Chapter 143: Ink Kills the Cluster of Clouds

Above the high heavens, crimson fire clouds suddenly appeared, stretching endlessly and engulfing the entire Congyun Sea.

In the minds of all beings who witnessed this strange phenomenon, a passage naturally arose:"Immortal Venerable Chiyan, Zhang Haobo, cultivated for sixteen years. He formed his Dao foundation with the wondrous item Sky Fiend Sword Intent, and achieved the Golden Core stage with Water-Wind Sword Art.""Sacrificing the essence of Chiyan, he merged his body with the Great Dao.""Fortunately, heaven's wrath descended, annihilating his Dao and returning him to the heavens!"

However, the cultivators on Wanxian Island had no time to observe this shocking spectacle.Because...True terror had descended.

As the ink-black figure appeared behind Zhang Haobo, striking him down,the White-Robed Soul Transformation cultivator, Immortal Lord Hong Xi, roared, "Go!"In an instant, the Upside-Down Mountain, the waters of the Lancang River, purple starlight, dazzling silver light, and black fire chains all surged towards the ink-black figure, attempting to delay it for a moment.

An unfamiliar Spirit of Heaven and Earth had arrived, and the five Immortal Lords, without prior coordination, unanimously chose to flee the Congyun Sea. This was solely because the aura emanating from the ink-black figure instilled a profound fear deep within them.

But it was too late.

Mo Sha lightly waved his right hand upwards, and a black line shot into the sky, piercing the great sun above. A muffled groan escaped from it.In the golden sun, a black spot abruptly appeared, strikingly conspicuous, then rapidly expanded like a celestial dog devouring the sun.Light slowly faded.Darkness descended upon the Congyun Sea.

At the same time, Mo Sha split into five, instantly appearing in different directions.Five thin black lines arrived in a flash, piercing the bodies of the five Immortal Lords.The river dried up; Immortal Lord Lancang, dead!Black flames extinguished abruptly; Immortal Lord Tianyang, dead!The mountain collapsed; Immortal Lord Hong Xi, dead!A stalactite hidden in the sky shattered inch by inch. Immortal Lord Haoxuan, dead!Within the brilliant galaxy, countless stars exploded one after another. The starry sky suddenly became incredibly dim.The torn firmament gradually regenerated. Only a single meteor streaked across the sky.Immortal Lord Ziyun, severely wounded, fled!In an instant, out of the five Immortal Lords, four were dead and one was wounded.

Immediately after, Mo Sha, having been five, transformed into ten thousand.In an instant, these swept through hundreds of thousands of white array halos. Like thick ink dropping into clear water, all the white squares instantly turned ink-black.Zhang Zhiliang, who had been hiding in the air, relying on the array halos, could no longer conceal himself. A drop of ink casually pierced Zhang Zhiliang's chest.At the wound, black ink traces appeared. His flesh and blood transformed into countless tiny black particles, devouring Zhang Zhiliang in a blink of an eye.The foremost array master of the Congyun Sea, Zhang Zhiliang, dead!

Above the firmament, hundreds of thousands of ink drops writhed for a moment, then merged into one.One Dao Merging Immortal Venerable, four Soul Transformation Immortal Lords, and one Nascent Soul True Monarch. They all perished simultaneously.Above the Congyun Sea's sky, numerous strange phenomena blended together. Yet, they were stained black by the black particles swirling everywhere, forming a bizarre and eerie ink-splashed painting.

The Spirit of Heaven and Earth, Mo Sha, stood beneath the ink painting, looking down upon all beings in the Congyun Sea.Looking up at the sky, several pieces of information, like hymns from hell, began to play in the minds of living beings, echoing continuously:"Immortal Lord Lancang...""...Immortal Lord Yang...""...Immortal Lord...""Cultivated for one thousand six hundred and fifty-three years...""...one thousand four hundred and thirty-six years...""...years...""Formed Dao foundation with the wondrous item White Dragon Flower...""...formed Dao foundation...""...Dao foundation.""Fortunately, heaven's wrath descended, annihilating his Dao and returning him to the heavens!""Fortunately, heaven's wrath descended, annihilating his Dao and returning him to the heavens!""Annihilating his Dao and returning him to the heavens!""Annihilating his Dao and returning him to the heavens!""Annihilating his Dao and returning him to the heavens!"

Mo Sha remained silent, but Heaven and Earth proclaimed his will.This was a silent deterrence, an unspoken warning.This was Heaven and Earth manifesting its true power before the cultivators.

The cultivators on Wanxian Island watched helplessly as the once lofty and infinitely powerful Soul Transformation Immortal Lords were slaughtered as easily as chickens and dogs.This horrifying scene sent a deep chill through all the cultivators.Some trembled uncontrollably, collapsing onto the ground, their eyes vacant.Some ran wildly, as if driven mad and stripped of reason.Others, with bloodshot eyes, disregarded the vast disparity in strength and unleashed attacks towards Mo Sha.

Mo Sha slightly turned his head, glanced at Wanxian Island below, then withdrew his gaze and surveyed the entire Congyun Sea.In an instant, his body disintegrated, transforming back into thousands of tiny black particles.Then, thousands turned into millions, millions into billions, and billions into trillions.Countless black particles spread out, ultimately forming an ink-black curtain that enveloped the entire Congyun Sea.The black particles writhed, proliferating downwards. On Wanxian Island, multicolored light flowed, struggling to impede them. But countless subtle gnawing sounds arose, and the light dimmed in moments.Outside Wanxian Island, these black particles met no resistance. Waves surged, as if attempting a desperate struggle. However, the seawater swept into the air was the first to be devoured and transformed.The black curtain pressed down from the sky, engulfing islands and oceans.Soil, rocks, life, seawater… Everything was gnawed away and converted into black specks.Islands vanished. The sea level continuously dropped.In less than half a day, the blue ocean within sight had completely disappeared.Wanxian Island was entirely enveloped by black particles. Endless darkness covered the immortals on the island, leaving nowhere to escape.This was a true apocalypse, a catastrophe infinitely more terrifying than Chiyan's incineration of the sea.

On Wanxian Island, the multicolored light barrier could no longer hold, disintegrating like shattering glass.The lofty Immortal Venerable statue, which imparted teachings, became the primary target of the black particles.The Great Wanxian Array continuously sprayed protective white light, but when it fell into this black ocean, it merely became nourishment for the black particles.The Immortal Venerable statue began to dissolve section by section, starting from its tall crown. Soon, only half its body remained.Simultaneously, other black particles swarmed in, transforming into thin lines, like deadly vipers, hunting the fleeing cultivators.Countless cultivators often couldn't even let out a scream before they were dissolved and assimilated into continuously writhing black particles.And with the black curtain obscuring the sky and sun, even the strange phenomena associated with cultivators' deaths were no longer visible.

The cultivators on the island, like stray dogs, fled in disarray.Amidst the chaos and despair, only two individuals maintained their composure.One was Li Fan's clone. He watched the pervasive ink-blackness with a serene expression.The initial shock and terror of encountering Mo Sha slowly receded, and at the last moments of its existence, the clone pondered:"As Spirits of Heaven and Earth, the destructive power of Mo Sha and Chiyan is incomparably different."After a while, a realization dawned on him."Spirits of Heaven and Earth, when they descend upon the world, have their inherent divine duties.""Azure Wind traps the sword, Chiyan incinerates the sea.""And Mo Sha's duty is...""Extinction!"Under Mo Sha's rampage, everything was truly annihilated. Not even soil or rocks would remain.It was likely that after this catastrophe, the area previously occupied by the Congyun Sea would become an empty void, an abyssal chasm.The scene from the previous life, where the dried-up Congyun Sea transformed into the vibrant Congyun Mountain Range after more than a decade, would probably never occur in this lifetime.This method of total annihilation was too terrifying and extreme. Heaven and Earth would not have resorted to it from the start.However, in this life, after the Spirit of Heaven and Earth Chiyan was refined, it triggered a fierce reaction from Heaven and Earth. Mo Sha then descended upon the world.This terrifying, all-consuming entity demonstrated the incredibly resolute will of Heaven and Earth.That was:Congyun Sea,must perish!Yet, watching the cultivators perish without resistance,Li Fan felt deeply displeased.So, he raised his middle finger to the sky.

Besides Li Fan's clone, there was another person in this apocalyptic scene who showed no fear.This person was Jiao Xiuyuan of Qianli Hall.He not only displayed no fear or panic but was instead filled with excitement. Holding a multicolored recording stone, he flew low over Wanxian Island, meticulously documenting the surrounding doomsday landscape.Black lines brushed past him, constantly threatening death, but Jiao Xiuyuan paid them no mind. He simply babbled excitedly to himself:"This is a huge gain, truly a huge gain this time.""Immortal Venerable Jinri, a Dao Merging expert, along with five Immortal Lords like Hong Xi, plus Zhang Zhiliang's boundless formations laid out with hundreds of thousands of array halos.""They set up a net from heaven to earth to hunt the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, Chiyan.""This alone is monumental news.""Even more explosive is that a mere Golden Core realm kid actually snatched the opportunity to merge with the Dao!""If I didn't have recordings as proof, no one would believe it if I told them!""Golden Core slays Dao Merging!""If written as a strange tales novel, people would ridicule it! This is utterly preposterous!""What's even more, more, more unexpected is that this person, likely the second youngest Dao Merging Immortal Venerable in history, was slaughtered by another Spirit of Heaven and Earth before he even had a chance to celebrate!""This Spirit of Heaven and Earth, named Mo Sha, not only killed this newly ascended Dao Merging Immortal Venerable,""but is also committing an act of world annihilation, intending to utterly destroy the entire Congyun Sea!""Good, kill them all!""With all of you dead, this will be exclusive news for me!""Let me think, how many contribution points should this footage be worth?""Two thousand? No, no, no, too little.""At least five thousand! I, Jiao Xiuyuan, never make a losing deal!""That's right, never a losing deal."Jiao Xiuyuan muttered incessantly, his face flushed with excitement as he recorded the final scenes of Wanxian Island.

Just then, amidst the cultivators desperately struggling to survive, he noticed a unique individual.This person, fearless, raised his middle finger towards the world-annihilating Mo Sha in the sky."Excellent!" Jiao Xiuyuan couldn't help but exclaim.His heart swelled with joy: "Facing the destructive might of Heaven and Earth, we cultivators are unafraid. We rise in defiance, glorious even in death!""Splendid, it both elevates the theme and raises the tone.""With this inspired scene, I can sell this exclusive footage for at least two thousand more points!"On the ground, Li Fan looked in the direction of the voice and also spotted Jiao Xiuyuan.Without surprise, he merely nodded to him with a slight smile.Jiao Xiuyuan, seeing this, paused slightly."So, an old customer after all..." Jiao Xiuyuan tilted his head, eyes slightly narrowed, muttering softly.As the two exchanged gazes, the black sky curtain completely descended.Wanxian Island was reduced to dust and ashes.After this day, the Congyun Sea would cease to exist in the world.

As the strange phenomena of the Congyun Sea cultivators perishing ceaselessly bloomed like fireworks,in a certain unknown space,five statues with indistinct faces stood in a circle.The statues bowed their heads, looking down at the center.There, a large glowing cloud mass floated in the air.Within the cloud, miniature landscapes of land, mountains, and flowing water were faintly visible.The cloud mass was divided into large and small isolated regions, each with a tiny speck of light suspended above it.Suddenly, at the edge of this glowing cloud mass, in a small blue region,the suspended light speck abruptly turned red and began to flash continuously.As the red light flickered, an invisible wave emanated from it, reverberating throughout this unknown space.Four of the five statues were roused by this.The red light speck projected an image upwards.The footage, playing in a loop at hundreds of times its normal speed, depicted the recent events in the Congyun Sea.Four immense divine senses communicated with each other:"It actually roused Mo Sha, did it?""The Congyun Sea ambushing a Spirit of Heaven and Earth? What were the Wanxian Alliance thinking?""The old man doesn't concern himself with worldly affairs, so it's normal for those below him not to know.""Furthermore, the ones who died were two local Soul Transformation cultivators from Congyun Sea. The other three were recruited from who knows where. None of them were direct descendants of the Wanxian Alliance.""Even so, five Soul Transformation cultivators, and numerous cultivators of other realms. Far too many died at once.""No matter, they are all just consumables.""However, we must control the overall number of cultivators. Not too many, not too few.""The old man is nowhere to be seen all day; this matter still falls to us.""Then let's loosen the restrictions on cultivation technique exchange a bit.""I will arrange this. However, the Congyun Sea has already become a dead zone. We will have to trouble Immortal Venerable Wuyou."A moment later, the statue that had remained still finally emitted a wave of divine sense."I understand."After that, no more messages came.The other figures seemed accustomed to this.They exchanged a few more words among themselves, then gradually fell silent.In the glowing cloud mass at the center of the five statues, the peripheral blue region slowly faded, then gradually became transparent and disappeared.

Yuan Dao Province.The moment Wanxian Island was completely destroyed by Mo Sha, Li Fan felt something and looked into the distance."Master, what's wrong?" Su Xiaomei noticed Li Fan's anomaly and asked curiously.Li Fan shook his head, offering no reply.At this time, after several days of travel, their group had arrived near Bright Moon Lake.This region was indeed as Fei Nan had described: resource-poor, remote, and rarely visited by cultivators.It was also far from Yuan Dao Celestial City, presenting numerous inconveniences.While unsuitable for most cultivators as a dwelling, for Li Fan, it was a good choice.Firstly, because Li Fan intended to use the Azure Sea Pearl to establish his Dao foundation.The eight-hundred-mile Bright Moon Lake was vast and misty, and its water-element spiritual energy concentration was not much weaker than that of the Congyun Sea, making it perfectly suited for Li Fan.Secondly, precisely because few cultivators typically came here, their ancient Dao Source artifacts would be safer, with less worry of being easily discovered by others.

However, establishing a dwelling was a matter of great importance.He still needed to personally investigate whether there was anything strange in the lake.Otherwise, building his lair in someone else's territory would be a true farce.Li Fan flew over the lake, preparing to explore.But his figure suddenly halted.In the world, a large mass of blue water light mysteriously appeared,returning to the Azure Sea Pearl.At the same time, countless images flooded Li Fan's mind."It couldn't be done, so it finally returned, huh?"The once very weak Azure Sea Pearl slowly absorbed this sudden blue water light, finally reverting to the deep blue appearance it had when Li Fan first saw it in his previous life.Furthermore, due to the premature destruction of the Congyun Sea,the Azure Sea Pearl also accelerated its formation speed.Li Fan estimated that this wondrous item of Heaven and Earth, still in its nascent stage, would fully form before long.

With the return of the portion of power that had branched off from the Azure Sea Pearl,Li Fan also came to know what had happened to Zhang Haobo.When he first used the Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art to create Zhang Haobo as a "reborn" individual,Li Fan had not considered using the Azure Sea Pearl on him.This was because it was an item he intended to use for his own Dao foundation in this life.However…This world was not a static game, and things did not always unfold as he anticipated.After Zhang Haobo's "rebirth," his fortune shifted, and his destiny rapidly changed,attracting the attention of the Congyun Sea's consciousness.And after some interaction, the Congyun Sea's consciousness discovered a startling secret:This individual of extraordinary fortune seemed capable of knowing future events.When Chiyan descended to incinerate the Congyun Sea,the Congyun Sea's vague premonitions, combined with past experiences, confirmed the reliability of this information.In just over a decade, it would indeed be scorched dry.Thus, the Congyun Sea made a different choice from its previous life.In the previous life, Chiyan's boiling of the sea began silently.By the time the Congyun Sea noticed, it was too late to resist.But it refused to yield.So, though one Azure Sea perished, another Azure Sea was born.In this life, with heaven intending to incinerate the sea, the sea decided to fight back and make a desperate last stand.However, it would ultimately leave a path of retreat for itself.Therefore, it divided its power into two parts:One part continued to transform into the Azure Sea Pearl.The other part gathered within the "reborn" Zhang Haobo.

This was because, though it possessed vast and boundless power, it could not act directly.Even Heaven, when it sought to incinerate the sea, had to manifest as a Spirit of Heaven and Earth.If the Congyun Sea wanted to retaliate, it naturally needed to find a representative.And Zhang Haobo was, of course, the best candidate.Everything proceeded smoothly.With its assistance, Zhang Haobo's cultivation progress was astonishingly fast.In just a few years, he broke through to the late stage of Qi Refinement.Under its guidance and protection, Zhang Haobo was also able to observe the struggle between Azure Wind and the sword hilt, successfully using it to form his foundation.Subsequently, with a pseudo-Golden Core realm, he commanded Azure Wind and soared above the Ten Thousand Immortals,meeting the Soul Transformation Immortal Lords of Wanxian Island.

Although he was skeptical about Zhang Haobo's claims of being able to foresee the future,under the temptation of merging with the Dao and after detailed inquiries about how long Chiyan's incineration of the sea would likely take, he still made a decision:to ambush the soon-to-descend Chiyan.To this end, Hong Xi, in white robes, contacted another Soul Transformation cultivator from Wanxian Island, Immortal Lord Ziyun.He also invited Immortal Lord Tianyang, with whom he had previously fought.The three again questioned Zhang Haobo about Chiyan's predicted behavior.After their discussion, they still felt it wasn't secure enough.So, Hong Xi traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to Feiling Province, inviting the Dao Merging expert, Immortal Venerable Jinri, to oversee the operation.During this time, two other Soul Transformation cultivators,Immortal Lord Lancang and Immortal Lord Haoxuan, happened to be battling in the Congyun Sea.Immortal Lord Ziyun then activated a starlight teleportation art, inviting these two to Wanxian Island as guests,asking them to join forces to slay Chiyan.The allure of Dao Merging was truly irresistible to Soul Transformation cultivators.Thus, both readily agreed.With one Dao Merging expert leading, five Soul Transformation cultivators besieging, and a Nascent Soul array master who had prepared hundreds of thousands of array halos,they intended to strike deliberately against an unsuspecting Spirit of Heaven and Earth that would take nearly ten years to incinerate the sea.The odds of victory were undeniably high.And indeed, this proved to be the case.

With the Star-Sun Cage, formed by the combined efforts of Immortal Venerable Jinri and Immortal Lord Ziyun, severing Chiyan's connection to the primordial power of Heaven and Earth,Chiyan's defeat seemed inevitable.However, Zhang Haobo, who was observing the battle from the side, and the Congyun Sea,felt a faint unease in their hearts.Thus, they decided to act themselves.For a mere Golden Core cultivator to intervene in a battle between Dao Merging and Soul Transformation cultivators seemed like a fantasy.But it was not entirely impossible.Because it wasn't Zhang Haobo who acted, but the Congyun Sea.The Congyun Sea, which had accumulated power for an unknown number of years, was infinitely close to the Dao Merging realm.A Golden Core cultivator's body simply couldn't withstand it.Therefore, Zhang Haobo resolutely shattered his Golden Core, using his Law Body to receive the power of the Congyun Sea.If successful, Zhang Haobo would ascend to the heavens in one step, transforming from Golden Core to Dao Merging!The resentment of being incinerated in the future, the anger of refusing to accept its fate, combined with Zhang Haobo's understanding of the Sky Fiend Sword Intent,culminated in the twenty-eight Congyun Swords.This was a sword of defiance, a sword of vengeance, a sword of slaughter.It succeeded, yet it did not.Though Chiyan died, Mo Sha arrived.At the moment of Zhang Haobo's death, the Congyun Sea knew it was futile and finally returned to the Azure Sea Pearl with its power.

Although the Congyun Sea might not possess clear intelligence like humans, its nascent and vague consciousness instinctively drove Zhang Haobo to contend with Chiyan."Extraordinary fortune is not heavenly fortune.""It's merely a tool in the game between two parties."Li Fan sighed, shaking his head."However…""The Twenty-Eight Congyun Swords.""It truly is an excellent sword art."In his mind, the images and insights from Zhang Haobo unleashing that sword immediately emerged.Mobilizing the power contained within the Azure Sea Pearl, Li Fan struck out with a single sword.A blue sword light, resolute and unstoppable,swept across the lake surface.The lake water was cleaved open by the sword qi, revealing the muddy bottom.The eight-hundred-mile Bright Moon Lake was bisected by a single sword.