Chapter 1326: Realm of Despair

The most terrifying era in history has arrived!

The mere thought of this cataclysmic change sends shivers down everyone’s spine, plunging their hearts into an abyss. War… has come so abruptly that no one was mentally prepared.

There are countless legends about the other shore of the world, about the merciless cruelty of those dreadful foes. They represent hell, a land of calamity!

Moreover, according to the deductions of ancient sages, the tribulation of this era will surpass all previous ones, overturning the very fabric of existence, ushering in the darkest age in history.

“It’s too sudden! Why has chaos erupted like this? I’m not ready!” a young man cried out.

Many trembled in their hearts. Who among those present was truly prepared? None. All had hoped that the moment would come as late as possible!

Even the Great Elder, the living fossils of the Sacred Academy, and the elders of the Immortal Academy paled in shock, clearly stunned by the news.

These venerable figures had once jointly deduced that the arrival of the dark age would not be so soon—it should have taken at least several thousand more years.

“It’s too swift! How could they breach the boundary? That mighty fortress, forged from immortal flesh and blood, should never have crumbled!” someone murmured, still unable to believe it.

“Wake up! Stop drifting in and out of consciousness—tell us everything in detail!” The Great Elder pressed a finger to the middle-aged man’s brow, channeling immense power to heal his wounds.

The man was grievously injured, his body severed in half like the bronze warship he had arrived in. Both his vessel and his flesh were severely damaged.

Even his primordial spirit was fractured.

“Elder Meng, it was horrific… The borderlands turned into hell. Countless perished, their souls wailing in agony—so wretched it was unbearable to witness!” The man’s eyes bled tears of sorrow.

His grief and fury were boundless. His brothers, his kin, his friends—so many familiar faces were slaughtered in an instant, without even a chance to resist.

As he recounted, many felt their hair stand on end. The assault from the other shore was too ferocious, their forces unimaginably powerful. In a single strike, they shattered the mighty fortress.

In that moment, countless were buried in the ruins, their flesh and blood mingling with the shattered city, reduced to a bloody pulp—a sight too ghastly to behold!

“You say you came from the Great Scarlet Heaven?” The Great Elder frowned, maintaining his composure despite the dire news.

“Yes, the Great Scarlet Heaven—the land once deemed unbreakable—has suffered a calamity unlike any before. Life was extinguished, the land turned into a ghost realm!” The man’s body bled as he spoke, his grief unbearable.

An elder from the Immortal Academy retrieved a violet-gold divine pill and fed it to him. Instantly, the man’s body radiated light, his divine power surging.

His bones cracked and his flesh writhed as his lower half regenerated at a visible pace. Clearly, this was a divine pill capable of restoring him in the shortest time possible.

“My thanks, Elder!” the man said gratefully. With his cultivation, he wouldn’t have remained crippled—given time, his limbs would have regrown.

Now, he was merely exhausted in spirit, overwhelmed by sorrow.

“Wasn’t the Great Scarlet Heaven built with immortal bones? That passage should never have been breached. How could it collapse?”

Several elders frowned, their expressions shifting. If this was true, the situation was dire indeed.

In their view, if the beings from the other shore truly invaded, they should have entered through the borderlands of the Three Thousand Provinces—the most unstable region.

For countless ages, innumerable supreme experts had journeyed there to guard the ancient cities.

Across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, only the borderlands of the Three Thousand Provinces were unstable. Though the invaders had never successfully landed there, they had still caused immense trouble over the ages.

Thus, generation after generation of sages, nearing the end of their lives, would journey there to unleash their final brilliance, igniting their cultivation in one last battle.

“If the Great Scarlet Heaven has fallen, the consequences are dire. It suggests the other passages may also be compromised, for they are of the same rank,” the Great Elder sighed.

How could this be? The peace of countless ages had been shattered. Blood and fire would soon engulf the land.

“Summon the Ancestral Dragon Horn! Sound it at once, calling all great clans of the Nine Heavens to rally and reinforce the Great Scarlet Heaven!” The Great Elder issued swift commands, for the situation was urgent.

All trembled, their souls quaking. Moments ago, they had only heard the man’s account—now, they were truly stepping into war.

Though they had long known it was coming, the reality of it, the thought of what lay ahead, made every heart pound. Some clenched their fists; others shuddered in fear.

This was no mere talk—it was a fight for survival. Their fathers, brothers, even they themselves might soon fall on the battlefield!

“Tell us everything you know! Why did the Great Scarlet Heaven collapse? Were there any signs beforehand?” an elder from the Sacred Academy demanded sternly.

“At the time, the ancient city showed no abnormalities, shrouded in immortal mist—it should have remained unshaken. But at dawn, when the first golden rays of sunlight touched it, the city suddenly cracked, then shattered violently!”

The man’s vivid description of the terrifying scene tightened everyone’s nerves, as if they were there in that moment.

As the immortal city, forged from the flesh and blood of ancestors, collapsed, many glimpsed a dreadful “vase” tearing through everything—even the bones of immortals could not withstand it.

Hearing this, Shi Hao’s expression changed. He glanced at the Heavenly Horned Ant on his shoulder.

“Could it be… the Immortal-Refining Vase?” The golden ant shuddered.

Not long ago, they had seen such a vase at the Indestructible Peak, howling across mountains and rivers, harvesting the essence of supreme beings—a sight of utmost horror.

It was a remnant imprint from the end of the Immortal Ancient Era!

Legend held that this vase was forged specifically to refine true immortals to death, its malevolence unparalleled.

It had once belonged to an ancient being from the other shore, unimaginably old. The only solace was that this being, having lived too long, was said to have perished.

Strangely, the vase had not appeared in the great war of the previous era. Some said it had been buried with its master.

But Shi Hao and the Heavenly Horned Ant knew better. After visiting the Indestructible Peak, they had learned the truth: after the war, He Wushuang had taken the vase to that battlefield to harvest essence.

“Woo—” A deep, resonant horn blast interrupted Shi Hao’s thoughts.

The sound rolled like thunder, echoing across the Boundless Heaven, then piercing through dimensional barriers to resound throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

This horn, forged from a true dragon’s horn and enhanced by countless sages, had long since gained sentience. Its sound could traverse dimensions, summoning the mightiest clans.

There was no time to lose—every great clan had to be alerted immediately to prepare for war!

The Dragon Horn was rarely sounded. In fact, it had only been blown once or twice since antiquity. It was reserved for the gravest threats to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

The horn’s call meant the dark age had come.

The horn of a true dragon was a treasure beyond compare. As a war horn, its power was unimaginable. Yet now, its sound did not harm souls—though it shook the heavens, it did not stir bloodlust or risk bodily rupture.

As the horn sounded, the elders stood solemn. Among the youths, some felt a surge of heroic fervor, eager to join the battle, while others paled in fear, trembling uncontrollably.

“The fortress shattered, and nine-tenths of its defenders perished instantly, unable to withstand that heavenly might…” the man continued.

When the Immortal-Refining Vase appeared, it crushed everything. Every cultivator within the fortress was reduced to bloody pulp, their innate essence absorbed by the vase’s mouth.

It was a horrifying scene, shaking all who heard it. Such demonic power—who could oppose it?

The only puzzling thing was that the vase hovered over the ruins without fully emerging, eventually retreating back beyond the dimensional barrier.

Yet what followed was no less terrifying—a black hand reached out from the passage, covering the borderlands, crushing all life.

Men, women, children, the strong and the weak—all were obliterated in a single grasp. Even those outside the city perished, wiped clean.

It was a merciless, ruthless extermination!

“Moreover, it seemed like a sacrificial rite—using the blood of our world to open a stable passage!” The man gnashed his teeth, his eyes red with rage. His loved ones had died there.

Not in battle, but as sacrifices, erased without dignity. Grief and fury filled his heart.

“Everyone died—children barely a few years old were crushed in that grasp, their eyes wide in death! I hate this!” The man roared, his grief overwhelming him. His great-granddaughter and all his kin had perished.

He had been far away, rushing desperately to the scene when the hand’s mere shockwave grazed him, shattering half his bronze ship and his body.

Hearing this, all felt a chill from head to toe. This man was powerful, nearly a half-step Supreme, yet he had almost died without a chance to resist.

If the mere aftershock was so devastating, what hope was there against the enemy’s full might?

Silence fell. None could speak, their hearts gripped by dread.

If the man’s account was true, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were likely doomed. No one could oppose such power!

Many speculated that this was the work of an immortal—a being who had lived since antiquity, undying. Who in this world could stand against such a foe? None existed in this era!

“Did he not pursue?” asked an ancient elder from the Immortal Academy.

“I don’t know why, but the hand withdrew without fully crossing over,” the man said, tears of rage in his eyes. The thought of his lost kin drove him mad.

Knowing the vast gulf between himself and that hand—and the mysterious vase—he had not sought death but had come to deliver the warning.

Alas, the dimensional barriers between the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had delayed him. The teleportation arrays had been destroyed by the hand, forcing him to break through the barriers himself.

“Are you afraid? Are you terrified?” the Great Elder asked, scanning the crowd.

At this moment, fear was inevitable. In an era without immortals or true transcendents, how could they oppose an undying being from antiquity?

It was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—a hopeless, doomed struggle!

Many fell silent, the sky itself seeming gray, life devoid of hope.

“I tell you now—do not fear! No matter how strong the beings from the other shore are, they will be repelled!” the Great Elder roared.

“Do you know why they retreated after invading our world last time? Because a force existed to drive them back! This era is no different—they will not gain a foothold here!”

He sought to rally their spirits, to prevent despair from taking root.

“Woo—” The Dragon Horn’s call resounded once more, shaking mountains and rivers, stirring the hearts of all.

Its tone had shifted—higher, fiercer, igniting the battle-blood in every vein!