Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

At a critical moment like this, praying to Gods is worse than relying on yourself.

As soon as they made up their minds, these Great Demon Beasts miserably discovered that they couldn't return to their caves, and all the resources on their usual, always-sensed territory had actually been completely cut off from contact!

"Boss, something feels off." The lackeys who chose to follow the Great Demon Beast were weaker after all, not as sensitive to changes in the Power of Heaven and Earth, yet they still felt something was weird.

The Demon Beasts who had just been mumbling about following the boss to guard this huge estate, but in their hearts preferred to trust the Sea God who had protected the Undersea World for years, all vanished in unison. They were held in place by rules spreading through the sea that mortals couldn't see, didn't even return to their caves, and directly entered a "hibernation" state on the spot.

Meanwhile those who had still been standing on the undersea mountain range, shouting slogans so loud the earth shook and the mountains swayed while declaring they didn't believe in the Sea God, were now all floating in the seawater. They could clearly see the mountaintops and trees just a few meters away, but were cut off by an invisible Barrier, unable to touch anything. No matter how powerful the attack, it was easily dispelled.

"Eh? What's going on?"

"How come we're all floating up here, when I was standing solidly without moving just now!"

"We seem to have… been excluded by some mysterious power…"

The underlings didn't dare shout loudly either; after realizing things were bad, they all muttered in low voices.

The Great Demon Beast's expression grew darker and darker. It discovered that even with strength as great as its own, it could no longer return to its exclusive territory. There was a layer of unseen something wrapping the whole Undersea World, and those who chose to disrespect the Sea God had been kicked out!

"What are you still dazing out for, hurry up and spread out to look for a place to settle." The Great Demon Beast steadied itself and flew forward a distance, then discovered that under that light shield, plenty of its former subordinates lay sleeping.

It practically understood at once and gave the order: "These traitors, they talked about following me and advancing and retreating together with everyone, then turned around and believed in the Sea God. His power couldn't have wrapped the entire sea all at once—go find places that haven't been closed off yet, we have to slip inside!"

With that reminder, the other Demon Beasts who had betrayed the Sea God all suddenly came to their senses.

If you believe in the Sea God and pray to Him, you can be protected by this light shield. Even if outside Demon Cultivators break in, they won't be able to easily break the Barrier set by the Sea God in a short time.

"So-called retribution in this life came this fast, huh?"

"Woo woo woo… If I'd known, I would have believed in the Sea God and prayed to Him early on, then we wouldn't have to suffer all this!"

"We're done for, if we can never go back to our territory, what are we supposed to do?"

"Who knows how long the Sea God is going to keep this place sealed off—we can't just wait around to starve to death."

"I was wrong! I know I was wrong, Lord Sea God please forgive me!"

"Why aren't you kowtowing to the Sea God yet? He has always been merciful, He'll definitely forgive us…"

......

Their morale was shaken in an instant. The Demon Beasts who had still been yelling aggressively just moments ago that "praying to Gods is useless" now wanted to cry but had no tears.

Yet no matter how they knelt and prayed, that light shield beneath their feet separating the Undersea World from the seawater didn't waver in the slightest. They could only watch, eyes wide open, as many Demon Beasts slept with steady breathing among the undersea mountains and forests.

Those more miserable than the traitor Demon Beasts in the undersea plains were the Demon Cultivators in the city.

After Xiyue City's City Lord Turtle Essence transmitted back to the city together with the Hai Family Patriarch and Hai Xunche, he immediately spread the Divine Oracle. He made sure that, besides Xiyue City, all Sea Demons in the surrounding subsidiary major cities, small cities, towns and tribes learned the Oracle's contents.

Then Turtle Essence began arranging city affairs, preparing for the entire clan to enter seclusion.

Everything happened too fast, so fast that the Sea Demons had no time to catch their breath.

The so-called Divine Oracles, apart from those that taught Cultivation Techniques and knowledge, were otherwise mostly prophecies of disasters. Normally they would be issued months or even years in advance, so that the regions about to suffer disaster had time to make arrangements and relocate the Sea Demons.

Thus, in the Sea Demons' understanding, it always took at least several months from the issuing of a Divine Oracle to its fulfillment.

Especially for the sun and moon coming to an end and an unprecedented colossal catastrophe, they figured there'd be at least several years for everyone to prepare.

Even Turtle Essence hadn't thought that barely half a day after his full calculations, the sun and moon would collide and fall, and the catastrophe would descend!

"Turtle Clan, all members enter seclusion!" As he watched the sky turn utterly black in just one second, he formed a hand seal with his right hand and lit the Flame atop the city's tallest tower, trying to light up the city so that the Sea Demons wouldn't panic.

Gathering all his Spiritual Power to drive his Cultivation Technique, he spoke in a voice that could be heard throughout the entire city: "All Sea Demons, do not panic, do not run wild. Immediately go into seclusion and pray for the Sea God's protection.

If you encounter a food shortage, don't be alarmed. Xiyue City's warehouses hold large reserves of grain; after verification by each workshop chief, the food will be distributed according to headcount…"

As he gave instructions on dealing with the emergency, countless practical problems flashed through Turtle Essence's mind—how long could the stored food feed how many Sea Demons? How many Sea Demons could the Spirit Stone reserves support in closed-door Cultivation? How were those juniors roaming about outside supposed to return home, and so on and so forth.

A tangle of messy issues twisted around his heart.

After the city was briefly thrown into chaos, that gleam from the tower brought a bit of comfort to the panicked hearts. City Lord Gui was very powerful. With him guarding the place, even if the days to come were bitter, they should still be able to tough it out.

Thinking this way, the Sea Demons went to find the workshop chiefs to report their household needs, then obediently returned home to burn incense, worship the Sea God, and begin seclusion as the City Lord had ordered. Thus, the number of Sea Demons on the streets gradually dwindled, while those who calmed themselves to worship the Sea God and cultivate also entered a meditative state.

The Turtle Clan was no exception.

Aside from Turtle Essence, who still had to maintain the city's operation, the other members quickly sat cross-legged and entered meditation.

He had to handle the sudden incidents reported by the workshops; hurriedly send messages to the juniors roaming outside, telling them to enter seclusion where they were; and still had to keep the entire city's security under control, preventing petty criminals from taking advantage of the chaos.

Within Turtle Essence's perception, the Hai Family was the most chaotic in the whole city.

Fortunately, they were only chaotic inside their own compound for the moment, and wouldn't be disturbing others.

The source of the chaos was, of course, "uneven division of spoils." To get a quota for a God-Inspired person, the Hai Family had put in no small amount of effort. They never expected that the Divine Oracle they brought back would be an apocalyptic disaster, and even the Divine Gift Treasure was gone!

At first the Sea Demons were able to stay calm—after all, it was a Divine Oracle; it might not come true until years, even ten or dozens of years later. As long as they could find ways to wrestle more resources before that, they could all take their own path.

Yet only a few hours later, when they watched the Oracle come true with their own eyes and the sun and moon both burned to ash, who could still sit still?

Especially Hai Xunche, who had tried to steal a chicken and ended up losing the rice, rushed into the Patriarch's courtyard wailing, face like mourning, and shouted, "Patriarch, there's a rule that has always existed in the Undersea World—God-Inspired ones must not be abused, or Heaven itself will smite them with thunder! I sacrificed enough for the clan so we could get the Divine Oracle first; you can't just watch and let me die!"

"Are you all useless?" The Hai Family Patriarch looked at the guards who wanted to block him but didn't dare, his face turning entirely black.

They must also know that someone inspired by God is not easy to provoke—after all, he's the God's spokesperson, nobody wants trouble. But the problem is, look at the timing—these idiots were still slavishly clinging to old rules and letting him storm into his courtyard to make a scene!

"Who said I was letting you die? You're not dead yet, are you?" He forced his temper down, frowned and said coldly, "Hai Xunche, I know that as a God-Inspired one, you burned too much Lifespan listening to the Oracle. But nobody forced you to be God-Inspired; you were the one who cried and begged and pushed your way into the role. I'm not wrong, am I?"

Choked by the rebuke, Hai Xunche couldn't find a retort for a moment and muttered, "I—I don't have much Lifespan left, I can't wait! Patriarch, please be merciful…"

Before he could finish, the Hai Family Patriarch raised a hand to stop him: "The Sea God has already fallen, haven't you seen the city is in chaos? I'm the Patriarch of a huge clan, I have too many things to handle. Your matter isn't urgent—wait a little longer."

He paused, taking the moral high ground to accuse him: "Speaking of which, in burning your Lifespan, do you really bear no fault and responsibility at all? You knew you lacked enough blessed fortune, yet you dared to snatch someone else's quota to gaze directly upon the Gods. As Patriarch, I haven't even blamed you for making a disgrace of us.

Since you've personally seen the Sea God, that's also fortune you've accumulated through years of Cultivation. Go back to your own quarters first, and, according to the Oracle, worship the Sea God and ask for His protection. After I've arranged the important affairs of the clan, I'll consider dealing with your problem."

Seeing that the other still wanted to cling on and make trouble, he waved his hand impatiently and said, "You didn't even bring back the Sea God's reward, which shows you never had the capacity to serve as a God-Inspired one and didn't gain the Sea God's approval. As Patriarch, I am magnanimous enough not to punish you further—now get going!"