Chapter 352 - 351: Fall of the Nine Heavens Ward (2)

The enormous handprint punched through the fractured boundary, widening the existing cracks into a massive, gaping hole that extended across the heavens.

The ancient seal released a deafening roar as its damaged structure was forced apart, allowing the black demonic energy to spill directly into the mortal plane. Fractures spread outward like a spiderweb, each one flickering with the fading glow of the sealing runes that had guarded the heavens for ages.

The barrier that had separated the two realms for ten thousand years had suffered another catastrophic blow.

And this time, the force behind the attack belonged to a Quasi Demon Emperor.

Far away, beneath the skies of the Nine Province, the world changed in an instant.

The bright heavens abruptly turned pitch black.

Clouds gathered across the horizon, and the spiritual energy flowing through the continent began to tremble. Countless cultivators looked upward, their expressions changing as they sensed the terrifying pressure descending from beyond the boundary.

Birds fell from the sky in panic, beasts in the mountains crouched trembling in their dens, and mortals in distant villages dropped to their knees without understanding why. In the great sects, elders burst out of closed-door meditation, while weaker disciples clutched their chests, struggling to breathe beneath the suffocating aura.

The Five Emperors were already aware of the disturbance.

Alongside the Cultivation Council, they had been attempting to reinforce the ancient arrays that protected the Nine Provinces. Powerful cultivators had been summoned, ancient formations had been activated, and the remaining resources of the Nine Province had been directed toward stabilizing the damaged Nine Heavens Ward.

They understood that the cracks in the ancient seal could not be ignored.

If the boundary continued to deteriorate, the Hollow Beyond would no longer remain separated from the lower world. Powerful demons would be able to cross into the Nine Provinces, bringing with them a calamity that the current generation might not possess the strength to withstand.

Yet even the Five Emperors had not anticipated the scale of the next attack.

The instant Gu Cangming’s handprint struck the ward, the entire sky trembled.

The arrays that the Cultivation Council had activated began to flicker, their spiritual energy scattering as the ancient seal was forced open. Several of the cultivators maintaining the formations coughed up blood as the backlash tore through their meridians, and a few collapsed where they stood.

The Five Emperors then raised their heads, their expressions becoming increasingly grave as they witnessed the enormous crack spreading across the heavens.

Then they saw the handprint.

Its pitch-black surface stretched across the sky like the palm of an ancient deity, carrying an aura so overwhelming that even the strongest cultivators in the Nine Province felt their spiritual energy slow.

For a brief moment, none of the Five Emperors spoke. The silence was so heavy that even the sound of their breathing seemed loud.

They had fought countless battles and witnessed many extraordinary techniques throughout their lives. They had seen mountains split apart, rivers change course, and entire regions devastated by the attacks of powerful cultivators.

But this was different.

The enormous handprint had crossed the boundary between realms and struck a formation powered by Grand Ascendants. Its power was so concentrated that the ancient ward had been unable to withstand the impact, despite the countless years it had endured.

The Five Emperors understood what that meant.

The enemy on the other side of the boundary was not an ordinary Demon Lord.

Someone had emerged whose power was sufficient to threaten the very foundation of the Nine Provinces.

The leading Emperor’s face darkened as he watched the enormous handprint move through the sky. His spiritual sense swept across the Nine Province, attempting to determine the attack’s destination, but the sheer scale of the disturbance made it difficult to track the movement of the demonic energy. His fingers curled slowly into a fist, and the knuckles turned white.

The other Emperors also began to act.

One activated an ancient jade seal, sending waves of spiritual energy toward the damaged ward. Another summoned a formation disc, attempting to reinforce the spatial structure around the crack. The remaining Emperors released their divine senses, searching for the source of the attack and trying to determine whether another strike would follow. None of them dared to waste a single breath.

Yet the handprint did not descend upon any City.

It did not target any pagodas, the great sects, or the palaces that housed the most powerful cultivators of the Nine Province.

Its destination lay far beyond the continental landmass.

The enormous handprint swept across the horizon, moving toward the outer boundary of the continent. Its shadow passed over mountains and rivers, while the surrounding clouds were drawn into its wake. Beneath it, cities fell into darkness as though night had arrived at noon, and the people below could only stare upward in terror.

The Five Emperors watched in confusion as the attack continued toward the Great Sea Realm.

Then their expressions changed.

The Great Sea Realm was the First Wonder of the Nine Provinces, a boundless expanse of water whose existence was deeply connected to the foundations of the lower world. Its waters stretched across an immense region, reaching beyond the visible horizon and extending into depths that even powerful cultivators had never fully explored.

The Great Sea Realm sustained the world in ways that few ordinary cultivators understood.

Its waters circulated through countless rivers, nourished the surrounding lands, and helped maintain the balance of spiritual energy across the Nine Provinces. Beneath its surface lay ancient mountains and hidden formations, while its deepest regions contained a concentration of liquid Dao essence that had accumulated over countless years.

It was not merely a source of water.

It was one of the foundational pillars upon which the world depended.

And Gu Cangming had chosen it as his target.

The enormous handprint descended toward the Great Sea Realm, its black shadow swallowing the ocean beneath it. The surface of the sea trembled, and enormous waves rose in every direction as the pressure of the approaching attack distorted the surrounding space. Far below, the deep currents fell strangely still, as if the entire ocean were holding its breath.

Then the hand plunged into the ocean.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!