Chapter 439: Killing God

Raindrops fell from the sky, plunging into the soil, seeping deep down to become seeds for next year's sprouts.

Unidentified flowers drifted across the sky, a canvas of cloud wisps, resembling dandelions or perhaps the spirits of the departed.

In the desolate land, the distant light of dawn appeared, and night receded like a tide. Winter had arrived, with ash from the calamity drifting in the air. Though snow had yet to fall, an austere beauty pervaded the landscape.

Ye Changong stood on the mountain peak outside the Divine Painting Tower, her slender figure appearing fragile in the wind. She gazed at the moon, her eyes as vast as the sky.

At this moment, inside the Ineffable Temple, light had fully returned. The long-silent Daoist temple finally awoke. The fifth senior disciple, carrying a large broom, stood amidst the piled autumn leaves in the temple, looking up at the bright moon with a tired smile.

In Dahe Town, dog barks sounded. The Asura townspeople, who had slept after the moonlight faded, reawakened. A gentle breeze swept across the rice and wheat fields, and withered grains plumped up again, while trees sprouted new branches and leaves.

Everything was vibrant with life once more.

Outside the Eighty-One Cities, the Nine Spirits Sage opened his skeletal maw.

Hundreds of thousands of city residents, enveloped in spiritual energy, drifted out from the lion's mouth, slowly descending back into the distance.

This process continued for a long time.

However, the colossal city had already cracked; everything had been ground to dust and leveled. As far as the eye could see, there was only dust and wind; not a single scrap of steel remained.

People wept in sorrow over the destruction of their homes. Some looked back at the giant lion, which was gradually losing its vitality, and belatedly realized that it seemed to have saved their lives.

Bai Ze's hand brushed over the iron umbrella; its edges were crumbling inch by inch.

He sighed a long while later, saying, "Don't worry, Master will rebuild this place. I will take you to Uranus."

The Nine Spirits Sage could no longer speak. He let out a low roar, seemingly in refusal.

Bai Ze shook his head and said, "How can Uranus be without the Four Heavenly Kings of the Myriad Demons City? You will be the pillars of the new world for the demon race."

The Nine Spirits Sage's Heaven and Earth Manifestation disintegrated, and his body slowly shrank, transforming into an old lion with broken bones and missing flesh.

Bai Ze said, "Uranus is our destination. We must establish ourselves there and wait until the day when ten thousand swords illuminate the human world, only then can we respond. At that time, the shadow covering the world will disappear, and our descendants will be able to live freely on this land. Do not betray the Sage's wishes."

The Nine Spirits Sage opened his mouth, but remained silent.

Bai Ze bowed towards the northwest, then, carrying the remains of the Nine Spirits Sage, flew up into the sky.

Above the atmospheric layer, beside the Sage's colossal stone Buddha, light burned brightly.

That was the Authority of Eternal Light, a symbol of the fire of civilization. How long it would burn, no one knew.

In the early morning, the sun rose, and everything proceeded as usual.

Inside the Ancient Spirit Sect, the new female disciple opened her window. She seemed to have been awake all night, with dark circles under her eyes. She cautiously looked outside; the sky was clear for thousands of miles, resembling a rare bright autumn day.

"Last night... did I really mishear? I distinctly saw a beam of light fly up," said the female disciple.

"I saw the light too. It was probably just a random bolt from the blue. Unusual phenomena are common in our Ancient Spirit Sect; you'll get used to it," another girl's voice surprisingly came from within the room.

The female disciple turned her head and whispered, "Sister Yu Jin, as expected of a disciple who's been here for a few years, you're so calm."

Yu Jin smiled and said, "Alright, hurry back. Any later and someone might see you."

The female disciple nodded vigorously and sincerely said, "Thank you for your guidance, Sister Yu Jin. If you hadn't taught me so diligently last night, I surely wouldn't have passed this assessment, and I would have been sent back to my family."

Yu Jin chuckled, "Wouldn't it be good to go back and inherit the family business? The path of cultivation is very arduous."

The female disciple said, "Sister Yu Jin, please don't tease me... Anyway, thank you for helping me so thoughtfully."

Yu Jin smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing. After all, when I first joined, other sisters helped me too."

The female disciple had heard about these past events. Hmm... it seemed there was a junior senior sister named Ning Xiaoling. Although she was a legendary figure, her legend seemed to be merely a flash in the pan, and she later disappeared without a trace.

She knew this was a painful memory for Sister Yu Jin, so she did not ask further.

The female disciple looked at her senior sister and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Yu Jin lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, "There are indeed some things I need your help with."

Saying this, she took out a stack of papers and handed them to her, saying, "Next time you go to Clothes Street, please arrange for someone to help me post these."

"These are..."

The female disciple took the papers and found they were missing person notices... No! Missing cat notices.

The notices featured the same cat: its eyes looked very lazy, its fur was long, and its ears were drooped.

The female disciple immediately recalled another legend—the cat that scored full marks on its exams.

That cat seemed to have been raised by Sister Yu Jin, but somehow went missing later.

The female disciple nodded earnestly and said, "I'll go post them for you today, Sister!"

Yu Jin smiled softly.

After the junior sister quietly left, Yu Jin sat up and stretched her slightly stiff body. A momentary white light had appeared outside her window last night, and in that light, she vaguely heard the roar of a lion.

Had she misheard?

She also recalled the knocking on her window last night.

At that time, the junior sister was near the window and casually opened it. Oh... if it had been Master or another disciple, wouldn't they have been exposed? She was as foolish as Yu Jin herself was when she first joined the sect.

Thinking this, Yu Jin closed the window. Though she hadn't slept all night, she felt no drowsiness. She walked out, gazed at the crystal-clear blue sky, and reminisced about the past.

Suddenly, her gaze fell upon a patch of overgrown weeds.

A letter seemed to be lying scattered among the weeds.

She frowned, bent down, picked up the letter, and opened it.

The handwriting on the letter was ugly, crooked and illegible. At first, she thought it was a prank, but after reading it carefully for a while, she was stunned.

"This King is actually a very powerful demon. You clumsy girl must not have noticed, right? Haha... By the way, this King is going home, no need to worry about me. Ning Xiaoling and I are both safe. The next time you see a white-robed young man who looks very annoying return, you might just see your good sister."

The signature was a cat's paw print.

Meanwhile, in the Ancient Nether Kingdom, flashes of fire constantly flickered from the kitchen stove. Ning Xiaoling rubbed her eyes awake, walked to the kitchen doorway in her white pajamas, sniffed the aroma from inside, and asked, "Jiuyou, what are you making?"

From the kitchen, Jiuyou's voice called out:

"I'm making fish."

"Eating fish this early in the morning?" Ning Xiaoling asked.

"Ah, I'm making it for Diting," Jiuyou said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I teased Diting last night, and it seemed sad. I felt a bit bad, so I wanted to make it another portion."

"I see..." Ning Xiaoling said, walking to a large mirror to do a simple grooming.

A moment later, Xiaoling suddenly came to her senses and asked, "By the way, where did Diting go?"

"I don't know, probably outside," Jiuyou said, carrying the hot fish out. He shouted twice towards the outside, "Diting, come back, it's time to eat fish. Diting—"

Ning Xiaoling listened to Jiuyou's shouts and, with an ominous premonition, sat on the throne. She closed her eyes and realized she could no longer sense any trace of Diting.

Jiuyou was still calling out. Carrying the fish, she walked back dejectedly and sadly said, "It's just too stingy, isn't it? Hmph, if it doesn't come back to eat, I'll just eat it myself."

Guhuang, the morning wind was chilling.

A glimmer of hope finally appeared in the war, and the human world was also in a state of awaiting rejuvenation from ruin.

Ning Changjiu slowly walked into the ruins of the Divine Painting Tower.

Lu Jiajia, Siming, and Shao Xiaoli all followed beside him.

Too many things had happened that night. Five centuries of accumulation seemed to have erupted all at once. Those still standing on this land felt their minds reeling, unable to fully recover for a long time.

The disciples of the Sword Pavilion also stood amidst these ruins.

They had rushed there from thousands of miles away. Though unclear about the full scope of what had transpired, they had witnessed many things.

Ning Changjiu walked before them and took out the sword token given to him by Ke Wenzhou.

"Before the Sword Saint departed, he entrusted you to me. From this day forward, I am the new Master of the Sword Pavilion. I will protect you and safeguard peace throughout the world. We must continue to pass on Senior Ke's will until one day, no demon in the vast sky can obstruct our vision."

Ning Changjiu spoke slowly. The disciples who had arrived later were still unclear about what had happened, looking at each other in confusion.

"What... what exactly is going on?"

"Has Master, that elder, passed away?"

"This is indeed the Sword Pavilion's token, absolutely true."

"Hmm, the senior sisters arrived early. Should we ask them first?"

Liu Junzhuo stood by the surging Luo River. The light illuminated her cheeks, making them softly distinct. Her elegantly straight nose bridge held a subtle sharpness, while her eyes were refined and reserved.

Just like at the ruins of the Bone Tower, she watched the sun rise with a weary heart, but this time, she was facing the morning sun directly.

Zhou Zhenyue walked to her side.

"What exactly happened?" Zhou Zhenyue had arrived a bit later and was unclear about the full story.

It took a long time for Liu Junzhuo to compose herself. She looked at her senior sister's worried face and said, "This is a long story, I'll tell you later, Sister. In short... our Master was a remarkable person."

As she spoke, she looked towards the other disciples who were still in discussion.

Before all the disciples, she walked with a solemn demeanor to Ning Changjiu.

"Long time no see," Liu Junzhuo said.

It had been several months since their parting in the Southern Wilderness.

Ning Changjiu took the Kunlun Sword from Lu Jiajia's hand and returned it to Liu Junzhuo.

"Kunlun, the sword returns to its rightful owner," Ning Changjiu said.

Liu Junzhuo stared at the sword she had gambled away, lowering her head as if ashamed.

Liu Junzhuo temporarily accepted the sword, but said, "Thank you. Consider this sword lent to me for now. When peace returns one day, I will rightfully win it back."

Hearing this, Siming glanced at Ning Changjiu, sensing an ominous premonition.

Ning Changjiu said nothing, merely giving a nod in response.

Liu Junzhuo glanced at the other disciples; they were also watching her.

Holding the sword in one hand, and with the other forming a sword-finger gesture pressed against the scabbard, she bowed respectfully to Ning Changjiu and earnestly said, "Disciple Liu Junzhuo greets the Pavilion Master."

The murmur of discussion gradually faded.

Seeing their senior sister's dignified and valiant sword salute, everyone also began to bow in succession.

"Disciples greet the Pavilion Master."

Zhou Zhenyue paused, stunned. She looked at the calm-faced, white-robed young man, who had once been the person she was determined to kill.

But in the blink of an eye, the distinctions between good and evil in the world seemed to have been reversed, and she couldn't reconcile it immediately.

The other twelve disciples bowed one after another. She stood motionless, but eventually followed suit and bowed as well.

Ning Changjiu nodded. He looked at Liu Junzhuo and instructed, "First, take the disciples back to the Sword Pavilion. On the way, tell them the story of the Sword Saint. After resting, you all should go to the major sects to organize manpower, and convey Master's words to them, so they can spread the message quickly. Then, everyone should go together to the Eighty-One Cities to help the disaster victims rebuild their homes. Once I have dealt with the matters in the sky, I will come find you."

Liu Junzhuo nodded in assent.

She had once sworn to kill this young man, but later suffered a crushing defeat by his sword. After several twists and turns, her Dao heart wavered, and she was almost persuaded by him. But at the end of the story, she discovered that her master had hidden his true intentions deeper than anyone, and that... everyone stood on the side of light.

Liu Junzhuo exhaled a long breath, her mood brightening, and her eyes once again sparkled with spirit.

Although Master had departed, he did so with magnanimous spirit, unmatched in the world, leaving no regrets. She should feel joy for him. So, just as the Abbot said, it was now up to them to continue writing the chapters of civilization.

Liu Junzhuo and Zhou Zhenyue organized the disciples' journey home.

In Ning Changjiu's pristine mental space, Liu Xiwuan also spoke, "I'll go back with the senior sisters too."

Ning Changjiu paused slightly.

Liu Xiwuan seriously said, "After experiencing all this, I have many feelings and want to travel and see more of the human world to hone my sword heart. Plus, you'll be going to the Western Kingdom later, and it doesn't seem right for me to always stay in your mental space. Besides... the Sword Pavilion originally sent me as an undercover agent, and I think I've been very successful! Now, it's time for me to return to the organization!"

Ning Changjiu chuckled, "Miss Liu has indeed made a great contribution."

Liu Xiwuan hummed twice, feeling as though he was mocking her.

Ning Changjiu released her.

The girl flew out in her spiritual form, landed lightly, and gradually materialized. Then, to everyone's surprise, she went to Liu Junzhuo's side and threw herself into her senior sister's arms.

Ning Changjiu and the three women, turning their backs to the others, walked uphill towards where Ye Changong was.

The sky had already brightened, and the moon was no longer clearly visible.

The barrier between the Dark Lord and the human world had temporarily disappeared. Whether it was psychological or not, everyone felt a little lighter.

Just now, Ye Changong had finally revealed the true secret behind the cultivation failures to ascend:

The world had been rewritten when the Dark Lord descended. Cultivators in this flawed world could only inscribe flawed Heavenly Tablets, so their ascensions were false. They could not reach the true legendary three realms like the ancient immortals.

The reason the Dark Lord did this was because he, too, feared humanity. If enough humans reached that peak realm and united their efforts, there was a possibility of defeating the Dark Lord.

'This world is incomplete.'

'Never give up searching for the truth.'

These two sentences from the 'Evil' story echoed in Ning Changjiu's mind.

It turned out that the 'black' in the 'Evil' story didn't refer to any specific object; black signified what the world lacked. A world without black, no matter how colorful, was ultimately incomplete and unreal.

Therefore, the cultivators who ascended to the Eyelash Platform in the story were born in a world missing a color, just as the peak powerhouses of the five paths in the human world inscribed flawed Heavenly Tablets in a flawed world.

And the old man in the Luo River Scroll back then might have, by chance, found a sliver of truth. However, the truth he found, though beautiful, was incompatible with the world. At the moment of ascension, he did not choose a Heavenly Tablet that conformed to the world's rules, as other cultivators did, but instead chose what he perceived as beautiful.

As a result, he flew out of the Luo River Tower.

"Master, are you returning to the Ineffable Temple?" Lu Jiajia asked.

Ye Changong nodded gently. She remained petite but no longer appeared so frail.

"The moon's obscuration has been removed, and the temple gate is open," Ye Changong said. "I've lingered in the human world for too long; I should go back and attend to the remaining matters."

Siming asked, "Then what should we do next? The Sage has manifested as a Buddha to oversee heaven and earth; this is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity! We cannot fail again!"

Ye Changong nodded and said, "Yes, first, we must fix the flaws in this world. The 'Evil Poem' left the 'seed of fire' with us back then precisely because we were the earliest gods born of humanity, the only ones who had seen the true world. And having seen the true world... is enough."

Ye Changong continued to explain, "If this world is a divine realm rewritten by the Dark Lord, then the world's laws are akin to mythical logic. Errors in mythical logic will automatically collapse simply by being observed by those who have witnessed the truth."

"Is this the legendary 'seeing through the mundane world'?!" Shao Xiaoli exclaimed in surprise.

Ye Changong nodded and said, "Yes. Previously, the Dark Lord's influence on the world was too profound for me to notice this. Now that the Dark Lord has retreated, I believe that I, overseeing the Daoist temple, should be able to... see through the mundane world."

Ye Changong's gentle and clear words drifted slowly, and the worries in everyone's hearts were soothed by the young girl's peaceful tone.

As long as the world regained its true form, the most glorious era for human cultivators might reappear.

Ning Changjiu, however, thought of something else. He informed his Master of his conjecture regarding the innate spirits.

Innate spirits were very likely dark seeds scattered by the Dark Lord, planted within countless cultivators, which the Dark Lord could effortlessly destroy.

Ye Changong lowered her head; she had also considered this matter.

If the innate spirits were under the Dark Lord's control, then even if they truly cultivated a group of ancient immortal-level cultivators, they would likely be easily annihilated by the Dark Lord.

How to solve the problem of innate spirits...?

Ye Changong could not find an answer immediately.

Shao Xiaoli was concerned about something else: "Reaching the legendary three realms requires inscribing a Heavenly Tablet. But what if someone as clumsy as Xiaoli, despite having the realm, can't write any rigorous Heavenly Tablet? What should we do then?"

Ye Changong comforted her, "There's no need to worry about that. There are disciples in the temple skilled in this. You don't need to be concerned about the Heavenly Tablets."

At this moment, the fifth senior disciple, sitting at the entrance of the Ineffable Temple with a broom, feeling light and free of burdens, was still unaware of what awaited him.

They continued discussing everything about the future on the mountaintop.

"How long can the Sage hold on? Do we really have enough time?"

"Yes, we do. The ancient immortals back then rose at an astonishing speed. The Dark Lord desired humans to provide spiritual energy but also feared them, so it placed shackles within the cultivation realms. Now, the shackles of Profound Entry, Immortal Communion, Longevity, Purple Court, and the five... no, six paths have all been removed. Cultivation is simply the process of pouring water into a cup; why would there be so many restraints?"

"I see."

"Now that a connection between this world and the outside has opened, will cultivators, once they reach the peak, try to forcibly ascend out of personal greed?"

"Perhaps," said Ye Changong. "Therefore, we must inform them that there is no 'Immortal Court' in existence. The universe outside is merely a wasteland of drifting stones. We were born in paradise. Later, we might journey to distant stars and seas, but for now, our ultimate goal must be to expel the enemy."

"Yes, Master's words are reasonable," Lu Jiajia agreed.

In recent days, Ye Changong had unraveled the world's secrets and carefully considered many other details. Only after the Dark Lord's influence receded did she finally begin to express these thoughts.

Everyone stood by her side, listening to the young girl's serene narration, feeling a rare sense of peace.

Siming asked, "Then what should we do next?"

Ye Changong said, "Once I see through the mundane world, I will send disciples to preach among humans, helping top cultivators quickly reach the peak of the five paths. As for you all, you have more important tasks."

Ye Changong gazed into Ning Changjiu's eyes and said, "Next, the Dark Lord will try every means to interfere with us. Its most direct action will be to open the divine realms. And you will be responsible for slaying them."

Ning Changjiu said, "But what is the point of destroying projections?"

Ye Changong gently shook her head. She extended a slender, slightly upturned finger and pointed upwards.

"Look there."

Ning Changjiu opened his Taiyin Eyes and looked upwards, following Ye Changong's gaze.

His brows slowly furrowed.

He saw a faint crimson line emerge in the southern sky, like an endless rainbow, spanning almost the entire human world.

"That's..." Siming opened her icy eyes, also noticing the anomaly.

"That is the Crimson Line Divine Realm," Ye Changong said, standing against the wind like a swaying flower of the Underworld on a mountaintop. She gazed at the sky and continued:

"Now that heaven and earth have changed, this is no longer the Dark Lord's domain. The Sage used the Authority of Eternal Light to break through the darkness and bestowed the Authority of Qitian upon the human world. The Dark Lord's star power and the Sage's Qitian ebb and flow. Though the divine realms are still in the human world, they are merely divine realms now. We now possess the Authority of Qitian, allowing us to freely enter and exit them, just like the Sages of five hundred years ago."

Ye Changong gazed at the Crimson Line Divine Realm and closed her eyes.

She had waited too long for this day; countless cultivators had died for it.

"The divine realms are now before us, and the divine lords are within them," Ye Changong continued. "Though they are still powerful, without the blessing of the divine realm's laws, even within their own domain, they are no longer invincible."

"Nor do we need to hold vigil for twelve years. In the coming year, the Dark Lord will light them up almost like a desperate military campaign. By the time the snow falls next December, the divine realms, which have ruled the world for over three thousand five hundred years, will cease to exist."

Ye Changong's words resonated with powerful clarity.

The sun was high in the sky, casting light across the land. People on the ruins looked up at the high-above realm, the hidden kingdom, a realm that was once utterly invisible.

Now that the black tide had temporarily receded, it lay exposed before everyone like a reef. People gazed at it, and the kings hiding within, their nobility long gone, would surely taste fear again under the thousands of watchful eyes, and tremble from it.