"Everything you cherish will turn to ash, Qin Yang!"
Inside the great array, the Beast God’s smile grew wild.
"The Celestial Gate is about to open. The days you have left to torture me are numbered. When the tables turn, it will be my turn to torture you!"
"Is that so?"
Qin Yang’s lips formed a flat line, his expression unreadable. He simply lifted a fingertip.
The next moment, the writings within the Ten Directions Array pulsed with life.
"What are you doing?"
The Beast God took a wary step back.
"Why’d you stop talking?"
Qin Yang watched him coolly and lowered his finger. "I much preferred you when you were running your mouth just now."
In that instant, the golden seal script within the array erupted in a brilliant light. It wove into thousands of lightning birds, which pulsed with killing intent before instantly drilling into the inner walls of the Beast God’s mouth, beginning to destroy his physical body from the inside.
TZZT! TZZT!
Searing heat flooded his every nerve and meridian. Astral thunder coursed through his blood vessels, boiling his blood.
"AHHH—"
In a flash, the Beast God’s arrogance turned to agonized wails, his body twisting into a contorted mass.
Under this attack of pure Yang and unyielding power, every inch of his muscles melted. His physical body crumbled until it was reduced to ash.
A moment later, Qin Yang looked at the Beast God, now nothing but a pool of blood within the great array, devoid of flesh and bone. The simmering anger in his heart gradually dissipated.
To completely annihilate the Beast God, the power of a Half-step Divine Venerable wasn’t enough. Only by wielding complete Realm Power could he be utterly destroyed.
Torturing him now was nothing more than a way to vent his anger.
Besides, what was more concerning was that the Beast God had said all that so brazenly, without a hint of fear.
This just went to show how powerful the expert about to emerge from the black hole must be!
"Sigh."
At this thought, Qin Yang looked up at the expanding black hole in the sky and rubbed his brow in resignation. "What a turbulent time. It looks like I need to have my junior sister break through to Celestial Venerable as soon as possible."
...
...
「The next day.」
The morning light was faint in Fuhai District.
Li Qinghe, Li Zixuan, and all the others had arrived.
"Master, why did you call your disciple over in such a hurry?"
Li Qinghe scanned the people around him and noticed that everyone was in the room except for Liu Wushuang. Lin Mofeng, Elder Li, and the Lin Family’s Old Ancestor were all there.
With this one meeting, Qin Yang had gathered all the Venerables of the Heaven-Blasting Gang.
"How far are you all from becoming Celestial Venerables?"
Qin Yang sat in a chair, stroking Xiaobai’s tail, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "What’s holding you back from breaking through?"
"Young Master, this old man is still short one Law Insight."
"Me too,"
"Yeah, Laws are hard to comprehend. There’s really nothing we can do."
Everyone started murmuring amongst themselves.
"Ahem, alright, everyone. Don’t worry."
Qin Yang coughed lightly, took out the Heart of Law with his right hand, and wrapped his fingers around it. "Since you all find comprehending Laws so difficult, then I’ll lead you all in doing it together."
The next moment.
He injected his Star Force into it.
The Glazed Heart burst with a multicolored light, and myriad worldly phenomena flowed from it.
"Everyone, watch closely. Stay in this room for the next few days to advance. Strive to break through to the Celestial Venerable Realm as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
...
...
Time slowly passed.
「A few days later.」
Above Fuhai District.
BOOM!
A sudden clap of thunder echoed from the sky.
Layers of celestial phenomena intertwined—flames seemed to set the heavens ablaze, while dragons and phoenixes cried out in unison, drawing the attention of countless people.
Within Jianghai City, countless Star Martial Artists heard the sound and turned to look at that patch of sky.
Several terrifying auras shot toward the heavens like pillars.
More Celestial Venerables had emerged in the world!
.....
「And on this very same day.」
At the astronomical observatory several kilometers away.
A large number of instruments blared with warnings.
Xia He, dressed in his police uniform, stood in the center of the frantic crowd, his brow furrowed as he watched the clamorous chaos inside the room.
"Sir, we’ve detected abnormal fluctuations from the black hole in the sky!"
A police officer picked up a report and placed it in front of Xia He. "According to the data from two minutes ago, the threshold has already gone off the charts!"
"What’s the ETA?"
Xia He clenched his jaw and repeated himself, asking in a low voice, "How much longer until this black hole opens?!"
"Reporting, sir! Based on the current rate of expansion, the Celestial Vault Black Hole will open completely in no more than two hours at the latest."
The team member’s hand, holding the file, trembled. It was clear he was trying his best to suppress his panic. "Many citizens have already uploaded videos they’ve filmed to online platforms. Should we intervene?"
Hearing this, Xia He’s brow tightened. He took his phone out of his pocket and did a search.
As soon as he opened one of the platform’s pages, numerous videos immediately popped up.
In the videos, a burst of azure energy suddenly erupted from the Celestial Vault Black Hole.
Chains spanning the horizon flew out, and a splendid, brilliant light shot out from within, illuminating the entire sky.
Similar amateur videos shot from multiple angles spread across the internet, quickly sparking a frenzy of shares and giving rise to all sorts of rumors.
[It’s opening! It’s really opening! Oh my god, a black hole is opening!]
[The end of the world is here...]
[Everyone, stay calm! Before the official announcement is released, please don’t maliciously spread panicked rumors!]
[The Star Force seems to have surged again! This concentration... I feel like I could break through to Venerable right now!]
[Hey, have you guys noticed the black hole? It looks like there’s a figure standing inside it.]
[Must be your imagination, right? There can’t be someone inside a black hole, can there?]
[No, I think it’s real!]
After watching the most recent videos,
Xia He put down his phone. Standing to the side and directing the scene, his brow furrowed even more tightly.
The police officers had gathered around him.
"Sir, we can’t control public opinion anymore. What should we do now?"
An officer in charge of public sentiment monitoring stepped forward. "Panic is spreading on a massive scale. The entrances to the Jianghai City Wall are completely blocked."
"Then don’t suppress it. Let them be."
Xia He’s expression was grim and uncertain. He stared intently at the black hole’s status on multiple screens, where the readings were constantly flashing, approaching the critical threshold.
In just a few more hours, it would reach the point of no return.
Time was of the essence.
"Issue an immediate announcement. Activate the Jianghai air-raid shelters and prepare the elderly, weak, women, and children for evacuation."
Xia He commanded calmly, "All remaining Grandmaster Venerable Star Martial Artists, prepare for battle with me!"
...
...
「And at the same time.」
Within the Ten Directions Sealing Demon Array, far away in the Da Li Mountain Range.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Within the layered Writings Golden Wall, a sea of blood spread out endlessly, churning the inside of the great array into chaos.
The Beast God spread his arms, struggling to rise slowly from the blood sea. He looked up at the sky and let out a wild laugh, as if welcoming the arrival of some great being.
The black hole in the sky expanded.
He gazed at the sky, the passage reflected in his crimson pupils.
Faintly, a figure could be seen walking out from within.
"My Lord, you are finally coming! We haven’t seen each other in five hundred years!"