A vast mountain range, with palaces and halls clustered everywhere. This was a realm as pure and serene as a paradise beyond the world. Silver waterfalls cascaded down, and divine mountains and ancient peaks were shrouded in chaotic mist. It was like a domain of heaven and earth, filled with a dense Innate aura.
But at this moment, the land trembled violently and continuously, the earth rumbling as if constantly pushed by a giant hand.
Mountain ranges quaked, and all towers, palaces, cave abodes, and quiet chambers were like a lone boat on raging waves, swaying incessantly. The inscribed array patterns emitted brilliant, dazzling light, bursting with unprecedented violent upheaval.
Figure after figure flew out rapidly from various places. Many existences wearing ancient attire and exuding an aura of great age also appeared one after another.
That terrifying divine sense, as if the heavens themselves were watching, swept over like an unstoppable terrifying storm. The entire Land of the Nine Heavens was churning, and one spiritual object after another was uncontrollably swept up into the sky.
This was the depths of the Land of the Nine Heavens, the clan territory of the Gu Family.
"Who is spying on our clan's territory?"
"This divine sense appears to come from the unseen, but in reality it has invaded from the outside, penetrating the grand formation boundary laid by our clan. It's simply unimaginable."
A powerful aura that reached everywhere without limit arrived, as if awakening from the River of Time, disturbing the myriad heavens of all ages.
An elder with graying hair, a hunched and aged figure, dressed in a loose gray robe, appeared, full of shock. Even his figure was uncontrollably swept up by that thought and divine sense, flying toward the sky beyond.
"Do not panic."
"Also, do not stop it."
Buzz!
Without a sound, the spacetime before the elder collapsed, and a figure stepped out—tall and graceful, peerlessly elegant, with countless fragments of time swirling and dancing around her.
Beneath her feet, the shadows of the River of Time and the River of Years intertwined, then gradually faded away.
"...First Ancestor..."
These powerful figures of the Gu Family who had rushed over all looked at this figure with deference and respect.
This woman stood there calmly, and all the vast, surging aura around her subsided.
"This divine sense comes from the Lord of Heaven's Proxy. He is searching for something..."
She only observed for a moment before understanding the situation, so she spoke, telling everyone not to be nervous.
As her words fell, in a cluster of palaces, a white-robed woman enveloped in immortal mist and radiant light, her cold, jade-like face full of surprise and shock, flew out uncontrollably. The divine sense that had engulfed the entire Land of the Nine Heavens also fell upon her.
Along with her flew out an ancient bronze mirror that emitted a hazy, misty glow.
At this moment, that bronze mirror burst forth with billions of rays of light, as if able to reflect across past and present, with infinite profound meanings evolving.
"It's her?"
"Back then, she was brought back along with Xian'er. At that time, I felt she had some secrets related to someone in the Palace of Fate Defiance, but I didn't investigate."
"I never expected she would alarm a figure like the Lord of Heaven's Proxy..."
Seeing this scene, several supreme figures of the Gu Family here were full of surprise and shock.
"That should be the Mirror of Reincarnation, the Supreme Treasure of Civilization that once sealed the Lord of Heaven's Proxy. I didn't expect it to be by her side."
"The cause of that day bears fruit today."
The First Ancestor of the Gu Family looked over, not surprised, but after thinking for a moment, she reached out a hand and intercepted that white-robed woman, keeping her here.
As for that Mirror of Reincarnation, she only glanced at it, knowing that if she intercepted it, it would inevitably lead to unimaginable consequences, so she stopped her hand.
As the Mirror of Reincarnation flew out, a strange change seemed to occur within it.
From within the mirror surface came a crisp crackling sound. Some imprints were dissipating and collapsing. Rays of divine light pierced through heaven and earth, and then strands of lines like karma rapidly vanished into the void.
Among them, a cluster of hazy, karma-like lines directly landed on the white-robed woman, about to pour into her forehead and sea of consciousness.
"What's this?"
The several supreme figures of the Gu Family noticed this and were slightly startled.
The First Ancestor of the Gu Family frowned slightly, then pondered and said, "This is her memory. She sealed some of her memories within that Mirror of Reincarnation, perhaps worried about some unforeseen accident."
"Or perhaps she feared that some secrets she knew would be probed by others..."
There were many ancient existences who noticed this scene at this moment.
However, because this was the Gu Family's clan territory, many figures in the Land of the Nine Heavens could not spy on it.
Only Huang Zhu, Yong Zu, and a few others looked over, nodding and greeting the First Ancestor of the Gu Family from a distance, clearly recognizing her.
Their gazes fell on the white-robed woman, but only for a glance before they paid no further attention. Then, more of their attention shifted to that Mirror of Reincarnation that flew out, shrouded by the terrifying divine sense.
"Could it be that the Lord of Heaven's Proxy is after those six Supreme Treasures of Civilization from before?"
"They are called Supreme Treasures of Civilization, but their true origins cannot be verified, and even the blueprints for their forging are unknown."
In their hearts, billions of thoughts flashed by in an instant as they tried to deduce the origin of that Mirror of Reincarnation, but they soon failed. All six Supreme Treasures of Civilization were shrouded in a hazy mist.
To pry into the secrets of the Mirror of Reincarnation before them, they would have to intercept it, but doing so would obviously offend the Lord of Heaven's Proxy.
The white-robed woman was covered in radiant mist. On her face, fair as jade, was a dazed expression, sometimes lost, sometimes pained...
Deep within the Land of the Nine Heavens, in a certain spacetime dimension, it was as if eternally still, like a flat mirror. At this moment, ripples spread within it, and a blurry figure silently emerged, standing atop that flat mirror, her dress fluttering, her bare feet snow-white.
She looked at the white-robed woman outside and sighed softly.
The void suddenly split open, and this figure extended a jade-white palm, scooping up that white-robed woman and taking her away.
Seeming to sense a familiar aura, the white-robed woman's confused expression eased slightly, and she murmured lowly, "Master..."
Watching this scene, the First Ancestor of the Gu Family was only slightly stunned, then quickly understood and did not stop it.
The other supreme figures of the Gu Family also watched as the white-robed woman was taken away by that snow-white palm, and no one said a word.
Almost all members of the Palace of Fate Defiance knew that the Palace had three leaders, and that the Ancient Ancestor of the Gu Family was actually one of the three leaders.
Only that in that great calamity of all worlds back then, He chose to transform His body into a realm to shelter all living beings...
Currently, the status and voice of the Gu Family's First Ancestor in the Palace of Fate Defiance were comparable to the other two leaders.
Of course, because of the selfless act of the Gu Family's Ancient Ancestor back then, the Gu Family held a very special position within the Palace of Fate Defiance. Even other End of the Path members held respect for them.
"That aura just now, was it Si Zhu?" one supreme figure of the Gu Family couldn't help asking.
The First Ancestor of the Gu Family seemed to frown slightly, then said, "I'm not too sure either. I can't distinguish the relationship between that woman and Si Zhu."
"The Palace of Fate Defiance now only has two remaining leaders, and today it seems they have both appeared one after another."
"Only, when will the Ancient Ancestor return?"
The supreme figures of the Gu Family calmed down a bit and looked toward the deepest part of the clan territory.
In the mountain range shrouded in endless mist, a mighty force seemed to be surging. The terrain there was more majestic than any other mountain, shaped like an inverted plateau.
The plateau lay across the boundless mist. Faintly visible was an ancient ancestral hall situated there, as if overlooking the myriad heavens and the universe. A supreme and grand aura pervaded, and chaotic waterfalls cascaded like seas, pressing down until the surrounding spacetime and Dao laws were distorted.
It seemed like the source of all life in the myriad heavens. Even shrouded by that terrifying supreme aura, it still had a rich vitality pervading.
This aura far surpassed any Ancestral Dao Realm existence. Even those who had crossed nine Heavenly Decline Tribulations and approached the End of the Path level, upon reaching there, would be pressed down until their spines collapsed, unable to advance half a step further.
Deep within that ancient ancestral hall was a spacetime turbulence opened up by inconceivable mighty power, independent of past, future, and present, and unaffected by the present world. Cultivating and meditating within could, to the greatest extent, retrieve the true self and power from all timelines, and converge all karma lines and time lines from all dimensions and spacetimes into one.
However, they did not know how long this process would take.
---
Above the Land of the Nine Heavens, the Mirror of Reincarnation emitted a hazy glow as it was swept toward the army of the Dark Clans. The beings and cultivators in all the heavens only watched this scene solemnly, no one daring to speak out to stop it.
Even Huang Zhu and Yong Zu, two End of the Path existences, did not speak, only quietly watching it all.
That boundless, roiling divine sense that shook the nine heavens finally retreated as fast as the tide. Heaven and earth returned to calm, and the trembling mountains and lands quieted down.
Those cracked universes and spacetimes also regained tranquility amid the trembling. The vast aura that had swept through the cosmos just now seemed like an illusion.
The Dark Clans also withdrew and left accordingly. Like a vast, boundless black tide, they departed along the opened spacetime passages. This scene blotted out everything, oppressing all things, immensely grand and chilling.
"The Dark Clans have finally retreated..."
"Did the Lord of Heaven's Proxy really just revive? Under that majestic, terrifying divine sense, it seemed as if a single thought could tear the Vast Expanse apart, and all living beings would die in an instant."
"This is simply too terrifying."
Many powerful supreme beings still had unsettled hearts at this moment, carrying some fear.
And many civilized True Worlds in the Vast Expanse also seemed to fall into a deathly silence. Those who could perceive this scene were all top-tier figures; ordinary beings didn't even know what had happened.
But... even just sensing a trace of that aura brought them a suppression and terror akin to the world's destruction.
Let alone the Land of the Nine Heavens that faced all that directly. It seemed that any slight movement would have triggered an unimaginable terrible war just now.
"That final probe..."
"What did it probe? The truth behind the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, or his relationship with the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance?"
"And what secrets do those six Supreme Treasures of the First Civilization hold, requiring the Lord of Heaven's Proxy to personally seize them?"
The figures of Huang Zhu and Yong Zu silently disappeared into the void and reappeared in another spacetime, where a vast and majestic hall stood, as if level with heaven and earth.
The hall was boundless, as if multiple universes were superimposed. At its center hung a brilliant sun. Calling it a sun wasn't quite accurate; it was more like an immeasurably large fireball, constantly emitting a scorching, surging terrifying aura. Inside, there seemed to be another spacetime.
In the center of the hall, a blazing, bright figure sat cross-legged deep within the sun, seemingly cultivating. As Huang Zhu and Yong Zu arrived, he opened his eyes. His gaze was so dazzling, it was like two real suns. Boundless energies churned and surged behind him like tides.
Of course, for existences at their level, turning their eyes into suns was a simple matter.
"Ju Zhu..."
Huang Zhu and Yong Zu stood still in the hall.
"This epoch is truly lively. All sorts of demons and monsters have jumped out..."
The ancient, drawn-out voice that had resounded above the Land of the Nine Heavens earlier rang out again. Clearly, the one who had taken action to stop the Dark Clans' army was this person before them.
Even members of the Palace of Fate Defiance only knew him as "Ju" and addressed him as Ju Zhu.
The current ruler of the Nine Layered Heavens, the Eternal Life Dao Lord, had once met Ju Zhu and received his guidance.
"What Ju Zhu said, does it refer to the Lord of Heaven's Proxy? He is indeed very powerful. He once single-handedly created the Black Calamity Era. At that time, Si Zhu had already taken notice of him, but did not let the Palace of Fate Defiance interfere, choosing to observe quietly," Huang Zhu said.
Ju Zhu's figure blazed boundlessly. All matter around him turned into energy particles surrounding him. But upon closer inspection, one would find that within those energy particles seemed to contain vitality, with microcosmic worlds evolving inside.
"It's not just the Lord of Heaven's Proxy. Just now, I already sensed gazes from the depths of the Ancient Treasure Civilization."
"I imagine the Land of Reincarnation will soon make a move as well. With the Epoch Cataclysm imminent, if the Land of the Nine Heavens doesn't prepare well, it might be hard to remain transcendent," Ju Zhu said calmly.
Huang Zhu and Yong Zu had long anticipated such a situation. Before past Epoch Cataclysms, there had never been so many End of the Path figures appearing. Everyone hid well, trying their best to conceal their auras.
Even existences at Supreme Shattering comparable to those who controlled Authority dared not appear and act so casually, leaving karmic traces...
In times past, before the Epoch Cataclysm, even Ancestral Dao Realm beings would carefully hide their auras, trying not to stir up any disturbance.
Yet in this epoch, not to mention End of the Path figures, even True Path Realm existences who controlled Authority were forced to step into the fray one after another.
One can only say that the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance truly has brilliant methods. He continuously muddies the waters, then through various direct or indirect means forces existences like them to appear.
Today, before the Land of the Nine Heavens, if Ju Zhu hadn't acted, perhaps the Land of the Nine Heavens would really have been sunk by the Lord of Heaven's Proxy.
Rather than saying they were probing the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, it was more that the Lord of Heaven's Proxy was forcing them to act, making them helplessly test his attitude.
If no existence of the corresponding level had come forward, the Lord of Heaven's Proxy would absolutely not have retreated so easily.
"This epoch has seen far too many shocking changes, far beyond our expectations."
"Perhaps the grand plan of the Palace of Fate Defiance will be advanced in this era. But are we truly ready?" Ju Zhu sighed.
Huang Zhu and Yong Zu both felt a chill in their hearts, understanding what Ju Zhu meant.
The existence of the Palace of Fate Defiance, in a sense, was to resist the Land of Truth and defy heaven to change fate.
For this, how many ancient sages had thrown themselves forward, one after another, unhesitatingly, fearing neither death nor danger...
But to achieve this great feat, who knew how many ages of strength needed to be accumulated. Although the current Palace of Fate Defiance was already very powerful, whether it could overturn the Land of Truth was still an unknown.
"Heaven's Proxy, Heaven-Slaying..."
"Perhaps his goal is truly the same as ours," Huang Zhu said, shaking his head slightly.