45: Eye of Retribution

West of Qingyang City, the newly cast Xuan-iron city gate stood tall, bearing the emblems of the Wang family and Mo Sect side by side, gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the morning light.

Outside the city, the scorched wasteland, once ploughed by the Nine Heavens Thunder Hell Dragon Trapping Formation, had now become a Holy Land in the eyes of the refugees.

Crude but orderly wooden and stone barracks, like mushrooms after rain, sprang up along the edge of the Formation.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose, mingling with the scent of freshly turned earth, revealing a hint of vitality after the catastrophe.

Mo Sect temporary camp, Central Plaza.

A dense crowd knelt on the ground, silent as death.

Thousands of eyes, filled with almost fanatical devotion and bone-deep reverence, stared fixedly at the high platform.

Mo Yuan stood in the center of the high platform, his Xuan-black combat attire outlining his tall and straight figure.

He did not deliberately release his pressure, but the coldness and sense of control originating from his Soul, like an invisible mountain, pressed down on everyone's hearts.

On his shoulder, the Thunderclap Sparrow's silver wings were slightly folded, looking extraordinarily majestic; at his feet, the Stone-skinned Turtle had shrunk to the size of a millstone, its Xuan-black shell adorned with jade talismans that pulsed like breathing; behind him, the Dark Moon Rabbit's ethereal blue figure flickered in and out of sight, its claw blades containing a hidden cold gleam.

To one side of the high platform, Wang Linger, dressed in an ice-blue long dress, personally held a purple sandalwood tray, upon which rested a palm-sized token—the mo sect token!—neither gold nor jade, entirely pitch black, with only a distorted, pulsating dark purple lightning imprint in its center.

Behind her, Wang Tianxiong stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn, representing the Wang family's unreserved support for the Mo Sect.

"Mo Sect is established!" Mo Yuan's voice was not loud, but it resonated like the clashing of cold iron, clearly piercing through the silent plaza, "Enter this sect, and life and death are bound together! Honor and disgrace are shared! Traitors will have their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!"

"Caw—!" The Thunderclap Sparrow's clear cry rang out again!

Invisible ultrasound, like the most precise sieve, instantly swept over the thousands of people below the platform!

Buzz!

The loyal only felt their spirits clear, their sense of belonging intensified.

Those with ulterior motives, even if only a trace of hesitation or dark thought, were instantly struck as if by a heavy blow!

Scattered screams erupted, as people clutched their heads and rolled in agony!

Without Mo Yuan's command, the Mo Sect enforcement team, already standing solemnly at the four corners of the high platform, transformed from the Wang family's elite, moved like cold killing machines, their blades flashing!

Several heads flew, carrying shock and pain, hot blood spurting more than a zhang!

The bodies were swiftly dragged away, as if they had never existed.

Iron and blood forged the Soul! Blood laid the Foundation!

After a brief, deathly silence, a storm of fanatical shouts, like mountains roaring and seas surging, erupted completely:

"Mo Sect forever! Swear to follow the Sect Leader to the death!"

"Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering! Never betray!"

The sound waves rolled, surging straight into the sky!

The last trace of confusion in the refugees' eyes was completely ignited, transforming into the most fervent faith!

Mo Yuan's cold gaze swept over the boiling crowd, like a monarch looking down on his subjects.

He slowly raised his hand, a point of dark golden lightning condensed on his fingertip, and pointed it across the air at the mo sect token!

"Pact!"

Sizzle!

A dark golden lightning imprint instantly branded itself onto the pulsating purple lightning in the center of the token!

The token hummed once, emitting an invisible fluctuation of a Soul contract!

Everyone who had been vetted by the Thunderclap Sparrow felt a slight tremor deep within their Soul, as if connected by invisible threads to the token!

That was a Restriction, but also a brand of protection!

"Wang Linger!" Mo Yuan's voice fell.

"Your subordinate is here!" Wang Linger stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and held the token high with both hands, her posture incomparably respectful.

"I bestow upon you the position of Mo Sect Left Emissary! Wield the mo sect token! Coordinate internal and external affairs!"

"Thank you, Sect Leader! Ling'er will not fail your trust!" Wang Linger's voice carried excitement and determination; the moment she received the token, an invisible sense of authority settled upon her.

She knew this was trust, and even more, a symbol of completely binding the Wang family and Mo Sect together.

"Wang Tianxiong!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Wang Tianxiong took a deep breath, also stepped forward, and bowed in salute.

As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and the head of the Wang family, he was now willing to be subservient, yet without the slightest reluctance.

The power and methods Mo Yuan displayed had won him over completely.

"I bestow upon you the position of Mo Sect Protector Elder! Command the War Hall! Defend the territory and guard the borders!"

"I obey the Sect Leader's command!" Wang Tianxiong's voice was loud, filled with Battle Intent.

The Mo Sect's framework instantly stood up!

With Mo Yuan as the absolute core, the Wang family's power as its flesh and blood, and the refugees as its Foundation, a nascent giant beast raised its head west of Qingyang City!

Mo Yuan turned, facing the Wildlands Mountain Range, and stood with his hands behind his back.

The morning breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing his unfathomably deep dark golden eyes.

The Stone-skinned Turtle raised its head at his feet, its gentle black eyes looking in the same direction, conveying a calm will to protect.

The Dark Moon Rabbit's ethereal blue figure solidified for a moment in the morning light, then quietly vanished again.

"Qingyang is settled." Mo Yuan's voice was very soft, as if he was talking to himself, yet it clearly spread throughout the entire plaza, carrying a coldness of finality, "It's time...to go back."

Go back! Go back to Seven Mysteries Sect! Go back to that place stained with blood debts!

The fervent crowd below seemed to sense the bone-chilling killing intent and the resolute determination to return home in the Sect Leader's words, and their shouts grew even more impassioned, like bidding farewell to a monarch embarking on a distant expedition!

Listening Wave Pavilion, secret chamber.

The Restriction light screen, separating inside from out, flowed with ripple-like spiritual light.

Mo Yuan sat cross-legged in the center, his body enveloped in a dark golden-purple lightning glow that was much more solidified than before, and the aura of a Qi Refining Fifth Layer Peak seemed to be on the verge of Breakthrough.

However, his entire mind was focused on the dark purple Thunder Hell Demon Hand on his lap.

At the center of the palm, the rhomboid cannon core, composed of pure purple-gold Thunder Crystals, resembled the single eye of a Vicious Beast, emitting a dangerous yet alluring aura of destruction.

The energy contained within it was pure and vast, far exceeding what it had been before.

But the backlash black Qi entanglement around it, like a parasitic growth, had also become denser and more active!

Wisps of black Qi, like living venomous snakes, constantly tried to bore deeper into the demonic hand's flesh and bones, each invasion bringing a bone-deep, chilling agony, as if countless ice needles were stirring in his bone marrow!

"Bottle...refine!" Mo Yuan's will was concentrated, fully activating the magic bottle.

Buzz!

A continuous, low hum came from the magic bottle in his embrace, an invisible devouring force enveloped the demonic hand, like the most precise tweezers, peeling away and drawing back the backlash black Qi into the bottle, thread by thread.

The moment the black Qi was peeled away, a tearing pain came from the eroded parts deep within the demonic hand, but it was followed by a brief, relieved sense of ease.

This process was slow and painful, like death by a thousand cuts.

Each time the magic bottle peeled away a wisp of backlash black Qi, its stored Origin energy diminished by a fraction, and the greedy tremor of the bottle body weakened slightly.

Mo Yuan's forehead was already covered in cold sweat, his teeth clenched, and the veins on his neck bulged, enduring inhuman torment.

"Master...you..." In the Soul link, the Dark Moon Rabbit's cool voice carried a hint of imperceptible worry.

She could clearly sense the intense pain fluctuations emanating from deep within Mo Yuan's Soul.

"No matter!" Mo Yuan's cold will severed the Rabbit's worry, with an undeniable resolve, "Power...how can...it not come with a price!"

He endured the severe pain and directed his attention to the newly formed Thunder Crystal Cannon core deep within the demonic hand.

Inside the core, the profound purple-gold runes and the silver Dao patterns representing spatial storage capabilities, under the magic bottle's sorting power and the Thunder Spiritual Root's nourishment, were painstakingly undergoing deeper integration and stabilization.

Each successful integration brought a faint but real sense of control, as if this destructive weapon was being completely tamed, little by little.

Time flowed in the tug-of-war between agony and control.

Five days in the cave-heaven (one day in the outside world).

Mo Yuan's aura became increasingly condensed, and the purple-gold light of the demonic hand's core stabilized, the backlash black Qi entanglement around it temporarily suppressed, leaving only faint traces.

Just as his mind relaxed slightly, preparing to charge the Qi Refining Sixth Layer barrier in one go!

An unexpected change occurred!

Buzz—!!!

The magic bottle in his embrace, without any warning, erupted with an unprecedented, almost frantic, violent tremor!

As if an ancient Vicious Beast, completely enraged, was roaring!

The Dao patterns on the bottle body, representing different sequences of Origin, especially the recently lit, pale golden Dao pattern representing perception and treasure hunting (amber demonic liquid) and the silver Dao pattern representing spatial deduction (silver vein demon liquid), instantly glowed to their maximum intensity like red-hot irons!

A vast, cold, profound suction force, originating from the magic bottle's most fundamental Origin, carrying the Heavenly Dao's merciless will, erupted like an uncontrolled abyss, suddenly!

Target—Mo Yuan's Sea of Consciousness! Target—his Soul!

"Ugh ah—!!!" Mo Yuan was struck as if by a heavy hammer!

His vision instantly went black!

His Soul felt as if it was fiercely gripped and torn by an invisible giant hand!

A pain of Soul tearing, a hundred times more intense than the demonic hand's backlash, swept through his entire body!

His sitting body suddenly arched backward, like a fish out of water, and a mouthful of dark golden blood spurted out!

This was not an attack! Rather, the magic bottle was uncontrollably and greedily devouring Mo Yuan's Soul Origin!

It wanted to extract more! More! To compensate for the enormous deficit caused by stripping away the backlash black Qi!

Like drinking poison to quench thirst!

"Bottle! Stop!" Mo Yuan's will roared amidst the Soul-wrenching pain, attempting to forcibly control the magic bottle!

However, the magic bottle's tremors grew even more violent!

The bottomless dark vortex at the bottle's mouth spun wildly, its suction force surging!

Mo Yuan's Soul, like a breaking dam, surged frantically towards the bottle's mouth!

His consciousness began to blur, and large patches of black snowflakes appeared at the edges of his vision!

Just then!

Rumble—!!!

A terrifying thunderclap, as if from the Nine Heavens, indifferent and merciless, yet grand enough to shatter mountains and rivers, ignored the multiple Restrictions of Listening Wave Pavilion, ignored the obstruction of space, and like the Hammer of Heavenly Dao, slammed heavily into the depths of Mo Yuan's Sea of Consciousness!

Accompanying the thunder, an indescribable, vast as a sea of stars, cold as ancient profound ice, terrifying will, like the collapse of a tangible firmament, descended with a roar!

This will was merciless! Utterly impartial! Carrying an absolute rejection and annihilation of "anomalies"!

It firmly locked onto Mo Yuan! And even more so, it locked onto the magic bottle that was frantically devouring his Soul!

"Forbidden artifact...backlash...Heavenly Dao...will not tolerate..." Han Li's cold warning, like the final death knell, echoed frantically in Mo Yuan's collapsing Sea of Consciousness!

Heavenly Tribulation! The Heavenly Dao's Tribulation, triggered by the magic bottle's uncontrolled devouring of Soul Origin...had arrived!

"Roar!" The Stone-skinned Turtle instantly sensed the impending doom, and its Xuan-black body suddenly expanded!

The jade talismans glowed intensely!

A jade light shield, condensed to its extreme, instantly spread out, enveloping the entire secret chamber!

"Dark Moon!" The Dark Moon Rabbit's ethereal blue figure solidified, its claw blades creating a cold gleam that tore through space, locking firmly onto the secret chamber's dome!

"Caw!" The Thunderclap Sparrow's silver wings spread in fury, its ultrasound condensing into an invisible sharp cone, piercing directly at the source of the descending will!

The Gold-Sniffing Rat trembled in the corner, its golden swirling eyes filled with extreme fear of the Heavenly might!

Mo Yuan bled from his seven orifices, his body convulsing violently as his Soul was torn by a dual assault (magic bottle's devouring and Heavenly Tribulation's lock).

He suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot dark golden pupils staring fixedly at the secret chamber's dome!

His gaze seemed to penetrate layers of bricks, stones, and tiles, penetrate the sky above Qingyang City, and see the world-destroying power gathering above the Nine Heavens!

"Heaven...wants to punish me?" Mo Yuan's voice was hoarse and broken, yet it carried a brutal and frantic madness, born from the deepest part of his Soul, as if pushed to a dead end!

His charred, black Qi-entwined Thunder Hell Demon Hand suddenly lifted, the purple-gold cannon core in his palm lighting up frantically, heedless of the backlash!

Destructive energy, ignoring the backlash, gathered madly!

"Then...come!"

Boom—!!!

An unimaginably thick, purple-black tribulation lightning, emitting endless destructive aura, tore through the clear sky for thousands of miles, ignored all of Qingyang City's defensive Restrictions, and like the Spear of World Annihilation descended by the Heavenly Dao, carrying the will to obliterate everything, it slammed down towards Listening Wave Pavilion—with fierce force!

Target! Mo Yuan! Target! magic bottle!

The Eye of Heavenly Punishment had already opened!