When Heavenly Collapse came, every divine residence in the Mountain and Sea Realm sealed itself shut.
Mountain gods and sea gods from every quarter relied on the power of their divine residences and divine names to guard their own domains against the heavenly calamity, waiting for the time when heaven and earth would be clear again.
Only the mysterious Central Mountain revealed itself at such a time, throwing wide its mountain gates.
As its name suggested, Central Mountain stood at the very center of this world.
None knew how many thousands of miles it spanned, nor how many tens of thousands of zhang it rose.
When heaven shattered and earth split, it could not be shaken.
Perhaps in this world, there was nothing at all that could affect it.
Amid the distant wind and snow, a spirited figure approached.
His face was radiant, and he wore a martial uniform of red trimmed in gold.
One sleeve hung empty at his side.
In his remaining hand, he carried a saber.
A saber with a thick spine and a keen edge.
No hand moved. No saber moved.
Whether hurricane, thunderclap, or blizzard came, only a Rift of Heaven opened at just the right moment, swallowing every heavenly calamity whole.
The rumbling thunder seemed to beat drums for him.
The lightning that joined sky and sea seemed to see him off in grandeur.
Heaven was collapsing, yet could not collapse upon him. The sea was pouring backward, yet could not crash into him.
Nothing could affect him. As he walked toward the towering Central Mountain, he possessed a weight and remoteness all his own.
His clothes snapped in the wind.
The wind raged wildly.
He walked alone through the apocalypse like that, step by step drawing closer to Central Mountain.
He stopped before