Chapter 1067: Settling Accounts

The war between the Five Great Alliances and the Tianyuan Region finally ended with Zhuan Zhu's manifestation as a Saint. Although the sudden appearance of that Saint Race Grand Venerable somewhat diverted countless gazes, Zhuan Zhu's attainment of sainthood still caused immense waves throughout Hunyuan Heaven. After all, it had been a long time since a new Saint was born in Hunyuan Heaven.

With Zhuan Zhu becoming a Saint, the Tianyuan Region once again had a Grand Venerable presiding over it. Consequently, the Tianyuan Region's previously precarious situation instantly became as stable as a rock. Its surrounding borders grew calm and peaceful, and all previous provocations and probing disappeared without a trace, as if they had never occurred.

The prestige possessed by a Grand Venerable was fully evident at this moment. Even though Zhuan Zhu had only just ascended to Sainthood, once he reached this level, it was equivalent to entering the most supreme tier among all the Heavens, enough to inspire awe and reverence from all beings.

Moreover, if Cang Yuan were to return in the future, the Tianyuan Region would face the formidable prospect of having two Saints! At that point, the Tianyuan Region's influence would reach its peak since its founding. It's highly probable that even the leading forces among the Nine Regions, such as the Myriad Ancestors Domain, Martial God Domain, and Purple Heaven Domain, might be caught up to and even surpassed.

Thus, at this moment, all factions in Hunyuan Heaven understood that the Tianyuan Region would not only avoid falling out of the Nine Regions, but its status would become even more secure. Those forces that had previously attempted to profit from the Tianyuan Region's precarious state quietly withdrew their efforts, breaking out in cold sweat.

The most distressed were undoubtedly the vassal forces of the Tianyuan Region. They had previously chosen to stand by idly during the Tianyuan Region's time of crisis, as they too were pessimistic about its prospects. But who could have predicted that the Tianyuan Region would not only avoid decline but would instead usher in a peak situation with two Saints? Presumably, these vassal forces were now as anxious as ants on a hot griddle, fearing the Tianyuan Region's retribution.

Countless gazes were directed towards the Tianyuan Region. Amidst this anticipation, news emerged from the Tianyuan Region: Bai Ye, the traitor, had been suppressed, and the Bai clan was stripped of all its former privileges and resources. They were directly disbanded and scattered, becoming ordinary families within the Tianyuan Region, bearing the name of a guilty clan.

Without such privileges and resources, the Bai clan's strength would undoubtedly diminish significantly in the future, possibly even degenerating into ordinary families. After experiencing such betrayal, the Tianyuan Region's high-ranking officials would certainly be highly wary of the Bai clan, making a resurgence an extremely difficult task. Thus, the Bai clan, once prominent in the Tianyuan Region, would likely never recover, drawing sighs of regret from various forces.

Of course, besides resolving internal issues, the Tianyuan Region also did not spare its external enemies. The first to bear the brunt was the Three Mountains Alliance, which was closest to the Tianyuan Region. The Three Mountains Alliance bordered the Tianyuan Region and caused considerable trouble during this war. Thus, they were the first to face retribution.

The Tianyuan Region merely dispatched a Heavenly Sun stage expert, bearing Zhuan Zhu's decree, to the Three Mountains Alliance. The final outcome was that the Three Mountains Alliance abandoned all its original assets and foundations, relocating its entire sect to other regions within Hunyuan Heaven. These assets and foundations were the culmination of the Three Mountains Alliance's efforts over many years. Abandoning them now was a devastating blow, but the Three Mountains Alliance had no choice. They were the closest to the Tianyuan Region, and the Myriad Ancestors Domain had no intention of offering aid, clearly treating them as a disposable pawn.

Without the Myriad Ancestors Domain's support, the three Law Domain experts of the Three Mountains Alliance simply didn't dare to resist head-on. After all, Bai Ye's precedent was right there – suppressed at a whim. If they resisted, the Tianyuan Region would likely be eager to use them to establish its authority. Thus, countless forces once again witnessed the power of a Grand Venerable: a single decree was enough to make a top-tier force relocate its entire sect.

After driving away the Three Mountains Alliance, the Tianyuan Region temporarily ceased taking action against the other four participating top-tier forces. This was mainly because these four forces were extremely far from the Tianyuan Region, and they were located in areas covered by the Myriad Ancestors Domain. Even seeking retaliation would be difficult. Nevertheless, the Tianyuan Region still sent letters demanding that the four top-tier forces compensate the Tianyuan Region for its losses.

Faced with the Tianyuan Region's blatant stance of extortion, the four top-tier forces could only grit their teeth and swallow their resentment. They knew that without the Myriad Ancestors Domain's protection, they would likely suffer the same fate as the Three Mountains Alliance, or perhaps even have their Law Domain experts captured and suppressed. The Tianyuan Region was already quite restrained at this point, all due to its lingering apprehension towards the Myriad Ancestors Domain and the impact of the Saint Race Grand Venerable's appearance. Therefore, the four top-tier forces ultimately handed over the massive compensation willingly.

At this point, the conflict that had garnered the attention of all forces in Hunyuan Heaven truly came to a complete end. The Tianyuan Region's decisive actions also made all forces understand once again that, henceforth, the Tianyuan Region would remain one of the Nine Sovereigns of Hunyuan Heaven. Anyone or any force daring to provoke this formidable beast would pay a heavy price.

“The Struggle for All-Heavens' Fortune?!”

As the external forces once again regained their reverence for the Tianyuan Region, inside a council hall in the Tianyuan Grotto-Heaven, Zhuan Zhu also revealed the news brought by the Saint Race Grand Venerable that day, which, as expected, caused widespread shock.

Inside the council hall were only Xi Jing, Sect Master Xuankun, Clan Head Bian Chang, Mu Ni, and Zhou Yuan. It is worth mentioning that Zhou Yuan had now truly taken his place as an elder in the Tianyuan Region, directly replacing Bai Ye. All of this was at Zhuan Zhu's command, and with Zhou Yuan's current prestige in the Tianyuan Region, this order caused almost no ripples.

Zhou Yuan felt a bit helpless about this; he genuinely wasn't very interested in the elder position. Moreover, he suspected that his Senior Brother had an ulterior motive in promoting him, seemingly a prelude to him continuing his hands-off approach. Previously, he had 'tricked' Senior Sister Xi Jing under the guise of seclusion; was he now planning to 'trick' his Junior Brother as well? This made Zhou Yuan frustrated, considering that being a 'hands-off' manager was precisely his own usual trick.

“What is this 'Struggle for All-Heavens' Fortune'?” Zhou Yuan asked, looking blankly at Xi Jing and the others.

Xi Jing's smooth face was solemn. She said, “As the name suggests, this is a conflict affecting all nine Heavens of the Genesis World.”

Zhou Yuan's heart jolted; the scale of this was a bit terrifying.

“Legend has it that when the world first began, the Ancestral Dragon was born. Later, the Ancestral Dragon transformed into all things, giving rise to the beings of the Genesis World... And within the Genesis World, there is a special existence: a heaven evolved from fragments of the ancestral land where the Ancestral Dragon was born. We call it the Ancient Origin Heaven. This heaven is not one of the Nine Heavens but exists independently,” Mu Ni said, looking at Zhou Yuan with a gentle smile.

“The Ancient Origin Heaven is extremely mysterious. It contains the most ancient Genesis Qi, which we call Ancestral Qi. The Ancient Origin Heaven is connected to the Nine Heavens, but these passages are closed and only open at specific times...”

Zhou Yuan's eyes flashed: “Specific times... could that be this so-called 'Struggle for All-Heavens' Fortune'?”

Mu Ni nodded and said, “Yes, the so-called 'Struggle for All-Heavens' Fortune' is actually a contest for the right to distribute the most ancient Genesis Qi within the Ancient Origin Heaven.”

“Do you know why our Hunyuan Heaven is the strongest among the five Heavens, excluding the Saint Race's four Heavens?”

“That's because in previous Struggles for All-Heavens' Fortune, our Hunyuan Heaven repeatedly contended for the largest share of Ancestral Qi, apart from the Saint Race... This led to our Hunyuan Heaven's Genesis Qi being abundant and refined, which in turn gave rise to countless prodigies.”

“Everyone in Hunyuan Heaven now, including us, has actually benefited from this blessing!”

Zhou Yuan was somewhat shocked. So there was such a profound reason for Hunyuan Heaven's powerful Genesis Qi! Could a large part of why Cangxuan Heaven repeatedly lagged at the bottom be its lagging behind in this Struggle for All-Heavens' Fortune?

“Based on our calculations, the Struggle for All-Heavens' Fortune occurs roughly once every thousand years. However, this time it hasn't arrived yet, but the Saint Race insists on opening it, so we must quickly prepare,” Zhuan Zhu said with a hint of helplessness.

“Why are we so passive?” Zhou Yuan asked, puzzled.

Zhuan Zhu sighed and said, “Because the Saint Race is stronger. They can forcibly open the Ancient Origin Heaven, but we cannot... The reason they notify us is simply because a rule of the Ancient Origin Heaven dictates that the more Heavens participate, the stronger the Ancestral Qi that is generated...”

“Simply put, the Saint Race doesn't just want their own Ancestral Qi; they also want what belongs to our five Heavens of various races.”

Zhou Yuan understood, giving a wry smile: “In that case, it seems we can only rely on you great figures.” In Zhou Yuan's view, a conflict involving various heavens like this should only be something that Zhuan Zhu, Xi Jing, and others of their caliber could get involved in.

But unexpectedly, Zhuan Zhu stroked his chin and looked at Zhou Yuan with a smile.

“Junior Brother, you're mistaken. This matter doesn't just depend on us; in fact, it also depends on you...”