Volume 1, Chapter 251 – Sacred Venerable

“What does ‘reverse three years of time’ mean…?”

Shi Lan’s heartbeat began to accelerate beyond her control.

[Reverse the river of spacetime and send the host back to three years earlier.]

“Then what would happen to the me from three years ago? And if I return to the past, what kind of effect would that have?”

[At any given node in the current spacetime, the host’s existence is unique. The current energy is insufficient to maintain spacetime stability. Traversing time may split off multiple parallel spacetimes and cause spacetime overlap. The host’s current cultivation is too low and would be killed by spacetime turbulence.]

“What is spacetime overlap?”

[With the host’s current strength, no explanation can be given.]

Again, her strength was insufficient…

Shi Lan frowned slightly and asked inwardly, “Samsara, do you know what spacetime overlap is?”

“My level has not yet touched time. Even space itself, I still have not fully comprehended. Spacetime is far too complex. This is a power even the supreme beings of the universe cannot touch.”

Samsara was even more shocked than Shi Lan. Reversing spacetime, within the bounds of its understanding, was something that only the legendary “Core” in headquarters could accomplish.

An ordinary Small World, once its world core was controlled, could achieve limited time reversal within a small range.

But that was not reversing spacetime. Reversing spacetime involved matters far too vast and complicated.

To reverse spacetime was to affect the entire great universe, all living beings across the myriad heavens and worlds.

Such power was simply too inconceivable.

The more one knew, the greater the fear became instead.

Toward the system with which it now coexisted, Samsara felt growing reverence.

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“So even you don’t know…”

Shi Lan’s brows slowly relaxed. She asked no further questions, smoothed the faint restlessness rising in her heart, stood up, and slowly opened the door to the secret chamber.

…

Outside, the moonlight was bright and clear. Shi Tianlu stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, while Su Lanyue stood to one side.

When the spiritual qi tide had gradually calmed, Shi Tianlu had already been waiting there.

“Are you alright?”

Su Lanyue stepped forward, worry in her eyes.

She understood very well the risks of breaking through to the Heavenly Astral Realm. If the risk had not been so great, Shi Tianlu would not have remained apprehensive and been held back at this step for over twenty years.

“Thank you for your concern, Mother. I’m fine.”

Shi Lan shook her head slightly and looked toward Shi Tianlu.

“Congratulations, Father, on your great increase in cultivation.”

“What great increase?”

Shi Tianlu let out a soft laugh, though his gaze was somewhat complicated.

Shi Lan’s rate of growth felt unreal to him. Martial artists had always possessed sharp instincts, and Shi Lan had only just broken through. Her aura had not yet fully withdrawn, and that blood and qi so chillingly powerful was clearly discernible.

Shi Lan’s strength had already reached a level he could no longer fathom.

Hum…

Just as the family was speaking, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook violently.

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Tens of thousands of rays ofcelestial glow surged up from all directions of Xianwu City, covering the heavens and blocking the moonlight outside the barrier.

In the space of a finger snap, the entire city became as bright as day.

“The Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array has restarted…”

Shi Lan’s pupils tightened slightly. The method for controlling the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array was known only to the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect, and it had remained active until some time ago.

But ever since the Demon-Suppressing Army had taken control of Xianwu City, the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array had been shut down. Now that it had been reactivated, it was obvious that the Demon-Suppressing Army had already mastered the method of controlling the formation.

…

Less than a hundred miles outside Xianwu City, a vast black mass of beasts had gathered like an ocean, stretching out beyond sight, numbering no fewer than ten million.

The entire sky was covered by pitch-black demon clouds. Heaven and earth were cast into chaos, as though world-destroying thunder were brewing within them. In stark contrast to Xianwu City, which radiated endless light, it looked like the division between yin and yang, like two separate worlds.

Above the center of the beast tide, a great hall hung suspended in the air. The terrifying fluctuations of its aura suppressed the entire beast horde below.

Inside the hall, seated on the main throne at the highest point, was a white-haired old man. He was as gaunt as dead wood, deathly aura permeating his body. Were it not for the divine light still flowing in his pupils, he would have looked little different from a corpse.

Below the steps of the throne stood dozens of great demons with their hands lowered respectfully, every one of them wearing an expression of deference.

“Hu Nianchu, after sneaking into Xianwu City, what did you find out?”

The blue-robed woman at the front stepped forward and turned to look at a charming woman in red robes.

“There was divine sense everywhere in Xianwu City. I didn’t dare make any large moves, so I only made a rough circuit.”

The woman in red stepped forward and said cautiously,

“With my eyesight, I couldn’t find any flaws in the Xianwu Yin-Yang Grand Array. I only made a rough assessment of the city’s overall strength.”

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“Tell us.”

“As things stand in Xianwu City, there are at least twenty or more human experts above the Heaven-Man Realm, over a hundred in the Nascent Soul Realm, and as for the Myriad Phenomena Realm and below, there are too many to count accurately.”

“How many members of the Demon-Suppressing Army are there?”

The blue-robed woman frowned. The Demon-Suppressing Army’s military formations had been a headache for the demon race for far more than a day or two. Ten million Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers capable of slaughtering a Demon Emperor was by no means an empty saying.

Of course, the premise was that those ten million soldiers had enough time to form their battle array.

“There should be no fewer than four million. Possibly five million, or even more.”

Hu Nianchu answered somewhat uncertainly. She had not dared spread her divine sense recklessly through the city, so being able to learn this much had already been no easy task.

The blue-robed woman asked no more. Turning to the old man on the main throne, she bowed and said,

“Sacred Venerable, I have already ordered the forces under my command to gather forty-eight million demons. There are also more than fifty-four million reinforcements behind them. This is already most of the strength currently in Chengtian Domain. If it still is not enough, we can only draw more from the Boundless Demon Domain.”

Anyone with even a little knowledge of the demon race knew that in the Boundless Demon Domain, Sacred Venerable was an honorific reserved exclusively for Demon Emperors.

This withered old man of unremarkable appearance was in fact an unmatched Emperor level expert!

“It is enough…”

The old man slowly spoke. His voice was hoarse, carrying the worn and weathered texture of countless years.

“Lan Die’er, how are your injuries?”

“Replying to Sacred Venerable, I will recover completely in about three years. During that period, I cannot engage in any major fighting,” the blue-robed woman answered respectfully.

“In that case, remain in the rear. As for the rest, go back and prepare. Tomorrow, we will begin the siege directly.”

“We obey.”

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All the others, except Lan Die’er, replied in unison, then vanished from the hall one after another.

The old man slowly rose, one hand pressing against the armrest. His figure was slightly stooped, and he seemed somewhat weak as he said, “I have little lifespan left. At most, I can struggle on for another three months. If I go all out and fight by overdrawing my blood and qi, even one month would be difficult…”

Lan Die’er stood there with lowered hands and said nothing, listening quietly.

“This time, I came out of seclusion to seek vengeance, not because of the Demon Emperor Token. You must understand that…”

The old man did not mind her silence. His eyelids drooped, as if he were merely talking to himself.

“Rest assured, Sacred Venerable. The agreement I made before still stands. Whether or not I survive the Demon Emperor tribulation in the future, my clan will protect the Lingji Cat Clan in peace for ten thousand years.”

Lan Die’er’s expression remained calm as she responded with precise seriousness.

“Our race’s lifespan was never particularly long to begin with, and our bloodline has always been difficult to propagate. Even now, our clansmen number only a few tens of thousands. After all that hardship, a decent junior finally appeared, only to meet his end in the Vast Land of Shenzhou…”

The old man let out a long sigh.

“Heaven does not favor our race…”

Lan Die’er fell silent once more and said no more.

“Enough. You may go first…”

Lan Die’er bowed and withdrew from the hall.

The old man stood silently atop the jade steps, his head lifted toward the ceiling of the hall. Suddenly, a terrifying gleam burst from his cloudy eyes. The Dao power spilling from his deathly body shattered space itself, filling the void with cracks like a spider’s web.

“All this struggling and fighting, and in the end none can escape death. What meaning is there in it…?”