Across the heavens, endless crimson clouds abruptly manifested.
In the span of a single breath, they had already enveloped the entire Congyun Sea.
"Crimson Flame Immortal Venerable Zhang Zhiliang practiced the Dao for 683 years, establishing his Dao Foundation with the Curio, Sleepless Child.
“He formed his Golden Core with the Unlimited Array, seized the One-Eyed Grotto-Heaven to create his Nascent Soul, and sacrificed Soul Arbiter Crimson Flame to unite his body with the Dao.
"Fortunate to receive heaven's punishment, his Dao disperses, returning to heaven!"
Against the backdrop of the celestial phenomenon marking the fall of a Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, a figure of ink-black darkness silently materialized.
Zhang Zhiliang's corpse transformed into a droplet of thick ink, writhing as it returned to the figure’s hand. Then, Its gaze turned downward, toward the Congyun Sea below.
Every cultivator in the Congyun Sea who witnessed this scene first fell into a state of utter stupefaction.
Then, an unstoppable terror was born within their hearts, one that made their bodies tremble and their souls quake.
"Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, Ink Death!"
For reasons unknown, another Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth had suddenly descended, casually erasing Zhang Zhiliang, who had just successfully achieved Dao Unity, with a single strike.
Yet, It seemed unsatisfied, shifting its attention to the teeming masses of the Congyun Sea!
Ink Death gently pointed a finger toward a space not far away.
"Tian Yang is..."
Indeed, it was Tian Yang, who had narrowly escaped with his life thanks to Zhang Qianmo's Purple Firmament Divine Lightning.
Yet, he only had time to utter this before he was swallowed by a dense, inky blackness.
The phenomenon of a cultivator's fall appeared in the sky once more.
At that moment, countless black particles surged forth from Ink Death's form. These black particles danced and fluttered, surging upward to shroud the entire firmament.
True darkness descended.
The black particles multiplied incessantly, enveloping the entire Congyun Sea like an enormous black curtain. Then they pressed downward, devouring everything.
This scene was far too horrifying. Gripped by extreme fear, the cultivators on Myriad Immortals Island revealed their ugliest selves, just like each time Ink Death had ended the Congyun Sea before.
Some completely lost the courage to resist, collapsing to the ground and awaiting death in despair.
Some found a sudden, vicious rage in their hearts, attacking the inky blackness with all their might and desperately trying to find a sliver of hope.
Others wept and laughed hysterically, clearly driven out of their minds by the spectacle.
What must come, has come.
Once again, Li Fan became the one who stood apart among the multitude of cultivators.
He drank in the scene of Ink Death eroding everything, refusing to miss a single detail.
All arcane arts and divine abilities lost their efficacy before those black particles, meeting only one end: being devoured and assimilated.
Life, spiritual qi, matter—all became nourishment for Its proliferation.
Truly dreadful and awe-inspiring...
Witnessing Ink Death in action once more, Li Fan was no less shaken by Its methods.
If I could achieve my Golden Core through Ink Death’s Law, my power to slaughter would be second to none in this world. Li Fan thought to himself.
Focusing intently on the black particles in the sky pressing relentlessly downward, Li Fan's expression was one of infatuation.
Just as Li Fan was lost in his contemplation of the Dao, another figure was also flying about Myriad Immortals Island in a state of irrepressible excitement, using a seven-colored Image Recording Stone to document this pre-apocalyptic scene in its entirety.
"Marvelous! Simply marvelous! I thought the immortals executing Crimson Flame was the calamity, but who knew an even greater one would follow!
"Ink Death descends upon the world, annihilating all!
"This exclusive, never-to-be-repeated footage will allow me to turn another tidy profit!"
Jiao Xiuyuan muttered to himself, his expression animated and thrilled.
Suddenly, his flying form jerked to a halt. Staring in Li Fan's direction, he cried out in shock, "Fellow Daoist Lin Fan, why are you still here?"
Li Fan emerged from his contemplation of the Dao, looked at Jiao Xiuyuan, and offered a slight smile while cupping his hands. Then his attention returned to the black particles in the sky.
Jiao Xiuyuan followed Li Fan's gaze, seeing only the endless black particles that annihilated all things.
He turned back to Li Fan, studying his expression carefully. A look of sudden, somewhat horrified comprehension dawned on his face. "You're a puppet too?
"No, not a puppet. An avatar?"
His eyes narrowed as he recalled everything that had happened since meeting this Lin Fan. An inscrutable expression surfaced on his face.
Interesting. I never thought the day would come when my eyes would fail me. It seems this one's true identity is truly no simple matter...
Just then, a strange sound interrupted his thoughts. He looked toward the source of the noise, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "What is that?"
Li Fan’s attention was drawn by the sound as well. He looked up to see tremendous, rolling explosions erupting from the sky shrouded in endless black particles. It was as if something was churning violently within that sea of ink, causing the black particles to grow even more agitated and frenzied.
That is the direction of... Li Fan narrowed his eyes, a note of disbelief in his thoughts. Cloudwater Palace?
The disturbance continued. The rumbling grew louder and louder, as if something beneath that black curtain was approaching rapidly. A thin line split the black ocean, arriving with a shrieking whistle. In an instant, it appeared in the sky above Myriad Immortals Island.
The surrounding black particles seethed restlessly, seeking to devour this brazen foreign object. But the distorted blackness surrounding the thin line formed an incredibly tough barrier, preventing the all-consuming black particles from advancing even an inch.
It can actually resist the erosion of Ink Death?! What is this? Li Fan's heart shook as he stared at the incoming line.
Heaven-Scorning Sword?
Amid Li Fan's shock, a broken sword, pitch-black from tip to hilt and radiating an overwhelming baleful aura, revealed itself. Its tip pointed forward, and a tangible, baleful aura forced back all the black particles around it.
The black particles churned in the direction the Heaven-Scorning Sword pointed, and Ink Death's physical body reformed. It stared at the Heaven-Scorning Sword ahead, Its expression seemingly grave.
"What treasure is this? It can actually stand toe-to-toe with Ink Death?" Jiao Xiuyuan exclaimed.
Li Fan's heart was even more profoundly shaken, and a strange excitement stirred within him. Which one is superior? Ink Death or Heaven-Scorning?
He scrutinized the two. They were extremely similar, yet seemed fundamentally different. Ink Death was a pure, ink-like blackness, a deep void that devoured all. Heaven-Scorning was a twisted black, the epitome of madness and destruction. The two faced each other, a battle imminent.
But then, Ink Death suddenly glanced down at Myriad Immortals Island below.
Countless black particles instantly trembled. Another figure, identical to Ink Death, materialized in an instant.
It transformed into a slender line, shattering the protective barrier of the Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Array with ease.
Then, leading a sea of ink, it proceeded to corrode everything upon the island.
Li Fan was stunned. He hadn’t expected that, even with a formidable enemy at hand, Ink Death would still not neglect Its primary task.
The sky-curtain pressed down gradually, and the figures of Ink Death and Heaven-Scorning slowly vanished within the black ocean. Only the undulating black particles, rising and falling like waves, spoke of the terrifying battle raging above.
An immense sense of regret filled Li Fan’s heart.
What a pity, to be unable to witness the clash between these two.