The roar of the Lord of Heaven, accompanied by the surging Holy Light, echoed throughout the entirety of Heaven.
Within Heaven, the visitors in the Holy Cities trembled in fear at the rage of this supreme powerhouse of the era.
How many years had it been? This supreme god-king of the Heavenly Pantheon, the World Lord of Heaven, had not been this enraged in countless years.
The last time could be traced back to when that group of rebellious angels left Heaven and fell into Hell.
Could it be that their generation was about to witness history again? Was a new round of the Heavenly Great Expedition about to begin?
Many keen-nosed merchants, sensing the series of consequences this roar would trigger, rushed toward the teleportation arrays, even risking being burned by exposing themselves to the Holy Light.
The crowd instantly became congested as they desperately wanted to bring this news back to their respective organizations to gain an upper hand in the upcoming turmoil.
“Dong~~~”
In the next instant, the Holy Light receded, and a dull toll of a bell rang out, echoing in every corner of Heaven.
Hearing this bell, everyone stopped. Even the crowd that had been crowding toward the teleportation arrays froze.
Holding their breath, they turned to look toward the source of the toll, toward the absolute center of Heaven.
“Dong~~~”
Soon, the second toll came. This time, everyone in the Holy Cities, including the heavenly believers and the angels, felt their hearts leap into their throats.
Beads of sweat broke out on many people's foreheads, though whether from extreme nervousness or sheer excitement was unclear.
“Dong~~~”
The third toll came. The crowd remained still, staring tensely toward the center of Heaven.
“Dong~~~”
The fourth toll came. Many instinctively swallowed hard, their hearts pounding violently in their chests, as intense as stepping into a gladiatorial arena.
“Dong~~~”
The fifth toll came. Heavy breathing suddenly broke the silence of the crowd. Sweat dripped onto the pure white tiles of the Holy City, staining them with spots.
The angels standing guard everywhere folded their wings of light, their faces solemn as they tightened their grip on their swords.
“Dong~~~”
The moment the sixth toll rang out, the Holy City, which had been frozen as if on pause, suddenly sprang back into chaotic motion.
“Move, get out of my way! I'm a salesman for the XX Inter-Realm Merchant Group, let me into the teleportation array first!”
“Bah! Who does your XX Merchant Group think they are? I'm the favorite and spokesperson of the cosmic merchant, Lord Jinbao! Get lost!”
The visitors, especially the merchants, crowded toward the teleportation arrays like madmen, fighting for the chance to be the first to leave.
Under normal circumstances, the patrol squads and guard angels responsible for maintaining order in the Holy City would have stepped forward long ago to throw these disruptive, insolent fools into the Holy City's dungeons.
But now, their minds were entirely consumed by something else. They couldn't spare even a shred of energy to deal with the troublemakers.
Because everyone knew what these six tolls represented.
The local heavenly believers, the angels, and even the Popes from various regions who had been invited for advanced study all began running, heading into the nearest churches.
The guarding angels and the patrolling squads also received the signal to assemble.
In Heaven, a single toll meant that the Lord of Heaven, the supreme god-king, was about to hand down a divine oracle.
Two tolls meant that Heaven had birthed a new Angel Priest.
Three tolls announced that a brand-new world and civilization had joined the grand family of the Heavenly Pantheon.
Four tolls represented the fall or capture of an Eternal Rank enemy of Heaven—usually a Hell Archduke, but sometimes an Eternal Rank expert who had spoken insolently of the Heavenly Pantheon.
Five tolls represented the birth of a new Titled High Priest, adding another peak powerhouse to the Heavenly Pantheon.
While the first five tolls only affected the internal affairs of the Heavenly Pantheon, the sixth toll would impact the entire Myriad Worlds.
When six tolls ring, Heaven's expedition marches.
The grand Heavenly Great Expedition, a massive undertaking involving the entire Heavenly Pantheon and all its allies, was about to begin once more.
The last time, when the angels fell into Hell and the six tolls rang, the Lord of Heaven launched the first Great Expedition, officially blowing the horn of all-out war against Hell.
This Great Expedition would sweep through the entire Myriad Worlds. War was not merely a life-and-death struggle of hacking heads and stabbing sides; the logistics behind it were the absolute priority.
The logistical resources required for a Great Expedition spanning almost the entire Myriad Worlds were astronomical.
Just a tiny fraction of the overflow would allow countless merchants and minor civilizations to seize the opportunity to rise, becoming renowned entities within the Myriad Worlds.
And with this Great Expedition, how many more would rise and secure a place among the elite of the Myriad Worlds?
Word spread like wildfire, and the news of the relaunch of the Heavenly Great Expedition quickly swept across the Myriad Worlds.
High-end civilizations had already mobilized, proactively seeking contact with Heaven in hopes of securing logistics supply contracts.
Mid-tier civilizations did the same, but knowing their competitiveness was far inferior to that of high-end civilizations, they could only beg for low-profit projects that the high-end civilizations disdained.
As for the low-tier civilizations, they remained oblivious, not understanding what the Heavenly Great Expedition even was, and were still posting messages everywhere, asking for clarification.
Meanwhile, the Dao Lord-tier factions—such as the Universe Daoist Academy, immortal path forces like the Hunyuan Dao Lord and Taihao Dao Lord, and the massive Yokai Realm—also had their attention drawn to this.
The Dragon Emperor of the Yokai Realm showed nothing but disdain toward the Lord of Heaven.
“The one in Heaven is starting another great conquest? Hehe. The last expedition made Heaven the greatest force in the Myriad Worlds. I wonder if they will take it a step further this time, or fall directly from their altar?”
Meanwhile, the Hunyuan Dao Lord was fraught with worry.
“At a juncture like this, Hell still dares to provoke Heaven. Could it be that they already have a clue on how to take the next step and plan to liquidate the Myriad Worlds?”
Li Taiji, however, knew a bit of the inside story. Within the Universe Daoist Academy, he connected the Heavenly Great Expedition with Chen Xu's previous mention of invading Hell.
He instantly realized that this might be a deliberate move by the Lord of Heaven.
Indeed, for the Lord of Heaven, it was deliberate, but the fury was also very real.
By now, the Lord of Heaven's immense power no longer relied on the special world of Heaven itself, but on the vast Heavenly Pantheon and the trillions of believers.
The Mother of Hell's actions—launching sneak attacks on his rear, slaughtering his believers, and polluting their faith—undoubtedly struck the Lord of Heaven's most sensitive nerve.
Thus, the ruler of Heaven, the supreme god-king of the pantheon, made the decision to showcase his wrath to Hell and the Myriad Worlds through a new Great Expedition.
At the same time, he used this to cover up his true objective. When the Great Expeditionary Force pressed forward and reached the vicinity of Hell...
He would not hesitate for a single second. He would immediately hurl the entirety of Heaven right at Hell, clashing directly to the death with that madman!
In the Undead Dao Court, Chen Xu had just learned from Miracle that Heaven was preparing to launch a Great Expedition.
Standing atop the Overlord's Castle, he gazed into the distance, looking toward the Undead Heavenly Crafts and the Nephalem who were locked in combat.
Given enough time, the growth of the undead would absolutely surpass both Heaven and Hell.
But now, it seemed time was not on his side.
Chen Xu had already guessed the Lord of Heaven's true objective. The final act of the Great Expedition would inevitably take place within Hell—or rather, within Heaven, or perhaps even more likely, within the six special worlds.
At this thought, Chen Xu couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
“Time is running out.”
Just then, a soul connection that had been silent for a long time sent a message to Chen Xu.
“Gurgle gurgle...”
Inside the Necrotic Archmage Tower, the bloated, mountain-of-flesh body of the Source of the Plague was bobbing up and down as if dancing, filled with excitement.
Before it floated a grayish-white, pure crystal. Within the crystal, a seemingly unprecedented and unique plague was being nurtured.
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