Chapter 1196: Extermination of Humanity, Power of Eternity

In the Solar Divine Region, the golden divine tree towered over a hundred thousand kilometers high, its massive trunk stretching skyward while its canopy spread more than two hundred thousand kilometers across. Each enormous branch, hundreds of kilometers thick, extended outward like the orbit of a planet.

Every leaf on the tree was the size of a city, several kilometers thick, its veins winding like mountain ridges. The faint golden radiance it emitted illuminated millions of kilometers of space.

Here, there was no night, only perpetual daylight. The world resembled a sacred kingdom from the myths and legends of the West. After more than a decade of development, the Eternal Divine Tree had become the foundation of a prosperous haven, home to billions of humans, the Heavenly Feathered Race, the Faerie Race, and the Alliance of Gods’ other allied species.

Yet on this day, the sacred city was shrouded in heavy silence. Suddenly, from one of the leaf-cities perched at the end of a golden branch, chaos erupted.

Amid the frightened gazes of the Heavenly Feathered Race and Faeries within inns and pavilions, dozens of humans in the streets below suddenly had their clothes burst apart. Their bodies swelled grotesquely, transforming into towering, bloodthirsty monsters over ten meters tall.

Their entire bodies were covered in crimson scales. Before their mutation, they had only been cultivators at the Seventh or Eighth Heavenly Realm, yet the moment the change occurred, their aura surged by dozens or even hundreds of times.

Splurt!

Several Heavenly Feathered and human bystanders were torn apart before they could react, their bodies shredded by the monsters’ claws, blood splattering across the streets.

"Run! Humans are turning into monsters again!"

"Call the enforcement legion! We’ve got more mutations here!"

The moment the humans began transforming, panic swept through the nearby streets and buildings as people fled in all directions. A heartbeat later, the majestic pressure of a king descended from the heavens.

Boom!

Under that tangible law-level pressure, the air rippled violently, and the dozens of bloodthirsty monsters’ bodies were forced down by the crushing weight. The ground beneath them shattered, spiderweb cracks spreading for hundreds of meters, and golden light flooded from the fissures to suppress them.

Roar! Roar!

The blood-red monsters, bound by golden radiance, howled toward the sky with madness and bloodlust in their eyes. Space distorted above, and four powerful figures appeared, each radiating immense authority. Among them were a Heavenly Feathered mythical powerhouse, a mythical-level faerie general, and Xie Chen. All three stood behind a tall, black-haired youth clad in golden armor, their expressions solemn.

Watching the raging monsters below, Xie Chen gravely said, "The frequency of these transformations keeps increasing, and as before, there are no signs or warnings."

The Heavenly Feathered deity nodded, his tone equally grim. "So many humans mutating so often has already caused tremendous casualties. The entire alliance is in panic. We must find a way to stop this before it spirals beyond control."

The faerie general bowed respectfully to the black-haired youth. "Your Majesty, what should we do next?"

Chen Hu withdrew his gaze from the monsters below and spoke slowly, his deep voice carrying the weight of command. "I’ll take these people for processing myself. You are to continue monitoring your assigned regions. The moment a mutation occurs, suppress it immediately and isolate all wounded."

"Yes." The Heavenly Feathered deity and faerie general lowered their heads respectfully.

Before the human race’s number one powerhouse, the Everlasting Emperor, who had reached the true spirit level a decade ago, even mythical beings from the alliance dared not show the slightest negligence.

Boom!

The space around the blood-red monsters tore open, and Chen Hu and Xie Chen vanished along with them. Deep within the dim void, countless black light bands bristling with barbs were drawn from the thousands of blood-red monsters, converging in Qian Tian’s hand.

Qian Tian looked toward Chen Hu and Xie Chen, who stood surrounded by golden light, his cold voice edged with tension. "The force behind these mutations has grown even stronger."

Xie Chen’s tone was grim. "Big Brother Qian, can you still not reach the source of that power?"

In the darkness, Qian Tian’s scarred face was set in a heavy frown. "Not just reach it, I can’t even sense the faintest trace of it. This power has already surpassed the ordinary primordial level. The being behind it is likely a primordial sovereign. Only a sovereign who has mastered spacetime could do this—erase people without a sound, without us perceiving even the slightest fluctuation of the primordial principles."

For some time, they had been studying the cause of these mutations. Though they had found no origin, what they discovered revealed the cruelty and malice behind it. Under that mysterious power, countless people were either wiped from existence or transformed in an instant into another species.

Yet this transformation differed from the past energy corruptions of the mythical world. Though they appeared stronger, their very genes and life essence had been shattered beyond repair. By the decay rate of their genetic sequence chains, these monsters could last no more than an hour before collapsing into pools of blood and dying completely.

However, within the mutated sequences, there existed one complete predatory chain that allowed them to devour the flesh of their own kind to replenish energy, slowing the degeneration. That was why the monsters slaughtered other humans so viciously.

Even so, the devouring merely delayed their death. Within a month, every one of them would still rot away. They could never evolve into something greater and could never form a new monstrous civilization.

Even Chen Hu and Qian Tian, both at the true spirit level, couldn’t prevent the decay of their genes, life essence, or even soul essence. It was clear now that whoever stood behind this wanted the extermination of humankind.

Chen Hu’s golden eyes flared with divine light, his tone cold and wrathful. "Is it the unknown sovereign who escaped from the Shadow War God Race? Or a surviving primordial being of the Golden Divine Race? Or perhaps a hidden powerhouse from the Heavenly Punishment Race? Only they could harbor such deep hatred for us."

It had been twelve years since Chen Chu entered the Ancient Battlefield. Shortly after, the Shadow War God Race, the Golden Divine Race, and the Heavenly Punishment Race had been annihilated through the joint assault of humanity and the many civilizations within the Ancient Battlefield.

Through Zhenwu and the others, Chen Hu and his people had learned some of what transpired beyond. Because of Chen Chu’s influence, the six divine regions had continuously provided immense support to the Human Alliance during the past decade, aiding in reconstruction, cultural exchange, and the transfer of vast resources.

Xie Chen’s expression was as dark as still water. "This crisis is no longer something we can handle. I propose we activate the Primordial Heavenly Altar and contact the divine regions for assistance."

"We do need to reach out to them," Chen Hu said, nodding slowly.

***

At the crown of the Eternal Divine Tree, an altar made of towering gray stone rose tens of thousands of meters high. The altar itself was shaped like the Eight Trigrams, covered in ancient runes. It resembled the altar Shi Feitong had once used to contact Shi Feirou, though this one was far larger. Surrounding the altar stood seven immense black steles, each a hundred thousand meters tall, inscribed with a single character representing one of the seven ancient emperors.

Apart from Chen Hu and a few remaining powerhouses of the alliance, dozens of Heavenly Feathered deities, faerie generals, and titan-level faerie lords gathered around the altar. Before their watchful eyes, Chen Hu formed a divine seal with his hand and pressed his palm down.

Boom!

The clouds trembled as a massive golden rune descended from the heavens, landing on the altar’s peak.

Hum!

The altar shuddered. Responding to the seven steles marked with the true names of the ancient emperors, an invisible wave surged upward, piercing through the heavens of the mythical world. At once, in the distant Flamewheel Divine Region, another power stirred, crossing spacetime as it descended.

Boom!

The altar trembled, its engraved runes lighting up one by one, dyeing the sky in hues of fiery red.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Within the blazing starry expanse, surging flames gathered to form a towering throne. Upon it sat a middle-aged man clad in imperial robes, exuding the vast pressure of a primordial-level being.

"Greetings to His Majesty, the Flamewheel Emperor!"

Everyone present, except Chen Hu, bowed deeply in reverence. Because of the Flamewheel Emperor’s regard for the Blue Planet Federation, all communications between the two sides over the past decade had been handled by him. Thus, Xie Chen and the others were not unfamiliar with this primordial powerhouse.

Chen Hu’s expression was solemn. "Forgive our intrusion, Your Majesty Flamewheel."

"I don't mind." Seated high upon the throne of flames, the Flamewheel Emperor shook his head slightly, his tone calm. "With your temperament, you wouldn’t contact the divine regions unless the matter was of grave importance. I assume this is about the recent disappearances of humans and their transformation into bloodthirsty monsters, is it not?"

Chen Hu and the others froze. “...You already know?”

The emperor softly responded, "This catastrophe affects all of humanity. The same phenomenon is occurring across the six divine regions, and even more severely. Just yesterday, in the Thousand-Sword Divine Region, five mythical kings and one titan-level heavenly king turned to ash in an instant, utterly annihilated. In the Slaughter Divine Region, an ancient powerhouse mutated, transforming into a bloodthirsty monster that massacred hundreds of millions in three main cities and an entire continent before a primordial sovereign watching the region erased them. Yet even the true emperors cannot locate the source of this power."

Gasps spread through those gathered around the altar. Even Chen Hu’s usually steady expression showed a flicker of shock.

This disaster has already spread beyond the mythical level. That mysterious power enveloping the human race is something even primordial sovereigns can’t sense. Is the enemy a supreme existence beyond even them?

While the Human Alliance trembled in dread at the Flamewheel Emperor’s words, far away, in the shattered seventh layer of the Ancient Battlefield, an immense black-and-red colossal beast lay across the void, stretching three light years long. Black-gray mist coiled across its surface as it let out a roar so terrifying it made even primordial beings’ souls quiver.

Each breath it exhaled resonated with the seventh-layer universe itself, as the surrounding cosmos continuously poured into it, feeding it pure Supreme Chaos energy. With the ability of Infinite Evolution, the Dragon Emperor of the End could grow endlessly, so long as it had sufficient energy, until it reached the limit of its current level.

After devouring the true form of the Nine Hells monster and absorbing millions of years’ worth of refined Supreme Chaos energy, the Dragon Emperor had now reached the peak of the Seventh Primordial Heaven. It was seizing the immortal power of the Nine Hells monster, seeking to evolve toward the Eighth Primordial Heaven.

However, even with the Dragon Emperor’s immense power, the immortal energy contained within the fragmentary will of that monster was insufficient for it to break through to the immortal realm. Moreover, because of the unique nature of reincarnation and immortality, even the Dragon Emperor could not yet completely annihilate the Nine Hells monster.

Rather than refining it, what it was doing now was devouring its energy while sealing the monster’s immortal will deep within its own cells. When it one day fully crossed into the immortal realm or even the Ninth Primordial Heaven, it would then turn back and erase that will completely.

Atop the Dragon Emperor’s head sat a cross-legged Chen Chu in human form, his aura vast yet restrained. He was just a step away from reaching the Seventh Primordial Heaven. The battle within the Ancient Battlefield had brought immense harvests for both of them.

Once they finished digesting these gains, the Dragon Emperor, which was already comparable to an immortal being, would journey to the edge of the chaotic void to hunt those primordial-sovereign-level chaotic beasts and trade their essence for eternal qi. It wouldn’t be long before it fully crossed into the immortal realm.

Meanwhile, Chen Chu was preparing to fulfill his promise to Alvaron: to hunt the grievously wounded Lord of Hell, and devour the origin converted from its Supreme Hell Plane. Such a feat would cause his strength to soar rapidly.

When that time came, by opening and condensing his own Hell Plane, and allowing the supreme power of that plane to erode and plunder other Great Thousand Universes, he would soon accumulate enough origin to break through to the immortal level himself.

Thinking of this, Chen Chu’s lips curved into a faint smile. Just as he was mapping out his next path of cultivation, however, he suddenly turned his gaze forward. At the same time, the Dragon Emperor beneath him, which had been resting and cultivating, abruptly opened its eyes. Its colossal golden pupils gleamed like entire galaxies, emanating a terrifying radiance.

Without sound or warning, a force transcending both time and dimension descended, imbued with a killing intent so absolute that it sought to erase Chen Chu’s very existence.

Boom!

That power collided with the Eternal Force Field surrounding Chen Chu, unleashing a tremendous shockwave that stirred the Dragon Emperor’s black mane.

"Who is it?" Chen Chu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The strength of that attack had been comparable to a primordial overlord, yet the manner in which it descended was so subtle that even Chen Chu couldn’t sense its origin until it manifested right before him. Only when it struck did he perceive it.

This kind of power... Could it be that an immortal or even a Ninth-Primordial-Heaven existence has set its sights on me?

With that thought, Chen Chu’s blood-red, silver, and golden-black vertical pupils appeared at once. The three merged together, and his gaze pierced through spacetime itself.

Boom!

His sight tore through dimensions and reversed the flow of time. Following the faint thread of that danger through the power of his Insightful Eye, which glimpsed into the future, Chen Chu beheld a dreadful vision.

In it, a vast black silhouette stood with its back to him, towering and majestic, existing beyond the farthest edge of all reality and the shore of existence itself. Facing that black figure stood Heng, whom Chen Chu had once encountered briefly, now locked in a battle with another being wreathed in red.

Bang! Bang!

The instant he saw the fleeting image, Chen Chu’s four-layered pupils exploded. Blood gushed uncontrollably from his eyes, streaming down to dye his upper body crimson as he let out a muffled groan.

Ignoring the blood, Chen Chu’s expression was grim and tense. Heng, who was battling the two eternal-level beings, had fallen into disadvantage. He was already wounded at the level of origin. As the only eternal source of humanity, the injury to Heng’s origin meant that the entire human race suffered as well. The impact rippled instantly through countless worlds and across innumerable timelines.

Such was the terror of the eternal level. They were beings that had transcended time itself, standing above the cycles of chaos and reincarnation. Each time those two joined forces to wound Heng, the power of their supreme wills spread along Heng’s very existence, and with every strike, countless worlds and countless humans were erased from reality.