The Decaying World

Black Cloud.

The floating mountain.

Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian stood calmly within the formation at the mountain’s peak, gazing at a brown cloud of mist rapidly approaching in the distance.

Within the cloud, enormous, purplish-black Moth Cars flew in formation.

The so-called cloud of mist was actually poisonous powder naturally scattered from the bodies of these Moth Cars.

It was only because the quantity of powder was so immense that it formed such a massive brown cloud.

Atop the foremost Moth Car stood three three-eyed Fog People, each with a different build.

One of the three was short, not even 1.3 meters tall, with black hair and black eyes. He looked like a dwarf.

The second was tall and slender, dressed in a loose, black-and-white robe, resembling a stilt-walking acrobat.

The third had the head of a shark. A Curved Saber hung at his waist, and his form-fitting black clothes highlighted a solid, powerful physique.

These three were members of the Three-Island Alliance who had come to gather at Black Cloud.

All three were Fog People, and quite powerful. As the turmoil in the outside world grew, many refugees had flocked to Black Cloud to join forces and resist potential future crises.

At first, Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian were pleased. After all, with the arrival of experts, battles were bound to be easier.

But as more and more experts arrived, including even Blood Ancestors and Fog People, they grew wary.

Now, with Big Brother Xie absent, their combined strength was enough to handle three or four Fog People, but if more were to come...

This Three-Island Alliance had been formed by three Fogman City Lords whose own cities had vanished.

Unlike Fog People such as Tuyue, who had risen to the Upper Rank through connections, these three were all bona fide combat veterans.

It was said that one of them was even a City Lord from the Hongyin Empire.

Clearly, under the current circumstances, Hong Yin was also in dire straits.

Watching the Three-Island Alliance arrive, Gongsun Xinlian and Zhang Yao, though worried, took the initiative to fly up and greet them.

Regardless, these were top-tier experts seeking refuge in a time of crisis; they couldn’t just turn them away.

"I wonder where Big Brother and Ah Hui are now..." Gongsun Xinlian transmitted her thoughts softly.

"Big Brother sent word earlier. He said he’s temporarily trapped in a secret realm and is trying to find a way out. Ah Hui is out gathering herbs and can’t come back for now. It’s up to us to hold the fort. But..." Zhang Yao paused. "Ah Hui said that if we run into an emergency, we can also ask our fellow disciples from Clearwind Dao for help."

Hearing this, Gongsun Xinlian’s mind couldn’t help but flash to the faces of those psychopathic fellow disciples from Clearwind Dao.

Master Yunxia, Pang Jiu, Su Yaping, Xia Si—those four were the strongest among them. But...

Aside from Pang Jiu, who was somewhat normal, the rest of them...

"Su Yaping is still reliable. He’s quite level-headed," Zhang Yao transmitted.

Now that he had truly joined Clearwind Dao and received the blessing of the Dharma Seal, he finally understood that the strength of these few senior brothers in the Dao had already surpassed that of the other Blood Ancestors and Deputy City Lords in the city.

How long had it been? They had broken through from the level of a Blood Ancestor who had just entered the city to their current Realm.

For an ordinary Blood Ancestor, this amount of time might be spent in a single session of secluded meditation.

But for Clearwind Dao... it was practically a leap in enhancement.

"Su Yaping... he actually has problems too," Gongsun Xinlian transmitted helplessly.

"What kind of problems?" Zhang Yao asked, puzzled.

"Do you know how he came to Black Cloud?"

"I didn’t pay attention. What’s wrong?"

"He slaughtered all his family and friends. He chose to follow the Daoist Master only to pursue ultimate power. I’ve gathered intel on him before. The guy has a habit of nurturing friends and family only to ’harvest’ them all at once to stimulate his own growth in strength..."

"..."

Zhang Yao was speechless. It seemed that among the entire group, Pang Jiu was the only one who was even remotely reliable.

And that was only because Pang Jiu was the normal Fog Person they had planted back then to test the waters.

*Sigh...*

Watching the approaching Fog People of the Three-Island Alliance, Gongsun Xinlian and Zhang Yao both sighed inwardly at the same time.

’No matter what, let’s observe the Three-Island Alliance first. Maybe they won’t be as troublesome as we think.’

At this moment, both of them were thinking the same thing.

*

*

*

「Zhenlong Divine Palace.」

Lin Hui sat cross-legged in the center, an invisible, transparent airflow circulating around him, isolating him from all contact with the outside world.

His entire focus was currently gathered on the next step: the second evolution of the Blood Seal.

Evolving something a second time was something he rarely did. Multiple evolutions consumed an immense amount of energy and time.

But this time, with the support of a massive amount of Treasure Medicine, there was hope this evolutionary attempt could be completed quickly.

He was now carefully staring at the six available evolution branches for the Jiuxiao Sect of Clearwind.

’1—Wind Seal Sect: Located deep within the Wind Calamity, a supreme holy land that ruled over many planes. It was always a major force in the long fight against the Wind Calamity. Its members were the most elite geniuses and powerhouses from all major planes. The Sect was later annihilated in the cataclysm of the Source Calamity.’

’2—Myriad Sea Abyss: A top-tier faction jointly established by the nine strongest abyssal wills. With the principle of using pollution to fight pollution, it took up the banner of fighting the Wind Calamity after the demise of the Wind Seal Sect. Its members possessed extremely strong life force, but in the prolonged struggle, their wills could not resist the Wind Calamity’s corruption, leading to large-scale self-destruction and their ultimate demise.’

’3—Cold Seal City: Gathered the most profound top-tier researchers of the Dharma Seal from many worlds, it was the most brilliant landmark of material science. It once joined forces with the Myriad Sea Abyss to resist the Wind Calamity, but was later destroyed by an internal explosion of its Astral Energy Furnace.’

’4—Demon God Hall: Jointly built by top-tier Demon Emperors from various realms. It was both a fortress and a weapon of war for fighting the Wind Calamity.’

’5—Eye of Illusion: A mysterious region located at the boundary between the Wind Calamity and the Cold Calamity. It is shaped like an eye, not artificially formed, and possesses innate effects such as special spatial stretching.’

’6—Demon Fragrance Sect: A Sect created by the formless, colorless, and imageless Heart Source Demon Ancestor. Located in the Sea of Consciousness, it perpetually roams the Celestial River of Memory, its existence fluctuating between reality and illusion, a faint fragrance drifting from it. It was later destroyed in the Da Jimie, a confluence of the Wind Calamity, where all life was completely silenced.’

"..." These six branches, compared to the previous tiers, were clearly on a completely different level.

Just the brief introductions were enough to fill Lin Hui with the joy of finally being able to get a proper upgrade.

But as for which one to choose, he first did a simple round of filtering.

’First, I hope to maintain my human form as much as possible. Even if Cultivation makes me stronger, abruptly changing into another form is still somewhat hard to accept.’

At least, he himself had this preference.

So, the Myriad Sea Abyss was the first to be eliminated. He clicked on the option to learn about it in detail.

’Myriad Sea Abyss: The nine abyssal wills respectively grant its members nine major traits. Upon completion of the evolution, the Dharma Seal’s effects are retained, and nine additional traits are gained (Telepathy, Berserk, Toxin Immunity, Elemental Resistance, Damage Reduction, Dark Corrosion, Random Spell-like Abilities, Abyssal Revival, Corruption Aura).’

Lin Hui quickly scanned the abilities. Among them, Abyssal Revival was outrageously powerful. As long as one was outside the Myriad Sea Abyss, no matter where they died, they would instantly turn to ash and then be reborn within the Sea Abyss, achieving a form of immortality. The only way to stop it was to completely destroy the Myriad Sea Abyss.

But these nine traits also dictated that the soul of any being who entered the Myriad Sea Abyss would be forever bound to it. They would be gradually enslaved by the nine abyssal wills, turning into crazed monsters that only knew how to destroy and corrupt everything.

He guessed that if he chose this option, he might take on the role of the abyssal will himself. But aside from him, all the other disciples would likely turn into madmen, one by one, over time.

So, while this choice appeared to offer the greatest enhancement... it also came with the greatest price.

He skipped it directly.

Lin Hui took a breath and continued to the next one.

’Next is Cold Seal City.’ He clicked for more details.

’Cold Seal City: After evolution, the Dharma Seal’s effects are retained. Adds the "Citizen of Cold Seal City" traits (Respiratory System Modification, Limb Mechanization, Mental Data Upload).

’Cold Seal City possesses a complete astral energy system, capable of self-sustaining internal circulation for extremely long periods without the need for external materials. However, it is extremely sensitive to changes in fundamental principles and has low fault tolerance. Once a fluctuation in fundamental principles occurs, it could lead to a chain reaction and total collapse.’

The Blood Seal had already marked the drawbacks of this option very clearly.

This Cold Seal City was like a delicate piece of porcelain built on fundamental physical laws. The moment those laws fluctuated, it would instantly...

Lin Hui immediately ruled it out.

’Next, I need to choose the one with the fewest side effects and the strongest positive effects.’

He first clicked on the first option, the Wind Seal Sect.

’Wind Seal Sect: After evolution, the original Dharma Seal is retained. On this basis, acquire The Three Greats Supreme Seal Techniques of the Wind Seal Sect (Life and Death Seal, Light Condensing Seal, Ethereal Seal).

’The Life and Death Seal allows members to switch between life and death. The Light Condensing Seal can gather surrounding light particles. The Ethereal Seal allows one to transform into a gentle breeze, becoming formless.’

The description for this one was relatively vague. The specific abilities and effects seemed unremarkable on the surface.

Lin Hui glanced at it and continued downward.

’Demon God Hall: Members will receive one opportunity to awaken the demonic bloodline within their bodies. The more primal the bloodline’s atavistic source, the greater the increase in strength...’

Lin Hui skipped it after reading just the beginning.

All his Swordsmanship and Martial Arts were based on Cultivation in a human form. Demonic transformation meant that he and the entire Clearwind Dao might need a very long time to get used to new bodies, which wasn’t worth it.

If he chose this, too much would have to be changed.

That left two options: Eye of Illusion and Demon Fragrance Sect.

’Eye of Illusion: After evolution, the previous Seal Technique’s Special Effects are retained. A new spatial extension characteristic is acquired.

’Within the Eye of Illusion, the extension of space far exceeds that of ordinary so-called grotto-heavens. This eye-shaped floating island, which appears to be about one cubic kilometer from the outside, can actually accommodate objects within a volume of over one hundred cubic kilometers. The controller can shrink it to the size of an eyeball and carry it with them.’

This was purely an evolution path into a super spatial magic treasure, which would be excellent for escaping. It could hold a great many things and people. This volume was terrifying—a hundred cubic kilometers was a massive amount of space.

’So, in other words, the only advantage of this option is a super-large space!?’ Lin Hui understood.

And then, the last one.

’Demon Fragrance Sect: After evolution, the Seal Technique is retained. Obtain one Heart Source Demon Palace of the Demon Fragrance Sect. Sect members can receive one of three Heart Source Demon Fragrances (Nine Serenity, Cold Palace, Formless) via an impartation seal from the Sect Leader.’

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