Above the clouds, Lin Yuan stood alone facing thirty-five divine weapons.
Compared to these towering weapons, as grand as mountains, Lin Yuan seemed insignificant, like a speck of dust.
Yet, even under the terrifying pressure emitted by these weapons, he remained suspended in the air, showing no signs of disturbance.
"Who is that?"
"How dare he rush toward the divine weapons?"
"Is he seeking death?"
The emperors of the thirty-five nations frowned at this sight.
Even when these divine weapons consumed some of their soldiers, they only felt a moment of heartache before dismissing it.
As long as they could crush the Godslayer Society completely, sacrificing soldiers was worth it.
To the royal families of the thirty-five nations, soldiers were like crops; one batch falls, and another grows.
As long as their power was maintained, everything else was bearable.
"He's the leader of the Godslayer Society!"
"Is that the Emperor from the Great Yan Dynasty?"
"As expected, there's a strong connection between the Great Yan Dynasty and the Godslayer Society, possibly even the dynasty backing the society."
"What does the Emperor of Great Yan want? To declare war on the divine weapons?"
"But did you notice that the divine weapon of Great Yan has not appeared?"
Countless eyes watched the firmament, both those on the battlefield and those beyond, all captivated by the decisive showdown between the thirty-five nations and the Godslayer Society.
Even some reclusive cultivators and a few remnants of weapon consciousnesses were drawn in.
In the divine weapon war eight thousand years ago, sixty-four divine weapons were shattered and scattered to the corners of the world.
Some fragments were unwilling to accept defeat, transforming into cursed weapons and causing chaos, while others lost hope, believing the thirty-six nation-guarding divine weapons to be invincible and thus, went into hiding.
To most observers, the Godslayer Society represented past failures and rebellious cursed weapons.
However, the appearance of the Great Yan Emperor brought surprise to many.
Regardless of whether Lin Yuan could confront the thirty-five divine weapons, the mere fact that he stood unfazed by their oppressive presence showed his strength far exceeded the human limits of this world.
Even the cursed weapons trembled before the transformed thirty-five divine weapons, wishing they could burrow underground.
"Can the Master win?" wondered the cursed weapons that Lin Yuan had refined, like the Heaven-Splitting Axe.
They had felt Lin Yuan's overwhelming power up close, comparable to true divine weapons.
However, Lin Yuan was now facing not just one but thirty-five transformed divine weapons, particularly the veterans who were already powerful eight thousand years ago.
Above the clouds, below the firmament, the thirty-five divine weapons paused slightly, their vast spiritual fluctuations scanning Lin Yuan, yet all were mysteriously absorbed three feet from his body, as if Lin Yuan was a 'black hole,' devouring all in proximity.
"Interesting. Are you truly human?" A dragon-engraved sword-shaped weapon spoke with curiosity.
For thousands of years, humans were always food in their eyes, so encountering an incomprehensible 'food' piqued their interest.
"I sense in you an ocean-like Qi and blood. Devouring you might let me ascend further," another weapon voiced its greedy spiritual thought.
Boom!
An invisible divine weapon force descended.
Lin Yuan, unfazed, gazed at the thirty-five divine weapons, perceiving a glimpse of the essence of heaven and earth.
"Since you're all here, please come in."
Lin Yuan raised his right hand, and the divine force dissipated.
Not only that, a terrifying aura exploded.
Across the vast Five Peaks Battlefield, the aura surged, forming a giant cage.
Ten years ago, Lin Yuan, emulating ancient divinities, had stepped into the fourth tier in his first year of exploration.
Using the world's intrinsic laws to ascend, his understanding of nature deepened.
He realized the thirty-five divine nation-guarding weapons were also on the brink of breakthrough.
Lin Yuan had tried to ambush them one by one with his fourth-tier strength, but failed, as the cautious weapons would retreat, unable to secure them all in one sweep.
Hence, he orchestrated a grand scheme, drawing the Godslayer Society and the thirty-five nations into a war, centering the battlefield at the Five Peaks, patiently setting up nodes throughout eight years.
Meticulously preparing the entire Five Peaks Battlefield into an immense furnace, Lin Yuan awaited the divine weapons' arrival as they devoured both sides' beings, finally pulling the forge into form, to suppress the thirty-five divine weapons.
Rumbling echoed from all directions, as Lin Yuan's eight-year effort, forsaking cultivation and enlightenment, focused solely on the Five Peaks Forge.
Now, its power reached near the late fourth tier, as its aura alarmed the divine weapons.
"What is this? We must leave!" The divine weapons, never knowing fear even during the weapon war eight thousand years ago that they had won, now sensed the overwhelming force across the battlefield and were terror-stricken.
Buzz!!
One by one, the thirty-five divine weapons scattered in different directions, fleeing without hesitation.
Below, all witnessing this moment were stupefied, paralyzed by disbelief.
They hadn't yet adjusted to the aura's shift before seeing the divine weapons flee.
Even emperors of the thirty-five nations were bewildered.
They had prepared to welcome the divine weapons, yet now, their protectors were fleeing?
"Trying to leave now? Too late."
Lin Yuan smiled.
If they had attempted to return to the earth the moment he appeared, they might have escaped before the entire forge locked down.
But Lin Yuan's calculations showed such an outcome was unlikely.
For the divine weapons, returning to the earth equated to rebirth, erasing their conscious memories unless completely shattered—an option barely better than death with little appeal after just transforming and relishing newfound power.
As Lin Yuan anticipated, detecting danger, none opted to return.
"Rise!" Lin Yuan commanded.
The expansive Taiji Domain rapidly unfolded.
The Taiji path embraced not only the lunar and solar but encompassed myriad ways, allowing Lin Yuan to amplify even by understanding the intrinsic laws within cursed weapons.
"Break!" Suddenly, a tower-shaped weapon ceased its flight, bursting with red light, like an unleashed sun, boiling the sky for hundreds of miles, enveloping the Five Peaks in seething fog.
The temperature soared across the area; even for Blood Refining Martial Saints, the very air felt like blazing coals, unbearably hot.
A terrifying heat detonated, shattering the surrounding fragments of the forge instantly.
"Water," upon witnessing this, Lin Yuan reached out again, drawing rivers and lakes' waters to subdue the tower's fiery onslaught swiftly.
"Not good…" The weapon foresaw its plight, for the Nodes' aura from the Five Peaks Battlefield converged, creating a black-and-white Taiji Furnace, massive and overwhelming.
All thirty-five divine weapons, no exception, were enveloped within.
The Taiji Furnace hovered beneath the firmament, a colossal entity spanning a hundred miles, engulfed in ceaseless roars from struggling divine weapons, their resistance waning over time.
"Thirty-six divine weapons, all in my grasp."
Lin Yuan took a step, sitting atop the furnace.
A spear graven with sun and moon motifs soared, willingly entering the forge—Lin Yuan’s Sun and Moon Spear.
With the intricacies of creation embedded within these thirty-six weapons, for seamless comprehension, Lin Yuan placed his weapon alongside.
"Now begins the domination and insight," Lin Yuan settled cross-legged, his mind at peace.
"Have the divine weapons been suppressed?" On the ground, all who witnessed were enveloped in disbelief, stunned beyond words.
Ten thousand years prior, the ancient divine beings traversed the world, shaping mountains, melding seas, forging hundreds of weapons, carrying formidable prestige for millennia with all beings bowing in submission.
Ten thousand years later, a young emperor sat high in the firmament, commanding rivers and forging mountains, subduing thirty-six weapons with divine might revered by all beings.
(End of chapter)