Chapter 676: Another Ritual to Become a God

A burst of energy erupted, shaking the clouds and wind. The resulting haze enveloped the crumbling statues of various races, making them unclear to outsiders.

They could only vaguely see that within the haze, twelve statues existed. Their appearance profoundly shocked the cultivators of the Bitter Life Mountain Range, as the combined, dense aura caused the very wind and clouds to change color.

This was especially true for the cultivators of the Anti-Moon Palace, with some elders from the outer Anti-Moon Palace observing intensely.

The Red Moon cultivators were also stirred. The entire battlefield was shaken by the emergence of these statues.

However, within the terrifying aura emanating from the ice sculptures, a trace of Nascent Soul fluctuation was mixed in, like an anomaly, both conspicuous and inconspicuous within the mix.

He was also the first to awaken and step out of the haze; it was precisely the captain's physical body.

His appearance surprised many and left them perplexed, wondering how someone with such cultivation could have been sealed.

His cultivation was vastly different from the terrifying auras of the statues behind him, making him undeniably stand out.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, the expressionless captain walked directly towards Xu Qing, instantly merging with his own figure. Then, his eyes opened with vitality, and he stretched lazily.

“Ah, that feels good!”

Xu Qing glanced at him but said nothing.

The onlookers outside were instantly moved by this sight. Had they not been on a battlefield, countless speculative whispers would surely have erupted.

The captain raised an eyebrow, about to utter some enigmatic words, but at that moment, cracking sounds echoed from the other statues. The ice of the second statue completely shattered, and someone emerged from within. It was an alien covered entirely in scales.

His long blue hair swayed as he gazed blankly in all directions.

“I have revived!” a murmur echoed. Immediately, a fluctuation of the Second Rank of Void Return erupted from him, creating a roar and an astonishing aura. This also drew the focused attention of the onlookers outside.

Through a spiritual sensation, this awakened alien understood his current situation and the reason for his revival.

He then declared to Xu Qing, “I am willing to fight for the Anti-Moon!”

As his voice rang out, a third figure emerged. This figure was also an alien, and with every step, thunderous roars echoed, as if his very footsteps were transforming the world around him. He finally appeared before everyone’s eyes.

With a towering physique, serpentine long hair, and a large bony tail trailing behind him, his appearance immediately elicited gasps of surprise.

“A Heavenly Ghost!”

“Members of this clan still exist!”

The Heavenly Ghost Clan was a clan that had perished in the Sacrificial Moon Great Domain. They were originally hereditary Red Moon Divine Envoys, controlling the domain's lightning power. However, due to unknown reasons, they chose to rebel against the Moon and were subsequently exterminated by the Divine Temple.

“Awakened!” The Heavenly Ghost giant's murmur was like thunder. The moment he stepped out, he fiercely looked at the Red Moon cultivators and the Palace Emperor outside, his eyes filled with intense killing intent. He then frowned as he looked at Xu Qing.

“You are the Anti-Moon Lord? How can such a weak human assume this position?”

Xu Qing's gaze was calm as he looked at the Heavenly Ghost giant, just about to speak, when a cold, indifferent voice emanated from within the statues: “Little brat, why can’t a human be the Anti-Moon Lord?”

The voice was sharp enough to shatter rock and metal. The moment it rang out, both the blue-haired alien and the Heavenly Ghost giant changed expression and looked over simultaneously.

Even the Fourth Palace Lord outside, upon hearing this voice, looked over with bated breath.

From within the haze, a fourth figure walked out, step by step, accompanied by the ear-splitting sound of a weapon dragging across the ground.

The fourth figure was a human, clad in tattered robes. A massive scar on his waist radiated an astonishing fierce aura, as he dragged a decaying long saber into the world.

The saber's malevolent aura was so shocking it seemed capable of shattering heaven and earth. Everyone's expressions changed upon his appearance, and even the Palace Emperor's eyes widened.

“You are indeed not dead, Li Xiaoshan!” The Fourth Palace Lord's eyes showed shock as he looked at the approaching elder, uttering tremblingly, “Master!”

This decaying elder was, surprisingly, the Fourth Palace Lord's master. The Fourth Palace Lord's mind reeled; he clearly remembered his master sitting in meditation before him and passing away, as well as his own promotion to the Fourth Divine Palace Lord.

The elder's gaze fell upon the Fourth Palace Lord, and he nodded slightly.

“Not bad. You successfully inherited the Fourth Palace of my lineage.”

“I did not die back then. Rather, my attempt to break through to the Concealed God Realm failed, causing the cursed artifact to erupt. I had no choice but to let the artifact spirit seal and suppress me, all so I could awaken at a crucial moment.”

After speaking, the elder's gaze fell upon the two aliens. The two aliens immediately lowered their heads, took a few steps back, and showed respectful expressions.

The elder let out a cold snort, then turned to Xu Qing, his expression softening as he nodded slightly.

“This era of the Anti-Moon has finally produced its Lord.” After saying this, he cupped his fist and bowed.

Xu Qing dared not presume and quickly returned the gesture.

“Greetings, Senior.”

“Whatever the Moon Lord commands, this old set of bones can finally get some exercise.” As the elder spoke, he looked at the Palace Emperor outside, his eyes filled with chilling intent.

Xu Qing's expression was invigorated. He had never imagined that such beings were sealed within the Anti-Moon Palace's ice sculptures.

At this moment, roars erupted again from within the haze. Figure after figure emerged sequentially, each carrying an aura imbued with the essence of time. Their aura, though not as formidable as that of the Eastern Shore, was still terrifying.

This was the accumulation of the Anti-Moon Palace in the Sacrificial Moon Great Domain throughout this era. What appeared to be seals were also a form of protection.

They were all aliens, and the moment they emerged, they understood the reason. They saw the outside world, saw Li Xiaoshan, and consequently restrained themselves.

Despite this, the appearance of these figures still exerted immense pressure on the Red Moon cultivators. The sea of blood surged amidst these numerous auras, and the sky took on a scaly appearance.

Until only one ice sculpture remained within the haze. This ice sculpture was the slowest to shatter, finally cracking open completely at this moment.

As she stepped out, a dense aura of ancient time spread, as if an ancient wind swept through all directions, causing heaven and earth to rumble.

The Red Moon Palace Emperor's expression changed for the second time, even more drastically than when he saw Li Xiaoshan. His expression was grave, as if facing a formidable enemy, as he stared intently at the figure gradually revealing herself to the world.

It was an alien woman, with a second eye on her forehead. This eye was crimson, seemingly containing flames, and as she emerged, flames radiated from her, forming a sea of fire.

A gigantic face vaguely formed in mid-air, and she, at its center, radiated fluctuations incredibly close to the Concealed God Realm, as if she could instantly form her own great world and step into Concealed God.

Now, having emerged, she stood there. Though her eyes were open, they were completely vacant.

Her appearance stirred everyone's minds, yet few recognized her. Even those from the Anti-Moon Palace had no impression of her.

It was as if her traces had never appeared in this era. The ancientness emanating from her was exceptionally strong, as if she had lived for countless years, and one could feel the passage of time on her.

Even the other unsealed ice sculptures were unfamiliar with this woman and did not know her identity. Only Li Xiaoshan lowered his head as he gazed at the emerging alien woman and spoke softly.

“Greetings, former Anti-Moon Palace Lord.”

His words sent ripples of shock through everyone's minds. Only Xu Qing and the captain remained relatively calm, because they had already understood this woman's identity the moment they became the Anti-Moon Lord.

The Anti-Moon Lord of this era was Xu Qing.

However, the Anti-Moon Palace had not been without Anti-Moon Lords in the past. While not every era had one, several had appeared throughout history, but their resistance had all ended in failure.

And the last one sealed in this ice sculpture...

...was precisely the previous Anti-Moon Lord, but not her true body—only a clone.

She had chosen self-seclusion, cooperating with the Anti-Moon Palace using a special method.

She avoided the Red Mother's devouring, leaving behind this clone. This was her gift to the next Anti-Moon Lord.

“The Anti-Moon Lord of the previous era, Divine Sparrow Child!”

The Palace Emperor's expression became extremely grave. As he spoke each word, the woman's eyes flickered with a ripple of light, the vacant look dissipated, and a cold indifference gathered, turning into a piercing gaze that fell upon the Palace Emperor.

“A patched-up body, a stitched-together world, wielding a pair of eyes that do not belong to this era, all in exchange for the power of Concealed God. But do you still remember who you are?”

The woman spoke calmly. Her words caused the Palace Emperor to freeze, and he instinctively replied.

“I am the Red Moon Palace Emperor!”

“In my era, the Red Moon had no Palace Emperor.”

The woman shook her head, sighed softly, and looked at Er Niu beside Xu Qing.

“Those are your eyes.”

Er Niu's expression changed, instantly becoming solemn as he looked at the woman before him. He remained silent.

The woman's gaze shifted, finally settling on Xu Qing. Slowly, a faint glow emanated from her, accompanied by an icy aura. Although a sea of fire surrounded her, at this moment, the color of the fire changed to black.

“You are very strange…”

The woman took a deep look at Xu Qing, but said no more. Instead, she turned her gaze towards the outside.

“Is the decisive battle of this era about to begin? It's far more interesting than my era.”

“I am merely a clone, lacking the power of my true body from back then. I cannot help much, but I will do my best.”

“Gods are not eternal. May hope endure forever.”

The woman murmured, then took a step forward, directly crossing the Anti-Moon Palace and appearing above the sea of blood outside. With a raise of her hand, infinite flames erupted from her, directly engulfing the sea of blood below.

In an instant, the entire sea of blood began to burn.

Flames spread, engulfing heaven and earth. The sea of blood churned, and the sky rumbled.

The Palace Emperor's expression shifted. He raised his right hand and slammed it down, and the Great World behind him materialized, about to suppress the flames.

But at that moment, Li Xiaoshan suddenly stepped out, dragging the decaying long saber in his hand as he took nine consecutive steps, each step entering the void, traversing between reality and illusion, unstoppable.

On his ninth step, he arrived before the Palace Emperor, swung the long saber in his hand, and brought it down with a single slash!

Heaven and earth lost their color. The Palace Emperor retreated, and Li Xiaoshan also retreated. The latter even spurted blood as he retreated, his aura weakening, but the next instant, he returned to normal, his eyes calm as he looked up, and continued dragging his broken long saber forward.

The Palace Emperor's expression changed. His slight delay there caused the burning sea of blood to rapidly diminish, eventually vanishing completely. The entire sea of blood... was burned dry by the flames, which did not cease, but instead rushed directly towards the Palace Emperor above.

At the same time, within the Anti-Moon Palace, Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with cold light. He controlled the mirror formed by the Anti-Moon Palace, which shone with dazzling light, enveloping all directions and empowering the Anti-Moon cultivators.

Those unsealed alien cultivators now rushed out one after another, their respective cultivations erupting as they charged into the Red Moon cultivators.

The battlefield roared once more.

Looking out, every single one of these unsealed alien cultivators displayed astonishing prowess. Where the blue-haired alien passed, puddles of water were left behind.

Each puddle buried a Red Moon cultivator, and within the reflection, one could see the buried Red Moon cultivators wailing in agony.

Then there was the Heavenly Ghost giant, his body thundering with lightning, forming a lightning domain around him. As streaks of lightning fell, countless arc-shaped electrical lights scattered, and each electrical light transformed into a ferocious ghost shadow, controlled by him in battle.

The more he fought, the more ferocious ghost shadows appeared around him.

Among these unsealed cultivators, one was even more bizarre. He offered no resistance whatsoever to any of the Red Moon cultivators' spells or attacks, allowing his enemies to strike him down.

However, each time he died, the cultivator who struck him down would instantly drop dead.

And from the corpse of the fallen, this unsealed alien would reform, continue forward, and continue to be killed…

The divine statues of the Anti-Moon Palace itself were equally astonishing. With the buffs applied, their combat power was extraordinary, and they feared neither life nor death. And every time a death occurred, another statue would reappear within the Anti-Moon Palace's mountain temple, emerging to join the battlefield.

This was the power of the Anti-Moon Palace as a Domain Treasure!

Suddenly, the situation was reversed.

Although the Red Moon cultivators were not weak, those present here were still not enough.

This was to be expected, after all… they were now facing the strongest group of people accumulated by the Anti-Moon Palace over an entire era.

Meanwhile, in the central part of the Sacrificial Moon Great Domain, there was a lake, with an island at its center.

On the island stood a gigantic statue in a kneeling posture. From afar, it seemed to support heaven and earth; up close, it was boundless and colossal. Numerous halls spread out at its feet, appearing like ants in comparison.

This statue was precisely the Sovereign, Li Zihua!

Above its head, there was also a divine temple, constantly suppressing it.

This temple was the Red Moon Divine Son Temple, and this was the headquarters of the Red Moon Divine Temple.

At this moment, within the Divine Son Temple, a figure sat on a colossal throne.

This person had an indifferent expression and appeared to be a young man. His appearance was remarkably similar to the statue outside.

His aura fluctuated between strong and weak, and he clearly bore injuries on his body. Judging by the marks of the wounds, they were inflicted by the Crown Prince and Princess Ming Mei.

His identity was now obvious.

In front of him, a phantom screen shimmered, displaying a scene from the Bitter Life Mountain Range battlefield.

After gazing for a long time, the young man expressionlessly stood up. He walked towards the depths of the great hall, each step seemingly passing through the void, leading him into another world.

In that world, the sky was dim, and on the ground lay a blood-red lake.

The lake water was still and silent. On its surface, twelve corpses sat cross-legged. Each one looked exactly like the young man.

Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that these corpses had no flesh or blood, only a layer of skin remaining.

They encircled the lake surface, forming a circle, like a bizarre ritual.

But one spot in the circle was empty.

Until the young man walked step by step, treading onto the lake surface, arriving at the empty spot, and sat down cross-legged, becoming the thirteenth corpse.

The circle was now complete.

A golden eye appeared in the sky, emitting golden light. It illuminated the lake, projecting the reflections of the thirteen corpses onto its surface.

The reflections were strange; they did not match the bodies. Within the thirteen reflections, eight males and five females could be seen, their appearances being precisely those of the Sovereign's children.

Among them were the Crown Prince and Princess Ming Mei… but all were in their youth, as if these were their past selves.

All the siblings were present, except for the fourth one.

Faintly, an eerie, ghostly voice echoed within this world.

“Once there was a big doll… behind it stood a row of little dolls, ten dolls, six, seven, eight, with red eyes and gray hair, never speaking all day long. Big children would call out for 'A-Jia' when they saw them, little children wouldn't be afraid…”

“Until suddenly one day, the big doll fell sick, the second doll looked on, the third doll bought medicine, the fifth doll brewed it. The sixth doll died, the seventh doll laughed, the eighth doll dug a pit, the ninth doll jumped in, the tenth doll shed tears on the ground. I asked him why he was sad…”

“The fourth doll is lost and won't come back!”

The lake surface gradually churned, as if some entity was slowly rising from its depths.