On that day, the Lower Realm quaked, and the four directions trembled with fear!
An undying being stood tall beneath the heavens. With each flap of his mighty wings, golden mists surged to the sky, mingling with chaotic energies, as though an unrivaled demonic monarch had emerged, unstoppable by anyone!
Upon a low mountain rested an ancient temple where the bronze bell tolled, its sound echoing for miles, and auspicious light pierced the heavens.
This was an ancient monastery, clearly not located in the sacred lands of the Western Sect, yet still discovered. Within, chants reverberated, and divine essence filled the air, rising to the highest heavens.
As a gigantic golden hand descended, a deity who had just arrived from the Upper Realm and was resting there was startled and enraged. Though his magical powers were immense, he could not evade it.
The hand closed, seizing him amidst his desperate struggle. Radiance exploded, leaving behind a relic which was swallowed by the undying being.
Heavens and Earth trembled, and all ten directions quivered in awe. On that day, a colossal figure, towering like the sky itself, hunted gods!
Beneath the marshes, in a nine-layered underground cavern, each deeper than the last, the earth shook as a mighty foot stepped forth, tearing the veins of the land. The dark and sinister depths crumbled, and a god wreathed in ghostly flames ascended.
He hailed from the Upper Realm, descending from the Netherworld, pausing here to recover and await his moment. Yet, the undying being found him.
That mighty hand descended, covering the heavens and earth, capturing him within its grasp, and then tossing him into its mouth. The fiery god, ablaze with sacred flames, screamed in horror as he was devoured.
Upon an island in the distant ocean, within a unique magical array sat two figures cloaked in divine luminescence. They had hidden themselves here, hoping to flee back to the Higher Realm.
For these two had learned the truth: the undying being was annihilating gods. Yet escape proved impossible. A pair of golden eyes appeared in the heavens, gazing down with thick mist swirling about. In one mighty inhalation, as if the sea consuming the rivers, they were swallowed whole.
In the outer domains, an ancient hall floated amidst a group of asteroids—an isolated retreat of the Sky-mending Sect, shrouded in secrecy.
Peace was shattered. A powerful cultivator hidden inside let out a desperate cry, desperately attempting to flee into the dark void of the universe, but all in vain.
Behind him, a gigantic being appeared. With a mere flap of its wings, golden ripples spread outward, binding him. His body cracked inch by inch as he shrieked in terror and shattered into pieces.
…
This was a grand calamity, yet it targeted only the Upper Realm!
The undying being roamed the Eight Domains, immense as a titan from the Age of Creation, all-powerful and unbeatable, hunting those who had ignited the sacred flames of divinity.
His attacks were deliberate and focused—pursuing especially the elites of the Deathless Mountains, the Western Sect, and other mighty factions that had once oppressed him. Across the Heavens and Earth, he followed the divine auras of gods.
Today’s divine slaughter did not aim at extermination or reducing the Lower Realm to ruin; rather, it was purging the disciples of the grand sects descending from the Upper Realm, eliminating all the elite invaders—that was the true meaning.
The world was stunned, and all of existence shook in awe.
In Crane-Crying Mountain, the gathering on that small hill lost all joy. Everyone’s hearts quivered—this calamity far exceeded expectations.
When all gazed at Shi Hao, their expressions twisted with puzzlement and complexity. His roots ran deep, so how could it have come to this?
Eventually, half a day later, everyone departed distractedly, scattered to their sects, frantically seeking news and answers.
Red Phoenix, Water Moon, and others belonged to more relaxed sects without a presence in the Lower Realm, and thus faced no conflict.
Shi Hao returned to the imperial palace where he received urgent reports. All day long, messages poured in from across the land. Even some ancestral altars were nearly destroyed. The terrifying methods of the undying being had shaken all cultivators.
“This is aimed at the Upper Realm, so it’s a good thing.” Within the Central Celestial Palace, Shi Hao instructed Peng Jiu not to worry. Fully aware of the truth, he remained calm and composed.
The number of beings igniting their sacred flames was limited—most of them descended from the Upper Realm. They would not descend in massive numbers, and those who tried to hide were hard to find.
Yet Shi Hao furrowed his brow, a little anxious, fearing that the escaped ones might one day wreak havoc.
“Beseech our holy master to descend and protect our sect!”
Prayers rang across the land, especially from the immortal sects. Facing such a calamity, all were struck with immense fear.
They tried communicating with the Upper Realm, calling upon the supreme overlords, praying for divine protection, dreading that the undying being would cleanse all opposition—an enemy they could never defeat.
Yet no response came.
Many suspected the worst: that the mighty overlords of the Upper Realm had departed days ago, following the Primordial Gate, and now their time had come, returning to their realm.
This speculation spread unease. If true, would the Lower Realm now belong to the undying being?
Undoubtedly, this marked the severance of the pathways between Heaven and Earth!
Across the Heavens and Earth, the colossal figure continued its roam, patrolling the Eight Domains, hunting gods relentlessly, shrouded in thick mists and golden light, exuding an unmatched divine aura.
Not long before, calamity had struck—the overlords from the Upper Realm had descended, seizing powerful beings from the Eight Domains, leaving only their own disciples. They did so for two reasons: to harvest “medicines,” and to secure the prosperity of their sects within the Lower Realm.
Now, the undying being had struck back, targeting these sects with unstoppable force, sweeping all before him, effectively severing their lineage.
A grand turbulence had unfolded!
Several days later, the undying being appeared inside the royal palace of the Shi Kingdom, causing Shi Hao’s hair to stand on end. Truly a fearsome figure—unmoving unless to unleash terror, and when he did strike, all of existence trembled.
“Those overlords…” Shi Hao inquired.
“They had to return to the Upper Realm when their time ended,” the undying being answered. Now restored to a human size, his body was no longer emaciated but instead wrapped in radiant mist.
The crowd had surrounded Willow God and Little Pagoda, scrambling to seize their divine fortune.
For the Willow God revealed a crystalline shard, startling many, as it was precisely one of the treasures they sought. Thus, the crowd attacked in unison.
Some overlords had left, for the Willow God had truthfully revealed a location of great fortune—one he had discovered in the Lower Realm. Upon learning this, some gods rushed to find it.
“And did they find anything?” Shi Hao asked, knowing this was done to consume their time.
“Unknown!” the undying being shook his head. When their time ended, the overlords had no choice but to return to the Upper Realm.
In the end, the Willow God had entered the Primordial Gate, followed closely by the Little Pagoda.
The undying being also ventured there, casting a spirit-body through the hazy portal, while others mistook it for his true self.
“I merely wanted to experience it. Truly a great terror,” the undying being sighed.
His spirit-body had barely crossed the threshold when it was instantly reduced to a pool of blood flowing out. No one even knew how it happened or what had struck him.
“And what of the Willow God and the Little Pagoda?” Shi Hao’s heart quivered, gripped by anxiety.
“They are strong,” the undying being replied, his gaze dark and distant. “They offered some sacrifices, sent a couple of the overlords in after them, and only then did they follow.”
“Did any of that blood belong to them?” No one knew. The gate had erupted into chaos, the Primordial Gate vanished, lost in the deepest chaos without the Willow God’s control.
“I must continue,” the undying being rose, holding a piece of crystal in his palm—snow-white like jade, glowing radiantly.
“What is this?” Shi Hao asked.
“The Chaos Treasure Mirror,” the undying being replied.
This was the very crystalline shard the Willow God had shown, a rare treasure. In its complete form, it could reveal the entire universe, penetrating the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Even as a fragment, it held immense power, capable of observing the Eight Domains.
Thus, the overlords had gone mad, striving to seize it and join forces to harness its divine power, sweeping their gaze across the Lower Realm, seeking the greatest treasures.
In truth, even with such a shard, it could not match their imagination. Perhaps useful for locating living beings, but tracking down those elusive treasures of divine essence was no easy feat!
“Time to move!” the undying being soared into the sky, clenching the shard gifted by the Willow God, vanishing into the void.
That day, a divine light pierced through Heaven and Earth, manifesting across the Eight Domains, illuminating all directions.
The undying being channeled the snow-white crystal, its radiance scanning the world, seeking divine beings ablaze with sacred flame. The results were extraordinary—unable to locate the halls of the Supreme Beings, but finding much weaker cultivators was effortless.
Within a deep abyss, a ghostly vine trembled despite its flickering sacred flame.
“Zap!”
A beam of white light descended, revealing its true form. Then a mighty hand plunged down, shattering the abyss, seizing it and devouring it whole.
Inside a volcanic crater, red-hot magma bubbled as a crimson dragon lay hidden from catastrophe. It had descended from the Upper Realm, once believing itself invincible, free to do as it pleased. Now, it had become a defeated, fugitive beast.
A shower of holy light fell, exposing its presence.
“Aaaah!” It cried out in terror, soaring skyward—pointless. It was swallowed whole into a massive maw.
The severance between Heaven and Earth mainly meant the Upper Realm’s beings could no longer descend. Yet the Lower Realm had several gateways for ascending into those vast realms.
For lower beings to enter higher realms was permitted by the celestial laws. But for the strongest beings to enter a lower world would be immensely difficult, even resisted by the cosmic order.
This might be a cosmic law protecting the Lower Realm.
Yet, those few paths were now temporarily sealed by the undying being. Though he couldn’t reverse the natural laws permanently, they would reopen shortly. But for now, they were utterly blocked.
Some cultivators desperately tried to break through, seeking to escape back to the Upper Realm, but failed repeatedly.
“You may be undying, but acting so against Heaven’s will, you shall surely reap calamity! Our ancestors will surely unite to obliterate you!” one cultivator roared.
“Enough noise!”
The undying being’s eyes blazed with golden light, freezing several cultivators in place. With one strike of his palm, they turned to dust, vanishing into oblivion.
Thus ended the campaign to seal the gods. The Heavens and Earth grew tranquil, and a shocking event came to its conclusion.
“I’m leaving!” the undying being returned once more to the royal palace of the Shi Kingdom, his tone concise as he informed Shi Hao that all was over.
Barring unforeseen events, the Lower Realm would no longer be disturbed. For a long time, tranquility would reign—perhaps even giving rise to a golden age of Saintly supremacy.
If gods appeared again, they would be born from the Lower Realm itself.
“Senior, would you stay a while longer?” Shi Hao entreated, wanting to learn from him.
“I can’t wait; I must ascend immediately!” The undying being’s golden eyes gleamed, his teeth shining white and fearsome—he was about to wreak havoc in the Upper Realm.
After being sealed away for so long, a burning flame had risen in his heart, demanding vengeance. He had endured bitterness for far too many years.
Once he left, returning would be no easy feat. The celestial law applied to him as well: ascending was easy, descending was difficult!
“Whether you enter the Upper Realm or not, do not use my name, or it will bring endless calamity in the future!” the undying being warned.
Shi Hao sighed. This was a calamity of a different kind, one hell-bent on rebellion. It was easy to imagine the chaos that was about to unfold in the heavens!
“Senior, take care!” he could only offer that farewell.
Though powerful, the undying being had too many enemies. Whether fortune or misfortune awaited, he might soon be in grave peril.
The undying being did not speak further. Without delay, he departed, breaking through the sky, vanishing into the heavens!
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