BSI Chapter 328 The Chaos Realm is Crashing In!
Chapter 328 The Chaos Realm is Crashing In!
As the golden light dissipated, Su Fan felt as if he had been thrown down from a great height.
He slammed his back to the ground, the pain almost knocking him unconscious.
He lay on the ground, still clutching the golden fragment in his hand.
The shards were terrifyingly hot, like branding irons just pulled from a fire. The skin on my palm sizzled and emitted a burnt smell.
But he didn't let go.
Yang Jian landed beside him, his three-pointed double-edged sword stuck in the ground, and he knelt on one knee to support himself.
The silver armor was covered in cracks, and a large piece of the breastplate on the chest was broken, revealing the inner lining soaked in pus and blood.
The two of them were panting heavily, like two fish that had been thrown ashore.
It took Su Fan a while to recover before he could sit up, propping himself up on his arms.
All around was a hazy fog, and nothing could be seen clearly.
The fog was so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
The ground was covered with pebbles and mud, and the air was filled with a rotten, sweet smell, like the stench of dead rats in summer.
"Where is this?" Su Fan asked.
Yang Jian didn't answer. His eyes were closed, and the vertical line between his brows was glowing. His Heavenly Eye had opened, and white light shone from the line, piercing through the thick fog and sweeping around.
"The edge of the Chaos Realm." Yang Jian retracted his Heavenly Eye, his face even paler than before. "The place near the exit of the Primordial World."
Su Fan looked up at the sky. The fog was too thick; he couldn't see anything. But he could sense a familiar aura coming from a certain direction above him—the aura of the primordial world, the aura of the Heavenly Dao.
The exit is right there.
"Let's go." Su Fan stood up, but his legs went weak and he knelt down again.
After the effects of the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir wore off, his body felt completely drained, and he couldn't squeeze out even a trace of power from his dantian.
The blow to his back from Chaos broke at least four bones, and every breath felt like someone was stabbing him with a knife.
Yang Jian wasn't in much better shape. Most of his silver armor was shattered, and there was a deep, bone-revealing wound on his left arm, running from his shoulder to his elbow, with blood dripping down his fingers.
"You can't leave," Yang Jian said. "You can't even stand properly now; going up there would be suicide."
Su Fan gritted his teeth: "Chaos will catch up soon."
Yang Jian shook his head: "He can't catch up."
Su Fan looked at him.
"This is the thinnest part of the corpse," Yang Jian pointed to the ground. "To get here from the ninth floor, you have to pass through the densest blood vessels in the corpse. Chaos's body was formed from the Dao of the corpse, so he can't walk this path."
Su Fan breathed a sigh of relief and transferred the golden fragment from his right hand to his left. The skin on his right palm was charred, revealing the tender, bloody flesh beneath.
"How long can it last?"
Yang Jian held up three fingers.
"Three days?"
Yang Jian shook his head: "Three hours."
Su Fan fell silent.
In three hours, Chaos will find another way to get here. By then, one of them will be half-dead and the other mostly crippled. What will they have to fight with?
Yang Jian stood up and pulled his three-pointed double-edged sword from the ground. The tip of the sword was still stained with dragon blood, the gray blood already dried like a layer of rust.
"Come with me. There's a place nearby where we can hide for a while."
Yang Jian, leaning on his sword, limped forward. Su Fan followed behind, each step sending a piercing pain through his back.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fog thinned a bit. Ahead appeared a mountain, not high, but very steep. The mountain was covered in cracks, like a torn face.
Yang Jian walked to the foot of the mountain and stopped in front of a crevice. The crevice was very narrow, only wide enough for one person to squeeze in sideways.
"Go in," Yang Jian said.
Su Fan squeezed in sideways. The crack was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. He felt his way forward along the wall, which was covered in damp moss that felt like rotting flesh.
After walking a dozen steps, the crack suddenly widened. He bumped into something hard, and when he reached out to touch it, he found it was a stone wall.
It's over.
Yang Jian squeezed in from behind, his three-pointed double-edged sword flashing white light, illuminating the area.
This is a small stone chamber, about ten feet square, just big enough for two people to sit back to back. The walls of the chamber are covered with runes, exactly the same as those in the third level of the maze.
Yang Jian sat down, placed the three-pointed double-edged sword across his knees, and closed his eyes.
"These runes can conceal one's aura. Insects below the fifth level of the Chaos Realm cannot find this place."
Su Fan also sat down, leaning against Yang Jian's back. The two of them were back to back, supporting each other.
He took the golden fragments out of his pocket and placed them in front of him.
The fragment was about the size of a palm, entirely golden, with a faint halo around its surface. The halo pulsed, like a beating heart. He stared at the fragment, his mind a jumbled mess.
This is the Dao of the corpse. With this, the cracks in the Dao of Heaven can be mended.
But how to use it? He didn't know.
Hongjun Laozu only said to find the heart and dig it out, but didn't say how to use it.
Yang Jian's voice came from behind: "Don't think too much. Focus on healing your injuries first."
Su Fan closed his eyes.
His dantian was completely empty, devoid of any power. He tried to activate the protective Dao, and the power within his dantian trembled slightly before falling silent. The injury was too severe.
He pulled the Investiture of the Gods from his pocket.
The Investiture of the Gods was unfurled, and 365 golden rays shot out, illuminating the entire stone chamber. The golden light was weak, at least ten times weaker than in the primordial era. But when the golden light shone on him, a tingling sensation spread through his wounds.
The Investiture of the Gods was helping him heal.
Su Fan spread the Investiture of the Gods on his lap and closed his eyes.
Time passed little by little.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Fan felt Yang Jian move slightly behind him.
He opened his eyes.
The Investiture of the Gods was still glowing, but the light had faded to almost invisible. He looked down at his hands; the burns on his palms from the shards had scabbed over, and the broken bones in his back didn't hurt as much anymore.
But my dantian is still empty.
Yang Jian stood up, his three-pointed double-edged sword held horizontally in front of him.
"They're here."
Su Fan also stood up, stuffed the fragments into his arms, and put away the Investiture of the Gods.
Outside the stone chamber, a rustling sound came from. It sounded like countless snakes crawling on the ground, or like countless insects gnawing on bones.
The sound was getting closer.
Yang Jian walked to the crack and glanced out. The white light from his Heavenly Eye shone from between his eyebrows, illuminating the thick fog outside.
The thick fog was teeming with insects.
These weren't the small insects from the first layer, but the kind from the third layer and below. They varied in size, some as big as mountains, others as small as dogs. Their eyes were all grayish-white, without pupils, staring intently towards the crack.
"How much?" Su Fan asked.
Yang Jian withdrew his Heavenly Eye: "Countless. At least ten thousand."
Su Fan took a deep breath.
Ten thousand. The lowest level is the first level of the Chaos Realm, and the highest is the third level of the Chaos Realm. He is a Saint Realm cultivator, while Yang Jian is at the fourth level of the Chaos Realm but is seriously injured.
How do I play?
Yang Jian raised his three-pointed double-edged sword, and the white light on the sword was brighter than before.
"I'll hold them off. You find a chance to run."
Su Fan shook his head: "There's no way to escape. It's swarming with bugs outside; going out would be suicide."
Yang Jian remained silent.
The sounds outside the crack grew louder as the insects approached. The first few had already crawled to the crack's opening, their gray tentacles reaching in and flailing wildly in the air.
Yang Jian slashed out with his sword, a white light severing the tentacles. The tentacles fell to the ground, still wriggling, green pus oozing from their severed ends.
A sharp screech came from outside the crack, and the insects went mad. They desperately squeezed into the crack, one after another, like a gray tide.
The crack was too narrow, allowing only one insect to squeeze in at a time. Yang Jian guarded the crack's entrance, killing them one by one with his sword, leaving a pile of their corpses on the ground.
But he couldn't hold out for long. With each strike, his wounds worsened. Cracks multiplied on his silver armor, and blood seeped from the gaps in the armor plates, dripping onto the ground.
Su Fan stood behind him, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
He wanted to help, but he couldn't even crush an ant. His dantian was empty, his strength was gone; he was like a useless person.
Just then, the Investiture of the Gods in his arms began to heat up again.
He took it out, and the Investiture of the Gods unfolded itself, releasing 365 golden rays that shot out of the crack. The golden rays struck the insects, causing them to shriek and scatter in all directions.
Su Fan was stunned.
The Investiture of the Gods was helping him drive away the insects.
But the golden light was too weak, only enough to scare away the small insects on the outermost edge. The larger creatures inside were completely unafraid; one insect at the third level of the Chaos Realm shoved its companion aside and rushed to the crack.
The insect resembled a giant scorpion, its body covered in a gray carapace and a black stinger on its tail. It gripped the two sides of the crack with its two large pincers, desperately trying to squeeze in.
Yang Jian slashed at its carapace, the white light shattered, leaving only a white mark on the carapace.
The insects used their poisonous stingers to stab Yang Jian.
Yang Jian couldn't dodge; the poisonous stinger pierced his left shoulder. Black venom was injected into his body, and Yang Jian's face instantly turned ashen.
He severed the poisonous barb with a single stroke and pushed the insect away. The insect fell to the ground, rolled over, and then got up again.
Yang Jian knelt on one knee, panting heavily. The venom was corroding his body, and he could no longer lift his left arm.
Su Fan rushed forward and stood in front of Yang Jian.
The insect squeezed in again, its two large pincers clamping down on Su Fan's head.
Su Fan took out the Kunlun Mirror and pointed it at the insect.
The mirror flashed, and the shadow of the insect was reflected on the hazy surface, distorted and deformed in the mirror.
Then the insect let out a miserable cry, and its body began to melt, like a candle being roasted over a fire. Its gray carapace turned into pus, which flowed all over the ground.
The insect is dead.
Su Fan looked at the Kunlun Mirror in his hand, his heart pounding.
The Primordial Celestial Venerable said that the Kunlun Mirror could reveal the true nature of all things in the Three Realms. He did not say that the Kunlun Mirror could kill people.
But the insects did die.
Yang Jian, supporting himself with his sword, stood up and looked at the Kunlun Mirror in Su Fan's hand: "Keep looking."
Su Fan aimed the Kunlun Mirror at the crack. Another insect squeezed in, and when the mirror reflected its reflection, it melted. Another one, and it melted too.
One after another, Su Fan fired wildly at the crack, as if he were holding a laser gun.
The Kunlun glasses were getting hotter and hotter, and the frames were starting to turn red. Su Fan's hands were burning from the heat, but he dared not stop.
If you stop, the bugs will rush in.
If they stop, both he and Yang Jian will die.
After killing countless ones, the area outside the crack finally quieted down.
Su Fan slid down to the ground against the wall. The Kunlun Mirror fell to the ground, its frame was burned and deformed, and the mirror surface had several cracks.
Yang Jian also sat down. The wound on his left shoulder had turned black, and the venom had spread to his chest.
Su Fan pulled out the Nine-Turn Golden Pill given to him by Laozi—he had already consumed it. He also pulled out the life-saving talisman given to him by the Tongtian Sect Leader—he had already used it. He had nothing left.
He looked at Yang Jian: "Do you have any medicine on you?"
Yang Jian shook his head: "Three thousand years, it's long been used up."
Su Fan remained silent.
Yang Jian closed his eyes, and the vertical line between his brows began to glow again. The white light was very weak, like a flashlight that was about to run out of power.
"Don't bother," Su Fan said. "Save your energy."
Yang Jian ignored him, the white light from his Heavenly Eye shining on his left shoulder. Wherever the white light touched, the black venom slowly receded. But Yang Jian's face grew paler and paler, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
Su Fan couldn't help, so he could only watch.
He spread the Investiture of the Gods on his lap, and its golden light shone on him, slowly healing his wounds. But his dantian was still empty; he couldn't muster any power.
He recalled the words of the Primordial Celestial Venerable: the Investiture of the Gods was part of the Heavenly Dao. With the Heavenly Dao cracked, the power of the Investiture of the Gods also weakened.
An hour has passed.
Yang Jian forced out most of the venom, and his left arm could move again, but he was still very weak. He leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, breathing heavily.
Su Fan's dantian finally reacted slightly, a faint power flowing within it. He guided that power throughout his body, and the broken bones in his back began to heal, as did the burns on his palms.
Another half hour passed.
The sound came from outside the crack again.
It wasn't the sound of insects, it was the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps were heavy, each step making the ground vibrate. The sound grew closer and louder.
Yang Jian opened his eyes, and the white light from his Heavenly Eye shone out of the crack.
A figure walked over through the thick fog.
The man was completely naked, with gray skin and golden veins. His eyes were also gray, with two golden dots in the pupils.
chaos.
Su Fan's heart sank to the bottom.
Wasn't it supposed to be three hours? It's only been two hours.
Chaos walked to the entrance of the crevice and looked down inside. The crevice was too narrow for him to enter. But he wasn't in a hurry. He stood at the entrance, watching Su Fan like he was watching a mouse in a cage.
"You think you can hide here and I won't find you?"
Su Fan didn't speak.
Chaos reached out and grabbed both sides of the crack. He twisted it with force, the rock shattered, and the crack widened by a foot.
He bent it again, and it became another foot wider.
At this rate, he'll soon be able to break the crack into a hole.
Yang Jian stood up, raised his three-pointed double-edged sword, and the white light on the blade trembled.
Chaos looked at Yang Jian and laughed: "You're injured like this, and you can still fight?"
Yang Jian didn't speak, but unleashed a slash. The white light struck towards Chaos, who raised his hand to block it. The white light exploded in his palm, leaving not even a mark.
Chaos struck back with a palm, the palm print as large as a mountain. Yang Jian couldn't dodge it and was struck in the chest by the palm print, sending him flying backward and crashing into the innermost wall of the stone chamber.
The wall cracked, and Yang Jian fell to the ground, coughing up blood. The three-pointed double-edged sword flew out of his hand and landed at Su Fan's feet.
Chaos continued to pry open the crack. The crack had already been pried open to a width of ten feet, allowing him to squeeze in sideways.
Su Fan pulled the three-pointed double-edged sword from the ground. The sword was very heavy, and he could not lift it with one hand. He could only hold it with both hands, like holding a gun.
Chaos squeezed in.
He stood in the stone chamber, his head almost touching the ceiling. He looked down at Su Fan as if he were an ant.
"Give me the fragments."
Su Fan held the three-pointed, double-edged sword, its tip aimed at Chaos's chest.
Chaos reached out, grabbed the tip of the knife, and gently twisted it, bending the tip.
Su Fan was thrown out and crashed into the wall.
Chaos walked up to him, squatted down, and took the golden fragment from his pocket. The fragment glowed in Chaos's palm, the golden light reflecting on his gray face.
"Three thousand years have passed." Chaos looked at the fragments, the two golden dots in his eyes pulsating wildly. "I can finally leave."
He stuffed the shard into his chest. The shard merged with his body, and a golden light shone from that spot on his chest. The golden light spread, engulfing his entire body. His wounds began to heal, broken bones began to reform, and his aura surged.
Chaos Realm, fourth level, peak of the fourth level, fifth level.
Fifth level of peak.
Su Fan lay on the ground, watching the chaotic aura rise all the way to the peak of the fifth level of the Chaos Realm, with only one thought in his mind—it's over.
Chaos turned and walked towards the outside of the stone chamber. He reached the crevice and glanced back at Su Fan.
"I will spare your life. I will keep you alive so you can watch how I conquer the primordial world."
he's gone.
The footsteps grew fainter and fainter, eventually disappearing into the thick fog.
Yang Jian crawled up from the corner of the wall, his face covered in blood, but his eyes were bright.
"He's gone," Yang Jian said.
Su Fan didn't move, lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling.
"He took the pieces."
Yang Jian walked up to him and reached out to help him up.
"The fragments are still there."
Su Fan was stunned.
Yang Jian pointed at Su Fan's chest.
Su Fan lowered his head and unbuttoned his clothes. There was another fragment on his chest. It was half the size of the one Chaos had taken, but it was definitely a fragment.
He couldn't process it.
Chaos took one piece, and there's another one in the chest? There are two fragments inside the heart?
Yang Jian said, "The Dao within your heart is not just one piece. Chaos only took one piece. The piece you hold in your hand is the true core."
Su Fan took the small fragment from his chest. The fragment glowed in his palm, much brighter than the previous one, its golden light illuminating the entire stone chamber.
Chaos took the big one and left the small one.
Su Fan gripped the shards tightly and stood up.
"Let's go. Back to the Primordial World."
Yang Jian shook his head: "With your current cultivation level, you wouldn't even be able to activate a teleportation array if you went back to the Primordial World."
Su Fan stuffed the fragments into his pocket, picked up the bent three-pointed double-edged knife from the ground, and used his knee to brace the blade and try to bend it.
It can't be straightened.
He tossed the knife to Yang Jian: "Make do with it."
Yang Jian took the curved sword and sheathed it back on his back.
The two squeezed out of the crack.
The thick fog was still there, but it was thinner than before. Su Fan looked up at the sky; there was nothing there, but he could feel the primordial aura emanating from it.
"How do we get up there?" Su Fan asked.
Yang Jian pointed to the mountaintop: "The exit is just over this mountain."
Su Fan began climbing the mountain.
The mountain was steep, riddled with loose rocks and cracks. Even with his Saint-level stamina, he was breathless after climbing less than a third of the way. Yang Jian fared slightly better, but not by much; the poison wound on his left shoulder hadn't fully healed, and he had to stop after every step.
The two climbed for an hour before reaching the halfway point of the mountain.
There was a flat area halfway up the mountain, and a person was lying on it.
The man was wearing a tattered Taoist robe, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and his face was covered in mud. He lay motionless on the ground, as if he were dead.
But his chest was rising and falling; he was still alive.
Yang Jian walked over and kicked the man's leg.
The person didn't react.
Yang Jian squatted down, brushed the mud off the man's face, revealing an old face.
Su Fan gasped.
He recognized the face.
That is... Yuanshi Tianzun?
No, it's not Yuanshi Tianzun. He's older than Yuanshi Tianzun, thinner than Yuanshi Tianzun, and looks more like a dried-up corpse than Yuanshi Tianzun.
Yang Jian's expression changed.
"Master Uncle?"
Su Fan was stunned.
Master Uncle? Master Uncle of Yuanshi Tianzun? Isn't that—Master Hongjun's senior brother?
The man opened his eyes. His eyes were a cloudy gray, like glass covered with a layer of gray. He looked at Yang Jian for a long time before recognizing him.
"Yang Jian?"
His voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.
Yang Jian helped him up: "Uncle-Master, what are you doing here?"
The man leaned against Yang Jian, panting for a while before speaking.
"My name is Hunyuan. I am Hongjun's senior brother. Thirty thousand years ago, after Pangu separated heaven and earth, I came to the Chaos Realm. I have been guarding this place for thirty thousand years, guarding this corpse, guarding the heart, and guarding those maggots."
He looked at Su Fan: "You're the Envoy of the Conferred Gods?"
Su Fan nodded.
Hunyuan laughed, but his smile was more like a grimace.
"Hongjun foresaw it. He foresaw it 30,000 years ago. He said that 30,000 years later, a God-Investiture Envoy would come to the Chaos Realm and take away the fragment of the heart. He told me to wait for you here."
He took out a jade talisman from his pocket and handed it to Su Fan. The jade talisman was exactly the same as the one belonging to Hongjun Ancestor, except that the words engraved on it were different.
The one carved with Hongjun's character is "Tao," while this one is carved with "Hun."
"This is my token. Once we arrive in the Primordial World, use this to activate the teleportation array. Anyone below the Dao Realm can pass through."
Su Fan accepted the jade talisman.
Hunyuan then looked at Yang Jian: "You must go back too. Three thousand years, you've guarded this place long enough."
Yang Jian paused for a moment, then nodded.
Hunyuan stood up, staggered, and almost fell. Yang Jian caught him.
"I'm not leaving," Hunyuan said. "I've guarded this place for 30,000 years; this corpse is my home. You may leave."
He took a bead from his pocket and handed it to Su Fan. The bead was black, about the size of a thumb, and contained a swirling cloud of black mist.
"This is the mother bead of the Boundary-Stabilizing Bead. Holding it in your mouth will conceal the aura of everyone below the Dao Realm. Insects below the fifth level of the Chaos Realm will not be able to sense you."
Su Fan took the bead and put it in his mouth. The bead was icy cold, and a chill spread from the tip of his tongue throughout his body. It was at least ten times stronger than the one Yang Jian had given him.
Hunyuan turned around and walked down the mountain.
After walking a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Su Fan.
"Tell Hongjun that I have done right by him."
Su Fan opened his mouth, wanting to say that Hongjun Ancestor was dead. But he swallowed the words back.
Hunyuan left, his figure disappearing into the thick fog.
Yang Jian stared in the direction where Hunyuan had disappeared, remaining silent for a long time.
"Let's go," he said.
The two continued climbing the mountain.
After climbing for another hour, we finally reached the summit.
There was nothing on the mountaintop except for a thick fog. In the center of the fog was a whirlpool. The whirlpool wasn't large, about ten feet in diameter, and it was black inside, so nothing could be seen.
But the aura surging from the vortex was all too familiar to Su Fan—it was the aura of the primordial world, the aura of the Heavenly Dao.
exit.
Su Fan walked to the whirlpool and reached out to touch it. His hand went into the whirlpool, and he felt something pull him in.
He turned to look at Yang Jian: "Let's go."
The two jumped into the whirlpool together.
Su Fan felt as if his whole body was being torn apart.
The pain was worse than when he arrived, so much so that he thought he was really dead. His body was torn into countless pieces, each flying in a different direction. His soul was ripped into countless strands, each drifting in a different dimension.
I don't know how much time passed, but the tearing sensation suddenly disappeared.
He opened his eyes and saw the blue sky.
It was a real blue sky, not the gray sky of some chaotic realm. White clouds floated in the blue sky, and below the clouds stretched a vast green land.
He fell face down on a patch of grass, his mouth stuffed with grass.
He rolled over and lay on the ground, looking at the blue sky, panting heavily.
came back.
flood.
Yang Jian landed beside him, creating a large crater. He climbed out of the crater, covered in mud, but the cracks in his silver armor were slowly healing, and the breastplate on his chest was reforming.
The Dao of the Primordial World is helping him repair himself.
Su Fan took out the small fragment from his pocket. The fragment glowed in his palm, its golden light at least a hundred times brighter than when he was in the Chaos Realm, turning the grassland within a hundred miles into gold.
The Way of Heaven is responding to the fragments.
He stood up and carefully collected the broken pieces.
Yang Jian climbed out of the pit, his three-pointed, double-edged sword planted in the ground, its blade slowly straightening. The Dao of the Primordial World was repairing everything.
"Where is the South Heavenly Gate?" Yang Jian asked.
Su Fan pointed east: "That way. Let's go."
The two took to the air and flew towards the South Heavenly Gate.
After flying for less than fifteen minutes, Su Fan saw the city wall of Nantianmen.
Half of the city wall had collapsed, all the runes were destroyed, and the wall was now filled with people. Ten thousand and fifty people, not one missing. They were all looking at the sky, at the direction from which Su Fan had flown.
Su Fan landed on the city wall, and everyone was watching him.
No one spoke.
Sun Wukong was the first to rush forward and hug him tightly: "Kid! You're not dead!"
Su Fan was being strangled and couldn't breathe: "Great Sage, let go, my bones haven't healed yet."
Sun Wukong released him, his eyes red-rimmed. He saw Yang Jian and paused, then asked, "Yang Jian? What are you doing here?"
Yang Jian nodded: "Great Sage, it's been a long time."
Yuanshi Tianzun walked over, looked at Yang Jian, then at Su Fan: "Have you figured out the situation in the Chaos Realm?"
Su Fan took the small fragment out of his pocket and handed it to Yuanshi Tianzun.
Yuanshi Tianzun took the fragment, and his expression changed.
"This is……"
"The Dao of the Corpse," Su Fan said, "can be used to mend the cracks in the Dao of Heaven."
Yuanshi Tianzun gripped the fragment tightly, his hand trembling.
"How do we replenish it?" asked the Tongtian Sect Leader.
Su Fan shook his head: "I don't know. Ancestor Hongjun didn't say."
Everyone fell silent.
Just then, the sky darkened.
It wasn't that dark clouds were obscuring the sun; the sky itself was darkening. The blue sky looked as if someone had splashed ink on it, gradually turning gray starting from the east.
The grayness is spreading, and it's spreading very quickly.
The Primordial Celestial's expression changed drastically: "The Chaos Realm has crashed into us!"
Su Fan looked at the sky, watching the gray expanse surge in like a flood, and only one thought occupied his mind.
Chaos has arrived.
……
The gray sky looked like an overturned pot, pressing down on the South Heavenly Gate.
On a street in an unnamed small town in Dongsheng Shenzhou, Old Wang, who sells vegetables, looked up at the sky and dropped the steelyard in his hand. The weight hit his foot, but he didn't even feel the pain.
"Why...why has the sky changed color?"
No one answered him. Everyone on the street looked up, watching the gray expanse spread from the east, like a bucket of dirty water splashed onto a blue cloth.
A child tugged at his mother's clothes and asked in a childish voice, "Mommy, is the sky going to fall?"
The mother covered the child's mouth, her face pale, pulled him into the house, and slammed the door shut.
It wasn't just this street; the whole city was closing its doors and windows. The sound of doors slamming shut was deafening, like firecrackers going off during the New Year, but no one spoke.
At the city gate, the soldier guarding the city gripped his spear, his hand trembling. The red tassel on the spear tip fluttered wildly in the wind. He stared at the gray sky above and swallowed hard.
"Captain, something's not right with the weather."
The captain didn't answer; he was also looking at the sky, the veins bulging on his hand gripping the knife.
As the grayness spread to the vicinity of the sun, the sunlight dimmed. Not the dimness of sunset, but as if someone had covered the sun with a gray cloth. The light turned a hazy yellow, casting a twilight glow on the ground, even though it was only morning.
In the Southern Continent, outside Fuxi City, lies a settlement inhabited by humans.
Several old men sat under the big locust tree at the village entrance, smoking their pipes in silence. The embers in their pipes flickered in the dim light, like will-o'-the-wisps.
A young man ran over, panting, "Grandpa, the village chief said everyone should go back inside and not stay outside."
An old man tapped his pipe, but didn't move.
"What's the use of going back inside? If the sky is going to fall, going back inside won't stop it."
The young man grew anxious: "Grandpa!"
The old man stood up, looked at the gray sky, and sighed.
"I've lived for eight hundred years and never seen a sky like this."
He turned and walked home, leaning on his cane. After a few steps, he stopped, looked back at the gray expanse, and a hazy light reflected in his cloudy eyes.
"Thirty thousand years of peace have come to an end."
Beiju Luzhou, the territory of the demon race.
A wolf demon crouched on a cliff, looking up at the sky and howling. The howl was mournful and echoed through the valley.
Down the mountain, a group of little demons huddled together, shivering. A rabbit demon, its ears drooping, huddled in a corner, muttering to itself.
"The Demon Emperor will protect us, the Demon Emperor will protect us..."
An old bear demon patted her head, its rough claws gently pressing on her scalp.
"Even the Demon Emperor cannot stop the heavens."
The rabbit demon raised its head, its red eyes filled with tears.
"What should we do then?"
The old bear demon didn't answer; he stared at the gray sky and remained silent for a long time.
"wait."
Xiniu Hezhou, a place of ruins.
Several vultures were gnawing on the remains of the Heavenly Demon, the gray sunlight shining on their black feathers, giving them an eerie metallic sheen.
Suddenly, the vultures all looked up at once, their tiny, beady eyes staring at the sky. Then, they screeched and scattered, abandoning even the half-eaten carrion.
On the ruins, a stray dog emerged from a crack in the rocks, tail between its legs, head down, whimpering. It circled a few times, then disappeared back into the crack, hiding itself.
On the city wall of Nantianmen, 10,050 people were standing.
The area beneath the city wall was packed with people.
These are not the 10,050 people at the South Heavenly Gate, but ordinary people from various races in the prehistoric world.
Taoist disciples, Buddhist lay disciples, human commoners, and rogue cultivators of the demon race—they all somehow received the news and flocked to the South Heavenly Gate, crowding beneath the city walls in a dense, endless mass.
A Taoist disciple shouted at the top of his lungs, "Immortal! Immortal! What's happening to the heavens?!"
No one answered him.
A lay Buddhist disciple clasped his hands together, chanting Buddhist mantras. As he chanted, tears streamed down his face.
A rogue demon cultivator, covered in wounds and dressed in tattered clothes, was at the very front, as if he had traveled a long way. He shouted towards the city wall, "Demon Emperor! Demon Emperor! Are we going to die?"
Di Jun stood on the city wall, looking down at the demons below, his face ashen.
Donghuang Taiyi stood beside him, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Fuxi stood on the other side of the city wall, looking at the human people below. He remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"Go back, everyone. The sky won't fall."
No one moved below.
An elderly human stepped forward and looked up at Fuxi.
"Your Majesty, you're not lying to us. The sky has changed color, how can everything be alright?"
Fuxi opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.
He couldn't say nothing was wrong, because something was wrong. He also couldn't say something was wrong, because if he did, the people below would erupt in chaos.
Zhuanxu walked over and stood beside Fuxi, saying in a low voice, "Let them disperse. If they crowd together here, something might happen..."
Fuxi nodded, then turned to those below and said, "We already have a plan to deal with the changes in the Heavenly Way. Go back and do what you were doing. Within three days, the heavens will return to normal."
A commotion broke out below.
"real?"
"How could the Emperor's words be false?"
"That's enough, everyone go home!"
The crowd slowly dispersed, but each person glanced back at the gray sky as they left. Their eyes held fear, unease, and bewilderment at the unknown.
A child, perched on his father's shoulder, pointed to the gray sky and asked in a childish voice, "Daddy, when will the sky change back?"
The father quickened his pace but did not answer.
The child asked again, and the father pressed the child's face into the crook of his shoulder, whispering, "Soon. Soon."
The voice was trembling.