Black Calamity

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Black Calamity
Original Name	黑灾
Classification	Source Calamity; the first documented phase of the wider Source Calamity cycle 271
Status	Active; its presence has been cleared from some regions, but higher-level outbreaks and Source Calamity manifestations persist 438 517
First Appearance	15

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Overall intensification detected	15	Silver Tower research reports that the Black Calamity's overall intensity, including Ghost Shadows, is rising over time.
High Tide Period	15	All Black Calamities gain a significant increase in offensive capability; Blood Ticks also develop greater resistance to light.
Renewed regional escalation	190	The rising intensity threatens surviving strongholds and prompts joint investigations into the source Ruins.
Pool of Black Night descent halted	270	Yu Hong prevents the Pool of Black Night from descending, stopping a further increase in Black Calamity intensity at that time.
Super-standard outbreak	382 397	After the Heaven Stabilizing Plates shatter, Black Calamity and Spirit Calamity erupt on an unprecedented scale; the Black Calamity is capable of reopening its gate and increasing its power further.
Source-level understanding	599	The Source Calamity's power is described as infinite and normally fixed at peak intensity; a detectable weakening implies that something is resisting it on a vast scale.

Nature and Origin

The Black Calamity is a supernatural disaster characterized by Black Mist, Red Value radiation, hostile monsters, and recurring manifestations. It is the first known phase of the larger Source Calamity, which proceeds through further disasters such as the Cold, Drought, and Wind Calamities 271.

Later records identify xing as the source of Black Calamity power. Xing can infect everything and derive corresponding Black Calamity monsters according to the strength of living beings before death 517.

Ancient civilizations encountered the Black Calamity long before Yu Hong's era. The Yingshan Civilization developed Rune Arrays but ultimately vanished after failing to stop its invasion 209. Records written in Night Text suggest that other lost civilizations may have faced it as well 209.

Modern Outbreak

• Early investigations linked the spread of the Black Calamity to ancient Ruins across the world 129.
• In East River, outbreaks were associated with the appearance of Black Wells, from which the first Blood Tide—Blood Ticks—emerged 171.
• A later three-node theory identified Frica's origin Ruins as the first node and Black Tree Village as the second; the Mesa Family was believed to have discovered a way to break the Ruins seal 198.
• The Mesa Family was connected to Ruins symbols and the destruction or pollution of Glowstone mines, though direct proof that they caused the disaster was initially unavailable 148 186.

Characteristics

Pursuit of Living Beings

Black Calamities are attracted to a substance present in human bodies. Researchers developed Extraction Fluid, a concentrated form of that substance, to lure them away from inhabited areas 167.

• High-level Black Calamities can be guided into remote territories before their domains stabilize 167.
• Once established, high-level entities generally do not move their domains casually 167.
• Yu Hong successfully exploited territorial boundaries to lure Insect People away from Black Wind Camp 170.
• Black Lizards carrying bait can serve as regenerable decoys, avoiding the need to sacrifice human bait squads 190.

Resurrection and Remains

Ordinary destruction is often not a permanent solution. Yu Hong notes that Black Calamities revive and cannot simply be eliminated through repeated direct confrontation 169.

• Dao Lineage records state that strangling a Black Calamity's spiritual core can eliminate its resurrection ability 396.
• Yu Hong's Qi Condensation Shadow Transformation Art can use fear shadows to destroy Eerie Shadows without allowing them to be reborn, suggesting a possible lasting solution 295.
• Black Calamities generally consume corpses, leaving only belongings or unusual remains behind 214.
• Their remains can be used in equipment, arrays, weapons, and Black Mark enhancement 194 237.

Territories and Aggregation

• Stronger Black Calamities establish territorial boundaries that other high-risk entities may respect 170.
• The presence of low-level creatures such as Multi-Eyed Birds can indicate that no dominant high-risk Black Calamity controls the immediate area 229.
• Large groups of weaker Black Calamities can form aggregates, but these masses do not necessarily produce the same oppressive field as a single powerful entity 199.
• Black Calamity monsters can coexist with Spirit Calamity monsters without immediately fighting each other 395.

Threat Classification

Danger levels and Red Value readings provide rough comparisons, but danger level does not strictly equal combat strength 170. War Grade and Evil Shadow Grade are broader classifications with substantial variation between individual entities 384.

Form	Recorded Rating	Documented Traits
Large Multi-Eyed Bird	Tier 4	A larger, louder form of Multi-Eyed Bird that is drawn to concentrations of living people 150.
Back-Facing Person	At least Level 5	Manipulates senses, drains energy, and can leave victims unable to escape without an Inner Qi burst 161.
Gray Shadow	Level 6	Causes people to disappear without warning or visible traces; its attacks are slow and usually kill one victim at a time 179.
Tick Ball	Level 7	A Blood Tick sphere with low-level hunting intelligence; immune to physical strikes and regenerates injuries within three seconds 137.
Speed Person	Level 8	A second look can cause instant death if the target experiences fear; resisting its effect damages the victim's mind and body 137.
Insect Person	Level 8	Travels at roughly 230 km/h and can flicker through obstacles, making conventional fortifications ineffective 137.
Dissolving Leech	Level 9	A Blood Tide organism that disperses into invisible particles, hides in liquids, drains victims' bodily fluids, and reproduces within them 216.
Crying Angel	Level 9	A massive airborne entity that commonly appears with Multi-Eyed Birds and can heavily damage fortified structures 244.
Earth Lake	War Grade	Causes large areas of victims to fall into a mysterious lake and drown, leaving behind only equipment and clothing 179.
Black Withered Woman	War Grade	Releases Black Qi that causes living beings touched by it to wither and die instantly 384.

Countermeasures

Glowstone and Negative Value Radiation

• Glowstone can disperse Eerie Shadows, though its effect is considerably weaker without Rune Arrays 29.
• Ordinary Glowstone is ineffective against Evil Shadows, which are fast, highly contagious, and far more lethal than Eerie Shadows or Blood Tide creatures 25.
• Expulsion Fluid, derived from Glowstone's Negative Value radiation, can conceal a person's living aura and repel Black Calamities with Red Values below 1,000 167.
• Radiation Grenades can repel Black Calamities at danger level four and above, depending on the target and conditions 156.

Arrays and Fortifications

• The Black Wind Protection Grand Array inflicts continuous wind and fire erosion on intruding Black Calamities while storing surrounding Red Value radiation for later release 172.
• Its effectiveness depends on slowing targets inside the array; high-speed entities such as Insect People can cross the area too quickly for the damage alone to be decisive 172.
• Yu Hong developed deceleration and airflow-obstruction arrays specifically to delay Black Calamities long enough for other defenses to act 173.

Permanent Elimination

• The Qi Condensation Shadow Transformation Art can produce fear shadows capable of permanently destroying Eerie Shadows 295.
• One recorded method for closing a Gate of Despair is to locate and return the first Black Calamity monster that emerged from it; the gate is then said to close on its own 401.
• Historical records state that powerful Celestial Venerables could suppress high-level Black Calamity tides with ease, though their eventual disappearance left this method incomplete 518.

History

The Black Calamity's first modern signs were Black Wells, Blood Ticks, and localized Ruins-linked outbreaks. As it spread, ordinary cities suffered increasing casualties, with Evil Shadows becoming especially devastating because of their speed, contagion, and resistance to ordinary Glowstone 25 171.

Its escalation destabilized human civilization worldwide. White River City was eventually occupied by the Black Calamity after the appearance of a level-nine creature, leaving fewer than one in ten residents alive 137. The growing threat forced surviving strongholds to rely on Glowstone, arrays, bait, Red Value detection, fortified shelters, and information exchanges.

The Black Calamity's rise led to increasingly extreme countermeasures. A distant detonation believed to be a hydrogen bomb was considered a possible attempt to destroy a major Black Calamity 166. Later, Yu Hong halted the descent of the Pool of Black Night, temporarily preventing a further rise in intensity, while the Eternal Life Association was eradicated for its role in manipulating Black Calamity events 270.

Although the Black Calamity was largely cleared around Hope City by the Black Light Force, its wider threat remained unresolved as the Cold Calamity worsened and stronger Source Calamity phenomena emerged 438. Yu Hong later confirmed that the Black Calamity continued to exist in higher forms closer to its source, where its monsters were correspondingly more powerful 517.

Trivia

• The Black Calamity's Chinese name, 黑灾, literally uses the characters for “black” and “disaster.”
• The Black Calamity is not limited to a single monster type; it encompasses Blood Tide creatures, Eerie Shadows, Evil Shadows, humanoid entities, giant beasts, and large-scale environmental phenomena 166 179.
• A Black Mist source can display unexpectedly low Red Value radiation, as seen with the starfish-like object discovered on Huangsong Island 275.