On the Brink of Life and Death

For the past three years.

Han Yi had visited all eighteen market districts of the Outer Peak.

Beyond that, he often went to Little Sea View Peak, where the female cultivators resided, and Little Firm Rock Peak, where Zheng Hai lived. He knew those places like the back of his hand.

Other than those places, he stayed on Little Spirit Void Peak year-round, only making one trip to Vermilion Bird Peak each year to complete his contribution point missions.

Though he had never deliberately promoted himself, his reputation had still spread far and wide. People often approached him in private to trade for pills.

He generally refused such requests.

If he truly could not turn down the person making the introduction, he would only trade the smallest quantities of pills. Moreover, his prices were slightly higher than those on Little Sea View Peak, matching the sect's official prices.

Yet the quality of his pills was too good, and the number of people seeking him out continued to grow at a steady pace.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, Han Yi did not slow his steps and had already reached the mountainside of Little Spirit Void Peak.

Suddenly.

BOOM!!

A tremendous impact rang out overhead, jolting him from his thoughts. He instinctively looked up.

Above him.

The boundless sea of clouds, once a vision of immortal splendor, had utterly vanished. In its place was an ink-black scar, as though the sky itself had split open, stretching from the neighboring Outer Peak, Little Valley Sword Peak, all the way to Little Spirit Void Peak.

RUMBLE!!

Terrifying tremors spread outward in every direction from the rift. At the same time, the strange black crack in the sky seemed almost alive. It tore through Little Spirit Void Peak's protective formation, seeming to writhe, yet moving at incredible speed as it crashed directly into the peak's central hub.

A furious roar followed.

"Gu Wuhen, have you gone mad?"

Soaring skyward with that roar was a middle-aged cultivator in his early forties.

Han Yi recognized him. He was Fan Mo, the Peak Master of Little Spirit Void Peak, whom Han Yi had met a few times before—a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining Layer 9.

Spiritual light burst from Fan Mo's hands, drawing upon the central hub of Little Spirit Void Peak to resist the writhing black rift.

In an instant, the spiritual light shattered. Fan Mo, who had shot into the sky, fell back onto the peak in miserable disarray.

"No, Gu Wuhen, you've been possessed by demons?"

"Damn it."

"A Heavenly Demon invasion! All disciples of Little Spirit Void Peak, flee at once!"

The moment his words fell, golden light flared around Fan Mo. His body turned into a streak of light, shooting out of Little Spirit Void Peak and vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

He had abandoned everything and fled on his own.

Standing halfway up the mountain, Han Yi watched the scene unfold with his own eyes. The shock in his heart could not be put into words.

The next moment, he thought of something. His face instantly went pale, and the sense of danger in his heart screamed madly.

Danger!!

Sure enough, before he could make the slightest move, the writhing black rift in midair shattered and dispersed, turning into clusters of strange black qi that fell directly toward the many courtyards on Little Spirit Void Peak.

Figures rose from the courtyards on flying artifacts. They were the stewards and others on Little Spirit Void Peak whose cultivation had reached the higher stages of Qi Refining.

But these people trying to flee on flying artifacts were far weaker than Fan Mo. They had barely taken flight when the strange black qi blanketing the sky wrapped around them. Cries of agony rang out as they fell back down, their auras fading away. Whether they lived or died was unknown.

Those below the higher stages of Qi Refining, unable to take to the air, scattered and fled in all directions. Some ran down the mountain, some fled toward the rear mountain, while others believed the defensive formations around their courtyards would still protect them. They did not know that with Little Spirit Void Peak's central hub destroyed, those formations reliant on the underground spirit vein had dissipated at once.

The strange black qi surged wildly. From top to bottom, it spread across Little Spirit Void Peak in the blink of an eye.

With the protective formation gone, the outer sect disciples still inside their courtyards were the first to be assaulted.

Amid the chaos, wails filled the air.

At the mountainside, Han Yi broke out in a cold sweat. His soul nearly fled his body—how could he possibly care about the belongings in his courtyard?

He turned and ran. Pushing the Body Lightening Technique to its limit, he was actually much faster than even disciples at the sixth stage of Qi Refining.

But though he was fast, the strange black qi was faster.

Abruptly, a patch of black qi no bigger than a fist flashed into existence ten meters away, then shot straight at his face.

Han Yi had clearly seen what had happened earlier. Those higher-stage Qi Refining disciples who flew into the air had been struck down with unfailing accuracy by this dense black qi.

Though the black qi coming for him was only the size of a fist.

Han Yi did not dare let down his guard. He even had the feeling that this very moment was the thin line between life and death.

Without the slightest hesitation.

His hands moved wildly, nearly becoming afterimages as Spirit Void Finger rained forth like a storm.

In an instant, he had woven an airtight, layered net of spiritual light.

The net pressed forward and collided with the fist-sized Black Qi Mass.

BOOM!!

At the point of collision, an explosion erupted. The terrifying blast sent Han Yi, who had no time to defend himself, flying more than ten meters away. He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

Ignoring his disheveled state, Han Yi raised his head and stared fixedly at the center of the explosion. When he saw clearly, his pupils contracted again, and every hair on his body stood on end.

At the heart of the explosion, the Black Qi Mass had not dispersed. Instead, it had shrunk by half, yet as if enraged, it shook violently and was about to pounce on Han Yi again.

"Damn it, I'm going all in."

Han Yi paid no mind to how undignified he looked. Pressing his index and middle fingers together, he made the three daggers hidden at his waist tremble and leap lightly into the air, hovering beside and above his head.

Just then.

Another terrifying boom rang out from overhead.

Han Yi had focused all his attention on the Black Qi Mass ten meters away and did not dare let himself be distracted in the slightest.

But with that tremendous sound, the Black Qi Mass that had intended to pounce on him again suddenly changed direction and shot into the sky.

Only then did Han Yi raise his gaze to follow it upward.

A cultivator stood suspended in the air above Little Spirit Void Peak. Han Yi could not make out the cultivator's face, but he could clearly sense the fury contained in his voice.

Before that airborne cultivator, the many Black Qi Masses that had scattered across the peak earlier rose into the air one after another, gathering together and transforming into a Black Giant over three meters tall, its features impossible to discern.

"You audacious Heavenly Demon, you dare reveal your true form."

"Die!!"

With a casual toss from the airborne cultivator, an artifact flew from his palm. It swelled in the wind, transforming into a Nine-Cornered Artifact.

Flames burst forth around the artifact, forming a fiery net that descended over the Black Giant.

The Black Giant opened its mouth and spewed dense black qi, but beneath the fiery net, it all scattered into nothingness.

The Black Giant turned to flee, but it was no match for the artifact's power.

The artifact spun rapidly, and Nine Fire Dragons emerged from it, trapping the Black Giant from all sides as scorching fire-element energy seared its body.

A moment later.

The Black Giant dissipated in midair. The airborne cultivator retrieved his artifact and glanced down below. His gaze swept over Han Yi, who was staring intently into the sky, without revealing the slightest emotion. Then he turned and flew toward the Inner Peak.

A terrifying calamity had finally drawn to a close.

Han Yi's gaze followed the departing cultivator's figure.

"So strong."

"Could this person be an Inner Peak elder, a great cultivator of the Golden Core Stage?"

"And that fire-element artifact just now wasn't actually an artifact, but an even more powerful magic treasure?"

Then his gaze lowered again, returning to Little Spirit Void Peak. Looking at the devastated peak, his expression turned grim. After that grimness came an inward sigh, and a powerful feeling of helplessness rose within him.

"Is this what they call a natural calamity?"

This was the first time he had truly understood the danger of Heavenly Demons. It was not merely their temptation when one broke through a realm, but the more direct danger laid bare before his eyes: a Heavenly Demon invasion.