CHAPTER 195: THE BLACK MIST ERUPTS

Beneath the cliff, the mist surged more violently than before, threatening to spill into the Scripture Hall's backyard at any moment.

At that instant, Lu Chen felt something amiss and raised the Hunyuan Greatsword. Wind Dragon burst from the blade and shouted, "Little Lu! The situation's changed. Bai Ze says the mist could erupt at any time. Great danger hides within, and he warned us to stay alert for the black mist."

"Black mist? But there's only gray and white mist under the cliff. Could it be at the center?" Lu Chen fixed his gaze on the heart of the mist, where faint traces of dark gray substance writhed. It does seem like black mist.

"That's what he meant. It's the first time I have seen him this serious."

While Wind Dragon was speaking, the mist that had been level with the cliff churned upward again. "No... It's already begun. The mist is rising!"

White fog rushed along the cliff edge and poured into the Scripture Hall's backyard, rolling layer upon layer toward the crowd. The white mist hit the cultivators first. Many ignored it, too busy arguing to notice as it coiled around them. Some mistook it for the eruption's start and, excited, charged straight into the fog.

For a moment, chaos exploded in the backyard. But after only three breaths, the first cultivators to touch the mist clutched their throats and collapsed, screaming in agony.

"This mist is fiercer than ever. It doesn't just seep into the skin and meridians—it even forces qi and blood to flow in reverse." Daoist Tian Ji examined a fallen cultivator and declared, "But if it only enters through the skin, a spirit qi barrier should be enough to hold it off."

Daoist Tian Ji, Venerable Shuang Dao,[1] Hua Sheng, and Hua Xin exchanged looks and rose together. They unleashed their oppressive auras at once, quelling the turmoil in the backyard. In the next moment, they flashed to the cliff edge and wove spirit qi into a protective barrier that stalled the mist's advance.

Venerable Tian Suo[2] appeared atop the Scripture Hall's roof and roared, "All cultivators above the Qi Condensation Realm, form spirit qi shields and help clear the lingering mist! Those below, retreat from the backyard now—this is beyond you!"

He chanted an incantation, summoning chains of spirit qi that wrapped around unconscious cultivators and hurled them out of the yard.

Despite his efforts, many weaker cultivators refused to retreat. They stubbornly believed they were fortunate enough to endure the eruption until it passed.

An elderly female Daoist's weary voice carried over the crowd. "A pack of fools with ambitions higher than heaven."

She rose slowly from her camp, her presence like a weight pressing down as she glared at the masses. "I'll give you ten breaths. After that, if anyone below the Sunken Core Realm still stands at the front, or anyone below the Qi Condensation Realm has not yet retreated, I'll personally kill every one of you."

With a cold snort, she tore open three void passages behind her, sending the nearby cultivators scattering in alarm. As the rifts sealed, two beasts bearing the appearance of tiger-wolf hybrids, with eyes marked by twin pupils, emerged by her side, while a scarred Snow Python slithered out and coiled behind her.

Blood-red ferocity surged from the three beasts as they circled at her side, their gazes fixed on the mist that clung to the cliff.

A short old man stepped out, his leering gaze fixed on the female Daoist. "Heaven Venerable Ban Yao, spare the speeches. I say we kill every cultivator below the Qi Condensation Realm.[3] These disciples of the Heavenly Mandate Hall show us no respect. We've guarded the mist for thousands of years, yet they're willing to ignore our orders for a few scraps of resources."

"Daoist Du, let it be.[4]" Heaven Venerable Ban Yao moved to stand on the Snow Python's head, her eyes grim as she watched the cultivators collapse one after another. "We're still in their territory. Beating them down and throwing them out is enough."

"Heh... Woman, are you afraid of them? Or is it that you fear that old freak Suitian?" With a sneer, Daoist Du formed a series of hand seals. Purple smoke spread from his sleeves, and within moments, hundreds of cultivators fell dead on the spot. "A sect without even a single venerable. If not for us guarding this place, do you think they'd have held this secret realm? They would've been wiped out long ago."

"You can't put it that way. You're a lone wolf, so you don't care. But we all have sects and clans behind us. The Heavenly Mandate Hall has the Central Continent's Jun Clan's support. We'll be descending soon. We can't act so recklessly yet."

"Hmph..." Daoist Du's snort was laced with contempt, but his hands never paused. The poison mist he spread shifted into a paralyzing toxin instead of a deadly one. "Hong Yun, Yong Nian, are you two old fools not going to act? Drive these pests out already so we can focus on the mist."

Daoist Hong Yun and Venerable Yong Nian exchanged a glance. One formed a hand seal and shot it toward the sky, while the other summoned a giant sword and charged straight for the cliff's edge, unleashing his cultivation to hurl groups of low-level cultivators out of danger.

Dozens of black-robed cultivators at the Earth Core Realm cried out sharply, "Venerables, let us help as well!"

They rushed out from their camps and stood shoulder to shoulder, then drew their weapons and released spirit qi to push back the gray mist lingering in the backyard.

Two groups of venerables held back the mist and repelled cultivators who defied orders, while each Man of Heaven led thousands of cultivators of their own faction to clear the area. One wave after another, the disobedient were driven out, and soon the vast backyard fell back into order.

Jun Laoye swept his gaze over the rear courtyard from inside the illusory barrier. "Ten venerables and dozens of Men of Heaven? When did this small place attract so many high-level cultivators? There are even so many hidden elites from the Heavenly Mandate Hall..."

Ancestor Suitian scanned the surroundings and explained softly, "These people aren't from the Jianghai Region. For thousands of years, Men of Heaven and venerables from all over have found their way here through various channels. Look at the ten camps in the backyard—each has more than a dozen, sometimes even twenty Men of Heaven.

"Many come here, but many die as well. Every mist eruption brings both opportunity and peril. Some perish silently below, while others return with great treasures, never daring to descend a second time."

Nantian Yijian stared outward timidly. "Is the mist really that dangerous? With so many top cultivators here, shouldn't they be able to withstand it? I saw the gray-white mists. As soon as the mist surged into the cultivators, they collapsed instantly. I've only just entered the Qi Regulation Realm, and I'm the weakest among us. If the mist surges upward, I might..."

He looked pitifully at Ancestor Suitian. "Ancestor, shall I... leave first?"

Below the cliff lay his chance to become the King of Ten Thousand Arts. Deep down, he was reluctant to leave so soon.

"No need. I can still spare some focus to protect you." Ancestor Suitian's gaze fixed on the center of the mist, frowning. "Normally, this gray-white mist can be suppressed. But this time... something feels different. Look at the center. Something unusual is happening there. I sense the hope I've been waiting for."

Jun Laoye stared at the mist, frozen. He asked through secret voice transmission, "What's unusual? Could it be... the mist is darkening? Is that the hope you speak of, Ancestor? Could the hope you mean be... 'Heaven'? Could traces of Heaven lie here?"

Ancestor Suitian remained silent, only nodding faintly at the black mist. That single nod shook Jun Laoye's heart to its core.

Perched on Lu Chen's shoulder, Wind Dragon said, "Bai Ze's words have come true. The black mist is starting to surge. Little Lu, get ready."

He transformed into the dragon-engraved disk and returned to the Hunyuan Greatsword. "Once the black mist attacks, these people won't be able to spare spirit qi to protect the backyard. And when it condenses and spreads, something extremely vile will emerge."

Boom!

Before his words had faded, the cluster of black mist at the center erupted. Like a black fountain, it shot into the sky, then poured back down. The gray-white mist was instantly tainted, turning into a blackish-brown haze.

"This is..."

Venerable Hua Sheng brushed a wisp of black mist with his right hand. He tried to cleanse it, but his entire hand turned pitch black in an instant. "Fall back! This black mist contains deathly qi. Once it touches you, it will devour your spirit qi!"

Before he could finish, Venerable Shuang Dao was engulfed in black mist and blown away. Days earlier, when he had probed beneath the cliff, he had touched a trace of the black mist.

Everyone thought he had severed his spirit qi and cut off the connection. No one expected the mist to have remained hidden within him. The moment it was exposed again, the concealed black mist erupted all at once.

"Be careful, all of you!" Venerable Shuang Dao ignited his spirit qi, setting the black fog ablaze. A massive shockwave lifted him off the ground. He shouted to the other venerables, "The mist can hide within spirit qi, but if you unleash your Core Flame, the fog will burn away. Once lit, the mist will disperse on its own!"[5]

1. Shuang Dao translates directly to Twin Blade in English ☜

2. In English, the term Tian Suo conveys the image of a master who moves through the heavens with unmatched speed. ☜

3. Ban Yao literally translates to half demon in English ☜

4. Du literally translates to poison in English ☜

5. Core Flame (心火) refers to the inner spirit qi fire that resides at the very heart of a cultivator's being. It is the source of their qi and life force, the engine of their cultivation, and the spark that determines the strength and resilience of their body and spirit. ☜