"They… escaped? What were you all doing?!"
"They were too fast! Their movements were coordinated, disciplined. They weren't acting like scattered remnants."
"Not just fast! They vanished into thin air! Right before our eyes!"
An image spread through the Sacred Dynasty's Star Sea network.
A group of Alliance cultivators, cornered by the Sacred Dynasty's troops, had simply… disappeared, their forms dissolving into nothingness.
The pursuing soldiers, assuming they had teleported, searched for spatial fluctuations, any trace of their escape.
They found nothing.
"Requesting reinforcements. Our current forces in Luoyan Region are barely enough to hold the Celestial City. We cannot pursue the remaining Alliance remnants."
"We've cleared out all resistance in Shilin Region. We can assist!"
"We're almost finished here! Hold on, brothers!"
…
Sun Erlang, observing the flurry of messages from the eastern front, was considering sending reinforcements to Luoyan Region when a sudden thought, sharp as lightning, struck him.
Doubt gnawed at him. He recalled something his master had mentioned.
"No… this isn't right. Luoyan Region… it was destroyed during the Tribulation. Even though the Alliance rebuilt it… there shouldn't be that many cultivators stationed there…"
"How could I forget such a crucial detail?"
Realization dawned, and he immediately sent a message to all his commanders. "Hold all reinforcements to Luoyan Region. I will handle this personally."
"The Thirty-Sixth Legion, currently stationed in Luoyan Region, withdraw immediately."
His orders were absolute.
There were no questions, only swift obedience.
"This is Lan Xiangwen, commander of the Thirty-Sixth Legion. We have completed our withdrawal from Luoyan Region and have arrived at the designated rendezvous point in Lüeying Region."
"But… there's no one here."
"Lan Xiangwen, what are you talking about? We've been waiting here for you! Where are you?!"
"Your location… it still shows you within Luoyan Region! What is going on, Thirty-Sixth Legion?!"
…
Confusion spread through the eastern front's communication network.
Wang Xuanba, the commander of the eastern front, quickly isolated the Thirty-Sixth Legion's communications, attempting to ascertain their situation.
Then Sun Erlang's voice echoed through the network, his tone grave. "There's something wrong with that region. The Thirty-Sixth Legion… their location hasn't changed since they entered Luoyan Region. It's as if… they're trapped. Frozen."
"Do not trust any reports from them. They're likely… hallucinating."
Wang Xuanba was taken aback. "I sent a beast scout. It couldn't locate them. But… hallucinations?"
"We did capture Luoyan Celestial City," Sun Erlang continued, his mind racing. "The first wave of troops successfully relocated. This… this must be some kind of trap. But not necessarily from the Alliance…"
"I've sent a puppet scout," he added.
An image of Luoyan Region appeared before him.
The location where Wang Xuanba's beast scout had vanished… it was empty.
The entire region… it was eerily quiet. Peaceful.
"A powerful illusion… capable of trapping even a puppet body?" Sun Erlang's frown deepened.
"But illusions can't withstand true power."
The black and gold puppet extended its hand.
A golden longbow, formed from pure energy, materialized in its grasp.
It drew the bowstring, a silver arrow appearing on the bow.
A low hum resonated through the air as the arrow's power built, then…
…it was unleashed.
A streak of silver light, a dragon of pure energy, tore through the sky, shattering the illusion, revealing…
…a pale hand, reaching out from the void, effortlessly catching the arrow.
The arrow's power, its destructive energy, dissipated, its silver light fading as it transformed back into an ordinary arrow, held firmly within the pale hand's grasp.
The shattered fragments of the illusion reformed, the world returning to its deceptive state of peaceful tranquility.
The pale hand, ignoring the puppet, began to fade, dissolving back into nothingness.
Sun Erlang snorted.
Golden energy surged through the puppet's body.
Two new arms sprouted from its back.
Then another two, from its left side.
The process continued until it possessed sixteen arms, eight pairs, each one powerful, each one a weapon.
The puppet's size increased, its form expanding to accommodate its new appendages.
The golden patterns etched onto its surface shimmered, pulsing with power.
Eight longbows materialized, one in each hand.
Eight silver arrows, nocked and ready, their tips gleaming with destructive energy.
"Shatter!" Sun Erlang roared.
Eight dragons of silver light, roaring in unison, shot outwards, their combined power tearing through the sky, eclipsing even the light from the Great Qi Sacred Dynasty's simulated moon.
Wherever the arrows flew, the illusion shattered, the world breaking apart like a fractured mirror.
But the fragments didn't scatter.
They remained frozen in place, as if time itself had stopped.
And the world beyond the illusion… it remained hidden.
Then Sun Erlang saw it. The pale hand, reappearing.
This time, it didn't try to stop the arrows.
Instead, it began to collect the frozen fragments of the shattered illusion, meticulously piecing them back together, restoring the world to its previous state.
If allowed to continue, the pale hand would completely negate the power of his attack, rendering his most potent weapon useless.
Sun Erlang wouldn't allow that.
"Hiding in the shadows, unwilling to show your face…"
"Do you think so little of me?!"
The puppet's sixteen arms shifted, merging, their forms flowing together, transforming into two massive, powerful limbs, each one as large as the puppet itself.
It lunged forward, its massive hands grabbing the pale hand.
But the seemingly delicate limb possessed incredible strength.
The puppet's massive arms couldn't hold it back. It continued its task, its movements precise, almost… gentle, as it pieced the shattered illusion back together.
The golden patterns on the puppet's surface glowed with an almost unbearable intensity, pushed to their limit.
Sun Erlang felt a strain, a warning, a sense of impending… fracture.
He channeled power from his other puppets, reinforcing the scout's body, pushing it beyond its limits.
The puppet's form expanded, its size doubling, then tripling, its golden aura blazing.
Its grip tightened, halting the pale hand's movements.
He poured more power into the puppet, pushing it further, further, hoping to drag the hidden manipulator out of the shadows, to reveal their true form.
Just as he thought he was about to succeed, a wave of cold dread washed over him.
He felt… a presence.
Another pale hand, resting on the puppet's shoulder.
It exerted a gentle pressure, and the puppet, already strained to its breaking point, buckled, its massive form stumbling, its balance lost.
More pale hands emerged from the void, their touch cold and firm, pressing against the puppet, holding it fast.
Each hand, on its own, wasn't particularly strong.
But their combined power… it was overwhelming, an irresistible force, like a mountain, like the ocean itself.
The puppet, trapped, immobilized, its struggles futile, vanished beneath a sea of pale hands.
Sun Erlang gasped, a trickle of blood escaping his lips as he was forcibly ejected from the puppet's consciousness.
He knew, instinctively, that had he remained, had he been dragged into that unknown realm, his true body would have suffered irreparable damage.
"An Eternal Realm expert…" he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. He had finally identified his opponent.
Someone far beyond his current capabilities.
Disappointment, frustration, and a burning rage warred within him, but he knew better than to challenge such a powerful being. Not yet.
"I'll take it from here," the Ingenious Craftsman's voice echoed in his mind.
"This puppet… it's my masterpiece. I won't let you… take it."
The Craftsman materialized beside the trapped puppet, a gleaming blade spinning in his hand.
He made a single, swift cut, and the pale hands, like sheets of paper, were severed, their grip broken.
"Let's go!"
He slapped the puppet on the shoulder, and its massive form shrank, returning to its normal size.
Then, with a flash of light, they teleported away.
As they vanished, Sun Erlang noticed something. The severed hands… they weren't hands at all.
They were… branches. Willow branches.
"A willow tree?"
The Craftsman had the same thought.
He reached out to grab one of the severed branches, but his hand closed on empty air.
The pale hands, the willow branches, vanished, melting back into the void.
"Not even willing to show your face?" the Craftsman muttered. "You wound my pride, my friend. You wound it deeply."
He retrieved a circular bronze disc from within his robes.
Small figures, frozen in comical poses, adorned its surface.
They had been frolicking, their movements carefree, but now, as the Craftsman held the disc, they seemed agitated, their tiny limbs pointing in various directions.
Without a word, without a gesture, shadows, thin as threads, shot out from the disc, flying through the air, vanishing into the void.
A moment later, one of the threads twitched, as if it had struck something solid.
The figures on the disc continued to point, and more threads shot out, following the path of the first, weaving themselves into a net, a web of shadows that spread outwards, its center the Ingenious Craftsman himself.
The figures on the disc, their task seemingly complete, patted their chests in relief.
But the Craftsman grabbed one of them, ignoring its protests. He blew on it, and it split into two.
He flipped it over, and the two became four.
Soon, a single figure had become an army.
Each tiny figure, its face etched with a comical frown, jumped onto one of the shadow threads, their tiny hands pulling, dragging the web tighter, tighter.
The space around them trembled, the fragments of the shattered illusion cracking once more.
Something was about to be revealed.
The Craftsman narrowed his eyes, anticipation and excitement swirling within him. "If this net can drag even the Ancestor Immortal Puppet… it can certainly handle you."
A sigh, soft and mournful, echoed through the air.
The faint sound of a zither, as if coming from a great distance, reached his ears.
The little figures on the threads, their earlier enthusiasm gone, began to slacken, their movements sluggish.
The Craftsman's eyes darted about, searching for the source of the sound, his expression wary.
"Why… fight?"
A voice, filled with sorrow, echoed around him.
The Craftsman's gaze swept across the desolate landscape, then he smiled, his expression shifting from suspicion to… amusement.
"You're right! Why fight? I'm not much of a fighter anyway."
"Since we both seem averse to… unpleasantness, perhaps we can… talk."
As a gesture of goodwill, he put away the bronze disc.
The little figures cheered, their work done, and the Craftsman smiled. "I am the Ingenious Craftsman, of the Heavenly Mechanism Realm. May I ask your name?"
He had identified his opponent – an Eternal Realm expert.
But there was something… different about this one. He didn't sense the twisted, corrupted energy of those who had embraced the reversed laws of the Xuanhuang World.
This one… this one was like him. A survivor from another shattered world.
Silence stretched, then the mournful voice spoke again. "I… I do not remember."
"I merely wish to… prevent further conflict. I mean you no harm."
As the voice spoke, the Craftsman saw it – the cultivators within Luoyan Celestial City, both Alliance and Sacred Dynasty, slumbering peacefully, their lives spared.
He relaxed slightly.
Though he wasn't afraid, it was always best to avoid conflict with an Eternal Realm expert, if possible.
"We, too, desire peace," he said, his voice smooth and friendly.
He engaged the mysterious being in conversation, hoping to learn more.
Sun Erlang, receiving the Craftsman's report, sighed softly.
"The difference between Dao Integration and the Eternal Realm… it's truly vast."
"But if all my dark gold puppets had been present…"
"…Perhaps we could have fought. Perhaps we could have won."
…
The incident in Luoyan Region, though concerning, could be dismissed as an anomaly, an unforeseen encounter with a powerful, reclusive being.
But what happened next, in Tianling Region, proved that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance still had a few tricks up its sleeve.
The Sacred Dynasty's troops, after a hard-fought battle, finally captured Tianling Celestial City.
Only to find it deserted.
The city's key figures, its powerful cultivators, had already escaped, leaving behind a skeleton crew and a network of traps and automated defenses.
The Sacred Dynasty's troops realized they had walked into an ambush, but before they could retreat…
…the entire city exploded.
The massive floating city, along with nearly ten thousand cultivators, both Alliance and Sacred Dynasty, vanished in a fiery explosion that shook the heavens.
Celestial phenomena marking the deaths of countless cultivators twisted and intertwined, a chaotic display of light and energy that obscured the true extent of the devastation.
…
Hidden within a secluded valley in Tianling Region, a group of Alliance cultivators watched the spectacle with grim satisfaction.
"Thanks to Brother Sun's warning, we were able to avoid this disaster," Song Mansheng, the city lord of Tianling Celestial City, said, stroking his beard with a smile.
Sun Liancheng's gaze remained fixed on the distant explosion. "It was your wise decision, City Lord, that saved us. Even with my warning, without your decisive action… the results wouldn't have been so… spectacular."
The other cultivators in the valley nodded in agreement.
"According to the images we captured, at least ten thousand of those bandits perished in the blast."
"You're mistaken, friend. It was closer to twenty thousand!"
"…Ah, yes, of course. My old age is catching up to me. Twenty thousand. Indeed. We have the recordings to prove it."
They all knew they were exaggerating, but none dared to challenge the inflated numbers.
"Who were those people?" Sun Liancheng asked, his voice cutting through their celebratory mood. "They appeared out of nowhere. And they were able to disable the teleportation formations and the Heavenly Profound Mirrors! That's not something just anyone can do…"
"It wasn't the Council of Five Elders," another cultivator said, shaking his head. "I've fought against them before. Their aura… it's completely different."
"It doesn't matter who they are," another said, waving his hand dismissively. "Once the Alliance's central command responds, they'll all be crushed. They're just… a temporary nuisance."
"Lord Song," another cultivator suggested eagerly, "should we… take advantage of the chaos? Perhaps we can earn some merits."
Song Mansheng pondered this for a moment, then turned to Sun Liancheng.
Sun Liancheng's eyes narrowed, and he remained silent for a long time, his expression unreadable.
Finally, he shook his head. "The situation is unclear. I cannot offer any sound advice."
"Very well," Song Mansheng said, nodding. "We'll wait. It's best to proceed with caution."
The other cultivators murmured their agreement.
Song Mansheng, however, pulled Sun Liancheng aside.
"You're hiding something, Brother Sun," he said, his voice low.
Sun Liancheng forced a smile. "I didn't want to… alarm the others."
Song Mansheng's eyes narrowed. "It's that bad?"
Sun Liancheng nodded. "You know my ability to predict these… incidents… it relies on the Sun Clan's fortune. That day… I was talking with my nephew when I felt it… our clan's fortune… it was flickering, like a candle in the wind, about to be extinguished…"
"I was terrified. I investigated, and… the threat wasn't coming from the Alliance. It was… external. I assumed it would be the Council of Five Elders, but… these attackers… they were unknown."
"And our clan's fortune… it's still unstable. One moment, it's flourishing, the next… it's on the verge of collapse. It's… unsettling."
Song Mansheng's frown deepened.
"Regardless," Sun Liancheng continued, his tone reassuring, "you will be rewarded handsomely for destroying those bandits. You've earned enough merit. Why risk your life further? Their reinforcements will arrive soon, and those bandits… they are powerful. It's best to remain hidden here, in this valley."
"The natural formations will conceal our presence."
His words, his seemingly sound advice, convinced Song Mansheng. He suppressed his desire for further action, agreeing to remain hidden.
Sun Liancheng's prediction proved accurate.
Just a few hours later, a large group of cultivators, their faces grim, their eyes burning with rage, arrived, searching every corner of Tianling Region.
As they flew over the valley, the hidden cultivators held their breath, their hearts pounding.
Fortunately, luck was on their side. They remained undetected.
"How many are there?" one whispered, his voice trembling. "Have we… have we angered a hornet's nest?"
"Where are our reinforcements? Where are the Alliance's troops?!"
Their earlier excitement had vanished, replaced by fear and uncertainty.
Sun Qi, a younger member of the Sun Clan, approached his uncle, his expression grim.
"Uncle, something's wrong."
Sun Liancheng's eyes widened, and he glanced around nervously, ensuring they weren't being overheard. He activated a private communication channel.
"The clan's fortune… it's stabilizing. But… it's not a good sign. If we stay here… we're going to die."
Sun Liancheng's blood ran cold.
He trusted his nephew's instincts.
It was his nephew's premonition that had allowed them to set the trap, to destroy Tianling Celestial City and eliminate so many of the enemy.
Within the world, as a clan branched out, its individual members weakened. But Sun Qi cultivated the Reverse Derivation of Heaven and Earth Tome, which allowed him to consolidate the clan's fortune, focusing its power.
The cost, however, was that the greater the clan's prosperity, the more misfortune accumulated within the cultivator himself. Each breakthrough became increasingly difficult, a trial that only the most exceptional talents could overcome.
Sun Qi was one such talent.
"We're leaving," Sun Liancheng said, his voice firm, his decision made.
"But how? They're everywhere! And there are so many of us!" Sun Qi's voice was laced with panic.
"I have a plan." Sun Liancheng's confidence was reassuring.
The Sun Clan members gathered silently, their movements discreet.
But to the other cultivators within the valley, they didn't move. They remained, their illusory forms maintaining the charade.
"This Golden Cicada Shell Shedding treasure… I acquired it years ago, during an expedition." Sun Liancheng sighed dramatically, his voice carrying a note of regret. "I've been saving it for a special occasion…"
While the others watched, oblivious, the Sun Clan members, guided by Sun Liancheng, slipped away through a hidden passage, a secret known only to him.
"Quickly! The treasure's effects won't last forever! We need to find another hiding place!"
As they fled, streaks of white light pierced the sky, descending upon the valley.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The valley vanished in a series of earth-shattering explosions, its lush greenery replaced by a crater of raw, churning earth.
The shockwave sent the fleeing Sun Clan members tumbling, their carefully maintained formation scattering.
Fortunately, the treasure's concealing effects held, protecting them from discovery.
Sun Liancheng and Sun Qi stared at the devastation, their faces pale with shock.
"Dao Integration level attacks!" Sun Liancheng murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "That was… that was the power of a Dao Integration expert!"
"And those are… arrows?"
As he stared in disbelief, more streaks of white light appeared in the sky, their forms too fast to track, their power terrifying.
He instinctively ducked, pulling his nephew down with him. The arrows, however, weren't targeting them. They continued their flight, disappearing into the distance.
"This entire region… it's no longer safe! We need to leave. Find a new hiding place!"
As they fled, a sudden premonition, a flicker of instinct, made Sun Liancheng change course.
They turned towards Shanteng Region, the neighboring region, hoping to escape the carnage in Tianling Region.
As they neared the border, the ground beneath them trembled violently.
Then, a horrifying sight, one that would be forever etched into their memories, unfolded before them.
Five massive rings, linked together, materialized in the sky, their forms shimmering, shifting from ethereal to solid.
Countless tendrils, writhing and pulsating with an alien energy, reached down towards Tianling Region.
And one of them… was heading straight for them.
"Uncle!" Sun Qi shouted, his voice filled with terror.
But Sun Liancheng was already moving.
He abandoned his clan, transforming into a streak of blood-red light, burning his very essence to fuel his escape, his only thought survival.
But his speed, initially blindingly fast, decreased, as if he were moving through thick molasses, an unseen force holding him back.
The blood-red light dissipated, and Sun Liancheng reappeared, his form solid once more.
He stumbled, his flight disrupted, falling towards the ground.
The black tendril, writhing and pulsating, reached him, piercing his flesh.
He tried to resist, to channel his spiritual energy, but it was as if the very air around him had solidified, his power useless.
The tendril burrowed deeper, its touch cold, invasive.
The other Sun Clan members screamed as more tendrils descended, ensnaring them, their struggles futile.
Their cries were quickly silenced as Sun Liancheng's body transformed, his flesh dissolving, his form shifting, becoming… one with the tendrils, his very essence absorbed.
There wasn't even a celestial phenomenon to mark his death.
He hadn't died. He had simply… become.
One by one, the Sun Clan members were captured, assimilated.
Only Sun Qi remained, his body frozen in terror, his mind racing.
He knew, instinctively, that he was the only one who could survive.
In that moment of absolute terror, facing certain death, he had seen it, a flicker of light in the darkness, a single path to survival.
Without hesitation, he activated the Dissolution Chapter of the Supreme Primordial True Scripture, dispelling his cultivation, his hard-earned power flowing out of him, returning to the world.
He expelled every last drop of spiritual energy from his body.
He became… ordinary. A mortal.
A massive black tendril, as thick as his arm, drifted towards him, its movements slow, deliberate.
It circled him, its alien intelligence probing, searching.
He held his breath, his body rigid, praying it wouldn't sense him.
Satisfied that he was no threat, a mere mortal, the tendril moved on, taking the remnants of the Sun Clan with it, their forms now nothing more than swarms of black insects.
Sun Qi remained motionless, his body trembling, until long after they had vanished.
"What… what were those things?"
His mind raced, fear warring with a strange sense of… relief. He had survived.
He looked towards the White Mist Barrier, towards the five rings that were now fading from the sky.
He gritted his teeth, a new resolve hardening his gaze.
He closed his eyes, resuming his cultivation.
Moments later, he opened his eyes, his gaze sharp, his senses alert.
He felt it. The spiritual energy of the world…
…it had changed.
(End of Chapter)