"I'm completely, unforgivingly, and absolutely fucked..." Pacing back and forth non-stop in the reinforced hall, Xiao Mo was a wreck of sheer nerves, relentlessly wiping cold sweat from his brow.
"Damn it! How in the absolute hell did it get to this point...?!!!!" he screamed, his voice thick with profound self-loathing. "I should have never fucking returned here!"
"AHHHH!!!"
Yet, no matter how loudly he cursed or how powerfully he roared, the massive hall did not shake, nor could any outside soul hear his desperate screams. The secluded chamber had been constructed and ruthlessly reinforced by cultivators of the highest Profound Power, designed to contain any energy surge. In this absolute prison of hope, his little tantrum meant nothing.
Pacing back and forth, Xiao Mo began the agonizing process of stitching together the points in time where his life had gone so catastrophically wrong.
Back then, when the chaotic Legendary Profound God Convention concluded it preliminary rounds, and after being utterly disqualified for being at the very bottom of the ranking, Xiao Mo was instantly teleported out of the Eternal Heaven God Realm. Just as he had told the now-Emperor, Yun Che, he immediately began the long, arduous journey back to the only place his heart truly longed for.
It took Xiao Mo approximately a year since leaving the Eastern Divine Region to finally reach his distant home: a small, desolate star realm consisting of a few lifeless planets, with one crucial exception—the planet called Earth.
"My Goddess, love of all my days, forgive my step that went astray. I never meant to make you wait—'Twas life, my dear, that sealed my fate."
Xiao Mo spoke the poetic apology the moment he returned home, only to be greeted by the blank, dead-eyed stare of his lady.
"You still have time to be poetic, huh?!" the woman's voice cracked, and with terrifying speed, her hand reached out for him, delivering the inevitable and absolute punishment.
"OUCH!!!!!!"
"OUCH!!!!!!"
"AHHHHH!!!" Xiao Mo's painful voice rang out, high-pitched and utterly convincing, as he was brutally pulled by the ear by the furious woman.
"DEAR... PLEASE HEAR ME OUT AHHHH...AHHH!" Xiao Mo began to plead, his body slightly hopping. Yet, the woman's fingers, which were pulling his ear, only tightened further as she instantly noticed the distinct, subtle change in his screaming—he was clearly faking the pain.
"WAS THE PROFOUND GOD REALM FUN?! YOU WERE GONE FOR A YEAR MORE THAN YOU SHOULD!" she roared, pulling him closer by the ear, her rage unconstrained by any need for profound power.
"NO... DEAR... IT WAS NOT AHHHHH!" Xiao Mo screamed back, pouring maximum effort into his fake performance. The ultimate irony was that he was indeed utterly untouchable: during his grueling journey back from the Legendary Profound God Realm, thanks to the ample cultivation resources bestowed upon him by his "Master/Ancestor," he had shattered his limits at the Divine Tribulation Realm and successfully reached the Divine Spirit Realm before ever setting foot back on Earth.
But even setting aside his own high cultivation, even if he were only at the first Profound Realm, the truth was that the woman before him, with no profound power, was utterly incapable of harming him at all. But his love for her was absolute, and his understanding of her nature was perfect: she enjoyed this ritual of righteous anger, and he was happy to provide the performance. She was his wife, his only wife, and he would never trade her love for mere Profound Strength.
The questioning and ear-pulling continued back and forth for a full hour.
"HMM!!!!" In the end, the woman finally released him, her anger completely subsiding as she slowly reached up and kissed him. "I missed you so much... thank you, for making it back safely, dear..."
Eventually, the long-longing love was answered. Time passed swiftly as Xiao Mo and his wife settled into a happy, loving married life. Naturally, during this time, he finally managed to convince his wife to cultivate alongside him. The sole reason was simple: she would be able to accompany him for a much longer time. Xiao Mo understood his own extended lifespan better than anyone else, and his greatest desire was for her to share that eternity.
Though her progress was slow, over the past decade, their world was perfect. Until one day, the sky of their small, perfect planet Earth suddenly turned dark—no, the darkness was far greater, as the entire small star realm itself was abruptly enveloped in shadow!
Xiao Mo, who had successfully ascended to the Divine King Realm thanks to his "Master's/Ancestor's" untold resources, instantly felt a horrifying, pervasive energy descending upon his home.
Days bled into weeks, and soon, the people of the entire world began to be profoundly affected. A dark wave of inexplicable anger and raw hatred rose in the hearts of all living things; wars spontaneously ignited between nations and people, even between animals and beings of all kinds.
Eventually, Xiao Mo could no longer stand idly by. He was forced to interfere, using his massive Divine King power to instantly freeze and suspend all beings on Earth in a state of stasis. With a heavy, agonizing heart, he left Earth once more, determined to find the cosmic cause of the corruption. Just as before, he promised his wife he would quickly return, leaving her with massive stores of cultivation resources.
The further he traveled out, the more terrifying the malignant energy he felt. He even felt his own profound thoughts being corrupted with raw, poisonous, hateful emotions. Thanks only to his Master's protective artifact, he was finally able to safely reach the core of the God Realm, the Eastern Divine Region once more.
Yet, as he was scouting and searching for answers, the truth—the ultimate horror of legends—finally presented itself.
------
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Hiding in a crude cave he had hastily constructed, Xiao Mo cursed, his Profound Energy reserves running dangerously low. His life felt like it was violently passing before his eyes. He profoundly regretted ever returning to the God Realm! He now understood with chilling clarity that there was no hope; his cultivation, even amplified by his unique methods, was woefully insufficient to change a single thing.
Although the divine arts taught by his Master had allowed his combat strength to far surpass others at the same level, against the sheer, absolute power of the Devil Gods, his unique skills were meaningless. There was simply no hope.
"Leixin... look like... I won't be able to make it home," Xiao Mo murmured, despair crushing his soul as his wife's figure crossed his mind. Right now, even if he were to die, his only desire was to return home and die peacefully by her side. The thought of how lonely and desperate she must feel, frozen in time and space, caused an agonizing, sharp ache in his heart.
It was just like the rest of the God Realm inhabitants; he, too, was consumed by absolute despair, a terror that he could not break free from.
BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!
But then, the miracle happened. As the final, terrifying deadline set by the legendary being approached, before the destruction of the God Realm and the entire Primordial Chaos could begin, brilliant, blinding lights suddenly erupted from nowhere, covering all things and everything. A heavy, ancient profound energy instantly descended into the world.
Xiao Mo, who had been quietly trying to soothe his soul by listening to music on his phone—one of the few songs his wife had personally sung for him—was startled awake. His entire physique began to madly, violently absorb the chaotic influx of profound energy!
Soon, his power surged from the Divine King Realm all the way to the Divine Sovereign Realm! Just as he emerged from his hiding cave, intending to scout the miracle, he stopped.
Fuck no, forget that! I'll just return home!
Since the Devil Gods seemed to be inexplicably inactive, he might as well return to his wife. Why the Devil Gods hadn't destroyed the world was no longer his problem. So, with his precious, surviving headphones on, he was about to depart the planet when he met the old master who wanted to fight out of nowhere!
Worse still, in the instant he defended himself, his distraction caused him to forget to completely put away his treasure headphone, leading to its destruction. What more terrifying truth that devastated him was that the headphone was an irreplaceable, custom-made treasure his wife had personally crafted for him.
In his blind, uncontrollable anger, he utterly beat the living shit out of the old master and departed. Yet, his tragedy only deepened as he suddenly met a series of groups who seemed intent only on fighting him. Leaving him with no choice, he defeated them one by one, and eventually, as his rage reached its peak, another old man—a figure of high power—showed up, claiming he was the Realm King of this very star realm and that all the fighting had been under his command to test him.
"Everything you said?!!!!" Xiao Mo didn't even care for the Realm King's words; the very term "everything" triggered a final, overwhelming explosion of rage. From the depths of his soul, a terrifying sword materialized, pierced the sky, and hurtled straight for the old Realm King!
BOOOOMMMM!!!!! BOOOMMMM!!!! BOOMMMMM!!! Soon, another catastrophic fight broke out, as Xiao Mo literally put his life on the line to beat the living out of the Realm King, a true master of the Divine Master Realm! And the terrifying reality was that he succeeded!
Using every divine ability and art taught to him by his Master, Xiao Mo went utterly all out, culminating in the crushing defeat of the Realm King. Eventually, even the hidden spectators who had been brought over by the Realm King had to step in and stop Xiao Mo from completely annihilating the old man.
His impossible feat instantly reached Chi Wuyao's ears, and he was immediately escorted—against his vehement will—to the Northern Divine Region.
On the seventh day, countless champions of various cultivation levels were brought forth for a final, terrifying spar, with everyone going utterly all out. Finally, all the sub-tournament winners were brought before the God Emperors for the final selection.
The God Emperors had to decide who among them would represent the final, desperate hope of the God Realm. Xiao Mo was one of the chosen three. As for the other two, one was another young man like him, whose terrifying aura suggested a power that defied all logic, and who seemed to know all the divine beings before him...
From what Xiao Mo heard, this towering, powerful young man possessed the legendary Vein of Great Rage—a power that allowed him to effortlessly sweep every challenger at his cultivation level, just like himself. Yet, Xiao Mo felt an unsettling coldness: there was much more to this man whose eyes seemed to pierce into his very soul.
And as for the final, third person, the ultimate choice was tragically, inevitably the Empress of the God Realm herself, Chi Wuyao.
Under the miraculous healing power of Yun Gu, all the injuries the three champions received were quickly healed; no one thought of reserving resources or hiding a single pill. Everyone, from the newly ascended God Emperors to the lowliest healer, worked toward one goal: to survive!
Yet, somehow, Xiao Mo—whose cultivation was the shortest of the three—felt a profound, terrifying dissonance. Something was greatly off, but he simply could not place a finger on the anomaly as he nervously paced back and forth.
Tomorrow... was the day he would face the terrifying beings known as Devil Gods. He could only pray he lived.
----
"Sister... please, you must come with me," Inside one of the many divine palaces of the Soul Stealing Realm, the pleading voice of Mu Bingyun rang out, her body trembling as she begged the figure before her.
"Bingyun... I... I absolutely cannot," Mu Xuanyin denied, gently shaking her head. She pulled her little sister into a tight embrace, ruthlessly wiping away the cold tears that streamed down Mu Bingyun's face. "For there to even be a chance for tomorrow... I... have to remain behind."
"Is there truly no other way...?" Mu Bingyun asked, her voice cracking with profound despair.
"Perhaps... but right now, this is the only hope the entire God Realm has," Mu Xuanyin whispered, slowly separating from her little sister. "So please... if there is truly a tomorrow... live well for me." With that final, devastating command, Mu Xuanyin's figure vanished in a swift flash of white light before her own tears could fall for Bingyun to witness.
The severely weakened body of Mu Bingyun slowly, inevitably fell onto the cold palace floor.
Thud... With her shaking body collapsing, Mu Bingyun desperately tried to grasp onto the lingering aura of her elder sister, but all that remained was cold, empty air.
She... is truly just useless when the final time comes. She cannot do anything at all. The devastating realization of her own powerlessness was the final, agonizing blow.
Eventually, the dark night before the set ten-day deadline arrived. Under the chilling blanket of secrecy, thousands of Profound Arks silently lifted off and left the besieged Soul Stealing Realm.
Every single person present on the Profound Arks was visibly shaken; many had been commanded directly by their respective Lords to leave immediately. They did not know the details, but the absolute finality in their Lord's tone told them that a major, catastrophic event was guaranteed to unfold tomorrow.
Though some questioned their Lord's silence, and others, utterly unconvinced they would survive past tomorrow, begged to stay and face their final moment together, their pleas were denied. In the end, they found themselves literally tossed out by their Lords, commanded to leave by a supreme decree of ultimate, loving sacrifice. Their Lords' only hope was that the departing fleet would carry a single, surviving memory of the God Realm into the void.
-----
Two figures, both aging men, stood in the desolate silence, their gazes fixed on the sky where thousands of Profound Arks were quickly dissolving into the black void above the Soul Stealing Star Realm. Both men were precisely the ones staying behind—two of the still left God Emperors.
"Old Tianqi... do you... feel something profoundly off...?" A voice thick with unspoken terror rang out. The speaker was the Purple Micro God Emperor, Ziwei Haochen, addressing his long-time ally who stared silently into the sky.
"....."
"....."
The silence that followed was heavy, laden with the weight of cosmic secrets and impending doom.
"Old Haochen... do you truly think my recent actions were profoundly wrong...?" After a long, agonizing silence, Xuanyuan God Emperor, Xuanyuan Tianqi, finally spoke. His question was not a reply, but a painful confession, asking his oldest friend to judge the madness that had seized him.
???
Purple Micro God Emperor was profoundly startled by his long-time friend's question. He quickly collected his thoughts, reviewing the frantic, life-threatening events of the past few days before replying.
"Well... if I have to point it out... you have been acting quite... manic these last few days." Old Haochen recounted the absurdity.
"Making us and everyone push to their absolute limit, almost dying for another breakthrough... speaking with such terrifying conviction to rally us to a higher power.... Hahaha, that is profoundly unlike you.... it's almost as if you were possessed by something... hahaha... haha???!!!!" His laughter suddenly seized in his throat as the terrible realization hit him.
"That is right," Xuanyuan God Emperor calmly nodded. "You have known me for so long... does that level of reckless, fatalistic madness truly seem like me?" he asked, looking at his utterly stunned friend.
"You... you're saying...." Old Haochen's voice was barely a tremor.
"It is most likely the work of the Devil Empress," Xuanyuan God Emperor stated plainly, as if it were a simple matter of fact. He had been the perfect, expendable champion—the one mad enough to make the final, impossible push.
!!!!! The realization was a sudden, freezing chill.
The breathing of Purple Micro God Emperor became heavy, his chest laboring as he stared at his friend. After a profound moment of silence, he forced the question out: "Why would she do such a thing?"
"Unity," Xuanyuan God Emperor stated, the word ringing with cold, political finality. "As we all lost hope, a new, agonizing hope was born when the Heavenly Laws were restored and we began our breakthrough. But that very hope created a colossal vacuum of control."
"The political hold the Devil Empress had on us was minimal, and a total collapse of command could have happened at any moment. No one would truly listen to her supreme command, especially those who weren't directly allied with her... like us." Xuanyuan's words were absolute truth. Every other God Emperor and their subordinates were tied to the Empress via Emperor Yun Che, but the people of Xuanyuan God Realm and Purple Micro God Realm had no such bond.
"But," Xuanyuan continued, his eyes glazing over with the sheer genius of the scheme, "if either I or you were suddenly to take the lead—to be the catalyst and unite us all under a single, immediate threat—that fatal crack of division would never be born."
"....."
"....."
The silence seemed to stretch on for a cosmic hour as Purple Micro God Emperor furiously digested every terrifying word his friend had given him. He longed to speak, to ask, to scream in protest, but in the end, he could only remain quietly paralyzed, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
"It is fine... no good will come out of it even if we go and confront her now," Xuanyuan God Emperor said, shaking his head, answering the unasked question. "We are merely chess pieces now, so we should play our role properly. There is no need to ask to switch places."
"The real matter we should be paying attention to now is tomorrow..." This time, the entire tone of the Xuanyuan God Emperor shifted, a dangerous, eager light entering his eyes. "I may not have been present that day, years ago, when she was merely the new God Emperor of the Northern Divine Region, when she first infiltrated the Eastern Divine Region and made a legend of herself."
"But now, the chance is here... hahaha... hahaha.... Devil Empress.... show me how truly brilliant you are!" Xuanyuan God Emperor's mad laughter echoed, a final, desperate prayer and challenge. Purple Micro God Emperor merely tightened his fist, resigning himself. Whatever will happen will happen. All of their lives now rested in the supreme, ruthless calculation of the Devil Empress herself!