The Upper Realm had not known true silence in ages.
But tonight, silence fell like a blade.
Across countless divine domains, the stars flickered in confusion. Ancient beasts turned restless in their dens, celestial rivers shifted course, and the divine records trembled — for something vast and unseen had brushed against the edge of existence.
Even the oldest gods looked up.
And far beneath their gaze, Tian Yuan's realm pulsed once more — a living heart in an endless void.
---
The Whispering Abyss
The Shadow Lord stood alone within the ruin of his broken domain — the Abyssal Court, a palace that floated on black mist and shattered laws of reality.
Every surface rippled, as if the world itself resisted his presence.
His voice was low and coarse, echoing like a wind through bones.
> "He who tames the soil… he who dares to grow life in the void…"
"Farmer, you have built a cage within nothingness."
He extended one arm, and fragments of fallen divine worlds rose around him like shards of glass. In each reflection, a different memory flickered — realms he had devoured, gods he had consumed, disciples he had turned to dust.
> "I'll turn your paradise into rot," he whispered.
"And from your garden, I shall sow despair."
He reached into the mist and drew forth a sphere of pulsing darkness a seed of his own making.
> "If he grows trees of light," he said, lips curling, "I shall plant thorns of void."
The seed fell into the abyss and the abyss answered.
A thousand black roots slithered outward, each one connecting to another dead world. Slowly, they began to spread searching, yearning, reaching toward Tian Yuan's divine aura.
The War of Bloom and Void had begun to breathe.
---
Back in Tian Yuan's Realm
Tian Yuan sat beneath the Divine Tree, a gourd of tea in hand. Around him, the Seven Star Generals stood silently, their presence forming an unbreakable array.
The Golden Dragon, now restored to its mythic glory, lay curled beside a mountain lake, its scales glittering like dawn.
The system flickered above his head in holographic form, looking unusually serious.
> "Hey boss," it began, "I've got some unsettling readings. Someone's planting something nasty in the dimensional folds near your border."
Tian Yuan didn't look surprised. "Let me guess void thorns?"
The system paused. "...Okay, creepy how you knew that."
He smiled faintly. "I've seen the pattern before in a dream that wasn't a dream. The Shadow Lord doesn't hide his nature. He spreads rot where he cannot conquer."
Mu Qingyi appeared beside him, her white robe flowing, her eyes weary yet bright. "Then he's coming for you."
"No," Tian Yuan said quietly. "He's coming for the soil."
He pressed his hand to the earth. A soft green light pulsed outward. The ground hummed in reply. Every herb, every divine crop, every fruit-bearing tree resonated, forming unseen connections through the realm's veins.
> "System," Tian Yuan said, "prepare Realm Formation: Bloom Protocol."
The system blinked. "Wait Bloom Protocol? That's a top-tier terraforming defense array. You've never even used it."
"I wasn't ready before," he said simply. "Now I am."
---
Formation of the Bloom Protocol
The sky darkened as vast circles of light appeared across the realm's surface.
From the divine mountain peaks to the hidden lakes, symbols of life glowed, forming a gigantic network of energy.
The Seven Star Generals took their positions one in each cardinal direction, the Golden Dragon taking the seventh, coiling through the heavens.
> "By the will of the Farmer," they chanted, "we guard the roots of creation."
Tian Yuan stood at the center, his robes fluttering though no wind blew. His eyes turned a deep jade-green, reflecting the power of every living thing within his domain.
The system's voice boomed across the realm:
> "Bloom Protocol: Activated."
Light erupted.
Every flower bloomed at once. Every fruit ripened. Rivers ran with divine essence. Even the smallest insect glowed with qi.
And above it all, a colossal lotus made of pure realm energy unfolded over the sky like a celestial shield.
---
Meanwhile, in the Mortal Realm
Far below, Tian Yuan's disciples trained in the mountain village that had grown around his legacy. The fields were vast, the forests thick with medicinal herbs.
But on that day, the sky darkened suddenly and every disciple looked up to see a strange symbol appear faintly in the heavens.
A lotus.
The same lotus that marked their master's divine aura.
Elder Xun, Tian Yuan's oldest disciple, stood before the temple gate, clutching his staff. "So it begins again…" he murmured. "The heavens stir — and Master faces war."
The younger disciples, unaware of the true scale, bowed in prayer. Their faith — pure and unwavering — flowed upward like incense, feeding the divine root that connected their small mortal world to Tian Yuan's upper realm.
---
The Shadow Lord's First Strike
Back in the void between realms, the Shadow Lord raised his hand.
The thorns had reached their destination.
He clenched his fist.
Instantly, the edges of Tian Yuan's realm shook. The sky bled black lines, like ink spreading through water. The divine lotus above began to shiver — tiny cracks forming along its glowing petals.
> "He resists…" the Shadow Lord growled, his voice vibrating through dimensions. "Good. Resistance makes the bloom sweeter."
He poured more power into the void thorns, forcing them deeper.
The ground within Tian Yuan's domain began to tremble divine trees bending, rivers churning, beasts roaring in panic.
But Tian Yuan did not move.
Instead, he whispered: "Root to root, life answers life."
He raised both hands.
And suddenly, every divine crop, herb, and tree released its stored qi feeding the Bloom Protocol.
The cracks healed.
The sky brightened.
And from the earth, a single vine of radiant light shot upward, piercing the void itself and striking the invading thorn head-on.
The void screamed.
---
Aftermath
When the sky calmed, silence returned — but it was not the same silence. The air still buzzed with tension, as if the void were watching, waiting for another chance.
Tian Yuan stood alone at the realm's edge, looking out into the dark infinity.
> "He knows now," he said quietly.
"He knows this world breathes."
The system hovered beside him. "So what's next, boss farmer?"
Tian Yuan smiled faintly. "We let him make the next move."
Mu Qingyi frowned. "And if he sends more than whispers?"
"Then," Tian Yuan said, turning back toward his growing fields, "we'll let him see what happens when life refuses to die."
End of Chapter 78
Next Chapter Preview (79):
> The Shadow Lord unleashes his second creation — The Void Bloom, a parasitic world meant to devour divine soil. Meanwhile, Tian Yuan's disciples in the mortal realm begin receiving visions of their master's garden, realizing that the balance of both worlds may depend on the crops they tend below.