At the end of the Ancient Era, the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens descended. Countless immortals and demons fell, all buried within this great calamity.
Back then, not only was the Celestial Realm in chaos, even the Three Thousand Mortal Worlds were affected to varying degrees. Many places turned into desolate wastelands.
Although many years had passed since the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was gradually recovering, there were still some places that remained barren to this day. Chiyan Ridge, located in the northwest border region of the 'Cangxuan' Mortal World, was one such place.
Speaking of Chiyan Ridge, it had another name: Zangdi Ridge. Legend had it that when the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens descended, the legendary Nine Nethers Emperor, who had shaken the immortals and demons at the end of the Ancient Era, fell here.
Of course, legends were legends precisely because no one had ever seen it with their own eyes, and naturally, no one took it seriously. After all, over so many years, rumors of the Nine Nethers Emperor's burial site numbered no less than eight or ten thousand.
Chiyan Ridge was a vast expanse of wild, barren mountains. There were mudflats, swamps, valleys, but at its center lay a desert where not a single blade of grass grew.
At noon on this day, under the blazing sun, the desert shimmered like grains of gold under the sunlight.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, violet-azure flames ignited in the desert. The flames were weak at first, but before long, they surged violently, spreading in all directions. The raging violet-azure fire soon turned the surrounding desert into a sea of flames.
No one knew how much time passed before the violet sea of fire gradually receded, growing weaker and weaker until it inexplicably extinguished completely. The desert remained that same barren desert, but within it, a person had appeared at some unknown time.
It was a young man who looked somewhat disheveled, appearing to be in his early twenties. His hair was messy, his robes tattered, and he bore traces of blood on his body, as if he had just experienced a life-and-death battle.
He lay quietly in the desert, weak violet flames flickering on his body. The flames resembled mysterious runes, swaying, blurring, twisting, and dissipating under the scorching sun...
As the rune-like violet flames extinguished and vanished one by one, the young man's finger twitched slightly. Then his eyes slowly opened. Perhaps because he had been unconscious for too long, or for some other reason, he seemed unaccustomed to the glaring sunlight, closing them again almost immediately after opening.
After a long while, he slowly opened them again. They were a pair of very deep, tranquil eyes, like abysses, filled with confusion.
"Alive...
So I, Gu Qingfeng, am still alive..." The young man's name was Gu Qingfeng, also known to the world as the Nine Nethers Emperor. He looked extremely weak, shaking his muddled head as he lifted it. His pale face wore an expression of bewilderment and uncertainty...
"Why am I still alive...
The Calamity of the Myriad Heavens...
Has it ended?"
Closing his eyes, the events of the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens appeared vividly before him: the collapse of the heavens, the shattering of the earth, the disappearance of the sun and moon, all interwoven with countless Judgments of the Heavenly Dao, judging all sins between heaven and earth.
As one who had slain immortals, slaughtered demons, successively ascended to the peerless thrones of both immortal and demon, and even ruled over the Nine Nethers, Gu Qingfeng had long been branded with the label of sin, making him one of the primary targets of the Heavenly Dao's Judgment.
When the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens occurred, the Judgment of the Heavenly Dao descended with it. Gu Qingfeng's Great Dao foundation was destroyed, his immortal and demon thrones seized, his Nine Nethers Emperor's throne obliterated, and his cultivation was judged and scattered. All the achievements he had cultivated in this lifetime were cleansed away by the Heavenly Dao's Judgment. In his hazy memory, the final Judgment left him with nothing but a mortal flesh body.
But...
How could he be alive?
Could it be that after the Heavenly Dao took everything from me, it pitied me and deliberately spared my life?
No!
Impossible!
The Great Dao was heartless, and the Heavenly Dao was the most heartless of all. To say the Heavenly Dao pitied him—Gu Qingfeng wouldn't believe it even if beaten to death.
Then why was he still alive?
Hmm?
While pondering this, Gu Qingfeng inadvertently noticed a piece of bone-jade hanging from his neck. It was about the size of a thumb, looking less like jade and more like an ancient piece of wood or bone.
This object was something he had found in an ancient Buddhist ruin years ago and had worn ever since. When the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens occurred and the Heavenly Dao delivered its Judgment, all his powerful treasures were destroyed in an instant. Only this piece of Nirvana Bone-Jade remained intact.
"Nirvana Bone-Jade...
It must be the Nirvana Bone-Jade..." "Only this piece of Nirvana Bone-Jade could have possibly saved my life..." What exactly this Nirvana Bone-Jade was, Gu Qingfeng had studied for a lifetime without figuring it out. At this moment, why he was still alive, and whether it was indeed the Nirvana Bone-Jade that saved him, he couldn't be bothered to think about it anymore.
Gazing at the surrounding desert and then at the blazing sun hanging in the sky, he knew he had survived that terrifying Calamity of the Myriad Heavens...
"The Calamity of the Myriad Heavens has ended...
It's over..." Gu Qingfeng slowly stood up, unable to help but sigh helplessly.
"Battling men, battling immortals, battling demons—in the end, no matter how much you battle, you can never out-battle the heavens..." This was his greatest realization after experiencing the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens. His stern face wore a complex expression as he murmured, "Regardless, being alive is good...
As long as you're alive, there is hope..." As long as you're alive, there is hope...
Cultivation lost could be regained. Great Dao foundation destroyed could be re-established. Immortal and demon thrones lost could be re-ascended. Everything, everything could start over from the beginning...
Gu Qingfeng was not afraid. He had never been afraid. If he were, he would not have defied the heavens back then to simultaneously ascend the immortal and demon thrones, nor would he have ascended to the Nine Nethers Emperor's throne, which the Heavenly Dao had always viewed as a thorn in its side.
Looking up at the blazing sun in the sky, he let out a scornful laugh, speaking with solitary pride, "Heavenly Dao, heh...
Even if you've taken everything from me, reduced me to mortal flesh, one day, I will return and reclaim tenfold what you took from me..." Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and continued walking forward.
How long had passed since the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens? He didn't know. Where exactly was this place? He had no idea either.
Crossing the desert, he entered a stretch of wild, barren mountains. The environment here was terrible. Forget spiritual energy, even the air was thin. Moreover, ferocious beasts were everywhere. Fortunately, Gu Qingfeng's flesh body had once been tempered by the Nine Nethers Primordial Fire. Every hair, skin membrane, bone, meridian, and even his internal organs were extraordinary.
Even though his cultivation had been completely scattered by the Heavenly Dao's Judgment, relying solely on the strength of his flesh body, the power of a single punch was enough to destroy a mountain peak. The only regret was that, despite possessing immense strength, he could only travel on foot. With his cultivation completely scattered, not a trace of spiritual power remained within him. Forget flying with the wind, he couldn't even perform basic lightness techniques.
Most importantly, he had just awakened. His soul was extremely weak, and his essence, energy, and spirit were utterly exhausted. He needed to find a place rich in spiritual energy to recuperate for a while.
Thus, he walked aimlessly. But the further he walked, the more familiar this place felt. Even though everything was desolate, for some reason, it felt familiar.
"This couldn't be Chiyan Ridge, could it..." Chiyan Ridge was where Gu Qingfeng had trained in his youth, where he had grown up, and where he had first made a name for himself in this world. One could say Chiyan Ridge held all the memories of his youthful cultivation.
Recalling carefully the circumstances when the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens occurred, he had been judged by the Heavenly Dao until he was neither human nor ghost. Then he had hurriedly returned from the Celestial Realm to his homeland, the Cangxuan World. At the time, he thought that even if he died, he would die in his homeland, die in the place where everything began. And Chiyan Ridge was precisely where he was born, grew up, and even where he first embarked on his cultivation journey.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat. He murmured, "I remember now. This really is Chiyan Ridge..." Gazing at these wild, barren mountains, his heart was filled with complexity. He didn't know whether the Calamity of the Myriad Heavens had destroyed Chiyan Ridge.
Sighing, he continued walking until he emerged from the wild mountains. To his surprise, at the foot of the mountain lay a massive Mausoleum. The Mausoleum was expansive, appearing rather ancient and somewhat dilapidated. Some of the structures seemed broken. Many people were coming and going within the Mausoleum, gathering before a stone stele at its center, as if paying respects to something.
The stele was tall, majestic like a mountain peak. Carved upon it was a poem:
A generation's prodigy, Gu Tianlang
Startled all sides beneath Chiyan Ridge
On the path of madness, buried immortals lie
Laughing proudly, Red Sky shook the eight wilds
A single melody judged the world's sorrow
Henceforth, no Monarch exists in this world
When Gu Qingfeng entered the Mausoleum and saw the inscription on the stele, he was completely stunned. Because Gu Tianlang was his original name, his name in the mortal world, and Red Sky Monarch was the name of the immortal throne he had once ascended.
"This is my Mausoleum?"
Gu Qingfeng never imagined that this place would be his own Mausoleum. Perhaps he was too shocked, for he stared at the stele speechless for a long, long time, utterly dumbfounded.
"To think that after so many years, there are still people in this mortal world who remember the name Gu Tianlang..." His cultivation journey in this life had been extremely arduous. He had been judged successively by the immortal path, the demon path, and the Heavenly Dao—one could say he had risen and fallen three times. Gu Tianlang was his original name, carrying with it countless years of wild, youthful madness. During his cultivation in the mortal world, he had experienced both glory and obscurity. In glory, he laughed proudly under heaven, worshipped by all. In obscurity, he was lowly as dust, ignored by everyone.
Back when he left the mortal world, determined to forget everything, he changed his name after ascending to the Celestial Realm, never using the original name Gu Tianlang again.
"In my youthful arrogance, I offended many people and was even judged by the immortal path. I wonder who thinks so highly of me, building such a Mausoleum for me in my homeland, Chiyan Ridge."
Standing beside the stele, he watched the people coming and going, recognizing none of them. Some were praying, some paying respects, others sighing or lamenting something. Of course, quite a few seemed more like they were here for a visit.
Gu Qingfeng watched for a while, but a conversation between two women caught his attention.
These two women: one had a stunningly beautiful appearance, exuding a mature charm. Dressed in red, she resembled a woman of the world. The other was a young girl, looking about eighteen or nineteen, tall and slender with delicate features. She wore a set of white military attire, appearing heroic and spirited. After entering the Mausoleum, she looked around and said somewhat sadly, "Aunt, it seems fewer and fewer people are coming to the Mausoleum to pay respects...
Even fewer than a month ago..."
The beautiful woman glanced at the people in the Mausoleum and sighed softly. "After the Calamity, the Ancient Era ended. A hundred years have passed in the Current Era. Talents are sprouting up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain, creating one legend after another. How many still remember the immortal glory of Red Sky Monarch from days past..."
"Young people nowadays are outrageously arrogant. Any with a bit of talent act domineering and tyrannical. If they achieve even minor fame outside, they want the whole world to know. Some ignorant youngsters even compare themselves to Red Sky Monarch...
Truly laughable..." Gazing at the stele, the beautiful woman's eyes were filled with admiration and reverence as she spoke wistfully.
"In the past, when the Monarch trampled all the world's proud talents upon the Celestial Ladder, how wildly arrogant he was!"
"In the past, when the Monarch ventured alone into the Myriad Demon Mountain, pointing his sword at the Black Mountain Old Monster, how awe-inspiring he was!"
"In the past, when the Monarch fought alone against the experts of various sects, how utterly audacious he was!"
"In the past, when the Monarch played a melody amidst the clouds, laughing at the heavens and shaking the immortal court, how domineering he was!"
"In the past, when the Monarch fought for his brother, staining the desolate lands with blood, how utterly mad he was!"
"In the past, when the Monarch, for the sake of a beauty, cleaved the sky with a single sword, how deeply devoted he was!"
"Those who didn't live through that era simply cannot understand what a worshipped existence Red Sky Monarch was back then..."
"Aunt, you didn't live through that era either, did you..."
"Silly girl, your aunt grew up listening to the legendary tales of the Monarch since childhood..."