Chapter 219

Chapter 219: Day of the Transformation

The next day, dusk fell.

The sky darkened like a curtain, its churning black clouds sewn with thunderbolts like silver dragons. Wild winds raged across the heavens and earth.

Above Godfall Ridge, the innate divine patterns visibly withered away. Slowly opening upon the vault of the sky was a heavenly divine eye, its dazzling authority pressing down upon all living things.

"The Heavenly Dao…"

Awe shook the spirit of the man in yellow, reverence rising in his eyes.

Even as an immortal, he still felt fear before the Dao of the cosmos. This reverence was instinctive, born deep within the beings native to this world.

The greater the cultivation, the deeper the understanding.

Ji Tianjue’s face showed stunned amazement. Even his powerful master revered the Heavenly Dao so profoundly. What threat within Godfall Ridge had required harnessing the Heavenly Dao’s force to suppress?

Was it truly only those ancient divine clans?

Ji Tianjue refused to believe it.

Deep within Godfall Ridge, some deeper, fundamental secret must lie.

Dao King sat quietly by the window, his gaze piercing and unfathomable as he looked towards Godfall Ridge. "It’s about to begin."

"The day has finally arrived."

At the Red Dust Demon Sect, Lin Qianmo, Lan Youruo, Nangong Zhandao, and the others sat gathered together, witnessing the transformations at Godfall Ridge. Lin Qianmo’s emotions were the most complex among them.

"Three hours remain."

Nangong Zhandao murmured to himself.

With the great change imminent, Nangong Zhandao’s heart could not find peace. As the child of fortune of the Yuan Realm, he could profoundly sense every shift affecting the realm at all times.

Everyone understood: when the great change arrived, it would turn the world upside down.

Strangely, the whole world was unnervingly quiet.

The stillness before the storm.

Crack!

Three hours later, a clap of thunder rent the heavens. In the split second of searing light, Godfall Ridge was illuminated, freeing it from darkness. Amongst the glare, everyone glimpsed a black dragon emerging from Godfall Ridge, instantly vanishing into the void.

"The Burial Soil’s seal has lifted!"

Lin Qianmo and Duobao Daoist both narrowed their eyes. Burial Soil was one of the world’s great calamities, its origin unknown, its nature bizarre and unpredictable. This lifting of its seal was absolutely nothing good.

A spark of excitement flashed in the man in yellow’s eyes, but he suppressed it instantly.

Boom!

The next instant, the eye upon the sky cracked open. Strands of heavenly divine patterns shattered, the power of the Heavenly Dao collapsing like a breached dam. The force suppressing Godfall Ridge vanished completely.

Boom! Rumble!

A dazzling column of divine light erupted upwards from Godfall Ridge. The entire landmass of Godfall Ridge abruptly plummeted downwards, as though falling from another dimension directly into the Yuan Realm.

Thud!

In that very moment, the entire Yuan Realm trembled violently. The Southern Wilderness felt the impact most profoundly.

The world turned upside down, and the great earth sank beneath the sea.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, Godfall Ridge began to endlessly expand and swell. Plot after plot of land, mountain range after mountain range, river after river merged into the Yuan Realm. Everyone felt the earth of the Yuan Realm stretching unceasingly, its area swelling at astonishing speed.

"The space within Godfall Ridge… is this vast?"

One Emperor Venerable exclaimed in awe.

An old man with a white beard said solemnly, "The Yuan Realm is the ancestral home. From ancient times until now, it has always been the First World. Naturally, its land area has always ranked first.

"However, after the Great War of Antiquity, the majority of the Yuan Realm’s territory was sealed, leading to its current impoverished state.

"With Godfall Ridge unsealed, the Yuan Realm will soon reclaim its seat as the First World."

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless mountain ranges thrust upwards; surging rivers poured into the Yuan Realm’s waters.

The Southern Wilderness, Eastern Region, Western Region, Central Continent, and Northern Region continuously retreated, shifting from the heart of the Yuan Realm to its distant frontiers.

As Godfall Ridge unsealed, the center of the world changed.

Simultaneously.

The seal shattered, and the Heavenly Dao suppression vanished. A tremendous surge of spiritual energy erupted from the direction of Godfall Ridge, engulfing the entire land from all directions, swift and mighty.

"I’ve broken through to the True Spirit realm!"

"I’ve broken through to the Divine Spring Realm!"

"I’ve broken through to the Dao Palace stage!"

"I’ve become a god!"

Cheers erupted from countless locations.

The great spiritual energy surge most obviously benefited the weakest cultivators. Flooded by the thick spiritual energy, they had their realms break through instantly.

This was just the appetizer.

The assembled Emperor Venerables held their positions, observing the changes calmly.

The current spiritual energy surge was merely the first benefit of the seal breaking; it offered little help to masters of the Emperor Venerable Realm.

"Esteemed fellows, today is the day we prove our Dao!"

The most elite quasi-emperors of the Yuan Realm emerged: Lian Jiuyou, the Eastern Sea Dragon King, the Pure Land leader Yue Ruyi, and Qin Changsheng of the Unsurpassed Sacred Ground.

Today was their chance to become emperors.

Exactly eight natives of the Yuan Realm flew into the newly expanded world, each claiming their own territory.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The eight supreme quasi-emperors operated their techniques to the extreme. Their Dao seeds whirled; their Dao hearts resonated with the rules of the Yuan Realm. Instantly, the bottleneck that had long stalled them shattered under the slightest pressure.

Crack!

Above the sky, clouds of tribulation gathered. Across eight different directions, eight thunder tribulations for becoming an emperor descended almost simultaneously.

Ye Xu stood atop the city battlements, gazing with satisfaction.

These individuals had finally awaited this day.

The eight quasi-emperors included Lian Jiuyou, the Eastern Sea Dragon King, Yue Ruyi, and Qin Changsheng. Each had attained the peak of the emperor realm, with one foot already stepping into the threshold of true emperorship.

Their emperor tribulations would be far more formidable than those of others.

However, with their capabilities, surviving the thunder tribulation to become emperors would be more than sufficient.

Especially Lian Jiuyou, who cultivated the Eternal Catastrophe Sutra. His physical body was exceptionally strong, and his primordial spirit was incredibly tenacious, almost indestructible.

Yue Ruyi was even more extraordinary. Wielding the Doushuai Celestial Fire, she could, by harnessing the power of the Great Dao, instantly melt away the thunder tribulation and effortlessly attain the Dao to become an emperor.

Yet, Yue Ruyi was clearly wary of exposing the Doushuai Celestial Fire and dared not use it.

The ascension of these eight to emperorship and the eight heavenly emperor tribulations were but an insignificant sliver amidst this great change.

After the Spiritual Energy great eruption, imperial tombs surged forth one after another, beams of treasure light shot across the sky, and countless rare treasures and spiritual objects nurtured over millennia emerged like bamboo shoots after spring rain.

Treasure radiance filled the heavens, illuminating the world as bright as day.

"That’s mine!"

A tower ship from the Hehuan Palace flew towards the new world, charging directly at a beam of azure treasure light.

The radiance shimmered, filling the heavens and earth with fragrance.

It was a divine herb, nurtured for ten million years, that had already developed sentience. It resembled both a demon and an immortal spirit—mischievous and elusive. Seeing the tower ship approach, its roots sprouted like legs, and it took off running.

"What caught this palace master’s eye has never escaped."

A fair, jade-like hand extended from the tower ship. The domain of the Great Dao unfurled, instantly immobilizing the divine herb. The jade hand clenched gently, capturing it.

"This herb, refined into pills, can help me achieve a breakthrough into the late Emperor Venerable Realm… hehehe…" The woman giggled, her alluring figure quivering.

Within Linglong City, countless Emperor Venerables watched with burning envy.

That was a ten-million-year divine herb, almost matured into an immortal elixir—a treasure of immense value even to Emperor Venerables.

"So many treasures! If we don’t take them, it’d be a waste."

"Since we’ve come, we cannot return empty-handed!"

"Charge!"

Emperor Venerables surged towards the new land.

"Brother Ye, you can remain so composed?" Great Emperor Ziwei stirred restlessly.

"Have you forgotten the ancient divine clans of Godfall Ridge?" Ye Xu asked lightly. "Those ancient divine clans view the Yuan Realm as their exclusive domain. How could they tolerate outsiders laying hands on it?"

"Over ten million years, though Godfall Ridge was sealed, it wasn’t in a Spirit-Desolate Era. The number of Emperor Venerables born within those ancient divine clans must be terrifyingly high."

Swish!

Before his voice had even faded…

A blade-light flashed into existence between heaven and earth—so fast it defied comprehension. Even the master of the Hehuan Palace reacted too slowly.

Crack!

The domain of the Great Dao was shattered by the single slash. A fair, jade-like arm fell to the ground, and the divine herb, freed, immediately fled.

"Ahhh!"

A shrill, agonized scream tore from the tower ship. "Who dares oppose the Hehuan Palace?!"

At that moment, a large, calloused hand seized the fleeing divine herb, stuffed it into its mouth, and began to chew deliberately, savoring its rich fragrance.

"It was your granddaddy."

The man lifted his head, his eyes flashing with cold lightning, staring down arrogantly on the assembled emperors.

He was a middle-aged man. He rested a long blade casually on one shoulder while holding the half-eaten divine herb in his other hand. His demeanor was that of an unbridled rogue; his unruly jet-black hair whipped wildly in the wind, his gaze scornful, utterly, supremely arrogant.

Seeing him, Ye Xu thought of someone.

Qi Wuhen.

The master of the Hehuan Palace watched him intently. The power contained within that divine herb was immensely potent; even she would need to refine it into pills before daring to consume it. Yet this man chewed it raw—a testament to his frightening strength.

The many advancing Emperor Venerables halted, visibly intimidated.

Dao King and Su Miao Zhen watched with sharpened eyes.

This middle-aged man’s cultivation was unquestionably on par with Su Miao Zhen’s, placing him firmly within the ranks of the top-tier Emperor Venerables.

"Your divine abilities are vast, Daoist friend. This humble consort is wholly outmatched," the Hehuan Palace master spoke in a sultry, coquettish tone. "Might Daoist friend be interested in boarding the ship for a brief chat? Perhaps we could become… friends."

"You flirtatious hussy? Granddaddy has no interest!" The middle-aged man chuckled crudely. "Granddaddy prefers pure maidens—got a daughter, or a female disciple lying around? Then granddaddy might consider it."

"You… you dare insult this palace master so?!" She was quivering with rage, her lungs nearly bursting.

"Oh ho… angry are we?"

The middle-aged man swallowed the remaining half of the divine herb, rolled up his sleeves, and assumed a deliberately lazy, provocative stance. "Come on then! Let granddaddy see just how flirtatious you really are!"