Malice

Biodata

Background / History

Malice is bound to the Ancient Gods and their beasts. Ancient God bloodlines can carry it, and killing an Ancient God Beast releases malice alongside energy 193 446. Ancient God Beasts use malice to corrode and devour human life; for the beasts themselves, it sustains vitality 501 675.

Xia Hanzhou believed malice could only be scattered, not permanently removed: after a Malice Crystal was destroyed, its dispersed malice could condense again 193. Chen Yan's Will Martial Dao challenged that limit by annihilating malice with Willpower 433 501. He later accepted that fighting it would remain an ongoing struggle, because suffering and cruelty could arise again even if a particular source were destroyed 887.

Manifestations

Malice appears as black mist, smoke, liquid, and crystal. In the cave Chen Yan first confronted, it distorted all five senses and made him perceive a burning, ruined world in place of his surroundings 138. Elsewhere, it flowed as pitch-black liquid from a fountain and filled the Evil Realm's Malice Sea 322 799.

• Malice Crystals — concentrated sources that can be carried or deployed. Sixteen Eighth Order crystals detonated by Ji Chuli spread malice through his own army 760.
• Rules of malice — can exert control beyond ordinary physical corruption; on Myriad Forms Island, converging malice suppressed and directed cultivators against Chen Yan 506 507.
• Abyssal Malice — expanded through the barrier between the outside world and the Evil Realm, eroding both as Fani's severed body parts moved toward reunion 996.

Effects and Limits

Corruption

• Malice magnifies emotional pain, erodes the body, and can distort perception or overwhelm consciousness 138 345 462.
• Once it contaminates flesh, it is difficult to remove and can burrow toward the brain. It can also spread between people 504 793.
• Severe exposure can reduce a person to a controlled attacker or transform them into an Ancient God Beast 500 507.

Resistance

• Qi and Blood and Internal Force can impede malice's spread but cannot extinguish it; Willpower can 793.
• Stronger malice can nevertheless suppress Willpower, while the Heavenly God Armor provides a complete barrier against it 581 657.
• Chen Yan uses malice to temper his Will, though dense Seventh Order malice remains difficult even for him to withstand 417 436.

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Yixian City cave: Chen Yan pushes through malice-induced illusions and destroys the Malice Crystal at the cave's heart with Crimson Heart Fist 138 143.
• Myriad Forms Island: Chen Yan, acting as Bing Yi, attempts to burn malice from his transformed body. The island's malice then converges above Brocade Palace, controls other prodigies, and clashes with his Will Divine Body 500 501 506 507.
• Evil Realm: The Blood-tainted Human Race relies on Pure Lands and protective formations during malicious Tides. Chen Yan enters the Malice Sea to confront Ancient God auras and strengthen his Destruction Will 799 801 874.
• Abyssal crisis: Abyssal Malice breaches the division between worlds. Zhang Huizhi's Willpower protects the martial artists sent into the Evil Realm to prevent Fani's body from reuniting 996.