Chapter 1121: No Way Out (Third Update)
On this day, the Nine Provinces world was in chaos. One piece of news after another arrived, stirring up towering waves of shock across the Nine Provinces.
"The Ancient God of Earth Completion died without a complete corpse!"
"The Divine Ancestor of Dawn Earth was ambushed and killed halfway along the road!"
"The Ancient God of Earth Opening has passed away!"
"The skull of the Ancient God of White Earth was split open, all three souls shattered!"
"The Ancient God of Hidden Earth was sleeping and died in his dreams—no external wounds at all!"
"The Ancient God of Vast Earth was executed within his ancestral land!"
...
These terrifying pieces of news seemed to have grown wings, spreading throughout the Nine Provinces. On the Third Pillar Heaven, the three Pillar Gods sat upright, their faces heavy with solemnity.
After receiving the news, these three Ancient Gods did not grow restless like the Ancient God of Deep Earth had. Instead, they gathered together at the first opportunity. Only by huddling together could they feel even slightly at ease, lest they die muddled and confused.
"Judging from the news, the Ancient Gods of the Nine Provinces have been completely wiped out."
The First Pillar Ancient God had an indigo face with fangs bared, looking like a ghost king. He said in a deep voice: "In five days' time, from White Earth all the way to Deep Earth, nine Ancient Gods were eliminated. This shows there was never any evenly matched battle. Rather, the assassin kept rushing without rest, infiltrating the ancestral lands of the other Nine Provinces Ancient Gods before they even received word, and killing them."
The Second Pillar Ancient God had a red face with fangs, frowning: "We are already far from weak. Over the years, we have delved deep into our respective Great Daos, our research into the laws of Dao growing ever more profound, and our strength ever greater. Looking across the world, while we are not existences like the Ten Heavenly Venerables, we can at least stand shoulder to shoulder with Emperor Throne powerhouses, can we not? How could the Nine Provinces Ancient Gods die and have their Dao extinguished without any resistance at all?"
The Third Pillar Ancient God said: "I have heard the news and have conjectured a possibility."
His gaze flickered as he said: "The number one treasure of the world has emerged."
The moment he spoke these words, the other two Ancient Gods' bodies shook violently, disbelief written across their faces.
"Able to kill the nine brothers of the Nine Provinces Ancient Gods so swiftly—that can only be the number one treasure of the world, the Glazed Azure Sky Banner. And that assassin, I also know of him. He is the rumored number one Heavenly Master of the world, Longshan the Hermit!"
The Third Pillar Ancient God said: "I heard a tale from the youngest brother under the Black Heavenly Emperor of the North Heaven. Back when the Heavenly Court split apart six hundred thousand years ago, the Black Emperor, King Yama of Darkness, went to the North Emperor Black Tortoise's Heavenly Palace, and there he encountered Longshan the Hermit. Longshan the Hermit used the Glazed Azure Sky Banner to heavily wound a million divine demons of the Heavenly River Navy, forcing the then number one Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Court, Shang Pingyin, to vomit three dou of blood. After that, Shang Pingyin never recovered for a hundred thousand years, sinking into depression, and was ultimately replaced by Yue Tingge."
He stared blankly into space, fear spreading across his face, his voice somewhat hoarse: "At that time, Shang Pingyin commanded the Heavenly River Navy, the Divine and Martial Guards, and the Northern Fall Gate. With such forces, even flattening the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign would have been more than sufficient. Yet Longshan the Hermit, relying on the ten thousand or so scattered cultivators of supernatural powers and divine demons within the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace, slaughtered half of those four divine demon armies!"
The other two Ancient Gods could not help but reveal looks of terror as well.
The more one knew about the Heavenly Court's true strength, the more awe and reverence one felt, and the less one dared to harbor thoughts of rebellion.
They had also experienced the Heavenly Court's split back then and knew well how treacherous the situation had been.
The Heavenly Court had sent out great armies to stop the Four Ancient God Emperors from leaving the Heavenly Court, but they had all suffered defeat. Fire Heavenly Venerable had even been severely wounded by the Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird.
But the most breathtaking battle of that time had been the battle to intercept the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace on the Heavenly River. The Heavenly Court's military forces had suffered catastrophic casualties and had not caught their breath for many years afterward.
And the news that had stirred people's hearts even more was the theft of the number one treasure of the world, the Glazed Azure Sky Banner. At the time, there had been much speculation, but very few knew the inside story.
"At that time, after Longshan the Hermit repelled the Heavenly Court's great army, he stole the Glazed Azure Sky Banner and vanished without a trace."
The Third Pillar Ancient God said: "Because King Yama of Darkness was also at the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace at the time, he knew many of the inside details. The youngest brother heard this matter mentioned inadvertently by King Yama of Darkness."
There were a total of eight Pillar Heaven Ancient Gods, known as the Eight Pillar Heavens. Among them, the West Heaven had three Pillar Heavens, the East Heaven had four Pillar Heavens, and the North Heaven had one Pillar Heaven. The Ancient God of the Northern Pillar Heaven was the youngest in rank.
"It was also because of this battle that Longshan the Hermit earned the title of number one Heavenly Master of the world. He disappeared together with the Glazed Azure Sky Banner, leaving no trace for six hundred thousand years, becoming an unsolved mystery of the Dragon Han Era. Who would have thought that when he reappeared, he would come specifically for us Ancient Gods."
The Third Pillar Ancient God said: "We cannot sit and wait for death!"
The other two Ancient Gods frowned and said: "Longshan the Hermit was already this formidable six hundred thousand years ago. Now he can only be even more formidable. Moreover, he possesses the Glazed Azure Sky Banner, the number one treasure of the world. We have only the road to death before us. How can we possibly be his match? Perhaps he is already on his way to kill us right now!"
The Third Pillar Ancient God laughed: "So then, let us make the first move!"
He stood up and said: "We abandon our ancestral lands and move from White Earth to the Western Heaven's White Emperor. Even if Longshan the Hermit has vast supernatural powers, would he dare contend with the White Emperor?"
"Abandon our ancestral lands..." The two Ancient Gods both looked troubled.
The Third Pillar Ancient God said: "If we do not leave, we die. If we leave, there is still a path to survival. Are you coming or not?"
The two Ancient Gods stood up and said in unison: "Ancestral lands are not more important than our lives. Let us go together!"
The three Ancient Gods immediately shrank their forms, flew out of the Third Pillar Heaven, and turned into three streams of light, shooting straight toward the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge of White Earth. After two days, they arrived at the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge, crossed it, and came to the Western Heaven.
The Western Heaven was the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace. The White Emperor's Heavenly Palace was resplendent and magnificent, with as many as ten Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridges leading to various other places in the Western Heaven, as well as the Heavenly Court, the Eastern Heaven, the Southern Heaven, and the Northern Heaven's Nether Capital, among other places.
Within the Heavenly Palace, buildings stood in dense clusters. There was no space to build transfer bridges, so the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridges were established around the perimeter of the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace.
When the three Ancient Gods arrived here, they saw that much of the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace had been emptied. Upon inquiry, they learned that the Heavenly Court, because it was about to attack the Great Void, had mobilized the White Emperor's forces.
The White Emperor was currently leading the divine demons of the Heavenly Palace to the Heavenly Court, from where they would turn toward the Great Void. The one remaining in the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace now was Crown Prince Qingzong.
"The Heavenly Court has even mobilized the White Emperor's troops. Could the Great Void really be that hard to crack?"
The three Ancient Gods exchanged glances of surprise and said: "Crown Prince Qingzong's strength is supreme, but he still cannot contend with the number one Heavenly Master, Longshan the Hermit. Moreover, with so few troops here, it is not safe for us to remain. Why don't we head to the Heavenly Court from the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace?"
The Second Pillar Ancient God said: "These past few days of fleeing, we haven't eaten a single bite. I'm terribly hungry. Why don't we get some food first?"
At his words, the other two Ancient Gods also felt hungry and said: "Once we reach the Heavenly Court, there are too many rules, and it will be hard to eat to our hearts' content. Let's just borrow some food from Crown Prince Qingzong."
The three Ancient Gods flew downward from the White Emperor's Heavenly Palace. Below them lay a vast continent, formed from the fertile soil that the first White Emperor had borrowed from the Heavenly Court.
The White Emperor's Heavenly Palace sat above this continent. The continent also had countless living beings, though their lives were rather hard and bitter.
The three Ancient Gods flew through the sky when they suddenly spotted a town below. Though dilapidated, it had a considerable population. They immediately flew down toward it.
When the cultivators of supernatural powers in the town saw three Ancient Gods descending, they hurriedly went on guard, but the First Pillar Ancient God blew past them in a single breath, turning them to ash.
There had never been many cultivators of supernatural powers in this town to begin with. The rest were ordinary people, crying out in terror and huddling together.
The three Ancient Gods feasted gluttonously while the villagers scattered in all directions, but no matter how they fled, they could not escape.
A young girl who did not understand the ways of the world, her face sallow from hunger, skin and bones, clutching a bone that had been gnawed down to a few stray shreds of meat, stumbled forward and held out the bone in her hand, speaking timidly: "Uncle, eat this. Don't eat us..."
The First Pillar Ancient God reached out and grabbed her in his hand, chuckling darkly: "Uncle doesn't eat bones. Uncle eats people."
Just as he was about to swallow the little girl whole, a beam of sword light flashed past. The First Pillar Ancient God stared blankly at his severed arm, divine blood gushing forth.
The next moment, a chill ran through his brow. A broken sword pierced through from the back of his head and out through the front!
The Second and Third Pillar Ancient Gods felt a jolt of alarm. Then came a thunderous boom as a colossal pillar slammed into the center of the town, sending dirt and debris flying, its canopy fluttering in the wind.