Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Absolute Capital -

This was a city located on dangerous terrain, with mountains and raging waters behind it. The city walls were like a majestic mountain ridge that spanned across the earth. This place was said to possess a powerful precelestial eight trigrams array formation that could even slaughter gods. By relying on these natural defenses, the great array formation, and the undying loyalty of the citizens of the Zhou Dynasty who desperately risked their lives to preserve their nation, this capital of Great Zhou was able to become the singular city-state within the entire Land of Divinity and Demons.

That's right, this was a city that comprised its own country. Even if the territory it encompassed was less than 10,000 miles, this tiny area was a force that not even the seven great empires dared to underestimate.

Great Zhou's Imperial Palace was built in the past when the Zhou Empire stood upon the peak of the world. All sorts of experts were gathered to help construct the palace and it was expanded and further bolstered by future generations of sovereign kings. It could be called the grandest and most magnificent palace in the world. Looking through the entire world, even the Imperial Palaces of the seven empires were unable to compare with it.

In the center of the Imperial Palace, at the Primal Chaos Hall, the Zhou Empire's founding emperor sat there without expression. He wore a nine-dragon imperial robe and a golden crown. An invisible pressure constantly exuded from him, so deep that it seemed the world would freeze. After an unknown length of time, Emperor Zhou stood up. He stepped forward. Ripples appeared before him and he submerged himself within them.

If the Immortal Sect perished then the Demonic Path would be revered above all. Once this happened the overall situation of the world would change and even he would be powerless to reverse it. Since he had already returned, Emperor Zhou naturally wouldn't stare blankly on as the landscape that should belong to his Great Zhou was taken away by others!

…

Chu Empire, Ying Capital!

His Majesty the Emperor Mi Ganyuan paced back and forth. A sharp light surged unceasingly in his eyes. He suddenly saw a chance for Great Chu to rise up to the top. This opportunity had come too fast for him to feel any joyous surprise, and he didn't dare to make any hasty decisions. After carefully considering things over and over, he decided that he could not miss out on this turning point.

When news of the Immortal Sect being sealed off began to spread out, Mi Ganyuan immediately activated the spies he had placed in the Demonic Path. Information was rapidly sent back, allowing him to confirm his suspicions - the ones that attacked the Immortal Sect were the Demonic Path!

In this great storm, there could only be three outcomes:

The Immortal Sect was exterminated, the Demonic Path was exterminated…or both sides were mutually wounded.

What Mi Ganyuan wanted was the third result. If luck was on his side, then the Chu Empire would be able to watch from the side and pick up some great benefits afterwards. Although the chances weren't too high, there was never an absolute assurance when it came to matters like this. Just a small chance was enough for him to decide to toss in his hand.

He suddenly came to a stop. Mi Ganyuan's deep voice echoed out through the hall. "Pass on my edict! Awaken all the soldiers sealed within the vault. Today, I will lead them in a struggle against the heavens! We shall see whether or not my Great Chu has the destiny to dominate the world…I pray for the blessings of our ancestors!"

…

Immortal Sect world.

The 12 Arhat skeletons were being tied down in combat by the Dead Soul Guards that came from the Holy Palace. Both sides only existed in order to protect their masters. After obtaining an order to kill their opponents, their battle immediately entered a superheated phase. Wild fluctuations of strength forced the surrounding Calamity Immortals to draw back. The side of the Demonic Path cheered on with surging morale while the Immortal Sect Calamity Immortals paled.

They were Calamity Immortals of the Immortal Sect. Thus, it was natural for them to believe that the Immortal Sect world was the safest place for them to be. All of their relatives, treasures, and everything they loved and possessed was located in the Immortal Sect. If they allowed these evil beings to wildly wreak havoc as they pleased, the consequences would be dire.

But soon, these Immortal Sect Calamity Immortals discovered that the ones they should be worried about the most were themselves.

In the distant skies, there were suddenly heaven-shaking rumbles. The phantom of an incomparably large grinding pan appeared. As it spun around it immediately influenced the rules, causing the surrounding space to collapse and forming six black holes that led to somewhere unknown.

Yama walked forward in the void, her red dress flapping in the wind. Beneath her dark gold mask, her pupils shined with radiant light like stars in the night sky.

She had never once given up the will and desire to retake the inheritance treasure that the older generations had lost. But now that the day had finally arrived, it still felt like everything was an illusion.

Luckily, the immense strength surging all around her made Yama realize that this clearly wasn't an illusion. No one knew just how important Samsara was to the lineage of the Blue Skies Yellow Springs. Its return meant that her Six Path Samsara great supernatural art would finally be completed!

Yama raised a hand and grasped forward, "Samsara!"

An Immortal Sect Calamity Immortal realm cultivator widened his eyes in shock. He could feel the terrifying strength rushing at him and yet he couldn't resist at all. He could only stare on helplessly as he was wrapped up and dragged into a side of that massive black grinding pan.

Rumble rumble -

The black grinding pan began to spin even faster. It emitted sounds that dove straight into the soul, carrying with them a strength that shook the mind and caused one to feel an instinctual sense of awe. This was because the strength of Samsara represented the final fate and home which all living beings of this world returned to in the end. It could not be resisted nor could it be stopped.

At this moment, Yama held Samsara in her hands!

The figure of the Immortal Sect Calamity Immortal appeared within the black grinding pan. His eyes were closed as he was peacefully sleeping. Yama flicked her finger and the man submerged into one of the black holes. Soon, that Immortal Sect Calamity Immortal flew back out from the black hole. He arrived in front of Yama and fell to his knees, "This subordinate greets master!"

This scene caused a momentary silence in the world around them. No one thought that after obtaining Samsara, Yama would be such a terrifying character. It had to be known that this was a Calamity Immortal, and yet in the blink of an eye they were transformed into a loyal and utterly devoted servant.

This was simply far too horrifying!

If given enough time, Yama could even subdue every single Calamity Immortal powerhouse in the Immortal Sect, transforming them all into cultivators of the Demonic Path. To the Immortal Sect, this would be an absolute disaster.

The Buddhist Nation Sovereign and Nether Domain Master were thoroughly enraged. Calamity Immortals were different from other cultivators. The birth of a single one was incomparably difficult. If they were all captured by Yama, then the Immortal Sect would survive in name only.

The Buddhist Nation Sovereign roared out loud, "Today, I will not hesitate to pay any price to make all of you stay here forever! Everyone who dares to invade my Immortal Sect and harm my Immortal Sect cultivators…must die!" Flames suddenly ignited on his body. Faint traces of aura spread out from him, causing the flames to grow brighter and higher.

The skies above the Immortal Sect began to turn dark and gloomy. Countless black clouds emerged from the void, gathering into a massive face that looked down upon the world. A vast, terrifying, and ice-cold aura emanated from this face, as if a single glance could destroy the earth and annihilate countless lives.

The Dao Arena Master stood tall. His blood red eyes looked up at the face in the skies and he coldly said, "You bald thief, I am your opponent!"

Within the flames, the Buddhist Nation Sovereign had no expression. "Then I'll destroy you first." The face in the skies opened its mouth and a beam of light fell down. This beam of light contained the strength of absolute destruction. Not too far away, the Dark Night Supreme Seat's complexion changed and he quickly stormed away.

Qin Yu's pupils shrank, "Westgate, hurry and flee!"

He suddenly thought that this was the Immortal Sect world's large array, one of the most terrifying powers here. It summoned the strength of the world's rules to simulate an attack on the level of the Great Dao realm. It could easily destroy the rules and annihilate the avatar of a supreme being.

Solitary Westgate stepped forward. Then…he flew up into the skies, welcoming the beam of light. He punched out and the beam of light was crushed to nothing. Solitary Westgate didn't stop there. He continued rising into the heavens until he came right up to the face formed from black clouds. He roared out loud, "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you are qualified to kill me? Break for me!"

Bang -

He slammed a fist into the black cloud's face, right between its eyebrows. Cracks began to spread outwards, reaching every corner of the face. Then, with a roar of anger and unwillingness, the face shattered into pieces. The skies that were shrouded in darkness started to rapidly regain their light.

The Buddhist Nation Sovereign spat out a mouthful of blood that was immediately evaporated by the flames surrounding him. His eyes widened in shock. "Solitary Westgate, this isn't an avatar…you came here with your true body!"

The only standard for being a supreme being of the world was that they surpassed the limits of life and death. Their life was endless and they shared the splendor of the sun, moon, and stars. By condensing the world's rules and using up an incredibly long period of time, they could form an avatar that contained a portion of their true body's might and allow that avatar to walk through the world in their stead. Their main bodies were kept in a state of blending together with the world where they could continually perceive the Great Dao. Then, one day, perhaps they could break through that final step and ascend to the Great Dao realm.

To arrive here with one's true body meant that their cultivation would be interrupted midway, but more importantly, it meant that if they died, it would be a true death with no chance of revival.

Out of all the supreme beings of the world, the only one that walked through the world with their true body was the emperor of the Chu Empire, Mi Ganyuan. This was not because he didn't want to condense his own avatar, but because if he desired to borrow the national destiny of his empire to form a supreme ruling body, he needed to fuse together with his empire. Otherwise, his boundary would collapse and fall.

But today, there was one more person - the Dao Arena Master, Solitary Westgate!