Chapter 204: [Version Shift Value: 30]

As Lu Yan’s words fell, countless golden rays of light poured down like a heavenly river, cascading from the heavens above.

This was the acknowledgment of the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao. Each ray of golden light contained the power of Heavenly Dao Merit, and as they flowed, it was as if billions of stars were shimmering upon the mortal world.

Amidst this grand celestial phenomenon, the Human Emperor Banner slowly rose, shrouded in auspicious purple qi. Countless strands of Dao flowed around it, bestowing blessings upon this newly-born Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact.

Lu Yan showed no surprise. From the moment the Heavenly Dao of the apocalypse took the initiative to participate in the forging of the artifact, he had already understood its intent.

Forging a Merit Artifact that exceeded all limits—an artifact unparalleled across all versions and realms—would consume an immense amount of energy, even for a world’s Heavenly Dao.

Although the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao currently held the upper hand in its battle with the Supreme Will, the foundational system of transcendents in this world still remained under the control of that Supreme Will. It stood in an inherently dominant position.

In the past few months, Lu Yan had slaughtered tens of millions of zombies and saved dozens of survivor strongholds, seemingly reversing the course of the apocalypse.

But all of this remained confined to just one region.

Across the entire apocalypse version, there were still over a billion zombies. The portion Lu Yan had slain didn’t even amount to a tenth of the total.

The Supreme Will’s foundation remained intact, and with its overwhelming numbers, it could very well make a comeback.

In contrast, the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao had much weaker control over the transcendents. Many of the superhumans it relied on could still be influenced by the Supreme Will.

Just in the past month, Lu Yan had killed twelve Ninth-Rank transcendents and over a hundred above Fifth-Rank—this had severely weakened the strength of the surviving human forces.

So even though the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao held the advantage for now, the power it could muster wasn’t enough to completely eradicate the threat of this version invasion. At best, it would drag the battle into a protracted war.

If the Moonlight Spirit Qi changed again, the entire situation could flip in an instant.

Faced with such circumstances, the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao could only place all its hope on Lu Yan—the outsider who had twice thwarted the Supreme Will.

And Lu Yan’s performance during the Calamity Horde had finally convinced it.

Breaking the limit with a One-Hundredth Merit Wheel, pouring resources into helping Lu Yan forge a Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact—these were expressions of its full sincerity.

And Lu Yan understood its intentions the moment he received the Merit Artifact, thus naming it the Human Emperor Banner.

In this apocalyptic world where yin and yang had fallen out of balance, and zombies had seized control of the vast majority of territory, they were already the de facto rulers of the version.

Lu Yan had first aided in the rebuilding of Base 73, and now gave the Heavenly Dao Artifact the name “Human Emperor Banner,” proclaiming the rightful lineage of humanity. It was his response to the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao.

To sweep the universe clean and restore the human path—that was the order the Heavenly Dao sought.

Satisfied with Lu Yan’s commitment, the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao bestowed one final gift.

As the celestial phenomenon slowly receded, Lu Yan could sense the immense fatigue in that descending divine gaze.

Once again gripping the Human Emperor Banner, a torrent of information flooded into his mind, revealing the true nature of the Heavenly Dao’s final gift—hidden within the Soul Continent.

Originally, the Soul Continent was merely a piece of the soul world created by the AI God, which Lu Yan had forcefully severed using the Heavenly Dao Code.

Without the evolutionary order of the AI God, the Soul Continent was nothing more than a massive soul-based construct that Lu Yan repeatedly hurled at enemies, using its sheer size to crush soul consciousness.

Undeniably, that had been the least efficient way to use it.

But back then, Lu Yan hadn’t yet refined the Soul Continent, so he could only resort to brute force.

Now, with the Human Emperor Banner transformed into a Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact, and with the refining of the Soul Continent completed under the assistance of Heavenly Dao Merit, Lu Yan had gained full control over it.

To further develop the Soul Continent, the first step was to transition it from an isolated mass of land into a minor world integrated within the Soul Banner.

In terms of scale alone, the Soul Continent already exceeded most minor worlds. It lacked only one crucial element—

Laws.

As something forcibly stripped from the soul world, the Soul Continent was utterly devoid of any governing order.

Creating such order from scratch was an immensely difficult task—one Lu Yan, at the mere Foundation Establishment Stage, could not possibly undertake.

But the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao had imbued its final gift with countless strands of mysterious Dao rhythm, which began to evolve a faint seed of order within the Soul Continent.

And the source of this embryonic order—was none other than the black egg formed during the first blessing of the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao.

Floating above the Soul Continent, this black egg, forged from the convergence of the Supreme Will’s brilliance and the Heavenly Dao’s blessing, was like a dark sun, silently weaving the rules of a world.

Though only a fledgling form, far from supporting a complete minor world, it marked a breakthrough from nothing to something.

Going forward, Lu Yan needed only to expand upon this framework, gradually enriching the laws of order. In time, the Soul Continent would evolve into a true minor world, and the Human Emperor Banner would ascend further.

By then, the power of the banner would rival even the legendary Cave-Heaven Spirit Treasures, and the once-fictitious Underworld would gain a real domain foundation.

Understanding the depth of this gift, Lu Yan finally realized just how great a fortune the apocalypse’s Heavenly Dao had bestowed.

At that moment, the divine gaze, now tinged with exhaustion, slowly withdrew, and the world returned to normal.

No more golden suns from the heavens, no more Merit Suns, no divine craftsmanship—everything seemed to have never happened.

Only the vast and majestic aura of the ghostly Human Emperor remained, stretching across hundreds of miles. The once eerie and sinister energy had transformed into a noble black-gold force that pressed down upon the zombie horde.

Beneath the Calamity Horde, the Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals, now reborn through the Human Emperor Banner, were steadily pushing the frontlines forward.

Even without having reached Foundation Establishment, the Yin Soldiers—after being baptized in Heavenly Dao Merit—had already experienced a qualitative leap in strength.

Their bodies, wrapped in Human Emperor Qi empowered by Heavenly Dao Merit, could now easily resist supernatural zombie powers. Even attacks from Foundation Establishment corpse kings couldn’t pierce their armor.

Their Soul-Reaping Chains were no longer eerie and cold; as they swung, they clashed like metal and could shatter supernatural techniques.

The Yin Soldiers, holding soul chains gleaming with black-gold light, formed into orderly ranks. Countless chains rattled through the air like living divine serpents, each radiating overwhelming spiritual might. The moment this ghostly legion raised their weapons, the heavens echoed with the dragon-like roar of clashing chains.

The Soul-Reaping Chains tore through the sky, weaving a majestic net of death under the moonlight. Each chain carried the power of Heavenly Dao Merit—wherever they passed, decayed flesh vaporized instantly, and foul souls were forcibly extracted. Entire hordes of zombies were annihilated in body and spirit, reduced to piles of white bones.

With each step forward, the battlefield was paved with skeletal remains.

On another front, Ghost Generals cloaked in black-gold Human Emperor Qi formed cavalry formations atop their shadow steeds, like divine swords cutting through the torrent of the dead. Their war lances shone with a deep black-gold radiance, and wherever their spearheads pointed, the Calamity Horde trembled.

When a monstrous Abomination charged forward roaring, a Ghost General unleashed his Human Emperor Qi with a thunderous boom, tearing the beast apart.

Even the zombie meat-mountains fused from countless corpses collapsed under their assault, becoming heaps of rotting flesh.

Wherever the formation advanced, even supernatural zombies with bizarre powers could not resist the might of the Underworld Legion empowered by Heavenly Dao Merit.

The promotion of the Human Emperor Banner had multiplied the strength of the Underworld Legion, but more importantly, it gave them limitless potential.

One hundred meters. Two hundred. One kilometer. Two kilometers…

The frontline pushed ever farther across the Granary Plain, away from Base 73. Hidden within the zombie horde, the expressions of the corpse kings grew uglier by the minute.

The slaughter of a Golden Core corpse king by mere thousands of Yin Soldiers had paralyzed them, forcing them to rely on cannon fodder zombies to wear down the enemy.

But that tactic had dragged them straight into hell.

The Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals seemed tireless, endlessly replenished by Yin Qi and capable of slaughtering without pause.

Even when injured mid-battle, the surrounding Human Emperor Qi instantly repaired their damaged soul forms.

This massacre continued for half a day. Millions of zombies perished beneath the Soul-Reaping Chains.

Many supernatural zombies were also cut down by the charging Ghost Generals.

Several times, corpse kings attempted desperate assaults to break through the front and unleash the full force of the Calamity Horde.

But each time they revealed themselves, they were swarmed by Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals. The suppressive power of Human Emperor Qi alone was enough to obliterate Golden Core corpse kings in seconds.

Finally, fear set in.

Some Golden Core corpse kings began to flee.

Though the Supreme Will had once summoned them to the Calamity Horde, its influence had limits—especially on these powerful entities who stood at the apex of the apocalypse.

Faced with true death, even the authority of the Supreme Will could not bind their rebellious spirits.

And with Lu Yan’s suppression of the Moonlight Spirit Qi, the Supreme Will had already lost influence, further deepening the corpse kings’ dread.

Deep underground, one Golden Core corpse king fled through the earth, racing beyond the Granary Plain. So stealthy was his escape that even his fellow corpse kings failed to notice.

Only Lu Yan, floating high above, glanced coldly toward the distant ground. A subtle ripple stirred silently within the Soul Banner.

After fleeing hundreds of kilometers, the corpse king finally sighed in relief.

He began to rise from the depths to survey the battlefield.

But there, waiting on the surface, was a strange youth with blood-red hair, dressed in black robes, silently watching him.

The moment the corpse king emerged, the youth smiled eerily.

“If not for my lord forbidding us from appearing before the people—lest we distort their perception of ghosts and gods—I’d have killed you worthless things long ago.”

“But since you left the battlefield on your own, it saves me the trouble.”

The corpse king’s pupils contracted in horror. “You… you’re the Blood God!”

The Blood God calmly extended his right hand. Countless blood-colored strands formed a massive crimson palm in midair.

“Correct. And this is your reward.”

In the next instant, the giant palm crashed down, shaking the earth with a deafening roar.

Elsewhere to the southwest, another fleeing Golden Core corpse king met his match.

Clad in golden armor, the Giant Spirit God rubbed his temples in annoyance and muttered toward a seemingly empty clearing, “Honestly, I’m more of a civil servant—like some factory line worker—not really suited for fighting.”

In the clearing, the corpse king stood motionless.

Though physically present, even light passed through his body. With no reflection, he appeared invisible to the naked eye, as if he didn’t belong to the material world.

His decayed pupils trembled as he rasped, “How did you find me? Even soul force can’t detect my form… No one can see me.”

“Who said I saw you?”

The Giant Spirit God smiled, and in that moment, infinite streams of information flowed through his eyes. Heaven and Earth turned into a web of data.

He pointed to the sky.

“They did.”

The next second, his body expanded into a colossal giant, and he smashed his fist down.

The corpse king’s body tried to shift into a ghostly state to evade, but the Giant Spirit God’s eyes glowed again—causing the very world to reject him, forcing him out of phase.

Caught off guard, the corpse king took the full blow.

Bones harder than diamond shattered. Supernatural powers collapsed under absolute force.

In his final moments, a single thought crossed the corpse king’s mind:

“You call this… a desk job?!”

Similar battles erupted across the Granary Plain.

Far from the human settlements, the gods of the Underworld no longer held back. They no longer needed to protect the mythos of their existence—they fought freely.

In terms of cultivation, these ghost gods were only at the early Golden Core Stage, just like the corpse kings. Aside from the overpowered Sky Abyss God, they were evenly matched—until now.

With the Human Emperor Banner’s promotion, everything changed.

The ghost gods had shed their puppet forms and gained a trace of true divinity.

Though still far from being real deities, even a sliver of divine essence granted overwhelming superiority.

They wielded their innate divine arts with godlike authority, overwhelming their foes with ease.

Coupled with the power of Heavenly Dao Merit and their command of Human Emperor Qi, they could even slay enemies across realms.

As the last of the fleeing corpse kings were exterminated, the fate of the Calamity Horde was sealed.

This final purge lasted three days and three nights. Over twenty million zombies were wiped out.

Under the gaze of Base 73’s people, with the last zombie’s soul drawn away, the battle finally ended.

High in the sky, Lu Yan’s lips curled into a smile.

“The key to breaking the stalemate… is finally mine.”

In front of him, the update interface displayed a new prompt:

[Version Shift Value: 30%]

(End of Chapter)