Chapter 546: Sunrise Neverfall City

In the council hall of the Longyuan Immortal Sect, Sect Leader Qin Shi Huang and the elders were discussing how to respond to the disregard of these Huanyu great powers.

"These great powers may be strong, but their neglect is precisely our opportunity." Qin Shi Huang said in a deep voice, "We should continue to consolidate our strength."

Longling nodded in agreement: "Not bad; although our strength is still insufficient to confront these great powers head-on, we are not afraid—thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, the tacit understanding leaves the youth poor."

"Elders, something serious has happened!"

Just then, in the council hall of the Longyuan Immortal Sect, the sect's inspector envoy hurried over, his face solemn, delivering an unsettling message.

A outpost on the edge of the Tianji Shengyu—Neverfall City—has recently seen some strange occurrences.

Many cultivators from various sects have mysteriously disappeared, and now a blood slaughter aura permeates the area, gradually turning it into a city of the dead; this news came like a thunderbolt, shocking every senior present.

"Neverfall City has always been an important outpost of our sect, yet now this situation has arisen." Qin Shi Huang's voice carried a hint of urgency.

The abbot of Xiguangsi, an elderly monk, his eyes flashing with determined light, rose to his feet and said in a deep voice, "I am willing to lead my disciples to investigate the matter; the situation in Neverfall City is no trivial matter, and we must uncover the truth."

After a brief discussion, the sect's senior leadership agreed to the abbot's request.

The disciples of Xiguangsi have a unique method for dealing with resentment and fierce imagery; going to Neverfall City might allow them to uncover the truth.

Not long after, the abbot of Xiguangsi led a group of carefully selected disciples onto the journey to Neverfall City.

They passed through layers of mist, crossed countless obstacles, and finally arrived at the outskirts of Neverfall City.

When they entered the territory of Neverfall City, the sight before them made everyone involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air.

Neverfall City was filled with resentment rising to the heavens, corpses scattered across the wild, boundless fierce imagery blocking the sky and covering the sun; the whole city seemed shrouded by a terrifying power.

The abbot of Xiguangsi tightly gripped the prayer beads in his hand, his face showing a solemn expression.

What they faced was not merely some missing cultivators, but a powerful and evil force.

"Everyone be careful; the resentment and fierce imagery here are no trivial matter, we must stay vigilant." The abbot's voice spread among the disciples, who nodded in unison, tightly gripping their Dharma treasures, preparing to face any possible situation.

They began to patrol Neverfall City; with every step they could feel the oppression of resentment and fierce imagery. On the city's streets, scattered Dharma treasures and torn Dharma robes were visible everywhere—these were the traces left by the missing cultivators.

As they went deeper, they discovered a massive formation that exuded a rich blood slaughter aura; evidently it was the culprit turning Neverfall City into a city of the dead. The abbot of Xiguangsi immediately ordered the disciples to set up a demon-subduing formation, hoping to suppress this blood slaughter aura.

The disciples swiftly took action, encircling the formation and began chanting sutras; their Dharma treasures emitted a faint glow.

As the sutras were chanted, the demon-subduing formation gradually activated, and a harmonious power began to spread throughout Neverfall City.

However, the blood slaughter aura seemed unwilling to be suppressed just like that.

It began to violently resist, the formation emitting mournful howls, as if countless wronged souls were struggling within.

The disciples of Xiguangsi wore solemn expressions; they knew this was a hard-fought battle.

The abbot increased the intensity of his sutra chanting, his face showing a resolute expression.

He knew they bore the heavy responsibility of saving Neverfall City; no matter how strong the enemy, they could not retreat.

As time passed, the power of the demon-subduing formation grew stronger, the blood slaughter aura was gradually suppressed, the howls in the formation weakened and finally disappeared.

The resentment and fierce imagery in Neverfall City also began to slowly dissipate, and the city gradually returned to its former tranquility.

The disciples of Xiguangsi were exhausted, their faces all showing relieved smiles.

In the following days, other disciples of the Longyuan Immortal Sect also arrived at Neverfall City in succession, beginning to clear the city's ruins and bury the remains of the missing cultivators.

At the same time, they investigated the source of this blood slaughter aura, hoping to find the mastermind behind it.

After a period of effort, the Longyuan Immortal Sect finally uncovered the truth: it was all the work of a hostile force they had defeated.

After its defeat, this force unwilling to withdraw, set up this formation in Neverfall City, attempting to retaliate against the Longyuan Immortal Sect's outpost via the blood slaughter aura.

Upon learning the truth, the senior leadership of the Longyuan Immortal Sect was furious and felt compelled to deliver a heavy blow to this hostile force as a warning.

However, deep within the Longyuan Immortal Sect, a jade slip suddenly shattered, emitting a clear sound.

This sound, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, shocked every senior member of the sect.

The jade slip was the link between the sect inspector envoy and the sect; its breaking meant that the situation in Neverfall City might be far more complex than they imagined.

The sect's senior leaders quickly gathered in the council hall, their faces solemn.

The master of Xiguangsi, brows furrowed, eyes flashing with doubtful light.

"The killing formation has already been removed; we have inspected Neverfall City and found no clues at all." The master's voice carried a hint of uncertainty: "Could it be that the city still hides some terrifying secret?"

Everyone's hearts rose with unease; if even the master of Xiguangsi could find no trace, then the secret hidden in Neverfall City must be no small matter.

"We must reexamine the situation in Neverfall City." Qin Shi Huang said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "Perhaps our previous investigation was not thorough enough."

Longling nodded, offering his view: "Perhaps we should consider the problem from another angle. The abnormality of Neverfall City may not be merely the killing formation; it could involve a deeper power."

Ziyang Zhenren pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly: "I have heard that in ancient legends, some cities, due to their special geographical location, attract unknown forces. Neverfall City, could it be one of them?"

This proposal left everyone present deep in thought; if true, then the problem of Neverfall City might involve even older secrets of the cultivation world.

"We need more information." An elder proposed, "Perhaps we could dispatch some disciples skilled in concealment and reconnaissance to infiltrate Neverfall City for a secret investigation."

This proposal gained everyone's agreement; they decided to select from the sect some disciples skilled in concealment and reconnaissance, form a special operations team, infiltrate Neverfall City, and uncover the secrets behind it.

The special operations team was quickly assembled, all elite members of the sect, adept at hiding their tracks and possessing outstanding investigative abilities.

After receiving the sect's senior leadership's order, they immediately set out for Neverfall City.

Neverfall City remained shrouded in an eerie silence; the members of the special operations team entered the city soundlessly, spread out, each taking responsibility for a district, and began a meticulous investigation.

They first inspected every corner of the city, looking for any overlooked clues, examining abandoned houses, desolate streets, and even underground passages.

During this process, they discovered some strange symbols that seemed to be an ancient script recording a certain mysterious ritual.

As the investigation deepened, they found that these symbols were not random graffiti but formed a massive formation.

This formation lay hidden beneath the city, ingeniously combined with its streets and buildings; without careful observation, it would be hard to detect.

The members of the special operations team immediately relayed this discovery back to the sect.

Upon hearing this news, the sect's senior leaders immediately organized a group of formation masters to study these symbols.

After a period of research, the formation masters finally uncovered the secret of these symbols.

It turned out that these symbols were an ancient seal formation, used to imprison a powerful evil spirit.

This evil spirit is called the Netherworld Envoy; they are extremely rare existences in the cultivation world, possessing great power and an evil will.

This discovery shocked the sect's high-level members, who realized that the abnormality in Neverfall City might be due to the seal's rupture, the Netherworld Envoy's power beginning to leak, causing the cultivators' disappearances and the city's deathly silence.

To resolve this issue, the sect's high-level members decided they must reseal the Netherworld Envoy, began organizing a batch of elite disciples, carrying the sect's supreme treasure, heading to Neverfall City to perform the sealing ritual.

In Neverfall City, the elite disciples began the complex sealing ritual.

Following the formation master's guidance, they placed the supreme treasure at the key position of the formation and chanted the ancient incantation.

As the incantation was chanted, the formation began to emit a faint light, and a powerful force spread throughout the city.

Hum—rumble—

Suddenly, a change occurred between heaven and earth: the originally clear sky was quickly covered by dark clouds, blood-red raindrops began to pour down from the firmament like the heavens' wrath, falling on every inch of Neverfall City's land.

The cultivators looked up and saw illusory figures descending from the firmament onto the earth, their silhouettes blurry, as if they were beings from another world.

These illusory figures held faint ghost fire in their hands; with each step they took, mysterious rune markings appeared on the sky.

These markings emitted sinister netherworld killing power, obscuring the sky and sun, plunging the entire Neverfall City into a strange atmosphere.

Lightning and thunder, ghosts wailing and crying, deafening sounds echoed in the cultivators' ears, making their scalps numb and fear well up in their hearts like never before.

At this moment, all the cultivators were shocked; they realized this abnormality was far more severe than they had imagined.

"What is going on?!" a young cultivator shouted in terror, his voice insignificant amidst the thunder.

"Hold steady!" an elder of Longyuan Immortal Sect shouted loudly, his voice revealing a hint of resolve: "At this strange time, we must not act rashly!"

The cultivators quickly took action, forming a solid line around the sealing formation; the appearance of these illusory figures and blood rain must be related to the sealed Netherworld Envoy, and the seal must not be broken.

Ziyang Zhenren stood at the center of the formation, his face solemn, feeling the powerful power contained in the illusory figures and rune markings, which made him sense a threat.

"What exactly are these illusory figures?" Ziyang Zhenren murmured, his eyes flashing with solemn light.

The abbot of Xiguangsi tightly held his prayer beads, his voice especially firm in the wind and rain: "No matter what, we must not let the seal be broken; Neverfall City connects to the Heaven's Extremity Mountain Range and echoes with the earthly base there; if anything happens, it will inevitably cut off contact with Li Hu City and Longyuan Immortal Sect."

Boom—rumble—

The surrounding air was filled with sinister netherworld killing qi; as the illusory figures approached, the cultivators began to feel a great pressure.

The killing qi emitted from the illusory figures affected their magic treasures and spells, making them less adept.

"Everyone be careful, the power of these illusory figures is not trivial; we must give it our all!" Longling shouted loudly, his long sword radiating brilliant light.

The illusory figures gradually approached the sealing formation; the ghost fire in their hands burned brighter. Suddenly, one illusory figure let out a sharp cry, and immediately all the illusory figures began to attack the sealing formation.

The cultivators immediately launched a counterattack, their magic treasures and spells pouring down like rain upon the illusory figures; however, these illusory figures seemed unafraid of the cultivators' attacks, their forms flickering in and out, as if not bound by physical laws.

Seeing this, Ziyang Zhenren immediately changed tactics, directing the cultivators to concentrate their power and attack the ghost fire in the illusory figures' hands, for that ghost fire is the source of their power; destroying it would greatly weaken them.

Under Ziyang Zhenren's direction, the cultivators' attacks became more targeted.

They concentrated firepower, launching a fierce assault on the ghost fire in the illusory figures' hands; after a fierce battle, finally one illusory figure's ghost fire was struck, letting out a mournful scream before turning into a wisp of black smoke and vanishing into the air.

With this success, the cultivators' confidence greatly increased; they continued to follow Ziyang Zhenren's command, attacking the other illusory figures.

As the illusory figures disappeared one by one, the blood rain and lightning and thunder in the sky gradually weakened.

When the last illusory figure was defeated, the dark clouds in the sky began to disperse, yet at this moment the sun was obscured.

"How could this be? The proud dragon has regrets."

Just as the cultivators of Longyuan Immortal Sect had let out a sigh of relief, thinking the crisis over, suddenly the image of the proud dragon appeared above the firmament.

In the western sky, a huge bone dragon coiled, its body almost occupying the entire horizon; the gleaming white bones stood out starkly in the darkness.

The bone dragon let out an earth-shaking roar; the killing qi in the air spread, as if it wanted to swallow the black sun of the impending solar eclipse into its mouth.

Sinister netherworld killing qi raged like a violent storm, instantly turning anything it touched to ash.

This power was strong and terrifying, causing the surrounding space to tremble violently.

The ancient houses in Neverfall City shook and collapsed, revealing mysterious spirit tablets.

These spirit tablets bore names, which had become blurred due to the erosion of time.

Yet at this moment, those names were suddenly enveloped by crimson light, rolling and emitting an ominous aura.

Mysterious blood-colored silhouettes sat before the spirit tablets, their bodies seeming to be congealed blood, radiating a terrifying light.

The cultivators of Longyuan Immortal Sect faced this sudden abnormality, fear welling up in their hearts like never before.

They knew that the appearance of these blood-colored silhouettes must be closely related to the secrets of Neverfall City.

"What are these?!" a young cultivator exclaimed, his voice trembling.

"These are ancient souls, ancient spirits sealed within the spirit tablets." The abbot of Xiguangsi said solemnly, his eyes flashing with solemn light: "Their power is great; we must respond with caution."

Ziyang Zhenren tightly gripped his magic treasure, his face showing resolve: "We must stop them, otherwise Neverfall City will fall into disaster."

Longling then considered a countermeasure: "The power of these ancient souls is closely tied to the spirit tablets; if we can destroy the spirit tablets, perhaps we can weaken their power."

The sect's high-level members quickly discussed and decided to split up: some cultivators would resist the ancient souls, others would destroy the spirit tablets.

They knew this was a battle for Neverfall City's fate, and they could not afford the slightest laxity.

The cultivators of Longyuan Immortal Sect engaged in fierce combat with the ancient souls; the ancient souls' power was strong and strange, able to manipulate killing qi and even summon illusions of the bone dragon to attack.

The cultivators fought the ancient souls to the death using their magic treasures and spells.

During the battle, the cultivators discovered that the ancient souls' power was indeed linked to the spirit tablets.

Whenever a spirit tablet was destroyed, the corresponding ancient soul's power noticeably weakened.

This discovery strengthened the cultivators' resolve to destroy the spirit tablets.

Ziyang Zhenren led a team of cultivators specifically tasked with destroying the spirit tablets.

They moved through the battlefield, searching for the spirit tablets' locations; upon finding one, they immediately launched an attack to destroy it.

As each spirit tablet was destroyed, the ancient souls' power gradually weakened, the cultivators' pressure eased, and they began to take the initiative, launching attacks to try to completely eliminate the ancient souls.

However, the ancient souls were not willing to be eliminated just like that.

In despair they launched their final counterattack; the bone dragon illusion in the sky became more ferocious, its attacks more intense.

The cultivators had to give their all to defend against the bone dragon illusion's attacks.

Above Neverfall City, a huge bone dragon coiled in the boundless sky, letting out an earth-shaking roar.

Every bone of it sparkled with a sharp light, as if made from the hardest material, indestructible.

Countless mysterious runes flickered on its bones, ancient and powerful, radiating a terrifying power.

Wherever the golden light passed, it was like heavenly blades falling, slicing the air, tearing space; any object touching it was instantly cut in half, its power unmatched.

Meanwhile, countless stars fell from the heavens like a splendid meteor shower, yet they carried no beautiful wishes, only boundless baleful imagery; they struck the earth like meteors, each impact triggering a violent explosion that blasted huge craters and raised clouds of dust.

Endless baleful images surged forth, swirling in the sky and emitting shrill screams like hellish evil spirits seeking souls to devour.

The boundless slaughtering power enveloped the entire Unfallen City, turning it into a battlefield of only death and destruction.

The cultivators of Longyuan Immortal Sect felt unprecedented pressure facing this scene.

The bone dragon's might far exceeded their imagination; each attack could make them pay a heavy price.

"Everyone be careful, this bone dragon's power far surpasses any enemy we have ever faced!" Ziyang Zhenren shouted loudly, his voice tinged with solemnity.