Chapter 403: So You're the Great Calamity, and You're the One Who Knows How to Call Backup?

Chapter 403: So You're the Great Calamity, and You're the One Who Calls for Backup?

A colossal, terrifying maw, vast beyond measure, opened its gaping jaws toward Him.

He was a behemoth, yet the blood-colored being above Him was boundless in its grandeur.

In His dazed state, He seemed unable to react at first, merely murmuring under His breath: "Vast."

All the cultivators, at this moment, found their legs trembling uncontrollably.

Then... the world was flooded with crimson light!

Endless darkness vanished without a trace, replaced by an infinite expanse of blood-red and violet radiance.

That boundless form was clad in blood-red armor, its surface etched with intricate and exquisite patterns.

Though immense, it lost none of its fine detail.

Spikes of blood crystal jutted from its shoulders, larger than the pillars of heaven!

Qi Yuan stood in the void, before him a sea of chaos, behind him an endless starry sky.

Stars scattered like fireflies, chaos kneaded like dough; he opened his vast maw and bit into the chaos.

Yet this scene was invisible to the beings of the Canglan Realm, seen only by the Great Calamity.

A crunch.

All living things seemed to hear the sound of swallowing.

They knew not what had happened, only that the Blood-Robed Sword God appeared to have arrived.

And then a voice, dazed and tinged with confusion, rang out.

"O Calamity-Crosser, have you... devoured the Canglan Realm along with me?"

The Great Calamity, muddled and bewildered, found itself in a strange place.

All the cultivators heard this and were startled.

"The Canglan Realm has been devoured?"

"We have been devoured?"

"I seem to have heard the sound of swallowing!"

"...How powerful must the Blood-Robed Sword God be to swallow the Great Calamity?"

Countless beings were baffled, or rather, unable to comprehend.

Wang Lingtong's expression shifted at that moment. He quickly activated a realm-breaking talisman.

The talisman should have been enough to take him back to the Xingli Realm.

But now, the talisman failed.

His face turned pale: "Is the Great Calamity... telling the truth?"

Wang Lingshan was also stunned beyond words: "We have been devoured?"

This was utterly unimaginable!

As Great Venerables, they knew their own limits.

The Canglan Realm, a great world like this, was larger than even an ordinary Yang God Dharma Body.

And yet... it had been swallowed by the Blood-Robed Sword God?

What did that even mean!

And... why had the Blood-Robed Sword God swallowed this world?

What state were they in now?

All the cultivators harbored the same bewilderment in their hearts.

But then the Great Calamity spoke: "Where is this place?"

It seemed He did not fear the Blood-Robed Sword God who had swallowed Him.

"This... is my Zi Mansion!"

From the distant void came the Blood-Robed Sword God's voice, cold yet carefree.

Today, he had traversed the Canglan Realm, leaving his mark on every living being.

Facing the Great Calamity, he needed to seize the initiative.

So he had directly manifested his Dharma Body, merged with Xiao Jia, and swallowed the Great Calamity along with the Canglan Realm into his Zi Mansion.

With the Gate of Ultimate Truth present, this realm was sealed off.

Even the one from the Taihuang Palace, using his mark, could not annihilate all the beings of the Canglan Realm.

Most importantly, he could now shut the door and beat the dog.

Otherwise, if that one from the Taihuang Palace descended,

in this battle, he would have a ninety percent chance of losing.

He was merely a Zi Mansion cultivator, at best a village-level tycoon—how could he compare to that one from the Taihuang Palace, a world-class powerhouse?

"Zi Mansion?"

The dazed Great Calamity was surprised, but not alarmed.

"Peak of the Great Heavenly Position... no, far stronger than the Great Heavenly Position."

He looked at Qi Yuan, still muddled.

"For beings like us, size matters not.

Why bother manifesting a Dharma Body? It makes me somewhat uneasy."

Qi Yuan did not reply.

He did not agree with the Great Calamity's words.

In the upper realm, most beings believed that above the Great Heavenly Position lay Ultimate Truth.

Without cultivating Ultimate Truth, no matter how vast the Dharma Body, it was merely a big toy.

But Qi Yuan thought otherwise—perhaps it was because the toy was not big enough.

If he were a trillion times larger than the sun, larger than the universe itself... could Ultimate Truth even tickle him?

If he were not big enough, swallowing the Canglan Realm might have shattered many continents.

Sometimes, being bigger truly helped.

Still, after swallowing the Canglan Realm and placing it within his Zi Mansion, he no longer needed to maintain this Dharma Body.

His form suddenly shrank a thousandfold, ten thousandfold.

His eyes, at this moment, truly gazed upon the Great Calamity.

[Great Calamity, the Primordial Body of the Sun's Past Incarnation, a peculiar mutation born from the Sun's severance.]

Information about the Great Calamity appeared before Qi Yuan.

The great calamity before him, like a body formed of formless chaos, was exceedingly bizarre.

And he, in turn, was the primordial essence of the Great Sun’s past incarnation.

“You are the Great Sun’s past incarnation?” Qi Yuan exclaimed in surprise, a hint of wariness in his heart.

Did this not mean that the Great Sun’s true form… this world-level tycoon, had already discovered him, the village-level tycoon?

A flicker of spiritual light gleamed in the calamity’s murky eyes: “He is not I, I am not He; strength is calamity.”

Hearing the calamity’s words, Qi Yuan began to understand.

Though the calamity was the Great Sun’s past incarnation, it differed from the past incarnations of ordinary Yang Gods—it had been severed and cast away.

Qi Yuan knew not the reason, and no Yang God had imparted this knowledge to him.

Even the ultimate true Buddhas of the Buddhist realm were unaware.

It seemed this was a secret touching upon the realm of ultimate principles.

“Well, the lines are done; any more and I’d have to pay extra—the investors would wince… So let’s get to… Qi Yuan eradicating the calamity!”

Qi Yuan’s tone suddenly rose, and all the cultivators in heaven and earth finally saw him—the Blood-Robed Sword God, no smaller than the calamity itself.

He wore a suit of blood-red armor, his entire body shrouded in crimson, only his eyes exposed.

A surging battle intent burst forth at that moment.

The continental plates of the Canglan Realm trembled with Qi Yuan’s voice.

“O you who face the calamity, even if you reign supreme over Canglan, you must die by the calamity’s hand—such is fate!”

The voice of the murky calamity was vast and boundless.

It possessed no intellect, only spirit, driven by instinct to fight.

A strike of overwhelming power collided at that moment.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook.

A colossal shockwave seemed to sweep forth, threatening to shatter the Canglan Realm.

And then, from a distant place, Qi Qi’s expression turned solemn: “Yin and Yang are separated, each undisturbed by the other.”

At her words, the Canglan Realm plummeted abruptly into the underworld.

A layer of special energy at that moment divided the Canglan Realm from the battle above.

The battlefield was Yang, the underworld Yin—neither interfering with the other.

The mighty strike collided.

Beneath the blood-red armor, Qi Yuan’s expression was calm: “Is this the calamity’s true strength?”

The calamity’s combat power was far weaker than that of the arch-villain in the Archstar World.

A single, brutal strike caused this chaotic body to crack.

Clearly, in this exchange, the calamity was at a disadvantage.

The other cultivators, witnessing this, felt excitement surge within them.

“The Blood-Robed Sword God… could he really annihilate the calamity?”

“Just how… strong is he!”

A flash of wisdom passed through the eyes of Great Wisdom True Lord: “This time, the underworld has cut off the upper realm; the calamity cannot summon reinforcements… perhaps…”

Wang Lingtong trembled all over.

He could not fathom how the Canglan Realm had produced a powerhouse like the Blood-Robed Sword God.

He had swallowed the Canglan Realm, depriving the calamity of its ability to summon help from above, and then slowly plotted.

After all, when the three Yang Gods of the Xingli Realm had jointly attacked the calamity—then still weak—it had directly summoned reinforcements.

At that time, two Yang Gods from the Taihuang Palace descended, slaying gods and Buddhas alike.

Was this… the correct way to save the world?

His heart raced with excitement, even thinking that if the Blood-Robed Sword God succeeded this time, he would invite him back to the Xingli Realm.

Have him swallow the Xingli Realm too?

Many mighty beings were stunned; the calamity’s power had already made them tremble, yet the Blood-Robed Sword God seemed even stronger than the calamity!

And they themselves seemed to be still within the Blood-Robed Sword God’s Purple Mansion.

The little fox girl, hiding in a stone cave, gazed at the sky: “Being in the Blood-Robed Sword God senior’s Purple Mansion—does that mean I’m also in his heart?”

At that moment, her love-struck mind ran wild.

The cultivators who had earlier insulted and slandered the Blood-Robed Sword God now cowered like quails.

Then, the murky calamity spoke; its expression revealed only dullness, nothing else.

“In the words of living beings, you have severed my connection to the upper realm—a clever scheme.

But you do not know that between primordial essences… there is mutual access!”

A faint hint of joy seemed to emerge on the murky calamity’s face.

And then, suddenly, a vast echo resounded through the Canglan Realm and the underworld.

As if three thousand Buddhas and gods chanted in unison.

“Between primordial essences… mutual access.”

“Between primordial essences… mutual access.”

From the endless void above, a colossal creature struggled forth.

Its form resembled the calamity’s, but a third smaller in size.

“This is the calamity of the Qianmo Realm!” The black-robed man’s dead eyes wept tears of blood.

He recognized it—this new calamity that had suddenly crawled out came from the Qianmo Realm.

Wang Lingtong’s pupils contracted sharply: “This… this is the calamity of the Xingli Realm!”

His gums trembled as he thought of something terrifying.

According to those from the upper realm, there were three thousand worlds where calamities dwelt.

Three thousand calamities…

Ahead, in the endless sea of void, one colossal creature after another crawled out.

One by one, terrifying, enormous black shadows emerged, each seemingly no weaker than the calamity of the Canglan Realm.

Some were chaotic, some rigid, some hideous, some bloodthirsty.

In an instant, that stretch of heaven and earth became a mass of endless chaos, crammed together, their bodies merging into one another.

Countless primordial essences of calamities, thousands of huge, murky eyes stared at Qi Yuan with cold dread.

They opened their mouths, revealing rows of fine, hooked, sharp teeth; within each mouth were tens of thousands of forked, moist, slimy tongues, like ten thousand snakes in a pit writhing and flicking—a sight that inspired terror at a glance.

At that moment, the murky calamity’s gaze toward Qi Yuan gained a trace of an expression called greed.

Countless rapacious eyes glared at Qi Yuan, as if beholding a slice of the world’s most exquisite delicacy.

"Between primordial vessels, all is shared; your grand machinations have failed!"

"To be mighty is to invite calamity, and the destiny of the tribulation-bearer is ever to become the meat within the grinder."

Three thousand grand tribulations piled together, unnamable and unimaginably horrific.

Every living soul within the Canglan Realm wore an expression of sheer despair.

A single tribulation had been this terrifying.

Yet now, three thousand... three thousand tribulations had come!

They could not begin to conceive it, feeling only that the apocalypse was pressing down upon their crowns.

Many Yin Spirits and Great Venerables lacked even the courage to look at that dense, teeming mass of doom, for a single glance brought a wave of nausea, threatening to shatter their Daoist hearts.

Jiang Lingso clenched her teeth, her countenance deathly pale as she gazed at that solitary, blood-red figure standing before the tribulations, her eyes filled with absolute resolve.

If my lord descends to the underworld, I shall follow!

Within the profound depths of True Monarch Dazhi's eyes, a trace of bitterness finally surfaced.

"He severed the upper realm, yet there remain three thousand tribulations..."

The Old Man of Wutian sat within the Pavilion of Heaven's Ascent, his expression desolate: "The Great Sun... what in the world is it trying to do?"

Jiang Ruhua pushed his spiritual energy to its absolute limit as he stared at the firmament, his jaw aching from the strain: "Senior Blood-Robed Sword God, brace yourself and hold them off just a moment longer! This junior is going to the Fengtian Domain right now to slap that cowardly wretch who shares your name right across the mouth!"

At this very moment, Qi Yuan’s expression remained as calm as ever.

Before facing the tribulations, he had tested his own fortunes.

The result he obtained was: arduous.

To avoid any unforeseen disasters, he had swallowed the Canglan Realm along with the tribulation into his violet palace, cutting off any chance for the tribulation to summon aid from the Taihuang Palace.

Yet he had never expected that the tribulation would actually... call upon all the other tribulations.

Qi Yuan looked out; the three thousand tribulations were all primordial vessels of the Great Sun’s past self.

If the primordial vessels of the Great Sun’s past self were already this powerful, the might of its true body... was beyond imagination.

However, this was no time for Qi Yuan to ponder such things; he looked toward the tribulations, his demeanor nonchalant: "Are there any other primordial vessels? Why not come together?"

"We are not the Great Sun, but good things... should be devoured together."

The three thousand muddled tribulations, those horrific monstrosities, spoke in unison, their voices perfectly aligned as if uttered by a single soul.

They had given their answer.

All the tribulations had gathered in the underworld.

"Splendid, you must be sworn brothers who vowed to die on the exact same day!"

Qi Yuan took a deep breath.

It had to be said that if the Canglan Realm were a game and the player held the status of a cultivator, it would be utterly impossible to clear without cheats!

Even with the Taihuang Palace and the upper realm cut off, this tribulation could still call for backup!

The blood-red silhouette stood before the three thousand tribulations, facing the terrifying trio of thousands.

Qi Yuan roared toward them: "Did you think you were the only one who could call for backup?"

"Calling for backup... who doesn't know how to do that!"

The roaring voice, in this very instant, became sacred and solemn.

"Glorious and radiant, the infant emerges from the divine treasury, heed my command!"

"Gods and Buddhas, descend upon the world!"

At this moment, every living being in the Canglan Realm raised their heads to look at the sky.

Yet, they saw nothing at all; all that met their eyes was that terrifying tribulation.

And yet, within their ears, the voices of gods and demons were chanting, echoing resoundingly!

"The Jade Emperor of the Vast Heaven Gold Palace takes the command!"

"The Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Taiji takes the command!"

...

"The Great Emperors of the Three Officials take the command!"

"The Heavenly Venerables of the Ten Directions take the command!"

...

"The Twenty-Eight Mansions take the command!"

"Righteous Gods of the Thunder Bureau, heed my command, fight for the Heavenly Venerable!"

"Righteous Gods of the Dou Bureau, heed my command, fight for the Heavenly Venerable!"

...

"The multitude of the Taisui Bureau respectfully obeys the command of the Heavenly Venerable, to war!"

The voices were endless, like the collective roar of a hundred thousand gods and demons.

But looking toward the horizon, one could only see...

Thousands upon thousands of gods and demons acting as soldiers and generals, descending together to wage the primary war!

At this moment, Qi Yuan’s four thousand divine infants emerged in unison, riding the clouds and mist, vanishing into the celestial heights.

Every God and Buddha was majestic and awe-inspiring, bathed in divine light, possessing an incomparable dignity that struck fear into the heart, compelling all to bow in worship.

All the deities arrayed themselves behind Qi Yuan like soldiers.

Four thousand against three thousand, a battle rarely seen or perhaps never even recorded in the upper realm, was unfolding within Qi Yuan’s violet palace.

"So you think you're the only one who can call for backup?"

"So you call yourself a tribulation?"

"Kill!"

The horrific, blood-red figure charged into the midst of the tribulation vessels at that very instant.

Within the eyes of the three thousand muddled tribulation vessels, aside from greed, a trace of an emotion called bewilderment finally appeared.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Boundless divine light and countless surges of divine spiritual energy continuously submerged the sky.

Above the firmament, the silhouette of no living being could be seen; as far as the eye could reach, there were only various divine domains, various divine lights, and various forms of divine spiritual energy.

Any single strand that leaked out could pierce right through the Canglan Realm.

Yet now, it was like a grand medley, a chaotic war raging fiercely within a single cauldron.

Everywhere there was the power of divine spirit, everywhere the aura of endless destruction.

If a mythical powerhouse set foot within, they could not survive even a ten-thousandth of a breath.

Countless rains of blood fell, landing upon the line that divides yin and yang.

Slaughter was underway, battle continued, blood and fire blazed.

All living beings looked up at the sky, watching this brutal and hopeless battle, their eyes filled with horror.

In Wang Lingtong's eyes, there was also shock and awe.

He had not expected the Great Calamity to be so powerful, nor had he expected... the Blood-Robed Sword God to be even stronger than the Great Calamity!

(End of this chapter)