Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Beneath the statue of the Dao Monarch, Ji Xiangtian looked up from his high throne. His mouth opened up and a pained scream came from between his lips. A rich holy light suddenly emanated from every orifice of his head, as if flames had wrapped around him.

Blue veins stuck up on his neck and his entire face became distorted. At this moment, Ji Xiangtian had lost all of his previous dignity and majesty. He was like a vile ghost struggling with pain that had come screaming out from hell.

He lifted a hand and pointed a finger between his eyebrows. But the holy light erupting from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears not only didn't weaken, it instead became stronger.

"This is impossible!" Ji Xiangtian screamed out loud. "I've clearly taken control of this strength, so why would I lose control!?"

He turned around and looked up at the blurry face statue of the Dao Monarch. His eyes gradually opened as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.

"Yes, you've guessed it correctly. The reason this spiritual strength was controlled by you is because I entrusted you with the authority to do so. But now, I have taken back this authority. As for the price you must pay, I will use your mortal body."

Ji Xiangtian suddenly opened his voice to speak, but the voice that came out wasn't his own. It was cold and indifferent, without any fluctuation of emotion.

"No!" Ji Xiangtian roared in shock and anger, "You have already fallen. I sensed it clearly, there is no way I was mistaken!"

Then, his mouth opened wide again and that other voice came out once more, "The reason you thought I fell is because I allowed you to feel the aura of my death. Perhaps this might be difficult for the likes of you to understand, but for me it is simple.

"When you determined that I had died, you began to intercept my beliefs and simultaneously try to commit a reversion that nibbled away at my cultivation's Great Dao…for thousands of years, you have done well. You have perfectly hidden your aura so that no one can discover it…so, you are the most perfect puppet body that I have cultivated. If I return, then this can be considered your first contribution.

"So, you may now fuse into my body and become a part of the holy light."

Ji Xiangtian screamed, "No!!"

But by this time he had thoroughly lost control of all the strength in his body.

Holy light wantonly erupted from him. It came from every pore, burning his mortal body to ashes until there was nothing left but pure holy light.

Looking carefully, one would see that within this holy light, there were chains formed from countless runes constantly spinning around.

"Ah, the long lost feeling of freedom…" The holy light murmured. It was incomparably tranquil and yet it gave off an infinitely cruel and wild feeling. "But this strength is far from sufficient. It is far, far from sufficient. After waiting for countless years, this chance has finally arrived. I cannot allow any accidents to occur.

"The season of harvest…has arrived!"

Bang -

The sealed central temple suddenly blew apart. An enormous and mighty holy light burst out. Like a great vortex, it swept out in all directions.

The Divine Guards standing outside the temple didn't even have time to respond. They were wrapped up by the holy light and merged within, becoming a part of the holy light.

Without stopping, the flood of holy light continued outwards. All Western Tomb cultivators were dissolved into powder, their strength absorbed and assimilated by the holy light.

"Ahh!"

Some Western Tomb powerhouses saw that the situation was dire and they shot up into the skies. They were fast enough to escape, but as they were in midair, their bodies slowly decomposed. In the end they became nothing but a mass of holy light that flew back.

Moments later, the entire Western Tomb Divine Church had turned into a sea of holy light. Endless waves of holy light surged like the evening tide.

From this point on, there were no more cultivators in the Western Tomb.

Countless Western Tomb believers crawled on the ground, their eyes dull, their faces pale, and their bodies shivering.

As zealous believers, they personally witnessed the scene of the holy light destroying the Western Tomb…it was like divine punishment from god!

As fear took hold of them and they had no idea what to do, a deep and mighty voice resounded from the sea of holy light, "The lineage of the Western Tomb has been invaded by evil beings who have misinterpreted the Dao Monarch's Great Dao, causing a calamity to befall this world. I have personally arrived to erase it. In the future, a new Dao orthodoxy will appear to spread the light of my Great Dao."

Rumble rumble -

A trillion motes of holy light rapidly shrank, finally gathering into a human-shaped figure. The space around him was distorted and he seemed to be covered by the rules, making it so that no one could see his appearance. But, the aura he exuded was like a hundred suns in the dark night, overwhelming and sweeping over everything.

All the Western Tomb believers felt all their hopes and faith in this figure. Their fears faded away and their faces flushed red. Their eyes grew wide with fanaticism.

"It's the Dao Monarch, it's the Dao Monarch!"

"We greet the Dao Monarch!"

In a moment, all of the believers fell to their knees. The invisible power of their belief gathered into the holy light figure.

The Dao Monarch looked to the east. His gaze pierced through space and fell directly into the depths of the First Moon Mountain Range.

"Gu Shan, the final outcome of our battle has yet to be decided. Whether you will smile at the end or I will stand above, everything will depend on what happens today."

He took a step out. Where his foot fell, space shattered and wildly collapsed inwards, forming a giant black hole. Then, he vanished.

In the next moment, deep in the First Moon Mountain Range in a place shrouded with thick fog, a black hole suddenly appeared. A wild strength erupted from it like a volcano. A terrifying strength swept out, clearing away all the fog in sight.

…

Now rewind time a little, not much, just a few breaths of time.

The Dark Parliament's seven Senators stepped into the pitch black hall and awakened the puppet that was deeply slumbering there. After it opened its blood red eyes, it utilized the power of darkness and arrived directly in the depths of the First Moon Mountain Range, in the shadows of the great hall.

But before the puppet could find out where the Myriad Dragon Body was, it was surrounded by 13 figures that came rushing up. Then, blood red flames started to burn all over the surface of these 13 people.

Hum -

A great void array formation directly opened up and a powerful transfer force erupted. Before the puppet could even let loose a roar, it was transmitted away.

Within the blood red flames, the 13 figures were reduced to ashes. But when they closed their eyes, all that was there was peace and release.

They should have died long ago. Yet because they owed a great favor to their master, they were willing to be imprisoned here in a state of neither life nor death, suffering to this day.

Now that they had completed their mission, they disappeared into nothingness.

Thus, when the Dao Monarch arrived in the First Moon Mountain Range and scattered the fog around him, he sensed the formidable aura that suddenly arrived.

He furrowed his eyebrows. Without hesitation, he raised a hand and pressed down.

Bang -

Space violently twisted. It was like a piece of paper that had been grabbed, crushing the arriving person inside.

But after the twisted space violently shook, it suddenly shattered like a thin layer of ice. The red-eyed puppet stepped out.

Their eyes immediately met.

The Dao Monarch frowned. He had never seen this puppet before, but just looking at it made him feel an instinctual sense of loathing.

The outside world was no longer able to shake the heart of someone of his cultivation level. For such a feeling to appear, there had to be another reason behind it.

Before the Dao Monarch could think further, the puppet roared out loud. The blood red light in its eyes flared up, as if it had suddenly come to life.

The seven Senators that had fused into the puppet all changed their complexions. They realized that they had suddenly lost control of the puppet. And what was most terrifying was that they were all locked inside while the puppet was wildly sucking out their strength!

"Dao Monarch!"

The puppet roared and lunged over. It punched forward and its fist shattered space, turning it into a black dragon.

With a loud roar, the dragon opened its mouth wide and fiercely bit down!