RPAGF Chapter 1060 The Time Has Come
Chapter 1060 The Time Has Come
The Nine Heavens Domain is one of the 1,600 major domains under the jurisdiction of the Nine Heavens Immortal Domain. The domain is densely populated with stars and continuous immortal mountains. It has a diameter of about 2,500 cosmic years and the entire territory is under the control of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect.
Although the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect is slightly inferior to top-tier half-step Golden Immortal forces like the Fire Crow Clan, it is still a well-known force within the Nine Immortal Domains. The sect has three half-step Golden Immortals in charge, the strongest of whom, the Nine Heavens Ancestor, is a peak half-step Golden Immortal who is only one step away from immortality. His reputation is known to almost everyone in the 1,600 universes under the jurisdiction of the Nine Heavens Immortal Domain.
At the heart of the Nine Heavens Domain, the Nine Heavens Immortal City rises abruptly from the ground, its scale in no way inferior to the Heavenly Crow Immortal City of the Fire Crow Clan. Clouds and mist swirl around the city, with streaks of silver lightning faintly visible weaving through the clouds—the "Nine Heavens Thunder Prison Array," laid down by the Nine Heavens Ancestor in conjunction with two other half-step Golden Immortals. The array's foundation is deeply embedded in the core of the domain's internal veins, drawing upon the power of the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder. Even a perfect half-step Golden Immortal, if forced to break through, would suffer a charred immortal body and damage to their very essence if caught in the lightning's entanglement.
In the heart of the Immortal City, the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace is carved entirely from jade that has been frozen for billions of years. It contains frost that has never melted since ancient times. The cold air and the thunderous energy within the palace intertwine to form a wondrous balance. The palace roof is covered with a layer of faint starlight, which is formed by collecting and refining the essence of billions of stars. Even in the daytime, it emits a soft yet unassailable silver light, making the palace look like a heavenly palace.
The beams and pillars inside the hall are engraved with densely packed thunder patterns and Daoist rhymes. Each pattern contains the power of thunder that can tear through the void. Walking among them, one can almost hear the ancient thunder dragon roaring in the darkness, shaking the mind of every person who steps in and inspiring awe.
The Nine Heavens Ancestor, clad in a long silver robe, stood in the center of the Immortal Palace. Intricate lightning patterns, embroidered with gold thread, flickered with electric light, rising and falling slightly with his breath, seemingly in sync with the thunder of heaven and earth. His hair and beard were entirely white, cascading down his shoulders like silver threads, while his skin was as fair and delicate as a baby's, without a single wrinkle. His eyes, deep as the starry sky, were fixed on the direction of the Fire Crow Domain, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion, even the lightning around him seemed somewhat restless.
The way of survival in the ancient immortal realm goes beyond mere fighting and killing; it also emphasizes interpersonal relationships and the balance of power. Even in this meat grinder of immortal warfare on the Nine Domains Continent, the major powers are often wary of each other—they may fight, but they rarely break off relations easily. After all, no one wants to fight to the death, only to have it all benefit other covetous half-step Golden Immortal forces. No matter how tempting the war merits are, one must be alive to enjoy them; this is an unspoken understanding among the major powers.
Although there had been frictions between the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect and the Fire Crow Clan in previous Nine Domains Immortal Wars, they had never truly crossed the line or breached each other's bottom lines. The fighting was mostly limited to lower-level cultivators, and even when higher-level cultivators clashed, it was usually to stop short of killing each other. But this time, the Fire Crow Clan was like a ferocious beast that had broken free of its reins and completely lost control—in just tens of millions of years, they had destroyed eight of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect's branch sects, slaughtering all eight eighth-grade True Immortals and sixteen seventh-grade True Immortal elders who were stationed in the branch sects. Even the floor tiles of the branch sect's scripture pavilion were turned upside down three times, as if they would not stop until they were completely eradicated. The ruthlessness of their methods far exceeded any previous conflict.
"Damn it! Have these three-legged crows gone mad?" The Nine Heavens Ancestor cursed in a low voice, his voice filled with suppressed anger. Before he finished speaking, the air in the hall seemed to be frozen by lightning, and strands of silver lightning crackled in the void.
With a wave of his hand, eight shattered light screens appeared in the void inside the hall. The screens showed the tragic scene when the eight branch sects were breached—in the ruins intertwined with thunder and fire, immortal corpses were everywhere, limbs and broken immortal artifacts were scattered all over the place, and the broken sword blades still had traces of burning; even the core array plate of the mountain-protecting array was melted into molten iron by the raging flames. The once solemn sacred grounds of the branch sects have now become a living hell, filled with resentment.
Then, his fingertips swept across the void, and the communication marks of four other half-step Golden Immortal forces appeared on the light screen: "Azure Mist Immortal Clan, Black Profound Immortal Clan, Myriad Clouds Immortal Palace, Blood Shadow Immortal Clan... In just half a month, five half-step Golden Immortal forces have been attacked, and twenty-three ninth-grade True Immortal forces have been lost." The Nine Heavens Ancestor's pupils shrank slightly, and his fingertips turned white from the force. "This Fire Crow Clan is simply courting death. Do they really think their Fire Crow Clan has already taken the final step and become an immortal immortal clan?!"
The five half-step Golden Immortal forces, individually, are indeed no match for the Fire Crow Clan. However, if they join forces and mobilize all their resources, their strength will far exceed that of the Fire Crow Clan by several times. Not to mention, there are also more than twenty ninth-grade True Immortal forces. If they are truly forced into a desperate situation and join forces to counterattack, it would be enough to bring the Fire Crow Clan to eternal damnation.
"Aren't they afraid of incurring public wrath, being attacked by the masses, and being wiped out from the ancient immortal realm?" The Nine Heavens Ancestor slowly paced, leaving faint footprints on the cold jade ground, which were then smoothed out by the thunderous aura within the hall.
“Old man Lie Xuan, he would never be so foolish.” The Nine Heavens Ancestor stopped, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. “There must be some hidden story we are unaware of…”
He had been dealing with Lie Xuan for over a century, and knew that although the old man was warlike, he was extremely astute in assessing situations and was by no means a mindless fool who would disregard everything. Such a crazy act must have a much bigger scheme behind it.
"The Fire Crow Clan's actions to such madness must be driven by something extraordinary." The Nine Heavens Ancestor frowned, his fingertips tapping lightly in the air, each tap sending ripples of lightning through the air. "It's definitely not as simple as seeking battle merits..."
After a moment of contemplation, the Nine Heavens Ancestor's gaze suddenly sharpened like a knife, as if it could pierce through all illusions. He tapped the air a few times with his fingers and softly uttered, "Xuanxiao!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a silver light streaked through the void outside the hall like lightning. Its speed was so fast that it left only a blur and instantly pierced through the defensive restrictions of the Immortal Palace. Those restrictions that could withstand the attacks of a Ninth-Rank True Immortal were as fragile as paper in front of the silver light.
In the blink of an eye, he landed before the Nine Heavens Ancestor, transforming into a tall and imposing figure. The newcomer wore a streamlined silver immortal armor, its surface inscribed with intricate lightning patterns, within which flowed faint electric light, gleaming with a cold luster under the starlight within the hall. His posture was as upright as a spear, his face youthful and handsome, yet his eyes revealed a composure beyond his years. He was none other than the current sect master of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect—True Immortal Xuanxiao, a perfect ninth-rank True Immortal, and the fourth strongest member of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect, second only to their three half-step Golden Immortal ancestors.
Xuanxiao Zhenxian knelt on one knee, his right hand pressed against his left chest, his movements standard and respectful. His voice was clear and powerful, without a trace of noise, as if it contained the purity of the Dao of Thunder: "Ancestor, your disciple is here."
The Nine Heavens Ancestor lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on Xuanxiao, his deep eyes filled with undeniable majesty: "Xuanxiao, immediately mobilize all the forces of my Nine Heavens Immortal Sect to find out exactly what happened to the Fire Crow Clan that made them act so madly."
He paused, his tone growing increasingly serious: "Especially the whereabouts of those old geezers from the Fire Crow Clan. Remember, you must act with utmost secrecy. If your whereabouts are exposed, retreat immediately. Do not alert them and ruin everything."
"Disciple understands!" Xuanxiao replied in a deep voice, his forehead slightly lowered, his voice full of respect. "May I ask, Ancestor, if you find any crucial clues..."
"If the clues involve the Fire Crow Clan's core secrets, there's no need to delve into them. Just send the message back." Ancestor Jiuxiao raised his hand to interrupt him, a lightning bolt flashing across his fingertip. "This matter is bound to have far-reaching implications, and the slightest carelessness could backfire. You only need to remember to investigate the 'change' itself, not to seek the root cause behind it, understand?"
"Your disciple will remember the teachings of the Patriarch!"
Xuanxiao kowtowed again, then his figure flickered and transformed into a streak of silver light, darting out of the Immortal Palace, leaving only a faint lightning shadow that vanished in the air in an instant.
The Nine Heavens Ancestor gazed in the direction where the True Immortal Xuanxiao had departed, then slowly raised his hand, and the eight shattered light curtains within the hall abruptly extinguished. The lightning patterns on the cold jade floor still swirled, but could not conceal the solemnity in his eyes. "Lie Xuan, Lie Xuan, what exactly is your purpose...?"
......
Time flies, and another billion years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Beneath the ruins of Fortress 507 in the Iron Arm Mountains, the hidden cave remains shrouded in a murky, viscous atmosphere, nourishing everything within. The starlight of the Twenty-Eight Constellations Array flows rhythmically like an unchanging tide, completely isolating the cave from the outside world.
Sitting cross-legged on the Chaos Futon, Su Mo's purple-gold light membrane around him became increasingly solid. The primordial runes on the membrane were now clearly discernible, interwoven into a net, radiating an ancient and powerful aura. After nearly two hundred million years of arduous cultivation, and having devoured most of the eighth-grade True Immortal corpses he had accumulated, Su Mo's cultivation had made further progress. The aura of his Primordial Boundless True Immortal Body became increasingly profound, bringing him one step closer to the ninth level of perfection. The cellular sea within his body was already faintly taking on the rudiments of immortality.
Suddenly, Su Mo's brows twitched slightly, as if he sensed something. He slowly opened his tightly closed eyes, the chaos in them dissipating to reveal a deep and unfathomable depth, as if it could contain the rise and fall of the nine realms.
Then, Su Mo raised his head slightly and looked deeply into the direction of the Fire Crow Domain. His gaze seemed to pierce through the barrier of billions of years of time, seeing the bloody storm that had been stirred up on the Nine Domains Continent by the madness of the Fire Crow Clan.
“We’ve already caused a big enough commotion.” Su Mo muttered to himself, flicking his fingertips, and a vortex of chaotic energy condensed in his palm. “Most of the half-step Golden Immortal forces have been drawn to this. It’s time to move on to the next step.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Mo's mind stirred, and a thought, like a primordial divine sword unsheathed, containing the aura of chaos and immortality, instantly tore through the spacetime barrier of nearly ten thousand cosmic years, ignoring the turbulent currents of the star rivers and storms of rules along the way, and accurately landed in the sea of consciousness of the "Fierce Profound Ancestor" transformed from the "Pure Void Moral True Lord" in the magma world in the southern Fire Crow Domain.
"The time has come; it's time to spread the word and lure the big fish into the trap."
......