Ascending to Godhood: I Can Foresee All Futures

Yu Huayuan’s face was deathly pale as he struggled to maintain the array. He could feel the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi beneath his feet rapidly descending into chaos and depleting, his connection to the Grand Array being forcibly severed by an overwhelming power.

In just over ten breaths.

BOOM—!!!

A deep, muffled boom echoed, as if a pillar supporting the heavens and the earth had suddenly snapped.

High above Qingfeng Temple, the thousands of sharp streams of qi that symbolized the Grand Array’s power froze in unison. Then, like dispersing smoke, they vanished into the air without a sound.

The luminous barrier shrouding the mountain gate shattered piece by piece, dissolving into a sky full of glittering motes that drifted down.

At the same time, the entirety of Qingfeng Mountain seemed to shudder. The ground shook and dust billowed from the corners of every temple hall.

The Yin-Yang Clear Wind Grand Array, which had protected this place for hundreds of years, was utterly shattered by the combined force of two Tier Four Array-Breaking Pearls.

Silence fell over the world, broken only by the mournful howl of the wind sweeping through the ruins.

Yu Huayuan staggered, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth—the backlash from the array being forcibly shattered.

He looked up. Outside the temple stood a dense mass of government soldiers and the allied army of the Three Sects. Their blades and spears formed a forest, and their killing intent pierced the sky.

Inside the temple, the hundreds of disciples and elders who had stayed behind gathered on the ruined plaza. Their faces showed little fear, only a resolute calm.

"The heavens are vast and mighty! My Dao shall rise and prosper!"

Yu Huayuan suddenly straightened his hunched back and, with all his might, let out a long cry. His aged voice echoed among the shattered mountain gates.

He then drew the simple, ancient longsword he had nurtured for many years from his back. The blade hummed, and a biting torrent of Sword Qi surged toward the heavens.

As if answering a call, the remaining elders, deacons, and even some of the more powerful Inner Sect Disciples of Qingfeng Temple drew their weapons and leaped into the air.

Auras both strong and weak surged forth. Sword Qi, the light of talismans, and the glow of Magical Artifacts intertwined, forming a poignant yet heroic display that coalesced into a single, unyielding will.

"Elders! Disciples!"

Yu Huayuan pointed his longsword toward the invaders, his voice hoarse but strong enough to pierce the clouds.

"Follow me—to death!"

"To death!"

"To death—!"

Their roars tore through the clouds. Countless figures leaped into the air, transforming into streaks of light. With the resolve of those marching to their graves, they fearlessly charged the well-prepared army outside the temple.

Chen Sheng remained expressionless. He slowly raised his right hand, then brought it down with force.

"Kill."

"Spare no one in Qingfeng Temple."

"KILL—!!!"

The allied army, long poised for the attack, roared in response.

Nie Xuanfeng took the lead, his silver spear striking like a dragon as he went straight for Yu Huayuan, the one with the most powerful aura.

Li Qianzhou, Wangqingshan, and Lu Qingsong also shot forward, their auras locking onto Yu Huayuan and another elder, surnamed Li. The battle instantly erupted into a chaotic melee.

The battle almost instantly reached a brutal, feverish pitch.

The explosions of Gang Qi, the clash of weapons, and the cacophony of enraged roars and bloodcurdling screams instantly filled the mountainside.

However, Chen Sheng, the mastermind of this battle, did not join the fray. After breaking the Grand Array and giving the order to slaughter, he had other plans.

His figure flickered, and he silently slipped away from the main battlefield, speeding off in the direction opposite Qingfeng Mountain.

Using his last two precious Array-Breaking Pearls to breach Qingfeng Temple had achieved his strategic objective, but the cost had been immense.

He had to ensure the reward would be worth the price.

And according to the Celestial Book, Qingfeng Temple’s most precious resources and legacies—especially its ultimate treasure, the Seven-leaf Thunder Ginseng—had not been left behind to perish with the temple.

They were with the group of core True Inheritors who had evacuated beforehand.

That Seven-leaf Thunder Ginseng was one of the cornerstones of Qingfeng Temple. It grew within the temple’s Thunderstruck Spiritual Vein, absorbing Heaven Thunder and Earth Fire Qi, and produced only a single leaf every twenty years.

All seven leaves were present, meaning it had a medicinal age of at least one hundred and forty years.

It contained pure Celestial Thunder Power and had an incredible effect on refining the body and solidifying one’s cultivation foundation—perfect for his current needs.

If he could seize the ginseng, then combined with the Spiritual Liquid and other resources from Golden Spring Temple, he was confident he could push his Cultivation to the peak of the mid-stage of Profound Mastery in a short time.

He might even touch upon the threshold of the late stage.

...

「Southeast of Ning’an Prefecture, in the Yunze Waters.」

A vast expanse of misty water stretched out, thick with reeds.

An inconspicuous black-canopied boat drifted with the current, silently navigating a remote waterway.

On the boat, a dozen or so young people, dressed in common attire like ordinary Jianghu Travelers, sat or stood in silence.

The usual otherworldly aura of cultivators had vanished from their faces, replaced by the vacant look of disaster survivors, the sorrow of exile, and a deep-seated terror hidden in their eyes.

These were the core True Disciples of Qingfeng Temple, the ones who had been secretly evacuated.

They were the sect’s only hope for a future revival.

Their leader was Zhang Daoming, the foremost of the True Disciples.

But now, he was clad in a coarse martial robe, leaning against the cabin wall and staring expressionlessly back in the direction they had come.

There was nothing to see now but the vast emptiness where water and sky blurred into one.

"Senior Brother Zhang..."

A younger Female Cultivator of the Kun Dao couldn’t stop herself from asking in a trembling whisper:

"The sect... is it really... gone?"

The other disciples all turned to look at Zhang Daoming, their eyes a mixture of immense anxiety and a final, desperate sliver of hope.

Zhang Daoming slowly drew his gaze back and looked at his fellow disciples.

His expression was still calm, but beneath that placid surface lay a crushing weariness that threatened to spill over.

"The Temple Master has fallen. The junior masters and our brothers who went to reinforce Golden Spring Temple... have all perished."

Zhang Daoming’s voice was raw, as if he had to force out every single word:

"Don’t harbor any more illusions. If there had been even a sliver of a chance to defend the temple, Elder Yu... would never have let us leave like this."

"That Chen Sheng... did he really even defeat Abbot Kongxu...?"

Another male disciple murmured, still finding it hard to believe.