Chapter 475 - 419: The Secret of Heaven’s Will

BOOM—!

The nine Pastoral Monarchs of the Nine Provinces, reshaped by the power of the Gods Sealing List and completely imprinted with Qi Yun’s brand, struck simultaneously and without hesitation the moment his command fell!

The Yongzhou Pastoral Monarch held the Mountain and River Seal, drawing upon the immeasurably heavy Social Will Power of the Central Earth. It transformed into an ancestral dragon of the Earth Vein that stretched across Heaven and Earth. Roaring with its head held high, suffused with the magnificent will for "peace and prosperity" and an "eternal foundation," it was the first to crash into the sea of laws in the high heavens!

The Cold Province Pastoral Monarch held a Dark Blue Ice Crystal aloft in his palm. The Wish Power of Frosty Winter and conquest was no longer scattered but condensed into billions of Frost Spear Snow Swords, forming a world-ending Cold Killing Array that sliced through the void and froze the Laws, following close behind!

The Yan Province, Jin Province, Lin Province, Ze Province, Wind Province, Thunder Province, and Cang Province... The seven Pastoral Monarchs each displayed their abilities.

Sky-scorching flames became the Demon Refining Divine Phoenix. Geng Metal Sharpness coalesced into the Chaotic Heaven Chopper. Life-giving wood formed the Heaven-Catching Net. The vast Wetland Country stirred up world-overturning waves. The Formless Xun Wind created the Path-Scouring Divine Wind. Majestic Celestial Thunder gathered into the Evil-Slaying Thunder Pool. And the Boundless Sea gave rise to the World Guardian Divine Mountain!

These nine streams of province-level Incense and Candle Wish Power—vast, pure, and all from the same source despite their different natures—did not conflict with one another under the unifying golden light of the Gods Sealing List.

Instead, they faintly formed an incomparably profound Nine Provinces World-Suppressing Grand Array!

As the Grand Array rotated, it caused the mountains, rivers, and Earth Veins of the entire Spirit Yong Nine Provinces to resonate in harmony. The prayers from the unseen minds of billions of believers converged into a torrent of humanity that shook the heavens, surging upward to defiantly bombard the sea of laws and the world-ending calamity clouds that represented Heaven’s will!

This was the ultimate manifestation of the Incense and Candle Divine Dao, a world-shaking spectacle of the faith of trillions of living beings defying the cold will of Heaven and Earth!

"Ants trying to shake a tree. How utterly arrogant!"

Faced with this defiant counterattack that gathered the Incense Wish Power of an entire world, the aura emanating from Heaven’s will grew even more bone-chillingly cold.

It was the ultimate rage and indifferent killing intent of being betrayed by one’s own "creation."

At the highest point of the roiling, myriad-layered calamity clouds, a pair of eyes—so immense, ancient, and cold as to be indescribable—slowly condensed and opened!

There were no pupils in those eyes, only the ceaseless birth, evolution, and collapse of the Heaven and Earth Laws, and an absolute indifference that looked down upon all creation, treating all beings as disposable straw dogs.

The gaze of these eyes represented the watch of this world’s "Heaven," the manifestation of the supreme Law.

"Your Divine Positions, your authority, even the very foundation of your existence—all were granted by me!

What you have today is a gift from the Celestial Dao!

How dare you... use the very power I have bestowed upon you for such a treacherous, heaven-defying act?!"

The clear voice of Heaven rang out, each word as heavy as a star, smashing into the void and creating layers of ripples. It attempted to directly shatter the Incense and Candle Wish Power gathered by the Nine Provinces Pastoral Monarchs, and what’s more, to shake the very foundation of their existence.

Following this furious roar from Heaven, the cold eyes suddenly shot out billions of formless, intangible chains of law, representing the very origin of "deprivation" and "retraction"!

The chains were formed from the most fundamental Heaven and Earth Laws. They ignored time, space, and all defenses, coiling directly toward the cores of Qi Yun’s and the nine Pastoral Monarchs’ Divine Souls.

Their target was the "Divine Position Talisman" within their bodies, the symbol of their authority in the Divine Dao!

This was Heaven’s will’s most direct and terrifying method—stripping a Divine Position!

To forcibly reclaim the authority granted by Heaven and Earth, to cast them down from their divine altars and return them to the mortal coil.

It could even cause their Divine Souls to collapse from the loss of their Divine Position’s support!

The chains of law descended, wrapping around Qi Yun’s Purple Gold Divine Robe and touching the nine Pastoral Monarchs’ Wish Power Dharma Aspects.

However, the expected scene—of Divine Positions collapsing, Divine Power dissipating, and Dharma Aspects crumbling—did not occur.

The moment the chains of law, which contained the authority of "deprivation," touched the bodies of Qi Yun and the nine Pastoral Monarchs, it was as if they had struck an invisible, formless, yet indestructible barrier!

The chains twisted and tightened frantically, trying to burrow in, analyze, and reclaim the "Divine Position," but it was all a futile effort, like trying to scoop the moon from the water or pluck a flower from a mirror!

Qi Yun and the nine Pastoral Monarchs remained standing steadily in the void.

Aside from their robes fluttering slightly and their hair gently lifting, their Divine Power circulated and their Wish Power surged. They were completely unharmed!

The "Heavenly Deprivation" that would have instantly cast any native Spirit Yong deity into the dust was, to them, like a gentle spring breeze!

"This is impossible!"

For a billionth of a second, the cold eyes hanging in the center of the sea of laws froze solid!

The Heaven and Earth Law talismans that had been indifferently circulating within them, endlessly being born and destroyed, fell into a brief moment of chaos and stagnation.

The next instant!

A cold, suppressed voice reacted:

"You are not from Spirit Yong!"

Heaven’s will had finally detected the most fundamental anomaly!

"Hehehe..."

A clear, indifferent chuckle escaped Qi Yun’s lips.

On this oppressive battlefield, filled with murderous intent and the vast might of Heaven, the sound was exceptionally clear and grating.

He raised his head slightly, his calm gaze meeting those cold eyes of Heaven’s will, a faint trace of mockery playing on his lips.

"You’re only just realizing this now? Those ’Celestial Eyes’ of yours are certainly large enough.

It’s just a pity... that they’re old and dim-sighted, and can’t see things clearly."

"Insolence!"

RUMBLE—!!!

Qi Yun’s nearly blasphemous words completely detonated the fury of Heaven’s will!

The cold eyes suddenly constricted, the collapsing Law talismans within them transforming into the purest light of destruction!

The entire Spirit Yong Realm, along with the rage of Heaven’s will, let out an overburdened wail!

The sky was completely devoured by boundless, leaden-heavy world-ending calamity clouds. The clouds were no longer pitch-black but had turned a hazy gray, like primordial chaos. Within them, billions of lightning bolts of various colors, all radiating an aura that could end all things, roiled, roared, and gathered like primeval thunder dragons!

The destructive pressure made the mountains and rivers of the Nine Provinces tremble and all living things prostrate themselves. Large-scale cracks appeared in space, as if the world itself was about to completely disintegrate and return to chaos in the next moment!

"You ant! How dare you insult Heaven!

I have managed this realm for countless ages, shaping the Incense and Candle Divine Dao and bringing order to Heaven and Earth. How could I allow an insignificant thief from the Outer Realm like you to steal and usurp it!

No matter how silver-tongued you are, today I will ensure your Divine Soul is extinguished and your True Spirit falls for eternity!"

The furious roars of Heaven’s will materialized into a chaotic thunderstorm that exploded within the hazy gray calamity clouds, each sound wave containing a terrifying power that could destroy a Divine Soul.

Faced with this world-ending might that seemed poised to drag the entire realm into mutual destruction, Qi Yun remained completely unfazed, not even a hint of seriousness on his face.

Only the trace of mockery grew more pronounced.

He gently brushed his wind-blown sleeves, his posture as relaxed as if he were taking a leisurely stroll in his own courtyard.

"Your management? Your Incense and Candle Divine Dao?"

Qi Yun shook his head with a light laugh, his tone suddenly turning sharp. He pointed to the sky, his voice like the clang of metal, piercing through the rumbling thunder:

"Open your eyes and see clearly!

The Incense and Candle Divine Dao you painstakingly shaped and maintained for countless ages, the faith and Wish Power of these trillions of living beings, are now all in my hands, to be wielded by me!

The foundation you treasured, the very thing you relied upon to sustain this realm, now has only one use: to help this Gods Sealing List in my hand absorb Resources and reach the Minor Achievement Realm!"

He flipped his palm, and the golden light of the Gods Sealing List spanning the Celestial Vault flickered, as if responding to his words, emanating an increasingly profound, ancient, and majestic aura.

Upon the list’s body, the light of the two words "Gods Sealing" grew ever more brilliant.

"And you—"

Qi Yun’s gaze was like lightning, piercing straight into those furious, cold eyes. He spoke word by word, his voice filled with endless mockery and delight,

"—aside from standing here in impotent rage, triggering this world-ending heavenly punishment, and posturing as if you’d take us both down, what else can you possibly do to me?!"

"Impotent rage?! Insolence! Nonsense!

I am the master of a realm, the will of Heaven and Earth!

You are but a mere Great Master, do you think you’re worthy of spouting such nonsen—"

The furious roar of Heaven’s will, carrying with it endless chaotic thunder, came howling like a tsunami, filled with the rage of being utterly despised and the madness of having its supreme authority trampled.

This roar was enough to shatter stars and obliterate a True Spirit.

However, just as the final word was about to leave its mouth—

The world-toppling, deafening roar, as if choked by an invisible giant hand, came to an abrupt halt!

"..."

Heaven and Earth suddenly fell into a strange, deathly silence.

Only the chaotic calamity clouds continued to roil, the destructive lightning still brewing within.

But the roar representing the fury of Heaven’s will had bizarrely vanished.

Those cold eyes still hung high above, but the "spirit" within them seemed to have undergone a subtle change. The anger remained, but now it was tinged with... an ineffable astonishment.

This sudden, unnatural silence formed a jarring contrast with the world-destroying clamor from before.

Hearing Heaven’s will blurt out the words "Great Master"...

Qi Yun, who had maintained a calm and even mocking expression all along, slowly broke into a brilliant smile, one that said, ’Just as I thought.’

He tilted his head up slightly, looking toward the high heavens with a gaze that was almost level, full of amusement and insight, at the eyes of Heaven’s will in the sea of laws, which seemed to have "stalled."

Calm words slowly left his lips, each one echoing with perfect clarity across the suddenly silent, world-ending battlefield:

"Stop hiding. We’ve come this far, what’s the point in hiding anymore.

Wouldn’t you agree... True Monarch!"

...