Chapter 477: The Warrior of Fuyo Kingdom

From the Dark Lord’s puppet-like mouth, a dull voice, like an ancient emperor’s decree, clearly reached their seas of consciousness, despite the vacuum of space.

At that moment, Ning Changjiu thought the entire Moon Prison would be obliterated, but no explosion occurred. As the echo of the words “annihilation” faded, pale flames danced over the puppet’s body, and countless static currents formed an energy barrier around its surface.

The time ribbon shattered completely.

The fine threads connecting its joints to the massive chaotic entity snapped one by one.

Before, it had been like a demon imprisoned in time. They had thrust their blades into its body, inadvertently breaking its shackles and releasing the demon from its ancient box!

From the jelly-like chaotic entity, the puppet-like Dark Lord broke free of all restraints, pulling its body out. It silently opened its mouth towards the void, and countless delicate light threads poured out like silkworms spinning silk, transforming into a waterfall of long hair.

The puppet-like Dark Lord had truly transformed into a human form!

Its body was slender, its long hair made of light, its eyes like black holes, and its bones and flesh glowed faintly green against the backdrop of the universe.

It had just activated its authority, annihilating the very shackles that bound it!

Now, the chaotic entity draped itself over the Moon Prison, almost completely enveloping it. The Dark Lord’s emergence from it resembled a warrior shedding armor to draw a blade and kill.

The Dark Lord stood in the void, gazing distantly at the blue planet, before its gaze finally settled on Ning Changjiu and Ye Chan Palace.

“Clearance.”

The Dark Lord issued another command.

“Our Heavenly Oracle Sword Scripture still can’t kill anyone, as usual. Is it you who’s incompetent, or me...?”

In the midst of chaos, at a life-or-death moment, Liu Xiwan still didn’t forget to complain.

Ning Changjiu’s expression was grave. At this moment, he was supported by the full power of the human realm, an unprecedented figure in human history, yet the puppet before him gave him an unfathomable feeling.

Instantly, pure killing intent surged towards them.

Ning Changjiu drew his sword, Ye Chan Palace raised her branch, and both parried simultaneously. The sensation of collision occurred almost at the same instant.

The Dark Lord had used some unknown method to attack both of them simultaneously.

Massive shockwaves rapidly spread through the void. In an instant, Ning Changjiu, Ye Chan Palace, and the Dark Lord vanished, transforming into three continuously colliding streams of light. The universe became their battleground; they clashed against each other, the light barrier formed by their impacts expanding like a domain, shattering and tearing each other apart.

The puppet-form Dark Lord leaped and spun, moving without restraint in the void, as if performing a pre-choreographed dance.

After all the complex movements, the dance reached its end.

*Clang*—

The Dark Lord hovered in the void, pushing aside the converging Ning Changjiu and Ye Chan Palace.

Ning Changjiu flew backward, pressing his hand to his brow as countless sword energies neatly unfolded behind him, linked end to end. With a thrust of his joined fingers, the sword energy transformed into a torrent of white light, unleashing itself towards the Dark Lord.

The Dark Lord raised its hand again.

Dazzling light emanated from its palm, forming a barrier that intercepted the sword energy. The white sword energy shattered against the barrier, unable to affect the Dark Lord in the slightest.

On the other side, the expressionless Ye Chan Palace wielded a circular blade forged from moonlight, bringing it down towards the Dark Lord’s neck.

This was a reenactment of the scene where she slew Yuanfu years ago.

The Dark Lord looked up, its expression as indifferent as Ye Chan Palace’s.

Its lips moved, uttering two chilling words:

“Death Prison.”

Death Prison! That was the authority of the God Lord Lei Lao!

But as the Dark Lord spoke these two words, the Death Prison domain activated.

Ye Chan Palace’s pupils contracted slightly, and her plummeting figure halted in an impossible posture. Before her, a cage had already formed; if she had reacted any slower, she would have instantly crashed into this Death Prison.

Her figure stopped, but the blade’s light continued to fall due to inertia.

The light entered the Death Prison, became trapped, and could not escape.

This cage was far more powerful than Lei Lao’s Thunder Prison!

On the other side, Ning Changjiu and the Silver Sword struck again.

With no resistance in the void, this sword strike was a true flash of light.

The Dark Lord remained unmoving.

A ‘voice’ once again transcended the void.

“Guard.”

Guard.

That was the authority of God Lord Ti Shan.

In the human realm, this was known as an absolute defense ability. When the authority was activated, its body would condense to an unimaginable density, becoming indestructible. It was precisely with this ability that Ti Shan managed to cling to life for half a month despite being besieged by countless cultivators.

The Dark Lord’s ‘Guard’ was far more powerful than Ti Shan’s.

The stream of light from Ning Changjiu’s strike contained countless rapidly rotating sword energies, capable of instantly pulverizing steel.

But the Dark Lord extended its hand into the stream of light, directly grasping the tip of the Silver Sword.

The sword energy rolled over its hand and arm, leaving only faint white marks, which were instantly repaired by its other authorities, making its skin smooth as a mirror again.

“Ah!”

In the pure white mental lake, Liu Xiwan let out a pained cry.

Clasping her head, she said painfully, “Corruption... It’s trying to corrupt me...”

Corruption...

That was an unprecedented mental authority!

The authorities of the twelve God Lords of the human realm seemed to be far from the entirety of the Dark Lord’s powers. Mortals had no way of knowing how many abilities it truly possessed!

Ning Changjiu furrowed his brows, his golden eyes fixed on the Dark Lord. All his strength pressed into the sword in his hand, and sword energies exploded in segments against the Dark Lord’s palm, but the Dark Lord’s expression remained unperturbed, its hand unyielding.

Ye Chan Palace bypassed the Death Prison, swinging her Moon Branch. Glimmering moonlight scattered down, enveloping the Dark Lord.

The Dark Lord looked up at the moonlight.

The moonlight entered its eyes and was devoured by them.

But even without its luster, the Moon Branch had crossed the distance between them, falling directly and striking the Dark Lord’s forehead.

No sound was made.

Yet, the Dark Lord’s expression froze for a moment.

This momentary pause, though fleeting, bought Ning Changjiu the chance to break free.

On the Silver Sword, sword energies exploded again in segments, the blast engulfing both figures.

Liu Xiwan whimpered, falling back into the pure white lake, panting with lingering fear, her body so weak she seemed on the verge of fainting.

Ye Chan Palace, meanwhile, continued to press down with the Moon Branch. The Moon Branch was indestructible, and so was the Dark Lord. It was as if the hardest objects in the world were colliding, and it was unknown whose structure would be shattered.

The Dark Lord’s brief daze ended.

It raised its hand.

Like opposing magnets, Ye Chan Palace’s figure was instantly flung away, rebounding backward.

With no resistance in the void, Ye Chan Palace could only erect a wall behind her to halt her retreat.

She crashed into the invisible wall, stopping her backward momentum.

Blood seeped from the corner of Ye Chan Palace’s lips, her expression still utterly serene. Her moon-white Daoist robe settled into stillness amidst the shockwaves, and unfiltered sunlight poured onto her body, illuminating her brightly.

She was the fairy of Guanghan Palace, the perfect and powerful Immortal Lord Chang’e, yet against the vast backdrop of the universe and before the pinnacle creation of the previous civilization, her figure appeared increasingly fragile.

But regardless of strength or weakness, victory or defeat, the battle would not cease.

Ye Chan Palace gracefully raised her hand, the Moon Branch again radiating light. A radiant moon-blade spun at her fingertips, sweeping out with Ye Chan Palace’s figure, like a fluttering butterfly.

Ning Changjiu, having learned from the previous lesson of his blade being caught bare-handed, temporarily abandoned close combat. He adopted an archery stance, gathering the incoming sunlight before him, condensing it into an arrow. The authority of the Lunar locked onto the Dark Lord’s position, and the arrow shot forth from his hand.

The Dark Lord watched them quietly.

No mercy or malice could be seen on the puppet’s face, only an almost blank indifference.

“Mirror.”

The Dark Lord activated another authority.

The next moment, the Silver Sword and Moon Branch were astonishingly duplicated in its left and right hands!

The Dark Lord parried the spinning moon-blade with the Silver Sword, sending Ye Chan Palace’s figure recoiling again, while with the Moon Branch, it shattered the successive golden arrows one by one.

In Ning Changjiu’s mental lake, Liu Xiwan, seeing a sword identical to her own in every aspect, felt an uncontrollable breakdown in her heart. “What... what kind of monster is that?”

Ning Changjiu’s lips were pressed tight, his heart pounding like a drum.

Earlier, when he had shoved the Dark Lord out of the void and into the Moon Prison, he almost thought the Dark Lord was killed. But how could this monster, which once shrouded the sky, die so easily? Not only was it not dead, it even displayed invincible power.

All authorities were held entirely in the Dark Lord’s hands. Authority represented the pinnacle of ability, making it truly ‘omnipotent.’

The perfect god imagined by humans would be no more than this...

How does one kill an omnipotent being? How does one kill a true god?

Ning Changjiu suddenly felt the despair of Yuan Jun.

So what if the World Restoration Project was implemented? So what if the human divine kingdom was constructed? Savages wielding stone tools, even if an entire tribe raised their spears, could not shake a true steel fortress.

The Dark Lord was such a fortress standing before them.

It wielded the Moon Branch and the Silver Sword, its fiber-like long hair fluttering under the massive red sun. It looked more like a boy, wielding blades with a unique divine grace and obstinacy.

It quickly adapted to the sword and branch. In its sea of consciousness, two versions of itself simulated millions of scenarios in a matter of seconds, instantly perfecting its swordsmanship and blade techniques to a level beyond human peak.

Even the combined attacks of the strongest humans, Ning Changjiu and Ye Chan Palace, couldn’t suppress it in the slightest.

Dazzling moonlight and the gleam of steel illuminated the cosmos.

Three figures clashed and recoiled in the long expanse, fighting to the death.

Amidst the fierce battle, the Dark Lord’s lips moved, clear syllables emanating from them—ancient authorities. Authorities were the supreme manifestation of power, yet under the decree of this ‘Emperor,’ they still obediently came to pay homage.

“Sealing.”

“Yellow Springs.”

“Everlasting.”

“Calamity.”

“World.”

These authority names resonated powerfully, each a peerless law that could sweep across the human realm. They were molded at the Dark Lord’s whim, as simple as plucking flowers or breaking leaves.

A white-purple light barrier expanded from the Dark Lord’s body, destructive power like an accelerating static foam. In the universe, it was as if suns rose and exploded one after another. All things and beings flickered into existence and vanished at its fingertips, while only it, as a god, was eternal.

This was an unprecedentedly cruel battle. Every impact they made unleashed energy that, if released in the human realm, would be an immeasurable disaster.

Had Ning Changjiu not relied on the human divine kingdom and the sun, he would have been killed long ago. But even with these two sources of power, he was still gravely injured.

His newly forged divine body was not eternal after all. Though he also possessed nearly infinite power, he lacked a weapon truly capable of confronting the Dark Lord’s myriad laws.

His white robe was pierced by ‘Judgment,’ and though the wounds quickly stopped bleeding, the instantly overflowing blood still stained his white robe with numerous holes. Many of his joints were still hindered by ‘Sealing,’ stiff and difficult to move. Quanin’s ‘Yellow Springs’ relentlessly pursued him like an undying serpent, vowing to drag him into the Netherworld. Meanwhile, he was also struck squarely by the ‘Calamity’ authority—a spear that pierced his body, nearly pinning him to a giant star.

And the most terrifying was the ‘World’ authority. Once enveloped by it, his power supply from the sun and the human divine kingdom would be cut off, at which point he would truly be at its mercy.

Ye Chan Palace was in worse condition than he.

Her power source was the moon. In the void, though closer to the moon than ever before, the Dark Lord’s chaotic entity enveloped the entire moon, preventing her from drawing energy. Her spiritual energy rapidly depleted with each collision. Her graceful figure slowly grew smaller, and in a blink of an eye, she was a pure young girl again.

The girl’s face was pale, and faint, weak coughs echoed silently in the universe.

In her hand, she held her ultimate trump card, ‘Infinite Time-Space.’ She could use this power to directly jump to a new timeline.

But it was meaningless...

Because in any timeline, the Dark Lord was an inescapable presence, and this decisive battle was inevitable.

The Dark Lord noticed the girl’s weakness. It seemed to understand the principle of striking individual targets, fixating on Ye Chan Palace and again unleashing ‘Judgment.’

A spear of azure lightning erupted with light from the void.

Ning Changjiu shifted, intercepting it above Ye Chan Palace. In a flash, the azure lightning pierced his arm, grinding through bone and tearing away large chunks of charred flesh. Ye Chan Palace, protected beneath him, embraced his body with one arm and grasped the spear of Judgment with the other. The authority of Life healed his arm wound, but at a noticeably slower pace.

Having barely blocked the Dark Lord’s Azure Thunder Judgment, Ning Changjiu knew that the Dark Lord’s next attack would soon arrive.

He turned and held his master in his arms, plummeting rapidly with the extremely weak girl.

The remaining Judgment power transformed into azure lightning, ripping through the void and striking him in the back.

Ning Changjiu’s white robe on his back instantly shredded, revealing a bloody mess.

“Don’t...”

Ye Chan Palace felt the trembling of his chest, a sensation that transmitted a tearing pain to her heart.

Her shoulders shifted slightly, but her body was held tight, impossible to break free.

Only after the Judgment subsided did Ning Changjiu release his embrace.

Ye Chan Palace floated out of his embrace, looking at Ning Changjiu’s weakened figure. Scenes from the past eight years flashed through her mind: amidst countless golden butterflies, the young man calling her “Master” always wore a gentle smile, holding up a marriage contract. The contract, once pressed against her chest, had their names elegantly written, so ambiguous, yet they both pretended not to notice.

The deer leaping in her heart, the butterfly resting on her shoulder...

Time and light flew by.

Ye Chan Palace couldn’t dwell on it further. At this moment, she had once again made a certain resolve.

“Remember to find me,” she whispered gently.

Ye Chan Palace, holding the Moon Branch, thrust it towards Ning Changjiu’s chest.

This time, Ning Changjiu grabbed the Moon Branch.

He shook his head, smiling faintly. “Master, don’t give me hope anymore. Your disciple... is very tired.”

Ye Chan Palace looked at his face. Those hands, which had never trembled before, now trembled slightly for the first time.

“Mm, it’s my fault as Master... I was wrong.” Ye Chan Palace withdrew the Moon Branch, placed a finger on her brow, and calmed her turbulent sea of consciousness.

The authority of Judgment had passed. The Dark Lord gazed at them from afar. For some reason, its movements briefly paused, and it did not continue its attack.

Ning Changjiu looked back.

The puppet stood distantly in the void, its luminous hair flowing. As it watched their embrace, a trace of bewilderment actually flickered across the Dark Lord’s face, which had been unchanged for millennia.

This bewilderment was fleeting. The next round of attacks began.

The Dark Lord’s moves were like an oddly beautiful dance, with seamless transitions between actions, leaving no hint of a flaw. Its use of authority was truly perfected, wielding these rampant powers as if they were nimble spirits dancing on its fingertips.

Ning Changjiu had chosen to fight to the death because, at the center of the chaotic entity, he had heard the Dark Lord issue the command to ‘escape.’

For such a magnificent being, such a command would only be given when it recognized the possibility of its own failure.

The Dark Lord had anticipated its possible failure...

But where was this glimmer of victory?

Ning Changjiu had no clue.

In the Golden Crow Divine Kingdom’s temple, Lu Jiajia and Siming were also nearing their limits. They hadn’t spoken a word the entire time, but Ning Changjiu keenly knew the immense pressure they were under.

If this dragged on, they would lose all hope.

“It’s the stars!”

At this moment, Ye Chan Palace’s cool, enchanting voice rang out in their sea of consciousness: “The source of its authority is the stars.”

Ye Chan Palace’s words were torn apart by the Dark Lord’s storm-like attack. A gale of blades, imbued with a domain, descended, striking from above. Ning Changjiu barely intercepted the blow with the Silver Sword, but in his sea of consciousness, Liu Xiwan was already lying in the mental lake, convulsing and on the verge of losing her spiritual form.

On Ning Changjiu’s arm, from the tiger’s mouth outward, cracks spread, turning his entire arm, including the bone, into a bloody red mess.

Ning Changjiu gripped his sword with his left hand, not retreating an inch, and thrust towards the Dark Lord again.

The Dark Lord also thrust its sword.

The tips of the two Silver Swords met precisely.

The ‘Corruption’ authority, transmitted through the sword, once again assaulted his mind, seeking to utterly defeat Liu Xiwan.

At this very moment.

“Master!” Ning Changjiu roared with his mind.

Without any further communication, Ye Chan Palace instantly understood. Her hands swiftly formed a complex mudra, and the authority of ‘Dream’ expanded between her palms.

Dream was the strongest mental authority!

‘Corruption’ and ‘Dream’ clashed.

Like wolf meeting tiger, ‘Corruption’ not only retreated but was swept by ‘Dream’ and forcefully rebounded back into its origin!

In an instant, the offensive was reversed. The Dark Lord’s mind was corrupted by its own authority, causing a brief pause. It could no longer block Ning Changjiu’s sword. Ning Changjiu unleashed his full strength, plunging the Silver Sword into the Dark Lord’s body.

The Dark Lord did not resist. It clutched its own head, and its hair, formed of light, rapidly corrupted, turning into a vast expanse of murky black.

Ning Changjiu poured his last remaining strength into piercing the sword through the Dark Lord’s chest.

He knew this was their last chance, their best chance.

The sword slowly sank into the Dark Lord’s body.

The Dark Lord was almost ‘omnipotent,’ but in terms of mental faculties, it seemed to have a clear flaw. Perhaps this flaw was a result of 1.5 billion years of existence; anything experiencing such a prolonged life would likely go mad...

But just as Ning Changjiu thought he could kill it, the Dark Lord raised its hand towards the sun and uttered two suffocating words:

“Everglow.”

As if a harbinger of the Everglow authority’s activation, a flash of light flickered in the Dark Lord’s black hole-like eyes.

The corruption that had invaded its mind was instantly dispelled by Everglow.

The Dark Lord regained its clarity.

The purple-white light barrier expanded again, the blade was forced out of its body, and Ning Changjiu and Ye Chan Palace were both repelled, crashing into an asteroid belt, raising vast clouds of dust.

The Dark Lord glanced at the wound on its chest, seemingly troubled. Finally, it spoke: “Sealing.”

The injury was sealed.

This was a scene that brought despair to Ning Changjiu and Ye Chan Palace. They had painstakingly fought for a sliver of opportunity and almost perfectly seized it, yet in an instant, the situation reversed. The Dark Lord’s corruption was dispelled, and its body recovered as if new.

Everglow...

This was his former authority, which he had later gifted to Ju Fu. He had initially thought the Everglow authority had been extinguished over the past eight years. Now, seeing the Dark Lord extract authority from the sun with almost miraculous means, he understood that as long as the stars remained, the authorities would remain.

The Dark Lord also feared no so-called light. What Ju Fu had blocked with Everglow back then was not the core Dark Lord, but the chaotic entity it was attached to.

If Ning Changjiu’s power sources were the human divine kingdom and the sun, then the Dark Lord’s authority sources were, in fact, the entire starry sky!

Most terrifyingly, they had always been under a misconception: that the Dark Lord required spiritual energy replenishment.

But looking at it now, why would the Dark Lord need spiritual energy? The plunder of spiritual energy from the human realm back then was likely to supply the chaotic entity!

But what was the purpose of that chaotic entity? Was it merely a habitat...? Why would it be worth so much effort for the Dark Lord to maintain?

All sorts of questions swirled through his mind.

In the human realm far away, occasional flashes of white light shot out.

Those were ascendant cultivators.

Cultivators supported the human realm, but many couldn’t endure and chose to flee. The pillars of light from the human divine kingdom were becoming fewer and fewer... If too many cultivators escaped, their painstakingly constructed divine kingdom would surely collapse soon.

Xiaoli and Xiaoling, still struggling to support the human divine kingdom, must be in utter despair seeing such a scene.

Further thought was meaningless...

The Dark Lord turned its head and spoke blankly, “Safeguard the flame of human civilization from extinguishing.”

Then, it drifted towards the pulverized asteroid belt.

In the asteroid belt, Ning Changjiu and Ye Chan Palace could barely struggle.

The human realm.

Heaven and earth were desolate.

Evil, at the boundary of the Heavenly Ranking, gazed into the sky. He watched the light pillars erupting all over the world, lost in thought for a long time.

“They... are amazing,” Shi whispered.

“Yes, they are remarkable,” Evil nodded.

Shi said, “So, can we win?”

Evil smiled faintly. “My sister seems very worried?”

Shi nodded naturally. “Of course. Didn’t you often tell me in the past that we are gods and should pity all living beings?”

The smile on Evil’s face faded slightly. He gazed at the mountains and rivers, speaking from the heart, “I pity all living beings, but who will pity me?”

“What?”

Shi’s eyes widened as she looked at Evil. She was a little naive, so she couldn’t quite grasp it for a moment, unable to understand how her brother, who had always cared for all beings, could say such a thing.

Evil seemed to realize his slip of the tongue, lightly covered his mouth, and chuckled, “I just said it casually, don’t mind it.”

Shi nodded. A doubt had lingered in her heart, and she was about to ask.

But Yuan Jun suddenly appeared behind them.

Accompanying Yuan Jun was a dignified woman in a red dress.

“Grandpa Yuan,” Shi politely called his name, then looked at the beautiful older sister and asked, “Excuse me, are you...?”

Suzaku gave her a deep look and said, “You can call me Sister Zhu.”

“Sister Zhu,” Shi called out brightly.

Suzaku smiled and nodded.

Yuan Jun also looked at Shi, his expression grave.

Shi felt uncomfortable under their gazes.

She bit her finger and retreated behind Evil.

Evil looked at Yuan Jun and said, “Don’t worry, I believe in them.”

Yuan Jun said nothing, only hummed in acknowledgment, looking at Shi. He said meaningfully, “Your brother is indeed a remarkable figure. For the past five thousand years, he has truly given his all to save you.”

Shi glanced at the black-clad boy beside her and nodded softly. “Yes, of course. Brother is an amazing hero, the hero who led the people in the Land of Eternal Day to find the Painting Wood and brought color to the world!”

“Land of Eternal Day?” Yuan Jun was puzzled.

Shi smiled mysteriously, pressing her lips together without speaking.

Evil explained, “It’s just a made-up story I told her. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Hmm,” Yuan Jun didn’t press further.

This was the story Evil had once told Ning Changjiu. In his idle moments these past years, he had also told it to Shi.

He hadn’t expected this somewhat naive girl to remember the absurd story so vividly.

The black-clad boy looked up, a hint of bewilderment flashing in his eyes. He asked himself, “Am I a hero too?”

Soon, he answered himself: “Yes, I am a hero.”

The slight confusion was erased, and his resolve returned.

He no longer needed Shi’s support; with a burst of renewed energy, he took Shi’s hand and walked past Yuan Jun and Suzaku towards the Heavenly Ranking.

“Um... where are we going?” Shi asked.

The black-clad boy smiled and said, “There’s still plenty of time. I’ll tell you another story.”

“A story?” Shi was surprised, then laughed. “Oh, yes, yes! I love stories! What kind of story is it this time?”

The black-clad boy hesitated for a moment, then said, “A story about a brother and sister. In the story, the brother is an ‘omnipotent being,’ but he is stubborn and slow-witted. The sister is an ‘omniscient being,’ but she is simple-minded and naive. They are planters, living in a graveyard, holding many seeds, waiting for a chance to sow them again.”

Shi looked up, finding the beginning of the story very strange. She didn’t understand, blinking with a bewildered expression.

Simple-minded and naive.