Chapter 233: How Rumors Are Born

The destruction of a sub-grade war fortress—while rare—wasn’t exactly a major event.

Though powerful, sub-grade war fortresses possessed almost no resistance against the mystical. If a strong individual with special abilities managed to get close, there was a real chance it could be destroyed.

But this battle was no ordinary skirmish. A total of three sub-grade war fortresses and one satellite-class war fortress were taken down. This was nothing short of a sensation across the entire Great Collapse Domain.

Under the gloomy skies, a colossal metal behemoth moved slowly across the desolate land, like an ancient giant beast awakened from its slumber.

This was Machine City—a massive force composed of every construct from the Machine Version and also the undisputed overlord of the battlefield within the Great Collapse Domain.

Beneath its flowing metallic surface were countless war factories, tirelessly producing new machines of destruction every passing second.

In terms of sheer large-scale warfare potential, Machine City ranked second to none.

The moment contact was lost with the satellite-class fortress, Machine City immediately dispatched several mechanical sages to investigate, hoping to reconstruct what had happened on the battlefield.

In less than thirty minutes, a detailed battlefield report had already been submitted to Machine City’s highest authority.

Inside a round-table chamber, the Thirteen Councilors of the Machine Assembly, each representing the highest authority in Machine City, had all gathered.

Some had fully mechanized bodies, some existed as streams of virtual data, while others were no more than preserved brains floating in nutrient fluid.

The presence of all thirteen councilors alone showed just how seriously Machine City was taking this incident.

Truth be told, the loss of a few sub-grade fortresses was insignificant to Machine City.

So long as there were enough high-grade resources, building new sub-grade fortresses was a simple matter with Machine City’s industrial capabilities.

However, a satellite-class war fortress was a different story altogether. Even in Machine City, such a fortress was a pinnacle-level war asset.

Constructing one not only required an astronomical amount of high-grade materials but also demanded the integration of the three core modules it carried.

These three modules were rule-level artifacts and the very reason a satellite-class fortress could hunt Nascent Soul cultivators:

Tidal Surge, Spiritual Extinction Field, and Spell Annihilation Matrix—known collectively as the Immortal Hunter Modules, each tailor-made to eliminate Xianxia cultivators.

In addition, there existed the Godslayer Module and the Martial Erasure Module, designed to target different transcendental systems.

The value of the Immortal Hunter Modules alone far exceeded the material cost of an entire satellite fortress. What’s more, such resources were exceedingly rare—even across the entire Great Collapse Domain.

The true damage lay not in the material loss, but in the fact that a cultivator had shattered a satellite-class fortress head-on, dealing a massive blow to Machine City’s pride and confidence in its technological supremacy.

Within the council chamber, a councilor encased in both flesh and machine stood to present the battlefield findings:

“According to the analysis by our mechanical sages and data retrieved from the mainframe, the target—classified as an Immortality Cancer—disguised himself as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. He wielded a banner-type artifact and commanded numerous powerful ghost entities.”

“There is no record of him in our database. Based on the battle data, we hypothesize that his true cultivation lies between late Golden Core and Nascent Soul, possibly a deeply hidden Demonic Successor from the Immortal Alliance.”

“The banner he wields aligns with ancient records of a Demonic Dao treasure: the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.”

After that, the councilor uploaded a data packet—an entry on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The other councilors remained expressionless as they read, but behind their emotionless gazes, a torrent of data and reactions surged.

Then, waves of encrypted information rapidly passed between the councilors.

“Such a malevolent item?”

“It devours souls? Would the souls of us machine-beings qualify?”

“The Immortal Alliance hid such a terrifying cultivator and let him carry a weapon of mass destruction. Perhaps… we should delay our pressure campaign.”

Just as discussions heated up, the presiding councilor dropped a new bombshell.

“Fellow councilors, the artifact and cultivation level of this Immortality Cancer are not the real threat. Even if the Ten Thousand Souls Banner is fearsome, we Machine-kind do not personally enter the battlefield—it poses no real danger to our war machines.”

“What truly matters is this—this Immortality Cancer seems to possess a Divine Ability that causes sudden mechanical failures in our machines!”

“From the transmitted data and fortress wreckage, we’ve concluded that all three sub-grade fortresses and even the satellite fortress experienced sudden internal malfunctions, triggering a catastrophic chain reaction that led to their destruction.”

“This Divine Ability functions on the rule level. It cannot be blocked through conventional material or energy barriers, and even our core modules’ rule powers were unable to resist it.”

“In particular, against the satellite fortress, the target seemed to use a special suppression technique to disrupt the Immortal Hunter Modules before activating his Divine Ability again, thereby destroying it completely.”

Those words shook even the near-emotionless mechanical councilors.

“A Divine Ability like that exists?”

“The Great Collapse Domain has existed for tens of thousands of years—how have we never heard of such an ability?”

“We have very few satellite-class fortresses to begin with. Most serve as deterrents. On normal battlefields, sub-grade fortresses carry the bulk of the load. If this Divine Ability can casually destroy them… our warfare potential will be drastically reduced.”

“High-risk alert! High-risk alert!”

“We must determine whether this Divine Ability can be replicated or transmitted. If so, the implications for Machine City are catastrophic.”

“We must eliminate this Immortality Cancer—at any cost!”

With that, the councilors swiftly reached a consensus.

First: deploy all available constructs to track Lu Yan. If found, all satellite-class fortresses must be mobilized to hunt him down.

Second: release information identifying Lu Yan as a Demonic Successor of the Immortal Alliance, and expose the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his possession.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was already considered a forbidden treasure even within the Immortal Alliance. By publicizing its presence, Machine City aimed to incite dissatisfaction among righteous sects—igniting internal strife between the righteous and demonic paths.

All the while, they would conceal the existence of the unknown Divine Ability, focusing public attention solely on the forbidden artifact, inflating the perceived threat, and portraying Lu Yan as a menace to the entire version-based balance of power.

Within just a few hours, news of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and the Demonic Successor spread like wildfire across the Great Collapse Domain.

Coincidentally, tens of thousands of miles away, high above the sky, a majestic Divine Kingdom floated at the intersection of reality and myth.

Suspended above the clouds, it resembled an inverted golden balance scale, stretching hundreds of miles across.

Seven concentric ring-walls surrounded it, each housing believers of a different rank, their social status determined by the strength of their faith.

At the Divine Kingdom’s center, the Holy Temple pierced the heavens, and solemn prayer echoed endlessly from its hallowed halls.

In the innermost layer, millions of heroic spirits chanted in unison, their faith sustaining the Divine Kingdom.

Above, golden clouds swirled.

Within them, massive semi-divine phantoms watched coldly—not upon mortals, but upon the figure standing furthest back.

Kaines.

Under the scrutiny of these mighty beings, Kaines kept his face calm. But inwardly, he was screaming.

Joining forces with Machine City to eliminate an Immortality Cancer in the Blessed Land ruins was supposed to be an easy win. A single demigod and one satellite-class fortress—more than enough to kill even a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Victory should have earned him faith as a reward—something he’d fought hard to secure.

But everything had gone wrong.

One satellite-class fortress and three sub-grade fortresses destroyed.

Only Kaines survived.

It was an unmitigated disaster.

In the Divine Kingdom, faith did not originate from the demigods themselves, but from the Divine Nation above. If deemed unworthy, a demigod could have their faith—and their entire army of heroic spirits—revoked.

With that faith, the gods could simply appoint a new demigod in Kaines’ place.

Kaines had underestimated his opponent, hesitated, and allowed the Immortality Cancer to destroy the war machines one by one. Then he was deceived by the illusion of a soul continent and let Lu Yan escape.

If he reported everything truthfully, his demigod status would be on the line.

Under mounting pressure, Kaines finally spoke:

“The Immortality Cancer is extremely cunning. His artifact is terrifying, and the five ghostly creatures at his side could fight me to a standstill.”

“But more than that—his artifact houses a fragmented Divine Kingdom. He can manifest it to suppress the battlefield. I, a demigod, was utterly powerless to resist!”

Gasps echoed among the semi-divines.

But immediately, several began to object:

“A fragmented Divine Kingdom? From an Immortality Cancer?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kaines. Is this the best excuse you can come up with?”

“Kaines has failed disastrously. I propose stripping him of his demigod status and appointing a replacement!”

“Agreed!”

“Seconded!”

The Divine Cloud was abuzz with denunciation.

Though the Divine Nation held final authority, the demigods’ collective opinion could sway its judgment.

Just as their support for Kaines’ removal reached a tipping point, the Holy Temple suddenly fell silent.

A divine and commanding voice replaced the prayers:

“Message from Machine City. The Immortality Cancer encountered during this mission is suspected to be at Nascent Soul level and possesses the legendary Demonic Dao treasure—Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Its power surpasses ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.”

“This treasure is believed to be one of the Immortal Alliance’s ultimate trump cards. Though Kaines failed, it was through no fault of his own.”

The moment the voice rang out, the mood shifted.

Shock flickered in every demigod’s eyes.

“It’s true?!”

“The Ten Thousand Souls Banner? If it’s recognized as a top treasure in the Immortal Alliance, then containing a fragmented Divine Kingdom isn’t impossible.”

“Demonic Successors are always the most ruthless. Kaines returning alive is a miracle.”

Kaines stood in place, utterly dazed. Had any demigod stripped away the light of faith shielding him, they’d see his face twisted in confusion.

As the sole survivor of the battle, he knew exactly how strong Lu Yan truly was.

He was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator—just skilled in trickery. If not for that last moment of deception, Lu Yan wouldn’t have escaped at all.

“Could it be… Machine City is hiding something?”

Kaines had his suspicions.

But he wasn’t about to expose the truth.

The more powerful Lu Yan was perceived to be, the less blame fell on him.

At such a critical moment, why dig his own grave?

Inside the Divine Nation, the demigods continued their debate.

Half a day later, rumors of a mysterious Demonic Successor commanding a fragmented Divine Kingdom spread far and wide—confirming suspicions that he was a hidden trump card of the Immortal Alliance.

In just a few days, Lu Yan’s name shook the entire Great Collapse Domain.

Meanwhile, forces opposed to the Immortal Alliance secretly began investigating his whereabouts, dispatching agents into Immortal Alliance territory to uncover any hidden truth.

The search lasted over a month.

To their growing horror, they found—nothing.

It was as if Lu Yan had vanished from the world.

But his disappearance only added fuel to the fire. Rumors grew bolder, and the hunt intensified.

All across the Great Collapse Domain, undercurrents surged—and at the center of it all was Lu Yan!

Deep beneath the ruins of Dongxuan Blessed Land, a hundred miles below the surface, Lu Yan sat cross-legged within a glowing subterranean cavern.

No one would have guessed that the man the entire realm was searching for was hiding beneath the very ruins he had left behind.

Though Dongxuan was now a wasteland, the lingering rules, withered spirit veins, and disrupted geomantic formations created such chaos that even Machine City’s detection systems couldn’t scan this deep.

When the satellite-class fortress exploded, Lu Yan had nearly burned out all his energy. He had no strength left to flee.

If he had remained on the surface, capture was inevitable.

So he’d ordered the Abyssal God to teleport him deep underground.

By the third day after the battle, Lu Yan had mostly recovered.

But he did not leave.

He knew too well that his current strength wasn’t enough for the Great Collapse Version. If someone targeted him, he might not even escape back to the Immortal Alliance.

Rather than flee in disgrace, he chose to stay hidden—and grow stronger.

Soon…

He would give Machine City a “surprise” they’d never forget!

(End of Chapter)