Chapter 899: I Have No Regrets!
That wind came from the Mountain and Sea Region, sweeping through space-time and passing through world borders. It blew from the mortal world into the god domain, from Revered Ancient into North Immortal, to the three gods. Thunderous rumbling filled the god domain, along with a formless, slashing power. Sustaining tens of thousands of years of karma, and seeking the promise from within time, it revealed an astonishing sharpness that slashed through everything.
A huge rift opened up that was plainly visible to the three gods. It seemed to have no beginning or end, and from a distance, looked almost like an opening eye. There was something very magnificent about it. Wind emerged from the rift, spreading like a blooming flower in front of the cold eyes of the three gods.
They now saw the choice made by the party in the Mountain and Sea Region... and it made everything clear.
On the other side of the rift was the Mountain and Sea Region in Firemoon Darkheaven territory. And in the middle of it all were the Ninedawns Forbidden Lands. The entire area was collapsing, making it possible to see the sealed spider in the shrine in the cave.
However, the glow coming from the shrine was dim, and the spider god was trembling visibly while simultaneously withering. What was withering wasn’t just īts flesh and blood, but also īts karma. Even the time within īt was quietly fading. All of it was being taken away by the hand that existed right in front of īt.
It was black and withered, and belonged to a person clad in a black, hooded robe. The robe flapped wildly, but concealed the face of the person within it, though they emanated a sense of profound ancientness. As he stood in front of the spider god, his own hand began to fill in with flesh, all while the spider god shriveled up.
īt wanted to struggle, but īts fate had already been set, and īt couldn’t do anything to change that.
Around the time the spider god crumbled into ash, the hand had gone from being dead to alive. It had returned from many years in the past, and was now a ruddy, healthy color. Then the wind finally lifted the hood of the cloak, revealing a head of gray hair and an ancient face.
Because of all the years that had passed, the individual looked like both a person and a ghost, but at the same time, resembled neither. After absorbing the spider god, though, his face filled in with flesh. Despite still being covered with wrinkles, it was still possible to see some of the majesty of the statue of him that existed among the Firemoon Darkheaven people.
Tens of thousands of years ago, this person had united the Firemoon Darkheavens, and had been venerated for ages. He was... the grand steward!
As he looked at the lands around him, it was as if he was looking into the history of the countless species that existed. He saw the Firemoons rise to prominence. He saw the wars that raged between the species. He saw the times the Firemoons fought with humans. He saw how the three gods watched over and protected the Firemoons. And he saw where the Firemoons stood now in Revered Ancient.
That gaze took in all of the history from ancient to modern. At the same time, his aura surged, becoming stronger and more intense. It filled the Mountain and Sea Region, spreading out to affect the rest of Firemoon territory, and causing dramatic effects in heaven and earth.
All Firemoon Darkheaven cultivators felt their blood react. That was especially true of the three stewards, who stepped out of their tents, their expressions those of shock. As they looked in the direction of the Mountain and Sea Region, they could sense that one of their most ancient ancestors had appeared. To the Firemoon Darkheaven people, this grand steward who had once unified their species occupied a place in their hearts that was equivalent to that of a god. All of them instinctively bowed in worship.
As they did, the grand steward looked up into the dome of heaven. Then he took a step, causing him to rise toward the rift in the sky.
He hadn’t just absorbed the time and flesh of the spider god. He had also taken... the spider’s authority over the god domain.
As he strode forth, that authority swept into his fate, bolstering his providence, and filling in any gaps. Sparks that had been extinguished tens of thousands of years ago were now restored. With each step he took, his personhood and life force both rose. Eventually, he reached the rift, and as the three gods watched, he stepped into the god domain.
Looking at the three gods, he spoke in a raspy voice.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
That voice rumbled like thunder out into the god domain, and it soon reached Xu Qing.
Xu Qing didn’t react. He recognized who this person was; within his mage trove, he could sense an immense grief that had been there for many years. In Ninedawns’ memory, the backstabbing was still very clear.... As of now, the karma of that backstabbing seemed to grow ever clearer.
Outside of the black hole, Sunfire and Moonfire did nothing as the grand steward approached. Starfire, meanwhile, looked at the black hole and coolly said, “We might as well begin.”
The grand steward looked around at the god domain. “There’s something I’ve been wondering about for many years,” he said. “And now I want to ask. Based on what I’ve heard the three of you say, this god domain was once your home. In that case, the infected godly entities here must have once been your people. Will you... miss them?”
The one to answer was Moonfire. “The North Emperor perished. Karma has been resolved. He is us. We are him.”
The grand steward asked nothing further.
Then Sunfire spoke in a voice full of majesty, which spread through the god domain and pierced into the voice.
“He who commands the Ancient is not empty; he is the Living Desolation. Sleeping until now, but disseminating time.
“All in the star ring are considered children; thus, myriad worlds use the address ‘father.’
“Today, the children of the North World—Sun, Moon, and Star—make five sacrifices to he who commands the ancient, an offering to the Father God!”
Sunfire’s voice swept through the god domain, each word provoking violent trembling, which built and built until it seemed all of Revered Ancient was being affected dramatically. Then, a huge sun rose up. Off to the side, Moonfire’s eyes were closed as a bright moon ascended. And Starfire’s eyes opened, causing boundless stars to fill the sky in the god domain.
The three gods were going to make a sacrifice to the broken face!
As of now, the wind wasn’t coming. The wind... was here!
Below within the black hole, the emperor’s corpse also trembled, all while the Captain laughed. Now Xu Qing understood everything.
The three gods’ goal was now plainly visible! Thēy wanted to make a sacrifice to the broken face of the god. When the broken face’s eyes opened, they would look at this god domain. When the broken face looked at something, it turned into a forbidden region. When the face looked at a forbidden region, it turned into a forbidden ground. When the face looked at a forbidden ground, it turned into a god domain. But... things were different when that gaze focused on a god domain!
Xu Qing had learned this information back at the red moon. When a god domain rose to a higher level, it became a god world!
Of course, that process would also involve an increase in level to whoever was lord of the god domain!!
Combined with what the Captain had said earlier, Xu Qing now understood that this was the path sought by the three gods. Thēy wanted to use identities as lords of a god domain to subsequently raise the god domain to a higher level, and thus skip the entire tribulation fire level and step right into being Flawless Gods.
That way, they wouldn’t have to deal with tribulations like those suffered by Crimson Mother or the spider god. With consummate providence, thēir path to the Altar God wouldn’t have any obstacle on it! As long as thēy could stockpile enough resources, thēy would definitely have hope when it came to Altar God!
It was a monumentally shocking level of destined opportunity, but it also came with a terrifying level of danger. After all, Crimson Mother had failed to do the same thing.
That said, there were differences between the three gods and Crimson Mother. In Crimson Mother’s case, the situation came without invitation. In the case of the three gods, thēy were the ones setting up the situation. One involved no preparation at all, while the other involved meticulous preparation.
How very impressive! Xu Qing was deeply moved. Back in the Crimson Mother incident, his cultivation base had been too weak, and thus, he had no way to be involved with something of this level. But now... things were different.
Meanwhile, things outside were still developing.
Sunfire’s voice echoed in the god domain.
“First sacrifice. Offer all living beings from seven regions!”
Sunfire’s shocking words reached Revered Ancient, spread into the seven regions that had ultimately been conquered by the Firemoon Darkheaven people. Secret preparations that had been carried out for years were now coming to fruition.
The seven regions took up a huge area. And now, within those seven regions, royal Firemoon Darkheaven auras surged, changing fate and altering karma.
Taking in the seven regions as a whole, the Firemoon army was like a dark cloud causing sky-obscuring, sun-blocking pressure to weigh down everywhere.
In front of the gathered armed forces were innumerable prisoners of war. Shockingly, each region featured prisoners of war from a different species. Seven species. Seven groups of prisoners. There were no exceptions! The prisoners were on their knees as Sunfire’s voice again echoed throughout the seven regions with royal dignity.
“Let the blood sacrifice begin! Execute them!”
That command caused a great massacre to unfold in the seven regions. In the shortest of moments, countless deaths occurred. It wasn’t necessarily something unprecedented and unduplicated in all history, but it was definitely something rarely seen even within a period of tens of thousands of years.
Rivers of blood flowed. Deceased souls filled the sky. Some tried to escape. Some tried to fight back. But they couldn’t break free. Their fate had been sealed.
What was more, as the event was carried out, it became evident that there was something else special about those specific seven species. Each had a different color blood!
Red. Orange. Yellow. Emerald. Green. Blue. Violet. One color for each region.
In the region where the blood was red, the slaughtered species were not humans. However, it was possible to imagine that, given how domineering the Firemoon Darkheavens were, it was entirely conceivable that they had originally intended to get prisoners from human territories. In hindsight, it now made perfect sense why the Nightshades had originally marshaled their troops.
Had that original war led to the defeat of the humans.... Had the Dawning Suns not been unleashed.... Had Grand Emperor Swordsage’s final sword attack not been carried out....
Except, history isn’t about possibilities, it’s about results.
As the seven types of blood from seven species flowed in seven regions, corpses were piled up and seas of blood spread out. Deceased souls created something like a world of ghosts. That... was the sacrificial offering!
High above Revered Ancient was the most paramount of entities, the one that could crush all cultivators, species, lives, and even all other gods. The broken face. And right now, hīs eyes were twitching.
Next, another voice rang out from the god domain.
“Second sacrifice. Offer the countless souls that have fallen in battle!”
That voice didn’t come from Sunfire, but rather... from the grand steward.
That was because this sacrificial offering was that of the heroic souls of the Firemoon Darkheaven people who had died in battle over the past many tens of thousands of years! The Firemoons also had to make a sacrifice! It was a mark of sincerity. And it was the mark of a true sacrifice!
There was only one person from ancient times until now who could talk of offering souls that had fallen in battle, and that was not one of the three gods. The only one who could conform to that karma was the very first grand steward of the Darkheaven Archmage people, who could only be replaced by one of the current stewards if he truly died.
In an instant, the shrine halls associated with the three stewards trembled as heroic spirits swept out. They were souls that had fallen in battle over tens of thousands of years, and they were all willing to be sacrificial offerings!
Members of the Firemoon species looked on silently. From the stewards to the commoners, they felt grief building within them. However, this was fate!
Their fates were the same as the fate of the grand steward who had stepped out of history. When he made his backstabbing choice, it was partially because of the promise of godly ascension, but also, it was for the long-term good of his people. He knew that the legacy of Ninedawns the antemage wouldn’t be enough to kill the spider god. And he didn’t want the fate of the Darkheaven Archmage people to rest solely on the mages’ ancestral grand spell formation.
“Ninedawns made a choice that could protect our people temporarily. I chose to protect our people from generation to generation in the future! History isn’t about possibilities, it’s about results! And thus, I have no regrets!”