Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

After the Taichu Divine Sect was attacked, the Lord of Calamity rushed out of the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

A giant crack appeared in the abyss at the bottom of Broken Soul Ridge, and a figure in hemp clothing rose from the ground, enveloped in ancient spirit ash from 30,000 years ago, like an ancient god crawling out of a tomb.

He held a stone staff in his hand, with a dark purple crystal embedded in the head of the staff. It was the oldest artifact in the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities, older than the three relics.

When he landed over the Tianxuan Mountains after traversing thousands of miles, half of the Taichu Divine Sect's mountain gate had already collapsed.

Without uttering a word, the Lord of Calamity swept his stone staff out, and the crystal at the staff's head exploded into a burst of dark purple light. Within the light, countless ancient runes emerged, forming a suppressive array covering a hundred miles, which descended upon the six celestial envoys.

For the first time, the leader of the extraterrestrial envoys showed a hint of interest.

He looked up at the ancient array woven with runes, his silvery-white starlight flashing for a moment as if trying to identify the origin of those runes.

Then he moved—his figure blurred and he appeared in the center of the great formation, his right hand's five fingers inserted between the runes, and he gently twisted them.

The entire formation seemed to have its throat gripped, the runic light extinguished outwards in circles from the center, and spiderweb-like silver cracks appeared on the dark purple light screen.

The Lord of Calamity remained unmoved, swinging his stone staff three times in quick succession. The ancient spiritual power accumulated over thirty thousand years by the three Myriad Calamities Valleys simultaneously slammed into the leader of the Celestial Envoys—the combined full force of the three mid-stage Creation Realm experts was enough to rip a city apart, foundation and all.

The leader of the extraterrestrial envoys raised his hand to block the first strike, his figure swaying slightly; the second strike hit the silver-white rune in his palm, causing a crack to appear in the rune.

When the third strike hit his chest armor, he took half a step back.

They only took half a step back.

The Lord of Calamity's pupils constricted sharply. He hadn't seen an opponent who could make the leader of the extraterrestrial envoys take a half-step back in over 30,000 years—but the price for this half-step was that the leader of the extraterrestrial envoys used his full strength for the first time.

The hand clad in silver armor pierced through a hundred feet of void and pressed against the chest of the Calamity Lord. The cracking sound emanating from within the Calamity Lord's body could be clearly heard even in the ruins of the Primordial Mountain Range.

The figure in hemp clothing was slammed down from the sky by a palm strike, falling back to the bottom of the abyss of Broken Soul Ridge. The void rift at the entrance of Ten Thousand Tribulations Valley trembled and closed inward by a third, as if it had been shaken by the power of that palm strike and was shrinking itself.

The starlight of Starry Mountain Villa lit up at the same moment.

Starlight converged from the direction of Starry Sky Territory. Xingyan stood on the top of the floating palace with his arms outstretched. At the same time, all the meteorites in the entire manor glowed, and billions of points of starlight condensed into a starlight dome covering tens of thousands of miles, which descended towards the Central Plains.

Those starlights carried all the insights he had gained from studying the relics of the three-thousand-year-old era of gods and demons—he used the rune structure of the sealing ancient array to weave a net in the starlight to restrain the silver-white energy.

The leader of the extraterrestrial envoys finally frowned slightly. He turned his head to look in the direction of Starry Sky Manor and gestured vaguely with his right hand.

A silvery-white beam of light shot out from the bottom of the starship and precisely pierced the center of the starlight dome.

The moment the dome shattered, half of Starry Manor collapsed and fell from the cliff, and Starry Sky's floating palace crashed to the ground from a height of hundreds of feet. The meteorite base at the bottom of the palace shattered into several pieces, and a stream of spiritual energy, like a river of starlight, overflowed wildly across the ruins of the manor.

Xingyan staggered out of the collapsed hall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his left arm hanging limply. He looked up at the silhouette of the silver-white ship, the two silver lines deep in his pupils darting wildly, and murmured a low murmur:

"Something that even...the gatekeeper couldn't stop..."

The fourth beam of light descended upon Tianji City.

That one was the finest, but also the most precise.

Standing at the edge of the observatory, the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets watched the silvery-white beam of light descend from the sky, and beforehand, he slipped the silk map and the shattered star chart into Dongfang Weiwo's hands. His voice was calm, almost resigned:

"Next. Remember—the direction you go out is the direction you come back."

The beam of light fell.

The observatory split in the middle, and the entire stone platform shattered into thousands of pieces that fell into the canyon.

The old man's white robe was burned to ashes just before the beam of light touched him, but he was not directly hit by the beam—he leaped to the side a step ahead, his body tumbling several times on the falling rubble, his body covered in blood and embedded in the crevice of the cliff edge, one leg twisted at an abnormal angle.

He is still alive. But Tianji City is gone.

Thousands of floating stone platforms collapsed one after another in the aftershocks of the beam of light, like stars falling into the sea, all disappearing into the depths of the canyon.

The fifth beam of light descended upon the Black Tide Camp of the Southern Frontier Demon Clan.

The Burial Emperor soared into the sky from his tent, his black tide power at the initial stage of creation condensing into a ten-thousand-foot-long ink barrier that blocked the demon army directly above him.

However, the beam of light exceeded his limit—the dark barrier shattered like paper after only two breaths, and the beam of light blasted directly into the center of the Black Tide camp, turning 30% of the demon army into ashes in an instant.

The Emperor of Burial was blasted hundreds of feet away, his black armor shattered by 70%, and he fell into a rift deep in the southern border, his fate unknown.

All five attacks were completed in the short time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Dongfang Weiwo stood on the shattered ruins of the Stargazing Platform, clutching the silk map given to him by the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets, and looked up at the starship suspended in the sky and the six silver-white figures in front of it.

Behind him, Xiang Yutian's iron staff was already in his hand, Meng Chixing's right hand slowly rose, Yan Kuangtu's fist was clenched until his knuckles turned white, Guan Yutian's innate qi flowed like a bell on his body, and Xiong Ba's three streams of qi swirled around his body endlessly.

Five Creation Realms. Adding Dongfang Weiwo himself, that makes six.

Such combat power would have been enough to sweep away any force on the Tianxuan Continent three days ago, but now, when facing that silver-white figure in the sky, everyone felt the same pressure—the crushing power in terms of rank, like ants looking up at a mountain.

The silver-armored man surveyed the shattered earth from his high vantage point. His gaze swept over the mountain where the Primordial Daoist had fallen, the collapsed abyss of the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities, the crumbling walls of Starry Manor, the shattered canyons of Heavenly Mystery City, and the burned-down camp of the Southern Frontier Demon Clan, before finally settling back on Dongfang Weiwo.

"Key seal holder."

The silver-armored man spoke, his tone flat and even, "Hand over the five bone fragments fused within you, and return with me to the Myriad Star Domain. This realm will be spared a complete purge."

Dongfang Weiwo remained silent for a moment.

Then he looked up at the silver-armored man and suddenly smiled—the smile was faint, the curve of his lips was almost imperceptible, but the dark golden flames in his eyes suddenly swelled up by a whole circle.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The silver-armored man tilted his head slightly, seemingly unprepared for the question, but he still answered:

"Star Mark. Archangel of the Myriad Star Domain, Seventh Sequence."

"Star Mark."

Dongfang Weiwo repeated the name, then put the silk map from the Heavenly Mystery Elder into his robes. His right hand slowly rested on the hilt of the Frostbite Sword. "You said the Myriad Star Domain came to collect the remains—do you know whose bones these are?"

Xinghen's silver-gray pupils contracted slightly. He did not answer.

"It belongs to my ancestors."

Dongfang Weiwo drew his Frostbite Sword, and dark golden array patterns spread across its blade as if alive, covering it from tip to hilt with flowing light. Simultaneously, the power of the remaining bones within his left leg and spine erupted, his mid-stage Creation Realm aura soaring skyward, piercing the silver-white figure at the top of the heavens. "You disturbed my ancestor's grave, and now you ask me for bones?"

Xiang Yutian chuckled softly behind him, "Heh. This kid."

Xinghen's appearance finally changed.

He twitched his eyebrows slightly, raised his hand and pressed forward—a silver-white palm print materialized out of thin air, as large as a mountain, wrapped in the absolute pressure of the late stage of Creation, and slammed down on Dongfang Weiwo.

The moment that palm print landed, five auras of creation erupted from behind Dongfang Weiwo to meet it.

Xiang Yutian swung his iron staff horizontally, the wind from the staff carrying the power of the demonic seed crashing into the center of the palm print;

Meng Chixing loosely clenched his right hand, and his spiritual power shredded three-tenths of the silver-white energy on the side of the palm print.

Yan Kuangtu unleashed both fists, slamming them into the base of the palm print; Guan Yutian's Innate Golden Bell rose up from below.

Xiong Ba condensed his Qi into a palm strike and slapped the back of the palm print.

The five forces of creation collided with Xinghen's palm in mid-air, and the aftershocks shattered all the remaining rubble under Dongfang Weiwo's feet into dust.

The palm print shattered.

However, a crack appeared on Xiang Yutian's iron staff, blood seeped from Meng Chixing's right palm, Yan Kuangtu's robes were blown apart, Guan Yutian took three steps back with blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and Xiong Ba's palms were completely cracked.

It took the combined efforts of five powerful beings to barely block Xinghen's casual attack.

Xinghen withdrew his hand, and the starlight in his silver-gray pupils spun slightly faster for a moment:

"The key imprint's carrying capacity is acceptable."

After saying this, he did not continue his attack. The starship hatch behind him reopened, and the five extraterrestrial envoys regrouped and retreated into the cabin with him.

A stream of silvery-white energy erupted from the starship's stern, tearing open a rift in the void. The three-thousand-foot-long hull slowly disappeared into it. Before the rift closed, Starmark's voice emanated from within, clear yet as distant as if it were thousands of miles away:

"You have three days. The Second Fleet of the Myriad Star Domain will arrive in three days. If all the remains are not handed over by then, this world will be barren."

The shadow on the ceiling disappeared.

The afternoon sun shone again on the ruins of Tianji City, and wisps of smoke rose from among the rubble in the canyon.

Dongfang Weiwo stood in the center of the ruins, his right hand gripping a sword, the key mark on his chest throbbing like a drum.

He looked around—a collapsed mountain ridge could be vaguely seen among the mountains in the direction of the Taichu Divine Sect.

Gray smoke and dust rose from the direction of Broken Soul Ridge; half of the starlight on the distant horizon of Starry Sky Territory was gone; and the black tide smoke in the direction of Southern Xinjiang had thinned considerably.

In a single day, the highest combat power of the Tianxuan Continent was completely defeated.

Xiang Yutian, leaning on his cracked iron cane, walked to his side, coughed twice, spat out a mouthful of blood, and grinned, saying:

"Kid, three days. What are you planning to do?"

Dongfang Wei sheathed the Frostbite Sword and unfolded the silk map left by the Celestial Mystery Elder. His gaze was...

I quickly scanned the three marked locations: "Fragment of the Copper Bell of Wanfo Temple in the Northern Territory," "Sixth Piece Underground in the Central Plains," and "Seventh Piece in the Heartland of the Southern Demon Clan," finally landing on the small print that read, "The direction you go out is the direction you come back."

"Three days isn't enough for me to travel all over the continent to collect bones," he said calmly. "So I won't."

He rolled up the map, turned around, and walked out of the ruins. Xiang Yutian, Meng Chixing, Yan Kuangtu, Guan Yutian, and Xiong Ba followed behind him, the dust from the stone platform crumbling beneath their feet.

"Return to Baidi City."

Without turning his head, Dongfang Weiwo said, "Gather all those who can fight. When the starships return in three days, I won't hide—I'll board them."

Xiang Yutian paused for a moment, then strode after him, leaning on his iron cane, a ruthless smile spreading across his face: "Get on the ship? You mean we're going to fight our way to the other side?"

"The bones are outside." Dongfang Weiwo continued walking. "The last piece of remains isn't on the mainland either. Since we're going to get out anyway, we might as well rush in when they open the door."

Meng Chixing walked at the very back, his hands behind his back, and for the first time, a glimmer of light appeared in his indifferent eyes. It was like a spark igniting the edge of a piece of ancient ice.

"Interesting," he muttered to himself, quickening his pace to catch up with the group.

The smoke and dust gradually dissipated over the ruins of Tianji City.

The observatory that once stood in the middle of the canyon is no more; only a pile of broken stones remains at the bottom of the valley, deep and dark like a dried-up well.

Further away, on the city wall of the Great Zhou capital, Wu Zetian, dressed in black robes, stood with her hands behind her back, gazing at the sky.

The veterans beside her reported the battle losses from all sides with grim faces, but she didn't listen to a word. She just stared at the faint silver trail left by the starship after it disappeared in the sky, and after a long while, she finally spoke:

"Issue my decree. All those of the Heavenly Realm or above in the Great Zhou Dynasty are to assemble at Baidi City within half a day. Those who disobey will be executed."

The veterans exchanged bewildered glances. Wu Zetian turned around, her gaze sharp as a knife:

"Don't understand? The Great Zhou and the Heavenly Profound Palace will advance and retreat together."

Even if the sky falls, I won't hide—I will stand behind the one who can hold up the sky.