NOVEL NEXT Chapter 405: The Tomb
Chapter 405: The Tomb
“Ancestor!”
“Supreme Ancestor Grandfather!”…
The forces of the thirty-five Supreme Beings echoed with cries of grief.
In the ancestral lands of the Divine Race, Xu Lian’s beloved wives and thousands of descendants were also drowned in grief.
The upper echelons of the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands sighed in deep regret. A once-in-a-century prodigy who had achieved Origin Tracing Realm cultivation in less than one hundred years, ascended to Sagehood in three centuries, mastered the laws of the Divine Kingdom in just over four centuries, possessed strength comparable to a Supreme Being, and held limitless potential for future achievements had now fallen. For the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow, an immense loss. It meant that the sect had lost a future Supreme Being on par with Time Supreme.
Within the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands, those who had previously grumbled about Xu Lian monopolizing “excessive” cultivation resources began murmuring amongst themselves.
“The facts prove that it is unwise to accumulate huge amounts of cultivation resources for one person. If that individual meets an untimely demise, the sect will suffer catastrophic losses. This is a prime example.”
“You shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. If the basket breaks, all the eggs will be broken. If the cultivation resources piled on Nine Heavens Divine Son Xu Lian had been distributed to other geniuses, we wouldn’t have suffered such a massive loss…”
Upon hearing these words, Supreme Meng Hao grew furious. “The priority access to cultivation resources enjoyed by Nine Heavens Divine Son Xu Lian was earned through his own abilities. His unfortunate fall, unexpectedly chosen by the Great Wheel of Calamity, is a case of Heaven envying talent – it has nothing to do with whether the sect’s decisions were right or wrong. Anyone who dares to gossip further will face punishment under the sect’s rules.”
The entire Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands fell silent. No one dared to criticize Xu Lian.
The thirty-six major powers selected by the Great Wheel of Calamity were now shrouded in gloom, while those not chosen rejoiced. In this chaotic era, as one side weakens, others rise. The losses suffered by rival factions naturally equated to gains for their own. This simple logic was well understood.
Most importantly, the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty had disappeared along with the thirty-five Supreme Beings and Xu Lian!
It seemed that it had been pacified, and the stone chopsticks would no longer emerge to snatch away the strongest members of each faction.
As far as the various powers were concerned, this was truly killing two birds with one stone – a perfect result!
The strongest members of the various factions could no longer sit idle. They emerged from their hiding places and gathered at the imperial capital of the Qian Dynasty.
After careful inspection, they confirmed that the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty had indeed disappeared.
The Supreme Beings of the various factions secretly rejoiced. There couldn’t have been a better outcome!
The Supreme of the Wen Dao Sect sneered with malicious glee, “Nine Heavens Divine Son Xu Lian committed countless misdeeds; this calamity was divine retribution. To perish next to the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty – he managed to do some good before he died.”
His words left the entire gathering in stunned silence.
Xu Lian had wielded the Thirty-Six Heavenly War God Battle Formation to strike down the stone chopsticks, diverting them from their original trajectory so that they targeted one of the Supreme Beings of the Wen Dao Sect instead. Naturally, the Wen Dao Sect harbored resentment toward Xu Lian. However, Xu Lian sacrificed himself to pacify the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty, which was an immense contribution to the entire world. To call this divine retribution was clearly inappropriate.
Time Supreme and the more than thirty supreme beings of the other factions all glared coldly at the Supreme of the Wen Dao Sect.
This even included the Supreme of the Vast Domain, an ally of the Wen Dao Sect, who looked at him with clear disapproval.
The Supreme of Wen Dao Sect immediately realized his blunder and turned pale.
He had forgotten that aside from Xu Lian, thirty-five other Supreme Beings had also sacrificed themselves to pacify the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty, a monumental contribution to the entire world. By labeling this as divine retribution, he had inadvertently offended thirty-five factions.
Even though the alliance between the Wen Dao Sect, the Vast Domain, the Silver Blood Family, and the Violet Cloud Sacred Land was formidable, they wouldn’t dare offend so many powers at once.
The Supreme of Wen Dao Sect quickly tried to explain. “Our sect had some grievances with Xu Lian, and I spoke rashly in the heat of the moment. Please forgive my indiscretion.”
The Supremes from over thirty factions snorted coldly, but didn’t press the matter further. They understood that his words were purely out of resentment toward Xu Lian, a momentary lapse in judgment.
Although the other faction leaders secretly rejoiced inside, they couldn’t show it. Instead, they had to pretend to be sad.
“Thirty-five Supreme Beings and Nine Heavenly Divine Son Xu Lian sacrificed themselves to pacify the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty. This is an immense achievement for the entire world. I propose that this feat be recorded in the annals of the Strange Era, written in bold strokes, so that future generations may remember their deeds and honor them forever!”
“To pacify the hidden foundation of the Qian Dynasty and remove the malignant threat plaguing the world – such a monumental merit deserves to be inscribed in the history books of the Strange Era. I agree.”
“I also agree.”
“In addition to being recorded in the annals of the Strange Era, I believe we should make an official announcement to the world and hold a grand funeral. The bodies of the Thirty-five Supreme Beings and the Divine Son of the Nine Heavens Xu Lian are likely lost forever, but surely their personal garments remain. Let us gather their clothes here and build a cenotaph on the ruins of the Qian Dynasty’s Imperial Capital, so that future generations can mourn and pay their respects.”
“Hmm, a cenotaph works.”
The Supremes of the various factions worked together, using their vast divine powers to construct a massive tomb on the ruins of the Qian Dynasty’s imperial capital in mere moments.
Once the tomb was completed, the Supremes instructed the representatives of the thirty-plus factions to bring the garments of the deceased and place them inside the tomb.
With the garments buried, the cenotaph was officially established.
Afterwards, the Supremes of the various factions bowed deeply before the tomb. The descendants of the thirty-five Supreme Beings arrived, wailing and crying as they paid their respects.
Xu Lian’s wives and concubines, along with his thousands of descendants, also came to mourn, sobbing as they offered their respects to Xu Lian.
This drew curious glances from the Supremes of the various factions. They hadn’t expected the Nine Heaven Divine Son, who hadn’t been cultivating for long, to have so many descendants.
However, Time Supreme showed no interest in these pretentious displays. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the spot where the crimson vortex had vanished, her expression thoughtful.
“The memorial service is over. Everyone, return,” Time Supreme said calmly, waving her hand. With that, she sent Xu Lian’s wives, concubines, and descendants back to the ancestral lands of the Divine Race and the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands.
All of these people had received guidance from the Painted Figures of the Divine Race and were now considered a branch of the Divine Race. Moreover, many of them already held important positions within the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands. In such chaotic times, it was impractical for them to linger here for too long.
Seeing Time Supreme’s calm and detached demeanor, the Supremes of the various factions were perplexed. Rumors had spread that Xu Lian was Time Supreme’s lover or consort, and the Nine Heavenly Sacred Lands had poured countless cultivation resources into him. Yet now that Xu Lian had perished, why did Time Supreme appear so indifferent, as if the death of an insignificant disciple had occurred?
Perhaps sensing the probing gazes of the other Supremes, Time Supreme suddenly raised her hand into the air, summoning three incense sticks from somewhere unknown. After lighting them, she placed them before Xu Lian’s memorial tablet at the cenotaph. With a faint sigh, she murmured, “In this bizarre and chaotic era, once one ascends to become a Supreme Being, eerie transformations occur, leaving one in a state worse than death. But you… you left before reaching that fate. Perhaps it’s better this way.”
Witnessing this, the Supremes of the various factions finally understood. Time Supreme’s earlier composed demeanor had seemed out of place, but now her melancholic expression made sense. Perhaps Xu Lian’s sudden death had initially been too much for her to process, and only now was she beginning to feel the weight of grief and sorrow.