"Annihilation!"
From the hundreds of thousands of white Array Crowns, streams of black light exuding an aura of destruction shot out intermittently.
They struck Crimson Flame with precision, causing the flames around Its body to flicker rapidly.
Zhang Zhiliang successively manipulated and deployed one array after another, each with different effects.
The cultivators on Myriad Immortals Island were utterly stunned as they watched this scene, unable to believe their eyes.
"Who is this Zhang Zhiliang? The only array master on the island I’ve heard of is Gong Boyu."
"He claims to be only at the Nascent Soul realm? Yet the power of these arrays seems to surpass even those Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences!"
"Master Zhang is indeed recognized as the top array master within the Strategy Array Hall."
"I must learn array cultivation too."
Li Fan, who had studied arrays under Zhang Zhiliang's tutelage for nearly ten years, felt this even more deeply.
Admittedly, Zhang Zhiliang’s ability to participate in a battle at the Spirit Transformation and Dao Unity level was largely due to the hundreds of thousands of Array Crowns he wielded.
But Li Fan understood clearly just how difficult it was to simultaneously control such a vast number of Array Crowns. It required immensely powerful mental fortitude and an unparalleled familiarity with arrays.
The Unlimited Art... Li Fan thought of the small black box Zhang Zhiliang had given him, his heart stirring.
High above, the battle grew increasingly intense.
Violet rays fell continuously from the river of stars, striking Crimson Flame head on.
The frequency of the silver rays grew faster and faster, piercing hole after hole into Crimson Flame's form.
The inverted mountains, the waters of the Lan Cang River, and the chains of Tian Yang tangled endlessly with Crimson Flame.
Though the attacks were exceptionally fierce, each strike only stirred up bursts of flame.
The Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth drew their power from heaven and earth itself, seemingly inexhaustible.
Even with the combined efforts of the five Immortal Eminences, it was difficult to inflict any substantial damage on It. They could only slowly wear down Its strength.
Meanwhile, though Crimson Flame’s power was equivalent to a Dao Unity cultivator, It was, after all, the manifestation of a single law. It was not particularly skilled in combat, relying purely on overwhelming force.
Each of Its strikes posed a significant threat to the Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences, but with Zhang Zhiliang and the hundreds of thousands of Array Crowns providing support, they could quickly recover from their injuries.
As one side waned and the other waxed, the battle fell into an odd stalemate.
The cultivators of Myriad Immortals Island watched the battlefield intently, afraid to miss even the slightest detail.
Five Spirit Transformation powerhouses jointly battling a Dao Unity realm entity—such a spectacle was likely a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Many cultivators even activated memory stones to record it. Whether for personal reflection later or for replication and sale, it would be of great use.
A small portion of cultivators, sensing something amiss, attempted to flee via the teleportation arrays. However, they discovered that all teleportation arrays had already been deactivated.
So they fled Myriad Immortals Island in panic, attempting to fly away from the Congyun Sea on their own.
Amidst the myriad reactions, Li Fan also carefully observed this great battle through his avatar. But before long, he suddenly shifted his gaze to the Congyun Sea beneath the blazing sun.
There, something seemed to be slowly forming.
The information transmitted by the Deepsea Pearl within his true self told him this was no illusion.
Zhang. Hao. Bo. Li Fan enunciated each syllable in his mind, a strange expression crossing his face.
He had thought that by riding the winds to dominate the myriad immortals, gaining the attention of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences, and thus setting a trap to kill Crimson Flame, Zhang Haobo had already reached the limits of what he could do. Yet unexpectedly, it seemed Zhang Haobo still had moves to make.
How was that possible? No matter how fast his cultivation progressed, he couldn't possibly break through to the Golden Core realm in just a few years.
Even if Zhang Haobo somehow reached the final-stage Golden Core realm, he would be nothing more than an ant in a battle of this magnitude. What could he possibly do?
Li Fan fixed his gaze intently on the space above the sea. There, a translucent human figure was gradually taking shape.
Gradually, aside from Li Fan, many other cultivators began to notice the anomaly.
"Look, what is that?"
"Could it be another Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminence joining the battle?"
"That figure looks familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
"It's Zhang Haobo, the one who rode the winds to dominate myriad immortals back then!"
Amid the exclamations of the crowd, Zhang Haobo's figure grew with the wind, swelling to the size of a mountain in the blink of an eye.
"This is..."
"Golden Core Dharma Body! He’s shattered his Golden Core!"
"Why? He’s such a young Golden Core cultivator, with such boundless prospects!"
Information about the Golden Core Dharma Body surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Peer into the laws of heaven and earth to refine a Golden Core. If Foundation Establishment was about building one's Dao Foundation by comprehending the laws within Curios of heaven and earth, then the Golden Core was the true coalescence of laws one had personally grasped.
The Golden Core Dharma Body was formed by detonating the laws coalesced within one's Golden Core, along with one's physical body, to form a temporary vessel of pure laws that existed briefly in heaven and earth.
This Dharma Body would last less than half a day. Once it dissipated, it meant the cultivator's complete death. Only Golden Core cultivators in desperate situations, striking with their lives on the line, would use this method.
Yet unexpectedly, Zhang Haobo had employed it without hesitation, for no apparent reason.
What did he intend to do?
Every cultivator on Myriad Immortals Island focused their attention on this Golden Core Dharma Body.
The same thought flashed through their minds simultaneously. But then, they all dismissed this unrealistic notion.
Did he, a Golden Core cultivator, plan to slaughter a Dao Unity entity? No one would even dare to dream of such a thing.
And yet... Zhang Haobo did!
His body had expanded to its limit, towering like a mountain.
Gazing at Crimson Flame and the five Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences locked in fierce combat not far away in the sky, a peculiar expression crossed his face.
He extended his left hand, and a deep blue water droplet appeared in his palm.
With a mix of gratitude and nostalgia in his eyes, Zhang Haobo's gaze hardened with resolve.
He clenched his fist abruptly, and the blue water droplet exploded with a thunderous roar.
Endless blue light surged forth, absorbed by Zhang Haobo.
The Congyun Sea below instantly seemed to boil, and waves rose without wind.
Amid the churning waves, countless blue points of light sped toward Zhang Haobo.
His body instantly swelled several times larger. Like a primordial giant, his head touched the dark heavens, his feet planted firmly on the blue sea. His eyes were level with Crimson Flame.
Zhang Haobo gazed at the familiar figure before him and spoke in a clear, resonant voice.
"You destroyed my homeland! You burned my kin!"
He paused, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips.
"You... shall taste my sword!"
A dazzling blue light suddenly erupted between sky and sea. Its radiance outshone even the sun in the sky, forcing every cultivator watching the scene to shut their eyes instinctively.
Zhang Haobo transformed his very body into a sword, slashing forward. Fearless of death, he charged ahead with unwavering resolve!
"I have waited sixteen years to unleash this strike!"
The attacks of the five Immortal Eminences descended like a sudden storm, growing increasingly violent, pinning Crimson Flame in place.
In the split second that followed, the blue sword phantom traversed layers of spatial barriers and struck Crimson Flame!
It pierced through Its body, its momentum undiminished, continuing to fly into the distance.
Zhang Haobo had returned to his normal size. But everything below his waist had completely dissipated. Only his upper body remained, floating in the air.
His hands clamped tightly onto Crimson Flame, refusing to let go. Under the pure, scorching Law of Flame, his Dharma Body melted like a candle, gradually dissolving.
Soon, his face had become blurred and twisted. Yet he never loosened his grip.
Zhang Haobo smiled once more and spoke his final words.
"Actually, I lied to you earlier.
"I... still have twenty-seven more swords."
Before his voice faded, towering waves surged and roared with deafening fury across the Congyun Sea.
This was not merely Zhang Haobo's power—it was the will of the entire Congyun Sea itself. The heavens sought to burn the sea, but the sea refused to yield.
And so... I possess twenty-eight Congyun Swords!
The remaining twenty-seven blue rays of light formed in an instant. They blotted out the sky and illuminated all living beings.
Targeting Crimson Flame, whom Zhang Haobo had locked in place, they arrived in the blink of an eye.
Twenty-seven swords pierced through Its body, causing blue fissures to appear across Crimson Flame's translucent form.
It silently watched Zhang Haobo, who still clung to It, nearly completely melted. Its expression was unreadable.
Then, the flames abruptly dimmed. The crimson figure grew increasingly transparent, like ice dissolving in water, slowly fading away.
At the same time, Zhang Haobo, who had been reduced to only half a head, suddenly radiated an overwhelmingly powerful aura.
A body woven from flames began to form beneath his head. A wave of pressure manifested simultaneously.
The five Immortal Eminences were forced to reveal their forms and descend to the sea's surface.
Even the brilliance of the sun in the sky dimmed in comparison.
Flames danced around him as Zhang Haobo's body finally took complete shape. He gazed down at all living beings in the Congyun Sea, his face devoid of joy or sorrow.
A new Dao Unity Immortal Venerable had been born.
On Myriad Immortals Island, silence reigned.
Every cultivator stared blankly, unable to believe what they were witnessing.
"A Dao Unity Immortal Venerable... a Dao Unity Immortal Venerable who cultivated for only sixteen years..." They murmured to themselves, unable to contain their disbelief.
Even Li Fan, the mastermind behind it all, stared at the figure in the sky with astonishment.
He actually... did it?
The Congyun Sea churned with towering waves, as if celebrating the birth of the new Immortal Venerable and its own narrow escape from calamity.
The gaze of every living being was now fixed on the Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, Zhang Haobo.
Reverence, envy, fear... countless emotions surged forth in that moment.
Then it happened.
A thin black thread silently pierced through Zhang Haobo's chest.
Behind him, a figure composed entirely of dense ink manifested from nothingness.
The moment every living being in the Congyun Sea laid eyes upon this ink-black figure, their souls trembled beyond control.
And thus, they came to know Its name—Ink Death.
Zhang Haobo strained to turn his head in stunned disbelief, only to discover he could no longer move.
His life force vanished in an instant.
Zhang Haobo was dead!