165: Chapter 165 Severe Injury

Shen Guhong's sword shifted, carving a deep gash into the chest of the Blood-Armor Fallen One. However, he couldn't afford to continue the pursuit right now, his gaze fixed solely on the twisting figure high in the sky.

The Evil Shadow had not yet fully descended, but its oppressive pressure had already enveloped the entire Secret Realm.

Everyone felt their breathing grow heavy.

It was as if an invisible giant hand was pressing down on their chests, even causing their heartbeats to slow.

Lin Mo stood in front of Cao Shen, his robes fluttering loudly in the fierce wind.

He looked up, his gaze locked tightly on the Dark Flowing Light that was descending toward the center of Cao Shen's glabella.

He couldn't let it continue.

Lin Mo took a step forward, pushing his Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps to the limit in an instant. He transformed into a near-invisible thunder shadow, charging straight for Cao Shen's glabella.

“You want to stop me?”

Cao Shen's voice had already changed.

Two voices overlapped—one was his own, while the other was deep, distant, and cold, as if echoing from the deepest reaches of the void.

He raised his hand.

With just a single lift.

Boom!

The surrounding floating debris instantly exploded into powder, turning into a massive black dust storm that slapped toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo did not dodge. His blade intent surged as the third stage of the Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash fused with the residual thunder intent of the Thunder Dragon Break in an instant. The blade light, like a bolt of white lightning tearing through the night, plunged fiercely into the dust storm.

Bang—!

A massive gap was torn through the black mist.

Lin Mo emerged from the mist, his blade aimed directly at Cao Shen's throat.

But just as the blade was about to strike, Cao Shen's body suddenly twisted in an eerie manner.

The blade grazed his neck, leaving only a trail of splashing black blood.

Lin Mo's pupils constricted.

He saw it.

The thing inside Cao Shen was being squeezed, overwritten, and reshaped by something else.

“Too late.”

Cao Shen's mouth curled into an extremely unnatural smile.

In the next moment, he raised the hand completely covered in black patterns, spread his fingers, and suddenly clenched them toward Lin Mo.

Buzz—

The world suddenly grew heavy.

Lin Mo felt as if the space around him had been instantly folded, and he was forcibly pulled into a distorted field of black vision.

From all directions, densely packed eyes emerged.

Large and small, overlapping in layers—there were too many to count.

Every single eye was staring at him.

Every single eye was transmitting a malice that felt as though it would tear his soul apart.

Lin Mo's expression turned cold. He activated Starlight Moon Condensation with full force, the lunar radiance within his body surging to stabilize his sea of consciousness against the onslaught.

At that very moment, Lu Chenzhou's roar came from the distance:

“Lin Mo, watch your back!”

Lin Mo didn't look back, but his feet instinctively shifted, using the Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps to force a horizontal move of half a zhang.

A pitch-black tentacle grazed his back, piercing straight through the space behind him.

Boom!!

A distant ruined mountain was reduced to powder by the strike.

Standing between the black mist and the dark light, Cao Shen's figure began to lose its human silhouette bit by bit.

From behind his shoulders, several distorted black bone spikes slowly grew out.

“You all... shall die.”

This time, Cao Shen's voice sounded less and less human.

The phantom behind him finally swallowed the last wisp of the Dark Flowing Light.

At that moment, that colossal Evil Shadow seemed to have truly completed a brief assimilation with him.

The world went silent for a breath.

Then, everyone heard a sound of breathing so deep it seemed to come from the very end of the universe.

Hooo—

Just this single breath caused the entire Secret Realm to tremble violently.

The sky shook, the earth's veins overturned, and bone mountains collapsed in swathes.

Countless fragments of stone floated into the air, only to be crushed into powder by an invisible pressure in the next instant.

The spiritual energy that had remained in the air was now forcibly shredded by an invisible giant hand, making even its flow sluggish, turbid, and viscous.

Everyone felt a tightness in their chests, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on their hearts.

Some geniuses with weaker cultivation even turned pale and their knees went weak, barely able to stand even before the Evil Shadow's silhouette fully manifested.

“So this is... an existence above the Ninth Rank...” Ji Wuchen's voice was dry.

The spear in his hand was already trembling—not out of fear, but because of the unreasonable suppression coming from the level of existence itself.

Gu Yunting's face was also frighteningly pale.

He held his sword, its tip lower than ever before. It wasn't because he was retreating, but because even his sword intent was vibrating under the pressure.

Lu Chenzhou clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

He could clearly feel every inch of his flesh instinctively resisting that aura, as if his soul was telling him: this is an invincible foe!

High above, the Evil Shadow finally revealed a portion of its true silhouette.

It was not a complete human form, nor was it any clear biological structure.

It was more like a higher-dimensional projection patched together from countless eyes, tentacles, shadows, and distorted bone joints.

Within every inch of shadow, something living seemed to be hidden.

Within every wave of energy, countless gazes were turning.

Just being 'looked' at by it gave one the illusion that their very bone marrow was being hollowed out.

Standing before the Evil Shadow, Cao Shen was almost entirely swallowed by the black mist.

His voice had changed completely, echoing like layers of overlapping demonic sounds.

“Do you see it now...”

“This is true power.”

Lin Mo stood not far away, his eyes locked onto the Evil Shadow.

The veins on his temples throbbed slightly as his internal energy circulated frantically.

Even so, he could feel the Evil Shadow's gaze piercing his sea of consciousness like invisible needles.

It was a form of corruption that sought to rewrite one's perception and erode one's will at the source, compelling them to kneel spontaneously.

“We can't let it fully descend,” Lin Mo said in a low voice.

He knew that time was running out for everyone.

Once this Evil Shadow stabilized completely, even if only for a brief manifestation, everyone in the Secret Realm would be crushed into sacrificial offerings.

Just then, Lei Wanjun let out a thunderous shout.

“Everyone, follow my lead!”

Boom!

The thunder intent around him exploded, forcibly pushing the Broken-Halberd Fallen One back a step.

Shen Guhong brandished his longsword, the blade light like frost as it cut horizontally, once again slashing open the chest of the Blood-Armor Fallen One.

Daoist Master Yun Yao's fingertips flashed with formation runes. Utilizing the residual terrain of the Secret Realm, she laid down a heavy formation directly beneath the feet of the Black Mist Fallen One.

“Now is the time!”

She shouted suddenly.

The Elders finally stopped holding back. The three of them exploded with their maximum power, pinning down the movements of the three Fallen Ones.

Lei Wanjun's body surged with thunderous light as he threw punch after punch, each one like thunder striking the heavens, finally forcing the Broken-Halberd Fallen One back several zhang.

Shen Guhong no longer sought an absolute kill. Instead, he used a sword formation to block the path, forcing the Blood-Armor Fallen One to take his attacks head-on, preventing it from supporting Cao Shen.

Daoist Master Yun Yao used formations to suppress formations. Several layers of seals were stacked one after another, finally pinning the Mist-form Fallen One's figure in place.

The moment the three Fallen Ones were suppressed, the geniuses below immediately seized the opportunity to launch a full-scale counterattack.

Ji Wuchen pierced through a Mimic leader with his spear, then turned, his bloodline power surging as he transformed into a crimson streak of light and dove into the black tide.

Gu Yunting's sword light slashed repeatedly, forcibly severing several Life Line that were flowing back forward.

Ye Huangyi joined forces with several martial artists skilled in formations, using a spiritual formation to forcibly cut the connection between the Mimics and the Blood Sacrifice Core.

Lu Chenzhou charged to the very front, his fist techniques wide and powerful, fighting at any cost to secure space for the others.

“Break for me!”

He roared, smashing a Black Mist Ritual Point with a punch. The backlash caused a sweet taste of blood to rise in his throat.

But he did not retreat.

Because everyone knew that what they were fighting for right now wasn't just killing the enemy.

It was time.

Time for Lin Mo to sever the Evil Shadow.

High in the air, Lin Mo had once again closed in on Cao Shen.

But the current Cao Shen had already formed a semi-fused state with that Evil Shadow.

Black mist constantly dissipated from the edges of his body, only to be sucked back in by the Evil Shadow.

Twisted patterns that did not belong to humans were faintly appearing on his eyes, face, neck, shoulders, and even his chest.

He stared at Lin Mo, his voice hoarse and cold.

“No matter how hard you struggle, you cannot change the outcome.”

“It has already descended.”

Lin Mo raised his blade horizontally, his voice low.

“Then I'll just send it back.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he stopped trying to engage Cao Shen in a head-on fight. Instead, he suddenly turned and looked toward the weakest connection point of the Evil Shadow.

He had already seen it.

The link between Cao Shen and the Evil Shadow was not entirely stable.

It was a forced attraction, a temporary stitching between a sacrifice and a vessel.

As long as this connection point was severed, the Evil Shadow would lose its anchor to continue stabilizing its descent.

The problem, however, was that the Evil Shadow's own will was guarding this spot.

“Lin Mo!” Shen Guhong suddenly shouted.

While slashing back the Blood-Armor Fallen One, he abruptly raised his hand and threw a streak of sword light toward Lin Mo.

Lei Wanjun also shattered the Broken-Halberd Fallen One's halberd momentum at nearly the same time, roaring:

“Catch!”

Daoist Master Yun Yao directly used formation light to lift him, spreading formation runes beneath Lin Mo's feet to form temporary steps for him to leverage.

Ji Wuchen, Gu Yunting, Ye Huangyi, Lu Chenzhou, and the others also struck at the same time.

Spear light, sword radiance, formation runes, fist intent, spiritual fire...

Streams of power converged toward Lin Mo.

In that moment, everyone's power was clearing the path for him.

Lin Mo's gaze shook.

He didn't say much, only gripped his long blade tightly and used the momentum of this converged power to charge straight toward the sky.

At this moment, he didn't seem to be fighting alone.

It was as if he was carrying the will of everyone as he charged toward the calamity that should not have descended here.

Seeing this, Cao Shen's expression finally changed completely.

“Stop him!”

He frantically raised his hands, and the Evil Shadow immediately extended several tentacles, sweeping through the void in an attempt to crush Lin Mo.

But at that moment, Lei Wanjun let out an angry roar and transformed into a pillar of thunder, forcibly crashing into and breaking one of the tentacles.

Shen Guhong's sword light was like a waterfall, severing the second one.

Daoist Master Yun Yao's formation light surged, locking down the third.

Ji Wuchen, Gu Yunting, Ye Huangyi, Lu Chenzhou... they all struck out recklessly at this moment to buy that single instant for Lin Mo.

The Evil Shadow's pressure remained.

But for the first time, it was finally slowed down.

Lin Mo seized this half-breath gap and delivered a slash.

Thunder light, blade light, martial intent, and the Bone Platform inheritance all converged into a nearly pure white edge at this moment.

That slash was not aimed at Cao Shen.

It was aimed at the wisp of Dark Flowing Light connecting Cao Shen's glabella to the Evil Shadow.

Boom—!

The world lost its sound.

The black mist was torn apart.

Space was sliced open.

A large amount of black blood sprayed from Cao Shen's mouth, and he was pinned to the spot by this single slash.

The newly formed Evil Shadow also let out a low, almost inaudible cry of rage at this moment.

The mountain-like pressure it exerted also experienced a brief moment of instability.

And this brief instability was enough to be fatal.

“Now!” Daoist Master Yun Yao shouted sharply, her fingers dancing as dozens of formation runes exploded simultaneously.

Using her own essence blood as a catalyst, she forcibly drew upon all the remaining sealing power from the depths of the Secret Realm, transforming it into a massive inverted formation dome that pressed down toward the rift.

Lei Wanjun roared, his thunder intent burning to the limit.

He stopped entangling with the Broken-Halberd Fallen One and suddenly turned, throwing a punch toward the high sky.

Thunder surged like a dragon, charging straight for the edge of the rift and blasting the black tentacle that was still trying to descend, causing it to tremble violently.

Shen Guhong's sword stance shifted, the sword light turning into snow, weaving a dense sword formation in the air that firmly trapped the Evil Shadow's leaking shadows.

“Press it down for me!”

Ye Huangyi's hands formed seals, and several spiritual fire talismans flew out, landing around the rift and turning into circles of burning sealing lines.

Ji Wuchen, Gu Yunting, Lu Chenzhou, and the others also fought with their lives on the line at this moment.

They no longer held back any power.

Everyone knew this was the last chance.

If they allowed the Evil Shadow to reform, no one would get a second chance.

Heavily wounded by Lin Mo's slash, Cao Shen staggered back several steps.

Black blood gushed from his chest, and the severed connection at his glabella had split into a hideous wound.

He let out a low, almost frenzied chuckle.

“Haha... Hahaha...”

Cao Shen let out a low, almost frenzied chuckle, as if he was using his last bit of sanity to hold on.

“You think... you've won like this?”

He suddenly looked up, the black patterns in his eyes exploding frantically.

“Even if I die, I'll drag you all down with me!”

In the next instant, Cao Shen's arms suddenly spread wide.

His body seemed to be forcibly burst open by some deeper power, and massive amounts of black mist erupted from within him, transforming into countless tiny tentacles that shot out in all directions.

These tentacles were not meant to kill people.

They were meant to tear apart the Secret Realm's final stable structure.

“Not good!” Daoist Master Yun Yao's expression changed drastically.

“He's trying to forcibly detonate the Secret Realm's foundation!”

Once the foundation was destroyed and the rift could not be closed, even if the Evil Shadow was temporarily pushed back, a residual rift of pollution would remain.

The entire area would even turn into a Land of Calamity.

Cao Shen was intent on mutual destruction.

Lin Mo's eyes turned cold. He instantly activated the Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps, his figure becoming a blur as he charged toward Cao Shen.

“You don't even deserve to drag anyone down with you in death.”

Cao Shen grinned hideously and raised a hand to block.

Boom!

The two collided head-on once again.

This time, Cao Shen was at the end of his rope.

The Evil Shadow's power he had borrowed had been forcibly severed by Lin Mo, causing his internal power to become unbalanced. The black mist was dissipating, and the backlash was severe.

In contrast, after that previous slash, Lin Mo's momentum had completely reached its peak.

He was like a blade that had been fully unsheathed, and the more it fought, the sharper it became.

The blade light fell.

Cao Shen's arm was directly severed, black blood spraying everywhere.

Another slash.

The black mist protective membrane on his shoulder was forcibly shattered.

The third slash.

Cao Shen was sent flying by the impact, crashing heavily into the cracked bone ground below.

“Cao Shen!”

Lei Wanjun roared, and thunder crashed down, directly sealing off his path of retreat.

Shen Guhong's sword light flashed, and half of the Blood-Armor Fallen One's head was sliced off.

Daoist Master Yun Yao's formation dome descended, finally pressing the rift until it began to close slowly.

The Elders had finally freed their hands.

Without the support of Cao Shen and the Evil Shadow, the auras of the three Fallen Ones began to rapidly decline.

The Broken-Halberd Fallen One was the first to go berserk.

Sensing that death was near, it abandoned all defense and charged frantically at Lei Wanjun, intent on taking him down with it.

But Lei Wanjun was already completely seeing red.

“Come!”

His thunderous punches were like mountains, striking the opponent's chest over and over, forcibly smashing that distorted evil body until its bones were shattered and its flesh was torn.

The final punch fell.

Boom!

The Broken-Halberd Fallen One was completely blown to pieces by the thunderous light.

Almost simultaneously, the battle on Shen Guhong's side also ended.

The Blood-Armor Fallen One was pierced through the heart by his sword, and sword qi exploded from the inside out, turning the creature into a cloud of blood mist.

Under the suppression of Daoist Master Yun Yao's formation, the Mist-form Fallen One finally revealed its true body.

Shen Guhong and Daoist Master Yun Yao struck at the same time.

One sword.

One formation.

The mist body dissipated, and the black shadow perished.

The three Fallen Ones were all slain.