The clouds pressed low, allowing little light to break through. Outside the city, roars and shouts continued unabated, shaking dust to fall in a steady stream.
The tide of disaster had descended and persisted for a week.
During this week, no other high-tier anomaly appeared in the Falling Star Domain, but the disaster that had spread here continued to worsen slowly.
Blood-red heavens enshrouded the land.
Endless shadows covered the earth.
The breath of desire enveloped the land.
The ‘model worker,’ Yiluoxi, had destroyed the source of the disaster multiple times, but could not halt the gradual deepening of its impact.
Fortunately, Xin Huo was well-versed in dealing with the effects of disaster.
“The blood-red heavens not only cause anomalies to become increasingly violent and their regenerative abilities to surge, but also make warriors bloodthirsty. Therefore, we must equip the defending soldiers with enough potent medicine to calm the mind.”
“The shroud of endless shadows will cause anomalies to breed in dark corners… This requires the city to maintain sufficient brightness at all times.”
“The breath of desire originates from one of the evil gods, the ‘Mother of Desire.’ She will stir the purest desires in human hearts, turning humanity into beasts that only know how to procreate.”
Miasmic, pale pink clouds drifted through the sky.
At first glance, they appeared ethereal and dreamlike, but those who understood them feared them like venom.
These three effects of disaster could not be isolated by the city’s protective rituals, with the breath of desire being the most troublesome. Its initial impact was slight, akin to boiling a frog in warm water. By the time one realized something was wrong and took action, it would be too late.
“However, when comparing the power of the disasters themselves, the blood-red heavens are the strongest. The earliest disaster to appear in the Falling Star Domain was only the blood moon.”
“Does this mean the ‘Crimson Moon’ is more potent, or is it merely a regional deviation?”
During this time, he had traveled to multiple domains through the teleportation channels of various oases.
The disaster patterns varied slightly across different domains.
The disaster’s effects arose from within, while the tide of anomalies came from without. This was indeed a formidable challenge, but humanity also displayed extraordinary resilience in the face of disaster.
Xin Huo itself possessed ten oases of level seven or higher, attracting numerous anomaly waves that were difficult to resist.
However,
After two and a half years of precipitation and development, wave after wave of Xin Huo veterans had ascended to the mythical realm.
In the past, the organization had more peripheral mythicals than core mythicals, a regrettable necessity driven by the urgency to increase power. Now, core mythicals far outnumbered the peripheral mythicals who had graduated from the Xin Huo Academy.
He had also observed and promoted a select few outstanding mythicals with clean backgrounds into the core circle.
While defending ten super oases scattered across the vast land, Xin Huo still had surplus strength. Fang You had not wasted this surplus. Just like in the past, Xin Huo’s mythicals, in groups of two or three, would venture out to eliminate anomalies and suppress disasters.
Xin Huo’s presence could be seen in many parts of the anomaly realm.
Of course, the figures of mythicals from established dominant forces could also be seen.
“The mythicals of Xin Huo Academy are truly numerous.”
“The two esteemed individuals who came to support our domain possess power seemingly greater than our ancestors, yet… yet they claim to be merely two ordinary mythicals from within Xin Huo Academy.”
“I seem to have a misconception, but Xin Huo Academy’s mythicals appear to be far more numerous than those of other dominant forces, and yet Xin Huo Academy is a newly emergent dominant force?”
“You don’t understand this…”
During the war, the alliance’s conference space was kept fully open, allowing representatives from various factions to enter and exit at will, exchange intelligence, or request aid in times of crisis.
After tens of thousands of years, humanity had rediscovered the original intent behind the creation of the alliance.
— Exchange and mutual assistance!
In addition to the alliance space, numerous exchange spaces established by various dominant and super-forces were also operational.
The exchanges between domains and factions in these past few days had been more frequent than in the preceding years.
Thanks to these information exchanges, more and more factions were truly coming to recognize Xin Huo Academy.
Someone knowledgeable explained:
“Xin Huo Academy is different from the dominant forces.”
“Dominant forces have many oases to defend, so they cannot spare much strength to aid outer regions. But Xin Huo Academy is different. Its foundation lies in a miraculous, constantly moving secret realm. They are likely the least affected by the disaster, allowing them to deploy considerable strength.”
“That being said, the number of mythicals in Xin Huo Academy is truly astonishing. There was once a rumor that dozens of Xin Huo Academy mythicals appeared in unison, exuding immense power. Now, it seems this rumor might not be false.”
“Xin Huo Academy’s mythical strength surpasses that of many dominant forces.”
Forces like the Red Sand Kingdom, Water Flowing Kingdom, and Great Mi Chaos City were roughly comparable.
However!
Each human dominant force possessed a level nine oasis, an advantage that Xin Huo Academy could not yet match.
Ordinary powerhouses and mythicals thought this way.
Yet, in the eyes of prominent figures from forces like the Dawnlight Demigod and Brilliant Steel Demigod, Xin Huo Academy was far more than it appeared.
Dozens of mythicals? Perhaps even more!
Level nine oases? With Xin Huo Academy’s scale and number of powerhouses, they would eventually establish them.
“In fact, according to our estimations, Xin Huo Academy possesses at least two to three level seven oases, and they might have already established a level eight oasis.”
“Are their powerhouses currently stationed within these oases?”
Amidst the fierce battles, the leaders couldn’t help but ponder.
No one was not curious about the emergence of Xin Huo Academy.
…
The powerhouses of the Central Sacred Court were also a little curious, but only a little.
Their territory was not an oasis, but they too suffered fierce anomaly incursions. The Sacred Court’s soldiers fought numerous battles against the anomaly tides on the border.
On a certain frontline, two demigods wore grim expressions.
“The disaster is indeed growing stronger. Today, we were attacked by several eight-star anomalies.”
“I’m not too worried about the anomaly tides, but now, our Sacred Court has diminishing influence in the international community. An organization like Xin Huo Academy, which appeared out of nowhere, seems to hold more clout than us.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that…”
Since their Sacred Court’s three elders did not participate in the alliance meetings, their influence inevitably declined.
The governor speaking shook his head, “While we, the Sacred Court, have the capability to rush to aid wherever needed, like Xin Huo Academy, what is the point? This world will eventually be submerged by evil god disasters. Our efforts are in vain. It’s better to concentrate all our strength on the Ark Project.”
“Indeed, time is running out. We must advance the Ark Project to completion as quickly as possible. Once the Ark can set sail, humanity’s legacy can continue. To resist and fight against disasters and evil gods? It’s a dead end.”
“But will the Ark be able to sail to a safe haven?”
This was their only concern.
But thinking of the Sacred Lord and the three elders’ unwavering confidence, their hearts settled.
Indeed, the land beneath their feet was extraordinary.
The two governors vaguely knew that the reason the Sacred Court retained a vast territory undisturbed by the gray mist was due to a supreme treasure—a treasure called the ‘Eternal Pure Land.’
The Ark Project was a vessel of refuge built upon the foundation of the ‘Eternal Pure Land.’
This was the only way to escape the apocalyptic calamity and preserve the flame of humanity!
Resist and confront?
The once glorious Candra Empire had already proven this path was futile.
If Candra fell, it was even more hopeless for present-day humanity to contend with evil gods.
“Let’s not concern ourselves with the humans outside. We only need to focus on our own tasks.”
…
The tide of disaster continued.
The offensive of the anomaly waves grew fiercer.
The edge of the anomaly realm, in the high void.
Ancient beings, each enshrouded in magnificent divine radiance, gazed into the distance, their eyes reflecting myriad scenes.
“Humans are not as weak as they seem.”
“Indeed, after establishing level nine oases, humans are qualified to share some of the burden, as are the Elemental Spirit Court and the Siren Empire.”
“Heh, isn’t this precisely why we are here?”
Ambushing the evil god’s servants to give various intelligent forces some breathing room and space to grow.
… Not really.
“We are merely here to weaken the forces of the evil god faction, taking advantage of the time before the evil gods awaken, when their servants cannot leave the anomaly realm in large numbers!”
The ancient gods did not deny that the evil god’s servants alone possessed immense power.
There were even beings of the tenth realm among the servants!
But these evil god servants and minions had a fatal flaw: they had a mandatory task—to sow disaster immediately.
The goal of the evil god’s servants was the anomaly oases.
Their goal was to hunt down isolated evil god servants.
Soon, battle erupted.
The high void was filled with the great sun, the bright moon, and countless stars.
There were also surging rivers of blood, and a blood moon seemed poised to devour the bright moon.
The entire high void shattered, reformed, shattered again, and reformed again.
An ancient being was struck down into a domain, creating a crater hundreds of kilometers in diameter.
The interception battle was proving difficult.
They themselves were only one faction among the ancient gods.
“We can’t stop them!”
“Since that’s the case, let some servants and minions escape and let humanity deal with them.”
Rivers of blood pierced through the battlefield, heading towards the East Anomaly Realm.
Soon, in the East Anomaly Realm, the Shattered Sea.
The four dominant forces here, including some super-forces, had established contact with the ancient beings.
They received the news.
“Evil god servants are heading our way!”
“Prepare yourselves, and let the evil god servants witness our might!”
Time passed,
Rushing rivers of blood arrived from across the void, within which indistinct, terrifying shadows could be seen.
When comparing beings of the high void, evil god servants could not be equated with high-tier anomalies.
High-tier anomalies lacked intelligence, and they could be dealt with individually. But this approach would not work against evil god servants.
Rather, the evil god’s servants would concentrate their forces and launch a concentrated assault on a particular oasis.
In the past, they would have been extremely worried.
Even though the Seven Star Alliance, the Ancient Moon Dynasty, and the Crimson Lotus Empire all had human high-tier beings overseeing them, their power far surpassed that of the seven great nations of Yunhui, they still feared being defeated piecemeal.
But now, the four dominant forces of the Falling Star Domain possessed seven level nine oases. Their expressions were grave, but they did not fear battle.
“The enemy is here!”
“Prepare to meet the enemy!”
Sage Baiyao stood at the highest point of the First Star Island, clad in white robes with a white beard, gazing at the scene in the distance, his body surging with the profound essence of laws.
Images of constellations appeared behind him.
Once the evil god’s servants entered the Shattered Sea, he would unleash a thunderous strike.
But…
The rushing rivers of blood, though appearing clear and terrifying, were still a considerable distance from the Shattered Sea. This scene was akin to a low-tier evil god’s domain phenomenon, an anomaly caused by the spatial turbulence generated when high-tier beings traveled.
Sage Baiyao watched.
He watched as the rushing rivers of blood passed by the Shattered Sea and disappeared directly into the void.
He: “???”
Is something wrong?
They in the Shattered Sea had created an atmosphere of tragic determination, only for the evil god’s servants not to be their target!
However, this did not make sense either.
Most of the power in the entire East Anomaly Realm was concentrated in the Shattered Sea, and if the evil god’s servants wished to spread disaster, they could not bypass the level nine oases they had established.
Even if they were to attack their Shattered Sea, the evil god faction would not have concentrated such immense power.
Where were they going?
Sages Baiyao, Guanyue, and Jinhui did not dare to be careless, their gazes closely following.
They followed the traces of the blood rivers, passing through one domain after another, finally entering a seemingly ordinary outer domain.
“Wait, this domain is…”
Sage Baiyao had an impression of it. It was the Falling Star Domain!
He had once descended there with a divine sense avatar to mediate a conflict between mythicals.
Could it be…
As they were about to pursue, their eyes widened again.
Following the trail of the blood river, they saw a flourishing oasis.
An oasis was nothing extraordinary.
The Falling Star Domain itself possessed numerous oases.
But this prosperous oasis before the blood river… if they were not mistaken…
“It’s a level nine oasis!”
“I can’t be mistaken. I have wielded the authority of a level nine oasis for many years, and I am very familiar with it. Moreover, the scale difference between a level nine and a level eight oasis is vast!”
“The Falling Star Domain actually possesses a level nine oasis? Wait, the Falling Star Domain was only established a few hundred years ago!”
Sage Baiyao had initially assumed the evil god’s servants were targeting the Blazing Flame Chamber of Commerce, but unexpectedly, a level nine oasis had suddenly appeared in the Falling Star Domain.
Divine light emanated from that oasis.
Sage Baiyao readily recognized some of the figures among them—they were powerhouses from ‘Xin Huo Academy,’ the newly emergent dominant force of the Human Alliance.
“Wait, Xin Huo Academy, Blazing Flame Chamber of Commerce… I seem to understand!”
“So, Xin Huo Academy’s foundation lies within our East Anomaly Realm.”
“I was wondering why Xin Huo Academy had presence in the West, South, and North Anomaly Realms, but not in our East Anomaly Realm. They are from our East Anomaly Realm!”
The demigods of Dawnlight, Brilliant Steel, and others, observing from afar with the power of their oases, were equally stunned.
But at this moment, all the clues connected, and he realized that this exaggerated speculation was the most likely truth!
“Clearly, we were all mistaken. Xin Huo’s foundation is not a mere academy secret realm, but this level nine oasis.”
“They have been operating from their main oasis all along.”
“This also explains why the Blazing Flame Oasis has developed so rapidly. With a level nine oasis supporting it, how could its development not be swift!”
“Xin Huo Academy has been hiding too deeply!”
…
“Too deep, it’s damnably deep.”
The blood rivers raged, unconstrained, shaking the entire domain.
Beneath the divine radiance, the magnificent city also shone brilliantly.
The three mythicals of Starfall City, Boralayze, Meng, and the third, were now petrified.
They had previously mocked themselves, calling themselves false former domain overlords.
Now, there was no need for self-deprecation; their status as former overlords of their domain was entirely fabricated.
“Perhaps, before Starfall City was founded, this domain already had an overlord oasis!”