Ye Futian and his people stood atop the ancient continent. With the cultivators from seven realms descending, no one knew what the future would hold for the Original Realm.
The armies from the seven realms came down through the passageways, vast and mighty. This time these groups consisted of the topmost cultivators from everywhere. It was simply impossible to imagine just how many powerful cultivators were gathering in one place on this land.
As they became aware of each other’s presence, many cultivators began scanning different directions, checking people out.
After a very long time, these seven legions of the army from outside the heavens stepped out of the passageways one after another. Still, those radiant and bright spatial passages did not disappear. In a direction, an even more terrifying coercion pervaded—the passageway of the Dark Court.
Yonder, an elusive face appeared. It was highly majestic and authoritative, from which an imperial might permeated.
Afterward, in several other significant directions, astonishing coercions appeared successively. The appearance of the tombs of the gods had enticed imperial-level forces to come here. This channel must be the one opened up by the Great Emperors themselves, suggesting that they had also arrived.
“Since you are all here, show yourselves,” said the elusive face above the passageway of the Dark Court. His voice resounded through the space and high above the countless people below. All the cultivators who had set foot on this ancient continent looked up when they heard him.
Would the Great Emperors themselves participate?
If the Great Emperors were to participate, then all they could do was stay on the sidelines and watch.
A terrifying demonic might pervaded the space on the side of where the passageway from the Devil World was located. Likewise, an elusive visage also appeared, and the Lord of the Dark Court inquired, “Devil Emperor, you are here as well.”
“I’m here to take a look,” the Devil Emperor responded. Their voices were hollow. It seemed as if they had come from absolutely nowhere.
“Does everyone else want to join in?” the phantom of Donghuang the Great appeared and asked, loud and clear.
When the Great Emperors dialogued amongst themselves, everyone else could only look up and observe from the side.
“Amitabha.” At this moment, the Light of Buddha was illuminating in the direction of the passageway from the Buddha Realm. A golden Buddha phantom appeared, and it was none other than The Buddha himself who had descended.
In terms of seniority, Donghuang the Great was the most junior. Amongst all the emperors who were present, he was the youngest. However, he had once sought the teachings of Buddhism, and The Buddha was his teacher. Therefore, Donghuang the Great had a different sentiment towards The Buddha than all Great Emperors.
Now, even though he was an emperor, he still maintained the proper etiquette.
The Buddha clasped his hands together and saluted Donghuang the Great.
“The Buddha will come with us?” the Evil Emperor said in a casual voice with a faint sense of wickedness from the side of the Empty Divine Realm. The Lord of All Buddhas had many shapes and forms. Today, what was here was nothing more than a figment of many—not his true form.
The Buddha also put his hands together and bowed to the Evil Emperor, saying, “We entered here together many years ago. Now that the ancient relic has reappeared in the world let’s not participate, but leave this opportunity to the younger generation instead.”
This voice made the hearts of everyone in the space below tremble. As it turned out, all the emperors had already been to the tombs of the gods together many years ago.
“I agree with The Buddha,” Donghuang the Great seconded this sentiment. “This opportunity should be left to the cultivators of the world.”
“How come the Human Ancestor is not here?” the Evil Emperor asked, looking in the other direction. The Great Emperor of the Human Realm had not yet appeared.
“I didn’t think someone would be thinking about me,” said a voice from outside the passageway of the Human Realm. A figure seemed to manifest at the other end of the spatial passage. He was somewhere very remote, elusive, and unreal. “The opinions of The Buddha and Donghuang were also the same as mine. This opportunity should be left to the world. Perhaps other great emperors might yet emerge from the world, and we will not be so lonely as we are today.”
“Does the Human Ancestor think so?” There was some suspicion in the Evil Emperor’s questioning voice. It was as if he didn’t entirely trust the honesty of this Great Emperor of the Human Realm.
The existence of one more Great Emperor in the world would be one more threat to the status of the few that were present. Perhaps, not many of them would be willing to see more Great Emperors come into being.
“Of course, it is the long-cherished wish of the Human Realm that the cultivators of the world will become stronger, as they were in the age of the ancient gods,” the Human Ancestor responded with an outstanding demeanor that was also motivated by awesome righteousness.
Human Ancestor, as the emperor of the Human Realm, was the oldest among all the emperors today. He had lived and cultivated for a countless number of years. Donghuang the Great was the youngest and the least experienced.
“The change of heaven and earth originated in the Original Realm. This prophecy first came from the Buddhist Realm, isn’t it?” The Devil Emperor spoke, pointing to the prophecy on everyone’s mind. He continued, “Can I ask The Buddha to clarify this prophecy? Does it refer to the situation we are seeing today?”
“Yes and no.” The Buddha did not appear hostile but responded in a very kind manner. “The change of heaven and earth in the Original Realm refers to all the changes that occurred in the Original Realm. Now that the tombs of the gods have appeared, naturally, it is part of it. Everything is part of fate.”
“How will become of the tombs of the gods? What is the endgame of the changes between heaven and earth? Has The Buddha foresee it?” the Evil Emperor asked. He seemed to be a little curious. He did not believe in these prophecies from the Buddhists, but it did not mean that he didn’t want an explanation or know what the others had to say about it.
“Amitabha.” The Buddha put his hands together. He chanted the Buddha’s name, saying, “All things rise and fall according to their karma.”
“You bald donkey! Why can’t you say something we understand? Who can understand this stupid riddle?” the Devil Emperor cursed under his breath and did not bother to be polite.
The Buddha smiled without saying another word, still clasping his hands together.
The six Great Emperors chatted together casually like old friends, and the people of the world listened quietly. Many people were quite shaken by it.
The Great Emperors had been to the tombs of the gods, so they did not intend to interfere this time.
The change between heaven and earth originated in the Original Realm. This prophecy first came from the Buddhist Realm and was not some frivolous rumor. It was a prophecy acknowledged by the Lord of All Buddhas.
“Everything rises and falls according to their karma!”
What did that mean exactly?
Ye Futian was also meditating on the meaning of this saying, but he couldn’t quite grasp its significance. What would happen to the future of the Original Realm?
As of now, no one knew for sure.
“Since none of you objected, then let’s agree that we will not interfere with anything that happened here,” proposed Donghuang the Great. The tomb of the gods appeared, and one could only imagine the kind of chaos that would ensue.
Even the war at the North Cliff Region in the Divine Prefecture could not be compared to this. And it would be even more chaotic and out of order than the previous war because the cultivators from the same world, or even from the same principality, when faced with the temptation of items left behind by the Great Emperors, would fight against one another and resort to using lethal forces.
“Since you don’t have any objections, we don’t either,” the Evil Emperor replied, as everyone acquiesced. Soon, all the phantoms disappeared from the passageways; it was as if they had never been there in the first place.
When they disappeared, those spatial passages leading from other worlds to the Divine Prefecture were also closed up. All the cultivators from various imperial-level forces were already sent to this land that reemerged from ancient times.
None of the emperors would have a hand in whatever happens next.
This was good news for all the cultivators. If the Great Emperors were to interfere, there would be nothing left for them. However, it may also be interpreted as bad news. If the Great Emperors decided not to interfere, no one knew how many people would perish. Perhaps they would be the ones to fall.
“They are gone,” Ye Futian whispered. In different directions, the seven heavenly armies descended from the firmament, and they had already come onto this ancient continent, appearing in different positions. Cultivators from other places were rushed over, coming from different locations.
Of course, this ancient continent was growing and expanding, vast and endless. Even if all the cultivators from major worlds were here, everyone could be easily accommodated.
“No Great Emperor from Heaven Realm has appeared.” Ye Futian noticed that Heaven Realm did not have a Great Emperor who appeared to represent it, and the other six Great Emperors did not express any surprise. It seemed as if they all knew what was going on.
What was going on with the Heaven Realm?
Was there even a Great Emperor in the Heaven Realm of today?
However, this was not the time to think about those things; the Heaven Realm was none of his concern. Of course, these were his thoughts at the moment.
He levitated into the sky and glanced over this continent. He thought that if he could gain a foothold on this ancient continent, then he could forge a space matrix on this continent, which would then led to the Ziwei Segmentum. This way, cultivators from the Ziwei Segmentum could easily come here to cultivate.
“Let’s go!” Ye Futian commanded as he moved forward. The other cultivators followed suit and walked into the void.
On this vast and endless barren wasteland, except for that extremely pure aura of the Great Path, there was only desolation. The whole world was dark yellow in hue, exuding a sense of bleakness.
They continued forward. Although they were not moving with an incredibly fast speed, they continued to traverse through the space. There was nothing but endless ruins, mountain ranges that were split open, broken earth with dried-up cities, all of which were buried upon this ancient continent.
Moreover, there were many passageways that had appeared above the firmament, as well as the passageways everywhere outside. However, up until now, they had only seen one other passerby at the very beginning and no one else. This demonstrated the vastness of this continent.
“Something is approaching!”
Someone pointed ahead. In the distance, there was a terrifying aura that approached them, entwined with the storm, coming at them with a frightening momentum.
Ye Futian’s eyes penetrated the space and looked beyond. He saw that there was a massive thing inside the storm.
“I’ll go and see.” Blind Tie moved forward, leading the way ahead. The storm was getting closer and closer, and Blind Tie accelerated his speed. A massive hammer appeared in his hand; it was a sub-divine arm of the second order.
Buzz! A gigantic divine condor appeared in the storm, and that golden condor zoomed in on Blind Tie.
Blind Tie picked up the divines arms and blasted downward. Heaven and earth shook violently, colliding with the golden condor. Blind Tie was knocked back and passed Ye Futian and the others.
The golden divine condor stopped. His wings spread wide to cover the sky and shelter the sun as the wild wind was blowing hard. There was a terrible aura from his eyes. He held a look of terrible contempt. It was as if he was a proud emperor looking at some tiny insects.
Ye Futian’s eyes swept toward those arrogant eyes. He thought that a great demon, born from the tombs of the gods, perhaps tinged with the will of the great emperor, accounted for his arrogant posture!
