At that moment, hundreds of miles above Blackwind Abyss, the Divine Court's banners stood like a forest. Their black-gold and crimson fabric snapped in the wind, each embroidered with a fierce divine beast's illusory shadow. Xiezhi suppressed evil, White Tiger displayed its might, and their interwoven auras pressed down upon the sea of clouds below, keeping it in ceaseless turmoil.
Weapons bristled, their gleaming blades reflecting across the sky.
They stood in orderly formations, their dark robes threaded with gold and their bodies clad in silver armor. Their spears pointed straight toward the heavens, the spiritual light gathering at the tips joining into a vast net of radiance that sealed off the outskirts of Blackwind Abyss.
Eighteen deputy envoys of the Divine Punishment Department stood at the formations' four corners. The fluctuations of laws around them remained contained, yet already sent fine ripples through the surrounding void.
Ahead, ten figures stood shoulder to shoulder—the same ten Saints who had previously cornered Qin He in Apocalypse City.
Each department had anywhere from several to dozens of Saint Tier experts. Though they held no divine office, they formed the absolute core of each department's fighting strength beneath its High God.
When summoned, they answered the call; otherwise, they returned to their respective divine residences, enjoying an exalted status.
In the central area, dozens of Divine Court cultivators busied themselves around an enormous formation diagram. Outlined in pure gold and covered in Order Runes, it radiated a warm golden glow from every rune, resonating with the light of the Sky-Seeking Divine Realm.
The Sky-Seeking Divine Realm hung high overhead, pouring down a gilded pillar of light that enveloped the entire Blackwind Abyss region. Within that pillar, countless ancient seal-script characters meaning "punishment" spun, constantly probing for any disturbance within the abyss.
"Pick up