Central Pagoda.
The entire realm had fallen into an unnatural silence.
Even the wind no longer stirred.
It was not just for today.
This eerie stillness had persisted for an entire year.
A year had passed since the preparations for war began, and now they had reached their absolute peak.
Everything that could be prepared.
Had been prepared.
Everything that could be risked.
Had already been risked.
And today was the Assembly.
A gathering unlike any other.
Because under no ordinary circumstances would the beings present here ever stand together in one place.
Not in a thousand eras.
Not since ti immorial.
At the center of it all stood Hundun.
Its presence alone stabilized the suffocating pressure radiating from every direction.
"You all know why we have gathered here," Hundun said, its voice echoing across the vast expanse.
Before it.
Countless beings stood.
So towered like ancient mountains, their forms vast and incomprehensible.
Others were small, almost insignificant in size.
Yet radiated a power that could shatter worlds.
So possessed forms that defied logic itself, shifting and distorting as if they were manifestations rather than flesh.
And yet.
Despite their differences.
They all shared one undeniable truth.
Every single one of them was capable of shaking the Heavens.
They were supre beings.
Existences from different tilines, different histories, different eras.
All gathered here.
Bound under a single banner.
The Heaven and Earth Council.
And united by a single promise.
Hundun continued.
"And I am very glad to announce that the Thirty-First War... may very well be our last."
The mont those words were spoken.
Terrifying auras erupted.
One after another.
The entire Tree trembled as overwhelming pressure flooded the realm.
Ancient hatred.
Suppressed fury.
Endless battle intent.
It all surfaced at once.
Only when Hundun raised its paw slightly.
Did everything settle.
Silence returned.
But it was no longer empty.
It was heavy.
Anticipation filled every corner of the realm.
"The promised ti is near," Hundun said.
"And if we succeed... this current era whether nad or naless will co to an end."
A brief pause followed.
As if even ti itself was listening.
"The years you have endured here will not be in vain, the Dao is both cruel and rciful in its actions, I know the hatred each of you carries, I know the burdens you have endured."
Its voice deepened.
"So unleash it because the promised ti has finally arrived."
Then.
Hundun declared.
"If we succeed, the Era of Absolutes shall begin, and you all... will be the first to step upon that path."
Cheers and laughter erupted across the Tree along with terrifying fighting intent that shook the whole place.
And this was felt by those beyond the Tree.
***
BOOM!
The ground shattered.
A massive vortex had appeared above a humanoid, bipedal creature its body was twisted and unnatural, and in the next instant, it was swallowed whole along with a chunk of the earth beneath it.
Yu Xuan stood at the center of the devastation.
But he did not relax.
The surrounding light dimd unnaturally.
Then.
From a single point in space.
The sa creature reford.
Its body twisted back into existence, its presence eerie.
It had no face.
No features.
Only a wide, jagged mouth filled with teeth.
It gritted those teeth as it stared at Yu Xuan.
WAHAHAHAHAH—!
Its distorted laughter echoed across the battlefield.
Then.
A voice cut through everything.
Xin Juesheng spoke.
"The ti has arrived, finish it quickly."
Yu Xuan sidestepped instantly as the creature lunged.
Its maw tore through space itself, leaving cracks in space where it passed.
"Yeah, yeah..." Yu Xuan muttered.
His eyes began to shine.
In the next instant.
He vanished and reappeared directly in front of the creature.
In his hand.
A massive sphere of energy had ford.
It pulsed with power drawn from his physique.
The mont the creature sensed it.
Fear erupted within it.
For the first ti, it tried to retreat.
But it was too late.
Yu Xuan thrust his hand forward.
The sphere embedded itself into the creature’s face.
The vortex activated instantly.
Its power was stripped away.
Its existence unraveled.
With an agonized wail.
The creature died.
A true death.
No regeneration.
No return.
Nothing remained.
Yu Xuan stood still for a mont.
He closed his eyes.
Then.
He opened his mouth slightly and chewed.
For a brief second, it felt like he was eating sothing soft.
Like jelly, but in actuality he was eating space.
Then the sensation faded.
"I still have a long way to go..." he muttered.
Although he could temporarily access fragnts of the creature’s abilities.
He still could not fully integrate them into himself.
Before he could think further.
Two streaks of light shot toward him at blinding speed.
BAM!
They crashed straight into his face.
Yu Xuan was knocked slightly off balance midair before landing back on the ground with a dark expression.
"Ember! Nova! Stop it!" he shouted.
Two small figures fluttered around him.
Black and blue-white butterflies, moving at terrifying speed.
They circled him playfully.
And then slamd into his face again.
"Damn it! I said stop!" Yu Xuan snapped.
This ti, the two butterflies actually listened.
They slowed down and gently landed, right on his face.
Yu Xuan froze for a second, his expression twitching slightly.
One of them was pitch black, its wings carrying an aura of death, like a quiet inevitable end.
The other shimred in blue-white light, its presence soft and ethereal, radiating a calming energy that seed to soothe even the soul.
These were the two butterflies that had hatched from the chrysalis bound to his soul.
Yu Xuan let out a breath.
"For now, go back inside, I’ll call you later to play." he said.
The two butterflies fluttered once in response.
Then dissolved into light and sank into his body, returning to their place within his soul.
Yu Xuan had already given them nas.
The black one – Ember.
And the blue-white one – Nova.
A naming choice that completely broke the usual grand, overly elaborate conventions of the cultivation world.
After all, most people would have chosen sothing like Little Black, Little Blue or Little White.
But Yu Xuan had long abandoned such ideas.
Ever since he had nad a certain fox Xiaohu Celestine Amane Von Yu...
He was quite confident that his naming sense had improved significantly.
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