Chapter 1 Huhu~

Outside the high heavens, the gale winds raged, and the faint starlight was visible in the distance.

The Riyou Shen emerged from the Great Sun Space, seeing the stars swaying and shining in the boundless gale winds. Faintly, beyond the endless starlight, one could see several indescribable, deep worlds.

The Dixian Dao Heaven had six layers, each rising above the other. The Great Sun pierced through all six, scattering boundless light, already the highest point in the world.

Beneath the continent that bore the mortal world, countless stars surrounded it like a great formation, offering everything to the origin of the heavens and earth.

"Although the stars are dim, they already possess vitality. Perhaps it won't be long before the Star Gods return to their positions..."

Riyou Shen gazed at the sea of stars.

The universe under the rule of the Imperial Court was not limited to the Six Heavens and Four Continents. Within the endless sea of stars, there were countless life-bearing stars.

Any god, even the most ordinary heavenly soldier, required the offerings of at least one life-bearing star to survive.

The stars in the sky were the domains of many gods in the Imperial Court. Of course, most stars corresponded only to heavenly soldiers.

Hoo~

At one moment, a shooting star flashed across the dark starry sky.

The starry sky was endless, ever-changing. For many, shooting stars were a common sight.

Even meteor showers were not uncommon, so a single shooting star in broad daylight would not attract attention.

But in a fleeting glance, Riyou Shen's expression changed.

"The Qi Sha Tian Ren Star? He has returned... and fallen again?"

Riyou Shen's heart skipped a beat, then he felt somewhat bewildered.

The Phoenix Sovereign's campaign against the heavens was the most tragic battle in all the epochs. That phoenix spread its wings across the nine heavens, nearly obliterating all the gods and demons of the Zhou Dynasty.

The Imperial Court bore the brunt of the attack, suffering unimaginable damage.

Even he, who patrolled the heavens on behalf of the Emperor, had no way of knowing how many gods and demons had fallen in that battle.

"Who is slaughtering gods?!"

After the initial shock came a burst of fury.

Having been humiliated by that evil god previously, Riyou Shen had accumulated immense killing intent in his heart, only stopping because the Imperial Decree forbade gods from descending to the mortal realm.

Now, seeing another god fall, killing intent surged within him, along with a chill.

"By Imperial Decree, all gods, patrol the heavens on behalf of the Emperor! All-encompassing golden light, illuminate the universe!"

Boom!

At his command, the winds and clouds above the nine heavens stirred, the vast currents of air pushed aside.

An extremely brilliant golden light burst forth from the Great Sun, soaring to the constellations above and plunging to the netherworld below, illuminating all directions, sweeping across the mortal realm.

He directly activated his dormant true body, willing to pay a price to discover who had killed the Tian Ren God!

Buzz~

The golden light, like a divine sword, descended from the sky, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers in an instant. Starting from Nanzhan, it instantly fell upon Dong Sheng Continent.

Its imposing presence and the manifestation of unusual phenomena naturally alerted many.

In the dark depths of the earth, among the mountains, beneath the vast oceans, there seemed to be beings awakened by the golden light, some watching coldly, others sinking deeper.

There were also many beings stretching their limbs, stirring up storms, as if about to end their long slumber.

"This light..."

Within the Zhenhai King's residence, Qiao Mo Ke, who was entertaining guests in the front hall, felt a chill run down his spine, sensing a familiar aura.

He stepped into the air, gazing at the dome of the sky, sensing the golden gaze falling from the nine heavens. At the same time, a chill ran through his heart.

That gaze, which he had experienced before and remembered vividly, lingered on him for a moment.

"That god..."

The thin, short Master Guyue also sensed a familiar aura, his mind heavy, vaguely uneasy.

Although he had startled away the Riyou Shen that time, he knew very well that the Riyou Shen's cultivation was profound. A single primordial spirit avatar could destroy Qi Tang and even the various kingdoms.

If he returned with a vengeance, it would be difficult for him to use the relic to repel the enemy again.

"All-encompassing divine light? Is this the Riyou Shen?"

Zeng San sensed the golden light receding, a look of contemplation on his face, his inner worries rising again.

Since Emperor Jue Tiantong, many great sects had sealed their mountains and retreated from the world, and there were even fewer traces of immortals and gods in the mortal realm. Their appearance at this time was of great significance.

Were they really about to return?

"Teacher..."

Yang Ming glanced at his teacher, feeling relieved.

His teacher's meeting with the Zhenhai King was not very friendly, and could even be described as tense. This golden light had come at just the right time.

Huhu~

The air currents whistled above the long sky, the golden light becoming more and more prominent, as if not caring about being noticed at all, sweeping across many mountains and lands.

Wherever it passed, all living beings, regardless of their cultivation level, whether human or demon, felt a sense of being spied upon, and a chill arose in their hearts.

"What happened? Why is that god so angry?"

Qiao Mo Ke pondered in his heart, wanting to chase after the golden light to investigate, but he held back.

He turned to look at the old Confucian scholar sitting in the front hall, drinking tea:

"Old Master Zeng, there's no need to say any more words of reconciliation. If you want to make a move, Qiao will naturally accept it!"

Zeng San's status in Confucianism was extremely high, and his cultivation was naturally beyond question.

Confucianism traveled the world, preaching and advising on war, relying on more than just words.

"Why must Zhenhai King do this?"

Zeng San put down his teacup, sighed slowly, stood up, and raised his hand gently, as if about to make a move.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he looked at a rockery in the front yard.

There, a chubby, amiable child was pinching a fat, spiritually resonant golden cicada, swaying as he walked out, muttering something under his breath.

"This child..."

Zeng San felt something, and slowly lowered his hand.

"Please enlighten me, Old Master Zeng!"

Qiao Mo Ke was expressionless, his aura already surging.

In the past few months, he had not had a single day of leisure, sending out ten thousand scouts to the various Dao and prefectures of Qi Tang. While contacting his old subordinates, he was also spreading the image of the 'Giant Spirit God'.

As the Giant Spirit God spread wider and wider, across the various Dao and prefectures, his cultivation level rose steadily, and the Giant Spirit Suppressing World Art had undergone a transformation.

At this time, sensing the aura on Zeng San's body, he felt no fear, but rather a sense of anticipation.

"No hurry, no hurry..."

To Qiao Mo Ke's surprise, Zeng San, who had previously adopted a "I'll kill you if we disagree" attitude, was now smiling kindly, his beard and hair trembling.

He waved his hand, his aura calmed down, and he spoke to his own child:

"Child, what is your name?"

......

"Riyou Shen..."

In a small alley in Longning City, in a courtyard, under an old tree, An Qisheng flicked his finger, sending the sneaky Little White Vegetable, who wanted to run away, flying to the ground. Without looking up, he could sense the golden light sweeping past.

The reason why the Riyou Shen had the authority to monitor the heavens and earth was mostly because of this 'All-Encompassing Golden Light'.

It was said that when this divine power was cultivated to great perfection, one could see anyone and anything from ancient times to the present, and even into the future.

Of course, this Riyou Shen could not do that, but it could not be denied that this divine power was powerful.

In the world, few things could be hidden from him.

However, after he understood the root of this divine power, it naturally could not see what he did not want it to see.

"That Tian Ren fell into someone's hands, and only now did it perish. That so-called Demon Slaying Hall is a bit unexpected..."

An Qisheng's eyes rippled again.

Excelling in mental power, and having expanded his horizons with knowledge from various realms, if he had wanted to, not even a wisp of consciousness from that Tian Ren could have escaped his palm.

The reason he let it escape was to find out who was behind it.

Although the master of the Demon Slaying Hall was cautious, he was still detected when he killed the Tian Ren.

The same was true of the Riyou Shen.

The Riyou Shen seemed to have a great curse on his body, making it impossible to spy on him through dreams, but even if the primordial spirit imprint was gone, the Daoyi Diagram could still be used to spy on him.

It was just that he had not spied on him for fear of alerting the enemy.

But now, the opportunity had come.

Hoo~

With a thought, An Qisheng slowly closed his eyes, a wisp of divine intent connecting with his true body, summoning the Daoyi Diagram.

In the light that flowed like water, he faintly saw the Riyou Shen, whose aura was faint, above the six Great Suns.

......

Boom!

There was a roar echoing through the mountains.

The golden light whistled past thousands of mountains, seemingly fixed on the final location where the Tian Ren had perished.

"Can't find it..."

The golden light swept across the mountains, even entering deep into the earth's crust, every small dust particle in the mountains and earth entering his sight. But what made the Riyou Shen frown deeply was that he could clearly sense that the Tian Ren had perished here, but he could not detect any other aura.

It was as if the Tian Ren had died because his lifespan had reached its end...

But gods were immortal once they descended into the world, and only died in calamities. How could there be such a thing as a lifespan limit?

Immediately, he felt even more uneasy.

The All-Encompassing Golden Light was his innate divine power. After countless years of cultivation, even gods whose cultivation was higher than his could not hide their tracks from him.

Those with weaker cultivation were even more exposed.

He vaguely sensed that the person or demon who killed the Tian Ren must know of his existence, and had the divine power to avoid his prying eyes.

This could not help but make his heart palpitate.

It was difficult for him not to suspect that his former great enemies had returned.

"Phoenix Sovereign, Confucius, the Yuan Brothers, Sa... no, can't think, can't think..."

With a thought, Riyou Shen secretly called out that he was lucky, he had almost died again.

Over the years, because he had thought of that peacock, he had died in no less than seven avatars. Each time an avatar died, his true body's injuries became more severe.

As a result, what was originally a minor injury from being affected had become even more serious...

"There are some bad omens..."

While his mind was racing, Riyou Shen retracted the All-Encompassing Golden Light, and with a movement of his body, he once again disappeared into the rolling gale winds and starlight outside the sky.

The Imperial Heaven had six layers, but the six layers were not just six layers.

Instead, they were taken from the meaning of 'three threes are endless, six sixes are infinite'. There was heaven outside of heaven. If one did not know the way, even great demons and great gods could not step out of the six Heavenly Palaces.

But for the Riyou Shen, who knew the way, it was nothing.

In what seemed like a moment, or perhaps a long time had passed, the Riyou Shen's mind suddenly cleared, and he looked up intently.

He saw at the highest point of the endless, deep universe, a magnificent palace complex stretching for hundreds of millions of miles.

Sacred, majestic, grand, solemn...

All the words in the mortal world were not enough to describe the beauty and sanctity of this palace. Every inch of it seemed to contain infinite mysteries. Even the Riyou Shen could not help but lose his mind for a moment when he looked at it.

Immediately, a sense of sadness arose in his heart.

Because the former splendor was gone. At this time, most of the Imperial Court had been reduced to ruins, and outside the Imperial Court, there was an invisible divine fire that had not been extinguished for tens of thousands of years.

That was the Phoenix Sovereign's natal flame 'Broken Nirvana Sacred Fire' that he had set up before his death.

It could burn stars and scorch the heavens. Whether it was gods, Buddhas, humans, demons, or ghosts, all were completely countered by this fire.

He had personally seen several great gods trying to break through, but being contaminated by a wisp of flame, they had burned away their golden bodies and primordial spirits, without even a chance to revive.

This fire blocked his steps to enter the Imperial Court, and also cut off the thoughts of the gods in the Imperial Court who had not fallen, wanting to descend to the world.

Boom!

Boom!

Rumble!

Getting a little closer, the Riyou Shen heard the sounds of roaring explosions, each louder than the last.

He could see figures, extremely small compared to the Imperial Court, constantly bombarding the invisible flames outside the Imperial Court, creating layers of terrifying ripples that spread out.

Whether it was gods like him who had luckily survived, or gods within the Imperial Court who had not fallen, they had been constantly attacking this 'Broken Nirvana True Fire' for tens of thousands of years.

"I am not willing!"

Tens of millions of miles away from the flames, along with the rolling heat wave, came a loud scream.

An avatar of a burly god was licked by a flame, turning into tiny particles that could not even be detected by divine thought.

And that wisp of flame's aftermath not only burned the god's avatar to death, but also spread along an unpredictable trajectory towards the god's true body.

Streams of divine powers bombarded from all directions, but they could not stop it at all. On the contrary, they were almost affected by the violent flames, and could not help but retreat.

In what seemed like only a few moments, a scream filled with endless unwillingness and terror exploded in the hearts of the gods.

That god had fallen.

"This fire..."

An Qisheng, who was spying on this scene along an unpredictable trajectory, also felt the danger. If this flame touched him, even he would not be able to escape unscathed.

"There is no possibility, no possibility! The eighteen heavenly rivers have been burned dry by the true fire. How many ice crystal stars have you and I transported for tens of thousands of years?

This fire, it can't be extinguished, it can't be extinguished!"

Some gods roared to the sky, their eyes filled with sorrow, almost in despair.

For tens of thousands of years, they had been attacking this 'Broken Nirvana True Fire' almost all the time, but no matter what divine powers or methods they used, they had exhausted them all.

But they could not break through even the most insignificant path.

Everything seemed to be in vain.

"No, that's not right!"

Many gods had sorrowful eyes, but the Riyou Shen, who was walking a little closer, was shocked and looked at the place where the god had been burned to death earlier:

"There, there is a flaw!"

"What?"

"Flaw?"

"Where?!"

The gods were shocked when they heard this, and when they looked intently, they indeed saw a flaw.

After that wisp of flame burned the god's true body to death, it did not return, but disappeared completely!

"There is no undefeated divine power in the world. The Phoenix Sovereign has already fallen. How can a wisp of flame last forever! The dawn has appeared. As long as there is a gap, we can enter and exit without hindrance!"

"We have waited for tens of thousands of years, what harm is there in trying again?"

"Let's try again!"

Seeing that wisp of gap, the gods were overjoyed and once again unleashed streams of divine powers towards that gap.

They wanted to completely break this flame barrier that separated the inside and outside of the Imperial Court.