CHAPTER 106 — The Abyssal Ancestor's Shadow Falls
The sky above Cloudsky Sect was wrong.
It rippled like boiling tar, streaked with veins of abyssal light that pulsed in time with some distant, monstrous heartbeat. Lin Xuan stood on the ridge overlooking the sect lands, his spear in hand, his expression hard enough to carve stone.
The others stood behind him—Bai with his tribulation-laced spear, Mu with frost shimmering in her palms, Wen sharpening his twin blades, and Dragon-Bai crouched on Lin's shoulder with golden flames coiling around his jaws.
Wen exhaled slowly. "This… this looks worse than the battle at Starfall."
Mu swallowed. "This isn't just an attack… it's an invasion."
Lin nodded.
"Let's move."
---
1. The Road to Cloudsky — A Land Devoured
Descending toward the sect, they found the world in shambles.
Forests that once bustled with spiritual beasts now lay reduced to corrupted wastelands, trees drained of life, the soil turned pitch-black. Rivers ran thick with oily darkness. Villages along the sect outskirts lay empty—doors swinging open, meals left uneaten, spiritual lamps flickering without owners.
And everywhere…
Footprints. Claw marks. Traces of dragging bodies.
The abyss had passed through here.
Lin clenched his jaw.
"They're pushing hard toward Cloudsky… too hard."
Bai nodded grimly. "They're afraid of you, Brother Lin. That pill tribulation disrupted their plans, and killing the pseudo-general enraged them."
"They're not afraid of me," Lin corrected. "They're afraid of what comes after me."
His inner earth pulsed faintly in his sea of consciousness.
Dragon-Bai hummed in quiet warning.
---
2. Battle Outside the Sect Walls
As they neared Cloudsky, the sounds of slaughter echoed through the mist.
Screams.
Explosions.
The rumble of collapsing formations.
Smoke rose from the lower peaks.
The outer defensive walls had fallen—twisted and shattered under waves of abyssal beasts.
A squad of exhausted Cloudsky disciples was cornered by a corrupted giant serpent, its scales dripping black sludge.
Lin Xuan's eyes flickered.
> "Solar Collapse—Star-Burst Thrust."
He didn't even bother to draw back.
He lunged.
A golden lance of compressed gravity and fire exploded from his spear, piercing straight through the serpent's skull. The beast detonated into ash before touching the ground.
The disciples stared in disbelief.
"S-Senior Brother Lin!?"
"You—you're alive!"
Lin nodded once. "Where's the Sect Master?"
One disciple pointed upward. "On the Main Peak—fighting the abyssal elites. We… we couldn't reach him."
Wen stepped forward. "We're going."
Lin nodded, gesturing for the disciples to flee back toward the inner sect grounds.
"Strengthen the barriers. We'll clear the outside."
---
3. The Sect Master Appears — Restored and Rising
Cloudsky's Main Peak was half-shrouded in swirling black fog—but through the haze, a pillar of dazzling light shot skyward.
Golden sword-light.
Lin recognized it instantly.
When they landed atop the peak, the Sect Master stood waiting—robes torn, hair flowing wildly, and aura surging like a storm barely contained.
Not weakened.
Not tired.
Stronger than ever.
His breakthrough was imminent—just one step from the Soul Transformation Realm.
The Sect Master smiled when he saw Lin.
"You've returned. Good."
He looked between the group. "And stronger, all of you. Even your dragon whelp has grown."
Dragon-Bai puffed his chest proudly.
Lin lowered his spear in respect. "How bad is it?"
"Bad," the Sect Master said plainly. "But not hopeless. Your pill restored me fully. The remaining efficacy is pushing me toward a breakthrough. Once I ascend further, we will have a true Saint-realm combatant again."
He looked skyward.
"Unfortunately, the abyssal army does not intend to give me the time."
---
4. The Abyssal Ancestor Begins His Descent
A deep crack resounded overhead.
Everyone looked up.
The sky split open.
Not metaphorically—
Literally.
A vast fissure tore across the heavens, revealing a swirling abyss beyond. A colossal, half-formed silhouette pressed against the barrier separating worlds.
Horns like twisted mountains.
Eyes like collapsing stars.
A presence that pressed upon reality itself.
Mu fell to her knees instantly.
Wen staggered back.
Bai clenched his spear, sweating despite the cold wind.
Even Dragon-Bai hissed and instinctively coiled around Lin's neck for protection.
Only Lin and the Sect Master stood unbowed.
The Sect Master's voice trembled with controlled fury.
"The Abyssal Ancestor. He has found a partial anchor above our sect."
Lin narrowed his eyes.
"He's not trying to invade the continent."
"No," the Sect Master whispered. "He's coming for you."
Cloudsky trembled as another wave of abyssal aura spilled through the crack.
---
5. The Sect Rallies — Desperate Preparations
Cloudsky elders rushed to the peak, reporting casualty lists, formation failures, and the positions of enemy vanguards.
Lin issued commands quickly:
Mu reinforced wounded areas with frost barriers.
Wen led surviving disciples to critical choke points.
Bai fought alongside formation experts to strengthen the core array.
Dragon-Bai soared overhead, raining cleansing dragon fire.
The Sect Master watched Lin command the battlefield with calm precision.
He murmured, "You're no longer a rising talent. You're a pillar already."
Lin didn't answer. His eyes remained on the sky.
On the thing descending.
---
6. The Core Sanctuary — The Immortal Sect Array
The Sect Master led Lin into a sealed chamber deep beneath the main peak.
Inside lay the incomplete Immortal Ascension Array, once Cloudsky's greatest treasure. Dozens of glowing array plates floated in the air, but the formation was unstable—sparking with uncontrolled light.
"We never had an alchemist strong enough to awaken it," the Sect Master said. "It requires solar, lightning, and spatial law to stabilize. A Saint could do it…"
He turned to Lin.
"…or you."
Lin stepped forward, solar law flaring.
"I'll do it."
He raised his hand.
---
7. Ambush — The First Abyssal Apostle Arrives
Before he could channel into the array—
The stone wall behind them melted.
A figure stepped through the liquefied rock.
Tall.
Cloaked in writhing shadow.
Eyes burning crimson.
An Abyssal Apostle, far more powerful than any pseudo-general.
His voice was a whisper that scraped like knives.
"Lin Xuan… The Ancestor hungers for your world."
The Sect Master instantly drew his sword—but the apostle's aura forced him back three steps.
Lin didn't move.
"Tell him," Lin said softly, spear lowering, "he'll starve."
The apostle smiled.
"I will tear your soul out myself."
---
8. The Duel That Shakes the Mountain
They collided.
Solar fire and abyssal darkness slammed together, exploding through the chamber. Stone disintegrated. Runes cracked. Lightning shrieked around Lin as the apostle summoned curse-marks that crawled across the air like living insects.
The Sect Master raised barriers to protect the formation, but he couldn't interfere—Lin and the apostle were fighting at a level too volatile to interrupt.
Lin's spear became a streak of blinding gold.
> "Solar Collapse — Stellar Decimation!"
The apostle dodged, unleashing chains of shadow that snapped around Lin's limbs.
A curse seal exploded.
Lin skidded back, bleeding from the mouth.
The apostle laughed.
"You devour corruption… your inner world eats it. Fascinating. The Ancestor will savor you."
Lin inhaled sharply—
And then dragged the curse energy into himself, purifying it instantly.
The apostle froze in horror.
"You… you're refining abyssal power!?"
"Yes," Lin said coldly. "And I'll refine you too."
---
9. The Abyssal Ancestor Notices
Lin struck.
The apostle staggered—lungs crushed by the solar burst. He tried to flee, but Lin caught his throat and drained every drop of abyssal corruption, feeding his inner earth.
The apostle's body dissolved into smoke.
But then—
A deeper voice echoed through the chamber.
A voice that chilled marrow.
A voice that made the mountain tremble.
> "So… you are the thief devouring my corruption."
The chamber darkened.
The crack in the sky widened.
The Abyssal Ancestor pressed harder against the barrier, his immense shadow pouring into the world.
Lin slowly raised his spear.
Solar fire blazing like a rising dawn.
His voice was steady.
"Come then."
> "I'll devour you too."
---