A figure in a black robe stepped onto the testing platform, observing the bustling ancient martial artists departing. A right hand, withered and skeletal, emerged from the voluminous black robe.
It then revealed an old man beneath the robe's shadow.
"Hoo! This free air, how I've missed it!"
Underneath the black robe was a hunched, stooped elder.
This elder appeared very old, likely past his prime. His eye sockets were deeply sunken, revealing the very bone structure, which was somewhat chilling.
His cloudy pupils, devoid of any color, emanated a faint black mist that had solidified, resembling a burning… will-o'-the-wisp.
Utterly bizarre.
He then clenched his palm, and a staff resembling a withered branch materialized in his hand.
*Dong!*
He raised the staff and tapped the ground lightly.
*Swoosh!*
A mass of inauspicious gas flowed through the staff into the ground, spreading outward from him at a visible speed.
Wherever it passed, the vegetation began to wither.
The dusk, on the verge of night, was also engulfed by a layer of dark mist under the influence of this aura, plunging the entire space into darkness.
At this moment, those who were preparing to leave suddenly stopped, their faces filled with shock as they looked at the suddenly descended… night.
"What… what's going on? The sky… why did the sky suddenly turn dark!"
"I… I suddenly have a bad premonition!"
"Ah! No… something's wrong! Why do I feel the power in my body being drained!"
"Me too! It feels awful!"
"It seems to be not just true qi, but even vitality…"
"Run! Quickly…"
"…"
Sensing the abnormality, all the ancient martial artists fled madly towards the outer edge of the core circle.
As long as they could escape this area, they would be safe.
On the testing platform, the elder's face contorted into a grim smile as he witnessed this scene:
"Trying to escape! Too late! Hahaha!"
He brandished his staff, and even more potent inauspicious energy surged from his body.
"Heaven and Earth origin, the beginning of all things, life arrives, and death brings peace!"
The elder chanted ancient incantations, drawing patterns in the air with his staff.
"Death Domain! Appear!"
*Boom!*
Finally, he thrust the staff above his head. A supremely pure inauspicious energy shot into the sky, forming a pitch-black dot.
Around the dot, faint spatial fluctuations existed. Centered on that point, countless streams of inauspicious energy surged outward, instantly covering the entire Tian Shou land.
From a high altitude a kilometer away, the entire Tian Shou land was now shrouded in darkness. What happened within was utterly unknown.
At the same moment, upon sensing this series of anomalies, the individuals from the four major super factions gathered as quickly as possible.
"Master! What exactly is happening?"
Xi Yao looked at the oppressive blackness overhead, her heart feeling like a thousand-kilogram boulder, making it hard to breathe.
Coupled with the continuous loss of true qi and vitality, her complexion had paled considerably.
"I don't know!"
Xi Yao placed her jade-like hands on the shoulders of Xi Ling and Jiang Gu, shielding them from some of the effects of the inauspicious energy.
Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't last long.
However, for the other disciples of the Dragon Phoenix Pavilion, she was powerless.
The other two super factions were also doing their best to protect their core disciples, to prevent greater losses.
The reason there weren't three was because the master of the Dead Soul Valley was struggling to save himself.
Although Ye Ming hadn't killed him before, the internal injuries he sustained were enough to cost him half his life.
"Sister Luo Xia, we can't let this continue. Our disciples are likely to…"
At this moment, Fu Tianxing, the master of Peerless Island, spoke first.
As Martial Gods, they could endure for a while longer. But their disciples lacked that strength.
"Such methods clearly transcend the path of ancient martial arts. The one behind this must be…" Luo Xia's brow furrowed. "Likely of *that* kind!"
Having passed the four trials, they had gained considerable knowledge from the long river of history.
"Two! Where are you looking!"
At this moment, Hua Yi San shifted her gaze towards the testing platform.
She had been searching for the center of the inauspicious energy, and through her senses, she had finally located it.
"As expected, someone is pulling the strings from the shadows!"
Fu Tianxing's eyes narrowed with cold intent upon seeing the old man, radiating killing intent. "It seems that if we wish to escape, we must deal with him first!"
Luo Xia and Hua Yi San exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
"Yao'er! Hold on yourselves!"
Afterward, Luo Xia and the others gave brief instructions to their respective disciples before departing one by one.
To be saved, they had to first eliminate the mastermind.
…
"This aura?"
At the edge of the core circle, a young man extended his hand, catching a trace of the inauspicious energy shrouding the surroundings.
"Young Master! Doesn't this aura feel a bit familiar?" Du Yuemian carefully sensed it, truly feeling a sense of déjà vu.
At this moment, behind the two, apart from You Ming, who had lost consciousness, there was another figure.
It was none other than the vice president of the Ancient Martial Arts Association… Xu Zhan.
And when he felt this aura, his entire expression shifted drastically, his pupils dilating. The deepest fear buried in his heart surged forth.
"Mr. Ye… Mr. Ye! Of course, it was this aura that suddenly appeared that triggered the great battle!"
Xu Zhan stammered.
"So it was!"
Hearing Xu Zhan's words, all the knots in Ye Ming's heart untangled.
"Yuemian, the reason you find this inauspicious energy familiar is because of your grandfather!" Ye Ming explained to Du Yuemian.
"My grandfather?"
She looked at Ye Ming, puzzled.
"That's right!" Ye Ming nodded. "Because your grandfather's injuries back then were caused by this inauspicious energy."
Following that, Ye Ming briefly recounted the incident of treating Du Guidao.
"So that's how it is!"
Only now did Du Yuemian finally understand why her grandfather's injuries had been so difficult to heal.
Could the power of the immortal path be cleansed by the path of ancient martial arts?
"Old Xu, is there something you might know about?" Thinking of something, Ye Ming suddenly asked Xu Zhan.
"Please speak, Mr. Ye!"
Ye Ming opened his palm, and an ancient sword wrapped in black energy appeared in his hand. He asked, "Do you recognize this sword?"
This ancient sword, enshrouded by black qi, was the one Ye Ming had obtained from Gu Taiyi during their previous battle.
The reason Ye Ming brought it out at this moment was simple.
Because the black gas on that ancient sword and the inauspicious energy currently shrouding the entire Tian Shou land were of… the same origin!