Chapter 1407: Crimson Shadow

The Blue Pole Star lies far to the east of the God Realm, even closer than the God Realm to the Chaos Wall. It was also the first to observe the red star and consequently experienced the strange calamities earlier.

The first upheaval of spiritual beasts began in the east of the Azure Wind Nation, spreading slowly westward and initially affecting only the lowest-tier spiritual beasts. This situation persisted for over two years, until one day, it suddenly erupted on a massive scale. On the Profound Sky Continent, the Illusory Demon Realm, and the already disaster-stricken Cloud’s End Continent, all spiritual beasts—from the lowest to the highest grades, and even reclusive beasts rarely seen for centuries—fell into complete chaos.

However, the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm were undoubtedly fortunate. Besides Feng Xue'er, Yun Che had directly cultivated eleven Divine Path profound practitioners using the Divine Water of Life, which was sufficient to handle any spiritual beast upheaval in their world. More importantly, Yun Che’s presence and his profound light energy could quickly pacify agitated beasts, silently defusing the chaos.

However...Even with Yun Che's presence, everyone clearly felt, from that day forward, that the world had fundamentally changed. Though the continent-wide spiritual beast upheaval was swiftly quelled by Yun Che, the earth-shattering roars and malevolent aura of the beasts still cast a terrifying shadow across the land.

From that day on, an unusual wind began to sweep across the Profound Sky Continent, the Illusory Demon Realm, and the distant Cloud’s End Continent. The wind was at times gentle, then wild, cold, then scorching hot. Its direction was chaotically illogical; one moment it would blow southeast, the next it would abruptly shift to the northwest.

On the second day, torrential rain suddenly descended upon the Profound Sky Continent, submerging it under three feet of water within hours. Yet, the following day, the land grew incredibly hot; areas previously inundated were now horrifyingly parched and cracked, with every fissure seeming to emit heat like flames.

On the fourth day, the Profound Sky North Sea and the Illusory Demon West Sea raged with colossal waves. Countless sea beasts, radiating extreme frenzy, surged towards the continents they had never before set foot on.

“Brother Yun,” Feng Xue’er’s voice transmission came, “Divine Phoenix City has just experienced another spiritual beast upheaval. After investigating, I believe this is very likely another continent-wide outbreak!”

Yun Che frowned deeply upon receiving Feng Xue’er’s message. Previously, whenever he purified a region affected by spiritual beast turmoil, his potent profound light energy would prevent further outbreaks in that area for at least three months. Yet now, only fifteen days had passed since his last purification of the continent-wide spiritual beast upheaval!

Instead of departing immediately, he gazed up at the eastern sky. For the past few days, the sky’s color had been in constant flux—at times azure, then dark, withered yellow, or reddish. Occasionally, lightning would flash without warning. The only constant was the red star shining in the eastern sky. Whether the sky was clear or cloudy, rainy or stormy, it blazed in the firmament, emitting an increasingly ominous red glow.

Was it truly on the verge of a full “outbreak”? What exactly was it? Why was it happening so quickly? Wasn't it predicted that even if it did erupt, it would be centuries, or even further, in the future?

“Daddy, has something bad happened again?” Yun Wuxin approached, her voice laced with worry. Everyone, every living being, had clearly witnessed the world's changes in recent days. Everything had been so sudden and terrifying.

Yun Che turned, a casual smile on his face. “Yes, another spiritual beast upheaval,” he said.

“...That’s so strange,” Yun Wuxin murmured, looking at the sky. “What’s been happening these past few days? Master says it’s climate change, but I don’t think it is at all. I’ve been feeling inexplicably uneasy lately, and Mother has too. Even the adorable snow beasts in the Ice Extremity Snow Region have started behaving oddly.”

Yun Che reached out and gently patted her back, offering a reassuring smile. “The climate is indeed a bit unusual, but there’s no need to worry. Don’t you remember how powerful your father and master are? There’s nothing we can’t handle together. I’ll go deal with this spiritual beast upheaval now and be back very soon, so don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Yun Wuxin nodded, but the worry in her eyes remained. Although she was only thirteen, the Divine Water of Life had elevated her profound energy to the Divine Path and brought about fundamental changes in her spiritual perception. How could that eerie sense of unease merely be a change in climate?

With a spatial shift, Yun Che appeared above the Divine Phoenix Nation. Here, just as in the Illusory Demon Realm, everything around him was distinctly different from how it had been. The entire vast Divine Phoenix City was filled with an unsettling aura. The normally dense fire elements in the air had become extremely agitated, occasionally erupting into bursts of flame. All around, the earth-shattering roars of spiritual beasts mingled distinctly with the sounds of distant volcanic eruptions.

“Master, what’s going on?” He Ling’s bewildered and worried voice emanated from within the Sky Poison Pearl.

Yun Che looked around, murmuring, “The elemental balance... it’s been disrupted.”

“What? How... how could that be? What caused it?”

“I don’t know,” Yun Che replied, and that was precisely the most terrifying part. Not knowing the cause was far more frightening than the disruption of the elemental balance itself.

“Perhaps the most likely cause is the rift in the eastern extremity of chaos.” Yun Che briefly glanced at the red star before looking away. If everything truly originated from that crimson rift, then what kind of aura was it emitting that could influence such distant star regions? It was already so terrifying without a full outbreak. If the day of its complete eruption arrived... what terrible catastrophe would it unleash?

A world-ending calamity?

Yun Che spread his arms, and pure profound light energy shimmered around him. He murmured, “To agitate spiritual beasts to this extent, the most probable cause is dark profound energy, which amplifies negative emotions. All I can do now is purify and, to the best of my ability, maintain the elemental balance of this planet. I hope this strange calamity will soon subside on its own.”

As he spoke, a cascade of profound light energy streamed down—denser than any previous time. Given the circumstances, he had no choice but to amplify the light energy he released, even if it increased the risk of detection by the God Realm. Unbeknownst to him, the distant God Realm was also currently embroiled in chaos.

Soon, after shifting his presence dozens of times, Yun Che quelled the spiritual beast unrest on the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm. Finally, he made another trip to the Cloud’s End Continent, purifying it once more and visiting You’er while he was there. The three continents grew much quieter, but a hazy layer of dark energy still shrouded the sky.

It was already the next day when he returned to the Profound Sky Continent. Just as he was about to rejoin Yun Wuxin, he suddenly received a voice transmission from Cang Yue:

“A conflict has suddenly erupted on the border between the Canglan and Black Fiend Nations. It started as a minor skirmish involving only a few hundred people, not even enough to alarm a domain master, yet for some reason, it has agitated both royal families.”

“Even more bizarrely, the ruler of the Black Fiend Nation became enraged and declared war on Canglan Nation just half an hour ago. The Canglan ruler, typically mild-tempered and peace-loving, actually accepted the challenge directly and immediately ordered conscription...”

Yun Che: ...

“This is definitely not normal,” Cang Yue’s voice was solemn. As the ruler of the Azure Wind Nation, she was well-acquainted with the state of the Profound Sky Seven Nations, their diplomatic relations, and the temperaments and styles of their respective rulers. She would never typically inform Yun Che of such minor inter-state affairs, but this time, it was truly too bizarre.

Yun Che’s brows furrowed deeply. Then, in a gentle voice, he said, “Don’t worry, those two nations won’t actually fight.”

“Husband, considering the frequent spiritual beast upheavals in recent years, could it be... that they, like the beasts, are also being negatively affected by something?” Cang Yue asked, her voice tinged with worry. Having attained the Divine Path through the Divine Water of Life, Cang Yue’s divine perception was naturally far superior to her past capabilities, allowing her to easily sense the extraordinary nature of the situation.

“Very likely,” Yun Che conceded, then quickly reassured her, “But don’t worry. If I can easily purify the spiritual beast chaos, I can certainly clear their minds as well.”

Putting down the voice transmission jade, Yun Che turned and headed directly for the border between the Canglan and Black Fiend Nations. In mere days, all his previous concerns had become reality.

Upon arriving at Canglan Nation’s imperial city, he found, as expected, that the entire city was in turmoil. Both profound practitioners and commoners alike exuded varying degrees of malevolence. Except for madmen, both profound practitioners and commoners typically loathed conflict and war. A minor border skirmish provoking two royal families to furiously declare war was utterly laughable, worse than a childish farce. Yet, Yun Che saw countless enraged shouts echoing through Canglan Imperial City. People cursed the Black Fiend, passionately responded to the war declaration, and were inflamed with emotion—even including the vast majority of women and children. It was as if, overnight, the Black Fiend Nation had become Canglan’s sworn, irreconcilable enemy.

Yun Che had weathered countless upheavals in his two lives, yet the scene before him still sent a chill down his spine. With a wave of his arm, a layer of profound light energy, invisible to others, silently swept down, enveloping Canglan Imperial City and quickly covering most of Canglan Nation. Then, his figure flickered, and he appeared directly above the Black Fiend Nation.

The situation in the Black Fiend Nation was identical, mirroring that of Canglan Imperial City. As the same profound light energy cascaded down, enveloping the Black Fiend Nation, the city’s pervasive malevolence was instantly swept away as if by a strong gale. Faces that had been agitated and ferocious froze, softened, then became bewildered, even fearful. They could scarcely believe their recent words, actions, or thoughts—it was as if they had been possessed.

The Black Fiend ruler, drenched in sweat as if recovering from a severe illness, suddenly stood up and roared, “Quick! Immediately prepare an envoy for Canglan...” Before he could finish, a messenger rushed in, shouting, “Report! The Canglan Royal Family has sent an urgent voice transmission, requesting reconciliation!”

The Black Fiend ruler immediately sagged with relief, slumping back into his imperial chair. Yet, he remained shaken for a long time, as if waking from a nightmare.

“How could this happen?” He Ling, who hailed from the God Realm, was likewise filled with dread by the scenes she witnessed.

Yun Che remained silent, his expression grim.

“What about the God Realm...?” He Ling’s voice trembled slightly. If the God Realm also succumbed to this state, the horror would be unimaginable.

“The atmospheric energy of the God Realm is much higher than that of the lower realms, and its beings are far more powerful,” Yun Che explained, pausing briefly before adding, “It wouldn't reach such a state, at least not in the short term.”

What kind of invisible, formless, and silent aura could influence the elemental balance of vast star regions and the spiritual state of countless living beings? In the understanding of Yun Che, He Ling, and indeed all powerful individuals in the God Realm, such a force simply did not exist in their current world.

The primal chaos space had always been in flux, constantly self-balancing. In a world without gods, the primal chaos aura had grown thinner and more turbid. The aura of the current primal chaos world was naturally incomparable to that of the ancient age of gods; it was the fundamental difference between the divine and mortal planes. Yet, it had long since established its own complete and perfect balance.

However, if a power from that ancient era were to suddenly appear in the current primal chaos world...