Night of Despair

Clash!

A crisp sound.

Yu Hong, who should have been frozen, broke through the ice layer once again with ease. With every movement, he shattered the ice around him and continued flying toward his opponent.

Lu Xian's face turned pale.

"Great Elemental Star Flash!"

He exhausted all his spiritual power and frantically cast spells at Yu Hong.

"Aurora Freezing Technique!"

"Space Cutting Technique!!"

"Rapid Golden Blade Storm!"

"Instant Death Ray!!"

One after another, powerful elemental spells—ice, fire, blue, green—repeatedly struck Yu Hong.

But as the spells dissipated, Yu Hong continued to fly toward Lu Xian steadily.

In contrast, Lu Xian, despite being a Ninth Level Mage of Contamination Level, had overexerted himself by casting such powerful Star Destruction Spells in a short time. His face turned ashen, and his spiritual power was severely depleted.

"Is it over?" Yu Hong flew up to Lu Xian, less than three meters apart.

"You...!!??? What on earth are you?!" Lu Xian's lips trembled as he stared at Yu Hong.

"I'm just an ordinary person with good luck."

Yu Hong grinned.

Bang!!

In an instant, he struck with his palm.

Lu Xian's head exploded, and his corpse was flung away, smashing into the door of the Moth Gate, creating a cloud of dust.

"Brother!!"

"Teacher!!"

The other two mages suddenly snapped out of their daze and rushed toward Lu Xian's corpse.

Behind the corpse, a new body of Lu Xian was rapidly forming, the Substitute Death Technique taking effect once more.

"Oh? There's still more," Yu Hong was surprised, then continued toward Lu Xian.

"Enough." Suddenly, an elderly figure holding a purple crystal staff appeared in front of Yu Hong.

The old man had a pair of gray moth wings on his back that slowly flapped. It was Yanier, who had been observing all along.

"Yu Hong, your talent is rare in the world. Even in the Floating City, it's unique. Qinghe Mountain has long been destroyed and cannot offer you the future you desire. We belong to the Elemental Imperial Court, and His Majesty is eagerly seeking talent. If you join us, you will enjoy wealth, immortality, and freedom. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Yanier smiled, persuading Yu Hong.

"Wealth, immortality, and freedom? I can achieve those on my own. Why should I pledge my loyalty to you?" Yu Hong said, looking at Lu Xian, who was resurrecting again.

"Move aside!"

"You've killed him twice; any anger should be appeased by now. Let's just end this here. We might even have opportunities to collaborate in the future," Yanier suggested with a smile.

"Your Elemental Imperial Court..." Yu Hong looked at Yanier. "Are you surrendering?"

Yanier's smile faded.

"Source Disaster is the trend of the times. It affects countless universes and timelines, and there's no escaping it. Even Qinghe Mountain, once so powerful, with Heavenly Venerates in the sky, what has become of it now?"

"Enough talk. If you're unwilling, I'll have to... use force!"

He abruptly raised his hand, and his wings rapidly extended, turning into two curtains that enveloped the surroundings, charging toward Yu Hong.

This seemingly simple tactic was something Yu Hong couldn't counter.

In the last moment when Yanier's voice echoed, the space around Yu Hong transformed into an unbreakable giant lock, holding him firmly in place.

Yu Hong struggled, but even his strengthened physique couldn't break free from such confinement.

"Have you ever faced an Immortal directly? Unity of Heaven and Man means controlling the space-time around oneself. To fight an Immortal is to fight against everything within their domain," Yanier's voice echoed in Yu Hong's ears. "So...."

Buzz!

A golden light suddenly shone from Yu Hong's body. It wasn't his own light but a trump card gifted by Feng Xuezi, glowing clear as water.

"So what?" Yu Hong looked up at him.

Bang.

The giant Moth Gate began to close slowly and fade away.

Yanier, who had been speaking moments before, vanished without a trace, along with the other moth creatures.

Only Lu Xian and his two comrades remained, their spaceship floating aimlessly in the air.

.... Yu Hong was speechless and glanced at the three.

Swish!

His terrifying physical strength erupted with an instantaneous movement-like speed. He raised his right hand and slashed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Three crisp sounds, and the elemental shields on the three mages burst like balloons. Their bodies were shattered at the same moment.

"No!!" Lu Xian's body once again resurrected and condensed in the air not far away, but Yu Hong flashed again and smacked it to pieces.

After this time, there was no more sound.

Yu Hong sighed, turned around, and flew towards Black Black Spirit.

His body also quickly shrank during the flight, returning to its normal state.

Crack.

The door opened, and Quan He was standing silently at the door, throwing him a set of clothes.

"Welcome back victorious."

"Thank you." Yu Hong took the clothes to cover his lower body. Luckily, Quan He was in a state of shock and confusion, otherwise, it would be somewhat embarrassing to be discovered naked.

After entering the room, Yu Hong immediately operated the safe house, turning towards the Wind Disaster.

"We must leave immediately. My earlier move was just to scare the opponent. I heard from my master that both the Heavenly Sun Sect and Elemental Imperial Court have Golden Immortal experts holding power. Our goal this time is reached, it's time to stop to avoid attracting higher-level troubles."

"Your arrangement, then." Quan He nodded.

She was now numb, thinking this time would be a hard fight, but Yu Hong went out and settled everything in just a few moves and even turned into a massive black humanoid over six meters tall.

"Honestly, Yu Hong, what is your cultivation level, exactly?" Quan He couldn't help but ask again.

"Nascent Soul Late Stage. It's just that I accidentally awakened a mysterious bloodline, so I can transform and fight. It's not a big deal. You'll certainly be able to unearth some bloodlines within your body in the future too. I just got lucky. These things everyone can do, it's nothing special."

Yu Hong naturally replied.

"...." Quan He now didn't know how to face the words 'got lucky.'

"Alright, now that this matter is settled, we should leave. The Heavenly Tribulation is over, it's time to return to the City of No Light to continue cultivating." Yu Hong, in a good mood, piloted Black Black Spirit and quickly disappeared into the multitude of colorful threads in the Wind Disaster.

*

*

*

Time flies like an arrow, and years pass by like a shuttle.

After resolving Lu Xian and the other two, Yu Hong and Quan He did not leave the City of No Light at will. They remained within, focusing on cultivation and strengthening. Breaking through, they would go to Floating City to undergo tribulation, repeatedly.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

Yu Hong unsurprisingly broke through to the late stage of Divinity Transformation smoothly. During this period, he did not fuse any new traits but continuously enhanced his Outer Eye.

After savoring the benefits of Emosa's Body, upon returning to the city, Yu Hong immediately fused Lu Xian's eye to further strengthen his Outer Eye.

The result was a countdown of three full years.

Aside from this, Yu Hong also cultivated the Qingwei Heart Technique to the third layer, and the Three Elements Divine Light art also reached perfection, acquiring a new trait.

But by this time, both he and Quan He were almost unable to stay any longer.

Because the vitality reserves they carried had finally been exhausted from cultivation and absorption.

Without enough vitality in the future, their cultivation progress would slow down significantly.

In three years, Quan He had also advanced to the middle stage of the Golden Core, thoroughly understanding the vast gap between herself and Yu Hong.

Understanding that Yu Hong's so-called good luck was genuinely just saying it nicely.

"You should indeed leave, it's time."

In the safe house, Su Dan's voice echoed in Yu Hong's ears.

"The Black Tide I warned you about earlier is real this time. The enormous Black Tide covering the City of No Light is not comparable to those outside. Only the strongest Unconscious Body monsters can enter here, and the truly most destructive Heavenly Disaster will arrive. You can't withstand it." Su Dan sighed.

"Senior, the formation in the safe house was set up by a Golden Immortal..." Yu Hong frowned and said while sitting cross-legged.

"So what? A Golden Immortal can indeed hold it off, but only at the initial stage. As it progresses, dangers that can penetrate the array and affect you will arise. At your current level, facing them means certain death." Su Dan answered.

"Then, Senior, how long will the Black Tide last?" Yu Hong asked in a deep voice.

"It will last ten years each time. After ten years, you can come back. Besides, you must go out to absorb vitality." Su Dan said. "By the way, where are you planning to go to replenish vitality?"

"Not yet, Floating City can't be used for replenishment. The Black Disaster is still spreading, and there are too many spies from the surrender faction. It's too dangerous and attracts too much attention." Yu Hong shook his head.

"I can recommend a few directions for you. At your current cultivation level, you can find sufficient vitality in any universe. But going out only to recharge vitality is a waste. So... you can also collect some resources and treasures suitable for your Immortal Dao, enhancing yourselves. Additionally, you can help some small universes extinguish the Source Disaster's initial invasion, delaying the Great Annihilation."

"So, Senior means we should go to a universe where the Great Annihilation is about to erupt, repair and delay the Annihilation, and also gather vitality and resources?" Yu Hong understood. Wasn't this what he used to do?

"Yes, but unlike before, relying solely on the power of living beings won't accomplish these tasks in the Great Annihilation. The strength of the Great Annihilation is immensely exaggerated. You need to find the most essential induction point of that universe, which is also the critical reason why the Source Disaster leads to the annihilation of the universe. Finding the induction point, whether to conceal, destroy, or remove it, will effectively delay the invasion intensity of the Source Disaster." Su Dan explained.

"Then, how should we find this induction point?" Yu Hong inquired, understanding.

"It's straightforward. The most dazzling and brilliant being among the living things is likely the induction point. This being might be the strongest, a top scholar, or even another creature, not necessarily human. As long as its influence is considerable, and its life force is abundant and resilient, it could be the induction point." Su Dan replied. "There is a simplest recognition method: the soul of an induction point being usually presents itself as a golden light dot."

"Junior understands!" Yu Hong replied solemnly.

"Good. When do you plan to leave?" Su Dan asked.

"We'll leave in about a day after a little preparation!" Yu Hong replied. Lacking vitality, he and Quan He needed to replenish it swiftly.

"Great! Be cautious. Tracking the induction point might attract the surrender faction. At your current cultivation level, do not expose yourselves easily." Su Dan expressed some concern.

After all, Yu Hong was the only individual he could communicate with in these years.

"Junior knows!" Yu Hong nodded solemnly. His Outer Eye enhancement would complete in a few hours. He planned to start integrating the Black Mark's traits immediately after it completed and then set off.