Chapter 201: After the Divine War

The great explosion spread rapidly in a colossal ring of fire. The murky sky ignited, turning everything crimson as if the apocalypse had arrived. The immense sound and violent air currents possessed the power to overturn heaven and earth, resembling a torrent of wild beasts unleashed from a sluice gate, rising like a wall and roaring down.

Even from a great distance, the immense roar still carried waves of heat. Both in Severed Realm City and the tribal settlements, people could feel the scorching, rolling temperature on their cheeks. After a brief moment of daze, they scattered, their clamor sounding like the constant crackling of firewood burning in a fire.

For thousands of years, the sky here had only been murky white and viscous black. Today marked the sky's third color.

Above Severed Realm City, the golden cross was stained crimson. Siming was nailed to it, her white dress and silver hair appearing blood-red, like a camellia about to wither at dusk.

At one end of the cross, a black crow cawed at the sky. The air currents parted before it, flowing backward. Meanwhile, the black serpent at the lower end of the cross tightened its coils around the pillar, flickering its tongue continuously. Its pupils glowed red, and its black scales shimmered with red light as its body writhed.

The wave accompanying the immense sound toppled countless houses. Broken tiles and wooden pillars splintered and flew everywhere. Many, lacking the protection of walls, were immediately lifted, tossed like airbags, and sent crashing down, spewing blood. Others were trapped under collapsed buildings, struggling to extend their arms, only to be trampled bloody by the panicked crowd.

Siming gazed down at the chaos below, yet she felt remarkably calm. The raging wind was like a giant hand, pressing her firmly against the torture rack. Her white dress, billowing backward, clung tightly to her skin, outlining her exquisite, almost perfect, curves.

But no one had time to notice her anymore.

She closed her eyes, her pursed red lips devoid of any warmth.

"Ye Chu, your thoughts truly remain unfathomable," she murmured to herself. She recalled the Lord Heavenly Sovereign, who had always been gentle yet possessed profound spiritual powers. When she was still a girl, the Heavenly Sovereign had taken her beyond the sundial, allowing her to glimpse the Law of Time for the very first time.

Back then, she had asked Ye Chu, "When one becomes as powerful as you, what wishes could remain?"

Ye Chu had smiled then and said he wished to meet someone, someone who could truly step outside the cone of destiny. He also said he hoped the Divine Lord would be that person.

Unfortunately, they all knew what happened afterward: even a being like the Divine Lord could not escape fate.

She struggled to free her hands but could not break loose from the Nails of Judgment piercing her wrists. Excruciating pain shot from her wrists through her body. She pressed her lips together even tighter, eventually giving up in despair. The crow on the cross stared coldly at her, its gaze a warning.

She wished Ye Chu would leave, so he would never witness her humiliation. Yet she also wished Ye Chu would return; even if he hated her, he wouldn't let her endure such indignity…

She knew this was the fragile emotion born from her diminishing divinity and surfacing humanity.

For some reason, the image of that white-robed young man suddenly flashed through her mind again… that accursed youth.

She had once wished to cut him into a thousand pieces; now, all she wished was that he wouldn't see her like this.

In the tribal settlements beyond the snowy plains, many people also rushed out into the streets. They all looked up, watching the explosion in the sky that expanded from a point to a vast surface in an instant. The fiery red wave of flames, pushing a dazzling white curtain of light, spread tens of thousands of miles in a flash.

"What is that?"

"The gods must be enraged; the sky is falling…"

"Our grandmaster once said that if we can't find a way out, doom will inevitably be our final destination…"

"Run! Quickly, run!"

A cacophony of voices merged, their shouts like waves, carrying the unique roughness of the tribal accent. Yet at this moment, the immense impact force from the distant sky had not yet pierced through everything to reach them. When that power finally arrived, the settlement would be utterly destroyed, with houses in ruins and bodies strewn everywhere.

"Look… what is that?"

"It looks like the Divine King!"

"The Divine King…"

What they pointed to was a sudden white speck within the red sky, like a white gull hovering in mid-air.

Ning Changjiu faced the fiery glow spreading across the sky.

Before that enormous wave of air descended, he did not hesitate, drawing his sword and striking upwards towards the sky.

This was his first true sword strike since mastering the Asura Divine Record. He carried no explicit divine authority; his only reliance was his spiritual cultivation and the blade in his hand.

The young man's white robe seemed like wings unfurled in the sky, small but appearing as if they could shelter the entire tribe beneath them.

The sword was already unsheathed, held high, its tip pointing directly at his brow and eyes. The combined strength of both arms poured into it, striking forward along his body's central axis. The sword's edge already reflected the fiery sky-light; now, with spiritual energy surging in, it became a blazing iron sword, raging with an intent to incinerate everything.

In a brief moment, a force as heavy as ten thousand mountains pressed relentlessly onto the sword's edge.

Ning Changjiu grunted, the veins and muscles on his sword-wielding arm bulging. His blood vessels seemed to throb. The heat transmitted to his hands, gripping the sword, made them glow fiery red.

"Boss…" Shao Xiaoli ran out of the house, looking at the figure in the sky, momentarily flustered. She instinctively drew her sword, but her cultivation was insufficient at the moment; she couldn't reach his height.

She quickly turned back to the courtyard, spotting Blood Feather Lord huddled in a corner, trembling with his wings wrapped around himself. She yelled, "Red-Headed Chicken! Fly, quickly, take me up!"

Blood Feather Lord stubbornly refused, saying, "The sky is falling, little girl, hurry and hide. Anyway, the tall one is holding it up. If he can't hold it, then no one can, and we'll just wait to die together…"

Shao Xiaoli's cheeks flushed with anger. She looked at it, exasperated, and furiously declared, "All the meat I've fed you this past month has been wasted on a good-for-nothing!"

Blood Feather Lord didn't seem to think she was scolding him. It covered its head with its wings, like a turtle retreating into its shell.

Shao Xiaoli stomped her feet in frustration, wishing she could just kill the red-headed chicken and throw it into a pot. She turned her head towards the sky. A blinding light shot towards her, and her vision went black. She immediately covered her eyes with her sleeve and averted her head slightly. Even so, her pupils still stung intensely. She squeezed her gaze through the crook of her arm, clutching her throbbing heart, and endured the pain to check on her boss's safety.

Ning Changjiu hovered above the settlement, his feet resting on a tree branch. As the impact arrived, the branch was ground to dust, but Ning Changjiu remained completely unharmed. Inside him, the golden lotus with countless petals bloomed with extraordinary brilliance. His spiritual energy poured into his sword, igniting a vast plume of sword-fire. Then, exerting all his might, he pressed forward, the sword's edge seemingly bearing a mountain as he pushed it upwards.

The power surpassed its limit, and Ning Changjiu let out a clear whistle. The Asura Divine Record was instantly activated to its peak. The forces, intertwined with heat currents, met his sword's edge and were forcefully pushed back.

Ning Changjiu's white robe billowed wildly. In his mind, he couldn't help but recall his Second Senior Brother's sword strike that cleaved the Spirit Devourer. At that time, too, everything was blood-red as the evening glow swallowed the sky. That pure, ultimate sword light cleaved through everything, and then the sun calmly descended below the valley.

He imitated that strike, but only captured a third of its essence. His body continuously ascended, as if it was the sword carrying the man, rather than the man wielding the sword.

The sword sliced towards the sky.

The destructive intent forcefully cleaved the wave.

A profound silence fell upon the tribal settlement.

This catastrophic disaster did not truly arrive. The destructive wave was cleaved open overhead, then dispersed to either side, only demolishing half of the walls surrounding the settlement.

Ning Changjiu's figure drifted down, landing on the roof of a watchtower. He gasped for breath, his vision slightly blurred, his gaze fixed upwards. In his mind, he calculated the arrival time of wave after wave of air currents. Only after he had struck three times did the sky finally calm.

Shao Xiaoli ran from a distance, clutching a water flask.

Shao Xiaoli leaped onto the watchtower, then sprang onto the roof. Seeing Ning Changjiu half-crouching below, she couldn't help but reach out and touch his cheek: "Boss, you're so hot."

Ning Changjiu exhaled a puff of warm air, took the water flask beside him, and drank it all in one gulp. He smiled, "After living here for so long for free, I couldn't just stand by and watch them die from a natural or man-made disaster, could I?"

Shao Xiaoli looked at him seriously and said, "You are the true Divine King. I am not worthy to be called Divine Queen, and that red-headed chicken is even less worthy to be the God of Light."

As they spoke, Blood Feather Lord also flew stumbling from a distance, yelling, "Lord Ning, are you well? This Heavenly Sovereign arrived late to your aid; please do not blame me."

Shao Xiaoli's face puffed up with anger, almost like a steamed bun. She suddenly kicked the flying Blood Feather Lord to the ground, then supported Ning Changjiu, asking gently, "Boss, how are you? Are you alright?"

Ning Changjiu softly said he was fine. The Asura Divine Record had made his physique far stronger than before; there wasn't even a single wound on his body. Only the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea had evaporated in large quantities, causing his qi and blood to be temporarily unable to connect, making him appear somewhat weak.

"Get back!" Ning Changjiu suddenly pushed Shao Xiaoli away, then drew his sword and thrust it forward. The sword's tip pointed at a black feather.

It was a feather falling from the crimson sky.

Ning Changjiu's sword struck the black feather but couldn't move it. After the impact, Ning Changjiu's figure instead fell from the high watchtower. He plunged his sword into the ground, stopping his backward momentum. But the black feather followed him like a shadow, like a bone-eating bird, pressing close.

Shao Xiaoli staggered from the push and fell onto the rooftop. When she regained her composure, she saw that her boss was already fighting the feather.

Their figures intertwined through the alleyways. Ning Changjiu was like a goat aimlessly crashing about, pursued by a fly, constantly maintaining a distance from the black feather.

"It doesn't seem to want to attack you," the Sword Scripture Spirit inside him suddenly said during their chase.

Ning Changjiu also realized this. He retreated, holding his sword horizontally in front of him, establishing a protective sword domain. Yet the black feather stopped four or five feet in front of him. It moved with Ning Changjiu's steps, whether he advanced or retreated, always maintaining that distance.

"It seems it just wants to keep an eye on you," the Sword Scripture Spirit guessed.

Ning Changjiu recalled the dense black shadow at the far end of the sky before the explosion, and also guessed: "This is the Sin Lord's feather…"

The Sword Scripture Spirit exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible? Why would the Sin Lord come here?"

"This place is unsupervised and has its own laws. In the eyes of the Lord of the Divine Realm, it's outside the law. It's not unexpected for the Sin Lord to come here; I just didn't expect it to be such a coincidence." Ning Changjiu stared at the black feather, remaining vigilant.

The Sword Scripture Spirit asked again, "Why isn't it attacking you?"

Ning Changjiu already had a suspicion: "Perhaps it's because I haven't committed a capital sin."

The Sword Scripture Spirit immediately thought of what had happened over the past month and said with lingering fear, "Could all of that have been the Sin Lord's arrangement?"

Ning Changjiu nodded slightly: "In fact, we might have already met him."

To face the Lord of the Divine Realm directly was unimaginable even for cultivators of the Five Paths. A chill ran through the Sword Scripture Spirit's heart.

Ning Changjiu watched the black feather, moving his feet cautiously, and the black feather yielded not an inch.

Shao Xiaoli ran over, sword in hand. She also noticed the hovering feather and asked in surprise, "What is that thing?"

Ning Changjiu, whose spiritual energy was severely depleted, had no way to deal with it and said helplessly, "Just consider it a decorative pendant."

Upon hearing this, Shao Xiaoli became even more nervous. She looked at the black feather as if facing a formidable enemy, as if her status in the martial world was being challenged like never before.

Ning Changjiu and the black feather faced each other for a long time, both adhering to the principle: "If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move."

Ning Changjiu feigned collapsing to the ground, but the black feather only moved a little closer, like a difficult, unshakeable law.

"Why would the Sin Lord send a black feather to watch me at such a critical moment?" Ning Changjiu opened his eyes, perplexed.

The Sword Scripture Spirit said, "Perhaps it's because of the secrets you carry."

Ning Changjiu asked, "Could it be that he is also afraid?"

The Sword Scripture Spirit sneered, "You certainly have a thick skin."

Ning Changjiu no longer paid attention to the black feather, only assigning a wisp of his divine sense to constantly monitor its movements.

They returned to the house together, where outside the door, worshiping followers hailed the Divine King's name. Blood Feather Lord stood on the threshold, pompously reassuring the people, until he saw Shao Xiaoli approaching, sharpening a knife, and then he grudgingly retreated behind the scenes.

Ning Changjiu did not particularly like being worshipped.

In times of great calamity, both mortals and cultivators would naturally step forward. They were like the waters that form a river; this river could be dammed or diverted, but its ceaseless flow would not change. This was also why, after the great catastrophe five hundred years ago, in a world where all cultivation arts withered, humanity could clear new lands and flourish once more, even before demons and monsters.

Ning Changjiu reassured the crowd, then wearily retreated into the house. The black feather followed behind him; when not looked at, it seemed like an ethereal shadow.

The crimson, sea-like sky gradually lost its color. The catastrophe that threatened to destroy everything seemed to have truly passed, and the world returned to profound darkness.

Ning Changjiu rested quietly on the couch, while the Sword Scripture Spirit remained awake, monitoring the black feather's movements. Shao Xiaoli, also worried and unable to rest, insisted on keeping vigil by Ning Changjiu's bedside. Blood Feather Lord, meanwhile, perched on the rooftop, watching the sky, checking if anyone would fall from above.

The night passed without incident.

When Ning Changjiu opened his eyes, the black feather was still five feet in front of him. Shao Xiaoli looked as if she hadn't slept all night, with faint dark circles under her eyes. Her hands cupped her chin, her hair was a bit messy, and she seemed somewhat displeased.

Ning Changjiu patted her shoulder and softly said, "Go get some sleep now."

Shao Xiaoli grumbled softly, "And who is Lu Jiajia?"

"Hmm?" Hearing the name suddenly, Ning Changjiu was also taken aback: "What's wrong? How do you know?"

Shao Xiaoli said, "You called her name in your sleep."

Ning Changjiu remained silent. After a moment, he tentatively asked, "What about Zhao Xiang'er?"

Shao Xiaoli retorted testily, "You guess."

Ning Changjiu didn't dare ask further. He put on his clothes and stepped outside, looking at the sky, which had returned to chaos.

The Sword Scripture Spirit asked, puzzled, "Why hasn't the Sin Lord appeared, even though the battle has ended?"

Ning Changjiu recalled something Ye Chu had told him: the sky curtain at the boundary between the two worlds was constructed by the one who killed the Headless God, using absolute laws of time. Its flow rate was tens of thousands of times faster than the normal world, meaning even a single instant occurring there translated to a long period in this world.

Ning Changjiu withdrew his gaze.

After a night of recovery, his internal injuries had healed. He recalled Shao Xiaoli's words from earlier, and their figures reappeared in his mind: one in a dark, alluring dress, the other in cool, austere sword robes.

He wanted to see them. The next time they met, he no longer wanted to conceal anything, at least not to leave any regrets before the end of fate arrived.

But now, he had no confidence at all that he could escape, or even just survive.

In his original plan, he intended to seize divine authority during Siming and Ye Chu's battle. He possessed the withered branch that countered Siming, and the Asura body that exceeded Ye Chu's predictions. He had also planned how to incite them during the chaotic battle, and the methods and details for absorbing the authority afterward. He had even decided what humiliation Siming would suffer after he took the authority.

But the Sin Lord's appearance disrupted everything. By what means could he defeat such a supreme deity?

He looked at the black feather hovering before him, sighing softly. He wondered how much damage Ye Chu, unleashing centuries of power, could inflict upon the Sin Lord.

Then, he realized something even harder to accept: if he were to contend with the Sin Lord, he might have to seek cooperation from Siming.

Severed Realm City gradually began to recover from its devastation.

The commoners' houses were almost entirely destroyed, and while the royal palace was relatively sturdy, over half of it was damaged and collapsed. Shao Xiaoli's house was also not spared.

Many people died among the royal family. Those who survived gathered to discuss the source of the disaster and plans for rebuilding.

They all blamed Siming for the root of the disaster.

However, the silver-haired woman possessed a beauty that could ruin nations and bring calamity. Many, despite their verbal indignation, secretly coveted her when they saw her nailed to the cross, witnessing the fragility revealed within her graceful, aloof curves. Yet, a fierce great serpent was coiled and guarding the foot of the cross, proclaiming to everyone that she was a divine prey, and no mortal could approach.

But that woman had reduced the once prosperous royal city to this state, and they still wished to punish her. Some made bows and arrows, tying rotten vegetable leaves to them, and shot them at Siming. Siming was merely unable to break free from the judgment, not truly powerless, so the rotten leaves naturally couldn't hit her. Still, she felt humiliated. In all these thousands of years, when had she ever endured such insolent gazes from mere mortals?

However, the person who had dared to draw the bow and arrow was instantly bitten to death and swallowed by the black serpent.

This further enraged the populace, making them even more convinced that she was the demoness responsible for all the disasters. However, no one dared to probe further. So, they gathered many people to insult her daily below the suspended cross. They even invited the best surviving artists in the city, laid out a huge sheet of rice paper, to forever record this scene. In the entertainment halls, dances began to be rehearsed, depicting the story of the demoness bewitching the masses, then being punished by the gods, bound to a cross, scourged, and finally consumed by karmic fire.

Siming gazed down at the city, her eyelids lowered, but her beautiful head refused to bow towards them. She looked at the hazy, light-filled sky, pain still constantly radiating from her pierced wrists. The black serpent at the foot of the cross watched the ruined city with her.

Siming was waiting for their battle to end. She had already understood that no matter who won, it would mean eternal damnation for her. The Sin Lord wanted to devour her power, and once she lost her authority and cultivation, she would become an ordinary person with an exquisite facade. The thought of facing the entire city's hatred and her subsequent fate made her shiver.

If Ye Chu were to miraculously win, after losing his means of ascension, his final resort would be to devour her, using the authority fused with destiny and time to cut open the gate of chaos.

She preferred the latter. Those thoughts that once seemed laughable when held by mortals now, when recalled, felt like nightmares that could come true at any moment. She would rather die with her perfect body intact than merely survive in humiliation and despair.

She recalled a story she had once heard: a woman was imprisoned in the most inescapable of dungeons. On the first day, she thought that if someone could save her, she would marry him. On the seventh day, she thought that if someone could save her, she would agree to anything, even to be the most loyal and lowly servant. A month later, she fell into true despair, almost madness. She thought that if anyone came to save her, she would kill them…

She couldn't be certain of her own thoughts, but she knew that the story's ending was usually no rescue, followed by the prisoner being led to the execution ground and killed.

She silently counted the days in her heart, her countenance returning to serenity, as if awaiting the arrival of fate.

High in the sky, the collision ended swiftly.

Ye Chu, bringing centuries of accumulated power, collided with the Sin Lord. Then, everything around him began to rapidly burn, disintegrate, and peel away. Finally, the void chamber that contained him also shattered when he impacted the Sin Lord.

At that moment, the impact between them even exceeded the limits this world could tolerate. Vast swathes of the void collapsed, and flames erupted from it, engulfing his body. In the very center of the explosion, he pushed against the Sin Lord, flying towards the higher heavens, like a meteor ascending against the sky.

The Sin Lord's black robe billowed and burned. He stretched out a hand and pressed down on the flaming fireball before him. The darkness beneath his robes remained completely undisturbed, as the raging flames spewing forth swallowed him.

Ye Chu propelled the Sin Lord upwards at high speed. Above them, deep within the endless chaos, there was a faint, vast realm of nothingness. It was the barrier separating this world from the Divine Realm, and also the absolute law of time.

They plunged into it together. The earth-shattering roar was swallowed by the void before it could even fully erupt.

What should have been an extremely brief instant was stretched immensely by the time within the void.

The flames extinguished. The Sin Lord extended his left hand, and with a touch of his finger, Ye Chu's shattered body plummeted downward. He was still conscious, his face bearing an unchanging, ancient smile. In his blurred vision, the Sin Lord's black robe was also mostly burnt away, revealing a large and terrifying gash.

He knew the Sin Lord was also severely wounded; even if this was just a projection, he still felt immensely proud.

The Sin Lord looked at his right half, burned away by the flames, yet showed no change in expression. Black liquid surged from within his body, repairing his projection.

He did not pursue Ye Chu's remnant body. Instead, he looked upwards and saw the barrier separating the two worlds.

For the Sin Lord's true body in the Divine Realm, this was naturally no obstacle. But at this moment, even as he wielded laws and swiped a finger, he couldn't leave a single mark.

He became increasingly curious: who was behind all of this, and what was that person's ultimate goal?

For many years, this was the first time he had faced the unknown again.

He knew he couldn't delay here for too long. Every breath delayed here translated to a day in the outside world, and from the moment Ye Chu forced him into this place until his brief moment of thought, seven breaths had already passed.

Seven days had already passed in the outside world.