A silence fell over the battlefield—unnatural and heavy. Even the thunder paused, as if the very sky was holding its breath.
Above them, the massive celestial eye rotated slowly. Its dark pupil reflected each of the cultivators below—Shi Hao, Fang Han, Nie Li, Lin Feng, and the distant silhouette of Tang San—all now locked onto the same goal.
Not to destroy each other, but to challenge the entity that had been feeding off their war.
---
Nie Li's Final Array
Nie Li stood in the center of a formation drawn in his own blood. Ten thousand runes floated around him—each one etched from knowledge across countless lifetimes. His breath was shallow, but his eyes were focused.
"Two minutes… that's all I need to trap the Devourer for now," he muttered.
Lin Feng flashed past him, blades floating in orbit. "Then two minutes is what you'll get."
He vanished, reappearing in midair, launching dozens of sword illusions toward the eye.
Shi Hao, fully ignited in his divine flame, tore through the sky beside him, a golden halberd now in hand—drawn from the depths of the Ancestral Heaven Tomb. The halberd hummed with a voice of forgotten gods.
"Let's give that eye something to fear," Shi Hao snarled.
---
Tang San Joins the Fray
A ripple passed through the sky. Out of nowhere, a dozen Blue Silver Emperor vines shot up, entangling the descending black lightning. From the shadows, Tang San emerged—spirit rings glowing like planets around him.
"I've been watching," he said calmly, his eyes flicking to the celestial eye. "I didn't think you'd notice it this soon."
Fang Han turned toward him. "You knew?"
Tang San nodded. "It's not just watching. It's harvesting our karmic threads—every kill we make, every battle we wage, empowers it."
He pointed to the eye, then to the air around them. "Even now, it feeds off our emotions. Rage, despair… even hope."
Fang Han's fists clenched.
"I was its weapon," he said through gritted teeth. "But not anymore."
Dark flames surrounded him—controlled this time. The Void Origin Flame twisted into a spear, its point aimed skyward.
---
Assault on the Eye
All five surged upward at once.
Lin Feng's swords cut through the lightning spears like ripples on water.
Tang San's vines weaved into the sky, binding the edges of the eye's formation.
Shi Hao's halberd met a wave of black plasma, exploding in a burst of gold and violet.
Fang Han's spear pierced through a layer of protection, searing through the corruption.
Nie Li, below, completed the last stroke of his formation.
"Seal!" Nie Li shouted, releasing all of his spirit energy.
A massive astral cage formed around the eye. Chains of inscription magic, drawn from over a hundred worlds, wrapped around the eye and began pulling it downward—into the Void Lock Array.
The eye resisted, screaming in a language that wasn't sound but madness itself. For a moment, everyone heard their own fears whispered into their minds.
Shi Hao nearly faltered.
Tang San clutched his head as the image of his fallen comrades appeared before him.
But Nie Li roared, "FOCUS!"
A blast of black lightning exploded downward—aimed directly at Nie Li.
---
Lin Feng's Sacrifice
Just before impact, Lin Feng appeared—his body glowing, swords gone, essence burning.
He threw up a barrier using his own Dao of Sword Will.
The lightning hit.
The sky went white.
When the light faded—Lin Feng fell. His body torn, spirit essence dispersing.
"No…!" Shi Hao cried.
But Nie Li gritted his teeth, "He bought me the last second—now!"
He slammed his palm onto the core of the formation.
The cage contracted, locking the celestial eye in an unbreakable seal of Time, Space, and Karma.
A high-pitched shriek pierced the air—and the eye vanished, consumed by the prison.
For now… the Devourer was sealed.
---
Aftermath
Smoke curled from the ground. Craters and broken peaks surrounded them. Lin Feng's body lay in silence, golden fragments of his sword still glowing in the dust.
Tang San walked over and knelt beside him.
"He knew the cost," he said quietly. "But he chose it anyway."
Shi Hao looked to the sky, breathing heavily.
"This war… was never ours alone."
Fang Han, standing with the Void Flame flickering out behind him, said, "Then who is truly behind it?"
Nie Li answered, his voice grim:
> "The Devourer was just the first mouth. But there are others. Watching. Waiting."
---
Next: Chapter 9: Conspiracy of the Eternal Court