There was a great sense of terror within the darkness.
ââ-the ruler of the Wraith realm, Heavenly King Mara.
It stood within the void, its figure appearing as great as Mount Sumeru itself, connecting heaven and earth.
Countless wraiths of various shapes and sizes stood around its towering figure, occupying a radius of several thousand miles.
All the wraiths followed the Heavenly Kingâs order.
At this point, several cultivators who wore masks were being led to face the Heavenly King by four Black Flame Venerables.
A Black Flame Venerable was about as big as the hundred-meter-tall Mech armor of the Starlight Empire.
ââbut a single eyelid of the Heavenly King Mara as it closed its eyes was as big as a Black Flame Venerable.
The cultivators who arrived from the fragment of Huang Quan realm were essentially specks of dust in front of the ruler of Wraiths.
The cultivators bowed to greet the great wraith and spoke in unison:
âWe greet the master of the Wraith realm, Heavenly King Maraâ
The great wraith hailed as Heavenly King Mara kept both its eyes and mouth closed.
ââbut its voice resounded within the void:
ă Guests who came from far away, forgive me for not opening my eyes and mouth ă
The leading cultivator clasped his fist: âWhere the Heavenly Kingâs gaze reaches, all living things would perish; when the Heavenly Kingâs mouth opens, plagues of death would grow without inhibition; this humble one naturally understands this and thanks the Heavenly King for your mercyâ
The Heavenly King Mara felt pleased as its voice resounded again through the void:
ă As expected of inhabitants from the true Huang Quan realm, you understand my personal troubles quite well. It seems I did not waste my effort in leading you here ă
The cultivators bowed again.
The Heavenly King Mara continued: ă I believe you have spoken with my people and reached a consensus ă
âThat is indeed trueâ the leading cultivator replied.
ă Very well, then you have accepted all of my demands, but I have one last condition ă
âWe are always ready to listen, Heavenly Kingâ
ă Every day, I want you to offer a world, thriving world full of living beings and things to me ă
The leading cultivator felt a bit confused and clasped his fist: âIf I could be so ignorant as to ask, for what sake does the Heavenly King want these worlds? If the Heavenly King could tell us, it would benefit our preparations of themâ
The Heavenly King Maraâs voice resounded through the void, filled with a sense of dignity:
ă The birth and death of worlds is nothing but an illusion, only destruction by my hands is extreme bliss ă
As it uttered these words, all the wraiths and monsters within the radius of several thousand miles prostrated themselves in mid-air, bowing to Heavenly King Mara.
None of the cultivators said anything, but some of them were trembling.
The leading cultivator remained silent, then suddenly took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from the back of his neck.
Right as he wiped it away, more sweat poured out right away, he couldnât endure and had to use a hand seal to remove all the cold sweat at his back and neck.
ââ-this man was a VIP within the Huang Quan realm, one who had been through many ups and downs; not only was he acquainted with numerous powerful entities, but he also held great Authority; a single word from him could determine many of Huang Quanâs important matters.
And yet, even he could not arbitrarily accept the Heavenly King Maraâs demand just now.
ââit wants to destroy a thriving world filled with living beings and things every day, just for the sake of its own entertainment.
The Huang Quan realmâs fragment was an extremely powerful world that had conquered hundreds of thousands of worlds for its own benefit.
However.
To destroy billions of living beings, as well as an entire world every dayâŠ
This heavy and deep level of pure malice far surpassed what these cultivators could imagine.
The leading cultivator barely managed to regain his composure and clasped his fist again: âThis is a great matter, this humble one would need to report it first, I hope that the Heavenly King would be so gracious as to waitâ
The Heavenly King Mara spoke gently: ă That is fine, I am not one to force things upon those who cannot accept, you may report to your superiors ă
The cultivator then took out a purple talisman, spoke into it, then infused it with spirit energy.
The talisman turned into a purple flying dragon that quickly disappeared into the void of space.
The Heavenly King Mara continued: ă It should take a bit of time for an answer to arrive. During this time, perhaps you could first fulfill the matter that you had accepted ă
The cultivator went silent briefly before asking: âThe entities that the Heavenly King referred to, all of them were souls?â
ă Correct, their expertise lies simply in hiding, but once they conceal themselves, my subordinates would be helpless to find them, it had been very troublesome ă
The cultivator clasped his fist: âDo not worry, Heavenly King, we will surely resolve the Heavenly Kingâs troubleâ
The Heavenly King Mara laughed: ă Very good, kill them allââ if you can capture them, that would be even better. Offer them to me, as I like to consume the souls of such things ă
âUnderstood, Heavenly Kingâ
âŠ
On the other side.
The Cave of Bones.
The long-bearded old man was talking to the black cat.
âKitty, oh kitty, youâre finally here, Iâll tell you about what happened back thenâ
The black cat held his paws together and said: âMeowâ
The long-bearded old man began: âIn the past, when we first began to explore the Dusty World, the Deities felt a heavy sense of uneaseâ
âBecause if a huge explosion of power was ever exerted, it would disturb the Dusty Worldââ there were many things within that world that caused even the collective forces of the Inner Plane, the void, as well as various hidden locations to feel waryâ
âFor that reason, the Deities jointly made a pact to disallow the exertion of great power within the passage that connected to the Dusty Worldâ
âMeow, meow meowâ
âWere there any exceptions? Heheh, I wasnât supposed to reveal this, but at this point, itâs ok to tell youâ
âââWhen the Deities were jointly making their pledge, I was sitting on the shoulder of a certain lady, flattering herâ
âAs the pledge of the Pillar Gods was unleashed, that lady happened to glance at me, then shed a single tearâ
âShe took out a certain artifact and gave it to the four statues of the Pillar Gods, then told me that if a person appeared to us while carrying that artifact, they would represent the hope of the pixiesâ
The black cat perked his ears up, calling out with interest: âMeow, meow meow?â
âYouâre asking who that lady was? She was the Sovereign of the Fairy, wielder of Time, the Never Ending Sand, that legendary ladyâ the long-bearded old man replied.
ââŠMeowâ
âAfter countless years of waiting, we finally discovered someone who was able to bring that artifact into this placeâ
The black cat pointed at himself with his law: âMeow meow? Meow meow meow?â
âIndeed, that was you and the Omni Stoneâ
âMeow meow meow meowâ the black cat muttered to itself.
The long-bearded old man continued: âI have been sensing a fate even worse than death approaching us closer and closer. As soon as I saw you, I immediately understood: the Omni Stone and you are our last hopesâ
The long-bearded old man then became tense and went on: âListen, I believe youâve sensed the same thing as wellâââ both we and you will soon be captured and killed, our souls undergoing the eternal suffering of tortureâââ perhaps in 10 minutes, or perhaps in 1 hour, it would surely occurâ
âKitty, if I give you the incantation to activate the Omni Stone, will you accept us into your group? Are you willing to fight along our side? Though, to be honest, cooperation will be the only path of survivor for both us and yourselfâ
âMeowâ the black cat sincerely nodded.
âVery well, then listen carefully, the incantation that lady left was: The sands of time, that which all living beings can hold, let the pledge scatter into nothingnessâ
After hearing that, the black cat slowly returned to Gu Qing Shanâs form.
He held the Omni Stone in his hand and softly muttered: âThe sands of time, that which all living beings can hold, let the pledge scatter into nothingnessâ
Oomââ
Everything around him vanished without a trace.
Gu Qing Shan now found himself standing in the middle of endless drifting sand.
In front of him stood a boundlessly graceful mature lady.
The Never Ending Sand, the legendary lady, Fusi.
Compared to her present self, she appeared much younger 100 million years ago.
Fusi observed Gu Qing Shan, but her eyes seemed to perceive nothing but the void.
âTime is much too long and the future is too chaotic, as such I cannot see your appearance clearlyâ
âPerson of the future, listen well. In exactly one hour, the pixies and yourself will perish within the Samsara, doomed to never escapeâ
âEven I cannot do much against the pledge of the four Pillar Godsâ
âBut I have decided to help you strive for a single chance at survivalâ