Chapter 1786: This Plan Pits the Tiger Against the Wolf, and Once the Path Is Revealed, It Is Flawless

"The Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor crushed... a doll?"

The Five Domains were dumbfounded, unsure how to react to what was unfolding on the Divine Reflection Mirror. From their perspective, the figure standing on the sea, brazenly mocking the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor, had initially been a little girl. Soon, she transformed. Her head suddenly became the Malevolent Yin puppet that the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor had initially intended to protect.

The little girl, now with a strange puppet head, stood silently on the sea, further enraging the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor. He seemed to be provoked by something, eventually becoming so enraged that he seized the little girl and violently crushed the Malevolent Yin puppet head.

With a 'snap,' everyone's hearts shattered.

"Isn't that what the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor was supposed to protect?""What exactly happened? Could it be that what the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor saw was different from what we saw?""Was he under an illusion?"

"This is bad!" Feng Yujin's heart sank.

The little girl's head exploded, offering a momentary release for his hatred and frustration. But it merely burst open, without any blood, brains, or flesh; nothing that should logically occur, according to memory, appeared. Instead, something eerie happened: after the girl's head shattered, an ominous purple mist spread from the spot. It was very dense, almost congealing into a liquid!

Feng Yujin was no stranger to this power; at that moment, he felt as if the sky was about to collapse. "Malevolent Yin..."

Memories, like firecrackers, exploded deep within his mind after that sound. Suddenly, Feng Yujin had two distinct images: one was the memory quietly implanted just moments ago—a normal little girl provoking him. The second was the memory of the little girl with the Malevolent Yin puppet on her head, which he had clearly seen but inexplicably ignored.

"Memory..." In that instant, Feng Yujin, realizing who the mastermind was, felt suicidal. Just as he was making a big move, ready to strike with full force, Dao Qiongcang, with a simple stratagem, had effortlessly turned his attack into a blow against cotton, leaving him utterly frustrated. No, this was akin to pulling the rug out from under him! He had, with his own hands, crushed the Malevolent Yin puppet that he was supposed to seal and protect!

"Aaaah!" Feng Yujin was on the verge of losing his mind. He knew where his vulnerabilities lay, making him easy for others to exploit. They were nothing more than the meekness, timidity, cowardice, short temper, and emotional instability cultivated over thousands of years. But fools often have good fortune; not knowing was even better than knowing. This feeling of powerlessness—knowing your weaknesses, having them exploited, and only realizing it after the fact—was indescribable!

"Ah—" Inferior skills, insufficient foresight. Feng Yujin could do nothing but rage in helpless fury.

"No, I can still fix this. Nothing will go wrong. Xu Xiaoshou won't blame me; it's Dao Qiongcang's doing!" Feng Yujin suddenly composed himself. He hastily acted, using his sealing power to vigorously contain the purple mist dispersing around him.

"Is this Malevolent Yin consciousness?""Is this what Xu Xiaoshou called the Malevolent Yin?""If at this moment, I were to choose to surrender...""No, no, no..." Feng Yujin immediately reined in such frantic thoughts. Making a mistake and not trying to fix it was already preposterous enough. Betraying someone out of fear of punishment after making a mistake would truly be digging his own grave. Neither Xu Xiaoshou, Ba Zun'an, nor the Malevolent Yin Evil God would respect a turncoat like that.

"Fix it! Fix it!" Feng Yujin summoned one Divine Sealing Coffin after another. His Saint Emperor Aspect quickly made a move, yet he didn't dare use his full power, only attempting to contain all the escaping Malevolent Yin consciousness into the coffins.

"But..."

"It's beyond saving!" The onlookers saw it most clearly. The purple mist that burst forth from the Malevolent Yin puppet seemed to have instantly settled and merged with this world upon its appearance. No matter how much Feng Yujin tried to contain it, he could only gather a portion into the coffins. As soon as his attention wavered and he focused on other areas of Malevolent Yin consciousness, the qi he had just collected in the coffins quietly dissipated again.

"Ah—" At that moment, the Five Domains heard that heart-wrenching cry, almost feeling the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor's collapse, and simultaneously shocked by the unfathomable calculations of the mysterious Hall Master Dao:

"Hall Master Dao hasn't even truly made a move yet, has he?"

"Hmph." From the void, a mocking chuckle suddenly echoed. Soon, accompanied by eloquent words, a star-robed man holding a Divine Mechanism Compass in one hand strode from afar, covering vast distances in mere steps:

"The extent of a person is predetermined at birth. Talent sets the lower limit; effort is negligible. Even with clever ideas, if one occasionally catches a fast ship, the shortcuts taken at that time will be repaid tenfold later. It's not that choice is greater than effort, nor that talent determines destiny. What cannot be changed, that is 'Heaven's Will!'"

"Hall Master Dao..." Countless people watched the star-robed man in the Divine Reflection Mirror, striding from afar bathed in holy light, uttering profound words that enlightened everyone. He was so sacred that, even though he should have appeared dim and insignificant under the Saint Emperor Aspect, he now seemed immensely towering.

"Dao Qiongcang..." Feng Yujin gnashed his teeth, understanding the underlying meaning of Dao Qiongcang's words. He was nothing more than mocking Feng Yujin for his current achievements, which were merely reliant on his Sealing Body and the fortuitous chance of gaining the Saint Emperor's status. He was also ridiculing Feng Yujin, implying that choosing Xu Xiaoshou and the Saint Servants now might not lead him to a prosperous path at all. Instead, he might spend another millennium repaying the shortcuts he coincidentally took back then due to his talent?

Holy light illuminated Dao Qiongcang's advance. Dao Qiongcang spoke with a faint smile, seemingly in complete control, as if everything was within his grasp: "Heaven's Will cannot be defied, yet it is not unchangeable; otherwise, there would be no talk of 'defying fate and altering destiny.' However, those who defy Heaven must act within their capabilities."

He finally stopped not far from Feng Yujin. His half-smile, half-mocking gaze fixated on Feng Yujin, who bore the Saint Emperor Aspect, as if looking down on an ant: "Clever tricks and superficial skills may grant temporary benefits, but at crucial moments, they always fall short and cause more harm than good. What do you say, Feng Yujin?"

Feng Yujin's face turned green with anger. If he were the Cold Palace Saint Emperor, even if it were just a wisp of his will descending, Dao Qiongcang would not dare to be so presumptuous. If he had the regenerative vitality of the Three Ancestors of the White Vein, or the daring courage of the Demonic Emperor Black Dragon, he would dare to erupt. But he was none of those! He was merely the Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor. He was just an unknown nobody from the inner island of Void Island. He was not an innate being; although he used the name of the Sealing Body, he had cultivated step by step from a post-natal spiritual master, relying solely on himself. This body was also his true self. If he died, he would be gone.

Even so! This is unbearable! "But how dare you deceive me?" Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, let alone a human. Feng Yujin could no longer hold back. He gathered his strength and unleashed a powerful punch, completely sealing off the surrounding Dao principles and cutting off all of Dao Qiongcang's escape routes.

But... As that punch was about to land on his face, Dao Qiongcang surprisingly did not dodge or evade. He even had a spring-like breeze on his face, full of smiles, without the slightest intention of defending himself. "What does this mean?"

As his thoughts wavered, Feng Yujin's vision distorted. Dao Qiongcang's face transformed into Mo Mo's slightly startled expression. Not only did he fail to land that strike, Feng Yujin abruptly retracted his punch, causing a surge of blood to his heart, and even blowing off one of his own arms. But when he looked again... Dao Qiongcang was still Dao Qiongcang in front of him. Mo Mo, who had appeared moments ago, was merely a fleeting, illusory image in his own memory.

"Heh." Dao Qiongcang chuckled softly and shook his head: "I stand right before you, yet you don't even know that I am I."

How could he fight? How could he fight this? Feng Yujin knew this wasn't Mo Mo; Mo Mo was in the Divine Ruins, where Xu Xiaoshou could protect her. But he was afraid! He couldn't distinguish, truly couldn't distinguish. At this moment, he didn't even know if the little girl's head that had just exploded, that Malevolent Yin puppet, was a real puppet or a fake head. What if even the surrounding Malevolent Yin mist was fake, and the Dao Qiongcang before him was the true Malevolent Yin puppet's transformation?

"I can make one mistake... But if I make mistakes again and again, who can tolerate that?" Not to mention Xu Xiaoshou, Feng Yujin himself couldn't accept it!

"Hahahahaha." Dao Qiongcang's grand psychological attack was complete, and he burst into loud laughter. His laughter suddenly froze. His body became stiff, his hands uncontrollably rising, and strange sounds painstakingly emerged from his mouth: "Shou... Shou God..." But just as Dao Qiongcang's knees were about to buckle again, he, with practiced ease, detonated himself, blowing his entire body apart.

"My Xu, you are always one step behind me." Laughing towards the heavens, Dao Qiongcang exploded and vanished. All that remained was a black, withered branch of the Sacred Infant Holy Plant, flung into the air, and a solemn voice declaring: "Art: Return to the Tomb of Consciousness!"

"Sacred Infant Holy Plant?" Feng Zhongzui, having heard his old patriarch's words, finally realized what this was and tentatively dared to interpret Hall Master Dao's intentions: "Is Hall Master Dao planning to ally with the Malevolent Yin? The Sacred Infant Holy Plant originated from the Divine Ruins, which is also the site of the God Slayers. I heard it eventually merged with the Malevolent Yin, becoming indistinguishable from it..." He paused, then fell into confusion again: "But how can Hall Master Dao possess Malevolent Yin techniques? And this 'Tomb of Consciousness Return' seems different from the 'Tomb of Souls Return'?"

"Could it be that this branch contains Malevolent Yin techniques, and it was planted there in advance during the time of the Divine Ruins?" This is truly terrifying to think about!

No one understood Hall Master Dao's current actions. The only thing everyone had previously been willing to believe—that no matter what Hall Master Dao did, he would at least not do anything detrimental to the Sacred God Continent—now also wavered. Because what Hall Master Dao was doing at this moment had absolutely nothing to do with 'justice'!

Whoosh— As the technique was unleashed, dark clouds gathered once more above the Southern Nether. This echoed the cloud of consciousness hanging high above the Southern Domain's Land of Sin. By now, everyone fully understood: "The Grand Emperor Cangsheng's Tomb of Souls Return had never succeeded. But the Tomb of Consciousness Return, activated by the Malevolent Yin Evil God, had been established above the Southern Domain since the era of the 'Technique Dogs,' disguised as the Tomb of Souls Return?"

When he realized this layer of truth, Feng Zhongzui broke out in a cold sweat. The two clouds of consciousness, from the Southern Domain and Southern Nether, were too similar. The only essential difference was... The one above the Southern Domain contained more of Grand Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness and less Malevolent Yin consciousness, which was merely contamination. Whereas the one above the Southern Nether was an overwhelming, massive amount of Ancestral God consciousness, fully imbued with the Malevolent Yin's malevolent aura.

"The Evil God is going to revive in the Southern Domain's Land of Sin!"

As everyone in the Five Domains realized this, both dark clouds trembled. Then, the main Malevolent Yin consciousness above the Southern Nether actively attacked. The dark cloud rapidly expanded, as if starved for a long time, eager to merge with Grand Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness and its own remaining fragments. As it swept across the border, all observers in the Five Domains held their breath. Above the Southern Domain's Land of Sin, the Tomb of Consciousness Return belonging to Grand Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness began to tremble violently.

"Grand Emperor Cangsheng is resisting...""Grand Emperor Cangsheng is resisting! He is refusing!"

Feng Zhongzui screamed repeatedly, but his cries, and the gazes of the Five Domains, could not stop the main Malevolent Yin consciousness from acting. The Southern Nether Cloud swiftly ascended to the Land of Sin!

"Where's Master Shou?" At this moment, the only one who seemed capable of resolving this urgent situation appeared to be Master Shou. But when the main Divine Reflection Mirror displayed Master Shou, everyone in the Five Domains felt a sinking feeling.

"This is..." Master Shou's eyes were vacant; his entire being seemed to be in a state of bewilderment. He subtly extended a hand, lightly caressing the void. Although there was nothing in front of him, it was as if he was stroking some untouchable barrier.

"That's it!" At this moment, people suddenly awoke to the truth and thoroughly comprehended Hall Master Dao's calculating and devious heart: "The Malevolent Yin, as an evil god, can transcend the restrictions of the Ancient Battle God Platform and slightly intervene in the battle. Master Shou is merely a Grand Void, and Grand Emperor Cangsheng is now only residual, not dead; he cannot overstep the 'rules'!"

The Southern Nether's Tomb of Consciousness Return heavily collided with the dark cloud above the Southern Domain's Land of Sin. The power wave that erupted in that instant distorted space across the Land of Sin, causing thunderous roars that could shatter eardrums to reverberate everywhere.

Zzt!— After a flash of blinding white lightning, everyone gazed with wide eyes, able to see the Southern Domain's aerial view, barely pieced together by the Divine Reflection Mirror's subordinate mirrors across the Five Domains. The Tomb of Consciousness Return from the Southern Nether was rapidly engulfing the one above the Southern Domain's Land of Sin!

"Devouring..." Feng Zhongzui seemed to lose the strength to explain, his palms and soles sweating: "The main Malevolent Yin consciousness is rapidly devouring Grand Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness. No matter how much Grand Emperor Cangsheng resists, he is merely residual consciousness, already partially contaminated by Malevolent Yin consciousness; he is utterly powerless to resist."

"Fast! So fast!""In just a few blinks of an eye, it's almost completely devoured. The Malevolent Yin is terrifying, and Grand Emperor Cangsheng..." Feng Zhongzui swallowed with difficulty, letting out a mournful cry: "Grand Emperor Cangsheng, will he really fall today?"

Whoosh— Eerie winds swept through the Five Domains. It was as if everyone had already heard the mournful, despairing wail that accompanies a Saint Emperor's fall. As of this moment, all hope had vanished for everyone. Hall Master Dao had indeed partnered with the Malevolent Yin, and their plan was, without a doubt, a perfect one:

"Use Grand Emperor Cangsheng's Ancient Battle God Platform as a cage to restrict Master Shou, the variable. Then use Master Shou's combat power to cripple Grand Emperor Cangsheng, the most difficult part of the Malevolent Yin's revival. Afterward, have the Malevolent Yin intercept the path, ensuring Grand Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness isn't extinguished. This can indirectly utilize the War Ancestor's will, preventing Master Shou from interfering with the main Malevolent Yin's revival outside the Ancient Battle God Platform. And with Master Shou out of the picture, who can stop Hall Master Dao's plan from progressing?"

The Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor? The Sealing Heavenly Saint Emperor couldn't even last a single breath! When the unfathomable Dao Qiongcang truly makes his move, no one can stop him!

"And with no one able to stop Hall Master Dao, when the Malevolent Yin revives, Grand Emperor Cangsheng's residual consciousness will be completely devoured. Even if Master Shou then regains his ability to act, what can he do? This scheme of driving tigers to devour wolves, restraining each other, and letting me reap the benefits alone... even if Master Shou returns, it will be too late to turn the tide!"

When Feng Zhongzui finished analyzing the current situation and revealed everything without reservation, a huge uproar swept through the Five Domains. What exactly did the Malevolent Yin's revival aim to achieve? What was Hall Master Dao's true motive for colluding with an evil god? Everyone panicked.

But what caused even greater panic was this: As these thoughts came to mind, a mournful shriek, as if it could no longer withstand the pressure, echoed from the Southern Domain's Tomb of Consciousness Return: "No—"