Song Hesong was at the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm, while Zhang Qianmo was at the mid-stage Golden Core realm.
But though Zhang Qianmo's cultivation level was lower, his techniques were superior to Song Hesong’s by no small margin. Moreover, the artifacts he wielded far surpassed his opponent's. Thus, for a time, the two actually fought to a stalemate.
And as Li Fan gradually gained the upper hand in his fight, the situation seemed to be developing favorably for the two martial brothers.
At that moment, one of the cultivators besieging Li Fan shouted, "Brother Song, the situation doesn’t look good!"
Chu Liang also cried out, "Fellow Daoist Song, stop hesitating! Activate the array now!"
Hesitation wavered in Song Hesong’s gaze, but it was soon swallowed by ruthless determination.
He retreated violently, his blood-colored longsword transforming into a massive bell that enveloped Zhang Qianmo.
Madness gleaming in his eyes, he slammed both palms down. Immediately, the panicked screams and cries of mortals rose from Ningyuan City.
Li Fan saw streams of bloody aura shooting skyward and converging beside Song Hesong. Faces contorted in agony swarmed within the blood-red light.
Song Hesong grabbed this mass of bloody aura and sent it into the blood-colored great bell. Instantly, the countless wailing faces directed their wrath toward Zhang Qianmo.
Zhang Qianmo’s expression changed as violet qi surged around his body, attempting to form a defense.
But it was futile. Bloody faces flooded into his mind one after another.
He froze on the spot, his expression contorting uncontrollably—sometimes twisted with pain, sometimes breaking into an eerie smile.
Seeing that he had temporarily trapped Zhang Qianmo, Song Hesong turned his gaze toward Li Fan.
Li Fan inwardly cursed his misfortune.
Chu Liang and the other two now quickly intensified their assault, restraining Li Fan and preventing him from escaping.
Song Hesong arrived in an instant.
Under the combined assault of one mid-stage Golden Core cultivator and three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Fan lasted only moments before sustaining severe injuries.
It seems my first exploration of the Fallen Immortal Realm ends here.
As his wounds accumulated and his consciousness grew hazy, faint whispers began to echo in his ears—unreal murmurs that rose and fell, sometimes urgent, sometimes gentle. They sounded like wails, like roars, yet carried no discernible meaning.
Soon, Li Fan could no longer hold on.
Song Hesong's giant blood-colored palm slammed fiercely onto Li Fan's head.
Bang!
Li Fan's skull exploded like a watermelon.
By all logic, with his physical body destroyed, Li Fan should have returned to the real world.
But instead, he entered a peculiar state.
Like a black hole, his remaining divine sense slowly devoured the shell that was Li Chen. There were no residual memories, only a stream of pure divine sense energy that Li Fan gradually absorbed.
The noise in his ears grew increasingly chaotic. The faint whispers transformed into indescribable roars. Negative emotions of rage, terror, and sorrow suddenly surged like a tsunami, threatening to engulf Li Fan entirely.
Yet Li Fan's mind stood firm as a reef on the sea, utterly unshaken.
The driving force behind all this was none other than what Li Fan had been cultivating tirelessly since first stepping onto the path of immortality: the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra.
After entering the Fallen Immortal Realm, the Heart Refinement Sutra had lain dormant all this time.
But now, after the shell was destroyed, it began to operate wildly of its own accord.
Like a massive stone mill, it ground down the power that had composed Li Chen of the Purple Firmament Sect, transforming it into the purest nourishment and feeding it into Li Fan’s mind.
Though Li Chen had perished, Li Fan’s divine sense was slowly growing stronger. A new divine sense incarnation, belonging solely to Li Fan, was forming beneath Li Chen’s headless corpse.
Li Fan remained as still as an ancient well, his heart untouched by ripples. He watched emotionlessly as the surrounding "plot" continued to unfold.
Song Hesong took the storage ring from Li Fan’s hand, then let the corpse fall from the sky.
He then turned his gaze to Zhang Qianmo, who remained trapped within the crimson bell.
"His will is unexpectedly tenacious. To endure this long within the Myriad Souls Divine Refinement Array, activated through the sacrifice of tens of thousands..." Song Hesong sighed. "A pity. The more extraordinary you are, the more you must die today!"
Song Hesong sent several more palm strikes toward Ningyuan City below.
Countless human faces wreathed in crimson light surged once more toward Zhang Qianmo.
His face instantly grew even more twisted and unsettling. Several large tumors bulged and writhed beneath the skin on his forehead.
Pop!
One of the tumors burst, and a gaping hole blew open in Zhang Qianmo’s head. Then, like a chain reaction, the remaining tumors on Zhang Qianmo’s head burst one after another. Half his skull was blown off.
At this moment, Zhang Qianmo’s aura was like a candle flickering in the wind, about to vanish at any moment.
Yet, some unknown power within him stubbornly sustained his life force. Even with only a small portion of his head remaining, he clung fiercely to life.
"What’s going on?" Chu Liang cried out, unable to contain himself.
"It seems this brat still has some cards up his sleeve," Song Hesong said, his expression darkening.
He glared at Zhang Qianmo and snarled, "Even so, you’re now a turtle in a jar. I refuse to believe you can still turn this around!"
Beams of crimson light shot from the blood-red bell, piercing through Zhang Qianmo’s body. The red lightbeams crisscrossed like blades, flashing and weaving. In an instant, Zhang Qianmo was sliced into countless pieces of flesh.
"Let’s see whether you’re still alive after this!" Song Hesong sneered coldly.
Chu Liang and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.
But before long, their faces gradually turned pale.
Zhang Qianmo’s aura had still not vanished!
"What kind of demonic art has he cultivated?" A trace of terror finally surfaced on Song Hesong’s face.
"Fire! Use fire!" Chu Liang shouted at that moment.
Song Hesong formed a hand seal, and crimson flames appeared beneath the pile of minced flesh.
Under the intense heat, flesh and blood turned to ash. Yet, no matter how fiercely the fire blazed, one thing could not be destroyed—a purple Golden Core.
"A Golden Core? Wasn’t he at the Foundation Establishment realm? How could a Golden Core form inside him?" The scene utterly surpassed Song Hesong’s and the others’ understanding, and their expressions changed drastically.
In his fear, Song Hesong mustered all his arcane arts and launched a bombardment of attacks on the purple Golden Core.
But no matter what he tried, he could not shake the Golden Core in the slightest, nor could he store it within his storage ring.
That was because Zhang Qianmo’s aura still lingered upon it. In fact, it was growing stronger by the moment.
"You rogue cultivators, straying from the orthodox path, never study the classics.
“Even if you've learned some new methodology, you’ve achieved mere empty realms. How could you possibly compare to the true orthodox Daoist schools?"
Zhang Qianmo's cold voice emerged from the Golden Core.
The Golden Core suddenly blazed with brilliant light, forcing back the flames.
A body slowly took form within the radiance. The light condensed, transforming into robes.
"I told you I would kill you today!" Zhang Qianmo said coldly, staring at Song Hesong.
Song Hesong began to tremble uncontrollably and frantically sent more palm strikes to the ground. Amid the countless screams of mortals, streams of crimson light solidified into ribbon-like forms that surged toward Zhang Qianmo.
Then, he transformed into a streak of blood-red light and fled into the distance, leaving the paralyzed Chu Liang and the others to fend for themselves.
Zhang Qianmo took a single step, transformed into purple lightning, and appeared directly in front of the blood-red light.
Song Hesong hadn't expected such speed from his opponent and couldn't dodge in time.
The two collided head-on.
Boom!
In the violent impact, Song Hesong seemed to lose all control over his body.
Zhang Qianmo extended his right hand, seized Song Hesong by the throat, and lifted him.
"For betraying the sect, you are hereby sentenced to death!" Zhang Qianmo pronounced judgment.
A purple thunderbolt descended from the heavens, striking Zhang Qianmo with tremendous force.
Zhang Qianmo remained completely unharmed within the lightning, while Song Hesong screamed in agony and died.
Zhang Qianmo looked toward Chu Liang and the others who were currently fleeing in three separate directions.
He sneered coldly, gently pointing forth. Three purple thunderbolts fell in response.
Their auras vanished, and three black dots fell from the sky. With that, Zhang Qianmo paid them no further attention.
“To be forced into such a state... This new methodology..." He appeared to be in deep contemplation.
Then, as if detecting something, he flew down to the ground.
There, the corpse that had belonged to his junior brother had melted away like a candle.
Beneath his tattered skin, another, completely unfamiliar person was beginning to awaken.