"Not good, the Holy City is inside!"
"Don't look! Don't gaze directly at that black mist—it can shock and damage the soul. The mind will become twisted!"
As one beheld the black mist, it was as if they could directly glimpse into an endless abyss. Within that abyss, unspeakable, terrifying monsters could be seen—twisted, ominous entities that caused a deep psychological impact upon mere sight.
Fortunately, everyone on this battlefield was a cultivator. The Abyssal Qi they were exposed to was not the direct gaze into those abyssal horrors, so their resistance was much stronger.
In the Dayi Dynasty, during the day, cultivators tempered their bodies with Solar True Flame, and at night, they refined their souls with Lunar Essence. This was no joke. The willpower honed through this was far beyond that of cultivators in the same realm. If ordinary people were exposed to this abyssal presence, they would have already mutated, with terrifying and unpredictable consequences.
"Hydra—cut off one head, and another grows. As long as even one head remains, it shall be reborn. Hydra is eternal. Hydra never dies."
"We will return."
Whispers echoed incessantly from the depths of the abyssal fog, sending a chill down the spine of all who heard them.
As time passed, the abyssal mists across the battlefield visibly began to recede, as if drawn toward the center—absorbed and devoured.
Before long, all of it vanished.
Once again, the colossal Xuanhuang Holy City emerged in the void.
"Look! The city's surface turned black!"
"Something's wrong. It looks like you can see the Abyss through those black lines... Has the abyssal Qi invaded our Holy City?"
"There are even cracks on the city... Could it have taken damage just now?"
On the Iron-Blood Great Wall, countless soldiers saw dense black veins appearing on the city's walls. The color looked abnormal, eerie, and unnerving.
"The self-detonation of the Heavenly Demon God Weapons truly is formidable. But it still couldn't shake my Xuanhuang Holy City. Though abyssal Qi is terrifying, trying to erode the Holy City is just wishful thinking."
Yi Tianxing stared calmly at the dark mists lingering over the city. He didn't seem concerned. Those abyssal energies would eventually be absorbed and refined by the city itself.
It would take time, of course, but the internal environment of the city wouldn't suffer much. At most, cultivators would have to remain vigilant against whispers from the Abyss during their practice.
"Master, this abyssal Qi contains a trace of the Abyssal Mother's will. Though only a sliver, it's extremely terrifying. Now that it clings to the Holy City, only time can slowly wear it down. Fortunately, our Xuanhuang Holy City is a mystic-type Eternal heaven Ark—it possesses mysterious adaptive traits. As long as it's not destroyed, it will adapt to everything. Once it fully absorbs this abyssal Qi, we'll no longer need to fear such threats. Even the Abyssal Mother's will would find it hard to destroy us. Within the city, no outer demons or heart demons would dare approach."
Fairy Ruyi explained swiftly.
This was indeed a blessing in disguise. The mystic adaptive trait was extraordinarily powerful—it could turn every disaster into nourishment. As long as the city remained intact, survival was assured.
Splash!!
From beneath the Xuanhuang Holy City, a crisp sound of water breaking echoed.
Thanos emerged from the sea, in a wretched state. One of his arms had been completely severed, cracks ran across his body, and strands of black abyssal mist clung to him—still containing remnants of abyssal will.
He couldn't regenerate his lost limb until this will was purged.
Thanos had been swallowed into the Heavenly Demon God Weapons. When Hydra self-detonated, he had taken a massive blow. Without the Infinity Gauntlet, he might have died instantly. Even so, he had suffered heavy injuries.
"Thanos."
Yi Tianxing looked toward him without surprise.
"You think it's that easy to take my life? These abyssal bastards picked the wrong guy."
Thanos glanced around the battlefield and toward the Holy City, his eyes flashing with hidden dread. Even though he was devoured by Hydra, he hadn't been completely cut off from the outside world—he had seen enough to know how powerful the Xuanhuang Holy City truly was.
Overwhelmingly strong.
Strong enough to force Hydra to detonate.
In a blink, the Infinity War Star descended from the void. A flash of light, and Thanos reappeared on the War Star, facing Yi Tianxing from afar.
"I must thank you for cooperating," Yi Tianxing said calmly. "Without that, we couldn't have lured out those rats in the shadows like Hydra. Though not completely destroyed, we've wiped out most of their hidden forces. Going forward, their power will be limited."
Indeed, their earlier battle, while genuine, had also involved secret coordination.
Yi Tianxing and Thanos had reached a covert agreement—create the illusion of a golden opportunity, and bait out Hydra and other hidden forces of Eternal Night.
This whole clash had been a trap, orchestrated by the two of them.
Though there was no guarantee it would succeed, the attempt was worth it. For Thanos, the greatest threat wasn't Dayi, but the hidden plants of Eternal Night embedded across the Eternal World. If he had the chance to wipe them out, he wouldn't pass it up.
And the results were even better than expected.
No one anticipated the destruction of a Heavenly Demon God Weapons.
Had that weapon entered the battlefield intact, the devastation would have been catastrophic. Its destruction was an unparalleled achievement.
Thanos could feel it—even the heavens favored him more now.
After all, he was Heaven's favorite son. No one could compare.
Even better, he had now acquired the Soul Stone, and the Infinity Gauntlet was complete—capable of unleashing its full power.
Unfortunately, the Infinity Gauntlet could not be used without consequence. After activating its full power and snapping once, the Gauntlet's infinite energy was heavily drained.
To use its apocalyptic-level power again, Thanos would have to wait—at least a hundred years.
That kind of power was forbidden.
Still, the other powers of the Gauntlet remained usable.
"Do you wish to fight again?" Yi Tianxing asked.
"This time, you win. Dayi indeed has the right to survive. I've already withdrawn from the Titan Realm. From now on, my Infinity Empire shall become a Predatory Civilization. Wherever the Infinity War Star appears, that shall be my hunting ground. In this world, only the strong deserve to survive. The weak are a waste of resources. If they want to live, they must grow strong. For the sake of the Eternal World, I, Thanos, shall become the sword hanging over all beings. The weak shall die."
Thanos's voice was cold, merciless.
There was no doubt—he was dead serious.
Had Dayi not shown such overwhelming strength and destroyed Hydra's Heavenly Demon God Weapons, he would never have relented.
"Don't worry. Dayi will not give you a chance to plunder. The next time we fight, it'll be your last. You'll stay—in my prison. We already have a cell waiting for you."
Yi Tianxing's words were calm, but final.
Dayi grew stronger with each passing day. Eventually, no one would dare challenge its authority. Not Thanos, not anyone.
Predatory civilizations could go plunder others—but not Dayi.
Dayi's path was that of a righteous dynasty: expanding territory, growing its population, training talent, and increasing its national strength.
That was the foundation of an unending war potential.
"Humph. We'll meet again."
With a cold snort, Thanos turned and vanished into the Infinity War Star. The massive starship tore through the void and disappeared without a trace. He had now truly embarked on the path of a predator.
"Saint King, that Thanos may become a terrifying powerhouse in the future," Liu Bowen said gravely.
Once one reached a certain level of strength, they couldn't be ignored.
"As long as he's part of the Eternal World, no matter how many like him arise, it doesn't matter. Eternal Night remains the true enemy. Hydra alone could summon such vast power—imagine what a full-scale war would look like. What we saw in the past was merely the tip of the iceberg."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. The more he thought, the more alarming it became.
"The Iron-Blood Great Wall—expand it fully. All Dayi armies—launch assaults on the major realms. Any who resist… kill without mercy!"
He pointed outward. The massive nails anchoring the Iron-Blood Barrier were pulled out. The barrier retracted.
Across the battlefield, armies from other realms had already quietly retreated.
At this moment, Dayi had truly become the master of the battlefield.