Chapter 362: Collapse

The remaining spirit stones instantly refined, transforming into spiritual power that surged forth, activating the grand array.

As the spiritual power met the first Reverse-Spirit Array, it immediately twisted, disintegrated, turning into an abyssal black void, forming a terrifying power of collapse.

Like a spark of fire, the spiritual power flowed along the array, triggering each Reverse-Spirit Array in turn—layer after layer, deeper and more complex collapses followed.

These collapse forces, guided by the array’s circulation, spread into every corner, unraveling every sub-formation. The converging waves stacked together, forming a dreadful might that caused the entire grand array to collapse and self-destruct in an instant!

…

Cultivators who had evacuated to the outer mountains were retreating toward Tōngxiān City.

Mo Shan had a bad premonition. Searching among the crowd, he couldn’t find Mo Hua anywhere. Just then, he spotted Zhang Lan, hurried forward, and grabbed his sleeve nervously:

“Where’s Mo Hua?”

Zhang Lan, busy directing the evacuation, froze for a moment before turning toward the deep mountains.

At that very instant—heaven and earth fell silent.

As though all sound had been devoured by boundless void, the entire Black Mountain fell into deathly stillness, heavy with the pressure of a storm about to erupt.

Zhang Lan and Mo Shan’s faces turned ashen.

Far away in Tōngxiān City, Liu Ruhua’s heart suddenly trembled. She looked toward the Black Mountain—and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

A surge of pitch-black spiritual power shot skyward. Clouds split apart, and a terrifying aura surged through the heavens.

The immense reversal of spiritual force reduced the deep mountains to drifting ash—utterly silent, yet infinitely dreadful.

Heaven and earth seemed stripped of all color, leaving only lifeless black and white.

All cultivators within Tōngxiān City stared in horror.

Not only there—even the cultivators across the Black Mountain Prefecture raised their heads in fear, witnessing the black collapse of spiritual energy tearing across the sky. Tremors ran through their entire bodies.

The grand array’s collapse shook heaven and earth, terrifying every cultivator in the prefecture.

They did not know what had happened—only that something unspeakably dreadful had occurred.

Those in the outer mountains, however, saw everything.

They saw the surging reverse flow of spiritual power. They saw the array collapsing, its formations unraveling—and at the center of it all, the monstrous being Feng Xi caught within the collapsing force.

The collapse power was like endless black shards—razor-sharp blades slicing again and again, flaying Feng Xi’s flesh, shattering its bones, dissolving its demonic will, erasing its deathly aura—

As though heaven and earth themselves were erasing its very existence!

The process was pure agony.

Feng Xi struggled and roared.

Faces—countless human faces—appeared across its massive body, howling, crying, begging for mercy.

But even their voices were silenced—completely dissolved into nothingness.

Everyone watched in frozen horror. Zhang Lan’s pupils contracted violently.

What… was this power?

He had never heard of such a thing—never seen anything like it.

Then it struck him—this must be what Mo Hua meant by “staying behind.”

And Mo Hua… was still inside that self-destructing array!

A crushing guilt and sorrow surged within Zhang Lan’s chest.

Meanwhile, Mister Zhuang gazed at the vast waves of black collapsing power across the horizon, his heart filled with shock.

“The grand array collapsed… how did he do it?”

A collapse of this scale required immense derivation—consuming an unfathomable amount of Divine-Sense.

How had Mo Hua calculated all this?

Mister Zhuang was baffled.

Grandpa Kui was equally stunned.

Though his cultivation was lofty and his life long, he had never witnessed such an awe-inspiring scene.

An unbelievable collapse—of a mere first-grade grand array!

After a long silence, Grandpa Kui murmured gravely, “He’ll be all right… won’t he?”

Mister Zhuang frowned, calculated mentally, and exhaled in relief. “He left himself a Gate of Life.”

A Gate of Life—so he’d prepared for everything beforehand.

Grandpa Kui relaxed slightly, nodding. “That’s good then.”

He sighed as he gazed at the heavens. “That child… such courage.”

“Indeed.” Mister Zhuang’s tone was complex.

Both men watched the magnificent and terrifying scene for a long time, speechless.

But then, suddenly, their eyes shrank, a chill spreading through their hearts.

Thunderclouds gathered at the horizon—tinged faintly red.

Grandpa Kui’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s—”

Mister Zhuang’s voice trembled slightly. “Heavenly Tribulation…?!”

In the outer mountains, Yang Jiyong also noticed the anomaly. “Zhang Lan—look at that!”

Zhang Lan lifted his gaze—terror in his eyes. “Impossible!”

It was Heaven’s Tribulation Lightning!

The unknown black spiritual power had grown too strong, breaching the limits of the Heavenly Dao—summoning the lightning of annihilation itself.

But what was Heaven seeking to erase?

Zhang Lan’s heart seized. He looked sharply toward the mountains.

Within the deep mountains, the array had fully collapsed—peaks crumbling, trees and rocks turning to black ash.

Only a single mountain remained standing.

Its surface was scarred and uneven, like an ancient stone pillar weathered by time—

The Gate of Life.

And at its summit stood a small, slender figure—

Mo Hua.

His face was pale, but his aura was calm.

He seemed untouched by the dreadful storm of power that had just passed.

Mo Shan, Elder Yu, and all those who had worried for him stared in disbelief—then burst with joy. But before relief could settle—terror followed.

Above Mo Hua’s head, thunderclouds churned—scarlet lightning coiled within, carrying the aura of annihilation.

Everyone’s hearts froze in horror.

The lightning’s target… was Mo Hua?!

Heaven’s Dao sought to erase him?!

Despair filled their eyes.

The laws of Heaven were absolute—no cultivator could resist. Even the mightiest expert would perish beneath such lightning!

But then—something unexpected occurred.

As the scarlet lightning fell—about to strike Mo Hua—it hesitated.

As if even Heaven itself was confused—why was the target of annihilation… merely a child?

A boy of ten or so, only at the seventh layer of Qi-Refining, with no trace of demonic taint.

The lightning lingered, circling, as if uncertain—then, deeming perhaps that the Heavenly Dao had erred, it slowly retreated—returning to the thunderclouds.

When the lightning vanished, the world fell silent once more.

The mountains’ terrifying fluctuations faded.

Feng Xi, the array, even the tribulation lightning—all were gone.

Only Mo Hua remained.

Now, every cultivator in Tōngxiān City turned toward the distant peaks—toward the lone figure atop the mountain.

The array had collapsed, the mountains turned to ash—yet Mo Hua stood unharmed.

Around him, all was ruin and emptiness.

The invincible demon beast Feng Xi lay as dust at his feet—its remains reduced to formless black ash.

The annihilating crimson lightning had circled him—then dispersed.

Upon the boundless Black Mountain, the frail figure of Mo Hua stood tall—like one who had become one with Heaven itself, enduring both collapse and tribulation unscathed.

This impossible sight carved itself deeply into every heart in Tōngxiān City.

Mo Hua looked up at the sky, eyes trembling.

He saw something that shook him even more.

He saw the lightning, the thunderclouds—and within the thunderclouds… a formation rune!

Heaven had sought to erase him—but had not.

As the lightning faded and tore open the heavens, Mo Hua saw it—within the void above—a single formation rune hidden in the rift!

Just one rune.

Simple yet ancient, vast yet unfathomable—embodying the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, holding within it the power to annihilate all things. It was awe-inspiring and terrifying beyond words.

Mo Hua caught a single glimpse—and tried to memorize it.

But his Divine-Sense was too weak to comprehend the Heavenly Dao’s grand formation. The instant he beheld it, his Divine-Sense was drained, and agony tore through his mind—his Sea of Consciousness on the verge of collapse.

At the critical moment, the Dao Monument within him appeared, shielding his Sea of Consciousness.

His nearly shattered consciousness reformed.

Clarity returned for a fleeting instant—enough for Mo Hua to realize something.

He understood—his Divine-Sense was too limited to record this rune.

But the Dao Monument could.

If his Sea of Consciousness could not remember it, then he would inscribe it upon the Dao Monument itself—

Even if only a single stroke!

The tribulation lightning was fading, the heavens beginning to close.

Mo Hua looked skyward, eyes bleeding, and with all his will, etched a single stroke of that heavenly rune upon the Dao Monument within his Sea of Consciousness.

Just one stroke.

Yet that single stroke contained unfathomable depth and power…

A true Celestial Rune, born from the grand formation of the Heavenly Dao itself—A rune of the Immortal Grade.

(End of Chapter)