"Once your name is etched into the Divine Crime Mandate… no matter where you run, someone will be born for the sole purpose of killing you."
Heaven Void Realm, beyond the southern borders of the Ninefold Dao Repository.
The sky was torn by shrieking winds. Mist thinned like silk threads. Amidst the desolate night, a soul-draped war chariot surged across the void, drawn by seven one-horned Abyssal Steeds with blood-red eyes.
Seated motionless atop the chariot was a figure cloaked entirely in black.
No aura.No sign of life.And yet—the heavens and earth around him were forced into a state of dead silence.
A lone cultivator who witnessed this from afar collapsed in trembling awe.
"That's… the Soul-Reaping Envoy of Absolute Annihilation! One of the Divine Temple's Nine Execution Envoys!"
His name: Thần Tịch — once known as Soul-Killer Reborn.
He had died once before, only to be resurrected by the Divine Temple through the blood sacrifice of an entire city.
Neither living nor dead, he existed solely to eliminate those whom Dao could no longer reach—beings immune to conventional destruction.
Thần Tịch spoke no words, but a symbol burned across his brow:
[Hollow Fate – Lâm Mạc – Objective: Soul Eradication – Full Force Authorized]
No need to track.No need to trace qi.
He could sense the target directly—so long as their name was branded into the Divine Crime Mandate.
—
Far away, in a remote cavern hidden deep within a nameless mountain range, Lâm Mạc sat in silent meditation.
His blood was still shifting—transforming under the aftermath of Hollow Body Self-Manifestation.
Suddenly—a pitch-black streak of deathlight ripped the void asunder, plunging down toward his exact location.
Lâm Mạc did not turn his head.But his eyes… shifted into the color of ashen grey.
"So... it begins."
BOOM!!
The stone cavern exploded.
A death-cloaked shadow descended upon the ruins, wordless—striking without hesitation.
A single punch.
The figure transformed into a blood-colored phantom, tearing through space like a burial shroud aimed directly at Lâm Mạc's soul.
"The Absolute Annihilation Fist—once struck, not even a Saint's soul can remain intact."
Lâm Mạc didn't dodge.
He knew—his Hollow Form could not be harmed by conventional means.
The punch passed through him—yet inflicted no injury.
But in that exact moment, something was left behind—
An invisible soul-seal branded into the ocean of his mind.
"You think being unscathed makes you invincible?""I am the Soul-Reaping Envoy. What I slay… is your very will."
Within his consciousness, Lâm Mạc suddenly felt his intent torn into three fragments.
One part trembled.Another longed to flee.And the last… began to doubt the path he walked.
"So this is the Divine Temple's method?""Not to kill with power—But to make me destroy myself from within?"
And then—from the depths of his core—Tang Cổ's voice resounded:
"If your will is not firm, the Hollow Fate will disintegrate on its own.""There is only one way—cleave the soul-seal with your original intent."
Lâm Mạc's eyes snapped open within the chaos of his mind.
Amidst that storm, he raised his hand—
—and slashed into his own faltering conviction.
A blade of ashen grey cleaved through the doubt in his spirit.
"I did not walk this path to conquer the world.""I walk it… to exist.""And to exist—means killing even that which seeks to kill me."
BOOM!!
His soul-sea shattered.
But in the aftermath, his will crystallized—into a single, unwavering light.
No more tremors.No more impurities.
His mind had entered Dao.
—
Outside, Thần Tịch's hand was abruptly pushed back—by an unseen force.
"What… what is this? A Dao heart?No—this isn't a cultivator's Dao at all!"
In the next instant, a shadow of ashen will stepped out from Lâm Mạc's form—a manifestation of his soul-force after severing the seal.
That figure waved its hand—
And the entire sky dimmed.
Thần Tịch reeled in panic, trying to retreat.
But before he could flee—his war chariot, his abyssal steeds, and even his own body—
crumbled into ash.
No explosion.No blood.
They simply… ceased to exist.
Lâm Mạc stood still.
Behind him, the Divine Crime Mandate etched into his soul faded ever so slightly.
"Killing one of the Nine Execution Envoys... is just the beginning."
"To survive… I must not only defy the heavens…""…but also conquer myself—again and again."