Chapter 205: The Embryonic Form of a Divine Kingdom and Version Update

The complete annihilation of the Calamity Horde meant that not a single zombie remained across the vast expanse of the Granary Plain, spanning several hundred kilometers.

On the city walls of Base 73, the citizens who had held out for three days and nights stared wide-eyed at the sight before them.

Even though they had personally witnessed the entire process of the Calamity Horde’s destruction, they still found it hard to believe.

After all, this was a supermassive zombie horde numbering over twenty million, encompassing nearly every zombie across the Granary Plain and its surrounding regions.

And now, this vast tide of the undead had been utterly slaughtered by the army of the Underworld.

It felt like a dream—so unreal that it bordered on fantasy.

For a moment, silence blanketed Base 73, but then the entire settlement erupted into thunderous cheers.

“We’ve won!”

“We did it! We really won!”

“Bless the gods! The gods have protected us!”

The whole of Base 73 was plunged into a sea of jubilant celebration.

Even the previously disrespectful burly young man now knelt reverently before the statue of the divine emissary, piously kissing the boots of the idol.

Inside the watchtower, Li Hao, Guo Ze, and Li Kang—who hadn’t slept for three days and nights—finally let out smiles of relief.

They exchanged glances, their eyes brimming with barely suppressed joy.

According to the original plan, the Calamity Horde Li Kang had provoked was only expected to affect a portion of the Granary Plain, with the goal of clearing out a safe zone spanning dozens of kilometers to begin rebuilding civilization.

But now, from its formation to its destruction, the Calamity Horde had swept through the entire Granary Plain and been obliterated by the Underworld’s army.

This meant that Base 73 now had a golden opportunity to bring the entire Granary Plain under its control.

A fertile land completely free of zombies—once its soil was purified of toxins, it could produce enough grain to support tens of millions of people.

This Granary Plain would become the most solid foundation for rebuilding civilization!

Out on the open plains, after finishing the purge of all zombies, the Underworld army formed up in perfect order, waiting for Lu Yan’s command.

Lu Yan’s gaze swept over these Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals. Having undergone the baptism of Heavenly Dao Merit during the ascension of the Human Emperor Banner, and weathered three days and nights of brutal warfare, they had been transformed.

Since the opening of the apocalypse version, every Yin Soldier standing here had slaughtered at least ten thousand zombies and reaped just as many souls.

In ordinary versions, any living being that engaged in such slaughter—even if they did not fall into the demonic path—would still bear a heavy karmic burden.

But these Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals had merged killing intent with the blessing of Heavenly Dao Merit. Wrapped in the aura of the Human Emperor, they exuded an indescribable aura of iron-blooded majesty.

At this point, it was no longer appropriate to describe them as ghostly beings.

Yet calling them true gods was still far from accurate—their cultivation and status didn’t match.

Lu Yan pondered for a moment, and then a name emerged in his mind.

Heroic Spirits.

The Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals had completed their transformation—from vengeful spirits to Heroic Spirits!

With a wave of the Human Emperor Banner, a massive rift opened in the sky, revealing a glimpse of the vast Soul Continent within. Even ordinary people could see the expanse through the void.

“Return.”

As the command rang out, the Heroic Spirits stepped in unison, guided by the majestic Human Emperor Qi, and marched into the rift.

Once again, silence returned to the Granary Plain, leaving behind only the endless white bones that littered the earth.

After finishing all this, Lu Yan slowly descended from the sky, landing within Base 73.

He paid no mind to the masses gazing at him with burning reverence. Instead, he turned to the hastily approaching Li Hao and the others.

“Prepare a secluded chamber for me.”

Li Hao was stunned, but quickly nodded and led the way.

“Please, this way, honored emissary.”

A short while later, Lu Yan arrived at the central council hall of the settlement.

He stepped in with broad strides, lightly waved the Human Emperor Banner, and stationed several Ghost Generals around the hall to prevent any intrusion.

“Do not disturb me unless it’s urgent.”

Leaving those words behind, Lu Yan began sorting through the gains of this endeavor.

Undoubtedly, his greatest gain was the fully upgraded Human Emperor Banner. In comparison, the twenty million wandering souls captured were secondary.

The banner had evolved from a Soul Banner to a Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact, solving his most pressing concern regarding travel to the cultivation version.

Moreover, as a Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact, the Human Emperor Banner possessed many divine abilities—though Lu Yan would need time to fully comprehend and master them.

He immersed his consciousness into the banner, studying its profound mysteries.

More than a month passed in a flash. Throughout this time, Lu Yan had been completely absorbed in understanding the Human Emperor Banner.

Even with his exceptional abilities, his mastery over the banner remained limited after over a month.

Still, even this preliminary control allowed him to grasp just how terrifying it truly was.

The Soul Banner had once been a renowned offensive weapon within the demonic path. But the ascended Human Emperor Banner’s offensive power was no longer its focus.

Within the banner, Yin Soldiers, Ghost Generals, and even ghost gods could sweep through Golden Core cultivators with ease. And with the might of the Soul Continent behind it, they might even suppress Nascent Soul true lords.

Lu Yan was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, yet he now held a weapon capable of intimidating Nascent Soul cultivators—a feat even Divine Transformation Spirit Treasures couldn’t match.

Ordinarily, someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage attempting to wield a Divine Transformation Spirit Treasure would be drained dry, let alone able to threaten higher realms.

But with a Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact, these limitations no longer applied.

The Human Emperor Banner had transcended the hierarchy of magical tools, magical treasures, and spiritual treasures.

In terms of raw power, it might not match Divine Transformation Spirit Treasures capable of moving mountains and filling seas.

But in terms of mysterious capabilities, Lu Yan was confident that even such legendary treasures couldn’t compare to the Human Emperor Banner.

Before crafting it, he had already spread the name of the Underworld across multiple versions—binding the concept of the Underworld with the Soul Banner, Yin Soldiers, Ghost Generals, and ghost gods.

The incense and faith gathered from these versions had already begun flowing into the Soul Banner.

After its ascension to the Human Emperor Banner, and receiving the baptism of Heavenly Dao Merit, these concepts had taken root within it.

With the Human Emperor Banner now embodying a form of divinity, Lu Yan’s legends across low-level versions were gradually turning into reality.

If this had occurred within a gods-based version, the Human Emperor Banner—now manifesting the embryonic form of a divine kingdom—would already be worshipped as a Divine Nation, empowered by boundless faith and incense.

In the cultivation version, Lu Yan had seen vague records of such treasures in a fragmentary ancient text from Qingwu Sect.

In that text, such artifacts were given a special name—

Dao-Forging Treasures.

Unfortunately, the text was too fragmented for Lu Yan to glean deeper understanding of what defined a Dao-Forging Treasure.

Moreover, the Human Emperor Banner was so profound that even Lu Yan, its creator, couldn’t fully control it in such a short time.

But that didn’t matter. With the Human Emperor Banner in hand, Lu Yan could now stand tall across the versions. He was no longer a pawn being tossed about by the tides of fate.

As Lu Yan delved deeper into the banner’s mysteries, the ghostly beings within—Heroic Spirits, Ghost Generals, and ghost gods—also steadily consolidated their transformations from the Heavenly Dao’s baptism.

Especially the Giant Spirit God, the Blood God, and the Guardian God—figures who had once dazzled in the urban version and received countless offerings.

Previously, they hadn’t been eligible to directly absorb faith, and the gathered incense had to be funneled through the Soul Banner and used by Lu Yan.

But now, as the Human Emperor Banner had granted them divine nature, they had gained the right to enjoy worship and offerings.

Among them, the Giant Spirit God stood out most.

Having stepped onto the path of omniscience, he began mastering the power of incense within just over a month, gradually acquiring traits of a true deity who could draw upon merit and faith.

One day, Lu Yan suddenly felt something stir and exited his comprehension state.

As he slowly opened his eyes, a dazzling golden light shimmered within them, swirling with endless Dao truth.

He glanced at the version update interface.

The progress bar had reached 99.6%.

“It’s almost time, huh?”

The golden light in his eyes slowly faded, and a hint of regret appeared in his expression.

“Still… time is too short.”

Over the past month, both Lu Yan and his ghost army had been focused on digesting the changes from the Human Emperor Banner’s ascension.

He hadn’t gone out to slaughter more zombies or refine new Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals.

Even now, the Human Emperor Banner still held over twenty million zombie souls—leftovers from the Calamity Horde.

With just one or two more months to refine them, Lu Yan was confident he could raise all Yin Soldiers to the Foundation Establishment Stage and all Ghost Generals to the peak of Foundation Establishment.

As for the ghost gods, the gap in cultivation between him and them was still too vast. Even with ample resources, he couldn’t help them improve for now.

Six thousand Foundation Establishment Yin Soldiers and six hundred peak Foundation Establishment Ghost Generals would elevate the Underworld’s power to a whole new level.

Unfortunately… time was short.

“It’s time to go.”

Lu Yan stood up and exited the council hall, waving his hand to return the stationed Ghost Generals into the Human Emperor Banner.

The moment he emerged, Li Hao appeared, smiling brightly as he bowed deeply.

“Li Hao greets the honored emissary.”

Lu Yan nodded slightly. “How are things?”

“Thanks to your grace, the Granary Plain has been thoroughly cleared, and we’ve begun testing soil restoration.

“Outside Base 73, the ruins of Jiao City and Wen City have also been cleared. The production lines of over a dozen factories have resumed operation after repair. The foundational work of rebuilding civilization is progressing smoothly.”

Lu Yan glanced around. Compared to before, there were clearly fewer people in the settlement—most had likely relocated to the rebuilt cities.

Even the remaining residents were busy and purposeful. The streets bustled with activity—a stark contrast to the previous chaos and despair.

Suddenly, Lu Yan noticed a massive black temple rising from the ground—its height nearly matching that of the central council hall. A constant stream of people flowed in and out, with dense incense wafting around it.

Li Hao followed his gaze and immediately explained:

“That’s the temple the people of Base 73 began building on their own. Inside, they’ve enshrined your image and pray to it day and night.

“The battle against the Calamity Horde has already spread by word of mouth and is being passed on around the world.

“In time, the legend of you and the Underworld will become known throughout the post-apocalyptic wasteland!”

Lu Yan looked quite satisfied.

In the past, he hadn’t cared much about incense or belief.

But now, with the Human Emperor Banner showing signs of evolving into a divine kingdom, he began to place much more importance on faith and the concepts tied to the Underworld.

This apocalypse version had laid an excellent foundation for what came next.

“Building a temple to the Underworld is fine. But remove my statue.”

At his current level, Lu Yan’s identity as the Underworld’s emissary was sufficient. Binding himself too closely to the Underworld might expose unnecessary risks.

Li Hao nodded seriously but then hesitated.

“Then… who should we enshrine within the Underworld temple?”

Lu Yan thought for a moment and then gathered his magic power to form a phantom of an imperial deity.

It was the same figure he had manifested as a “Heavenly Substitute” in the urban version—though only a hollow shell, it had briefly held a Heavenly Dao position and made for the perfect figurehead.

Li Hao had seen this form before. His expression shifted in surprise before he quickly memorized the phantom’s features.

“Emissary, this is…”

Lu Yan was about to casually make up a name but reconsidered. With countless schemes hidden across versions, revealing a true name could be dangerous.

“You are not qualified to know His honored name.”

Li Hao’s heart trembled. He forced himself to remain calm and answered reverently, “Yes, sir!”

Just then, Lu Yan seemed to remember something else.

“Gather a batch of Sun Stones for me.”

Li Hao quickly issued the order.

Within three minutes, several superhumans arrived with large crates in tow.

“Emissary, these are all the Sun Stones Base 73 could mobilize on short notice. If you give us another hour, we can bring more from the other cities.”

Lu Yan glanced at the scattered stones—at least thirty thousand in total—and waved off the suggestion.

“This will suffice.”

He stowed the crates into his storage pouch and turned to leave.

Just then, one of the superhumans who had delivered the Sun Stones hesitated, then suddenly bowed.

“Liu Hao thanks the emissary for saving my life!”

Lu Yan looked at the speaker and, after a moment of recollection, remembered who he was.

This was the man who had once spoken out against Zhao Hongzhong during the superhuman-corpse king alliance ambush.

At the time, Liu Hao refused to collaborate with the corpse kings. Enraged, Zhao had tried to kill him—but Lu Yan intervened.

After the ensuing battle destroyed the corpse kings and most of the treacherous superhumans, Lu Yan had allowed those who hadn’t actively attacked to leave.

Liu Hao had been among them.

Lu Yan hadn’t expected to see him again here.

“You survived because of your own choice.”

With that, Lu Yan summoned the power of the Sky Abyss God and tore open a spatial rift, stepping into it and vanishing from Base 73—leaving behind a stunned Liu Hao and the others.

Dozens of kilometers away, space shattered as Lu Yan emerged in a quiet, secluded region.

He stood still, gripping the Human Emperor Banner, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

Seconds ticked by. The sun dipped behind the western hills.

As dusk blanketed the earth, the version update interface finally changed before Lu Yan’s eyes.

[This apocalypse version has ended. Version Shift Value: 35%]

A value beyond one-third—higher than Lu Yan had expected. Likely due to the later stages of rebuilding civilization.

The interface only lasted a second before vanishing. In the next moment, a new screen appeared.

The setting sun and the world around it turned oppressively dim, the heavy twilight like an unseen hand reaching toward Lu Yan.

Behind him, a bottomless black abyss opened like a maw, ready to swallow him whole.

[Version Update Progress Complete. You may now choose one of the following versions to proceed to:]

Longevity Version: Little friend…

Longevity Version: …You’re still here…

Longevity Version: …Why hesitate?

(End of Chapter)