The timeline is a bit off, but after observing, the Lord of Billions of Splendors could confirm that the target within this spatio-temporal node was an ordinary human, looking pathetic.
Within the spatio-temporal node, the entire world was very ordinary, still in the era before the descent of the supernatural, where all extraordinary powers were not yet apparent.
At this node, he could not only kill an ant-like human but could also destroy the entire world with ease.
"There's no mistake, this human is the 'Beacon of Hope' Mentor who will later be renowned throughout the entire bizarre realm."
"And he is incredibly weak at this moment!"
Having confirmed the target and its current state, the Lord of Billions of Splendors no longer hesitated. He used the power of the Master to violently break into this spatio-temporal node.
He was like a great white shark, coldly surveying the small pond that was the Blue Star world.
But at the same time, the repulsive force from space-time surged from all directions, acting upon the divine body of the Lord of Billions of Splendors, the pressure making it difficult for him to breathe.
In the depths of the void, a great killing intent loomed.
The Lord of Billions of Splendors understood very well that he would soon be crushed by the mighty forces of time due to the incompatibility of their space-time. His time was limited, but it was enough for him to complete the Master's divine oracle.
"Human, let the entire world vanish, disappear under the endless radiance."
At this moment, the supernatural had not yet descended upon Blue Star, nor had the bizarre entities appeared. The entire world was peaceful. People in streets, offices, and residential areas were going about their lives, completely unaware that a world-ending disaster was about to befall them.
Perhaps they would never realize it. Billions of humans, countless cities, would all perish under the brilliant radiance.
Outside the world, the Lord of Billions of Splendors raised his hand, and endless light beams converged in his palm.
Some people seemed to glimpse a colossal sphere of light, a thousand times brighter than the sun, appearing in the sky.
It vanished the next moment.
As if it were an illusion.
Later, experts would call this a phenomenon of light refraction, which was perfectly normal.
...
Outside the world, a colossal, dazzling white sphere, larger than the sun, was emitting endless radiance, but it did not reach the Blue Star world, which was within arm's reach.
To be precise, not a single wisp of this endless radiance could spread outwards.
It was contained within an even larger space, and this space was like a glass bead, easily held between two fingers and spun around.
The owner of the fingers, clad in a white robe, stood in the boundless starry sky before the world, one hand behind his back, the other pinching the endless radiance, as if he held the vast starry sky and the ethereal space-time within his grasp.
"Human... Beacon of Hope Mentor!"
The Lord of Billions of Splendors' eyes widened, as if he had seen something terrifying.
In fact, it was much the same.
This was clearly history!
"How could you..."
Invisible ripples of time spread out, freezing the entire starry sky.
One! Two! Ten! One hundred! A thousand, ten thousand streaks of orange lightning appeared in the surrounding space, continuously bombarding the being shrouded in billions of splendors.
Before the last thought of the Lord of Billions of Splendors could form, he was smashed to pieces by the destructive lightning. His law-divine body dissolved inch by inch in the endless orange lightning.
He had fallen.
The destructive lightning continued to descend, and after another one hundred and eight breaths, it slowly subsided.
In the starry sky, several brilliant and magnificent gems materialized, each representing the origin of a certain power.
"Authority of Light Beams."
"Authority of Radiance."
"Authority of Brilliance."
"And... the Authority of the Origin of Light."
It appeared that the Lord of Billions of Splendors was a notch weaker than the Moon Lord.
This was normal.
Not long ago—well, in the context of powerful beings, not long ago—the Lord of Billions of Splendors had trespassed into the central trial grounds of Candra. At that time, this ancient being was merely at the High-level Realm, or rather, had only recovered to the High-level Realm.
His previous status was comparable to ancient beings like the Moon Lord and the Lord of the Nine Seas, but having fallen once, his complete recovery would still be somewhat lacking.
"This ancient being carries a strong aura of filth. He has clearly joined the ranks of the evil gods. I'm just not sure how he became corrupted and depraved."
But it was no more than a few possibilities. He dismissed the thought with a turn of his mind, his eyes fixed on the few materialized authorities in the distant starry sky, untouched by the torrent of laws.
The three authority gems of Light Beams, Radiance, and Brilliance, transformed into light and returned to this universe.
Only half the size of a fingernail, but the most precious, the authority of the origin of all light, also sought to dissipate into light.
In Fang You's hand, a fragment of authority also appeared.
This fragment was even smaller, like a grain of sand, but it flowed with the same radiant light of the 'Origin of Light.'
—The Authority of Light!
Lightning was also a form of light. He had stepped into the path of the origin of lightning through the power of lightning. Similarly, he could step into the path of the origin of light.
This was not his primary focus of power, but after years of practice, he understood a little.
This little bit was the threshold that countless ancient beings dreamed of but could never cross.
Fang You abandoned his focus on the three lower authorities, letting them gradually return to heaven and earth. He concentrated all his attention and power on the Authority of the Origin of Light.
Light!
Light!
The two fragments of authority, intrinsically one, resonated with a hum.
His own law of light power transformed into invisible chains, linking the two authorities together, and also firmly shackled the distant authority fragment that sought to dissipate and return to heaven and earth, slowly dragging it over.
One second!
Ten seconds!
One hundred seconds!
Authorities of the same origin could devour each other, but Fang You's own power of light authority was too weak. He was like a small fish trying to swallow a giant whale, unable to swallow it.
Fortunately, his own power was strong enough. After hundreds of seconds, a long period of time, he finally swallowed the ownerless Authority of Light.
Afterward, it would require a much longer period of time to slowly fuse it.
Glancing back at the Blue Star in his memory, Fang You took a step forward and disappeared into this space-time.
...
Hum—
The historical space-time!
The River of Time!
The present world!
Returning to the present world, the Time Pavilion hung high above his head, showering down thousands of streams of time to alleviate the residual pressure from traversing space-time.
"That was close... I almost died."
Although saving his past self by traversing space-time was not a matter of being a moment late, as he was destined to arrive at that critical juncture.
Fast or slow held no meaning under the River of Time.
On his panel,
"Urgent Instance: Enemy from Past and Future" slowly marked itself as complete, with a symbolic reward left behind.
Just a moment ago, his panel had suddenly popped up with this urgent instance notification.
Otherwise, with his power of time authority, he would not have been able to detect and intercept enemies across infinite space-time.
"But if I were to ascend to the peak of the Way of Time, to roam freely in the endless space-time, entering and exiting at will, it would not be impossible."
...
The news of the Lord of Billions of Splendors' demise did not even create a ripple.
After all, in general rational terms, this ancient being had long since perished; only a husk that believed in evil gods remained.
However, the fact that the evil god faction could cross space-time was somewhat alarming to him.
It was too terrifying.
For several days, Fang You kept a close eye on his panel, not even daring to enter the Secret Realm of Ages, fearing that the realm's existence might have spatio-temporal barriers. But then he remembered that he had no need to worry. Even if the panel gave him a notification while he was cultivating or in some other inconvenient state, causing him to miss the time, it wouldn't matter.
Just like this time, when the panel gave him a notification, and he discovered it hours or days later, he could still descend to the moment the Lord of Billions of Splendors had just gathered endless light, traversing the River of Time.
Time was fixed at that moment.
The outcome would not change at all.
"This is the profoundness of time, I seem to have comprehended it anew... Moreover, it also involves the ethereal power of destiny."
For a long time afterward, events like space-time invasions did not occur again.
...
Humans are highly adaptable beings. Within months of the third calamity tide's descent, large and super oases across the world were consecutively destroyed, and an atmosphere of despair and pessimism enveloped every city.
But now, a year had passed since the construction of the oasis city walls. Within the walls, while not exactly a scene of revelry, it was at least relatively peaceful, seeming to have returned to the period before the calamity tide.
... Not really!
Rumble—
The sky cracked open again, with red and black each occupying half, casting down endless filth.
Ordinary people and low-level awakened individuals who heard the rumbling quickly lowered their heads. No one dared to look up at the sky with curiosity, even though they were protected by the oasis city walls and the city's rituals. They dared not risk their lives to satisfy trivial curiosity.
In this era, those with too much curiosity had grass growing three feet high on their graves.
This was the era of great calamity, a fact deeply understood even by the unawakened common people.
Even outer worlds like Blue Star could now see some disaster scenes from afar, hanging in the sky like mirages, lingering for a long time.
Some outer worlds not bordering the bizarre realm had also entered the era of supernatural descent and fog.
The Hundred Domains, enveloped by the oasis city walls, were not absolutely safe either.
Oases were frequently attacked by large groups of servants of evil gods, and the frequency of awakened individuals exploring the wilderness encountering the claws of evil gods had increased tenfold, even a hundredfold, compared to peaceful times.
Consequently, the prices of various bizarre artifacts and items continued to rise, yet they remained in short supply. The official emporium in Burning Fire City's epic bizarre artifacts were often sold out daily, and large auctions, once held annually, gradually became semi-annual, then quarterly, then monthly.
Countless new equipment factories were established on the continents of Blue Star, yet their production capacity remained insufficient.
Both the awakened at the bottom and the strong at the mid-to-high levels were doing their best to arm themselves, enhance their own strength and that of their families.
But after doing all they could, the rest might have to be left to fate.
A year and a half after the construction of the oasis city walls, the situation had become even more tense.
Esphos, the Blazing Red Lotus, a renowned powerhouse of the Crimson Lotus Empire, encountered a powerhouse of the evil god faction during an exploration mission. His team of one demigod and three mythical figures were all annihilated.
Three months later,
Yaocheng, the Second Island Master of the Seven Stars Alliance, a peak demigod, also encountered a large group of evil god servants. After severely wounding several of his peers, he was outnumbered and captured. It was rumored that he had fallen and been converted into a servant of an evil god.
Countless powerhouses in the Seven Stars Alliance were both saddened and enraged.
Shortly after,
Within the ancestral land of the Heavenly River Chen clan, one of the four major families of the Ancient Moon Dynasty, an evil god calamity erupted within their super oasis.
It was said that the calamity erupted from within because the Heavenly River Chen clan's strongest ancestral demigod had been unknowingly corrupted.
As a result, the entire Heavenly River Chen clan was annihilated without warning, and there was no time to send out a plea for help.
By the time human reinforcements discovered the situation and arrived, they could only save Chen Tianxuan, the Saint of Faint Sword, and the few humans he protected. The vast majority of other humans had already died or degenerated.
Later, with the help of the Beacon of Hope, the Ancient Moon Dynasty, and other human forces, Chen Tianxuan and his companions cleansed the oasis of filth, recalled their scattered clansmen, rebuilt the city on the ravaged land, and re-established the name of the Heavenly River Chen clan.
This was considered a blessing in disguise.
At least their bloodline and culture had not completely vanished and were able to continue.
"The Heavenly River Chen clan had two demigods stationed there; their strength was not much inferior to that of our Water-Mane Nation. If such a calamity were to occur within our Water-Mane Nation, could we withstand it?"
Water-Mane Nation, Crimson Sand Nation, Ancient Wood Nation... these dominant powers, not much stronger than the Heavenly River Chen clan, also began to worry about their own situations.
After the construction of the oasis city walls, the offensive pressure from the evil god faction had actually weakened considerably.
The reason for the Heavenly River Chen clan's instantaneous annihilation was that their ancestor had been polluted, causing the city defense rituals not only to fail but also to be secretly altered into blood sacrifice rituals. This was why the Chen clan had perished so tragically.
However, the fact that those close by could be unknowingly corrupted without any prior discovery caused even more worry among the powerhouses.
For a time, everyone felt a sense of self-preservation, and trust had plummeted to the freezing point.
"Those who believe in evil gods have a fundamentally different aura. They can hide, but if one truly wants to investigate, they can be found."
Fang You spoke.
He was not saying this to An Jianyou and others, but because the personnel within the Beacon of Hope had an extremely low degree of contamination. If an elite member had already fallen or been converted into a servant of an evil god, his panel would clearly indicate it.
The Beacon of Hope was not without its fallen mythical figures, and there were more than one or two, but they would not be quietly corrupted.
He was speaking to the high-ranking officials of various dominant powers.
"Let's check each other. The simplest method is face-to-face, releasing your aura and divine essence." Previously, no one would have dared to scrutinize a highly respected mythical figure or demigod, but the situation was different now.
Whoever is unwilling is likely a minion of an evil god!
The Beacon of Hope naturally set an example by conducting mutual checks.
This check did indeed reveal the existence of corrupted powerhouses within several super-powers.
"The number is too great. I didn't expect that since the evil god faction couldn't forcefully attack, they would resort to internal corruption." The Empress of Wudong mused, "Furthermore, do they possess means to completely conceal their auras?"
"It's hard to say," Fang You replied, "but let's consider it from another perspective. Since the evil god faction is employing this method, it indicates that our oasis city wall plan is effective, preventing them from launching a frontal assault."
To be honest, this was indeed the case.
Many worried and despondent high-ranking officials of the dominant powers breathed a sigh of relief.
Within the Human Alliance, Fang You, the Mentor, now held considerable authority. However, he did not linger long at the meeting, saying a few words before leaving.
Cultivation and the promotion of various plans were the top priorities.
If it weren't for his role as 'Alliance Leader' of the Beacon of Hope, his appearance and a few words could stabilize morale, he might not have shown his face at all.
Afterward, Fang You summoned An Jianyou, Black Saber, Pei Hongjing, Liu Feng, Liu Shang, and other high-ranking officials within the Beacon of Hope who possessed foresight, to discuss strategies.
"The overall strategy remains unchanged."
"Old Pei, you will continue to be responsible for communicating with various forces, urging them to focus on developing and upgrading their oases."
The corruption of human powerhouses was unexpected, but it was far from necessitating a change in strategy.
Liu Shang, Wang Hammer, Black Saber, and others were each responsible for various plans.
For example, the repair of the war puppet 'Pale Crimson' and the 'World Lord's Hand.'
These two god-slaying weapons became stuck after being repaired to 89.99%, as they could not find the missing parts. Furthermore, repairing them based on the technology of the Candra Empire was beyond their capabilities.
After all, their Beacon of Hope's technological path was completely different from Candra's. The god-slaying weapons themselves were unreplicable; even the Candra Empire might not be able to repair them themselves.
However, the Beacon of Hope also had its strengths.
If repair was not possible, they would strengthen and modify them based on their current state.
"We can carve six holes in the World Lord's Hand and embed six gems melted from World Cores to enhance its power."
This idea was initially proposed by An Jianyou.
After all, she specialized in fusing bizarre entities into herself.
As for Pale Crimson? Since repair was not feasible, they would maximize its absorption abilities.
The remains of high-level bizarre entities, servants of evil gods, and even the fallen 'Ghost-faced Convergence Venerable' and 'Lord of the Nine Seas' that the Beacon of Hope had slain could serve as supplements for Pale Crimson to devour.
His goal was not to repair Pale Crimson, but to make Pale Crimson surpass its peak and gain the true ability to slay evil gods!
Fang You gazed into the distance at the sky filled with various visions of evil god calamities, and then at the brightly lit city nearby.
"Era of great calamity? I will personally end it."