Boom!!
This day marked the 178th year of the Eternal Calendar.
It was precisely the day of the five-year deadline foretold by Heaven's Dao.
At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight spilled across the land, the void suddenly erupted with a thunderous roar. In that roar, an invisible pressure surged like a tidal wave, sweeping across heaven and earth. Countless living beings felt as though shackles bound their bodies, suppressing them until not even a flicker of resistance remained.
That thunder awakened the masses from their slumber. Startled, they lifted their eyes toward the heavens.
"Heaven's Dao thunder… so it has come at last. The Divine-Demon Battlefield is about to open!"
Throughout the Eternal World, countless beings gazed skyward. In the void, a golden eye manifested—the Eye of Heaven's Dao.
Within it, a primordial ancient gate appeared, slowly solidifying until it hung fully revealed in the skies.
"The Divine-Demon Gate… once again we behold it!"
"The battlefield between the two realms is opening. The time has come to march once more into the Divine-Demon Battlefield. I wonder if, after entering this time, we will ever return."
"Since ancient times, how many who go to war ever return? But this is a battle we cannot avoid. War is not what we desire, but it is the only way to resolve this. If Eternal Night desires war, then let us give them war! Over these years, when has the Eternal ever known fear?"
Powerhouses of the myriad races roared defiantly. Across the StarNet, proclamations of war spread like wildfire.
Gazing at the gate filled with countless divine and demonic phantoms, one could almost glimpse seas of corpses and rivers of blood, hear the fearless charges of the ancestors, and see the blood-soaked path paved by fallen heroes. Images of past Divine-Demon Battles resurfaced vividly.
Scenes of carnage stirred silence among the masses, yet from within their hearts surged fierce waves of battle intent.
War was no longer distant. It was here.
"This time will not be as easy as before. I already sense the heavy stench of blood ahead. The battlefield's intensity has risen again—there will be Hunyuan-realm powerhouses present. This war has ascended to an entirely new tier."
All who had ambition understood just how perilous and brutal the coming battle would be.
Then Heaven's Dao resounded through the void:
"The Divine-Demon Battlefield is officially open. The Divine-Demon Gate will open once every three years, each time lasting one month. Miss it, and one must wait three years. Once entered, none may return until the war's end—except during each ten-year interval, when there shall be one chance of return. To withdraw early requires sufficient military merits. Those without merits cannot leave. May the Eternal enjoy flourishing martial fortune."
But this time, Heaven's Dao did not promise protection for the factions of participants.
It was not that it refused, but that it could not. With the two realms merging, demonic calamities spreading, and the laws of the Eternal and Eternal Night locked in mutual entanglement, its power to constrain reality was already dwindling. It had no strength left to offer such protection. Any promise would be meaningless. Whether one lived or died in battle now depended solely on personal strength.
This war was nothing less than the continuation of the unfinished war of the previous epoch.
Its escalation meant the conflict had entered a bloodier stage.
As the Dao's voice faded, the Divine-Demon Gate remained suspended in the heavens. For one full month it would persist. Within that month, any being of the Eternal World could summon the gate to enter. But once inside, there was no leaving—not until the war concluded.
Of course, those who braved the battlefield and excelled would reap endless opportunities, advancing swiftly in strength. That much was certain.
And so, with the decree given, the Eternal World surged into motion.Forces long prepared summoned the Divine-Demon Gate.One after another, elite armies stepped into its maw. Through the StarNet, their expeditions were broadcast across every realm of the Eternal, their departure engraved into the hearts of all.
They fought for the Eternal, and even if they fell, to be remembered was a glory in itself.
StarNet filled with endless streams of departure footage. The air across all domains grew feverish.
"I wonder how many troops the Great Yi Immortal Court will dispatch this time. In the last two battles, Great Yi gave its all—fighting to the death, even storming the Eternal Night battlefield itself, earning boundless merit. Will Emperor Yi again personally lead the campaign?"
One comment sparked waves of speculation.
After all, Great Yi's actions were never trivial for the Eternal.
Yet the Great Yi remained silent.
On the first day, no response.
The second day, still no movement.
Day by day, the month waned.
At last, on the final day, when many believed Great Yi would remain absent, the StarNet suddenly blazed.
A colossal light screen unfolded—a live broadcast beamed into every subnet. The world's gaze snapped toward it as though toward the sun itself.
The scene revealed was that of the War-Soul Realm.
There, massive encampments stood in serried ranks. Killing intent blanketed the air. Upon the grand command platform, Yi Tianxing stood proudly, the Nine-Dragon War Chariot beneath him. The nine archaic dragon spirits—Qiuniu, Yazi, Chaofeng, Pulao, Suanni, Bixi, Bi'an, Fuxi, Chiwen—loomed in majesty, their invisible might radiating in all directions, exalting the chariot to supreme grandeur.
Ministers stood in ordered rows to the sides.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Marching in perfect unison, legions emerged from their barracks, assembling before the platform, swiftly forming massive battle formations.
This time, the War-Soul Realm did not conceal anything. All was broadcast openly to every domain of the Eternal World, and to the countless citizens of the Great Yi across its immortal cities.
Whether seen with naked eyes or through StarNet, it was the same—every soul bore witness.
Silence fell across Great Yi. The people knew—their armies were to march again. Though Great Yi had remained still for nearly a month, never did its people doubt its resolve to fight Eternal Night.
Now, that faith was vindicated.
"The soldiers of Great Yi have never feared death! Against Eternal Night, when have we ever stood behind others? Our earlier silence was but giving others the chance to show their worth. The Great Yi legions are the true finale!"
The citizens cried proudly on the StarNet, their hearts brimming with pride and reverence for the warriors about to march.
Soon, around the platform, formation after formation took shape—dense ranks, black and endless, their war-gear gleaming, their discipline unshakable.
Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Demon-Breaker, Fiend-Slayer, Immortal-Trapper, God-Reaper, Flood, Gold-Splitter, Blue, Crimson, Yellow, Green, Orange, War-Tiger, Snow-Hare, Pegasus, White Dragon, Spirit-Serpent, Green Ram, Wisdom-Rat, Hundred Flowers, Divine Crow, Golden Scales…
Each legion: one million troops.
Sixty-eight main battle corps—sixty-eight million soldiers in total, every single one at the Dharma-Phase Realm.
Zhuge Liang, feather fan in hand, stepped forward and bowed:
"Your Majesty, the sixty-eight principal legions of Great Yi, each numbering one million, have fully assembled. Total: sixty-eight million. All are at the Dharma-Phase Realm. We await your inspection."
Yi Tianxing nodded, his gaze sweeping over the ocean of soldiers below. Their eyes were fixed upon him—filled with reverence and fervent devotion, awaiting his command.
"Great Yi… march!"
Light flashed as the Heaven-Severing Sword appeared in his hand. He pointed it toward the Divine-Demon Gate that hung in the void. His voice, steady and resonant, rolled across the War-Soul Realm, across all the territories of Great Yi.
In that instant, no further words were needed. Those three words embodied everything.
"March!!"
"March!!!"
The soldiers roared, their battle intent surging high enough to rend the skies and shake sun and moon.
Boom!!
At a thought, the Divine-Demon Gate manifested directly in the War-Soul Realm, descending as a massive ancient portal.
Oooooooh!!
The horns of war resounded.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The colossal war drums thundered.
Great Yi had set forth.
And when this scene fell upon the eyes of all beings under heaven, the shock it stirred was indescribable.
The might of its legions—their sheer momentum—was enough to shake the world.