Sovereign of the Ashes

The power of destruction once again swept through the federation’s star domain...

Faced with the threat of civilizational collapse, the supreme council of the Gallant Federation finally agreed to sign unequal treaties with two civilizations from distant star domains in exchange for their military support.

Such was the nature of the Astral Realm.

More often than not, only self-interest could drive unrelated civilizations to involve themselves in a war that had nothing to do with them.

One of the parties to sign a cooperation agreement with the Gallant Federation was Myriad Manifestations World.

This was a formidable civilization that had remained at the level of a large-sized world civilization for countless years.

Many civilizations in the surrounding star domains believed that, over the past hundred thousand years, Myriad Manifestations World had already begun advancing toward the ranks of top-tier civilizations.

In truth, its strongest being, Venerable Weiwu, had already reached a level unmatched by anyone else in the surrounding star domains.

Moreover, in many respects, Myriad Manifestations World had already developed the foundations and scale of a top-tier civilization.

For instance, although it had yet to produce its first Rank Nine powerhouse, the unique nature of its civilization had allowed it to develop special methods capable of helping overlord-level beings recover portions of their Omnipotent Soul ahead of time!

In Myriad Manifestations World, overlord-level beings were known as venerables.

Twenty thousand years ago, this world had already produced nine native venerables.

And now, it was said that yet another formidable being was about to join their ranks.

In other words, the number of overlords possessed by the Myriad Manifestations World was about to reach double digits!

That was a level far beyond what ordinary large-sized world civilizations could hope to achieve.

In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that Myriad Manifestations World was already on the verge of becoming a top-tier civilization.

Many believed that Venerable Weiwu was the one destined to lead his civilization into a new era and elevate it to an entirely new level.

Once Venerable Weiwu advanced to Rank Nine and brought with him disruptive power capable of upending the balance of the Astral Realm itself, Myriad Manifestations World’s rise into the ranks of top-tier civilizations would be all but certain.

After all, judging from the development of countless top-tier civilizations throughout the Astral Realm, whenever a civilization gave birth to its own Rank Nine being, its overall strength would undergo an explosive surge!

Even if such a Rank Nine being remained in the Astral Realm for only a brief period, it was during that precious window that many top-tier civilizations completed their first true accumulation of power and resources.

The Magus Civilization was no exception.

During the era when a Rank Nine being first emerged within a top-tier civilization, that civilization would undoubtedly become an existence that almost no power in the surrounding star domains dared provoke.

Rank Nine beings had already surpassed the understanding of ordinary lifeforms in the Astral Realm.

They had even broken through the most fundamental laws of balance governing the Astral Realm itself. Such existences could no longer be measured by common sense.

Perhaps calling them invincible sounded excessive, but in truth, it was hardly an exaggeration.

Speaking of the Amenkha Empire, it had shown remarkable restraint throughout the past hundred thousand years.

The arrogance and domineering spirit that had once defined this civilization had clearly been suppressed considerably.

Although the Amenkha Empire had launched campaigns such as its conquest of the Grand Cosmic World, it had never rashly initiated an apocalyptical war against another top-tier civilization!

They were waiting...

Waiting for the Amenkha Empire’s First Pharaoh to advance to Rank Nine!

Once the First Pharaoh reached Rank Nine, the unique self-sealing technique mastered by the Amenkha Empire would inevitably allow him to remain in the Astral Realm for far longer than other Rank Nine beings!

When that day came, even top-tier civilizations such as the Luminara Civilization, the Magus Civilization, and the Gallant Federation would not be able to escape.

Every last one of them would become a target for the Amenkha Empire’s conquest and annexation!

During the meeting of the Pharaohs’ Temple, many Pharaohs had initially opposed forming an alliance with the Gallant Federation for precisely this reason.

In their eyes, the Gallant Federation was already prey destined to fall into the Amenkha Empire’s hands sooner or later.

Why should they cooperate with a civilization they would eventually conquer?

Such a prospect was naturally distasteful to many of the more traditionally minded Pharaohs.

The greatest price the Gallant Federation paid to secure the support of Myriad Manifestations World was the surrender of its energy block production method, artificial terraforming technology, portions of its apocalyptical weapon systems, and vast quantities of resources, including energy crystals worth trillions of Federal dollars.

Myriad Manifestations World had demanded some of the Gallant Federation’s most advanced resources and technological achievements.

With a blade already pressed against its throat, the federation had no choice but to hand them over.

Of course, the Federation was not foolish enough to surrender everything at once.

Instead of handing over all the promised resources and technologies to the Myriad Manifestations World in a single exchange, it released them in stages.

After all, until the legions of the Myriad Manifestations World actually arrived on the battlefield, how could the Gallant Federation possibly feel at ease handing over the foundations of its own civilization?

Moreover, Myriad Manifestations World’s decision to join the war was not driven by profit alone. There was also its long-standing enmity toward the Magus Civilization.

It had no intention of watching the Magus Civilization annex the Gallant Federation, absorb its strength, and emerge stronger and more prosperous than ever.

To Myriad Manifestations World, such an outcome would pose an enormous threat.

As for the other force that extended a helping hand to the Gallant Federation, it came from the Immortal Realm.

However, it was neither one of the traditional Buddhist, Daoist, or Yao Clan factions, nor some band of rogue cultivators or small-to-medium-sized sect.

Instead, it was a formidable figure, one who had once made a tremendous name for himself in the history of the Immortal Realm before swiftly fading from public view—Mosquito Daoist, also known as the “Mosquito Heavenly Emperor.”

This Mosquito Daoist had managed to offend nearly every major faction in the Immortal Realm!

Among them, the Buddhist faction and the Jie Sect bore the deepest hatred toward him.

The Tenth-Grade Merit Golden Lotus that the Thus-Come Buddha currently sat upon had originally been a Twelfth-Grade Merit Golden Lotus.

However, after Mosquito Daoist drained it twice, its grade plummeted sharply.

Only through the Thus-Come Buddha’s repeated nurturing, together with the unique environment of the Western Paradise World, had the Lotus of Merit managed to recover significantly.

Moreover, the death of Sage Jieyin[1], one of the two founding sages of the Buddhist faction, was inextricably linked to certain actions Mosquito Daoist had committed in the past.

The Buddhist faction of the Immortal Realm had been searching for him for a very long time. Yet, they had never managed to locate his true body.

At most, they had occasionally exterminated a few Great Blood Mosquito Yaos, confirming that Mosquito Daoist was still lurking somewhere on the outskirts of the Immortal Realm.

The fact that he had clashed with the increasingly powerful Buddhist faction several times without ever allowing himself to be captured was more than enough proof of his strength.

As for the Jie Sect’s hatred toward Mosquito Daoist, it stemmed from the death of Turtle Spirit Holy Mother, the junior sister of Celestial Venerable Duobao and the others.

Mosquito Daoist had killed her by draining her blood essence dry.

Back then, he had also killed quite a few Jie Sect cultivators. Given the Jie Sect’s fierce loyalty toward their own, it was only natural that they hated Mosquito Daoist to the bone.

This fellow was truly capable.

Despite being hunted by so many factions and powerhouses of the Immortal Realm, he had survived all these years.

More than that, he had secretly built up a considerable force of his own, enough to participate in the Gallant Federation’s war.

The very fact that he bore the title of “Mosquito Heavenly Emperor” made it clear that he had imitated the Daoist faction’s structure, establishing a heavenly court of his own and gathering followers under his banner.

Furthermore, throughout his growth, Mosquito Daoist had devoured the blood essence of countless powerful beings and rare treasures.

Who knew just how terrifyingly far he had evolved by now?

If he were merely an ordinary Rank Seven being, he would never have left both the Buddhist and Daoist factions of the Immortal Realm in such a sorry state.

Nor would he have remained beyond their reach for so many years.

1. Translator’s Note: Sage Jieyin’s name literally translate to Sage of Welcoming. ☜