"What is going on? Why does it feel like an infinite calamity is descending?"
Seated in the central dojo, Gu Chuan temporarily severed his connection with his avatar. After all, the avatar was on its way to the Origin Continent, and nothing significant would happen for the time being.
A glimmer of light flickered in his eyes as the Chaos Eight Trigrams technique within the depths of his sea of consciousness continuously deduced possibilities. Endless streams of data surged forth, attempting to pierce through the fog of fate and foresee the future.
Yet, the river of destiny was shrouded in a dense, dark mist, cutting off all glimpses of the future. It was as if the power of doom had enveloped the threads of fate, rendering even those with great supernatural abilities unable to peer into the vast fabric of time and space.
"It seems I need to see for myself what is happening."
A sharp glint flashed in Gu Chuan's eyes as he immediately sensed that the power of doom had invaded the heavens and myriad worlds, leading to the birth of an unprecedented calamity.
Rumble!
In an instant, his soul fluctuations spread across the cosmos, extending into countless realms.
He immediately perceived that innumerable Great Thousand Worlds, Middle Thousand Worlds, and Small Thousand Worlds were now saturated with ominous forces—evil spirits, dark entities, curses, and an overwhelming aura of slaughter. Though these presences remained subtle, they could not escape his perception.
Vaguely, the looming catastrophe converged from countless worlds, forming an infinite tide of destruction, as if the sky had turned upside down and killing intent surged across the land.
"What is this?"
Gu Chuan's mind focused on one of the most afflicted worlds, where the situation was at its direst. He beheld a scene of utter chaos—ghosts, monsters, and grotesque horrors prowling across the lands, while wicked spirits roamed unchecked.
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would have mistaken this Great Thousand World for the Underworld itself.
This calamity had arisen because the world had become a battlefield for divine beings vying for supremacy. In their relentless struggle for the Hongmeng Purple Qi, countless races had waged war, tearing the land asunder.
The outcome was predictable. The sheer number of fallen powerhouses left behind an overwhelming accumulation of grievances and resentment. Upon their deaths, these formidable beings transformed into vengeful specters and malignant spirits, wandering ceaselessly through the world.
All beings born into this realm now coexisted with these sinister forces. Every moment was a battle for survival, as they risked being devoured by the malevolent entities surrounding them. The world itself had become an endless nightmare, a realm of despair steeped in fear, death, and bloodshed.
However, what shocked Gu Chuan the most was not merely the rise of these evil spirits—it was the emergence of something far more sinister.
A new horror.
The Grotesques.
What are Grotesques?
Literally, the term signifies an unbelievable legend.
In truth, wherever life exists, so too do myths and rumors. Some are stories of wonder, others of terror. Initially, these were nothing more than folklore, stories passed from one generation to the next, with no true substance.
However, the arrival of the doomsday force, coupled with the brewing of endless negative emotions and the accumulation of cursed energies, drastically altered reality itself. A terrifying transformation occurred—one that defied reason.
These legends, once mere figments of imagination, took form. They became real.
From illusion to reality, the grotesques emerged—manifestations of fear given life. The creatures of nightmares, once confined to whispers in the dark, now roamed freely in the waking world.
"This is troublesome."
Gu Chuan's expression darkened, his gaze solemn.
The grotesques were far more terrifying than ordinary evil spirits.
First, their strength was directly tied to the fear of living beings. The more terror they inspired, the more formidable they became. If the entire world cowered in dread before a single grotesque, its power could surpass even that of a Chaos Demon God, reaching levels beyond comprehension.
Second, grotesques possessed the horrifying trait of immortality.
Born from the fears of all living things, they could not truly die. Even if they were destroyed, as long as a single being still remembered their existence, they would return. Again and again, eternally resurrected.
The true source of this catastrophe was not only the invasion of the doomsday force—it was also the gods themselves.
The grotesques' power originated from faith.
"Faith is a poison."
Gu Chuan clenched his fist as realization dawned upon him.
The world is a delicate balance. Where there is yin, there must be yang. Where there are gods, there must be demons.
The gods cultivated their strength by harvesting the faith of living beings, using it to rapidly enhance their own divinity and accelerate their growth.
Yet, such power never comes without a price.
The faith of mortals is never pure—it is filled with conflicting emotions, from hope to despair, from reverence to terror. Among these, fear is the most potent, the most insidious.
For the gods, these dark emotions were poison.
They instinctively repelled them, casting them away, yet rejection did not equate to destruction. These dark thoughts lingered, accumulating over time, saturating the heavens and myriad worlds.
At first, their influence was negligible. But quantity breeds transformation. When negativity reaches a critical mass, it becomes a force unto itself.
Even without the doomsday invasion, this poison of faith would have eventually erupted into disaster.
But now, with the external corruption accelerating the process, the inevitable catastrophe had arrived. It was as if an ancient volcano, long dormant, had finally erupted, spewing forth devastation across the cosmos.
Across countless worlds, grotesques, nightmares, and evils were being born at an unprecedented rate. The very nature of existence was shifting, transforming reality into something eerie, surreal, and terrifying.
Belief in a god requires structure—divine rituals, persuasion, and orderly faith. Even with all of these, earning true believers remains a long and arduous process.
But fear?
Fear is instantaneous.
It requires no persuasion. No rituals. No devotion. A single moment of terror, a single act of bloodshed, a single glimpse of something beyond comprehension—these are enough to root fear deep within the hearts of all living things.
Moreover, fear spreads like wildfire. Once unleashed, it cannot be contained. The mere mention of horror breeds more horror, multiplying endlessly, embedding itself within the very souls of all who hear of it.
And because of this, grotesques are manifesting across countless worlds. Their numbers swell with every shudder, every whisper, every sleepless night.
If faith can create gods…
Then fear can do the same.
Just as gods rise from the devotion of their followers, grotesques and evil gods emerge from the endless tide of terror. For every god that exists, there will be an evil counterpart.
Now, an unstoppable catastrophe is sweeping across the heavens and myriad worlds.
No one knows how many gods will perish in the chaos.
"It seems I must travel across the heavens and myriad worlds to uncover the true origin of these grotesques."
Gu Chuan narrowed his eyes. He could sense that this mysterious apocalypse was unlike any other. It was far more insidious, more terrifying, and more difficult to resolve than any calamity he had ever encountered before.