The Decaying World

On the First Floating Mountain.

Xie Chang’an sighed as he stared at the cracks in the sky above.

"I have a sudden bad feeling about this..." He lowered his head, looking at the others who had gathered.

Zhang Yao, Gongsun Xinlian, and Lin Hui had all arrived, each seated in their designated spot.

"The current situation is beyond our ability to influence. The Bright Heart Association has amassed an immense force, sweeping up countless Fog People and sea gods, and arranged a grand power-gathering formation centered on him alone. His strength has reached an unprecedented level. On top of that, he’s invited two Sea Abyss Lords from the Supreme Sea Abyss, as well as that clan of Sea Abyss Bone Devils we saw before." Xie Chang’an let out a long sigh.

"In this world, I fear I’m the only one left who can stop him."

"..." The other three were speechless, not knowing how to respond.

Xie Chang’an glanced at the three of them and continued.

"The Royal Capital has sent a distress call, asking me to go and save them. What do you all think? Should I go?"

"If you go, what will happen to the tens of millions of people here in Black Cloud?" Zhang Yao said grimly.

"Yes... that’s what I was thinking." Xie Chang’an nodded and sighed again. "But I don’t know why. Even though this situation isn’t as grand as the last invasion from the myriad realms, I feel a deep sense of panic."

"If Haiming wins, we’ll all undergo the Sea Roaring Transformation. That panic is understandable," Gongsun Xinlian said.

"No, it’s not that... With the Sea Roaring Transformation, you can at least retain a shred of your sanity," Xie Chang’an said, shaking his head.

"Forget it. Let’s not talk about that." He turned to Lin Hui. "Old Si, I hear you’ve run into some new trouble on your end?"

"Yes... Countering the corruption of the Sea Roaring Transformation requires an equal and opposite force. It’s inevitable that some people won’t be able to adapt and will suffer for it," Lin Hui said calmly.

Over the past week, a skin disease known as "Blue Gown" has been gradually appearing on Qingfei Mountain and in the surrounding areas.

Sufferers develop faint, light blue scars on their skin. At first, these scars are small and few, but over time, they grow denser and larger.

Several mortals with the Blue Gown disease have now, in public and without any warning, suddenly disintegrated into a pile of dust that scattered in the wind, leaving only their clothes behind.

Lin Hui had also investigated this matter. ’This is a phenomenon of weathering,’ he realized, ’caused by mortals being unable to withstand the corruption of the Wind Calamity.’

Only those who cultivated the martial arts of the Qingfeng Dao had greater resistance to it. Everyone else would sooner or later fall prey to this erosion.

To deal with this, he had already forced his family and friends to cultivate the most basic swordsmanship techniques of the Qingfeng Dao with him.

But the larger population in the surrounding areas wasn’t so fortunate. He simply posted notices, allowing everyone to grasp the key points for themselves. Whether they stayed or left was their own decision.

"The number of new recruits for our Qingfeng Dao has reached seven hundred thousand now, hasn’t it?" Zhang Yao asked, looking at Lin Hui.

"It’s a million," Lin Hui replied calmly.

"That fast? Right, since the Qingfeng Dao is willing to open up cultivation of its Basic Sword Technique, everyone’s choice is understandable. Of course they would all cultivate the basic sword technique," Zhang Yao nodded.

Before, he might have been wary of the Qingfeng Dao’s rapid expansion, but now that he and Xinlian were a part of it themselves, he had nothing more to say.

"This matter should be fine for now. Also, how’s your wife?" Zhang Yao asked again.

Lin Hui picked up his teacup and drained it in a single, light sip.

"I’m preparing to try again today. If it doesn’t work..."

The others fell silent. They had all experienced many partings of life and death, but Lin Hui was different.

He was too young.

To have achieved such incredible feats in his twenties or thirties... It was a given that his experiences would be different from theirs.

"If you need any help, just say the word," Xie Chang’an said in a low voice. "My Evil Energy serves as nourishment. If any danger arises, I can help stabilize her bodily functions! As long as she has a breath left in her, I can forcefully bring her back!"

"Alright! Thank you, Big Brother!" Only then did Lin Hui clasp his hands in a genuine gesture of gratitude.

"We’re brothers, there’s no need..."

BOOM!!!

Before Xie Chang’an could finish, the entire floating mountain suddenly began to shake.

Not just the floating mountain, but all of Black Cloud City—the Inner City, the Outer City, and even the surface of the surrounding Jade Sea.

At that moment, everything began to tremble and shake violently.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!

The faces of the group changed drastically as they shot off the floating mountain, flying high into the air to gaze into the distance.

Amidst the howling gales, Lin Hui controlled the surrounding mist, forcing it to part and reveal a view of the sea stretching for thousands of li.

This was the maximum range his Heart and Spirit could control the airflow.

Then, Zhang Yao and Gongsun Xinlian acted at the same time. Their Evil Energy transformed into two streams of green mist that swiftly enveloped Xie Chang’an’s head.

In an instant, nourished and amplified by Evil Energy, the green mist expanded at a jaw-dropping rate.

In just a few breaths, it had grown more than tenfold.

PFFT!

The next moment, the green mist shot forward, forming the shape of a sword. It blasted out, following the path Lin Hui had cleared through the mist and continuing even farther into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, it cleaved apart all the mist in its path.

Suddenly, their field of vision was extended by tens of thousands of li.

At this time, the many powerful experts within the city who could fly all soared into the air, floating in mid-air to gaze into the distance.

Those who couldn’t fly quickly rushed out of the urban area and stood on the city walls, looking out toward the horizon.

Soon, they made a shocking discovery.

Outside the city walls, the water level of the vast, blue-black ocean was dropping rapidly.

Not only that, but the sea level of the Jade Sea beyond the distant harbor was also falling at an incredible speed.

This was a situation that had never occurred before.

Lin Hui floated in mid-air, gazing out at the distant sea.

As far as the eye could see, the sea level of the entire Jade Sea was dropping rapidly.

BOOM!!

The next second, another enormous roar rolled in from the distant sky.

Everyone was stunned to discover that in the distant sky, the mist was actually beginning to dissipate.

And at the same time, the descent of the seawater began to accelerate.

Some shallow seas even exposed their black, muddy beds, along with countless sea monsters that hadn’t had time to escape.

WHOOSH!

Soon, the sky began to light up with a vibrant crimson glow.

A colossal woman in a red dress, her face etched with sorrow, flew closer from the distant sky.

The woman’s figure was so immense it occupied more than half the sky.

The long train of her dress burned with fiery red flames, and everywhere she passed was dyed the color of a twilight afterglow.

In an instant, the woman swept over Black Cloud City. Her colossal form was far, far larger than Black Cloud City itself.

The sky was stained the red of dusk in her wake.

"A Tai Shen..." Xie Chang’an murmured in awe, watching the giant woman’s departing figure.

"How big is she?" Lin Hui also looked up at the giant woman.

"It’s not a question of how big she is. Her form isn’t just appearing here—it’s appearing over the entire Federation simultaneously. In other words, you can see this same figure across the whole of the Federation’s territory, and even in regions beyond," Xie Chang’an said softly.

"..." Lin Hui asked no more questions. This being was clearly on a completely different level from the Fog People and Fog Spirits.

"People have tried flying up to make contact with her before, but when they get close, they discover it’s just a massive illusion. It can’t be touched, communicated with, or destroyed. You can only watch helplessly as she flies by, completely unaware," Xie Chang’an continued.

"The roar just now, and the falling sea levels... could it be!?" Lin Hui asked with a frown.

"No... Tai Shen usually only appear when the world is undergoing a great change, a major turning point. But just now... I’m afraid that was Wangdu..." Xie Chang’an looked in the direction of the Royal Capital but didn’t elaborate.

Wangdu was at least a million li from Black Cloud. For tremors to travel such a vast distance...

Even someone like Lin Hui, whose mind had been infused with the memories of various great powers through a Blood Seal, couldn’t immediately estimate the scale of the cataclysm that had erupted there.

The sea level was still falling, but the titanic roars had ceased.

As time passed, everyone gradually calmed down and returned to their homes.

However, the terrified livestock still needed to be soothed and herded.

After the meeting, Lin Hui returned to Qingfei Mountain and began formulating a detailed treatment plan for Liu Xiao.

He might not have been so cautious with anyone else, but Liu Xiao was his wife.

The treatment for her decay had to be handled with the utmost care.

「Evening.」

Lin Hui sat cross-legged in his study, his palm gently stroking the now-evolved Evil Soldier Separation Sword.

’No,’ he thought. ’This Evil Soldier shouldn’t be called the Separation Sword anymore. Its name is the Tai Chi Divine Sword.’

It was a slender, double-edged silver longsword with no handguard. One side of the blade was white, the other black.

A fine, dragon-shaped golden pattern ran along the spine of the blade.

The hilt was slightly curved, like a strange, unknown character, with a hollowed-out center to provide a grip.

After several days of practice, he had familiarized himself with the Dharma Gate of the Tai Chi Divine Sword.

It was simple. All he had to do was hold it and swing it gently at whatever he wished to "reverse."

And the effect would manifest.

But the effect was not without limits.

The more Divine Power it accumulated, the longer and more potent the reversal effect would be. Furthermore, the strength and size of the target both affected the consumption of Divine Power and the specific outcome.

The golden pattern on the blade’s spine was the indicator for its accumulated Divine Power.

When completely golden, it meant the sword was fully charged.

When depleted, the pattern would turn a faint silver.

Lin Hui gently gripped the Tai Chi Divine Sword, rose to his feet, and walked out of the room. He stopped before the bedchamber.

From within the bedchamber came Liu Xiao’s soft coughs.

"Don’t come in!" she cried out, stopping him. "Right now, I..."

"It’s alright. There’s no need for that between us." Lin Hui pushed the door open and entered.

He looked at Liu Xiao, who was lying on the bed, on the verge of death.

A handmaiden was carefully feeding her some broth.

She was propped up against the pillows, her face deathly pale, her skin already showing red spots. Her eyes had also turned a light red. Her body had begun to bloat and swell, long bereft of its former beauty.

"Don’t worry. Rest for a bit, and you’ll be back to how you were before..." Lin Hui raised the Divine Sword and gestured for the handmaiden to leave.

The door closed softly. He walked to the bedside and looked at his wife’s swollen face.

PFFT!

In the next instant, he abruptly swung the Divine Sword down toward Liu Xiao’s chest.

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