Chapter 353 - 352: Capturing the Great Sea Realm

The impact displaced an unimaginable volume of water.

Tsunamis rose across the Great Sea Realm, their enormous walls sweeping toward distant coastlines. Entire regions of the ocean were thrown into turmoil, and the force of the impact sent shockwaves through the seabed, shaking the ancient mountains buried beneath the water.

Yet the handprint did not stop at the surface.

It continued descending, passing through the layers of the ocean until its fingers reached the deeper structures that supported the Great Sea Realm.

The surrounding water began to revolve around its palm.

At first, the movement resembled an enormous whirlpool, with currents rushing toward the center from every direction. But the rotation soon became far more profound, drawing upon the laws embedded within the ocean itself.

The Great Sea Realm began to tremble.

Across the Nine Provinces, countless cultivators felt the disturbance spread through the world’s foundations. The rivers changed course, the spiritual energy flowing through the land became unstable, and the ancient formations connected to the ocean began to emit warning pulses.

The Five Emperors stared in disbelief.

They finally understood what Gu Cangming intended to do.

He was not merely attacking the Nine Heavens Ward.

He was attempting to seize one of the Nine Wonders.

The enormous demonic hand closed around the conceptual foundation of the Great Sea Realm, grasping not only its waters but also the underlying structure that allowed the ocean to exist as one of the world’s foundational wonders.

A deep, agonizing groan spread through the world, like a sound of an ancient structure being forced beyond the limits of its design.

The tectonic plates of the five continents trembled, and the foundations beneath countless mountains began to shift. The Great Sea Realm struggled against the enormous force attempting to remove it from its place, yet the handprint continued to tighten.

Then the ocean began to rise.

Billions of gallons of water surged upward, followed by enormous sections of the seabed. Ancient mountain ranges emerged from the depths, their peaks covered with layers of sediment accumulated over countless ages. The waters surrounding them twisted into enormous spirals, while the liquid Dao essence buried within the ocean was drawn toward the center of the demonic hand.

The Great Sea Realm was being pulled into the sky.

The laws of gravity seemed to lose their authority as the enormous ocean rose above its natural boundaries. Waterfalls poured from the edges of the ascending sea, descending toward the world below in torrents that could devastate entire regions.

The demonic hand continued to close.

Its fingers compressed the boundless ocean, forcing the enormous expanse of water into a massive floating sphere. Countless currents collided within the sphere, creating storms of unimaginable scale, while the raw Dao essence of the Great Sea Realm swirled through its depths like rivers of liquid stars.

The entire wonder was being uprooted.

If Gu Cangming succeeded in removing the Great Sea Realm from the Nine Provinces, the consequences would extend far beyond the destruction of the ocean itself. The loss of one of the world’s foundational pillars could destabilize the remaining wonders, damage the spiritual circulation of the five continents, and accelerate the ultimate collapse of the already fractured lower world.

And Gu Cangming had executed it with the composure of someone performing an ordinary task.

Far away in the Hollow Beyond, the Eternal Calamity Demon Lord hovered above the enormous crater where the black mountain had once stood. His right arm remained outstretched, and the black demonic energy connecting him to the enormous handprint continued to flow without interruption.

His silver hair drifted behind him.

His black robes fluttered gently.

His golden eyes watched the distant boundary with absolute indifference.

The endless pressure of his Quasi Demon Emperor aura continued to spread across the Hollow Beyond, keeping countless demons kneeling beneath the heavens. The Demon Lords who had once considered themselves rulers of their respective territories could only bow their heads, unable to challenge the authority of the existence who had crossed beyond their realm.

Gu Cangming had waited ten thousand years for this moment.

He had preserved the foundation of the last true Demon Emperor, broken through the limits of the demon lord, and ascended into a realm that the current generation had believed impossible to reach.

Now, he was demonstrating the difference between a powerful Demon Lord and a being who had begun to transcend the limitations of the era itself.

The Nine Heavens Ward had been powered by Grand Ascendants.

The Great Sea Realm had sustained the Nine Provinces for countless generations.

And the Five Emperors were desperately attempting to preserve the foundations of their world.

None of that changed his decision.

Gu Cangming’s gaze remained fixed upon the enormous floating sphere of water, watching as the demonic hand continued to draw it toward the fractured boundary.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

The Nine Provinces had been a fractured world for ten thousand years.

The Imperial Domain was his true destination.

And if the foundations of the lower world had to be torn apart to open the path toward the heavens, then he would tear them apart without hesitation.

After all, he was Gu Cangming.

The Eternal Calamity Demon Lord!

The ancient sovereign who had survived the destruction of one era and now intended to conquer the next.

As the Great Sea Realm rose higher into the sky, the Nine Heavens Ward continued to crack around the enormous opening. The Five Emperors watched the unfolding catastrophe, their expressions growing grimmer with every passing moment, while the Cultivation Council struggled to reinforce a seal that had already begun to fail.

Beyond the fractured boundary, Gu Cangming stood with his arm extended, his aura pressing down upon the entire Hollow Beyond.

He had not yet reached the Imperial Domain.

He had not yet broken through the final boundary separating the realms.

But the first step of his conquest had begun.

And the world was already trembling beneath his ambition.

*****

A/N: 9 Chapters today, since I released 11 yesterday!