High in the heavens, crimson clouds of fire instantly appeared. Stretching endlessly, they enveloped the entire Congyun Sea.
In the minds of all living beings witnessing this strange spectacle, a passage naturally surfaced:
"Crimson Flame Immortal Venerable Zhang Haobo practiced the Dao for sixteen years, establishing his Dao Foundation with the Curio, Heaven-Scorning Sword Intent.
He formed his Golden Core with the Wavewind Sword Art, and sacrificed the Soul of Crimson Flame to unite his body with the Dao."
"Fortunate to receive heaven's punishment, his Dao disperses, returning to heaven!"
However, the cultivators on Myriad Immortals Island had no time to admire this shocking scene. Because, the true terror had already descended.
The moment the ink-black figure appeared behind Zhang Haobo and executed him, the white-robed Spirit Transformation cultivator, Immortal Eminence Hong Xi, let out a sharp cry: "Flee!"
In that instant, the inverted mountains, the waters of the Lan Cang River, violet starlight, blinding silver radiance, and chains of black fire all slammed toward the ink-black figure, attempting to buy a moment's delay.
As this unfamiliar Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth descended, the five Immortal Eminences all chose to flee the Congyun Sea, as if by prior agreement.
The aura emanating from this ink-black figure instilled in them a fear that struck at their very cores.
But, it was already too late.
Ink Death lightly lifted Its right hand upward. A black line shot skyward, piercing into the great sun above.
A muffled grunt echoed from within the sun, and a conspicuous black spot abruptly appeared within the gold. Then, like the heavenly dog devouring the sun, it rapidly expanded outward.[1]
Light slowly vanished, and darkness descended upon the Congyun Sea.
Simultaneously, Ink Death split into five, instantly appearing in different locations.
Five thin black lines pierced through the bodies of the five Immortal Eminences in a flash.
The river waters ran dry.
Immortal Eminence Lan Cang was dead!
The black fire abruptly extinguished.
Immortal Eminence Tian Yang was dead!
The mountains crumbled.
Immortal Eminence Hong Xi was dead!
A stalactite hidden within the sky shattered into countless pieces.
Immortal Eminence Hao Xuan was dead!
Within the brilliant river of stars, countless stars exploded in succession. The river of stars suddenly turned incomparably dim. The torn celestial curtain gradually repaired itself. Only a single meteor streaked across the horizon.
Immortal Eminence Zi Yun had fled, severely wounded!
In an instant, out of the five Immortal Eminences, four were dead, and one was wounded.
Immediately after, Ink Death transformed from five into ten thousand. In a flash, they passed through the several hundred thousand white Array Crowns.
Like thick ink dripping into clear water, all the white squares turned ink-black in an instant.
Zhang Zhiliang, who had been relying on the Array Crowns to remain hidden in the sky, could no longer conceal himself.
A single drop of ink casually pierced through Zhang Zhiliang's chest. At the site of the wound, black ink marks manifested. Flesh and blood transformed into countless tiny black particles, instantly engulfing Zhang Zhiliang.
The number one array master of the Congyun Sea, Zhang Zhiliang, was dead!
Above the heavens, the several hundred thousand ink drops instantly writhed and merged back into one.
One Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, four Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences, and one Nascent Soul Eminence had fallen simultaneously.
Above the celestial curtain of the Congyun Sea, many strange scenes interwove and merged. But they were stained black by the dancing black particles filling the sky, forming a bizarre and fantastical, unpredictable and strange, splashed-ink painting.
The Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, Ink Death, stood beneath the ink painting, looking down upon all living beings in the Congyun Sea.
Lifting their heads to gaze at the sky, several streams of information, like hellish hymns, arose and intertwined in the minds of the living beings, echoing incessantly.
"Immortal Eminence Lan Cang..."
"...Eminence Tian Yang..."
"...Immortal Eminence..."
"...practiced the Dao for 1653 years..."
"...One thousand four hundred thirty-six years..."
"...Years..."
"...establishing his Dao Foundation with the Curio, White Dragon Flower..."
"...establishing his Dao Foundation..."
"...Dao Foundation..."
"Fortunate to receive heaven's punishment, his Dao dissolves and returns to Heaven!"
"Fortunate to receive heaven's punishment, his Dao dissolves and returns to Heaven!"
"His Dao dissolves and returns to Heaven!"
"His Dao dissolves and returns to Heaven!"
"His Dao dissolves and returns to Heaven!"
Ink Death remained silent, yet heaven and earth proclaimed its will.
This was a voiceless intimidation, a wordless warning.
This was heaven and earth, displaying its true power before all cultivators.
The cultivators on Myriad Immortals Island watched helplessly as the once lofty, unfathomably powerful Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences were slaughtered as easily as chickens and dogs.
This terrifying spectacle chilled every cultivator to their core.
Some trembled uncontrollably, collapsing to the ground with vacant eyes. Others went mad, losing all reason as they scurried about wildly. Still others attacked Ink Death despite the vast difference in power, their eyes crimson with rage.
Ink Death turned Its head slightly, glancing down at Myriad Immortals Island before withdrawing Its gaze to survey the Congyun Sea.
In an instant, Its body disintegrated, transforming back into ten thousand tiny black particles.
Then ten thousand became one hundred million, one hundred million became one trillion, one trillion became ten quadrillion. Innumerable black particles spread out, finally forming an ink-black curtain that enveloped the entire Congyun Sea.
The black particles wriggled and multiplied as they descended.
Myriad Immortals Island's barrier of seven-coloured light swirled, barely holding them back. But countless tiny chewing sounds arose, and the radiance dimmed in moments.
As for the area outside Myriad Immortals Island, there was nothing to stop the black particles.
The sea waves churned, as if putting up a desperate resistance. Yet the seawater thrown into the air was the first to be devoured and transformed into black particles.
The black curtain pressed down from the sky, devouring islands and seas. Soil, rock, life, seawater... everything was chewed up and transformed into black particles.
Islands vanished. The sea level dropped continuously.
In less than half a day, the blue sea had completely disappeared from view.
Myriad Immortals Island stood completely surrounded by black particles.
Endless darkness enveloped the island's immortals, leaving no escape.
This was a true apocalypse. A catastrophe countless times more terrifying than Crimson Flame burning the sea.
On Myriad Immortals Island, the seven-colored light barrier could hold no longer, shattering like glass.
The lofty statue of the Immortal Venerable Dao Teacher became the black particles' first target.
White light shot forth from the Myriad Immortals Array, but falling into this black sea, it merely became nourishment for the black particles.
The Immortal Venerable’s stone statue began to dissolve from the headpiece downward. Before long, only its lower half remained intact.
Meanwhile, some of the black particles began forming thin threads. Like deadly vipers, they hunted the fleeing cultivators.
Countless cultivators often couldn't even scream before being dissolved, assimilated into the endlessly wriggling black particles.
Beneath the sky-blotting black curtain, even the phenomena of cultivator deaths could no longer be seen.
The island's cultivators fled in panic like homeless dogs.
Amid the chaos and despair, only two people remained calm amidst the chaos.
One was Li Fan's avatar, who watched the ink-black sky with serene composure. The initial horror and shock at witnessing Ink Death's power gradually faded, and in his final moments, the avatar contemplated.
Though both are Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth, the difference in destructive power between Ink Death and Crimson Flame is beyond comparison.
After a moment, understanding dawned upon him.
Soul Arbiters descend to the mortal realm with specific divine duties.
Azure Wind’s duty was to trap the sword, Crimson Flame’s duty was to burn the sea. And Ink Death's purpose is... annihilation!
Under Ink Death's rampage, true annihilation unfolded. Nothing would remain, not even soil or rock.
After this calamity, this region of the Congyun Sea would likely become an empty void, an abyss of nothingness.
The vision from his past life—where the dried Congyun Sea transformed into the vibrant Congyun Mountain Range over a decade—would never come to pass in this lifetime.
This method of utter eradication was too terrifying, too extreme. Heaven and earth wouldn't deploy it lightly.
But in this life, after the Soul Arbiter Crimson Flame was refined, it provoked a violent reaction from heaven and earth. Ink Death descended immediately after.
This terrifying entity, capable of destroying everything, manifested heaven and earth's resolute will: the Congyun Sea must die!
Yet, watching the cultivators around him die helplessly and miserably, Li Fan felt deeply dissatisfied. So, he raised a middle finger toward the sky.
Besides Li Fan's avatar, one other person showed no fear in this apocalyptic scene: Jiao Xiuyuan of the Thousand Li Hall.
Not only was he unafraid and unpanicked, he was even brimming with excitement.
Holding a seven-colored recording stone, he flew at low altitude over Myriad Immortals Island, documenting the surrounding cataclysmic scenery.
Thin black threads brushed past him, any one of which could mean instant death, yet Jiao Xiuyuan didn't care at all.
He just kept muttering excitedly to himself. "What a windfall, this is truly a massive windfall.
"Dao Unity Immortal Venerable Jin Ri, along with five Immortal Eminences including Hong Xi, plus Zhang Zhiliang who deployed the Unlimited Art using one hundred thousand Array Crowns—all of them cast a net across heaven to hunt the Soul Arbiter Crimson Flame.
"That alone is monumental news. But what’s even more explosive is that a Golden Core brat actually stole the Dao Unity opportunity!
"If I didn't have video evidence, no one would believe it!
"Golden Core slaying Dao Unity! Even if written in a fantasy novel, people would call it bullshit! Absolutely ridiculous!
"And even more unbelievable—this probably second-youngest Dao Unity Immortal Venerable in history didn't even have time to celebrate his advancement before another Soul Arbiter killed him!
"This Soul Arbiter called Ink Death not only killed the newly ascended Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, but It’s now enacting world-annihilation, intending to completely eradicate the entire Congyun Sea!
"Excellent, kill them all! When you're all dead, this becomes an exclusive story! Let me think...How many contribution points should I sell this recording for? Two thousand?
“No, no, that's too cheap. At least five thousand! I, Jiao Xiuyuan, never conduct business at a loss!
"Right, never at a loss."
Jiao Xiuyuan continued his excited ramblings, his expression animated as he recorded the final scenes of Myriad Immortals Island.
Then, amidst the panicked cultivators desperately fighting for their lives, Jiao Xiuyuan saw one figure that stood apart. His face showed no trace of fear as he raised his middle finger toward Ink Death, the world-annihilator in the sky.
"Magnificent!" Jiao Xiuyuan couldn't help but cheer aloud.
His heart swelled with delight: "Facing the might of heaven and earth, we cultivators remain utterly unafraid. Rising in defiance, even death brings honor!
"Marvelous! This elevates the theme and enhances the tone.
"With this stroke of genius, this exclusive footage will fetch at least two thousand more contribution points!"
1. In ancient Chinese folklore, a solar eclipse was believed to be caused by a monstrous heavenly dog (天狗) biting and devouring the sun. To scare the dog away and save the sun, people would make loud noises—beating drums, banging pots, and shouting—until the "dog" released it and light returned. ☜