Chapter 257: Reigning Over the World (26) - Re-entering Tianyuan

Time flowed on. A few months passed.

Jiuyou soon received a message: the fellow Daoist from the Righteous Path had stepped into the Heavenly Abyss Sea. With this, all six of the current era's Deity Transformation cultivators were gathered in this realm. Communicating across vast distances, they had already agreed to meet at the entrance to the Mount Tianyuan Mystic Realm and investigate the Blood Demon's origins together.

Jiuyou did not delay. Golden light abruptly surged around him, transforming into a blinding rainbow that pierced the sea of clouds. Tearing through the sky, he crossed a thousand miles in the blink of an eye, speeding toward the Mount Tianyuan Mystic Realm.

When he arrived at the entrance, the figures of Hongce and Bai Xuanyi were already standing silently in the air. Their auras were as calm as deep water, waiting for the others to gather.

Jiuyou had already sent word ahead to the Three Alliances' Nascent Soul cultivators stationed here. When these high-level guards learned that five other Deity Transformation masters were descending upon the Heavenly Abyss Sea alongside Jiuyou, they were profoundly shaken, struck with absolute awe.

Only now did the cultivators of the various factions realize the truth. Six existences standing at the very pinnacle of the world had crossed vast territories to gather in one place, and it certainly was not for idle conversation or discussing the Dao. Something earth-shattering was about to happen.

Undercurrents surged across the entire Heavenly Abyss Sea as countless cultivators wildly speculated. All clues pointed toward the bizarre Blood Demon sealed at Tianyuan, but no one could divine the hidden cause and effect in the slightest.

A short while later, the remaining three Deity Transformation cultivators tore through the sky one after another. Now, six supreme figures hung high above Tianyuan Mountain, standing apart in the void.

Countless cultivators watching from afar at the foot of the mountain held their breath, their eyes wide and their hearts churning with shock. Six Deity Transformation cultivators appearing in the world at the same time, their oppressive auras blanketing a thousand miles—this grand and majestic sight rivaled the legendary scene hundreds of years ago, when five Divine Lords worked together to seal the Blood Demon.

Six distinct divine lights intertwined and shot into the sky, hanging in the heavens like six dazzling suns. Their supreme might shook the surroundings, forcibly tearing apart the fragile spatial barriers. Cracks crisscrossed the void in a terrifying display destined to be recorded in the eternal epics of the Heavenly Abyss.

Without a single extra word, the six divine lights shot simultaneously into the turbulent flow of shattered space.

All of them were old monsters who had lived for over a thousand years. With exquisite movement techniques and heaven-reaching Divine Sense, they calmly wove through the violent, chaotic turbulence. They accurately locked onto a flickering point of light deep within the dark void—the mystic realm's origin, swaying like an inextinguishable firefly—and swiftly charged inside.

Everyone simultaneously withdrew their escape light, their figures freezing in the void.

In an instant, six vast and boundless Deity Transformation auras swept out in all directions, crashing down over everything. The low-level monsters entrenched within hundreds of miles were instantly crushed to meat paste by the majestic force, leaving not even bones behind. The demonic beasts slightly farther away were sent flying and heavily injured by the shockwaves, burying themselves in the dirt to tremble in fear, stripped of all their ferocity.

Jiuyou raised his eyes and quickly swept his gaze across the surroundings. The other Deity Transformation cultivators were also silently examining the landscape in every direction.

The Tianyuan Sacred Land, once famous throughout the entire Heavenly Abyss for its lush vegetation and abundant spiritual energy, had long lost its former glory. Everywhere they looked, there was only cracked black soil and withered branches. Desolate bones were scattered across the ground in a picture of total devastation. A bizarre aura of decay and rot permeated the air, and thin wisps of scarlet blood mist drifted with the wind before melting into the void, leaving behind a pungent, bloody stench.

The deeper they looked into the mystic realm, the more terrifying the desolate ruins became. Layers of deathly gloom stacked upon each other, thoroughly obliterating the vibrant life the sacred land had once possessed.

A dark look flashed through Jiuyou's eyes.

Hundreds of years ago, he had set foot here and fortuitously seized a Longevity Divine Fruit to extend his life. Back then, this place had been brimming with immortal opportunity and swirling spiritual energy, revered as a sacred land by all the cultivators in the sea region. Over a mere few centuries, the blue seas turn into mulberry fields. The treasure mountain had sunk into a deathly, ruined purgatory of demonic monsters. The impermanence of the world left him with a sense of melancholy.

Standing in the void, he gazed out over the endless ruins and sighed, shaking his head.

"In years past, prosperous mountains gathered immortal charm; in today's winds, ruined earth buries faded glory. The blue seas turn into mulberry fields, and the affairs of the world are impermanent. No matter how prosperous this place once was, it is now just a land of death. Fellow Daoists, let us go," Bai Xuanyi chanted softly. He sounded as if he were saying this specifically for Jiuyou to hear, or perhaps for all of them.

Everyone withdrew their sighs and gathered their thoughts. Five extremely condensed divine lights stood out starkly against the withered, desolate earth. Like five meteors piercing the gloom, they dragged long, dazzling tails of light behind them, carving arcs through the void as they shot straight toward the foot of Tianyuan Mountain.

As they flew low, the ruined and tragic state of the mystic realm was fully revealed to them. The situation was several times more dangerous than the intelligence previously sent back by the cultivators.

After hundreds of years of demonic corruption, the spiritual energy of the entire region had dried up and hostile energy ran rampant. The closer they drew to the heart of Tianyuan Mountain, the heavier and thicker the surrounding pressure became. Even before they reached the foot of the mountain, many bloodthirsty monsters with strength comparable to Golden Core Cultivators had already appeared, roaming among the wasteland and dry bones.

With casual waves of their hands, the group effortlessly crushed the demonic beasts in their path. Without pausing for even a moment, they landed steadily at the foot of Tianyuan Mountain. They spread out to investigate and successively found three Ancient Teleportation Arrays left behind from ancient times. However, they were all ruined and collapsed. The array patterns were broken and dim, and their foundations were covered in cracks, having long since lost their ability to function.

The group stopped in front of one of the broken Teleportation Arrays, the atmosphere growing heavy.

Hongce slowly stepped forward and crouched down. His fingertips gently brushed over the array foundation patterns covered in mottled cracks. With a focused gaze, he meticulously deduced the array's surviving aura and structure.

Jiuyou stood silently to the side, understanding perfectly. He had long heard of Hongce's world-shocking talent. Not only was his star-chess deduction unparalleled in the current era, but his attainments in array formations and alchemy were also extremely profound. In the past, the methods for utilizing the Heavenly Palace's star power and the Ancient Teleportation Array connecting to the Heavenly Palace had both been deduced and repaired by him. He could truly be called a grandmaster of myriad arts.

On second thought, anyone who could stand firmly in the Deity Transformation Realm and live for over a thousand years possessed peerless fortuitous encounters and an unyielding Dao heart. They were all peerless geniuses who dominated their own domains, and each possessed their own ultimate skills. It was not actually all that surprising.

After a brief silence, Jiuyou took a half-step forward and voiced the shared question in everyone's hearts, asking in a calm and steady tone, "Fellow Daoist Hong, is there a way to repair this array?"

Hongce's brows tightly furrowed. His eyes were deadlocked on the broken array patterns as his fingers gently stroked his long beard. He remained silent in deep thought for a long time.

Unable to hold back, old man Myriad Manifestations quickly stepped forward, his tone urgent. "Old Hong, with your attainments in the Dao of Arrays, can you repair this array? If even you are helpless, the rest of us definitely will not know where to start."

Hongce slowly shook his head, his expression grim. His words caused everyone's slightly settled hearts to hang in suspense once more. "This old man has spent half his life studying the Dao of Arrays. I can see that this array's structure is archaic and profound, bearing a striking resemblance to the Heavenly Palace's Teleportation Array. A method for repairing it does indeed exist, but it would be extremely time-consuming. Without a shortcut, it would take at least seven or eight years of painstaking effort, as well as the collection of numerous heavenly materials and earthly treasures to patch up the source of the ruined array foundation."

As these words fell, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive.

Right at that moment, Sacred Venerable Yuan Huang—who had been shrouded in dense black mist with hostile energy surging around him the entire time—suddenly spoke up. His voice was hoarse and grating, hardly sounding human. Carrying a cold, raspy tone born of years of silence, he broke the quiet atmosphere. "Fellow Daoist Hong, is there a shortcut we can take? We do not have the time to waste several years in this desolate wasteland. Furthermore, this place is now the Blood Demon's territory. Whether it is for the location of the ascension passage or the safety of our fellow Daoists, we should not linger for long."

Yuan Huang sounded like he was concerned about everyone, but just how much truth lay in his words remained unknown.

Hongce slowly straightened his posture and raised his eyes to the shattered, gloomy sky. His gaze was deep and unfathomable, hiding a sense of caution as he said, "There is indeed a shortcut, but it is extremely dangerous. If everyone is unwilling to wait, we can give it a try. It is just that the variables with this method are huge. The slightest carelessness will trigger spatial turbulence and plunge us into danger. This old man is stating this clearly in advance. If something truly does go wrong, do not blame me for not warning you."