Chapter 289: The Vanished Nation’s Fortune
Mysterious energy never seen before rose from the cultivators, wisp by wisp, ever-shifting and elusive.
Within the Celestial Dynasty, every inch of land emitted this mysterious energy, rising like cooking smoke.
Some cultivators reached out to grab it, but it was like touching a mirage—no matter the method, they couldn’t seize it.
The mysterious energy filled every corner of space, gradually forming into strands and sheets, moving with direction, converging on a single location.
The Heavenly Lord.
“This is…” Yu Feng was astonished; he had never seen this power before either.
“This is Nation’s Fortune—newly born Nation’s Fortune,” Jiang Li explained.
The Heavenly Lord opened his arms to welcome the newly formed Nation’s Fortune.
The Nation’s Fortune gathered from all directions, like a vast ocean pouring into a bottomless pit, condensing and compacting until it finally took the form of a constantly changing mask.
The Sacred Celestial Dynasty would wear Nation’s Fortune as its mask.
The Heavenly Lord had considered what form the Celestial Dynasty’s Nation’s Fortune should take—should it be a guillotine soaked in the blood of countless innocents, a hidden weapon filled with deadly intent, or a beast embodying survival of the fittest?
He rejected them all.
The more closely it aligned with reality, the stronger the Nation’s Fortune would be—but these weren’t the best choices.
Guillotines, hidden weapons, beasts—these all symbolized slaughter. Using them as the Nation’s Fortune would plunge the Celestial Dynasty into endless wars, eventually leading to self-destruction.
After deep contemplation, the Heavenly Lord finally chose a mask.
On the Tongu Continent, everyone wore a mask, hiding their true thoughts from the world.
Assassination, betrayal, fake smiles, acting… On Tongu Continent, different versions of the same performance played out every day.
Even the Heavenly Lord did not act with complete openness—he had been secretly destroying books, lowering the collective baseline.
“So this is the power of Nation’s Fortune?” The Heavenly Lord felt the overwhelming energy rushing into his body, his strength rising step by step until it reached its peak.
“But why doesn’t it feel that powerful?” The Heavenly Lord felt stronger, yet not completely empowered.
Compared to the records in ancient texts, it seemed to fall short.
Those texts claimed that receiving Nation’s Fortune was equivalent to reaching the Tribulation Stage.
Yet he only had a quarter of Tribulation Stage power now—and even that, only the weakest level.
“What went wrong? The number of cultivators? The Celestial Dynasty already has enough people.”
The Heavenly Lord thought five million cultivators was already an astronomical number. He couldn’t believe any other nation had so many cultivators.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters. The Heavenly Lord continued hosting the grand ceremony.
The Arhat of Great Freedom scribbled furiously at the side, recording this historic moment.
He had been appointed as the historian by the Heavenly Lord, tasked with documenting the history of the Celestial Dynasty.
“First year of the Celestial Dynasty, first day of the first lunar month—the Heavenly Lord, supported by the masses and willed by cultivators, gathers the people’s hearts, accomplishes a great feat under heaven and earth, founds the Sacred Celestial Dynasty. Nearly ten million cultivators shout praises: ‘The Heavenly Lord is wise, the Heavenly Lord is eternal, invincible under the heavens.’”
The Arhat of Great Freedom paused, realizing no one had shouted “The Heavenly Lord is wise,” so he put down his pen, raised his hand, and loudly shouted, “The Heavenly Lord is wise!” Then he continued writing.
“Nation’s Fortune rises, condenses into a mask, the Heavenly Lord receives its blessing, invincible under the heavens, the Celestial Dynasty everlasting and immortal for all generations.”
The Heavenly Lord raised his arm and cried out: “With the lives of one million mortals, I offer a blood sacrifice to the Nation-Protecting Grand Formation—may my Celestial Dynasty endure as long as the heavens!”
Blood River Ancestor cleared a vast open space where one million mortals were lined up in perfect order.
The mortals knelt on the ground, eyes clear, shouting in unison:
“The Heavenly Lord is eternal, his power reaches the heavens, the Celestial Dynasty begins today and will last forever!”
“The Heavenly Lord is eternal, his power reaches the heavens, the Celestial Dynasty begins today and will last forever!”
“We mortals are as worthless as grass, but we die for the Heavenly Lord, die for the Celestial Dynasty. In life, we are people of the Celestial Dynasty; in death, we are ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty. Even after death, we will guard the Celestial Dynasty, forever and ever!”
“We mortals are as worthless as grass, but we die for the Heavenly Lord, die for the Celestial Dynasty. In life, we are people of the Celestial Dynasty; in death, we are ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty. Even after death, we will guard the Celestial Dynasty, forever and ever!”
The cultivators looked at each other in astonishment. None of them had ever seen such a scene before—they thought this group of mortals, clinging to life, would beg and cry. That’s what mortals usually did when they killed them.
They hadn’t expected these mortals at the founding ceremony to be different—willing to die voluntarily.
No one knew what methods Blood River Ancestor had used.
The Heavenly Lord was very satisfied with the mortals’ behavior. Only mortals like these were worthy of participating in the one and only founding ceremony for all eternity.
The Sacred Celestial Dynasty was the first dynasty on the Tongu Continent composed entirely of cultivators. It was destined to go down in history.
“In life, we are people of the Celestial Dynasty; in death, we are ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty.”
“In life, we are people of the Celestial Dynasty; in death, we are ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty.”
Gradually, the Heavenly Lord sensed something was wrong. The Nation’s Fortune was rapidly weakening. He tried desperately to hold on to this hard-earned power, but the tighter he gripped, the faster it slipped away—like sand through fingers.
In the end, the Nation’s Fortune vanished completely—nothing left at all!
The Heavenly Lord quickly figured out the reason—those mortals.
Just because someone’s name was registered didn’t mean they were truly a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty. The registry wasn’t some kind of immortal artifact.
As long as someone believed they were a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty, they were.
These mortals were like toads lusting after swan meat—daring to imagine themselves as citizens of the Celestial Dynasty!
The prerequisite to forming Nation’s Fortune was that over ninety percent of the population had to be cultivators. Five million cultivators mixed with one million mortals dropped that percentage from ten to eight!
And he couldn’t even kill these mortals.
Once they died, the Celestial Dynasty would still have to count them as citizens.
The dead were citizens too.
There was only one way to reforge Nation’s Fortune: train all of these mortals into cultivators!
“Blood River—so this is your big surprise for me!” Recalling Blood River Ancestor’s smug face, the Heavenly Lord was furious.
He had been humiliated!
“H-H-Heavenly Lord, it was all a mistake…” Blood River Ancestor stammered in fear. With the Nation’s Fortune gone and the mask vanished, the Heavenly Lord’s furious expression was utterly terrifying.
Blood River Ancestor, who had killed countless, felt the threat of death for the first time.
“Die!”
The Heavenly Lord struck with his palm, sealing the space. Blood River Ancestor’s cultivation surged into the Heavenly Lord, his body disintegrating into particles scattered across the land, his soul torn to shreds—erased from both the mortal world and the underworld.
“The Heavenly Lord used the Devouring Technique?!” Senior Sister Wu Lian gasped in her heart, not daring to make a sound.
She saw the Heavenly Lord absorb Blood River Ancestor’s power. Though his method was far superior to Ma Pingfan’s, the essence was the same.
“East Overseer, West Overseer—where are you?!”
“We are here.” East Overseer and West Overseer appeared.
The remaining five Fusion Stage cultivators were shocked—they hadn’t expected hidden Fusion Stage cultivators.
The Heavenly Lord had deliberately hidden these two. The implication was obvious.
“Besides Blood River, who else taught those damn mortals?!” The Heavenly Lord ground his teeth in fury.
Even after killing Blood River Ancestor, his rage had not subsided—he wanted to kill more.
The two Fusion Stage cultivators trembled at the Heavenly Lord’s wrath, terrified he would turn his anger on them.
“Reporting to the Heavenly Lord, there is also a youth named Yu Feng. To be precise, he was the main one instructing the mortals—Blood River merely followed his advice.”
The East and West Overseers pointed to Yu Feng in the crowd.