The leader of the righteous faction Zhou tan arrived at the scene where Jun hao was.
The leader of the Righteous Faction, Zhou Tan, surveyed the smoldering remains of the village, his face etched with disbelief. "How… how can this be possible?" he muttered, his voice tinged with horror. "How can a dimensional rift appear in a village with no cultivators?"
His gaze fell upon Jun Hao, lying amidst the rubble, his body battered and broken. The young man's breath rattled in his chest, each inhale a desperate struggle against the encroaching darkness. Zhou Tan knelt beside him, his expression softening with concern, and quickly checked his pulse.
Jun Hao's eyes fluttered open, his gaze locking onto the sect leader's face. A flicker of relief ignited within him. "I… I am saved," he rasped, his voice a hoarse whisper. "It's a cultivator..."
His strength failing, his body wracked with pain, Jun Hao lost consciousness, succumbing to the darkness.
Zhou Tan, his face a mask of grim determination, carefully gathered Jun Hao into his arms, securing him to his back with a practiced ease, tying him like a mother tieing a baby behind her back . He rose to his feet, his eyes scanning the scene, alert for any sign of danger.
From the swirling vortex of dark energy, a figure emerged. Unlike any Nyx species Zhou Tan had ever encountered, this being radiated an aura of concentrated power of darkness, a palpable sense of malevolence that sent a chill down his spine.
The Nyx creature stepped forward, its features sharp and angular, its eyes gleaming with an unsettling intelligence. A chilling smile stretched across its face. "You are strong, mortal," it said, its voice a melodic whisper that belied its monstrous nature. "But I did not come for you. I came for the boy on your back."
Zhou Tan felt a surge of shock. The Nyx spoke. It possessed human-like features, a terrifying parody of sentience, and it wielded a wickedly curved sword, its blade reflecting the dim light with an oily sheen. It was shorter than the Nyx that he had faced so far, a mere five feet tall with crystal dark hair, with a mark of a star in his cheek. This was not just a monster; it was something far more dangerous.
With a flourish, the Nyx closed the dimensional rift, severing the connection to its home world. He turned his gaze back to Zhou Tan, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Hand him over, mortal."
Zhou Tan's surprise gave way to defiance. "Why should I? He is a human, not one of your kind."
The Nyx threw back its head and laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the ruined village. "A human… for now," it hissed, its voice dripping with mockery. "But that child possesses a potential that rivals the gods themselves. He will one day become a God that will surpass his creator, and everything else"
"And if i feed him to my creator," the Nyx continued, its eyes burning with fanatical zeal, "Our creator will have the last power needed to devour the evolving multiverse, then he will truly become omnipotent!"
Thirty seconds passed. The energy was overflowing the surroundings. Beyond the village limits, cultivators from various sects within the Righteous Faction, who had initially dismissed the commotion, now sensed the overwhelming power emanating from the scene. Fear mixed with curiosity. Some chose to retreat, their hearts pounding with fear of death, but others, driven by a sense of duty or a thirst for glory, rushed towards the village, eager to confront whatever evil lay within.
Fifteen Righteous Faction cultivators arrived, their faces grim, their weapons drawn. But before they could assess the situation, a new presence descended upon the scene.
Three figures emerged from the shadows, their auras crackling with purple Echoes source energy, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. They were cultivators from the Demon Faction, a ruthless organization that revered power above all else. And the first group came from Flower Sect.
"Shock… fear… how should I describe this?" the leader of the Flower Sect, Jing Hua, purred, her gaze sweeping over the scene with
predatory interest. "Such potent energy… it's intoxicating." She turned to her two disciples, her expression turning serious. "Take this teleportation orb," she commanded, handing them a small, intricately carved sphere. "If anything should happen to me… use it."
"Yes, Sect Leader Jing Hua," the female disciples replied in unison, their voices laced with apprehension.
Jing Hua, a woman who defied her true age of three hundred years old, retaining the youthful beauty of a twenty-year-old, a testament to the power of cultivation. Adorned with exquisite jewelry and wearing a flowing gown that accentuated her flawless skin and raven hair, she was a vision of ethereal beauty. It was no surprise that many men would bow to her.
The Flower Sect leader's gaze sharpened, landing on Zhou Tan, the Righteous Faction sect leader, and then on the diminutive Nyx, radiating power, energy almost tangible.
"No," Zhou Tan declared, his voice ringing with righteous fury. "I will not surrender this child, even if it costs me my life!"
With a roar, Zhou Tan unleashed his Monarch Realm Echoes energy, a wave of pure power that washed over the battlefield. The earth trembled, the air crackled, and the very sky seemed to darken in response to his display. The Nyx species merely smiled, a chilling expression of arrogance. "Draw your steel," it taunted, its voice laced with contempt. "Come at me… together. You are all useless, unworthy to fight me."
But beneath its bravado, a flicker of surprise crossed the Nyx's face. It had underestimated the power of a Monarch Realm cultivator, a force to be reckoned with, even in the face of overwhelming darkness.
The remaining fifteen Righteous Faction cultivators, fueled by a mixture of fear and desperation, charged towards the nyx, their swords glinting in the eerie light of the storm. "Don't give him a chance to move!" one shouted, his voice trembling with barely contained terror.
The nyx, however, merely sighed, a look of profound disappointment etched across his face. "I thought you human people were stronger," he drawled, his voice dripping with condescension. "How very disappointing."
With a casual flick of his wrist, the nyx raised his sword, its blade pointing towards the heavens. Then, with blinding speed, he unleashed a horizontal slash, a crescent of dark energy slicing through the air towards the advancing cultivators. The strike was so swift, so precise, that the weaker warriors barely registered what had happened before their bodies were rent asunder.
Zhou Tan, his eyes widening in alarm, roared a command, "Shield!" He channeled his Monarch Realm energy into his sword, swinging it in a desperate attempt to intercept the Nyx's attack. A clash of immense power reverberated through the air, the resulting shockwave throwing back several of the remaining cultivators. But even the full force of Zhou Tan's defense barely scratched nyx armor.
The Nyx, still smiling, sheathed his sword with a flourish. "Ha! I forgot to introduce myself," he said, his voice ringing with a chilling amusement. "I am Detrigon, the Nyx in the form of man, the Ever-Evolving One, the Nyx of Sorrow. You may call me Detrigon." He paused, his eyes gleaming with malevolent glee. "My powers are simple. Since I was created within this universe, I am bound by its laws. Anyone who cries with despair, anyone who drowns in sorrow… feeds my power. I can use the tears and the torment of the multiverse to make myself stronger. And I can see those who are steeped in sorrow, like that boy on your back. That is how I found this little village in the first place. Do well to entertain me, humans."
He attacked again, his movements a blur of speed and precision. Zhou Tan and Jing Hua, working together, met his onslaught, trading hundreds of sword strikes in mere seconds. It was a whirlwind of steel and energy, a battle that no ordinary cultivator could even hope to comprehend.
"Can you hold him for one minute?" Zhou Tan gritted out, his voice laced with desperation.
Jing Hua, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light, chuckled. "Of course, I am a demonic cultivator, after all. But… I want the core of this monster when it is killed. It will be a valuable treasure."
Zhou Tan suppressed a surge of anger. He had no time for haggling. "Fine! Just… hold him for a little longer!"
As Zhou Tan turned towards the few remaining cultivators, Detrigon materialized directly in front of him, his movements blurring the line between speed and teleportation. "Did you think you were one step ahead?" he mocked, his voice a silken whisper of death.
Without warning, Detrigon unleashed another lightning-fast sword strike, not at Zhou Tan, but at the group of terrified cultivators huddled behind him. Three more cultivators crumpled to the ground, their heads severed from their bodies, their expressions frozen in silent horror. It was as if the 12 where watching a murder movie, Thier body was split.
The remaining twelve cultivators, their faces contorted with terror, their dao hearts shattered, could only stand and watch as death claimed their comrades. The two female demon cultivators, who had been eagerly awaiting the chance to join the fight, recoiled in horror, not forgetting their master's warning and fleeing into the shadows.
Zhou Tan roared in fury. "Jing Hua! What did I tell you? Hold him for one minute!"
Jing Hua, her eyes wide with a mixture of excitement and shock, merely laughed. She cared nothing for the fallen cultivators, only for the thrill of the battle and the potential reward. Her speed increased, her movements
Became more fluid and dangerous, as she finally began to fight Detrigon with the seriousness and joy she had been suppressing.
Zhou Tan, knowing that he could not protect the remaining cultivators and fight Detrigon at the same time, made a difficult choice. He rushed towards the trembling survivors. "Here!" he barked, thrusting a small, intricately carved orb into their hands. "Take this kid. This is a teleportation orb. Break it, and all twelve of you will be transported back to the sect."
"But, Sect Leader…" one cultivator stammered, his voice choked with fear.
Zhou Tan cut him off, his eyes blazing with righteous fury. "Get back to the sect! Call for reinforcements! This is the least you can do in this battle! Go!"
The twelve cultivators, their faces pale with terror, did not hesitate. They crushed the orb in their hands, and a blinding light engulfed them. In a flash, they were gone, leaving behind only the echoes of their fear. But the energy of the battle was enough to be detected thousands of miles away, leaving a permanent mark on the faces of the cultivators back at the sect.