Chapter 986: Godly Edict in the East
The sky rumbled, flowing like rippling fish scales, an effect that spread as far as the eye could see. It was as if some immense being were crushing the clouds and causing them to fall like flower petals down to the earth below. The dew in the clouds became like a timescape river, sweeping up the waves of time and then causing them to pause right over the Vivifiend holy land.
Pressure weighed down on the mountain, the cultivators inside the mountain, and on the sea in all directions. The Vivifiend holy land trembled, and ripples flowed out across the surface of their spell formation shield. The cultivators there were shaken and trembling down to their souls.
The water in the area sank down, forming a massive whirlpool that reached all the way down to the broken ruins of Forbidden by the Zombie.
It was profoundly eye-catching. But what was even more eye-catching were the waves in the dome of heaven, and the god that was emerging. This god had a godly aura that created an imperial robe. Destiny aura made an imperial crown above an expressionless face. Godfire roiled left and right, filled with a powerful air of death.
The god had two eyes that were as calm as dead water. That water was dead, but there was something terrifying beneath the surface that, if it were to erupt, would send out heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing force.
This was the godly authority of battle! The god that had emerged was one of the five zombie gods of humankind. This was... Emperor Eastglory!
When hē stepped out, hīs eyes were closed. But when thēy opened, thēy were pitch-black. At the same time, a sensation of destruction and power erupted within hīm. Hē was looking right at the Vivifiend holy land.
The holy land trembled as Eastglory’s voice echoed out.
“These are the words of Empress Summer Departure, who wishes to ask the Vivifiend holy land: Considering your species has polluted the karma of Imperial Tutor Xu Qing, does this mean you wish for your entire species to die?”
Eastglory’s voice rang out like heavenly thunder. Summer Departure was the empress’ new imperial name.
All of the Vivifiends in the holy land were terrified. Only Patriarch Vivifiend reacted with a mere frown. He opened his mouth to speak.
But then, in the River of Time in the dome of heaven, waves rolled out and the river water turned black as a sinister sensation erupted from within. Astonishingly, a host of corpses appeared within the river, howling in anguish.
Similarly, a never-ending host of corpses appeared within the Forbidden Sea. Forbidden by the Zombie seemed to be shaking with exceptional intensity. It was almost as if it were on the verge of awakening. And that was because the incoming darkness was a godly authority from the netherworld.
The aura of death spread, and from within the black river water overhead, a god emerged. This god also had a godly aura as an imperial robe, with an imperial crown made of destiny aura.
This was none other than Emperor Dark War! Of the five zombie emperors of humankind... two were present!
Countless Vivifiends were shaking uncontrollably within their holy land. Patriarch Vivifiend’s heart had sunk even further, and inside, he was sighing continuously. His gaze was focused on what lay outside the spell formation.
To the east was the seemingly endless army from Sea-Sealing County, all waiting in combat readiness. Clearly, a single command would send them out to crush anything in their path. To the south was King Firecrusher, killing intent raging, an army of human soldiers behind him pulsing with baleful auras. To the north was the contingent from the Moonrite Region, imposing, threatening, and deadly. To the west... were two gods, with mightiness that shook heaven and rocked the sea. Up above was Flame Phoenix, who had ceased his dive, but whose outstretched wings would shock the highest heavens.
Boundless killing intent from all directions was all weighing down on the Vivifiend holy land. And they had all come because of Xu Qing!
Patriarch Vivifiend could only sigh as his fear intensified.
Yet, there were still more people on the way!
The canopy of heaven was split open by a giant that was several tens of thousands of meters tall. It grinned viciously at the Vivifiend holy land as it held open the rift in heaven to reveal the world beyond. Astonishingly, what was visible on the other side of the rift was God Mountain, home to the three gods of the Firemoons. Though separated by the rift, the godly aura from there was still terrifying. Then a cold voice drifted out from God Mountain, through the rift, and down to the Forbidden Sea.
“Whoever harms our Grand Darkheaven makes an enemy of the Firemoon Darkheavens!”
The words affected the Forbidden Sea itself, causing currents of water to slow. And the Vivifiend holy land’s spell formation began to tremble.
Patriarch Vivifiend had a very serious expression on his face. He knew exactly who the Firemoon Darkheavens were, and was aware that Sunfire, Moonfire, and Starfire were all terrifying Flawless Gods. The events that were playing out were now enabling him to personally understand the truth about this Xu Qing, whom he had only heard about from reports up to this point. In the east of Revered Ancient, Xu Qing... was a very significant and important person.
Floating Fiend had trifled with someone he shouldn’t have trifled with. Patriarch Vivifiend understood that now. Except... if he admitted fault right now, then it wouldn’t matter whether Xu Qing was currently alive or dead. Floating Fiend... would perish. If Floating Fiend hadn’t become an Imperial Sovereign already, then it would have been a simple matter. The patriarch could just track him down and do what needed to be done to resolve the situation. After all, his death wouldn’t have been significant compared to the survival of the species.
But... as soon as Floating Fiend became an Imperial Sovereign, he became vitally important to the species.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, Patriarch Vivifiend sighed again. He knew that there was no way to determine the truth of the situation right now. But no matter which angle he analyzed the situation from, and no matter how much of a disadvantage he was in, he needed to protect Floating Fiend. It was the most sensible thing among all the insensible options.
Floating Fiend, I sure hope you made the right decision.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the forces arrayed against him. “I am the patriarch of the Vivifiend holy land, and I hereby swear upon the dao that I have never seen this Xu Qing that you seek. Xu Qing has nothing to do with me, and nothing to do with our holy lands. My species—”
Before he could finish speaking, his face fell, and he backed up, his cultivation base powering up.
He had taken Flame Phoenix seriously from the beginning. Moonrite couldn’t be underestimated. Sea-Sealing County and the human army caused his heart to sink. The arrival of the two gods from humankind made things very tricky. And the Firemoons were terrifying. But as of this moment, he was truly flabbergasted!
The moment he backed up, a woman’s hand appeared outside the holy land’s spell formation. It pushed down gently on the shield.
The moment that happened, the spell formation emitted rumbling sounds that quickly grew deafening, followed by loud cracking sounds. Crack spread out from the palm, quickly sweeping over the shield to create what looked like a spider web. As the entire mountain swayed back and forth, immense amounts of spirit energy poured into it to make repairs.
But the pressure from the hand stopped all of that. A domineering will crushed down with heaven-rending, earth-crushing force.
At its height, the spell formation that had protected the Vivifiend holy land for tens of thousands of years couldn’t have been broken open by anyone other than a Grand Emperor. But it had become rundown over the years, losing much of its power. And since a second Grand Emperor had never appeared among the Vivifiends, it had never been repaired.
As a result, the power of that hand was pushing it toward the brink of what it could sustain. The formation started cracking like a broken mirror....
Intense rumbling sounds exploded out. The formation shattered, and the shrapnel became a tempest that raged directly onto the holy land itself.
Patriarch Vivifiend’s expression flickered wildly as he threw his hands out and unleashed the power of his cultivation base in an attempt to block it. In the end he managed to block a portion of the tempest. But about thirty percent of the shrapnel hit the holy land.
The mountain quaked as crevices opened up all over it. The peak itself was wiped out. As for the Vivifiends... many of them didn’t even have a chance to react before they were shredded into ashes.
Only then did the owner of that hand slowly appear.
In that instant of revelation, everyone, be they in the east, west, south or north, regardless if they were from Sea-Sealing, Holytide, or Moonrite, bowed their heads. That included Flame Phoenix.
“Greetings, Empress!”
This person was none other than Empress Summer Departure of humankind. It was not the empress in the flesh, though, but rather, a projection. Even still, the Altar God might that weighed down was astonishing.
Shē stood as straight and tall as a mountain, surrounded by swirling destiny aura and dazzling light. Looking down at the rubble of the spell formation, the devastated holy land, and the pale-faced Patriarch Vivifiend, shē calmly said, “You’re right, Xu Qing isn’t here. And you don’t have anything to do with him. But you have another Imperial Sovereign involved. Plus a third person. Since you’d clearly rather die than cooperate, your Vivifiend holy land will hereby be sealed. And if Xu Qing is dead, then this place will be your tomb.”
With that, Altar God sealing power descended onto the Vivifiend holy land as well as every member of the species. It became like chains.
The patriarch was no exception. After being wrapped up in the chains, and feeling the immense pressure, all of the Vivifiends were compelled to drop to their knees. Some of them coughed up blood, and seemed like they might explode.
The patriarch trembled and tried to resist the pressure. His head swam.... Finally, he bowed his head.
The empress stood, looking into the depths of the Forbidden Sea, in the general direction of the continent of South Phoenix. A few breaths of time passed in which shē seemed very thoughtful.
Then shē looked away and coolly said, “Send an imperial decree throughout the east of Revered Ancient. Seal all borders. No teleports will be permitted. No traveling. No crossing between regions. Whoever finds Imperial Tutor Xu Qing will be awarded with a destined opportunity leading to godfire. All shall heed this order, including heaven, earth, rivers, lakes, plants, vegetation, living beings, heavenly daos, and gods!”
The empress’ words were heard throughout the east of Revered Ancient, as well as the Forbidden Sea. Countless living beings trembled in response. Godly entities stirred excitedly, and numerous nonhumans suddenly started thinking about the potential benefit to be had.
What happened next, though, shook everyone in the east of Revered Ancient even more deeply. Words echoed out from the direction of the Firemoons.
“Let the east of Revered Ancient heed the dharmic decree of the Firemoons. All living beings including gods will respect these words. Find our Grand Darkheaven Xu Qing. The reward is a destined opportunity leading to godfire.”
Humankind issued a degree. The Firemoons issued a decree. The two decrees overlapped, becoming the most paramount level of will possible in the east of Revered Ancient.
The echo of the words became like an asteroid slamming into the sea, sending out endless waves that became a tsunami and a hurricane at the same time. Every location in the east of Revered Ancient was abuzz. Even going back countless years to ancient times, nothing like this had ever happened in the east of Revered Ancient. People everywhere were going crazy for godfire, and as a result, were searching for Xu Qing!
That was especially true of the godly entities, who were more active than ever before. Gods were no exceptions. This was a destined opportunity leading to godfire! And not just leading to the chance to ignite it, but to the fire itself.
***
Deep in the Forbidden Sea, Floating Fiend had erased all traces of himself, and had even disguised himself as a human as he made his way carefully along. He had also transformed the tumor on his shoulder so that it looked like a huge sword strapped to his back.
Projecting his voice, he said, “That pagoda you’re in might be mysterious, you little brat. But there are some things which are simply foreordained.”
Inside that ‘sword’ was the pagoda, and inside of the pagoda, Xu Qing sat with his eyes closed as he meditated.