The volcanic crater of the Heavenly Furnace Mountains was no longer hot.
When Yan Shuo drew the heavy black iron sword from its scabbard, the natural laws of the mortal realm simply stopped working. The bubbling red magma far below them lost its fiery glow, turning into dull, gray stone. The ash suspended in the air froze completely still.
The pitch-black aura bleeding from Yan Shuo's body was not just spiritual pressure. It was the absolute, unadulterated manifestation of the Abyss. It was a hunger so profound and ancient that it began to devour the light, the heat, and the very concept of hope within the crater.
Up on the floating jade platform, the Righteous Alliance Elders felt their knees buckle.
They were Late Core Formation and early Nascent Soul experts. They were the pillars of the orthodox path. But looking down at the fifteen-year-old youth cloaked in absolute darkness, their Dao hearts violently shattered.
