SWNOVELXO Chapter 1212: The Great Dark Tide
"Long, long ago, when heaven and earth were first born."
The middle-aged man in white robes sat on the steps of time, speaking unhurriedly, recounting the story he wished to tell:
"A tribe emerged from the Wildlands."
"They learned to fly from the birds, trained their bodies with the mountains and rivers, and observed the sun and moon to comprehend divine skills."
"This tribe grew and evolved continuously…"
Through his words, it was as if Yun Xi could see a reflection of spacetime—a glimpse of the upstream of history, where, in the swirling void of the universe, the signs of life first appeared.
Amid the vast cosmos, that realm seemed like a speck of dust—yet on that speck, it was a paradise for living beings.
Primal mountains and rivers, uncultivated lands, innumerable flying beasts and fierce creatures, with thriving, powerful Ancient Clans.
The frail Human Race spread across the land, serving as blood sustenance for myriad beings—a tragic and bold ancient prelude. Yet from among the Human Race arose sages who carved out a path for humans, gradually leading to their empowerment.
In one tribe, a group of young people was flourishing; they hunted ferocious beasts with their elders and learned the arts of battle. Among them, one young man shone with stunning brilliance, becoming the rising star of the tribe.
But the young man's radiance provoked envy and fear from other tribes. His own tribe was massacred in bloodshed, and he fled under the protection of his kin, plunging into a life of wandering hardship.
Yet, driven by the flames of vengeance and his extraordinary talent, he concealed his identity, trained in a sect gate nestled somewhere across the land, and eventually returned to the Wildlands. He annihilated his enemies and discovered the descendants of his people, subsequently rebuilding his tribe.
Under his leadership, the tribe fought countless battles through the ages. Ultimately, they unified the Pure Land of Life, and he rose to become an invincible Great Emperor.
But when the Pure Land of Life reached unparalleled prosperity, calamities descended, and catastrophes frequently erupted. Humanity, residing on the fragile soil of existence, found themselves struggling amidst waves of death.
The young man, now a Great Emperor, defied calamities and gazed into the universe's profound anomalies and ominous mysteries.
After tens of thousands of years of battles, growth, and struggles, the Emperor's realm reached unequaled heights. He became the strongest Supreme One across the Myriad Realms, gathering other Supreme beings with unsurpassed capabilities.
He led these peerless figures on an ancient cosmic path, tracing the source, seeking the origin of the dark calamity, searching for the ancestral root of disasters.
"The journey was so long—so long that one could forget time, forget the way home."
The Quiet One's voice was unhurried, calm, and gentle, but devoid of emotion.
"On such an endless path, the support of one another became the motivation to carry on…"
"What you cannot comprehend is this: dozens of Supreme beings, unmatched in their time, traversing the boundless and desolate universe. In the first ten thousand years, their will ignited like flames. In the hundred-thousandth year, their heroic hearts remained steadfast. By the millionth year, they no longer knew why they persisted. In the ten-millionth year… they were uncertain whether they were conquering the universe or being conquered by it."
"Alone, perhaps madness would have claimed them long ago. Even a Supreme One cannot endure such solitude. In that moment, they deeply understood—it wasn't that they were protecting the world behind them. It was that the world behind them sustained them. It wasn't the feeble living beings who needed their protection; rather, they themselves needed those seemingly insignificant affections to warm their hearts."
"But when they beheld, for the first time, the terrifying tide of darkness descending upon them, the group who once swore to eradicate darkness… began to falter."
The Quiet One smiled faintly.
...
At this moment.
Above the Dark World created from the End of Myriad Paths.
The entire Dark World was nearly on the verge of being vanquished. Nan Feng, Long Zixuan, Lu Rang, Dugu Yuqing, Qing Chen, Jiang Li, Wu Dade, Lin Jiu Zheng, Gong Ya, and others displayed invincible might!
At the rear, Fire Spirit, Mu Qianning, and others led forces to overrun the Continent of Grey Mists, their onslaught fierce and decisive.
"All that's left is this shadow of the End of Myriad Paths…"
Long Zixuan and the others turned their gaze toward Xinning's position.
At this moment, the battle between Xinning and the End of Myriad Paths had reached its boiling point.
Both combatants had ventured into the Ten Thousand Dao Gate, emerging with the Fire of the Myriad Dao. For them, all Daos below the Supreme level were at their fingertips, wielded with ease, leaving them evenly matched.
"Sister… I don't want to fight anymore… I want to, kill you."
Xinning suddenly spoke. She raised her hand, and a beam of light fell upon Gong Ya.
In that instant, Gong Ya's aura surged abruptly. The Dao roared, the heavens quaked, and the light of creation unfolded upon her.
Xinning had guided Gong Ya into the Enlightenment Realm.
At this moment, Gong Ya glimpsed the myriad manifestations of the Dao, as if she stood atop an endless expanse of Dao.
Yet, within her heart, memories of moments in the small courtyard surfaced.
The moments of brewing tea with dedicated precision, seeking a single pot of fragrant purity.
The patience required to cook rice, waiting endlessly for a pot of steaming perfection.
The meticulous skill of handling a blade, striving to slice a potato into flawless strands!
And now, surrounding her, visions began to manifest.
No longer was she brewing tea—it was the Dao she was refining!
No longer was she slicing ingredients—it was the fabric of creation under her blade!
She was creating the Dao!
"Using the world as a chopping board, creation as flesh and fish, the vast oceans as broth, and the course of time as fire…"
In this moment, she took her first step into the creation of the Dao.
She had become a Great Emperor.
"The Emperor of Culinary Arts?"
"Sister Gong Ya is incredible… This Chef Dao… it's too defiant of natural order."
Long Zixuan and the others were astonished.
At that moment, Gong Ya, as if comprehending the profound, raised her hand. A beam of light cleaved through the void of the Dark World, aiming directly at the dark shadow of the End of Myriad Paths!
Before the End of Myriad Paths, an ocean of Daos churned, countless great paths evolving endlessly. Yet Gong Ya's Dao, unstoppable like a swift blade through empty air, swept across unhindered!
The shadow at the End of Myriad Paths… dissipated!
"Was she defeated?"
"Sister Yunxi didn't practice the Dao of Culinary Arts in her previous life… so this is her greatest vulnerability."
"It's only a shadow. Her true form is not here."
Nan Feng and the others spoke up one after another.
But Xinning's wide eyes glimmered with resolve. She declared:
"Sister… I will find your true form… and kill you…"
At this moment, nearly the entire Dark World had been conquered!
Total victory!
"We won!"
"This is amazing!"
"Darkness isn't invincible. In this lifetime, we stand a chance!"
The world rejoiced.
Since ancient times, the mere mention of darkness filled hearts with dread. The catastrophic disaster of darkness was like a blade perpetually hanging above humanity's head.
Parasitic forces, creation myths, and the grey mist—all had been attempts to flee, merely to survive.
Fight? Since the age when Emperor Zhantian led the War Heaven Emperor's Court into battle, only to face annihilation, no one dared breathe the word…
But today, facing darkness head-on, they had triumphed.
In the Nine Forbidden Continents, morale soared.
Yet, at that moment.
Boom!
Suddenly, across the heavens and the earth, a roaring tide echoed, shaking the Nine Continents.
Everyone instinctively turned back.
At the borders of the world of the Nine Continents, from the hazy depths of the unknown, darkness surged like a tidal wave, raging and sweeping toward the Nine Continents.
"The Dark Tide?"
"Is this… the Dark Tide from the Dark Firmament?"
"The Dark Firmament… The black calamity is here! The catastrophe capable of annihilating all civilizations has arrived…"
The world cried out!
It was an overwhelming torrent of the Origin of Darkness, an infinite substance of shadow, a force transcending all comprehension—a manifestation of the primordial rules of the universe, its might far exceeding that of the Dark World created by the End of Myriad Paths, now bearing down on the Nine Continents.
The Dark Tide, driven by the black laws of the cosmos, had finally descended upon the Nine Continents.
"No…"
"Run…"
"I don't want to be consumed by the darkness…"
The people wailed and screamed.
In Youzhou.
The arrival of the black substance enshrouded the land in darkness, plunging countless living beings into death and transformation!
"Ah…"
An Earth King-level powerhouse inhaled a single breath of the dark substance, causing the origin within his body to explode instantly. He collapsed, lifeless, on the spot.
"Roar…"
A mighty tiger, fleeing through the mountains with speed and wings, was still swallowed by the darkness. In the next moment, its eyes filled with black mist, transforming into a dark creature!
"My lady, let us become creatures of darkness together… hold me tightly!"
In a mountain cave, a young man cried out, clinging to his master's wife. Yet in the very next moment, she turned into a decaying corpse, while his own eyes turned pitch black…
"Why… why can I become a creature of darkness, yet you cannot, my lady… Ahhhh!"
The young man, with his last shred of sanity, roared in discontent…
...
This was a calamity of epic proportions!
The black mist, infused with the laws of darkness, annihilated nearly all life forms it touched.
Only a scarce few could transform into dark creatures, eking out an existence within the shadow.
The black mist swept across the Nine Continents!
...
"No!"
"It's all over…"
"Quick, head to the Steps of Time and escape this era!"
Before the Continent of Grey Mists, amidst the armies of the Desolate Heaven Alliance, many cried out.
"There's no time left."
Yet Fire Spirit, Mu Qianning, and the others remained calm, turning their eyes toward Nan Feng and the rest.
"Sister Nan Feng, you all should go first."
"We will stay behind and give it our all!"
They intended to sacrifice themselves, buying time for Nan Feng and the others to escape this collapsing reality.
But at this moment, a soft voice echoed:
"There is no need to leave. Here… is where we belong."
The voice rang out, and everyone present was stunned.
...