The Silent Vortex Net was like a beating heart, its silver threads wrapping tightly around Xiao Hei, holding onto the hard work and blood of three generations. Every filament buzzed with ancient energy, designed to drain the life from even the toughest Golden Core master until they were reduced to mere skeletons.
Sect Master Feng's voice cracked as he poured more energy into the formation. "Hold steady! the net's got a hold on his resistance—the more he tries to push back, the faster it swallows him up!
The old folks were chanting behind him, their faces all worn out and pale Elder Bai's hands were shaky as he tightened the silver threads around their prisoner. Elder Qiu was wiping blood from his nose—the backlash from the formation was already pushing their energy channels to the limit.
Down in the courtyard, the disciples huddled together like frightened rabbits. "He's freezing!" one whispered. "Hey, why isn't the young guy freaking out? He's shaking like crazy—this thing's gonna tear him apart from the inside!
I'm kinda lost here, you know? Even our founder's bro couldn't stick around for more than a few seconds before—
The silver threads got tighter, wrapping Xiao Hei in a deadly cocoon the formation pulled in qi straight from the mountain, soaking up that old-school spiritual vibe and knitting it into strong energy pathways. the pressure was just too much, couldn't stand being close
Xiao Hei was there, kinda intrigued, like a kid watching ants try to budge a stone. those threads, sharp as needles, were like a gentle, comforting rain on his skin, even though they were trying to hurt him and take his life away.
"His aura is—" Elder Bai exclaimed.
Xiao Hei's dark vibe stayed the same, still pumping out power. It looked like it was smirking, with each wave gently pushing the silver threads around like a lazy ocean lapping at the shore.
A young outer disciple who'd been watching suddenly threw up. it was all so messed up—a guy just chilling with their group's final downfall—and it totally flipped his idea of real strength.
"Five Second."
Xiao Hei raised his hand.
The gesture was super chill and easy, like no one even noticed what it meant then his fingers got all clenched up into a super tight fist
The Silent Vortex Net exploded.
Silver threads snapped like harp strings, each break releasing a sound like a dying scream. the formation's energy got totally out of control, it just went nuts and started breaking itself apart in a wild chain reaction of chaos the mountain started rumbling and shaking when those old, magical stones broke apart and turned into dust
The shockwave hit the elders hard, it was like a real punch Elder Bai came backward, crashed into a stone pillar with a loud, bad noise. Elder Qiu was rolling around on the ground, coughing up blood with little silver specks in it. Sect Master Feng was still standing, but it was a close call—his robes were in tatters, and his face was all shocked and stunned.
Disciples scattered like leaves in a storm. a few folks bolted through the gates, screaming like crazy others just gave up, totally freaked out by what they saw
In the sudden silence that followed, Xiao Hei dusted off his sleeves with theatrical care. "Still so stubborn?" His voice carried no anger, no triumph—just boredom. "Your pride is as fragile as your defenses.".
Elder Qiu was all over the place, blood gushing out of his ears.
"I gave you chances to speak truthfully," Xiao Hei continued, taking a step forward. the surviving disciples felt their souls recoil, and one of them said, "You went for lies instead.
I'm not a threat!" Sect Master Feng almost tripped up as he came close, arms up like he's begging for mercy. We'll tell you everything! the purple energy, the good guy, the way it gets spread out—all of it!
But five more seconds had already passed.
Xiao Hei's finger moved with super precise, almost like a surgeon's Elder Qiu's chest just poofed away, leaving a huge empty space that stretched right to the stones at the back of the courtyard The old guy looked at the empty space where his heart used to be, his mouth opening and closing without making a sound, then he just keeled over and started bleeding everywhere.
A young inner disciple, just eighteen and still clinging to the world's logic, started laughing like crazy the sound kept bouncing around the courtyard walls until someone knocked him out cold
"What's your opinion on this? So, what's your take on this?" the gray-haired man asked, giving a friendly nod. "You might wanna know, right?"
The ground beneath the Purple Moon Pavilion erupted.
Rocks and dirt exploded upward as something massive burst from the mountain's depths. an old coffin made of black jade popped up from the ground like a cannonball shot from the earth's center
The coffin cracked open mid- Air. the air was buzzing with the vibe of a possible human figure
The Purple Moon Pavilion's old-timer showed up all ghostly, like it was made of bones and see-through stuff. his eyes shone with an old-timey glow, kinda like a sun that's about to go out, and his breath sounded super spooky, like it was coming from some lonely caves for a long time, He had been stuck at the peak of the Golden Core realm for two hundred years, but his weak body was still full of fury.
His voice was weak but resolute as he shouted, "Back off! "You're trying to take out my future generations while I'm still kicking?".
Sect Master Feng stepped up, his voice a bit wobbly. I—".
"That's enough," the ancestor cut in, his gaze as cold as steel.
Xiao Hei kept pushing forward, no matter that the ancestor popped back up from his grave. Elder Kong let out a fine red mist that splashed abstract designs all over the courtyard stones. that old guy's last yell got cut off, it echoed forever
"Stop! You dare spill more blood in my presence?" The ancestor's voice rang out, heavy with emotion as he watched yet another elder fall.
The ancestor hit the ground hard, his bones making a creaky noise when he landed. but his anger actually made him tough and strong He raised both hands, and the air around his fingers got all weird. the Golden Core realm was totally on fire, like literally, with energy that shook everything up
"You... monster..."
Void-Pulling Palm — the ancestor's first strike tore apart everything that dared to stand in its way, making huge empty spaces ready to gobble up Xiao Hei completely but the dark-dressed dude moved super smooth, like he was floating through some secret passageway.
Golden energy wrapped around Xiao Hei's limbs, each link made from the ancestor's life force. they were supposed to wipe out everything in their way, but instead, they broke against his skin like glass hitting steel
The ancestor used old-school skills to wipe out whole cities, and every move he made was like burning through his life super fast Xiao Hei was dodging like a pro, hardly breaking a sweat, just swatting away those attacks like annoying flies.
By the seventh round, the ancestor was breathing hard and heavy by the tenth, his speech was all slurred up. After a super long fight, he ended up on his knees, his golden glow fading away like a dying candle.
His clothes were all tattered and worn, and he was struggling to breathe, every inhale was like a sharp pain Blood—old and thick like molasses—leaked out from the cracks in his dry, wrinkled skin.
"I am not capable of such a feat," the ancestor rasped. "I was once at the height of my powers. How can you be so—".
"So what?" Xiao Hei looked down at the broken ancestor with the same indifference he might reserve for a particularly boring insect. "So far above you that your struggles are meaningless?".
The old dude's hand was shaky as he pulled out his space ring His fingers held onto a small, weirdly colored pill—purple and black, giving off a vibe that made the air shake.
The messenger had told him to save it for the absolute worst times eating it would cost him his soul, his future lives, and his existence after death but seeing his group wiped out, his family got slaughtered like bugs.
You want to know about The messenger? The ancestor's smile was all teeth and madness.
He swallowed the pill.
The transformation happened super quick and it was just plain ugly the old ancestor's body went from all shriveled up to super muscular, like it was made of pure strength or something His golden glow was spreading out super fast, almost touching the top of the mountains. his skin was all purple and twisted up like worms, and his eyes looked like they were filled with some deep, dark emptiness
when he stood up, the ground split open right under his feet when he took a breath, it was like a mini fireworks show, sparks flying everywhere his vibe went from kinda divine to totally beyond what we can even grasp
"The celestial bodies align in a manner most extraordinary, heralding an epoch of unparalleled prosperity.
Xiao Hei took a quick look at the change with a bit of curiosity For the first time since he got to the Purple Moon Pavilion, he looked like he was actually interested.
"Interesting," he murmured, and smiled.