How quickly time flies; several days have already vanished in the blink of an eye! There is now one month and three days remaining until the Battle for Heaven's Ascent!
Although there is still over a month left, this moment is the right time to formally prepare for the expedition. Preparation alone will consume a significant amount of time.
Jun Mo Xie never imagined that defeating the alien race would be achieved in a single battle! This would undoubtedly be a protracted war.
It required extensive planning and arrangement, including personnel, strategy, tactics, grain, silver, and supplies... He had been preparing for this goal for a long time.
Yet, he still lacked absolute certainty of victory! What exactly was the true strength of the alien race?
Jun Mo Xie knew nothing! At this very moment, however, something earth-shattering occurred!
This event caught absolutely everyone across the entire continent completely off guard! On this particular day, Jun Mo Xie and Mei Xue Yan were seated in the study, preparing to formally finalize the roster for those heading to the Battle for Heaven's Ascent!
This would be the grandest expedition in recorded history! It would also be an expedition forever etched into the annals of time!
Because this endeavor was not just for the once-every-five-hundred-years Battle for Heaven's Ascent; it was also to sweep away the alien race with overwhelming force! To utterly annihilate that source of evil which threatened the Xuan Xuan Continent!
Or perhaps, this would be the final, decisive battle! The ultimate confrontation that had spanned nearly ten thousand years, involved two realms, four territories, and concerned the lives of hundreds of millions!
The people of the Xuan Xuan Continent, no matter their internal strife or contradictions, operated under the maxim that even rotten meat should stay within the same pot. Jun Mo Xie had never fully subscribed to this idea.
But regarding those repulsive alien races, Jun Mo Xie harbored a hatred rooted deep in his bones and would absolutely never permit them to cross the Tian Zhu Mountain a single step further! He had already resolved to utterly destroy and exterminate them!
Mei Xue Yan had been avoiding Jun Mo Xie for quite some time, feeling perpetually uneasy. But seeing him now, with his expression completely normal, showing no signs of imminent fury, her heart gradually settled.
Although she knew Jun Mo Xie’s vengeful nature suggested he believed in the adage, 'A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years,' she hadn't taken it too seriously. If the time truly came...
could one really deny him his vengeance? Murder demands a life, debt demands repayment...
these were simply matters of natural justice... Besides, she conceded that on that previous occasion, she had truly overstepped.
Genuinely overstepped... Taking another step back, even if the worst should come to pass in the future, even if that villain didn't seek her out, she herself would probably seek him out.
Good heavens, what was she thinking... Just as the two were settling down, intending to begin planning the overall strategy, a strange tremor suddenly ran through the ground!
A powerful tremor! This vibration reached a critical intensity!
The entirety of the Evil Monarch's Residence swayed violently, as if caught in a fierce storm! The massive residence shook intensely several times, swaying helplessly like a willow in the wind!
Had the foundation of the Evil Monarch's Residence not been completely tempered into a single, solid mass by Jun Mo Xie using his Earth power that day, further disaster might have ensued! Both of them instantly turned pale with shock!
They exchanged a look, seeing the identical expression in the other's eyes: What in the world was happening? How could such an abnormality occur?!
The next moment, they moved in unison towards the window, then with a swift movement, appeared at the highest point of the Heavenly Punishment Forest. In the distance, violent shaking continued intermittently, causing massive boulders to tumble down from countless mountainsides.
Some steeper peaks simply detached entirely. Jun Mo Xie and Mei Xue Yan stared at each other, watching the ground continue to undulate, stones bouncing high into the air, innumerable trees swaying—everything resembled a scene from the end of the world.
A single thought struck both of them simultaneously: Something colossal had happened! Because from their vantage point—the highest spot—all the surrounding mountains were collapsing, leaping and shifting.
But this was not confined only to the range visible to their eyes! This proved the epicenter of the incident must be extremely far away!
Yet, for an event occurring so remotely to affect this location so profoundly and cause such intense effects! The severity of the situation must therefore rise to an unprecedented level, one that could not even be compared to the major incidents they had previously encountered!
Jun Mo Xie closed his eyes; his vast divine sense surged out, instantly spanning thousands of miles... yet he found nothing!
However, this stretch was the absolute limit of Jun Mo Xie's divine sense; it could extend no further into the distant reaches... Opening his eyes, a look of unprecedented gravity shone in Jun Mo Xie's gaze: "A truly grave event has occurred!
If I am not mistaken... if my suspicion is correct..." Jun Mo Xie repeated this twice, his face turning somewhat pale.
He didn't continue, because the event he was contemplating and about to voice carried consequences too severe. So severe that even someone as daring as Jun Mo Xie dared not utter it rashly!
Mei Xue Yan stared at him blankly, her delicate features slowly becoming grim. Their guesses were essentially aligned.
Because a situation exactly like the present one had occurred once before, with documented historical precedent, ten thousand years ago. Except for that one time, no crisis had ever been this severe!
And that time was when the Tian Zhu Mountain collapsed! Yet, the current situation appeared to be far more serious than that previous collapse!
Jun Mo Xie took a deep breath and finally stated: "You must have guessed it too. There is only one event that could possibly manifest such terrifying power!
That is... the Tian Zhu Mountain...
has completely collapsed!" Mei Xue Yan's face grew even paler, but she slowly nodded! Indeed, there was truly no other explanation for this.
But Jun Mo Xie harbored an additional worry: If the Three Great Sacred Lands were truly that close to Tian Zhu Mountain, then... the outlook might not be optimistic!
Everyone in the Evil Monarch's Residence panicked, flying out of their respective rooms like startled birds, rushing to the nearest high ground. Every face was etched with looks of fearful solemnity!
This incident was truly massive! But..., ten thousand years ago, the collapse of Tian Zhu Mountain was triggered because Miao Qing Cheng crossed space to ascend after undergoing her Heavenly Tribulation.
What, then, was the reason for this sudden, unexpected collapse this time? Could it be that someone possessed power even more terrifying than Miao Qing Cheng?
That was inconceivable and impossible! Therefore, the only possibility was that an unexpected accident had truly occurred!
And an accident that no one could have foreseen. And this accident was most likely caused by...
those alien races on the side of Tian Zhu Mountain! Because, it wasn't only the Xuan Xuan side wanting to permanently eliminate the alien race; the alien race equally desired to conquer the beings of the Xuan Xuan Continent and possess such a beautiful world!
"Immediately assemble the forces and prepare for the expedition! We will first proceed towards Tian Sheng Mountain to see what actions the Three Great Sacred Lands are taking.
Within two hours, everyone above the Venerable rank, whether human or Xuan Beast, must gather outside the Evil Monarch's Residence. Any who dare to delay will be executed without mercy!" Jun Mo Xie made a decisive resolution and instantly issued this strictest of commands!
If abnormal changes truly occurred at Tian Zhu Mountain, and if these changes were caused by the alien race, the alien invasion would be a certainty, and the ensuing havoc would be immense. Every minute of delay could cause immeasurable losses!
When dealing with the people of the Three Great Sacred Lands, Jun Mo Xie could feign indifference towards continental peace and the common people, but facing this crisis, how could he truly remain completely unmoved! Defending one's home and country was the purest expression of a man's fiery spirit.
Regardless of location! The summons was instantly relayed, but the Heavenly Punishment Forest was vast beyond measure.
Although Jun Mo Xie and Mei Xue Yan had gathered most of the high-level Xuan Beasts near the Evil Monarch's Brow recently, gathering all combat power would still require at least two more hours! If Tian Zhu Mountain had truly collapsed due to some factor, leaving the Xuan Xuan Continent without its natural barrier, facing an invasion by the alien race...
Jun Mo Xie dared not imagine the catastrophe that would befall the common people! Because this disaster was incalculable!
The continuous ground tremors persisted. After nearly an hour of smaller quakes, they suddenly escalated, the amplitude of the vibrations growing far more severe.
Simultaneously, the temperature across the entire world also seemed to be gradually rising. Although the change wasn't obvious, it was certainly a continuous warming...
Jun Mo Xie and Mei Xue Yan’s expressions grew increasingly grim. An unfavorable guess arose simultaneously in both their hearts.
Jun Mo Xie abruptly grasped Mei Xue Yan’s slender waist and unleashed the Yin-Yang Evasion. With a whoosh, they shot straight upward!
Ordinary movement techniques, no matter how transcendent, even those achieved by Saints at the Venerable level, could only manage an ascent of a hundred zhang at best. But the Yin-Yang Evasion, acting like a cheat code, propelled them straight up ten thousand zhang into the high heavens!
They ascended directly, reaching an altitude beyond measure. Looking out into the distance, they vaguely perceived, far to the southwest, a faint haze of endless mist rising...
Jun Mo Xie let out a long sigh. The next moment, Jun Mo Xie brought Mei Xue Yan back to the ground.
"My prediction was correct; it is indeed the worst possible scenario!" Jun Mo Xie’s handsome, jade-like face was currently shrouded in shadow. "What is it?" Mei Xue Yan had never seen Jun Mo Xie so distraught; her voice trembled slightly as she asked.
"It's a volcanic eruption! And not just a single one; it is highly probable that the entire volcanic cluster near Tian Zhu Mountain has erupted collectively!
Otherwise, there is no way we could see it from here! The sudden intensification of the earthquake was likely triggered by the first eruption of one volcano, which then induced the collective eruption of the rest!" Jun Mo Xie sighed heavily.
"Volcano? What is a volcano?" Although Mei Xue Yan was quite knowledgeable, this strange term was entirely new to her.