I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 1837. Welcome, My Lord — A Being Beyond the End of the Path Has Taken Action

“Welcome, My Lord…”

Before the Hall of the Heavenly Substitute, the World-Burial Coffin floated high in the air. At this moment, all the coffins within it silently opened, shrouded by endless darkness.

Vaguely, a blurry and enormous figure could be seen sitting up inside. Yet it was incomparably indistinct—no light could illuminate that place. Darkness, coldness, and a profound abyss capable of swallowing all worlds permeated it.

The terrifying eyes that opened seemed to fill the heavens beyond heaven. They swept across everything, their gaze patrolling all existence. Wherever that gaze passed, spacetime domains collapsed and disintegrated, as though they simply could not withstand such overwhelming pressure.

“Welcome, My Lord…”

From the territory occupied by the Dark Race came endless cries of worship, surging like mountains and tsunamis, shaking all worlds.

All priests and protectors knelt and prostrated themselves, their faces filled with fanatic devotion.

Countless dark creatures stretched across mountains and lands like an ocean of darkness.

“You have finally returned.”

The Grand High Priestess Wuyue raised her jade-like face. Her eyes were full of dependence and longing, and her body trembled slightly. She had waited for this day for an unknown span of ages.

Through the endless flow of time, countless civilizations and true worlds had collapsed and vanished.

When the Eight Tribes once rebelled, she alone had suppressed the chaos because she had always believed that one day the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute would return.

In this era, she had even heard that familiar breathing from Jing Tianyuan, who came from the outside world, and learned that the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute had already revived. She had also received a strand of life origin bestowed by him.

Now, after thousands of years of grand sacrifices, the will sealed within the Source of Darkness had finally been awakened.

How could she not be overwhelmed with joy?

The entire Nightmare Demon Domain was immersed in unimaginable celebration and delight. Every priest, regardless of their previous thoughts, now kowtowed in reverence, not daring to harbor the slightest disrespect.

For the vast outside world of the Boundless Expanse, however, the revival of the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute—the one who had personally created the Age of Dark Calamity—was nothing less than adding fuel to an already raging fire.

Countless people’s expressions changed drastically.

Fear gripped their hearts.

The aura sweeping across all worlds was boundless and unavoidable.

The instant that gaze swept over them, their souls seemed frozen solid.

With the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute personally overseeing the Dark Race, the Dark Race would become even more unscrupulous.

The battlefield between the Nine Heavens Land and the Dark Race became increasingly brutal.

Killing intent shook the heavens.

Bloodlight surged through the cosmos.

One universe after another was engulfed. And with the revival of the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute, many supreme figures within the Nine Heavens Land could no longer remain seated.

“This is terrible. The situation has become even more chaotic.”

“If the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute personally takes action, the remaining heavens will not be able to withstand him.”

“Even Path Ancestor Realm beings would be no match for him. If he sinks the Nine Heavens Land, the Heavenly Incarnations buried here may awaken, leading to even more horrifying consequences.”

Within a majestic palace in the Sixth Heaven, countless figures gathered. Every renowned expert of the Nine Heavens Land was present.

All of them radiated Dao Realm auras and came from various civilizations. Most were solitary cultivators. Their former homes and worlds had long perished in the river of time, and they had eventually settled in the Nine Heavens Land.

There were also clans that had migrated here as entire races and had lived peacefully for countless years, untouched by outside calamities, regarding themselves as detached from worldly affairs.

Now, however, the clan leaders themselves had come to discuss the crisis. Their faces were solemn. Many looked terrified and anxious.

Generations of peaceful living and reproduction in the Nine Heavens Land had caused many races to lose their competitive spirit.

They lacked tempering and battle experience. Faced with the invading Dark Race army, they possessed virtually no resistance and had suffered crushing defeats.

“I have already informed those few exalted beings.”

The leader of the Ninth Heaven, the Sect Master of the Heaven-Covering Sect, Eternal Life Dao Lord, also appeared in the palace. With his hands clasped behind his back, he seemed much calmer than the others.

Seeing his composed demeanor, many clan leaders relaxed slightly.

From where they stood, they could see the spacetime universe surrounding the Nine Heavens Land collapsing at varying speeds.

The dark creatures were simply too numerous. They surged endlessly like a boundless black tide crashing towards the isolated island that was the Nine Heavens Land.

Within that tide stood one terrifying dark creature after another. Among them were many Path Ancestor Realm experts.

Once such beings acted, ordinary cultivators could not resist at all.

Previously, the mysterious Gravekeeper had guarded the outside of the Nine Heavens Land. Now that he had been severely injured and vanished into unknown spacetime, the strongest visible figure remaining was Eternal Life Dao Lord.

Under normal circumstances, such turmoil would never have occurred. One Path Ancestor Realm expert like Eternal Life Dao Lord sitting atop the Nine Heavens was enough.

But now it was obvious that he could not stop the powerful beings of the Dark Race.

Any one of the Grand Priestesses could easily erase him. Within the endless tide of darkness, they could even vaguely see the figures of the priestesses who had previously fought the Gravekeeper.

They still waited without personally entering the battlefield, seemingly aware that another supreme existence was hidden within the Nine Heavens Land.

“I have personally informed that person as well…”

“He should take action. But why is there still no movement from the Gu Family? The Dark Race has already reached their doorstep, yet they remain completely indifferent.”

With his hands behind his back, Eternal Life Dao Lord’s eyes flickered with calculation.

Beside him stood Ji Yu, who had once cultivated together with Gu Xian’er and the others at Crescent Moon Mountain. His cultivation had now broken into the Dao Realm.

Clearly, he had obtained some great fortune during his years in the Nine Heavens Land. The aura of destiny flowed around him.

“The Dark Race and the Heaven-Felling Alliance have already reached some sort of agreement, so they will not interfere in this battle.”

“But what I don’t understand is this: the Nine Heavens Land has always been hidden within multidimensional spacetime. Its aura was concealed, and even external formations could not be discovered.”

“How was it exposed to the Dark Race and marked with coordinates?”

Many experts in the palace were puzzled. They could not understand how the Nine Heavens Land had suddenly been revealed.

At that moment, within a spacetime domain suspended outside the Nine Heavens Land, ripples spread outward.

It was an unimaginably vast Dao Field whose boundaries could not be seen.

Any star within it looked no larger than a grain of dust.

Deep within the Dao Field sat an incomparably gigantic figure. His eyes slowly opened.

Endless energy boiled around him. A single breath from him resembled the winds of time itself, enough to cause all matter to decay. He wore a somewhat weathered dragon robe. His face was indistinct.

A crown hung above him, strands of pearls dangling down. An indescribable power spread from his body, maintaining the stability of the entire spacetime domain.

If infinite spacetime were compared to endlessly intertwining timelines, then this domain was an untouched pure region within that infinity.

Here, the past could not be disturbed.

The future could not be predicted. Everything developed naturally along the present timeline. Thus all life and worlds within it existed according to natural law.

“The Nine Heavens Land is in danger again?”

The colossal being opened his eyes. Countless scenes of ancient vicissitudes flashed within them.

Before him stood several tiny figures.

Compared to him, they were smaller than dust.

“Please take action, Eternal Ancestor…”

The tiny figures immediately knelt and kowtowed.

“Are the other members of the Palace of Defying Fate absent?”

The massive voice rumbled like thunder.

“We do not know,” the kneeling figures replied.

Merely speaking in his presence nearly tore them apart from the force generated by his voice.

The gap between them was akin to ants standing before a true dragon.

A single hot breath from that dragon could erase them completely. The Palace of Defying Fate was extremely mysterious. Even these powerful Dao Realm cultivators did not know all its members.

Outside, they were supreme experts.

Here, they were less than ants.

“Are they trying to use me as a test?”

The being called Eternal Ancestor sat upon his throne but showed no intention of acting.

Before his eyes appeared scenes beyond the spacetime domain. Endless dark armies charged forward.

In the universe, two colossal tides collided. Wherever they passed, devastation followed.

“Heh…”

“I warned them long ago to pay attention to the Lord of the Heavenly Substitute behind the Dark Race.”

“If possible, perhaps he could have been recruited into the Palace of Defying Fate.”

His laughter boomed like thunder, shaking the entire spacetime domain. Then his eyes suddenly narrowed. He seemed to have sensed something.

Outside the Nine Heavens Land, countless armies continued their slaughter.

Suddenly, within an unseen region of spacetime beyond the universe, a crack split open. A terrifying pale hand emerged and descended toward the battlefield below.

The hand was simply too enormous. In an instant it covered heaven and earth. No matter how powerful a being was, beneath that hand they resembled dust before a blazing sun.

Even a trace of its aura became a storm capable of shredding all existence.

Worlds.

Barriers.

Spacetime.

Ages.

Everything was instantly annihilated the moment the hand descended. The Nine Heavens Land shook violently. Entire stretches of the universe collapsed. It seemed this world could no longer contain such power.

At that moment, countless dark armies engaged in battle vanished instantly. One slap reduced them to ashes. Even Path Ancestor Realm experts trembled with terror.

Under such pressure, resistance was impossible. They were ants facing a star.

“A being beyond the End of the Path has taken action…”

“The Grand High Priestess was right. There truly is a Path-Ending Transcendent hidden within the Nine Heavens Land.”

Within the endless sea of darkness, the four Grand Priestesses of the Dark Race turned pale. With the Innate Divine Object bestowed by the Grand High Priestess, they could jointly contend against a Path-End expert.

But before this vast and boundless aura, they had no chance whatsoever. Their levels of existence were simply on different dimensions.

Such a being could destroy an ultimate true world with a single breath. As their expressions changed drastically, the giant hand targeted them directly.

To it, they were merely ants beneath a falling mountain.

No matter where they fled, escape was impossible.

The surrounding dark creatures were filled with terror and despair.

Nearby universes and spacetime shattered instantly. All methods and techniques became meaningless.

Inside the Nine Heavens Land. Within the grand palace of the Sixth Heaven, every expert stared fixedly at the scene.

Their breathing nearly stopped. Shock and disbelief filled their faces. None had imagined that such an inconceivable existence resided within the Nine Heavens Land. Even Eternal Life Dao Lord could not hide the joy and reverence on his face as he looked toward the direction from which the hand emerged.

“The Dark Race dares invade the Nine Heavens Land so recklessly.”

“They truly know neither fear nor limits.”

“Do they think the Heavenly Tomb buried within the Nine Heavens Land is merely decoration?”

As the pale hand extended outward, the entire Nine Heavens Land seemed to fall silent. Even the Boundless Expanse trembled.

Countless true worlds, civilizations, and powerful experts were horrified beyond words.

Under such power, even a supreme true world could be crushed with casual ease.

Within the Heaven-Felling Alliance.

Gu Changge remained seated quietly in the courtyard.

“So you’ve finally lost your patience?”

He looked toward the distant scene.

A smile touched his lips.

Whether it was mockery or indifference was difficult to tell.

Deep within the Nine Heavens Land existed the Palace of Defying Fate. Every member of that organization had once left a glorious mark upon the river of time. Each possessed extraordinary strength.

Yet, true to its name, all members shared a common grand ambition.

The supreme existence from the Palace of Defying Fate who had now acted was not testing the Dark Race.

Rather, he was testing Gu Changge himself.

Testing the Heaven-Felling Alliance.

Buzz—Before the Hall of the Heavenly Substitute, the World-Burial Coffin suddenly trembled.

Then came a crisp sound, as though a coffin lid had opened.

The sound echoed throughout the Boundless Expanse.

An infinitely vast pillar of blood-red light erupted upward. It pierced through endless universes and spacetime. It transformed into a boundless blood-colored ancient sword.

With a sharp tearing sound, it slashed directly towards the descending pale hand outside the Nine Heavens Land.