Chapter 1062: Devouring the Stars, a New Era (III)

While Chen Chu entered seclusion and the Dragon Emperor refined one planetary crystal after another, activity continued outside the temple.

At the Azure-White Colossal Dragon’s request, the colossal beast legion, along with several ancient-titan dragon kings, made camp outside the Forbidden Zone Battlefield while keeping their dealings with the Human Alliance to a bare minimum.

On the other hand, the Human Alliance armies spent two days clearing the battlefield before they withdrew. As they returned, the human rear erupted in celebration. Their cheers from one logistics city after another rose into the skies.

At the site of Passage One, the phantom of a golden divine tree, towering over a hundred thousand kilometers, slowly unfolded. Its golden light washed over the human territories like a divine domain.

Above the vast golden tree hung a boundless world, a small portion of which already spanned tens of millions of kilometers. It easily blotted out the sky and sun. The rest of the Solar System, which had already been successfully held up, lay hidden in the layered depths of spacetime, safe from any probing eyes.

Surrounding the divine tree were countless golden battleships, orbital battleships, floating cities, and divine regions. All of them were filled with elite troops of the four civilizations. Excitement shone on their faces as they looked toward the waist of the tree, where mythical-level and chief-god-level auras gathered in force. At the tree’s canopy stood the kings, the heavenly kings, and ten towering figures at the divine-king level. Their invisible pressure alone shook heaven and earth.

With the war finished and the Purgatory Demon Clan annihilated, the time had come to divide the spoils and vast territories. Hundreds of millions of kilometers of land were at stake, along with the "strongholds" the humans had promised once the heavens were upheld.

The Faerie Race, the Heavenly Feathered Race, and the Alliance of Gods were not natives of the Solar System, and couldn’t inherit its principle imprint, but their descendants could. As long as they were conceived and born within the Solar System, they would carry an imprint different from that of the mythical world.

However, there was also a downside to this. The Blue Planet and the Solar System as a whole were considered barren environments. This meant that their future generations who would once have been born at the Fourth Heavenly Realm could regress. Newborns could fall to the First or Second Heavenly Realm, or even be born as ordinary beings with no transcendent power at all. Just like humanity, the future of these three civilizations was also now filled with uncertainty.

To the Faeries, the Heavenly Feathered Race, and the Alliance of Gods, however, this loss meant little. They thought in terms of centuries and millennia. If even one prodigy like Chen Chu appeared in their race in the future, it would all be worth it.

The Golden-Winged Divine King Tolstoy turned to Zhenwu, the Celestial Divine King, and the Primordial King, and said, "Your Excellency Zhenwu, I believe there is no need to rush the second Four-Cilvization Alliance assembly. We can hold it after the Divine Might Heavenly King returns."

The strongest among them, Divine King Tarrodell, nodded in agreement. "Agreed. There is no need to hurry."

None of them dared forget about the monster who had wielded true spirit level power despite only being at the beginning of the ancient-titan level. Although Chen Chu was said to have died from exhaustion after holding up the heavens and being swallowed by the colossal beast, that same beast also declared he hadn’t completely fallen. If so, there remained a strong chance Chen Chu would return. With strength of that level, the beast had no reason to mislead them.

For this reason, Tolstoy and the others believed that dividing human territory should wait until Chen Chu returned. To do otherwise would be disrespectful. Or even worse, if Chen Chu later judged that someone had claimed too much of the human lands, his displeasure would bring a lot of trouble.

The Primordial True King shook his head. "It is fine. We discussed this before the war began, including how to divide the spoils if we prevailed. In this civilizational war against the Purgatory Demon Clan, each of you staked everything to see us succeed. Whatever the reasons, the human race feels deep gratitude. Now that the great war is over and the Purgatory Clan has been wiped out, it is only right that we honor our promises."

The Primordial King and other human leaders understood the others’ concerns. However, with no certainty as to when Chen Chu would return, they couldn’t delay forever. In any case, they intended only to cede lands they didn’t truly need. What mattered more was opening a new human era by integrating the strength of all four races.

Suddenly, the Primordial King’s tone hardened. "However, our First Councilor, Qian Tian, will still preside over the second assembly."

"Councilor Qian Tian?" The divine kings of the three civilizations all froze.

Boom!

Space trembled. From deep within the golden canopy, a black rift a thousand kilometers long tore open. At its edge, a pair of ferocious black claws appeared, then a vast figure shrouded in darkness emerged. A violent aura, contaminated with darkness, instantly spread outward.

Boom, boom, boom!

Every divine king and faerie king rose to their feet. Brilliant principle radiance flared around them as they braced themselves against the figure climbing out of the void.

It was Qian Tian. Transformed by the void, he still retained a human outline. His black hair hung to his shoulders, and his true form rose thirty thousand meters tall. Yet his form seemed to be shaped from dense black-gray mist steeped in death and overflowing with violent power.

Most striking of all were those dark red eyes. Even Tarrodell felt a trace of danger when Qian Tian's gaze glanced across. In this form, Qian Tian was powerful and menacing. But how could he be here? Had he not fallen in the last great battle?

Faerie King Xuntian narrowed its eyes and looked toward Zhenwu and the others. "Everyone, what is going on?"

The other divine kings grew grim. In the past, their clashes with the Purgatory Demon Clan had been battles between civilizations. Void creatures, which they feared Qian Tian had become now, were different. They contaminated and eroded all they touched. They were the mortal enemies of every living being.

With a rasp voice, Qian Tian said, "Do not tense up. My current state is somewhat special. It's different from that of ordinary void creatures. As you can see, the material world does not reject me.”

Divine King Tarrodell and the others paused. Normally, the stronger a void creature’s power, the harsher the suppression from the principles of heaven and earth the moment it appeared in the material world. However, Qian Tian radiated an aura comparable with a late-stage divine king, and the world’s principles showed no reaction at all.

The Golden-Winged Divine King Tolstoy hesitated before speaking. "First Councilor Qian Tian, did you not fall earlier?"

"Yes. I did fall back then." Qian Tian nodded and continued. "But I once obtained a secret void treasure. So, when I fell, I relied on it to transform into a special lifeform that exists between matter and the void. Through it, I was able to return to life."

Tolstoy’s eyes brightened. "I didn’t expect you to possess such a treasure. Your survival is a great blessing, one that can guide the Alliance to an even more glorious future."

Smiles spread across the faces of Xuntian and the others, mixed with surprise and envy. None of them had expected the seemingly ordinary human race to reveal hidden methods one after another. They seemed to have as many as the Purgatory Clan.

Qian Tian smiled. "You flatter me, but this is not my achievement alone. The Alliance will advance toward an even more brilliant future through the joint efforts of our races."

While everyone was all smiles, no one knew the truth. Qian Tian’s resurrection hadn’t been as effortless as it appeared; something had even gone wrong. According to the original plan, after burning out and falling, he was supposed to return to the Secret Sea of the Void. There, he would transform into an ancient-level void creature, revive, and together with the Celestial Divine King, tear open space to rejoin the battlefield. Yet only now, after the great war had already ended, had Qian Tian barely managed to take control of his true void form.

Qian Tian suppressed the urge to destroy within him and continued with a smile. "Everyone, in this war of extermination you all made outstanding contributions. Do you have any requests regarding internal or external territories?"

"Yes, just a small one," Xuntian answered.

What followed was a full day of meetings among the divine kings and the supreme powerhouses, discussing how to divide the territories and how to continue their cooperation moving forward.

***

Half a day later, outer space above the Blue Planet quivered. The void split open, tearing into a massive rift. From it, forty-seven golden battleships surged forth. However, instead of the Blue Planet, they flew toward Venus.

Moments later, twenty-eight colossal floating cities pressed through the rift. Wreathed in azure light, they streaked across the space like meteors, heading for Mars.

Next out of the rift were thousands of colossal beasts. Each of them were at least five hundred meters long and radiated a level 9 aura. On their backs rode tens of thousands of members of the Alliance of Gods. Their faces were bright with excitement as they made for Io, one of Jupiter’s moons.

As these forces of the three races moved toward the territories assigned to them by humanity, a massive phantom manifested above the star at the center of the Solar System. Its form was strange, both like a golden-white mech and like a woman with long black hair. A great ancient seal rested in the figure's left hand.

Once all three civilizations’ troops had entered the Solar System, Luo Fei extended her right hand and pressed down with her palm. More than a hundred million kilometers away, the rift in the outer space of the Solar System collapsed without a sound.

Luo Fei raised a finger and traced lightly toward Mars, Io, and Venus. On each of the three bodies, a long, narrow rift ten thousand meters in length tore open, linking directly to the mythical world. Boundless, concentrated energy poured out from the other side.

As the "center" of the Solar System, the Blue Planet's atmosphere was also filled with countless tiny world rifts, and dense transcendent energy from the mythical world surged through them. In just a few days, the energy concentration had risen to five times its former level. Even so, this was a carefully restrained state, held back deliberately to avoid dangerous consequences from an uncontrolled surge.

Compared to a year ago, when Chen Chu first began his cultivation, the Blue Planet’s environment had changed beyond recognition. Every day, large numbers of people awakened ordinary abilities and gained the aptitude to cultivate.

All of this was the result of Luo Fei’s efforts over the past few days. With the Heavenly Dao Mark left behind after Chen Chu’s separation, she now stood as the one True God in the Solar System world. Aside from a few foundational principles she was bound to follow, there was nothing she couldn’t do.

With the leadership of the Human Alliance and Luo Fei's guidance, a new era of cultivation was about to begin.