High above, colossal dark clouds, like floating continents, collided and tore the sky apart with roaring thunder and tempestuous winds as they migrated over, extinguishing all light overhead.

The already dim sky plunged into an absolute blackness, as if night had fallen without moon or stars, leaving only the whistling, biting cold wind to whip against everyone's robes.

As this bizarre spectacle unfolded, a tremor ran through every heart, an inexplicable sense of dread washing over them.

Simultaneously, across the four nations of the Snow Domain, in every single city, countless Snowlanders noticed the strange event. Whether it was the common folk busy in the fields, the powerful hunters tracking snow beasts in the forests, or the nobility enjoying fine wine and beautiful women in their mansion-like homes, everyone was startled by the sky suddenly darkening.

All activity ceased; every head tilted upward.

Outside the perimeter of the snowstorm zone, in Dizhaochuan, even he stopped in his tracks. He gazed up at the tightening mass of black clouds, watching as light was progressively swallowed, instantly turning the silver-clad world into utter darkness.

Amidst the shock and astonishment of all onlookers, a sound like tearing thunder abruptly cracked across the blackened expanse. Immediately following, a stream of intensely pure, ash-white energy—like the primordial chaos of the cosmos—ripped open a fissure in the black clouds. This gap widened, forcing the dark mass into a gigantic vortex. Countless ash-white currents swirled like tornadoes, making the entire sky appear to cave inward.

Unnoticed by most, from the twelve magnificent, ice-crystal-like structures atop the Divine Mountain, twelve figures swiftly emerged. They stood outside the mountain, looking up towards that sliver of ash-white light on the distant horizon. The fierce, cold wind billowed their robes high into the air. Every face was etched with gravity.

"An outsider is breaking through here," stated a woman in silver-white robes, frowning deeply.

"How is that possible? The spatial barrier of the Snow Domain is incredibly tough. How could it be breached? Even when a Domain Realm expert from the outside broke through here before, they couldn't receive the energy infusion from the outside Time Realm and only managed to temporarily shatter the shackles of their physical body, failing to become a true Domain Realm powerhouse. Who is this person, and how can they break through here? Could they be advancing from the Domain Realm to the Void Heaven Realm?" A tall, majestic man knitted his brows tightly, turning to look at an elderly man in blue robes beside him as he spoke the last sentence.

The elder in blue robes shook his head. "Even a breakthrough from the Domain Realm to the Void Heaven Realm would not create such a massive disturbance. The power of the Celestial Realm would not forcefully tear through our Snow Domain's spatial barrier for a mere Void Heaven Realm cultivator. Furthermore, look at those distant currents; they carry the aura of Chaos. If I'm not mistaken... the person breaking through must be ascending from the Divine Realm to the God Emperor Realm."

"Impossible!"

"Are you senile!"

Two shocked exclamations rang out instantly, and the others also wore expressions of awe. In truth, they had sensed that the energy current wasn't of the highest caliber, but to believe that a mere Divine Realm cultivator advancing to the God Emperor Realm could shred the spatial barrier of the Snow Domain was akin to believing a pig could hatch from an egg—it was simply impossible!

Yet, the evidence was before their eyes; though they found it unbelievable, they could not refute it.

"Perhaps..." A delicate and peerlessly beautiful girl gently furrowed her brow. "Is this person an emissary from the Chaos Realm?"

The others snapped back to attention, momentarily stunned. After a brief silence, one voice immediately cut in, "Impossible!" This speaker was a calm, middle-aged man, draped in a silver-white robe that lent him an indescribable nobility. "Even if they are from the Chaos Realm and being received by the Supremes of the Chaos Realm outside, information about this breakthrough cannot possibly transmit through the Snow Domain's spatial barrier into the Chaos Realm!"

A collective silence fell over the group.

Watching the ash-white currents in the distant sky expand ever larger, a sudden tension gripped everyone. The old man in blue robes spoke with cold severity, "Whoever it is, killing them swiftly is paramount. We absolutely cannot allow him to fully open the gate to the Chaos Realm; the consequences would be unthinkable!"

"Agreed!" Everyone nodded. The composed middle-aged man stepped forward first. "I will go." Saying this, his figure vanished like smoke from the mountaintop.

The elder in blue robes stared into the distance, his brow furrowed. After a pause, he remarked, "It might not be enough for just Shui Tian to go alone. Shui Yan and Shui Xue, you two should accompany him; I fear he cannot handle it by himself."

"Yes—"

"Leave it to us."

Two voices responded, and their figures disappeared.

The mountaintop was instantly left with only nine figures, all staring towards the distance with grim expressions. They clearly understood the catastrophic results if the Chaos Realm were truly opened!

All their external plans would be thrown into disarray!

This was nothing less than a devastating catastrophe!

Outside the Divine Mountain.

Ye Zhu gazed into the distance. Snow lashed against her exquisite face, disturbing the dark hair at her temples which streamed out behind her. An unusual light flickered in her eyes. Her slender hand, gripping the Brightness Sword, tightened slightly, and her chest rose and fell in quick, shallow breaths. "Such a massive commotion... It's him, it must be him!"

She cried out inwardly, so exhilarated that her heart felt as if it would leap from her mouth. "He must have come too; he definitely came here! No one else's breakthrough could cause such an immense upheaval! And it's Chaos energy—he must have broken through to the God Emperor Realm!"

She stared afar, her gaze radiating intense longing, wishing she could abandon everything instantly and rush over. In her mind, the figure who had always accompanied her, walking ahead to shield her from every danger, was utterly unforgettable.

Her body stirred, almost ready to leave everyone behind to see him first. However, as her foot moved, a thought struck her, and her beautiful face instantly changed, feeling as if cold water had been poured over her head, chilling her to the core.

"He is breaking through, the Chaos Realm is opening. With such a monumental disturbance, the Three Supremes of the Chaos Realm must have been alerted. They know about the Snow Domain, and they certainly know about the corpse of the Goddess of Brightness. Then... they will surely come!"

She looked up at the dark sky, her heart plummeting to the bottom. "No matter which of the Three Supremes comes, the entire Snow Domain will be drenched in blood. No one can escape, perhaps... not even me."

She silently lowered her head, staring at the distant sky, biting her lower lip between her pearly teeth, tears shimmering in her eyes. Finally, she clenched her lip harder, turned, and looked back towards the towering, pitch-black peaks piercing the distant dark clouds—the Divine Mountain!

"If I must die anyway, I might as well risk it. If the Brightness Sword can awaken even a flicker of the Goddess of Brightness's consciousness, it might be enough to frighten away that Chaos Realm Supreme..."

She made up her mind, took a deep breath, and gripped the sword in her hand. In this moment of universal darkness, the sword, like a beam of white light, radiated a sharp, cutting coldness in her grasp, shooting out like ripples in water.

"Everyone, get out of the way!"

The clear white light, like an enraged dragon, roared past, sweeping across the snowfield and driving back vast swathes of darkness. The light emanating from the sword enveloped Ye Zhu's body, driving forward relentlessly toward the crowd.

Huxiaochuan.

Sifigran looked up at the swirling, hurricane-like ash-white current not far above her. As it slowly began to descend toward the ground like a drop of water from the sky, her pretty face flickered involuntarily. She quickly reached out a hand, and Ling, who was nearby, felt as if his chest was being pulled by an invisible, massive hand, sending him involuntarily flying towards Sifigran.

Sifigran gently grasped the fabric at his chest, neutralizing the impact as casually as plucking a flower, then turned to Xiumit to her side and said swiftly, "Quick, take us to the Divine Mountain! We can't stay here!"

Xiumit's eyelids jumped slightly. "What happened? Do you know what this ash-white current is?"

Sifigran whipped around to face him, her clear eyes like sharp knives piercing deep into Xiumit's soul. "If you don't want to die, lead the way now!"

Xiumit had never been threatened like this before. A surge of anger rose in his chest, but upon seeing the sudden deathly gray color in Sifigran's eyes, he couldn't help but shiver violently, feeling as if the hand of Death had gripped his throat—an indescribable chill.

His face flushed red, and finally, gritting his teeth, he spun around and rushed off.

Sifigran waved her large hand, and her silver-white robe billowed out like a cape, engulfing the completely bewildered Ling as they swept away into the distance.

Minutes after the group disappeared, a dark shadow flickered into existence out of thin air, his face contorted with cold menace. He moved with lightning speed, but upon reaching the spot where Sifigran and the others had stood, he frowned slightly and glanced down at the ice-cold ground. "It seems someone was here before. This aura... it's similar to the slain snow beasts in the glacier."

He frowned but did not pause to examine the area closely. As he quickened his pace, he glanced toward the distant ash-white currents. "Damn bastard! He actually pierced the barrier to the Chaos Realm! If the Three Supremes arrive here, it's unimaginable. Which idiot was foolish enough to do this? If I meet him, I swear I won't be human if I don't kill him ten thousand times!"

As he spoke, he watched the sharp ash-white currents approaching the ground, his eyelids twitching. His speed beneath him increased even further, and he vanished in a streak of light.

Icewind Valley.

The most shocked of all was Kame. She stopped in front of Ye Chen. When she heard the rolling thunder overhead, she looked up immediately and saw the sky above the Red Matrix suddenly churned as if by a gigantic, invisible hand. The dense white clouds shifted rapidly, drawing lightning bolts that converged in a spiral.

Then, her Red Matrix was ripped apart by an unseen, immense force! (To be continued)