AZI Volume 5 Chapter 36.5 Intermission – The Imprisoning Heaven

*…!!!!!!!* with the collapse of a star region, an explosion of great force goes off. 

And as the shockwave of the blast spread outwards, the walls of the dimensional boundaries tremble. 

*Kakakakakakakakakakaka!!!!!!!!!!* as cracks appear on the dimensional walls, glass-like shards fly, and within the epicenter of the explosion, a black hole comes into being. 

Similarly to the maws of a beast, shattered pieces of celestial bodies are drawn towards the black hole, and—

*Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!* accompanied by the sound of celestial body fragments being pulverized, time passes. 

One year.

Ten years.

A hundred years.

A thousand years. 

Ten-thousand years.

...… 

An unknown amount of time flies, and one day—

*…!!!!!* a droning sound—one that is akin to an infant's cry, emanates from the black hole. 

This sound went on for several centuries, and just as it started to show a sign of dying down, a secondary sound—

*Thump…* one that is akin to a heartbeat goes off. 

*Thump… Thump… Thump…* over the passage of five centuries, the heartbeat-like sound gradually becomes more rapid, and eventually—

*Thump. Thump. Thump.* it stabilizes.

With every heartbeat-like sound that came after stabilization, the smaller the black hole becomes—till one day, it is reduced to the size of a person. 

*Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump… Thump… Thump...…* just as the heartbeat-like sound dies out—

*…!!!* a shockwave goes off, and from within the black hole, a humanoid figure—one that is the size of a human infant, emerges. 

Alien-like would be one way to describe the humanoid figure—for it lacks a pair of eyes and a mouth. 

Other than that, the entirety of this humanoid's body is as pitch black as the starry skies around them. 

"…Haaaa..."

As a sound that is akin to a yawn comes from the humanoid figure, it raises its head, and—

"…"

Instinctively processing its ancestral memories, the humanoid figure rotates a cultivation method. 

The name of this cultivation method is the Imprisoning Heaven Scripture, and following its rotation, white radiance emanates from the humanoid figure.

*Sha…!!! Sha…!!! Sha…!!!* as sounds that are akin to grains of sand brushing pass the other echoes, streams of white mist manifest around the humanoid figure. 

And similarly to tendrils, these streams of white mist approach the humanoid figure, and upon contact, they are absorbed into the former's body. 

The name of the species that this humanoid figure is categorized under is an "Imprisoning Heaven," a lifeform that has an extremely low chance of being born when a star region collapses. 

As for what these streams of white mist are, they are none other than the "History" of the star region itself. 

Maintaining its absorption of the star region's History, the Imprisoning Heaven's body begins to grow. 

...…

Ten centuries for the Imprisoning Heaven to reach 1,000 meters in height, while maintaining its infant-like body structure.

...…

Another twenty centuries for the Imprisoning Heaven to grow to 5,000 meters in height, and to transform its body structure into the shape of a human child. 

...…

Then, on a random day, a fleet of transportation vessels arrive.

All these vessels take on the form of wooden ships, all of which—aside from one, possesses a total of three masts. 

Onboard the largest vessel, the one that possesses five masts, a male practitioner—dressed in an extravagant set of golden robes, looks to the Imprisoning Heaven with astonishment.

"What is this?"

Near the golden-robed practitioner, other practitioners dressed in inferior quality robes remark—

"This thing, is it some sort of undiscovered lifeform?"

"It resembles a human child, but the air that comes from it…"

"Immortal Qi?"

"If it truly is some sort of undiscovered lifeform, then…"

Thinking of the glory that would be bestowed upon him should he be able to bring this lifeform back, the golden-robed practitioner immediately says—

"All of you, head out and capture this thing. I intend to-"

*…!!!!!!!!* following the abrupt movements of the Imprisoning Heaven's hand, a violent tremor cuts off the golden-robed practitioner's words. 

"Uh?"

"Put some distance between us and that thing! Quickly!"

Just as the fleet begins to retreat, the Imprisoning Heaven's right hand approaches the ship that is to the far left of the five-mast vessel, and—

*…!!!* in a soundless manner, the ship that collided with the Imprisoning Heaven's hand vanishes. 

"Uh?"

"The hell?"

Without pausing, the right hand of the Imprisoning Heaven continues to collide with the next ship, and much like the first ship, the second ship is also erased. 

In this manner, the Imprisoning Heaven erased a total of six ships, prior to straightening out its posture to a stand. 

From head to toe, the current stature of the Imprisoning Heaven is well over 25,000 meters in height. 

In the next instance—

*Hoooooooooooonnnnnn!!!!!!* an earth-splitting roar comes from the Imprisoning Heaven, as it proceeds to press its right hand forward. 

"…?!"

"Huuuh…?!"

Faster than the fleet is able to retreat, and under the horrors of those onboard the ships, the Imprisoning Heaven's hand makes contact with the ships, and similarly to all the ships from before, the entirety of the fleet is erased from existence. 

"…"

Processing the memories of those that it had devoured, the Imprisoning Heaven raises a yawn, and proceeds to move towards the direction that this fleet had come from. 

...…

On the twelfth year—since it had started its journey, the Imprisoning Heaven encounters a planet in the far distance. 

"…"

Instinctively, the Imprisoning Heaven hastens its footsteps, and to the dread of those who dwell on the planet, the former presses its hand forth. 

*…!!!!!!* following the Imprisoning Heaven's hand puncturing through the planet, a handprint-shaped hollow is created in the planet's center. 

In an attempt to fight back against the Imprisoning Heaven, divine arts are launched by the practitioners of the planet.

However, as soon as these divine arts come into contact with the Imprisoning Heaven's body, they are devoured—providing the former with nourishment. 

In the span of a few seconds, the entirety of the planet, and the denizens on it are devoured by the Imprisoning Heaven. 

Having devoured this planet, a tiny speck of gold appears on the Imprisoning Heaven's pitch-black body.