Chapter 1196: Second Dream

This time, no further incidents occurred.

Under everyone's gaze, the celestial rift closed into a white streak, eventually disappearing.

"Has the Divine Venerable succeeded?" On the ground, many immortals still looked up at the sky. "This battle... we won!"

All living beings on the ground breathed a sigh of relief.

Flocks of birds landed on mountaintops and tree branches, silent in mourning.

Many people sank to the ground, stunned for a long while before bursting into tears.

Thick clouds rolled in, completely obscuring the clear sky.

Jade Crown looked up at the western sky, his eyes filled with compassion: "Billions of lives have been annihilated, and seven or eight out of ten great powers of the world have fallen. We can't even call this a tragic victory; we merely expelled the sky demons. But the calamities for the human world are only just beginning!"

The remaining people fell silent.

After a long moment, someone softly said, "It's time for the next step."

So, the seven leaders returned to their respective sects, deploying according to the previous plan.

Three days later, everyone gathered again.

A light barrier emitted from a stone tablet nearby silently protected an oasis. The dragon scale on the tablet was dark and gleaming.

This open space was packed with tens of thousands of people, yet the seven leaders were followed by only a few dozen disciples.

Six of them asked Jade Crown: "Immortal Shounan, do you truly intend to stay? The world's spiritual energy is already depleted; even with your power, you won't last much longer."

Once you stay, you must be prepared to perish, body and spirit. Not just Immortal Shounan; everyone here is the same.

"You enter the grotto-heaven to preserve our lineage; I remain outside to ensure its survival as well." Immortal Shounan gave a slight smile. "You've been in seclusion for too long. Who knows what unexpected things might happen outside? Perhaps the sky demons remaining in the human world will still cause trouble. With me here, evil forces won't be able to stir up any waves!"

"With Immortal Shounan present, the world is safe!" The six were moved. They bowed to him in unison, thanking him for his protection, and then addressed their respective sects: "The task of enlightening countless beings is now entrusted to you."

With that, each of them chanted incantations. The air behind them rippled like water, revealing a small, jagged opening.

Inside was another small world: verdant mountains, clear waters, exotic flowers and strange plants, and spiritual energy surging. Just standing at the entrance, warm mist brushed their faces, refreshing their hearts and minds.

Compared to the purgatory outside the light barrier, this was truly a blessed grotto-heaven.

Tens of thousands knelt, shouting, "Farewell, Immortal Venerables!"

The six Immortal Venerables, along with their direct disciples, stepped into the small world without looking back.

The grotto-heaven and immortal abode slowly closed before everyone's eyes, as if it had never existed.

Tens of thousands prostrated themselves on the ground and wept.

This was indeed a parting of life and death.

Then, Immortal Shounan waved his hand to the crowd: "You may all disperse. Your Immortal Venerables have already arranged the tasks; you just need to begin."

Seeing him stride out, his disciples hastily followed: "Master, where are you going?"

"Just now, when the Divine Venerable collided with the celestial rift, a red light shot westward; it's necessary to investigate." Immortal Shounan affirmed. "That object must be related to the important treasure the sky demons used to merge heaven and earth. Moreover, the Divine Venerable sacrificed himself to impact the sky, and his whereabouts are unknown; I must go and see."

The black light that swept across the sky just now must have been the Black Dragon.

He glanced at the crowd: "Why are you still following me? Why aren't you starting on the tasks assigned to you?"

"We are about to begin, but Junior Brother Quyu hasn't appeared. We cannot ascertain his situation."

Immortal Shounan paused slightly and casually summoned his long sword.

The sword's tip was broken, and its body was bare, yet it still shone as bright as autumn water, engraved with a line of talismans.

Immortal Shounan held the sword and whispered a few words, and the talismans on its body lit up. He tossed the sword into the air.

The divine sword flew without wings, transforming into a faint light, and sped westward.

Only then did Immortal Shounan say, "I had long instructed him that standing under the sun would ensure his safety. He didn't listen. Alas, it was his fate."

The disciples were moved: "Junior Brother Quyu has already..."

"You don't need to look for him anymore."

The disciples understood and added, "Your injuries are severe. Please rest and recuperate first; it won't be too late to travel later."

Immortal Shounan sighed: "Time waits for no one. There must still be remnant sky demons, and they must not find it first. I have a premonition that what fell from the sky is extraordinary."

A disciple gave a bitter smile: "The land is so devastated, the sky demons are barely surviving in hiding; how dare they emerge? Master, please take utmost care, as there will be no further spiritual energy replenishment!"

Immortal Shounan subconsciously slowed his pace.

The previous few fierce battles had indeed overexerted him too much, leaving him wounded all over. His young disciple was right; the spiritual energy of this world was completely depleted, making it difficult even for an Immortal Venerable to replenish.

From now on, when performing actions or casting spells, he could no longer be as extravagant as before.

Seeing his expression soften, the disciple asked again: "Those Immortal Venerables entered the grotto-heaven for forced seclusion, saying that in a minimum of one or two hundred years, and a maximum of four or five hundred years, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would become abundant again, and then they would emerge. But what if the spiritual energy of heaven and earth never recovers?"

Immortal Shounan gave him a strange look: "Why do you think that way?"

The disciple persisted: "What if? What if it doesn't?"

"That wouldn't be optimistic. They can certainly last longer than us, but the spiritual energy within the grotto-heaven is also finite. Besides, there are two old fellows whose injuries are even more severe than mine; did they think I wouldn't notice?"

At this moment, the volcano closest to the oasis began to erupt with a rumble again. Lava poured into the sea, and endless white steam rose into the air.

How many more years would such an apocalyptic scene continue?

When would the spiritual energy that living beings so desperately awaited finally recover?

Immortal Shounan gazed into the distance, sighing faintly: "If your words prove prophetic, then perhaps a millennium from now, our lineage will be severed, living beings will be ignorant, and there will be no immortals left in the world."

Having said this, he lost interest, waved his sleeve, and was already a hundred zhang away.

The disciples exchanged bitter smiles: From now on, they would have to conserve their spiritual power; their Master seemed to have forgotten again.

The scene shifted, revealing another setting.

The Daoist sect, originally isolated amidst green mountains and clear waters, now saw its gate-guarding mountain stone, engraved with the large characters "Yuyang," stained red with blood.

Along the winding mountain path, corpses lay scattered everywhere, stretching all the way to the sect's main hall.

The Yuyang Sect was defeated, most of its disciples dead or wounded, and the remainder were forced to surrender. The victors were an army of over two thousand. Their leader completely ignored the captives kneeling in the back hall; he personally dragged the treasury manager to the back mountain and flung him down before the treasury gate:

"I hear you have a precious armor here, forged from ancient black dragon scales?"

"Yes, but..."

"Open the door!"

The other man held a blade to the treasury manager's brow, its tip still dripping blood. The treasury manager had no choice but to produce the keys and deactivate the seals.

Red light flickered twice on the treasury gate, and it slowly opened inward.

Inside the vault were several magical artifacts and a small amount of gold and silver, but the leader didn't even glance at them, following closely behind the manager into a partitioned area deep within the vault.

Here, only a single black battle armor was stored.

It was unknown how long it had lain there; its plates were covered in dust, dull and lusterless.

The leader scoffed, "A supreme treasure covered in dust, unable to fulfill its purpose—you cultivators are truly wasteful!"

The manager stammered, "The Rahu Armor is an evil armor mistakenly forged by our patriarch; it has flaws and is incomplete, which is why it was sealed..."

"Where are its flaws? Where is it incomplete?"

"The quality of such a treasure, when formed, is uncontrollable even by the celestial immortal who forged it; it's what's called a 'fortuitous masterpiece,'" the manager whispered. "Before the Black Dragon sacrificed itself, its cultivation had transcended the mortal realm and entered sainthood. It was the only Divine Venerable in the world, having comprehended the ultimate truths of heaven and earth. A precious armor made from its scales would grow powerful by absorbing karma, but what cultivators fear most is becoming tainted by karmic repercussions..."

The leader interrupted him: "We, who lead soldiers, are not afraid of that. What else?"

How could one lead soldiers and kill without incurring karma? He dared to do it and dared to bear the consequences, unlike those hypocritical so-called immortals who sow evil deeds yet fear their repercussions.

How pretentious!

"After the precious armor was forged, it always lacked a piece. Our patriarch spent great effort and finally found the Black Dragon's heart-scale to complete the armor. This heart-scale is also called the 'inverted scale' by the dragon race. But—" his mouth went dry, and he cleared his throat several times before continuing, "The first time this precious armor was given to our foremost disciple to use, the heart-scale inexplicably went missing. Our patriarch calculated for a very long time but could not ascertain its whereabouts, only sighing that it was the will of heaven and there was no need to search further."

"Your patriarch was so careless that he could lose such a treasure? Did it perhaps grow legs and run off?" The leader shook his head. "What function does this inverted scale serve?"

"That, I... I don't know." He was merely a keeper of the vault, having only heard some old legends that weren't even guaranteed to be true; how could he know everything? "The part on the chest plate now was added... added later. Afterward, this armor became increasingly sinister, and our patriarch deemed it unfit for the world, so he sealed it away."

The leader walked straight to the black armor and tore off the seals above it.

So what if a heart-scale was missing? The treasure was still what he urgently needed.

As soon as he reached out and pressed the helmet, an expression of surprise appeared on his face, as if the armor was unusual. But he immediately rejoiced: "Truly divine!"

His expression turned serious, and he bowed thrice to the precious armor, solemnly declaring: "I, Pang Yuan, now invite this divine armor to accompany me in conquering the four directions and achieving unparalleled feats! When I establish my empire and ascend as king, you shall be the foundational treasure of the nation!"

This was the solemn promise he made to the Rahu Armor.

When he next touched the Rahu Armor, it disintegrated on its own, turning into a stream of black mercury that coiled around his body like a python.

In an instant, it reformed into black battle armor, covering Pang Yuan's entire body.

The man let out a loud laugh and turned to leave.

Pang Yuan did not break his word; he later founded a vast empire, and indeed, the Rahu Armor became its foundational treasure.

However, he governed the nation with tyranny and harsh laws, leading to frequent uprisings. Pang Yuan still donned the armor and went into battle, suppressing thirty-seven uprisings in ten years and stabilizing his territory.

In his old age, Pang Yuan became increasingly temperamental.

Before his death, he personally sealed the Rahu Armor in Mount Ke, forbidding future generations from wearing it.

Time flowed by, and two hundred years passed.

The empire was on the verge of collapse. The last emperor disregarded the ancestral injunction and once again summoned the Rahu Armor, but it could not prevent the empire's downfall.

From then on, the Rahu Armor was lost to the human world, emerging every few decades to cause bloodshed and chaos.