"A vortex! Where did it come from?"
"What's going on? Is the sky cracking open?"
"A change in the heavens—why is this happening? What is that vortex?"
Countless cultivators, countless eyes from every race and realm, turned to the sky. At that moment, no matter the world or secret realm they were in, they could all clearly see the vortex appearing in the void. It had manifested across the entire Eternal World, visible to all.
Even the eyes of many great powerhouses revealed grave expressions.
"Heaven and earth are changing... But why was there no warning?"
The Western Queen Mother appeared before Yi Tianxing, her face solemn.
"I'm afraid this isn't just a matter concerning Great Yi," Yi Tianxing said, shaking his head slowly. "This is something that concerns the entire Eternal World—every living being."
He didn't know why, but from that vortex, he could sense a faint, familiar aura—as if it was related to someone he once knew...
"It's my junior brother."
A figure appeared beside him—Xing Lei. Over the years, she had quietly cultivated, restoring her original strength and foundation. Now that she was back in Great Yi, with access to countless resources and the massive support of destiny, her cultivation had been recovering at an astonishing pace. Her aura had become increasingly profound—like an unfathomable abyss.
"Martial Ancestor!"
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath, a serious expression crossing his face.
With her reminder, he instantly remembered the source of that familiar feeling in his mind.
Shua shua shua!
As the vortex continued to expand, many powerful cultivators from all directions soared into the sky, flying toward the vortex as if wanting to pierce into its depths and uncover its mysteries. But before they could get close, they were forcefully thrown away by the overwhelming spiraling force radiating from within, flung in all directions—unable even to control their own bodies.
Then, countless divine lights burst out of the vortex and scattered in every direction, descending upon the Eternal World. Every realm—whether the Primordial Continent or peripheral ones—saw these divine lights fall from the sky. In Great Yi's skies, divine lights also came cascading down.
As they approached the ground, the lights gradually faded, revealing what they were concealing:
Massive stone steles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky steles crashed down, landing on plains, forests, mountaintops—anywhere. Each landing caused violent tremors, as if massive earthquakes were sweeping across the world. People were shaken with fear.
Within Great Yi's territory, steles fell near various Immortal Cities.
The shockwaves were absorbed by the Xuanhuang barrier that automatically activated around the cities, preventing any damage. The cities merely shook slightly before stabilizing completely.
"Quick! Outside the city! A sky stele has fallen—that has to be a treasure!"
"Sky steles from the vortex! Who knows what divine treasure they might hold?! I can feel it—these aren't ordinary artifacts!"
Countless cultivators rushed toward where the sky steles had landed.
Their eyes were blazing with desire—this could be a heaven-sent opportunity.
No one wanted to miss out on a chance like this.
"What… what massive steles!"
"Heavens! Look—there are martial divine abilities engraved on them… This is Martial Dao magic!"
"On the surface of the stele, I can see a peerless divine figure performing divine martial arts. The martial intent is overwhelming. If I can comprehend even a portion of it, I'm sure to make a great breakthrough!"
"That blade intent… I can feel it—this goes beyond the Ninth Tribulation level!"
"If I stood before that blade intent, I'd die instantly. Terrifying… utterly terrifying."
The cultivators and bounty hunters who saw the steles all had glowing eyes. They sensed it clearly—this was a gift from the heavens. If they could comprehend the techniques on the steles, their combat strength would skyrocket.
Moreover, the steles didn't just display intent—they also contained actual cultivation methods and techniques, which could be directly copied and cultivated.
"This is my junior brother's ultimate divine technique—the Martial Tomb Divine Ability. These sky steles are all Martial Dao steles, Martial Tomb steles, containing his divine martial arts and bloodline abilities. Anyone who comprehends them can obtain a corresponding martial technique or ability."
Xing Lei took a deep breath and spoke in a deep tone.
A trace of reminiscence flashed in her eyes.
In her mind, during the previous era, no one could match her junior brother. His talent was earth-shattering, unrivaled. The Martial Tomb Divine Ability suppressed everything in its path. The martial techniques he created were countless, each capable of destroying worlds. And they weren't just basic techniques—he elevated them to an unimaginable height.
Now, these divine abilities had been scattered across the Eternal World. Countless cultivators would comprehend and cultivate them, giving rise to wave after wave of strong warriors.
Boom!!
At that moment, one of the steles landed in the Bohai Realm, instantly expanding into a massive monolith—a towering sky stele that pierced through the heavens like a colossal battle sword.
Its sword intent was bone-chilling, yet also blazing hot—like a hellish sea of flames.
"Hm? That's a core inheritance technique appearing here?"
Xing Lei's eyes flashed with surprise as she observed the stele.
Shua!
In the next moment, a rainbow light enveloped Yi Tianxing, the Western Queen Mother, and Xing Lei, transporting them instantly to the foot of the massive stele.
Looking up, they felt an invisible pressure. Within tens of thousands of meters, flight was completely disabled. Anyone who tried would immediately trigger the stele's will and be blasted back down.
"So powerful… As expected of the Martial Ancestor. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the sword techniques separated from the Green Lotus Sword Canon—'Red Lotus Fury Burns the Nine Heavens'."
The Western Queen Mother looked up at the stele. On its surface was an image—a lone figure, back facing the world, standing amidst burning red flames. A giant Red Lotus enveloped everything. Endless sword intent tore through the sky. Each petal of the lotus contained fearsome fire techniques and sword arts. In that moment, it was as if the Red Lotus had become the entire world.
"Yes. That's my junior brother's Red Lotus Sword Canon. Cultivating it will allow one to manifest this supreme divine sword technique. However, there's a price."
Xing Lei nodded and pointed to the preface inscribed at the top of the stele:
"Red Lotus Sword Canon — To live, you cultivate for yourself. To die, your power returns to Wu.This is the contract, the price for learning this technique.Those who are willing, may cultivate.Those unwilling, may leave."
"This is one of the highest-grade techniques in the world," Yi Tianxing said calmly. "Not inferior to a true Heaven Scripture. If this were the complete Green Lotus Sword Canon, it might even surpass Heaven Scripture level. Even if one's power is reclaimed by the Martial Ancestor upon death—so what?"
"While alive, the strength is entirely your own. No one can take it from you. After death, your power would vanish anyway. Let it return to the Martial Ancestor instead—it's a fair trade."
He could tell how terrifying this technique was. And it was clear that the Martial Ancestor wasn't harming the Eternal World—his release of the steles was meant to strengthen the entire world.
"Send orders," Yi Tianxing said after returning to the Holy King Palace with the two women."Deploy forces to the locations of the steles. Record all the martial arts and divine abilities engraved on them. After transcription, send them to the Canon Repository."
These steles were far too valuable—filled with top-tier cultivation methods and divine arts. Under normal circumstances, they should be seized and restricted. But Yi Tianxing had no such intentions. If the Martial Ancestor had such generosity, how could he act selfishly?
After all, techniques are just techniques. What truly matters—is the people themselves.
"But why is the Martial Ancestor doing this now? Did something change in the battle on the other side?"
Yi Tianxing looked up at the void, as if gazing through the long river of time, toward the upper reaches of the epoch. Somewhere far away, an unimaginable battle was raging.
The Martial Ancestor's actions had to have meaning—but their level wasn't high enough to see it yet.
"We must speed things up. The plan to slay the Nine Heavens Dao Lord—this is the perfect opportunity. Right now, Great Yi is acting with the tacit approval of many powers. It's time to go all out."
Yi Tianxing murmured to himself.
Everything still came down to strength.
And for Great Yi, this… was the best era to rise.
Time, destiny, and people—they were all on his side.
.......
Eternal Night World.
The Eternal Night World is composed of countless star realms, each star representing a world of its own. The larger stars are Great Thousand Worlds, the medium ones are Middle Thousand Worlds, the smaller ones are Small Thousand Worlds, and the tiny ones are considered Minor Worlds.
At the very center of Eternal Night, an immense and boundless landmass stands tall. Compared with this vast continent, the stars are no more than specks of dust—utterly insignificant.