Chapter 842: Don't Block Me, You Guys!

"Open the altar, invoke the art!"

Upon the Immortal Cliff, looking out into the distance, the world beneath was a pitch-black sea of ink, wherein countless unnamed behemoths seemed to churn and roar amidst the dark clouds, punctuated by the occasional flash of blinding lightning.

A three-hundred-chang ritual altar stood high upon the cliff, bearing a tripodal dragon-carved cauldron wherein a single pillar of Coiling Dragon incense burned, unleashing billowing plumes of ink-like smoke.

The smoke, akin to dark clouds, dyed the entire sea of mist beneath into a somber shade of ink, as a pitch-black banner, embroidered with dense, bright-yellow runes, danced against the howling gale like a dark dragon.

The mortal realm.

The rain fell with increasing ferocity, as though the celestial river had breached its banks, pouring down in cascading torrents; while the cultivator cities fared well enough, the lesser mortal kingdoms were beset by rushing torrents and devastating floods, and outside Jiuhua City, a sudden bolt of thunder seemed to tear the very sky in two!

The array formations upon the city walls appeared to flare for a fleeting moment before swiftly dimming into obscurity!

A terrible cataclysm unfolded as the surging river outside the city roared like a furious black dragon of the night, startling countless beasts into a frenzy as they stampeding wildly toward the city gates!

The river breached the banks along the inner waterways, its rapid currents sweeping through the streets and spreading across the entire metropolis, as if intent on submerging the city whole.

"Ah—!" Shen Qingqing had barely stepped one foot out the door before she let out an involuntary cry of alarm, watching the torrent rush over the threshold, the swift waters nearly sweeping her away!

Through the night, a chorus of urgent shouts rang out: "The city gates have fallen! The city gates have fallen!"

"The river water is pouring in, beware of water demons! Beware of water demons!"

"Where is the Jiuhua Army?!"

Jiuhua City had enjoyed peace for countless years, never once enduring a night of such utter chaos.

Gong He, the deputy commander of the Jiuhua Army, accompanied by several middle-aged men in military attire, hurriedly stepped off the aircraft and rushed into the fray.

The Jiuhua City branch, the Half-City branch, the Yuanyang City branch... every storefront, every sect, and the players of every great clan seemed to be facing the exact same predicament.

This was destined to be a... sleepless night!

...

The Daoist priest, who had just finished shaking the rain banner and completing his spell, wiped the sweat from his brow and bowed deeply before a figure clad in ancient attire, wearing a jade crown and a golden belt.

Amidst the howling wind, that figure stood like a demon god, laughing uproariously.

"Reporting to Lord Gui, this official has continuously invoked the art for seven days and seven nights; that mortal realm has long been inundated by floods, its mountains flattened and its hills turned to marshes!" the black-robed man sneered.

"Very good!" The man in the jade crown and golden belt, draped in a blue celestial robe adorned with silver qilin patterns, nodded in satisfaction. "Rain Official, you have done well."

"Since the ancient division of the Dao Palace, the Gui lineage was granted a portion of the Dao marrow, which gave rise to the creation where 'a single word from the Gui clan commands the heavens and earth.' To defy the rules established by the ancient clans is equivalent to defying heaven itself! Those mortals have lived for so many years that they have likely forgotten our might; this time, we shall make them remember it down to their bones!" The man smiled. "Who exactly is the master of this realm!"

"It is time!" With a calm declaration, the tens of thousands of celestial soldiers behind him soared into the sky!

...

Outside the Jiuhua City branch.

Owner Fang had only just managed to repel the massive horde of beasts alongside the Jiuhua defenders, rescuing those who had fallen into the water, when suddenly...

The sky erupted with thunder, and interwoven serpents of electricity painted the entire world in a stark, incandescent white!

Everyone, as if sensing something, looked up at the sky.

"Look at the sky, quick!"

"What is that!"

"What's happening?!"

Countless people instinctively ceased their battles and raised their heads to the heavens, only to see innumerable thunder dragons and electric serpents drawn together by an inexplicable force, converging into a single point.

The boundless thunder gradually solidified, gathering in the sky to form a colossally massive, demon-like face!

Before such divine might, all men were as mere ants; when had these cultivators and warriors ever witnessed such a display!

Several lower-cultivation practitioners and martial artists lost their composure completely, crying out in terror.

Is this... a deity?!

Too terrifying! Even a mere fraction of its aura felt like something no mortal could bear.

"Has it really... really come?!" At this moment, An Huwei, Nalan Hongwu, Shen Qingqing, and everyone else from the Jiuhua City branch took an instinctive step back upon witnessing this scene, staring at one another in sheer horror.

What was meant to come... had finally arrived.

Though they had uttered grand and proud words before, when the moment truly came... it was impossible to say there was no unease or fear in their hearts.

"Have you all thought it through?" High in the sky, the colossal head formed entirely of thunder and lightning spoke slowly.

The voice boomed like the roar of an ancient demon god, the thunderous resonance rattling the ears with painful intensity.

The wild winds raged, as if to destroy everything in their sight, and the torrential rain poured, as if to swallow everything it encountered!

The previously endless, maddened beasts also fled in terror from this aura, hiding beneath rocks and trembling violently.

To say nothing of ordinary mortals; beneath such a night sky, the words spoken like a demon god struck terror into human hearts!

"Thought through what?!" Despite the fear in his heart, someone still shouted back defiantly, "We learned how to be cultivators here, we understood the meaning of life, and we comprehended the meaning of the 'Dao.' The Boss has been kind to us; at a time like this, can we ungratefully shrink back even a single step?!"

"No—!" At this moment, what answered was the collective roar of all the cultivators and warriors.

An Huwei roared even louder: "What did we do wrong? What did this shop do wrong? To think you would force us to this extent!"

"Even if it were a matter of monumental proportions, it is merely opening a small shop!" Nalan Hongwu looked at the devastated city, his voice trembling, "Why... must it come to this!"

"Why... must it come to this?" High in the sky, the giant face formed entirely of thunder said coldly.

"However... there is no harm in telling you!" he sneered, "A swarm of ants happening to clash head-on with a giant vessel crossing the vast universe will only be crushed into dust, whether intentionally or not. This matter is of grave importance, how could it be the trivial affair you claim it to be!? If you must blame something, blame your own poor luck!"

"Then..." His eyes flared with harsh intent, "Where is Fang Qi!"

"Boss!" Shen Qingqing looked at the silent Owner Fang beside her.

Everyone else turned their eyes toward him as well.

Right at that moment, Owner Fang took a deep breath and stepped forward: "He is right, this is the private matter of this shop. You all should not interfere, please retreat for now."

"No—!" Shen Qingqing immediately protested loudly.

Su Tianji also snapped in anger: "Kid Fang, what kind of people do you take us for?! Are we the type to flock to you when there are benefits, only to turn tail and run when danger strikes?!"

"Exactly!" Everyone began to gather around Owner Fang, surrounding him completely to shield him in their midst, "This shop is the best shop we have ever seen, we will protect it together!"

"If we die, we die together!"

"Refusing to accept reality until faced with the coffin! You only have yourselves to blame... for following the wrong person. In your next life, remember to be born into a better family."

Gradually, it was no longer just that single giant face that appeared in the sky; following closely behind, the dark clouds churned, and countless figures seemed to emerge upon the mists, a bustling throng of heads—those were unexpectedly all... immortals!

High in the sky, a colossally massive eye of clouds opened.

Within that cloud eye, boundless heavenly tribulation thunder gathered, its terrifying plasma appearing such that if an ordinary person were to touch even a fraction of it, they would be turned to ashes.

Countless immortals invoked their arts in unison, and in an instant, the heavens and earth changed color as the mountains shook and the ground trembled!

"If you must blame something, blame yourselves for touching what should not be touched. Today, you shall witness the disparity between immortals and mortals!"

At this moment, everyone beheld a vast, radiant rainbow of light—a colossal pillar connecting heaven and earth—shattering straight down!

Faced with such a celestial cataclysm, almost no one could muster a single shred of hope; no one could block such an attack, not even a god, and Owner Fang...

Though he was formidable, he was not a god after all...! Even if he were, what could an ordinary deity possibly achieve?

A crowd of people stood firmly in front of Owner Fang, gripping their weapons tightly.

In this fleeting instant, they recalled the descent of the Emperor of Abandoning Heaven upon the mortal realm, and the shattering of Arad by Carloso—a cataclysmic devastation... had begun!

"You people..." Boss Fang pushed through the throng with great effort, finally squeezing his way out, drenched in sweat, as he anxiously cried, "Don't block my way!"

.

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Er... after revising it several times, at this hour, I am too embarrassed to say anything more...

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