Thunder cracked across the darkened sky.
Black lightning surged through the heavens like cursed veins, splitting clouds with a wrath that seemed almost alive. Deep within the shattered ruins of a forgotten battlefield, the air was thick — not with mist, but with whispers. Voices of those long dead, murmuring secrets through the wind.
Shi Hao stood still.
His golden eyes stared into the swirling darkness ahead. Blood trickled down the side of his face, staining the collar of his tattered robe. Yet he remained unmoving, like a mountain in the middle of a hurricane.
Fang Han approached from the smoke — the void behind him folding like paper. Each step he took was silent, but the world responded with tremors.
"Why do you hesitate, Shi Hao?" Fang Han's voice cut through the silence like a scythe. "Is the Heaven Mending Sutra no longer enough?"
Shi Hao clenched his fists. Black lightning surged down his arms, sparking violently around his skin.
"You're not supposed to exist," Shi Hao growled. "You… died during the Fall of the Immortal Abyss."
Fang Han's lips curled into a crooked smile. "Then why do I stand before you now?"
For a brief moment, Shi Hao glimpsed something behind Fang Han. A shadow. A robed figure—tall, faceless, its body made of shifting smoke. The source of the black lightning.
A puppet master.
"He's being used."
Shi Hao's instincts screamed. He pushed forward, tearing through the terrain like a thunderbolt.
Fang Han raised one palm. A sphere of Void Origin Flame erupted outward, swallowing the strike whole. The impact triggered an explosion that shattered the nearby mountains into dust.
Shi Hao flew back, coughing blood. But his eyes didn't waver.
"It's not just you," Shi Hao said darkly. "Someone… something is pulling the strings behind this war."
Fang Han said nothing — but a flicker of conflict shone in his eyes. Just for a second.
The earth split.
Suddenly, space cracked open beside them. Nie Li emerged, wrapped in a storm of inscription patterns and spiritual seals. His eyes locked onto Fang Han, then Shi Hao.
"You sensed it too, didn't you?" Nie Li said coldly. "This battle… isn't about domination. It's about harvesting."
"Harvesting what?" Shi Hao asked, standing.
Nie Li raised his hand. His spirit ring glowed — a projection appeared: images of ruined worlds, divine beasts turned into energy, ancient tombs cracked open unnaturally.
"Someone is gathering fate energy from fallen worlds. And every time one of us dies… it grows stronger."
Fang Han's body stiffened.
Black lightning surged again—stronger this time—ripping apart the sky. From the torn firmament, a gigantic eye blinked open.
A celestial eye. Its iris burned with rotating formations. It wasn't human. It wasn't even alive in the traditional sense.
Nie Li gasped. "That's... not a god. It's a devourer. A parasite."
Shi Hao turned to Fang Han. "If we keep fighting each other, we're doing its work."
For the first time, Fang Han's hand trembled.
The whispers returned, louder now. The black lightning responded — cracking toward him, trying to reassert control.
"I—can't—" Fang Han dropped to one knee. His aura flickered. "It's in my soul…"
Then from above, a booming voice echoed:
> "He who hesitates will be consumed."
The eye in the sky narrowed, and black spears of thunder launched downward — straight toward Fang Han.
Shi Hao didn't hesitate. In a blur, he appeared before Fang Han and raised both arms.
Golden flames erupted from his body — True Divine Flame — clashing with the black lightning.
The entire plain was illuminated with the clash of cosmic forces.
Nie Li, drawing formation runes mid-air, muttered urgently, "If we don't seal that eye, everyone here will be reduced to fuel."
He summoned a Temporal Lock Array, inscribing it with blood. "I'll handle the eye. Buy me two minutes!"
Shi Hao nodded. His gaze turned to Fang Han.
"Stand up," he said. "You're stronger than this darkness."
Fang Han's breathing steadied. Slowly, he stood. His aura surged again, but this time—cleansed. The black lightning recoiled.
Behind them, Nie Li chanted ancient runes.
Suddenly, Lin Feng arrived in a storm of swords. "You fools almost died before I could kill you myself," he said with a smirk.
Shi Hao gave him a rare grin. "Glad you could make it."
The five of them now stood on the same side, even if only for now.
Above, the black eye began to tremble.
The devourer had been noticed.
The gods had stopped killing each other — and had turned their gaze to the real enemy.
---
To be continued in Chapter 8…