Chapter 456: The Field Was Cleared

Sent to the Heavenly Palace, Di Wu Ceng 【True Transmission Realm】.

Within the boundless Place: Sheng Xian Chi, the purple‑gold Hong Meng Dao Qi churned like boiling lava, never ceasing.

Yet this supreme realm, which should nurture all things and reshape the Dao foundation, has now turned into a desperate plundering ground.

At the very center of the Place: Sheng Xian Chi, a suffocatingly massive vortex spun wildly.

At the vortex's core stood a shadow cloaked in black, as if merged with the void.

He was like an endless cosmic black hole, mercilessly pulling in all surrounding Hong Meng Dao Qi, chaotic currents, even the primordial Immortal Dao hidden in the deepest waters, and devouring them completely.

The entire Di Wu Ceng quivered under this unparalleled devouring force; the dragon‑phoenix auspicious phenomena that once spiraled across the Heavenly Dome were torn apart by the terrifying gravity, turned into pure energy streams, and back‑flowed into the black‑cloaked figure.

At the pool's edge, tens of thousands of zhang from the central vortex.

Hun Yuan Xue sat cross‑legged on a fire lotus formed from Southern Brightness fire, her pretty face flushed, her forehead dotted with fine beads of sweat.

She clenched her silver teeth, her hands frantically shifting techniques, trying to wrest a single filament of Hong Meng Dao Qi from the terrifying pull.

But it was too difficult.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Hun Yuan Xue cursed furiously in her mind.

She was the proud daughter of the Mixed Heaven Immortal King, a supreme prodigy who forged ninety‑nine celestial veins!

In the past, wherever she went, she was the brightest focal point of the world, and all ambient spiritual qi would converge upon her.

Now she felt like a lone boat tossed in a gale, let alone actively absorbing; even the tiny strand of Hong Meng essence she had barely drawn in and not yet refined was restless, as if about to burst forth and flee toward the central "robber".

"What on earth is that monster?!"

Hun Yuan Xue snapped open her eyes, staring fixedly at the vague black shadow at the vortex's core; beneath her anger lay an unmistakable fear.

She could feel the black‑cloaked figure's devouring speed not only failed to slow but accelerated.

This was the accumulated essence of countless eons of the ancient Heavenly Court!

Even if the Immortal King himself arrived, he could not ravenously gulp the sea like this; his flesh and spirit would have burst long ago!

"I can't… if this continues, my Dao foundation will be damaged by that devouring force!"

Hun Yuan Xue felt a tearing sensation rippling through her internal celestial veins, realizing she had reached her limit.

Though unwilling, she dared not gamble with her foundation.

Whoosh!

Hun Yuan Xue slapped the water hard, turning into a streak of fiery red light that shot upward and landed steadily on a jade slab at the Place: Sheng Xian Chi's shore.

She gulped breath after breath, lowered her head to glance at herself.

Though the absorption was extremely arduous, Hong Meng Dao Qi is nonetheless a supreme divine substance.

After only a few hours of immersion, her ninety‑nine celestial veins became crystal clear, emitting a faint purple‑gold sheen, and even hinted at the fusion and emergence of a hundredth vein.

Yet Hun Yuan Xue could not feel any joy at this moment.

Because she knew that without the black‑cloaked intruder, she could have gained tenfold, even hundredfold, fortune!

Now she could only wait for the other side to finish absorbing.

Soon after Hun Yuan Xue stepped ashore, a light "Whoosh" sounded, and a teal figure broke the water not far from her.

Feng Ling Yun.

At this moment, Feng Ling Yun's once light and airy demeanor had become much weightier.

Her eyes, veiled by a sheer veil, flickered with extremely complex light.

The wind law swirling around her was harsher and deeper than before, clearly having received a great boon.

Yet her gaze remained fixed on the black‑cloaked figure at the pool's center.

"Feng Ling Yun, you can't hold on either?"

Hun Yuan Xue snorted coldly, her tone tinged with schadenfreude, but mostly with empathetic helplessness.

Feng Ling Yun ignored Hun Yuan Xue's mockery, inhaled deeply, and in a clear, cold voice laced with rare gravity said, "Snow Immortal, do you think… he is still human?"

"What do you mean?" Hun Yuan Xue was startled.

"Each drop of Hong Meng Dao Qi in the Place: Sheng Xian Chi weighs as much as a thousand jins, containing law power enough to crush stars."

Feng Ling Yun spoke slowly, eyes never wavering from the vortex, "Even an Immortal King could not act so recklessly… yet he drinks it as if water, swallowing this endless source directly; could his body hide an entire universe?"

Hearing this, Hun Yuan Xue couldn't help but shiver.

Just as the two were uncertain, another splash sounded.

Boom!

A towering surge of gray‑black Void‑Eradication demonic qi shot upward, Gu Yuan's clone, bristling with extreme fury, slammed heavily onto the shore.

At this moment, the Gu Yuan clone's eyes had turned completely gray without whites, his surface muscles bulged, covered with strange dark‑purple demonic patterns.

He resembled an ancient beast that had just crawled out of the abyss of hell, exuding a nauseating aura of destruction and death.

In the pool he not only absorbed Hong Meng Dao Qi, but also seized the chance to fully refine and fuse the essences of Yao Qinglian, Lei Qianjue, Mo Wuxin, Jin Tuo Zi and others he had previously devoured.

Now his corporeal strength had reached an inconceivable level; even standing there, the surrounding space subtly warped under his unconscious force field.

"Yuan!"

Seeing the Gu Yuan clone, Hun Yuan Xue felt a slight calm; though this subordinate grew increasingly bizarre, he was currently the only one who could give her a sense of safety.

The Gu Yuan clone turned his head, stiffly saluted Hun Yuan Xue, his hoarse voice sounding like metal grinding:

"Miss, I have reached the limit of my flesh and can no longer absorb any more."

In fact, the clone could still continue absorbing.

But he must ascend, for this is the true body's command.

The true body is about to clear the field.

"You've also reached the limit?"

Hun Yuan Xue gritted her teeth, pointed at the black‑cloaked figure in the pool's center, and shouted,

"Look at that thief! Not only has he not reached his limit, he's actually absorbing faster! Gu Yuan, your strength has surged—can you go over there and cut him off?!"

Gu Yuan's duplicate followed Hun Yuan Xue's finger and looked, then finally shook his head: "The aura on this person… is unfathomably deep; even a true Immortal King might not be their opponent."