A low, vibrating hum spread as a crimson formation unfurled over Heavenreach Citadel, swallowing the sky and covering the entire city in a single, terrible sweep.
The sun slowly climbed the horizon, its twilight rays bleeding through the crimson translucent formation.
From within, it resembled a slumbering giant awakening its brilliance spilling upon the mortals below like molten light from a celestial furnace.
"What is this? Is this some Yaochi formation?" murmurs rose among the cultivators who had come from across the Eastern Continent.
"But why does it feel so ominous?"
"It doesn't look like any normal formation…" one voice answered another, and the crowd's chatter swelled into uneasy speculation.
Even the eminent elders and heads of branch families exchanged troubled glances none had been informed of such a thing.
Ye Kaishan's eyes sharpened. Looks like the Corpse Devouring Sect are making their move, he thought, face tightening as he watched ordinary folk clawing at the edge of the crimson veil, desperate to escape.
A horror unfolded in an instant those who touched the formation did not simply recoil their flesh and spirit were drawn like sap from a tree. Bodies went limp, blood and soul drained away until only dried husks remained.
A metallic tang of blood and a choking stillness fell over the plaza. People stepped back, faces drained, and the air thickened with fear.
Song Yan stared at the veil; something clicked in her mind. Her pupils pinched. "This is the Spirit-of-Nether formation," she said under her breath.
Her voice went cold. "One of Shadow Moon Sect's core arrays. It severs all contact with the outside world, folding itself into nature and hiding behind layered illusions. Worse it cannot be broken from inside unless your cultivation far surpasses its core."
So that's why those assassins in black were among the crowd, she realized, the realization hard as stone.
Ye Kaishan channeled space laws within himself. "My powers aren't blocked," he murmured. "I can't pierce the formation, but I can still teleport us out. If things go wrong, I'll take Song Yan and run." His fingers tightened, his gaze a blade.
Hong Lian studied the crimson dome from the high platform. "As I suspected," she said softly. "They've acted. We still have the advantage for now, but they must have anticipated our presence." Her eyelids flickered. A pressure like a gathered storm built behind her eyes.
"Vajra Lotus." The words left her lips like a bell.
Thousands of lotus petals, luminous and sharp, exploded outward in a halo of divine energy toward the formation.
Boom!
The petals scattered and stalled as hundreds of black chakrams whirled into the air, intercepting the holy onslaught.
From the broken ranks stepped a woman carrying a gourd. She smiled as she regarded Hong Lian. "Don't even think about it," she said with a sinister curl to her lips.
Song Yan's gaze locked on the woman the same one from that earlier massacre.
Suddenly, a suffocating saintly pressure crashed down upon her. Her knees buckled, the ground beneath her cracking under the weight. Her fingers trembled; her breath turned shallow.
Saintly pressure…? But who—
Raising her head with effort, she saw Chi Ruo floating effortlessly beside Yin Mo.
"I didn't expect to meet these two," Chi Ruo said with a faint smirk, glancing at Song Yan and Ye Kaishan. "But this is convenient. I won't kill them now… they'll serve as our stepping stones once we enter the Celestial Sky Realm."
Her words echoed coldly, but her smile faltered as her eyes fell upon Ye Kaishan who stood tall and unmoved beneath her saintly might.
"What? He's still standing?"
Ye Kaishan's gaze remained calm, his aura silent yet deep. A strange vibration resonated from within him as faint space-time runes flickered to life.
The Space-Time Soul Tree within his Sea of Consciousness began to devour the oppressive saintly energy surrounding him.
He blinked in mild surprise then smirked faintly. The more pressure Chi Ruo exerted, the more greedily the tree absorbed it.
Seeing Song Yan struggling beside him, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Instantly, the crushing force lifted from her body like mist dissolving under sunlight.
Song Yan gasped softly, opening her eyes. Her gaze flicked to Ye Kaishan, her heart trembling. He's unaffected… even under a Saint's pressure?
Before her stood a man like an unyielding mountain steady, calm, and radiant beneath the red glow.
Chi Ruo's brows furrowed. "What's happening? The more I release my pressure, the more it vanishes… like throwing it into a void."
Yin Mo gave her a glance. "Forget it. We have work to do. Let it go they'll die soon enough inside the realm."
With a wave of her hand, Chi Ruo retracted her aura, still frowning in disbelief.
"Tch," Ye Kaishan murmured with faint disappointment. "It's gone. But the feedback from the tree is good… my qi and blood feel stronger." He clenched his fists, sensing the power coursing through him. "Comparable to late Soul Nirvana."
He turned to Song Yan. "Are you alright?"
"…Yes," she nodded after a pause. "Can you still use your space laws?"
"Yes," he said, forming a ripple of space energy in his palm. "We can teleport out if things go bad."
Song Yan let out a small, relieved breath. "Good. Let's wait and see what they're planning. If any danger falls on us, we depart immediately." Her eyes narrowed as she watched Hong Lian and the others, calculating.
On the martial grounds below, Hong Lian tried to attack again, but each strike was intercepted by Yin Mo. Their clash split the air with violent shockwaves; several weaker cultivators nearby coughed blood from the residual energy.
"Get away from their fight!" "Don't go near!"
Chaos spread as the crowd retreated.
At the back, Shen Yao frowned, eyes narrowing. "Why is Brother Ye on the high wing? Isn't that reserved for high-ranking figures?" He glanced around the restless crowd. "I came to see the tournament, but something feels wrong."
Meanwhile, deep within the martial grounds At the heart of the grounds, Yan Feixue stood before the jade statue of the Yaochi Empress, the dark wooden token in her hand thrumming wildly.
"Found it," she whispered. The dark wooden token in her hand pulsed violently, resonating with something ahead.
The statue shivered; hairline cracks spidered across its surface. With a violent bang, the statue shattered, fragments scattering like ivory rain. In its place, a second dark wooden token rose and hovered.
The masked woman beside her leapt forward, fingers outstretched to seize it but the token flashed, slipping through the air like a streak of light and embedding itself into Yan Feixue's grasp.
The two tokens started to fuse, yet she forced her trembling hand to still, restraining the merged token within her palm as its violent energy pulsed against her skin.
All eyes turned toward them.
"What's happening?" "Who are they?" "Are they… fighting here?"
Panic surged once again.
Ye Kaishan and Song Yan turned their attention to the commotion.
Recognition flickered in Song Yan's eyes as she saw the twin tokens.
The Tokens of the Celestial Sky Realm…! she realized. So they were hidden in the Yaochi statue all along.
"Lian Yu!" Hong Lian shouted.
"I know!" Lian Yu, who had been sitting calmly, rose from his seat. Five other Saints followed, stepping into the air with surging energy.
The masked woman sighed coldly. "Just when I got my hands on the second token…" Her eyes hardened. She drew a blood-red talisman from her sleeve, its aura pulsing with vile power, and flung it into the air.
Ye Kaishan's eyes narrowed. "Wait — that's the same talisman I found!"
The talisman throbbed violently, releasing waves of crimson light that lashed toward the Saints. Within moments, chains of blood energy wrapped around their sea of consciousness.
"My… cultivation—it's suppressed!" "I can't circulate my power!"
One by one, the Saints crashed down to the ground, their faces pale with horror.
Hong Lian groaned, fury flashing in her eyes. "Damn it… how did I fall for their trick?"
"Ha ha ha ha!" Yin Mo's laughter echoed through the air. "You'll pave the path for us, Hong Lian. Consider it your final contribution!"
Yan Feixue raised both tokens, releasing the restraints over them. The twin relics resonated violently, light spilling forth in dazzling torrents.
Here on the High Wing Platform, Song Yan watched intently, her gaze locked onto the merging tokens below.
"Wait… don't tell me—" Realization struck her like a bolt of lightning. She turned sharply toward Ye Kaishan, her lips parting as determination flashed in her eyes.
"When you enter the Celestial Sky Realm, try to reach its core," she said firmly.
"What?" Ye Kaishan frowned, confusion flickering across his face but before he could ask further, the words were swallowed by blinding radiance.
The light erupting from the tokens grew so intense it devoured the entire arena, flooding the city in shimmering brilliance.
In that final moment, Song Yan's image dissolved into white, and everyone present Ye Kaishan, Hong Lian, the saints, and the countless cultivators was drawn into the surging vortex of light.
The world faded. And thus their figures descent into the Celestial Sky Realm.