Chapter 1347: Great Calamity Approaches, Nowhere Left to Escape

Xu Zhi turned around and looked at Thunder Emperor, Long Wuming, and the others.

They were among the very first players, whose minds and thoughts were gradually consumed by the power of incense. Incense was toxic. The more one used its power, the more deeply one became assimilated. These individuals had their minds largely eroded back then. Although the side effects of incense were completely resolved in later eras, they had already lost a significant part of themselves. They were more withered than figures like Nü Yi and Zhi Ji, having lost their innovative capacity and become completely stagnant. They were, in essence, half-incense deities. Now, despite being Ninth-Rank Dao Achievers, worshipped by hundreds of billions of Seventh-Rank super-beings and possessing endless vitality, they had lost the ability to progress and innovate. Consequently, they were only tasked with maintaining order in the Heavenly Court, living unremarkable lives, and never again demonstrating their former brilliance.

"It's been a long time," Emperor Messiah said, slowly looking up at the celestial soldiers and generals standing on golden clouds. He smiled, "When we met in the Peach Garden back then, you seemed young, full of ambition and drive. Now, however, you exude an air of decay, rigidly adhering to old ways." Long Wuming's expression was grave. "Forging a path always requires sacrifice. It's only through pioneers blazing trails and clearing obstacles that a system can mature... While sacrifice was not our desire, our contribution to the maturation of the Incense Dragon Vein system is undeniable." Had it not been for these trailblazers, who tested the system and rectified its deficiencies, it would not be so perfect and free of side effects today. They hadn't volunteered for this. Yet, in that primordial era, lacking even a system for cultivation, they had no choice but to forge their own.

Thunder Emperor let out a hearty laugh and then said earnestly, "Emperor Messiah, although we don't know why you've trespassed into the South Heaven Gate, please surrender. We will wait for His Majesty and the others to discuss this. Given your prestige, if you have something important to do outside, you could simply discuss it with us. There's no need for hostility." Messiah, however, shook his head. "They will not understand what I intend to do; our philosophies differ." Long Wuming, Thunder Emperor, and the others exchanged glances, a flicker of bewilderment in their eyes. Although they were decayed and had almost exhausted their potential, now relegated to retirement, they were still players and understood many things. Emperor Messiah had supposedly fallen back then, yet he was still alive? Why fake his death? And now, with the Era of Myriad Heavens descending, why had he chosen this precise moment to break out of the Heavenly Court and directly rebel? This surely pointed to a profound and mysterious history! Hermes's death back then was attributed to Moon God Ji, but was it truly that simple? Otherwise, why would he seek to escape the Buddhist and Daoist lineage of the Super Ancient God's Heavenly Court? A jolt went through their minds.

"What do you intend to do?" Long Wuming asked. "That is not for you to know," Messiah replied, shaking his head. He then turned and departed with the two individuals. Long Wuming and the others' expressions subtly changed. "Attack!" They suddenly erupted, unleashing overwhelming divine power. Countless deities and Buddhas, shimmering with golden light, clad in golden armor, and wielding various divine artifacts, leapt forth with an unimaginable, terrifying aura, as if the eternal cosmos itself were about to collapse and be destroyed. Shira and Mu Yuling's faces paled, turning ashen.

*Crack.* Messiah gently waved a hand. The sky rippled, as if a vast ink wash painting of gods and demons in an immortal-hero style were swiftly smoothed out by a massive hand, turning into a blank sheet. All the deities and Buddhas in the sky vanished like smoke. Almost all the incense deities were instantly erased, without even a chance to resist. "What?!" Thunder Emperor, Long Wuming, and the others looked on in horror. They had not attacked; had they done so, they feared they would not have escaped the same fate. "You...!" Thunder Emperor's voice was low and hoarse. "You've hidden your strength. Perhaps you weren't merely Messiah from the start, but a trace of remnant consciousness that gained sentience... Could it be that you preserved some of Hermes's remaining power and will from back then, hiding it until today? What is your purpose in all of this?"

"I come for the Myriad Heavens." "By the way," Messiah's voice echoed back as he casually walked out of the South Heaven Gate with the two individuals, "You believe you are immortal, reborn through incense, but is that truly the case? You should start cherishing your final lives. While incense deities appear eternal and indestructible... when the universe enters the era of declining dharma, and all bloodline-based supernatural powers are lost, turning everyone into mortals, the incense built upon that supernatural foundation will also completely vanish. You will cease to exist."

As these words fell, Thunder God, Long Wuming, and the others felt as if a heavy hammer had struck their chests. They would die... They would be among the first to perish and suffer. How could they not know? Incense deities, after all, were not true living beings. Others could enter the Myriad Worlds and achieve sainthood, but they had lost the capacity to advance. They could not even achieve sainthood in the 'Myriad Heavens.' While others could flee into the Myriad Heavens to preserve the glory of their bloodline and supernatural systems, it would be incredibly difficult for them... They were incense deities, corrupted by toxic incense. For them to be reborn as true living beings and cultivate ordinary supernatural systems to achieve sainthood in other Myriad Heavens was immensely challenging.

"Is there... truly no way?" they suddenly asked, staring blankly into the distance. They had initially intended to fight, but now they fell silent. The incense deity system was already extremely mature; the celestial soldiers and powerful beings who had just been annihilated would quickly revive and encircle them again. Yet, they now hesitated completely, losing all will to act. "Is there really no way?" they asked again. "Who knows? Paths are forged by people." Messiah, calm and unconcerned, departed completely. Only a few isolated figures remained standing in the vast, empty Heavenly Court, their hearts in turmoil.

After a long time, Long Wuming slowly uttered, "As expected of that man from back then, a symbol of wisdom surpassing even Bai Xiaosheng. With just a few words, he completely stripped us of our fighting spirit." Before half a day passed, Emperor Qi, who was far away in the Myriad Heavens, received the news. Di Mu Qingteng, Qiu Mingshan Che Su, and others swiftly returned to the long-unvisited Heavenly Court Dao Field of the Seven Realms. "Messiah has resurrected—what on earth is going on?" Not only Moemoe and the others, but even Emperor Qi harbored doubts and was greatly astonished. The Heavenly Court of the Seven Realms had, in their eyes, been impregnable for thousands of years, so stable that not only were there no unknown mysteries, but not even a hint of change was expected. Yet now... The backyard was on fire. Such a bizarre event had occurred. "Could it be... the Hermes of old?" Emperor Qi's expression was far from calm. "Go find Lin Hongfeng, the Palace Master of the Martial God Palace. I have something to ask her." Just then, the long-vanished Super Ancient God slowly appeared on the spot, gazing at the chaotic South Heaven Gate, and murmured, "To think he had such a contingency plan, and that he would revive in this era." He... was he referring to Hermes? Everyone's minds began to reel. Could it be that this ancient existence had not truly fallen?