Chapter 648: All Hell Breaks Loose In Congyun

Ink Death and Li Fan stared at each other across the protective light barrier of Congyun City's Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array.

The confrontation between the two instantly drew every surviving cultivator's gaze.

It was truly difficult to believe that the Secretary-Envoy could contend with this Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth, an entity that had casually slain two Spirit Transformation cultivators.

But the "Li Fan of the ancient Heavenly Mechanisms Sect" was shrouded in too many halos of mystery and impossible rumors. Inevitably, a flicker of hope kindled once more in the hearts of the gathered cultivators.

Under the watch of countless eyes, Li Fan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his voice rolling like thunder: "How dare a mere Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth act so recklessly?

"Though my cultivation has not yet fully recovered, I will not tolerate such insolence before my true self!"

Li Fan deliberately amplified his spiritual power, and the roaring voice echoed and rebounded through Congyun City.

The domineering words, paired with Li Fan's aloof, detached bearing, projected the presence of a true supreme powerhouse.

While the cultivators of Congyun City stood awestruck, Ink Death's reaction was more subtle.

The true nature of Li Fan's avatar naturally could not be hidden from Ink Death. Yet even It didn’t seem to expect that a mere Golden Core cultivator could not only suppress his own greed and fear, but also dare to utter such grand boasts in Its presence.

This was not something an ordinary cultivator could pull off.

Doubting Its own judgment, Ink Death hesitated in place, as if genuinely unsettled by Li Fan's words.

"The Secretary-Envoy is mighty!"

Cheers erupted from within Congyun City.

Li Fan, however, acted as if he'd heard nothing, his expression solemn.

He gently pointed a finger toward Ink Death.

"Flying Star!"

Li Fan commanded softly, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

A single point of light appeared within the pitch-black domain surrounding Ink Death. It blazed with brilliant radiance, and an incredibly terrifying power erupted from within it.

Beneath the white light, the rich ink color began to fade. Space twisted and shuddered; within the ocean of ink, monstrous waves seemed to rise, and Ink Death's form shook like a leaf battered by a fierce wind.

The moment they witnessed this, every surviving cultivator, He Zhenghao included, felt their spirits tremble violently.

The Secretary-Envoy was actually this mighty?

This unheard-of divine ability, called Flying Star, was truly horrifying. Even Ink Death Itself could barely withstand it.

Seeing a thread of hope once more, their hearts surged with wild joy amid their shock.

But among everyone present, only Li Fan knew this was all an illusion.

He knew no such divine ability.

The dazzling white light at his fingertip was simply the detonation of his Immortal City cave dwelling, a structure packed with countless precious materials, including Silent Annihilation Thunder.

The Immortal City cave dwelling was itself a formidable artifact. Add in the various lethal measures Li Fan had ordered Zhou Kebao to embed during its construction, and a complete detonation would severely wound even a Dao Unity cultivator caught off guard.

Of course, Ink Death's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Dao Unity entity.

So this Flying Star, terrifying as it appeared, could not actually harm Ink Death. At most, it would cause It some trouble.

Li Fan knew this perfectly well. All he wanted was a moment's delay.

What came next was his true killing move.

Shrouded in the brilliant white light, Li Fan silently produced a statue with five faces and ten arms. After murmuring to it, he hurled it viciously toward Ink Death.

A Single Hand Veils the Heavens enshrouded it, while the endless sword light of the Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword concealed it from outside eyes.

"Myriad Manifestations!"

As Li Fan roared, the Heavenly Venerable World Manifestation Statue arrived before Ink Death.

Faced with a mere Golden Core cultivator's repeated provocations, Ink Death's killing intent had been honed to a razor's edge. It decided to end this game of cat and mouse.

An endless torrent of black particles surged forward like an inky dragon, rushing to meet Li Fan's incoming sword light, sworn to slaughter this insolent challenger.

In a flash, under the assault of the ink, the sword light clinging to the Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword transformed.

Then the writhing black particles turned their attack upon the Heavenly Venerable World Manifestation Statue.

An instant later, the five-faced, ten-armed statue detonated with a thunderous boom.

A slender, jade-white arm suddenly appeared, swinging a sword at Ink Death.

A male cultivator's phantom, clad in Daoist robes, lightly flicked a horsetail whisk toward Ink Death.

A white-robed cultivator, dressed like a scholar, hurled a roll of bamboo slips at Ink Death.

A sleeping infant, eyes shut tight, let out a series of piercing cries.

A sheet of golden foil, light as a feather, pressed down heavily upon Ink Death.

Now!

Li Fan's avatar's eyes blazed with sharp light as he crushed a storage ring holding a massive quantity of Kun-Peng essence blood and hundreds of Beast Soul Pearls forged by the Empire.

In that instant, blood surged in a crimson tide, and demonic energy erupted to the heavens.

A hazy purple aura arrived at once from the edge of the sky.

Not enough!

Li Fan's avatar then unleashed the Kun Devours divine ability transmitted by his true self, activated the Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art, and madly absorbed the countless top-grade spirit stones stored within the ring.

He battered against a bottleneck already pushed to its absolute limit. Heavenly Tribulation!

"Demons and heretics!" Senior Brother Zhang's voice rang out, ice-cold and merciless, as the purple aura approached from the west.

As if sensing that the Realm Boundary within Li Fan's avatar was about to shatter, a colossal hand appeared at just the right moment, spanning the canopy of the sky.[1]

Don't you all love to hide and scheme? This time, I'll make you dogs tear each other apart!

A flicker of madness crossed Li Fan's avatar's face. The Golden Core within his dantian exploded with a deafening blast.

His human form disintegrated inch by inch, but his flesh and blood, bolstered by tremendous power, held together for the moment.

A savage glint in his eyes, Li Fan's fingers danced across the void. Just before his form collapsed completely, he traced a single word: “Chaos!”

This entire sequence had been rehearsed countless times within Li Fan's mind.

Though it seemed to stretch on, it all happened within a single breath.

"Myriad Manifestations!"

Li Fan's cold shout still echoed in the air.

When the sword light vanished and five distinct figures emerged from the shattered Heavenly Venerable World Manifestation Statue, something like surprise flickered across Ink Death's face.

But It would never retreat.

The billowing, boundless ink collided with the five individual divine abilities of the Eternal Heavenly Venerables.

Then another bolt of purple lightning tore through the void, striking down upon their battlefield.

The colossal hand in the sky, ignoring the utterly chaotic scene below, pressed down.

And then, to make matters worse, the final technique Li Fan had unleashed at the cost of his avatar's life, "Chaos," plunged this already horrifying battlefield into a maelstrom of even greater madness and unreality.

So many variables, arriving in such a sudden, overwhelming torrent, finally prompted a flicker of alarm across Ink Death's face.

Yet still, It did not retreat.

The ink surged, rising into a towering black tide that swallowed everything before it, wrapping the entire scene in its suffocating embrace.

1. Realm Boundary refers to the boundary between cultivation realms