Chapter 983: Forbidden Sea Catastrophe

A phoenix ascended in the Forbidden Sea, shaking all living beings.

On this day, for a moment, the sky above the islands inhabited by various tribes in the Forbidden Sea was completely obscured!

Crimson light replaced the sky's natural hues.

Raging gales flowing through the air replaced the void.

Flames sweeping across the sea usurped the power of the Forbidden Sea's waves.

They surged in a single direction, carrying killing intent and fury, sweeping everything before them!

"The Southern Phoenix has emerged!"

"That's the Flaming Phoenix!"

"What happened to provoke such fury in the Flaming Phoenix!"

Voices of awe and sounds of dread erupted across the many islands of the Forbidden Sea.

Countless eyes were drawn to the sky, fixed on the colossal figure that swept across the land and sky, transforming into a terrifying storm.

Various speculations spread rapidly, but regardless, at this moment, every tribe in the Forbidden Sea that witnessed this scene was deeply shaken.

So, by instinct and common accord, they all gazed in the direction the storm was heading.

In the Forbidden Sea, above the former Corpse Ban, stood the Evil Life Holy Land, vast as a colossal mountain.

This mountain was immense; one could barely glimpse its summit, and the area it encompassed was vast.

From afar, countless mysterious rune marks shimmered on the mountain's surface, constantly moving and colliding, producing rumbling sounds of varying intensity based on the number of collisions.

Sometimes faint, like whispers, other times violent, like heavenly thunder.

This was the Evil Life Holy Land's protective grand formation, established by their peak Great Emperor from ages past.

A Holy Land was called such precisely because a Great Emperor resided there.

When Ancient Emperor Xuanyou departed in the past, those qualified to follow him were naturally the various ancient tribes of Wanggu who possessed Great Emperors.

However, with the passage of time and various unforeseen incidents, Great Emperors eventually perished.

Consequently, Yellow-rank Holy Lands emerged.

After the Great Emperor who founded a tribal Holy Land perished and no new Great Emperor inherited their position, such Holy Lands were classified as Yellow-rank.

The Evil Life Holy Land was no different; although its Great Emperor had perished long ago, the protective grand formation they established continued to safeguard the tribe for tens of thousands of years.

However, as time passed and without the replenishment of a Great Emperor's power, its might gradually waned, and it had now lost its former peak potency.

Nevertheless, it remained formidable.

As the formation's marks gleamed, the thousands of miles of ice-sand surrounding the mountain, formed by its melting ice layers falling into the Forbidden Sea, also trembled slightly, seemingly resonating with the formation.

This area was inaccessible to boats and ships, and sea beasts dared not approach; it stood as a self-contained mountain island within the Forbidden Sea.

Furthermore, the astral aura emanating from the mountain, ancient and venerable yet carrying an inexplicable pressure, intermingled with the Wanggu void, forming wisps of white mist.

Centered around this mountain, the mist dispersed, starkly contrasting in color with the surrounding pitch-black Forbidden Sea.

For this reason, to the foreign tribes on the surrounding islands, this place had been like a fairyland.

But today, outside this fairyland, demonic winds began to howl, and demonic sounds echoed forth.

This wind, composed of flames, approached from the south. The moment it appeared, it dyed the sky a crimson red, as if stained with blood, signaling the advent of doomsday.

The black mist of the Forbidden Sea churned from the burning, as if countless demons struggled within, emitting eerie whispers.

This was one part of the demonic sound.

The other part was the howling of the wind itself.

At this moment, the sky roared, the earth howled, and all living creatures cried out in agony.

Converging, they formed a deafening, earth-shattering roar.

The Evil Life Holy Land bore the direct brunt of the assault.

Thousands of miles of ice-sand on the sea surface melted instantly.

The white mist enveloping the area was instantly ignited, becoming part of the flames that rapidly rolled back in the wind, revealing the colossal mountain within...

Crimson completely shrouded the sky, blazing fire enveloped the Forbidden Sea, and the storm and roars became the sole reality of the region. They coalesced into a colossal figure, like a phoenix or an eagle.

It suddenly surged towards the Evil Life Holy Land.

The moment it approached, this terrifying phoenix- or eagle-like figure extended a massive claw from within the black clouds.

From above, trailing countless lightning bolts, it fiercely clawed at the mountain, as if to tear this colossal peak from the sea!

The Flaming Phoenix's claw, like a divine hand, descended from the sky. Wherever it passed, the void ripped open, heaven and earth roared, and the Forbidden Sea itself was indented.

A terrifying pressure, laden with furious rage, instantly enveloped all directions.

As it descended, overwhelming flames incinerated all the seawater around the mountain, and the sky's fiery expanse enveloped the mountain's entire area.

A deafening roar suddenly tore through the sky, reverberating throughout the Forbidden Sea.

The Evil Life Mountain trembled violently.

But at that moment, a cold snort suddenly emanated from within the mountain. The next instant, all the rune marks on the mountain simultaneously ascended, forming a colossal light barrier.

It was precisely the Evil Life Holy Land's protective grand formation.

The moment the formation appeared, light flowed, forming a dazzling radiance that illuminated all directions. Simultaneously, the countless marks within it each emanated immense power.

This brought the light barrier's defense to its absolute peak, enabling it to abruptly resist the Flaming Phoenix's descending claw.

Earth-shattering rumbling sounds erupted.

Vibrations strong enough to shake a significant portion of the Forbidden Sea instantly erupted.

The surrounding seawater surged into monstrous waves that rolled out in all directions.

The Flaming Phoenix's claw was ultimately unable to descend further, striking the formation.

Inside the formation, every member of the Evil Life Holy Land felt their minds churning. They all looked up, gazing at the sky-obscuring Flaming Phoenix outside the formation.

As their hearts churned, the figure of an old man appeared on the mountain peak.

It was precisely the Old Ancestor of this Holy Land, a Dominator at the peak of cultivation.

He raised his head, gazing intently through the light barrier at the outside world.

He knew the Flaming Phoenix and its standing in Southern Phoenix Continent.

He had also assessed its strength and condition.

But looking now, while his assessment of the Southern Phoenix's strength was generally accurate, his judgment of its current state was significantly off.

"An exceedingly rare variant, even across Wanggu and the starscape; its divine source is terrifyingly astonishing, yet it carries no karmic ties from the Primeval Era..."

"It walks the path of a deity, yet... it has not ignited its divine flame!"

The Evil Life Old Ancestor's heart sank.

"With its divine flame unignited, it can actually contend with the protective grand formation using only its divine source. And the pressure it emanates, while not comparable to a Divine Altar or a Great Emperor, is on par with my own..."

"How has it achieved this!

"Without igniting its divine flame, it has reached such an astonishing level through the accumulation of its divine source. Then if it were to ignite its divine flame..."

The Evil Life Old Ancestor's expression became extremely grave.

"Its profound foundation is truly unparalleled... This variant's ambition is equally astonishing."

"Is it aiming for a massive breakthrough, continuously accumulating its own power to become a True God in a single step the moment it ignites its divine flame?"

"However, it has... a flaw!"

"It's trapped! Some entity has confined it to this sea region of Southern Phoenix Continent, preventing it from straying too far..."

"So, it seeks to achieve True Godhood in one leap to break free from this confinement?"

Pondering this, the Evil Life Old Ancestor's expression became serious, and he slowly spoke.

"Flaming Phoenix, fellow Daoist, even if your rage fills the heavens, you must still provide a reason for your presence."

His voice, like thunder, roared outside.

"Hand over Xu Qing!"

Outside the formation, the Flaming Phoenix, with a claw pressed against it, surged with flames across its entire body, emitting an earth-shattering roar.

Its roar resonated throughout heaven and earth.

"Xu Qing?"

The Evil Life Old Ancestor's heart churned. Recalling Fu Xie's recent emergence from seclusion, he already had an answer. However, Fu Xie represented the future hope of the Evil Life Holy Land, was his primary successor, and currently the only guardian of the clan.

His importance surpassed that of all other clan members.

Especially with his incurable old injuries and his own end nearing, it could be said that even if all other clan members perished, as long as Fu Xie remained, the clan would naturally continue.

Otherwise, once he reached his end and Fu Xie also perished, the Evil Life Holy Land would similarly cease to exist, as there were many other Holy Lands coveting it.

The Holy Land's records were full of instances over the past tens of thousands of years where Holy Lands without Dominators were divided and devoured. "Wasn't that precisely what happened to the Xuanliao Holy Land back then?"

Therefore, though he sighed inwardly, finding the matter extremely troublesome and fraught with immense danger, he chose to believe that Fu Xie was not foolish. Since he had acted this way, it must have been a decision made after carefully weighing the pros and cons.

"On that Xu Qing, there must be enormous benefits that Fu Xie deems worth gambling the clan's very existence for!"

With a frown, the Evil Life Old Ancestor displayed a surprised expression.

"Is this Xu Qing you speak of the Lord of the Saintly Waves and Black Spirit Great Regions?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand, took out a jade slip, and gently squeezed it. Instantly, numerous figures appeared on its surface.

These were all pieces of information collected by the Evil Life Holy Land from various sources, and one of the figures displayed was indeed Xu Qing.

"Southern Phoenix, fellow Daoist, you're referring to this human, aren't you?"

"This old man has never seen this person."

After speaking, he turned to gaze at the Holy Land's clansmen and spoke indifferently.

"Have any of you seen him?"

Inside the Holy Land, the clansmen all shook their heads.

"Therefore, Southern Phoenix, fellow Daoist, you arrive here so overbearingly. Have you considered that you might have come in the wrong direction?"

The Evil Life Old Ancestor gazed at the Flaming Phoenix with composure.

But the instant his words were uttered, the Flaming Phoenix outside the formation, its eyes flashing with killing intent, flapped its wings, and its colossal body surged towards the sky.

After instantly reaching mid-air, its body changed direction, and like a flaming meteor, it shockingly dove towards the mountain!

The descent was without the slightest pause, and its momentum did not diminish in the least.

Wherever it passed, the void shattered, heaven and earth trembled, the seawater boiled, and a terrifying aura descended from the sky.

The surrounding flames exploded with even greater ferocity.

This scene caused the Evil Life Holy Land's Old Ancestor inside the light barrier to feel his heart sink. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he was about to empower the formation to withstand the Flaming Phoenix's imminent impact.

But at that moment, heaven and earth roared as a colossal teleportation formation forcefully tore open the void and appeared in mid-air.

The aura of the Moon-Worshipping Great Region burst forth violently from within this vast teleportation formation.

As its aura spread and pressure intimidated all directions, a cold voice, like a sword-qi slashing across the sky, echoed throughout the area.

"What if I did bully you?"

"Whether we are wrong or not, we will judge for ourselves once we enter!"

As the voice resonated, the Ninth Elder of the Moon-Worshipping Great Region stepped out from within the formation.

Although he was only at the Spirit Concealing cultivation level, at this moment, a sharp intensity capable of threatening a Dominator was clearly evident on him.

Behind him, the Crown Prince, Third Princess, Fifth Princess, and Eighth Elder emerged one after another, each with their aura soaring and the power of their authority erupting, having surged far beyond their former selves.

Li Zihua's children, who had gained authority at the Spirit Concealing level, were praised even by Xuanyou in the past, all considered supreme talents.

Having once been tormented by the Crimson Mother, how could they possibly become ordinary after regaining their freedom!

Now, they had arrived.

After receiving Second Ox's message and learning of Xu Qing's predicament, they rushed here immediately, bringing with them the Inverse Moon Palace, Li Zihua's supreme treasure from that time.

Even more astonishing was that if Xu Qing or Second Ox were present, they would clearly sense Li Zihua's aura emanating from them.

Simultaneously, following them, Ling'er also stepped out, her face filled with anxiety, glaring angrily at the Holy Land.

Witnessing this, the Flaming Phoenix's diving descent paused, for the instant the Moon-Worshipping faction appeared, colossal teleportation formations boomed forth, one after another, across the heavens and earth.

Countless cultivators, each with surging killing intent, converged to form an earth-shattering malevolence as they marched out in formation from within the formations.

That was the army of the Saintly Waves Great Region!

They had come to rescue their Domain Lord!

Within their ranks were also countless black-sky tribe priests in purple robes, each with a purple moon totem on their brow, hailing from the Purple Moon Temple, fighting for the Purple Lord!

Next, amidst the mental upheaval of the Evil Life Holy Land's clansmen and the churning in the Evil Life Old Ancestor's heart, an even more colossal teleportation formation shimmered into existence above the Holy Land.

Terrifying power of destiny erupted from the formation, sweeping in all directions, as an endless army of cultivators, carrying world-shaking combat readiness, emerged from within.

At the very front was none other than King Zhenyan!

It was not over yet... for at this very moment, the aura of a deity was approaching from the flow of time!