249: Chapter 249 The Shocking Change in the Heavens

"Senior Chu, look out—!"

Xuanyuan Zhandao's roar tore through the sky. The veins on his forehead bulged like coiling dragons, his hands clenched into iron fists, and his knuckles turned so white they seemed ready to shatter.

Behind him, his black armor was already soaked with cold sweat, clinging stickily to his back. His gaze was locked onto the horizon, his expression so grave it could wring out water—

His heart hammered within his chest, nearly shattering his ribs.

The array pressing down, covering the sky and earth, was no mere artificial construction; it was clearly the majestic might of Heaven descending upon the mortal realm!

Black clouds surged like monstrous ink waves. Countless rays of brilliant Spiritual Qi poured down like an inverted galaxy, with dense, intricate runes floating and swirling within the clouds, each one carrying the power to destroy the heavens and annihilate the earth—

Causing the very air to tremble violently, emitting an unbearable hum.

Within the array, the figures of thousands of Cultivators were vaguely visible. Their Auras intertwined and twisted, forming a hideous giant beast that spanned heaven and earth, opening its bloody maw with terrifying fangs—

Threatening to devour every living being below.

This level of power was more than ten times as vast as the Five Elements Extinction Array that had previously brought everyone to the brink of death.

It was truly a difference between clouds and mud, the gap between an ant and a hawk, inspiring such awe that even breathing ceased.

The longsword in Jian Xiaotian's hand emitted a humming wail, as if fearing this heavenly might, yet also excitedly longing for battle.

On the sword's blade, a cyan light flickered, reflecting his iron-willed face. There was not a hint of fear in his eyes, only an unyielding determination to press forward.

Behind him, the experts of the Shenwu Dynasty collectively held their breath, instantly manifesting their various Magic Treasures—pagodas soared into the air to suppress the Void Realm; precious mirrors shone with flowing light, reflecting thousands of scenes; Flying Swords hissed, tearing through the heavy sky; shields stood firm, building a wall of bronze and iron.

Powerful Auras erupted from them, connecting with one another to form an unbreakable barrier. Even when facing such a terrifying array, they did not retreat in the slightest—

Only the conviction to fight to the death burned in their eyes.

Only Patriarch Tian Yuanzi remained as composed and detached as ever.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his white Daoist robe snapping in the gale. His hair stirred slightly, and his eyes were as calm as a deep pool, without a single ripple.

He looked up at the array that blotted out the sky and threatened to envelop the entire Void Battlefield. His gaze swept over the roiling Spiritual Qi within the array and finally landed on a spot in the Void Realm beside him. His voice was calm and waveless, yet it rang out clearly across the entire battlefield like thunder, every word piercing the ears:

"My old friends, have you watched the show long enough?"

"If you don't act now, this old bag of bones and this promising junior will be branded by them as 'demonic beings'—"

"And they will carry out this 'subjugating demons and defending the Dao' business."

Just as his voice faded, before the Southern Region Coalition could react—

"Hmph!"

A cold snort, like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, suddenly resonated through the Void Realm!

The voice was aged and hoarse, as if having endured the erosion of eternal ages, carrying an indisputable, supreme majesty. It seemed to come from the end of time, from the very dawn of Grandmist, piercing through layers of the Void Realm—

Making the eardrums of every Cultivator present buzz, shaking their spirits and causing their blood to surge.

Immediately following this, the spatial rift behind Patriarch Tian Yuanzi, which had only been emitting a faint, ancient, and weathered Aura, suddenly trembled violently!

The sound of "crack, crack" shattering was incessant, like breaking glass. The rift expanded crazily at a speed visible to the naked eye, increasing several times over in the blink of an eye. Deep within the pitch-black rift, it seemed to connect to another unfathomable world—

Emitting a heart-palpitating Aura of deathly silence that made one's heart run cold.

Three blurry figures slowly stepped out from within.

Their figures were not tall, even somewhat hunched, as if their spines had been bent by the weight of eternal ages. Each step was taken extremely slowly—

Yet it felt like they were stepping upon everyone's heartbeats.

They wore robes of an extremely ancient style; the material was indistinguishable, and there were no ornate decorations on them, only obscure and difficult-to-understand patterns that appeared and disappeared in the dim light, exuding an ancient and mysterious charm—

As if bearing the secrets of the Primordial Era.

Their faces were shrouded in a hazy halo, indistinct, as if separated by a veil of eternal mist, making it impossible for anyone to glimpse their true appearance.

Only their eyes, the moment they opened, erupted with unimaginable radiance!

Within the light, it seemed as if the sun, moon, and stars were alternating in birth and death, the primordial Universe was cycling through Reincarnation, and mountains and rivers were rising and falling. It contained infinite Dao, making one dare not look directly—

As if one more glance would cause one's Soul to be sucked in, sinking forever.

Most startling of all was that there was no oppressive Aura radiating from them. They were just like three ordinary elderly men, calm and indifferent, as if they had simply walked out from the depths of time—

To watch an inconsequential farce.

Yet the very moment they appeared, the entire Void Battlefield seemed to be pressed down hard by an invisible giant hand—

Suddenly "sinking"!

The air seemed to solidify, the gale stopped abruptly, Spiritual Qi became sluggish, and even space rippled slightly, emitting an unbearable groan, as if it would shatter at any moment.

The "Ten Thousand Immortals Demon-Slaying Array" that was surging forward, its unparalleled power like a roaring, rushing river, unstoppable, yet after colliding with an invisible, intangible wall—

Was forcibly halted!

With a "hiss," the Spiritual Qi at the edge of the array collided violently with that invisible force, and countless runes dimmed in an instant, like candle flames extinguished by a fierce wind—

That forward momentum actually showed a hint of stagnation, no longer able to maintain its previous dominance.

"This... this is..."

White-Browed Daoist's pupils constricted sharply, his eyes widened into circles, the color drained from his face instantly until it was like a sheet of white paper, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

From these three figures, he felt an absolute oppression stemming from the deepest level of life itself, from the very source of the river of time!

This was a majesty that stood high above, overlooking all living beings, something no ordinary Peak Mahayana Cultivator could possess, or even imagine—

It was as if they were the Dominators of heaven and earth, the Origin of all things.

Chayuzi and the others shook even more violently, as if struck by a bolt of thunder. Their bodies swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand. Their faces were etched with disbelief, their voices becoming sharp and distorted, filled with intense horror and incredulity, howling like madmen:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Dao Origin of this realm has long since withered, Spiritual Qi is thin; it is fundamentally impossible for an existence at the Immortal Dao Realm to be born!"

"What... what on earth are you?!"

Before the words had even faded, one of the blurry figures looked up slightly—

Seemingly just casually "glancing" at Chayuzi.

Just a single glance.

No massive Aura, no terrifying Divine Ability, not even any fluctuation of Spiritual Qi; it was as if it were just the glance of an ordinary person.

Yet this very glance, falling upon Chayuzi, was like the heavens collapsing and the earth splitting!

"Pfft—!"

Chayuzi was struck as if by a heavy blow, violently spitting out a large mouthful of blood. The blood sprayed into the Void Realm like a fountain, staining the sky and earth before him red, and the scent of blood filled the air.

His natal Dharma Avatar trembled violently within him, its light instantly dimming, almost on the verge of being completely extinguished. His Aura plummeted sharply like a kite with a broken string, sliding all the way down from the Peak Mahayana—

As if he would die and his Dao would dissipate at any moment.

He wilted completely, his eyes unfocused, as if he had lost his Soul. The gaze he directed toward that figure was filled with boundless fear, as if he had seen the most terrifying existence in the world—

Even his Soul trembled, and he dared not even conceive the thought of resisting.

"Noisy."

The figure spat out these two words indifferently. The voice was plain and unremarkable, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, as if merely swatting a bothersome fly, not worth mentioning.

Yet these two words struck every person's heart like a heavy hammer—

Causing the entire world to fall into silence.

Between heaven and earth, there was a deathly silence.

One could hear a pin drop.

The massive Coalition, formed by the Spiritual Qi and willpower of countless Cultivators from the Southern Region, was now like a throat gripped by an invisible giant hand—

All sound came to an abrupt halt.

The array formed by over a hundred thousand people was still slowly operating, and the colorful light was still flowing ceaselessly, but that unstoppable "momentum" had, the moment the three ancient figures appeared, cracked like glass struck by a giant boulder, creating an irreparable fissure—

It could no longer coalesce, leaving only endless panic and despair.

White-Browed Daoist felt his throat go dry and his mouth parched. Under the other's casual, sweeping gaze, the surging Dharma power within him actually became sluggish, its circulation speed greatly slowed, as if it had encountered an insurmountable obstacle—

As if trapped in a quagmire, unable to extricate himself.

He stared fixedly at the patterns on the three figures' robes, his pupils constricting sharply, while a tempest surged in his heart, nearly ready to explode—

Those were "Ancient Runes"!

Ancient Runes that were countless times older than the Ancient Era! These were things that only existed in the illustrations of the most ancient secret scriptures of the Xuantian Sect, which had long been relegated to myths and legends. Legend had it that these were runes that only the supreme powerhouses of the Primordial Era could control—

They were the imprints of the Dao, the Origin of power!

Chayuzi slumped to the side, his Aura in utter disarray, his face like gold paper, blood constantly overflowing from the corner of his mouth, staining his lapels red.

The glance from just a moment ago brought not only severe damage to his Physical Body, but also a terrifying sensation of his Dao foundation being invaded by an ancient chill, as if his Dao was fragile and vulnerable before the other party—

Ready to collapse and turn into fly ash at any moment.

His lips trembled, wanting to say something, but he dared not make even the slightest sound, only able to silently endure that bone-deep fear in his heart—

Not even daring to breathe loudly.

The silence was broken by Patriarch Tian Yuanzi's calm yet icy voice, every word like ice beads falling onto a jade plate, clear and cold:

"Now, I give you two choices."

Every word was like a heavy drumbeat, striking hard upon the heart of every Cultivator in the Southern Region Coalition, causing their spirits to shake violently and their faces to turn deathly pale—

Their bodies began to tremble involuntarily.