As dusk permeated the Black Mist Valley, Di Tian finally arrived at the Soul Devouring Sect's lair. Twelve giant Soul Banners stood at the entrance, each entwined with hundreds of vengeful Souls. The blood-red characters on the banners twisted in the wind into the grotesque pattern of 'Hundred Ghosts Devouring Heaven'. The moment he stepped into the Formation's eye range, countless bone hands, with remnants of flesh still clinging to their fingertips, suddenly shot out from beneath his feet, attempting to drag him underground.
"Warning! A third-grade Evil Formation, 'Hundred Ghosts Devouring Heaven Formation,' has been detected. It is currently extracting the life Soul Fire from living beings within a thousand-mile radius."
"Current Formation Eye Progress: 87%. Remaining Activation Time: 19 minutes."
The instant the System's red light exploded in his Sea of Consciousness, Di Tian had already unleashed his Five Elements Domain. A golden light shield unfolded with a roar. The bone hands turned to dust the moment they touched the light shield, and the vengeful Souls let out ear-piercing shrieks, purified into specks of spiritual light by the Wood attribute power within the Domain. He looked up towards the depths of the valley, where a three-zhang-tall blood-jade pillar stood on the central altar. The pillar was covered in the Soul Devouring Sect's secret runes, and hundreds of Cultivators sat cross-legged around the blood-jade, each clutching a blood-soaked chain connected to the abyss below the altar.
"Perfect timing," an ominous voice came from the top of the altar. Di Tian's pupils contracted. He saw an old man in a nine-dragon Daoist robe floating in the air. Clusters of tentacle-like Soul worms grew on either side of his head, with each tentacle's tip embedded with a monster's inner core—it was none other than Nie Chen, the Sect Master of the Soul Devouring Sect.
"Host, be careful! Nie Chen's cultivation Realm: Golden Core Late Stage (Half-step Nascent Soul). He has mastered the Soul Devouring Art to the Major Achievement Realm."
"The Formation's core, 'Blood Jade Soul-Guiding Banner,' is absorbing monster Souls. It is recommended to destroy the Formation Eye first."
Nie Chen waved his hand, and eight bronze cauldrons suddenly rose around the altar. Black liquid churned within the cauldrons, each drop containing the wails of Cultivators. "Little beast, do you think destroying the outer Soul Banners can stop the grand Formation?" His mouth stretched to his ears, revealing a mouthful of jagged black teeth. "Let me tell you a secret—the core of this blood-jade pillar is refined from the bones of your mother's clan!"
These words exploded like thunder. A scene of his mother curled up in a cave flashed through Di Tian's mind, along with the never-mentioned pain of her clan's destruction. Rage transformed into Five Elements Power, boiling within him. He let out a long roar towards the sky, and his golden mane suddenly grew three feet, each hair tip emitting streaks of spiritual light. The Five Elements Domain beneath his feet expanded at a visible rate, dispelling all the black mist within a five-hundred-zhang radius.
"You seek death!" Di Tian's voice was mixed with the roar of a Dragon and a tiger, as the Five Elements Domain entered its full power for the first time. Five deep cracks opened in the ground, and the Five Elements Origin Powers of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth surged out, condensing into a giant Five Elements Wheel in the air. As the Wheel rotated, the black liquid in the bronze cauldrons was forcibly extracted, transforming into pure Five Elements Spiritual Qi in the air, nourishing the mountains and forests.
Nie Chen finally showed a look of horror. He manipulated the blood-jade pillar to shoot out dozens of blood-colored chains, but Di Tian's claws glowed with golden light, and with a casual wave, he cut the chains into dust. Even more terrifying, the Cultivators enslaved by the grand Formation, under the purification of the Five Elements Domain, gradually regained consciousness, clutching their heads and roaring as they tore off the chains in their hands. The sound of bones cracking echoed continuously from the altar.
"Impossible! My grand Formation..." Before Nie Chen could finish speaking, Di Tian had transformed into a streak of light and pierced through the blood-jade pillar. The power of the Five Elements Art and the Incomplete Manual of the Soul Devouring Art condensed into a Soul-destroying light orb in his palm. The moment the light orb touched the blood-jade, the entire altar trembled violently, and an ancient evil roared from the abyss below.
"Ding! Destroyed the Formation Eye core, gained Dao Cultivation x 500."
"Five Elements Domain resonance upgraded! Current range: a thousand miles."
The moment the fully powered Domain completely unfolded, the entire Black Mist Valley was enveloped in multicolored light. Nie Chen tried to escape, but found that his Nascent Soul power was suppressed to less than one-tenth by the Domain. Even his proud Soul worm clusters turned to ashes in the Five Elements light. Di Tian stood in the air, the Five Elements Divine Beast phantom behind him fully materialized. The Dragon's head opened its massive mouth and swallowed the 본명 Soul Fire Nie Chen spat out.
"Your mother's clan, I will repay with the Souls of everyone in the Soul Devouring Sect." Di Tian's voice was devoid of emotion. The Five Elements Wheel rotated with a roar, crushing Nie Chen's Physical Body and Nascent Soul into nothingness. The abyss below the altar let out one last mournful cry, then was completely Sealed by the Five Elements Power, transforming into a vibrant green land.
When the smoke cleared, only Di Tian remained in the valley. He looked down at the hundreds of Soul Pearls floating in his palm, each shimmering with pure spiritual light—these were the Spirit of living beings enslaved by the grand Formation, now free after being purified by the Five Elements Domain. System prompts rang out continuously:
"Ding! Completely destroyed the Hundred Ghosts Devouring Heaven Formation, unlocked achievement 'Evil Formation Bane'."
"Bloodline Awakening increased to 25%, unlocked talent 'Divine Beast Pressure'."
"Total Dao Cultivation: 1200 years! Realm Breakthrough: Half-step Golden Core!"
Di Tian looked towards the east, where the first ray of dawn was piercing through the clouds, gilding the golden mane on his shoulders and neck. He could feel that the Five Elements Power within him was deeply fusing with his Bloodline. The Five Elements Yin and Yang fish in his Sea of Consciousness had materialized, and each rotation could bring forth a tide of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
"Detected Host has reached Half-step Golden Core, triggered hidden quest: Investigate the truth of your mother's clan's destruction."
"Quest Reward: Bloodline Awakening +15%, unlocked ancient Formation 'Zhou Tian Star Dou Trapping Demon Formation'."
As the morning dew fell on his claws, Di Tian suddenly heard the cries of younglings from the direction of his distant nest. He picked up the jade bottle containing the pure Soul Pearls. With the Divine Travel Technique activated, his figure transformed into a streak of light, soaring over the reborn valley. Behind him, the mountains and forests purified by the Five Elements Power were sprouting new shoots again. What was once a place of black mist was now filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers.
However, deeper underground, a piece of broken jade inscribed with mysterious runes suddenly glowed faintly. As the runes flowed, the words "Candle Dragon" were vaguely visible, and in the deepest part of the abyss beneath the broken jade, a pair of eyes glowing with a faint green light slowly opened.