Chapter 57：The New World

Trapped in the seemingly bottomless swamp, the Bull could neither advance nor retreat. In a flash, he realized that Harun became the master of his body, able to end or save his life with a thought. The feeling of living at the mercy of another's whim was never pleasant, but only fools would risk death for something as cheap as honor. If he could kiss Harun's thigh, he would.

Meanwhile, after witnessing the display of their Lord's formidable strength, the Birusk clansmen felt their jaws dropping on the ground, "Lord Birusk is invincible! All hail Lord Birusk!" They proclaimed and prostrated themselves toward Harun. At the same time, the villagers couldn't help but feel that their Spiritual Lord's skill-set was...a tad bit demonic? But recalling his teachings, they realized that the wrong came from their past conceptions. Besides those that mastered blight and woes, who could claim understanding life and causality? Their Lord represented the righteous path!

Recalling the flash of emerald light, the spotless ground behind the swamp and the principles of decay surrounding him, the Bull only felt more restless, "Did my balls reach the size of the moon? How could I fight someone that understands the mystery of Life?" The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth were by no means equal. Some even held sway over others. Just like the Mystery of Storms could dominate wind and lightning, the Mystery of Life held sway over earth and all organic matters. If Harun could cultivate it to Mandate-level, that alone would guarantee him a hegemonic position in this world.

Harun snapped his fingers, enabling the Bull to communicate through Divine Sense, "I will cooperate! I will cooperate! Whatever you want to know, as long as I can say it, I will! Senior, please have mercy on me!" Instantly, the Bull humbled himself. Were he at the Monstrous Realm, with the bull at his mercy, Harun could directly force attachment and learn all he wanted to. But for now, some diplomacy was in order.

"Do not ask why and answer without hesitation. Let's start with the basics, name and affiliation. Note that the swamp will warn me every time you lie—giving me no choice but to destroy your body and search your soul." This was a half-lie. The swamp did possess a lie detector, but its accuracy didn't go over 70%. However, should he doubt the bull's words, Harun wouldn't hesitate to use extreme measures.

"Mukri of the Reving clan! This Lowly One was initially a mere Emissary Bull of the Barbaric Demon Stronghold, but chanced on a Devil Stone on the way here. Thanks to that stone, This Lowly One's cultivation base and innate abilities improved by leaps and bounds!" Mukri replied immediately. Emissary Bulls stood at the bottom of the celestial hierarchy, useful only for their delivery speed. Said bluntly, mortals aside, only weak clans took them seriously. But with his recent gains, had he not crossed this place, Mukri's fate would have undergone unfathomable changes.

"What cultivation path do you follow, what are Devil Stones, and why is a peak Celestial-Guard-level expert touring the mortal world?" Harun asked, and instantly, confusion shone in Mukri's eyes. But with his life at stake, he dared not ponder or delay, and spat out all he knew.

"To answer Your Excellency's questions, we must go back to 166 years ago. I reached the peak of the Celestial Kin Realm at 2,000, with no hope for further progress. But as I accepted my unremarkable future, and resolved to live the rest of my life in peace, the Son of Heaven appeared, and the Grand Cataclysm followed. To this day, I cannot forget the terror of those events.

The Son of Heaven brought 12,000 celestials and the Golden Crow Marquis down with him, hordes of Monstrous Beasts emerged from and destroyed the Extreme Yin Prison, triggering the Grand Cataclysm. The Highest and Second Heaven fell, and even Heaven's Punishment couldn't stop the beast's rampage...or so it initially looked like." Here, Mukri couldn't help but pause, then carried on.

"When the Seven Beast Demi-Emperors settled in the Third Heaven, the true calamity began. Mountain-sized asteroids crashed on the world, with a speed and strength that forced Monarchs and Demi-Emperors to collaborate. This wasn't merely the Monstrous Beasts' punishment. Heaven sentenced the entire world to death for the Gods' actions against its son. By the end of that Celestial Storm, seven more Heavens had been obliterated—hundreds of billions exterminated overnight.

Of the previous Four Hegemonic clans, the Phoenixes and Golden Crows survived. But having lost all their Demi-Emperors and three-fourth their Monarchs, the Phoenixes' decline became inevitable and, just like the surviving dragons, they pledged allegiance to the Serpent Domain.

Henceforth, the world only had 24 Heavens, with many others damaged by the cataclysm. Led by their Heavenly God-level elders, some clans directly fled to the mortal world—leaving behind Dimensional Gaps that enabled Heavenly Qi and the asteroids' debris to tumble down...and wipe out countless worlds." Starting with the Heavenly God Realm, Gods could open Dimensional Rifts—using them to travel between worlds and realms—or carry out some mischief. Back in the Peach Banquet, Rajan used that trick to place three peaches in Harun's Cosmic Pouch.

"Of the 10,000 Mortal Worlds, 7,000 remain. But where disaster lies, rewards abound. The asteroids' destruction released hundreds of dark-purple stones carrying a terrible amount of malevolent energies. Whoever refines one of those stones will see his cultivation base shoot up, and his talent and battle-power rise accordingly. Some stones carry more strength than others, but even the weakest can turn a waste into a titan. Because of the unmistakable evil power those stones carry, we named them Devil Stones.

As they stood at the very center of the calamity, the Beast Emperors snatched dozens of stones, using them to make up for the gap between the Serpent Domain and their forces. The Saint Empress Court and Serpent Domain managed to snatch a few stones, the rest scattered throughout the world. With the stones' mysteries as their foundation, the Beast Emperors founded the Monster Paradise, broke free of the Divine Path and created...the Elemental Fusion Bridge. Those that lost faith in the Divine Path joined them en masse—abandoning their human forms to become Monstrous Beasts. I am one such case.

At the same time, thanks to the Monstrous Beasts' rampage, the criminals trapped in the Extreme Yin Prison, those diabolic individuals guilty of innumerable crimes and scorned by all sensible creatures, broke free. Most survived the cataclysm, some even got their hands on stones and conquered territories.

In that chaos, akin to the Heaven Warding Emperor's first appearance, a new force emerged from nowhere, offered another path to those willing to join their ranks, and helped some shackled titans complete their Mandates. Known as the Truth Scrying Grotto, that force fanned the flames of wars across the world, ushering the Hundred Infernal Years.

Incarnadine blood seas as far as the eyes could see. All those you grew up with in graves or deep mourning. It was only ten years ago that the new hegemonic forces signed an armistice and brought that catastrophic clash for Devil Stones and Sect Master Tokens to an end. Still, rogue cultivators dare not exist.

The Golden Crow Ancestor, or Nakula as we now call him, vanished and, just like the Truth Scrying Grotto, the Golden Crow clan's headquarters became shrouded in mysteries. The world is now ruled by the Saint-Empress Court, Serpent Domain, Monster Paradise, Slaughter Syndicate and Truth Scrying Grotto—the Five Great Holy Lands.

The Mountain Edge World was the first changed by the Holy Lands to withstand all kinds of Qi and carry on war and recruitment in the Mortal World. It now represents the very center of the clash," Mukri explained, but though he didn't let his face betray him, Harun's mind experienced its own cataclysm.

"Well, shit...I destroyed the world."