At the heart of the Heavenly Jade Continent, the spatial gate to the Hidden Tomb gradually closed, its motion slow and deliberate. A faint green ripple of energy shimmered out before dispersing into the wind, leaving behind only a fractured scar in space as silent testimony to the battle that had unfolded here between powerful cultivators.
Aboard the flying vessel of the Holy Land of the Immortal River, which hovered high above the clouds, Mu Nansi sat motionless within her private chamber. The air in the room was filled with the subtle fragrance of herbal tea, and before her stretched a window offering a sweeping view of the endless sky.
The door to the room slid open silently, and a man clad in black stepped in slowly before dropping to one knee.
"Reporting in... all members of the Sacred Shadow Sword Unit have returned, except for the 3,585 who perished. They are currently reconstructing their bodies in the Soul Hall of the clan."
He paused for a moment, his breath faltering, then continued in a hushed, trembling voice full of dread.
"But... Han Ming and his seven disciples... they... they've all perished. The fragments of their souls linked to the auxiliary Soul Hall you ordered to monitor them have been completely destroyed. There's nothing left to bring back. They're truly gone... they can never return."
The sound of Mu Nansi setting down her teacup lightly was louder than anything the black-clad man had ever heard in his life. She gazed at him with an icy expression, then slowly closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Her gaze was utterly devoid of emotion no sorrow, no anger only a quiet, chilling emptiness that spread like a creeping frost through the room, exerting such pressure that even those with higher cultivation levels would feel a tremor deep within their souls.
The man in black remained still, bowing his head low, not daring even to breathe too loudly. He was the one who had received direct orders from her to keep watch over Han Ming. And yet, he had failed. Despite having a tracking beacon on Han Ming at all times, whenever he got close, he would be attacked by high-grade spirit beasts and forced to fall back, missing his chance. Moreover, Han Ming often traveled underground, making him nearly impossible to follow. In the end, the signal vanished during the clash between the Zhou clan and the two mysterious figures.
Mu Nansi let out a soft sigh, her slender fingers gently resting on the rim of the teacup. She spoke with a calm yet resolute tone.
"I had hoped he would become one of my blades in the future. What a shame…"
She paused for a moment, as if allowing the silence to swallow her words completely.
"But never mind... Order the airship to return to the Upper World immediately. I have far more troublesome matters to deal with now. If fate declares him dead… then he is dead. No one can alter that."
Though her voice sounded indifferent, there was something within it something subtle and unspoken—that lingered in the air, a weight that pressed down on those who heard it.
The man in black who remained kneeling immediately lowered his head in utmost reverence, surprised by her response. "Understood," he said, before swiftly rising and leaving the room without so much as a glance behind.
As the sound of the airship's mechanisms hummed to life, gathering energy to ascend to the Upper World, Mu Nansi remained motionless, her gaze fixed on the endless sky beyond the window. A shadow of something unknown flickered within her eyes.
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…
In the 23rd Lower World, a violent tremor erupted from the heart of the Hidden Tomb of the Divine Herb. It was as if the entire world were crying out. The will of that place roared in silence as the dense spiritual energy that had accumulated over countless years surged forth uncontrollably.
Aboard the main airship of the Holy Land of the Immortal River, floating above soft blue clouds, Mu Nansi, who had been sipping her tea in the upper chamber, suddenly froze. She sensed the ripple of power rising from below and turned her gaze to the window, where she saw the Hidden Tomb quivering as if it were about to collapse.
In that moment, a rift in space opened, and a man in black hurriedly approached her.
"Grandfather… is the Hidden Tomb about to collapse?" Her voice remained composed, but there was something in her eyes flickering embers of extinguished hope, disappointment, or perhaps sorrow something no one else could truly grasp.
The true form of the elderly man, who had just arrived, sat quietly beside her and took a sip of tea before setting the cup down with care. He responded in a soft voice.
"It's not surprising. The power released earlier by the man in black, the man in gold, and the member of the Zhou clan was more than enough to destroy this Lower World completely. Yet the tomb managed to absorb all of it, even though it was already falling apart... That alone is surprising enough. But what's even more curious is how it's still functioning. When I inspected it before, it should have already been destroyed."
Mu Nansi had no answer. She simply stared blankly at the scene before her, still overflowing with chaotic energy. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a calm voice that carried a subtle pressure.
"Grandfather, do you think the God of Herbs will return to life?"
The old man's expression remained calm, but a trace of certainty flickered in his eyes. Yet instead of answering her question directly, he spoke of what he had just sensed.
"The Heavenly Tao has intervened."
In an instant, thousands of ancient sigil lines appeared in the air, weaving over one another with complex precision like a divine silk tapestry. They surged forward and encircled the Hidden Tomb of the God of Herbs, then transformed into a violently rotating formation of light before the entire tomb vanished without a trace.
Everything gradually fell silent again, while countless cultivators below were left without a clue as to what had just transpired.
Mu Nansi slowly closed her eyes and murmured softly to herself, "Grandfather… it seems I've made a mistake."
The man in black let out a loud, unrestrained laugh as the airship slowly drifted into the sky, leaving behind only faint ripples of residual spiritual energy… and a silence that slowly devoured everything, returning the world to emptiness.
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...
In a boundless void devoid of even a sliver of light or sound, where only a strange dimension floated beyond the confines of time and the laws of the universe, two figures clad in golden and black robes sat in silent meditation amidst the stillness.
The man in golden robes slowly opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. A quiet voice filled with disappointment echoed into the void.
"How pathetic…"
He reclined, leaning back against the emptiness. "I thought I was the one playing the game, but in the end, I turned out to be just a piece on the board."
The man in black, seated not far away, opened his eyes as well. Though his gaze appeared emotionless, it carried an unmistakable weight of exhaustion. He replied in a calm but sincere voice.
"Come on, brother. A failure is just a failure. At least we managed to stall Zhou Luochen… That was our only goal. The master never expected us to actually kill them in the first place."
"Argh!" The man in gold threw his hand over his face and let out a loud groan. "But it's so damn frustrating! We're gods, for Heaven's sake, and we ended up getting killed by a mere Heavenly Immortal-level cultivator! Has any other god suffered such humiliation? Even if it was only an avatar!"
"You were slain by the God of Light. There's no shame in that," the man in black replied.
The golden-robed man rolled over and lay face-down. "We ambushed him five days ago disguised as Zhou Luochen's men. Still don't know why the God of Light didn't show up with the rest of the Immortal River disciples. We had to chase him all the way to the Lower World, only to be intercepted by the Zhou Clan. And then we got dragged into some mysterious special dimension."
The man in black remained silent, but he gave a slight nod, acknowledging that this failure had far exceeded their expectations.
"There was nothing about that dimension in the information the master provided… And more importantly, how the hell did the God of Light reach the Heavenly Immortal stage in the first place? Everything's starting to spiral out of control."
The man in gold spoke again, but this time his voice was lower. "You think the future has changed, don't you?"
"It already has," the man in black replied without hesitation.
"Hahaha!" The golden-robed man burst out laughing once more. "Who knows? Maybe the God of Light from the future sent his power back to protect himself in the past!"
At that moment, the man in black, seated in stillness amidst the void, spoke in a quiet voice. "Brother… the master has sent a message."
The golden-robed man, who had been lying sprawled out, immediately sprang upright. The frustration on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a look of unwavering seriousness. Both of them closed their eyes simultaneously.
And then, a voice without form or discernible origin echoed coldly in the void.
"The plan has changed. From now on, your mission is to annihilate everything related to anyone bearing the surname Wu. It doesn't matter who they are. If you can kill them, do it. If you can't, make them suffer as much as possible. Ideally, don't let a single one escape."
The voice carried a weight like divine judgment. It offered no explanation, only an unshakable authority that could not be defied.
"You no longer need to build your own forces. Your primary objective from now on is to delay and disrupt the targets. Do not let them ascend to godhood so easily. Stall them for as long as you can. If you get a chance to kill, take it. Once the task is done, retreat immediately."
The two men listened in silence. No questions. No objections. What they heard was not a suggestion, but a command.
"Remember… if your target ever reaches the level of a god, you are to retreat immediately. Do not risk your lives. If captured, commit suicide without hesitation. You need not care about anything else. None of the names I've given you are ordinary. Especially those marked in red."
The voice paused briefly before delivering its final command.
"From this moment on… all of you will operate under the name of the Wu Clan. Pin every crime you commit on them. I've already infused your bodies with a special power that only members of the Wu Clan can use."
Suddenly, a chorus of voices rose in perfect unison.
"We shall not disappoint our master!"
Silence returned once again. But this silence was not peace… it was the beginning of catastrophe.
At that same moment, the golden and black-robed men opened their eyes simultaneously, only to find that the Secret Tomb of the God of Herbs had appeared right in front of them without warning.
"…We're screwed."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!