Chapter 1616: The Heavenly Drums of War, the Emperor's Summons

Chapter 1616: Zhutian War Drums, The Emperor's Summon

The majestic war drums echoed with overwhelming momentum, resounding through the heavens. Everyone who heard them lifted their heads and gazed upward, their souls trembling as if responding to some ancient summons from a bygone era.

"Where is this drum sound coming from?"

So many people were in a daze, their minds drawn in, and their blood boiling uncontrollably.

"Is that the might of a Jidao Emperor? Or perhaps a Jidao Emperor Weapon?"

"It seems to come from the other side of the starry sky, yet it also feels like it's from the edge of the universe."

"This drum sound is so strange—my boiling blood won't settle no matter what." Someone exclaimed in surprise, completely baffled.

Discussions erupted everywhere, with countless people emerging, all wearing expressions of bewilderment as they looked up at the vast sky, unsure of the drum's meaning.

In the southern region of Xuanhuang, Douzhan Shengyuan Laozu and Kuiniu Laozu ascended into the void one after another, gazing far into the misty starry sky.

"Zhutian War Drums?" The two ancient ancestors exchanged glances.

"What are the Zhutian War Drums?" Shengyuan Huang and Kuiniu Huang also stepped into the void, looking at the two elders with puzzled expressions.

"The Zhutian War Drums are forged from the Dao bones of Pangu Dadi and have been passed down through the ages." Kuiniu Laozu spoke slowly.

"Just from hearing the sound, you know it's the Zhutian War Drums?"

"It's no ordinary war drum. The Dao laws of one hundred and thirty emperors from Xuanhuang have been integrated into it—you can tell at once."

"I see. No wonder there's this indescribable feeling, like some kind of summons." The two emperors said.

"It is indeed a summons. The Zhutian War Drums are only sounded when the ten thousand domains face great peril." Douzhan Shengyuan Laozu said slowly.

"Vanished for endless ages, and now it reappears in the world—who could be sounding it?" Kuiniu Laozu frowned.

"No matter who it is, with the war drums sounding, the heavens are in trouble. As descendants of the emperor's path, we cannot stand idly by."

Douzhan Shengyuan Laozu, with his vast divine abilities, took a single step out of Xuanhuang. In his hand, he held a black gold iron staff that radiated domineering emperor's might.

"Old Xuanwu, if not now, when will you all emerge?" Kuiniu Laozu's roar shook the heavens as he also stepped out of Xuanhuang.

"We're here, aren't we?" Five figures emerged together.

Upon closer inspection, they were the ancestors of the Qinglong Clan, Baihu Clan, Zhuque Clan, Xuanwu, and Qilin.

The five stood side by side, each wielding an emperor's Dao artifact.

"The Zhutian War Drums are sounding—great peril looms over the ten thousand domains." In Donghuang, Yaochi Xianmu stepped out with an emperor sword in hand, like a supreme queen.

"When the heavens are in trouble, it's the duty of every individual." Following Yaochi Xianmu, two more mighty figures emerged from Donghuang—one was Jiang Taixu.

As for the other, he had a towering physique and surged with demonic and murderous energy—it was Moyuan, the legendary Tuntian Mozun.

"The years are like a blade!" Jiang Taixu sighed with melancholy.

"In the end, we can't withstand the passage of time." Moyuan laughed with a sense of world-weariness.

After endless ages, the two supreme prodigies of the primordial era stood side by side once more, but it was no longer their time.

Behind them followed six others: Xiaoyaozi, Wujizi, Tianchenzi, Xuanzi, Yunxiaizi, and Chiyangzi. Today, all seven of Donghua were present.

The Phoenix also arrived, standing beside Taixu and treading through the sky.

Above her head hovered an immortal mirror, with emperor's divine principles dancing around it.

It was the Phoenix Clan's emperor artifact, the Phoenix Mirror. In the past, when the Phoenix Clan was destroyed, the mirror had departed, only to return to the Phoenix later.

The Phoenix now was different from before—or perhaps she had undergone nirvana. The destruction of the Phoenix Clan had faded into the past.

More people emerged from Xuanhuang: Jiuli Laozu, the grandfather of Beisheng; Jiuxiao Zhenren, the grandfather of Dijiu Xian; the fishing elder Zhundi; and many other unnamed elders of the older generations.

The ancient races also mobilized, each led by their ancestors.

"Oh dear, everyone's carrying emperor weapons?" The ancient Dragon Clan ancestor glanced sideways at the four figures that had gathered.

"Carrying them feels secure." The Witch Clan ancestor coughed.

"The Zhutian War Drums sounding again—this battle will be tough." The ancestors of the Spirit Clan and Ancient Clan both showed expressions of worry.

"We have the numbers; we're not afraid to fight." The Barbarian Clan's burly ancestor spoke in a rough voice, wielding a ferocious club.

Everyone chuckled and stepped out of Xuanhuang. The five Jidao emperor weapons linked their might, causing the starry sky to tremble and buzz along the way.

"Such a huge commotion—who's making the summons?" Xiao Shengyuan Huang and the others gathered again, scratching their heads in confusion.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Beisheng frowned.

"So many Zhundi and so many emperor weapons—it's even more than that time with the nine emperors of Great Chu!" Dijia Jiuxian blinked her large eyes.

"What's going on? Is another great chaos about to erupt in the heavens?"

"But this lineup is overwhelmingly large!"

"I've cultivated for three thousand years and never seen such a stir."

"Enough talk—let's go see. It might be quite a spectacle."

Under the heavens, discussions filled the air, but even the noisiest gatherings couldn't compare to the war drums' sound—it was a supreme summons.

"Tianwang, should we go aid in the battle?" In Zhongzhou's Tianxu, Tianzhu and Dimie stood with hands clasped, bowing behind Tianxu Tianwang.

"No one is to leave Tianxu." Tianxu Tianwang spoke indifferently, his words ethereal and carrying supreme authority.

He gazed into the misty distance, his emotionless eyes flickering with a trace of worry, yet he ultimately did not order an advance to Great Chu.

In the Wangchuan Forbidden Zone of Ximo, Mengpo bowed with hands clasped. "Tianwang, if it weren't an urgent war, Great Chu wouldn't sound the Zhutian War Drums."

"No one is to leave Wangchuan." Wangchuan Tianwang's words were calm, directly rejecting the idea, much like Tianxu Tianwang.

"But..." Mengpo hesitated, words on the tip of her tongue.

"You should know the mission of the forbidden zone." Wangchuan Tianwang said lightly, his voice accompanied by overwhelming pressure.

"As you command." Mengpo trembled, her face turning pale.

"Continue sealing the Yaochi Immortal Body; do not let the child of heavenly tribulation be born." With that, Wangchuan Tianwang turned and vanished.

Mengpo sighed and silently turned to head deeper inside.

Like Tianxu and Wangchuan, voices also emerged from the forbidden zones of Purgatory, Huangquan, and Mingtu: "No one is to leave the forbidden zone."

The Tianwangs' commands were ethereal and imposing, cold and authoritative.

The forbidden zones fell silent in an instant, with protective mountain barriers rising.

The so-called mission left the five great forbidden zones no room to act recklessly—what they guarded was far more important than the gates of the heavens.

With the forbidden zones quiet, Xuanhuang was lively, and the starry sky even more so.

The ten thousand domains of the heavens, vast and boundless, were extraordinarily bustling today.

Gazing afar, divine rainbows streaked continuously through the starry sky, like shooting stars forming a meteor shower, all heading in the same direction.

On Yinming Star, an ancient coffin exploded, and Jiangchen emerged with a halberd, his body as heavy as a mountain, causing the starry sky to tremble with each step.

Similar to Yinming Star, wherever the Zhutian War Drums sounded, countless ancient stars quaked, and people emerged from many of them.

These individuals were at least at the Great Saint level, including reclusive elders and ancient fossils.

"So, in the ten thousand domains under the heavens, there are still so many Zhundi." Jiuxiao Zhenren sighed. Among them, he was the youngest, having reached Zhundi at just over three thousand years old.

"You have no idea—there's even more you don't know!" The fishing elder Zhundi whistled. "But this number is indeed shocking."

"Hey, who is that guy? His speed is insane!" An old Zhundi exclaimed in surprise, chattering loudly.

Hearing this, the other Zhundi followed his gaze.

In the distant starry sky, a divine rainbow streaked by at an otherworldly speed, as if treading on the river of time, defying the rules of time.

It was a youth with eyes like stars and black hair like a waterfall, his entire body enveloped in immortal light, like a supreme divine king.

He was a powerful Zhundi, a genuine peak Zhundi, making many Zhundi in the starry sky feel oppressed.

"He's outrageously strong." The fishing elder Zhundi marveled.

"Is that... Tianqing?" Jiuli Laozu was full of disbelief, his Zhundi-level composure even making his voice tremble.

"What's this? He's got quite the background." Seeing Jiuli Laozu's reaction, the other Zhundi probed.

"He's the first divine general under Xianwu Dizi."

"From the era of Dizi?" The crowd of Zhundi swallowed hard. That was a true ancient fossil, a living relic!

"So, even the Sword God would have to call him senior."

"Compared to him, I suddenly feel young again."

The group of Zhundi smacked their lips and clicked their tongues. Sharing a generation with Xianwu Dizi, standing before him, weren't they all just kids?

Amid the exclamations, Tianqing said nothing and streaked through the sky.

His eyes were etched with the marks of time, ancient and world-weary, calm as still water, having reached a state of returning to simplicity. He encompassed the heavens and earth, with supreme Dao evolving in his gaze.

His speed not only defied the laws of time but also overturned those of space, achieving great shifts through time and space.

Well then, the group of Zhundi chased for a long time but couldn't catch up.

"How embarrassing." The fishing elder Zhundi coughed, nearly choking.

"Embarrassing." Jiuxiao Zhenren and Jiuli Laozu coughed as well.

"Look, that woman is also going at full speed." It was that old Zhundi again, stroking his beard with a sigh.

The Zhundi turned to see a woman in white flash across the starry sky, her speed no less than Tianqing's.

Though it was only a glimpse, her divine grace was eternally etched in the starry sky, leaving the old fellows mesmerized.

She was stunningly beautiful, bathed in immortal light, peerlessly elegant, pure and flawless, untouched by mortal affairs or worldly dust. Her world-tilting beauty outshone all in the ten thousand domains.

"Her combat power rivals Tianqing's." Jiuxiao Zhenren sighed.

"Who is she? Do you know?" The Zhundi turned to Jiuli Laozu, who was good at recognizing people.

"Sansheng, the second divine general under Xianwu Dizi."

"Another living relic—we'd have to call her grandmother."

"I was thinking of chatting with her about romance, but I guess I'd better forget it—she could slap me to tears with one hand."

As the group of Zhundi bantered, Sansheng had already vanished into the starry sky.

Soon after, she caught up to Tianqing and stood beside him.

"You're old." Sansheng parted her red lips slightly, smiling lightly, her words like heavenly music, beautiful and filled with world-weariness.

"You're as beautiful as ever." Tianqing smiled, his words carrying the weight of ancient, distant myths.

"Am I interrupting your romantic talk?" A ethereal laugh rang out, and another person appeared beside Tianqing.

He was also a youth, in white robes with white hair, like an immortal king. His eyes encompassed all things and evolved the great Dao, his aura naturally perfect.

Clearly, as someone who could stand alongside the two divine generals, he was also one—the third divine general under Dizi: Tianyuan.

All ancient figures, Tianqing and Sansheng just shook their heads and smiled at his teasing, as if accustomed to it.

The three streaked like divine rainbows, adding splendor to the starry sky.

During their flight, six more joined them, without exception, all peak Zhundi and divine generals under Dizi.

The nine supreme divine generals reunited after the vicissitudes of time, exchanging only smiles, their words unable to convey the years of hardship.

The divine generals stood together, donning their former armor and war robes, once again displaying their supreme divine might.

Just as in the past, following Xianwu Dizi to pacify the heavens.