The Shard had been cracked.
As Liam's consciousness faded and his transformation reverted, the last thing he heard before the blackness were the magic words:
"Shadow Demon wins."
***
In the world of cultivation, there were unspoken rules that every cultivator knew about.
One of those were: 'Zeniths were untouchable unless you were one of them.'
Unspoken, but set in stone and known by all.
To be followed for years and years to come.
And yet…
"Shadow Demon wins."
There was not a single murmur throughout the entire Main Lands. Nobody spoke, but they all had the same thoughts.
'How?'
'What?'
'How?!'
'What?!'
Their brains had momentarily shut down to process just what they had heard.
North Star, Cerulean Dragon, Unmoving Mountain, Sun's Spear, Miasma Queen, Felling Wind and Myriad Brush had grimaced at the same time.
For different reasons, too.