Prologue - The End of a World

The ground cracked, splitting into tiny pieces. The sea churned, boiled, erupting into tides of searing flames. The sky, the last, unmoving pieces that held the world together, was broken apart, the light of dawn faded until only darkness remained. Every direction was filled with indescribable noises. Buzzes. Shrieks. Screams. Explosions so loud it would blow your ears.

It was the cacophony of a dying world.

Within the encroaching darkness, Feng Chao stood defiantly, his eyes glaring toward the giant mass of flesh floating above, the accursed Demon Beast who was devouring their entire world. Enormous amount of Qi poured out from the monster, its presence alone enough to suppress even a heavenly immortal like himself. Indeed, if it wished to, it could erase his presence with but a single flick.

And yet, he stood tall against the terror, and so did the innumerable comrades beside him. All of them were cultivators of various ranks, from a lowly mortal to the high-and-mighty heavenly immortals.

If this was in the past, the chance of these people being together in one place would be virtually nil. However, at that moment, they were united in a single goal: to stop the Beast from destroying the world.

Valiant roars filled the sky as they unleashed one secret arts upon another, exhausting their Qi to the last drop. Their sword glares cut through the beast's skin, streaking through the sky in brilliant lights. Their chants summoned elements to their bidding: tendrils of flame burst forth, gusts of wind pierced through like arrows, bolts of lightning crackled menacingly, shooting out with blinding speed.

In retaliation, the beast spewed out strands of malevolent Qi, which promptly clashed with the barriers erected by heavenly immortal cultivators. The power of an entire world's energy coursed through those disgusting veins, crushing the barriers one layer at a time. When the last layer was broken through, the strands penetrated through the cultivators' line of defense, impaling those who weren't quick enough to avoid them.

Even so, those who were close to dying wouldn't given up yet. Now that they had no more hope to survive this ordeal, they converted their entire being into pure flow of Qi, performing forbidden art to turn into shooting star, using their life to launch one last attack at the beast. Combined with the neverending barrage of secret arts, the relentless attacks managed to make the beast screech in agony, showing the sign of weakness for the first time.

The cultivators drew a sharp breath. If the monster knew pain, that means it could be killed! As long as they still draw their breath, they would never stop!

With the world at the verge of death, there wasn't enough time to erect another barrier if it would end up getting destroyed anyway. Thus, the heavenly immortal cultivators collectively decided to go with an all-out assault, disregarding safety to finish the fight as soon as possible.

"Feng Chao! If fate allows, let us meet once again!"

The Peerless Jade Dragon Elder's voice resounded in his ears before the old fogey blasted off into the sky, sending the entire might of the Peerless Jade Dragon Sect's million years-worth of secret arts at Beast.

"Feng Chao, let's go for another journey if we managed to survive this ordeal."

"Feisty youngster, we shall meet again!"

"Feng Chao, you murderer! I will never forgive you for what you did to my family! But just this once, let me confess that I'm honored to fight with you to this bitter end! Until our next fight!"

The Witch of Abyssal Phoenix, The Thousand-Mountains Hermit, The God-Slaying Poison Fist… no matter whether they were friends or foes, they gave Feng Chao their last regards before shooting out into the sky, joining the myriads of cultivators already locked in deadly struggles with the rampaging beast.

Even the might of a heavenly immortal, the highest cultivation rank known to man, couldn't deal with such disaster. Amidst the chants of his secret arts, Feng Chao watched as the people that he had known for hundreds of years traded their lives for yet another attack, yet another chance to fell the beast before everything would be over. It didn't take long before only three heavenly immortal cultivators were left standing, him included. At the same time, the beast were writhing in agony, its misshapen form slowly sinking down from the sky.

Those who were still alive knew that all they needed was that one final push, one last march to deliver the coup de grâce!

"Everyone! Let's go!"

Feng Chao threw any thoughts of surviving to the wind. His spiritual body melted into pure flow of Qi, which then took the shape of his origin, the Imperial Golden Dragon. His roar signalled everyone to take flight, while he himself shot straight right at the Beast's head, drawing its attention.

The deformed face of the Beast opened its mouth, revealing jaws filled with rows upon rows of rusted, jagged teeth. Malevolent Qi poured out of its body like tentacles, crashing at Feng Chao's streak of light, the gargantuan impact shaking the entire space.

As he kept the beast at bay, his divine sense stretched outward, feeling the souls around him dying out one after another. He heard the voice of Hundred-Arms Immortal before the heavenly immortal cultivator's final attack, spurring everyone to press on. He sensed the Black Sun Patriarch sacrificing his Qi to strengthen everyone, leaving just enough to launch himself like a bullet at the beast.

Feng Chao had become the last heavenly immortal cultivator left in this world. If he were to fall, the rest of the cultivators would quickly follow. Thus, he pushed himself to the limit, taking the brunt of the beast's attacks just so the others could live for a bit longer, to perform one more sword art, to chant one more secret art.

For the sake of the world, they had to-

Suddenly, everything had turned silent. He sensed the cultivators halting their attacks. Most of them merely float around in confusion, becoming victims of the beast's Qi strands, or broken down into screaming mess, their lives extinguished by pure despair.

It only took him a single glance downward to realize what had happened.

There was nothing left in the space below them. The world that they had been trying so hard to protect had turned into nothingness. The beast had succeeded, it had devoured all that could be taken.

When the last soul had finally perished, Feng Chao's determination wavered. In the end, they were too late. All these sacrifices, it was for nothing, for there was no longer a home that they could return to.

...No, certainly not. Even if it was, he would not allow it!

"Even if there's no more meaning to it, even if it's just for the sake of revenge… I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!"

With nothing else to lose, Feng Chao finished the preparation of his secret art. Suffusing his entire being into pure, primal energy, Feng Chao readied himself to unleash a suicide attack.

"Damned beast! EAT! THIS!"

The Imperial Golden Dragon shrunk into the size of a tiny needle, shooting through that slightest bit of opening in the Beast's defense. Once he finally reached the beast's abhorrent core, a single thought flashed through his mind before his Qi erupted in a violent explosion, destroying the Beast from the inside.

'This is enough… isn't it?'

Thus, a world that had reached its end finally descended into a bottomless silence.