Chapter 352: 【Night Sovereign】 |
Chu Huaixu did not yet know that what he had accomplished—【Daytime Black Night】—was not limited to this small patch of the Black Sea Domain.
To be precise, through this Small World that had been stripped out from the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven, it directly affected the entire Kunlun Grotto-Heaven!
Within the Grotto-Heaven, it was clearly still noon.
Yet the sky suddenly went dark.
Whether they were disciples of the Kunlun Sacred Sect or those from various cultivation sects of all sizes, all of them could not help but raise their heads to look at the sky.
This sudden Heaven-and-Earth Phenomenon alarmed everyone within the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven.
Those Qi Refinement cultivators used as “talents” mostly wore expressions of shock.
After the shock came confusion.
“Why did the sky suddenly turn dark?”
“Huh! I’ve cultivated for over ten years, and this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
“Could it be a solar eclipse?”
“Are you stupid? A solar eclipse doesn’t happen this fast!”
“True, what kind of dog could swallow the sun in one bite?”
If Chu Huaixu could hear these conversations, his mood would probably be rather complicated.
As for the higher-tier talents—those in the Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage—they all frowned.
At their level, their thinking was no longer so naïve.
“Could it be that some heaven-shaking immortal treasure has appeared?”
“Or perhaps some Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign is casting a spell?”
These people were at least a hundred years old.
Yet even Golden Core cultivators had rarely witnessed a Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign make a move.
However, they had seen the methods of Nascent Soul True Lords.
Thus, in their understanding, if something was beyond even what a powerful Nascent Soul True Lord could accomplish, they would instinctively attribute it to a Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign.
As for just how powerful a Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign truly was—that depended on the limits of their imagination.
Within the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven, there were countless legends about the Soul Transformation Stage.
Whether those legends were true or false, Golden Core cultivators might know a bit, but for Foundation Establishment cultivators—these “upper-tier talents”—they knew very little.
But once one reached the Nascent Soul Stage, a qualitative transformation occurred.
—Below Nascent Soul, all are ants!
If ants observe the heavens, what could they possibly perceive?
Within the entire Kunlun Grotto-Heaven, the number of Nascent Soul True Lords was extremely small.
As long as they did not kill one another, they could essentially rely on Possession Re-cultivation to achieve a form of eternal existence.
And in truth, these so-called Nascent Soul True Lords understood in their hearts:
“This so-called eternal existence is not true immortality.”
Even relying on possession, living another life after their lifespan ended, there would still be an end.
The reason was simple—they indeed existed as long as the world existed.
But this world itself also had a lifespan.
Only upon reaching the Nascent Soul Stage could one understand that the so-called Kunlun Grotto-Heaven was merely a 【Grotto-Heaven Realm】—a Small Thousand World.
It still differed from a true Great Thousand World.
Cultivators were, by nature, those who defied the heavens, plundering Heaven and Earth.
These Nascent Soul True Lords who “lived as long as the world” were essentially clinging to this world, continuously draining it.
When the Grotto-Heaven Realm collapsed, that would be the moment of their demise.
At the level of Nascent Soul True Lords, they naturally also knew of the existence of the Xuanhuang Realm.
For them, invading the Xuanhuang Realm was extremely important.
Although the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven was not far from collapse, it could still be maintained for several hundred more years.
Several hundred years, for a Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign, was but the flick of a finger.
For a Nascent Soul True Lord, it might not even amount to a full lifetime.
But there was still time to plan slowly.
However, the Grotto-Heaven Realm was simply too “small.”
The number of Fruit Positions that a Small Thousand World could produce was limited.
The Fruit Positions of this world had already all been occupied. If they wished to advance further, there was only one path!
—Invade Xuanhuang!
Forcefully merge this world with the Xuanhuang Realm, thereby giving birth to new Fruit Positions!
Other than this, there was no alternative.
Moreover, within the Xuanhuang Realm, there was also… The Lost Fruit Position!
It was precisely because a Fruit Position had been lost within the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven that a large portion of the Heavenly Dao’s rules and power was missing, accelerating the world’s collapse and the loss of its fate.
If things had proceeded normally, this Grotto-Heaven Realm could have lasted for several thousand more years, and everything could have been planned slowly.
At this moment, within the Kunlun Sacred Sect, two Nascent Soul True Lords were sitting across from each other, drinking tea.
Both of them were disciples of that white-haired youth.
One male, one female.
The man was called Lingxiao True Lord, and the woman was called Chixi True Lord.
As the entire Kunlun Grotto-Heaven suddenly plunged into night, they too raised their heads to look at the sky.
The sun that had originally existed in the sky had completely disappeared.
—遮天。
—蔽日。
Endless shock appeared on the faces of the two True Lords.
Even Chixi True Lord, a dignified Nascent Soul powerhouse, was so startled that she stood up from her stone stool.
Lingxiao True Lord also slowly rose, gazing up at the sky.
Then, the two exchanged a glance.
Chixi True Lord’s pupils even trembled slightly.
“S-Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign!” Her voice trembled slightly, filled with disbelief.
Lingxiao True Lord, however, fell into a long silence.
“Senior Brother, do you know something?” the woman asked upon seeing this.
As the junior sister, she had followed their master for far less time than her senior brother.
Some matters their master would tell him, but not necessarily her.
After hesitating for a moment, Lingxiao True Lord said:
“This matter should not have been revealed to you. But since such a phenomenon has already appeared, Master and Martial Uncle will likely inform all True Lords soon.”
“Junior Sister, do you know what kind of authority this is?”
Chixi True Lord immediately adopted a listening posture and said, “I do not know. Please enlighten me, Senior Brother.”
“This is the Authority over Night!”
“It is the power of the 【Fruit Position of the Soul Transformation Stage】!”
“The one who bears this Fruit Position—Master calls them the 【Night Immortal Sovereign】!”
Chixi True Lord froze slightly upon hearing this.
“Senior Brother… this Night Sovereign…” She paused, glancing around as if not daring to speak casually.
Only after seeing her senior brother’s expression did she feel at ease to continue:
“Senior Brother… who exactly is this Night Sovereign?”
“Why have I never heard Master mention it?”
“And all these years, I have never had the fortune to witness the Night Sovereign’s true appearance.”
Lingxiao True Lord immediately replied:
“Junior Sister, what you do not know is this—”
“You achieved the Nascent Soul Stage a thousand years ago.”
“You are, to this day, the last Nascent Soul True Lord of the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven.”
“Do you know why?”
Chixi True Lord said, “I do not know. Please enlighten me, Senior Brother.”
“At that time, you were still in the Golden Core Stage, in seclusion.”
Lingxiao True Lord, usually calm, had a faint tremor in his voice as he spoke:
“Someone… someone came from outside the realm and slew the Night Sovereign!”
These short words instantly filled Chixi True Lord’s beautiful face with terror.
“W-What!?”
“Senior Brother, you’re saying an enemy from outside the realm… in our Kunlun Grotto-Heaven… killed a Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign?”
“Impossible! Senior Brother, that’s absolutely impossible!”
“A Soul Transformation Divine Sovereign possesses a Fruit Position and merges with the Dao—how could they perish!”
“If a Soul Transformation cultivator dies, wouldn’t that cause the Heavenly Dao of our Kunlun Grotto-Heaven to collapse?!” Her voice rose several degrees.
This completely exceeded her understanding.
Lingxiao True Lord’s dark eyes stared steadily into hers as he said word by word:
“Junior Sister, if the Heavenly Dao had not collapsed, how could you be the last Nascent Soul True Lord in this vast Kunlun Grotto-Heaven?”
“And how could it be that for a full thousand years, not a single person has attained the Nascent Soul Stage again?”
“Junior Sister, you wouldn’t think yourself peerlessly gifted, unmatched in the world, would you?”
These words struck Chixi True Lord like heavy blows to the heart.
“So it’s because the Heavenly Dao of the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven… has already collapsed?” she murmured, dazed.
Had she become the final lucky one?
Lingxiao True Lord nodded and continued:
“With the collapse of the Heavenly Dao, attaining the Nascent Soul Stage now is as difficult as ascending to heaven—ten or even a hundred times harder than before!”
“Master has been planning matters related to the Origin Spirit Realm for a thousand years.”
“Although not many Nascent Soul True Lords have ventured into the fifth layer of the Origin Spirit Realm, and most have survived, a few have still died over these thousand years.”
“Last year, didn’t Ye Kongxuan enter with a possessed body and still perish?”
“In such circumstances, the Soul Transformation Divine Sovereigns would tacitly allow a few more Nascent Souls to be born.”
“Given Master and Martial Uncle’s temperament, they might even secretly push things along—for example… helping you achieve it a thousand years ago.”
He stared into her eyes as he spoke.
The woman stood frozen in place.
The sheer amount of information was overwhelming.
An Immortal Sovereign slain, the Heavenly Dao collapsed!
How could someone from outside the realm accomplish such a thing?!
But she quickly reacted.
“Senior Brother, but look at what’s happening now—doesn’t it mean someone has attained the Night Sovereign’s Fruit Position?”
Lingxiao True Lord nodded.
“Indeed.”
He raised his head to look at the sky.
If no one had attained the Fruit Position of the Soul Transformation Stage—gaining the might of the Heavenly Dao’s Fruit Position, controlling part of its rules, and possessing a supreme authority—how could such a phenomenon occur?
With a single thought, night descends; in an instant, the sun is obscured.
Such supreme power could only be achieved by becoming the 【Night Sovereign】!
Chixi True Lord had only become a Nascent Soul for a mere thousand years.
Compared to those like them, who had been stuck at the Nascent Soul Stage for several thousand years, she was far behind.
Even so, her eyes filled with boundless yearning and envy.
She said:
“I wonder which Nascent Soul True Lord has obtained such overwhelming fortune, to attain the Night Sovereign Fruit Position and control the Authority over Night.”
She felt deeply emotional.
Unfortunately, Fruit Positions were like fixed slots—once occupied, they were gone forever.
Unless the Soul Transformation cultivator died!
This was also one of the reasons why other Nascent Soul True Lords did not share such information.
The more people knew, the more competitors there would be!
However, her senior brother’s next words struck her like a thunderbolt.
“It is not that some Nascent Soul True Lord has attained the Fruit Position!”
“Because the Fruit Position is not in the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven at all.”
“After that person slew the Night Sovereign, they used some unknown method to forcibly take the Fruit Position back to the Xuanhuang Realm!”