A sun blazing in the night sky—this wondrous phenomenon drew the gaze of every waking creature in the Congyun Sea. All eyes lifted toward the heavens.
Simultaneously, an aged voice thundered from the firmament, echoing across the entire Congyun Sea in an instant.
"Since you have begged for this old man's aid, I shall lend you a hand. Whether you succeed or not depends on your own fortune!"
Bathed in the sun’s radiance, the Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, normally invisible to mortal eyes, now manifested with crystalline clarity.
"What... is that?"
Compared to the sun illuminating the Congyun Sea, this crimson figure appeared minuscule.
Yet, every cultivator's gaze was drawn irresistibly toward it. Simultaneously, ravenous desire surged in their hearts.
Reason vanished as cultivators began flying toward Crimson Flame like moths to a flame.
Before they could even draw near, their bodies were incinerated by raging fires. Streaks of death phenomena blossomed across the heavens like fireworks.
Meanwhile, Myriad Immortals Island had already descended into chaos.
"It's a Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth! Devour It, and I can achieve Dao Unity!" Countless cultivators muttered incessantly, their eyes burning with hunger.
In moments, those blinded by desire flew skyward as if possessed. But when their altitude surpassed the statue of the Immortal Venerable Dao Teacher, numerous beams of white light shot forth from various sculptures across the Dao Transmission Plaza, blasting these transgressors into dust.
Myriad death phenomena instantly manifested above Myriad Immortals Island. Yet even the terror of death couldn't quell the cultivators' greed. White light flashed continuously, each time claiming several cultivators' lives.
Watching through his avatar's eyes, Li Fan stood stunned by this cruel yet beautiful spectacle.
Though he had seen multiple Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth and knew their fatal allure to cultivators, witnessing this scene firsthand made him realize he'd still underestimated their attraction.
Fearless and relentless, the cultivators rushed in wave after wave. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred of them had already perished.
Moreover, the Soul Arbiter's irresistible pull kept intensifying. Even those who managed to maintain their resolve so far were beginning to falter.
Just then, a seven-colored dome of light expanded from the core district of Myriad Immortals Island, enveloping the entire island in an instant.
Swirling with iridescent light, the barrier slightly obstructed the cultivators’ view of Crimson Flame. They could still clearly see everything happening high above, but it was now viewed through a thin veil. The rising greed in their hearts finally began to dissipate.
The Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Array... Li Fan stared at the protective dome, but before he could ponder further, his attention was seized again by the scene in the sky.
On Myriad Immortals Island, the terrified cultivators who'd narrowly escaped death had no time to discuss what had happened before being captivated once more.
The Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, Crimson Flame.
It had been illuminated by the sun overhead the moment she had manifested. Now, after all this time, Its full form had finally appeared.
Ignoring the ants below rushing to their deaths, It lifted Its head to gaze at the sun blazing in the night sky.
Flames suddenly erupted around It as It prepared to act.
But then, a river of shimmering starlight silently materialized across the firmament.
Beneath the wondrous spectacle of sun and stars shining together, silver starlight intertwined with blazing sunlight. They formed what seemed like a cage, trapping Crimson Flame within.
Wild, unrestrained laughter echoed across the skies.
"The Lan Cang River descends from heaven!"
Veiled by the river of stars, a thousand-zhang torrent of water fell like a silken ribbon from the heavens. The river roared like a dragon, crashing down toward Crimson Flame.
Yet before the surging waters could even approach It, they were utterly vaporized by the scorching heat.
The river flowed eternally, never ceasing, but the endless deluge only hindered Crimson Flame's movements slightly.
At the same moment, every living being in the Congyun Sea heard the voice of a young boy, no older than five or six.
"Tian Yang is not..."
A strange, mechanical voice followed.
"...Weaker than others!"
Black-red flames shot skyward, transforming into fiery chains that instantly bound Crimson Flame's limbs.
Heated by the crimson flames, the black-red chains crumbled section by section. Some parts were assimilated into crimson, while others melted into dark, ashen residue that fell from the sky.
"Not weaker!" "Than others!"
The childlike and mechanical voices resonated simultaneously across the heavens once more, filled with stubborn defiance.
Suddenly, the black-red chains regenerated from nothingness, restored to their previous form. They firmly pulled taut against Crimson Flame's arms and legs.
High above, within the brilliant river of stars, a single star transformed into violet light and descended from afar. In an instant, it crossed immeasurable space to strike Crimson Flame.
There was no earth-shattering impact as one might expect. The violet light vanished into nothingness as it approached, consumed by unimaginable heat.
It only caused the flames around Crimson Flame to flicker slightly, with no other effect.
Crimson Flame tilted Its head slightly, as if in mockery.
"Fellow Daoists Hong Xi and Hao Xuan, are you still planning to sit back and watch?" a steady woman's voice urged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A low rumbling reverberated between heaven and earth.
"Mountain!"
A seemingly tiny inverted mountain appeared above Crimson Flame's head.