The moment the black light appeared.
It was as though all heaven and earth had dimmed. Endless suction erupted, drawing in the ambient worldly energy, Nirvana Qi, the tangible, the intangible... everything was being absorbed.
The black light expanded rapidly, becoming a black hole hundreds of zhang across and swallowing the great formation that had appeared in the sky.
Teng Kui, who commanded the formation, and the other elders turned pale and spat out mouthfuls of blood.
"This is bad..."
Teng Kui's mind reeled as he watched the formation he had painstakingly prepared be broken just like that. Even someone in the Creation Realm couldn't have broken his formation in an instant.
That left only one possibility: the Nirvana Realm.
A Nirvana Realm expert really had come to a remote place like theirs. Teng Kui was just about to shout that his Yin Puppet Sect had a Creation Realm expert.
Then he saw the black hole, now hundreds of zhang across, sweep down over him. The sky above his head went dark.
At the same time, terrifying suction erupted from within the black hole. Mental Energy, Origin Energy, Qi and blood... Teng Kui felt everything he had being absorbed by it.
Even his consciousness.
Teng Kui vanished into the black hole without so much as a scream.
"This..."
The sudden turn of events made the people of the Great Devil Sect stop what they were doing. Just as they thought they were all about to be sucked in.
The enormous black hole began to shrink, until it was only the size of a fingertip.
It landed in the hand of the youth wearing Daoist robes.
"Not bad."
Fang Yi casually tossed it into his mouth, chewed twice, and digested all the power inside.
This was another ingenious use of the Great Five Elements Spacetime Collapse: using it as a pill furnace.
It refined away every impurity, turning everything into a pill.
With the power of the five elements harmonizing it from within, the result was even more effective than devouring it directly.
"Heaven and earth as the furnace, creation as the craftsman, yin and yang as charcoal, all things as copper. Although I haven't reached that level yet, it's still a good start."
The Great Desolate Ancient Plain, once filled with all manner of sounds, was left with only the sound of the wind blowing.
The people of the Great Devil Sect and the Martial Alliance looked up at the figure in the sky.
Though fierce winds swept across the Great Desolate Ancient Plain, they seemed not to dare offend the godlike youth in the sky, leaving even his robes unstirred.
Fang Yi's gaze fell on Mu Qianqian, and he gave a slight nod. Not bad; she had already grasped the basics of the Heart Demon Scripture.
She had a chance of joining the Dao Sect now.
He then turned into a streak of light and headed toward Gu Mo and the others.
Mu Qianqian was left beaming. The senior nodded at me. Does that mean he approves of what I did?
No, I have to hurry and prepare for the Hundred Dynasties War. I have to join the Dao Sect. Yes.
I also have to help the senior find that cushion.
But I think I have to take part in the Seed Battle before I can go to the Hundred Dynasties War.
Before, Mu Qianqian had never dreamed of attending this gathering of countless heaven's chosen. It was usually attended by the Four Great Clans and the royal family.
They did consider their disciples no weaker than those of the Four Great Clans, but without a Nirvana Realm expert, they still fell a little short.
It looks like I'll have to find a way to make connections with one of the clans, or join one.
In the sky, Gu Mo was also full of surprise.
Even he had felt a hint of danger from that black light just now, and he was in the Death Profound Realm.
He had originally wanted to probe the growing black hole with his Mental Energy, but he found that as soon as his Mental Energy approached it, it was swallowed without any resistance.
Moreover, as the black hole grew larger, the danger he felt grew greater.
In other words, if Fang Yi had let the black hole keep growing, even he would probably have died if he fell into it.
"Taken care of?" Gu Mo asked.
Fang Yi, who had taken Jiang Yinyin's hand again, nodded. He offered no explanation about the black hole, saying instead, "Let's go. It's time to head back."
This trip had been quite fruitful.
Although he hadn't obtained the Ancient Qiankun Formation or the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, he had gained all the Black-Eyed Elder's insights into the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.
For him, that had even saved him the trouble of comprehending the Devouring Ancestral Symbol himself.
It was an enormous windfall.
In this world, the most dependable thing would always be one's own strength.
External objects could increase one's fighting power, but who could guarantee they would never be lost?
Even the Eight Ancient Masters had merely relied on the Ancestral Talismans to walk their own paths. Their constitutions made them unable to unite the eight great Ancestral Talismans as the Symbol Ancestor had.
Thus, after they reached a higher realm, the Ancestral Talismans had instead become shackles to them.
Otherwise, why would the surviving members of the Eight Ancient Masters have given their Ancestral Talismans away?
Wasn't it because the Ancestral Talismans were no longer of much use to them?
Giving them away could instead nurture one expert after another.
The outer sect of the Dao Sect.
A giant peak had been flattened, with an enormous plaza atop it.
The plaza held numerous teleportation runes, connected to teleportation formations in dynasties with close ties to the Dao Sect.
Four figures appeared on the teleportation formation: Fang Yi, Jiang Xue, Jiang Yinyin, and Jiang Lei, who had returned by teleportation formation.
"We're here," Fang Yi said with a smile, holding Jiang Yinyin's hand.
If he had been alone, he naturally wouldn't have needed to use a teleportation formation, but this time he had the Jiang family with him.
Even if he used his power to carry them through the air, the pressure on them would have been immense, and the feeling would have been very uncomfortable.
A teleportation formation was more convenient, though they had to pass through two dynasties before they could reach one that led to the Dao Sect's outer sect.
Teleportation formations that led directly into the Dao Sect could only be used for major events, such as the Hundred Dynasties War, exchanges between sects, the Sect Competition, and so on...
Incredibly dense ambient worldly energy washed over Jiang Lei and Jiang Xue, making them feel as though they were about to suffocate.
They had appeared in an enormous plaza, with people coming and going all around them. Every presence made Jiang Lei and Jiang Xue afraid.
Creation Realm experts, who could reign supreme in Great Desolation Commandery, were everywhere here.
"Th-this is a super sect?"
Jiang Xue marveled. In the outside world, even sensing ambient worldly energy was difficult, but here it was practically being stuffed straight into her mouth.
Feeling it too, Jiang Lei was glad of the decision he had made back then.
If they had stayed in Great Eagle City, it wouldn't have mattered to him, but it would have held back his daughters' martial cultivation.
Jiang Yinyin, whose hand Fang Yi was holding, looked around curiously.
"Senior brother, are we going to live here from now on? It's so big and magnificent!"
"We're not there yet. This is the Dao Sect's outer perimeter. The outer sects of the Dao Sect's four halls are in this area."
"If they can break through to the Nirvana Realm and pass the inner sect assessment, they can enter the true Dao Sect."
Jiang Lei and Jiang Xue exchanged a glance. This was only the outer sect?
What, then, was the true Dao Sect like?
Just then, a figure in the robes of a Dao Sect deacon hurried over. Upon seeing Fang Yi, he hastily cupped his hands. "Young Sect Master."
"Senior Brother Jiang?"
Fang Yi was surprised to see who it was.
Jiang Can was a Five Yuan Nirvana expert of the Desolate Hall.
Feeling that he could no longer make a breakthrough, he had become a deacon and helped the sect with its affairs.
The Dao Sect had many outer sects, and many outer disciples worked for the Dao Sect while cultivating.
They traveled to the many dynasties and cities under the Dao Sect, hunted demonic beasts, refined pills, and so on. These were all sources of income for the Dao Sect.
Otherwise, where would the cultivation resources for so many disciples come from?
They couldn't just appear out of thin air.
The deacons were responsible for managing the outer sects.
These deacons obtained cultivation resources with their next generation in mind.
He was merely a little surprised that Jiang Can had suddenly come looking for him.
There were so many people here, yet Jiang Can had sought him out the moment he appeared. He had clearly been waiting for him.