Chapter 357: The Awakening of an Old God, a Continent-Level Super-Giant

Dawn, the moment before daybreak.

A few clear, cuckoo-like sounds pierced the stillness of the forest, the quiet atmosphere gradually dissipating, as gauze-like morning mist shrouded the woodland, adding a touch of dampness to all things within.

A Frenzied-Tooth Leopard, starving for an entire day, crouched cautiously in the dense underbrush, heedless of the glistening dew drops clinging to its fur, its eyes bright and intent as it watched a plump mountain rabbit sneakily emerge from its burrow in the distance; the hunger in its belly urged it on—Quick! Pounce now! Juicy, delicious food awaits!

But under the urging of that hunger, its forward movements became even more cautious and delicate.

Weak as it was in this stretch of forest, it had gone several days without a successful hunt; if it missed this chance, it would waste another entire night, tormented by hunger.

So, don't rush! Don't rush!

The hunting instinct born of its body made it lower its presence, inching closer bit by bit.

Closer, ever closer…the enticing scent of the rabbit drifted into its nostrils on the wind, its body coiled and ready to spring…

Suddenly, that plump, foolish mountain rabbit raised its head, a look of panic on its face.

Not good!

A wealth of past failures instantly told the Frenzied-Tooth Leopard that this hunt was about to fail, that it would once again endure the torment of hunger—no time to bother with concealment!

In an instant, the Frenzied-Tooth Leopard prepared to lunge with all its might.

At that moment, the earth suddenly began to quake!

"Rumble rumble…"

A sound like thunder roared—the earth was trembling, the sky was shaking, deafening booms exploding without end.

Cracks kept surfacing from the ground, spreading outward.

The terrifying tremor caused the Frenzied-Tooth Leopard, which had been gathering itself to pounce and bite, to lose its balance entirely and crash down right beside the mountain rabbit.

"Waa~ waa waa~~"

A sound like a baby's crying rang out—that was the mountain rabbit startled by its natural predator; anyone who had just crawled out of its burrow at the crack of dawn only to meet its nemesis would be terrified out of its wits.

The panicked mountain rabbit, heedless of the anomaly it had just sensed, prepared to launch its powerful hind legs and flee.

But the moment it sprang, the very next instant a great tree, toppled by a crack that had spread to it, blocked its path.

The earth-shaking commotion continued without pause; the hard ground seemed to have softened into a carpet, heaving up and down endlessly. Within only a few breaths, the two former enemies could no longer move at all—and not just here, the entire vast forest was the same.

It was as if some unimaginably powerful slumbering being upon this land was awakening, rising.

Watching such an exaggerated scene, the Frenzied-Tooth Leopard vaguely felt it was done for.

A few breaths later, the Frenzied-Tooth Leopard, along with every living creature in this forest, beheld a sight they would never forget in their lives.

The earth was torn asunder; even the clouds above the heavens feared that mighty power, using the force of the gale to carry themselves far away; great trees toppled one after another.

In the open, sweeping expanse of the forest, a great mountain that had stood there for who-knows-how-long—perhaps a thousand years, perhaps ten thousand, perhaps even millions upon millions of years—stretched out a broad, thick hand. On that hand, with its sharply defined lines, every muscle was knotted and powerful. It pressed that hand against the earth as if borrowing strength, and in the next instant the entire mountain abruptly rose.

A rugged face, as if carved by blade and axe, actually stood up, shouldering the shattered mountain body!

It was a towering super-giant covered in all manner of scars! Merely by standing, the clouds that once hung untouchably high could only drift about its waist, becoming its skirt!

A magnificent, primeval misty aura constantly seeped forth from its body, rendering the entire place utterly silent.

Even the wild beasts that once proclaimed themselves overlords of the land were the same—before such a giant, they could only suppress every movement, lest they draw its attention. Memories buried deep in their bloodlines seemed to awaken: those were the gods who once ruled high above over the land, the sky, and the seas!

This was a god of bygone days who should have long since perished!

On this day, after an unknown number of years, it once again reappeared upon the earth.

The towering giant, as if just waking from sleep, gently stretched its back, setting off a string of heaven-shaking thunder, then slowly opened eyes gleaming with divine light and gazed toward some unknown distance.

"In slumber I knew not the passage of ages; now at last the Spirit Lord has awakened us. Has the moment hidden in the prophecy of old finally arrived?"

"I wonder how many of us old gods still remain? Whether we still have the strength left to slay the traitor-gods…"

"Cursed ancestor!"

Muttering to itself, the giant took a step in a certain direction, leaving behind a trail of enormous footprints along the way; all living creatures could only tremble.

At the same time, in several directions across the entire world, gods were awakening, following the guidance of some unseen force and drawing closer step by step.

They were the last remaining remnants under Lingxin's command back when she was still at the True Immortal realm. But such is the fate of victors and losers—as Lingxin fell, the world was occupied, and with the passage of time, how few in this world now even recognized them.

Where was the bearing of gods who once commanded the world?

If Baichuan had seen this scene, he might well have marveled that a True Immortal is indeed a True Immortal—even after falling like a stray dog, there were still a few gods who had reached the end of the Earth Immortal realm under her command.

It perfectly illustrated that saying: even a broken boat still has a few pounds of nails.

Yes, these gods had all reached the very end of the Earthly Immortal Realm, beings who could advance no further.

Perhaps only such existences could barely have survived those circumstances of old.

……

In an instant, winds rose and clouds surged.

Countless remnants hidden in the deepest corners of this world—whether humans, gods, or Wild Kings—all awakened at this moment, and at the summons of the old World Lord, they were determined to offer up their last measure of strength!

In the blink of an eye, a month later.

Countless powerful beings, braving wind and rain, finally arrived at the center of the world.

What met the eye was, within the hazy Grey Mist that seemed to linger forever, a verdant, jade-green Tongtian Jianmu standing tall, with countless mechanical creations emitting exaggerated noises flying in and out.

Among them, a colossal Xingkong mother-ship that had only just docked here a few days ago drew particular attention; on a conspicuous spot on its flank, a most distinctive emblem was clearly visible—within a golden, radiant circular design, a majestic divine bird spread its wings and cried!

That was the civilization symbol of another super-civilization in the universe!

That emblem represented the pride of its civilization!

Inside the Tongtian Jianmu Lingneng Clan base.

"Hahaha, what a rare guest, what a rare guest!"

"Welcome, my friend."

Beaming all over his face, Zi Da, no longer his usual irreverent self, strode out in the distinctive, sharp, and luxurious attire of his civilization, leading a retinue to welcome the other super-power that had just arrived at their Lingneng Clan—Luo!

It was another colossal entity in Xingkong, no less than their own Lingneng Clan, having risen to prominence tens of thousands of years ago.

The rise of this civilization was truly a tale of overwhelming fortune. Originally it had been nothing more than a subordinate cultivation civilization under their Lingneng Clan, but somehow—by what dogshit luck no one knew—it obtained a Star Beast offspring, and by some twist of serendipity, with abundant resources it rapidly nurtured that offspring to a strength no less than that of their civilization's "Ancestor." Before the Lingneng Clan could react, it broke free of their control and ascended to become a newborn super-civilization.

Thinking about it, it was truly hateful — it could already be counted as a major stain on the Lingneng Clan.

But today was not the time to consider these old grievances.

Carefully recalling the information he had reviewed not long ago, Zi Da also knew he could not afford to be careless. Although he did not know what kind of deal those above had struck to make the other party come to this extraordinarily important Zhenyu, he was clear that today he must entertain them well.

"Hello, Mr. Zi Da of the Lingneng Clan, I am of the Luo Clan…"

Facing Zi Da's warm welcome, the solemn middle-aged man leading the Luo Clan also nodded, without saying much, giving the impression of a strictly serious person.

It was a three-eyed humanoid creature with a vertical eye between its brows, but before it could finish speaking, a violent explosion suddenly rang out, accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom, instantly tearing apart the drifting Grey Mist and causing the entire base to tremble slightly.

The next second, a piercing alarm sounded — it was the enemy attack alarm.

How ironic — on a planet controlled by the Lingneng Clan, which prided itself as one of the strongest civilizations in Xingkong, there had come a time when their main base was raided by unknown enemies.

The object of the attack was, in its true form, a rock spear that seemed to come from beyond the Lingneng Clan's monitoring range!

A terrifying rock spear… no, it could no longer be called a spear — it could already be said to be a spear-shaped great mountain that had pierced into the Lingneng Clan's base plate, sending up countless sparks.

The thrower — a towering super giant, an Old God, the God of Mountain-Supporting!

That god, who had once suffered a loss at its hands and had studied the Lingneng Clan for countless years to remember its humiliation, had not stepped onto that continent like its other companions. Instead, across a vast ocean, it had gathered overwhelming divine power, transformed it into a rock spear capable of piercing through everything, and hurled it in one strike.

At this moment, the void-sensing devices and defensive detection systems that could cover an entire continent, as well as the Ten Absolute Spirit-Dispelling and Demon-Repelling Guardian Formation, were as if they were nothing — directly struck at the base plate below by this rock spear hurled by the God of Mountain-Supporting!

As if triggered by something, the other surviving gods standing beside this rock spear also moved.

Moonlight flashed — a bright, clear moon wheel fell from the heavens; thunder roared, lightning flickered, a thunder serpent as massive as a mountain descended, swaying its body; shadows gathered, transforming into a sky-covering giant hand that slammed down from the air…

In an instant, under the various attacks, the entire Lingneng Clan base seemed to have been activated — large numbers of personnel began moving in and out, countless creations loaded with destructive weapons rose into the air in unison: flying objects of various shapes, mechs of all kinds, and even Mechanical War Beasts!

And the seven Wilderness Gods under Lingxin's banner, along with various Wilderness Kings dissatisfied with the Lingneng Clan's exploitation and oppression, had already charged toward the incoming group.

In an instant, various explosions and sounds of slaughter, mingled with thick black smoke and Grey Mist, came one after another without end.

In just a brief moment, it had already become a terrifying battlefield!

"Mr. Zi Da, what is the meaning of this?"

Amid the chaos, the leader of the Luo Civilization that had just arrived at the Lingneng Clan's base also frowned, a strong vigilance suddenly rising in his heart, and a mysterious power burst forth from the vertical eye between his brows.

He had never imagined that just as the visitors from their Luo Civilization had arrived at the Lingneng Clan, they would encounter such an exaggerated attack — and at the Lingneng Clan's most important main base at that. The situation here was very thought-provoking, and it inevitably led him to some dark thoughts, especially since their civilization had once broken away from its control.

However, given that this trip was also very important for them.

So he still restrained the impulse in his heart, preparing to listen to their explanation.

"My apologies!" Zi Da, who had come to his senses, was also at a loss.

He simply could not imagine that such an attack would appear at their Lingneng Clan's base — in his entire life, this was the first time he had encountered such an attack.

But knowing that this exchange was a very important matter for their Lingneng Clan, he could not spare a thought for the cold sweat beading on his forehead and his nearly soaked clothes, and immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle — apologize first.

After hurriedly explaining and soothing the honored guests, Zi Da was also furious, and hurried toward the command center to find out what had actually happened.

……

On the chaotic battlefield, after the Lingneng Clan reacted, within a short time, the Wilderness Gods and Old Gods that had just been wantonly destroying were pushed into a disadvantage.

At this time, far away on another continent, within the Extreme West Alliance that had not yet set out, sensing the information of defeat transmitted by the subordinate gods in the distance, in the quiet space, Lingxin's faint voice came:

"Sir, the subordinate gods under our banner are gradually failing to hold on — will you not set out yet?"

Hearing this, Baichuan also slowly opened his eyes. Listening to the other's seemingly calm but actually slightly anxious voice, he felt a bit amused inwardly.

It was clearly he who had asked the other party to stir up trouble, yet in the end, the last one to arrive late was still him.

But to think that a former True Immortal who had always seemed calm and without any worldly air could be so anxious — it seemed the other's cultivation of temperament was still not quite up to par.

His already immensely grown perception moved instantly at its master's command, crossing the vast ocean in just a few breaths to reach the distant place and grasp the movements of his own forces.

At this, Baichuan finally moved.

The earth suddenly rose, twisting and deforming; a pitch-black Abyss abruptly appeared; the seawater suddenly boiled and surged backward, as if about to pour into the land.

It was a continental plate breaking away from the seabed — an unimaginable scene was unfolding at this moment. All creatures on the entire continent were trembling in fear and panic. They had no idea that they had been dwelling, all this time without knowing, on the body of an unimaginable living being!

The next instant, two sky-covering giant claws propped up from the boundless land. The earth writhed and deformed like flowing water, and within a few breaths transformed into an incomparably massive beast — a colossal creature of unknown length in miles!

If the previous super giant could already be considered large, that was only relative to normal creatures — as massive as a great mountain, towering into the clouds.

But this beast at this moment truly embodied what a super living being was! What a mountain-range beast was!

……

(End of this chapter)