Prologue Two: Omen

[Five Hundred Years Ago]

In the center of the ten directions, at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

Since the opening of the heavens and the earth, this place has always been a vast, cloudless expanse of pure void, untouched by pavilions, towers, celestial mountains, or cave dwellings. Even sunlight and moonlight cannot penetrate it, making it a legendary entrance for ascension from the Immortal Realm to the Divine Realm.

On this day, at the hour of the snake.

Ripples unexpectedly appeared in the void of pure sky, initially just fine lines. An hour later, they suddenly intensified, tearing open a massive vortex within the pure sky.

The heavenly guards, not daring to be negligent, had long reported to the Celestial Sovereign. When the Celestial Sovereign, accompanied by numerous officials, hurriedly arrived, they saw four indescribable objects shooting out from deep within the vortex at an almost imperceptible speed, rushing toward the four corners of the Vast Heaven, instantly vanishing without a trace, leaving behind four trails of radiant light in the void.

As the light dissipated, the void returned to clarity, as if nothing had happened. The immortals all understood that this calm, which had lasted for tens of thousands of years, was likely about to give rise to disaster once more.

However, these four streams of radiance were indeed quite different. One was as sharp as sword energy, another was as bloody and fierce as a horror one could not bear to look at, a third was dream-like and ethereal, alternating between elegance and magnificence, and the final stream actually rolled back in reverse, arriving earlier than expected and spreading a heavy, splendid light, cleansing the celestial canopy of the four seas and eight barren lands.

Such an unusual omen, who knows what kind of good or evil events it will spawn in the lives of people, immortals, demons, and monsters?

The Celestial Sovereign pondered for a moment and instructed the heavenly guards, "You all quickly go investigate if there are any auspicious signs or heavenly calamities appearing in the various realms today, and which of the four causes correspond to this noon hour."

At the hour of the rooster.

The heavenly guards returned to report one after another.

"The Sovereign reported that the Emperor of the Southern Zhanzhan Continent has passed away, and his sons are fighting for succession, blood staining the court."

"The Sovereign reported that the red leopard of Kunlun is undergoing a heavenly calamity in the realm of mortals and has attained human form."

"The Sovereign reported that the prince of the demon realm is selecting a consort, but the black demon tribe and the blood demon tribe have been at odds for days, which may not end well."

"The Sovereign reported that all is well in the ghost realm. There are rumors that the Holy King will return, but it is unknown where and when this will take place, and to which realm he will reincarnate."

"Congratulations to the Sovereign! The royal son, Feng Lin, has just given birth to a son, born under auspicious signs, with clouds of splendor surrounding him."

"The Sovereign reported that the Western Niu He Continent has experienced land cracks, seemingly with traces of the ancient divine beast Zhu Long, but it is unknown whether this is related to the Heavenly King Chi Long."

"The Sovereign reported that the heir of the Immortal Realm, Hua Wei, is seeking a bride from the West Queen Mother."

"The Sovereign reported that the black demon tribe and the blood demon tribe have gone to war, and the heavenly demon prince wishes to settle matters peacefully, appointing two queens."

"The Sovereign reported that there is yet to be a new ruler established in the Southern Zhanzhan Continent; the various kings are in contention, and the people are suffering."

"The Sovereign reported that the West Queen Mother has agreed to the marriage, and Hua Wei has accepted the Kunlun literary raccoon as a disciple."

…

Numerous reports, complicated and impossible to count, left the Celestial Sovereign and the officials frowning, feeling a lack of clarity.

However, today's events concerning Kunlun seemed to have increased in frequency?

The West Queen Mother has always treated the Celestial Sovereign as an equal, merely as contemporaries. Although there are numerous celestial beings and heavenly soldiers in the Immortal Realm, Kunlun is a passage connecting the mortal realm to the Clear Cool Realm, and what exactly the Clear Cool Realm is, no one knows. The Kunlun tribe has always kept this to themselves.

Unexpectedly, a peculiar scholar in the mortal realm has written that in the case of great calamities in the past, the Immortal Realm had once been at odds with Kunlun. Even if the Celestial Sovereign summoned all heavenly soldiers to contend with the West Queen Mother's tribe, after overcoming the obstacles of the weak waters and scorching flames to enter Kunlun, the Clear Cool Realm would only release one person and one artifact, causing all the heavenly generals to return defeated, leaving the Immortal Realm too frightened to treat the Kunlun people with disrespect again. Few knew this legend, and since the Qin Dynasty's First Emperor ordered the burning of books and the burying of scholars, it has become almost impossible to find even a trace of it. Though the celestial beings felt that this scholar was likely fabricating tales, the fact remains that mortal realm emperors have traditionally been appointed by the Immortal Realm. The acts of the First Emperor, such as book burning and burying scholars, also seem absurd, which left many celestial beings pondering. Over the thousand years, it was indeed true that no one dared to show disrespect to the Kunlun people.

Lastly, the on-duty Heavenly King came forward.

"The Sovereign, I, along with all the heavenly soldiers under my command, have traversed the four seas but still found no trace of the Buddhist sect. I have heard that the cycle of heaven and earth is measured in twelve thousand nine hundred sixty years per Yuan, and the Buddhist sect has been absent for twelve millennia, approaching the completion of a full Yuan within this next millennium. The Brahman light just now seems to align with the Buddhist sect, yet I genuinely cannot trace its origin. I can only feel that this Buddhist light has permeated every inch of the Vast Heaven, leaving me to question whether it signifies the return of the Buddhist sect across the realms. I am incompetent and have failed to uncover any clues; I ask the Sovereign to punish me heavily."

The Celestial Sovereign remained silent.

After a moment, he waved his hand and said, "What crime have you committed? The actions of the Divine Realm are beyond the knowledge of our Immortal Realm. Moreover, the Divine Realm too must heed the will of heaven. Since the will of heaven is unmeasurable, we will accept what comes. All of you withdraw; today's matters shall not be discussed further."

[One Hundred Days Later in the Immortal Realm]