Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

Yan Zaizen's heavenly-attuned deathly form was deactivated, his being no longer being death itself. Instead, he reverted back to his own self and his disposition was imperial. He stood upright, his amber-gold eyes radiating a profound majesty, and his aura steady.

Creator God Byzi calmly watched this transition. He commented softly: "Quite a powerful and pure Minor Heaven. It's far superior to even normal World Law Grand Heavens of you Heavenly Cultivators." As an existence at the Creator God level, this was words backed by immense experience. Despite not being a Celestial, he was quite knowledgeable in the aspects of Heavenly Cultivation.

Yan Zaizen regarded Creator God Byzi, his poise and demeanor and aura transcendent and beyond reproach. 

He recalled what Yri had informed him regarding Celestial Path's cultivation. It was divided into nine phases, each divided by nine realms. It was unlike the Heavenly Path. It was consistent and uniform. 

The nine realms were, from lowest to greatest: Qi Foundation, Revolving Core, Dao Soul, Essence Creation, Essence Ignition, Celestial Knight, Celestial Monarch, Celestial Divinity, and Celestial Immortal. 

Unlike Heavenly Cultivators, Celestial's had no realms dedicated towards foundational development nor can be skipped casually. In fact, Yri referred to Celestial Cultivation as the most complete and fair type of path. It focused on developing Essence to its limits within, exerting its utmost power.

Those at the Celestial Monarch Realm rivaled Heavenly Genesis Cultivators, and typically, the strongest exceeded all Heavenly Cultivators in this realm. This was due to this realm having power similar to a Minor Heaven at their grasp and being unconstrained by typical laws. They were the source and fuel of their power, not requiring any other environmental factors.

They drew upon the omnipresent essence in all things, cultivating essence itself as an independent entity.

At the moment, if Yan Zaizen lost his Heavenly Shrine, his cultivation would revert back to the True Essence Realm, and his heavenly power would fade into obscurity. However, as long as a Celestial was alive, they couldn't be crippled in such a simple manner. While possible to cripple them, it was nearly impossible without killing them.

Its fairness stemmed from its equality. While resources can help, and talent can act as a higher starting point, hard work and time could allow one to reach unfathomable heights. That said, there were differences in their power, and this stemmed from their self-created celestial essence. 

Yan Zaizen felt the astonishing celestial power within Byzi, and he felt that it was endless. 

"We should be quick then," Yan Zaizen knew that Byzi didn't wish to discuss with him if others were present, so he said this bluntly. At the moment, everyone had steered clear of the battle between god-level figures.

Creator God Byzi casually smiled.

Yan Zaizen asked, "What is this 'Key' you speak of?" He hadn't recalled obtaining a key, or anything resembling one. Outside of the fragmented hearts of the Non-Verse, there were no other candidates in mind. Unfortunately, the timing didn't quite match-up. He had just obtained those yet forces from all over were already rushing over. This indicated planning of some kind. 

Creator God Byzi's orange eyes stared straight into Yan Zaizen's, as if trying to pierce into his soul. After a short period of time he said: "The 'Key' is you."

Yan Zaizen was taken aback immediately. 

Me? 

A tinge of disbelief flickered in his eyes. Could the Non-Entity Body be a 'Key'? It didn't seem worth it to gather legitimate figures at the god-level for that. After all, he wasn't the only Non-Entity in existence nor will he be in the future.

Witnessing Yan Zaizen's confusion, Byzi added: "The Key to this prison of ours. You are the door and the chain connected to the lock. We, Celestials, need you. They, those Heavenly Cultivators, wish to use you."

Yan Zaizen directly ignored the last bit. He wouldn't take this Celestial at his word that the Heavenly Cultivators wished to use him, even if they were the most aggressive. It's obvious the Celestials wished to use him for a purpose too.

"Prison…" Yan Zaizen recalled the All-Immortal Dragon's youngest daughter, Sephira All-Central. She had referred to the Heavenly Origin Grounds as a prison, and Yri couldn't leave this location, suffering a backlash from an unfathomable force. She was an existence from thirty-seven billion years ago, so this was a relatively recent development. Could it be…?

He promised Sephira that he would shatter this so-called prison, freeing her so that their future child would be with a father and mother. He had swore on this. 

Wait…

"Didn't she also mention a 'Key'?" His pupils shrunk a bit, his mind circulating rapidly as he recalled her very words.

-----

"To think, Ancestor of the False King, beloved by a universe, created from those two, and you even have 'it'. Glaurung didn't lie to me!"

"Yan! Zen! Fascinating, not only did you do it, you even inseminated your bloodline with the Key! The celestials will definitely do everything to obtain it...and everyone else will...haha, haha, fate! Truly fate! A river of blood and gold, trial of three lives, and the savior of the Dragon Race!!" - Saphira.

-----

At the time, he was experiencing a disgusting amount of pain due to his fate attempting to shift. Despite that, he retained her words in his heart. The False King was his Ancestor, and he inseminated his bloodline with this Key. His ancestor…

The Yan Clan was a small clan in the Thirty-Three Heavens' Xiantu Realm, but many knew of his ancestor. It wasn't a minor matter, and various important figures recognized him, including Saphira All-Central, the daughter of the All-Immortal Dragon, an existence beyond Pseudo-Gods or Celestial Divinity and Ezekiel.

Now that he recalled this bit, he finally understood that they were after the 'Key' in his bloodline, placed there by his ancestor, and the actual key to breaking this prison. According to Saphira, the Celestials would do anything to have it and everyone else…

Well, she laughed hysterically after.

Swiftly, he regained his mind and recognized their intentions. 

"If I have this 'Key', then could others even obtain it? Use it without me?" Yan Zaizen was skeptical in this regard. If it was placed into his bloodline, that meant it was legitimately connected to his soul, much like the Law of Mimicry. He didn't think he could be refined.

Creator God Byzi quietly looked towards Yan Zaizen and shook his head. "While we can't use it, we can force or direct you to."

Those words sounded simple, but they explained many things. Yan Zaizen hastily sped up his words, realizing others were likely returning at this point. "Celestials are prisoners, then I understand why you want it to escape, but what of the Heavenly Cultivators? What use does it have for them?"

This question boggled his mind. Even if he held the rights to exit this world, there's no reason why they would panic in killing him or show restraint. After all, they weren't celestials nor trapped. Any being outside of celestials can exit freely into the Thirty-Three Heavens. Whether the Heavenly Gods of the Thirty-Three Heavens would accept them, that was an entirely different matter.

Celestial Creator Byzi slightly furrowed his exquisite brows. He didn't answer. Yan Zaizen could tell that he had his reservations, and they were unfathomably deep. He decided to focus elsewhere, knowing that this near-omnipotent figure beneath the heavens would remain tight-lipped on this matter.

"Last question: Why not just ask me to directly open the door?" This question caused Byzi's expression to change, and before he could respond, an aged voice resounded.

"If only it were that simple," an old man arrived, piercing through the still recovering dimensional space and arriving like a ghost in the night.

Yan Zaizen and Byzi's eyes were drawn to the man in silver robes. Within Byzi's gaze was a hint of surprise, but also a flash of mysterious light. Yan Zaizen, on the other hand, was very casual. He regarded this man and felt his connection to the powers of spacetime. As a cultivator enlightened on the conceptual laws of spacetime, an Imperial Law of Heaven, he was familiar with the aura.

"You are?" Yan Zaizen asked. His originally hasty tone to seek answers had become much more even-paced and controlled. 

The old man slightly smiled and introduced himself, "I am Qiankun Vi Eternum. Others call me Master Qiankun, you can refer to me however you like." The old man radiated serenity and good-intentions, and Yan Zaizen's instincts verified the genuineness of his intentions.

Nodding, Yan Zaizen nonchalantly questioned, "Old Timer, what do you mean it isn't so simple?"

Master Qiankun, or Old Timer, eyebrows twitched upon hearing his nickname. He was just about to speak when a flash of orange lightning flickered into abrupt existence, arriving before him in a literal blink, and the world surrounding him seemed to become isolated. Despite the sudden development, Master Qiankun was rather calm. His wizened eyes were the epitome of serenity. 

With a breath, space and time rippled into a cohesive unit, becoming one and his existence faded alongside the natural forces that they ruled. The orange lightning struck nothing but the remnants of the still repairing shattered dimensional space. 

Byzi had struck, his body arriving at the empty space, but his fist was relentless in its intent. He punched towards the empty space as if he wished to pierce through space and time, reach into the past, present, and future, and collapse the void, chaotic, and dimensional spaces that overlapped.

This level of power exceeded normal imaginations. It befitted the strength affiliated with those deemed as 'Gods' or of the Divine.

Yet still, despite all his power and ability, Creator God Byzi was unable to touch even a thread on Master Qiankun's robe. 

Yan Zaizen gazed to his immediate left with a gaze radiating absolute calm. One must know, the distance between these figures were tens of thousands of miles, yet Master Qiankun had arrived in less than a picosecond further divided by a thousand. It was astonishingly fast, exceeding the limits of time and space, bordering instant teleportation.

In fact, it might just be that. If one considered the lag time between Master Qiankun's thoughts and actions, then it very well might've been.

Master Qiankun was somewhat surprised after arriving next to Yan Zaizen. Those amber-gold eyes were effusing calmness and expectations, as if he predicted his line of action and even Byzi's. 

"You're young, yet quite terrifying." Master Qiankun said with a smile.

Creator God Byzi finally comprehended that his attack couldn't shatter the fabric of Master Qiankun's escape and turned his head. With a soft, low yet very deep roar, he shouted: "Traitor! You better not!!" 

His rage induced a trace of interest in Yan Zaizen's heart. "He doesn't want this 'traitor' to tell me about the secrets of the Key." Thinking this, he smiled. "Shall we go?" His question was said casually, but he was already taking action.

His Minor Heavens of Life, Death, and Soul erupted with their Heavenly Power, and his Heavenly Shrine became dark-grey, effusing the aura of Spacetime. With all of these factors, his Dao Heart's Dao Energy thoroughly infused in his Heavenly Shrine, empowering it further.

Even a strand of Minor Heavenly Power was the same as possessing the power to equal the heavens, yet Yan Zaizen had three, all of which were at the World Law level.

In a blink, he vanished. 

Master Qiankun's wizened eyes widened abruptly, clearly shocked about Yan Zaizen's escape. "He used my divine art? No...an impromptu version of it." A trace of bewilderment flashed within his eyes, before he couldn't help but give off a stuffy laugh and turned to face Byzi.

"Creator God Byzi, I'll take my leave first." He continued his stuffy laugh filled with an elderly flavor as he directly vanished. 

Creator God Byzi's eyes widened. His celestial sense prodded the area thoroughly, but the still repairing dimensional space contorted and distorted everything. This infuriated him, but simultaneously left him helpless. Without the 'Hound' finding the 'Key' would be nigh impossible with such profound mastery of Spacetime.

He raised both hands and clapped furiously. His celestial power was rapidly flickering about, supporting the dimensional space in its repairs. In a second, the damage had been fixed, yet the traces of the two vanishing duo  had long since disappeared. 

To cultivators at their level, a literal second was enough to exchange ten thousand blows or escape millions of miles. It was even worse for those with space, time, light, wind, lightning, darkness, or acceleration laws.

In a few more seconds, the skyships and worldships arrived. Creator God Byzi sent out his celestial sense and returned to his worldship. The Heavenly Cultivators were confused, but they didn't dare ask Creator God Byzi of what had occurred.

Emperor Bloodfire was at the bow of his ship, watching the Creator God enter his worldship. Before long, the celestials blazed a path outwards towards a direction.

He decisively gave an order: "Follow them!"

The others gave similar orders, unwilling to be left behind by the Celestials.

Thus, the chase continued.