“We must not let him enter the River of Blood!” Progia roared as he pounced at Qianye.
However, the black intent expanded suddenly around Qianye—it was as though everything in the world had lost its color. Progia felt a terrifying attractive force as he was shrouded by the shadow, dragging him toward the darkness.
He tried to approach Qianye while resisting the pulling force, but the closer he got to Qianye, the closer he was to the black intent. The pull grew exponentially as he moved closer and closer, so much so that Progia felt a sense of danger.
What was this domain? Startled and angry, he hurled several spears of demonic energy, but all of the attacks were duly absorbed by the darkness. He himself did not dare approach the darkness.
The Eternal Flame neither moved nor opened fire. He simply watched Progia struggling within Qianye’s domain, roaring and attacking in vain.
Just as Qianye was about to step through the lacerated sky, the Eternal Flame asked, “What is this domain called?”
Qianye was stunned for a moment. “Name? Oh, I never really thought about it. If I must give it a name, let’s call it… Genesis.”
The Eternal Flame was surprised. This domain was clearly devouring and reducing everything to nothingness. Why was it called Genesis of all things?
The titles of heavenly monarchs and great dark monarchs weren’t randomly given; they actually represented a profound meaning. Qianye had stepped through the firmament during this moment of contemplation and entered the River of Blood.
All of a sudden, it seemed as though all the vampires of the Evernight World sensed something at the same time. Everyone gazed up at the sky—the old, the young, the strong, the weak—all the vampires could clearly sense the existence of the River of Blood! It was gentle, strong, and extremely close, so close that it felt like anyone could jump into its embrace.
Immediately, all of the vampires didn’t know what to do. They were used to the river being a lofty and faraway existence, something only the strongest beings could touch. Now that the very source of divinity had appeared before them, everyone found it difficult to believe.
The Eternal Flame slowly opened the ancient book and tore three pages from it. He flew up into the air and used them to form a triangular sealing formation.
He said to Progia, “You guard this seal, I’ll go over and open the passage. Whatever he obtains from the river, it will be too late by the time he returns.”
Progia said in a serious tone, “Are we at the final moment?”
The Eternal Flame sighed. “Perhaps, perhaps not. It’ll all depend on the mood of the other two supremes. A slave race will always be a slave race, they still cannot change their foolish character even after becoming a supreme.”
Progia produced a black gem and passed it to the Eternal Flame. “If I fall, pass this to my descendants.”
The Eternal Flame put away the gem and flew toward the holy mountain. Meanwhile, Progia remained hovering quietly outside of the seals.
The Pointer Monarch was completely unfazed by the appearance of the River of Blood. He even broke into hearty laughter. “The Chronicle of Glory will finally be completed in the hands of our people! Even if I die, I can stand proudly before the Founding Ancestor. Kane, unfortunately, all our schemes will end this very day!”
The Demon King gazed up at the river beyond the scar in the sky. His body trembled as Qianye walked into its waters. He felt like he saw Lin Xitang’s figure appear, standing beside Qianye as he walked into the river.
A flash of lightning ran through his mind, and many unsolved riddles were answered one after another. The only problem was that old answers begot new enigmas.
“It turns out that you’ve been waiting for this moment all along.” The Demon King brandished the Awakening Dream. “Ji Wentian, I never understood before why the supremes of the Sacred Mountain could never unite and wipe out the humans first. Whenever there was an opportunity, there would always be some kind of accident. We would always fail at the last hurdle. So, it turns out that even the hearts of the supremes have been unknowingly affected. The Lost Season! Heh! What a powerful Lost Season. You humans have a powerhouse backing you!”
The Pointer Monarch said seriously, “Now that’s a bit biased. The rise of our race since a thousand years ago can be considered unstoppable, but every step we have taken was paved with the corpses of our ancestors. The flowers along the way were watered with their blood. How could we have reached where we are today without the sacrifices of our predecessors? We would never have completed the Chronicle of Glory if our ancestors had not sacrificed themselves.
“The Founding Ancestor said thus: ‘The daybreak path, our Ji clan will be the first to break.’ Every generation of our members has given their lives and bodies for the cause, to the point where our bloodline is running thinner and thinner each year. According to Evernight’s theory, our Founding Ancestor and Martial Ancestor’s bloodlines were so powerful that they could conquer the world. Why would they run themselves to the ground?”
The Demon King put away the Awakening Dream and listened silently.
The Pointer Monarch’s gentle demeanor receded as he adopted a deep, domineering tone. “Back in the year, when our Founding Ancestor formed the Great Qin and ascended the throne, he had decreed that the throne shall be passed to Duke Zhang’s descendants when the Ji clan has no more members to make the ultimate sacrifice. “When the Zhang clan is gone, the duty shall fall upon Duke Zhao’s offspring, so on and so forth. If and when all nine dukes have spent their manpower, it must be heaven’s will to end our race. That was why the Empire’s ultimate ruler does not represent power and authority, but instead a promise to the people of our nation. The throne shall remain unchanged as long as this oath stands.”
At this point, the Pointer Monarch said in a clear voice, “Who in Evernight can hold such a position?!”
The Demon King was left dazed. He laughed wryly after a good while. “T-This… why the need to go so far?”
“If we don’t do this, how will our race ever thrive?”
“What is your definition of prosperity? You’ve already occupied four continents. The Qin and Western Continents are bountiful lands, not at all inferior to our best territories. What is your idea of prosperity? Do you want all twenty-seven continents?”
“No, Evernight is just a small corner of a larger whole. The dearest wish of our forebears has always been to escape from this place, to shatter the fetters on our bodies and set foot on the great path.”
“The great path you speak of is a higher life-form, isn’t it? What will that achieve, everyone becomes a supreme?”
“That I cannot tell you. Everything will become evident once the Chronicle of Glory appears in this world. It’s a pity I won’t live to see it.”
The Demon King flicked Awakening Dream with a sigh. “You humans have been breaking through hardships and obstacles with every generation. We, on the other hand, have come to the end of our paths. We cultivate to the extremes of our bloodlines and obtain thousands of years of life, yet we don’t know what to do after that. Both Lilith and I found out only after we reached the Sacred Mountain that the path was at its end. The world was so small that we could touch the very ends of it. What do we do next? Conquer the twenty-seven continents? Then what?”
He smiled ruefully. “A story where you can see the end is nothing but boring! I really do envy you humans because you have a dream to pursue. Perhaps chasing the unknown is the very meaning of life.”
The Pointer Monarch said, “Our lives are so short that we barely notice that we’re nearing the end. That’s probably why we’re not willing to think too much while we are alive. If we have the power to spare, we do our best to leave a stable life for our descendants.”
The Demon King shook his head. “How envious.”
“Okay, we’ve talked too long. It’s time to end things.”
The Demon King stepped backward and pointed the Awakening Dream to the ground. “You first.”
Ten peals of thunder resounded from the Pointer Monarch’s body. “Nine is the ultimate number. Since I developed Excavator, I have never used the tenth stratum before. Only the tenth can carry the might of this sword attack I’ve been cultivating for thirty years… a life of hardship, a sword to rend the heavens!”
