Li Fan, who had once shared an intimate encounter with Senior Sister Zhao within the pages of a forbidden text, recognized her voice instantly.
One Mind... is it the embodiment of the principle of heaven and earth she defied?
Why has she appeared in person?
Thoughts raced through Li Fan’s mind in the span of a heartbeat.
Before he could sort through the shock and doubt, Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind’s voice rang out once more.
“The original agreement was made with the Dao Teacher. I’m here now, but where is the Dao Teacher?”
Her voice was clear and resonant, echoing across heaven and earth.
Throughout Tianling Province, cultivators exchanged bewildered looks.
Among the Myriad Immortals Alliance, it was common knowledge that the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, showing no interest in mortal concerns. Most believed he was enjoying his freedom, too aloof, or too lazy, to involve himself in such matters.
But the fact that he existed was beyond any doubt.
So what did Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind mean?
Where was the Dao Teacher?
A dreadful thought surfaced unbidden in everyone’s minds.
“No... that can’t be.”
Uncontainable horror gleamed in their eyes.
“Where is the Dao Teacher?” Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind asked again.
Her voice fell like a thunderclap, reverberating throughout Tianling Province, threatening even to pierce the White Mist Barrier and spread into the neighboring provinces.
In the sky, threads of green light emerged and rapidly wove themselves into a vast net that intercepted the sound.
Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind’s voice gradually faded.
“Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind, please withdraw,” Ji Hongdao spoke once more.
His expression was cold as frost, devoid of emotion.
“And if I refuse?” Senior Sister Zhao’s voice replied, laced with faint amusement.
Below, several thousand cultivators of the Five Elders Council took a unified step forward.
Ji Hongdao drew in a slow breath. “After a Heavenly Venerable establishes their Axiom, they should no longer involve themselves in mundane disputes.
“This was the agreement established between the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher and the Heavenly Venerables of the Five Elders Council.”
He turned his gaze upward.
“Do you truly intend to violate it now?”
Boom!
The several thousand cultivators of the Five Elders Council, standing in perfect formation, took another unified step forward; an unmistakable display of Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind’s resolve.
“Very well. In that case...” A flicker of hesitation passed through Ji Hongdao’s eyes.
But it vanished in an instant.
What remained was an icy resolve.
Ji Hongdao raised his gaze to the heavens, then bent at the waist and bowed deeply.
Above the firmament, strands of green light appeared one after another.
They spread rapidly outward from a central point, weaving together in the blink of an eye into a colossal net that enveloped all of Tianling Province.
Ji Hongdao straightened, then bowed a second time.
The green radiance intensified, staining the sky a sinister, aberrant hue. [1]
Ji Hongdao bowed a third time.
From the immense net overhead, countless densely packed green threads descended, shooting toward the earth like torrential rain.
In an instant, Tianling Province was transformed into a nightmarish spiderweb.
"Wait, how is this possible?!"
Aboard the Dust-Crossing Boat, the cultivators finally witnessed the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array reveal its true power.
Yet not a trace of exhilaration appeared on their faces. Only horror.
Horror even greater than when Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind herself had descended upon the battlefield.
Because the target of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array was not the Heavenly Venerable barring the Myriad Immortals Alliance's path, nor were they the invading cultivators of the Five Elders Council.
They were every single Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivator currently within Tianling Province.
Each descending green thread marked the fall of a life.
High above the heavens, twisted death phenomena formed a chaotic, kaleidoscopic tableau.
Dao... da—ao... d... ao...
Dis—per... sss... shh...