Chapter 878: Civilizations' Foundations, Xiao Tianyi Appears (I)

A golden divine tree stood towering in the void, stretching over a hundred thousand kilometers high. It radiated an endless brilliance in all directions that penetrated space and time, layer upon layer forming planes.

On the seventeenth plane, at the root of the Eternal Divine Tree, golden ripples spread across the sky as several golden battleships, each ten kilometers in length, descended across realms.

These were transport ships responsible for carrying weapons and equipment. As they were operating within the inner planes, only a few Silverplume battalions were stationed aboard.

At the edge of the lead ship, several seven-meter-tall Heavenly Feathered Race members with silver light wings stood watching the mountainous center in the distance, where a massive dark-golden barrier loomed.

In just a few days, the Dark Star power surrounding Chen Chu had already expanded over dozens of kilometers, devouring everything and madly absorbing the heavy metal elements from the ore veins below.

As agitation spread among the Heavenly Feathered Race, one high-ranking individual with the cultivation of the Eighth Heavenly Realm narrowed his eyes and exclaimed in awe. "That’s where the human cultivator is in seclusion? Incredible... even from several hundred kilometers away, the intangible pressure makes my heart pound."

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Another of the group, the strongest in aura, added with reverence, "That lord alone suppressed over a dozen demon kings and even held off two great demon kings. Of course he’s powerful. Thankfully the humans supported us this time. Otherwise, we might have lost two more planes."

The first expert nodded with relief. "Exactly. The attacks on the twelfth and thirteenth planes were the most brutal. If we had lost them, there would’ve been no hope left for our race."

While chatting, the four battleships sped toward a foundry base over a thousand kilometers away. Pillars of black smoke rose high into the sky, exuding an atmosphere reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution. As the ships flew farther, the first expert glanced back at the direction of the dark-golden sphere, his gaze lingering with intent.

Three hours later, deep within the bronze-toned mountains, a silver figure streaked through the shadows between rocks, flashing across several kilometers with each leap. Very soon, that concealed figure came to a halt not far from the dark-golden barrier, and the very same Heavenly Feathered expert from the battleship revealed his massive seven-meter frame.

Looking at the dark-golden sphere, shrouding a bronze mountain and radiating a terrifying aura, Borna’s eyes glinted. After several days of probing, a traitor among the Heavenly Feathered Race had uncovered information about Chen Chu and managed to infiltrate the Logistics Department to enter the seventeenth plane.

The next step was to make contact with the human and relay the will of the Great Demon God Tyretis. However, in doing so, his identity would be exposed. If any human was willing to betray their own kind, they could continue to remain hidden and wait for the right moment to strike. If they refused, then...

Thinking of this, the Heavenly Feathered expert hesitated. After all, under normal circumstances, the chances of such a powerful individual betraying their race were extremely slim. Suddenly, Borna froze.

Wait... this is a mission of certain death. Why did I even think of coming to the seventeenth plane?

Just as that thought flashed through his mind, a black light flickered in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, his expression changed, becoming cold, indifferent, and filled with arrogant superiority. As his consciousness was seized, Borna turned into a beam of silver light and charged straight into the dark-golden barrier.

Boom!

The moment Borna stepped into the Dark Star's range, an immense gravitational force crashed down from above. The ground beneath it shattered, and half his body was driven into the earth as cracks spread in all directions.

His silver wings flared wide, and from within, a quasi-mythical level will erupted, barely withstanding the invisible pressure engulfing the area. Borna shouted out, "Human! I am the envoy of His Majesty, Great Demon God Tyretis. I come to speak with you!"

A deep voice echoed from within the depths of the Dark Star Domain. "Great demon god!"

Boom!

A violet thunderbolt appeared, like a twisting bolt of lightning that wrapped itself around Borna. The instant that thunderbolt struck, the demon king's will within Borna was shaken; from that arc of lightning, it felt the presence of death.

This human is terrifying. Just the power of a single thunderbolt law invoked such crushing pressure. Even if my true form descended, it would be instantly annihilated.

Whoosh!

Wrapped in the violet thunderbolt, Borna felt the scene before him shift. In the blink of an eye, he was transported to the mountainside, several thousand meters high. A monstrous aura surged toward him.

Boom!

A pressure hundreds of times stronger than before, forced Borna down. His knees bent, and he collapsed to the gray, weathered rock below, utterly immobilized.

Crack! Crack!

Centered on the seven-meter-tall Borna, the ground continued to collapse and fracture, forming a massive crater hundreds of meters wide like that left by a meteor. Pinned at the bottom of the pit and unable to move, Borna roared in shock and rage, "Human! I am the envoy of the great demon god, how dare you make me kneel!"

Yet no matter how furious he became, he couldn’t resist at all. He could only strain to lift his head and glare forward, where a majestic three-faced, eight-armed figure sat cross-legged.

That towering demon god, hundreds of meters tall, was surrounded by countless azure motes radiating a heavy aura. They wove together into flowing bands of light, rendering his form somewhat blurred and difficult to discern.

Amid the swirling azure bands, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was icy and solemn as he looked at the Heavenly Feathered expert and said in a low voice, "You actually sacrificed a high-ranking infiltrator hidden within the Heavenly Feathered Race just to meet me. Speak, why have you come?"

Chen Chu wasn’t the least surprised that there were traitors among the Heavenly Feathered Race. In a war between civilizations, how could there not be defectors? Some betrayed by choice. Some succumbed to temptation. Others were forcibly "refined" by mythical-level powerhouses through secret arts or innate divine abilities. The traitor before him likely fell into the second category: tempted by resources and then controlled by the Purgatory Empire’s demon kings through some special means.

Borna gritted out with effort, “His Majesty Tyretis sends this message: whether it's the Heavenly Feathered Race or the human race, your end will be extinction. Your talent is impressive, it would be a pity to die in vain. If you are willing to join our Purgatory Empire, you shall be granted Primordial Ancestor Blood, a demonized true form, and be named a regional prince."

Borna gasped heavily, his face pale with exhaustion. Chen Chu’s gaze remained indifferent and unmoved. He had already anticipated the purpose behind this contact. After all, besides attempting to subvert him, what other reason could they have?

He coolly replied, "Tell your Great Demon God that I’m perfectly content being human. An ordinary species from the mythical world like yours doesn’t qualify to change my lifeform. As for whether humanity will be destroyed, that’s for us to decide."

Boom!

Not giving Borna any chance to speak further, one of Chen Chu’s eight hands, held in a seal gesture, made a slight wave, and a tyrannical force erupted.

Splurt!

Borna spewed blood. In the next instant, he was turned into a silver beam and shot skyward, hurled from the Dark Star Domain in the blink of an eye, and thrown into the skies a hundred thousand meters above.

There stood a Heavenly Feathered deity with two pairs of golden light wings, exuding a mythical-level aura. His gaze was icy as he stared at Borna. At that moment, Chen Chu’s voice echoed from the void. "Lord Kordes, I’ll leave this traitor to you. There’s a demon king’s will parasitizing his body. I’ve temporarily sealed it."

The god named Kordes gave a slight nod. "Apologies that this traitor disturbed the Divine Might King."

Chen Chu’s calm voice drifted up from below. "No need for courtesy."

This plane, as a key logistics and armaments hub for the Heavenly Feathered Race, naturally had a powerful figure stationed here. That deity also bore the responsibility of guarding the surroundings while Chen Chu remained in seclusion to prevent disturbances.

The moment Borna entered the hundred-kilometer perimeter, the mythical expert had already discovered him, but held back to avoid alerting the target, waiting instead for Chen Chu to act and seal the demon king’s will within.

As Kordes escorted the traitor away, within the Dark Star Domain below, Chen Chu closed his eyes once more, returning to cultivation.

With the ever-increasing absorption of heavy metals, his true form had become unimaginably dense. The gravitational magnetic field radiating from him twisted and collapsed the surrounding space.

Meanwhile, the aura of laws wrapped around his form had grown increasingly vast. Behind him, five illusory law-bound worlds gradually took shape, representing Soul, Void, Death, Lightning, and Fire. And deep within those five worlds, a broader, more stable plane was beginning to overlap and merge with them.

As the True Great Sun Flame and Heavenly Purple Lightning laws reached their perfected realms, Chen Chu stood on the verge of breaking through to the heavenly king level.

Even while contemplating three other high-level and supreme laws, he still diverted part of his focus to continue devouring the heavy elements of the Mingled Copper Mountains, further enhancing his Demon God Body.

He regarded the traitor’s appearance as no more than a minor interlude, not even worth his attention. He’d heard plenty of similar boasts from the Purgatory Demon Clan—claims that humanity was fated for annihilation. Under normal circumstances, they did indeed possess that capability.

The eight Demon God Empires boasted over twenty mighty demon-god-level combatants, and their Primordial Ancestor, an ancient true spirit who was similar to a civilization's emperor, slumbered deep within. In terms of high-end power, the Purgatory Demon Clan utterly crushed humanity.

Unfortunately for them, he had already risen.

Half an hour later, at the center of the golden divine tree’s canopy, countless golden divine rays flowed like liquid, radiating the essence of laws and principles. Here, a world filled with endless white light had taken shape.

Amid this luminous world, five figures stood tall, each ten thousand to tens of thousands of meters high. Behind them, pairs of immense light wings stretched out to blot out the sky, emanating an aura of divine sanctity and nobility.

However, despite their apparent grandeur, the five figures gave off an oddly "hollow" sensation. The aura of the divine king with five pairs of silver wings was particularly weak, to the point that his true form appeared almost transparent.

The one with twelve white wings behind him, resembling a creation archangel, was Metast. He spoke with solemn warmth, "Shariel, how is your recovery coming along?"

The silver-winged divine king bitterly smiled. "My inner world has collapsed, and the foundation of my principles is damaged. Even consuming the Mother Tree’s heart sap can’t repair it."

At once, the other divine kings fell into a brief silence. Looking at Shariel’s semi-transparent form, they seemed to glimpse their own fates reflected. After a long pause, Metast sighed. "We’ve obtained troubling news from the demon king’s will captured within that traitor. Combined with the unusual reports sent back by our embedded agents, it appears the three Purgatory Empires are amassing their full strength and preparing for a final, all-out assault."

Among the five divine kings, the one with five pairs of golden wings said calmly, "They’ve finally run out of patience. I only wonder how many of the demon gods are ready to die. Metast, I believe we should adjust the Fire Seed Plan. Shariel and I will remain behind to intercept the demon gods. Both of us have severely damaged foundations. There is no hope of advancing further.

"Besides, humanity is strong. There are already four known divine-king-level combatants among them, and that First Councilor’s strength is unfathomable. Even the Eternal Worldstone cannot determine his exact level. In such circumstances, we’ll need a true pinnacle expert to anchor our standing, someone who can ensure we’re treated as equals, not reduced to vassals."

The remaining two divine kings nodded slightly. "Indeed. As long as you are still here, Metast, there’s still hope for our race to rise again."

Metast slowly shook his head. "Only I can carry out this plan. I alone can merge with the Mother Tree."

The golden-winged divine king gravely said, "But doing so means death. The price for touching the power of the ancient gods is the collapse of one’s principle-condensed true form."

Metast’s gaze remained calm as he softly replied, "Don’t worry. With my cultivation, as long as I don’t wish to die, even Tyretis cannot kill me. Don’t forget the sapling split from the Mother Tree. Within it lies not only the complete heart of the tree, but also a strand of my pure origin of light. As long as the Eternal Sapling can absorb the power of both worlds and grow anew, then even if I perish this time, I will revive."

As a civilization that had endured for over ten thousand years, the Heavenly Feathered Race would never sit idly and wait for death. Having long anticipated such a day, they had prepared multiple contingency plans.

More than fifty years ago, they had dispatched divine-king-level experts deep into the mythical world, avoiding forbidden zones and carefully selecting two new strongholds. One lay 1.7 billion kilometers away. The other was even farther, over 4.5 billion kilometers. Neither had hostile advanced civilizations nearby.

The cost of abandoning their homeland was immense, and the Purgatory Empires would not let them withdraw so easily. Thus, preparations had remained in secrecy. However, with the emergence of humanity, and after reassessing the costs and possibilities, the Heavenly Feathered Race ultimately abandoned their evacuation plans and chose to ally with the humans.

Moreover, beings who comprehended principles, be they demon gods or divine kings, possessed various means of survival. The Divine King of Light, Metast, wielded a survival ability similar to the Dragon Emperor’s Life Mark.

While the Dragon Emperor used life essence to condense Rebirth Blood so it could revive instantly at the moment of bodily destruction, Metast’s version was a Radiant Resurrection. When his principle-condensed true form fell, he would be reborn from the origin of light that housed his soul essence and the principles he had mastered. However, unlike the Dragon Emperor’s divine-transformation Life Mark, Metast’s resurrection took longer and exacted a heavier price.

Once the Purgatory Empire’s movements were confirmed, the entire Heavenly Feathered Race swiftly mobilized. Across all bases on the frontline planes, many younger elite descendants received orders to redeploy to a specially designated planar world in the rear.

Furthermore, over fifty god-level experts and more than ten chief-god-level elders with damaged foundations or poor health were given one command: Prepare for the final battle. No retreat, fight to the death. The rest, including Anstira, received orders to retreat with the humans when the signal was given.

Even more astonishing, over twenty slumbering mythical and chief-god-level experts with damaged foundations, long sealed inside the Eternal Divine Tree, were also awakened. This also included vast numbers of elite eighth- and ninth-level warriors still in deep sleep within the tree’s trunk.

At the same time, all of the race’s vaults were thrown open, and every remaining resource was distributed. Whether or not the Purgatory Empires launched their final assault, a full evacuation was inevitable now.

However, in a full-on war between civilizations, mustering power on this scale required time. All of the demon kings and great demon kings on rotation at the rear of the three Purgatory Empires first needed to lead their legions to converge at the empire’s border, where they would regroup with the peak great demon kings stationed in the imperial core's demonic regions.

These great demon kings, each having reached the pinnacle of their stage like Tarorya, had forged demonic scriptures, wielding weapons refined from the very essence of their empires. When fighting at full power, these peak great demon kings could temporarily stand against demon gods who were at the beginning stage of the ancient titan level.

The nine demon gods were merely the surface-level force of the three empires. Their foundations extended far deeper. After all, even the human race had a cross-realm powerhouse like Heavenly King Zhenwu.

Each Purgatory Empire adhered to a standard protocol: once a demon king or great demon king reached the peak, they would retreat from the frontlines and return to the rear. They would only re-enter warfare after breaking through to the next stage, either to great demon king or demon god level.

Thus, across endless years of war with alien civilizations, the Purgatory Empires had built up deep foundations. Demon kings and great demon kings emerged in waves, a steady stream of elite reinforcements.

Even the fall of one or two beginning-stage demon gods didn’t cause concern. Otherwise, if two or three demon gods had to die every time a civilization like the Heavenly Feathered Race was destroyed, the empires' demon gods would have gone extinct long ago.