Chapter 1
The sky was bleak.
Gray. Black. Oppressive.
Space itself was torn apart—
rifts stretching endlessly across the horizon.
Streaks of spider web like multi-colored lightning could be seen flickering in the sky, accompanied by thunderous rumbling sounds that tore open the very fabric of space.
The sounds were akin to the low-sounding roars of Gods reverberating through the universe.
Another fragment of the planet broke away into space, joining the other rubbles that were once part of it.
In the vast land, there was a crater millions of miles wide and so deep that it dug into the core of the planet. Magma that was hot enough to melt space itself bubbled out of the crater and melted whatever remained of the planet.
At the very center of this crater where nothing but destruction prevailed, a strange force erupted, exterminating the magma and clearing the dust.
A man was revealed seated in the crater. His youthful but mature face appeared to be the most perfect work of the heavens.
His pitch black pupils reflected no light, reminiscent of an endless abyss that could devour souls.
He had raven black hair that extended down to his waist and rested on the floor when he sat down.
His black robes were in tatters with tears and holes everywhere. There were even large spots of dried blood dotting the robes.
Resting by his left side was a sheathed sword, and in his right hand was a large gourd of wine which he occasionally took large gulps from.
A mocking smile lit up his face as he stared up at the bleak sky and swallowed another mouthful of wine.
"That's all you've got? Heh. If you wish to destroy me, you should at least try harder than that." he mocked. His words were not directed at anyone but the sky itself, or more precisely, the heavens.
The rumbling sounds suddenly intensified at his words, causing the planet and the endless space around it to shake fiercely and crumble even more.
The multi-coloured lightning exploded with greater might, representing the fury of the heavens. The vast stretch of sky completely caved in at this moment, collapsing into itself under the terrible might of heaven's fury.
The sky was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but chaotic space storms and the multi-colored lightning that stretched across nearly the entire universe.
This scene caused the man to grin. "As always... defying the heavens is a source of infinite joy." He stated calmly then gulped down another mouthful of wine. At the same time, his gaze strayed from the broken sky to the boundless space beyond where thousands of figures gathered in space, watching.
Leading these people were old men and women with deep eyes and auras that could submerge galaxies.
"So many of you are here…"
___
As he glanced through the thousands of people, his eyes glimpsed at the distant end of the group and focused on two figures besides each other among thousands of others.
The calm smile on his face finally froze for the first time and his calm broke for a split second. His pupils quivered, reflecting the extremely familiar faces that suddenly appeared so foreign.
Seconds stretched into eternity as he stared at the face while countless memories played through his mind. From the moment he stepped into this vast world, there were only a scant few people he thought he could trust.
How naive he was to have thought that. How utterly… naive.
His lips curled up into a very thin smile and he slowly moved his gaze away.
The moment he looked away, the person he was staring at lowered his head slowly, hiding the guilt that clouded his face.
He had certainly noticed the man's gaze on him, and when he stared back, he couldn't suppress the shock in his heart. Those pupils... they were nothing similar to the gentle ones he was familiar with.
They were now indifferent and bone chillingly cold. He realized with a faint bitterness that he had changed. This was a completely different person!
"Sister... he..." he muttered in a barely audible voice that struggled to conceal the fear and guilt in his heart.
The lady beside him shuddered and replied in a tight tone. "I know..."
"Is it worth it?..."
"It will be. We have nothing to worry about. He'll die here, and if we remained by his side, we would certainly die along with him." She replied calmly, then continued in a distant voice. "We get to keep our lives. It's worth it... right?" This was more of a question to herself than a response, and the answer to that question was a mystery. "We did nothing wrong... we already saved his life once. He should be grateful to us... we do not owe him our lives." She added with certainty.
But as she stared at the man in the crater facing the entire world, she couldn't help but doubt her decision. Was it really worth it?
Curbing all distracting emotions and memories, the man glanced at the leaders of the group.
An old man glared at the man in the crater and snorted. "What big words. Your Natal chart is broken. You won't be able to leave this place alive even if you were an Immortal!"
"So what if you survived the lightning? You think that's the end? And even if it is, what part of your arrogant brain makes you think you can keep your life with all of us here?" An old woman chipped in with a shrill voice.
The man in the crater merely smiled and didn't respond to them. He casually swept his gaze through the group, completely unfazed by their oppressive aura.
His indifference could almost be felt on a physical level.
The man returned to staring at the sky, furrowing his brows slightly at the pressure from the strange calm.
The lightning dominated the world, but they weren't descending. Instead, they appeared to be... vanishing?
Within a few minutes, the terrifying lightning completely faded away and the thunderous rumbling sounds also ceased, shocking everyone present. It would appear that the so-called tribulation was over.
This scene sent a wave of terror through the souls of the thousands of people present.
Could the tribulation really be over? Then... he actually survived?!
"T-this... can't be possible! How could he still be alive?!"
"The divination said he would..."
"Forget about the damn divination! This man can't be allowed to leave this place alive, no matter what happens! If he survives, then... we can't begin to imagine how terrifying that would be. This world as we know it would change forever!"
Many people couldn't conceal the absolute dread in their eyes as the discussions continued.
While everyone waited with bated breaths to witness whatever would happen, the man's expression slowly tightened. His casual smile vanished, replaced by extreme focus.
He had gone through countless life threatening situations to reach this point, and everything he had gone through enabled his instincts to reach an impossible level.
Both his experience and instincts told him that this wasn't the end. This could only be the calm before the storm.
Most importantly, the feeling of despair and impending death in his heart wasn't lessening with the disappearance of the lightning. Instead, it was growing, nearly paralysing him.
Time ticked by slowly, and a world rending pressure slowly began to seep out of space, flooding the entire galaxy.
Thousands of planets that were unable to withstand this unfathomable pressure suddenly collapsed, exterminating trillions of lives.
This pressure was unique and it gave one the feeling of facing the ultimate being, the supreme existence.
The man's expression changed drastically. A grave look appeared in his eyes as he rose to his feet with the sheathed sword already in his grasp. The wine gourd also disappeared at some point.
"This really isn't over?" He muttered lightly while tightening his grip around his sword.
The thousands of people watching sensed the same pressure, and they were all left feeling astounded or terrified.
As the pressure grew, the entire galaxy actually came to a halt. All life froze, cosmic revolutions and phenomena all ceased and the concept of time faded.
The man tried to move only to realize he also couldn't move a muscle. It was like a heavenly law that restricted all movements and no one could resist it.
When he tried to forcefully resist, his bones creaked. Blood leaked from the sides of his mouth and his internal organs began to crumble at his slight resistance. There was little doubt that he could end up crushing his own body and killing himself if he resisted too hard.
The heavens above were currently nothing but chaotic space storms and turbulence. There was no sky to be seen.
The space storms began to fold, converging together to form a cloud of space storms of incomprehensible size.
Then the cloud began to shrink, condensing together to form an extremely thick cloud of space storms that replaced the sky.
As the cloud shrank to a certain size, hearts began to shiver in disbelief and terror. From the thousands of people spectating to the man in the crater himself, their pupils were all shivering.
The cloud wasn't just a cloud. It was an eye. A massive closed eye formed by pure space storms. The eye was closed, but it emanated such a grand majesty and presence that the entire Nine Heavens was shaken.
The man stared up at the eye and sighed bitterly with an exhausted smile. "That's how it is... I didn't expect this. To actually resort to this means, how much exactly does the heavenly will resent me?"
As he muttered, the closed eye began to move. From the center of the eye, the space storms slowly separated.
To anyone watching, this looked exactly like when an eye was opened. The upper and lower eyelids slowly parted to reveal the pupil. That was exactly what was going on here.
The eye slowly opened and a beam of golden glow illuminated the Galaxy, temporarily blinding the eyes of anyone looking.
Seconds later, the blinding glow faded and the massive eye was fully revealed.
It was an eye of frightening scale.
The massive planet was only the size of the horizontal pupil in the eye.
The sclera of the eye was a light golden color that impacted the soul at a glance.
As for the horizontal pupil, it was deep gold in color. This pupil was the very origin of dignity and ruthlessness. It seemed to contain the very laws of the world itself and a majesty that couldn't be defied. Most importantly, the pupil was focused directly on the man in the crater.
"Heavens Eye... the incarnation of the heavenly will, used to punish gods. To think it'll be used on me today..." the man chuckled lightly, then forcefully raised his head to stare directly into the golden pupils.
"To actually force the heavens eye to appear just to kill me, I am very honored. This death is completely worth it!" He laughed proudly.
A few figures appeared in his mind as he laughed and deep regret filled his heart, but he didn't reveal any change in his expression.
He stared directly at the pupil of heaven's eye, causing veins to appear in his own eyes.
His action was a direct defiance of the Nine Heavens entirely. Naturally, there would be severe consequences.
Blood began to drip from the sides of his eyes and the pressure bearing down on him tripled. Even holding several planets on one's shoulders wouldn't compare to the weight of this pressure.
Bones in his body shattered like dry twigs, veins twisted apart and organs were crushed. The suppressed injuries in his body worsened and coupled with the increasing damage, his body began to crumble rapidly.
He himself could already sense that this was a truly hopeless situation. He simply didn't have the ability to resist the heavens eye. But even when faced with certain doom, he didn't lower his head.
Mockery appeared in his eyes as he stubbornly stared at the golden pupil. Even in death, his will would never waver, especially not before the heavens!
His laughter grew louder, dripping with mockery and pure disdain for the heavens.
"Immortal's Sight!"
His own pupils took on a deep golden glow with a hint of silver in the center as he challenged the heaven's eye with his own eyes. Blood streamed down his eyes and dripped on the ground.
In the silence that swallowed the surrounding space, everyone gathered couldn't help but feel deep respect for him at this moment.
The Heaven's eye on the other hand remained totally indifferent to his actions. This was a universal law, one no power could resist.
While he laughed, the Boundless starry sky lost some of its ethereal glow as the golden pupil suddenly shot out a faint beam of golden light.
This golden light was very faint and appeared to contain no energy at all. Space didn't shake, the elements didn't distort, the planet didn't crumble and time didn't distort.
It was like it didn't exist in this dimension at all. It descended at a visible speed and its target was exactly the man in the crater!
The man laughed proudly as the beam of light descended. It was so slow that he could easily move away in a normal situation, but unfortunately, movement was impossible for him right now.
Even if he could move, it wouldn't change anything as long as the eye locked onto him.
His laugh contained his endless pride, but underneath that pride was pain that few could ever understand as well as guilt and regret that could drown mountains.
"Yue'er, Liuli... I guess I won't be able to return this time.
"Fei'er... you we're right. In the end, I really couldn't escape it."
"I'm sorry..."An extremely gentle smile appeared on his face. "I won't be able to fulfill my promise to any of you..." He grinned, letting several faces and memories to fill his mind.
He could almost see them standing before him, but when he reached out, he could only feel the emptiness before him, an emptiness formed by his own weakness.
Letting out a faint sigh, he closed his eyes gently. The beam of golden light closed in and swallowed him completely before expanding in the blink of an eye to enclose the entire planet in it's glow.
The entire galaxy was instantly overwhelmed by a boundless golden glow that contained no force at all, only supreme laws that governed the world.
When the glow receded, the entire planet was nowhere to be found. Not even the tiniest dust was left where a giant planet once stood, leaving only soul stirring silence in the endless space.
As for the heaven's eye, it's pupil stared down at the exact point where the man once stood for a short second before it slowly closed and vanished.
At the same time, a faint spacial distortion appeared briefly in that exact spot where the man stood. A pitch black space rift silently vanished as though it never existed without anyone noticing it.
Space storms soon rampaged through this part of the galaxy, destroying everything and anything in their way, reducing this whole galaxy into a forbidden land.