Another Cliché Cultivation Story

There exists a large peculiar star in the Upper World. It emitted a dreadful heat that could instantly reduce any mortals to ashes. Even those who have attained divinity would struggle to survive in this temperature. It has an odd appearance, similar to a long strip of paper folded into a circle. The outer ring had a concentration of blue flaming chains that would every so often erupt into a powerful flare. This star should be uninhabitable but there was actually a civilization here that lives all around within the inner walls of the ring.

It was surrounded by an endless space that had a sparking vitality of its own. A gaseous green light mysteriously illuminated the void, bringing exuberant splendor, and acting as an artificial sky to the citizens inhabiting the star. The bewitching luminescence moved as though it was alive, undulating like a gentle wave.

Occasionally, a comet could be seen flying alone in isolation, drifting by without any purpose. There was one in particular that was heading straight for the large star, amazingly, its size was equivalent to a planet, and as it flew, it left behind a streaking white light. In the Lower World, this one comet alone would be capable of obliterating any heavenly body in its path, and yet here, it was one but many.

This comet targeted the peculiar star in the far distance. Judging from the terrifying speed at which it was traveling, it would take about a week before they collided. However, it was at this moment that a pair of eyes suddenly opened in space. Shockingly, their sizes were comparable to that of the comet, they were as large as a world. There was no iris or pupils, these eyes were completely black and due to their sheer size, it was even possible for one to see dots of lights in them.

The pair of heartless eyes don’t seem to have an owner, they were just silently floating in space, but on a closer look, there seemed to be a faint outline. It was just barely visible but there were two arms, two legs, and a tail.

Whatever this creature was, it was strangely humanoid, yet, its head was largely elongated into a slight curvature, making it rather inhuman.

The eyes stared at the incoming comet. After some time, the comet was just about to pass this creature when it suddenly came to a stop.

The contour of a skinny arm could be made out and a hand was holding the comet in its place. The four fingers were long and slender, tapering into a sharp point at the tip.

The creature opened its mouth wide, revealing a horrifying darkness. There was no sound as it slowly stuffed the planet-sized comet into its mouth, causing it to disintegrate bit by bit.

This creature was unaware that there was something else out there quietly watching all this, stealthily stalking it. In the split second that it let down its guard, a flash briefly appeared, and the creature eating the comet froze. It slowly turned around, and as it did, its head gradually slid off its body.

Another horrifying darkness appeared not too far away, producing a suction that pulled the two sections of the carcass into it.

In the distance, there was another. An elongated head, two arms, two legs, and a tail. The appearance of this newcomer was almost identical to the previous creature, and yet, it was actually eating a member of its own race.

At the peculiar star, inside a tall, majestic building. A slender figure watched this scene without any attachment. Thick radiating heat rose from the surface and into the air. The intensity of the temperature here was beyond extreme, but the figure was perfectly fine. The burning heatwave passed through his clear, translucent body without any obstruction, allowing him to remain unaffected.

Suddenly, a subtle shrieking could be heard in the air, followed by an appearance of an unknown man. He stood behind the figure and got down to one knee. Unsurprisingly, his body was also translucent.

“Autarch,” he respectfully greeted.

“…”

The figure didn’t respond nor did he turn around.

“Autarch, a majority of the passageways to the Mortal Desolate World have been sealed by someone and our forces in the Lower World are incapable of removing the seal. They’re asking for help.”

“…”

The figure remained quiet. His gaze was still on the gigantic creature out in space.

The person behind him also didn’t speak and waited.

After a moment, the figure finally spoke. His voice was imposing and regal but it sounded ancient. Furthermore, there was an uncomfortable quality to it. A familiar shrieking could once again be heard from somewhere, causing the void to slightly shake.

“How many are left, Nianzu?”

“There’s only one left that’s untouched,” The person named Nianzu responded. A shrieking could be heard in his voice as well, however, there was a noticeable difference between his and the figure. It was weaker.

“…”

After another round of silence, the figure asked, “What of Linghun Daiyu?”

“The Second Princess…” Nianzu hesitated. “The Second Princess is unable to remove the seal. The seal acts like a lock. We can still use the passageway but there is a door on the other side. No one has been able to break it open.”

“The Second Princess is currently researching the seal. She suggested that we cross over using the last passageway to remove it from the other side, the Mortal Desolate World.”

“Oh?” The figure softly chuckled. As he did, the void shook in the same rhythm.

“There’s actually a formation in the Lower World that she can’t solve? Tell me, how many times has she thrown a tantrum already?”

“…Around four times,” Nianzu answered truthfully.

The figure chuckled again as he continued watching the creature out in space. The devouring darkness has finished consuming the member of its own race that was beheaded earlier.

After it was done, this creature subtly grew in size. It warily looked in the direction of the peculiar star before quickly leaving. Its body blended into space so well that it was incredibly difficult to spot it.

The figure’s eyes slightly narrowed upon this sight.

“If the Lower World Graha is incompetent, just send our own forces then. Give Yatong a warning, this is already the second time that he has failed his undertaking, if there is a third time, just throw him into the Paralix. Send the Nethers as well. There shall be no more failures. The Legacy must be obtained.”

Nianzu frowned, “The Nethers have just recently lost a hundred Chosens, as well as their Absolute, Di Shi, I’m not sure if they’ll be willing…”

“Hmph!” The figure snorted. “What say do they have? If I say they must, then they must.”

“The loss of their Chosens and Absolute was due to their own greed and their descent to Mortal Haven was without my permission. This will be a part of their punishment. When they arrive in Mortal Desolate, tell them to listen to Linghun Yifan.”

“Yes,” Nianzu bowed but didn’t leave.

“What else is there?” The figure asked.

“Autarch, the Celestials have been prying into our matters lately…”

“Ignore them. It doesn’t matter if they know about the Legacy. It is not something an outsider can obtain. If they wish to waste their resources, that is their problem.”

“I understand.”

Nianzu was prepared to leave but it was at that moment the figure spoke again.

“There is a World Eater within our territory. Tell Linghun Daixiang to take care of it. He has been slacking on his job lately. If any of our people die, it will be on him.”

A flash of surprise appeared on Nianzu’s face. He turned serious and said, “I will notify the First Prince immediately.”

With that, he left behind a soft shriek before disappearing.

…

The figure was silent as he looked in the direction of where the creature left.

“There have been more World Eaters than usual…”