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

The news spread throughout the five regions faster than Dongfang Weiwo had anticipated.

When the surviving disciples of the Taichu Divine Sect crawled out of the ruins, Shen Jinglan, covered in blood, propped up the collapsed sect flag and the first thing he did was send all the disciples who could still move toward Baidi City.

At the bottom of the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities, the Lord of Calamity propped himself up from the ruins of the stone palace, gazed at the sliver of light filtering through the cracks in the Broken Soul Ridge, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke in a certain direction in the darkness:

"Go to White Emperor City. Tell him that there is still a broken sword in Ten Thousand Tribulations Valley, a sword that can cut through the armor of a late-stage Creation Realm cultivator."

When the starlight of Starry Manor shone again, Xingyan sat in the tilted floating palace, his hands bandaged, repeating only one sentence to his fellow disciples rushing outside to help:

"Transport all the remaining meteorites to White Emperor City. His defensive array needs reinforcement."

Deep within the rift in the southern border, the Burial Emperor lay on a piece of lava, his black armor shattered, while his personal guards pieced together the remnants of his army.

He stared wide-eyed at the blood-red sky above the rift, and after a long while, he spat out a mouthful of black, stagnant blood, his voice hoarse:

"...Tell Dongfang Weiwo. The demons...will no longer block his path."

He can have the bones, I'll take them. Let that extraterrestrial envoy die after me first.

Before the bronze bell shattered, Zen Master Liaochen of Wanfo Temple handed the bronze bell containing the fragments of the Northern Territory to the messenger sent by Wu Zetian.

When the old monk handed over the copper bell, he only said one sentence:

"Whether it's the remains of gods and demons, or envoys from beyond the heavens, this old monk cannot see that far. This old monk only sees that someone wants to destroy our realm. Then let's protect our realm first."

When Bai Yujing received messages from various parties at the headquarters in Baidi City, he held a stack of increasingly thick letters in his hand. His expression changed from solemn to shocked, and then from shocked to a strange calm.

He picked up his pen and wrote in the general assembly's logbook:

"On the second day after the arrival of the Myriad Star Domain, all forces on the Tianxuan Continent have moved towards the Tianxuan Prefecture."

The remnants of the Primordial Divine Sect, the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities, the Starry Manor, the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Southern Frontier Demon Clan, and the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas—without exception. This unprecedented alliance in a thousand years was formed in a single day amidst dire circumstances.

He put down his pen, gazed at the dark golden light soaring into the sky from the core of the White Emperor City's spiritual vein outside the window, and murmured to himself:

"Young master... the fire you lit has burned across the entire continent."

Outside the window, a dark golden light pierced through the thin silver trail on the horizon, dyeing the entire sky a flowing golden-red hue.

When Dongfang Weiwo returned to Baidi City, the official road outside the city was already crowded with people.

He lifted the curtain and peeked out, then lowered it, leaned against the carriage wall, and closed his eyes for a while.

Xiang Yutian whistled from outside the car: "Kid, your doorstep's about to be worn down."

The streets and alleys outside the old residences of Baidi City were densely packed with all sorts of people.

A group of cultivators dressed in dark purple Taoist robes were squatting at the entrance of the alley on the left. The robes were still wet with bloodstains and torn in various ways. The young man in the lead had a handsome face but was pale. His right shoulder was hastily wrapped with a strip of cloth. He was Shen Jinglan.

Behind him followed the remaining seventy-odd Celestials of the Primordial Divine Sect—all of them were injured. Some were sitting against the wall, meditating, while others were simply lying on stretchers being carried by their fellow disciples, but none of them left.

Standing against the right wall were several warriors clad in starlight light armor. The Starry Mountain Manor's star map markings were engraved on their shoulder armor, and there were obvious cracks and scorch marks on their armor. The leader, with bandages wrapped around his hand, was quietly instructing his companions to take precautions.

Further away, a group of gray-robed monks sat quietly in meditation and chanting sutras at a street corner. The old monk at the head of the group held an empty copper bell in his hand—Zen Master Liaochen had come in person.

But this is only the beginning.

Looking further into the distance, the dark army formation stretched from the south gate of Baidi City all the way to three miles outside the city, their bronze armor reflecting a metallic sheen in the afternoon sun.

The Great Zhou's iron cavalry stood in neat formation, their horses quietly chewing fodder by the roadside, and the riders resting on their backs, but none of them took off their swords.

At the very front of the formation, a black-robed emperor sat atop a pure white warhorse. Wu Zetian held the reins with both hands, facing the main gate of Baidi City, his aura as steady as a mountain.

She kept her word—all the Celestial Realm experts and above from the Great Zhou Dynasty gathered in Baidi City within half a day.

What made the guards of Baidi City most nervous was the dark mass of figures on the west side of the city.

The black-armored generals of the Southern Frontier Demon Clan stood on a high ground three miles away from the city, keeping their distance from everyone else, but they did not retreat.

The leading demon general was tall and imposing, his black armor half-shattered, his exposed skin covered in scorched wounds. The Burial Emperor himself sat on a boulder, meditating with his eyes closed, with the remaining ten thousand elite troops of the Black Tide army behind him.

They didn't enter the city, but set up camp on the west side. The meaning was clear: I won't come in and get in your way, but if the knife falls, I'll be the first to strike back.

When Dongfang Weiwo jumped out of the car, the entire street fell silent for a moment.

All eyes were on him—the surviving cultivators of the Primordial Divine Sect, the Starlight Warriors of Starry Mountain Villa, the gray-robed monks of Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, the iron cavalry of the Great Zhou, and the black-armored generals of the Demon Clan—their gazes held various desires and expectations, as well as doubts and probing, but most of them conveyed the same message:

Since you're still standing, then you're in charge.

I, the only one from the East, wander through the streets and alleys.

He neither deliberately sped up nor slowed down; he walked steadily and normally.

Dark golden array patterns flickered beneath his robes, and the resonance of the five bone fragments caused his aura to shimmer with a faint golden-red halo in the sunlight. He paused as he passed Shen Jinglan, taking a bottle of elixirs from his sleeve and handing it to him.

"Those with serious injuries eat first, and those with minor injuries wait to be served later."

I turned to look at the wounds of the Primordial Daoist.

Shen Jinglan took the medicine bottle, her lips moved, but she could only manage to utter one word: "...Thank you."

Dongfang Weiwo continued walking forward. Passing by the Starshine Armored Warriors, he said:

"Since your lord's hand is injured, he shouldn't be using the Star Array. There's a Spirit Vein Core available in White Emperor City that you can borrow. Have your people register their location at the main altar's Array Hall."

As he passed the gray-robed monk, Zen Master Liaochen opened his eyes and handed him the empty copper bell:

"The fragments have been delivered to your residence. I've guarded them for decades, and now I hand them over to you. The battle you're about to fight is far greater than mine."

Dongfang Weiwo took the copper bell and nodded slightly.

He walked through the entire street and finally pushed open the gate of the old house in Baidi City.

The courtyard was small, paved with bluestone, and planted with several old locust trees that his father, Dongfang Wudi, had planted years ago. The shadows of the trees cast dappled light on the ground in the afternoon sun.

The courtyard was full of people. Yan Kuangtu leaned against the old locust tree, rubbing his fists. Xiang Yutian sat on the stone steps, picking his teeth. Meng Chixing stood with his hands behind his back in the corner, looking at the silver trail in the sky that had not yet faded. Guan Yutian stood on the bluestone slab in the center of the courtyard, adjusting his breathing. Xiong Ba stood guard inside the courtyard gate, closing his eyes to rest.

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng stood on either side of the main house entrance, their sword sheaths slightly tilted, like two unsheathed knives.

Pang Ban rushed back from the southern front overnight and was standing under a locust tree in the courtyard, flipping through a thick stack of letters in his hand.

Standing beside him was Bai Yujing, and on the stone table in front of them were piles of messages from all sides—a personal plea for help from Shen Jinglan of the Taichu Divine Sect, a broken message directly transmitted by the Lord of Wanjie Valley using his Creation Spiritual Sense, the original of Wu Zetian's letter from the Great Zhou Dynasty, a copy of the secret letter from the Burial Emperor, and the last talisman that the Heavenly Mystery Elder had clutched tightly in his hand and refused to let go when the rescue team sent by Bai Yujing carried him out of the canyon wreckage after he was seriously injured.

"Everyone's here."

Bai Yujing watched as Dongfang Weiwo stepped into the courtyard, closed the last letter, and took a step back to make room for him at the stone table. "Young Master, everything is here. Not a single family is missing."

Dongfang Weiwo stood in front of the stone table and scanned the opened letter and the communication talisman one by one.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Wu Zetian's words, "The Great Zhou and the Tianxuan Palace will merge," then swept over the secret letter from the Burial Emperor, which contained only two sentences, before finally settling on the talisman that the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets was clutching tightly before he fell into a coma.

The talisman contained only one line of text, written in illegible handwriting, as if carved by a dying person with their last breath:

"The second wave of starships will arrive in three days. Their strength will be doubled. The opposing commander is at the peak of the Creation Realm. Their key imprints can penetrate armor, but you will need to extract them from your body to use as a spear."

The crowd outside the courtyard was still gathering. Dongfang Weiwo carefully put away the talisman, turned around, and walked out of the courtyard.

When he stood on the bluestone steps at the entrance of the courtyard, the crowd in the entire street fell silent once again.

From the Taichu Divine Sect cultivators nearby to the Great Zhou Iron Cavalry at the end of the street, from the Wanfo Temple monks meditating in the corner to the demon general sitting silently on the western highlands of the city, all eyes were once again focused on him.

Those eyes held lingering fear, burning anger, resentful murderous intent, and something more complex, something they themselves were reluctant to admit.

They were waiting for him to speak.

They wait for the only one standing, the one who has returned with the bloodline of the Demon Sealer, to tell them what to do next.

Dongfang Weiwo stood on the bluestone steps, dark golden array patterns spreading from his right arm to his neck, and then climbing up half of his cheek.

He scanned every face before him, the tattered Taoist robes of the Primordial Divine Sect, the charred armor of the Starry Mountain Villa, the blood-stained saddles of the Great Zhou Iron Cavalry, and the shattered black armor of the Southern Frontier Demon Clan general.

Those scars, belonging to different stances, different ethnic groups, and different hatreds, now stand side by side on the same street, simply because the silvery-white trail above their heads has not yet faded.

He spoke.

The voice wasn't loud, but the seven clear words reached everyone's ears:

"Fight back. Fight them to the death!"

The street was quiet for three breaths. Then Wu Zetian dismounted, her black-robed boots making a crisp sound on the bluestone slabs. She walked to the courtyard gate, drew her sword from her waist, and stuck it into the soil in front of the stone steps.

"Great Zhou, heed my command—by the order of the Heavenly Profound Palace Master, all personnel of Great Zhou are to be incorporated into the Heavenly Profound Palace's wartime formation."

"Starry Sky Manor, heed my command!"

A bandaged hand rose from the crowd in the distance, and Xingyan's voice came from the direction of the city wall, hoarse but firm, "All Star Array Masters are in position and ready to be added to the defensive formation at any time."

Shen Jinglan straightened up from the crowd, stuffed the medicine bottle in his hand into his fellow disciple's arms, clasped his hands and bowed:

"The seventy-three remaining celestial beings of the Primordial Divine Sect have all been included in the list."

Zen Master Liaochen placed the empty copper bell on the ground and put his hands together in prayer:

"All those of the Heavenly Realm or above in Wanfo Temple are at the command of the Heavenly Mysterious Palace Master."

On the high ground west of the city, the Burial Emperor finally opened his eyes.

As he rose, the fragments of his dark armor clattered. He gazed at the ramrod-straight, dark-gold figure standing at the courtyard gate. His voice, though not loud, carried the penetrating power of a cultivator at the initial stage of the Creation Realm, resounding throughout the entire city:

"The Demon Clan has ceased hostilities. The remaining 13,000 Black Tide troops have been incorporated into the southern defense line."

You want bones—I'll talk to you after the fight's over. Until then, you point to me and I'll hit you wherever you want.

After the last person spoke, the entire street fell into a brief silence.

That emptiness wasn't silence; it was the vastness of a reef exposed after the tide receded—all voices had been uttered, all statements had been made.

Xiang Yutian walked out of the courtyard, leaning on his cracked iron cane, and stood behind Dongfang Weiwo, grinning:

"Kid, did you hear that? The fate of the entire continent is now in your hands."

Meng Chixing also stepped out from the shadows in the corner, stood with his hands behind his back on the other side of the courtyard gate, and calmly scanned all the faces on the street.

Then he said something to Dongfang Wei that was longer than anything he had said before:

"You just said 'fight to the death'—what exactly is that plan? We've already witnessed the strength of the second wave of starships arriving in three days. They're commanders at the peak of the Creation Realm. Even if you use the Key Seal as a spear, someone will still need to block the first blow from them."

Dongfang Weiwo turned around and looked at him.

Meng Chixing's words were what everyone wanted to say—they were willing to fight alongside him, but they needed to know how to fight.

"I will present the complete plan in the main council hall before dawn tomorrow."