Bearing the Talisman to Patrol the Heavens, a Clash Between Two Powers Sparks the Calamity

In the Tianshu Star Domain, the ten-thousand-foot Investiture Altar stood in silence.

The Hundred-School Colorful Banner stirred in the dead stillness of space. The Ever-Burning Soul-Guiding Lamp gave off a faint, clear glow. True God of Clear Blessings Bai Jian stood before the altar holding the Hundred-School Divine Banner, like an eternal guardian.

As the Investiture Altar took form, the dread weighing on the hearts of the mighty across the heavens abruptly gave way to a solemn order of the Great Dao.

The cultivators could finally see the road ahead—

The calamity could not be avoided. But if they did not imitate Tianluo Ancestor by forging merit and slaughtering mortals, and instead fought openly for their sects and the order of heaven and earth, they could enter the Investiture Altar even if they fell in battle and ascend as Heavenly Court Orthodox Deities!

Death was no longer eternal oblivion. It was the beginning of another divine path beneath the Heavenly Dao!

Under this subtle yet sweeping order of the Heavenly Dao, the first true conflict of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity across the myriad worlds quietly began at the edge of the Ziwei Star Domain.

At the edge of the Ziwei Star Domain stood two vast powers whose legacies stretched back tens of thousands of years.

The first was the Annihilation Sword Sect.

The sect cultivated only the arts of slaughter and destruction. Its master, Annihilation Ancestor, was an old monster at the peak of the Mahayana Stage who had lived eight thousand years. Over the ages, the Annihilation Sword Sect had acted with ruthless arrogance. Its disciples were quick to kill. Though they had restrained themselves from attacking mortals, they had amassed a mountain of karmic grudges with neighboring sects deep in the great worlds.

The second was the Myriad Stars Alliance.

It was an alliance formed by dozens of mid-sized sects and Ancient Era clans. Its leader, Myriad Stars True Lord, was also a Mahayana Stage powerhouse. Since the founding of Xuanmen, the Myriad Stars Alliance had actively performed good deeds and tended spiritual veins, accumulating immense merit under the Heavenly Dao.

The two sides had feuded for centuries over a cluster of barren mining stars rich in Primordial Star Essence Gold.

In the past, each had held back its urge to kill for fear of the other's strongest fighters.

But now, the Investiture of the Gods Calamity had arrived!

Annihilation Ancestor sat in the Annihilation Sword Sect's ancestral hall. As he watched the Karmic Calamity Fiendish Aura above him grow ever denser, a flash of ruthless resolve and clarity crossed his eyes.

"We can wait no longer!"

Annihilation Ancestor rose to his feet. The towering sword of annihilation behind him rang out with a piercing hum.

"I have only a hundred years left to live. My sword Dao of slaughter has gathered countless karmic ties to this calamity. If I let this fiendish aura corrode my mind, I will lose control and be reduced to ashes!"

"Today, I will lead the entire sect into a fair and open battle to the death with the Myriad Stars Alliance!"

The Annihilation Sword Sect elders below him blanched. "Sect Master! The Myriad Stars Alliance has amassed great merit. If we attack them now, won't we incur heaven's wrath?!"

"Fools!"

Annihilation Ancestor snorted, his eyes gleaming with a grasp of the greater picture.

"We fight over cultivators' resources and settle a feud between sects. We are not slaughtering mortals! So long as no mortal lives are harmed, this clash of karmic debts amid the calamity has the Heavenly Dao's tacit consent!"

"If we fall in this calamity wielding our sword Dao of slaughter, a breakthrough will grant us the immortal fruit of freedom. And if we die on the battlefield, our unyielding sword wills may yet be received by the Investiture Altar. We can enter the Heavenly Court's Dipper Department or Thunder Department and be invested as war gods!"

"This is the Annihilation Sword Sect's only path to transcendence! Pass on my sword decree. March to the star mines and face the Myriad Stars Alliance!"

"We obey the Sect Master's sword decree—!!"

At that moment, the Annihilation Sword Sect's hundreds of thousands of sword cultivators erupted with earthshaking fighting spirit!

They were no longer blind killers. They embraced the calamity of their own will, seeking their places beneath the Heavenly Dao!

At the same time, within the Myriad Stars Alliance...

Its leader, Myriad Stars True Lord, sensed the Annihilation Sword Sect's boundless killing intent. He slowly opened his eyes, Merit Golden Light flowing across his palm.

"Annihilation Ancestor means to face his calamity. Then the Myriad Stars Alliance will meet it with our boundless merit!"

Myriad Stars True Lord raised his head and called out.

"All disciples of the alliance, heed my command! Strike down cultivators in this battle, but harm no mortals! Meet the calamity and defend our sects!"

Two immense armies of cultivators tore through space and came face-to-face deep within the star mines at the edge of the Tianshu Star Domain!

Across the Ziwei Star Domain, eyes from hundreds of great worlds fixed on that stretch of space.

Everyone watched to see how the first battle of the calamity sanctioned by the Heavenly Dao would unfold!

Rumble—!

Just as the armies stood on the brink of war...

High above, the sky filled with immortal light of merit and dark-gold calamity clouds split apart!

A tall figure in coarse hemp robes, a Broken Sword on his back and a Heavenly Eye faintly visible on his forehead, stepped out of a path through the void, walking upon the divine radiance of the Heavenly Dao.

It was Lin Qiye, the chief disciple of Primordial Xuanmen and a Demon-Subduing Protector of the Heavenly Court!

Held high in Lin Qiye's hand was a golden talisman radiating Supreme Heavenly Might—the Heaven-Patrolling Command Talisman!

Lin Qiye looked down at the two vast armies of cultivators. His gaze was calm and solemn, his voice carrying across space.

"The Heavenly Dao has decreed that the calamity shall begin!"

"Today, the centuries of karmic grievances between the Annihilation Sword Sect and the Myriad Stars Alliance shall be settled here!"

"I bear this talisman to patrol the heavens and oversee this battle!"

"First, no harm may come to mortal lives. Second, no vile poisons or methods that leave no path to survival may be used. Third, the defeated may not detonate their souls and destroy a star's core!"

"As for cultivators who fall in battle with their souls intact and the cause of their sects in their hearts... Divine Official Bai Jian of the Investiture Altar shall receive them as they are!"

The heavenly decree descended. The rules were set!

What might have become a blind slaughter that destroyed entire star systems was forcibly elevated into a tragic yet ordered contest of the Great Dao, watched over by the Heavenly Dao from beginning to end!

"Annihilation Ancestor of the Annihilation Sword Sect... obeys the heavenly decree!" Annihilation Ancestor dropped to one knee, drew the towering sword from his back, and roared.

"Myriad Stars True Lord of the Myriad Stars Alliance... obeys the heavenly decree!" Myriad Stars True Lord bowed with clasped hands.

The next instant—

"Kill—!!"

Two torrents of cultivators powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth collided in space!

Sword light pierced the heavens. Divine abilities filled the sky!

There was no underhanded poisoning, no threatening of mortals—only the purest, most heroic clash of Great Dao powers!

Bang!

An elder of the Annihilation Sword Sect at the Dao-Slaying Stage took several blows from enchanted treasures and spat blood. Yet there was no despair in his eyes. Laughing, he burned his annihilation sword intent to its limit and died alongside an elder of the Myriad Stars Alliance!

His body shattered, his blood scattering across the stars!

At the instant the Annihilation Sword Sect elder's body was destroyed and his soul broke free—

Hum—!

Far away, on the ten-thousand-foot Investiture Altar at the center of the Tianshu Star Domain, the hanging Hundred-School Colorful Banner suddenly burst forth with a warm purple-gold light!

True God of Clear Blessings Bai Jian, standing guard before the altar, shook the Hundred-School Divine Banner in his hand and swept it gently toward the star mines.

"Receive the true spirit—!"

An exceedingly gentle glow of the Heavenly Dao crossed the boundless stars and wrapped the fallen elder's pure soul with unerring precision. Before the stunned eyes of countless cultivators, it lifted the soul tenderly and carried it toward the Investiture Altar!

The soul settled into the Ever-Burning Soul-Guiding Lamp upon the altar. It felt no pain. Instead, the lamp's clear light nourished it, lending it a faint divine radiance of the Heavenly Dao as it waited quietly for its formal investiture when the calamity was complete!

At the sight of this—

Every cultivator still fighting among the stars felt their eyes redden, and their fighting spirit surged wildly!

It was true!

Those who fell on the battlefield really were received by the Investiture Altar! No pain, no fading away—only the highest honor beneath the Heavenly Dao and a future divine post in the Heavenly Court!

"Hahahaha! Glorious! Fight! For our sects! For investiture!"

"Kill—!!"

Brutal! Heroic! Immense!

The battle among the stars surged toward an epic climax!

Every cultivator who fell displayed the finest of their Great Dao abilities before death. One after another, True God of Clear Blessings Bai Jian received their souls and brought them back to the Investiture Altar!

Watching the Laws of the Heavenly Dao descend in perfect order through the void, watching the streams of fallen heroes' souls fly toward the Investiture Altar...

Deep in space, Supreme Mystery True Lord, Netherworld Blood Emperor, Tu Shanye, and the other leaders of the heavens watched with tears in their eyes. Moved to the depths of their souls, they dropped to their knees before the heavens above!

Order! This was the supreme order of the Heavenly Dao!

It gave dignity to cruel death and turned bloody slaughter into a sacred trial!

May the Heavenly Court stand forever, and Xuanmen flourish without end!

In the quiet, peaceful Library Pavilion behind Primordial Xuanmen in the Canglan Realm...

The sunlight was warm, and the faint scent of tea lingered.

Su Chen, still dressed in blue-green robes, lounged in his chair and gently swirled his teacup with long fingers. Deep in his mind, the Karma Points and Heaven and Earth Order Value on the system panel were soaring exponentially at an unimaginable rate!

"The Investiture Altar is established, and the first calamity has come full circle."

A gentle, inscrutable smile touched Su Chen's lips. He took a small sip of Spirit Tea and murmured.

"The whole plan is in motion now."

"Next... it's time to prepare for the true leading figures of heaven and earth to set off the far grander Investiture Saga."