye Yinzhu asked, noticing Tian Hen's unease.
"Someone's there…?" Tian Hen hesitated, unsure if his senses were accurate.
"Someone? That can't be. Besides us six, no one could survive here, and no new realms have been drawn in lately," Hai Long replied, puzzled. But he trusted Tian Hen's space mastery—the stabilization array he'd created was the very reason they'd survived so long.
At that moment, a clear female voice rang out. "Interesting! You guys have quite the array to last this long in a black hole."
A flickering, phantom-like projection appeared before them—a beautiful young woman in a purple-and-black witch outfit, topped with a pointed hat. It was Herta.
She studied the six kings with interest.
"Well, there really is someone! Who are you?" Hai Long grinned warily, sensing her projection was far more advanced than their own spiritual avatars.
"Hello, welcome to the Divine Realm Graveyard, stranger. I'm Ye Yinzhu, the Zither Emperor. I assume you're not like us?"
"That's right. I sensed unusual energy and came to check it out. I didn't expect to find divine realms still holding out in here. I'm impressed," Herta replied without hesitation.
After all, surviving in a black hole meant each realm had its own unique strength.
"You flatter us. We're just struggling to survive," Changgong Wei shook his head, looking weary. Many of his old friends had perished protecting their realm.
"You entered from outside? Such skill is almost miraculous. May I ask your name?" asked Tian Hen, the technical king, understanding how incredible it was for Herta to project herself inside a black hole.
"Just call me Herta. It's nothing special; you're not simple yourselves," she replied casually, though she could tell the six realms were working together, gathering strength, just waiting for the right chance to escape.
The six kings exchanged glances. Finally, Changgong Wei spoke up: "Ms. Herta, you've seen our predicament. If it's not too much, we'd like to ask for your help."
"Help? I don't mind being the good guy, but you trust me that easily? We've never met," Herta said, hands on her hips, eyes glinting with curiosity.
The six kings were already communicating secretly via spiritual transmission—a fact Herta noticed but didn't mind.
"We have no other choice. Our odds are less than 30% on our own. Waiting for another miracle isn't realistic. Time passes differently here—it could be an instant, a thousand years, or even a hundred thousand. We can't wait any longer," said Changgong Wei earnestly.
He quickly explained their plan and the details of the stabilization array to Herta—there was no other way. Out of over a hundred divine realms, only the six remained, and Herta was their only hope.
Each of them longed to return to the outside world. The black hole had stolen too much from them; there were people and things in the world outside they could not let go of.
Herta's arrival was like a ray of hope. Even if she had ill intentions, they had no choice. Their own plan only had a 30% success rate, but with Herta's help, their chances would soar.
"This is an interesting idea—smashing the six realms together to simulate a Big Bang, blast open the black hole, and use the resulting chaos energy to break free."
Herta clapped in admiration. The universe was vast and mysterious, and she'd always been limited by her environment on Douluo Star. Here, the world was created by the Creator God, not by a World Tree.
She'd never expected that blasting open a black hole could produce chaos energy—a rare, primordial force said to have existed only at the universe's birth, so precious that even a trace could elevate a god.
According to Tian Hen, if a first-level god obtained chaos energy, they could rapidly ascend to a divine king. Any planet or realm bathed in it would evolve.
It was only after being trapped in the black hole that Tian Hen, through long study, conceived of simulating a Big Bang to create chaos energy and use it to escape.
"It's only theoretically possible. My calculations show a very low success rate. The realms would collide, but survival would depend on luck, and whether the resulting power could break us free is just as uncertain," Tian Hen said helplessly. For researchers like them, relying on luck was a last resort.
"It's bold thinking. Science needs courage to experiment—you're a rare genius," Herta praised. Only in such desperate circumstances would one dare to try such a crazy plan.