Monsters surged in from all directions.
From a distance, it looked like a boundless tide of darkness—churning, endless, unstoppable.
But unlike any ordinary wave, this one held the power to annihilate countless cultivators.
"Why are all these beasts gathering here?!" someone cried out.
"It has to be that tree! It's calling to them!"
"Damn it… if those people hadn't triggered it, none of this would be happening!"
Panic gripped every face.
Fear was contagious—and in the face of such overwhelming numbers, no one could remain calm.
No one… except Luo Chuan.
Calm as ever, he stood unmoved, as if he were simply watching clouds roll in.
Maybe this was what confidence looked like.
"Boss, what do we do?"
Even Yao Ziyan, a Eminence cultivator, felt a chill creep down her spine. There were simply too many of them.
No matter how powerful she was, this kind of sheer quantity could overwhelm even the strongest.
Quantity had become quality.
Luo Chuan glanced at the tide of monsters and spoke casually, as if discussing tomorrow's weather.
"They're all being drawn in by the World Tree. If it disappears, so will they."
The high priest looked deeply unsettled.
It was clear he didn't believe Luo Chuan's words.
The Ancestor Tree's power could be felt just by observing it—massive, ancient, and exuding an aura of absolute dominance.
There was no doubt it had reached the Celestial Ascendant level.
Even at its earliest stage, it was no longer something that mortals—or even Eminences—could hope to touch.
The high priest hesitated before voicing his thoughts.
"Boss… perhaps we should consider a strategic retreat."
From what he could sense, Luo Chuan was strong—very strong—but still beneath a Celestial Ascendant.
And when Ascendants fought, it was rarely ever a one-sided battle.
"Yes! Boss, you should run!"
"This isn't something even you can handle!"
The other Origin Mall customers began to panic, urging him to flee.
Luo Chuan simply shook his head, sighing inwardly.
You really don't understand what true power is.
The black wave surged forward, their speed terrifying. In mere seconds, the distance had already been halved.
Screams echoed across the ruins as fleeing cultivators were swallowed alive by the monstrous tide.
Luo Chuan finally raised his hand.
Yao Ziyan, the royal beast clan, and the veteran customers of Origin Mall all looked at him with brightened eyes.
They'd seen him make a move before—
Even a Seventh-Rank Eminence of the Buddha Sect had fallen to a mere snap of his fingers.
Then—
Snap!
A crisp, clean sound cut through the air.
And then…
Nothing.
Luo Chuan blinked in surprise.
The infamous death snap—unfailingly lethal—had done nothing.
He quickly sensed why.
As the sound echoed, the World Tree's ancient markings shimmered, releasing an aura that directly resisted the law of death embedded in the snap.
Its defense was subtle but absolute.
And then—
The black tide hit.
Endless silt monsters poured into the ruins, roaring like a tsunami of madness.
Despair filled the eyes of the cultivators.
Luo Chuan sighed, calm despite it all.
"Looks like it's time for Plan B."
While everyone else was transfixed by the oncoming wave, their hearts gripped by helplessness—
No one noticed Luo Chuan move.
He lifted his palm again.
Space bent.
With a wave, all the cultivators in the ruins were swept away, flung out of danger in the blink of an eye.
If the snap wouldn't work, the least he could do was get them out of the blast radius.
These people—panicked or not—were still future customers of Origin Mall, after all.
Luo Chuan believed in sustainable business practices.
As far as he was concerned, this counted.
The cultivators, who had resigned themselves to death just moments ago, were suddenly bathed in light—
And the next instant, they found themselves outside the ruins, safely away from the battlefield.
They stood frozen for several seconds.
Then—
They began to breathe.
To live.
To feel the sunlight again.
And in that moment, the world had never felt so beautiful.