Chapter 1127: No Way Out

On this day, the world of the Nine Provinces descended into great chaos as a flurry of news arrived, stirring up immense shockwaves across the land.

"Ancient God Chengtu was torn to shreds!"

"Godly Ancestor Chentu was ambushed and killed midway!"

"Ancient God Kaitu perished!"

"Ancient God Baitu's head was ripped open, his three souls shattered!"

"Ancient God Yintu died in his sleep, without any external injuries!"

"Ancient God Taotu was slain in his ancestral land!"

These dreadful tidings, as if winged, spread throughout the Nine Provinces. In the Three Pillars Heaven, the Three Pillar Gods sat solemnly, their faces grim.

After these three Ancient Gods received the news, they did not become restless like Ancient God Shentu. Instead, they gathered immediately, believing that only by sticking together could they put their minds somewhat at ease and avoid an inexplicable death.

"Judging by the reports," Pillar One Ancient God, his face indigo with green skin and tusks like a ghost king, gravely stated, "the Ancient Gods of the Nine Provinces have been completely wiped out. In just five days, from Baitu to Shentu, nine Ancient Gods were eliminated. This indicates there were no evenly matched battles at all. Instead, the assassin traveled relentlessly, infiltrating their ancestral lands and killing them before the other Ancient Gods of the Nine Provinces could even receive the news."

Pillar Two Ancient God, with a red face and tusks, frowned and said, "We are already quite powerful. Over the years, we have delved deep into our respective Great Daos, our study of Dao arts has become increasingly profound, and our strength has grown significantly. Looking at the world, while we are not existences like the Ten Celestial Venerables, we can at least stand on par with Emperor's Throne realm experts, can't we? How could the Ancient Gods of the Nine Provinces perish without any resistance?"

Pillar Three Ancient God said, "Having heard the news, I've deduced a possibility." His eyes flickered as he continued, "The world's foremost supreme treasure has appeared."

As soon as he said this, the other two Ancient Gods trembled violently, showing expressions of disbelief.

"What could kill the nine Ancient God brothers of the Nine Provinces so quickly must be the world's foremost supreme treasure, the Lapis Lazuli Sky Banner. And I know who that assassin is: the legendary Foremost Heavenly Master of the world, Dragon Mountain Hermit!" Pillar Three Ancient God continued, "I heard an anecdote from my youngest brother, who serves under the Black Emperor of the Northern Heaven. Back then, when the Heavenly Court split 600,000 years ago, Black Emperor Yintianzi went to the Heavenly Palace of Emperor Xuanwu of the North, where he encountered Dragon Mountain Hermit. Dragon Mountain Hermit used the Lapis Lazuli Sky Banner to severely wound the Heavenly River Navy's million divine devils, causing Shang Pingyin, the then Foremost Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Court, to vomit three measures of blood. For the next 100,000 years, he remained demoralized and despondent, eventually being replaced by Yue Tingge."

He stared blankly, a look of fear on his face, his voice somewhat hoarse as he said, "At that time, Shang Pingyin commanded the Heavenly River Navy, the Divine Martial Two Guards, and the Pylos Division. Such military might would have been more than enough to flatten the Earth Mother Yuanjun. Yet, Dragon Mountain Hermit, relying on the tens of thousands of scattered divine abilities practitioners and divine devils within Xuanwu Heavenly Palace, decimated half of those four divine devil armies!"

The other two Ancient Gods also couldn't help but show signs of fear. The more they knew about the Heavenly Court's power, the more they revered it, and dared not harbor any thoughts of resistance. They had also witnessed the Heavenly Court's split back then and deeply understood the treacherous nature of the situation. The Heavenly Court had sent large armies to stop the Four Ancient God Emperors from leaving, but all suffered defeats, and Celestial Venerable Huo was even severely wounded by Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird. But the most thrilling battle at that time was the blockade of Xuanwu Heavenly Palace on the Heavenly River. The Heavenly Court's military suffered heavy casualties and didn't recover for many years afterward.

What was even more concerning news was the theft of the world's foremost supreme treasure, the Lapis Lazuli Sky Banner. At the time, there were many different theories, but very few knew the true inside story.

"At that time, after Dragon Mountain Hermit repelled the Heavenly Court's army, he stole the Lapis Lazuli Sky Banner and vanished without a trace." Pillar Three Ancient God added, "Yintianzi, being present in Xuanwu Heavenly Palace at the time, knew many inside details, and my youngest brother overheard Yintianzi mentioning this matter."

There are eight Ancient Gods of the Pillars in total, known as the Eight Pillar Heavens. Among them, Western Heaven has three Pillar Heavens, Eastern Heaven has four, and Northern Heaven has one. The Ancient God of the Northern Pillar Heaven is ranked the youngest.

"Dragon Mountain Hermit was also hailed as the Foremost Heavenly Master of the world because of that battle," Pillar Three Ancient God continued. "He vanished with the Lapis Lazuli Sky Banner, and his whereabouts remained unknown for 600,000 years, becoming an unsolved mystery of the Dragon Han era. Unexpectedly, his reappearance is aimed at us Ancient Gods."

Pillar Three Ancient God declared, "We cannot sit here and wait for death!"

The other two Ancient Gods frowned and said, "Dragon Mountain Hermit was already so formidable 600,000 years ago, and now he can only be even more powerful. He also possesses the Lapis Lazuli Sky Banner, the world's foremost supreme treasure. We have no choice but death; how can we possibly be his match? Perhaps he's already on his way to kill us!"

Pillar Three Ancient God smiled. "Therefore, let's make our move first!" He stood up and said, "We abandon our ancestral lands and move from Baitu to White Emperor of the Western Heaven. Even if Dragon Mountain Hermit's divine powers are vast, he wouldn't dare challenge the White Emperor!"

"Abandon our ancestral lands..." The other two Ancient Gods looked troubled.

Pillar Three Ancient God said, "Staying means death; leaving means a chance to live. Are you coming or not?" The two Ancient Gods stood up and said in unison, "Our ancestral lands are not as important as our lives. Let's go together!"

The three Ancient Gods immediately shrunk their forms, flew out of the Third Pillar Heaven, and, turning into three streaks of light, headed straight for the Psychic Transfer Bridge in Baitu. Two days later, they arrived at the Psychic Transfer Bridge, crossed it, and reached the Western Heaven.

The Western Heaven was the Heavenly Palace of the White Emperor. White Emperor's Heavenly Palace was magnificent and splendid, with as many as ten Psychic Transfer Bridges leading to other parts of the Western Heaven, as well as the Heavenly Court, Eastern Heaven, Southern Heaven, and the Northern Heavenly Underworld, among other places. The Heavenly Palace itself was filled with buildings, leaving no space for Transfer Bridges within it, so the Psychic Transfer Bridges were built around the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace.

When the three Ancient Gods arrived here, they found White Emperor's Heavenly Palace largely empty. Upon inquiry, they learned that the Heavenly Court had mobilized White Emperor's forces for an assault on the Great Void. White Emperor was currently leading the divine devils from the Heavenly Palace to the Heavenly Court, from where they would proceed to the Great Void. Only Crown Prince Qingzong remained in White Emperor's Heavenly Palace.

"The Heavenly Court even mobilized White Emperor's forces," one of them remarked. "Is the Great Void truly so difficult to conquer?" The three Ancient Gods were surprised and exchanged glances. They said, "Crown Prince Qingzong is exceptionally powerful, but he would still struggle against the Foremost Heavenly Master Dragon Mountain Hermit. Moreover, the forces here are too few, making it unsafe for us to stay. It would be better to proceed to the Heavenly Court from White Emperor's Heavenly Palace."

Pillar Two Ancient God said, "We've been fleeing for days and haven't eaten a thing. I'm terribly hungry. Let's find something to eat first."

Hearing him say this, the other two Ancient Gods also felt hungry and said, "There are many rules in the Heavenly Court, making it difficult to eat as we please. We might as well ask Crown Prince Qingzong for some food here."

The three Ancient Gods flew down towards White Emperor's Heavenly Palace. Below lay a vast continent, formed from the xirang (self-growing soil) borrowed by the first White Emperor from the Heavenly Court. White Emperor's Heavenly Palace was situated above this continent. The continent was also home to myriad living beings, though their lives were rather meager.

The three Ancient Gods flew through the sky when they suddenly spotted a town below. Though dilapidated, it had a sizable population. They immediately flew down towards it.

The divine abilities practitioners in the town saw the three Ancient Gods descend and immediately became wary, but Pillar One Ancient God merely flew past them, reducing them to dust with a single breath. There were originally only a few divine abilities practitioners in this town. The rest were ordinary people, who cried out in terror and huddled together.

The three Ancient Gods began to feast heartily. The villagers scattered and fled, but found no escape.

A naive little girl, emaciated and bony from hunger, holding a bone with only scraps of meat clinging to it, tottered forward and offered the bone, timidly saying, "Uncles, eat this instead, don't eat us..."

Pillar One Ancient God reached out and grabbed her. He chuckled darkly, "Uncles don't eat bones, uncles eat people." As he was about to swallow the little girl, a sword light suddenly flashed. Pillar One Ancient God stared blankly at his severed arm, from which divine blood gushed forth. The next moment, a chill ran through his brow. A broken sword pierced through the back of his head and exited from his forehead!

Pillar Two Ancient God and Pillar Three Ancient God were startled. They heard a deafening thud as a massive pillar slammed into the center of the town, sending soil flying and a canopy fluttering in the wind.