The void outside the Ancient Treasure Civilization churned ceaselessly. The Vast Expanse's energy blossomed, and vast rift valleys of nothingness emerged. One after another, ancient warships rushed out from within.
These ancient warships were even larger than stars. As they sped, the constellations trembled, and world after world quaked amidst the aftershocks.
Jiang Weiyang leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance. Divine light began to surge upon her. Piece after piece of ancient armor flew out from the weapon cases brought by the several maids before her and began to cover her body. Her black hair cascaded down, her gaze steady and calm. An empress-like aura steamed up from her.
Faintly, the momentum of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's army also gathered and surged in unison.
Ji Hanjing stood behind Jiang Weiyang, seated upon a chair forged from Black Obsidian Dao Gold. Seeing Jiang Weiyang's shifting presence, she nodded inwardly.
All her tutelage over this period had not been in vain.
"The Ancient Treasure Civilization conceals great secrets, but since he intentionally had Weiyang come here to seek the Master of Fate, he must have made plans long ago."
"Since this is a fishing expedition, so what if I become the bait once..."
Many thoughts flashed through her mind. Ji Hanjing looked toward the Ancient Treasure Civilization ahead. One after another, tyrannical and overbearing divine senses had already swept over. The surrounding star domains swayed and trembled like a solitary boat amidst towering waves, as if about to plummet.
She let out a cold snort. Within her eyes, a blood-colored scene of moons sinking and stars falling manifested. Those sweeping divine senses instantly felt as if struck by lightning. In a daze, it was as if they had been detained within a strange, blood-colored Dao book, letting out miserable cries.
Having been the artifact spirit of the Book of Scavenging for so many years, Ji Hanjing may have become lost and forgotten many things, but her strength at her peak was not to be underestimated. Though she had not yet recovered to that state, ordinary Ancestral Dao Realm figures were absolutely no match for her.
Woo... woo... woo...
Ancient horns sounded from the warships, their notes resounding in all directions, desolate yet grand.
Divine Martial Great General Zhu Cangning of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, clad in armor with the aura of the Great Dao flowing all over him, stood tall, leading the army forth, descending outside the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
Behind him, the vast army, like a raging torrent with no end in sight, continued to pour in from those rifts and passages.
This was an incomparably terrifying force. Apart from Divine Martial Great General Zhu Cangning, many other commanders of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty led their respective detachments, converging from other regions. Even the auras of Ancestral Dao Realm existences were concealed in the shadows.
"What has happened?"
This vast fluctuation swept across many territories. In numerous adjacent and nearby universes, powerful auras revived one after another.
On vibrant life-bearing stars suffused with rosy light, ancient figures stepped forth, their fluctuations shaking heaven and earth as they watched from afar.
"People from the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty?"
"Why have they come to our Ancient Treasure Civilization?"
An old man brimming with decay called out in question, awakening from a cliffside overgrown with withered grass. With a single step, he appeared beyond the firmament.
But the only answer was a cold snort that resounded through heaven and earth: "Tell the Master of Fate to show himself."
Ji Hanjing sat within the ancient warship, watching this scene from afar, her expression impassive.
Her words carried an indescribable true meaning, echoing throughout the Vast Expanse's heaven and earth, far too terrifying. The void trembled chaotically like fluttering paper.
Countless living beings and cultivators felt their eardrums buzzing and nearly being torn apart.
However, Ji Hanjing's words received no response. Another figure, pitch-black and with feathered wings upon his back, stepped out from a star. His gaze was extremely cold.
On the star behind him, boundless light erupted, pillars of piercing light that seemed ready to tear the cosmos apart.
At the same time, in many zones of the Ancient Treasure Civilization, powerful and unparalleled auras revived and emerged one after another.
Unlike other regions in the Vast Expanse, the Ancient Treasure Civilization had always been uniquely mysterious. Even Dao Realms existences dared not act recklessly within it, for fear of offending unimaginably powerful figures at any moment.
Even when the Dark Clans plagued the Vast Expanse, to this day, no moves had been made against the Ancient Treasure Civilization. In the eyes of many beings, this was also due to fear of the Ancient Treasure Civilization's strength, unwilling to provoke it lightly.
The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, although quite renowned in the Vast Expanse, was but a single power with foundations comparable to a Supreme True World. Yet before a civilization as ancient and mysterious as the Ancient Treasure Civilization, it was still beneath notice.
Any single one of the five great royal clans of the Ancient Treasure Civilization alone possessed the strength to sweep through the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty with ease.
To the beings and cultivators of the Ancient Treasure Civilization, the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's actions were somewhat laughable.
Nevertheless, many ancient figures frowned deeply after awakening. The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty was not worth worrying about, but it clearly had a backer behind it—the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, which had now formed a unified front.
The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty was invading like a vanguard force. Could this be a probe by the Heaven-Slaying Alliance?
Now the Dark Clans were launching an invasion against the Land of the Nine Heavens, and the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was now targeting the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
Could this have been coordinated?
However, in the current Vast Expanse, apart from those True World civilizations hidden amidst chaotic spacetime turbulence, scattered like chess pieces, only the Ancient Treasure Civilization and the Land of the Nine Heavens remained as the two pure lands.
But now, these two pure lands had also begun to suffer the flames of war, no longer enjoying peaceful days.
"The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty has no intention of starting a war with the Ancient Treasure Civilization. We only hope that the Ancient Treasure Civilization will hand over the mastermind behind the Alliance of Righteous Unity—the Master of Fate."
"The Master of Fate colluded with the Dark Clans, brought calamity upon our Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, and manipulated and controlled the life and death of our Weiyang Emperor Lord, imprisoning him and taking him away..."
In the vast void, Jiang Weiyang's voice suddenly rang out.
Clear yet containing an extreme firm resolve, it responded to those several figures who had appeared in the void.
"Ridiculous."
"Who is this Master of Fate? We have never heard of him. If the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty is wise, withdraw obediently. Out of consideration for the current situation in the Vast Expanse, which has finally calmed and stabilized, we shall overlook this offense of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty."
"Otherwise, do not blame us for being impolite."
These several figures standing in the void were all Dao Realms existences.
Although they could sense the auras of Ancestral Dao Realm figures concealed within the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's army, they showed no scruples. Their words were even filled with contempt and disdain for the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty.
Jiang Weiyang's expression remained unchanged. Her voice was still cold and decisive as she said, "In that case, our Weiyang Immortal Dynasty will search on our own and find this Master of Fate."
"Heh, little princess of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, with your lot's strength, you dare act so wildly in our Ancient Treasure Civilization? Truly courting death."
The few of them let out disdainful sneers one after another, utterly disregarding the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's army before them.
Jiang Weiyang's beautiful face was covered in frost. Her jade hands clenched tightly, and then she coldly gave the order: "Attack."
The great battle erupted inevitably. The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty had opened a spacetime passage to arrive here, long prepared for slaughter.
"Kill!"
As the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's army charged forth, vast and mighty like surging tides, it seemed as if there were billions upon billions of them.
In many universes of the Ancient Treasure Civilization, portals also split open. Dazzling radiance illuminated the pitch-black star domains, revealing the long-dead worlds hidden behind them.
And within those worlds, strange auras descended. A faint, pale-white baleful energy drifted like mist.
Those dead, desiccated lands began to split. Skeletal corpses emerged one by one. The white baleful energy coiled around their forms, instantly transforming into warhorses, armor, black celestial blades, long spears... Deeper within, terrifying auras surged. Bronze war chariots bearing traces of rust burst out from underground. From within, commanding generals appeared, leading ten thousand troops as they charged out.
This was an exceedingly astonishing sight, causing hearts to tremble with shock and terror.
In the dead worlds, unknown auras descended, carrying certain laws. They caused those beings who had fallen and died in past wars to reappear, donning armor once more as though brought back to life. Fearless of death and oblivious to pain, they clashed with the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's army.
Around the Ancient Treasure Civilization, more and more rifts emerged, each connected to a world behind it. Buried for who knows how long in the spacetime of nothingness, the moment they surfaced, they emanated ancient and decaying auras.
Within one great realm, a terrifying giant hand could be seen reaching out, slamming directly toward the location of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's many commanders.
Ji Hanjing had frost all over her face. She slapped out a palm in return, colliding with it. Countless particles of spacetime exploded and steamed there, violently shaking, as if a terrifying storm that swept across all worlds had erupted.
Various rift valleys spread into the void, swallowing those broken universes.
The many Dao Realms experts of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty also joined the battle. The Ancestral Dao Realm ancestors of the imperial family hidden in the shadows did not hesitate either.
There, chaos and turbulence reigned supreme. The scene was comparable to the past battle between the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity, though the scope was far from as wide and vast.
At the same time, the commotion here instantly drew the attention of many Ancestral Dao Realm existences in the Vast Expanse.
It could be said that this battle came far too suddenly. Many had not expected the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty to have been amassing an army during this period of time.
It could only be said that after the Vast Expanse's unification was formed, not many people paid attention to the movements of the various member True Worlds anymore. Unless they received a decree from the Alliance Leader, who would have imagined a war would suddenly break out.
Among the many member civilization True Worlds of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, their respective leaders also began to take note of this battle where the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty attacked the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
Some tried to contact acquaintances in the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, wanting to know if this had the Alliance Leader's hint behind it. But they received no response.
Now, more people were actually watching the Dark Clans' side.
The breaking of the seal on the Land of the Dark Source and the revival of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy were already destined to be unstoppable.
After the Dark Clans occupied the Land of the Nine Heavens, would the current stable situation in the Vast Expanse welcome another great upheaval—for instance, the Dark Clans and the Heaven-Slaying Alliance tearing up their previous covenant, and then beginning a war of slaughter and conquest?
This battle erupted suddenly and had already lasted for many years, with no possibility of ceasing.
In the depths of the Reincarnation Sea, the Master of Fate's expression was impassive. Beside him, Progenitor Xu and the Calamity Master each cast him a meaningful glance but said nothing more.
Within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, Gu Changge, clad in snow-white robes, sat quietly in a courtyard.
Before him, a jade-green pond was like a mirror, reflecting the scenes of all worlds in the Vast Expanse. There was the fierce slaughter before the Land of the Nine Heavens against the Dark Clans. The four High Priests Wu Yue had trained joining forces to tear the void, guiding the vast Dark Clans to descend. The three heavens of the Nine Layered Heavens collapsed and fell layer by layer.
There too was the scene before the Ancient Treasure Civilization, where the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty's army thundered forth like a tide and erupted in a great battle.
There was also a dark and lightless underground palace, where a blood-colored pool surged hazily.
That armored figure sat there, utilizing various methods in an attempt to refine the mass of flesh and blood that floated before him like a heart. Before him, black mist interwove, submerging the underground palace. He breathed rapidly, his eyes filled with craving and blazing fervor.
In the corners where the Black Lotus Cult still bred, someone was still trying to seek the truth, probing into the origins of the Black Lotus Cult.
It was a young maiden of sixteen, radiant as the scorching sun, wearing a large navy cloak. Only her pair of clear autumn-water pupils carried a calm and steadiness incongruous with her age.
Across the various territories where opportunities and fortunes were scattered, those of great fortune rose swiftly. In various universes, beings named protagonists bore the heavenly mandate and rapidly stirred up storms in all directions.
In every corner of all the worlds of the Vast Expanse, the myriad faces of sentient life were also playing out.
"On Wu Yue's side, she cannot truly harm the foundation of the Land of the Nine Heavens. Her strength, compared to the depths of the Land of the Nine Heavens, is still far too weak."
"However, this is no major hindrance. As my identity as the Lord of Heaven's Proxy revives and appears, someone from the depths of the Land of the Nine Heavens will eventually be unable to hold back..."
Gu Changge's gaze fell upon the Nightmare Demon Domain.
Before the Heaven's Proxy Hall, the dark mass of Dark Clans knelt prostrate. From within the Coffin of World Burial, boundless blood-colored substance gushed forth. There, a sound of breathing as terrifying as mountains and seas seemed to arise.
The Land of the Dark Source and the power within the Coffin of World Burial were merging, connecting.
As Gu Changge's gaze landed, the hazy, heart-like substance within continuously twisted, becoming increasingly blurred. Countless quantities of Dark Matter, as if a dam had burst, submerged the entire Nightmare Demon Domain.
Thump, thump, thump...
Throughout the Vast Expanse, countless universes and True Worlds all heard the sound of a heartbeat at this moment, as if billions of gods and demons were beating drums, standing tall at the highest ends of the firmament. The aftershock of the sound pierced through billions of layers of void.
"Respectfully greeting the Master..."
"Respectfully welcoming the Master..."
The fervent, ecstatic cries of the Dark Clans resounded there. Existences regardless of their cultivation all trembled deeply as they knelt prostrate. Their souls shivered in terror, and the bones of their entire bodies emitted trembling sounds.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Countless chaotic auras filled that place. At this moment, it seemed that a terrifying pressure that could sweep across the entire Vast Expanse was reviving. The spacetime there instantly twisted, collapsing continuously. Even the river of time was dissipating and evaporating.
In the next instant, the darkness that seemed to have existed eternally since the beginning of creation was directly torn apart.
Within the boundless, everlasting darkness, a pair of cold, deathly still eyes manifested there—immeasurably vast, blotting out the sky, as if suspended high beyond the entire Vast Expanse. The pupils were far too vast and majestic, like sentient beings undergoing annihilation, the cosmos extinguishing, infinite life and chaotic substance fleeting within them.
The scene behind could not be seen clearly. It seemed to exist in no particular spacetime, utterly chaotic to the extreme. Only those indifferent eyes that filled the entire world beyond were reflected there.
"The Lord of Heaven's Proxy has revived..."
The supreme beings in one True World civilization after another felt their hearts palpitate with shock and tremble. No matter where they were, they were all seen clearly by that pupil. The barriers of all worlds became transparent.
If the entire Vast Expanse was like the boundless, endless ocean, then the True Worlds that were born and contained within were like isolated islands and continents in that ocean. Now, with the opening of that eye, many creatures originally slumbering in the deep sea were awakened one after another.
This aura was indescribable—powerful, domineering, extreme, and inconceivable. Before the birth of heaven and earth, after the birth of heaven and earth, and even in the distant future, such power seemed to have never appeared.
As those eyes opened, endless storms of the Great Dao swept out from there. Like the sound of breathing, they blew past countless great worlds and universes. Under such majestic aura, even True Worlds trembled, like a withered leaf in a fierce gale, ready to shatter at any moment.
The entire Vast Expanse, at this moment, seemed to fall silent, and then sank into deep terror and icy cold.