The grand and ancient hall was solemn and dignified. Its depths were vast, like an endless universe, with dense chaos mist permeating every inch of space.
The Grand High Priest, shrouded in that black mist, her face and body unseen, walked step by step from outside the hall, ascending the floating steps in the void toward the deepest part of the hall.
On either side of the steps stood towering pillars made of various primordial chaos metals, supporting the entire hall. The great hall was vast and silent.
Only the faint sound of the Grand High Priest's footsteps echoed as she walked.
At the highest point of the hall, the blood-red altar that had just been revealed floated quietly in the void, surrounded by surging chaos mist, completely enveloping it.
At this moment, it was extremely quiet, ancient and boundless, all its blood-red radiance now restrained.
The Coffin of World Burial, filled with blood light, lay quietly there. The dark matter, dense to the extreme, continued to pour out from the open corner like a breached celestial river, washing over the Grand High Priest and dispersing the black mist around her.
Her body was wrapped in a black robe from head to toe, tall and slender, but even her face was hidden under a hood, her true appearance completely obscured. Beneath the hood, there seemed to be nothing but dense black mist.
"Was it you calling me?"
"I've heard your voice again…"
The Grand High Priest walked step by step along the steps to the end, arriving at the blood-red altar.
The pressure, terrifying enough to crush all worlds and collapse the void, poured down on her, yet it could not shake her steps in the slightest.
The Coffin of World Burial, a supreme treasure of the first civilization that sealed the body of the Heaven-Warring Lord, emanated an aura that could instantly crush any being that approached, turning them to dust.
Yet, before her, an invisible force seemed to appear, neutralizing all the pressure, rendering it harmless.
"Are you about to return?"
"Wu Yue has been waiting for you."
The Grand High Priest, enduring the terrifying pressure emanating from the Coffin of World Burial, stepped closer and then sat quietly beside the coffin, ignoring the dark matter pouring out. She leaned her head against a corner of the coffin.
Then, from within her long black robe, a slender, crystalline hand, as pure as snow, reached out. The hand was delicate and pale, with faint blue veins visible.
She hugged the corner, leaning her head against it, her ear pressed close, as if she could hear the heartbeat coming from within the Coffin of World Burial.
The surging dark matter flowed over her like a tide.
The Grand High Priest remained motionless in that position, listening devoutly to the sounds coming from within.
In the vast and empty hall, only the sound of dark matter flowing could be heard. Yet, she remained in that position, as if she truly heard the familiar voice, the familiar words echoing in her ears.
After a long time, the anomaly of the Coffin of World Burial finally subsided. The dark matter flowing down gradually thinned, transforming from a vast ocean into a trickling stream, and finally into a layer of mist floating in the air.
"I understand."
"I will keep waiting, waiting for the day we meet again."
"That day will not be far…"
Wu Yue, the Grand High Priest, who had been quietly leaning against the corner of the Coffin of World Burial, finally stood up. Her body was once again enveloped in dense black mist.
As she rose, the mist swirled and dispersed. In an instant, she left the place, reappearing outside the Heaven-Warring Hall.
The high priests and priests who had gathered stood before the mountain range, a sea of black figures kneeling quietly, solemn and silent.
Wu Yue, the Grand High Priest, looked out over all the beings of the Nightmare Demon Domain, her calm and unfluctuating voice echoing, "I have heard the voice of our master."
"The master is about to return. Darkness will once again envelop this land, and the name of the Heaven-Warring Lord will resound throughout the Vast Expanse."
"The Grand Sacrifice begins today."
After a moment of deathly silence, the entire Nightmare Demon Domain erupted into a frenzy of fanatical cheers and roars. The faces of all the beings were filled with excitement and anticipation.
After lying dormant for countless ages, they had finally waited for this day.
Darkness was the eternal hue of all worlds. The eternal night would descend, the Grand Sacrifice would begin, and the blazing sun would fall today.
The name of the Heaven-Warring Lord would once again resound throughout the Vast Expanse, for they were the true rulers of all worlds!
"What?"
The priests and high priests present, unlike the other beings, were filled with shock and disbelief upon hearing Wu Yue's words.
Many priests even doubted if they had heard correctly.
To initiate the Grand Sacrifice at this time—wasn't this a joke?
The Heavenly Faction had lain dormant for countless ages, and the path to their great revival was still long. Without sufficient preparation, initiating the Grand Sacrifice now was utterly absurd and unbelievable.
The anomaly of the Coffin of World Burial today was indeed strange.
But compared to Wu Yue's sudden order to begin the Grand Sacrifice, it was completely negligible. This left everyone present in utter disbelief.
Was she mad?
"Grand High Priest Wu Yue, our preparations are not yet complete. We haven't even gathered all six supreme treasures of the first civilization. How can we initiate the Grand Sacrifice? How will we welcome the master's return?"
"If we cannot break the seal at the Source of the Dark Calamity, what good will initiating the Grand Sacrifice do?"
"Before initiating the Grand Sacrifice, even if we cannot gather all six supreme treasures, we must at least destroy them. They cannot be allowed to remain in the world, for they are the only threat to the master."
"Moreover, although the Heavenly Faction is well-prepared, if we reveal ourselves too early, it may lead to unimaginable variables…"
"We implore Grand High Priest Wu Yue to reconsider and not act rashly, lest the path to revival that the Heavenly Faction has sought for countless ages be cut short."
Several high priests, who usually dared not defy the Grand High Priest due to her authority, now stepped forward, arguing that initiating the Grand Sacrifice at this time was highly inappropriate and fraught with endless risks.
One figure, clad in white robes and wearing a pure white mask, even directly refuted, "Grand High Priest Wu Yue, we all understand your eagerness to welcome the master, but you cannot recklessly jeopardize the plans the Heavenly Faction has laid over countless ages."
"Initiating the Grand Sacrifice at this time is highly inappropriate and will bring endless trouble."
"At the very least, we must first break the seal at the Source of the Dark Calamity, or find the six supreme treasures of the first civilization…"
The identity of Wu Yue, the Grand High Priest, was special, holding an indescribable significance within the Heavenly Faction.
Even in ancient times, seeing her was akin to seeing the Heaven-Warring Lord in person, for Wu Yue had been by the master's side the longest.
In terms of seniority, no one in the current Heavenly Faction could compare to her.
The priests and high priests, shocked and dismayed, could not help but oppose and refute her decision, even at the risk of offending the Grand High Priest.
Some high priests even wondered if she had gone mad, so eager to welcome the Heaven-Warring Lord that she no longer cared about the consequences.
Many of them believed that now was not the time to initiate the Grand Sacrifice.
After all, once the Grand Sacrifice began, it would mean the remnants of the Heaven-Warring Lord, known to the Vast Expanse as the Remnants of the Dark Calamity, would return to the world, bringing the Dark Calamity with them.
No matter how perfect their previous plans had been, they would face the most terrifying retaliation and resistance.
No matter how powerful the Heavenly Faction was now, it could not compare to the era when the Heaven-Warring Lord ruled the Vast Expanse. How could they lead this Grand Sacrifice? How could they contend with the entire Vast Expanse?
"The Heavenly Faction indeed lacks the strength to lead a complete Grand Sacrifice, but that no longer matters. I have heard the master's voice. This Grand Sacrifice is to welcome his return…"
Wu Yue, the Grand High Priest, stood before the Heaven-Warring Hall, calmly watching the priests and high priests argue and protest. Her tone remained steady, as if no emotion could sway her.
She knew the thoughts of some of the high priests but chose not to address them, nor did she pay them any mind.
The Heavenly Faction was not as harmonious as it appeared on the surface. But to ensure the Grand Sacrifice proceeded smoothly, she could only pretend not to see their dissent.
Once their usefulness was exhausted, she would naturally begin to purge all those who were disloyal and disrespectful to the master.
She knew that those high priests could not have failed to sense the terrifying will that had awakened earlier.
The reason they could not hear the master's voice was that their hearts were no longer reverent, having lost the necessary piety.
All the priests and high priests could not help but pale. Wu Yue's resolute attitude left no room for negotiation.
Moreover, the Heavenly Faction had indeed lain dormant for too long, especially within the Nightmare Demon Domain. Many beings were already restless, eager to return to the world.
Once the Grand High Priest gave the order, they could not stop it.
"Woo woo…"
The sound of conch shells and horns soon echoed throughout the Nightmare Demon Domain. Space-time trembled violently, and dark, ink-like lightning streaked across the heavens, shattering universes.
The Nightmare Demon Domain, silent for countless ages, was once again disturbed. But this time, unlike before, the upheaval came from the depths, sweeping through countless layers of space-time.
This was a call to gather all the dark beings of the Nightmare Demon Domain.
From the dark, dense burial pits and forbidden lands, pairs of terrifying eyes opened. They seemed to have slept for countless ages, abruptly awakened by the sound of the horns, and now rose from those places.
Their bodies, as tall as the heavens, were draped in dark particles of extreme density.
The sound spread from the deepest parts of the Nightmare Demon Domain, layer by layer, outward, as if traveling through time and space, carrying an unimaginable power.
With each layer it passed, countless beings rose, a black, endless tide, like ancient demons awakening from the depths of darkness, roaring toward the worlds with earth-shaking fury.
The heavens split open, and terrifying portals were torn apart. Extremely dazzling dark energy surged into the sky, shattering distant universes and the Vast Expanse.
Black hands reached out from within, crushing distant stars with a single grasp.
"This day has finally come."
It was as if ancestral demons were murmuring. The Nightmare Demon Domain experienced its most turbulent and boiling moment in countless ages.
"Woo woo…"
The sound of conch shells and horns continued to blow. The Nightmare Demon Domain seemed to awaken from a long slumber. Cracks appeared, and dark matter of extreme density flowed out, enveloping the entire Vast Expanse like a sandstorm.
At this moment, countless civilizations shuddered, sensing a terrifying, malicious intent, as if a pair of cold, malevolent eyes were watching them from a distant dimension.
All worlds trembled in fear.
Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, an immortal nation with heritage comparable to the strongest civilizations.
On a high star platform, the sky was pitch black, and the stars shone brilliantly. An old man in pure white priestly robes was observing and deducing something on a compass.
Around him stood a dense circle of beings, surrounded by vast, radiant light. There were majestic humans, fearsome alien races, and even deities with divine halos.
At this moment, everyone was watching the old man, waiting for the results of his observations.
"Pfft…"
Suddenly, the old man trembled, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His once clear and profound eyes turned cloudy, with streaks of blood seeping out, horrifying to behold.
The compass in his hand cracked with a loud snap, covered in dense, terrifying fissures, from which black mist continuously seeped.
"State Preceptor Xingming, what's wrong?"
Those around him were startled and hurried to support the old man, their faces filled with concern.
"An ominous sign… I see endless black mist sweeping toward the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty. Chaos is descending, and darkness will once again engulf the land."
"The Dark Calamity of old will once again ravage the world…"
The old man's voice trembled as he spoke. With difficulty, he stood up with the help of those around him. As soon as he finished speaking, the compass in his hand shattered into pieces, turning to dust.
The old man himself collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Everyone present was horrified and shocked, unable to believe what they had heard. State Preceptor Xingming was from that place and had once advised the current Weiyang Emperor. For him to say such things was truly unbelievable.
"Was that will that swept through the Vast Expanse truly related to the Lord of the Dark Calamity?"
A deity's voice trembled as he spoke, as if recalling something, his eyes filled with deep fear, the divine halo behind him shaking slightly.
"Take State Preceptor Xingming to rest."
"I have already sensed it. In a distant land, a dense dark energy is awakening. The Remnants of the Dark Calamity will surely revel in this will and may even return to the worlds."
"They have lain dormant and plotted for countless ages, long unable to contain themselves…"
A tall, burly man clad in dark iron armor nodded, gazing into the distant starry sky. His deep eyes carried a coldness as he spoke in a low voice.