A sun blazing in the night sky—this wondrous phenomenon drew the gaze of every waking creature in the Congyun Sea. All eyes lifted toward the heavens.
Simultaneously, an aged voice thundered from the firmament, echoing across the entire Congyun Sea in an instant.
"Since you have begged for this old man's aid, I shall lend you a hand. Whether you succeed or not depends on your own fortune!"
Bathed in the sun’s radiance, the Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, normally invisible to mortal eyes, now manifested with crystalline clarity.
"What... is that?"
Compared to the sun illuminating the Congyun Sea, this crimson figure appeared minuscule.
Yet, every cultivator's gaze was drawn irresistibly toward it. Simultaneously, ravenous desire surged in their hearts.
Reason vanished as cultivators began flying toward Crimson Flame like moths to a flame.
Before they could even draw near, their bodies were incinerated by raging fires. Streaks of death phenomena blossomed across the heavens like fireworks.
Meanwhile, Myriad Immortals Island had already descended into chaos.
"It's a Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth! Devour It, and I can achieve Dao Unity!" Countless cultivators muttered incessantly, their eyes burning with hunger.
In moments, those blinded by desire flew skyward as if possessed. But when their altitude surpassed the statue of the Immortal Venerable Dao Teacher, numerous beams of white light shot forth from various sculptures across the Dao Transmission Plaza, blasting these transgressors into dust.
Myriad death phenomena instantly manifested above Myriad Immortals Island. Yet even the terror of death couldn't quell the cultivators' greed. White light flashed continuously, each time claiming several cultivators' lives.
Watching through his avatar's eyes, Li Fan stood stunned by this cruel yet beautiful spectacle.
Though he had seen multiple Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth and knew their fatal allure to cultivators, witnessing this scene firsthand made him realize he'd still underestimated their attraction.
Fearless and relentless, the cultivators rushed in wave after wave. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred of them had already perished.
Moreover, the Soul Arbiter's irresistible pull kept intensifying. Even those who managed to maintain their resolve so far were beginning to falter.
Just then, a seven-colored dome of light expanded from the core district of Myriad Immortals Island, enveloping the entire island in an instant.
Swirling with iridescent light, the barrier slightly obstructed the cultivators’ view of Crimson Flame. They could still clearly see everything happening high above, but it was now viewed through a thin veil. The rising greed in their hearts finally began to dissipate.
The Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Array... Li Fan stared at the protective dome, but before he could ponder further, his attention was seized again by the scene in the sky.
On Myriad Immortals Island, the terrified cultivators who'd narrowly escaped death had no time to discuss what had happened before being captivated once more.
The Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, Crimson Flame.
It had been illuminated by the sun overhead the moment she had manifested. Now, after all this time, Its full form had finally appeared.
Ignoring the ants below rushing to their deaths, It lifted Its head to gaze at the sun blazing in the night sky.
Flames suddenly erupted around It as It prepared to act.
But then, a river of shimmering starlight silently materialized across the firmament.
Beneath the wondrous spectacle of sun and stars shining together, silver starlight intertwined with blazing sunlight. They formed what seemed like a cage, trapping Crimson Flame within.
Wild, unrestrained laughter echoed across the skies.
"The Lan Cang River descends from heaven!"
Veiled by the river of stars, a thousand-zhang torrent of water fell like a silken ribbon from the heavens. The river roared like a dragon, crashing down toward Crimson Flame.
Yet before the surging waters could even approach It, they were utterly vaporized by the scorching heat.
The river flowed eternally, never ceasing, but the endless deluge only hindered Crimson Flame's movements slightly.
At the same moment, every living being in the Congyun Sea heard the voice of a young boy, no older than five or six.
"Tian Yang is not..."
A strange, mechanical voice followed.
"...Weaker than others!"
Black-red flames shot skyward, transforming into fiery chains that instantly bound Crimson Flame's limbs.
Heated by the crimson flames, the black-red chains crumbled section by section. Some parts were assimilated into crimson, while others melted into dark, ashen residue that fell from the sky.
"Not weaker!" "Than others!"
The childlike and mechanical voices resonated simultaneously across the heavens once more, filled with stubborn defiance.
Suddenly, the black-red chains regenerated from nothingness, restored to their previous form. They firmly pulled taut against Crimson Flame's arms and legs.
High above, within the brilliant river of stars, a single star transformed into violet light and descended from afar. In an instant, it crossed immeasurable space to strike Crimson Flame.
There was no earth-shattering impact as one might expect. The violet light vanished into nothingness as it approached, consumed by unimaginable heat.
It only caused the flames around Crimson Flame to flicker slightly, with no other effect.
Crimson Flame tilted Its head slightly, as if in mockery.
"Fellow Daoists Hong Xi and Hao Xuan, are you still planning to sit back and watch?" a steady woman's voice urged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A low rumbling reverberated between heaven and earth.
"Mountain!"
A seemingly tiny inverted mountain appeared above Crimson Flame's head.
Sharp as a needle, the peak pressed down toward It.
"Mountain!"
"Mountain!"
"Mountain!"
A young man's voice called out repeatedly.
Inverted mountains materialized simultaneously above, below, left, right, front, and behind Crimson Flame, trapping It within. Behind each peak, the faint shadows of several more mountains could be glimpsed.
The inverted peaks pressed down upon Crimson Flame as immense pressure distorted the space around It.
Yet every mountain vanished into nothingness the moment it drew near It, scorched by Its flames.
Now, Crimson Flame faced simultaneous assaults from Tian Yang's chains, falling starlight, the river water, and the inverted mountains.
The roiling flames around It showed It was no longer as untroubled as before. And so, It prepared to move.
At that moment, a thunderous roar echoed through the world. "Strike!"
A silver light abruptly appeared, piercing through Its chest.
Crimson Flame's body faltered for a moment. Then, flames surged, and the silver radiance vanished in an instant.
"Strike!"
Another silver streak shot through Its body.
Yet Crimson Flame ignored it completely and began Its counterattack.
It raised a hand and lightly flicked a finger. A terrifying crimson light erupted, its brightness instantly surpassing the brilliance of the sun in the sky.
Amid the roaring explosion of fire, the inverted mountains surrounding It were instantly blasted apart and thrown into disarray, their formation shattered.
Crimson Flame fought bare-handed, dragging Tian Yang's chains with each move as It seized the white water dragon formed from the Lan Cang River.
White mist churned, and the heavenly waterfall showed signs of drying up in an instant.
Crimson light shot from Crimson Flame's eyes, colliding with the violet light descending from the river of stars.
It shot upward against the tide, like a meteor flying in reverse, smashing into the brilliant river of stars.
The starlight dimmed, having suffered a heavy blow.
In that single moment, under Crimson Flame's seemingly effortless counterattack, the previously awe-inspiring combined assault of the five Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences began to crumble.
Within the Congyun Sea, on the Myriad Immortals Island, every cultivator who witnessed this scene was struck dumb.
Not long ago, they had been astounded by the earth-shattering divine abilities and arcane arts of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences.
But now, as Crimson Flame of the Dao Unity realm made Its move, they finally understood the insurmountable chasm between Dao Unity and Spirit Transformation.
For a moment, the minds of some cultivators nearly broke.
"Even the combined force of five Immortal Eminences is so utterly useless?"
"Sacrifice the soul of heaven and earth, sacrifice the soul of heaven and earth. A Dao Unity entity is this terrifying. How can we ever hope to sacrifice the soul of heaven and earth?"
"Ants... we are all just ants..."
Yet there were others who still held confidence in the Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences of Myriad Immortals Island.
"Get a grip! Do you really think Immortal Eminence Hongxi and the others would be defeated so easily? They must have other strategies!"
"Correct! The Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth was besieged the moment it appeared; the Immortal Eminences are clearly prepared. Just rest assured!"
As if to validate these words, silvery-white cubes silently appeared around the periphery of the battlefield under the shimmering starlight.
That is... Li Fan was momentarily stunned.
He recognized these objects. They were the very same Array Crowns that Array Master Zhang Zhiliang had given him for protection during his previous journey.
A single Array Crown contained hundreds of overlapping arrays.
But now, around the battlefield where Crimson Flame and the five Immortal Eminences clashed, tens of thousands of these white cubes appeared simultaneously, densely packing the space!
"I am, Zhang Zhiliang, the number one array master of the Congyun Sea! Though my cultivation is at the Nascent Soul realm, today, I shall use my Unlimited Art to aid the Immortal Eminences in advancing their Dao!" Zhang Zhiliang's proud voice thundered like a booming echo.
"Spirit Gathering!"
With a low shout, tens of thousands of white Array Crowns instantly emitted a soft, white glow simultaneously.
The world fell silent.
Then, a terrifying suction force erupted from these white Array Crowns, and the spiritual qi of the entire Congyun Sea was abruptly pulled toward the battlefield.
A violent storm of spiritual qi took shape. Countless streams of spiritual qi converged, nearly condensing into liquid.
The damaged Tian Yang chains grew solid once more.
The dimmed river of stars regained its dazzling brilliance.
The waters of the Lan Cang River surged with towering waves again.
The inverted mountains stood with renewed majesty.
And these tens of thousands of Array Crowns, forged by harnessing the power of the entire Congyun Sea, had more than just one function.
"Impedance!"
Silvery-white threads shot out from the Array Crowns, wrapping around Crimson Flame's body like spider silk.
The threads seemed intangible; no matter how violently Its flames raged, they could only twist the fine filaments but not destroy them.
With tens of thousands of threads tethered to Crimson Flame, Its movements gained a hint of sluggishness.
"Life and Death!"
Beams of white light shone upon the five Immortal Eminences.
Their offensive suddenly grew even more ferocious. Moreover, their coordination subtly improved, creating an effect where one plus one was greater than two.
In contrast, Crimson Flame's power was weakened with each strike by the combined powers of the five Immortal Eminences.