Moo Shan's chest had been pierced. Such was the might of a Demon God—a sword drawn and sheathed with but a thought, a Great Divine Power Technique.
"So that's how it is! So... that's... how... it... is! As long as I take your Godhood, I can become a god on the spot! HAHAHAHA!" The Demon God's maniacal laughter echoed through the sky.
RUMBLE... Broken Heaven Edge was shattering. The peerless Divine Power of the Heaven-defying Silence Sword could sunder the heavens, yet it could not slay its master's enemy.
The chaotic, bursting Elemental Qi could not harm the Demon God in the slightest; it even seemed to swerve around him. Most importantly, Wangtian now understood from this single sword strike what it truly meant to defy the heavens.
"I told you I would thank you." Wangtian was surprisingly human in this moment. With just another hundred years of secluded cultivation, he was completely confident he could brave the Path of Divinity.
Moo Shan's expression remained cold, as if life itself were an illusion. "I also said, it's not yet certain who should be thanking whom."
"In this world... who can stop me!"
In all of heaven and earth, Wangtian alone reigned supreme.
Suddenly, an irresistible Power of Laws descended, blanketing everything. At this level of existence, the only thing that could still restrain the Demon God Wangtian was the Power of Laws. After all, no matter how close to a god an Immortal became, they were still mortal.
Wangtian's expression changed. "You... you deliberately triggered a Celestial Tribulation!"
Moo Shan did not look at Wangtian. "I have no path of retreat. You wanted to borrow my experience, and I wanted to borrow your power. Our battle, combined with your sudden enlightenment, is enough to trigger the eighty-one strikes of the Qiankun Annihilation Great Celestial Tribulation. It will be more than enough to deal with you!"
Having achieved enlightenment, Wangtian was now a Sub-god. At this moment, what he needed to do most was hide his power, avoid the Celestial Tribulation, and comprehend his new strength. But the outpouring of power from Broken Heaven Edge had left him with nowhere to hide. Moo Shan's sword strike was never aimed at him in the first place—it was meant to sunder Broken Heaven Edge!
"You did all this just to take me down with you?!" Wangtian found it somewhat laughable.
Moo Shan's body was fading away; not even a Demigod Body could resist the ravages of time. Yet, his expression completely relaxed. "The moment the Celestial Tribulation strikes is also when the Power of Laws is at its weakest."
"Don't tell me you're thinking of... using this chance to send your Fate Grid into the Lower Realm? Even if you succeed, a masterless Fate Grid will only end up as a gift for someone else!"
Wangtian was furious. If he obtained Moo Shan's Fate Grid, he could become a god instantly. Without it, heaven knew how long it would take. Yet Moo Shan had gone to such great lengths, even sacrificing his own life, just to give his most precious Fate Grid away to someone else!
Give it away!!!
"You don't understand. You never will." A sarcastic smile touched Moo Shan's lips. Although it was said that all paths lead to the same truth, they were fundamentally not cut from the same cloth.
Harming others to benefit oneself is the way of the Demon.
Harming others for no personal gain is the way of the Evil!
Harming oneself to benefit others is the ultimate Evil!
The path of an Evil Cultivator is one of defiance!
Wangtian, born into the most powerful faction of order for Demon Cultivators in the Grand Thousand World, had become a Demigod in a mere two hundred years. He could never understand someone like Moo Shan. Moo Shan had spent a century to ascend from the Small Thousand World to the Middle Thousand World, another century to reach the Grand Thousand World, and then several hundred more years to finally become a Demigod. In the Lower Realm, such a pace was considered a divine, unimaginable miracle. Yet in the end, it had all come to nothing.
The eighty-one strikes of the Qiankun Annihilation Great Celestial Tribulation had begun. Its Divine Power stretched for ten thousand li, with all its pressure and might converging on Wangtian. At this moment, Wangtian had no attention to spare for anything else. He focused all his strength as a Sub-god to resist the Celestial Tribulation. As long as he could withstand it, he could still become a god.
When the Laws went all-out to unleash the Annihilation Great Celestial Tribulation, it was also when the Power of Laws was at its weakest. A Sub-god, after all, was not to be underestimated. Only at this moment would a sliver of a gap appear in the untouchable rules of the Grand Thousand Realm. And only at this moment could a Fate Grid, something that should only exist in the Grand Thousand World, possibly break through the shackles of the Laws and enter the Lower Realm.
This was the ultimate act of defiance.
A streak of red light shot out from Moo Shan's body, soaring into the clouds and vanishing in an instant.
Without the support of his Fate Grid, Moo Shan's body began to disintegrate at an accelerated rate.
'What is the Celestial Dao?'
Moo Shan's vision began to blur. 'This was the first question I ever asked my master. Back then, I was just a child. Step by step, I've walked this path to where I am today. I've been through too much. The weight of the years is too heavy... but I have no regrets.'
'Becoming a god? Immortality? Being unrivaled in the world?'
'No, that is not the true meaning for an Evil Cultivator. To obtain the means to godhood only to scorn it—that is Evil. That is defiance!'
"Master, your disciple has succeeded." Moo Shan looked up at the sky, and a smile finally appeared on the Heaven-defying Evil God's face as he vanished into nothingness.
The lineage of Evil Cultivators had reached a peak of glory that could never be surpassed. His name was Moo Shan, the Heaven-defying Evil God.
At the same time, the Annihilation Great Celestial Tribulation fully unleashed its power. Heaven and earth lost their color as a beam of destructive light enveloped Wangtian. Even at this final moment, Wangtian could not comprehend what Moo Shan had been thinking. He had seen countless madmen in his life, but none could compare to Moo Shan.
The heavens crumbled and the earth split apart. A radius of one hundred thousand li was plunged into sudden darkness. Then, Broken Heaven Edge emitted a blinding white light. Before everyone's eyes, it split completely in two. In that instant, all sound vanished from the world, leaving only black and white. Everyone was frozen in place, their movements shackled. At that moment, these paragons of the Grand Thousand World were as helpless as infants. At that moment, all the Immortals felt the world's irresistible power and a faint, ethereal sigh.
And at that moment, a red light vanished into a crack in space...
By the time everything settled, several months had passed. The battle at Broken Heaven Edge had become the most eagerly recounted legend in the Grand Thousand World. The Demon Lord Wangtian, wielding the heaven-shaking power of a Sub-god, had vanished during his final battle on the path to the Celestial Dao. Some said Wangtian was destroyed by the Celestial Tribulation. Others said he had already become a god. Still others claimed he was gravely injured. But regardless, both he and his invincible Time Demon God Sword had vanished without a trace.
The Heaven-defying Evil God, Moo Shan, had been obliterated, not even his bones or Life Soul remained. This anomaly from the humble Small Thousand World had never truly been accepted. The Divine Cultivators had feared him and envied him, and now, he was finally gone.
Between the chasms of the now-broken Broken Heaven Edge, a sword hovered quietly. A deep crack marred its body. When the wind blew past, it made a wailing sound, as if it were crying.
Its name was Silence.
After this battle, the Grand Thousand World entered a rare period of peace...
The Fate Grid—a brand of Elemental Power possessed only by the Immortals of the Grand Thousand World. It was a symbol of status, and the most precious possession a Cultivator could have!
The Fate Grid of a Demigod from the Grand Thousand World was also known as... "Godhood."
For those in the Lower Realm, it was a dream they could never, ever hope to attain.
And that streak of red light, now free from the Power of Laws, would bring...