263: Chapter 263 War in the Southern Region

The monks of Little Sumeru Mountain hovered cross-legged in mid-air, hands pressed together, chanting obscure scriptures.

Amidst the low rumbling of Buddhist chants, golden Buddhist light spread like a tide, coalescing into a massive golden Buddha palm dozens of zhang high, along with the phantom of a vajra pestle, gilded all over and radiating the power to subdue demons.

The Buddha palm blotted out the sky, carrying the compassion to save all living beings and the majesty to suppress evil, crashing down towards the heavy-armored army formation of the Great Wu Dynasty; the vajra pestle, like a falling meteor, tore through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.

The soldiers of the Great Wu Dynasty had long since cast aside thoughts of life and death. Clad in black iron heavy armor, their spears stood like a forest. As their battle formation shifted, a soaring aura of military balefulness suddenly surged, transforming into roaring Vicious Beasts and sharp weapons.

The Vicious Beasts bared their fangs and brandished their claws, while the weapons glinted with a cold, piercing light, clashing violently against the Buddhist Divine Abilities. Amidst the deafening roars, the Buddhist light shattered, and the military balefulness surged—

Severed limbs and broken arms flew through the sky, accompanied by a rain of crimson blood.

The Disciples of the Burning Heaven Valley were bathed in fire, their bodies wrapped in dark golden flames like moving fireballs. Wherever they passed, vegetation was incinerated, and the earth cracked.

They unleashed various powerful fire-elemental Divine Abilities, with ultimate techniques like "Raging Flames of Burning Heaven" and "Blazing Fire Incinerating the City" taking turns. The raging flames soared straight into the nine heavens, as if intending to burn through the entire firmament—

It was truly worthy of being called flames burning the heavens.

Opposing them was the Spell Unit of the Shenwu Dynasty. The mages in the unit employed their various methods, pouring down an array of water-elemental, ice-elemental, and even rare lightning-elemental Spells.

Raging river waters transformed into towering waves, the cold air freezing the Void Realm for a thousand miles, and purple-golden lightning tore through the clouds—

Water and fire were incompatible, and lightning and fire clashed, erupting in continuous roars that shook the entire earth violently.

There were also experts from other Sects and Imperial Dynasties, some fighting in duels with sword lights and blade auras flashing, Divine Abilities and Magic Treasures unleashed; others were locked in a chaotic melee, with various energies colliding and intertwining, forming an extremely chaotic slaughterhouse.

The flashing of blades and swords never ceased, the sound of Magic Treasures colliding was deafening, and the clashing of Divine Abilities erupted in dazzling light, while roars and screams intertwined into a desperate dirge.

Severed limbs and broken arms, accompanied by a bloody, foul wind, fell continuously, hitting the cold ground with dull thuds.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple, already a ruin of broken walls, was now completely leveled. The ground was covered in massive craters, crisscrossing trenches, and eerie traces left behind by the erosion of various energies.

Some places were pitch black like ink, radiating an aura that corroded everything; some places glittered with golden light, remnants of the Buddhist power of purification; other places were frozen for a thousand miles, with bone-chilling cold.

The remnant soul of Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi laughed crazily at the edge of the battlefield; the laughter was sharp and ear-piercing, filled with unspeakable resentment and madness.

Guided by the Soul Seal, he transformed into a grey-black stream of light, moving rapidly like a ghost through the shadows of the ruins, continuously striking strands of eerie Soul Power into specific nodes deep within the ruins of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Each time a strand of Soul Power was struck in, the ground would tremble slightly, and a wisp of an ancient, desolate, and chilling aura, filled with intense resentment and unwillingness, would seep out from deep underground—

Coiling around people's hearts like a poisonous snake, making one shudder.

At the center of the battlefield, the ultimate confrontation had also reached a white-hot stage.

Emperor Wu Tianba and Daoist Baimei had long since fought from the ground up to ten thousand zhang in the sky.

The Nine-Dragon City-Breaking Halberd in Emperor Wu Tianba's hand swung with the force of a roaring tiger. On the halberd, nine lifelike Dragon phantoms circled and danced, emitting deafening roars.

Daoist Baimei's Yin and Yang whisk swayed gently, the threads of the whisk transforming into two giant Yin and Yang pythons, one black and one white, intertwining with each other, carrying the profound power of Yin and Yang generating and overcoming one another.

The Nine Dragons and the Yin and Yang pythons bit and devoured each other high in the sky. The moment the halberd shadows and the whisk collided, they erupted with world-destroying sparks—

Illuminating the entire firmament.

Emperor Wu Tianba was filled with imperial majesty, like a God of War descended from ancient times. His halberd techniques were tyrannical and peerless, each strike invoking the power of mountains and rivers, as if intending to pierce a hole through the heavens and earth.

Daoist Baimei, however, followed the natural Dao. His Daoist robes fluttered in the wind. As Yin and Yang rotated, he borrowed strength to strike back. Although he was on the defensive, his defense was dense and resilient, like a bottomless pool of water—

Let the storms rage, he remained unmoved. For a time, the two were evenly matched.

Jian Xiaotian's "Heavenly Question" divine sword had returned to his hand. The divine sword was translucent white, with the words "Heavenly Question" engraved on the blade, radiating a regal Sword Qi that looked down upon the world.

He stood holding his sword, proud in the Void Realm, the regal Sword Qi shrouding the surroundings like a tide, firmly suppressing the Sorrowful Old Monk of Little Sumeru Mountain.

No matter how brilliant the Buddhist light behind the Sorrowful Old Monk was, or how mighty the Vajra phantom he condensed, he could never cross the line.

The corners of the Sorrowful Old Monk's mouth were already seeping with threads of blood, his face pale as paper, and the Vajra phantom behind him was swaying—

As if it would shatter at any moment.

The battle between First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou and the Master of Burning Heaven Valley, Fen Jiuzhou, was even more dangerous and eerie.

Their figures flickered uncertainly across the battlefield, fast as lightning. Every exchange happened in the blink of an eye; others could not see their Moves at all.

Sword Qi and dark golden flames collided continuously, emitting sharp hissing sounds, with sparks flying everywhere.

The Master of Burning Heaven Valley already had several deep, bone-visible sword marks on his body, blood staining his robes, but his eyes grew increasingly ferocious.

First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou's robes were also scorched in several places, wisps of green smoke rising from his body, but his eyes remained cold as iron, his strikes becoming more ruthless—

Each blow aimed directly at the opponent's fatal points.

This sudden, Peak-level melee was like a massive, out-of-control powder keg, which, after the ruins of the Imperial Ancestral Temple served as the fuse, exploded uncontrollably. Its impact was by no means limited to these dilapidated ruins.

When news of the top echelons of Southern Region Sects like the Supreme Dao Palace, Little Sumeru Mountain, and Burning Heaven Valley fighting to the death with the Emperors and top experts of the two great Imperial Dynasties—Great Wu and Shenwu—spread rapidly across the Southern Region through various channels—from the mouths of fleeing Cultivators, through long-distance communication Magic Treasures that tore through the Void Realm, and even the unmaskable, terrifying energy fluctuations above the battlefield—

The entire Southern Region was completely boiling over!

Countless small and medium-sized Dynasties and Sects that had been watching from the sidelines or secretly building strength had their ambitions and fears ignited simultaneously, spreading like a wildfire.

"An opportunity! This is a heaven-sent opportunity! The main forces of both great Imperial Dynasties are pinned down at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and their rear is empty!"

"Fish in troubled waters! If we don't raise our armies now, when will we?"

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold! If Sects like the Supreme Dao Palace are defeated, we will be the next to suffer! We must send troops to support them!"

"The chaotic era has arrived, where the strong are respected! This is the perfect opportunity for our Sect to rise!"

Across the vast land of the Southern Region, war smoke rose, and war drums were beaten!

Vassal states and forces attached to the two great Imperial Dynasties either seized the opportunity to raise the banner of rebellion, leading armies to revolt and looting resources and cities, leaving wails everywhere; or they urgently gathered troops and raced day and night to the Imperial Ancestral Temple battlefield to protect the Emperor.

Forces that were on good terms with the Supreme Dao Palace and other Sects, or those who were already dissatisfied with the hegemony of the two great Imperial Dynasties, sent their top experts from within their Sects, or directly raised armies, marching aggressively toward the territories of the two great Imperial Dynasties, attempting to attack from the periphery and relieve the pressure on the Imperial Ancestral Temple battlefield.

Even more were those ambitious overlords who had been dormant for a long time. Taking advantage of this unprecedented chaos, they led their forces to conquer cities and expand their territories—

Some even openly declared themselves kings!

Within just a few days of the outbreak of the battle at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, border conflicts across the Southern Region rapidly escalated into total war.

Flames of war covered the sky, smoke filled the air, and blood flowed like rivers. The order that had been relatively stable in the past was completely broken—

The Law of the jungle became the only rule of this land.

The ruins of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were no longer just an ancient battlefield site burying countless histories.

It became the eye of a massive storm that swept across the entire Southern Region, dragging countless Dynasties, Sects, and billions of living beings into endless war.

And within the storm, Emperor Wu Tianba, Jian Xiaotian, Daoist Baimei, Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi... these existences standing at the pinnacle of the Southern Region were both the chess players and helpless chess pieces—

Every collision and every clash of theirs affected the fate of the entire Southern Region.

Deep beneath the ruins, the ancient aura continuously stirred by Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi's Soul Seal became clearer and more restless.

Within this aura lay endless resentment, desolation, and the power of destruction, as if a Vicious Beast that had slumbered for endless years was slowly opening its crimson eyes—

Its breathing was heavy and oppressive, waiting for the moment to break the seal and devour all the grievances and Karma on this land.

The sky of the Southern Region had completely changed.