NOVEL WEB Chapter 836: 586
Boom!
In the deep mountains of Kyushu, amidst flashes of lightning and booming thunder, roaring winds swept through. Atop a black altar overflowing with fresh blood and echoing with the wails of souls, millions from the Human Clan were being sacrificed alive. As the fiery blood light burned, a blurry gateway emerged.
Crack!
Blood-red lightning streaked across the sky, its myriad sparks dazzling as they cut through the heavens above, splitting them apart. Even the hundred thousand great mountains, the first forbidden zone in Kyushu, shivered at this moment, despite its unique environment.
The void shattered, the earth quaked, and ghosts and gods howled as blood-red lightning intertwined. The world rumbled ominously, a sight so terrifying it seemed as though heaven and earth themselves were in fury—as if the will of the heavens was manifesting, ready to sever anything that violated the rules!
Yet this black altar was truly extraordinary, crafted from rare materials of the upper realm and inscribed with numerous arrays. It had been meticulously prepared by the five holy lands of the upper realm long ago, now transported to Kyushu.
Moreover, with tens of millions of souls and their essence sacrificed alive, it withstood most of the divine wrath, maintaining the crossworld transportation.
Above the altar, the blurry gateway glimmered and then shook, bridging the upper and lower realms as if something was about to come through.
Boom!
The earth shook violently, and a huge blood-red sun appeared above the hundred thousand great mountains, creating a scene so terrifying it would have caused an immense earthquake if it were anywhere else.
However, this was in the hundred thousand great mountains, where ancient residual rules lingered, enveloping all anomalies, preventing them from spreading outside.
At the same time, the five overlords of the upper realm concealed the heavens, leaving the entire Kyushu unaware of everything that occurred here.
The master of Diancang Pavilion, Zhou Yuan, stood aside. Although he had completed everything, the scene before him still sent chills down his spine.
Those blood-red thunderbolts, even just a sliver, could annihilate him instantly, despite his reaching the great perfection of Divine Intent Realm, leaving his soul to dissipate.
Because they represented the will of Kyushu heaven and earth, their power enigmatic, beyond human resistance!
"Was it a success?" Zhou Yuan murmured, looking at the distant blurry gateway. If not for the protective charm given by the overlord of the upper realm, his role as the instigator would have led him to be pulverized by divine intent.
Hum!
At that moment, the glowing gateway trembled, accompanied by a thunderous noise. The earth split and thunder roared simultaneously, as a cyan-gold treasure box burst forth amidst the endless thunder, breaking free from the constraints of Kyushu's heavenly intent and descending from the upper realm to Kyushu!
Transported across worlds, traversing despite thousands of thunderbolts, divine slashes—it remained unharmed.
This was the World Treasure Box, created at a great cost by the five holy masters of the upper realm's holy lands!
"Success!"
Seeing this, Zhou Yuan couldn't contain his excitement, clenching his fist tightly—he had not busied himself in vain.
Rumble!
But just then, when everything should have ended, world-ending lightning flickered, striking the recently emerged World Treasure Box in Kyushu from the crossworld gateway.
Crack!
Brilliant electrical arcs spread across the sky as if the god of thunder, wielding divine punishment, had been enraged. An immense thunderbolt nearly split the entire hundred thousand mountains apart, illuminating the whole area!
Bang!
As the thunder struck, the World Treasure Box shuddered violently. Zhou Yuan had not anticipated that such an event would occur at the last moment, leaving him trembling with fear.
"Nothing's gone wrong, has it?" Zhou Yuan frowned, anxious and worried that at the last moment, all would be lost.
At this moment, all anomalies had vanished, and devastation surrounded him, with craters everywhere. The black altar had been dismantiled, and amid the thick smoke, the cyan-gold World Treasure Box lay on the ground, half of it charred and indented, without any sign of movement for a long time.
More valuable than a spiritual treasure, the World Treasure Box was forged from various rare materials by five overlord-level figures, containing a small world within. Even in the upper realm, it was incredibly precious, and even a powerful being from there would struggle to destroy it.
Yet now, it was damaged, half of it charred and indented—a testament to the severity of the attack it had endured in its crossworld arrival.
And this was after the majority of it was mitigated by the five overlords of the upper realm!
At this moment, in the upper realm, the five overlords' breaths were slightly disordered. They looked on with deep, expressionless gazes, like ancient, immortal demons and gods, observing the lower realm.
They had done what they could; if it still failed, they would have to think of another way.
Whether it was for the heavenly seed or the nine cauldrons, they were not willing to give up!
And Gu Chen, the Vault of Sky Sword Sect's sect master, was even more determined in his intent to kill, wanting him to die beyond a doubt!
A long time passed in silence at the site, and Zhou Yuan was tense to the extreme, hardly daring to breathe heavily as he stared intently ahead.
Half an hour later, just as Zhou Yuan was becoming disheartened, a metallic ringing sounded— the World Treasure Box on the ground began to tremble.
"Hmm?!" This development immediately startled Zhou Yuan, who watched without blinking.
Clang!
Another loud noise echoed, striking the dented and charred part of the World Treasure Box, proving that the strong being inside had not perished and was preparing to emerge.
Thud!
Another heavy strike resonated and an invisible shockwave spread, making the earth tremble. The World Treasure Box was incredibly solid, and the strength of the mighty beings within it was astonishing, causing Zhou Yuan's heart to quake with fear.
The sound of divine generals forging iron from the heavens continued without cease, the strong beings inside delivering relentless blows upon the World Treasure Box. After what seemed like an eternity, with a humming sound, the World Treasure Box glowed, radiating divine brilliance, and about a dozen creatures emerged at this location!
Among this group were elderly men, young people, and middle-aged men, some alive, some already dead.
This time, nearly twenty Heavenly Being realm martial artists descended to this world, but because of the final strike, even the World Treasure Box couldn't fully withstand the blow, leading to some of the Heavenly Being realm perishing.
At this moment, upon the great earth before the fallen World Treasure Box, stood nine figures proudly with radiant light shimmering around them like nine deities that had descended!
However, they too were not unscathed, all sustaining injuries, their garments stained with blood, pallor on their faces, as the last strike from the Heavenly Will nearly wiped them all out.
"Heaven's intent is like a blade, truly not just a figure of speech," said a young man, his voice tinged with lingering fear.
"But in the end, we succeeded and descended to this lower realm!" another spoke.
"I'm eager to slaughter far and wide, to taste the flavor of the beings in this lower realm," spoke a burly man with a fierce appearance, his pupils flickering with bloodlust, full of the desire to attack.
The other eight, upon hearing this, frowned slightly, obviously not fond of the burly man's inclinations.
"Hmm, I can feel the suppression of the Nine Provinces' world rules, we need to spend some time adapting and resisting them."
"The laws here are incomplete, far inferior to the higher realms. The stability of heaven and earth is severely lacking, which leads to every move we make here possessing the terrifying power to destroy heaven and earth, much like those of significant stature in the upper realms."
"This is a rare advantage that allows us to experience the feeling of being a 'Holy Master' ahead of time."
The nine Heavenly Beings communicated their opinions on arriving at the Nine Provinces.
"My lords." At this time, Zhou Yuan, the master of Diancang Pavilion, approached and bowed respectfully to the nine figures.
After all, even injured and suppressed by heaven and earth, they were Heavenly Beings, not ones he could afford to provoke lightly.
The first to speak, a young man from Burning Heaven Valley named Lang Tian, had an ardent aura and a handsome martial appearance. He turned to Zhou Yuan and said, "You shall brief us on the situation of this lower realm."
"Yes," Zhou Yuan nodded, and then he recounted the current situation of the Nine Provinces to the nine individuals from the lower realm.
"Well done," Lang Tian nodded after listening.
"Thank you for the compliment, my lord," the master of Diancang Pavilion, Zhou Yuan, said quickly.
"I can't wait any longer, I want to unleash a massacre!" exclaimed the burly man with a ferocious demeanor, like a wild beast ready to devour, eager to leave the Hundred Thousand Mountains and venture into the outside world.
"I would advise you to be more rational," said Qi Jin from the Pure Yang Martial Sect, his body emanating the radiance of the sun, "Now that we have descended from the heavens, although we are Heavenly Beings, we are injured and suppressed by this land's heaven and earth; how much of our true power can we exert?"
The handsome Lang Tian nodded, saying, "There may be no powerful beings in the lower realm, but do not underestimate Gu Chen. You know he has fought and slain a demonic being one-on-one. With your current state, are you certain you can confront him?"
The other six remained silent, clearly not planning to reveal themselves at this moment, all due to their wariness of Gu Chen.
Having reached this level and cultivated to the peak of the Heavenly Being realm, they were naturally not fools; they wouldn't trouble themselves without absolute strength.
Only this burly man, fixated solely on slaughter, thought that coming to the lower realm meant he could do as he pleased.
"The nine of us joining forces, aren't we more than capable of dealing with a lower realm insect?" the burly man scoffed.
Yet, the other eight remained silent, simply giving him a cold stare.
Seeing this, the burly man understood that although their combined force could indeed overcome Gu Chen, it was very likely that some of them would perish, which is why no one wanted to be the first to step forward and sacrifice themselves at this time.
After all, they each had their own purposes in descending to this realm.
"For the time being, we shall remain here. Go collect information outside and find the exact location of the Nine Cauldrons. If any major event occurs in the Nine Provinces, especially concerning that Gu Chen, you must inform us immediately," said Lang Tian.
"Yes," Zhou Yuan bowed respectfully, acknowledging the command.
Soon, Zhou Yuan left, and the Hundred Thousand Mountains fell silent once again.
The arrival of the nine Heavenly Beings, if known to the world, would be a staggering storm that could sweep across the entire land!
Alas, all of this took place within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, unknown to others.
A calamity aimed at the entirety of the Nine Provinces was about to unfold in the near future.
The nine Heavenly Beings were sure to turn this world upside down.
And so, as Zhou Yuan departed, the nine Heavenly Beings transformed into radiant lights that shot toward the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The place fell into serenity once more, save for the ashes on the ground and the myriad of cracks as wide as canyons, bearing witness to the events that had transpired.
For the Nine Provinces, the case of the missing people came to a close with this event, and although the prime culprit was not apprehended, there were no further disappearances, and everything slowly returned to calm, with even the demons seldom seen.
Remarkably, the whole world was plunged into a period of tranquility; no more mysterious disappearances troubled the people, who could finally rest easy. Only Emperor Ji Yuan and others from Da Xia remained vigilant, discreetly investigating every trace.
Soon, as time passed unceasingly, a fleeting year and a half went by just like that.