Chapter 225: The Battle Begins
Chapter 225: The Battle Begins
Seeing the admiration and respect on Venerable Huolian’s face, the gods present were deeply shocked.
Even if Huolian Venerable was deceiving them, her cultivation level couldn't be faked.
From stepping into the second step of the sky to reaching the fifth step—that was a leap of three full levels, which would normally take a true god tens of thousands of years to achieve.
And after the great changes in heaven and earth, advancing became even more difficult, especially from the rank of a Venerable to a Grand Venerable. Not everyone had the opportunity to condense a divine domain.
In just a few days, Huolian Venerable's earth-shattering transformation was simply astonishing.
If only Huolian had undergone such a terrifying transformation, they might have thought that the Origin Heavenly Lord was merely infatuated with women. But since Huanghun had also transformed similarly, it couldn’t be explained by simple desire.
Ye Liuyun’s breathing quickened.
Divine Visualization!
A sudden surge in strength could only be explained by divine visualization.
Suddenly, Ye Liuyun remembered the powerful dragon clans that Qi Yuan had mentioned. His body trembled uncontrollably.
If they were all real… and he obtained them, what kind of opportunity would that be?
He regretted it deeply. After the Hundred Flowers Gathering, he should have followed Qi Yuan to Qingshui Village.
Anyway, now he was already a citizen. If he had gone earlier, perhaps he would be a Grand Venerable by now.
He was filled with remorse.
The other ancient gods present also had various thoughts in their minds.
"Tonight, the battle will begin. To prevent any information from leaking out, everyone here will rest for one day," Huolian Venerable’s voice remained gentle as always, her long hair flowing, her temples soft.
"Isn’t one day too short? How about we wait until the battle is almost over?" Yuan Kun said calmly.
"We have no complaints; staying here for a few more days is fine."
"The Heavenly Lord's plan is of utmost importance!"
These people quickly adopted their roles, thinking on behalf of Qi Yuan.
Venerable Huanghun and Venerable Huolian did not explain further. After giving a few instructions, the two figures disappeared.
As night gradually descended, several terrifying figures gathered in the hall.
Standing below Qi Yuan was a group of ancient gods.
These ancient gods were now all Grand Venerables, their strength formidable.
They gathered to discuss the upcoming attack on the evil gods’ base in Qingheng Continent.
Venerable Shenlei was in high spirits, his gaze sharp: "There are two mythic figures in Qingheng Continent, one is General Li Yang, and the other is Deputy General Tai Zhong. These two, leave them to me; I can suppress them with one hand!"
The elder of the twin sisters, usually reserved, now revealed her edge: "Though we, the Nine Luminaries, have only reached the fifth step, our divine domains can overlap and reinforce each other. Together, we can fight a mythic figure."
Standing among the group, Venerable Zanghun secretly glanced at Venerable Shenlei.
Now, with eight ancient gods supporting each other, he had grown bolder and was no longer so fearful of Venerable Shenlei.
"Although I have only reached the sixth step, I can still hold off a mythic figure for a time," said a low-key old man who had visualized the Southern True Wanfux Tianzun, one of the Ten Great Tianzun.
Qi Yuan nodded. Among the ancient gods present, there were three who could combine their strength to achieve mythic-level combat power.
And this was only temporary. Given time, Qi Yuan believed that in a hundred or a thousand years, there would be twenty or thirty mythic-level combatants.
But Qi Yuan couldn’t wait that long.
"Although our current strength still falls short of that of the evil gods, it is far greater than that of General Li Yang!" Qi Yuan said confidently.
At that moment, a voice came through: "Heavenly Lord, Venerable Lishan has arrived!"
Qi Yuan was surprised.
Venerable Lishan had actually come from the southern region to the northern region?
"Let him in," Qi Yuan instructed.
The ancient gods present were brimming with confidence.
Venerable Shenlei continued, "Now is the perfect time to strike! I believe we should head to the evil gods' base in Qingheng Continent right now and slaughter them until rivers of blood flow!"
"Venerable Shenlei, is this what you call being steady? Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t be reckless?" At that moment, a grumbling voice came through.
Venerable Lishan, with his white hair, entered and looked at Venerable Shenlei as if he wanted to tear him apart.
Previously, Venerable Shenlei had complained to him, claiming that he wasn’t the reckless one, but that the Origin Heavenly Lord was. At the time, Venerable Lishan had believed him and had considered the Origin Heavenly Lord to be a reckless fool.
But what did he hear as soon as he arrived?
"Head to the evil gods' base in Qingheng Continent right now and slaughter them until rivers of blood flow?"
Clearly, Venerable Shenlei had been deceiving him; Venerable Shenlei was always reckless and had been egging on the Origin Heavenly Lord. He had misunderstood the Origin Heavenly Lord.
Venerable Lishan was furious, glaring at Venerable Shenlei.
Venerable Shenlei looked at Venerable Lishan, a smile appearing on his face. "Lishan, I'm not being reckless. I'm very steady. I only plan to take on the two mythic figures in Qingheng Continent. The other rabble, I'll leave to the other ancient gods. Normally, I would take them all on myself. Isn't that mature and steady?"
Venerable Lishan was taken aback.
He didn’t immediately understand Venerable Shenlei’s words.
Venerable Shenlei continued to smile. "Lishan, open your eyes and see what my cultivation level is now."
Venerable Shenlei’s divine domain unfolded at that moment.
In an instant, endless thunder filled the air.
A terrifying divine domain seemed to turn the world into a sea of lightning.
Venerable Lishan’s white hair stood on end.
Venerable Lishan’s eyes widened, his voice trembling: "Mythic figure—how did you become a mythic figure?"
He couldn’t understand or believe it.
How had his old friend become a mythic figure in such a short time?
It was like both of them had been the wealthiest men in their village, and after not seeing each other for a few days, his old friend had become the wealthiest man in the country.
Venerable Lishan's heart was filled with disbelief.
"The fact that I, as a mythic figure, can suppress two mere mythic figures—doesn’t that make me mature and steady?" Venerable Shenlei said smugly.
Venerable Lishan fell silent.
The divine domain before him was so real it couldn’t be faked.
"In half an hour, we will attack the evil gods' base in Qingheng Continent. Venerable Lishan, your strength is still decent—how about playing the suona for me?" Venerable Shenlei said proudly.
He remembered how Qi Yuan had once asked him to control thunder and then attack. He suddenly found that rather enjoyable.
If Venerable Lishan played the suona behind him while he fought mythic figures, it would surely enhance his combat power. It would be like "With the commander stepping on the peaks of flying snow, ten thousand soldiers play music."
Venerable Lishan was speechless.
At that moment, Qi Yuan, sitting on the high platform, spoke: "It seems everyone is confident. In that case, all ancient gods, prepare to march and sweep through Qingheng Continent!"
The calm voice rang out like thunder in Venerable Lishan’s ears.
"At your command!" Venerable Shenlei responded confidently.
Since being injured, he hadn’t fought properly.
The last time he had planned to ambush Zhang Feng, Qi Yuan had intercepted him.
This time, he was eagerly anticipating the battle.
"At your command!" The elder twin sister’s eyes also shone with determination.
Who would have thought that after retreating step by step, even abandoning the northern region and migrating south, the ancient gods would today begin their first large-scale counterattack against the evil gods?
Whether they succeeded or not, the world would be shaken.
Even the god above Tianzhu would likely hear of this.
But none of the people present felt any fear.
On the contrary, they were all filled with excitement.
"Kill, kill, kill! Let’s turn the world upside down!" Venerable Wangsong shouted.
All the ancient gods present were filled with battle spirit, a spirit accumulated over thousands of years, like a volcano that had lain dormant for ten thousand years, ready to erupt violently.
For so many years, the evil gods had oppressed the northern region, making life unbearable for the ancient gods.
Facing the evil gods, the ancient gods had struggled to survive and had hardly thought of launching a counterattack.
But today, it seemed that they were going to do it.
And this counterattack wasn’t a small one—it was a crushing one!
Venerable Lishan watched this scene, deeply moved.
Because he clearly felt that these ancient gods he had once been familiar with were now radiating terrifying auras.
He seemed to be infected by the scene before him, and he muttered, "Shenlei, if you can kill those evil gods, then I’ll play the suona for you, no problem!"
Qingheng Continent, the evil gods' base.
General Li Yang, dressed in black, stood with deep-set eyes.
Deputy General Tai Zhong stood beside him, his gaze filled with a mixture of awe and respect.
Although they were both mythic figures, the difference between them was vast.
General Li Yang had the favor of the Yang God, which had allowed him to have his own star that shone upon the heavens.
That star wasn’t very large; by the standards of Qi Yuan’s previous world, it was only about 1.5 times the size of the moon.
But even so, it was still a star that illuminated the heavens.
General Li Yang had even slain a mythic figure from the Fanxin Realm in the past, making him an opponent not to be taken lightly.
Deputy General Tai Zhong lowered his head, appearing like the most devout servant beside General Li Yang, and asked, "General, what did the lord say?"
The falling star and the annihilation of Sunset Slope had shaken the five generals.
General Li Yang had gone to meet their lord and had just returned.
General Li Yang shook his head, his expression complicated. "The lord is in seclusion, so I couldn’t meet him."
The evil gods, led by General Li Yang, served a lord known as the Blood God Saint.
He was a Yang God, exalted above the heavens, with countless divine soldiers and generals under his command.
Among his subordinates, there were more than twenty who were illuminated by the heavens.
Most importantly, the Blood God Saint's daughter, the Blood Sun Saint, was also a Yang God.
A father and daughter, both being Yang Gods, was an incredibly terrifying force.
If the Blood Sun Saint fully absorbed the Heavenly Dao of the Fanxin Realm and refined it into a primordial seed, her strength would increase significantly, and her potential would be greatly enhanced.
The power of their followers would also rise in tandem.
"Don’t worry," General Li Yang said, noticing the worry in his deputy's eyes. "What happened the other day won’t happen again."
"The last time the star fell, the lord didn’t intervene because he didn’t want to bother. To the princess, that attack was just a scratch, and it would have been troublesome for the lord to deal with it. He thought it would be better to let the princess handle it. But who would have expected that unknown Yang God to act dishonorably and attack Luo Ri Slope?"
"Now the lord will definitely be more vigilant. Such a thing won’t happen again. Without the aid of a Yang God, the forces of the Mortal Heart Realm pose no threat to us."
"With no mythic figure among them, how dare they challenge us? Once the lord’s orders arrive, we’ll rally our forces and sweep away these insignificant foes!"
General Li Yang’s eyes were filled with confidence.
Without the assistance of a Yang God, the enemies in the Fanxin Realm were nothing to worry about.
To him, they were merely chickens and dogs.
"You're right, General. Without a Yang God to back them up, these people are just a bunch of clowns," Deputy General Tai Zhong said, a sneer of contempt appearing on his face.
With just one move, he had nearly turned the southern region upside down.
The so-called foundations of the Fanxin Realm were laughable in his eyes.
But just at that moment, a vast and overwhelming voice suddenly echoed across the sky, like world-ending thunder:
"I command the life and death of all beings, reward and punishment for good and evil."
"I oversee the Five Thunders and govern the Three Realms."
"Now, I summon the Thunder of Myriad Calamities to strike down demons and cleanse the heavens of all evil!"
With this resounding declaration, the entire sky above the evil gods' base became shrouded in dark clouds.
Lightning crackled and rumbled, filling the sky.
The sea of thunder seemed to pour down, the divine prison imposing its will.
Amidst the endless lightning, the shadows of countless terrifying deities began to appear.
Nine Heavens Thunder Generals, Eight Directions Cloud and Thunder Generals,
Five Thunder Kings, Thirty-Six Thunder Lords, Five Barbarian Thunder Envoys, Twenty-Four Protector Heavenly Lords…
Endless numbers of Thunder Division soldiers and generals waved their flags and commanded the lightning.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The sound of war drums echoed, and the word "kill" surged like a tide.
Within the evil gods' base, all the evil gods turned pale.
It was as if they were suddenly surrounded by a million true gods!
The evil gods' base fell into complete chaos.
General Li Yang’s eyes flashed with horror.
"Mythic figure!"
"Divine Domain!"
How could such a figure exist in this realm?
There was no time for him to think. He roared, "This is a divine domain of a mythic figure! All these deities are mere illusions, not real!"
He was trying to dispel the fear in his subordinates' hearts.
But his roar did little to quell the overwhelming fear among the true gods.
Because even if they were just shadows, they could feel an overwhelming, unbeatable presence and the crushing pressure it brought.
If these were not mere shadows, what then?
They couldn’t even begin to imagine!
General Li Yang was growing anxious.
Even he felt a strong sense of danger from the mythic figure standing before them.
Moreover, this mythic figure had directly unleashed a divine domain that completely enveloped the evil gods' base.
General Li Yang let out a thunderous shout.
"Lord Blood God, grant me your divine light to dispel this illusion!"
His divine domain expanded at that moment.
Above the sky, a small star suddenly shone brightly.
Within the realm of thunder, a blood-red light began to glow.
General Li Yang's body seemed to be made entirely of overwhelming blood light.
He stood under the thunder, with endless blood light beneath him.
But facing the invincible power of the thunder, the blood light in the divine domain trembled.
Deputy General Tai Zhong saw this and quickly activated his own divine domain. "General, let me help you!"
The two mythic figures joined forces to face the terrifying enemy.
Above the sky, Venerable Shenlei’s purple eyes remained indifferent, countless reflections of lightning dancing within them.
A majestic voice resounded.
"Above, I illuminate the Great Dao of Heaven; below, I relieve the suffering of the underworld."
"Your delusions have taken root in your heart, and for that, you must be slain!"
"Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, heed my command, kill!"
With Venerable Shenlei’s thunderous command, the battle within the divine domain finally began.
In an instant, endless lightning transformed into countless divine generals and heavenly soldiers, descending from the sky and charging into the sea of blood.