"Formation Painter, what's happening?" Lord Long Suqing and Lord Long Kuitian both questioned the Formation Painter at almost the same time.
The urgency in their voices betrayed their tension.
But the Formation Painter offered no explanation. Instead, he said directly, "My Lords, take the young master and miss away. Now."
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone knew that things were truly dire.
Boom—
But before his voice had even faded, the rumbling of heaven and earth grew violently intense.
Next, the great formation sealing the Hall of Equal Sentience shattered like fragments of a broken mirror — it crumbled, it disintegrated.
It was black flames. A mass of black flames burst forth from the Hall of Equal Sentience and tore the sealing formation apart.
Everything happened too fast. By the time the crowd reacted, the black flames had already surged deep into the sky.
The entire sky was engulfed.
The dark flames roiled and churned, terrifying enough on their own, but within those black flames were eight enormous crimson eyes, gazing down at the figures below like a demon god.
Looking closely, one could make out an impossibly colossal creature hidden within the black flames.
No — it wasn't hidden within the black flames. The black flames were emanating from this creature itself.
It was simply too vast. So vast that it blotted out the entire void. Even a martial cultivator's extraordinary vision could not take in its full form.
The moment it appeared, every person present felt their blood run cold — even Lord Long Suqing and Lord Long Kuitian.
Because emanating from this creature was an aura of unimaginable terror: a horrifying, vicious malice, and a force of utter destruction.
"Wh-what is that thing?"
In that instant, many onlookers were nearly frozen with terror. The faint of heart began to weep, and panicked screams rang out without cease.
It wasn't that they were cowards — it was simply that this thing was too horrifying, radiating a suffocating pressure that reached into the depths of one's soul.
The moment it appeared, everyone felt as though they had been cast into hell itself, utterly convinced that death was inevitable.
"Hahaha — it worked! It actually worked!"
But just as the crowd was drowning in terror, Jia Lingyi did something completely unexpected. She threw her head back and burst into laughter.
She seemed to have forgotten all the pain wracking her body. Her face was painted with nothing but boundless smugness and arrogance.
And her laughter succeeded in drawing every gaze back to her.
"Chu Feng, I'll bet you never expected this, did you? You thought with the Totem Dragon Clan backing you, victory was already in your grasp and your vengeance was about to be fulfilled?"
"You're wrong. The one fulfilling a vengeance today is me — Jia Lingyi."
With those words, Jia Lingyi pointed a finger toward the sky — at that heaven-obscuring monstrosity — and then turned her gaze to the Formation Painter.
"Formation Painter, tell them what this is," Jia Lingyi said to him.
But the Formation Painter did not answer. He only stared at Jia Lingyi with a seething glare.
By now he was almost certain — the mastermind behind all of this was Jia Lingyi. This creature had broken free of its seal precisely because Jia Lingyi, in collusion with that other person, had launched attack after attack.
Having apparently anticipated the Formation Painter's refusal, Jia Lingyi swept her gaze across the crowd, finally settling it on Chu Feng.
"Chu Feng, would you like to know what this is?" Jia Lingyi asked.
"What?" Chu Feng asked.
"The true master of this Hall of Equal Sentience forged it from the vengeful malice of countless spirits. Its power — as long as you're still a living person, you can feel it."
"My real reason for coming here was never about you. It was to set this creature free. Now that it's released, not even Long Kuitian and Long Suqing can save you."
"All of you… are going to die." Jia Lingyi's expression was cold and sinister, yet she could not conceal her triumphant glee.
And no one present doubted her words. Even Long Kuitian and Long Suqing understood the kind of power this creature wielded.
Even the two of them had begun to panic. The thought of fighting back had already vanished from their minds — they were only considering how to escape.
But there was one person who remained calm. And that person was Chu Feng.
"Jia Lingyi — does this thing obey your commands?" Chu Feng asked.
"If you want a demonstration, then I'll let you see it with your own eyes before you die." As she spoke, Jia Lingyi slipped her hand into her bosom.
Seeing this, Long Kuitian, Long Suqing, and the Formation Painter all moved instinctively to stop her.
Boom—
But before any of them could act, the black flames overhead churned violently, and a tremendous wave of oppressive force descended from the sky, binding every last one of them in place.
Not just the Formation Painter — even as powerful as Long Kuitian and Long Suqing, they were utterly immobilized before that pressure.
They could only watch, helpless, as Jia Lingyi withdrew a token from her bosom.
The token was a deep shade of violet, yet it carried the same aura as the black flames raging across the sky.
Clutching this token, Jia Lingyi looked upon the bound forms of Long Kuitian, Long Suqing, and the others.
But ultimately, she directed her gaze at Long Muxi.
"Long Muxi, you thought that with your noble status and lofty standing, you could look down on me — on Jia Lingyi — and on my Alchemy Dao Immortal Sect without a shred of respect."
"You thought that helping Chu Feng deal with me would be as easy as crushing an ant beneath your foot?"
"You underestimated me, Jia Lingyi, and you underestimated my Alchemy Dao Immortal Sect."
"Remember — you could have lived. You could have continued your life of glory and wealth. Your brother and your aunt could have lived too, continuing their lofty existences."