Among those reeling in shock were the Nightshades, including the Smoldering Gods there.

That said, something very dramatic was happening in Nightshade lands as well. War had broken out!

When the human emperor unleashed two Dawning Suns in a row on the Nightshades, they were spectacularly defeated. There were countless casualties, and the Nightshades were ultimately forced to retreat all of their forces into the interior of their lands. There, they activated their own domain treasure to defend themselves. Human forces fell back, but kept the light of the Dawning Suns shining over the Nightshades, which ensured that casualties continued to mount. In the years that had passed, countless Nightshades had died, and very few had been born to replace them. The war had been extremely costly to the Nightshades, to the point where their very foundation as a species had been shaken. What was more, their god had apparently abandoned them; despite endless calls for help, no assistance had been provided.

The Nightshades had thus been driven into despair. Because of their unique physical characteristics, life had been extremely difficult. They had absolutely no strength left to continue waging war, and had been focused on simply surviving the bleak times.

But then, despite the fact that they had tired of war… war came.

Aggression came from the Holytide Region in the form of an army gathered by the humans and Grand Duke Holytide. That army managed to pierce a hole in the Nightshades’ defenses. Once that hole was opened, armies poured in. 𝐟reewb𝚘𝐯𝐞l.c𝚘m

The leader of the human forces wasn’t Seventh Prince…. Instead, it was a powerful expert from his mother’s clan, one of the thirty-three heavenly kings of humankind.

King Heaventide!

He was Seventh Prince’s maternal uncle! He personally led the armies to wage war on the Nightshades, and he was also the one who used a precious treasure to break through the Nightshade defenses.

Even Grand Duke Holytide was respectful when dealing with King Heaventide! That was because every single one of the thirty-three heavenly kings… was a Smoldering God!

Even as the bitter fighting and slaughter played out, aggressors and defenders alike in the Nightshade lands looked up into the dome of heaven at the broken face. It didn’t matter the level of cultivation base involved.

***

In the Moonrite Region, on the red moon, inside the Moon Palace… the aura of Crimson Mother surged.

The land inside the Moon Palace had turned into a viscous sea of blood. As the sea of blood churned, the Heir Apparent and his siblings woke up one after another and backed up to where Xu Qing was located. All of them were extremely weak. Xu Qing was also badly hurt, as was the Captain. All of them were like lamps without much oil left to burn.

“We can’t do much about what happens next,” the Captain said hoarsely.

Xu Qing nodded as he looked out at the blood sea.

The sea seethed, causing rumbling sounds to spread out as it formed a vortex, out of which emerged a figure. The figure was not humanoid. It appeared to be made of countless fleshy wings all stuck together, interlocking to create a host of tentacles that swayed back and forth. In the middle of the tentacles was a face. However, the face had no skin on it. It was only bloody flesh that twitched and wriggled as it emanated a terrifying aura.

Surrounding the face were row upon row of eyes, some large and some small. The image of Xu Qing and the others could be seen reflected in those eyes. It was extremely gruish.

Shē had no arms or legs, and was more like a statue made of flesh and blood. Terrifying pressure caused the Moon Palace to ripple and distort, and the effect soon spread to the red moon and the Moonrite Region as a whole.

This was Crimson Mother’s true form!

Xu Qing and everyone else felt pain mounting in their skulls. It was as if they couldn’t even tolerate this presence. In fact, their eyes automatically adjusted the physical appearance of this god.

To them, Crimson Mother transformed into a woman with long, blood-colored hair and a matching robe. Hēr face had no eyes, only two gaping, bloody holes. Blood flowed down, covering hēr body. A vine of thorns encircled hēr, and as shē walked, the thorns pulsed as if they were absorbing hēr blood. Behind hēr was a host of blood-red pāramitā lilies.

Every step shē took caused a new flower to appear. Shockingly, within every flower was an image that resembled hēr in every way. They danced and swayed, superimposing with each other… just like the scene that had played out earlier on the red moon.

When shē appeared, a godly might arose that far surpassed anything from Zhang Siyun, and seemed capable of toppling mountains and draining seas. In fact, comparing the two was like comparing the full moon to a firefly!

“You can’t look directly at a god…” the Captain said. “That’s why we instinctively protect ourselves, our perceptions altering to reflect something we can look at.”

Xu Qing watched Crimson Mother approaching, and mused that if he didn’t look at hēr eyes, shē was actually quite beautiful. It was a beauty that ordinary living things couldn’t possess. However, as shē walked, hēr features changed.

Occasionally, shē would look like someone else, a man, with facial features distorted in pain as if hē was being digested. At the same time, hē pulsed with godly might. That face belonged to the High God that Crimson Mother had devoured, Flawless Hell.

The Heir Apparent and his siblings closed their eyes. They had chosen not to act, but instead, to wait.

The Captain took a deep breath. He also chose to simply wait.

Xu Qing knew who they were waiting for…. Imperial Sovereign Li Zihua.

As it happened, the aura of awakening coming from the enormous statue of Li Zihua on the Penitence Steppes suddenly vanished.

He opened his eyes. Those eyes contained the passage of countless years as he looked out at the Moonrite Region. His gaze caused the region to light up. The blood-colored rifts in the sky turned into rosy clouds. The violently shaking lands calmed, becoming towering mountain ranges. The withering vegetation changed, becoming lush plants and towering trees as far as the eye could see. Everywhere he looked teemed with hope and life.

Only the red moon was the color of blood.

Li Zihua looked up at the red moon that he held in his hands. He let it go.

The red moon didn’t go anywhere. It just hovered in midair.

Li Zihua took a few breaths, then walked toward the moon. His every step caused golden ripples to spread out, forcing the red light to dim. Stepping onto the moon, he walked toward the Moon Palace. By the time he arrived, Crimson Mother had fully emerged from the blood-colored vortex. Shē looked at him.

“It’s been a long time,” he said.