Chapter 1055: The Rise of the Apocalyptic Black Tide

Ultimately, the Myriad Immortals Alliance misjudged the potential number of Dao Yi worms beneath Shilin Prefecture.

The underground labyrinth of caverns twists and turns endlessly, not only covering an area almost equivalent to the entire Shilin Prefecture, but also constantly expanding deeper underground. Even Li Fan, who now controls the entire swarm, has not yet figured out how vast this Hundred Stone Grotto-Heaven of Shilin Prefecture truly is. Thanks to such a vast breeding ground, the Dao Yi worms can multiply so rapidly. In less than a month, they can completely devour the spiritual energy of an entire prefecture.

“Though paper is thin and can be torn with a flick, if stacked high, it can withstand an army of thousands!”

“How can you, alone, kill them all?”

Observing that the number of Dao Yi worms continued to grow despite the slaughter by Venerable Golden Sword, Li Fan revealed an inexplicable smile.

“Hoo… hoo…”

Gazing at another cleared underground cavern, Venerable Golden Sword finally felt a trace of exhaustion. For some time now, he had not rested for a moment. Thousands of golden swords crisscrossed, illuminating one dark underground cavern after another, leaving behind a ground littered with black worm corpses.

How many black worms had he already slaughtered? Billions? Tens of billions? Even with his spiritual energy reserves as a Dao-Merging Immortal Venerable, he was now almost completely drained. However, perhaps due to the depth underground and the sheer number of black worms, the spiritual energy here was extremely thin, making it impossible to absorb and replenish himself. With no other option, Venerable Golden Sword could only rely on absorbing the spirit stones stored within his body to slowly recover.

“It has been many years since I was in such a sorry state,” Venerable Golden Sword, sitting on the ground, couldn’t help but sigh. Memories surfaced in his mind of exploring sect ruins with companions when he was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Suddenly, he inexplicably stood up, his expression turning serious. For he finally realized the meaning of that inexplicable feeling he had harbored since entering this Hundred Stone Grotto-Heaven. It was a warning from his spiritual intuition, something he hadn’t experienced for a very long time. Three hundred years ago, it was precisely this acute intuition that had allowed him to be the sole survivor of that exploration team. However, after surviving that great calamity, everything had gone smoothly, and he had encountered no further misfortunes. He had almost forgotten this sense of crisis. Until today, after many years, this spiritual warning had reappeared!

“This…”

Venerable Golden Sword’s heart pounded uncontrollably. His thoughts raced, and he immediately made a decision. He immediately abandoned any thoughts of rest, transforming into a streak of golden light, and surged deeper into the underground caverns. He needed to first see just how vast this Hundred Stone Grotto-Heaven truly was!

Three days later.

Venerable Golden Sword’s face was ashen. At his flying speed, three days would be enough to circle the Myriad Immortals Alliance territory several times. Yet, he still hadn’t finished exploring this Hundred Stone Grotto-Heaven. It was like an abyss, vast as a sea, bottomless. It seemed to have no end. Venerable Golden Sword shivered, and a terrifying image immediately flooded his mind: the caverns densely packed with black worms, surging out like a torrential tide towards the outside world.

“Disaster, disaster.”

“No, I must quickly report the situation to the Immortal Alliance headquarters.”

Venerable Golden Sword hurriedly pulled out a communication talisman, intending to contact the Immortal Alliance headquarters. However, perhaps due to being too deep underground, communication could not be established. The ominous premonition in Venerable Golden Sword’s heart grew stronger. He pushed his speed to the limit, desperate to leave the underground caverns.

But for some unknown reason, the black worms, which had originally been quietly resting and feeding on spiritual energy, suddenly surged towards him as if in a frenzy. They tried to obstruct his progress. Venerable Golden Sword now finally understood what it truly meant to find every step difficult. Holding nothing back, all the golden swords refined within his body simultaneously unsheathed, circling him. They crushed every black worm that stood in his way into dust. With an unstoppable momentum, Venerable Golden Sword rapidly ascended from underground. The change in the black worms’ behavior made Venerable Golden Sword even more certain that there was a conspiracy at play. If it wasn’t stopped quickly, the impact might not be limited to just Shilin Prefecture. The entire Myriad Immortals Alliance, or even the Xuanhuang Realm, could suffer greatly!

“Who is it that is plotting such an egregious scheme?!”

Venerable Golden Sword was both alarmed and enraged, and his speed increased even further. When he finally broke through the layers of black worm obstruction and saw the light of day again, he was about to urgently report the situation to the Immortal Alliance headquarters, but suddenly he felt something and froze in place.

Venerable Golden Sword looked up, extending his left hand towards the sky. “Is… a wind rising?”

Between heaven and earth, a faint breeze inexplicably swept through. Then the breeze grew stronger, intensifying. The whistling sound was like thunder, rumbling loudly. What was originally a clear sky with a blazing sun was obscured by layers of dark clouds in the blink of an eye. Under the shroud of shadows, all cultivators in Shilin Prefecture at this moment felt an impending sense of great disaster.

“Whoosh!”

A strange, fierce wind swept past, its force so intense that it made it difficult for Venerable Golden Sword to maintain his posture. Although this strange wind vanished in an instant, the implication behind it chilled this Dao-Merging Immortal Venerable to the core. Faint, dense rustling sounds seemed to come from his ears. Yet, Golden Sword detected no signs of wind.

Just as he was puzzled, countless flying insects, like a black tidal wave, suddenly emerged from below. Riding the wind, they surged out from the Hundred Stone Grotto-Heaven. Soaring high into the sky, like an apocalyptic dark cloud, they spread irresistibly towards all prefectures of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Before the immeasurable tide of black worms, Golden Sword’s protective spiritual energy was as precarious as a tiny sapling caught in a storm. Horrified, Venerable Golden Sword could no longer harbor thoughts of stopping the disaster. He merely tried his best to ensure his own safety. The black worms in the underground caverns seemed endless. As far as Golden Sword could see, no other scenery was discernible. Trapped in the nightmare of the black tide, moving or even breathing became a pipe dream. Even though he wasn’t directly attacked by the black worms, but merely crushed by them incidentally on their migratory path, the boundless black worm tide swept over him, still causing this Dao-Merging Immortal Venerable to gradually lose consciousness.

“It’s over…”

In the moment before losing consciousness, what first came to Venerable Golden Sword’s mind was not the safety of his own life. Rather, it was the accountability from the Myriad Immortals Alliance that would surely follow after the insect plague was resolved. “Damn it, I wouldn’t have agreed to this cursed task if I had known!”

His form slowly faded, eventually transforming into a golden longsword, seemingly composed of thousands of smaller swords, which clanged as it fell to the ground.

Indeed, with the black worms’ power, they could at most exhaust Dao-Merging cultivators and cause them to temporarily lose consciousness. To actually kill them, it was somewhat insufficient. But…

Li Fan’s figure emerged from the black tide. He picked up the golden longsword, a faint smile playing on his lips. Then, with a casual gesture, he applied tens of thousands of formation restrictions to it.

(End of Chapter)