Your Spell Version is Too Low!

The Taixu Jade Order he carried began to pulse. Qi Yun immersed his Divine Sense within it, reading the latest message from his team leader, Yuan Zong.

The contents of the message, however, brought a peculiar expression to his face.

The message stated clearly that the Yellow Springs Netherworld had allied with the Hehuan Palace and the Zombie Alliance. Furthermore, they had spared no expense to hire several ruthless and ill-reputed Heterodox Forces: the Seven Kills Sect, the Five Poison Sect, and the White Lotus Altar.

They were now conducting a large-scale counter-assault, surrounding and purging Holy Sect Cultivators.

The situation had escalated dramatically.

In contrast, the response from the Holy Sect’s leadership was far more peculiar.

The Wuji Holy Sect had issued a formal notice to the entire Northwest Cultivation Realm. They lodged the strongest possible protest and the most severe condemnation against the "despicable acts" of the six allied sects—who had ganged up to bully the weak, disregarded all righteousness, and wantonly besieged the Holy Sect Disciples!

The corner of Qi Yun’s mouth twitched as he read the self-righteous declaration.

’The Holy Sect’s reaction... Are they trying to claim the moral high ground?’

He could almost picture those old monsters back in the Sect, issuing such "grief-stricken" condemnations while rubbing their hands and sneering behind closed doors.

’And then... are they preparing to make a big move?’

When something seems this amiss, there’s always more to it.

From what he knew of the Holy Sect, being targeted like this would normally have been met with far more covert and vicious retaliation, secretly set in motion long ago.

Yet now, their response was limited to verbal protests and public accusations.

This was completely at odds with the Holy Sect’s usual style—vengeful, insidious, and treacherous to a fault!

This abnormal behavior could only mean one thing.

The Holy Sect was brewing a plot that was deeper, more vicious, and far more wide-reaching.

The current protests were, in all likelihood, meant to establish a "just cause" that would pave the way for more drastic action later.

Yuan Zong’s reason for deliberately passing along the Sect’s public statement was also obvious.

It was a clear signal!

It told all the disciples in the field that the Sect’s leadership had a plan, but before that plan came to fruition and was unleashed, they, the "knives" on the front lines, couldn’t lie low. On the contrary, they needed to become even more active!

’Before the Holy Sect’s plan is put into action, we need to muddy the waters as much as possible. The bigger the commotion, the better...’

Qi Yun murmured, repeating the hidden meaning in Yuan Zong’s message as a flash of understanding lit his eyes.

’The Sect wants us to further solidify our status as "victims."’

’At the same time, we’re supposed to use more aggressive actions to attract and pin down the attention of the six-sect alliance, creating the right opportunity and conditions for the real plan.’

’Muddy the waters, huh... I’m good at that.’

Far from being afraid, Qi Yun felt a surge of excitement, an eagerness to get started.

The more chaotic the situation, the muddier the water.

For someone like him, who excelled at profiting from chaos, this meant more opportunities.

...

「Several days later.」

Qi Yun pinched an exquisitely drawn Thousand Crane Talisman between his fingers. He sank his Divine Sense into it, forging a connection with the wisp of spiritual nature contained within the Talisman.

With a gentle puff of air, a paper crane fluttered out and circled nimbly in the air.

It then transformed into a nearly invisible streak of faint white light, disappearing silently into the distant, misty mountain forest.

Then a second, and a third...

Dozens of Thousand Crane Talismans flew off in different directions, spreading out like a cast reconnaissance net.

Qi Yun found a hidden hilltop, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes. Focusing his mind, he used his Divine Sense to maintain a faint connection with the scattered Thousand Crane Talismans.

He shared in the fragmented images and aura fluctuations they "saw" and "sensed."

Time trickled by.

Most of the Thousand Crane Talismans sent back images of barren mountains and untamed wilds, or of some insignificant demons and Spirit Monsters.

However, just as one of the Thousand Crane Talismans flew over a valley shrouded in a dense, grayish-black miasma, the feedback from the Talisman suddenly became sharp and intense!

From the outside, the valley looked unremarkable, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.

But after the Thousand Crane Talisman pierced the outer layer of miasma, it "saw" another scene entirely.

The valley’s interior was not natural. It had been excavated by hand, and several fortress-like structures built from massive black stones stood within.

Surrounding the buildings were numerous Bone Banners etched with bizarre Magic Patterns. Countless tormented, writhing, and perpetually wailing translucent Yin Souls were bound to them, forming a natural Yin Energy Barrier.

Deeper within, disciples wearing the garb of the Yellow Springs Netherworld could be faintly seen on patrol.

The air was suffused with a pure, dense Yin Sha Qi, as well as the unique fluctuations given off when souls are forcibly smelted and purified.

’Found it...’ Qi Yun’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing within them before vanishing.

’A stronghold for refining Yin Souls. Judging by the scale and the concentration of Yin Qi, it’s a central hub.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Qi Yun’s figure shot forward like a flash of lightning, silently making his way toward the valley.

He came to a halt on a commanding vantage point a few miles from the valley, his gaze thoughtful as he looked down at the foreboding, Yin Qi-shrouded stronghold below.

’If I flatten this place, my Cultivation should be just about high enough.’

Qi Yun slowly raised his hands as the True Qi all around him began to surge.

Pitch-black Abyssal Iron Sand gushed from his sleeves and erupted from all around his body. Like a burst black dam, it rapidly converged and compressed in mid-air!

The mass of Sand Iron grew, its particles grinding and compacting against one another, emitting the cringe-inducing screech of twisting metal.

In the blink of an eye, an immense, incredibly dense black sphere dozens of meters in diameter levitated in the air.

Its surface was smooth as a mirror, reflecting a dim light and exuding a crushing pressure, heavy as a mountain.

’This isn’t enough!’

With another thought, a stream of White Bone Skulls, each wreathed in Glowing Green Ghost Fire, whistled out from behind him—eighty-one in total!

The skulls cackled madly, the Ghost Fire in their sockets dancing with a pre-destructive glee. Like a swarm of homing bees, they shot precisely into apertures that had opened on the great sphere’s surface, where they were immediately sealed within by layers of Sand Iron.

"Rise!"

Qi Yun barked the command, pushing his Divine Sense and True Qi to their absolute limit. The True Qi in his body drained away in massive torrents, as if from a bursting dam.

The gigantic Sand Iron sphere, now carrying the eighty-one Bone Corpse Explosion cores, began a difficult but steady ascent, grinding against the air with a low-pitched rumble.

It continued to rise until it was several hundred meters in the air.

This was the absolute limit of his Divine Sense’s control.

When the sphere reached its apex, looking like a black star, it slowly began to move until it was directly over the stronghold.

A moment later, it hung directly overhead.

A corner of the slightly pale Qi Yun’s mouth curled into a smirk as he slammed both hands down.

Fall!

*Combined Attack Technique—White Bone Purification*

BOOM!!!

Deprived of the force holding it aloft, the giant sphere began to free-fall, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.

It accelerated faster and faster, the terrifying potential energy of its sheer mass transforming it into a black meteor that seemed to rip the sky asunder.

Its target: the completely unsuspecting Yellow Springs Netherworld stronghold below!

By now, the Yellow Springs Netherworld Cultivators in the stronghold had noticed the oppressive weight and whistling sound from above.

They looked up in stunned horror, only to see their vision rapidly filled by an ever-growing black sphere that blotted out the sky!

"Enemy attack—!" A piercing cry had just rung out when it was drowned by a far greater sound.

The instant the sphere’s massive base touched the Grand Array barrier formed by the Yin Souls, with a flicker of his will, Qi Yun detonated the eighty-one White Bone Skulls, compressed to their absolute limit within the Sand Iron shell!

EXPLODE!!!

There was no build-up, no crescendo.

All eighty-one terrifying Bone Corpse Explosions were detonated at the very same instant within the sealed Sand Iron sphere!

For a moment, all of Heaven and Earth fell silent.

It was as if the black sphere had devoured all sound.

The next moment—

A searing, indescribable dark-green light erupted from within the falling sphere, instantly shattering its tough Abyssal Iron Sand shell!

It was like a sun of pure, dark-green destruction had risen upon the earth!

RUUUMMMBLE—!!!

A deafening cataclysm, a sound like the birth of the world itself, suddenly tore through the air!

The terrifying shockwave expanded in a perfect sphere, spreading madly in all directions at supersonic speeds.

Wherever it passed, the so-called Yin Soul barrier melted like snow in the sun, instantly vaporized and annihilated.

The massive black stone fortresses were flattened and pulverized as easily as sandcastles.

The very ground was scoured several feet lower, and roiling clouds of dirt and rubble were flung high into the air.

Close behind the shockwave came the raging, viscous, almost tangible dark-green Corpse Poisoning Yin Fire!

It swept over everything like a tsunami, and every substance it touched—be it rock, buildings, or flesh and blood, was instantly corroded, carbonized, and then consumed by raging toxic flames!

A massive, dark-green mushroom cloud—a mix of dust, Sand Iron fragments, and smoldering Corpse Fire—slowly billowed upward, punching through the clouds.

At the epicenter of the blast, the temperature was unimaginably high. The air warped and light itself seemed to dim.

All that remained was the destructive aftershock, roaring and raging unabated.

This was the apocalyptic scene—like a star falling to earth—unleashed by eighty-one Bone Corpse Explosions detonating simultaneously in a confined space, their power amplified by the kinetic energy of the falling Sand Iron sphere.

Seen from a distance, the remote valley was now completely shrouded by a dark-green light of death and a towering mushroom cloud.

It was as if Hell itself had manifested in the mortal realm.

Qi Yun stood atop the mountain peak several miles away, the fierce wind whipping his robes about him. The pallor on his face gradually faded as he silently gazed upon the purgatory of destruction he had single-handedly created.

He felt a pleasant tremor from the Stealing and Swallowing Gu in his shadow as it greedily absorbed the deathly aura and Evil Qi dissipating from the battlefield. He muttered to himself:

’Now, the water should be muddy enough.’

...