The Taiyi Sage Lord began searching for a target. After half a year of research, he finally locked onto the War Ancient God.

This was an Ancient God who revered war—very easy to provoke.

The War Ancient God belonged to the Death Alliance. Other Ancient Gods in the alliance included the Slaughter Ancient God, the Undead Ancient God, the Blood Ancient God, the Calamity Ancient God, the Venom Ancient God, the Plague Ancient God, and so on.

These Ancient Gods all upheld rules of slaughter and death;

each one had once unleashed terrible calamities.

They were always domineering. Faced with provocation, they never hesitated to strike hard!

After the Taiyi Sage Lord identified the War Ancient God, he did not act immediately. Instead, he contacted others.

“Xuanqing, would you be interested in dealing with a Death Alliance Ancient God? I plan to handle the War Ancient God—Shangqing Sect, pick a target as well! I’ll contact other factions;

they can choose other targets,” the Taiyi Sage Lord proposed.

After Xuanqing received the information, he consulted with Yuan Qing and Miaoqing and settled on the Slaughter Ancient God as their target.

“We’ll take the Slaughter Ancient God,” Xuanqing replied.

“Good! Wait for my signal!”

After replying to Xuanqing, the Taiyi Sage Lord contacted more factions. Sword Pavilion chose the Blood Ancient God;

the Dragon and Phoenix clans selected the Undead Ancient God;

humanity chose the Calamity and Venom Ancient Gods;

the Taotie, Qilin, Bifang, and Pixiu clans chose the Plague Ancient God;

the Monster Clan chose the Deception Ancient God.

The Ancient Gods of the Death Alliance were being divvied up and targeted by Great Powers from the Immortal-Demon Realm Sea.

Attacking in secrecy and in concert like this—how could they not prevail?

The Taiyi Sage Lord and the others set a date.

When the appointed time came, the Taiyi Sage Lord went alone into the largest cathedral of the War Ancient God.

This was the interior of a war-torn ancient city in Atlant, a city occupied by vast numbers of war devotees. If a heretic entered here, they would easily be torn apart.

But exceptions existed.

The Taiyi Sage Lord wore lavish robes and carried a single sutra. He lifted his head and stared straight at the War Ancient God’s statue in the city center, then walked into the war city with unwavering calm.

The city guards tried to stop him to ask his business, but their hands passed through him like ghosts.

Frightened, a soldier reported immediately to his squad leader.

The squad leader arrived and stood before the Taiyi Sage Lord.

The Taiyi Sage Lord still acted as if they were nothing and passed through him as well.

A defending general at the seventh-tier warrior level saw this and personally blocked the Taiyi Sage Lord.

It was useless.

Soon a ninth-tier demigod came to stop him;

still no effect.

After that, gods appeared—War pantheon deities descended one by one to intercept, from weak divine might to strong divine power, until a principal god arrived.

The Taiyi Sage Lord passed through them all with ease.

That immediately alarmed the War pantheon.

The War God King, a figure at a level comparable to the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm, personally appeared in the war city.

“Sir, this is the main city of the War pantheon. From where do you hail, and what business do you seek with us?” the War God King asked.

The Taiyi Sage Lord stopped and said, “I am the God King of Peace. I wish for a world without war, so I request the disbanding of the War pantheon to grant all living beings a peaceful world.”

The War God King froze at the words. “God King of Peace? Is there such a rule? Even if you desire peace, you should first stop the Nameless Mist. Why target our War pantheon?”

Nameless Mist?

A flicker of surprise crossed the Taiyi Sage Lord’s eyes. This realm was indeed in the midst of a Kalpa—something he had not expected at the outset.

Once a Kalpa appears, calamity energy fills the world and will greatly affect the unfolding of fate. Judgments about things become biased;

cultivators fall under the influence of calamity energy, losing clarity and reason.

No wonder the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign chose this time to have them come—Kalpa was the perfect opportunity.

Make a grab, then vanish—no traces left in the Dao of Heaven.

Regaining his composure, the Taiyi Sage Lord said calmly, “The Nameless Mist is not a sentient being;

I have no reason to stop it. But you—you slaughter lives and butcher the world, killing countless beings. Your crimes are grave!”

“What do you intend to do?” the War God King asked, frowning.

“If you caused war, then killing you ahead of time would prevent that war from erupting,” the Taiyi Sage Lord lied.

The War God King sneered. “You call yourself a God King of Peace, yet you stop killing with killing—how are you different from us?”

“A great difference!” the Taiyi Sage Lord’s gaze hardened as he condensed a doorway in his hand.

The War God King watched him warily, and the doorway opened. Boundless radiance flooded the war city.

The moment the war devotees touched the white light, they began to dissolve, starting from their feet—turning into points of starlight and drifting upward, terror spreading through them all.

They prayed frantically for the War Ancient God’s aid.

But time had run out.

Some weaker war devotees were the first to turn into white light and vanish.

After dispersing, nothing remained;

their souls didn’t ascend to a Divine Kingdom—they simply ceased to exist.

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

“It’s over—my legs are gone! What is this thing?!”

“What do we do? Someone save us! I’ll give all my wealth!”

“Quickly pray to the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign—believers can be reborn later! Hurry!”

A voice rang out, waking many in the war city.

Many war devotees had heard of the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign’s rebirth divine decree, but they had always taken the war city for absolute safety, so their faith had not wavered.

Now, confronted by death, some hastily clung to that belief and began to accept Su Yuan.

The Taiyi Sage Lord was stunned to hear the familiar Dao name. He hadn’t expected Su Yuan to have already laid plans in this God Realm Sea;

his initial dossiers hadn’t mentioned it!

Many, at the brink of death, immediately converted their faith and pledged to the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign.

The Taiyi Sage Lord thought for a moment and spared those who had adopted faith in the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign—out of a courtesy to Su Yuan—and did not kill them.

As a result, some people were astonished to find their dying condition reversing: bodies that had turned into white light slowly began to restore themselves.

“Believing in the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign spares you from death! Brother, convert now!”

Chaos reigned through the city. Many saw this and swiftly converted to the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign.

But this was a war city packed with fanatical War pantheon devotees—only a small number changed allegiance. Most could only watch their own deaths helplessly.

Before dying, they had still prayed to the War God King. What they didn’t see was that the War God King himself was also turning into white light—though at a much slower rate than the others.

(End of posted section;

to be continued)

“No—what rule is this?” the War God King screamed as he stared at his feet. Half of his legs had already dissolved into white light!

He tried to use divine power to restore his body, but in horror he discovered that not only his divine form, but his divine soul was dissipating as well. Even the divine imprint of his leg within his power had vanished!

He could simulate the missing legs with divine power, but that would only be an illusion.

If his entire divine form dissolved into white light, he estimated there would be no chance of revival!

“War Spear!”

The War God King calmed himself. He believed that if he solved the attacker first, the restoration problem could be addressed later;

he must not panic.

A long spear shot from in front of him, striking unerringly toward the Taiyi Sage Lord.

The Taiyi Sage Lord suddenly felt as if he were targeted by an unavoidable hit—the kind that would strike no matter what.

But that sensation was only an illusion;

with a slight dodge he could evade the attack.

Yet dodging would expose his Ancient God-level true nature—because this strike was indeed impossible to evade at the same realm.

So the Taiyi Sage Lord didn’t dodge. He manifested an eight-sided shield in his hand and effortlessly blocked the spear.

Clang!

The spear slammed into the shield with a reverberating hum that blanked the minds of countless beings;

they could no longer think straight.

The War God King had thought this strike would at least heavily wound the opponent—this was an ultimate move condensed from a third of his divine power.

But the result far diverged from his expectation;

his attack was blocked with ease!

The War God King panicked.

The disappearing lower leg dragged him back to the grim reality.

He activated the war city’s formation—horrific war pressure spread outward.

The Taiyi Sage Lord had anticipated this and left the city’s sphere in advance, hiding within the surrounding world.

The War God King activated the city’s mighty defense—an Ancient God’s safeguard left in the city that could unleash terrifying power equal to an Ancient God strike.

But the opponent moved faster and hid first, leaving the War God King dumbfounded.

Now his thigh had dissolved;

the white light had reached his waist.

He looked at the states of other beings who had turned into light—the sheer terror of complete death made him abandon hesitation. He sent out a plea for aid to his Ancient God.

An avatar of the War Ancient God split off and descended upon the war city, taking up the appearance of the deity’s statue.

War Ancient God Maitreya (Buddha-form) saw the scene of countless beings wailing;

the gods shrieked in fear.

“Ancient God, save us! We are under attack and will be dispersed!”

A mid-ranked god, frantic, approached the Maitreya statue, hoping for salvation.

At that moment, the mid-ranked god was little more than a head, already turning into white light.

Maitreya realized the severity and unleashed War Ancient God power to envelop the head.

The head’s dissolution slowed, but still continued.

Maitreya ramped up output until he expended a thousandth of this avatar’s divine power to purge the abnormal white light from the head.

“Ancient God! Save me!”

“Great War Ancient God, your lambs seek your redemption!”

Figures—gods—moved toward Maitreya. He looked across the city and saw that besides gods, many ordinary mortals were also dissolving into light.

With the power reserves of his avatar, he could not solve this.

He quickly glared at the War God King. “What’s happening?”

“A strange pinnacle God King appeared and attacked us collectively. He’s hiding outside the city;

I can’t find him!” the War God King said with a bitter laugh.

Maitreya glanced outside and saw a figure rapidly retreating.

He could have chased and caught him.

But saving the city’s inhabitants was urgent.

Maitreya issued a divine punishment toward the Taiyi Sage Lord: “Those who oppose war shall be trapped in the cage of war!”

A divine punitive force crossed space and chased the Taiyi Sage Lord.

The Taiyi Sage Lord feigned a stifled groan but quickly withdrew.

Maitreya frowned and moved to heal the most critically endangered gods. He found that the higher the god’s realm, the more divine power was consumed.

Especially the War God King, whose recovery had already drained this avatar’s limit.

Maitreya’s heart sank.

“What on earth is happening?”

There was no time for more thought.

His true body swiftly left his Divine Kingdom and descended into the war city.

A supreme War Ancient God power spread around every being, halting the spread of white light.

Their bodies, under the War Ancient God’s power, rapidly became whole again.

But some who had shouted for the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign were now awkward.

Yet, having adopted that faith, they no longer feared death;

dying during Ragnarök granted them a chance at revival.

The War Ancient God directly expelled the followers of the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign.

The Seven Stars Dao Sovereign had risen suddenly—killing nine Ancient Gods of the Natural Alliance alone, and the Star Ancient God had vanished, suspected slain by the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign!

The conflict began when the Natural Alliance attempted to seize the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign’s treasure, so in principle the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign had a claim.

Thus, the other Ancient Gods were wary of offending the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign.

Didn’t the attacker—seeing war devotees converting to the Seven Stars Dao Sovereign—fear to touch those converts?

After solving the follower issue, Maitreya sensed that the departing figure had reappeared outside the city.

The War Ancient God clearly perceived the rule-power that signified an Ancient God on the Taiyi Sage Lord!

“You lured me out on purpose!” Maitreya realized immediately.

The Taiyi Sage Lord smiled slightly. “Indeed. I wished to challenge you, War Ancient God Maitreya!”

Maitreya scoffed. “I have seen too many challengers like you;

all ended in death. You will be no exception!”

“That remains to be seen,” the Taiyi Sage Lord said calmly.

Though this avatar was only late-stage in realm, it could exert peak combat power!

Maitreya narrowed his eyes. “Then meet me in the starry void for battle!”

“Please!” the Taiyi Sage Lord offered his hand.

The two rule-guiding Ancient Gods left the ground in an instant and entered the starry void.