Re—turn... tu—un... rrr...
Heh... ven... va—nn...
Dao... dao... daaa...
sss... per... per...
re... re... re...
he... he... he...
Countless voices overlapped and intertwined, their meaning utterly unintelligible—nothing more than a torrent of warped syllables echoing endlessly.
They merged into a vast, distorted symphony of celebration.
Whether it was the young array masters frozen aboard the Dust-Crossing Boats, or Li Fan, observing from several provinces away, all were struck dumb.
For the sight before them had already surpassed the limits of comprehension.
The Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array, meant to deter the Five Elders Council, had instead unleashed indiscriminate slaughter upon the cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Alliance itself.
As they stared at the dense web of green threads filling sky and land alike, no one doubted that, in this single moment, every cultivator in Tianling Province below the Dao Unity realm was already dead.
Why?
Boundless confusion surged within Li Fan's heart.
He had originally thought that the Myriad Immortals Alliance would silence the array masters who built the Soul-Locking Array to ensure its structural secrets would not be leaked.
Yet, he had never anticipated that the array's target would be all cultivators within Tianling Province.
This makes no sense at all. Has the Myriad Immortals Alliance gone mad?
He analyzed possibility after possibility in his mind, but could find no motive for the Alliance to act in such a way.
Just as he was lost in thought, unable to grasp the reason behind it all, heaven and earth suddenly began to quake.
It not only affected Tianling Province, but also Tianpan Province where he currently stood.
Li Fan’s heart slammed violently against his chest, as though he had brushed against some mortal danger. He shot to his feet, his expression dark and solemn as he stared up at the sky.
This is...
An indistinct, thunderous roar, its meaning impossible to discern, rolled faintly down from the heavens. The entire world shuddered in response.
At that moment, every living being in the Xuanhuang World instinctively raised their head skyward.
An overwhelming terror bloomed in their hearts.
A suffocating sense of doom, of having nowhere to flee and no way to resist, surged through all hearts.
The tremors persisted for a long while before finally subsiding.
Only then did the beings of the world exhale in unison, faces filled with the relief of having narrowly survived some unseen calamity.
Yet not a single one of them understood what had just occurred.
***
Tianling Province.
Before the survivors could fully recover their wits, Ji Hongdao’s voice rang out once more.
“Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind, please withdraw.”
Silence followed.
“Hahaha... Haha... How interesting. Whose idea was this, I wonder?
“Staying in the Myriad Immortals Alliance is a waste of your talent. Why not join me instead?”
Senior Sister Zhao’s laughter echoed through the heavens as her figure manifested, her gaze filled with keen curiosity.
Her appearance was identical to the image Li Fan had once seen in the forbidden text, and precisely the same as the likeness circulated throughout the world.
Dressed in flowing white robes, her figure was enchanting, alluring, and utterly unreal.
Ji Hongdao immediately closed his eyes, not daring to meet her gaze.
“I beg the Heavenly Venerable to withdraw!”
Sweat streamed down his forehead, yet his voice remained firm and unwavering.
Senior Sister Zhao studied him for a moment. Then she lifted her head, glancing toward the sky.
“Quite bold.”
Before the final syllable had fully faded, her form vanished without a trace.
The instant Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind disappeared, the thousands of golden rays she had been holding in suspension fell simultaneously.
Every cultivator of the invading Five Elders Council force was slaughtered on the spot.
Strangely, not a hint of fear appeared on their faces in the moment of death. Even more unsettling, none of the usual phenomena that accompanied a cultivator’s demise manifested above.
“Eternal Heavenly Venerable One Mind...”
Ji Hongdao stared in the direction she had departed, murmuring softly to himself.
After a moment, he turned around.
His expression had returned to perfect composure as he looked toward the array masters gathered on the deck of the Dust-Crossing Boat.
“Let’s go,” he said calmly.
“The spectacle is over. Now, it’s time we had a proper talk.”
1. If anyone watches Dr Stone, I’m imagining this to be the same colour as the Medusa’s power ☜