"He Who?"
Seeing the old man appear so imposingly, descending from the sky and instantly slaying several black creatures, the forces of the Heavenly God Palace and the Sword Emperor Pavilion were profoundly shaken.
One had to understand, among those slain black creatures were two Half-Emperor level experts! Killing two Half-Emperors with a single thrust of his spear… such battle prowess was simply unimaginable!
"When did such a terrifyingly powerful individual appear in the Feixian Continent?" The Heavenly God Palace Master stared at the elder, his expression flickering with disbelief.
The armor draped over this elder was tattered and rust-covered, and even the long spear in his hand was rust-covered across its entire length, bearing the marks of untold ages.
"Quick, retreat!"
The black creatures who had just escaped from the Black Great Door underground, each one dispersed into wisps of black mist, attempting to flee.
At this moment, the number of black creatures escaping from the depths of the Black Great Door was increasing. Moreover, their strength was utterly astonishing — among them were more than a dozen experts at the Half-Emperor level alone!
"We must leave this place immediately!" the Heavenly God Palace Master declared solemnly.
Against more than a dozen Half-Emperor black creatures, he had absolutely no ability to contend.
Furthermore, he was currently merely an avatar clone, his energy limited, unable to sustain high-intensity combat for long periods.
"Don't stare any longer; we depart this instant!" The Half-Emperor expert from the Sword Emperor Pavilion also turned deathly pale, turning around and leading his group away.
"Thinking of fleeing? Not so easy!"
The old man let out a fierce roar, shaking the very heavens as if enraged. With a force that seemed capable of overturning the very earth, the rusted spear in his hand suddenly bloomed with dazzling divine light, illuminating the entire world around them with glaring brilliance. A dense sea of spear shadows rushed outwards in every direction like a vast ocean.
*Thud, thud…*
Several more black creatures were too slow to dodge and were promptly slain on the spot.
*Boom… Rumble…*
Suddenly, the old man stamped his foot. In the distance, earth-shattering rumbles erupted as the power of the Formations flared, and one major Formation after another manifested, weaving together to form a colossal Formation net that completely enveloped this patch of heaven and earth.
These were all ancient Formations, arranged in antiquity. Now, they were fully activated by this veteran warrior!
It turned out that to seal the residual souls of those black creatures hidden behind the Black Great Door deep underground, not only were nine golden dragons and hundreds of black earth dragons employed, but also many major Formations.
These Formations served as a second layer of seals!
*Bam! Bam!…*
The black creatures attempting to flee far away all collided with these Formations, rebounding backwards.
The forces of the Heavenly God Palace and the Sword Emperor Pavilion were also blocked by these Formations, finding their escape route cut off.
The Heavenly God Palace Master and the Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor simultaneously attacked, hoping to tear open a Formation to charge out. However, these Formations were frighteningly robust. Despite their full-force assaults, the Formations merely shook slightly but held firm. They were completely incapable of breaking through them in a short time.
"Everyone, work together! Smash open these damnable Formations!"
A black creature roared furiously, throwing its entire body weight against one of the Formations.
*Boom! Boom!…*
One black creature after another began desperately crashing against the arrays.
"Too late! Before you smash these Formations, I will have killed you all!" the old man bellowed. Raising his spear high, he charged toward those black creatures.
"You old fool! The seal on that door below will soon fail! All my kin imprisoned behind it are about to break free! Do you think you can kill them all? Even if you are immensely strong, when vastly outnumbered, eventually you will be killed by our combined forces!" a black creature screamed viciously.
"These old bones haven't been taken by the heavens all these years. Do you filthy things think you're fit to kill me?!" The elder radiated murderous aura, his fighting power staggering. A single thrust of his spear targeted the shrieking black creature. Wherever its tip passed, space continuously crumbled and shattered.
"You old fossil! Fight it is, then! You think I fear you?!" The black creature opened its maw and spat forth a strange, sinister black curved blade. Grasping it, he engaged the elder in furious combat.
"Pile on that old man! Fight him with everything we have!" Seeing that the Formations seemed temporarily impenetrable, the other black creatures, after desperately crashing against them, grew ruthless one by one. Turning, they launched coordinated attacks, surrounding and fighting the elder.
For a time, a large mass of black creatures surged towards the elder with deafening shrieks. The terrifying dark energy they unleashed saturated this entire expanse of world, stirring raging hurricanes of pitch-black power that shook heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, several thousand meters underground, the Black Great Door was still being pushed open bit by bit. The glyphs formed by nine golden dragons and hundreds of black earth dragons released overwhelming energy, doing their utmost to suppress the door. However, they could not stop the door from slowly being forced open.
Above ground, the elder, spear in hand, engaged in a battle of life and death against those black creatures.
In the distance, the forces of the Heavenly God Palace and Sword Emperor Pavilion watched the battle in abject fear. The Formations blocked them, trapping them here.
The elder's combat power was astoundingly high. Even the Half-Emperor level black creatures were no match for him; a single thrust of his spear could send them retreating. After a few moments of fighting, several Half-Emperor level black creatures were pulverized by his spear.
What shocked onlookers, however, was that these Half-Emperor black creatures, once destroyed, could reform in mere moments and charge forward again — seemingly unkillable!
"These black creatures are too bizarre! They possess terrifying vitality; it's as if they're undying beings!"
A Sword Emperor Pavilion expert paled and said with a trembling voice.
"No. Each time they're crushed, their aura grows a bit fainter. It means they aren't unkillable, but they likely need to be killed multiple times before truly perishing. But that itself is astonishing enough — it equates to possessing several more lives compared to ordinary beings," the Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor said with a grave expression.
"Kill!"
The elder gripped his spear, boiling with fighting spirit, continuously charging and attacking.
However, by this time, more and more black creatures were emerging from the depths, densely packed numbers surrounding and attacking him from all sides. While his fighting power was superior, simultaneously facing so many black creatures made it temporarily impossible for him to achieve victory.
"You two are both Half-Emperors! What are you still waiting for?! These spawn of the Dark Faction are the mortal enemies of all races and all factions throughout the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, irreconcilable as ice and fire! They must be hunted down and slain by everyone! Since you have encountered them, you must take action against them! You should not stand idly by!"
Suddenly, the elder's gaze turned to the Heavenly God Palace Master and the Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor in the distance, and he spoke sternly.
"We must intervene too?"
Both the Heavenly God Palace Master and the Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor were taken aback.
"You have a duty to act! It's everyone's duty, eradicating evil and protecting the righteous!" the elder stated sharply, his piercing eyes fixed upon them.
"But…"
The Heavenly God Palace Master and the Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor hesitated somewhat.
It was true, within the ancient texts passed down through the ages by both Heavenly God Palace and Sword Emperor Pavilion, there were descriptions stating that Dark Faction creatures were the enemies of all races and all factions across the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. Once encountered, they must be destroyed.
But ultimately, these were ancient secrets recorded in texts. For a long, long time throughout the Three Thousand Worlds, there had been no trace of the Dark Faction.
For the Heavenly God Palace Master and the Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor, this was a moment of indecision.
The Dark Creatures were profoundly strange and horrifying; no one wanted to provoke them.
Thus, neither Heavenly God Palace nor Sword Emperor Pavilion would necessarily act against these Dark Creatures simply because a stranger asked them to.
"You…" The elder, seeing their hesitation, their continued inaction, couldn't help but let out a soft sigh and shook his head. "Has the life of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds deteriorated to this point? Is it because they've grown so used to a stretch of peaceful days? Have they already forgotten that dark epoch of our past, forgotten the hatred, forgotten our common, greatest enemy? More importantly, forgotten that the source of calamity still exists and will one day return to wreak havoc upon us all?
In former times, whichever race, whichever faction among the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, once encountering Dark Faction creatures, would immediately act to eliminate them. The righteous and the wicked cannot coexist — there was never any possibility of compromise!
Now, it seems everything is beginning to change."