Following Ling Tian's warning, the Sky Cloud Sect mobilized. Sect Master Gu ordered every Elder and disciple to their defensive positions, though their preparations felt futile against a threat that supposedly devoured entire cities.
Ling Tian, however, did not participate in the frantic setting of defensive arrays. He stood alone atop the highest spire of Heavenly Sword Mountain, observing the horizon.
"Their arrival will be precisely at midnight," Ling Tian stated to Grand Elder Xi, who stood nearby, radiating intense worry. "They won't bother with subterfuge; they believe their strength is absolute."
Punctually at midnight, the sky was split by a terrifying sight. A massive, shadowy array—the Void-Shattering Array mentioned in the ancient text—descended upon the Sky Cloud Sect, covering the entire mountain peak in a suffocating darkness.
Within the array, five figures materialized: four powerful Late Nascent Soul Realm Elders, and their leader, the Cult Master of the Black Sun, a terrifying being rumored to be nearing the legendary Transcendent Realm.
The Cult Master was a skeletal figure wrapped in crimson robes, radiating a chilling, malevolent energy that caused the Sky Cloud Sect disciples to collapse in fear.
"Sky Cloud Sect, surrender your Spirit Vein Core, and we shall grant you a quick death," the Cult Master rasped, his voice tearing at the spiritual defenses of the mountain.
The Single Opponent
Sect Master Gu and the Elders prepared to unleash their most powerful combined attack, but a cold, dismissive voice cut through the air.
"Silence. You are an insult to true cultivation," Ling Tian declared, stepping forward from the spire.
He was alone, facing five monstrous cultivators, one of whom was near the apex of the Seven-Heaven Realm.
"A mere Golden Core fool dares to challenge us?" the Black Sun Cult Master scoffed, a dark laugh echoing through the array. "Devour him first, Elders. Let the Sect see his death."
The four Late Nascent Soul Elders immediately unleashed their combined attacks—four beams of pure, black, corruptive energy aimed directly at Ling Tian.
Ling Tian stood motionless. He activated his Perfect Golden Chaos Core and gathered the destructive force in his hand.
"A taste of my new power," he murmured.
He unleashed the full force of the Primordial Chaos Palm.
WHOOM!
The destructive force was not a beam of light, nor a wave of energy. It was a single, expanding circle of nothingness—a fragment of pure chaos that obliterated existence.
The Primordial Chaos Palm met the combined attack of the four Nascent Soul Elders. There was no collision sound. The four beams of black energy vanished instantly. The Primordial Chaos energy didn't just counter the attack; it annihilated it.
The Palm continued its trajectory, striking the four Late Nascent Soul Elders simultaneously.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
The four powerful Elders didn't scream. They didn't fall. They simply ceased to exist. Their bodies, their spiritual cores, and their Nascent Souls were reduced to nothingness, as if they had been erased from reality.
The Final Confrontation
The entire Sky Cloud Sect was frozen in disbelief. Four Late Nascent Soul experts were wiped out by a single palm from a Golden Core cultivator.
The Black Sun Cult Master, however, was now terrified. "Primordial Chaos! Impossible! Only the ancient Emperors possessed such power!"
He realized he was facing an entity far beyond the Sky Cloud Sect. He immediately tried to activate his Void-Shattering Array to retreat.
"You won't leave," Ling Tian stated, his voice ringing with absolute finality.
The Cult Master was quick, tearing a rift in space, but Ling Tian was faster. Ling Tian didn't use another Palm. He merely extended his consciousness, using the absolute control granted by his Perfect Golden Chaos Core.
He instantly sealed the space around the Cult Master, trapping him within the collapsing array.
"I will not let a contaminant like you taint this realm further," Ling Tian sneered.
Ling Tian unleashed a second, more potent Primordial Chaos Palm. This one targeted the very core of the Black Sun Cult Master's Transcendent Realm-approaching being.
CRACK!
The Cult Master's crimson robes were incinerated. He screamed—a raw sound of despair as his essence was erased. The powerful figure, who had ravaged entire cities, was reduced to a speck of dust that scattered in the wind.
The entire Void-Shattering Array immediately dissolved into nothingness.
Silence fell over the mountain. The sky cleared instantly, revealing the moon and stars. The threat was gone.
Ling Tian stood on the spire, his grey robes untouched, his aura calm.
Sect Master Gu and Grand Elder Xi rushed to him, bowing low. "We are saved, Disciple Ling Tian. The entire Sect, the entire region... you have saved us all!"
Ling Tian looked down upon the bowing leaders. He felt no pride, only boredom.
"The matter is concluded," Ling Tian stated, his gaze distant. "The enemies in this realm are too weak. My growth here is finished."
The fate of the Seven-Heaven Realm was secured, but Ling Tian had already moved on. His mind was set on the higher worlds.