Chapter 1082: Mountains Tremble, Memories Remain
She had started out as a mortal, without even the ability to practice cultivation. However, it was her strengths and talents that allowed humankind to finally complete their Dawning Suns project, which gave them the precious treasure they needed to stand tall as a species. That alone made her an outstanding person.
But she was relatively unknown among humankind. Few people were aware of her existence, and all of the glory for the Dawning Suns went to her husband.
After becoming the empress, she had two sons. She lived for her husband, sharing his worries and supporting him through his woes. She didn’t think twice about living solely for her husband and sons. But in the end, she was ripped away from her sons and brutally killed by her own husband. Her husband had mercilessly done whatever he could to try to reach godly ascension.
She didn’t realize where she had gone wrong. Nor did she understand why things ended up that way for her. And the grief and helplessness she felt about her life up to that point became a part of her soul.
In the past, she had knelt and prayed to the holy lands. The holy lands had never answered. She had prostrated to the nobility to beg for help. The nobility had ignored her.
She had wept. She had gnashed her teeth. She wallowed in sorrow. She had remained silent.
Eventually, on the evening when she reached the end of her life in the imperial palace, she had collapsed in front of the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage, and there she shed her last tear. The tear rolled down her cheek and landed on the ground. She heard the sound of it splashing. And then she heard a sigh that echoed with fate.
“Humankind shouldn’t be like this.... Child, humanity has let you down....”
Then she saw someone walking toward her. It was someone she would never be able to forget.
Behind her, the source of her sorrow was cut down by a sword. It was a sword that could sever fate, and a sword that could change everything.
“The Grand Emperor,” she murmured. “Like a father.”
At the darkest moment in her life, Grand Emperor Swordsage saved her. In the most sorrowful time in her life, Grand Emperor Swordsage gave her hope. When she seemed most confused about the meaning of life, it was Grand Emperor Swordsage who gave her a cultivation base. He gave humankind to her.
That was when she became Dark War. She led humankind to prominence. And then, with the Grand Emperor backing her up, she removed her mask and became a god, and the only empress to ever reign over humankind.
It was not my desire to safeguard humankind. That was your wish, Grand Emperor. But it became my desire.
As the empress looked at the statue, the longing in her heart grew stronger. And along with it came determination. She wanted to resurrect the Grand Emperor who had been like a father to her!
It was you, sir, who brought me out of despair. Today, I will help you return from death.
The empress’ eyes shone with bright light. As Devilbird trembled, as Planet Ancient Emperor rumbled, as Erniu looked on incredulously, and as Xu Qing watched excitedly.... She took a step forward and hovered in midair.
“I am the empress of humankind! I have gathered the destiny of all humans in Revered Ancient. And today....”
The empress’ gaze seemed to pass out of the world and into Revered Ancient to look at all humankind.
“I hereby call to all humans to remember Grand Emperor Swordsage, and turn those memories into his human spiritual soul!”
The words cracked like thunder, spreading to all human lands to enter the minds of all humans.
That included the Imperial Region and everything around it. All humans felt their memories stirring wildly as thoughts of Grand Emperor Swordsage rose within them. As long as people remembered him, it was possible that he could return.
And who could possibly forget about Grand Emperor Swordsage...? After Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity left, he chose to stay behind to safeguard humankind. He was the one who spared humanity from being devoured by nonhumans. He was the one who had protected humankind countless times in battle. His true form eventually fell in battle, but his clone remained behind. And even it had beheaded gods to keep humanity in peace.
Stories of his countless deadly battles spread far and wide. Even in his last days, he had used the power of his sword to strike fear into the hearts of nonhumans. There was no doubt about it. Without him, humankind would have been destroyed.
His life had been soaked in blood, but at the same time, he was the history of humankind after the departure of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity.
Who could forget this Grand Emperor? And thus, memories of him became shimmering motes of light that rose from within all humans. The motes flew up to the Devilbird holy land and began to gather at the dao fruit. Motes of light even emerged from Xu Qing’s mind as he remembered Grand Emperor Swordsage. And those countless motes of light began to form into the human spiritual soul of Grand Emperor Swordsage, which entered the statue.
“The Grand Emperor spent his life protecting our species and our lands,” the empress said. “And today, I call on the spirits in all human lands to become the earthly spiritual soul of the Grand Emperor!”
The empress’s voice rang with a note of command, causing human lands throughout Revered Ancient to react. Mountains, rivers, soil, and buildings all began to tremble.
Heaven had spirits. Naturally speaking, so did earth. The spirits responded to the call, becoming motes of light that shot up in marvelous fashion from Revered Ancient. As countless cultivators in the Devilbird holy land looked on in shock, and as innumerable human cultivators trembled excitedly, they entered the dao fruit and the statue of the Grand Emperor.
“The spiritual soul is made of three parts. Heavenly. Earthly. Human. I hereby summon the destiny aura of humankind that has struggled defiantly from the time of Eastglory onward. And it will be the heavenly spiritual soul of the Grand Emperor!”
Heaven and earth in human lands throughout Revered Ancient trembled as the destiny aura of humankind rose up into the clouds. Ignoring any attempts of Devilbird cultivators to stop it, it bypassed all obstacles in decisive and domineering fashion....
And it entered the dao fruit and the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage. The statue trembled.
As of now, the memories of the species had formed the human spiritual soul. The lands and rivers and mountains had formed the earthly spiritual soul. And the boundless destiny aura had formed the heavenly spiritual soul. Three spiritual souls had combined. This act of resurrection was meaningful to the empress, but it was also meaningful to humankind as a whole!
Beyond that, it was also meaningful to the human emperors!
“There are three spiritual souls. There are seven physical souls!”
The empress turned to look at Planet Ancient Emperor, and the five past emperors seated cross-legged there. The moment she did so, the five emperors opened their eyes and looked back at her.
“Ordinarily, it would be difficult to find a physical soul for the Grand Emperor. He lived his life for humankind. Therefore, since the memories, land, and destiny aura of humankind formed the three spiritual souls, then the successive emperors will make the physical souls! The first physical soul is the heavenly hub. Let my past become the first physical soul!”
The empress lifted her right hand and viciously chopped it down on herself. That action resulted in her body becoming somewhat illusory. She was severing her past to make the first physical soul, which then entered the statue of the Grand Emperor.
“The second physical soul provides rationality and intelligence. Emperor Mirrorcloud!”
On Planet Ancient Emperor, Emperor Mirrorcloud flew up, becoming a mysterious glow that entered the statue.
“The third physical soul acts as energy. Emperor Dao Life!”
Dao Life rose, took a step forward, and entered the statue.
“The fourth physical gives power. Emperor Eastglory!”
Eastglory shot up into the sky and turned into a physical soul.
“The fifth physical soul is the backbone. Let it be formed by my future!”
Looking more decisive than ever, the empress severed her future to form the backbone of the Grand Emperor’s physical souls.
“The sixth physical soul makes the quintessence. Emperor Sageheaven!”
Sageheaven closed his eyes and turned into a white beam of light that made the Grand Emperor’s physical soul origin.
“The seventh physical soul stands for heroism. Emperor Dark War!”
Dark War looked up, his eyes glimmering with shame and guilt. He stood. He was willing to become the seventh physical soul.
As of this moment, the three spiritual souls had united, and the seven physical souls were complete. The Grand Emperor’s statue trembled, the surrounding world shook, and the Devilbird holy land quaked.
Some distance away, Grand Emperor Devilbird could guess what was coming next. His expression flickered, revealing sorrow. But in the end, he chose to retreat. He would leave the world of the dao fruit. Once outside, he sighed deeply. He knew that he was powerless to turn things around, and thus, his best option was to get away as quickly as possible and take as many of his direct bloodline as possible away from the holy land.
As he left, the empress within the world of the dao fruit turned a cold expression to the outside. Taking in the entire Devilbird holy land, she lifted her right hand.
“I will not allow myself to fail. This dao fruit is already withered, therefore... I hereby sacrifice all living beings in the Devilbird holy land! Let them become nutrients for the manywonders smolderlife dao fruit!”
The empress’ words echoed from within the world of the dao fruit to the entirety of the Devilbird holy land. They spread out, reaching even the tenth Imperial Sovereign mountain that the empress had once occupied.
And that caused some concealment magics she had left behind on the mountain to vanish. At that point, it turned into a god mountain, and a god magic that the empress had left in the works there was suddenly activated!
It was a god magic that could strip away the concept of night and replace it with light. It was as if a sun were dawning over the Devilbird holy land. Wherever the light passed, the air rippled and distorted. Howls of anguish echoed out. Everything was being turned into a god domain.
With Grand Emperor Devilbird on the run, there was nothing the inhabitants of the Devilbird holy land could do to stop the impending catastrophe. In the face of an Altar God, anyone under the Grand Emperor level was like an ant.
The light shining in the Devilbird holy land made it almost like a new star that caught the attention of everyone in Revered Ancient.
The empress was not holding back any of her peak Altar God power. It poured into the dao fruit, filling its veins, filling its natural cycles, and creating a force of attraction that exploded out to cover the Devilbird holy land.
All life force would be sucked in. All souls. All flesh and blood.
Numerous Devilbird cultivators that Grand Emperor Devilbird had left behind were hit by the light and the force of attraction. They were instantly killed in body and soul, transformed into a bloody paste that was sucked into the dao fruit. As more flesh and blood converged, and as catastrophe filled the Devilbird holy land, the previously withered dao fruit began to become plump and glistening once again.
This made it clearer than ever that the empress had veins of steel! Without even the slightest hesitation, she waved her finger to connect the dao fruit to the Grand Emperor.
Then she spoke in a low voice.
“Manywonders smolderlife!”
The dao fruit, which has absorbed countless bits of flesh and blood, shivered. Then magical symbols became visible on its surface, and they began spinning. The gate of reincarnation was being opened. It was as if a path of life were being forged.
Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. The void rumbled loudly.
Then, the dao fruit once again withered visibly as all of the nutrients inside were swept into the statue of the Grand Emperor.
The statue now had three spiritual souls and seven physical souls. It had life force brewing in it. And when the nutrients reached a certain level, it would undergo a mysterious transformation. The clay that made the statue was now glittering brightly as if it was about to turn into flesh and blood. A sense of reanimation erupted within it, and Grand Emperor Swordsage’s familiar aura... became manifest! The aura grew stronger and stronger!
It burst out of the world of the dao fruit, piercing into the Devilbird holy land, and shaking the entire Revered Ancient mainland. It attracted the attention of countless eyes.
The empress looked very excited, as did Xu Qing.
However... even as everyone looked on, the statue trembled, and that seemingly indomitable aura suddenly destabilized and started collapsing.
“NO!!” screamed the empress, her eyes turning red.