Chapter 124: The Nine-Headed Lion

April 18th, finally arrived.

Across all continents of the globe, hundreds of millions of people had spent months preparing for this day—a day heralded by the warning prophecy issued by the man hailed as the closest being to a god.

This day weighed heavily on the hearts of every surviving human on Earth.

Although Gu Sha had not made a single move since his final post on the global forum a month ago, his popularity had grown with each passing day. It was as if he were no longer in the martial arts world, yet legends of him persisted everywhere.

Finally, the time had come.

The moment to verify whether Gu Sha was a god or a demon had arrived.

Major barriers had been built across all continents, and the armed forces of all mankind had been mobilized. During these past few months, global humanity had poured almost all its resources into preparing for this disaster, a catastrophe foretold by a single man.

Amidst the anxiety and unease of humanity, twelve o'clock struck.

In that very instant, cracks suddenly appeared in the sky. A blood-red luster permeated the atmosphere. In places where it was night, the moon vanished and the stars retreated; in places where it was day, the sun disappeared, the clouds turned crimson, and a blood-colored haze swirled across the heavens. A faint, pervasive scent of blood began to fill the air, and an eerie atmosphere enveloped the entire globe.

The crimson had truly descended!

At this moment, not a single person on Earth harbored the slightest doubt about Gu Sha’s prophecy. At this moment, Gu Sha had solidified his title as a god. The high-ranking officials of all major global barriers were in emergency contact.

And then, the world went to war.

...

A month later, Gu Sha opened his phone once again.

His device had been replaced; it was no longer the old model that required charging, but the latest "Hope" brand solar-powered global universal phone.

Gu Sha was wearing a protective suit. Although the crimson infection would have little effect on him now, he had prepared the suit in advance to avoid any trouble.

Gu Sha stood in the living room of a small building, watching the spreading crimson and listening to the frantic roaring of the zombies outside. He slowly opened his phone and logged into the global forum.

The top trending post read: "God!"

The content of the post stated: "Gu Sha, the world’s first-tier powerhouse, is not the savior of humanity; he never was. He is merely a god walking among men. Perhaps he will show pity to humanity, or perhaps he will remain cold and indifferent. Everything can seemingly be explained by one word—divinity!"

Countless replies echoed this sentiment.

Gu Sha clicked on it and read for a while, a faint smile appearing on his face. He had never imagined that one day he would be placed on a pedestal by all of humanity.

However, Gu Sha did not take it too seriously. He understood very well that humans were a peculiar species. They were incredibly adept at creating gods, yet they were just as prone to trampling those same gods underfoot, casting them aside as worthless.

"God, heh!"

Gu Sha chuckled softly, put away his phone, and stepped outside.

The moment he stepped out, a series of rumbling sounds broke out, one after another, never-ending. Massive, cloud-piercing mountains suddenly emerged.

They were majestic, appearing as abruptly as a mirage atop the Taihang Mountains. Thousands, even tens of thousands of meters high, they stretched on endlessly. Within mere seconds, hundreds, even thousands, of these peaks appeared; compared to them, the original mountain range seemed low and insignificant. Furthermore, they radiated brilliant light, appearing divine and holy.

"It has begun."

Gu Sha knew that this was the transformation of heaven and earth. This was the true, original form of the Taihang Mountains from the ancient era. All that human civilization had glimpsed in thousands of years was but a drop in the ocean; the true full view had been hidden within these blessed grotto-heavens.

Today marked the beginning of this transformation. Many ancient, miraculous flowers, exotic fruits, and heavenly treasures hidden within the grotto-heavens would gradually revive, and even the seeds of ancient, long-lost species would sprout and emerge into the world.

However, Gu Sha had little interest in those now. His primary objective was the secret manual of cultivation hidden within the Taihang grotto.

...

After leaving the house, Gu Sha leapt onto the roof and boarded a helicopter. He then flew towards the crimson-shrouded Taihang Mountains.

Perhaps the Taihang Mountains should now be called the Taihang Divine Mountains. The giant peaks stood in rows, all piercing the clouds like divine blades, glowing with brilliant light and pulsating with vitality, resembling a legendary immortal realm.

To the rest of the world, this was an entirely alien landscape, but for Gu Sha, it was familiar territory—so familiar that he even knew exactly where the heavenly treasures would appear.

Gu Sha piloted the aircraft deep into the mountains. Along the way, he saw wild beasts and corrupted beasts alike fleeing into the Divine Mountains. These creatures might not have had high intelligence, but their instincts were keen; they could sense the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity hidden within these suddenly transformed mountains.

The journey went smoothly for Gu Sha. Because these grotto-heavens had only just appeared, they were currently very tranquil, devoid of any crises or obstacles. He pressed onward through the crimson.

The Taihang Mountains were vast. Relying on his foresight, it still took him over two hours of flying to reach his destination, located in the middle of a massive peak near the center of the Taihang Divine Mountains. He hid the helicopter in a mountain cave, concealing it with branches.

Gu Sha then ran up to the mountain top.

What greeted his eyes were rows of ancient, quaint palaces. Though they had long since fallen into disrepair due to the passage of time, one could still see the traces of their former glory—a scene of peace and prosperity, with lush greenery and pavilions interspersed among cascading waterfalls. It was truly a rare and blessed grotto-heaven.

A giant stele stood in front, inscribed with three large characters: "Asking Heaven Pavilion."

This place had once been the site of an ancient cultivation sect known as the Asking Heaven Pavilion.

The three characters alone exuded a vast and magnificent aura, as if a giant spirit stood there, looking down upon Gu Sha.

"Mortal, congratulations on arriving at the land of the gods!"

Just then, a voice like the tolling of a divine bell resounded, as if thunder were exploding in the sky. A lion with nine heads appeared before Gu Sha. Its body was pure gold, dazzling and brilliant, extremely fierce, domineering, and terrifying. Its presence was soul-stirring, and its voice, like thunder, made the surrounding trees tremble.

Looking at this nine-headed lion, Gu Sha revealed a faint smile beneath his protective mask. This was an old friend.

He had first learned of this nine-headed lion when he was still at the C-City barrier, from Bai Ziyu of the World Purification Association, who mentioned that there was a dimensional space within the Taihang Mountains containing a nine-headed lion that claimed to be a mount for the gods.

In the months that followed, in the visions of the future that Gu Sha had foreseen, he had encountered this nine-headed lion many times. It was a beast that had already reached the peak of the King tier.

In those visions, Gu Sha had even been tricked by this lion once!