Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil
On the seventh day at dusk, the ancient pine trees on the cliff edge of the Floating Island seemed to be soaked from their roots to their tips by the purest Purple-Gold Glazed Liquid in the world. Every inch of their gnarled branches shimmered with a warm, jade-like luster, and even the folds of their bark held tiny glimmers of light. The light grew brighter as dusk deepened, as if the tree trunk contained fragments of diamonds from the entire starry sky.
The last rays of dawn, like fine silk, swept over the pine needles. The moment the needles pierced the light, they refracted a rainbow, colliding with the dewdrops clinging to their tips. These dewdrops were formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth absorbed over the past seven days. Within them slumbered miniature images of the golden sun and the Ink Moon, while the outer layer was enveloped in a faint Purple Aura, with countless tiny stars floating within the halo. Touched by the dawn light, they suddenly exploded into countless fragments of light dust. The light dust lingered in the air for a moment, eventually piecing together a half-circle of incomplete Tai Chi Symbol.
Where the dust settled, translucent moss sprouted on the cliff face. The moss threads hung down like crystal lines, their patterns corresponding perfectly to the Star Orbit in the sky, even the position of the Big Dipper was spot on. What was even more amazing was that whenever a star moved across the sky, the moss threads would tremble slightly, as if heaven and earth had completed a secret response at that moment, and even the air currents on the Floating Island rose and fell with the rhythm of the Star Orbit trails.
Ren Xiaoyao lowered his eyes to look at his palm. The golden sun and the Ink Moon were merging at a speed visible to the naked eye. The halo at the point of fusion was sometimes as blazing as a furnace, and sometimes as deep as a cold pool, but it always maintained a delicate balance.
The molten gold luster at the edge of the golden sun slowly spread like molten lava, overflowing the ink-wash painting-like haze of the Ink Moon. Within the ink-colored haze lay the deep blue of the ocean, the indigo of the night sky, and the silvery white of fallen stardust. The dark patterns of the Ink Moon climbed up like ancient vines, weaving a fine, spiderweb-like star Star Orbit on the surface of the golden sun. The intersections of the Star Orbit shimmered with silver light, as if someone had used broken diamonds to inlay the veins of heaven and earth, with fine lightning patterns flowing between the veins.
Finally, the two coalesced into a Tai Chi Pill the size of a pigeon's egg. On the left side of the pill, a hazy gray Gray Mist from the Beginning of Chaos flowed, within which the indistinct outlines of the world before its separation could be seen. The rudiments of mountains and rivers floated in the mist, and the course of rivers was outlined in the darkness. The low roars of Primordial Giant Beast could be faintly heard. On the right side, the clear and bright light of the sky shone, within which floated the phantoms of all things growing. The crisp sounds of flowers and grass breaking through the soil and the hoofbeats of birds and beasts running were hidden in the flow of light, appearing and disappearing. One could even smell the sweet, earthy scent of the soil after the rain.
As the elixir body rotates, one can faintly hear the first breath at the beginning of the separation of heaven and earth. The sound is as light as morning dew falling on a leaf, yet so heavy that it can resonate with the lava at the earth's core. Even the foundation of the Floating Island undulates slightly with this breath, as if in sync with heaven and earth. The sea of clouds around the island also gathers and disperses with this breath, like the opening and closing of the earth's lungs.
Deep within the sea of consciousness, the Purple-Gold Pill that had been suspended for seven days suddenly exploded. The moment it exploded, ripples spread across the boundary of the sea of consciousness, as if the entire space of consciousness was expanding, reaching the edge of heaven and earth.
Billions of points of light, like an overturned Milky Way, rushed down the meridians, seeping into every inch of bone and blood in the limbs and bones. Wherever they passed, pale golden Dao Patterns appeared on the meridian walls. The patterns were composed of countless tiny Tai Chi Symbol, shimmering with the flow of blood.
He saw light and darkness intertwining at his fingertips, forming a rope. One end of the rope was tied to the warmth of the rising sun, which could coax new buds from beneath the frozen earth. The ice shards clinging to the tips of the buds would turn into moisture carrying the scent of grass and trees in this warmth, and the moisture would fall to the ground and sprout tiny green seedlings. The other end was tied to the clear light of the setting moon, which could soothe restless souls. The resentment of the souls would condense into transparent Ice Crystals in this clear light, and the Ice Crystals would reflect the tenderness of past lives, the embrace of a mother, and the smiles of friends.
He saw life and death flowing like a river in the lines of his palm. On the left bank, there was the crisp sound of new shoots breaking through the soil and pushing open stubborn rocks. When the stone chips flew, they turned into a green mist full of vitality, and countless phantom images of seeds floated in the mist. On the right bank, there was the soft murmur of withered leaves returning to the soil. When the veins of the leaves curled up, they seeped out golden liquid that nourished the land. In the golden liquid, there was a promise of flowers blooming next year.
At this moment, all the oppositions and contradictions that had kept him tossing and turning at night vanished—light was never the shackle of darkness, nor darkness the prison of light. They were simply two sides of the same coin, sharing the texture of reincarnation. Just as day and night were never truly separated, but merely the alternation of light and darkness in the breath of heaven and earth, without either half, time would no longer be complete. Just as a zither with only one string could never play a complete melody, it would only fade into Annihilation in monotony.
The heavens and earth seemed to be startled by this sudden enlightenment, instantly falling into a strange silence. Even the wind held its breath, and the clouds hung motionless in mid-air. Only the distant tides continued to rise and fall in accordance with the ancient rhythm.
In the thirty-mile-long Medicinal Field field of the Southern Region Medicinal Hut, the Star Patterns trembling and forming the characters "Unity). The medicinal fragrance seeping from between the characters mingled with the scent of morning light and night dew, clearing the mind of those who smelled it. Even the most stubborn old wounds felt slightly warm in this fragrance, as if new flesh was wriggling at the wound site. Even the wrinkles at the corners of the herb farmers' eyes smoothed out. In the Far North Ice Plains, the frozen earth cracked and split open with spiderweb-like fissures. The surging cold was no longer sharp as a knife, but instead enveloped in golden warmth. The Grass Seeds beneath the frozen earth were awakened by this fragrance, struggling to emerge in the darkness. The first green sprout, its Ice Crystals adorned with tiny Ice Crystals, holds silhouettes of spring within: swallows carrying mud, branches laden with blossoms, and even the laughter of children flying kites. Even the silverfish in the deep trench leap from the water, their dorsal fins displaying star-like spots that form a complete Tai Chi Pattern. Where their tails sweep, the seawater condenses into half-black, half-gold crystals, within which float phantoms of light and darkness embracing. These phantoms are as wide as the heavens and earth, as if the entire universe has found its home in this embrace. Even the most distant stars echo this rhythm, their shimmering frequency perfectly matching the crystals' vibrations.
At that very moment of Heaven and Earth Resonance, a dark crack suddenly appeared in the western sky, the air at the edge of the crack distorting as if being torn apart by Invisible Power.
The crack was not an ordinary Space Rift, but pure "nothingness"—no light, no sound, even the flow of time seemed to be swallowed up. The wispy clouds at the edge of the crack lost their shape the moment they touched that "nothingness," turning into Void without leaving a trace.
The deathly silence seeping from the cracks was heavier than the deepest seabed, colder than millennia-old Cold Iron. Wherever it passed, birds fell like broken wings, their feathers instantly drained of their luster, leaving only a hazy gray. The fallen bird carcasses turned to black ash upon touching the ground. The flowing clouds condensed into ink-black sculptures, which even the gentlest breeze could not disperse. Black liquid continued to seep from the surface of the sculptures. Even the air became solidified ink, and inhaling it brought a stinging pain like ice shards, as if one's internal organs were about to be frozen and cracked. Even the ancient pines on the cliff edge shed a few needles.
A figure slowly descended, stepping on a gray-black wave of energy. Where the energy passed, the space rippled, like crumpled paper. Twisted Runes curled along the edges of the black robe. Upon closer inspection, these runes revealed countless faces struggling in agony, their eyes filled with blood and tears, their mouths roaring silently. Each face carried a different kind of despair—the terror of a child, the sorrow of an old man, the resentment of a warrior, and even the features of some long-extinct races could be discerned.
With each step, black Ice Crystals burst open beneath their feet, Ice Crystals shapes resembling twisted bones. As the Ice Crystals shattered, countless faint wails echoed from the depths of the earth, like the endless suffering of swallowed creatures. The sound made one's heart tighten, as if one's soul were being torn from their body. Even the needles of the ancient pine trees on the cliff trembled slightly at these wails, and the dewdrops clinging to their tips turned black.
"Ren Xiaoyao?" The figure spoke, its voice like rusty iron scraping against rotten wood, sending shivers down one's spine. Each word carried a sharpness capable of severing spiritual consciousness. As the words fell, tiny black cracks appeared in the ground. "Hand over the source of light and darkness within you, and I might spare your incomplete soul, allowing a wisp of your spirit to linger in the cycle of reincarnation."
Ren Xiaoyao raised his eyes, his gaze as calm as an ancient well, without the slightest ripple, as if the other person's words were nothing more than an insignificant breeze.
The evil intent surrounding the other party was terrifyingly pure, without a trace of impurity, like a block of unmelting ice that had never melted for millennia. Even starlight falling on him would be instantly swallowed up, turning into even denser darkness. Even the trajectory of light was distorted into painful arcs, Buddhist Light itself was weeping for being swallowed up.
"The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil?" He recognized the aura—a being rumored to have been born from the most primal evil of Primordial Chaos, who took pleasure in devouring the essence of living beings. In High Antiquity times, he had devoured the beings of half the starry sky, causing even the stars to dim and turn into dull, lifeless stones. In the end, he was sealed in the deepest part of Space-Time Rift by seven powerful beings who wielded the Spirit Root of heaven and earth. That Rift was so impenetrable that even time itself could not penetrate it. He wondered what price he paid to break free of the seal, for even the aura of the seal was tinged with blood.
"You do have some knowledge." The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil sneered, his laughter carrying a metallic scraping sound that made the surrounding air tremble. His black robe suddenly billowed out, transforming into a dark shadow that blotted out the sky, dyeing half the sky black and swallowing up even the last rays of the setting sun. The world was instantly plunged into inky darkness.
Countless withered claws emerged from the shadows, their tips dripping with dark green liquid. Where the liquid landed, hard rocks instantly melted into pus, emitting a putrid stench. Where the pus spread, even Green Moss turned to charcoal; verdant vegetation withered into ashes, scattering into dust with a gust of wind, within which tiny, agonizing shadows could be seen; even the earth groaned in pain, cracking open with fine wounds that oozed dark red sap, as if the earth were weeping silently, the edges of the wounds continuing to spread.
"Your Light-Dark Fusion Physique, is the most perfect nourishment since the Beginning of Chaos. By devouring you, I can break the shackles of light and darkness, become the true 'one,' and make heaven and earth submit to darkness, with no more alternation of day and night, only eternal deathly silence." His voice was filled with a morbid fanaticism, and the face on the black robe twisted in response, revealing a greedy expression.
Before he finished speaking, thousands of withered claws came down like a storm, carrying the evil intent to corrode Spiritual Qi and annihilate the soul. Wherever the claw wind passed, the space was distorted and rippled, and countless remnants of living beings floated in the ripples, determined to tear Ren Xiaoyao to pieces. Even the air was cut by the claw wind and made a hissing sound.
Ren Xiaoyao neither dodged nor evaded. Suddenly, the purple-gold aura around him surged, enveloping the entire Floating Island like a rising sun, turning it into a giant sphere of light. Soft ripples flowed across the surface of the sphere, like the membrane of heaven and earth.
The halo was warm and gentle, yet it carried an inviolable power, like a protective umbrella held up by heaven and earth. The moment those withered claws touched the halo, they melted away like ice and snow meeting a raging fire. From where they melted, wisps of white smoke rose, and within the smoke floated countless purified remnant souls—they were once beings devoured by the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil, now regaining their freedom. Some nodded slightly to Ren Xiaoyao, their eyes filled with gratitude; others drifted towards their homeland, their figures filled with the urgency of returning home; in the end, they all turned into countless points of light and dissipated, returning to the cycle of heaven and earth. The air was filled with a sense of relief and warmth, and even the wind became gentle, carrying the lingering warmth of the light points as it brushed against the cliff edge.
"Impossible!" The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil's pupils shrank sharply, and for the first time, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. His body beneath his black robe trembled slightly, and even his voice changed tone. "How could my evil power be purified?"
His malevolent power has traversed the heavens for billions of years, capable of devouring light and annihilating darkness. Never before has he encountered such an incorruptible force, easily corroding even the protective aura of Ancient Great Power.
That purple-gold halo was not simply "good" or "light," but a more fundamental "balance." It could dismantle and neutralize extreme evil thoughts, transforming them into the purest Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Even his most prized corrosive power was like a mud ox sinking into the sea within this halo, not even causing a ripple. Instead, it was assimilated by the halo and gave rise to a faint vitality.
Ren Xiaoyao raised his hand, and the newly formed Tai Chi Pill floated in his palm. The pill slowly rotated in his palm, causing the surrounding airflow to form small vortices.
The elixir slowly rotated, and golden light, capable of incinerating all things, surged from its left side. This golden light was not ordinary fire, but contained the power of "life." Wherever it passed, withered trees could spring back to life, and tender green buds would sprout from broken branches, each bud topped with a tiny Flower Buds. Remnant souls could return to their places, and the dissipated spiritual consciousness would re-condense into a complete outline, still bearing fragments of memories from their previous lives. Even the black mist at the edge of the shadow of the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil was illuminated, revealing the hidden vitality within— Spiritual Charm suppressed by darkness, yearning to bloom, like fireflies in the night.
On the right, a black mist rose, freezing time and space. This black mist was not lifeless, but contained the true meaning of "annihilation." It could calm frenzied forces, reveal the true nature of distorted existences, and gently smooth the struggling faces in the shadows, revealing peaceful outlines, as if the shackles of ten thousand years of pain had been removed. Even the edges of the black mist shimmered with a soft silver light.
Golden light and dark mist intertwined to form a spiral of light, like the first vortex at the Beginning of Heaven and Earth, carrying the momentum of World Creation and sweeping towards the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil. Wherever the light passed, the space hummed, as if singing for the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and Earth.
"You only know that evil can devour everything, but you don't understand that good can transform evil, and light can dissolve darkness." His voice was like a great bell, resounding throughout the heavens and the earth. Every word carried the rhythm of the Tao, shaking the clouds into turmoil. "The true meaning of light and darkness is never that one devours the other, but that they coexist and are mutually foundational—just as the alternation of day and night makes time complete; the Cycle of Life and Death reveals the True Intention of reincarnation."
As the light flowed, the shadow of the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil receded like a tide, revealing the previously obscured starry sky. The stars shone brightly again, twinkling with a soft light.
The Twisted Runes crumbled in the golden light, revealing faint, enslaved spiritual light within—the remnants of goodwill from the devoured beings. Now freed in the golden light, they transformed into fireflies, flying into the distance and illuminating the dark sky. Wherever the fireflies passed, the darkness melted away like ice and snow. The dark mist spread out like a spiderweb, freezing the spread of evil thoughts and making every wisp of black energy clearly visible, revealing that its origin was nothing more than unbalanced Spiritual Qi. Soothed by the dark mist, it gradually calmed down, like a raging river flowing into a tranquil lake, even creating gentle ripples.
Madness flashed in the eyes of the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil. He suddenly activated all his power, and the face on his black robe emitted a shrill scream that could tear eardrums. He tried to swallow the light stream back into his belly, but suddenly billions of tiny Tai Chi Symbol split out from the light stream and swarmed into the gaps in his black robe like bees. These were the "Return to Origin Formation" set up by Ren Xiaoyao with the Power of Life and Death. It was specially designed to disintegrate extreme single forces, allowing unbalanced existences to return to their origin and regain the balance of Yin and Yang. When the array diagrams rotated, they emitted a faint hum.
"Ah--!" The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil let out a shrill scream, the sound piercing the clouds and shaking the earth. The hoes in the Southern Region's Medicinal Hut fell from the hands of the herbalists, bouncing rhythmically on the ground. New cracks appeared in the ice of the Far North Ice Plains, and instead of cold air, warm air gushed out, carrying the fragrance of Grass Seeds. Even the waves of the deep sea rose and fell in rhythm with the scream, crashing against the rocks and making a dull echo.
The pure evil within him was being forcibly split apart. One half transformed into cool Moonlight Essence, bringing comfort and tranquility. Wherever it flowed, the malevolent energy in his meridians dissipated, like the solid ice in the cold winter meeting the warm spring breeze, turning into spring water that Nourishing All Things. The other half condensed into warm sunlight, containing vitality and hope. Wherever it passed, the withered flesh and blood even blushed with a faint red, like withered trees coming back to life, revealing the luster of life, and even the blood vessels under the skin were faintly visible.
The two forces clashed and intertwined in his meridians, but could no longer merge into the previous "evil". Instead, they gave rise to a new, peaceful aura, like yin and yang complementing each other. The aura was unfamiliar and frightening to him, yet it also carried an indescribable comfort, as if a soul that had been wandering for millions of years had finally found a harbor to rest in. Even his tense soul relaxed slightly.
The black robe tore apart inch by inch, revealing a withered, lifeless body beneath. The body was covered with cracks, a mixture of old and new, marks left from countless devouring of living beings. Within each crack lay a blurry phantom of a creature. Now, the cracks no longer oozed black mist, but rather a shimmering liquid. Where the liquid landed, tiny blades of grass sprouted, their leaves imprinted with the smiling faces of those devoured—the innocence of a child, the kindness of an elder, the tenderness of a lover. The grass blades swayed gently, as if paying homage to heaven and earth.
Ren Xiaoyao looked at his painful struggle, but did not kill him. In fact, there was a hint of Bei Min in his eyes, as if he were looking at a lost child.
With a flick of his fingertips, the Tai Chi Pill in his palm transformed into a Purple-Gold Chain. The chain was engraved with Dao Patterns of "birth and death," "yin and yang," and "balance." As the Dao Patterns flowed, they emitted a gentle light, gently binding the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil in mid-air. There was no pressure whatsoever, yet he could not break free. The places where the chain touched his body even emitted a faint white light.
With each rotation of the Dao Patterns, a wisp of golden light seeped into his body, purifying the remaining evil thoughts. Where the chains touched, his withered body shone with a faint luster, like parched land receiving sweet rain. New flesh and blood were faintly visible beneath the cracked skin, and even his breathing became steady, no longer as frantic as before.
"You were born in Primordial Chaos, and should have known that the balance of Yin and Yang is the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. However, you were obsessed with devouring one side, trying to destroy good with evil and swallow light with darkness. That's why you ended up in this situation." Ren Xiaoyao's voice was calm but powerful, as if it could reach the depths of the other's soul.
The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil slumped on his chains, the madness in his eyes gradually fading, leaving only bewilderment and confusion. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; he could only stare blankly at the ever-changing power within his body.
He could clearly feel an unprecedented warmth growing within his body. The life essences he had devoured were flying out of him in the form of specks of light, returning to their respective cycles of reincarnation. Some specks of light from woodcutters landed in the mountains and forests, transforming into new saplings. The axe marks from chopping wood were still visible on the trunks, yet new branches sprouted in the spring breeze, and birds even built nests among the branches. Some specks of light from fishermen fell into the sea, condensing into leaping waves. The shadowy image of fishing nets floated in the waves, and the starlight filtering through the mesh formed the rhythm of fishermen's songs. He could vaguely hear the fishermen humming. Some specks of light from children drifted towards the village and entered the womb of a pregnant woman. The woman subconsciously stroked her lower abdomen, a gentle smile appearing on her face. The life within seemed to respond to this warmth, giving a gentle kick that startled the swallows under the eaves, causing them to flutter up and circle the eaves three times before returning to their nests.
These heartwarming scenes stirred strange ripples in his frozen soul, like the first ray of sunlight suddenly shining in during a thousand-year winter, melting the hardest ice in his heart and revealing a softness that had never been touched before. That softness even contained a trace of longing for warmth, something that even he himself found unfamiliar.
"Get out of here." Ren Xiaoyao withdrew some of his power, and the Purple-Gold Chain transformed into a gate of light. Behind the gate was the changing light of dawn and dusk—at sunrise, golden light spilled across the fields, farmers bent over to plant rice seedlings, and the sweat that fell to the ground gave rise to plump ears of rice. The dew on the ears of rice reflected the seven colors of the rising sun, and even the soil had a golden halo; at sunset, the clear moonlight shone on the windowsill, and women bent over to weave cloth. As the silk threads fluttered, they wove patterns of stars, and the stars on the cloth moved with the moonlight, with the coolness of the night dew clinging to the stitches.
Inside the gate, flowers bloom and leaves fall, petals turning into spring mud as they drift down, nourishing new life; in the soil, one can see the seeds gathering strength to break through the earth; birds return to their nests, the wind stirred up by their wings carrying the chirping of their chicks.