C29 Hong Huang the Heavens
The Awakening Secret Realm was on the verge of activation...
Host, please ready yourself...
Countdown commencing: 3, 2, 1.
A profound sensation of weightlessness ensued from the teleportation, taking a full fifteen minutes to subside.
Qin Buyi found himself before a palace in ruins, having materialized right at the entrance steps.
The remnants of the once continuous palatial complex hinted at its former splendor, and the air was heavy with the scent of blood.
Danger loomed from every direction. On Blue Star, Qin Buyi's cultivation level was considered formidable.
Yet in this realm, he felt as insignificant as an ant.
He ascended the staircase with cautious steps.
With each step Qin Buyi climbed, an intense gravitational force bore down upon him.
The gravity intensified incrementally with each step he took.
There were 108 steps in total. As Qin Buyi reached the 36th step, the scene before him shifted dramatically.
The palace, previously in ruins, was now restored to its pristine, unblemished state—majestic and awe-inspiring.
Immortals of formidable power strode by, paying no heed to Qin Buyi.
"Zhen Yuanzi, it's been ages," greeted a young immortal clad in opulent attire, smiling at the top of the stairs.
"Dongwang, why have you left the confines of the palace? What brings you out here?" inquired Zhen Yuanzi.
"The Emperor mentioned that this is the inaugural Peach Banquet, and he expressly wished for me to greet our guests," Dongwang responded, his smile unwavering.
...
The vision vanished abruptly, and Qin Buyi was jolted back to reality. The palace lay in ruins once more, making the previous scene seem like nothing but a mirage.
But Qin Buyi was certain it was no illusion; any one of the immortals he had just witnessed wielded enough power to shatter the heavens and the earth.
He continued his ascent, and upon reaching the 72nd step, the scene transformed yet again.
Perched high above the Nine Heavens sat a regal young man, his visage handsome and his head crowned. He held a scroll and addressed the trio before him:
"Old Lord, Heaven Connecting Cult Master, and Primus, the Heavenly Court has long been established, yet numerous immortals across the cosmos still refuse to acknowledge its authority."
"I've summoned the three of you to deliberate on the matter of the God Conferring Ranking."
...
The scene vanished once more, and Qin Buyi continued his ascent.
Upon reaching the 108th step, the view before him transformed again.
"Haotian, the time has come for a change in the heavens and earth's leadership. The Chaos Clan shall reign supreme in the Primal Chaos!" bellowed a middle-aged man clad in battle armor.
At that moment, the young man wearing a crown above in the Heavenly Court rose to his feet.
With his rise, it seemed as though the entire cosmos converged upon him.
Drawing his long saber, he pointed it towards the middle-aged man and the Chaos Army at his back, declaring, "The Chaos Clan has existed in obscurity since before Pangu split heaven and earth. Now, they dare to wreak havoc upon the Primal Chaos. They must be punished!"
"Hmph, Pangu himself might have the authority to say such things, but you, Hong Jun, and the rest are nothing but Chaos Fiend Gods. Do you truly believe yourselves to be natives of this realm?" the middle-aged man sneered.
After a brief pause, he added, "Hong Jun has vanished into the unknown. Now it's your turn, as the ruler of the Heavenly Court."
With a gesture from the middle-aged man, the Chaos Army clashed with the immortals of the Heavenly Court.
The battle raged, setting the Heavenly Court ablaze with war as countless immortals met their demise.
In the midst of the fierce combat, an elder on a green ox approached from beyond the Heavenly Court.
Witnessing the grievous losses, the elder bellowed, "From One Qi, emerge the Three Purities!"
Two figures emerged from within the elder, one youthful and the other middle-aged.
"Master, this is the Grand Upper Old Lord, one of the Six Saints of the Primordial Era," a figure behind the middle-aged man announced.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man burst into laughter. "The Six Saints of the Primordial Era? Mere puppets under the control of the Primordial Heavenly Dao," he mocked.
"Brother, we've come to aid you," announced two figures emerging outside the Heavenly Court.
"Activate the Immortal Killing Sword Array!" one of them commanded.
Another figure pulled a small banner from within his robes and declared, "Pangu Banner, slay!"
The epic battle raged for a staggering one hundred and twenty thousand six hundred years...
As the sun and moon lay in ruins, darkness enveloped the cosmos. In the final moments, the vast Primordial Era crumbled under the strain.
With a resounding "Boom!" the entire Ancient Realm fractured into innumerable fragments.
Emperor Haotian gazed upon the broken Ancient Realm, his visage tinged with sorrow.
His imperial crown lay in ruins, his once-white robes now drenched in blood, and a gaping wound pierced through his chest.
"Begin anew, world!" Emperor Haotian commanded with a thunderous cry.
Exhausting his remaining strength, he channeled it all into his sword, which glowed with the dual hues of Yin and Yang.
One side dark as night, the other pure as day; their fusion birthed a chaotic hue.
With all his might, Emperor Haotian brought his sword down fiercely upon the middle-aged man.
"How can this be? Haotian, would you truly forsake your own life for the sake of these Desolate Land dwellers?"
"You, a member of the Chaos Clan, could survive without the title of Celestial Emperor, even if cast back into the Chaos. Why sacrifice your life for these insignificant beings?" the middle-aged man exclaimed in disbelief.
With a "Ssssh!" and a "Clang!"
The keen edge of the sword cleaved the middle-aged man's body, emitting a grating sound like clashing steel, and his body split in two, plummeting from the sky.
Following his demise, the chaotic essence on the sword's blade dispersed outward, and the fragmented pieces of the Ancient Realm began to stabilize upon contact with the chaotic hue.
Subsequently, these fragments evolved into new worlds. The larger pieces formed planets many times the size of Blue Star, while numerous smaller fragments gave rise to planets even smaller than Blue Star.
With a "Crack!"
The sword in Haotian's grasp shattered, unable to endure the force of his ultimate strike, breaking into segments from tip to hilt.
With a "Cough!"
A spurt of fresh blood escaped Haotian's lips as he sensed his life force swiftly ebbing away.
Haotian's mind wandered back to the time before Pangu split open the heavens, to those moments of carefree conversation amidst the primordial Chaos...
And there was Hong Jun, enigmatic and shadowy, his personality an enigma that eluded comprehension.
In the early days of the primordial world, the dragons, phoenixes, and qilins vied for supremacy, dealing a heavy blow to the already fragile foundation of the Chaos.
Under his stewardship, however, the world began to evolve in a positive direction...
The vision before him vanished once again, but this time, Qin Buyi found himself unable to regain his composure for quite some time.
The reason was that the long blade in Haotian's grasp was an exact replica of the Killing Saber he held—identical in both form and detail.
Qin Buyi revisited the descriptions of the Killing Saber and the Killing Saber Technique:
Killing Saber: A weapon forged for slaughter... The Killing Saber, once the source of countless beings' terror. To unlock all its mysteries, one must possess even greater strength.
Killing Saber Technique: A fearsome method of combat, born of the Killing Saber and designed for devastation. When your power is sufficient, the tale behind it will be revealed to you.
With this revelation, Qin Buyi's understanding deepened.
His mind was a whirlwind of unanswered questions.
After a long silence, Qin Buyi spoke to himself, "Heavenly Court's Haotian, the Chaos, the Chaos Clan—what is the true nature of their connection?"
"It turns out the myriad realms originated from the fragments of the shattered primordial universe..."
