Crimson clouds suddenly emerged in the sky, shrouding the entire Cong Yun Sea endlessly.
A passage naturally surfaced in the minds of all the beings who witnessed this strange scene.
"Crimson Flame Immortal Sage Zhang Haobo cultivated for 16 years. Had built his foundation using the Heavenly Treasure 'Heavenly Calamity Sword Intent', and had achieved Golden Core through the 'Water Wind Sword Technique'."
"He sacrificed the Heavenly Spirit Crimson Flame to achieve Dao Integration."
"Fortunately, he was executed by the Heavenly Spirit Ink Death, and his Dao was dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
However, the cultivators on Ten Thousand Immortals Island had no time to look at this shocking scene.
Because...
True terror had arrived.
When that ink-black figure had appeared behind Zhang Haobo and executed him.
The white-robed True Monarch Hongxi let out a stern shout: "Go!"
In an instant, the inverted mountains, Lancang River waters, purple starlight, dazzling silver lights, and black fire chains all smashed towards the ink-colored figure.
Trying to buy some time.
Faced with an unfamiliar Heavenly Spirit, the five True Monarchs unanimously chose to flee the Cong Yun Sea.
The aura from that ink-colored figure also made them feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.
But it was too late.
Ink Death lightly waved his right hand upwards, and a black line shot into the great sun in the sky.
A muffled groan came from within.
A black spot abruptly appeared in the golden sun.
It was so conspicuous, then like a sun-devouring creature, it quickly expanded outwards.
The light gradually disappeared.
Darkness descended upon the Cong Yun Sea.
At the same time, Ink Death split into five, instantly appearing in different directions.
Five black strands arrived in a flash, piercing through the five True Monarchs' bodies.
The river dried up, True Monarch Lancang was dead!
The black flames abruptly vanished, True Monarch Tai Yang was dead!
The mountain range collapsed, True Monarch Hongxi was dead!
A hidden stalactite in the sky shattered inch by inch, True Monarch Haoxuan was dead!
In the splendid star river, countless stars successively exploded.
The starry sky abruptly became extremely gloomy.
The torn heavens gradually recovered.
Only a meteor remained, streaking across the horizon.
True Monarch Ziyun was heavily injured and escaped!
In an instant, out of five True Monarchs, four were dead and one was heavily injured.
Right after that, Ink Death split into five thousand.
In a flash, penetrating through those hundreds of thousands of white formation fortifications.
Like dense ink dripping into clear water, all the white squares instantly turned pitch black.
Zhang Zhiliang who had been hiding in the air relying on the formation fortifications, could no longer hide.
A drop of ink effortlessly pierced through Zhang Zhiliang's chest.
At the wound, black ink markings appeared.
His flesh and blood turned into countless tiny black particles, instantly swallowing Zhang Zhiliang.
Zhang Zhiliang, first in formations in the Cong Yun Sea, was dead!
In the sky, the hundreds of thousands of ink droplets simultaneously squirmed, merging into one.
One Dao Integration Immortal Sage, four Soul Transformation True Monarchs, one Nascent Soul True Lord.
All had perished at the same time.
The various phenomena in Cong Yun Sea's sky intertwined and fused together.
Yet all was dyed black by the flying black particles, forming a bizarre, fantastical splashed ink painting.
The Heavenly Spirit Ink Death stood below the ink painting, looking down on the living beings of the Cong Yun Sea.
Raising his head and looking up at the sky, strands of information like hellish hymns started playing in the minds of living beings, continuously echoing.
"True Monarch Lancang..."
"...True Monarch Yang..."
"...True Monarch..."
......
"Had cultivated for 1653 years..."
"...1436 years..."
"...years..."
......
"Had built his foundation using the Heavenly Treasure White Dragon Flower..."
"...built his foundation..."
"...foundation"
......
"Fortunately, he was executed by the heavens, and his Dao dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"Fortunately, he was executed by the heavens, and his Dao dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"His Dao had dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"His Dao had dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"His Dao had dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
......
Ink Death is silent, heaven and earth sing his intent.
This is a silent threat, an unspoken warning.
This is heaven and earth, showcasing their true power before the cultivators.
The cultivators on Ten Thousand Immortals Island watched as the once aloof and mighty Soul Transformation True Monarchs were easily and casually slaughtered like dogs and chickens.
This terrifying scene made all the cultivators' hearts turn cold.
Some trembled all over, collapsing limply on the ground with vacant eyes.
Some became crazed, losing all reason and randomly fleeing around.
Some had bloodshot eyes, disregarding the gap in strength and attacking Ink Death.
......
Ink Death's head turned slightly, glancing down at Ten Thousand Immortals Island below, then retracted his gaze, sweeping across Cong Yun Sea.
In a flash, his body split up, changing again into thousands of tiny black particles.
Then, thousands became millions, millions became billions, and billions became trillions.
Innumerable black particles proliferated outwards.
Finally, they formed an ink-colored curtain, shrouding the entire Cong Yun Sea.
The black particles squirmed as they endlessly multiplied downwards.
The seven-colored radiance on Ten Thousand Immortals Island flowed, barely blocking it.
But countless tiny gnawing sounds rang out, and the radiance instantly dimmed.
Outside of Ten Thousand Immortals Island, nothing obstructed these black particles.
The ocean surged, seemingly wanting to desperately resist.
But the seawater swirling in the air was the first to be devoured and transformed.
The black curtain pressed down from the sky.
Swallowing islands and oceans.
Soil, rocks, life, seawater...
Everything, everything was gnawed and transformed into black particles.
Islands were annihilated.
The sea level kept dropping downwards.
In less than half a day, the blue ocean completely disappeared from sight.
Ten Thousand Immortals Island was completely surrounded by the black particles.
Endless darkness enshrouded the island's immortals, with nowhere to escape.
This was a true apocalypse.
This was a disaster tens of thousands of times more terrifying than Crimson Flame burning the ocean.
On Ten Thousand Immortals Island, the seven-colored protective shield could no longer hold on, shattering like broken glass.
The towering statue of the Immortal Ancestor instantly became the black particles' first targets of attack.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Guardian Formation's protective rays continuously attacked, but falling into this black ocean, it too only became nutrients for the black particles.
The stone statues of the Immortal Masters, starting from their high crowns on their heads, were melted away bit by bit.
Soon, only half of their bodies remained.
At the same time, the other black particles swarmed in, transforming into strands.
Like lethal snakes, they hunted the cultivators fleeing everywhere.
Countless cultivators often couldn't even make a sound before being melted and assimilated into the constantly squirming black particles.
And under the sky obscured by the black curtain, even the falling cultivators' death announcements could no longer be seen.
The cultivators on the island, like dogs that lost their homes, fled around in panic.
In the chaos and despair, only two people remained calm.
One was Li Fan's clone.
He watched the sky filled with ink, his expression tranquil.
The startling shock from first seeing Ink Death gradually faded away. In its final moments, the clone slowly pondered.
"Although both are Heavenly Spirits, Ink Death and Crimson Flame's destructive power simply could not be compared."
After a while, he came to a realization.
"When a Heavenly Spirit descends into the mortal realm, they have their own heavenly duties."
"Green Wind trapped the sword, Crimson Flame burned the ocean."
"As for Ink Death, his purpose was..."
"Obliteration!"
Under Ink Death's havoc, it was the true obliteration of everything.
Not even the soil and rocks would remain.
It seemed after this catastrophe, the original region of the Cong Yun Sea would become an empty abyss of nothingness.
It seemed the scene dozens of years later in his past life where the dried-up Cong Yun Sea became the lush Cong Yun Mountains would not appear again in this life.
This kind of obliteration method was too horrifying, too extreme.
The heavens and earth would not use it from the very beginning.
But in this life, after the Heavenly Spirit Crimson Flame was sacrificed and refined, it provoked a fierce reaction from heaven and earth.
Ink Death promptly descended into the mortal realm after.
This existence of utter destruction showcased the extremely resolute will of heaven and earth.
That was: Cong Yun Sea must die!
However, watching the cultivators die without resistance, Li Fan felt very unhappy in his heart.
So he flipped his middle finger at the sky.
Aside from Li Fan's clone, there was another person in this apocalyptic scene who also didn't show any fear on his face.
This person was Thousand Mile Hall's Jiao Xiuyuan.
He not only didn't have the slightest trace of fear or panic, but he was instead extremely excited.
Holding a seven-colored inscription tablet, he flew at low altitude over Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Strands of black lines brushed past him, and at any moment he could die, yet Jiao Xiuyuan didn't care one bit.
He just kept excitedly saying something with his mouth.
"Struck it rich, really struck it rich this time."
"A Dao Integration Realm expert, True Monarch Tian Yang, together with True Monarch Hongxi and the other five True Monarchs, plus Zhang Zhiliang utilizing the Infinite Formation with hundreds of thousands of formations."
"Set up a trap to hunt the Heavenly Spirit Crimson Flame."
"This was already a heaven-shaking piece of news."
"What's more sensational is that a Golden Core junior actually snatched the opportunity of Dao Integration!"
"If I didn't have the inscription tablet as proof, no one would believe me if I said this!"
"Golden Core decapitating Dao Integration Realm!"
"Even writing it as a fantastical tale would get mocked!"
"Even more unbelievable is that this Immortal Sage, probably the second youngest in history to achieve Dao Integration, didn't even get to celebrate before being slaughtered by another Heavenly Spirit!"
"This Heavenly Spirit called Ink Death didn't just kill this newly ascended Dao Integration Realm Immortal Sage."
"He also wanted to commit an apocalypse, completely destroying all of Cong Yun Sea!"
"Great, kill them, kill them all!"
"With all of you dead, this is my exclusive scoop!"
"Let me think, how many contribution points could I sell this footage for?"
"Two thousand? No no no, too little."
"At least five thousand! I, Jiao Xiuyuan, had never conducted business at a loss!"
"That's right, I've never conducted business at a loss."
Jiao Xiuyuan kept muttering as he gestured wildly, recording Ten Thousand Immortals Island's final moments.
At this time, he saw among the cultivators desperately struggling for their lives, there was a special existence acting differently from the rest.
He didn't show any fear on his face, flipping his middle finger at that apocalyptic Ink Death in the sky.
"Good!"
Jiao Xiuyuan couldn't help but cry out. In his heart he was even more delighted: "Faced with the might of heaven and earth's destruction, we cultivators are fearless. Struggling against it, even if we die, it is glorious!"
"Wonderful, this elevates the theme and raises the level."
"With this inspired scene, I could at least sell this exclusive footage for two thousand more points!"
On the ground, Li Fan looked in the direction of the voice and also saw Jiao Xiuyuan's figure.
He was not surprised, only smiling and nodding at him.
Seeing this, Jiao Xiuyuan was slightly startled.
"So it's an old customer..."
Jiao Xiuyuan tilted his head, eyes narrowed, muttering softly.
The two looked at each other as the black curtain of the sky completely pressed down.
Ten Thousand Immortals Island vanished into smoke and dust.
From today on, there will no longer be a Cong Yun Sea in this world.
......
When the falling silhouettes of Cong Yun Sea's cultivators continuously bloomed like fireworks.
In a certain unknown space.
Five indistinct statues stood in a circle.
The statues bowed their heads, looking down at the center.
There, a large cluster of glowing clouds floated in the air.
Within the clouds, one could faintly glimpse a miniature landscape of land, mountains, and flowing water.
The cloud cluster was divided into large and small isolated regions, and above each region floated a tiny speck of light.
Suddenly, at the edge of this glowing cloud cluster, within a small blue region.
The speck of light there suddenly turned red, flickering nonstop.
Along with the red light's flickering, a circle of invisible ripples expanded out from it, reverberating in this unknown space.
Four out of the five statues were also awakened by it.
The red light dot projected a segment of images upward.
The scene quickly played on repeat at several hundred times the speed, precisely of what had just happened in Cong Yun Sea.
The four enormous divine senses communicated with each other.
"It actually alarmed Ink Death..."
"Cong Yun Sea ambushed the Heavenly Spirit? What was Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance thinking over there?"
"The old geezer didn't ask about worldly affairs, so it's normal his subordinates didn't know."
"Moreover, the deceased were two local Soul Transformations of Cong Yun Sea. The other three were also ones they brought over from who knows where. All not from Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's core."
"Even so, five Soul Transformations, plus some other cultivators of various levels. Dying all at once was still too many."
"No matter, they were all expendable."
"We must still control the overall number of cultivators. There cannot be too many, but cannot be too few."
"With the old geezer nowhere to be seen all day, this matter still depends on us."
"Then loosen up the restrictions on exchanging cultivation methods."
"I will relay this."
"As for Cong Yun Sea's side, it had already become a dead zone. We still had to trouble Carefree Heavenly Venerable."
After a moment, the statue that had been motionless finally transmitted some divine sense ripples.
"I know."
Then there were no more transmissions.
The others seemed to also be used to it.
They exchanged a few more words before successively falling silent.
Within the glowing cloud cluster in the center of the five statues, the brightness of that edge blue region gradually faded away, then became transparent and disappeared.
......
Yuandao Prefecture.
The instant Ten Thousand Immortals Island was completely destroyed by Ink Death, Li Fan sensed it and looked towards the distance.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Su Xiaomei noticed Li Fan's abnormality and curiously asked.
Li Fan shook his head and didn't answer.
At this time, after a few days of travel, they arrived at the vicinity of Mingyue Lake.
This region was as Fei Nan said: resources were scarce and few cultivators came here.
It was far from Yuandao Heavenly City, which was very inconvenient.
Although unsuitable for most cultivators to establish a base, for Li Fan it was not a bad choice.
One reason was because next, Li Fan would use the Canghai Pearl to build his foundation.
This eight-hundred-kilometer Mingyue Lake contained vast amounts of misty water, and its water attribute spiritual qi density was not lacking compared to the Cong Yun Sea.
Very suitable for Li Fan.
Secondly, precisely because few cultivators came here, storing Dao resonance artifacts would be safer, as there would be no worry that others might discover them.
However, establishing a base was a major matter.
He still needed to personally scout out whether there were any oddities within this lake.
Otherwise, if he built his nest in someone else's home, it would truly be laughable.
Li Fan flew above the lake's surface, preparing to investigate thoroughly.
But his figure abruptly stopped.
Between heaven and earth, an enormous cluster of blue water radiance suddenly appeared out of the void.
Returning to the Canghai Pearl.
At the same time, countless images appeared in Li Fan's mind.
"So the matter could not be accomplished and you've finally returned?"
The previously extremely weak Canghai Pearl slowly absorbed this sudden blue radiance, finally returning to the deep blue appearance Li Fan saw in his past life.
Even more, because the Cong Yun Sea was executed prematurely, the Canghai Pearl also accelerated its maturation process.
Li Fan estimated that this Earthly Treasure that was still gestating would completely form before long.
With the return of the portion of power the Canghai Pearl split off, Li Fan also came to know what happened with Zhang Haobo.
Initially, when using the Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art to create the "reincarnator" Zhang Haobo, Li Fan didn't consider using the Canghai Pearl on him because this object would be his Foundation Treasure in this life.
But...
This world was not an unchanging game, matters would not all develop as he anticipated.
After Zhang Haobo "reincarnated", his fortune flowed and his destiny rapidly changed.
This attracted the attention of Cong Yun Sea's consciousness.
And after some contact, Cong Yun Sea discovered an earth-shattering secret.
This strangely fortunate person seemed to be able to know of future events.
To be specific, Crimson Flame's descent and burning of Cong Yun Sea.
And with this belief, along with past experiences, the Cong Yun Sea confirmed the credibility of this news.
More than ten years later, it would truly be scorched and dried up.
So, Cong Yun Sea made a different choice than the previous life.
In the previous life, when Crimson Flame simmered the ocean, it was originally very covert.
By the time Cong Yun Sea noticed, it was already too late to resist.
But, it was unwilling to accept this.
So although it withered away, it would be reborn anew.
This life, the heavens wanted to burn the ocean, so the ocean decided to make an all-out desperate struggle.
But it would still leave itself a way out.
Therefore, it split its power into two parts.
One part continued to transform into the Canghai Pearl.
The other part then gathered in the "reincarnator" Zhang Haobo.
Because even with its endless vast power, it could not personally take action.
The heavens wanted to burn the ocean but still needed to manifest the Heavenly Spirit.
To counterattack, it naturally also needed a spokesperson.
And Zhang Haobo was naturally the best candidate.
Everything proceeded very smoothly.
With its help, Zhang Haobo's cultivation level rose unimaginably fast.
In just a few short years, he broke through to late Qi Condensation.
Under its guidance and protection, Zhang Haobo was also able to observe the battle between Green Wind and the sword hilt, successfully building his foundation using it.
Then, with the false Core Formation cultivation base, he trespassed Ten Thousand Immortals Island and met the island's Soul Transformation True Monarch.
Although they were skeptical about what Zhang Haobo said regarding foretelling the future, under the temptation of the Dao Integration Realm and after asking in detail approximately how long it took for Crimson Flame to burn the ocean, they still made a decision.
To ambush the soon-to-descend Crimson Flame.
For this, the white-robed True Monarch Hongxi contacted the other Soul Transformation cultivator of Ten Thousand Immortals Island, True Monarch Ziyun.
He also invited over True Monarch Tai Yang, whom he previously had a battle with.
The three asked Zhang Haobo again about the details of his prophecy of Crimson Flame.
After discussing it, they still felt it wasn't safe enough.
Therefore, Hongxi went tens of thousands of kilometers away to Feiling Prefecture, inviting the Dao Integration Realm expert, True Monarch Golden Sun, to lead them.
During this time, he also invited two more Soul Transformation cultivators, True Monarch Lancang and True Monarch Haoxuan, to battle in the Cong Yun Sea.
So True Monarch Ziyun initiated the Starlight Teleportation Technique to invite them over to Ten Thousand Immortals Island as guests.
Inviting them to jointly work together to slay Crimson Flame.
For Soul Transformation cultivators, the enticement of the Dao Integration Realm was extremely difficult to resist.
So the two readily agreed.
With one Dao Integration Realm expert leading, five Soul Transformations surrounding and attacking, plus a Nascent Soul realm Formation Master preparing hundreds of thousands of formations.
With intentions aligned, a plan was formed to kill the Heavenly Spirit which took nearly ten years to burn the ocean.
The odds of success could not be considered small.
And matters did indeed turn out as such.
With Golden Sun Immortal Sage and True Monarch Ziyun joining hands, the sun-star cage cut off Crimson Flame's connection to heaven and earth's primal energy.
Crimson Flame's defeat seemed only a matter of time.
But Zhang Haobo and the Cong Yun Sea, who were observing by the side, felt uneasy in their hearts.
So they decided to take action personally.
For a mere Golden Core cultivator to intervene in the contest between Dao Integration Realm and Soul Transformation seemed preposterous.
But it was not entirely impossible.
Because the one taking action was not Zhang Haobo, but rather Cong Yun Sea itself.
The Cong Yun Sea had accumulated power for who knows how many years, and already bordered on the Dao Integration Realm.
It was too much for a Golden Core cultivator's body to bear.
Therefore, Zhang Haobo decisively shattered his core, utilizing a body purely of laws to contain Cong Yun Sea's power.
If successful, Zhang Haobo would instantly ascend to the Dao Integration Realm from Golden Core!
The resentment of being incinerated in the future, the unwillingness to accept its own fate, plus Zhang Haobo's comprehension of the Heavenly Calamity Sword Intent finally unsheathed the Twenty-Eight Swords of the Cong Yun Sea.
These swords carried unyielding will, revenge, and killing intent.
It succeeded, yet also failed.
Although Crimson Flame died, Ink Death arrived.
The instant Zhang Haobo perished, Cong Yun Sea knew the matter could not be accomplished, and finally returned its power back into the Canghai Pearl.
......
Although the Cong Yun Sea did not necessarily have humans' clear intelligence, its muddled, vague consciousness still made it direct Zhang Haobo according to its instincts to fight it out with Crimson Flame.
"Fortune does not guarantee success."
"He ended up merely a tool exploited by both sides in their game."
Li Fan sighed and shook his head.
"However..."
"The Twenty-Eight Swords of the Cong Yun Sea."
"Truly was an excellent sword technique."
The scene of Zhang Haobo unleashing this sword instantly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Mobilizing the power contained within the Canghai Pearl, Li Fan slashed out a sword.
The blue sword radiance was unstoppable.
Cutting across the lake's surface.
The lakewaters were split open by the sword qi, exposing the muddy lakebed.
The eight-hundred-kilometer-long Mingyue Lake was divided into two with one sword.
Crimson clouds suddenly emerged in the sky, shrouding the entire Cong Yun Sea endlessly.
A passage naturally surfaced in the minds of all the beings who witnessed this strange scene.
"Crimson Flame Immortal Sage Zhang Haobo cultivated for 16 years. Had built his foundation using the Heavenly Treasure 'Heavenly Calamity Sword Intent', and had achieved Golden Core through the 'Water Wind Sword Technique'."
"He sacrificed the Heavenly Spirit Crimson Flame to achieve Dao Integration."
"Fortunately, he was executed by the Heavenly Spirit Ink Death, and his Dao was dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
However, the cultivators on Ten Thousand Immortals Island had no time to look at this shocking scene.
Because...
True terror had arrived.
When that ink-black figure had appeared behind Zhang Haobo and executed him.
The white-robed True Monarch Hongxi let out a stern shout: "Go!"
In an instant, the inverted mountains, Lancang River waters, purple starlight, dazzling silver lights, and black fire chains all smashed towards the ink-colored figure.
Trying to buy some time.
Faced with an unfamiliar Heavenly Spirit, the five True Monarchs unanimously chose to flee the Cong Yun Sea.
The aura from that ink-colored figure also made them feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.
But it was too late.
Ink Death lightly waved his right hand upwards, and a black line shot into the great sun in the sky.
A muffled groan came from within.
A black spot abruptly appeared in the golden sun.
It was so conspicuous, then like a sun-devouring creature, it quickly expanded outwards.
The light gradually disappeared.
Darkness descended upon the Cong Yun Sea.
At the same time, Ink Death split into five, instantly appearing in different directions.
Five black strands arrived in a flash, piercing through the five True Monarchs' bodies.
The river dried up, True Monarch Lancang was dead!
The black flames abruptly vanished, True Monarch Tai Yang was dead!
The mountain range collapsed, True Monarch Hongxi was dead!
A hidden stalactite in the sky shattered inch by inch, True Monarch Haoxuan was dead!
In the splendid star river, countless stars successively exploded.
The starry sky abruptly became extremely gloomy.
The torn heavens gradually recovered.
Only a meteor remained, streaking across the horizon.
True Monarch Ziyun was heavily injured and escaped!
In an instant, out of five True Monarchs, four were dead and one was heavily injured.
Right after that, Ink Death split into five thousand.
In a flash, penetrating through those hundreds of thousands of white formation fortifications.
Like dense ink dripping into clear water, all the white squares instantly turned pitch black.
Zhang Zhiliang who had been hiding in the air relying on the formation fortifications, could no longer hide.
A drop of ink effortlessly pierced through Zhang Zhiliang's chest.
At the wound, black ink markings appeared.
His flesh and blood turned into countless tiny black particles, instantly swallowing Zhang Zhiliang.
Zhang Zhiliang, first in formations in the Cong Yun Sea, was dead!
In the sky, the hundreds of thousands of ink droplets simultaneously squirmed, merging into one.
One Dao Integration Immortal Sage, four Soul Transformation True Monarchs, one Nascent Soul True Lord.
All had perished at the same time.
The various phenomena in Cong Yun Sea's sky intertwined and fused together.
Yet all was dyed black by the flying black particles, forming a bizarre, fantastical splashed ink painting.
The Heavenly Spirit Ink Death stood below the ink painting, looking down on the living beings of the Cong Yun Sea.
Raising his head and looking up at the sky, strands of information like hellish hymns started playing in the minds of living beings, continuously echoing.
"True Monarch Lancang..."
"...True Monarch Yang..."
"...True Monarch..."
......
"Had cultivated for 1653 years..."
"...1436 years..."
"...years..."
......
"Had built his foundation using the Heavenly Treasure White Dragon Flower..."
"...built his foundation..."
"...foundation"
......
"Fortunately, he was executed by the heavens, and his Dao dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"Fortunately, he was executed by the heavens, and his Dao dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"His Dao had dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"His Dao had dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
"His Dao had dissipated and returned to the heavens!"
......
Ink Death is silent, heaven and earth sing his intent.
This is a silent threat, an unspoken warning.
This is heaven and earth, showcasing their true power before the cultivators.
The cultivators on Ten Thousand Immortals Island watched as the once aloof and mighty Soul Transformation True Monarchs were easily and casually slaughtered like dogs and chickens.
This terrifying scene made all the cultivators' hearts turn cold.
Some trembled all over, collapsing limply on the ground with vacant eyes.
Some became crazed, losing all reason and randomly fleeing around.
Some had bloodshot eyes, disregarding the gap in strength and attacking Ink Death.
......
Ink Death's head turned slightly, glancing down at Ten Thousand Immortals Island below, then retracted his gaze, sweeping across Cong Yun Sea.
In a flash, his body split up, changing again into thousands of tiny black particles.
Then, thousands became millions, millions became billions, and billions became trillions.
Innumerable black particles proliferated outwards.
Finally, they formed an ink-colored curtain, shrouding the entire Cong Yun Sea.
The black particles squirmed as they endlessly multiplied downwards.
The seven-colored radiance on Ten Thousand Immortals Island flowed, barely blocking it.
But countless tiny gnawing sounds rang out, and the radiance instantly dimmed.
Outside of Ten Thousand Immortals Island, nothing obstructed these black particles.
The ocean surged, seemingly wanting to desperately resist.
But the seawater swirling in the air was the first to be devoured and transformed.
The black curtain pressed down from the sky.
Swallowing islands and oceans.
Soil, rocks, life, seawater...
Everything, everything was gnawed and transformed into black particles.
Islands were annihilated.
The sea level kept dropping downwards.
In less than half a day, the blue ocean completely disappeared from sight.
Ten Thousand Immortals Island was completely surrounded by the black particles.
Endless darkness enshrouded the island's immortals, with nowhere to escape.
This was a true apocalypse.
This was a disaster tens of thousands of times more terrifying than Crimson Flame burning the ocean.
On Ten Thousand Immortals Island, the seven-colored protective shield could no longer hold on, shattering like broken glass.
The towering statue of the Immortal Ancestor instantly became the black particles' first targets of attack.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Guardian Formation's protective rays continuously attacked, but falling into this black ocean, it too only became nutrients for the black particles.
The stone statues of the Immortal Masters, starting from their high crowns on their heads, were melted away bit by bit.
Soon, only half of their bodies remained.
At the same time, the other black particles swarmed in, transforming into strands.
Like lethal snakes, they hunted the cultivators fleeing everywhere.
Countless cultivators often couldn't even make a sound before being melted and assimilated into the constantly squirming black particles.
And under the sky obscured by the black curtain, even the falling cultivators' death announcements could no longer be seen.
The cultivators on the island, like dogs that lost their homes, fled around in panic.
In the chaos and despair, only two people remained calm.
One was Li Fan's clone.
He watched the sky filled with ink, his expression tranquil.
The startling shock from first seeing Ink Death gradually faded away. In its final moments, the clone slowly pondered.
"Although both are Heavenly Spirits, Ink Death and Crimson Flame's destructive power simply could not be compared."
After a while, he came to a realization.
"When a Heavenly Spirit descends into the mortal realm, they have their own heavenly duties."
"Green Wind trapped the sword, Crimson Flame burned the ocean."
"As for Ink Death, his purpose was..."
"Obliteration!"
Under Ink Death's havoc, it was the true obliteration of everything.
Not even the soil and rocks would remain.
It seemed after this catastrophe, the original region of the Cong Yun Sea would become an empty abyss of nothingness.
It seemed the scene dozens of years later in his past life where the dried-up Cong Yun Sea became the lush Cong Yun Mountains would not appear again in this life.
This kind of obliteration method was too horrifying, too extreme.
The heavens and earth would not use it from the very beginning.
But in this life, after the Heavenly Spirit Crimson Flame was sacrificed and refined, it provoked a fierce reaction from heaven and earth.
Ink Death promptly descended into the mortal realm after.
This existence of utter destruction showcased the extremely resolute will of heaven and earth.
That was: Cong Yun Sea must die!
However, watching the cultivators die without resistance, Li Fan felt very unhappy in his heart.
So he flipped his middle finger at the sky.
Aside from Li Fan's clone, there was another person in this apocalyptic scene who also didn't show any fear on his face.
This person was Thousand Mile Hall's Jiao Xiuyuan.
He not only didn't have the slightest trace of fear or panic, but he was instead extremely excited.
Holding a seven-colored inscription tablet, he flew at low altitude over Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Strands of black lines brushed past him, and at any moment he could die, yet Jiao Xiuyuan didn't care one bit.
He just kept excitedly saying something with his mouth.
"Struck it rich, really struck it rich this time."
"A Dao Integration Realm expert, True Monarch Tian Yang, together with True Monarch Hongxi and the other five True Monarchs, plus Zhang Zhiliang utilizing the Infinite Formation with hundreds of thousands of formations."
"Set up a trap to hunt the Heavenly Spirit Crimson Flame."
"This was already a heaven-shaking piece of news."
"What's more sensational is that a Golden Core junior actually snatched the opportunity of Dao Integration!"
"If I didn't have the inscription tablet as proof, no one would believe me if I said this!"
"Golden Core decapitating Dao Integration Realm!"
"Even writing it as a fantastical tale would get mocked!"
"Even more unbelievable is that this Immortal Sage, probably the second youngest in history to achieve Dao Integration, didn't even get to celebrate before being slaughtered by another Heavenly Spirit!"
"This Heavenly Spirit called Ink Death didn't just kill this newly ascended Dao Integration Realm Immortal Sage."
"He also wanted to commit an apocalypse, completely destroying all of Cong Yun Sea!"
"Great, kill them, kill them all!"
"With all of you dead, this is my exclusive scoop!"
"Let me think, how many contribution points could I sell this footage for?"
"Two thousand? No no no, too little."
"At least five thousand! I, Jiao Xiuyuan, had never conducted business at a loss!"
"That's right, I've never conducted business at a loss."
Jiao Xiuyuan kept muttering as he gestured wildly, recording Ten Thousand Immortals Island's final moments.
At this time, he saw among the cultivators desperately struggling for their lives, there was a special existence acting differently from the rest.
He didn't show any fear on his face, flipping his middle finger at that apocalyptic Ink Death in the sky.
"Good!"
Jiao Xiuyuan couldn't help but cry out. In his heart he was even more delighted: "Faced with the might of heaven and earth's destruction, we cultivators are fearless. Struggling against it, even if we die, it is glorious!"
"Wonderful, this elevates the theme and raises the level."
"With this inspired scene, I could at least sell this exclusive footage for two thousand more points!"
On the ground, Li Fan looked in the direction of the voice and also saw Jiao Xiuyuan's figure.
He was not surprised, only smiling and nodding at him.
Seeing this, Jiao Xiuyuan was slightly startled.
"So it's an old customer..."
Jiao Xiuyuan tilted his head, eyes narrowed, muttering softly.
The two looked at each other as the black curtain of the sky completely pressed down.
Ten Thousand Immortals Island vanished into smoke and dust.
From today on, there will no longer be a Cong Yun Sea in this world.
......
When the falling silhouettes of Cong Yun Sea's cultivators continuously bloomed like fireworks.
In a certain unknown space.
Five indistinct statues stood in a circle.
The statues bowed their heads, looking down at the center.
There, a large cluster of glowing clouds floated in the air.
Within the clouds, one could faintly glimpse a miniature landscape of land, mountains, and flowing water.
The cloud cluster was divided into large and small isolated regions, and above each region floated a tiny speck of light.
Suddenly, at the edge of this glowing cloud cluster, within a small blue region.
The speck of light there suddenly turned red, flickering nonstop.
Along with the red light's flickering, a circle of invisible ripples expanded out from it, reverberating in this unknown space.
Four out of the five statues were also awakened by it.
The red light dot projected a segment of images upward.
The scene quickly played on repeat at several hundred times the speed, precisely of what had just happened in Cong Yun Sea.
The four enormous divine senses communicated with each other.
"It actually alarmed Ink Death..."
"Cong Yun Sea ambushed the Heavenly Spirit? What was Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance thinking over there?"
"The old geezer didn't ask about worldly affairs, so it's normal his subordinates didn't know."
"Moreover, the deceased were two local Soul Transformations of Cong Yun Sea. The other three were also ones they brought over from who knows where. All not from Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's core."
"Even so, five Soul Transformations, plus some other cultivators of various levels. Dying all at once was still too many."
"No matter, they were all expendable."
"We must still control the overall number of cultivators. There cannot be too many, but cannot be too few."
"With the old geezer nowhere to be seen all day, this matter still depends on us."
"Then loosen up the restrictions on exchanging cultivation methods."
"I will relay this."
"As for Cong Yun Sea's side, it had already become a dead zone. We still had to trouble Carefree Heavenly Venerable."
After a moment, the statue that had been motionless finally transmitted some divine sense ripples.
"I know."
Then there were no more transmissions.
The others seemed to also be used to it.
They exchanged a few more words before successively falling silent.
Within the glowing cloud cluster in the center of the five statues, the brightness of that edge blue region gradually faded away, then became transparent and disappeared.
......
Yuandao Prefecture.
The instant Ten Thousand Immortals Island was completely destroyed by Ink Death, Li Fan sensed it and looked towards the distance.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Su Xiaomei noticed Li Fan's abnormality and curiously asked.
Li Fan shook his head and didn't answer.
At this time, after a few days of travel, they arrived at the vicinity of Mingyue Lake.
This region was as Fei Nan said: resources were scarce and few cultivators came here.
It was far from Yuandao Heavenly City, which was very inconvenient.
Although unsuitable for most cultivators to establish a base, for Li Fan it was not a bad choice.
One reason was because next, Li Fan would use the Canghai Pearl to build his foundation.
This eight-hundred-kilometer Mingyue Lake contained vast amounts of misty water, and its water attribute spiritual qi density was not lacking compared to the Cong Yun Sea.
Very suitable for Li Fan.
Secondly, precisely because few cultivators came here, storing Dao resonance artifacts would be safer, as there would be no worry that others might discover them.
However, establishing a base was a major matter.
He still needed to personally scout out whether there were any oddities within this lake.
Otherwise, if he built his nest in someone else's home, it would truly be laughable.
Li Fan flew above the lake's surface, preparing to investigate thoroughly.
But his figure abruptly stopped.
Between heaven and earth, an enormous cluster of blue water radiance suddenly appeared out of the void.
Returning to the Canghai Pearl.
At the same time, countless images appeared in Li Fan's mind.
"So the matter could not be accomplished and you've finally returned?"
The previously extremely weak Canghai Pearl slowly absorbed this sudden blue radiance, finally returning to the deep blue appearance Li Fan saw in his past life.
Even more, because the Cong Yun Sea was executed prematurely, the Canghai Pearl also accelerated its maturation process.
Li Fan estimated that this Earthly Treasure that was still gestating would completely form before long.
With the return of the portion of power the Canghai Pearl split off, Li Fan also came to know what happened with Zhang Haobo.
Initially, when using the Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art to create the "reincarnator" Zhang Haobo, Li Fan didn't consider using the Canghai Pearl on him because this object would be his Foundation Treasure in this life.
But...
This world was not an unchanging game, matters would not all develop as he anticipated.
After Zhang Haobo "reincarnated", his fortune flowed and his destiny rapidly changed.
This attracted the attention of Cong Yun Sea's consciousness.
And after some contact, Cong Yun Sea discovered an earth-shattering secret.
This strangely fortunate person seemed to be able to know of future events.
To be specific, Crimson Flame's descent and burning of Cong Yun Sea.
And with this belief, along with past experiences, the Cong Yun Sea confirmed the credibility of this news.
More than ten years later, it would truly be scorched and dried up.
So, Cong Yun Sea made a different choice than the previous life.
In the previous life, when Crimson Flame simmered the ocean, it was originally very covert.
By the time Cong Yun Sea noticed, it was already too late to resist.
But, it was unwilling to accept this.
So although it withered away, it would be reborn anew.
This life, the heavens wanted to burn the ocean, so the ocean decided to make an all-out desperate struggle.
But it would still leave itself a way out.
Therefore, it split its power into two parts.
One part continued to transform into the Canghai Pearl.
The other part then gathered in the "reincarnator" Zhang Haobo.
Because even with its endless vast power, it could not personally take action.
The heavens wanted to burn the ocean but still needed to manifest the Heavenly Spirit.
To counterattack, it naturally also needed a spokesperson.
And Zhang Haobo was naturally the best candidate.
Everything proceeded very smoothly.
With its help, Zhang Haobo's cultivation level rose unimaginably fast.
In just a few short years, he broke through to late Qi Condensation.
Under its guidance and protection, Zhang Haobo was also able to observe the battle between Green Wind and the sword hilt, successfully building his foundation using it.
Then, with the false Core Formation cultivation base, he trespassed Ten Thousand Immortals Island and met the island's Soul Transformation True Monarch.
Although they were skeptical about what Zhang Haobo said regarding foretelling the future, under the temptation of the Dao Integration Realm and after asking in detail approximately how long it took for Crimson Flame to burn the ocean, they still made a decision.
To ambush the soon-to-descend Crimson Flame.
For this, the white-robed True Monarch Hongxi contacted the other Soul Transformation cultivator of Ten Thousand Immortals Island, True Monarch Ziyun.
He also invited over True Monarch Tai Yang, whom he previously had a battle with.
The three asked Zhang Haobo again about the details of his prophecy of Crimson Flame.
After discussing it, they still felt it wasn't safe enough.
Therefore, Hongxi went tens of thousands of kilometers away to Feiling Prefecture, inviting the Dao Integration Realm expert, True Monarch Golden Sun, to lead them.
During this time, he also invited two more Soul Transformation cultivators, True Monarch Lancang and True Monarch Haoxuan, to battle in the Cong Yun Sea.
So True Monarch Ziyun initiated the Starlight Teleportation Technique to invite them over to Ten Thousand Immortals Island as guests.
Inviting them to jointly work together to slay Crimson Flame.
For Soul Transformation cultivators, the enticement of the Dao Integration Realm was extremely difficult to resist.
So the two readily agreed.
With one Dao Integration Realm expert leading, five Soul Transformations surrounding and attacking, plus a Nascent Soul realm Formation Master preparing hundreds of thousands of formations.
With intentions aligned, a plan was formed to kill the Heavenly Spirit which took nearly ten years to burn the ocean.
The odds of success could not be considered small.
And matters did indeed turn out as such.
With Golden Sun Immortal Sage and True Monarch Ziyun joining hands, the sun-star cage cut off Crimson Flame's connection to heaven and earth's primal energy.
Crimson Flame's defeat seemed only a matter of time.
But Zhang Haobo and the Cong Yun Sea, who were observing by the side, felt uneasy in their hearts.
So they decided to take action personally.
For a mere Golden Core cultivator to intervene in the contest between Dao Integration Realm and Soul Transformation seemed preposterous.
But it was not entirely impossible.
Because the one taking action was not Zhang Haobo, but rather Cong Yun Sea itself.
The Cong Yun Sea had accumulated power for who knows how many years, and already bordered on the Dao Integration Realm.
It was too much for a Golden Core cultivator's body to bear.
Therefore, Zhang Haobo decisively shattered his core, utilizing a body purely of laws to contain Cong Yun Sea's power.
If successful, Zhang Haobo would instantly ascend to the Dao Integration Realm from Golden Core!
The resentment of being incinerated in the future, the unwillingness to accept its own fate, plus Zhang Haobo's comprehension of the Heavenly Calamity Sword Intent finally unsheathed the Twenty-Eight Swords of the Cong Yun Sea.
These swords carried unyielding will, revenge, and killing intent.
It succeeded, yet also failed.
Although Crimson Flame died, Ink Death arrived.
The instant Zhang Haobo perished, Cong Yun Sea knew the matter could not be accomplished, and finally returned its power back into the Canghai Pearl.
......
Although the Cong Yun Sea did not necessarily have humans' clear intelligence, its muddled, vague consciousness still made it direct Zhang Haobo according to its instincts to fight it out with Crimson Flame.
"Fortune does not guarantee success."
"He ended up merely a tool exploited by both sides in their game."
Li Fan sighed and shook his head.
"However..."
"The Twenty-Eight Swords of the Cong Yun Sea."
"Truly was an excellent sword technique."
The scene of Zhang Haobo unleashing this sword instantly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Mobilizing the power contained within the Canghai Pearl, Li Fan slashed out a sword.
The blue sword radiance was unstoppable.
Cutting across the lake's surface.
The lakewaters were split open by the sword qi, exposing the muddy lakebed.
The eight-hundred-kilometer-long Mingyue Lake was divided into two with one sword.
