Prologue: Magic Cube
In a vast expanse of misty snow, countless ice flakes were being blown in circular fashion by the freezing winds. They collided against one another in the middle of the air, releasing a spine chilling coldness, which threatened to freeze the human soul.
This is the Snowfall Realm, one of the numerous realms within the Divine Domain. The Snowfall Realm is ever snowing, turning any trace of water into frosty snow.
Within these desolate lands of snow, in a certain area, the snowflakes suddenly moved around in a spiral, as though it had been affected by something. The snowflakes melded with one another before gradually spreading out into a form of whirlpool. A glowing curtain, seemingly made of quicksilver appeared out of thin air. In the next instant, a woman wearing an ocean blue robe emerged from within.
This woman exuded an aura of eminence, her black hair descended like a waterfall, her entire body emanating an atmosphere of sacred purity. She was just like a blooming snowy jade lotus flower. However, the woman’s face was pale and traces of blood could be seen from the corners of her lips, disrupting her gentle aura of spirituality.
The glowing curtain disappeared and the woman spat out a mouthful of blood, her consciousness becoming weaker.
“Sister!”
A clear feminine voice sounded out in the air and a white sphere of light emerged from the woman’s body. The white sphere transformed into the body of a young woman. “Sister, how are you?”
“It is nothing,” The woman in ocean blue dress waved her had. She who had been seriously injured was forced to create a fissure in space and teleport over through such a great distance to another realm within the Divine Domain. This had left her suffering from an even greater degree of injuries.
“Where is this?” The woman in ocean blue dress asked.
The young woman produced a jade instrument and used her spiritual awareness to probe it before replying. “Sister, we have arrived at the Snowfall Realm.”
“Snowfall Realm?” The blue dressed woman was momentarily shocked, then she gave out a sigh. “There are three thousand realms within the Divine Domain whereas I have travelled through the Void numerous times. And yet, I end up escaping into the one realm I did not want to end up in. My real name is Mu Qian Xue (snow)1, and this is the Snowfall Realm. Snow fall, snow fall, perhaps this is where I will fall…”
“Sister, you won’t, we…” Just as the young woman was talking, a violent fluctuation of energies suddenly appeared in the air. In the next moment, an invisible pair of hands tore down the space. Next, a man in black walked out from the tear in space and stood upright in the middle of the air.
After seeing the appearance of this man, the young woman’s face changed greatly and her words became lost within her throat.
The black man was handsome and outstanding in bearing, however, a crimson shade was emanating from both his pupils, granting him a fearsome visage. Seeing Mu Qianxue, he gave a light laugh. “Your Holiness, we meet again.”
Mu Qianxue’s countenance remained cold. Although she had expected that the other side would chase her, she did not expect that it would happen so fast.
The man continued “Your Holiness, for things to develop until such an extent is truly regrettable. I truly had no choice regarding the destruction of the High Verdant Sacred Lands. For beings such as you and me with such a kind of cultivation level, there is nothing in the world that we could not obtain. Thus, what you and I both desire is only absolute power and eternity. Why don’t Your Holiness hand over the Divine Magic Cube to me? We can study it together and explore the secrets hidden within the Magic Cube. We can be partners through it all, what do you think?”
Mu Qianxue channelled the divine energies within her body and coldly replied. “There is no need to talk about nonsensical subjects. Tian Mingzi, you may be capable of destroying the High Verdant Sacred Lands; but you will have to pay dearly if you wish to kill me.”
“Is that so? Then I guess I will have to give it a try,” The one called Tian Mingzi showed an air of indifference. His right had turned, and an ancient looking pagoda appeared in his hands. This is the Catastrophic Spirit Treasure, God Sealing Pagoda, capable of sealing gods and imprisoning demons. It could also serve as a vessel capable of accommodating ten thousand warriors. Half a month ago, this man had utilized this divine pagoda to transport ten thousand masters from all over the Divine Domain and brought them over to the High Verdant Sacred Lands, leading to its destruction.
Tian Mingzi tossed the God Sealing Pagoda into the air. Next, a golden light filled the area and ten thousand masters appeared within the Snowfall Realm. In just an instant, the skies were blotted by the countless shadows.
Ten thousand figures stood in the middle of the air, their gazes were all directed at the two helpless women standing upon the snowy landscape. Their eyes were filled with coldness and indifference.
Observing all this, the corners of Mu Qianxue’s mouth curled into a sneer. She had been waiting for this exact moment: Dark Infernal Sacred Lands, Mystifying Primal Sacred Lands, Ancient Anarchic Palace, Malevolent Blood Island… all of you came together in concert to destroy my High Verdant Sacred Lands. As compensation, I will use my own soul to bury all of you today!
Tian Mingzi spoke out. “Mu Qianxue, in terms of your strength and Heavenly defying talent, you are someone who deserves my respect and admiration. But as of now, you are already grievously injured. There is no chance for you to win against ten thousand masters of the Divine Domain. I still advise you to just surrender the Divine Magic Cube. I will spare you and your sister.”
Mu Qianxue ignored him. Focusing her mind, a one cubic inch grey coloured cube with black coloured inscriptions on its surface slowly appeared from Mu Qianxue’s palm. This is the object that had shaken up the entire Divine Domain, the Divine Magic Cube.
Mu Qianxue infused all of her divine energies into the Divine Magic Cube. Even though the Divine Magic Cube had been with her for over a year, she still could not comprehend the profound mysteries within it. Perhaps the Divine Magic Cube is the crystallized form of what is left of the soul of a legendary True God that had fallen. It possesses the terrifying power to pulverize every single soul. However, Mu Qianxue’s current strength was insufficient to fully control this power. If she were to use it, then her own soul would be devoured and sealed by the Divine Magic Cube.
“Yue’er, do not resist.”
“Sister?” The young woman did not understand what Mu Qianxue meant. At that moment, a layer of light enveloped her body. This light was meant to pierce the Void and transport her through space.
Mu Qianxue wanted to first send her sister away. Once she activated the forbidden powers of the Magic Cube, the soul of every living being in the vicinity would be absorbed and pulverized. This was also the reason why she was unable to deploy the forbidden powers of the Divine Magic Cube back in the High Verdant Sacred Lands.
“Hehe, you want to send your sister away? How could I allow that?” Tian Mingzi moved both hands, forming a seal. He had wanted to freeze the surrounding Void space, however, his face suddenly changed. The Divine Magic Cube within Mu Qianxue’s palm was seemingly condensing a horrifying amount of power that had instilled a sense of fear into his soul, causing it to tremble.
This is… Tian Mingzi’s heart raced and his seal-forming pattern changed. He had sensed a life-threatening crisis heading his way.
The Worldly Primal Qi all went berserk in that one instant, creating an energy vortex on the surface of the Divine Magic Cube.
“Using my soul as the guide, I shall avail myself to the power of God, Soul Extermination!”
Mu Qianxue spat out those words in a cold and clear manner, following which her body was transformed into specks of starlight. Her soul and spiritual awareness were both transformed into light streams and were absorbed and fused into the Divine Magic Cube. Watching all this, Tian Mingzi’s face changed greatly. Without any hesitation, he quickly ripped out a tear in space, intending to make a run for it. However, it was at this moment that the terrifying energies upon the Divine Magic Cube’s surface exploded outwards.
It was as though the stars itself had exploded, the surrounding space transformed into an imagery of paper being torn asunder. It was only now that the ten thousand masters from the Divine Domain that had arrived upon Snowfall Realm realized the life and death predicament that they were in. Those of them with the ability to pass through realms all tried to escape through the Void. Unfortunately, it was too late. The surrounding space was decimated by the terrifying energies and the resulting spiral storm absorbed all of them, akin to scraps of paper being sucked in. Their bodies were transformed into dust and vanished while their souls were crushed by the spiralling storm into fragments. Those soul fragments were then absorbed into the Magic Cube.
The large-scale amount of spatial collapse rendered a huge chunk of the Snowfall Realm into a dead zone. This zone had turned into an area filled with space storms capable of destroying everything. As for the Divine Magic Cube, it devoured every single one of the soul fragments and was also propelled into the spiralling space storm, entering into the Void…
[1 The pinyin for ‘snow’ is ‘xuě’.]