Chapter 262: A Millennium Passes

["A Demon Venerable of the Demon Abyss Realm?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Miduo's expression turned solemn. Even separated by two realms, that sigh stirred up intense worldly desires in his heart.]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword reacted similarly, the sword-shaped brand between his brows flaring to life.]

[You, however, felt fine. Your greatest strength lay in your soul, and with the enhancement of your Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators talent, the Demon Venerable in the Demon Abyss Realm failed to affect you.]

[Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators did not just empower your attacks against demonic cultivators and demonic creatures; it bolstered your defenses against them just as much.]

[Any attack from a demonic cultivator or creature was weakened by a certain degree upon striking you, a restriction even a Void Return Demon Venerable had to suffer.]

[As you, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword, and Heavenly Monarch Miduo continuously unleashed sealing arts, the spatial rift finally stopped expanding.]

["We cannot completely seal it!"]

[Heavenly Monarch Miduo frowned. He could sense a tremendous power on the other side of the spatial rift relentlessly shaking the seal.]

["The Void Whale Master permeated this spatial rift too deeply; it is irreversible. Had we not arrived in time, it likely would have been entirely breached by now."]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword nodded. He even felt that the Demon Abyss Realm could punch through this spatial rift at any time.]

[However, completely piercing the spatial rift would inevitably trigger a series of reactions from the Human Realm. Perhaps the Void Return Demon Venerable over in the Demon Abyss Realm was waiting for one or two of the Human Realm's Heavenly Monarchs to die of old age, choosing to break through during a period of vulnerable succession?] ["Even with our combined efforts to maintain it, this seal can only hold for a millennium or two at most. After that, the spatial rift will inevitably be forced open..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Miduo spoke slowly, a tone of worry lacing his words.]

[You carefully examined the spatial rift before you, reaching roughly the same conclusion as Heavenly Monarch Miduo and Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword.]

[The extent of the permeation within this spatial rift was irreversible. At best, they could only delay it, not eradicate it.]

["But this is also a good thing. At least we roughly know when the spatial rift will be breached and when the demon race of the Demon Abyss Realm will descend. We can prepare well in advance."]

[You spoke in a calm tone.]

["True."]

[Hearing this, Heavenly Monarch Miduo gave a slight nod.]

[If not for you, they would still be entirely oblivious to this spatial rift. Once the Demon Abyss Realm felt the time was right and tore the rift open, countless demons would descend. By then, the Human Realm probably wouldn't even have the chance to mount a decent resistance.]

["Hmm?"]

[You glanced into the distance.]

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang was slowly approaching.] [At this moment, Heavenly Monarch Qingcang's aura had weakened drastically. Clearly, he had suffered heavy injuries from the Void Whale Master's final desperate counterattack.]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword also looked toward Heavenly Monarch Qingcang. With a slight shift of his will, two massive halves of a corpse surfaced—it was the body of the Void Whale Master.]

["Since we joined forces to hunt down this Rank 5 Void Whale, we can divide it up now."]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword said.]

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang's expression shifted slightly in surprise before he looked at you and Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword.]

[Although he deeply coveted the corpse of this Rank 5 True Spirit descendant, it was you and Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword who had played the pivotal roles in this hunt.]

[As for him and Heavenly Monarch Miduo, they had acted as a distraction at best.]

[Even if the spoils were to be divided, he would have to wait until you and Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword finished making your choices.]

["I will take the Void Whale Monster Core. Aside from that, give me a drop of Void Whale Essence Blood."]

[You spoke up. The most precious item on a Rank 5 Void Whale was naturally its monster core. As for the essence blood? You intended to refine it into your Void Whale Transformation divine ability.]

[After you stepped into the Deity Transformation Stage, the essence blood of ordinary Tier 4 beast kings held little meaning for you. Even that of a Fourth-Order Late Stage beast king would be virtually useless.]

[But a Rank 5 Void Whale? A Void Whale carrying the bloodline of the True Spirit Kunpeng? Even though it fell far short of True Dragon Blood, it could still be of significant use to you.]

["Alright, then I will take half of the corpse."]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword nodded. Since he had already cleaved this Rank 5 Void Whale in two with a single strike, he simply took away one of the halves.]

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang and Heavenly Monarch Miduo exchanged a glance, their eyes falling on the remaining half of the corpse.]

[Half a corpse might not sound like much, but one had to remember that the Rank 5 Void Whale was nearly a thousand zhang long. Even half was still five hundred zhang. The flesh, blood, skin, and essence blood within were all Rank 5 treasures of immeasurable value.]

[After dividing the spoils, you, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword, Heavenly Monarch Miduo, and Heavenly Monarch Qingcang discussed the Demon Abyss Realm breaching the spatial rift and descending upon the Human Realm in a millennium or two.]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword planned to return and mobilize the numerous top-tier factions of the Central Continent, along with the Nascent Soul level factions from the other four major domains, to establish overlapping lines of defense here at the end of the Deep Sea.]

[This way, even if the demons of the Demon Abyss Realm descended, they would be blocked behind the defensive lines and temporarily unable to affect the Human Realm.]

["Very well. I, Miduo, will fully cooperate."]

[Heavenly Monarch Miduo nodded. At a moment concerning the life or death of the Human Realm, he naturally harbored no dissenting opinions.]

["My Extreme Dao Pavilion will also fully cooperate."]

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang also agreed.] [...]

[Year 656, you were 673 years old.]

[Under the leadership of the four current Heavenly Monarchs—you, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword, Heavenly Monarch Miduo, and Heavenly Monarch Qingcang—every faction across the five major domains of the Human Realm (the Central Continent, Western Desert, Eastern Wilderness, Northern Plains, and Southern Sea) was mobilized. Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, Core Formation Stage true persons, and Nascent Soul Stage true lords were all dispatched to the Deep Sea to participate in constructing the defensive lines.]

[Inside your immortal cave, you looked at the Rank 5 Void Whale Monster Core before you and said evenly, "Have you considered it? As long as you voluntarily let go and allow me to conduct Soul Searching, I promise to release a shred of your consciousness into the cycle of reincarnation."]

[Your purpose for Soul Searching was naturally to find out exactly how deeply this Void Whale Master was colluding with the Demon Abyss Realm, and to see if it knew anything about the Outer Domain Heavenly Demons.]

[However, this Void Whale Master was ultimately at the Rank 5 realm and a True Spirit descendant. Its soul was intrinsically powerful. Even you could not guarantee you would obtain complete memories if you forcibly searched its soul against its fierce resistance; it was highly likely the memories would be fragmented.]

[The Void Whale Master fell into silence.]

[After being sealed by you, the Void Whale Master had realized its death was absolutely certain.]

[There was no way you would let it go.]

["If fellow Daoist swears a great heart demon oath... I will agree..."]

[The Void Whale Master spoke slowly after a long silence.]

[Whether for a monster beast like itself or for the human race, reincarnation was the final hope.] [Unless there was absolutely no other choice, no living creature was willing to abandon the chance at reincarnation.]

[With the strength of the Void Whale Master's consciousness, even if it plunged into reincarnation, its new identity and race in its next life would definitely be extraordinary.]

[It was highly likely to embark on the path of cultivation once again.]

[Given enough fortuitous encounters, there was a slim hope that the Void Whale Master's reincarnation could recall its past life's memories.]

[It was just that such a thing would happen an unknown number of tens of thousands of years later, and perhaps even in some other greater world.]

["Swear a great heart demon oath? Fellow Daoist, you have no choices right now. Either agree, or I will wipe out your consciousness right this moment."]

[Naturally, you would not swear a great heart demon oath. You wouldn't take even the slightest risk with any constraint involving your perception and Dao heart.]

[The Void Whale Master felt furious, but in the end, it agreed to your demand.]

[Just as you said, it had no right to choose.]

["I hope fellow Daoist can stay true to your word."]

[The Void Whale Master voluntarily dropped its resistance, allowing you to conduct Soul Searching.]

[You began to carefully browse through the Void Whale Master's life.] ["A Heavenly Demon Stone?"]

[Within the Void Whale Master's vast memories, you accurately locked onto the crucial intelligence you wanted to know.]

["It can attract Outer Domain Heavenly Demons from outside the greater world. A pity that it was ultimately sent back into the Demon Abyss Realm..."]

[In the Void Whale Master's memory, you saw that the green-faced, fanged figure had voluntarily sent the Heavenly Demon Stone back to avoid leaving any traces.]

["I can only scheme for it during the next simulation... The Heavenly Demon Stone..."]

[You were quite interested in the Heavenly Demon Stone. This treasure was essentially bait—bait specifically meant to fish for Outer Domain Heavenly Demons outside the greater world.]

[...]

[Year 666, you were 683 years old.]

[You successfully refined the Void Whale Master's essence blood and acquired the Void Whale Transformation.]

[Under the state of this transformation art, you would gain the Void Whale's ability to traverse through space. Even outside the greater world, facing endless spatial storms and turbulent currents, you could hold on for a long time.]

[...]

[Year 700, you were 717 years old.] [With the Heavenly Demon Stone out of reach, you decisively chose to attempt a breakthrough to Rank 5 Body Refining.]

[Your Body Refining realm successfully crossed into Rank 5. Concurrently serving as a body cultivation Heavenly Monarch, you awakened a body cultivation divine ability at the Heavenly Monarch level.]

[...]

[Year 800, you were 817 years old.]

[Your Talisman Dao attainments finally advanced into Rank 5, elevating you into the ranks of a Rank 5 Talisman Dao Celestial Master.]

[The advancement of your Talisman Dao skills came quite a few years later than you had expected.]

[This was not surprising. Whether it was the Talisman Dao or any other craft, facing a major bottleneck meant that even with the confidence to break through, it required time. Being stuck for a century or centuries was completely normal.]

[...]

[Year 850, you were 867 years old.]

[Li Yan smoothly cultivated to the Late Nascent Soul Stage, though her musical skills remained stalled at the Fourth Tier High Grade.]

[You performed a quick calculation on your fingers and glanced toward the Extreme Dao Pavilion.]

[During the battle in the Deep Sea, Heavenly Monarch Qingcang had encountered the Void Whale Master's desperate counterattack and suffered severe injuries from which he could not recover. He was expected to pass away in meditation several centuries early.] [You roughly estimated for a moment and felt that Li Yan would be in time for the period after Heavenly Monarch Qingcang passed away, giving her a chance to attempt a breakthrough to Deity Transformation.]

[You sincerely hoped Li Yan could step into the Deity Transformation Stage. After reaching Deity Transformation yourself, you had profoundly felt the immense difficulty of cultivation. At this juncture, having the assistance of a Primordial Yin Treasure Physique at the same level would perhaps give you a better chance at further breakthroughs.]

[Besides Heavenly Monarch Qingcang passing away, you also controlled one Heavenly Monarch slot.]

[The Void Whale Master's monster core was still in your hands, and since you hadn't wiped out its consciousness, this Rank 5 True Spirit descendant was not truly dead yet.]

[As long as you obliterated its consciousness and let this Heavenly Monarch die completely, the Human Realm would free up another Heavenly Monarch slot.]

[...]

[Year 900, you were 917 years old.]

[Dachun finally passed the ultimate trial of the Ghost Realm Trial Field, cultivating to the absolute limit of the Fourth-Order Late Stage.]

[You brought Dachun back to Heavenly Sword Peak.]

[Dachun's lifespan was roughly the same as yours. Maxed out on life-extending items, he could also afford to wait for the day Heavenly Monarch Qingcang passed away.]

[...]

[Year 1000, you were 1,017 years old.] [Heavenly Monarch Qingcang finally passed away in meditation.]

[Before his passing, Heavenly Monarch Qingcang had personally made a trip to Heavenly Sword Peak.]

[To offer a humble apology to you.]

[Taking into account his meritorious service in the battle to hunt the Void Whale Master, you shortened the period during which the Extreme Dao Pavilion was forbidden from producing a Heavenly Monarch to five thousand years.]

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang immediately felt much more relieved. Banned from producing a Heavenly Monarch for five thousand years—at the very least, the Extreme Dao Pavilion could still hold on through that.]

[He, Qingcang, had done his utmost to make amends for the Extreme Dao Pavilion.]

[...]

[Year 1100, you were 1,117 years old.]

[A century had passed since Heavenly Monarch Qingcang passed away in meditation, and this body cultivation Heavenly Monarch's influence on the world of the Human Realm had faded to a minimum.]

[You had Li Yan attempt her Deity Transformation breakthrough first.]

[Over the years, Li Yan had long cultivated to the pinnacle of the Late Nascent Soul Stage. Coupled with her Fourth Tier High Grade musical skills, her state of mind could not be considered weak.]

[If Li Yan successfully stepped into Deity Transformation, you would then obliterate the Void Whale Master's consciousness to free up another Deity Transformation slot for Dachun.] [The vast and mighty Deity Transformation heavenly phenomena ultimately lasted for only two months before they began to collapse.]

[Li Yan failed her Deity Transformation breakthrough, her body dying and her Dao perishing.]

[You remained silent for a long time. You went to the immortal cave where Li Yan had attempted her breakthrough and found the jade slip she had left behind.]

[Recorded on it were the experiences and insights she had gained from this attempt at Deity Transformation.]

[This was also what you had instructed Li Yan to do—whether she succeeded or failed, she had to leave behind her experiences of challenging the Deity Transformation bottleneck.]

[In addition to that, Li Yan had also left you her insights and experiences on cultivating to the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak and pushing her musical skills to the Fourth Tier limit ahead of time.]

["What a pity..."]

[You glanced at the insights Li Yan had left behind and discovered that she had failed at the final step of transforming her Nascent Soul into a Primordial Spirit.]

[Given Li Yan's state of mind, had she managed to reach the Annihilation Tribulation, her chances of stepping into the Deity Transformation Stage would have actually been higher.]

[Ten years later, you had Dachun begin his attempt to break through to Rank 5.]

[Three months later, Dachun failed his Rank 5 breakthrough, his body dying and his Dao perishing.]

[Fortunately, you had also instructed Dachun to leave behind his insights and experiences, which could be used in the next simulation.] [You fell silent for several days again. Having lost two of the people closest to you in succession over a short span of ten years, you felt deeply disheartened and weary.]

[Thirty years later, a new Heavenly Monarch emerged, hailing from the Hexu Sect, one of the Three Laws.]

[...]

[Year 1200, you were 1,217 years old.]

[The Human Realm stabilized. Under the pressure of the Demon Abyss Realm, every cultivator—from Foundation Establishment at the bottom to Nascent Soul at the top—was required to head to the Deep Sea defense lines to stand guard.]

[Spurred by the pressure of the Demon Abyss Realm, the multitude of cultivators in the Human Realm erupted with unprecedented potential. Coupled with the top-tier factions opening up their resource vaults, the number of Nascent Soul Stage true lords in the Human Realm surged significantly.]

[You took out the Void Whale Master's monster core, released a wisp of its consciousness to let it fall into reincarnation, and promptly obliterated its main consciousness entirely.]

[With the fall of the Void Whale Master, the Human Realm gained another Deity Transformation slot.]

[...]

[Year 1300, you were 1,317 years old.]

[You vaguely sensed the changes in the world of the Human Realm; some kind of foundational essence was beginning to awaken.]

['Is this the Human Realm's resistance against the Demon Abyss Realm?']

[You pondered. A greater world like the Human Realm possessed its own consciousness.]

[It was just that this kind of consciousness harbored no specific emotions; it was a pan-consciousness that operated solely on instinct.]

[And right now, under the threat of the Demon Abyss Realm, the Human Realm's instinct for self-preservation had finally fully awakened.]

[Following this trend, the Human Realm's original limit of five Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarchs would likely be broken, permitting the birth of even more Heavenly Monarchs.]

[...]

[Year 1400, you were 1,417 years old.]

[The Human Realm once again gave birth to a Deity Transformation Stage cultivator, succeeding the Void Whale Master to become the newest Heavenly Monarch.]

[This new Heavenly Monarch paid you a profoundly respectful visit.]

[In the current Human Realm, your status was supreme, standing even above Heavenly Sword Peak.]

[...]

[Year 1646, you were 1,663 years old.]

[You ended your secluded cultivation and walked out of your immortal cave.] [Before you knew it, a millennium had passed since you joined the hunt to kill the Void Whale Master.]