Suppressing the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil
Three days later at midnight, the Floating Island was shrouded in a thick, inky night fog. The fog seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, pressing heavily on the sea of clouds surrounding the island. Even the lightest breeze could not penetrate this thick layer—it was as if all the darkness in the world had been crushed and poured into this airspace, and even starlight had to exert all its strength to barely squeeze through a crack.
The mist droplets were about the size of a fingertip, each containing fragments of starlight—not ordinary starlight, but a rainbow of colors: red like flickering candlelight, blue like surging deep sea, and purple like flowing mist. It was as if someone had crushed the entire Milky Way and scattered it into the mist, and with a gentle shake, it flowed out fine silver light, falling onto the Crystal Moss on the cliff face, stirring up a series of tiny tremors of light. These tremors spread along the moss, gradually synchronizing with the twinkling frequency of the Star Orbit in the sky.
The shadow of the ancient pine tree on the cliff edge swayed gently in the wind. Its gnarled branches cast a flowing ink painting on the cliff face, where the old roots twisted and turned like layered mountains, and the new branches stretched out like winding rivers. The moon's reflection floated in the dewdrops hanging from the pine needles. The moon's reflection was not a single moon, but countless tiny crescent moons, gathering and dispersing with the rolling of the dewdrops. Even the sound of the dripping was as soft as a sigh. When it hit the bluestone slab, it produced a clear "tinkling" sound, which subtly matched the rhythm of the distant tide. The tranquility between heaven and earth seemed to solidify into a tangible reality. Standing on the edge of the cliff, one could clearly hear the rhythm of one's own heartbeat resonating with the Star Orbit. With each breath, it seemed to be in sync with billions of stars, and even the sound of one's blood flowing became a whisper of the universe.
Ren Xiaoyao sat cross-legged in the halo formed by the Tai Chi Pill. The halo was like a layer of flowing Glazed Ice, within Glazed Ice were hidden fine gold sand and black crystals. The gold sand was the first rays of dawn, and the black crystals were the lingering night mist, enveloping his entire body in the center. Even the folds of his clothes were filled with interwoven patterns of light and darkness. These patterns undulated along the fabric, like the first boundary at the Beginning of Heaven and Earth, blurring the distinction between light and darkness.
The Purple-Gold Airflow flowing around him rose and fell in sync with the Star Orbit in the sky. When he inhaled, the Big Dipper brightened a little, and a faint golden light appeared in the direction the handle of the dipper pointed. The golden light was like molten gold flowing slowly along the Star Orbit. When he exhaled, the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper dimmed a little, and dark ripples spread out at the edge of the star cluster. The ripples were like thick ink in an inkstone, spreading layer by layer in the void, as if resonating with the breath of heaven and earth. Even the foundation of the Floating Island rose and fell slightly with this rhythm.
A tiny Tai Chi Seal floated between his brows, its edges swirling with Primordial Chaos mist. The mist was neither black nor white, neither bright nor dark, and flickered with his breath. When he inhaled, his yang fish eyes shone like the rising sun, and in the light, one could see the phantom of Kuafu Chasing the Sun; when he exhaled, his yin fish eyes were as deep as a cold pool, and in the darkness, the serene beauty of Chang'e Flying to the Moon was hidden.
Deep within the sea of consciousness, billions of points of light Star Rivers Flowing, each ray containing the rhythm of birth and death: some points of light explode into a tree full of blossoms, their petals still glistening with the coolness of morning dew; some annihilate and solidify into a stubborn rock, its crevices marked by the passage of time; some collide and give birth to new Light Orb, Light Orb containing the throbbing of nascent life; some, before dissipating, cast a final ray of warm light, a warm light carrying the tenderness of farewell.
Suddenly, a faint sound of spatial folds came from the depths of the fog. The sound was lighter than the flapping of a mosquito's wings, yet it was like a fine needle piercing a taut eardrum, piercing Ren Xiaoyao's ears sharply. It was as if someone was gently scraping the barrier of the void with their fingernail, each scrape carrying a tooth-grinding, sluggish quality.
Since he Heaven and Earth Resonance, he could clearly see the wind and grass moving within a radius of Fang Yuan miles: the force with which the herbalists in the Southern Region turned the soil, even the collision of soil particles could be clearly discerned; the crisp sound of grass Grass Seeds breaking through the frozen soil in the Far North Ice Plains plains, mixed with the faint sound of ice shards cracking; the frequency of the tail swaying of deep-sea silverfish, perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the ocean currents, could all be clearly perceived, let alone this malicious spatial fluctuation—that fluctuation contained a frenzy that tore everything apart, as if countless blunt knives were cutting through the void, each cut accompanied by an unwilling roar.
He didn't lift his eyelids, but a barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of his lips. There was no mockery in that curve, only understanding, as if he had already foreseen this belated entanglement. Even the trembling of his eyelashes carried a calm that knew everything.
Ripples spread across the Tai Chi Pill in his palm, and the Primordial Chaos mist flowing within the pill suddenly condensed, like a taut bowstring. The bowstring seemed to be filled with the power of the Beginning of Heaven and Earth, and even the surrounding mist droplets stopped swaying, as if holding their breath and waiting for a destined duel. The starlight fragments in the mist droplets condensed into needle-sized pieces, exuding a wary and cold glint, like countless eyes watching from the shadows.
"Sizzle--"
A gray-black Claw Shadow tore through the mist, its tip carrying distorted spatial ripples. Those ripples, like crumpled paper, shredded the starlight fragments that passed by into dust. Within the dust, faint sounds of struggling light particles lingered, like the final sobs of stars.
A more concentrated malevolence than before, enveloped in an icy stillness, instantly froze the mist droplets into black ice Ice Crystals wherever it passed. Within these Ice Crystals, countless struggling phantoms could be seen—the Remnant Souls of Living Beings, still putting up their final resistance. As they fell, they shattered into dust, with black smoke rising from the particles. Upon landing, the smoke transformed into tiny black insects, gnawing at the ground beneath their feet.
The Claw Shadow- like shadow aimed straight for Ren Xiaoyao's back, carrying a ruthless ferocity that devoured all life force. It even tore a black rift in the air, and cold "nothingness" kept seeping from the edge of the rift—that "nothingness" was more terrifying than absolute darkness, Void that could not even be defined as "non-existence," as if it could devour all concepts.
The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil was hiding in the shadows of the mist bead. The facial runes on the edge of his black robe were more distorted than before. Some faces were stretched out like ropes, with eyes bulging into terrifying circles; others were squeezed flat like cakes, their mouths and noses twisted into eerie slits. The blood and tears flowing from his eyes condensed into tiny black snakes in mid-air, their tongues spitting out a corrosive aura—that aura landed on the cliff, etching fine holes in them, from which black smoke rose. Floating in the smoke were the corroded Rock Spirit, writhing in agony, their cries clearly audible.
"Unrepentant."
Ren Xiaoyao's voice echoed at the edge of the cliff, clear and melodious like metal striking stone. Each word transformed into a golden ripple, dispersing the surrounding black mist. Where the ripples passed, the black mist melted like ice and snow, revealing the starlight that had been obscured behind it. Those starlights, like sleeping lions awakened, suddenly shone brighter.
Before the words were finished, the purple-gold aura around him suddenly exploded, transforming into countless rotating Light Wheel of Light Wheel were engraved with Tai Chi Patterns, within which floated the phantoms of life and death—flowers blooming, their petals unfurling with the weight of morning dew; leaves falling, their turning leaves concealing the whispers of the autumn wind; people being born, their cries wrapped in curiosity about the world; people dying, their sighs carrying a reluctance to leave the past.
When it rotates, it emits a buzzing sound like the Beginning of Heaven and Earth. The sound contains the weight of mountains and rivers taking shape (like hearing the muffled sound of the earth's crust colliding, with the tremors of rock layers breaking), and the surging power of rivers rushing by (like hearing the roar of giant waves crashing on the shore, with the dampness of water vapor churning). Even the air trembles slightly with this buzzing sound, as if the world is resonating with this power.
The Claw Shadow struck the Light Wheel like red-hot iron being smashed into a boiling furnace, instantly sizzling and crackling. A burnt smell wafted from the gray-black mist—the smell of evil thoughts being scorched, accompanied by the painful groans of a soul being purified. Even the surrounding night fog was tinged with a faint golden-red hue. Within the golden-red mist, countless tiny evil thoughts could be vaguely seen struggling, dissolving, and turning into wisps of blue smoke that drifted away.
The figure of the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil staggered out of the mist, his black robe bearing several scorch marks from which white smoke rose. Within the smoke floated fragments of purified runes, the outlines of human faces still remaining on them. Yet, these fragments now carried a sense of liberation and peace, emitting a sigh of relief as if they had finally escaped endless suffering.
On the exposed, withered body, a half-black, half-gold sap was seeping from the newly opened wounds—the power that had been purified last time had not been fully tamed, and now, forcibly urging evil thoughts had only caused the balance within the body to be completely disrupted. The sap swirled at the wounds, like two equally matched forces vying for power.
The liquid fell to the ground, half turning into ice, the ice freezing the phantoms of stars, those stars still holding the last moment before extinguishing, carrying a resentful dimness; the other half burning into flames, the flames carrying the ashes of grass and trees, the ashes hiding the sigh of life's end. Where ice and fire intertwined, strange patterns were burned into the ground, patterns that resembled Tai Chi yet were twisted, like an unbalanced Yin-Yang Fish, the eyes of the fish being empty Void.
"You think your meager skills can trap me?" he roared, his voice filled with the pain and resentment of being burned. Every word caused the surrounding mist droplets to explode, and the starlight fragments inside the mist droplets flew out like tiny knives, tearing through the curtain of night.
The surrounding shadows surged wildly, transforming into a ferocious beast phantom that blotted out the sky: this beast had nine heads, one like a wolf with exposed fangs stained with congealed Black Blood; one like an eagle with a hooked beak that gleamed with a cold light; one like a snake with a forked tongue that emitted a venomous stench... Each mouth devoured the surrounding light, making the night on the Floating Island even darker, and even the starlight became thin, sparse lines.
The black liquid dripping from the fangs eroded deep pits into the rocks at the edge of the cliff, and the pits continued to expand. The rubble at the edge turned into black ash as soon as it got close. In the ash, one could see the spirits of the rocks weeping silently. Those spirits still retained the shape of the stones, but trembled slightly in the ash heap. "Today I will let you taste the pain of a thousand evils devouring your heart!"
The moment the ferocious beast's phantom pounced, Ren Xiaoyao flicked his finger, and the Tai Chi Pill transformed into a barrier of light and darkness that stretched across the heavens and earth.
From the golden light on the left side of the barrier, the phantom of all things growing emerged: the crisp sound of tender buds pushing through stubborn rocks made the phantom of the ferocious beast retreat repeatedly; the crisp sound contained the tenacity of breaking through the soil, as if it could overcome all obstacles; the tenacity of vines climbing upwards around ancient trees prevented the beast's claws from reaching down; the thorns on the vines gleamed with golden light, as if they were resisting the right to grow, every inch of their entanglement carrying an unyielding stubbornness; the dazzling light of blooming flowers made the beast squint, and the dew on the petals reflected Seven-Colored Rosy Clouds, dispelling some of the beast's ferocity, and the sweet fragrance of pollen wafted in the glow.
Hidden within the ink mist on the right are the Star Annihilation. With each trace, the claws of the ferocious beasts melt away, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun. Even the hardest bone spurs turn into flowing water and merge into the ink mist. Floating within the ink mist is the last gentle halo of a star before its demise, as if soothing the fear of its demise. That halo carries the star's final glance at the universe.
"You possess an inherent potential for balance, yet you stubbornly cling to the obsession with devouring." Ren Xiaoyao rose, his body enveloped in a flurry of light and dark energy, each movement concealing Tai Chi Pattern. As these small Tai Chi symbols spun, they scattered fine dust of light onto the blades of grass, giving them a faint sheen, as if even the plants themselves were comprehending the Path of Balance. "Since you refuse to awaken on your own, then let heaven and earth teach you."
He raised his hand to activate the Spiritual Qi of the Floating Island's earth veins. Suddenly, the Crystal Moss on the cliff face lit up, and the Star Orbit Patterns on the moss formed a huge Return to Origin Formation. The edges of the array glowed with Seven-Colored Rosy Clouds, echoing the Milky Way in the sky. The starlight of the Milky Way flowed along the patterns of the array, making the array's light even more dazzling, and even the air was filled with the aura of stars.
As the array rotates, the minty scent of the Southern Region Medicinal Field flows along the array's patterns, carrying a refreshing vitality. Floating in the fragrant mist are the phantom images of hoes turning the soil, and within those images, one can even see the trails of splashing soil. The Plant Aura from the Far North Ice Plains, mingled with the crispness of Snow Water, seeps into every Dao Patterns of the array. Hidden within the cold is the resilience of Grass Seeds pushing through the frozen earth, a resilience capable of penetrating even the hardest ice shell. The Spiritual Charm of deep-sea silverfish, imbued with the salty moisture of the sea, condenses into a water column at the center of the array. Within this column, one can see the silverfish gracefully swaying their tails, and the ripples created by their tail fins as they glide across the water's surface are clearly visible.
The three elements merged and condensed in mid-air into a long halberd that was half black and half gold: the tip of the halberd flowed with the Life and Death Qi, the golden light seemed to be the rising sun, reflecting the silhouette of birds flying across the sea, and the water droplets brought up by the birds' wings shimmered with seven colors; the dark part concealed the moon setting and the stars sinking, floating with the gentleness of nocturnal animals returning home, and the soft sound of beast claws stepping on fallen leaves was hidden in it.
The halberd is engraved with patterns of heaven and earth. When it turns, you can hear the sound of the wind blowing across the grassland (with the rustling sound of grass blades rubbing against each other), the sound of rain falling on the eaves (with the thud of tiles being caught), and the sound of snow covering the mountains and forests (with the creaking sound of branches bearing the weight), as if you are holding the rhythm of the whole world.
The moment the halberd pierced the air, it carried the momentum of World Creation. Ripples spread across the space along the trajectory of the halberd tip, and floating in the ripples were the phantoms of the Beginning of Chaos —the lightness of the rising pure energy and the heaviness of the sinking turbid energy were clearly visible in these ripples.
The monstrous phantom of the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil let out a mournful howl, the sound piercing through the clouds and causing giant waves to rise on the distant sea. The waves stirred up the fear of countless deep-sea creatures, whose eyes gleamed in the darkness, revealing their awe of this power.
The spot touched by the halberd shattered like Glazed Ice, and from the fragments emerged the smiling faces of countless creatures he had devoured: a farmer holding a stalk of rice with satisfaction, the grains plump like pearls, the husks still warm from the sun; a scholar intently studying under the lamp, the pages turning, the scent of ink wafting through the air, his thirst for knowledge hidden between the lines; a mother gently cradling her infant, the baby's laughter like silver bells, its dimples brimming with innocent sweetness.
Those smiling faces nodded to Ren Xiaoyao, then turned into points of light and merged into the array diagram, making the array diagram even more dazzling. Even the glow at the edge of the array diagram was tinged with a warm hue, as soft as the sunset, dispelling the last trace of coldness.
"No--!" The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil attempted to escape, unleashing a dense black mist around his body. Countless distorted Space Rift Rift within the black mist, like greedy mouths trying to tear through the void to escape, but they continued to shrink under the light of the array diagram.
He found that his feet were already entangled by the purple-gold vines that had sprouted from the array. The Dao Patterns on the vines tightened like chains. With each tightening, a wisp of evil thought was drawn from his body and transformed into spiritual liquid that nourished the vines. The spiritual liquid carried a purified peace, making the vines even greener.
Half-black and half-white flowers bloomed on the vines, with Tai Chi Pattern imprinted on the petals. The fragrance of the flowers carried a purifying power—a power as gentle as spring rain, falling on his tense soul, causing his divine thoughts, which had been distorted by years of devouring, to loosen slightly. It was as if he had smelled a trace of clarity in the Primordial Chaos, and that clarity contained a peace he had never felt before.
Ren Xiaoyao swept his halberd across the land, the light trails it created cascading like Heavenly River. Within these golden rays lay the vitality of all things growing: the crisp sound of tender buds breaking through the soil (with the stubbornness of pushing through the earth), the chirping of fledglings hatching (wrapped in the curiosity of seeing the world for the first time), and the gentle trembling of Flower Buds opening (hiding the expectation of displaying beauty); within the inky light flow lay the tranquility of returning to Annihilation: the soft murmur of Fallen Leaves Return to Roots (with the relief of returning to their origin), the sigh of extinguished stars (wrapped in the satisfaction of completing their mission), and the whisper of melting snow (hiding the gentleness of merging into the earth).
The two intertwined, like the first vortex at the Beginning of Heaven and Earth, completely tearing apart the shadows surrounding the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil. As the shadows dissipated, they let out a sigh of relief, as if they had finally let go of their obsession of billions of years.
As the black robe turned to ashes and drifted in the air, the runic faces let out a sigh of relief, transforming into specks of starlight that dissipated and flew towards the lands where they had once dwelled—some landed on the ridges of fields, some drifted towards studies, and some flew towards cradles; on the exposed bodies, the cracks where old and new intertwined were simultaneously soaked by golden light and ink mist, and what seeped from the cracks was no longer malevolence, but a spiritual liquid with a warm luster—that spiritual liquid fell to the ground and gave rise to a verdant meadow, the dewdrops on the grass reflecting a complete Tai Chi Symbol, even the veins of the grass blades faintly matching the Tai Chi Patterns, and tiny flowers blooming among the meadow, their petals half gold and half black, swaying in the wind and making a harmonious soft sound, like a wordless ballad.
As the last wisp of evil thought was drawn away by the array, the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil collapsed to the ground. His withered body was tinged with a faint blood-red hue, as if land that had been parched for millions of years had finally found moisture. A flowing halo could be faintly seen beneath his skin, and within that halo lay the Hope of Life.
The madness in his eyes completely faded, leaving only endless exhaustion and bewilderment. He gazed at the newly formed warmth in his palm—a warmth that contained the temperature of sun-dried bedding (with the softness of cotton), the Moonlight Essence spilling onto the windowsill (wrapped in the coolness of the night breeze), and the tranquility by the Stove Fire (containing the warmth of human life). It was a peace he had never felt before, a peace like a still pond, reflecting a version of himself he had never seen before.
He opened his mouth, but only let out a hoarse sigh. The sigh lacked its previous ferocity, leaving only a bewilderment about the past, as if asking himself: What was the purpose of billions of years of devouring? In that endless darkness, besides emptiness, what did he gain?
Ren Xiaoyao retracted his halberd, Return to Origin Formation slowly contracted, trapping the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil in the central Tai Chi Ring. The light circle was not large, but it was like an independent small world, containing the true meaning of balance.
The swirling Light and Darkness Qi within the halo acted as a barrier, isolating it from external disturbances while continuously supplying a balanced Daoist rhythm: at the edge of the halo, there were sometimes illusory images of blooming flowers (the magnificence of peonies, the elegance of orchids, the pride of chrysanthemums), their petals turning into spring mud as they fell, nourishing new life; at other times, there was the serene beauty of falling leaves (the fiery red of maple leaves, the golden yellow of ginkgo, the dark green of pine needles), the decaying leaves nourishing new seedlings, allowing the trapped Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil to clearly feel the rhythm of Cycle of Life and Death, a rhythm like an ancient ballad, gently soothing his restless soul, even his breathing gradually becoming steady.
"For the next hundred years, let us meditate here in stillness." Ren Xiaoyao's voice was calm and undisturbed, yet it carried an undeniable power. Each word transformed into a ray of light, imprinted on the Tai Chi Ring. Those ray of light flowed with his voice, like eternal vows, "When will you understand that light and darkness are not opposites, but one? Only then can you leave."
Outside the aperture, the Star Orbit Patterns of the Crystal Moss swayed gently, as if softly chanting for this complete suppression. The chant contained the peace of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, intertwining with the tides of the Floating Island (the rise and fall of which carried the breath of the deep sea), the distant wind (the whispers of grass and trees as it passed through the forest), and the chirping of insects in the forest (the subtle sounds that contained the rhythm of life) to form a harmonious movement. Even the air trembled slightly with this melody.
The airflow over the Floating Island returned to normal, synchronizing with Ren Xiaoyao's breathing once more. As he inhaled, a portion of the sea of clouds around the island surged in, like the expansive embrace of heaven and earth; as he exhaled, the sea of clouds receded slightly, like the gentle Inhale and Exhale of the universe.
Only on the needles of the ancient pine trees by the cliff, a few dewdrops, shimmering with a faint, yin-yang glow, clung to the leaves, sparkling in the moonlight—a glow that seemed to flow with gold and ink, an embrace of yin and yang. Occasionally, a drop would fall and land on the meadow, creating tiny ripples of light, like the lingering echo of the heartbeat of heaven and earth, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
The night fog gradually dissipated like a light veil, revealing the night sky that had been obscured by the thick fog. After being cleansed by the night fog, the night sky appeared exceptionally clear, as if it had been wiped clean.
The stars in the night sky were brighter than usual, their faint yet resolute light shining as if revealing the Mysteries of the Universe to the world. The lights of the Big Dipper Southern Dipper intertwined in the sky, forming a huge and mysterious Tai Chi Pattern, its outline appearing and disappearing, inspiring endless imagination.
The Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil stood silently within the halo, slowly closing his eyes as if sensing the power emanating from the tranquil night sky. His withered fingertips unconsciously rubbed his palms, where a trace of warmth seemed to linger. This warmth might have come from some emotion deep within his heart, or perhaps from some connection he shared with this world.
The black robes of the Heavenly Emperor of Extreme Evil turned to ashes in the night wind, these ashes, like specks of silver light, quietly blending into the meadow beneath his feet. Under the moonlight, the meadow shimmered with a faint silver glow, as if a thin veil had been draped over it. This silver glow seemed to be telling a story of redemption spanning billions of years, and this was only the beginning.