Chapter 84: The Disciples of the Sect of Severance Save the World

Just as Abyssal Consort was reveling in her triumph, Hao Dan suddenly unleashed the full power of the Eastern Lord. Once he grasped the whole truth, his mind cleared, and everything became instantly transparent—every confusion that had plagued him was now illuminated. The Eastern Lord, seeing the dire turn of events, poured his entire strength into Hao Dan, granting him complete freedom to act. Only by such desperate effort, perhaps, could this crisis be averted.

But at that moment, several figures sliced through the sky, arriving from afar. They were the five Celestial Masters of the Severance Sect who had just fought against me, Luo Yu. Zhao Gongming led the three Immortals, but Yan Lietian was not among them. They hovered in the air before Hao Dan and his companions, and with a stern voice, confronted Abyssal Consort: “It seems the ambitions of the Wu Clan are far from small, resorting to sacrificing mortals as offerings. Such acts are sheer madness!”

“We have long suspected the Wu Clan’s bizarre sorcery was akin to the demonic path! Now, seeing it with our own eyes, it is truly evil!” Fairy Yanruo’s delicate face grew ever more furious, her willow brows knitted as she gazed at the suffering masses below, anger burning in her heart as she spoke.

Zhao Gongming and his company wore dark expressions. To have left the mountains and entered the mortal realm, only to encounter such a sight once in a millennium—a human world plunged into a hellish nightmare, as if the apocalypse itself had come. Though they were exalted immortals, long indifferent to fate and untouched by mortal emotion, even they could not escape the turmoil of their hearts—these were millions of living souls!

“Lament that human life is as fragile as ants, and rage at Heaven’s blind indifference!”

The Celestial Masters were both grieved and outraged.

Before they could act, Hao Dan took a single step forward, like a supreme sovereign of Heaven and Earth. Breaking through barriers, treading mountains and rivers—"With a single step, Heaven and Earth are transformed, thunderbolts shatter the nine heavens." In that instant, the already dark and lightless world split open with a great chasm, as flashes of bright light erupted in succession. Suddenly, bolts of thunder crashed from the sky. On the floating Seven-Star Pavilion, Empress Su Su was struck by a bolt of violet thunder, jolting her awake. Her slender brows lifted as her eyes slowly opened, but the dark red in her gaze was fraught with panic.

Abyssal Consort, seeing this, snorted in anger and immediately struck to defend herself. Moments earlier she had been smug, and now Hao Dan had nearly undone all her careful scheming. Luckily, in that critical moment, Luo Yu—the All-Knowing—appeared from nowhere, blocking the countless thunders. A moment’s distraction had allowed Empress Su Su to break free; if she had escaped, all would have been lost.

Amid the thunderous roar, a bare-armed, strikingly handsome man entered their sight. Runes glowing across his upper body shone brilliantly. Before anyone else could react, Zhao Gongming cried, “The All-Knowing! He’s here! But where is the Master?”

Lu Tianming, seeing Luo Yu arrive, secretly divined the situation. Suddenly, a stream of golden light drifted from the void into his hand—the Command of Tongtian. Upon it was inscribed the decree of the Master of Severance: “All disciples of Lingjiu Palace, the Three Celestial Sisters, the Eight Immortals of Windgate, the White-Ranked Priest, the Scarlet-Ranked Priest, the Wealth Priest, the Wildcard Priest, the Eastern, Southern, Northern, and Western Divine Generals, the thirty-six cave immortals of the Nine Provinces, and the seventy-two isle immortals of the Central Sea—assemble at Yudu Sun City. Destroy the Wu Clan’s minions, save the mortals from calamity, and let there be no delay!”

As the seal shone, golden words floated in the sky, vividly cast for all to see, radiant and crystalline.

Behind Hao Dan, Little Bailing’s heart leapt with joy, and she giggled, “At last, the Master has come to our aid!”

Abyssal Consort and Luo Yu both felt a sudden chill as the Command of Tongtian appeared overhead—their time was running short. They had to activate the Celestial Star Formation immediately; only thus could they stabilize the current situation. Luo Yu, surprised by the turn, glanced sternly at Abyssal Consort, who, aware she had overreached, forced a calm demeanor and said with feigned ease, “The surprise I have prepared for you has only just begun.”

Before her words had faded, she raised one hand high. Hao Dan sensed ill fortune, and Zhao Gongming and the others snapped to attention as a massive black lightning barrier of the formation suddenly encircled them. Dark light surged, black thunder roared, intertwining in a storm of chaos. Seizing the moment, Luo Yu swept his arms, casting two seals of black and yellow onto the Celestial Star Formation. The motion was so swift everyone gasped, “Is that the River Diagram and the Luo Book?”

Within Hao Dan, the Eastern Lord was furious. “Those two wretches!”

The Eastern Lord had once urged Hao Dan not to pursue the River Diagram and Luo Book, hoping to reclaim them later. He had never expected Luo Yu, the All-Knowing, to seize them first. Now, with Luo Yu’s intervention, the Celestial Star Formation was fully awakened, its rotation irreversible. Black light and thunder writhed; the heavens grew dark, clouds swallowed the sky, and doomsday seemed to descend.

Not far away, outside Tiger Pass, the armies of the Shang Alliance were poised for a decisive clash. Both sides gazed at the strange phenomenon in the sky, filled with dread and uncertainty. The chief commander, Chancellor Zhong Hui, quickly ordered the hundred thousand troops bound for the gorge to hold their ground. But then, a miracle occurred: a Divine General, resplendent and mighty, descended above the canyon. With two sweeps of his divine halberd, rays of celestial light scattered into the forests. A series of thunderous crashes followed, and the cries of giants and soldiers tumbled from the hidden ravines. The morale of the Shang Alliance soared at the sight. Overjoyed, Chancellor Zhong Hui ordered his 1.2 million strong army to charge toward Tiger Pass.

Back in Yudu, the gathering faced a stalemate. Su Moran, desperate to save his sister, could wait no longer. In a rush of urgency, he bit his lip, leapt into the air, and unleashed the Wind God’s Art, burning his own spiritual essence in the process—a sight that shocked all onlookers.

“Is he planning to sacrifice himself—to perish with the Seven-Star Sacrificial Altar?” Lu Tianming murmured, eyes sharp. It was said the demon clan cherished kin above all. This display of sibling devotion moved him deeply, and even touched Fairy Yanruo.

“No! Su Moran!” Hao Dan and Little Bailing cried out in anguish.

In a flash, Su Moran acted without hesitation—a decision long in the making. His patience, worn thin by the previous twists, had run out. Seeing the ever-shifting crisis, fearing disaster, he made a snap decision, unable to restrain the storm within. At that moment, he cared only to reverse fate by his own hand, to rescue his sister, Thirteen.

But fate waited for no one. As he saw Su Su nearly consumed by the black light of the Seven-Star Lotus Altar, his red eyes could bear it no longer.

How could a brother stand idle while his kin suffered under sorcery?

In an instant, Su Moran’s eyes blazed crimson. With the Wind God’s Art and his true demon form revealed, all watched as a giant, pure white fox leapt forward, crossing over Luo Yu toward the Seven-Star Lotus Altar, calling for Su Su—a fox’s wail, both beautiful and filled with grief and fury.

Luo Yu stepped forward at lightning speed, appearing above him, and struck the giant white fox with a devastating blow. The fox cried out in pain, blood spraying as it fell. Before Hao Dan and the others could react, Abyssal Consort jabbed her finger, sending a pillar of red light crashing down, utterly destroying Su Moran’s form.

“Su Moran!” Hao Dan cried in anguish, striding forward as the Eastern Emperor Bell beneath him sent forth a wave that shook heaven and earth. The deafening clang—“Klang!”—forced Luo Yu and Abyssal Consort to retreat, countering with shamanic arts, beams of black and green light shooting from their hands to block the invisible wave.

With a muffled explosion, a small mushroom cloud blossomed in the sky.

Zhao Gongming, furious, retreated as well. The scene was too horrific, and they had not been prepared to intervene. Su Moran’s rash act had nearly ruined their plans. They had meant to cast celestial arts together to halt the Star Formation, but Su Moran’s impulsiveness drove him straight into Abyssal Consort and Luo Yu.

Now Su Moran’s life hung by a thread. He was no match for Abyssal Consort, and with Luo Yu’s demonic power added, his injuries were grave. The blow from Abyssal Consort’s sorcery left him in mortal peril.

Luo Yu now stood proudly before them, unfazed by even the Eastern Emperor Bell beneath Hao Dan’s feet. He was like a demon god incarnate—slaying immortals, shrouded in black demonic energy, his aura overwhelming.

Hao Dan quickly sent Little Bailing to save Su Moran, but Abyssal Consort blocked her path. “A thousand years ago, Fairy, you bestowed great fortune upon the ancestors of my clan. Had you not rashly entered the Celestial Star Formation set by Eastern Emperor Taiyi, our ancestors would have perished then and there. Ha!”

At her mocking words, Bailing’s fury flared. She lashed out with the Xuantian Ribbon, a dragon striking the sea, aimed at Abyssal Consort. But her foe’s mastery was beyond such attacks.

Abyssal Consort stepped aside, her jade-white finger pointing ahead. Another red beam pierced the plummeting Su Moran, boring a great hole through the white fox’s body. Blood misted the air. At that moment, a soul-rending cry echoed across heaven and earth—a voice of utter heartbreak, as if the very sky would be moved by such loss. Grief and rage, screams and sobs, shook the heavens.

Everyone turned in shock. On the Seven-Star Lotus Altar, Empress Su Su’s eyes blazed with red light as she cried out, “Brother, Elder!”

The foxes of Qingqiu have always shared a psychic bond. Though Su Su was lost to unconsciousness, she still sensed her brother’s desperate love.

Hao Dan, burning with fury, turned on the immortals: “Are you all still waiting? They mean to sacrifice the Empress of the Nine Tribes. Once her soul is devoured by the black light, the people below will be consumed and their spirits absorbed into the formation. We will have no chance to reverse it then!”

Zhao Gongming, Lu Tianming, and the others were stunned. Had they intervened, perhaps Su Moran would not have suffered so.

Alas—

They had done nothing.

Fairy Yanruo pleaded, “We were waiting for our sect’s immortals to arrive. The situation changed too quickly—we could not act in time. We beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

Her sincerity forced Hao Dan to calm himself. The moment had been too sudden, and they were not of the demon clan, so naturally they did not concern themselves with Su Moran.

Once again chaos reigned. Bailing’s face flushed with fury; she bit her lip, and with a flourish, the Xuantian Ribbon lengthened, spreading like a myriad snakes or dragons across the sky, encircling the Celestial Star Formation. Transformed, she wore the snow-white Severance Sect robe, her form ethereal as a celestial maiden. Her spiritual might surged, each step freezing the air, lotus footsteps accompanied by subtle cracks, and golden runes appearing and bursting silently in the air.

All were stunned by her transformation—even Luo Yu and Abyssal Consort, so often locked in combat, had never shown such shock before. Bailing’s aura had changed utterly. Each step she took radiated divine power, and Hao Dan felt it clearly—like the force of Heaven itself, which in an instant awakened the slumbering soul within him.

The Eastern Lord was astonished, suddenly emerging and crying to Hao Dan in disbelief, “That one—has awakened!”

Inside Hao Dan, a strange fusion was taking place. As the being awoke, Hao Dan began to lose control of his body, slipping into a wondrous state where he could see the world within himself. In the endless darkness—yet bright with void—ten violet-gold Divine Monuments trembled violently. Strange, unintelligible cries roared in his ears.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open. He saw before him a cage inscribed with mysterious runes, wild and thrashing—the prison of the being he dreaded: His Majesty, the Celestial Soul.

Hao Dan drifted into a state of emptiness as the cage began to shake. He watched as the Celestial Soul rose with calm power, shattering the cage of runes into nothingness.

Then, a figure of peerless majesty, arrogant and domineering, stepped forth.

This form was subtly changed from before; the once cold, demonic eyes now flickered with enigmatic colors, suggesting both memory and confusion, at once familiar and strange.

The aura of the Celestial Soul was no longer tumultuous or coldly aloof, but radiated a supremacy that disregarded Heaven itself, floating before Hao Dan’s inner sight. He felt surges of strength and spirit—powers unknown and unseen—raging from this figure, causing the ten Divine Monuments to roar even louder.

Each current was a blade, slicing forth with dazzling brilliance.

The figure, at first hazy, gradually came into focus.

Proud, flamboyant, and noble.

Demonic, yet unhurried.

Dominant, and above all things.

Suddenly, as if the mists parted, the once-blurred vision became clear. First, a pair of blood-red, demonic eyes locked onto him; then a strikingly handsome, wicked face appeared, curling into a cold, sinister smile. At last, a voice—strangely familiar, evil yet captivating, magnetic—echoed in Hao Dan’s mind:

“It’s been a long time.”