Lu Qingyang was no stranger to such a bloody baptism, but this baptism of celestial blood was entirely different from those of the past.
"Father, why does my heart swell with inexplicable sorrow?"
"Manqing speaks the truth; such emotions are difficult for us to suppress."
The voices of the Manqing ancient tree and other ancient trees echoed in succession. They were both astonished and deeply sorrowful.
As ancient trees endowed with wisdom, their emotions were typically serene. They held Lu Qingyang, who had bestowed life upon them, in utmost reverence.
Yet, the sorrow sprouting from their hearts now was surprising to the Manqing ancient tree and the other life forms.
Hearing this, Lu Qingyang remained silent.
For the Manqing ancient tree and other beings, this sorrow was inexplicable and elusive. But under Lu Qingyang's insight, the scene was different.
The sky was marred with cracks.
The laws of the great Dao were collapsing.
The entire universe was enveloped in a mysterious blood aura, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Lu Qingyang knew that this was because his divine soul had ascended to the fifth rank. This allowed him to glimpse a trace of the essence of this world, and thus he could witness such a different scene.
"The will of the heavenly Dao has fallen!
"To be precise, the will of the heavenly Dao has perished!"
Above the heavens, a figure in a green robe, formed from boundless incense smoke and spiritual energy, gazed up at the sky from the top of the celestial tree.
His eyes were filled with shock and sorrow; this was an incarnation of Lu Qingyang.
Reborn in this world, he became one of its beings. The world creates all things and is thus the mother of all things. Today, the will of the heavens, or the Dao of this world, has fallen, and all living beings instinctively feel sorrow.
This is a primal instinct engraved deep in their bloodline, inescapable by anyone.
Lu Qingyang had foreseen the downfall of the heavenly Dao. After all, he had been observing the battle between the heavenly Dao of two realms for some time. It was clear that his side was retreating step by step, and its fall was only a matter of time.
Now that the heavenly Dao has fallen, Lu Qingyang's concern turned to the next actions of the victorious Dao. Would it directly invade this realm and start a grand war of invasion, or did it have other plans?
If it was indeed going to invade, Lu Qingyang needed to think of an escape route.
After all,
The power of the heavenly Dao is formidable.
Even though Lu Qingyang had ascended to the early stage of the fifth rank and tried to use his insight to see through, he couldn't discern the state of the heavenly Dao.
This indicated that
The strength of the two realms' heavenly Dao was at least at the mid-eighth rank.
With a difference of three major realms, even if Lu Qingyang exhausted all his resources, he would struggle to contend with it.
However,
Despite this,
The fall of the heavenly Dao and the dispersal of its power across the world presented an invaluable opportunity for the beings of this realm.
As celestial blood rained down,
Lu Qingyang could clearly feel his own cultivation quietly increasing.
This growth was much faster than during the previous baptism of celestial blood.
To Lu Qingyang, this phenomenon was closely related to the heavenly Dao. The previous celestial blood baptism occurred because the heavenly Dao was damaged, whereas this time it signified the fall of one side's heavenly Dao.
"Blood rain descends!"
In the Eighteen Alliances of the Human Alliance, everyone looked up at the pouring blood rain, their eyes filled with shock.
Although the alliance had widely publicized and predicted the return of the blood rain, when it truly arrived, no one could remain calm.
The scene from twelve years ago was still fresh in many people's minds, like a nightmare that wouldn't go away. The older generation, in particular, had not forgotten the events of twenty-seven years ago.
"The third blood rain!"
Above the ruins of a city in the western region, Linlin reached out his right hand to catch the blood rain pooling in his palm.
The memories he had buried deep within were now fully awakened.
Twenty-seven years ago,
The blood rain fell,
Beasts ran rampant.
His parents fell victim to the beasts.
Twelve years ago, the blood rain descended again, overturning the hard-won order established by the Human Alliance.
Linlin's once stable life was thrown into turmoil again, narrowly escaping death from the beasts multiple times.
Now,
The rain falls for the third time.
Past memories surged in Linlin's mind.
He closed his eyes, as if immersed in deep recollection.
After a moment,
Linlin abruptly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze like a sudden flash of sword light, cutting through the blood rain within tens of feet around him.
"Where are the Qingyang Sect members?"
He shouted fiercely, like the wrath of a god.
Behind him, all the Qingyang Sect cultivators responded in unison: "Here!"
"Today, with the blood rain falling and beasts causing havoc, we cultivators must take it upon ourselves to slay the beasts and protect the people. Immediately, we must fully exert ourselves to cleanse the western region of all beasts without fail!"
Linlin's shout had barely ended when he stepped into the air, his long sword buzzing as it unsheathed.
In an instant, he drew upon the frenzied gathering of heavenly spiritual energy, forming a sword strike that seemed to pierce the heavens.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed hundreds of miles, beheading a beast that had just broken through to the fourth rank in the blood rain with a single stroke.
Immediately after,
The flying sword whirled back through the air, returning to its sheath.
This scene stirred the blood of the Qingyang Sect cultivators.
To kill a fourth-rank beast from a distance of a hundred miles with a single strike was truly an impressive feat.
"Kill!
"Exterminate the beasts!"
All the Qingyang Sect disciples roared in unison, rushing towards the other beasts trying to break through using the power of the blood rain.
This scene was just a microcosm of the entire western region and even the entire Flame Realm.
Blood rain fell.
Beasts ran amok.
Such scenes were unforgettable to everyone except the new generation of young boys and girls.
More than a decade ago, humans were still weak, and the number of wild cultivators in this realm was few. Thus, when faced with the blood rain, the alliance could only defensively respond, ultimately suffering heavy losses.
But things were different now.
Over twelve years, the overall strength of humanity had greatly increased, with one hundred thirty-six cultivators above the fourth rank.
The number of cultivators below the fourth rank was even more numerous.
In this situation, the Human Alliance wouldn't sit back and let the beasts devour the blood rain, then counterattack humans, disrupting the hard-won stability.
Even a child could understand the principle of striking first.
Thus,
Almost as soon as the blood rain began to fall, the alliance mobilized all its forces, launching an all-out attack to eliminate the beasts everywhere.
At the same time,
All sects and cultivators eagerly volunteered, joining the ranks of those hunting the beasts.
On this day, the blood rain poured, disaster reappeared!
On this day, powerful warriors shattered the sky, slaying demons and monsters!
On this day, powerful warriors' blood transformed into dragons, moving mountains and filling seas!
On this day, powerful warriors used their bodies as staffs, wielding the might of heaven!