Calamity of Tomorrow

Heavenly Court, Sky Sea Pavilion.

Li Zhengdao stood atop the palace, gazing at the tumultuous, ever-changing sea of clouds before him, hands clasped behind his back, deep in thought.

The sea of clouds seemed boundless to the eye. Under the control of the Heavenly Court's arrays, it constantly churned and rolled, simulating various forms of clouds found between heaven and earth. One moment they took the shape of fish scales, the next they became block-like, and then they transformed into cotton-like wisps.

In this ceaseless transformation, thunder occasionally streaked across, accompanied by wind and rain, while the fog and snow altered at random.

This sea of clouds had been specially created by Li Zhengdao for his cultivation of the Heavenly Cloud Saint Technique. As he watched the unpredictable clouds, difficult to fathom, the power of his Primordial Spirit inside him also seemed to become illusory and indefinable, as if both present and otherwise.

At that moment, a girl dressed in a tender yellow blouse, with a jade hairpin tucked in her hair, exuding extraordinary beauty, slowly approached with a tone of mockery, "Being defeated by a mere mortal, you've truly brought shame to the ranks of the Heavenly Court."

Li Zhengdao glanced at the newcomer but did not immediately speak.

Within the Heavenly Court, the only one who could speak to him in such a manner was another Heavenly Lord of the court, Ming Xing True Monarch.

This Ming Xing True Monarch was not only more highly skilled than he was but also held a higher position within the Heavenly Court, enjoying the deep trust of the Haotian God Emperor.

So, after some thought, Li Zhengdao just inquired, "Does His Majesty have any instructions?"

"The God Emperor has no time for such trivial matters as yours." Ming Xing True Monarch asked, "What's the deal with Zhou Bai? Your message was vague and unclear. With your cultivation level, how could you be defeated by a mortal?"

"Zhou Bai…" Li Zhengdao thought for a moment, not revealing everything he knew but selectively said, "His mastery over virtual space power is profound. His words can warp the mind, even causing Void Pulses to infiltrate the Material World, triggering distortions..."

Li Zhengdao briefly described Zhou Bai's focused abilities demonstrated on the battlefield, and Ming Xing True Monarch listened intently.

By the end, her expression became gravely serious, "Such a degree of virtual power cannot be taken lightly. Why did you let him go? Are you truly unable to defeat him?"

Even though Ming Xing True Monarch initially mocked Li Zhengdao for losing to a mortal, she didn't quite believe that a god with a Dao conversion rate nearing 140% would lose to a mortal.

Li Zhengdao retreating must have had its reasons.

Li Zhengdao: "Until the moment I retreated, I couldn't find his true body.

Zhou Bai could remotely control others to become his puppets and fight for him. He could also summon his powers from afar, and his avatars are almost indistinguishable from his original body, able to use various abilities of Zhou Bai..."

"Of course, I have the power to annihilate all his strength left on site, but that would not harm his true body. Instead, if I engaged too deeply with the void and distorted forces, I could lower my Dao conversion rate, which is not worthwhile."

Hearing Li Zhengdao's explanation, Ming Xing True Monarch nodded her head, acknowledging his words as she immediately sensed the troublesome nature of Zhou Bai, "Not using his true body but sending out avatars for remote combat is indeed a headache-inducing strategy."

Li Zhengdao: "The combat strength Zhou Bai has displayed far surpasses that of an ordinary mortal cultivator. But in fact, his raw power is not so worrisome, it's the unpredictability of his combat approach that's truly vexing."

"Speaking with him, reading his messages, might result in a twisted mind."

"Communicating with those he controls, those who have had their minds twisted, could also lead to being affected."

"Going all out, all you kill are his puppets or perhaps an avatar."

"However, those of us who fight against him, even if we are slightly inattentive during the battle, could possibly suffer mental trauma, or even walk a path towards aberration," he said.

The more Ming Xing True Monarch listened, the more he frowned. Zhou Bai was like a hedgehog; his actual strength was not strong, but he was capable of causing a bloody mess.

As for such an enemy, action must certainly be taken, but Ming Xing True Monarch definitely did not want to deal with it himself.

Just then, at the center of the Miluo Heavenly Palace, a golden beam of light shot up into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, it spread out, illuminating the entire palace and Central City.

The golden glow fell down, making everyone bathed in it feel a sense of comfort.

Li Zhengdao, too, was bathed in this golden light; he even felt that the degree of Dao assimilation he had lost this time, under the envelopment of this golden light, seemed to stir slightly as if it wanted to rise again.

He looked in the direction of the falling golden light in shock: "Is it His Majesty?"

"It is the Taihao Twelve True Tribulations. This supreme technique should not have been possible to execute once the Heavenly Dao became twisted..." Ming Xing True Monarch's face showed a surprised joy, "Has His Majesty finally comprehended the Heavenly Dao successfully? Now we may be able to restore our cultivation."

Li Zhengdao's face turned stern. He knew that ever since the Heavenly Dao became twisted, the Emperor of the Heavens had been contemplating the Heavenly Dao and restoring his cultivation, intent on creating a path suitable for immortals and gods to cultivate after the variation and distortion of the Heavenly Dao.

And now, the Emperor of the Heavens seemed to show signs of success.

Just at this moment, a majestic voice descended as though from the heavens, directly entering both their ears.

As the voice arrived, the whole world seemed to fall into a halt. Everything between heaven and earth seemed to disappear before the eyes of the two great True Monarchs, leaving only that voice in their consciousness.

"Ming Xing, Haoran, having gained insight from my comprehension of the Heavenly Dao, I have created the Tai Wei Nine Heavens Algorithm, which can measure the Heavenly Dao. Devote yourselves to its study, and strive to restore your cultivation as soon as possible," said the voice.

With this message transmitted into their sea of consciousness by the Emperor of the Heavens, the two True Monarchs recalled carefully, searching their memories, and discovered that a technique named Tai Wei Nine Heavens Algorithm was imprinted in their minds without their knowing.

The memory was so profound as if they had been studying and contemplating it for many years.

Feeling this, Li Zhengdao's heart shook: "The Divine Emperor's Divine Skills are becoming more and more unfathomable. Is this Tai Wei Nine Heavens Algorithm meant to be passed on to all the immortals and gods? It's just that I don't know how effective it will be," he thought.

Then, he recalled the content of the Tai Wei Nine Heavens Algorithm and his face suddenly changed.

"A change of heaven is upon us," he said.

The attention of the two great True Monarchs immediately focused on the Emperor of the Heavens and the Tai Wei Nine Heavens Algorithm.

They pondered what actions to take next, how to maximize their interests, and how during this new round of competition they could gain more advantages to maintain their status as True Monarchs and continue to stand at the upper echelons of the immortals and gods.

Having gone through the distortion of the Heavenly Dao, although they have been trying to restore their cultivation over the past hundred years, most immortals and gods have only reached a degree of Dao assimilation between 110% to 140%, a gap that can be described as the smallest in history.

They could already imagine that once the restoration of cultivation truly began to accelerate, a new shuffle would likely come upon the four branches of heaven and Wanxian Island.

Although they, as True Monarchs, were not afraid, they absolutely gave it utmost importance.

No one would be willing to be trampled down in this new round of competition.

As for Zhou Bai, they were no longer too concerned.

Once their cultivation was restored, they regarded Zhou Bai and the like as easily crushed by a flip of the hand.

...

In West Mountain City, the ten Celestial Gods spread out in ten different positions, each with their own subordinates behind them.

The majestic power of the Primordial Spirit spread through the air, seemingly about to tear the space itself apart.

It had been many years since all ten Celestial Gods had marched out together, creating such a grand spectacle. At this moment, their slightly released powers and auras overlapped one another were enough to make humans within several miles tremble in fear, unable to muster even a trace of resistance.

The Heavenly Demon stood behind his father, the Ghost Slayer God, not daring to lift his head as if he were counting ants.

He couldn't help but think, "A cultivator with the heart of a strong person, even when bathed in the aura of these ten Celestial Gods, would still stand tall and proudly, with no thought of submission."

"But right now, I wish I could kneel on the ground and kowtow to these bosses."

The Heavenly Demon lamented in his heart, "The gap between Celestial Gods and mortals is too vast. Why should a humble weakling like me be dragged into this kind of battle? Ordinary weaklings on such a battlefield would probably be reduced to cannon fodder within minutes."

"At least I'm not an ordinary weakling but rather the son of the leader of the thirty-six scattered immortals, the Ghost Slayer God. I should be fine, right?"

With his mind full of insecurity and all sorts of speculations, he looked up towards the other side and saw a young girl with long, dark hair sitting leisurely in a lounge chair, her bare feet swinging casually, the bells on her feet chiming crisply with her movements.

It was none other than the Plague Department's Si Yi True Monarch, and behind her was her daughter, Si Yun, who had also participated in the debates of Daluo Heaven and had crossed swords with Zhou Bai, a godly being.

Although Si Yi True Monarch was very attractive, the Heavenly Demon dared not look too long and his gaze shifted to another side, where Lei Department's Marshal Fan Ming of Jiu Xiao stood.

These two, along with his father, the Ghost Slayer God, and the supreme commander of this battle, Xiang Tiandi, were the four most powerful Celestial Gods present.

To the due north, Xiang Tiandi's eyes were downcast as he spoke lightly, "Have you seen the battle reports from East Flower City?"

The news from East Flower City had already reached West Mountain City, and as the high ranks of the Celestial Court, the Celestial Gods present knew far more than the ordinary people.

After all, both Li Zhengdao and Wan Xing True Monarch, the main figures involved, were to report to the Celestial Court.

They naturally knew the full extent of the battle far better than outsiders did.

Yan Zhen couldn't help but speak, "Li Xiuzhu, along with Jiaojiao and Zhou Bai, managed to force back Hao Ran True Monarch and Wan Xing True Monarch. It seems that the three of them have teamed up, and I'm afraid we may encounter them during our siege of the Sky Flipping Sect."

"Fortunately, the capabilities of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword have already been exposed."

Now that the ten Celestial Gods had descended upon West Mountain City, the entire city was severely suppressed, basically operating entirely at the will of the ten Celestial Gods.

A massive number of troops were dispatched, on one hand to capture the Sky Flipping Sect's spies within the city, and on the other to search for relics of the Sky Flipping Sect in the wilderness.

Along with such a costly capture and search, more than a dozen Sky Flipping Sect strongholds in the wild were uprooted in one fell swoop.

Afterwards, the Sky Flipping Sect chose to retract their forces, but as the Celestial Court continued to narrow the search area, the Sky Flipping Sect's main base was also on the verge of exposure.

Hearing what Yan Zhen said, Ming Yue the Immortal sneered, "The Blood Transformation Divine Sword was lost by you, luckily it wasn't an apocalyptic mutated weapon. Otherwise, if the mountains and rivers shattered and all beings suffered, it would all be on your head."

Yan Zhen's eyes flickered with a touch of cold light, he glanced at Ming Yue the Immortal and then stopped talking, after all, on the matter of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword being snatched away, he was indeed in the wrong.

The Ghost Slaying God said, "I've read the battle report, Zhou Bai's abilities must not be underestimated. Although his realm is not as high as ours, his abilities are too unpredictable, nearly impossible to guard against. Coupled with various puppets and avatars, he is even more difficult to handle."

The ten immortals present all showed a serious look; although they normally hold superiority over the human race, not a single one of them lacked combat experience. Confronted with the abilities Zhou Bai had displayed, all of them showed vigilance and concern.

Even more shocking was within the heart of the Heavenly Demon; news about Zhou Bai had not yet formally spread in West Mountain City, and this was his first time hearing about Hao Ran the Heavenly Monarch being pushed back. Seeing the immortals here attaching such importance to Zhou Bai, discussing methods to deal with him, brought him an unparalleled shock.

He couldn't help but think: 'Can a mortal... really pose such a great threat to immortals?'

Not just him, but also the human cultivators standing behind the other immortals, all felt solemn about this news, as if their worldviews had been completely refreshed.

Jiu Xiao Marshal Fan Ming, a man wearing armor with his entire face covered by a visor, said, "Zhou Bai's abilities are indeed peculiar and hard to guard against, and even Zi Yang True Monarch has mutated. If we are not careful and get affected by his abilities, it probably won't be easy for us either."

"I suggest that from today onwards, we close off our five senses and use magical treasures to sense the Material World to prevent being ambushed by Zhou Bai during the eradication of the Sky Flipping Sect."

All the immortals present chose to agree; nearly all of them had experienced the great war between humans and demons and understood the brutality of battle. They might look down on the human race in their attitudes, but when it came to fighting, they would never take it lightly and were always mindful of any variables.

Afterward, they discussed the upcoming plans to encircle and suppress the Sky Flipping Sect, and finally, Xiang Tiandi said, "His Majesty the Divine Emperor had an epiphany today about the Heavenly Dao and created the Taihao Nine Chen Calculations, which can deduce the mysteries of cultivation and aid us in restoring our powers."

Upon hearing Xiang Tiandi's words, everyone's attention was instantly captivated.

Xiang Tiandi inwardly sighed: 'What terrible timing, this siege upon the Sky Flipping Sect is probably going to encounter more complications.'

He could already predict that in the coming days, the immortals would surely immerse themselves in reading, studying, and comprehending the Taihao Nine Chen Calculations, focusing on regaining their cultivation.

But thankfully, with the ten great immortals, even if they took turns fighting and cultivating, it would still be enough to utterly crush the Sky Flipping Sect.

Overwhelming power allows for such caprice.

…

Seven days later, within the base of the Heavenly Demon, rows of mechanical minions were intertwined with each other, flying around inside the workshop. Accompanied by the continuous contractions and movements of tentacles, they were engaged in various mechanical modifications and assembly.

Zhou Bai checked the overall situation and nodded in satisfaction.

In these past days, he had been overseeing the repair and modification plan of the mechanical minions, and a new mechanical army was slowly being born.

In front of him, there were also one hundred and eight dragon scales taken from the body of Cang Long.

He was planning to use this batch of dragon scales to enhance his Apocalypse Heavenly Skeleton Armor.

The initial construction of the Apocalypse Heavenly Skeleton Armor, besides requiring level 3 Greedy Steel, which was comparable to materials for a Ninth Realm Magical Treasure, also needed Mutated Essence Blood, 108 True Dragon Scales, a complete Kunpeng Soul, and nine Ninth Realm inner cores.

Through the help of Jiaojiao and the elders, Zhou Bai fulfilled the requirement for Mutated Essence Blood. The other three, however, had not been obtained until after the battle in Donghua City, when Li Xiuzhu took away the great demon Zhu Yan, and he acquired the corpse of Cang Long.

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