They could see it clearly—huge saber-toothed tigers suddenly let out painful howls as their flesh twisted violently. Bone spikes erupted from their bodies, piercing through their skin. A blood-red demonic eye opened in the center of their foreheads, while a grotesque claw grew beneath them—twisted and malformed, like the withered limb of a polio-stricken child. The claw even had a mouth on it, screaming in agony. Black tendrils sprouted from their tails, making the entire creature utterly hideous and revolting.
Elegant white swans were suddenly shrouded in blackness. Beautiful feathers transformed, now covered in blinking eyes. Their heads turned bald, sprouting tumors, and on either side of their necks, two deformed heads grew out. The once graceful image was completely replaced by horror—it was no longer a majestic swan, but a terrifying dark creature.
And it wasn't just the beasts and birds...
Minotaurs suddenly grew goat heads on their necks, their bodies sprouting seven or eight chicken claws. Dog-headed men suddenly grew rat heads—each mutation more bizarre than the last. Some human cultivators grew a third arm, others a tail, or an extra eye, or their hair turned into living serpents.
The mutations were different for each being, but one thing was the same: their entire bodies exuded a strange and eerie dark aura.
"Ahhh! What's happening? Why am I mutating?!"
"So strong… I feel like I could shatter the heavens and crush the void with this arm! Even if I'm turning dark… who cares? As long as I have power—true power—then so be it! To live is everything!"
"Hahaha! I'm the strongest now! You all should bow before me! Submit, or die—kill, kill, kill!!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much! Why is there a mouth growing out of my chest?! I'm so hungry, it's unbearable!!"
Miserable screams erupted from countless human cultivators as their bodies underwent terrifying changes. Some grew extra limbs, others had bony wings tear through their backs, horns sprouted from their heads, tumors bulged across their skin—a horrifying transformation overtook the entire Dark Domain.
Bathed in moonlight, every inch of the realm was igniting with mutation. Every creature was succumbing—demonic corruption and twisted aberration spread like wildfire.
Only within a few forbidden zones, the unique warding powers managed to repel the moonlight, keeping it from seeping in.
"They've already begun? Triggering mass mutation at this point? These dark spawn from Eternal Night really have no patience," White Lotus Celestial Maiden murmured, gazing into the void with an odd glint in her eyes.
This event was clearly outside the expected timeline. Based on prior intelligence, the masterminds behind Eternal Night rarely triggered the demon seed unless they were prepared for all-out war. Doing so was effectively a declaration: a final battle was coming, no retreat.
The Dark Domain was now completely ruined.
There was no longer any place here suitable for life. These demonized beings would grow increasingly powerful as time passed, eventually losing all sense of self and becoming mindless killing machines—twisted monsters that only knew how to destroy.
In short: the entire region had now fallen into a true demon domain.
If allowed to survive, it would become the perfect base for Eternal Night—a dark nest—and eliminating it later would be incredibly difficult.
"What will you do now?" Yi Tianxing asked grimly. "A full-scale mutation like this is no small scheme. Whoever's behind this isn't just anyone—they must be incredibly strong. There could be trillions of demonized creatures here. If a demon tide forms, even the forbidden zones may not hold. Their top priority will surely be to eliminate you first."
He had witnessed the demonic corruption firsthand and knew there was no hiding from it.
This Dark Domain had now become enemy territory—every creature a foe. A terrifying crisis, but also a simple one to understand:
One word—fight.
But it would come down to raw strength.
And here, they were fighting on the enemy's home turf.
"We already anticipated this," White Lotus Celestial Maiden replied calmly. "We're not so weak. The Dark Uprising was made for this."
"Good," Yi Tianxing nodded and handed her a jade talisman. "If things reach a critical point, crush this talisman—I'll know immediately. The Great Yi Dynasty will come in full force to wage war. We have never feared demons."
The jade talisman could instantly open a domain gate and transmit urgent messages between realms. But for now, Great Yi would not intervene—this was a war between the major forbidden zones and Eternal Night's forces. Intervening prematurely could be counterproductive.
"I may come visit Great Yi one day," White Lotus Celestial Maiden said with a faint smile as she accepted the talisman.
She was genuinely curious about Great Yi now.
Moments later, a domain gate opened above the White Lotus Forbidden Zone. he took Nannan by the hand and stepped into it. Yi Tianxing glanced back instinctively before stepping through—and saw a silent figure appear behind him in the void.
A young man in red robes.
He smiled faintly at Yi Tianxing with an unusual, mysterious expression.
Yi Tianxing returned the smile, nodded, then disappeared into the portal, leaving the Dark Domain behind.
"The Holy Court of Great Yi…" White Lotus Celestial Maiden whispered, staring at the spot where the gate had been.
She had seen firsthand that Great Yi had the power to freely traverse the realms—a nation that could unify realms at will. This was the foundation of becoming an Immortal Court. Without it, no empire could ever reach transcendence.
Meanwhile, in the Cosmic Cube Cloud Realm...
Light flashed as the portal opened, and Yi Tianxing and Nannan stepped out.
"Brother, are we really just going to ignore the Dark Domain? Those dark creatures… all of them deserve to die," Nannan said coldly. Her voice was laced with killing intent.
"Not yet. The time will come," Yi Tianxing replied. "When it does, the entire Dark Domain will belong to Great Yi. But the Eternal Night World has never stopped trying to destroy us. Who knows what tricks they still have planted in Eternal World? We can't relax—not even with the Demon Abyss. Nannan, I need you to continue guarding it."
He had seen the mutations with his own eyes—and now understood Eternal Night's true terror. Its corruption was like rot—it spread quietly and destroyed everything.
If something like that ever happened inside Great Yi…
It was unthinkable.
"If the evil dares to come, then… we kill!" Nannan said without hesitation.
Soon after, she returned to the Underworld to continue suppressing the Demon Abyss.
In the following days, peace returned.
Great Yi continued its assault on the Grotesque Realm. Bounty hunters poured in from all directions. Top cultivators plunged into the fray. The Heavenly Works Pavilion developed a new artifact—Sealing Beads—crafted from a rare material called Absolute Spirit Glazed Crystal, which had been accidentally synthesized by the Cube of Creation.
This crystal could completely isolate a creature from heaven and earth—it blocked spiritual energy, divine sense, even soul force. Beings who relied on external energy would weaken over time, their bloodlines decaying—resulting in permanent damage.
Previously seen as useless, this material became essential due to the bizarre, hard-to-kill nature of the Grotesques.
After extensive research and resource investment, the Sealing Beads—officially named Absolute Spirit Sealing Orbs—were produced in large numbers. Once sealed, even the strangest creatures couldn't escape.
The orbs were an instant success.
With them, Great Yi's conquests accelerated. Grotesques were captured in bulk and thrown into the Gate of Eerie, where their essence was devoured and merged into the gate itself. It was as though the Gate of Eerie was the true origin of the Grotesque Realm—nothing could resist it.
The gate grew stronger by the day. Large swathes of the realm were cleansed. The Iron-Blooded Great Wall advanced relentlessly—by the thousands, even tens of thousands of miles.
Great Yi's immortal cities sprang up rapidly across cleared lands. Refugees were relocated and resettled. Once barren, cursed lands now bloomed with life. Streets glowed with lanterns, prosperity returned overnight.
To the residents who had lived in terror for so long—it felt like a dream.
During this time, no other realms interfered.
In fact, no one had even noticed what Great Yi was doing.
After all, the Grotesque Realm had long been seen as a wasteland—a place unfit for survival.
And so, unknowingly… a month passed.
Then—at dawn one day, a sudden thunderclap boomed from the void.
A roar like heavenly wrath echoed across the realm, and even the entire Eternal World could hear it.
Countless beings instinctively looked to the sky—
A massive vortex began to form in the heavens...