"Senior, you can make your move now."
The Heaven-and-Earth Avatar spoke to Song Wen.
Song Wen wasted no more time. Endless corpse qi surged from his body.
The corpse qi was pitch-black as ink and churned without cease. In an instant, it enveloped an area dozens of li across, plunging it into darkness as though night had fallen, so deep that one could not see one's own hand.
However, this was merely a smokescreen to keep Qiao Mengyu from discerning the details of his next move.
With a thought from Song Wen, the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword appeared in his hand.
As he poured a steady stream of magical power into it, the Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword gradually began to glow with a deep, dark sword radiance.
"Go!" Song Wen commanded softly.
The Nine Calamities Measuring-Heaven Sword sliced through the corpse qi and shot through the air.
Rip!
A piercing sound like cloth being torn suddenly erupted.
A violent blast of energy swept in every direction, accompanied by incomparably sharp Sword Qi. It shredded the surrounding corpse qi, sending it surging and tumbling into the distance.
With a flash of movement, Song Wen appeared before the Heaven-and-Earth Avatar and Qiao Mengyu, shielding them both from the spreading aftershocks.
By the time the blast of energy and Sword Qi had swept away, the surrounding corpse qi had vanished without a trace.
Several li ahead, a pitch-black rift ten feet long had appeared in midair.
The rift stretched across the air as though heaven and earth had been torn open.
Within it lay unfathomable darkness, without the slightest light or sound.
Absolute darkness, absolute nothingness!
With the corpse qi gone, the howling yellow sand swept in once more.
When the yellow sand blew into the dark rift, it vanished without a trace.