474: A symphony of iron, blood, and fairy charm

“The plan needs to be moved up.”

The leading desiccated corpse suddenly tore off his left arm, his decaying bones emitting a grating sound.

Black blood, like a living entity, snaked through the Void Realm, outlining a twisted portal, its edges constantly writhing as if resisting the constraints of some rule.

“To suppress a one-step Dao Ancestor with a mere flick of the hand…” The desiccated corpse’s hollow eye sockets flickered with Phantom Fire, his voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity, “If such a monster were to grow… he must not be allowed to live!”

The black blood portal suddenly trembled violently, and a pair of eyes burning with golden flames slowly opened in the darkness.

That gaze penetrated layers of space, even solidifying the surrounding Chaos Qi.

The desiccated corpses immediately prostrated themselves, their bones clattering with crisp sounds.

Their chests resonated, emitting a uniform sound: “Reporting to our Lord, there’s a variable in the Eternal Human Race. Requesting to activate the ‘Eclipse Sun’ contingency plan…”

The golden flames on the other side of the portal surged, and the temperature of the entire shattered continent instantly soared.

The floating star remains even began to melt, transforming into crimson molten iron.

After a moment of silence, all the desiccated corpses simultaneously looked up, the eerie green flames in their eye sockets replaced by gold, and their cracked lips curled into a chilling smile.

“Approved.”

The moment this syllable fell, several desiccated corpses collapsed like weathered sand sculptures.

But just before they turned to dust, that eerie smile became even clearer, as if mocking something.

A brilliant golden fire seed rose from the ashes, pulsating with a muffled thud, like a heartbeat.

Then it suddenly accelerated downwards, piercing through the surface of the shattered continent like an arrow, disappearing into the deepest darkness of the Chaos Sea… At the same time, Xu Qing, who was drinking, suddenly turned his head.

The wine glass in his hand paused slightly, and unnatural ripples appeared on the surface of the Nine Tribulations Thunder Nectar.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhan Tian Dao Ancestor looked in the direction of his gaze in confusion, but only saw the calm Chaos Sea.

Silver light flowed in Xu Qing’s eyes, and spatial Dao patterns intertwined deep within his pupils. He gazed at the distant belt of star remains, his Dao thought sweeping across every inch of space.

“Must be a delusion.”

After a moment, he retracted his gaze and took a light sip of the thunder nectar.

But his fingertip tapped lightly on the tabletop, and an invisible spatial ripple quietly spread out.

However, the Chaos Sea remained calm, the star remains slowly drifted, and the shattered continent was as silent as before.

Xu Qing frowned. Seeing no changes, he stopped thinking about it and continued drinking with Zhan Tian Dao Ancestor.

Little did he know, beneath this seemingly peaceful facade, certain entities that had lain dormant for countless eons were plotting to overturn everything… Seven years later.

When the fleet passed through the last expanse of Chaos mist, Xu Qing saw the legendary ancient mighty pass for the first time.

Separated by hundreds of thousands of light-years, he saw a mighty pass standing in the Chaos Sea.

Tianyang Pass, the Eternal bulwark guarded by the Human Race, the Chaotic Gods, and various races from the Southern Abyss!

The towering city walls were entirely cast from “Chaos Realm-Suppressing Stones,” each brick flowing with dark golden Dao patterns.

These Dao patterns were not Acquired engravings, but rather the natural condensation of the blood Qi and Battle Intent of billions of Cultivators over countless eons.

The city walls were covered with marks of varying depths—there were claw marks a thousand zhang deep, left by Xu River alien beasts; there were scorching marks stretching for ten thousand li, recording a shocking great battle; and there were countless dense sword marks and spear imprints, telling stories of heroic sacrifices in defending the pass.

The entire mighty pass stretched east to west, spanning endless light-years, so far that even with Xu Qing’s eyesight, he could not see its end.

Every hundred thousand li along the pass wall stood a towering arrow tower, with a “God-Slaying Crossbow” suspended at its top, its diameter comparable to a star. The great Dao chains entwined around its bolts would make even a Half-Ancestor retreat three steps.

Most shocking was the sky above the pass—it was not an ordinary firmament, but a boiling “Ocean of Great Dao.”

Time, space, Five Elements, Yin and Yang… countless Great Dao manifested as tangible torrents, forming a never-ending protective storm above the city walls.

Occasionally, a Chaos fierce bird would mistakenly enter it, instantly being torn into the most primitive fragments of Dao principles.

In the center of the pass, a blood-colored battle flag pierced the clouds. The flag’s material was unknown, yet it fluttered without wind.

The two characters “Tianyang” on the flag moved like living things, each stroke containing a terrifying killing intent.

Xu Qing only took two more glances before feeling a stinging in his Dao soul; it was clearly a supreme true word written by an extremely powerful existence with his own Dao blood!

“Every time I see this pass, this old man feels…” Zhan Tian Dao Ancestor appeared beside him at some point, his gilded halberd thudding heavily on the ground, “It’s good to be alive.”

Xu Qing was silent.

In front of this mighty pass, which had witnessed countless lives and deaths and repelled the attacks of Tianyang aliens, any words seemed pale. Only the Eternal and indestructible city bricks silently spoke of the indomitable spirit and pride of the Eternal Ruins.

“Let’s go! We’re heading to Main City Number One!”

The usually open-minded Zhan Tian Dao Ancestor became somewhat silent here.

As the fleet approached, Xu Qing stood at the bow of the ship, momentarily lost in a trance.

Tianyang Pass was the most majestic pass he had ever seen, and the Main City Number One before him was the largest city he had ever seen, and also the most beautiful.

Tianyang Main City Number One, this mighty city hailed as the “Pearl of the Chaos Sea,” perfectly exemplified the ultimate unity of contradictions.

In the outer perimeter of the main city’s sky, billions of vast stars, each emitting exquisite starlight, while in the inner perimeter, fourteen thousand eight hundred inverted immortal mountains floated, their bodies crystal-clear like jade, with waterfalls cascading from their peaks, transforming into Spiritual Qi star-rain in mid-air.

Every drop of “rainwater” reflected different world scenes, and when it fell into the city, it transformed into blossoming golden lotuses of Dao rhyme.

In the central region, three hundred and sixty-five palace complexes, entirely crafted from Chaos refined gold, were arranged in a celestial star formation. The pearls embedded in their rooftops were actually refined small stars, emitting a soft glow in a state of perpetual daylight.

And in the innermost core, two even larger, vast immortal palaces, like the sun and moon, exuded supreme majesty.

The buildings along the streets were not inanimate objects, but rather grew from some kind of living spiritual wood. Instead of fruits, their branches bore miniature grotto-heavens.

However, beneath this fairyland-like facade, everywhere one could see heart-pounding traces of war.

The bottoms of those floating immortal mountains were all embedded with “World-Destroying Cannons” with diameters of ten thousand li; when the Dao rhyme golden lotuses bloomed, their stamens revealed Avenue arrows poised to fire;

Even the seemingly peaceful spiritual wood buildings had dense explosive runes carved into their trunks.

Aerial routes were strictly divided: the east side was a continuous torrent of warships heading to the front lines—on the deck of each warship, armored Cultivators were neatly arrayed, silently wiping their weapons, their eyes frighteningly calm.

The west side was the returning medical fleet, with enemy bone spears still embedded in the damaged hulls of the warships, and suppressed groans occasionally emanating from the cabins.

Most shocking was the central plaza.

The ground of the plaza, spanning hundreds of millions of li, was actually paved with the natal Dao Artifacts of fallen warriors.

Swords, spears, and halberds wailed underfoot, each weapon reflecting the owner’s final battle scene.

In the center of the plaza stood an irregular blood-colored crystal stele, condensed from the essence blood of generations of pass defenders. The inscription on the stele consisted of only eight powerful characters, written with vigorous strokes.

“Blood not yet drained, fight to the death!”