The Decaying World

"You’re as hot-headed as ever."

The Bright Heart Association Leader sighed softly.

Soundlessly, his figure vanished from beneath the giant sword.

When he reappeared, he was several meters behind Lin Hui.

But to his surprise, the same giant sword appeared before him once again.

It was as if everything was replaying from the beginning.

Everything else vanished, leaving only the blade that filled heaven and earth as it descended upon his head.

’Interesting.’

He flickered and vanished again, reappearing in another empty space. This time, he increased the distance, no longer staying as close to Lin Hui as before.

But the giant sword reappeared once more, and unlike before, it was even closer to him!

’A Mental Assault?’

The Bright Heart Association Leader barely had time for the thought to flash through his mind before he was struck head-on by the giant sword.

BOOM!!!

In that instant, the heavens, the earth, and the ocean were completely split in two.

The Jade Sea cracked open, a thin black line appearing and stretching to the distant horizon where the sea met the sky.

The Bright Heart Association Leader’s body was cleaved in two.

But he remained floating in mid-air. Countless tiny, blue-purple tendrils sprouted from the severed surfaces, forcefully pulling his body back together and healing it.

"A truly terrifying strike... but what a pity..." He raised his head and looked far into the distance.

Lin Hui hovered there, holding Ruyi, walking slowly closer as if on solid ground.

"You cannot kill me," the Bright Heart Association Leader said calmly.

"So that’s why you sent a clone?" Lin Hui didn’t attack again.

He had seen it after the first strike. His opponent was not a main body, but a clone formed from a high concentration of Haiming pollution.

"My apologies." The Bright Heart Association Leader smiled. "You may not believe me, but I truly came here with good intentions."

"Good intentions? Offering your own niece’s life as the price to quell my anger—is that what you call good intentions?" Lin Hui said coldly.

He had seen through the man’s plan. Song Feishi was merely a gift he had sent.

After all, most of the outside world now believed him to be a lecher, so it was certainly in character for this man to send Song Feishi as a present.

Otherwise, why would this person, knowing that Haiming had indirectly killed his own relatives, still dare to come and talk?

In the distance, Song Feishi’s expression changed, her Heart and Spirit now fixed intently on the Bright Heart Association Leader.

She couldn’t quite believe it, nor did she want to.

It wasn’t just her; Xia Si also watched the battlefield from nearby with a grave expression.

"It seems you’re not very satisfied." The Bright Heart Association Leader didn’t deny it. "But Feishi is already the best gift I have to offer."

As soon as he said this, the color drained from Song Feishi’s face. Her eyes filled with an indescribable disbelief. She never imagined that the Bright Heart Association Leader would actually give up on her, offering her as a gift to Qingfeng Dao in an attempt to gain their forgiveness.

She possessed Imperial Blood!

She was the Bright Heart Association Leader’s own niece!!

For the past thousand years... how much had she done for him!?

In the end, this was how he treated her?!

An indescribable sense of absurdity washed over her, instantly shattering every belief that had sustained her actions for the past millennium.

"...She was so loyal to you, and this is how you treat her?" Lin Hui said coolly.

"As I said, for the sake of the goal, any sacrifice is acceptable..." The Bright Heart Association Leader maintained his smile, as if Song Feishi was nothing more than a pet he could discard at will.

"But it’s not enough!" Lin Hui drew his sword again.

"Far from enough!!"

He raised Ruyi horizontally, his eyes glowing with a piercing blue light.

SHHHHHHH!!

In the next instant, the surrounding sky, earth, and sea were filled with a dense web of silver sword marks.

All the sword marks interwove into a massive, three-dimensional spherical cage of blades, completely enclosing a thousand-mile radius.

There was no Sword Technique, no Special Effects. He had merely swung his sword casually, yet he achieved a level of power that far surpassed his previous all-out attacks.

This was the power to command energy with the sword, gained after completing his Celestial Sacred Form.

Each sword mark that appeared here was comparable in power to the strongest all-out attacks of Xia Si and Song Feishi just moments ago.

Countless sword marks formed this vast prison of sword-formations, trapping the Bright Heart Association Leader within.

With a series of wet slicing sounds, he was instantly rent by countless sword marks, his body silently pulverized into sesame-seed-sized bits of flesh.

But even reduced to mincemeat, the Bright Heart Association Leader remained floating in mid-air, simply continuing his conversation with Lin Hui as a clump of shredded flesh.

"I can stand right here and let you kill me. You can kill me as many times as you like. Rest assured, the pain is shared between the clone and the main body." His calm voice emanated from the center of the mincemeat.

"You think I don’t dare go straight to your headquarters?" Lin Hui laughed.

"I know you dare. But that doesn’t conflict with what I am trying to do." the Bright Heart Association Leader replied. "If what I’m doing succeeds, it will benefit you as well. But if I die, no one else will continue the attempt. At that point, perhaps you will be the only one left to do it yourself."

"..." Lin Hui said no more.

He knew the man was telling the truth.

But the decay of Second Mother, Teacher, and the others left him with a rage that was impossible to vent.

"Let’s cooperate..." The Bright Heart Association Leader extended a hand. "Together, we can deal with all the Void Cores and Deep Cores in the entire Federation. It might be possible to establish a long-term, stable, decay-free zone..."

"What are your chances of success?" Lin Hui asked coolly.

"Ten percent."

"Besides me, have you contacted anyone else?" Lin Hui laughed.

"Three others. If it were just you and me, there wouldn’t even be a ten percent chance," the Bright Heart Association Leader answered sincerely.

Lin Hui couldn’t be bothered with any more talk.

The prison of sword marks instantly contracted.

BOOM!!

The sky above the sea was completely transformed into a blur of sword shadows. Disaster Energy surged forth, instantly shredding and annihilating the Bright Heart Association Leader’s clone.

A few seconds later, the silver sword marks slowly faded, turning transparent before dissipating completely.

His expression was icy as he turned to look at the three of them in the distance, including the deathly pale Song Feishi.

"Take them back and lock them in the Wind Prison."

Xia Si excitedly agreed. She rushed forward and restrained all three with one hand. Golden Disaster Energy formed into ropes, pulling them straight toward Qingfei Mountain.

The Wind Prison was a place established by Qingfeng Dao to hold important criminals.

It was located deep beneath Qingfei Mountain, with vast amounts of formation-driven Disaster Energy patrolling the area, creating a terrifying prison. Once inside, only Lin Hui could safely release anyone.

In essence, it was a crevice between formations, created by combining the Nine Heavens Thunderous Sound Grand Array with other arrays.

To break out and escape, one would have to pierce through the entire Protective Array of Qingfei Mountain in one go.

After they left, Lin Hui once again looked toward the spot where the Bright Heart Association Leader had been.

"What is it?" he asked via telepathy, seemingly to no one.

SHHH...

An elderly figure slowly materialized there. It was none other than Bai Lu, Fan Yuntian of the Zhenlong Divine Palace.

He wore gray-white robes, had white hair but a youthful face, and a placid expression. He surveyed the surrounding sea and the lingering Disaster Energy.

"The Daoist Master is quite angry. But rightly so. Those heretics from the Bright Heart Association have killed countless people for their so-called goals. To dare show their faces before you... they’re simply courting death."

"Get to the point," Lin Hui said with a slight frown.

"It’s like this." Bai Lu Fan Yuntian nodded. "The Divine Palace just received news from other divine factions. The Bright Heart Association is making their real move. They’ve opened the largest pollution channel in history, completely linking the entire Sea of Life and Death to the Haiming Realm. The Realm fissure is about 300,000 to 500,000 li in diameter."

"What does that mean?" Lin Hui narrowed his eyes.

"It means the Haiming Realm will face an unprecedented level of horrific pollution, far surpassing that of worlds like Purgatory, Extreme Cold, and Hui Jing. This is an erosion of the Realm itself. The Supreme Sea Abyss will inevitably intervene. This means the level of warfare has just escalated to the absolute peak," Bai Lu replied.

"So what?"

"You’re right. For you, there’s no need to pay it much mind. After all, the bigger, more troublesome latent threat is right here with you." Bai Lu’s tone was a bit passive-aggressive.

He paused, then continued.

"The result of this massive corrosive pollution is that they’ll be forced into fighting a war of attrition. Even Fog People and Fog Spirits who enter the Haiming-polluted zones will be instantly and maximally suppressed. Losing their regenerative abilities would be a minor issue; it’s possible for their strength to be suppressed by several levels. Under these circumstances, if the Bright Heart Association also destroys all the Deep Cores within the Federation, this region might truly be completely taken over by the Haiming."

"So, you’re here to be a lobbyist too?" Lin Hui retorted.

"This subordinate wouldn’t dare. I am merely expressing some thoughts. If there is truly a ten percent probability, this is indeed a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. But compared to the risk, this subordinate is more worried that if the Daoist Master makes a move, it might trigger the Source Power behind you to erupt as well... Personally, I feel it’s best for you to continue your secluded cultivation in peace. It would be best not to act rashly," Bai Lu said, lowering his head.

"Bring me the medicine for this period. You may go," Lin Hui said coolly.

"Yes." Bai Lu smiled, unconcerned. From his wide sleeve, he took out an exquisite black pearl oyster shell box and tossed it forward.

The pearl oyster shell box floated gently to Lin Hui, who caught it.

"This subordinate takes his leave." Bai Lu took a few steps back, and his figure quietly vanished.

Leaving Lin Hui to float alone above the sea.

*

*

*

August.

The Haiming pollution finally reached its peak. Simultaneously, several large-scale Haiming pollution outbreaks erupted across the Federation.

The Bright Heart Association led its forces and successfully closed the second Void Core, sending shockwaves through the land.

Following that, one Deep Core after another began to be destroyed.

The armies assimilated by the Haiming pollution grew larger and larger. The Haiming monsters entering the world also grew stronger and stronger.

As the scope of the pollution spread, the Bright Heart Association’s main army gradually changed direction, conquering all Deep Cores in its path as it marched straight for the Inner Court’s Royal City.

In mid-August, just as Lin Hui had completed his control over the Evil Soldier’s evolution,

the final battle around the Royal City finally erupted.

RUMBLE!!

Above Black Cloud City.

The massive Haiming fissure suddenly shuddered, and a giant white, bony hand reached out from within it once more.

But this time, it didn’t strike the city’s protective array shield below. Instead, it braced itself on top of the shield and used the leverage to pull its entire body out.

A few seconds later, a horned, skeletal giant, its body made entirely of white bone with a blue flame burning within its ribcage, emerged from the Haiming fissure and slammed its feet into the shallows of the Jade Sea at the city’s edge.

Its size was so immense that it took up nearly half the volume of Black Cloud’s entire Inner City.

Looking closely at its white bones, one could see countless grayish-white, spiked maggots crawling across their surface.

As soon as this skeletal giant emerged, it paid no mind to Black Cloud City, heading straight for the Royal Capital.

It strode through the seawater, its enormous form quickly becoming shrouded by the dense fog until it was seen no more.

All that remained were waterfalls of displaced Haiming currents, cascading from the sky and crashing down upon the abandoned Outer City District of Black Cloud.

The blue-black seawater from the Haiming Realm gradually turned the surrounding Outer City District into a vast ocean.

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