Staying means death!!
No one doubted this. Once the curse was cast, the Great Yi Dynasty would surely fly into a rage. The Ice Crystal Clan would face total annihilation—no survivors, no mercy. It would be a battle to the death.
Of course, none of the Ice Crystal Clan saw anything wrong with that. Wars between races, wars between destiny dynasties—such conflicts were always ruthless, with no means too extreme.
The Ice Crystal King was willing to sacrifice himself. No one could stop him.
The Ice Crystal Clan took pride in his actions. His sacrifice did not disgrace the clan—it showed their backbone, their resolve, their edge. Of course, he had already arranged for a fallback. No one could predict the course of war, its direction or outcome. Before heading to the battlefield, he had ensured that if things went awry, his descendants would flee with part of the clan, leaving Snow Continent for another realm.
As long as they survived, the Ice Crystal Clan—known for its prolific reproductive ability—could recover in just a few years. For them, survival meant hope.
"This grudge must one day be repaid. It cannot end like this. Whether or not Great Yi suffers from the curse—we will settle this account."
The Ice Crystal Prince took a deep breath, determination flashing in his eyes.
No matter what, the hatred was now etched deep into his heart.
"Go!!"
He glanced once more at the Golden Crow Celestial Eye, then turned and decisively stepped into the teleportation array.
Behind him, a massive number of Ice Crystal clansmen followed—over a million in total. Only those with intact eyes remained. The blind had all been sacrificed to the Heavenly Eye.
Those left behind were scattered across the land, unable to regroup. Their fate now depended on luck and destiny.
In silent procession, they stepped into the teleportation formation and vanished.
But in their hearts, this day would never be forgotten—seared forever into memory.
Of course, for the Great Yi Dynasty, none of that mattered anymore.
All eyes were on the Golden Celestial Eye—the real and lethal threat.
As it devoured every soul, the eye's interior revealed innate restrictions flowing like divine scripts. Upon close examination, it bore no fewer than twenty-seven layers of innate restriction.
Innate spiritual treasures max out at thirty-six layers.
One to nine: low-grade
Ten to eighteen: mid-grade
Nineteen to twenty-seven: high-grade
Twenty-eight to thirty-six: top-grade
Clearly, with the Ice Crystal Clan's all-out sacrifice, the Golden Crow Celestial Eye had evolved into a high-grade innate cursed treasure, glowing golden throughout.
Screech!!
A sharp cry pierced the sky. Within the eye, a three-legged Golden Crow fully manifested, unfurling its wings and radiating intense True Sun Fire, reborn amid the flames.
A formless pressure surged outward like a tidal wave. It could crush all beings, evoking a primal fear in the soul.
This power far exceeded the Nascent Soul Realm, surpassed the Yang God Realm, even went beyond the True Spirit Realm.
Before such might, even breathing became difficult, suffocation imminent.
"Curse the people of Great Yi! At high noon each day, they shall suffer the torment of being burned by the Golden Crow. This grudge, this hatred—so long as Great Yi exists, it shall never end!"
A cold voice echoed from the Golden Crow Celestial Eye, carrying a will that pierced time and space. The eye then blurred and flickered, its form shifting between real and illusory, moving rapidly toward the Iron-Blood Great Wall, seeking entry into the territory of Great Yi.
"Activate the Iron-Blood Barrier!!"
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath and gave the order without hesitation.
They could not let the Heavenly Eye enter Great Yi's territory. Instinctively, he knew—for the curse to fully activate, it had to enter Great Yi and bind with its destiny energy, so that the entire populace would be affected.
Swish!
Lights shimmered across the Iron-Blood Great Wall. A blood-colored barrier instantly rose, shrouding all of Great Yi in its protection.
"Slash!!"
With a flash, the Heaven-Slashing Sword appeared in Yi Tianxing's hand. Without hesitation, he poured his profound sword intent into it, along with the power of the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower.
This slash—one that destroyed and birthed entire worlds—was aimed at the eye.
Slash the heavens!!
Slay all—gods, demons, even Buddhas—none could stand in its way.
Crack!!
The sword tore through space, releasing a blinding radiance. In that moment, all the world seemed to vanish—only the sword light remained.
Even Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would be killed instantly. Yang Gods would fall. True Spirits wouldn't dare block it.
Everyone, from the Great Yi soldiers to the watching foreign powers, was stunned—especially those who thought the war had ended. Even the sons of the Dragon Palace of the Vast Sea held their breath, awaiting the outcome.
"Please let it work..."
Even the Daoist Qing Yunzi—too shocked to speak—prayed silently. No one wanted Great Yi to be destroyed.
But then, a bizarre scene played out—
When the Heaven-Slashing Sword struck the Golden Crow Celestial Eye, it passed through harmlessly, as if the eye was an illusion.
"How is that possible?!"
"That sword should have destroyed all illusions. Why did it fail?"
"It's hiding in a dimensional fold—outside reality. The sword never touched it!"
Gasps rang out among the foreign races.
The Celestial Eye wasn't in the physical realm—it had slipped into a dimensional layer, impervious to the attack.
And it kept moving.
In a blink, it reached the Iron-Blood Wall—and then passed through as if it wasn't even there, entering Great Yi.
Once inside, it immediately connected to the destiny energy of the realm.
"Ahhh!! What is this pain?!"
"There's an eye on my arm! Like a birthmark—or some kind of totem! It wasn't there before!"
"I have one on my leg! It looks the same!"
"Help! My back—it hurts! Is there an eye too?"
"This thing feels wrong... Like it's watching me. I feel... uneasy."
"Why do we all have these eye marks? What's happening?!"
Throughout Great Yi, millions felt a sudden searing pain—as if something burrowed into their flesh, merging completely.
Even soldiers on the Iron-Blood Wall felt it—a burning eye mark appeared on their skin, identical to the Golden Crow Heavenly Eye. They had seen it, and they recognized it instantly.
It was the curse.
"Such a sinister curse... It involves karma, time, and space. No escape. No hiding."
Yi Tianxing, too, bore the mark—on his forehead, like a vertical golden eye. Its placement differed for each person, even appearing in private areas.
Even if one cut off the flesh, the mark would just relocate elsewhere.
Then came the piercing cry of the Golden Crow, not through ears—but from the soul.
A deep, instinctive sense of danger.
The curse was not yet active—but would be. And it was clear—high noon was the time of its unleashing.
"It's using Great Yi's destiny to complete the curse... But now—I've caught you."
A flash of light glinted in Yi Tianxing's eyes.
He had never stopped tracking the eye.
And the moment the curse activated, it inevitably connected with Great Yi's destiny—giving him the very opening he needed.