At the border of the Otherworld, the Black Snow danced and fluttered.
A fortress, weathered and worn, stood tall on the Otherworld. You could still vaguely see its former grandeur.
In the Heavenly Phoenix Domain’s early days, there was more than just the City of Divine Beings; the outside world wasn’t always the Otherworld.
This place used to be a safe haven, but now the castle walls were scarred, corpses scattered everywhere, and the air was thick with the stench of bl**d.
Everything pointed to the fact that a fierce battle had occurred here just the day before.
At this moment, in a stronghold within the city.
Led by Jiang Yu, the Celestial Race members, including Po Jun, alongside representatives from the Underground City, stood before a defensive map.
“We have no way back; our only choice now is to burn our boats and sink our ships.”
Jiang Yu rested his hand on the Divine Sword of the Celestials, opening the meeting.
Everyone’s expressions were complex—sighs, resentment, regret—but they held it all in.
The current situation truly offered no retreat.
Their rear had been cut off; no one had expected that the valiant wolf among the Celestials would have defected to the Otherworld side long ago.
“With no supplies or military resources, the longer we drag this out, the lower our chances of winning.”
“To fight to the d*ath, we need to have a plan.”
“We can’t just nibble on demon meat; that stuff can drive you crazy and k*ll you!”
“Being attacked from both sides, even if we manage a pyrrhic victory, how do we get back to the City of Divine Beings?”
The discussions amongst the warriors of the Underground City grew louder, increasingly agitated.
Jiang Yu listened quietly until the clamor died down. He scanned the crowd.
“You don’t need to think too much; your task is to hold off the majority of the higher-level demons here.”
“I’ll take the strongest members of the Celestial Race and leave; we at least need to stall for three days.”
“Three days? ”
The warriors exchanged glances, their expressions unreadable.
They didn’t voice it, but they all shared the same thought.
Jiang Yu wasn’t planning to use them as cannon fodder while he slipped away, was he?
“I plan to strike at their heart and capture their leader,” Jiang Yu added.
Even now, he still radiated the same confidence.
A mid-level warrior from the Underground City chuckled bitterly, “We really don’t have a choice, do we?”
Indeed, even if Jiang Yu truly led people away, they wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
All they could do was hope he wasn’t just spouting nonsense and that he could actually succeed.
But even so, the rear…
Gurgle—
A round object was tossed in, rolling twice on the ground.
A head, bulging eyes staring blankly, solidified with a pale golden hue, rolled to a stop.
It was the wolf.
The figure that had thrown the head in dashed in through the Black Snow, rubbing their hands and sitting next to the fire pit, poking at the charcoal with a bloodstained stick.
Looking at this ordinary old farmer basking by the fire, they felt a wave of absurdity wash over them.
That was a Celestial of radiant purple light, and yet they had died so simply, right in the hands of a mortal.
Jiang Yu watched him for a long while before slightly bowing, “Elder Dong, please accompany us to You Shuo.”
“I’ll go, but not with you,” Dong Chang Tian replied without even glancing at him.
He didn’t think much of Jiang Yu, the one who held the Divine Sword and was descending upon the emperor’s throne.
It was just that he had seen the real Sun before.
…..
Outside the city.
“Old Luo, what nonsense are you talking about now?”
“Why are you so lucky, you cheeky chicken?”
“Hahaha, I’m keeping tabs! Remember to pay me once you’re out of the City of Divine Beings!”
The crisp sound of mahjong tiles clashing filled the air as the Huanmo Sect’s members played mahjong and sipped on drinks, exuding a joyous atmosphere.
Recently, Luo Yexian was on cloud nine.
Demons could be controlled using the secrets of the Hall of Beasts, as they seemed inherently linked to the beast deity of the Hall.
The counterattack from the City of Divine Beings into the Otherworld was nothing more than a mild ripple, hindered by an array of natural negative factors.
Just the demons organized by the Hall of Beasts kept the enemy shrunk inside their city.
With the Celestial wolf betraying them, that fortress couldn’t withstand for long.
Without a doubt, the major achievements belonged to him.
The leader of the bl**d Refining Hall snorted, “If the next calamity doesn’t come soon, the Great Ancestor is still recovering; I didn’t expect this trial to end so soon without being able to use my planned schemes.”
“Same here; Jiang Yu likely wants to strike while the Ancestor is still recovering, wishing to end it all at once. Unfortunately, he’s too foolish and arrogant,” said the burly leader of the Yin Yang Hall sweetly.
Jiang Yu’s flashy operations made not just his people blush but even the opponents feel the same.
“Ahem, the trial isn’t about to end; there will still be chances for accomplishments.”
Luo Yexian shook his head.
These two were getting a bit ahead of themselves; they even forgot about Ying Bing.
But even she would likely struggle to turn the tide, given how Jiang Yu had already pushed the situation to an irreparable state.
Just then, a tall bull-headed demon rushed in to report.
“The Great Ancestor requests all of you to return to You Shuo!”
“What happened?”
“Jiang Yu has already led a group of Celestials to the outskirts of You Shuo!”
“Hmm?”
The expressions of the leaders of the Deer Hall, Luo Yexian, and the Yin Yang Hall changed dramatically.
A surprise attack?
This kid really lacked martial ethics, and his heart was hardened; without the Celestials here, this city wouldn’t last long.
The rest of the people in the city had no choice but to fight to the d*ath.
This translated into using the lives of others in the city in exchange for a chance to directly strike at their heart.
Was Jiang Yu not planning for this from the very start?
“We shouldn’t delay; esteemed sirs, please make haste.”
“Let’s go!”
After a discussion, Luo Yexian and the others decided to leave the weaker demons behind to continue holding the besieged city while they took the strongest among the demons to rush back for reinforcements.
“Let’s go!”
Taking the bull-headed demon with them, they headed in the direction of You Shuo.
……
In You Shuo.
A chilling wind blew, this was the origin of the disasters for the City of Divine Beings, the dirtiest and most twisted place in this realm, thick black moss covering the ground as though made from pressed black snow, along with bizarrely shaped stone carvings.
The creatures that could survive here mirrored the harshness of the environment.
At the highest peak of a mountain stood a temple.
The power of the second disaster was being nurtured within.
Here lies the source of calamity, a considerable number of powerful demons, those from the Huanmo Sect who had undergone baptism, and the supreme being that had come from beyond.
At this moment, a dark figure stood in the sky above You Shuo, gazing at the distant horizon.
There, a ghostly outline of a golden dragon coiled around a divine city broke through layers of black snow.
“More Celestials have come to You Shuo, just like before.”
“Let’s capture them.”
“After this battle, He will take us to the true realm and grant us new lives….”
In the abyss of Black Snow, under the illumination of the Underground City, ripples started to rise, dissipating into thin air.
Could it be that the Otherworld was welcoming a dawn?
A strange silence enveloped both sides, creating a brief vacuum.
Bringing forth the Emperor’s intent, the Celestials looked down and finally saw the creatures that still existed below.
They were all tall, with tangled hair, attired in garments strikingly akin to their own, yet ruggedly traditional.
Unavoidably, they all bore a greenish skin tone, with hollow black eyes, and as they breathed, foul mist billowed, seemingly born from the Black Snow.
In hushed whispers, they resonated with the essence of this realm.
This indicated their identities—Celestials.
Only, their bodies had long since rotted, driven by the now polluted consciousness souls, existing in a realm between life and d*ath, they were better described as living dead.
“Shining Radiance, Soaring Silence, Lone Sentence….”
Lei Ze murmured while staring at those distinct figures.
Among these living dead were no shortage of famed ancestors from the records of the Celestials.
And indeed, the ordinary had no standing amidst those who reached You Shuo.
Alas, they had now become the living dead, standing against everyone.
“Why are they like this?”
“It must be the means of that bl**d God, having already stationed guardians in You Shuo… but why did they not participate in the previous round of calamity?”
“Perhaps it’s because they couldn’t emerge from the Otherworld, but right now, standing in the Otherworld is us…”
The Celestials, transcendent and above all, were the darlings of this realm.
Now, even their predecessors, who were even more powerful, had become living dead guarding the temple for the enemy; who wouldn’t feel a chill running down their spine?
“You’re from the true realm as well.”
“The Celestials born from the secondary realm couldn’t possibly carry this anomaly.”
The one just referred to as Shining Radiance, with pitch-black eyes, glanced at Jiang Yu with a shadowy expression.
The words drew dark clouds, as if endless resentment surged forth from You Shuo.
The surface of the Otherworld suddenly ignited, resembling a volcano ready to erupt; his figure vanished into the flaming sea.
The next moment, an exceptionally tall ‘mountain’ erupted from the sea of fire.
Not a mountain, but a giant engulfed in flames.
Standing beside Jiang Yu, Lei Ze’s expression grew serious as he cast a pure bolt of lightning toward the heavens.
The winds and clouds changed color, and countless bolts of lightning descended, turning the earth into a fierce prison, locking the advance of the flaming giant.
“Everyone, let’s move!”
Lei Ze was the first among the Celestials to make a decision.
His whole body was wrapped in thin lightning serpents, akin to a thunder god descending, stepping out into the scene of the divine city.
The thunderous prison didn’t extinguish the black fire giant, as when struck by lightning, while the flames danced, they mended quickly.
The powers of heaven and earth from both sides clashed against each other.
In the blink of an eye, Lei Ze transformed into a bolt of electric light and surged into the prison he had created.
He wasn’t unique.
The rivers of water spontaneously surged, murky waves tearing through the skies; sand storms gathered, sweeping across the Black Snow; brilliant starlight pierced through the murkiness… Po Jun took to the battlefield armed with a spear in one hand and a long sword in the other, being a Celestial forged through martial arts.
After years of quiet in the Otherworld, it seemed that the heavens and earth were about to be turned upside down.
The battlefield was segmented into dozens of zones; combat ignited heatedly from the outset.
It wouldn’t be long before the scales tipped toward victory.
Because this was the Otherworld.
The Celestials resonated with heaven and earth, and so could their opponents, and they were continuously bolstered; unless the living dead’s remnants were completely severed from this realm.
All they could do was buy time for Jiang Yu.
Amidst the chaotic battlefield of the imperial city, moving closer to the temple.
The figure holding the Divine Sword maintained a steady gaze, focused deep within the temple where a black coffin connected with the earth lay.
Now was a rare opportunity.
The imperial city suddenly shrank, hovering above Jiang Yu; the aura of royal authority grew even denser above him.
With heavy imperial might, carrying the wrath of an emperor that could annihilate millions, the imperial city thudded down.
In the distance.
“d*mn, they’re fighting so fiercely.”
“If this were the City of Divine Beings, do we really need another calamity? We’d leave behind nothing but barren land.”
“Hey, do you think the abandoned cities outside of the City of Divine Beings were just wiped off the map like this?”
“Jiang Yu is headed towards the Great Ancestor; what should we do?!”
The members of the Huanmo Sect arrived late, spotting You Shuo in utter chaos.
“Hah, Jiang Yu thinks he can harm the Great Ancestor, he’s so out of his league,” the leader of the bl**d Refining Hall commented coldly.
“We should surround those Celestials together, don’t let them escape; if the Great Ancestor finds out, he’ll commend us for our adaptability,” nodded the leader of the Yin Yang Hall.
“Exactly, if we wait any longer, we’ll just come as spectators,” Luo Yexian had initially planned to play it cool, fully agreeing with the two’s intentions.
However, just then, a clear and naïve voice rang out.
The three turned their heads to see the bull-headed demon.
“Jiang Yu is indeed not a concern, but the bl**d God is still recovering and not at full strength; if he gets injured, it would damage his dignity.”
The bull-headed demon, quite loyal, was earnest.
The three exchanged looks; what could they do even if they got closer?
If it was an external issue, it would be one thing, but Jiang Yu, now a Sovereign wielding the Divine Sword for the City of Divine Beings, had them completely outmatched.
“Since that’s the case, you should take a few high-ranking demons to help out,” Luo Yexian casually suggested.
“I’m on it!”
The bull-headed demon genuinely agreed, charging out ahead.
That tragic silhouette left the three of them perplexed.
Such a brave demon! Were there really warriors among the demons? It seemed the Otherworld had all sorts of demons…
“Who is he to be so bold?”
“I have no idea, maybe Old Luo’s pet?”
“No, no, definitely not mine; I can’t stand bull-headed beings.”
“Under Yin Yang Hall’s banner?”
“That’s impossible; my Yin Yang Hall only has plants, rocks, and demons formed from corpses, no living beings involved.”
After exchanging a few words, they didn’t take the matter too seriously.
After all, there were tons of nameless demons; they couldn’t possibly know every single one.
The lack of attention towards Jiang Yu from various Huanmo Sect leaders was understandable.
Jiang Yu indeed looked strong; had this been a normal trial for the Celestials, there was a high probability he could succeed.
But now, lying within the temple was the bl**d God.
Crash—
With a piercing sound, the coffin cracked open.
Though the arm remained a deep black hue, over this time period, the gruesome wound had vanished, replaced by thick torrents of bloodlight.
The hand gently opened, effortlessly cradling the phantom of the imperial city.
With no visible exertion, it gently weighed the burden of the imperial city.
“You’re far inferior to your father.”
