Shadow War God Race's divine region.

The massive black doors of a solemn temple slowly opened to admit a ten-thousand-meter-tall obsidian giant. A thunderous rumble rang out as it strode inside.

Though its aura was already at the beginning stage of the true spirit level, it was still as insignificant as an ant in front of this enormous temple.

A ten-thousand-kilometer-tall pyramid altar was at the far end of the temple, flanked by two one-hundred-thousand-meter statues shaped like ferocious evil spirits.

The colossal statues trembled as the black giant entered, their heads snapping downward. Their faces twisted with fury as they roared, "Ancient God Chamuhaal, why have you trespassed into the temple?"

The obsidian giant grinned grotesquely. In a sharp and chilling tone, it replied, "Chamuhaal? I am not Ancient God Chamuhaal."

"Who are you?!"

"Impudent! You dare defile the noble blood of the Shadow War God Race?!"

Boom! Boom!

Enraged, the two statues unleashed enough power to rival those at the middle stage of the true spirit level. Six limbs stretched out from beneath their arms, tearing through the sky to seize the intruder.

They used their twelve claws to attack the intruder, shattering space and rending principles, but as they closed in, terror flashed in their eyes.

Crack!

Faster than time itself, two strands of purple lightning leaped from the Shadow War God's hands and lashed at the statues' arms. The statues silently disintegrated into drifting black ash, filling the temple with despair.

Having casually erased the two broken guardians, the Shadow War God finally turned toward the towering altar. Lazily, it said, "Alquest, I hold in my hand a piece of information that touches upon the very survival of your race. Tell me, are you interested in hearing it?"

Its words echoed throughout the quiet temple.

Soon, the pyramid altar stirred. Strands of black light lit up from its lowest layer. The pyramid emitted a dazzling black radiance as the runes carved upon its steps fully activated.

Boom!

A black pillar of light shot upward from the top of the altar, piercing through the temple and the skies of the mythical world, only to vanish into the boundless void. Like an antenna, it summoned a dreadful will that crossed from beyond the heavens.

A twisted visage wreathed in black flames formed above the altar. It blotted out the daylight, plunging the entire divine region into darkness.

Seeing the sky suddenly blacken, the countless beings in the Shadow War God Race's divine region knelt fervently.

"We welcome your descent to your region, Supreme Lord!"

"We praise you, Great Lord! Your radiance shines across eternity, upon billions of lives!"

While countless worshippers prayed, the blazing face within the temple gazed down with fiery authority.

It coldly commanded, "Since you risked exposing a hidden pawn within my race to summon my will, I will grant you one chance to speak. Tell me how your message concerns my race's survival, coward."

The obsidian giant smiled radiantly, skipping pretense. "The human who vanished ten thousand years ago has returned, and there is a very high chance that he has already broken through to the undying realm."

"What did you say?!"

Boom!

The temple shook violently. The fiery face writhed, its blazing eyes forming cross-shaped pupils and glaring down on the intruder.

Crack! Crack!

Struggling to withstand the glare's terrifying pressure, fissures spread through the intruder like shattered porcelain. Nevertheless, it just kept smiling brightly, ignoring the fact that its true form was crumbling.

"You heard me. The one once called humanity's strongest has returned. Though he has reached the undying realm, something went awry. He has come back under the human name of Chu Batian."

The cracks it had sustained deepened as it spoke, its life aura waning at an alarming speed. It looked as though it would collapse in a matter of moments.

"Chu Batian sounds familiar..." Black flames flickered, and the pressure that the cross-shaped pupils emitted grew heavier.

The Shadow War God's torn lips stretched into a grotesque smile. "Of course you remember. A few day-cycles ago, one of your race's ancient overlords died at his hands. Just a day-cycle before that, he slew a peak chief god of the Golden Race, one with the potential to become an overlord, in the Ancient Arena.

"This time point is the true time flow, not some distortion that the Ancient Arena's temporal disorder has caused. Within a few short day-cycles, Chu Batian has become a semi-primordial being. Now, with the title of Divine Might, he sits as the lord of Chaotic Imperial City. The guardians of your race, the Golden Race, and the Heavenly Ant Race all perished at his hand just one star-hour ago."

"Tell me, who else can jump from being a peak chief god to a semi-primordial being in mere day-cycles and wield combat power to rival primordial beings if not the human who disappeared long ago?"

"Hahahahaha!The destruction of your race is near. You should treasure the days you have left."

The Shadow War God's laughter echoed as purple lightning burst from it. Its already crumbling true form exploded, scattering into drifting black ash beneath the purple glow.

The flaming cross-shaped pupils grew solemn as it watched the ashes float through the temple. The message had certainly shocked it. If the cowardly intruder was telling the truth, then the Shadow War God Race was in grave danger.

Yet as one who stood above the Fourth Primordial Heaven, Alquest would not simply take such claims at face value, especially not something of this magnitude. Suppressing its astonishment, it pondered who the messenger truly was.

They had chosen to remain anonymous while delivering the news, which meant it was surely someone Alquest knew. Otherwise, they would've had no reason to hide. They also clearly wished to avoid offending humanity, yet also feared Heng, the human who had vanished for ten thousand years.

Thus, they sought to borrow another's blade—to incite the Shadow War God Race into killing Chu Batian.

If that human was indeed a revived Heng, then even if they failed to kill him, they could still disrupt his path and prevent a full revival. Even if he was not Heng reborn, there was still no harm in slaying him.

Such terrifying cultivation talent was a great threat not only to the Shadow War God Race but to all surrounding peak civilizations. None of them wished to see humanity rise again with another true emperor, or one even stronger.

"I must speak with the others about this matter. I should drag Purple-Maned King Hou into this as well. Their hatred of humanity runs deeper than ours. If they learn that the human who slew their Ancient Hou still lives, they will be even more desperate than we are. They might even ignite a war of peak civilizations."

"That human was too domineering. He stormed into Purple-Maned King Hou's territory and slew the Hou that was deep in seclusion just for sharing the true name Heng."

Alquest's grave words reverberated through the temple as its flaming visage slowly dissolved.

***

Chen Chu was unaware of what was happening behind the scenes. He could not have imagined that he had been mistaken for humanity's greatest warrior, the legend said to have disappeared after failing to break through to the Seventh Primordial Heaven.

Deep within Chaotic Imperial City, he sat cross-legged in the void of space.

A thousand-meter-tall bronze bell oomed behind him, quivering with heavy, profound tolls. Each one made his body and soul vibrate, immersing him in a profound state of insight.

An eighteenth-grade pure white lotus floated beneath Chen Chu and the bell, its white flames burning as they fused with the chaotic bronze bell.

Fueled by the fire of twenty million attribute points, the chaotic bronze bell slowly merged with Chen Chu. Bronze markings appeared on his skin as he refined it, strengthening his already formidable True Primordial Demon God Form at an astonishing speed.

The invisible fluctuations of power rippled across the void, making even Chaotic Imperial City tremble faintly, as though a light quake had struck it. It wasn't just his flesh. His comprehension of the chaos principle allowed his cultivation to surge swiftly toward the late stage of the true spirit level.

***

As Chen Chu grew stronger, others spoke his name in another spacetime dimension.

In a gray wasteland, a five-kilometer-tall being sat in a cavern like a gray mountain giant. It was battered and covered in gaping wounds, its three pairs of eyes glowing with exhaustion.

A two-hundred-meter shadow stirred deeper within the cavern. In a raspy tone, it asked, "Boroedo, have you reached Chu Batian?"

The Mountain Giant shook its head. "No. The principles of this world suppress us too greatly. Even the powers of the supreme planes are heavily restrained."

"Wait..." It suddenly broke off, excitement flickering in its eyes. "A signal! A signal!"

The blood-colored tablet in its massive hand flared faintly as a rune lit up. The Mountain Giant quickly channeled its will into the rune.

"Brother Chu Batian, help..."

"No, Brother Chu Batian, Mbolak and I have discovered coordinates to a Great Thousand World. Its world origin is abundant enough to drive even primordial beings mad..."

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