Heavenly Crack Shocks Sage (Part 1)

A mist of chaotic hues seeped from the ferocious cracks in the futon, coiling within the cold, dead silence of Zixiao Palace. Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, sat upon a cloud bed. His indistinct Dao form trembled slightly. Within his eternally unchanging, indifferent voice, a metallic rasp of rage was clearly discernible:

"Wretch! How dare you damage the foundation of the Heavenly Dao!"

"Dao Ancestor, please calm your anger!" Below, on the futon, four figures bowed in unison. Their Sage's Might surged, yet it couldn't conceal their shock.

Taishang Laojun's face was ashen. His whisk trembled slightly, and deep within his eyes lay disbelief from his deductions, coupled with a chilling killing intent. "The shackles cracked, originating from the mortal realm of Xianyang! This Variable has become a mere scratch, yet it shakes the Heavenly Pillar! This child... cannot be allowed to live!" Pure light flowed around him, and the phantom image of the Taiji Diagram flickered behind his head, attempting to deduce the Variable's origins and a method for its annihilation. However, the chaotic aura seeping out and the disordered variables emanating from the cracks muddled his divinations into utter chaos.

Primordial Heavenly Venerate's face was ashen. The Jade Ruyi flickered erratically, its light dimming and brightening. His voice, laced with suppressed rage and arrogance, declared, "A spawn from the lower realm, colluding with the Wu barbarians, tampering with the Earth Veins, and stirring up Chaos Fiendish Qi! This is the beginning of overturning the established order and plunging the Primordial Era into chaos! We must descend the Jade Void Divine Thunder to cleanse this filth, and even that Xianyang Royal City... obliterate it all!" He regarded the Heavenly Dao's order as the ultimate truth, and any disturbance was blasphemy.

Accepter Daoist's face contorted in even greater distress. The prayer beads he was fiddling with nearly snapped, and the phantom image of the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus swayed precariously. "Immeasurable Tribulation... this is an omen of the Immeasurable Tribulation! The Heavenly Dao cracks, demons rise and the Dao declines! Even the Western Pure Land may not be able to remain untouched... Dao Ancestor, we must quickly restore order, seal this Variable, and mend the Heavenly rift! Our Western Teachings are willing to lend our full support, to guide this karmic entanglement and lead its fiendish energy back to oblivion!" A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he calculated how to gain the greatest benefit from this tribulation.

Cundi Daoist brushed his Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, stirring up streams of multicolored light, attempting to soothe the agitated Heavenly Dao aura. His voice was urgent, "Dao Ancestor! The Heavenly rift has appeared, Chaos encroaches, this is a time of survival for the Primordial Era! We must request the Jade Disk of Creation to stabilize the universe, and then command all Sages to emerge and sweep through like a thunderous storm! Delay will lead to change, and we may face Outer Realm Demon Gods exploiting the opportunity!" He was the most vigilant, having already sensed the dangerous aura of the endless Chaos Sea beyond the rift.

"Enough!" Hongjun's Dao sound was like freezing ice, instantly suppressing the four Sages' discordant discussions. The chaotic aura seeping from the futon's crack was forcibly reined in, and Zixiao Palace returned to its dead silence. However, the ferocious crack that ran through the futon remained a stark reminder.

"The Heavenly rift has appeared, the tribulation is set. Suppressing it further will only consume our essence," Hongjun's voice returned to its indifferent tone, but with a deeper coldness. "This Variable... has become the Eye of Tribulation. Killing it may invite a greater backlash. Containing it, however, will serve as a whetstone."

The four Sages were stunned.

Hongjun's indistinct gaze pierced through the endless void, falling upon the Primordial Era's land, upon the source of the most intense Heavenly rift aura - the Imperial Medical Office in Xianyang Palace. It fell upon Cheng Xi, whose aura was chaotic and who bore the Chaos Earth Fiend. It fell even further upon the Ancient Locust Tree, whose roots had just begun to reveal the nascent Demonic Eye.

"Transmit my decree:"

"Heavenly Court, seal the South Heavenly Gate. No one is permitted to descend without my command!"

"Underworld, reinforce the Six Paths of Reincarnation and sever the connection between Yin and Yang!"

"You all..." Hongjun's gaze swept over the four Sages below, "Return to your respective dojos and seal your mountain gates! Anyone who acts without my command... will have their Sage status stripped and be cast into the Abyss of Return!"

"Dao Ancestor?!" Primordial Heavenly Venerate exclaimed, his face filled with unwillingness. Taishang Laojun frowned, as if he had an epiphany. Accepter and Cundi exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief and uncertainty.

"This tribulation is not within your control," Hongjun's voice admitted no room for doubt. "Observe the changes. When the Eye of Tribulation brightens and dims... a reckoning will come." As his voice faded, the Dao form on the cloud bed flickered and completely merged into the boundless rules of the Heavenly Dao. Only the shocking rift and the four Sages' uncertain figures remained.

Zixiao Palace returned to its dead silence, with only the Heavenly Dao rift, where the chaotic aura pulsed like breathing, remaining.

Ancient Locust Tree · Demonic Eye Soul Lock

At the northern foot of Mount Li, deep within the roots of the demonized Ancient Locust Tree.

The newly formed Dark Gold vertical eye had completely opened! It was the size of a fist, condensed like dark gold crystal. There were no impurities within its pupils, only the most primal desires for chaos and consumption. It coldly reflected the entire world. It greedily absorbed the nutrients the Ancient Locust Tree's roots drew from the polluted Earth Veins. With every drop it absorbed, its pupil darkened, and the demonic might it exuded grew.

Buzz!

The vertical eye suddenly "rotated"! Two chains of demonic thoughts, condensed to the extreme, formless yet capable of freezing the soul, instantly pierced through the thick soil and rock, disregarding spatial barriers!

One chain fiercely struck towards Cheng Xi within the Imperial Medical Office of Xianyang Palace, who had just repelled the demonic shadow and was weakened and chaotic! Its target was the newly formed, violently alluring Chaos Earth Fiend within his dantian! The demonic thought chain, carrying the purest will of pollution and assimilation, aimed to detonate and devour this power at his most vulnerable moment, turning it to its own use!

The other chain, like a poisoned ice pick, fiercely struck towards Yan Lingji, who sat cross-legged before the rock face of Mount Li's main peak. Her seven orifices were bleeding, her mind connected to the Purifying Fire deep within the Earth Veins, pushed to its limit! Its target was the orange-red flame protecting her Heart Lamp in her chest! The demonic thought chain, carrying the ultimate filth and destructive desire, aimed to extinguish this light of order that it detested, and pollute her pure Zhurong Bloodline!

"Ugh!" Cheng Xi had just suppressed the violent backlash of the Chaos Earth Fiend within his body when a bone-chilling intent filled with greedy malice pierced his sea of consciousness like a venomous needle! The Chaos Earth Fiend vortex within his dantian, which had just calmed slightly, became like a deep pool into which a massive boulder was thrown, instantly boiling violently again! The grey, gold, and cyan energies clashed wildly, and the tearing pain in his meridians doubled! He let out a muffled groan, his vision darkened, and the sliver of clarity he had just gathered was once again submerged in chaos!

Before the rock face, Yan Lingji's delicate body trembled violently! Maintaining the Purifying Fire had already pushed her to her limit, and this demonic thought chain directly attacking her Heart Lamp was the final straw that broke the camel's back! The orange-red flame in her chest flickered violently, its light instantly dimming! The call from Pangu Hall became blurry and indistinct due to the demonic thought interference! A cold sense of filth surged into her bloodline along the demonic thought chain, attempting to reignite those dormant Dark Gold Demonic Markings!

"You wish!" Yan Lingji gritted her teeth, blood spilling from her lips. The orange-red flame in her eyes erupted with a final defiance! She forcefully severed a portion of her connection with the Purifying Fire deep within the Earth Veins, withdrawing all her remaining mental strength to guard her Heart Lamp! The orange-red flame fiercely resisted the demonic thought's erosion, flickering precariously like a candle in the wind!

In the side hall of the Imperial Medical Office, the dust had yet to settle.

The demonic shadow of Lu Buwei (or rather, the husk dominated by the will of the Demon Lizard's Severed Skull) was forced back by Cheng Xi's Chaos Earth Fiend Sword Finger. The scales on its claws corroded and peeled off, exposing its dark gold flesh. The pain and rage caused it to let out a ferocious roar! Its cold vertical eyes locked onto Cheng Xi, its greed and destructive desire intensifying! This newly formed chaotic power was even more delicious than it had anticipated!

"Roar--!" The demonic shadow ignored the indentation in its chest and abdomen caused by Meng Tian's iron fist (scales shattered, dark gold blood seeping out). Its massive tail swept like a steel whip, forcing back Meng Tian, who lunged again! It stomped its feet, its massive body carrying a foul wind, and lunged towards the soft couch once more! This time, it opened its giant maw, dark gold demonic energy surging from its throat, intending to swallow Cheng Xi, along with that source of Chaos Earth Fiend, in one gulp!

"Stop it!" Hou Yi's eyes were bloodshot. The second bone arrow whistled as it left the string! This time, the blood energy wrapped around the arrow formed a spiral, shooting directly towards the depths of the demonic shadow's throat, exposed as it opened its maw!

Meng Tian, ignoring the excruciating pain of being struck by the demonic tail, roared and lunged forward again. He spread his arms, intending to use his flesh and blood to grab one of the demonic shadow's legs, creating an opportunity for Hou Yi's arrow!

At this critical moment!

Struck by the demonic thought chain, his sea of consciousness in chaos, his meridians on the verge of tearing, the sliver of chaotic grey light deep within Cheng Xi's eyes, under extreme pain and the threat of death, erupted with unprecedented ferocity and clarity! Deduction! Analysis! The chaotic Earth Fiend violently clashing within his body, the demonic thought chain invading his sea of consciousness, the trajectory of the demonic shadow's lunge, the nature of the demonic energy swirling around its claws and teeth... all information was frantically decomposed and reassembled within the grey light!

"Earth Fiend... as the foundation... Chaos as the blade... Intercepting Heaven... as the guide!" A mad thought took shape within the grey light!

He no longer attempted to suppress the chaotic Earth Fiend raging within him. Instead, using his remaining will as a guide, he forcefully channeled the boiling and clashing grey, gold, and cyan energies within his dantian along the main meridians, which were already riddled with holes by the Turbid Evil but had been unexpectedly widened and strengthened by the Chaos Earth Fiend, towards his converging right-hand sword finger!

Chichichi--!

The skin of his sword finger instantly split, the blood vaporized by the violent energy! Grey, gold, and cyan light frantically gathered, compressed, and intertwined at his fingertip! A destructive, terrifying aura carrying the heavy violence of the earth and the sharp edge of chaotic disorder erupted! The space around his sword finger distorted!

The demonic shadow's giant maw loomed overhead, its foul demonic stench washing over him! Hou Yi's bone arrow shot into the demonic shadow's throat, the exploding blood energy causing it to falter! Meng Tian grabbed the demonic shadow's right leg, his bones groaning under the unbearable strain!

It was now!

"Intercept--!!!"

Cheng Xi's throat let out a hoarse roar! His right-hand sword finger, which had gathered all his strength and mad will, carrying the compressed Chaos Earth Fiend Sword Qi, no longer defended but transformed into a grey-gold lightning bolt that tore through the dimness. From bottom to top, it met the demonic shadow's ferocious, biting maw and thrust upwards! Its target - the core node of condensed demonic energy deep within the demonic shadow's opened upper jaw!

Puchi--!!!

The sword finger pierced the demonic shadow's tough, dark gold upper jaw without resistance! The Chaos Earth Fiend Sword Qi condensed at the fingertip erupted violently!