Chapter 1330: Huang Tian

A brown wind blew from the dark sky, whimpering as it swept across the barren land. It carried death and emptiness.

The stirred-up dust, illuminated by the dim light, looked like fragmented and distorted shadows of time, as if time itself had been crushed. The entire world seemed cursed, exuding an aura of despair.

The sky was a grayish-black expanse. Like a vast, oppressive curtain, it pressed heavily upon the land, as if it could collapse at any moment, crushing everything into endless darkness.

In the air, wisps of strange matter surged with the wind, like living tentacles weaving and entwining freely. So dense they almost solidified, they turned into mist in many areas, endlessly spreading in all directions.

The land, having long lost its inherent vitality, presented a decayed appearance. Everywhere, the dry, cracked surface was covered with gullies of varying depths, like menacing, gaping mouths roaring at the dictates of fate.

Yet, life was not entirely absent. Resilient plants grew in the gullies of the land, but whether due to the environment, the strange matter, or their inherent nature, every single plant exuded an evil aura. Their branches twisted and writhed like malevolent spirits struggling in agony, their surfaces covered with sharp thorns. Some thorns glimmered faintly with an eerie light, as if warning any who approached not to come too close. The shapes of their leaves were even more bizarre: some were broad like palm-leaf fans but riddled with countless small holes, as if gnawed by an unknown force; others were long and slender like swords, with serrated edges like sharp teeth, trembling slightly in the wind as if they could transform into harmful weapons at any moment.

In addition, colossal, divine beasts could occasionally be seen wandering across this desolate and dangerous land. Their appearances were even more grotesque. Some had countless eyes, each gleaming with a cold and cruel light, as if able to see through all disguises in the world. Others were covered in scales as hard as iron, which, under the grayish-black sky, emitted a chilling phosphorescence. Every step left deep footprints in the earth, accompanied by a dull thud, as if the very ground trembled beneath them. Still others had massive wings which, when flapped, stirred up fierce gusts of wind laden with the stench of decay and the strange matter's cold touch, sending shivers down one's spine.

Yet, in this strange and desolate place, the most striking feature was not these creatures. It was the towering temples.

Each of these temples was imbued with a primal style, as if they had stood there since ancient times, scattered across the vast land in an orderly fashion, yet with a unified aesthetic. Their walls were constructed from massive stone blocks, inscribed with mysterious and obscure runes that seemed to possess a life of their own, occasionally flickering with faint light, like the breathing of the world. The massive and heavy gates were carved with various patterns, and at the apex of each pattern, striking vertical marks depicted light! It was as if light was the common object of worship for these temples.

This place was called Huangtian. It existed beneath the Continent of Wanggu, its scope similar to Wanggu's. In fact, tracing back history, Huangtian was the true Wanggu, and the first world seen by the cultivators who ascended from the Hou Tu Star Ring.

And the peerless war between the cultivators and the Huangtian Divine Race that took place countless years ago, though the cultivators paid a huge price, ultimately resulted in their victory. This sweet and profoundly significant victory allowed the cultivators to gain qualification to enter the Upper Star Ring, acquire a dwelling place, and even build the Continent of Wanggu. Moreover, Wanggu became the "Heaven" of Huangtian. As for the Huangtian Divine Race, it came to an end; most of its deities were suppressed, its royal family sealed, and its Crown Prince could only transform into a Golden Crow, atoning for Huangtian's sins outside.

The entire Huangtian continent had been buried. The newly reshaped Wanggu stood above it. Simultaneously, the rise of the Heavenly Dao allowed the cultivator system to blossom brilliantly for the first time in this Ninth Star River, making the seal on Huangtian even more complete.

Thus, as time passed, Huangtian became a legend. The Huangtian Divine Race became a thing of the past. Almost no cultivators would come here. Until today.

It seemed destined that this day, seemingly ordinary, was destined to be extraordinary. First, a mournful wail echoed from the sky, and a figure fell. Immediately after, an unprecedented sound of creation resounded from the grayish-black sky, shaking the heavens! RUMBLE! The sound was immense, instantly spreading throughout Huangtian. As it echoed, it was as if a pair of invisible hands reached in from behind the sky curtain, tearing the entire sky violently apart! A colossal rift, spanning an infinite range, suddenly appeared in the sky. And from within the rift, two figures emerged.

The moment they appeared, all the strange matter in Huangtian rippled. An aura alien to this place emanated from the two figures, instantly sweeping across all directions. Wherever it passed, the strange matter began to melt! For it was the aura of an immortal! Suppressing Huangtian! The moment this aura appeared, the entire world of Huangtian instantly fell into a strange commotion. The sky was distorting. The strange matter was dissipating. The vegetation was trembling. The fierce beasts were prostrating themselves. The most affected were the formerly silent temples across the land. They seemed to have been injected with life and, in an instant, began to tremble violently. Accompanied by dull roars, it was as if this ancient world was awakening! And gradually, earth-shattering roars erupted. Within those temples, the statues of various deities were shaking. The auras emanating from them were very powerful, seemingly surpassing the scope of mortal comprehension in some ways. But at this moment, many of these statues, amidst the shaking, seemed unable to withstand the sky's oppressive might and actually showed signs of cracking. The source of all this was precisely the two figures emerging from the rift in the sky.

"This is Huangtian!" Seventh Master's gaze fell upon the land. Looking at the temples and sensing everything, his tone was filled with emotion. "Back then, I, your master, followed those elders and waged a great war against the Huangtian Divine Race right here!" Saying this, Seventh Master looked at Xu Qing, his expression somewhat solemn. "Do not underestimate this Huangtian Divine Race," he cautioned. "Although they are somewhat weaker compared to other powerful deities, the Huangtian Divine Race is one of the few divine races possessing spiritual soul talent; not just one individual, but all their kin possess it! This is something I, your master, have not seen in any other deity in the many years since."

These words made Xu Qing's eyes gleam with surprise. He had only seen two divine beings possessing spiritual soul talent. One was God Lord Lizhu from the Fourth Star Ring, and the other was the Star-Eyed Divine Maiden. The former was swallowed by Er Niu, while the latter was in Xu Qing's storage bag.

"Therefore, our war against this race back then exacted an extremely heavy price, and the entire Hou Tu Star Ring was affected. After our victory, those elders specifically researched this race. Due to my unique status, I also participated and thus know the final research results. That is... the Huangtian continent's very existence is extremely special! We even speculated at the time that Huangtian... had a high probability of being the first star born in its star ring! And the Huangtian Divine Race were the first natives here! Otherwise, how did the disfigured face come about?"

As these words were spoken, Xu Qing's mind suddenly trembled. "A Primeval Mother Star?" He immediately thought of the star in the Fourth Star Ring, but on second thought, it seemed somewhat incongruous. "The function of a Primeval Mother Star concerns the secret of the deities' return, which is why divine abominations exist. But here... it's somewhat different."