85: Chapter 85 Immortal Pursuit Order

Anger is silent.

When that brilliant white flower dissipated, and the stone box on the top floor of the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion vanished without a trace, the eternal, unchanging face of the Tomb Guardian did not erupt into a heaven-shaking roar, despite the monstrous rage it held.

It transformed into "Logic."

A domineering "Heavenly Logic" that twisted the underlying laws of the entire world.

At that moment, within the Central Sacred Land and even a million miles around, all living beings felt a tremor from the depths of their souls.

The sky darkened.

It was not dark clouds obscuring the sun, but a "stripping away" from a higher dimension.

Light was twisted, sounds were elongated, the wind stopped flowing, and spiritual energy stagnated.

The entire sky was dyed a deathly lead-gray, as if the heavens had opened an emotionless, icy eye to coldly stare down at the land that had brought shame upon It.

"The Dao... the lineage... has been stolen..."

A fossil-level Supreme Elder of the Sacred Land opened his eyes abruptly in his cave abode, coughing up a mouthful of heart's blood that splattered the white jade chessboard before him.

He had not been injured by anyone, but by the sudden change in the "laws" of heaven and earth!

The foundation of the Sacred Land's lineage was not merely a symbol; it was inextricably linked to the fortune of this world and the spirits of every high-level cultivator practicing here.

Now, the foundation had been seized, and the fortune was in turmoil!

This was a billion times more serious than the mountain gate being destroyed or the disciples being slaughtered!

This was digging up the ancestral graves of the entire Sacred Land and draining its dragon veins!

The Tomb Guardian slowly raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through endless space to lock onto the spatial fluctuation that was fleeing frantically.

He did not pursue.

He merely raised his withered hand and gently clenched it against the void.

"In my name, I notify all Immortal sects under the heavens..."

His voice was no longer aged but transformed into majestic heavenly might, booming within the heart-lakes of every cultivator above the Golden Core stage!

"An anomaly from beyond the heavens has stolen my lineage; the crime is unforgivable!"

"Immediately, issue—"

"The Immortal! Dao! Pursuit! Order!"

Boom!

Words became law!

The entire world seemed to respond to this decree containing supreme will.

Above the nine heavens, clouds and winds rolled backward, and a blood-red lightning bolt as thick as a mountain range struck down from the leaden sky, only to explode in mid-air, transforming into billions of invisible blood-red runes that covered every corner like a rainstorm sweeping across the entire continent!

In a desolate valley, space suddenly twisted, and a blood-soaked figure was thrown out like a discarded sack.

[Shadowless]!

As soon as he landed, he coughed up a large mouthful of blood mixed with silver spatial fragments, his face pale as paper.

The final teleportation had not been stable.

The Tomb Guardian's will, which suppressed the world, had turned space into sticky paste; escaping was a narrow brush with death.

But he could not care about his injuries; he immediately pressed tightly against the stone box in his arms—inside lay the hope they had exchanged a city and the lives of countless brothers for.

Just then, he shivered and looked down abruptly.

He saw a blood-red, eerie mark composed of countless fine runes emerging from between his eyebrows, emitting an ominous light like a prisoner's tattoo branded onto his soul.

[World Announcement]

[Warning! Because the player faction's actions have severely violated the bottom line of this world's "Dao Lineage Foundation," the Central Sacred Land has activated the highest-level disciplinary protocol — "Immortal Dao Pursuit Order"! ]

[All players will be permanently marked as "World Public Enemies"; this mark cannot be hidden or removed by any means.]

[The player faction's reputation in all regions of the Central Continent will be permanently locked to: Immortal and Irreconcilable!]

[All native NPCs who have had contact with players will undergo a mandatory "Favorability" judgment based on their stance...]

The scarlet, blood-like system prompts flickered frantically on every player's retina.

"Damn it! I was just calling the grocery store owner 'brother,' and now he's looking at me like I killed his father?"

"It's over, it's over! The girl I just started dating, who's a second-generation immortal in the Sacred Land, just drew her sword and swung at me!"

"Hahahaha! World Public Enemy! Awesome! This is what I play games for!"

"Brothers, don't panic! It's a technical adjustment! Just a technical adjustment!"

On the forums, the trolls were still reveling.

But more people could no longer laugh.

When even the teahouse waiter, who used to greet you with a smile, silently picked up a kitchen knife from under the counter, everyone finally realized the true weight of the words "Immortal and Irreconcilable."

They had been isolated... by the entire world.

Deep within the Sacred Land, in that mist-shrouded palace.

"Pfft—"

Ninth Prince Ji Haoyue also coughed up a mouthful of blood; he leaned against the desk, his body swaying, his face filled with horror.

The jade talisman in his hand had turned to dust.

He had succeeded; he had helped that group of lunatics stabilize the teleportation coordinates at the last moment.

But he also felt the Tomb Guardian's rage, which could freeze the soul, and... the horror of that blood-red decree.

"The Immortal Dao Pursuit Order... it hasn't appeared in three thousand years..."

He muttered to himself, his face paler than a dead man's.

The last time this order appeared, it was to hunt down a peerless demon lord who had slaughtered an entire empire.

In the end, that demon lord was hunted by cultivators under the heavens until he had nowhere to run, resulting in the complete destruction of his body and soul.

And this time, the order was issued for that group of anomalies.

For the "allies" he had... just shielded.

He looked down at his trembling hands; a mix of immense fear and excitement gripped his heart.

He knew there was no turning back.

From the moment he chose to cooperate with the players and provided that final help, he had tightly bound his fate with those lunatics from beyond the heavens.

"A primordial beast... I have finally let it out..."

He smiled bitterly, but a flash of resolute madness crossed his eyes.

"Since I'm already riding on the beast's back, I can only... go all the way to the end!"

Elsewhere, in a more secretive Cloudtop Immortal Palace.

Fairy Yunshang watched the spectacular scene of the blood-red decree sweeping across the world in the water mirror, and watched the devastated face of the Ninth Prince.

She picked up a cup of spiritual tea and took a gentle sip.

The tea fragrance curled, refreshing the heart.

The smile on her lips was gentle and satisfied, as if she were enjoying a grand opera that had been planned for a long time and was now playing perfectly.

"What a fine catalyst."

She whispered, her fingertips tapping lightly on the water mirror, and the scene switched to a corner of the map that was pitch black and constantly churning with gray mist.

"Go, go to the Return to Ruins, my poor 'antibodies'."

"Go find your last hope, and then..."

"Open the prologue of a new era for me."

In the desolate valley.

"Shadowless!"

An urgent voice rang out, and [Outlaw Zhang San], along with [Shield Mountain], [Charge to the End], and several other core guild leaders, rushed out from the other side of the valley.

They were the designated extraction team.

When they saw [Shadowless]'s miserable state and the blood-red mark on his forehead, everyone's heart sank to the bottom.

"I got... the item." [Shadowless] didn't waste words, handed the stone box to [Outlaw Zhang San], and then sat down on the ground, frantically chugging health potions.

[Outlaw Zhang San] took the stone box; it felt cold and incredibly heavy.

He glanced at the same indelible mark on his own forehead, then at the distant horizon, where dozens of powerful streaks of light were already being attracted by this mark, speeding towards them!

"We've been tracked!" [Shield Mountain] said in a deep voice, having already taken out his signature, pockmarked, door-sized heavy shield.

"Go!"

[Outlaw Zhang San] made a decisive choice, put the stone box into a special storage bag, and hoisted [Shadowless] up.

"Where to? The whole Sacred Land is hunting us!" [Charge to the End] gripped his long blade, his fighting spirit boiling, yet tinged with a hint of confusion.

[Outlaw Zhang San] didn't answer; he just looked towards the end of the map.

In that direction, the sky was eternal gray-black, and the earth presented an ominous, deathly silence.

That was the forbidden zone for all living beings on the Central Continent, the legendary land of death from which even light could not escape.

It was the only "path of survival" given by the Ninth Prince at the last moment.

— Return to Ruins.

"Our main city is gone, and our home is gone." [Outlaw Zhang San]'s voice was unusually calm in the wind, "Then we'll go to a place... that even the Sacred Land dares not easily tread, and build a new home."

His gaze swept over the group.

"Are you afraid?"

No one answered.

But the flames rekindled in their eyes said it all.

From a group of "Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren" repairing ancestral halls to public enemies hunted by the entire world.

This game was getting more and more interesting.

"Boom—!"

The first sword light of the pursuers landed on the mountain peak behind them, slicing the entire mountain top flat!

The terrifying pressure surged like a tidal wave.

"Go!"

[Outlaw Zhang San] roared, and everyone stopped hesitating, beginning their frantic escape toward that black forbidden zone that represented despair and the unknown!

Behind them was the wrath of the entire Sacred Land, and countless pursuers drawn by the mark.

In front of them was the Return to Ruins, which devoured everything.

The era of the Great Escape had officially arrived at this moment.