As the divine voice descended, dazzling divine chains appeared throughout the world, suspended in the void, sealing the heavens and earth, suppressing all things.
The giant hand, sword light, raging wind, lightning—everything that had manifested in the void—was immediately suppressed and disintegrated under an irresistible force the moment the divine chains emerged. Even the massive hand reaching toward Yi Tianxing collapsed.
These chains of law merged into the heavens and earth, forming a mysterious forbidden force, which prevented the supreme experts from the top sects of the Star Realm—those who had integrated into this world—from acting. They were directly sanctioned by the heavens, forbidden from setting foot in the mortal world, their sects sealed off. Unless certain conditions were met, the ban would not be lifted.
Despite this divine intervention, most of the survivors had already been taken. What remained were few and scattered, falling slowly toward the ground.
"No... How could this happen? Ziyan, Zitong, Xuerou..." Yi Tianxing stared into the void, his eyes filled with unspeakable rage. His sister, his friends—snatched away in an instant by some unknown force. Even with his steady nature, he was consumed by grief and fury. But none of it helped. There was no way to bring them back.
"A sect? A great cultivator? If I ever learn that you've harmed them, no matter if you're a cultivator or a celestial sect—I'll kill. I'll slaughter them all!"
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his rage. The event had already happened, and he could not turn back time. Even if he could, there was no way he could have stopped it.
From the divine voice, it was clear that these were the supreme experts and immortal sects who had taken action to seize the Heaven's Chosen—those blessed by fate.
It was not hard to understand. The Heaven's Chosen were beings of great fortune. To cultivators, that fortune was invaluable. Taking them in as disciples could mean the rise of their sects, a chance to soar to new heights.
How could they restrain themselves when facing such beings? They acted without hesitation—even with the world shifting into an entirely new environment, they remained unbothered, confident in their power. But the Heavenly Ban dealt them all a fierce slap. Under its decree, no great cultivator could resist or defy it.
"One day, cultivators will kneel beneath my feet, celestial sects will tremble at my step. Heroes will cheer for me. Spirits and gods will follow my command. Fate itself shall be mine to wield!"
Yi Tianxing roared toward the sky, venting all his fury and defiance in one thunderous cry.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Survivors continued to fall at accelerating speed. Even Yi Tianxing succumbed to unconsciousness mid-fall, as though an invisible force was interfering with their minds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Survivors hit the ground. At such velocity, they should have shattered upon impact, yet a strange invisible force protected their bodies, leaving them unharmed even as they left craters in the earth and snapped ancient trees. Clearly, the world itself was sheltering them.
The transformation of the world continued.
No longer Earth—this was now the Eternal World, the Eternal Continent.
This continent was boundless, surrounded by vast oceans—some holding strange and wondrous properties:
The Caribbean Sea, filled with mysterious treasures.
The Gourmet Sea, overflowing with culinary wonders.
The Nether Sea, brimming with death.
The Gem Sea, hiding gemstone riches.
Each sea had its own unique traits. The islands in these oceans were larger than entire continents of the former Earth. The distances between them were unimaginably vast—so vast that ordinary people might never cross even two continents in their lifetime.
The forbidden zones from the Star Realm also manifested in the Eternal Continent—each more terrifying than before.
This transformation was far beyond what ordinary people could comprehend.
But what was known was that the Eternal World was now too vast to measure. Even the greatest cultivators might not reach its end in their entire lifetimes.
A golden eye appeared in the void, scanning the land. Though it carried no emotion, a trace of joy seemed to flicker in its gaze. Then it vanished into the world.
Green grass, blue skies, white clouds.
A gentle breeze stirred a sea of greenery, carrying a fresh, fragrant scent.
A valley, surrounded by forest. A river flowed through the valley and the grasslands, like a slumbering dragon nurturing life.
The valley was vast—enough to house a large population. It had fruit trees and a clean river. By all appearances, it was a peaceful and ideal place to settle.
Yet now, the valley was in disarray.
A large group of humans had gathered there.
Merchants, soldiers, commoners, families, wandering peddlers—even children and pregnant women. Their numbers neared a thousand.
Straw mats were laid on the ground, with many wounded lying atop them, groaning in pain. Some doctors tended to their injuries, boiling herbal medicine over makeshift fires, filling the air with its scent.
The injured included both soldiers and civilians—some with broken bones, others with missing limbs or torn flesh, blood still flowing.
People huddled in small groups, fear and confusion on their faces. The soldiers, too, looked lost—there were no commanding officers among them, and their uniforms differed. With no one in charge, unity was impossible.
They were a disorganized mass, forced together by circumstance but wary of one another.
Outside threats kept them alert—everyone focused solely on survival, guarding the valley desperately.
"Old Zhao, what's going on in this world? One moment we were eating lunch at home, the next—we're here. It's too weird. There are monsters outside, we can't leave. Anyone who tries dies," a man in rough linen said in confusion.
"Exactly. I was just walking down the street, and in the blink of an eye—I'm here. This definitely isn't Guyang City. The valley, the forest—this place is completely wild. Who knows where we are," another man added, distressed.
"Did anyone else hear a voice? It echoed in my head, saying: 'Worlds merge. The Eternal World forms. All things are free beneath the frost of heaven.' We're definitely not in our original world anymore," someone muttered thoughtfully.
"So what do we do? No matter where we are—survival is what matters. There are monsters in this world. Those green-skinned things are vicious—one swing from their clubs, and heads are smashed to pulp. I saw Old Seven die like that, it was horrifying," another said, still shaken.
Their accents differed, but all spoke Mandarin and could understand one another. Through conversation, they realized they had come from different places—different dynasties, different eras, even different worlds.
Yet under the threat of monsters, there was no time to dwell on such things. Survival was all that mattered.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A soldier came running from afar, shouting, "Bad news! More monsters are coming—green-skinned ones, and not just them! Huge rats the size of hounds, blood-red eyes—thousands of them! They're rushing toward the valley entrance!"
He was a scout, running fast, but his face was filled with fear and despair. What he had seen was terrifying—too many monsters to count. Last time, a mere hundred had caused so many casualties. Now, the number was dozens or hundreds of times greater. If they got in, everyone in the valley would be slaughtered.
"We're finished… What do we do? Someone say something!" someone cried, face pale as a sheet.
"Soldiers, we're counting on you. What's the plan?" people turned to the scattered soldiers for leadership—but they were strangers from different armies and times. There was mistrust. No one could command them. This was a crisis of unity.
What was a soldier's purpose?
To protect their people. Their home. Their nation. But now, their homes were gone, families lost, countries erased. They were just as lost as the civilians. Without a strong leader, no one could step up.
Amid the wounded in the valley, a young man in modern combat gear suddenly opened his eyes.
He sat up in an instant, stood, stretched his limbs—and with a sharp crack, his joints echoed like firecrackers.