As the Rapid Port was surrounded by countless eldritch and mythological demigods of the Black River faction, far away in the Central Holy Court, within the Falling Cloud Province, the demigod Xi Guang, who had been a guest for several months, urgently sought out the Governor of Falling Cloud again.
"Such signs are already precursors to the awakening of an evil god. Your esteemed nation must take this seriously!"
He stared at the Governor of Falling Cloud and then spoke of the great battle unfolding outside.
His words conveyed a single message.
The Water Overflow Nation was under attack by the Black River faction. The other six nations were lending their full support, but was the Central Holy Court simply going to sit idly by?
Were they not the human force that claimed to inherit Candela's legacy and possess the strongest power!
"It's not that I don't take it seriously, but whether to dispatch troops to rescue the Water Overflow Nation is not something I can decide. I am, after all, merely a governor."
He said, with a look of helplessness, "Such a major affair can only be decided by the Elder or Lord Saint. Moreover..."
He stopped short of finishing his sentence.
"The evil god faction is unfathomable. To confront them head-on with our human strength would be akin to striking a rock with an egg."
"If we humans are to continue to exist, we cannot act on impulse. Do you know that the Candela Empire, which possessed the peak of rune artistry, was destroyed by the evil god faction? How much less so for us now."
He shook his head and sighed.
He did not agree with the choices of the seven nations.
"But the evil god is still slumbering, and has already brought irreparable damage to the aberrant world. If the evil god truly awakens, will we humans have any room to retreat?!"
"Now, the scythes of the evil god faction are already at our throats, and you remain indifferent?"
"It is not indifference, merely a difference in choice. To preserve humanity, a more rational approach must be adopted. In this regard, our Holy Court has the most say."
"Have you forgotten the mutual defense agreement of the Human Alliance?"
"It is not that. This governor has also slain several servants of the evil gods. However... In short, if the Lord Saint gives the order, this governor will immediately lead troops to support. But for now, we must await military orders."
After a period of debate, the demigod Xi Guang looked at the face of the Governor of Falling Cloud, then gazed outside at the city of Falling Cloud Province, bathed in brilliant sunshine and reveling in peace and prosperity. He left without another word.
He flew towards the battlefield of Rapid Port.
However, before the demigod Xi Guang could reach Rapid Port, an immense terror swept towards him.
His expression changed drastically.
Within his field of vision, a terrifying colossal silhouette rose, connecting the heavens and the earth. He was still a considerable distance from Rapid Port, yet this colossal silhouette appeared as if it were right before his eyes.
Coldness, decay, stillness, filth...
Assaulting him!
"Ninth Realm..."
The demigod Xi Guang was not unfamiliar with high-level beings of the Ninth Realm.
However, this was the first time he had witnessed the true power of a high-level existence.
Even across an infinite spatial distance, he could still feel the suffocating oppression.
And a harbinger of disaster slowly descending from the heavens.
"Cannot stop it."
...
"It... it was stopped!"
One moment, despair reigned supreme; the next, the wind ceased, the clouds dispersed, and the entire world fell into silence.
All despair and oppression vanished.
Mythics and demigods stared blankly at the indistinct figure enveloped in golden radiance, unable to recover for a long time.
Was it, perhaps, one of the Sages?
This was their first thought.
The human world also possessed high-level existences of the Ninth Realm, beings referred to as Sages or Saints.
Yet, they were few and far between.
Furthermore, there was no known path to the Ninth Realm; no path trodden by predecessors was replicable and could only be discovered through one's own exploration. Demigods did not know much about the Ninth Realm.
High-level beings of the Ninth Realm wielded authority and could be considered gods.
The Seven Nations did not have Ninth Realm Sages, but the Central Holy Court did, and more than one.
"No, it is not an Elder of the Central Holy Court, nor is it a human Sage."
"Could it be..."
A Mythic thought of the Ancient Gods.
Ancient Gods and Gods of Faith were once the rulers of this world. Later, with the arrival of evil gods and the world's corruption, countless humans and various intelligent life forms perished. The Gods of Faith also rapidly declined and withdrew from the world stage.
Otherwise, in the previous epoch, Gods of Faith were the sole path to godhood that could be replicated and entered the Ninth Realm.
However, nowadays, humans would rather forge a path from an nonexistent past than tread the faith-dependent path, which was fraught with hidden dangers and extremely fragile.
Moreover, the current human population was not large enough to support the faith required by the divine path.
Ancient Gods, on the other hand, were born possessing numerous divine powers and authorities.
Although many Ancient Gods had perished in the previous epoch, some had survived and changed their divine names to better suit the mysterious era.
There were also some Ancient Gods who had not entirely perished and were gradually returning from the river of time due to residual power, faith, or posthumous arrangements.
The existence of Ancient Gods did not require faith, but they could use faith to heal themselves.
If they wished to revive, they would need to interact with the surviving intelligent life forces of the world – "Give me 50, and when this god reclaims my former authority, I shall confer upon you the titles of Divine Soldiers and Generals."
In fact, many powerful human factions were secretly dealing with Ancient Gods.
The 'Certified Rituals' possessed by many factions were achieved by borrowing the authority of Ancient Gods. However, Ancient Gods also had distinctions between good and evil, order and chaos. While human factions hoped to have an Ancient God as their backer, they did not wish to deal with chaotic and evil evil gods.
It was likely that the one who acted now was an Ancient God worshipped by the Seven Nations.
Which one could it be?
To be able to block the harbinger of disaster with such an effortless demeanor, this one must be among the top-tier Ancient Gods.
Despairing people, at this moment, rekindled the flame of hope, their gazes fixed on the figure in the sky.
...
"Not too late."
Wrapped in golden radiance, Instructor Fang, who wielded infinite might, let out a long sigh.
That was close!
When Lord Yujin appeared, he had already begun his preparations. However, even after Liu Feng and others had exchanged dozens of blows with Lord Yujin, only a short period of real-time had elapsed.
Instructor Fang needed to mobilize power and burn fuel, and he had almost failed to arrive in time.
If he had been too late, he would have had to use the Descent Card of the Scarlet Sky Pillar.
At this moment,
Instructor Fang wore the god-slaying weapon 'World Master's Hand,' which stored a vast amount of World Power from Blue Star. At the same time, before departing, he retrieved a large quantity of high-purity faith from the Memorial Stele. This power was now burning as fuel, temporarily residing within his body.
He stared at Lord Yujin with a solemn expression.
"Ninth Realm, high-level existence."
This was the third such being he had seen. The previous two were the Lord of the Blood Lake and the Lord of the Shadow.
Lord Yujin had clearly appeared in his true form, his state similar to that of the Lord of the Blood Lake at the time. However, back then, he had the World Power of Blue Star at his disposal, which was a never-ending source. Now, he was in the Cloud Radiance Great Domain, and the World Power stored within the World Master's Hand was merely water without a source.
But...
"I am no longer who I was."
"In the instance space, the time-sequencing secret realm, compared to that day, I have cultivated for over ten years."
His realm had surpassed the peak of Mythic.
His mastery of power and his analysis of World Power were incomparable to what they were before.
"If I were to manipulate World Power to fight, I could at most contend with a high-level existence. Unless the opponent retreated first, I would be the one exposed."
This would not do.
Lord Yujin might not possess a mind that was good at embellishing the truth like the Lord of the Blood Lake.
However, it was also possible that the Lord of the Blood Lake was not that good at embellishing.
"Back then, I only fought with World Power, which is as absurd as an awakened person not using skills or abilities, but simply emitting life energy and fighting with it."
He didn't know how to use it then.
Now, he still didn't know much. At most, he could manipulate World Power to make some adjustments. He could not transform World Power into laws, authority, or dominion.
He was merely a minor Mythic.
But he had the 'Burning Faith,' and by burning World Power through this channel, he could achieve the realization of power.
However, there were limitations.
The realized skills were crucial.
If he burned World Power and only used it to augment basic skills like Palm Lightning or Blade Slash, the quality of the fuel, no matter how high, would be useless.
It was like installing a nuclear battery on an electric scooter; it would still only travel at the speed of an electric scooter.
Skills limited the upper limit.
Legendary skills could barely match World Power, which was of the crimson grade fuel.
Instructor Fang hid in the time-sequencing secret realm and secretly studied, finally figuring out a little. Currently, his most proficient skill was undoubtedly – the Tree of Life.
He held up the harbinger of disaster, but no towering tree silhouette appeared behind him.
Instead,
from the surface of the giant disaster harbinger, as large as a star, tender sprouts emerged one after another.
They grew, strengthened, and absorbed the corrupt energy of the harbinger. Soon, cracks spread across the surface of the harbinger, until they covered its entire body.
Crackling—
Rumble!
The harbinger shattered, thoroughly pulverized, leaving only countless tiny stone fragments that fell like raindrops.
The Mythics paid them no mind.
These small stones could not kill anyone, and Rapid Port was protected by a grand formation. They merely stared with wide eyes at the giant bud left behind after the harbinger shattered.
It was slowly unfurling, scattering countless seeds of life.
In a moment,
trees grew from the earth, trees grew from the oceans, and even on the incredibly filthy Black River, lush trees sprouted, incongruous with their surroundings.
"This is..."
The rumbling sound echoed through the heavens and the earth. Lord Yujin gradually became astonished.
"The authority of plants."
His mud, his harbinger of disaster, all contained the laws and authority of decay, gloom, and darkness. They could erode everything they touched and possessed an inherent overwhelming dominance over all things and abilities in the world.
This was authority.
Only authority could counter authority.
And now, the range of his authority was rapidly diminishing.
But he was Lord Yujin, a being qualified to serve by the side of the Sovereign.
He was enraged.
The heavens and the earth changed accordingly. The black river churned violently, and the dark, gloomy ocean in the distance became even deeper and blacker.
Gray-black mud emerged from the riverbed and beaches, then rapidly spread, covering all visible areas.
The next moment,
as if a mirror reflecting its image, an endless shadow of mud appeared in the sky, mirroring the earth, and slowly descended.
If the descent of the harbinger of disaster earlier was like the sky collapsing, then now, the word "like" could be removed.
The sky had truly fallen!
It was so oppressive that it was impossible to breathe. The space of the entire domain seemed to be vibrating.
Mythics and demigods seemed to see that as the sky descended, the entire current region would be gradually compressed until it became flat, like a scroll painted with mud. At that time, everything within the region would be erased.
At this point, the indistinct figure, shrouded in golden radiance, made a move.
Without any discernible action or emission of suffocating power, a thick, brown root emerged from the earth, rapidly growing into a sky-reaching tree.
It was just like the towering giant tree that the demigod of the Ancient Wood Nation had conjured using a precious seed not long ago.
However, the giant tree conjured by the golden existence was even more majestic, like a true pillar of heaven supporting the gray sky that was descending.
But it seemed insufficient.
Cracks began to appear on the towering giant tree.
If not for the need to protect them, weak humans, this existence would surely have better ways to deal with it.
Many hearts clenched.
The golden existence still appeared calm, like the warm sun in winter, like an ancient giant tree.
It simply stood there, let out a gentle sigh, and said, "Rise."
The earth's crust began to tremble, and one sky-reaching giant tree after another, colored golden-brown, emerged. This kind of power that could alter space and create space seemed to be merely the casual action of this existence.
This was the Legendary Skill: Infinite Door!
One becomes a thousand! One becomes ten thousand!
In the blink of an eye, thousands of towering giant trees emerged, rooting themselves in the earth and propping up the sky, turning the entire world into a realm of ten thousand trees in an instant.
Lord Yujin, with his immeasurably vast body, was now flanked by these giant trees, like a giant trapped in a narrow space.
Fang You snapped his fingers.
"Snap—"
Instantly, the giant trees bloomed, their vibrant colors spreading throughout the entire world.
He estimated the remaining World Power in the World Master's Hand, gritted his teeth, and said,
"Go!"
The myriad flowers and trees of the realm merged into one, enveloping Lord Yujin's body, compressing him to a single point, and casting him into the interstice of time and space!
As he manipulated this vast authority, time seemed to stand still, only to slowly begin flowing again at this moment.
The Mythics suddenly looked up and discovered that the gray-black sky had vanished, and even the gray mist had dispersed. Rays of sunlight broke through and shone upon the earth.
The towering trees propping up the sky began to crack and disintegrate, but they still left behind countless petals and the fragrance of grass and trees, drifting between heaven and earth.
But that majestic, mysterious figure, like an ancient giant tree, had already disappeared.
Just as it had arrived.
Leaving behind a mysterious identity.
"No, it's not a mystery!"
Fei Hua, the old woman and demigod of the Ancient Wood Nation, trembled with excitement. "Such powerful life force and plant authority, only the Forest Goddess could achieve this. The ancient and noble Goddess has awakened and returned!"
The Forest Goddess, perhaps?
A demigod suddenly realized.
Indeed, among the ancient gods, the Forest Goddess was a first-tier Ancient God. If she had returned from history, she would indeed possess such magnificent and incredible power.
Effortlessly, she had eliminated a Ninth Realm existence.
In other words, only a top-tier Ancient God like the Forest Goddess could achieve this.
A Mythic from the Ancient Wood Nation became even more devout.
Mythics and demigods from outside the Ancient Wood Nation also lowered their heads in reverence.
"Praise the Goddess."
...
In the distance,
above a sea in a certain region of the Cloud Radiance Great Domain, a figure in yellowish-brown crossed the sea.
Its form was extremely blurred, as if it could not be recorded by any instrument or means, yet its image was very clear: it was the embodiment of the earth, walking earth.
With each step it took, the sea surface would bulge in coordination, forming an earth for it to tread upon.
Its progress appeared slow, but in reality, each step crossed infinite spatial distances. It would only take a few more steps to reach Rapid Port.
It was the backing of the Scarlet Sand Nation.
The former Great Ancient God, God of Mountains, Rocks, and Earth, now the Lord of the Earth.
However,
this Ancient God was stunned.
"That forest woman? Doesn't seem like it."
"But who else could it be, some old friend? The divine aura is strange and unfamiliar. No, there's a trace of familiarity."
The ancient being muttered, shook its head, turned, and disappeared into the end of space.