Chapter 79: The Terror of the Black Sky

Xuanming Waters, Xuanming Water Palace, Black Heaven Hall.

The solemn and austere Black Heaven Hall remained as cold and imposing as ever, its oppressive atmosphere overwhelming every living being who entered—save for the master of the hall, the Black Heaven Divine Lord.

Yet today, as the Black Heaven Divine Lord sat upon his supreme throne, gazing down at this ever-dignified and solemn hall, he suddenly felt a strange wave of suffocating pressure and unease, much like the lesser beings who had come before him. He realized, however, that his anxiety was not born from the hall itself, but from within his own heart.

Just like the feeble creatures who entered Black Heaven Hall to face him, he now felt a sliver of dread toward an opponent he could not withstand.

The affairs of the Great Desolation shifted three times a day—strange, unpredictable, and impossible to foresee.

Even the seasoned Black Heaven Divine Lord, who had weathered countless storms, could no longer discern the present state of the world.

But he no longer had the luxury to concern himself with the shifting tides of the Great Desolation.

For the Xuanming Black Serpent Clan now faced a crisis of life and death.

Ironically, the threat did not come from the savage, peerless Beasts who had long plagued the world.

Rather than fearing the Beasts, the Black Heaven Divine Lord was far more concerned about the Divine Clan.

The Beasts, though dangerous, were a distant menace; it was the Divine Clan, with their overwhelming presence, who posed an immediate peril.

Everything began with the enmity between Nanluo, master of the Divine Clan, and the Xuanming Black Serpent Clan.

From the moment Nanluo emerged into the world, he slew and devoured the elite black serpents of the clan to restore his strength.

In retaliation, and seeking to seize Nanluo’s Primordial Divine Demon body for his own breakthrough, the Black Earth High Priest of the Black Serpents issued a kill order against Nanluo.

Though Nanluo repeatedly thwarted their attempts, a deep and bitter hatred was forged between him and the Xuanming Black Serpent Clan.

The Black Heaven Divine Lord had once believed Nanluo to be merely a Divine King, unworthy of true concern, and so did not bother to personally deal with him.

Never could he have imagined that Nanluo was the Child of Destiny.

The Divine Clan Nanluo founded soon became renowned throughout the world, exerting power in every direction.

First, there was the sudden appearance of the Alliance of the Gods—with twelve Primordial Divine Kings under its banner, all commanded by Nanluo.

If it were only twelve Primordial Divine Kings, Black Heaven would have been wary, but not overawed.

For the gap between Divine Lords and Divine Kings—especially between Primordial Divine Lords and Kings—was so vast that no amount of numbers could bridge it.

But what Black Heaven Divine Lord could not have foreseen was that Nanluo was the Child of Destiny.

Bearing the mandate of fate, Nanluo established the Divine Clan, using its collective fortune to help his followers ascend to the rank of Divine Lord.

This Divine Clan—appearing out of thin air—instantly became one of the strongest races in the Great Desolation.

Nanluo himself, a primordial Divine Demon and the Child of Destiny, swiftly rose to become one of the most powerful figures in existence.

What tormented Black Heaven Divine Lord most was that the fear Nanluo and his clan instilled within him showed no sign of abating.

On the day Nanluo founded his clan, the Divine Clan’s supreme treasure, the Hall of All Gods—a primordial treasure—descended from the heavens, signifying the will of fate.

Upon its appearance, the Hall of All Gods displayed its unmatched might to all beings, revealing the peerless power of the only known primordial treasure.

A baptism of sacred, majestic golden light poured forth, from south to north, east to west, enveloping every race and being under its radiance.

Black Heaven Divine Lord would never forget the moment that sacred golden light appeared.

In an instant, like golden thunder from the highest heavens, it tore through the defensive barrier he had marshaled the entire clan to erect, forcefully transforming billions of living beings into followers of the Divine Clan.

Sacred, majestic, overbearing, invincible—such was the image of the Divine Clan that lingered in Black Heaven’s mind.

No doubt, this was also the impression held by most of the myriad races toward this newly founded, yet incomparably mighty, Divine Clan.

Afterward, Black Heaven Divine Lord watched in numb disbelief as the Divine Lord Nanluo raised his sacred scepter and, with a single blow, shattered the Gate of Heavenly Order—a gate that had existed for billions of years, lofty and untouchable.

Having once passed through that gate himself, Black Heaven Divine Lord knew well the magnitude of its power.

It was no exaggeration to say that the Gate of Heavenly Order, though not a primordial treasure, was its equal—perhaps even superior in some respects, for it governed the laws of the world, suppressing the entire realm and severing the path to the heavens.

Yet Nanluo, wielding the Scepter of the Gods and harnessing the power of the Hall of All Gods, shattered it in a single strike—a feat that spoke volumes of his own formidable strength.

For without such power, how could Nanluo have possibly mastered the Hall of All Gods or broken the Gate of Heavenly Order?

Little did Black Heaven Divine Lord know that the Hall of All Gods was in fact the core of the Gate itself, and possessing it gave Nanluo the means to destroy the gate with ease.

Counting Nanluo’s every achievement—founding the Divine Clan, gathering the gods, acquiring the primordial treasure, shattering the Gate of Heavenly Order—any one of these would have ensured everlasting fame for any being in the Great Desolation.

Yet Nanluo had accomplished them all, and these feats were but his beginning, not his end.

For Nanluo was an unprecedented Child of Destiny, fated to rule an entire era.

As Black Heaven Divine Lord reflected on Nanluo’s brilliant rise—from utter obscurity to shaking the world and dominating all—he could not help but recall the couplet inscribed by the Ancestor Dragon in the Dragon Transformation Pool: “How could Jinling be content in a pond? Once it encounters the storm, the dragon transforms.”

“Child of Destiny—truly monstrous, shameless... terrifying.” Muttering these words, Black Heaven Divine Lord found his voice growing faint with fear, especially at the last word.

“Had I known, I should have struck decisively that day, destroyed Nanluo, snuffed out this threat before it could grow—then I would not face such peril now!”

Memories of that day, when he bore witness to Nanluo’s ascension, swam before his eyes. For once losing his composure, he slapped his throne and cried out in furious regret.

For someone as calm and deep as the Black Heaven Divine Lord to lose his composure so, it was clear how much pressure Nanluo brought to bear.

Yet even as he spoke, he knew these were only words of frustration, not conviction.

Even if he had acted decisively when Nanluo ascended, what difference would it have made?

Could a mere Black Heaven Divine Lord have slain a Child of Destiny, upon whom the fate of an entire era rested?

Such a claim would only invite the ridicule of all beings—a testament to one’s own arrogance.

Even the supreme existences of the Divine Emperor level would not dare pay the price required to kill a Child of Destiny, a price so steep none would willingly bear it.

After his fit of rage, Black Heaven Divine Lord was forced to face harsh reality: to offend Nanluo was to offend the Divine Clan.

What, then, was the Xuanming Black Serpent Clan to do in the face of the Divine Clan’s wrath?

If they failed to find a solution, the day of their annihilation would not be far off.

“How can I save the clan?” With a face as dark as water, Black Heaven Divine Lord closed his eyes, his mind swirling with a storm of black divine thoughts as he desperately sought a way to rescue his clan.

Just then, as he frantically searched for a solution, the voice of the Black Earth High Priest requesting an audience sounded from outside Black Heaven Hall...