Chapter 1726: East Domain Elegy

The projection that filled the skies of the Eastern Divine Region devastated not only the onlookers from beyond the Eternal Heaven God Realm, but also mercilessly crushed the will of countless profound practitioners throughout the Eastern Region. As the most prestigious and supreme King Realm of the Eastern Divine Region, it was shockingly invaded directly at its core by demons in such a short time, utterly shattered and destroyed.

Meanwhile, the projection highlighted the terrifying power of the demons, a power far beyond anyone's comprehension. With the demons relentlessly advancing and the Eternal Heaven God Realm collapsing above them, their courage wavered and their faith crumbled. If even a King Realm was so vulnerable before these terrifying demons, how could they possibly resist? Could they truly stand their ground?

Their will to fight was quickly extinguished, giving way to an ever-deepening fear and despair. Gradually, more and more people began to retreat, fleeing for their lives. Once someone initiated the retreat, dignity crumbled before the primal urge to survive. Before long, those fleeing or surrendering actually outnumbered those who chose to fight to the death.

The dark profound practitioners of the Northern Divine Region shared a singular belief and will: the moment they stepped out of the Northern Divine Region, none of them expected to return alive. However, the Eastern Divine Region... they had enjoyed peace for far too long, making it impossible for them to embrace a suicidal resolve like the demons of the Northern Region. Or perhaps, it was all simply too sudden and terrifying. Chi Wuyao's more than one hundred "strongholds" established throughout the Eastern Divine Region were, in an astonishingly short period, occupied one after another by the Northern Divine Region.

Outside the Moon God Realm, a small profound ark soared away. As the projection from Eternal Heaven appeared in the distant sky, the young girl huddled in the corner of the profound ark slowly raised her head. With blurred vision, she whispered dreamily, "Young Master Yun..."

"That... that's!" Not far away, a middle-aged man stared at the projection, exclaiming in horror, then immediately commanded, "Quick! Go! Increase our speed to the absolute maximum... Don't worry about energy consumption for now!"

The profound ark's speed abruptly accelerated. The young girl unconsciously rose, staring blankly at the distant projection for a moment before her eyes suddenly trembled violently, and she dashed forward.

"Jin Yue!" A tall figure blocked her path. The middle-aged man asked sternly, "Where are you going?!"

"Are you insane!" the middle-aged man sharply reprimanded. "You were just expelled by the Moon God Emperor! She issued a death order, stating that if you ever re-enter the Moon God Realm, you'll be executed on sight! How can you still... after she treated you like that?"

"Father, please don't stop me!" Jin Yue clenched her hands. "No matter what, I cannot abandon my master when she is in the gravest danger."

"Jin Yue!" the middle-aged man roared, his voice filled with pain. "It wasn't you who abandoned her, but *she* who abandoned *you*! Furthermore, consider who the Moon God Emperor is; if she were truly in danger, what possible use would your power be?!"

"Don't forget, she banished not just you, but our entire clan! If you go back now... are you willing to gamble the lives of our whole clan?!"

Jin Yue, who was about to step out of the profound ark, suddenly froze in place.

"Sis... sister?" A timid little girl's voice came from behind her.

This soft call utterly broke Jin Yue's spirit. She turned around, gently embraced the little girl, comforted her with her hands, and hid the tears slowly falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Father," she whispered softly, "your daughter was impulsive." She held the girl in her arms even tighter.

The middle-aged man shook his head, a pained expression flashing in his eyes. He knew how important the Moon God Emperor was to his daughter, and serving as her close attendant had always been the greatest honor in her life. But... the Moon God Emperor was, after all, an Emperor of a King Realm. Her cruelty and heartlessness required no justification. The profound ark flew at maximum speed, heading directly south. Their destination was perhaps the Southern Divine Region, or perhaps... the Southern Region's lower realms even further south.

Not long after, countless other profound arks from the Eastern Region appeared behind them, fleeing like a swarm of headless flies.

The Star God Realm, or more precisely, its largest affiliated star realm. A starship adorned with star markings rapidly flew out. During the Calamity of the Evil Infant years ago, the Star God Realm was directly decimated. Its core strength was reduced to just six Star Gods and seventeen God Master elders, a truly tragic decline overnight. The most devastating blow was the disappearance of the Star God Emperor along with the Star God Divine Wheel.

There were only twelve people aboard the starship: the three Star Gods — Heavenly Demon, Heavenly Revolving, and Heavenly Flame — along with nine God Master elders. They did not ignore the Eternal Heaven God Emperor's plea for assistance. While Yun Che hated Eternal Heaven, he also harbored hatred for the Star God Realm. They understood the principle that "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold." Though only twelve in number, they represented exactly half of the Star God Realm's remaining core strength. The other half remained behind, guarding against potential demon attacks. Their Star God Realm simply could not endure another devastation.

The starship had barely flown a thousand li when a terrifying spatial storm suddenly erupted in the starfield ahead. Under its force, the massive starship was instantly flipped, only regaining its balance after several breaths.

"What's happening?!"

The three Star Gods, who had been meditating with closed eyes, all opened their eyes, leaped out of the starship simultaneously, and then froze in place together. Ahead, in the vast and dim starfield, a small, delicate girl stood silently. Her back was to them, and dark mist, as if from the very bottom of an abyss, ascended from her light, colorful dress.

"You... who are you?"

The three Star Gods, who had been on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy, were all stunned. The familiar back, the familiar colorful attire, and the unmistakable Star God divine power... yet it was intertwined with a dark aura that belonged only to demons.

"Cai Zhi... Princess?" Heavenly Revolving Star God Zi Yuan murmured softly.

Cai Zhi did not turn around, uttering three incredibly cold words: "Go back!"

"Princess Cai Zhi, is it truly you?" Heavenly Demon Star God Qiang Wei tentatively stepped forward, his voice dropping as he stared at the terrifying black aura surrounding Cai Zhi. "How could you..."

"Be careful!" Zi Yuan suddenly grabbed Qiang Wei. At that very moment, Cai Zhi abruptly turned around, and the Heaven Wolf Sacred Sword... no, the Heaven Wolf *Devil* Sword, swung out mercilessly.

Boom————

With a majestic yet sorrowful howl of the Heaven Wolf, the entire starfield was sliced in two. Beneath the blue-black sword mark, the hundred-li starship, fortified by dozens of profound formations, instantly shattered and then disintegrated into countless flying fragments amidst the violently collapsing space and surging Heaven Wolf divine might.

The nine God Master elders flew out from the starship, which had been annihilated by a single sword strike, three of them stained with blood. They all stared blankly at Cai Zhi, utterly unable to believe their eyes. The three Star Gods — Heavenly Revolving, Heavenly Demon, and Heavenly Flame — watched Cai Zhi, their gazes completely transformed by what they had just witnessed.

The Heaven Wolf Star God was the youngest Star God of their era. Although she had an astonishingly high compatibility with the Heaven Wolf divine power, achieving a perfect fusion of divine power would typically require at least a thousand years. Yet, that sword strike just now, though its divine might lasted only a fleeting moment, was clearly... the power of a Divine Master Realm level ten! It might even be... on par with the Star God Emperor Xing Juekong himself!

Only a mere seven years had passed since the Calamity of the Evil Infant erupted and Cai Zhi disappeared. In seven years, she had grown from a level eight Divine Master, who had just inherited the Heaven Wolf divine power, to the supreme realm of a level ten Divine Master!? This was an unprecedented and terrifying leap in progress, one that, to their knowledge, should not even be possible in the history of the Star God Realm.

"Go... back!"

The Heaven Wolf Devil Sword pointed at the three Star Gods and the terrified, trembling Star God elders. The sword, which typically emanated an azure profound light, was now covered with a layer of eerie black glow. The Heaven Wolf's Eye at the sword's tip glowed with a malevolent, reddish-black light. Terrifying demonic might and killing intent enveloped them all, making it clear that she would not repeat the same words a third time.

Zi Yuan's grip on Qiang Wei's hand slowly tightened, then she ordered, "Go, return to the realm."

No one took another step forward. They all turned around and retreated. After flying for a long while, Zi Yuan quietly glanced back, looking at Cai Zhi in the distance. Her face no longer held the innocent, lovely smile from their memories, and her eyes were devoid of the myriad twinkling stars. Only a suffocating darkness and demonic might remained, terrifying enough to deter anyone from even daring to approach. What she pondered was not how Cai Zhi had undergone such terrifying changes in just seven years, but rather an endless sorrow and piercing heartache.

Whose fault was all this, truly...

Another King Realm of the Eastern Divine Region.

Almost at the exact moment the Star God Realm's starship was dispatched, a profound battleship swiftly departed from the Brahma Heaven God Realm, heading directly for the Eternal Heaven God Realm. Aboard the profound battleship, Qianye Fantian's face was ashen, and the various Brahma Kings behind him also wore grave expressions. The tragic state of the Eternal Heaven God Realm was utterly shocking to him. As a Divine Emperor, he was one of the few in the Eastern Divine Region who best understood the Northern Divine Region's true power. However, the sheer scale of the Eternal Heaven God Realm's battle completely shattered his previous understanding of the Northern Divine Region. In particular, the three hunched old men, merely glimpsing their hideous eyes through the projection, instilled a deep tremor of fear in him, the foremost Divine Emperor of the Eastern Region.

Not long after he departed, three figures slowly approached the Brahma Heaven King City. Wherever the three stepped, everything seemed to freeze. Standing before the King City, the leading man spoke with a faint smile, "Inform Qianye Fantian that Nanming has arrived."

The Brahma Heaven guards quickly bowed and saluted. "Greetings, Nanming Divine Emperor... The Eternal Heaven God Realm has suffered a demonic calamity, and His Majesty personally left just now to offer aid."

"Is that so?" Nan Wansheng smiled faintly. "Then this King shall quietly await his return... What, are you attempting to stop me?"

"N-no, how would I dare?" The Brahma Heaven guard quickly stepped back, bowing his head. "Please enter."

In the past, due to Qianye Ying'er, the Nanming Divine Emperor frequently visited the Brahma Heaven King City in person. Setting that aside, as the foremost Divine Emperor of the Southern Region, how could they possibly dare to obstruct him?

Swaggering into the Brahma Heaven King City, the Nanming Divine Emperor's divine sense swept across, pinpointing the locations of several Brahma Kings. With a grin, he produced a dark golden disk from his hand, and a small profound formation was silently released. With an instant spatial shift, the three figures appeared before a tower. The unassuming tower, however, was enveloped by hundreds of sealing profound formations, and the auras of the guarding profound practitioners were unusually abundant. This, ironically, made an incredibly fervent, almost crazed light burst forth in the Nanming Divine Emperor's eyes.

He strode forward, and after only a few steps, a figure descended from the sky. He had a large head, big ears, and a short, stout physique, yet the profound energy surrounding him was as formidable as a myriad of mountains. It was none other than the Eighth Brahma King of Brahma Heaven.

"Nanming Divine Emperor, Southern Sea King, Western Sea King." The Eighth Brahma King recited their titles, a cordial smile on his face, though his heart was rapidly sinking. "Should His Majesty learn of your esteemed arrival, he would undoubtedly be overjoyed. Please, honored guests, rest in the main hall for a moment; His Majesty will return very soon."

"Is that so?" The Nanming Divine Emperor smiled faintly, a sudden killing intent flaring in his eyes. "But this King can no longer wait for his return."

As his voice fell, he suddenly lunged with his palm, his five fingers erupting with dazzling golden light, directly piercing the Eighth Brahma King's throat.