An Lin had already guessed this.
Chen Chen had slain the Heavenly Time God and the Ancient Dragon Empress had slain the Heavenly Speed God, thereby indicating that the Heavenly Gods were far from invulnerable.
There were still powerful beings in this world that could fight the heavens
Xu Xiaolan continued, “The Heaven Crushing Sect has extended an open invitation to all mighty figures at the Return to Void Stage or above to join their sect, upon which the heavenly disciples will bestow upon them the powers to combat the heavens! As such, both the Heavenly Human Tribe and the representatives of the Heavenly Dao are actually quite fearful toward the Heaven Crushing Sect.”
An Lin nodded. “Then there should be quite a few mighty figures that have joined the Heaven Crushing Sect, right?”
“Actually…” Xu Xiaolan paused momentarily before saying, “Almost all of the mighty figures in the Kingdom of the Nine States have joined the Heaven Crushing Sect…”
“With the exception of the Four Nine Immortal Sect!” she added.
An Lin’s mouth gaped open in shock. “What about the Heavenly Court emperors?”
“They’ve all joined the Heaven Crushing Sect.” Xu Xiaolan nodded.
An Lin: “…”
He was wondering what the Celestial Thearch, the second-in-command in the Heaven Mending Sect, would feel upon returning to the Kingdom of the Nine States, only to find that all of his comrades and subordinates had joined an opposing force…
“Then why didn’t you guys join the Heaven Crushing Sect?” An Lin was curious.
Xu Xiaolan turned toward An Lin with a gentle expression. “Our Four Nine Immortal Sect sect leader hasn’t even said anything, so how can we just make a reckless decision to join the Heaven Crushing Sect?”
An Lin’s heart trembled again upon hearing this.
He knew that under those circumstances, it was very much possible that he would not have been able to come back.
However, the entire Four Nine Immortal Sect was still holding on and waiting for his return.
An Lin had never imagined that his sect would be so loyal and unified.
He had unintentionally created a very adorable sect.
Xu Xiaolan continued, “We humans have no choice. All of the Heavenly Gods prioritize the destruction of the human race above all else. As such, we can only resist!”
“Wait, isn’t there still a Heaven Mending Sect? Have they done anything about this situation?” An Lin asked.
Xu Xiaolan’s brows furrowed slightly, and she thought about this for a moment before replying, “After you disappeared, the Heaven Mending Sect seemed to have completely disappeared from this world. I have no idea what they’ve been doing all this time.
“After the war erupted, many of the powers on the continent began to target the human race. They think that this disaster would end after they destroy the human race.
“Other living beings can only wage war against the human race in order to pledge their allegiance to the heavens in the hope that the Heavenly Gods would change their minds and not destroy them after the human race is destroyed.”
An Lin took a deep breath. “So, not only are we facing the Heavenly Human Tribe and the Heavenly Gods, but the entire continent is basically against us…”
Xu Xiaolan nodded lightly. “If it weren’t for the Heaven Crushing Sect’s allegiance toward the human race, perhaps all humans would’ve been wiped out already.”
“Who would have thought that the most powerful being in the True Demon Tribe would be protecting the human race…” An Lin was a little surprised by the Heaven Crushing Sect’s decision to stand with the human race, especially when they didn’t know whether their second-in-command, Chen Chen, was dead or alive.
Xu Xiaolan: “This has become a fight to survive for all races and tribes. In order to survive, all of them have to take sides!
“Some powers chose to side with the heavens like the Sinister Spirit Beast Cesspool, the Void Spirit Realm, the Dark Marshlands, the Creation Realm, the Western Heavenly Dragon Forest… Others chose to side with the Heaven Crushing Sect and the human race, such as the Spirit Lake Realm, the Holy Paradise, the Demon Realm, the West Sea Alliance… There are also some neutral powers that have chosen to refrain from taking sides, such as the North Cang Mountain Realm, the Southern Heavenly Wing Nation…
“As such, a massive war that rocked heaven and earth swept through the entire Tai Chu Continent at that time! Our Four Nine Immortal Sect also joined in on this battle, and we swore to live and die with the human race!”
Xu Xiaolan tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at An Lin with a hint of sorrow in her eyes. “What followed was an unavoidable war. My life then consisted of cultivating, instructing my disciples, beating up Little Huang, participating in the war, and waiting for An Lin.”
An Lin’s lips twitched slightly. “You were still beating up Little Huang?”
“Of course! Little Huang is a very naughty bird who needs to be regularly disciplined,” Xu Xiaolan said with a justified expression.
An Lin had no response to this and continued to listen to Xu Xiaolan’s recount of this war that had raged for several decades up to this point.
The Heavenly Human Tribe attacked the Kingdom of the Nine States and the Western Paradise from all different directions, sealing off all avenues for escape and retreat.
That’s right, even the monks of the Western Paradise were actually humans.
No human could escape the jurisdiction of the heavens.
The West Sea Alliance also had to battle the Heavenly Human Tribe invaders from the west.
The West Sea Alliance wasn’t really closely related to the human race, but they were the first to stand with the human race when this war erupted!
They stood up without any hesitation and defended the West Sea with their lives!
This event had sent a massive shock running through the entire Tai Chu Continent.
The battle of the West Sea was an extremely tragic one in which the blood of the Heavenly Turtle Tribe and the Spirit Fish Clan stained the entire sea red. The blood of the Heavenly Human Tribe then stained the ocean white. Despite all this, the Heavenly Human Tribe still hadn’t managed to break through the defenses of the West Sea even after several decades.
The Heavenly Human Tribe attacking from the south were obstructed by the Snake Spirit Clan of the Spirit Lake Realm.
They were once one of Nuwa’s subordinate forces, but in a bizarre twist of fate, all of them pledged their allegiance to the Heaven Crushing Sect and sided with the human race.
The Heavenly Human Tribe armies attacking from the north and the central region were combated by the Western Paradise and the Holy Paradise.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of the Nine States had to face the Heavenly Human Tribe army invading from the east.
The Dragon Court of the Eastern Seas was the easternmost power to side with the human race and they were no match for the Heavenly Human Tribe. Hence, all of them fled to the Kingdom of the Nine States for refuge.
During the sixtieth year following An Lin’s disappearance.
This was the tenth year of the Tai Chu Continent World War.
Aside from the western front, all human forces on the other fronts had been forced back.
The Heavenly Human Tribe from the eastern front had already reached the Kingdom of the Nine States…
In an extremely arduous battle, Xu Xiaolan made a breakthrough and attained the dual divine daos of the Vermilion Bird and the True Dragon before slaying sixteen Soul Piercing Stage generals at the Ancient Void State.
Perhaps all of these intense battles became the ideal catalyst for growth.
In any case, all of the human race powerful beings, with the Four Nine Immortal Sect powerful beings in particular, grew stronger at an astonishing rate…