Chapter 522: Red Mother Arrival

The sky above the Forbidden Land was enveloped in a crimson hue, making the entire firmament appear blood-red. Fine cracks permeated its surface. Against this red backdrop, the cracks appeared even deeper in color. A closer look revealed that they did not seem naturally formed; they looked more like deliberate arrangements. Their pattern resembled a rune spreading across the sky! A mere glance would evoke unease and uncontrollable fear, as if it were an instinctual response of life itself.

Thus, it wasn't just Xu Qing and the Captain whose minds were shaken. At this moment, every human cultivator within the two-thousand-mile radius of the safe zone carved out in the Forbidden Land experienced the same unsettling feeling. Everyone felt a massive surge of dread, a sense of impending disaster rising within them. The majority of these cultivators were from the second and third waves of arrivals. As for the first wave, more than half had already chosen to leave, and their expressions now shifted.

The source of the sky's transformation was located at the core of the Forbidden Land, precisely at the center of the Ancient Emperor Xuan You's imperial palace, where the main hall was situated. The once incomparably magnificent imperial palace had drastically changed its appearance, now covered by endless flesh, bulging into a massive growth. It encompassed the vast palace and the surrounding plaza.

At the very center, Zhang Siyun, the moment he raised something high, had his right eye instantly wither, forming a hollow socket from which numerous blood vessels spread. Following their patterns, the cracks in the sky were precisely the blood vessels radiating from Zhang Siyun's blinded right eye! His hands slowly rose. The moment they finally covered his eyes, his expression showed no trace of disappointment, and his lips slowly curled upward. After doing all this, he closed his eyes in the darkness, remaining motionless.

In the direction those eyes gazed, a figure floated in mid-air, kneeling, with hands covering its eyes like a statue. It was Zhang Siyun. He knelt there, his head held high, facing the sky. His expression was one of surprise. Blood vessels twisted on his face, vaguely outlining the shape of a crescent moon, and bloody tears flowed from his eyes. His head was adorned with a crown-like ring overgrown with Xu Qing. Eight grotesque faces were visible within it, sealed and wailing. These "they" were fashioned into a crown and placed upon Liu Jingzhe's head. The aura emanating from these eight faces was clearly that of deities.

A vast, astonishing, and utterly terrifying supreme will suddenly erupted from Zhang Siyun's body. Combined with Liu Jingzhe's handsomeness, an immense sense of divinity permeated his entire body. As for the location of the heart, the flesh was now writhing and peeling back, and a golden eye, ten thousand zhang in size, instantly formed outside and abruptly opened. This golden eye became the only clear entity in the entire Forbidden Land. All the distortions and haziness created by the opening of the giant eye on the ground were instantly replaced and suppressed.

At this moment, around Zhang Siyun, eight hundred and eighty white-robed figures were sitting cross-legged, uttering complex and unintelligible incantations. Although also wearing white robes, their hooded cloaks had fallen open due to violent trembling, revealing grotesque faces covered in red blood vessels. This was the 881st person. This was the language of the human race; every sound carried a sinister intent. Furthermore, during this incantation, they would sometimes simultaneously raise their hands, without hesitation, and wildly plunge them into their own bodies, brutally tearing out their internal organs. These organs rapidly withered, transforming into wisps of white qi that gathered at the center of the formation.

At the same time, within the four-cornered formation in the sky, all the white-robed figures, after sacrificing their four internal organs and left eyes, watched as the gigantic beast now raised its hand and gouged out its own right eye. The monstrous beast dissipated, and the four-cornered formation in the sky, gazed upon by the giant eye, instantly disintegrated into ash. These raindrops, in mid-air, transformed into tiny golden eyes, encircling the ten-thousand-zhang eye. All of them opened, staring fixedly at the sole entity in the sky!

A red moon pulsed on the Red Mother's brow, and the red moon behind her emitted a brilliant crimson glow. It suddenly dispersed outwards, forming a sea of blood that appeared in the sky. Her hollow eye sockets seemed to contain two seas of blood, emitting terrifying crimson light. A white Daoist robe turned to ash, and a golden robe covered its entire body. The robe was enormous. Its hems, as they lifted, spread in all directions, covering the ground. The Red Mother, in the sky, spoke softly. The sound emanating from the Red Mother's mouth was not human language, but all races could understand it; this was divine speech. It seemed the Forbidden Land could not withstand her voice.

Heaven and earth shook. As rumbling sounds spread, a chasm tens of thousands of miles long formed. Her long hair instantly changed from white to blood-red, continuously spreading behind her until it became the sky itself. Its hair was the sky, and its robe's hem was the earth. The entire world became blurred and hazy. The figures worshipping around screamed one after another.

The Red Mother raised her head, her blood-red eyes fixed on the giant eye above. Golden saliva flowed from her cracked lips; each drop that fell streaked across heaven and earth like a golden meteor, and upon landing, the ground roared, corroded into deep pits. All matter within it disintegrated in the golden saliva. The Red Mother seemed unfazed by the roars emanating from the giant eye on the ground. As her golden saliva fell, she raised her right hand and gently grasped towards the earth. With this grasp, the ground of the entire Forbidden Land instantly underwent an unprecedented violent tremor. Centered on the imperial palace, several massive chasms, roughly a hundred miles wide, immediately appeared on the surface. Viewed from the sky, this was clearly a palm print nearly a thousand miles in size! The indentations of its five fingers were precisely above where the seventy-one Liu Jing strands extended.

The ground trembled instantly. A terrifying roar, as if a sleeping entity had been startled awake, echoed dramatically from the depths of the earth at that very moment. It was as if an invisible giant hand descended from the sky, landing within the forbidden zone. Cracking sounds emanated from the earth. Seven deep chasms significantly deepened, reaching the hidden deity's true form beneath the ground. This was the Forbidden Land's sleeping deity. Amidst its current contortions and roars, seventy-one Liu Jing strands swiftly pierced towards the invisible giant hand, but they could not penetrate it. However, their coverage subtly outlined parts of the intangible hand's silhouette.

The ground trembled violently. The eye within the imperial palace wept golden blood, and the seventy-one Xu Qing pillars, radiating terrifying fluctuations, roared and echoed in all directions. Simultaneously, the seventy-one Xu Qing pillars emitted dazzling Liu Jing light, and in the blink of an eye, all seventy-one surged skyward. Viewed from afar, each one collectively contained an ultimate sharpness capable of piercing heaven and earth, like seventy-one divine weapons, charging directly at the Red Mother. These seventy-one beams of golden light collided with the sea of blood, and seventy-one massive crimson whirlpools erupted. The whirlpools continuously rotated but could not be penetrated, and these seventy-one golden beams were visibly being assimilated, being swallowed by the sea of blood.

The ground trembled violently. The eye within the imperial palace wept golden blood, and the seventy-one Xu Qing pillars, radiating terrifying fluctuations, roared and echoed in all directions. Even the seventy-one Xu Qing pillars trembled slightly, and the pulsing heart within them became chaotic for the first time. A sense of awakening surged from the earth. Amidst its struggling contortions, one could see Xu Qing pillars on the deity's body, each separated by a thousand miles, totaling seventy-one pillars. If one could stand at a supreme vantage point overlooking the entire Forbidden Land and look down, they would clearly see a total of seventy-one Xu Qing pillars, starting from the imperial palace and piercing through towards the west. The ground within a thousand-mile radius completely collapsed. The invisible giant hand firmly grasped the Forbidden Deity, dragging it out of the earth.

The sky was dim. Countless red lightning bolts swept in all directions, continuously exploding. The pulled-out Forbidden Deity could be seen; it resembled a snake or a dragon, but its body had no scales, appearing instead like a massive strip of purplish-red flesh. As the land within a thousand-mile radius collapsed, a massive vine of flesh and blood, like a snake, was pulled out from within. Its body, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, was also torn open from the ground during this extraction. This Xu Qing was pitch-black, like a blade's tip, emitting waves of chilling aura. It stood there like a peerless weapon. Also a thousand miles away, another identical Xu Qing pillar soared skyward. And even another thousand miles further, there was an eighth one!

The Red Mother's lips curled further upward, and her right hand fiercely pulled downwards. Heaven and earth shook, the sky changed color, all directions twisted, and anomalous matter erupted completely at this moment. Golden and red clashed at this moment. The ground churned up countless pieces of flesh, palace ruins, and shattered earth, clearly indicating that the deity residing beneath the ground was struggling wildly. Observing the Forbidden Deity's struggle, the disparity in strength between these two gods was utterly clear. For them, the Forbidden Deity was like divine might, unshakeable, and even approaching it meant death. But for the Red Mother, she could effortlessly drag it out with a raised hand. This scene was enough to shake the minds of all beings.

Jin Mang and the Captain were also greatly shaken at this moment. The instant the Red Mother made her move, the Captain had already opened his palm, revealing the eye within. Using the varied perspectives of the many eyeballs he had placed outside, he pieced together a rather unexpected scene. However, under the divine power, the Captain's eyeballs were constantly disintegrating, so the image was not very clear. Only the eyes placed within the East District could see more.

"Little Ah Qing, want to see a divine battle?" The Captain chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, an eye appeared in his palm. The eye blinked a few times, and immediately, a blood-red sky was reflected within it. "I placed several eyes inside to witness this divine war firsthand. However, there's a risk of exposure, so we'll wait until the Red Moon awakens and is preoccupied with the local deity before observing; then we can use them extensively."

Meanwhile, Liu Jing and the Captain, with pounding hearts, swiftly departed their previous location. Instead of continuing to search for unexplored areas, they sought places rich in flesh and blood. "What a pity. This place has already collapsed and been severely encroached upon. Otherwise, there would surely be treasures where the Crown Prince resided." "The East Palace, specifically where the Crown Prince resides, is called the East Palace," the Captain remarked, a hint of regret in his eyes.

Jin Mang also felt a sense of regret. Along their journey, they had seen numerous palaces and had gained a deep appreciation for the wealth and prosperity of the Ancient Emperor Xuan You's era. When they saw a largely decayed plaque lying by the roadside with the character 'East' inscribed on it, Jin Mang's heart held a conjecture about the place. "And this was merely the East District of the Forbidden Land. Their explored area was far from covering the entire East District; comparatively, it was only a very small region." Evidently, this was also why the human race chose the East District as their landing zone; everything was proceeding according to plan.

"I wonder how Master intends to profit here." Jin Mang gazed at the surrounding darkness, speaking softly, as the sigh that had echoed in his mind after integrating with the Bottle of Time resurfaced. This sigh, reverberating in his mind, seemed to awaken some memories. Memories of the Phoenix Bird Palace flashed in his mind, searching for the ripples caused by the sigh.

Soon, their figures entered the fleshly hole. As the internal parts gradually healed, the seven of them continued digging downwards within the flesh. Once they reached a certain depth, enveloped by flesh and dense anomalous matter, they sat down cross-legged. Jin Mang, standing nearby, also felt his heart pound. He suppressed all his aura, not daring to reveal the slightest trace. Hearing the Captain's words now, he wasn't surprised, as the Captain had uttered too much similar crazy talk before.

"I wonder if we'll ever get a chance to come in again," the Captain sighed. The seven of them searched around and finally chose a collapsed side hall. After clearing it, they dug a hole in the flesh. The flesh of the Forbidden Land was constantly writhing. The moment the hole was dug, its edges began to contract, attempting to heal. So, Jin Mang and the Captain did not hesitate and immediately burrowed inside. "Junior Brother, we'll choose this spot." Jin Mang agreed, and after nodding, the seven entered this area of flesh.

Thus, an hour later, as Jin Mang's sense of dread grew stronger, they saw a collapsed ruin. Its original scope was vast, but it was now enveloped by a mass of flesh, like a mountain of meat. Faintly, no ancient traces could be discerned from the fragmented ruins exposed within the flesh. Far from afar, this fleshy orb was tens of thousands of zhang in size, with countless thick blood vessels spreading outwards. As it expanded in all directions, the orb pulsed like a heart. A similar scene appeared a thousand miles distant. However, it was not a fleshy orb, but a Xu Qing pillar soaring skyward.

Eight hours later, rumbling sounds suddenly echoed once more in the sky outside. This sound was immense, spreading in all directions, and also reached Jin Mang and the Captain within the flesh they were in. "Thump, thump." Each tremor was accompanied by a thunderous sound, reverberating in all directions. The earth rolled, countless palaces collapsed, and the flesh that permeated the entire Forbidden Land trembled. The seventy-one Liu Jing strands emitted an even stronger light. The sky was now intensely crimson, and the red light spilled onto the ground, painting all structures and flesh in the area a deep scarlet. The purple within it was rapidly being submerged, and the essence of blood gradually became the sole presence in this place.

Under this sound, the void twisted and became hazy. The anomalous matter was intensely concentrated, not yet forming mist, but instead converging into eerie shadows that floated between heaven and earth, prostrating themselves before the fleshy orb. All information was stored within the body, laid bare between heaven and earth. To a deity's gaze, mortals could conceal nothing; they were utterly transparent.

"Red Mother, Supreme Deity! My Lord Zhuan Yu, Master of Heavenly Malice, and the Seven Remnants have ignited divine flames in the Fierce Dawn Land, also a Supreme Deity!" The Captain's eyes gleamed as he licked his lips. "Junior Brother, you support me too, right? I'm planning something. Actually... I've planned it before, but that incarnation failed." "Yes, I'll do my best." "Normal body, not bad."

An immense sense of divinity permeated his entire body. It was enough to make all beings' bloodlines collapse with a single glance, and plunge them into an endless sea of suffering with a single sound. "I understand. The Red Moon... is about to awaken." "Interesting."

This scene was utterly bloody, incredibly bizarre, and filled with boundless evil. For deities, there was no need for analysis or speculation; everything was understood the moment it was seen. "The deities of Wanggu Continent are far, far more powerful than what sentient beings can comprehend. For mortals, any entity that even cultivators call a deity is surely a Creator!" The Captain took a deep breath, his eyes glinting strangely, and murmured. Even in the perception of cultivators, it was like a mythical legend, making it difficult not to feel reverence.

However, the Human Emperor's overt scheme indeed had its effect. For the Red Mother, the Forbidden Deity, upon awakening, was like a piece of delicious meat placed at her lips, making her unable to resist the instinct to devour it. Jin Mang's eyes narrowed.

The Forbidden Land was too small. To truly explore it completely would require significant manpower, and likely several months or more. Thus, time slowly passed. The seven of them felt their minds tremble. An unprecedented sense of dread erupted at this moment.