Chapter 407: One Wave Subsides, Another Rises

Xu Sanyan wasn’t the only one who noticed the anomaly; Zuoqiu Shen had also detected the ink monster’s aura steadily intensifying.

“Quick, kill it together!” Zuoqiu Shen exclaimed in alarm, rallying the elders to unleash a barrage of mystical arts upon the creature.

Thud!

Whether magic artifacts or mystical arts, all passed straight through the ink monster’s body, like stones thrown into water—utterly ineffective.

Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes. This thing is far more complex than it appears.

“Deploy the Demon-Locking Formation!” Zuoqiu Shen ordered urgently.

If we can’t kill it outright, we’ll trap it first and devise a method to deal with it later.

The Zuoqiu Clan elders scattered, some raising a single hand to the sky, others weaving magical incantations with their fingers, each adopting a unique posture.

A yin-yang dual fish diagram slowly materialized overhead, solidifying from ethereal form, its gaze fixed on the ink monster as if poised to engulf it.

The monster seemed to sense the danger. Its pitch-black ink surged upward, colliding violently with the dual fish diagram. For a moment, the ink and the diagram merged, as if two opposing forces were locked in silent conflict.

Gradually, the ink monster’s aura was suppressed, suggesting it would no longer pose a threat.

Xu Sanyan seemed to sense something and turned to gaze at the horizon. Dozens of figures were faintly visible in the distance, which he guessed were reinforcements from the Zuoqiu Clan.

After all, this was Zuoqiu territory, and such a commotion would naturally draw reinforcements.

“Let’s go,” Xu Sanyan said, grabbing Li Hai by the collar and flying off. He still needed to find Lin Fan.

That kid was a hopeless simp, completely losing his senses whenever Zuoqiu Yi was around. Xu Sanyan couldn’t understand what was so special about that woman that had him so infatuated.

When Xu Sanyan finally found Lin Fan, he was helping Zuoqiu Yi gather the corpses of her clansmen, his obsequious demeanor resembling an overexcited pug on stimulants.

“Holy… Brother,” Lin Fan murmured.

Zuoqiu Yi rose and studied Xu Sanyan’s face for a long moment before slowly asking, “Are you the holy son of the demonic sect?”

“Huh? You recognize me?” Xu Sanyan was surprised. Though they had met in the Hundred Saints Secret Realm, they weren’t well-acquainted. Her recognizing him was quite unexpected.

Zuoqiu Yi glanced at Lin Fan, who scratched his head sheepishly. Xu Sanyan immediately understood: the kid had no filter.

If not for the inexplicable luck that seemed to favor him, Lin Fan would likely never amount to much in life, destined to be ruined by women sooner or later.

Zuoqiu Yi turned to Lin Fan, her eyelids lowered, and said stiffly, “Thank you, young master, for saving my life. I have nothing to repay you with in this life, but I vow to repay your kindness in the next, even if it means becoming a blade of grass or a ring of jade.”

Her words carried a chilling detachment, the unspoken message clear: she wanted no further involvement with Lin Fan.

Though indebted to him for saving her life, Zuoqiu Yi felt no genuine gratitude. On the contrary, she would have preferred to die alongside her second sister.

The experience of watching her loved ones perish one by one was unbearable. She even suspected she might be cursed—that anyone who became involved with her would meet a tragic end.

Zuoqiu Yi’s reluctance to deepen her connection with Lin Fan stemmed from two reasons. First, she feared endangering him. If she truly was the Heavenly Solitary Star, it was better to live out her days alone than to drag others into her misfortune.

Second, she remembered her eldest sister’s dying words. Zuoqiu Shu had warned her never to become entangled with disciples of the demonic sect, lest she bring disaster upon their clan. This warning remained etched in her heart.

Hearing her words, Xu Sanyan chuckled. “Repay you in the next life?”

He suddenly recalled an old joke: “If they’re handsome, offer yourself; if they’re ugly, promise repayment in the next life.”

Lin Fan wasn’t particularly handsome, but he was certainly not ugly. Zuoqiu Yi’s rejection likely stemmed from deeper reasons.

As Xu Sanyan pondered, the sky suddenly darkened. The blazing sunlight seemed to be obscured by something, plunging the land into shadow.

He turned to see a massive yin-yang symbol floating in the sky, spinning rapidly. The symbol was now many times larger than before, dominating the entire heavens.

“Something must have gone wrong there!” Li Hai said grimly.

Of all those present, Li Hai’s thoughts were the most conflicted. He had personally witnessed the Li Clan’s Chief Steward plotting against the clan head, and then watched the clan head transform into a monster and kill the steward.

In the blink of an eye, the once-prosperous Li Clan had vanished like smoke. As a mere Dao Seeking Realm cultivator, what was he to do now?

Li Hai felt utterly lost, forced to take each step as it came.

Boom!

The yin-yang symbol rose higher into the sky, surrounded by a shimmering curtain of water. Continuous crashing sounds echoed from within—the ink monster was still alive!

Xu Sanyan soared into the air, his gaze fixed on the distant scene. The distance was too great to make out details, but the situation seemed dire.

The yin-yang symbol was fading.

Boom!

The symbol exploded, unleashing a massive, pitch-black ink shadow that blotted out the sun, nearly as vast as the yin-yang symbol itself.

No wonder the yin-yang symbol had grown so large—the ink monster inside had expanded, stretching it to its limits.

“Ahhh!”

“Save me!”

With a casual swirl, the ink monster engulfed a Zuoqiu Clan elder, who vanished without a trace into its depths.

Xu Sanyan’s heart jolted with alarm. What is this thing? It’s terrifying! Zuoqiu Shen, a formidable cultivator in the void harmony realm, and a group of Soul Refining Realm elders couldn’t even restrain it?

“One wave subsides, only for another to rise…” Li Hai murmured to himself. The flesh giant wreaking havoc in the Chaotic Cloud Mountains remained unresolved, and now this ink monster had emerged.

Worse still, the ink monster seemed to be growing stronger. With each Zuoqiu Clan elder it devoured, its form expanded and its aura intensified.

Zuoqiu Shen was consumed by regret. He finally understood what had happened: it must be because the monster had devoured the Li Clan’s Chief Steward!

Initially, the ink monster couldn’t have been this powerful. The Zuoqiu Clan could have easily subdued it, but they had chosen to stand by and watch as it consumed the Li Clan’s Chief Steward, who was also in the void harmony realm.

After devouring the chief steward, the ink monster underwent an unforeseen transformation.

At the time, Zuoqiu Shen had been smugly watching them slaughter each other, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction. Now, he desperately wanted to slap himself twice.

The situation had spiraled out of control.

Zuoqiu Shen’s expression wavered with indecision.

Meanwhile, Xu Sanyan turned to Zuoqiu Yi and asked, “Is he the only void harmony realm cultivator in your clan?”

Zuoqiu Yi pondered for a moment before replying slowly, “There’s also our clan’s ancestor, but he hasn’t shown himself in years. We don’t even know where he is.”

“That’s troublesome…” Xu Sanyan frowned inwardly. Seeing Zuoqiu Shen struggling against the ink-wash monster, he realized that without assistance, this could escalate into a major disaster.

Still, none of this concerned him. Even if the entire Zuoqiu Clan were wiped out, he wouldn’t lose a single spirit stone.

Li Hai, his face etched with worry, glanced into the distance and urged, “Let’s retreat first. We don’t want to get caught up in this.”

“Right, let’s go!”

Xu Sanyan had no intention of sticking around to watch the spectacle. Something felt deeply wrong about this situation.

(End of the Chapter)