Seemingly provoked by Zhang Zhiliang's words, the flames entangled with the Immortal Eminences suddenly blazed with even greater ferocity, using the cultivators’ power as fuel.
And like a bone-deep canker, it was difficult to purge. Even though Zhang Zhiliang activated his arrays in succession, constantly shifting the positions of the five Immortal Eminences, it only slightly slowed the crimson flames.
"Fellow Daoists, attack is the best defense!" The voice of Immortal Eminence Hong Xi rang out.
As he spoke, an inverted mountain pressed down upon Crimson Flame's head. The mountain was slender as a needle, yet seemed to weigh countless tons.
The flames around Crimson Flame danced incessantly, as if swept by a great wind, and its form involuntarily sank downward.
A shockwave erupted from the point of contact, sweeping outward in all directions, churning up massive waves that spread toward the periphery of the Congyun Sea.
As it swept over Myriad Immortals Island below, it even stirred a faint tremor in the Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Array.
Beneath the inverted mountain, firelight flickered. Crimson seemed to vanish for an instant, attempting to repeat Its trick and shift positions. Yet, unexpectedly, the next second, It was forced to reappear somewhat disheveled in the same spot.
In the surrounding space, one could vaguely see countless mountain ranges stretching into the distance. Crimson Flame seemed to be trapped in a prison formed of mountains, unable to move!
Crimson Flame lowered Its head slightly, as if contemplating something.
Next, everyone saw that the flames which had been constantly leaping upon Its body suddenly grew still. Then they violently contracted toward the center.
Before anyone could react, Crimson Flame had changed from It’s human form into a pure, crimson flame.
It was dazzling and blazing, brimming with destructive power. The mountains trapping It began to melt and collapse from the extreme heat alone.
Just as Crimson Flame was about to break free, the attacks of the other Immortal Eminences arrived in a sudden onslaught.
"River waters surge, endless and unceasing!"
A silver torrent descended from the heavens. Like a coiling dragon, it slammed fiercely into the flame.
Though the river water was vaporized before it could reach the flame, this Lan Cang River seemed eternally inexhaustible, slowing Crimson Flame's escape by another fraction.
Then came a child's tender voice, saturated with killing intent. "Die!"
Amidst the river water, a black-and-red figure was concealed, appearing soundlessly beside Crimson Flame.
The figure held not the slightest trace of life. Even Crimson Flame only noticed it when it closed in.
Tian Yang? Li Fan was naturally no stranger to this black-and-red puppet.
Unlike the colossal, sky-piercing behemoth seen before, the Tian Yang puppet had now returned to the size of an ordinary person. Tian Yang's voice was also no longer mechanical as before, but indistinguishable from a human's.
Under the searing heat of the crimson flame, anything that approached would melt. Even the Spirit Transformation-level Tian Yang puppet was no exception.
But though the puppet’s exterior melted like snow under the sun, the damage to its body didn’t appear to affect Tian Yang's combat power in the slightest.
When its solid form completely disintegrated, turning entirely into a boiling, viscous mass of black-and-red liquid, Tian Yang fully unleashed his power.
"Tian Yang is not...
“Weaker than others!"
The viscous substance churned and roiled, like water yet also like fire. It coiled around the crimson flame, refusing to retreat even a fraction, no matter how fiercely the flame burned, seeking to taint the flame.
The crimson flame was forced to shrink yet another degree.
As Crimson Flame’s form became the focus of their combined assault, the power of the flames that had been burning the Immortal Eminences diminished considerably.
Thus, their attacks grew even more fierce and relentless.
Under the siege of the five Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences, Crimson Flame was forced to compress Itself time and again.
Victory seemed within grasp.
When compressed to its absolute limit, the flame was no more. In its place, circled by the Immortal Eminences, was a single crimson particle, radiating a blinding brilliance that no one could lay eyes on directly.
Then, the crimson particle moved.
With a speed that surpassed the perception of every cultivator present, it traced a crimson line across the vast heavens, a line that jagged and doubled back upon itself multiple times.
It pierced through the black-red viscous mass, blasting a gaping hole clean through Tian Yang, and vaporizing matter completely. The surrounding viscous substance churned, trying to heal the wound, but the residual, searing heat suppressed its efforts, leaving it unable to reform.
The waters of the Lan Cang River and the inverted mountain were simultaneously split in two by the crimson line.
The riverbed ran dry; the mountain shattered.
Two muffled grunts of pain sounded in unison.
Immortal Eminence Hao Xuan loosed a rapid volley of silver arrows, but their silvery light could not match the speed of the leaping crimson particle. Instead, they were assimilated in the midst of their pursuit, transforming into crimson fiery light and shooting off in different directions.
The crimson particle continued to zigzag and crisscross the sky, running rampant. Anything that stood in its path was utterly vaporized before its destructive power.
Flashes of silver light erupted constantly. It was Zhang Zhiliang, aiding the Immortal Eminences by shifting their positions to evade Crimson Flame’s attacks. Yet even so, the disadvantage of the Immortal Eminences continued to widen.
At this very moment, Zhang Zhiliang finally acted again.
One, two...thousands, tens of thousands... Countless silver cubes abruptly materialized across the sky. They were vast as the stars, some solid, some illusory.
Soon, they completely sealed off the airspace where the Crimson Flame and the five Immortal Eminences were locked in combat.
Though they appeared chaotic and disordered, Li Fan could perceive that these Array Crowns were forming a specific array.
Zhang Zhiliang’s voice was cold. "Spirit Gathering!"
A portion of the Array Crowns in the heavens, responding to his command, simultaneously erupted with silvery light. An enormous Spirit Gathering Array, composed of countless smaller arrays, abruptly manifested.
A great wind suddenly whipped across the Congyun Sea, churning up monstrous waves. Spiritual qi surged madly toward the region sealed by the Array Crowns, and was absorbed by the wounded Immortal Eminences. Instantly, their combat power returned to its peak.
"Frost!" Zhang Zhiliang struck again.
Another portion of the Array Crowns, heeding his call, shone with light. The temperature in the sky plummeted. Flakes of ice crystals condensed in the air, as if even the atmosphere itself was freezing.
The speed of the crimson particle’s movement inevitably slowed.
"Impedance!"
In an instant, countless silvery-white threads shot forth from the Array Crowns, entangling the crimson particle.
"Life and Death!"
"Annihilation!"
One array after another was unleashed with the combined power of the countless Array Crowns.
Crimson Flame’s power was suppressed, while the Immortal Eminences’ strength was enhanced.
As one waned and the other waxed, the battle between the two sides gradually shifted toward equilibrium.
The shackles formed by the great sun and the river of stars in the heavens severed Crimson Flame’s connection to heaven and earth. Yet the five Spirit Transformation cultivators could recklessly draw upon and replenish themselves from the spiritual qi of the Congyun Sea.
Though Crimson Flame was far stronger in this life than the simple boilerman of before, defeat was only a matter of time if things continued like this.
Just as Li Fan thought the battle would continue as a war of attrition, the situation on the field changed once more.
Sensing It was about to fall into an unfavorable position, Crimson Flame shifted from a searing, luminous particle back into human form.
"What is It doing?"
Not only Li Fan, but all the cultivators present were somewhat baffled by this sight.
The Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences embroiled in the battle, however, all felt a sudden chill of dread in their hearts.
In the space of a breath, phantom images of weapons constructed entirely of flame manifested around Crimson Flame. There were sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks...
Crimson Flame’s figure blurred. Then, beside each weapon, a Crimson Flame abruptly appeared!
Heaven and earth fell into an eerie, unnatural stillness in that instant.
Eighteen Crimson Flames in total launched an assault on the five Immortal Eminences.
A wave of astonishment swept through Myriad Immortals Island.
"Is that a clone technique?"
"Dealing with one Crimson Flame was already so difficult for the Immortal Eminences. Now there are eighteen at once... how are they going to fight them? Isn't this a guaranteed defeat?"
"I'm not so sure. These clones still have a noticeable gap in power compared to Crimson Flame's true body."
"But there are just so many of them! And look, the weapons Crimson Flame is wielding aren't just for show. Every strike is lethal. Its offensive seems much fiercer than before."
Amidst the chatter, some cultivators began to feel a creeping sense of unease.
They tried to leave via the teleportation arrays, only to discover to their horror that all the arrays had ceased to function.
Panic began to spread in small pockets across the island. Some cultivators activated their escape measures, attempting to leave the Congyun Sea.
But more cultivators still believed that the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Immortal Eminences would not be defeated. They focused intently, observing this world-shaking battle.
At first, facing the sudden appearance of eighteen Crimson Flame clones, the five Spirit Transformation cultivators were indeed caught off guard, and each was dealt a grievous wound.
But they were, after all, at the Spirit Transformation realm. They wouldn't be instantly eliminated by a single strike from Crimson Flame's clones.
With Zhang Zhiliang's formidable support, they all slowly recovered their footing. Still, they were suppressed and beaten back by the numerous clones.
"Fellow Daoists, now is not the time to hold back!" The voice of Immortal Eminence Hong Xi rang out. "Strike with your full power! As for who ultimately achieves Dao Unity, let it be decided by fate!"
"Suits me perfectly! I shall make the first humble offering then!" Immortal Eminence Hao Xuan's bold laughter shook heaven and earth.
"Strike!" With a furious shout, eighteen silver arrows abruptly pierced through Crimson Flame's clones’ chests with no sign of being loosed.
"The Lan Cang River falls from the Ninth Heaven!"
High in the sky, river water cascaded down. As it fell to the mortal realm, it split into eighteen streams. Like eighteen silver dragons, they tangled and fought with Crimson Flame’s clones.
Creeeak...
Tiny mountain peaks, each only the size of an ordinary person's finger, descended upon the clones.
A terrifying sound rang out, as though space itself were being crushed.
The heads of the clones were pressed inward into obvious dents. And as the mountains continued their inexorable descent, the rest of their bodies threatened to be crushed to powder.
The black-red viscous substance violently expanded, transforming into eighteen bizarrely-shaped exotic beasts that tore at Crimson Flame.
The situation shifted once more, and the battle abruptly grew even more desperate.
The shockwaves from the clash continuously swept over the Congyun Sea below, churning up mountainous waves.
Even Myriad Immortals Island shook without end, as though struck by an earthquake.
Summoning eighteen clones appeared to be an immense drain on Crimson Flame’s energy as well. The color of Its form visibly dimmed by a noticeable degree.
Meanwhile, with Zhang Zhiliang acting as a super supply station, the energy consumption of the Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences was far lower.
Slowly, the tide of battle began to turn in favor of the cultivators.
The sun rose and the moon set; in the blink of an eye, three days had passed since the conflict started.
Crimson Flame’s energy was severely depleted, and the eighteen clones merging back into one. Flames still danced across Its body, but compared to before, Its imposing might had been drastically weakened.
"Die!" Tian Yang's voice, thick with killing intent, rang out once more. He transformed back into the black-red puppet and slammed fiercely into Crimson Flame.
Coordinating with Tian Yang's assault, the waters of Lan Cang, the silver arrows, the inverted mountain, and the falling river of stars all erupted with devastating force in the same instant.
Is Zhang Zhiliang still not making his move? And Ye Feipeng...
Though this battle to slay the Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth was approaching its conclusion, these two had yet to act, which puzzled Li Fan.
He flew slightly higher, scanning his surroundings, trying to detect traces of Ye Feipeng.
Hmm? When Li Fan saw the scene around him clearly, his heart gave a jolt.
While the attention of every cultivator was fixed on the epic battle in the sky, Li Fan discovered that the water level the Congyun Sea had dropped to an alarmingly low point without anyone noticing. It was as if vast quantities of seawater had vanished into thin air. From what Li Fan could see, in some of the shallower areas, the seabed was already exposed.
So he hasn't given up after all. Li Fan thought, his eyes glinting as he recalled the Kun-Peng’s divine abilities Ye Feipeng had comprehended.
While Li Fan was observing his surroundings, Crimson Flame above finally began to show signs of defeat under the relentless assault of the five Immortal Eminences. The flames upon It flickered weakly, like a candle guttering in the wind. The final strike from the five Immortal Eminences was also imminent.
"Allow me to lend you Immortal Eminences a hand as well!" Zhang Zhiliang's voice rang out at the perfect moment. Yet, to Li Fan's ears, it carried a thread of icy coldness.
The hundreds of thousands of Array Crowns that had sealed the battlefield all emitted a faint glow simultaneously. Then, they all extinguished at once.
In the instant they vanished from the sky, they subtly shifted and changed their positions. In a flash, an array was suddenly formed.
"Spirit Gathering!" Zhang Zhiliang's emotionless voice sounded again. This voice had echoed across the battlefield countless times before; the cultivators present, including the Immortal Eminences locked in combat, had grown accustomed to it.
However, the one difference was that a massive, tightly shut eye also appeared in the sky.
As the words "Spirit Gathering" echoed, the eye snapped open. The super Spirit Gathering Array activated, but this time, the region from which spiritual qi was being drained was no longer the Congyun Sea. It was the battlefield encompassed by that gigantic eye!
As the concentration of spiritual qi around them plummeted at a terrifying rate, the five Immortal Eminences immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"Zhang Zhiliang, you court death!" The voice of Immortal Eminence Hong Xi, filled with shock and fury, thundered across the heavens.
The inverted mountain shifted its target, hurling itself toward the solitary eye in the sky.
Yet, the space ahead twisted and warped. That impossibly heavy, seemingly all-crushing inverted peak could not reach the eye, no matter how far it flew.
Not only that, but the attacks from the other Immortal Eminences, who had now regained their senses and were boiling with rage, also failed to pierce through this sealed space. Every assault fell short.
"The Two Poles Subtle Dust Array? Have you broken through to the Spirit Transformation realm?" At this moment, Immortal Eminence Zi Yun, who had remained silent from beginning to end, finally spoke.
Her clear, crisp voice caused the complexions of Hong Xi and the others to change drastically.
Zhang Zhiliang remained silent.
Beside him, Crimson Flame, who had been grievously wounded, now seized the opportunity to launch an assault on the stunned Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminences frozen in place.
Hong Xi and the others were forced to engage Crimson Flame once more.
Only this time, not only was the spiritual qi concentration drastically lowered due to the Two Poles Subtle Dust Array, offering them no chance for recovery, but the eye in the sky would also occasionally cast its gaze downward, freezing their movements.
Before long, under the combined assault of Crimson Flame and Zhang Zhiliang, the Immortal Eminences were covered in wounds.
"Zhang Zhiliang, you are still a proper Spirit Transformation cultivator and an array master at the end of the day. How could you use such despicable methods?
"Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock in the world?" Immortal Eminence Lan Cang roared in fury.
The response he received was the deathly stare of the eye.
Immortal Eminence Hong Xi had never imagined they would fall into a trap laid by this former subordinate.
"Senior Jin Ri, please free us from this plight!" he cried out, a note of anxiety in his voice.
The great sun in the firmament hesitated for a moment, then nonetheless cast down a beam of golden light.
Just as this radiance was about to fall upon the solitary eye, a wisp of dark cloud suddenly manifested, blocking the golden beam.
"Little Zhang, proceed with confidence! That old fossil Jin Ri shall not hinder you!"
Zhang Zhiliang finally spoke: "My thanks, Senior."
"Hei Ya?!" Jin Ri's voice, filled with shock and anger, echoed across the heavens.
Yet, faced with the dark cloud that blotted out the golden sun, Immortal Venerable Jin Ri fell silent.
A moment later, the sun that enveloped the Congyun Sea slowly retreated.
"Senior Jin Ri!" Hong Xi cried out desperately, even as he parried Crimson Flame's attacks.
But there was no response.
Seeing their backer choose to abandon them, a river of stars suddenly manifested in the sky.
Immortal Eminence Zi Yun transformed into starlight and, in an instant, pierced through spacetime. Without another word, she fled into the distance.
The solitary eye gazed into the far distance for a time before withdrawing its sight.
Zhang Zhiliang chose not to pursue. He simply watched, seated, as the trapped beasts fought to the death within the Two Poles Subtle Dust Array.
For Crimson Flame, everything before It was an enemy to be destroyed. Thus, Its offensive never ceased.
For the four remaining Spirit Transformation cultivators, the will to survive was an instinct.
Facing Crimson Flame's attacks, they could not simply sit back and await death with closed eyes.
Yet, already heavily wounded and now lacking the support of Jin Ri and Zi Yun, how could they be a match for Crimson Flame?
And so, despite the unwillingness in their hearts, they had no choice but to fall into Zhang Zhiliang's scheme, using their very lives to whittle away at Crimson Flame's remaining power.
Immortal Eminence Lan Cang was the first to fall.
Hao Xuan and Hong Xi followed, meeting their ends.
Only Tian Yang, with the most tenacious vitality, remained, struggling bitterly to hold on.
The moment of harvest was now at hand. Slaying the Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth and achieving the rank of Dao Unity Immortal Venerable was now within his grasp. Even with Zhang Zhiliang's profound composure, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
Just as he prepared to make his move, he abruptly discovered that a shadow covering the entire Congyun Sea had enveloped him at some unknown moment.
With a sound like the cleaving of heaven from earth, a terrifying exotic beast of indescribable, impossible size erupted from the ocean depths.
In one gulp, it swallowed both him and Crimson Flame, who was still sealed by countless Array Crowns.