All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 326 - 183: A Busy Spring, The Great Era Begins (1/3)

Chapter 326: Chapter 183: A Busy Spring, The Great Era Begins (1/3)

Ever since the First Year of the Yanping Era, North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent had entered a spring season full of events.

To the north, the Frost Calamity ravaged the land. The Dust Li and Iron Li (self-proclaimed Northern Barbarians) led their hundred tribes southward, breaking through Green Jade Pass. At Hanbei Road’s YunZhong City, they established a grand Ritual Sacrifice to awaken the ancient earth spirit that had coexisted with the people of this land for nearly a hundred thousand years, gaining the capital to confront the northern army of Da Chen head-on.

To the east, the sole Upper Sect of FuLi, the YuanLong Sea, was in turmoil. The master of YuanLong Sea, Chao Boyang, clashed in a major battle against his most cherished heir, the young lord of YuanLong Sea, Chao Beiyu, in the FuLi Sea, resulting in Chao Beiyu leaving FuLi with three dragon tribes and delving deep into the depths of the Heavenly Sea.

To the south, many Demon Spirit Holy Domain and Upper Sect Pure Lands, suppressed by Da Chen, along with the remnants of the old HuangMing Kingdom—Yu Yao Country—were stirring restlessly. However, the Grand Marshal of Da Chen stationed in the south, King Chu—Xuang Guangyun—seemed oblivious to all of this.

To the west, in the ancient Origin Judgment Land, the fractured Earth Vein trembled, ringing like the bell of heaven and earth. The movement within this most mysterious remnant land of Immortal Gods, silent for three hundred thousand years, seemed to herald the coming of some ancient and glorious entity.

And in the very heart of North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent, something major had occurred in Shenjing, the land of supreme goodness.

The daughter of Xuan Guangyun, the former Martial King who oversaw the northern region for Da Chen, had mysteriously defected. She fled all the way to the Western Mountain border, prompting two Martial Kings from Da Chen’s northwest to confront the Sects of the Northern Barbarians.

It was rumored that there was more to the death of King Jing than met the eye. With her father’s inexplicable sudden death, the defection of Princess Mingjing seemed only natural.

Yet according to convention, Da Chen should not have been so agitated.

Among the Sects, some speculated that before his death, King Jing had hidden the nation-protecting Heavenly Martial, ’Southern Dipper Life Infusion,’ within the Earth Vein. And the sole key to activating it lay in the hands of Princess Mingjing, which is why Da Chen, deviating from their norm, paid extra attention to the seemingly ordinary princess of the Imperial Clan who had defected.

Others guessed that King Jing, being the Martial King most trusted by the Late Emperor and a core figure in the ascent of the current Young Emperor, seemed loyal on the surface but might have harbored extreme treachery, possessing clues or powers detrimental to the Young Emperor’s reign, intending to rule from afar. So the Young Emperor had cunningly designed his demise.

And it was Princess Mingjing who possessed that unknown information, which is why Da Chen was so focused on this princess who theoretically could never achieve the Divine Repository after her defection.

Amidst the various speculations swirling about, no one doubted that these events would weaken Da Chen.

What a joke! With the Holding Talisman Dynasty and the Bloodline Imperial Court, such systems could easily replace a fallen Town King or a traitorous princess of the Imperial Clan. Other Sects lament the passing of a True Master for hundreds of years, whereas the Da Chen Dynasty has plenty of people. When one falls, there is another to replace them. As long as there are enough people and talents, and as long as the Imperial Clan is not extinct, anyone can become a ’Holding Talisman Heavenly Official’ and an ’Imperial Blood Martial King.’

And just when Da Chen was engaging in rather unfriendly negotiations with the Five Sects of the Northern Barbarians.

At the border between the Northern Barbarians and Da Chen, another major event occurred.

Within the Five Sects, two Divine Repository True Masters from the Zuohuan Sect and Huangyang Sect, due to personal vendettas, joined forces with the Heaven’s Will Demon Cult’s Western Patrol Envoy and a mysterious force’s Divine Repository True Master, and ambushed True Master Mysterious Mirror, Mingguang Dust, and his disciples from Bright Mirror Sect.

This wasn’t particularly strange— even if supposedly allies on the surface, that did not mean they could not sneak attack each other.

As for ganging up, that was even less noteworthy. If you win, it’s called being well-prepared. If you lose... well, once you’ve lost, generally no dead man would care about the aftermath.

What was truly shocking was that An Jing, disciple of Mingguang Dust, had actually managed to kill three of the attacking Martial Artist Grandmasters with his Inner Strength alone!

Among them was even a Blood Fiend Dharma Body, the avatar of the Western Patrol Envoy of Heaven’s Will Divine Sect, He Wuchang!

Anyone who heard of this incident would be astounded... It’s all about the realm. It’s because once you step into that phase, a Martial Artist’s strength will cause earth-shattering changes, and that is why it’s been agreed upon as the current realm, separating Martial Artists of different strengths.

An Inner Strength cultivator striking down Martial Meridians? And three of them at that? One being an avatar of a Divine Repository True Person? What a joke!

Though An Jing surely had his master’s trump cards, and perhaps the advantage of terrain among others, but those were three Grandmasters!

Upon first hearing this news, even the veteran patrons in the tavern who were used to the storytellers’ exaggerated tales laughed and shook their heads, exclaiming what an entertaining story it was.

"So what is the real truth?" they asked.

—Was it one of the martial meridian grandmasters from the Bright Mirror Sect who lurked in the shadows to launch a surprise attack, or was it that the several martial meridian grandmasters fought amongst themselves?

But the truth was even more inconceivable than the tales they were eager to hear.

[Divine Mandate]

Throughout the entire North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent, and indeed, across all ten continents of Embracing the Void, the first Divine Mandate to be born after the last great calamity ushered in a new era.

—Inheriting the divine skills of the immortal gods, bearing the great endeavors destined by nature. This is the Divine Mandate.

If it was the Divine Mandate... then achieving feats beyond ordinary understanding would be justified, right?

It was only after the Divine Mandate, which had previously only existed in myths, appeared, that everyone on the North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent slowly realized that the world seemed to be entering a new age, a grand era that no one had noticed but was ultimately destined to descend upon everyone.

That ’unprecedented great upheaval in Embracing the Void’s ten thousand years’ often mentioned by storytellers... no longer seemed like the jesting ’the big change is coming, it’s really coming!’

It was truly coming.

Compared to the news of the Divine Mandate’s arrival, the fact that Zuohuan Sect and Huangyang Sect had attacked Mingguang Dust seemed to be of little concern to most.

Although Mingguang Dust was accidentally involved in the Great Void’s chaos and might never be able to return, he was, after all, not dead and his soul lamp was still intact. Moreover, considering that his own side was victorious, to speak further would seem like being unforgiving when one had the upper hand.

Moreover, in the land of Embracing the Void, due to karma and vengeance killings, such incidents were quite normal. Even conventional moral philosophy advocated for the vengeful idea that ’a person must die, and a vendetta must be avenged.’ Taking advantage of an opportunity for revenge was not really considered immoral.

It was He Wuchang, the Demon Sect’s Western Patrol Envoy, that caught people’s attention—having his Dharma Body defeated by his disciple An Jing and then being outmatched one-on-many by his master Mingguang Dust during a breakthrough in battle—it was a stepping stone within a stepping stone that no storyteller could have conceived.

Even, due to his overly legendary stepping-stone experiences, this Western Patrol Envoy was actually written into various storybooks by storytellers, which in a way ensured his name was well-passed on posthumously.

In any case, He Wuchang himself had no objections.

With the death of He Wuchang, the people of the Western Mountain rejoiced, for this terrifying Ghost Head Blood Phoenix was a bona fide man-eating evil ghost. His demise at the hands of the Divine Mandate was seen as his deserved retribution.

Some people even shed tears of gratitude as they offered sacrifices to the great lord of Imperial Heaven, thanking Heaven’s Will for ensuring that this Demon Sect scoundrel met with a bad end, completely disregarding the fact that He Wuchang, too, was a follower of the Heaven’s Will Cult, under Imperial Heaven.

It was also thanks to this Western Patrol Envoy’s fate that Zuohuan Sect and Huangyang Sect could find a way to step down gracefully, claiming that the true persons had been bewitched by the Demon Sect and were willing to apologize and make amends.

And the reason why Bright Mirror Sect was willing to make much ado about nothing and reduce a major issue to a minor one firstly lay in the fact that the Five Sects were still joining forces to resist Da Chen, unable to turn on each other just yet.

Secondly... it was because a part of the Bright Mirror Sect’s higher echelons, namely Cheng Guang Ancient Ancestor and Chenyinzi, actually knew what Mingguang Dust had done.

Da Chen’s pursuit of accountability was correct—it was indeed their doing!