Chapter 375: Lan Hai Xing's Speculation and Response, the Star Sea Gods

Faced with such a soul-shaking prophecy, every person present who heard it revealed an incomparably grave expression.

Those who could reach their current positions were no fools, or rather, those who had climbed up by relying on family background could not appear here, for this was the very pinnacle of power in all of Tianhai City — the Grand Pavilion!

Though the prophecy left by Xinglao was only a few short sentences, even incomplete, to them it was no different from the most crucial information concerning the existence of the world! In those few short lines of prophecy, it seemed to unveil a terrifying picture of heaven and earth in upheaval…

The stars grow dim, the gods fall.

What manner of catastrophe could it be that caused even the stars representing the gods, and the gods themselves, to fall?

One must know that gods, in this world, already represent the supreme and greatest of existences. They are deathless and indestructible; since the dawn of time, before even the people of Lan Hai Xing were born, they have been the masters of this world.

Whether it be the sky, the earth, the ocean, or the various lands where living things perish — swamps, volcanoes, the Abyss… their figures could be found everywhere.

They are the embodiment of power! Each one represents a path toward the "Supreme"!

In the ancient history of the entire world, crises that could be called world-destroying had indeed appeared — Outer God invasions, beast calamities running rampant, evil Qi resurgence, extraterritorial civilizations assaulting… yet none of these could cause those lofty gods to fall. At most, the masters within the world changed a few times; the people of Lan Hai Xing had risen to prominence during the previous great catastrophe.

Yet such powerful and magnificent gods — today, they were proclaimed to fall by this single prophecy of Xinglao?

Such magnificent and eternally existing beings — what manner of catastrophe could cause them to fall?

This is a catastrophe more terrifying than the calamity of the Beast God of old… no, not even on the same level!

The moment of life and death for the world has arrived!

Of course, while everyone was inwardly shaken and even panicked, there were also those who suspected Xinglao's prophecy might be mistaken, for after all, the might of the gods was unmatched in their eyes.

And how could such powerful and magnificent gods be divined and prophesied by mere mortals like them?

Gods cannot be gazed upon directly!

Those who peer into the divine realm shall die!

These words, like prohibitions, have been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times, paid for with the lives of countless reckless beings!

Furthermore, Xinglao's power itself originated from the gods — to prophesy about the gods using the gods' own power? How could the gods not know? How could they allow such peering?

Isn't this the greatest joke of all?

So, under the weight of various doubts, some furrowed their brows in puzzlement as they gazed at the old woman whose expression in death was peaceful, their hearts wavering between alarm and uncertainty.

After all, doubts aside, the legendary record of prophecies and divinations by Xinglao, who paid with her life, had never once erred — that could not be falsified.

A death-like silence hung over this place for a long, long while…

"Hulan, do you still remember Xinglao's previous prophecy?"

Unaware of what everyone was thinking, the old man who had arrived here first suddenly spoke these words.

His name was Hubihai, the Grand Pavilion Master of this Tianhai City. Since hearing Xinglao's prophecy, he had fallen into deep contemplation, pondering those few short lines.

Clearly, from the prophecy, the mysterious beast shadow, beyond the heavens…

These key terms were certainly not shot off at random by Xinglao. Looking at it this way, it reminded him inexplicably of the previous highest-classified incident — "The Mysterious Beast Shadow of the Other World" — where merely a sliver of strange sharpness had left all the Pillars of the Nation across their entire Eastern Alliance of Lan Hai Xing weakened for a full several months.

This was not his wild guess, for the previous prophecy had been divined led by the very Xinglao Tao Xing who had now passed away.

"Old Master… Elder Pavilion Master Hubi, you mean…?"

Faced with the old man's question, Hulan, seemingly awakened, also hesitated. Wanting to speak but bound by the former confidentiality agreement, he could only look at the old man in a riddle-like manner.

"Mm, that's right." The old man nodded, his face carrying an imposing dignity as he surveyed everyone present. "Originally, this classified matter should not have been disclosed to you here, but now with Xinglao's world-shaking prophecy at hand, circumstances force our hand and we can only reveal it to you."

Of course, part of the reason was also that the Lan Yu Secret Bone had already been lost.

After speaking these words, the old man seemed to give everyone a moment to digest, then his face suddenly took on an unprecedented solemnity, and in a tone that seemed like praise, like chanting, like recounting ancient secrets, he began to speak:

"When the sea floods back over the land, and storms bring down the floods."

"From the Dustless Land within the ancient Forbidden Forest came a thunderous roar,"

"Beneath the awesome might of heaven, a mysterious beast shadow bathed in lightning, wielding the world's blades and arms, struck out with a blow of annihilation…"

The prophecy, like a legend passed down since ancient times, was thus uttered by the old man in that special tone. In an instant, everyone present fell into a trance, as if they too had followed the old man's voice and personally witnessed that earth-shaking legend.

They seemed to see an ancient era, where a heaven-covering beast shadow that commanded all blades and arms of the world, gathering endless sharpness, faced a god-like, demon-like figure and unleashed that power capable of destroying everything — a force so mighty it even swept into their world!

"Mysterious beast shadow, beyond the heavens."

"Gentlemen, have you sensed the common thread between the two prophecies?"

A vast, primal aura slowly circled the area. Only after a long while did the old man speak again softly, as if speaking even slightly louder might be disrespectful to that great being.

"Pavilion Master, you mean?"

Someone, after savoring the two prophecies for a moment, seemed to catch the old man's implied meaning and looked over with some uncertainty.

"Correct!" The old man nodded approvingly. "The common thread between the two prophecies: first, both were divined by Xinglao Tao Xing; second, given Xinglao's style, unrelated matters generally would not share the same prophetic terms. Now that both prophecies mention the mysterious beast shadow, it cannot help but provoke deep thought…"

He even suspected that the true form of that mysterious beast shadow had been divined by Xinglao Tao Xing in her final moment, but because that existence was too powerful, even its title and true name were things this heaven and earth would not allow Xinglao to utter.

The old man seemed to recall that final moment — Xinglao's strange appearance of opening her mouth to speak yet repeatedly failing to produce a sound.

Of course, he did not voice these later thoughts, for they were merely his speculation.

"The Pavilion Master's words make sense. If there truly is a connection, perhaps we can start from the other, more detailed prophecy," someone said, seeming to have finally found a clue, their eyes flashing as they offered a suggestion.

"Seawater, storms, lightning, and most importantly, all blades and arms of the world — these could all be powers possessed by this being. It seems the Quanyan held by this mysterious being is rather diverse and powerful…"

Others extracted the most crucial keywords from the prophecy and exclaimed in some wonder.

"Not just that, the phrase '…plague runs rampant' in the later prophecy is the most important part. From all the information, the mysterious beast shadow in this prophecy is extremely likely to be a Calamity God whose sole duty is the destruction of worlds, for since ancient times 'blades and arms' have represented war, slaughter, and destruction."

Apparently influenced by the heated atmosphere of discussion, Hulan also offered his own insight.

"Lord Hulan speaks reason. Blades and arms, poison, plague — since ancient times these have been calamities not to be underestimated. I even suspect that when this mysterious being used 'blades and arms' to destroy the previous world, its power was so overwhelming that a sliver leaked over and affected our world. That aura of power…"

Wait, he seemed to have discovered something?!

In the midst of heated discussion, the young man, following his own train of thought, spoke and spoke until he himself froze.

Because he suddenly realized that, following this line of reasoning…

Lost in thought, the surrounding silence caused him to raise his head, and he started in alarm — for everyone around him had stopped their discussion and was staring at him intently. The Pavilion Master's eyes, though slightly clouded with age, likewise gleamed with sharp brilliance!

"Not bad, young man, what is your name?" The old man nodded approvingly at the youth. "Continue."

"Yes! My name is Kun Zhong." Facing the attention of the Pavilion Master, this young man who had just risen to this level and now encountered such a world-shaking catastrophe could not help but tense his muscles and focus entirely. He murmured softly, as if organizing his thoughts, and began from the beginning:

"Based on the information we have, in my humble opinion, perhaps this mysterious beast-shadow from the prophecy is a terrifying creature whose sole purpose is to destroy worlds and grow by absorbing a world's nourishment. The last time, it used its own tremendous power to bring 【Blade and Soldier】 to another world, and at the final moment of destroying that world, the power gathered from its rapid growth was already enough to destroy that world — so much so that the power overflowed and affected our world…"

"Afterwards, the mysterious beast-shadow that had devoured that world, due to some change in our world — perhaps because of that aura of power that affected our world — sensed our world, and is now drawing near… No, perhaps it is already beyond the world, and only awaits some special condition to be fulfilled before it can descend! For example —"

"For example, …plague running rampant!"

The final line was spoken by the old man!

Listening to the young man's account, the old man thought it over and grew increasingly clear, until at last he completely connected the information from the two prophecies.

Perhaps the prerequisite for the great catastrophe in which this mysterious beast-shadow descends, causing the stars to dim, the gods to fall, and even the world to perish, is precisely 【…plague running rampant】!

If so, then to prevent the world's destruction, they absolutely must not let it descend successfully!

Having deduced this much, the old man no longer needed the young man. He abruptly turned and said to Hulan: "Hulan, I recall that Crab Sect organization you've been watching lately — they worship the use of various toxins, don't they?"

"That's right, Pavilion Master, it's the Mad Poison Sect! Recently they seem to have gotten wind of something and are making a great show of some kind of move."

"In that case, I order you to take men and exterminate them!"

"And the rest of you, take men as well. The whole of Tianhai City… no, spread this news to the Alliance headquarters. From this moment on, all Crab Sects related to 'poison' — indeed, all Crab Sects — must be exterminated! Priority goes to those related to 'poison'!"

He believed that, in the face of a crisis threatening the survival of the world, those bigwigs up above would know how to weigh their options and decide.

The reason those sects had been allowed to exist in the past was that some of the bigwigs up above needed gloves to handle dirty work, and these sects had the sense not to affect those above, never giving them cause to take them seriously and strike.

But now things were different. As long as those great ones themselves sent Xinglao to divine just a little — they didn't need it to be as specific as what Tao Xing divined; they only needed the divined information not to be false, or that the information he had passed up was true, with even the slightest possibility — that group of life-loving great ones would not be able to sleep soundly. Perhaps from this day forth, the situation across the entire world would be thrown into turmoil.

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing the order, Hulan's eyes flashed with a cold glint. He cupped his fist, bared a mouthful of gleaming white teeth, and grinned in reply.

As for those underground Laoshu who had harmed countless lives like vermin, he had long wanted to find a chance to exterminate them. It was only that in the past, as one of the Pillars of the Nation, he had too many affairs to handle and never had the chance.

Now was just the moment!

Even a group of humans regarded as ants in the eyes of the gods had divined such important information — what about the gods?

As the source of all supernatural power for the people of Lan Hai Xing, a Spirit that could also be called a Banzhu of a star in Xingkong, was naturally not blind or deaf.

Of course, the information most Spirits received was not detailed either. In fact, apart from the Spirit who served as the source of Tao Xing's divination power, the other Spirits might not even compare to those mortals.

Because this involved information about a being from a far higher level than their own. If just anyone could divine it so easily, then what would Baichuan have worked so hard to break through for? The Rat would have come knocking long ago.

What made Tao Xing special was that he had on several occasions been in close contact with a portion of Baichuan's power — particularly during the Earth Immortal split-body stage when there were no protective measures. It was then that, drawing on the power of the Star Light Goddess, he used the Edge Power to divine a bit of information.

Yet even so, he still paid a considerable price, and the last time he died outright, his body and Dao both vanishing.

At this moment, within a Shenyu attached upon this Lan Hai Xing.

"The stars dim, the gods fall… an ill omen. What manner of being dares to invade my Lan Hai Xing?"

Within a resplendent Divine Kingdom, a goddess shrouded in starlight gazed down with a face full of worry at the star model glowing with a faint blue light before her — that was Lan Hai Xing as seen through her vision.

Yet at this moment, above that beautiful Lan Hai Xing, there loomed a ferocious beast-head whose specific form could not be discerned, its outline vaguely resembling a giant dragon's head. This mysterious, suspected dragon beast-head was now poised to devour that azure Lan Hai Xing.

This is the omen of 【Dragon Devours the Star】.

"Where have these savages come from, not knowing this realm already belongs to a clan of Xingkong gods…"

……

(End of this chapter)