2 Chapter 1: The Appearance of Poison
The situation was utter chaos.
From the Heavenly Sun Stage down to the Law Domain Stage across the three layers, the Genesis Beasts were in a state of frenzy as they desperately fled in all directions.
Their stampede caused the earth to shake violently, overturning thousands of mountain ranges.
The pure Ancestral Qi was in turmoil, violently shaking the world – it was Guyuan Heaven, or more accurately, the Guyuan Heaven of the past.
A wisp of Supreme Power appeared at the very center of Guyuan Heaven, and an immense pressure suddenly descended upon the entire Heaven.
While the entire world was in chaos, it spilled over the boundary walls that divided the three layers of Guyuan Heaven.
The world's will emerged and began to mobilize in an attempt to restore the boundary wall to its original state, but it was promptly demolished by Supreme Power.
A ball of white light illuminated the entire Heaven and could even be seen at the very edge of the world.
Everything it touched was instantly erased from existence as the light grew progressively larger every second.
Space was torn apart, leaving void turbulences that sucked in many living and non-living things, killing them in the process.
Mountains, rivers, and nearby Genesis Beasts that couldn't escape were destroyed.
Before the destruction could progress further, 36 vein-like formations appeared, seemingly encircling the white light.
These veins were gigantic, each spanning more than tens of thousands of miles.
The world struggled to enclose the ball of light as all 36 veins joined together to form a massive cylindrical array in the shape of a chain.
The 36 veins exerted their power to suppress the ball of white light.
An earth-shattering explosion occurred across Guyuan Heaven, killing a dozen beings and leaving a bottomless hole spanning hundreds of millions of kilometers.
The 36 veins constantly suppressed the ball of white light, and both clashed repeatedly.
This intense struggle lasted for a short while until the white light finally receded.
Guyuan Heaven had three layers, each with specific requirements for entry.
The First level only allowed beings on the Law Domain Stage to enter, while the Second and Third Layers only allowed Nascent Source experts to enter, with the latter permitting Heavenly Sun Stage experts.
The Saint Experts had their own domain, accessible only to Saint-level powerhouses.
All nine veins from the three layers, including those on the Saint Level Domain, showed up to suppress the white light.
The white light finally calmed down and shrank to a size of two meters.
If viewed from a distance, it could be mistaken for a speck of dust compared to the enormous cylindrical array.
The ball of light containing a wisp of supreme power was sealed at the very core of Guyuan Heaven.
Inside the thin layer of white light was a body with no sign of wrinkles or damage.
Deep within that body was a tiny dark-red entity that resembled a dragon, capable of bringing the world to its knees.
It writhed about the body like a snake, free to do so because the body's owner was no longer alive and would never return from the grave.
As a chain constructed of the purest Ancestral Qi wrapped around the lower half of the body, the red dragon filled with hatred came to a slow halt.
A suppressive force dawned upon the crimson dragon, slowing its movements.
The dragon's blood-red eyes closed, and it curled up into a ball, seemingly in a sealed condition, but it still emitted a powerful aura.
The 36 veins functioned as array nodes, similar to the ones seen in Genesis Runes that required precise strokes to work.
Although the array hadn't fully been established, it was more than enough to completely suppress the white light.
Even Saint Experts would be unable to detect the white light and the entity residing in Zhou Yuan's body after the array was fully constructed.
Guyuan Heaven began to stabilize as the world's will mobilized.
The land began to restore, rivers flowed naturally, and mountains began to form one by one.
Disturbed and torn space started to repair as the world calmed down from the calamity.
Hours passed, days turned into weeks, and weeks into months without anything notable happening.
With the assistance of pure Ancestral Qi, life started to flourish once more as trees and plants emerged.
It had been a full year since the calamity, and the sun and moon continued their cycles.
Everything seemed eerily silent.
Guyuan Heaven had fully recovered, and over the years, the chains binding the corpse of Zhou Yuan continued to increase, completely suppressing the entity within.
The sentient consciousness of Guyuan Heaven assisted in filling the formerly bottomless crater left by the enormous explosion with soil.
Time passed slowly once again in Guyuan Heaven.
A year turned into a decade and a decade into a century.
Guyuan Heaven remained undisturbed by any outside influences.
However, the residents of Heaven Genesis World were not oblivious to this major event, especially a certain race.
In an unknown space with no land or sky, three powerful figures radiated a deep and profound pressure.
These three figures were the Three Prime Sovereigns of the 5 Heavens.
All three of them had a scrutinizing look as they examined the force they had just felt.
It had been over a century since it suddenly appeared, awakening each of them from their seclusion deep inside the Omega Shrine.
And with each passing year, the presence diminished until it was no longer detectable.
The Three Prime Sovereigns were in a state of unease, and one of them finally spoke up in a cautious manner.
"It's gone," a woman's bewildered voice echoed in the empty space.
It was Chi-Ji, one of the Three Prime Sovereigns of the Omega Shrine, a tall lady with a tomboyish appearance.
The aura they could detect had completely disappeared, without a trace to be seen.
Another Prime Sovereign spoke, "This is obviously a scheme by the Saint Race to threaten the 5 Heavens!" This booming voice belonged to Di Long, the Dragon Emperor, one of the Three Prime Sovereigns, known for his muscular form and dragon tattoo.
A fellow Prime Sovereign shared the same sentiment. "We can't assume things without any evidence indicating this is a plot by the Saint Race," Chi-Ji interjected.
Before Di Long could refute this, Chi-Ji continued, "But whether or not this is a ploy by the Saint Race, we still must proceed with caution."
Di Long grumpily snorted, saying, "Who else but the Saint Race has such capabilities? For all we know, they have an artifact that can make changes to Guyuan Heaven." Di Long's words held some truth.
Yes, they all knew the presence they detected came from Guyuan Heaven.
But it was unfortunate that they couldn't open a gap in space to investigate the matter because of the establishment of the blessing battle between the Saint Race and all the Heavens.
Regulations were established after every battle, forbidding either party from meddling in Guyuan Heaven for a thousand years until the competition restarted.
Well, that was the norm followed by the 5 Heavens.
You never knew when the Saint Race might do something unexpected.
They couldn't open Guyuan Heaven for access, even if all the Heavens joined forces; it would still be impossible.
Only the mysterious Saint Race could do such a thing, and that's what concerned them.
There was a high possibility that something dangerous was happening within Guyuan Heaven, and the Saint Race might be to blame.
"But what if this isn't the Saint Race's doing?" Chi-Ji asked Di Long.
"This may be a Heaven-given chance that only the Saint Race would be able to take advantage of, so we must act," Chi-Ji declared firmly.
Di Long scoffed and said, "Stop being so optimistic, Chi-Ji. It's not like we can do something about it."
Chi-Ji's forehead furrowed in response to the comment.
"And you should quit being so pessimistic for a member of the Dragon Race," she sneered. A terrifying pressure erupted, and it was clear that Di Long was not having it.
"It's called being realistic," he spat, clearly angered about his Dragon Lineage being involved.
Before the conflict could escalate further, another presence abruptly emerged, seemingly preventing the two from fighting.
The power was terrifying yet calming in a way.
It was another Triple Lotus Saint, who had been quietly listening and watching the two bicker like children.
He was coincidentally the oldest among them – Jin Luo, one of the Three Prime Sovereigns of the Omega Shrine.
"Now, now," he groaned, acting like a grandpa disciplining his grandchildren. The two, seeing this, begrudgingly withdrew their Genesis Qi while sneering at each other.
Jin Luo had always acted as a mediator between the two since Di Long and Chi-Ji held opposing beliefs, leading to many disputes in the past.
Jin Luo sighed as he glanced at the two and stated with a firm voice, "Di Long's words carried some truth." He continued, "It's most likely the Saint Race's doing mainly because they have the means to access Guyuan Heaven." Di Long scoffed again.
"But that doesn't mean we can rule out the possibility that it's not connected to the Saint Race and could be one of Heaven's opportunities," Jin Luo added.
Chi Ji nodded at Jin Luo's words. "But it truly is regretful," Jin Luo said with a solemn voice.
It was impossible for even Triple Lotus Saints to enter Guyuan Heaven, as it was a special domain that somehow only the Saint Race had access to.
If a Heaven-given opportunity was indeed happening in Guyuan Heaven, it would be a massive loss for the 5 Heavens, left out only for the Saint Race to enjoy.
The Saint Race, which already had an advantage over the 5 Heavens, would gain even more. Reversing the tides against the Saint Race was already extremely difficult, but with their advantage increasing, it would become nearly impossible to gain the upper hand.
The Three Prime Sovereigns shared the same thought – they must stop the Saint Race at all costs, even if the 5 Heavens didn't benefit directly.
But what could they possibly do? Their hands were tied, and they couldn't take any action, no matter how strong a Triple Lotus Saint appeared.
"No matter how you see it, I see no future for the 5 Heavens," Di Long suddenly spoke with a frown.
Chi Ji didn't like what he said, but she remained silent.
"It's not even the Saint Race we're terrified of; it's their God," he said, his voice significantly lower.
Upon mentioning the Saint Race's God, the mood grew even more somber.
Even if the Saint Race had more Triple Lotus Saints than the 5 Heavens, they wouldn't cower behind the Chaos Origin Saint Killer Array.
It was mainly because of the Saint God that they were at a massive disadvantage.
In front of a deity, mortals couldn't even imagine causing them any harm.
And the Saint God was the only God in the world.
While Chi-Ji and Di Long had downcast faces, Jin Luo once again spoke up, "Maybe we could fight fire with fire," he said sternly.
This got the attention of the other two, and they instantly knew what Jin Luo was implying –
the Third God.
