Chapter 1080: Heavenly Fiend Lone Star, Life-taking Demigod

"Sinner No. 945116, you have been added to Void Island's Sinner Banishment List. Banishment countdown: ten days. Please atone for your transgression!"

"Sinner No. 945116, your unauthorized actions have violated Void Island's rules. Each subsequent action will reduce your banishment countdown by one day. Act wisely!"

Just as he barely escaped the Forest of Miracles, two sudden messages flashed through Jiang Buyi's mind. He froze.

"What's going on?" Even though Jiang Buyi was a Half-Saint from the Northern Region of the Sacred Continent, he had never heard of the specific rules of Void Island, nor did he understand how he had triggered these two prohibitions.

"Who's there?" Jiang Buyi immediately scanned his surroundings. But no matter how he searched, he couldn't find anyone who might have caused this – it seemed no one on Void Island could create such an illusion for a Half-Saint.

It wasn't a person... Then it must be... "The Spirit of Void Island?" Jiang Buyi's pupils contracted slightly. He vaguely remembered that Void Island indeed had a "Spirit" in ancient times.

However, over such a long period, the Spirit of Void Island had long since diminished in power with the passage of time. Apart from the Void Attendants, almost no one could gain the favor of the Spirit of Void Island. Jiang Buyi never expected to become that lucky person, but unfortunately, this special attention from the Spirit of Void Island was not a benevolent sign.

"Banishment..." Jiang Buyi mused, chewing on the word thoughtfully.

Upon entering Void Island and leaving his name on the Void Suppressing Stele, he received a warning: "Please observe Void Island's order." However, when he asked what that order specifically entailed, the stele gave no response, so he didn't take the matter seriously.

He never imagined that this so-called "order" would require him to risk his life to discover it!

"Did it suddenly give me two commands because my actions in the Forest of Miracles activated its forbidden zone properties?" "And is this second message true or false? Will taking action again reduce the countdown?" "Banishment..." "Where else can Void Island banish a Half-Saint like me?"

Soon, Jiang Buyi thought of the "Inner Island of Void Island," and his face instantly darkened, unable to maintain his composure.

No way! The Inner Island was truly a place of banishment! It was said that even Half-Saints had no rights there, and even Saint Emperors could be scourged by the rules if they weren't careful.

While the words of the fake Bā Zūn'ān in the Forest of Miracles certainly contained an element of intimidation, Jiang Buyi understood that exaggeration was always built upon a foundation of truth. If he were truly banished to the Inner Island of Void Island, then, as the fake Bā Zūn'ān had said, "whether he could get out" wouldn't be the question; "whether he could survive" would be the critical issue!

"How should this Half-Saint atone for his transgression?" Facing the surrounding void, the dignified Half-Saint suddenly activated his Saintly Path and asked.

Jiang Buyi was afraid. He never wanted to wander on Void Island in the first place, having long heard of its horrors. Now, by simply taking one action not in accordance with the rules, he had angered the Spirit of Void Island.

Taking another rebellious action, like striking at thin air to test if his next move would indeed reduce the countdown... The idea was tempting, but Jiang Buyi didn't dare to try.

What if the countdown really did decrease? What if the ten-day countdown ended in an instant, and he was powerless to resist, directly banished to the Inner Island by the rules? What then?

"Welcome... to... Void Island. Please... strictly observe... Void Island's... order. Violators... die!" The fragmented warning from the Void Suppressing Stele back then, which had failed to stir any ripples in his heart, now seemed terrifying.

Void Island was truly operating according to its unknown rules! The Spirit of Void Island was even considerate enough to give him, a sinner of Void Island, a ten-day buffer period even after making a mistake. How could he possibly commit another act of defiance and explore the unknown risks after the supposed countdown ended?

Jiang Buyi's face tightened as he waited for a response from the Spirit of Void Island. He felt that no matter what, he was a Half-Saint; the other party should show him some respect.

But there was none. After waiting for a long time, the Spirit of Void Island gave no reply beyond the two instructions it had just sent into his mind.

Jiang Buyi took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and once again activated his Saintly Path, speaking gravely: "I, Jiang Buyi, a Half-Saint, did not intentionally violate Void Island's rules. What happened today was merely a misunderstanding. I ask the Spirit of Void Island for clear guidance... on how to 'atone for my transgression'?"

He looked around; the Heavenly Path vibrated. Yet, even when he intentionally tried to appeal to Void Island's rules, his voice seemed to go unheard by the Spirit of Void Island. —There was no response!

"The First Sinner's Hall." Just then, footsteps approached from afar, and a hoarse, ancient voice sounded.

"Who's there?" Jiang Buyi whirled around. Since the newcomer could reply, it meant they had heard everything he'd just said to the Spirit of Void Island. Could this person then infer his current state—that he couldn't take action?

"Tap." The footsteps stopped a hundred miles away. The next step would take them into the Saintly Domain, but the newcomer paused, silently observing the invisible boundary between life and death before them, and softly asked: "Half-Saint Jiang, may this old one enter?"

Jiang Buyi's expression remained impassive, returning to his usual calm, but he immediately recognized the newcomer. Orange robes, an orange mask... Undoubtedly, it was the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, who had tried to attack him with Huang Quan under the deep sea that day!

His gaze shifted, focusing on the orange-masked figure's right eye. Although the pupil visible beneath the dark mask appeared normal, Jiang Buyi knew that this person had fully adapted to the power of the "Three Aversions' Demonic Eye." He had opened his eye under the deep sea!

"Why not?" Jiang Buyi smiled, his hands clasped behind his back, as if the interrupted battle under the deep sea that day, which had been cut short by the Void Gate's summoning power, held no significance for him. He showed no fear of the person in the distance. What did a Half-Saint have to fear?

"Then this old one won't be polite." With a step, the Five Decays of Heaven and Man entered the domain, and in a few strides, stood before Jiang Buyi.

"This Half-Saint truly didn't expect you to dare approach me alone, without the limitations of a Forbidden Art Barrier." Jiang Buyi watched the newcomer with a faint smile, yet constantly vigilant for any unusual movement from the person's right eye.

"Fear, of course, there is fear," the Five Decays of Heaven and Man said emotionlessly, yet incisively, "But after all, Half-Saint Jiang, you wouldn't dare attack me now, would you?"

Jiang Buyi's lips curved, his heart still steady, and he chuckled slightly, "Why not?"

The Five Decays of Heaven and Man raised his dark eyes, silently observing the Half-Saint before him, finally sighing, "What remarkable composure..." He paused, then continued, "But this old one didn't feel any pressure even when facing a Saint. Why is that?"

Jiang Buyi finally couldn't maintain his composure. His expression changed as he realized that due to the two messages in his mind, he had overly restrained the natural aura and pressure of a Half-Saint. He couldn't help but relax his Qi Sea.

The next second, an overwhelming pressure, like a tsunami, overwhelmed the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, causing him to tremble violently and his knees to buckle slightly.

"Because this Half-Saint is curious, curious why you dared to come before me, and what your intentions are?" Jiang Buyi spoke calmly, then hurriedly reviewed the messages in his mind.

Countdown... ten days! No reduction! Good. This meant that the Spirit of Void Island's "cannot take action" was not absolute. As long as he didn't further violate Void Island's rules or fully exert a Half-Saint's power, simple use of aura, pressure, and the like would be fine.

With that, Jiang Buyi was completely at ease. With his aura alone, over ninety percent of Grand Voids wouldn't be able to act against him. Dominating Void Island would be no problem at all.

"Half-Saint Jiang..." The Five Decays of Heaven and Man struggled against the Half-Saint's pressure, his body trembling violently, yet he gnashed his teeth and sneered, "Even you can only do this much?"

Jiang Buyi's face remained impassive, but his voice deepened: "You, truly wish to die?"

"No, this old one merely wishes to see, Half-Saint Jiang... whether you wish to die, or to live!" The Five Decays of Heaven and Man suddenly raised his eyes. Light and shadow flickered in his right eye, and three gray flowers swirled, exuding an eerie power.

Jiang Buyi reacted swiftly, kicking the person before him a hundred miles away. At the same time, he rapidly retreated, instinctively wanting to use his Qi Sea Saint Force for protection, but he held back.

"Cannot act, cannot act..." He continuously cautioned himself not to act rashly, but then his thoughts abruptly halted, and he realized something.

He had to act! This fellow clearly knew something. The best solution now was to expend one chance to act and kill him here. Otherwise, if this person went around spreading the word, everyone would know his current state and that he couldn't kill anyone. Wouldn't his Half-Saint status be jeopardized?

In just an instant, Jiang Buyi weighed the pros and cons, and his Qi Sea Saint Force was about to be drawn out.

"Half-Saint Jiang!" From afar, a sharp roar echoed.

The Five Decays of Heaven and Man, a hundred miles away, rubbed his chest. Feeling the kick he had just received, which had no Saint Origin fluctuations and was purely delivered by physical strength, he thought, "Just as I suspected." Then he laughed loudly: "You want to kill me? You can try, but whether you, even in your peak state, could instantly kill me, is another matter... And in your current state, where you can only use physical strength, it's absolutely impossible to achieve what you desire!" "Do you believe what I say?"

Jiang Buyi stopped. But it wasn't because of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man's words. It was because he suddenly smelled a foul odor nearby... No, not nearby. The stench was coming from himself?

With a sweep of his Saintly Will, Jiang Buyi's pupils trembled. He clearly saw that, at some unknown point, his physical state had completely changed. His clothes were filthy, his hair withered, his armpits sweating, his body emitting a foul smell... Even his emotions were inexplicably filled with irritability, brutality, and bloodlust – dark undertones that would never appear when he was calm – just one step away from losing joy in his very being.

"The Five Decays of Heaven and Man!" Jiang Buyi understood something. He had originally thought "The Five Decays of Heaven and Man" was merely the code name of that Yama member. He never expected it to also be a power he possessed.

He raised his head. Sure enough, dark clouds gathered in the nine heavens. His own cloud-type power was now full of repulsion. Lightning surged within, almost condensing into a Saintly Tribulation, ready to strike him.

Jiang Buyi was utterly stunned. The Saintly Tribulation was a necessary hurdle to become a Half-Saint, a trial for the Grand Void. But he had already passed his Saintly Tribulation long ago. What was happening now? Was he going to undergo it again?

Not only did he lack any advantages of timing, location, or support for this tribulation, but even the treasures used to defend against the Saintly Tribulation were almost completely consumed in his last one. In his current state, he could only take action ten times... How could he possibly pass this tribulation?

Jiang Buyi was on the verge of losing his mind. He had only exchanged a few words with the person opposite... and he had been ensnared?

"Decay Physique..." During their previous confrontation in the deep-sea world, Jiang Buyi had subtly sensed something was wrong. But just as Huang Quan and the Five Decays of Heaven and Man hadn't been able to fully experience the true power of a Half-Saint within the Forbidden Art Barrier, Jiang Buyi had also never witnessed the manifestation of this kind of Five Decays of Heaven and Man within a Forbidden Art Barrier.

That was why he had been ambushed and caught off guard now! When it rains, it pours; adding insult to injury... That was exactly it!

"You are the Decay Physique? You were suppressed by the Forbidden Art Barrier back then?" Unease flickered in Jiang Buyi's eyes, and he already wanted to turn and run.

"Hehehe..." The Five Decays of Heaven and Man cackled eerily, his body hunched, hands hanging limply. A mist of decay billowed from his entire being, forming grotesque, wing-like giant hands behind his back.

"Indeed." "This old one is the fated Absolute Physique, a Lone Star of Disaster..." A hoarse, resentful voice came, and the dark thunder in the nine heavens suddenly roared. At the same moment, a point of light bloomed within the mist surrounding the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, revealing the eerie pattern of the Three Aversions' Demonic Eye on his raised face, beneath the mask!

"Boom!" Jiang Buyi's mind went blank. He hurriedly averted his gaze, not daring to meet it. At this moment, the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, in his mind, had truly become the advent of a devil, the embodiment of bad luck.

He was clearly the Half-Saint, the absolute superior, and the person before him should have been as insignificant as an ant. Yet, at this moment, their roles and statuses seemed to have swapped...

What was the concept of the Decay Physique? Invincible below a Half-Saint, one for one above a Half-Saint! This was something even the other four of the "Five Great Absolute Physiques" wouldn't dare claim. But the Decay Physique dared, the Five Decays of Heaven and Man dared, and even Half-Saints recognized this designation.

If Jiang Buyi wanted to kill the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, even in his peak state, it would be as the other person said – he could kill him, but he would also have to undergo another Saintly Tribulation. What was that if not seeking death?

And now... He wasn't even in his peak state; he was at his absolute lowest!

Jiang Buyi immediately turned and fled, without a moment's hesitation. But he didn't dare to use his Saint Force, while the Five Decays of Heaven and Man could act without reservation.

"Swoosh!" In an instant, his path was blocked. Jiang Buyi had nowhere to run, nowhere to retreat.

"Damn it!" Jiang Buyi gnashed his teeth, his eyes wide with fury, "Don't push me! If this Half-Saint truly wishes to, I can still kill you!"

"Yes, you can kill me..." The Five Decays of Heaven and Man remained hunched, his hands hanging limply. At the sound, he tilted his head, leaving only a faceless mask raised, eerily like a malevolent spirit's gaze, then he sneered: "But you don't want to die, while I want to die. Can you fulfill my wish?"

A madman! This was a madman! Jiang Buyi's pupils dilated. He was almost unable to suppress the power of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man that the opponent was imposing on him.

He couldn't use his Saint Force, and his emotions were on the verge of collapse... But he was a Half-Saint after all. Even with such frantic thoughts, he still found a glimmer of clarity in the midst of the endless chaos. This was also his only path to survival!

Jiang Buyi suddenly quieted down, smoothed his disheveled hair, stretched out a hand, pressing it gently forward, and said softly: "Don't act rashly, alright?" "This Half-Saint recalls that when you came to me, you didn't initially show any malice?" "Let's talk properly and calm down. That would be good for both of us, wouldn't it?"