Chapter 457 - Heavenly Decay!

"The power of Heavenly Decay?" Yun Xiao gazed at the sky, his brows deeply furrowed.

After the sun and moon overlapped, beneath the splendid gold and silver hues, a seemingly sacred yet desolate aura of Immortal energy began to sweep across the Primordial Ruins, filling every building and street.

"This is a disaster of heaven and earth, utterly sinister and evil. It can devour the essence of flesh and life, essentially a power of death, a disaster of the Dao," Blue Star explained.

"My Heaven Burial Sword Soul, it's the progenitor of this type, isn't it?" Yun Xiao said.

"Indeed! But the type is different. This Power of Heavenly Decay is an aura. Once it spreads and cultivators absorb it into their bodies, it's like practicing cultivation with poison over a long period! Once it erupts, it brings doom to all," Blue Star said with a grimace.

Yun Xiao understood; this was essentially poisoning the populace.

"So, you mean to say, the sun and moon release gold and silver mist, mixing it with the surrounding Immortal energy. Normally, the disaster isn't noticeable, but once it converges within the body, it becomes a fatal disease?" Yun Xiao said, staring at the overlapping sun and moon.

"Exactly! The real reason why all cultivators in the Primordial Ruins went from the Five Calamities to the Five Decays... It's not because of heavenly punishment, but because they inhaled the utterly sinister and evil power of Heavenly Decay, leading to a collective outbreak!" Blue Star chuckled coldly.

"As expected, the culprits are the Three Immortals who brought the sun and hidden moon. Their plans laid out over hundreds of years, the reason for their actions might be revealed today." As Yun Xiao spoke, a surge of anger rose in his chest.

These malefactors often cast their filth on the loyal and good, posing as saints themselves when they were really base and treacherous! And today, as the sun and moon aligned, the Three Immortals were enacting their grand plan!

"I have also cultivated with the power of the sun and moon in the Primordial Ruins. Now that the Three Immortals have summoned the power of Heavenly Decay to sweep across the world, what changes will occur to me?"

Yun Xiao looked towards the direction of the Primordial Pagoda, slightly worried, for the actions of the Three Immortals likely targeted Lian Xi.

"Lian Xi turns fifteen today." With this thought, under the daylight illuminated by the sun and moon, Yun Xiao soared towards the Primordial Pagoda.

It appeared chaos had already ensued there.

After news spread of Yun Xiao's slaughter at the Mystic Zenith Temple, over 1,000,000 enraged citizens of the Primordial Ruins stormed into the Primordial Academy, wreaking havoc and venting their fury.

Now, except for the Primordial Pagoda and the Mystic Zenith Temple, almost every other place had fallen!

The foundation built by the Primordial Academy over tens of thousands of years had been reduced to rubble.

Raging fires swept across the land, scorching the earth black and leaving it scarred and desolate.

At that moment, the angry populace had encircled the Primordial Pagoda, with millions of cultivators from the Primordial Ruins gathered, each with flames burning atop their heads, fueled by a sense of justice, hurling curses in all directions.

As the sun and moon overlapped, more people continued to flood in from the outside, effectively sealing off the Primordial Pagoda.

Even the sky was locked down by a dense crowd!

Yun Xiao, arriving nearby, found it nearly impossible to squeeze through.

Dean Yu had no choice but to activate the Primordial Formation, using the pagoda as a foundation to create a defensive barrier that blocked the path of the enraged populace, safeguarding the last vestiges of peace.

"Witch Yu! Hand over the calamity-bringer, the murderer!"

"The age old foundation of the Academy, ruined in the hands of your foolishness!"

"Surrender those two culprits, and the Three Immortals might still show mercy, sparing your worthless lives!"

Outside the tower, millions with eyes red as blood, screamed in fury, tears of blood dripping from their eyes.

Their brains were almost entirely inflamed, their bodies and souls burning hot.

Looking around, such people were densely packed, shoulder to shoulder, forming a sea of magma-like rage. The standing Primordial Pagoda resembled a colored gem in the furnace of hell, constantly on the verge of being engulfed.

BOOM!

With their lives, they struck at the Primordial Pagoda, smearing their hot blood on its surface.

"For the peace and happiness of future generations, though our strength is feeble, we shall throw our heads and shed our blood to prevent the resurgence of the calamitous Imperial lineage and restore clarity to the world!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Their magic treasures, Sword Souls, and Life Sigils crazily battered the Primordial Pagoda!

Fortunately, the Primordial Pagoda, being a transcendent artifact from ancient times, stood tall despite the relentless onslaught, for the time being.

Yun Xiao stood in the shadows, his eyes fixed on everything happening. The fervent and violent crowd, each face tearfully resolute in their sacrifice, made him realize—this was humanity!

Above the heads of those millions, a blood-red mist rose, condensing into a crimson Gu hundreds of miles long, writhing above the crowd, screaming in ecstasy, exhaling thick, blood-red smoke.

While the masses seethed with anger, it reveled in ecstasy. Amidst the shifting mists, the crimson Gu flickered in and out of existence.

"What's the point if they can't break into the Primordial Pagoda?" Yun Xiao was well aware that the Primordial Pagoda was the foundation of the Primordial Academy's legacy, a foundation that was unshakably solid.

As long as it stood, the soul of the Primordial Academy would live on forever!

Just as he pondered, a change occurred!

BUZZ!

The power of Heavenly Decay, fully unleashed after the overlap of the sun and moon, crashed down into the crowd like countless beasts of death, forming a golden-silver cloud amidst the masses within the Primordial Academy!

"AGGHHH!"

Suddenly, cries of agony erupted. The angry populace suddenly fell to the ground, writhing and screaming. Their flesh ignited in golden-silver flames, causing their skin and muscles to shrivel and age rapidly, while their magic power and sacred power burned away!

Millions lay on the ground, wailing, filling the Primordial Academy with their tragic cries, a sight so harrowing it resembled a hell on earth.

It wasn't just here; at this moment, streets and buildings throughout the Primordial Ruins were filled with screaming people. Their faces pale, eyes blazing, tongues trembling, and sweat pouring, as life swiftly fled from them!

The afflicted numbered not in the thousands but in the millions!

The entire divine ark of heaven and earth, at this moment, seemed to be enveloped in a furnace of agony, being repeatedly smelted and drained. If this continued, they would surely be reduced to mere husks.

"This is the consequence of long-term absorption of the power of Heavenly Decay. It doesn't matter if you've reached the Five Decays Realm or not." Yun Xiao frowned deeply!

In this grim atmosphere, Yun Xiao sensed something was amiss. Looking within him, he saw the white-golden primordial Sacred Wheel under his Genesis Spirit spinning and sparking with golden-silver flames! Even his sacred power began to burn!

"My Five Decays has been triggered as well?"

It was only the beginning, but Yun Xiao had an ominous premonition. At this moment, everyone was thrust into the furnace of Heavenly Decay; it was not a good time!

"What exactly do the Three Immortals intend to do?" Yun Xiao stared intently ahead, his eyes filled with endless screams of agony and burning figures.

They convulsed, frothing at the mouth, regardless of gender, age, or frailty, each like a piece of kindling ignited, burning themselves to illuminate the heavens and the earth!

Yun Xiao wanted to do something, but the moment he moved, the flames of the primordial sacred power within his Dantian blazed even more fiercely.

"Ugh..." He too began to feel this agony, a truly inhuman torment! The fire of decay spread from the Nine Heavens Star Meridians within his Dantian, then swept across his entire body, erupting into flames!

At this moment, Yun Xiao's burning eyes beheld the human inferno before him, and his rage soared to its peak! He had grown beyond the limits of humanity, yet at this moment, he still felt powerless.

To say nothing of taking action, under the ravages of the Five Decays, he had a premonition that this was only the beginning, ignited by a mere spark... Who knew to what extent it would escalate?

Yun Xiao had detected a hint of something terrifying, as if something special had locked onto him!

At this moment, he was virtually immobilized! As if targeted by a colossal beast of heaven and earth, any movement might lead to cataclysm.

"The Three Immortals!"

"Three Immortals, save us!"

"True immortals, save the world, deliver all beings..."

Those people, engulfed in the furnace, had not given up hope. They fervently placed their faith in the sacred figures of the Three Immortals in their hearts!

Amidst their cries, they reached out, touching the shadow of their faith in the air. At that moment, the Three Immortals, as if illuminated by divine light, appeared before them.

Indeed, one by one, the expressionless powerhouses of the Immortal path swept across the sky, bringing new hope.

In the endless darkness, the masses finally saw a glimmer of dawn.

These people with white eyes were the descendants of the Three Immortals!

As they sped past, wearing expressions of compassionate sorrow, they proclaimed, “Lian Xi and Yun Xiao, two fiendish beings, have angered the heavens, bringing down divine punishment. Innocent beings are suffering as a consequence!”

Hearing these words, the people enduring the suffering wept blood from their eyes, their anger causing nosebleeds to flow profusely.

“The Three Immortals, empathizing with the suffering of all beings, have pleaded with the heavens. The Celestial Court has granted the Ascension Technique, which can help endure this divine punishment!”

Again, the solemn voice of the immortal descendants swept across the city.

“Ascension Technique!!”

Despairing crowds within the furnace suddenly brightened up, as moths drawn to flame, their bodies trembling with excitement.

“Practice! Practice!”

Clenching their teeth, they began to sit in meditation right there within the Primordial Pagoda, their faces solemn, eyes brimming with sanctity and devotion.

“The Three Immortals have descended to eliminate disasters and evils, rescuing and relieving the suffering...”

“By practicing this technique, transcend the Five Decays, embark on the path to immortality, ascend in broad daylight, transform into Immortals, eternal and undying!”

As the technique was circulated, the calamitous fires dissipated.

In an instant, those within the furnace felt as if they had ascended to the clouds!

The fierce flames on their bodies vanished abruptly, and smiles of satisfaction appeared on the faces of tens of millions, as if they were in a paradise, their souls lightened...

“Three Immortals! Three Immortals!”

Tears welled up in the eyes of the masses. Moved to the core, even their nostrils trembled and resonated, their cries sobbing, tears streaming from their eyes like fountains, scattering around to extinguish the fires of Heavenly Decay.

SIZZLE! SIZZLE! SIZZLE!

White smoke began to rise from their bodies, with millions of wisps ascending towards the sky, as if the whole world was offering incense, converging above the Primordial Pagoda!

Blissfully engaged in cultivation, they were oblivious to the fact that practicing this Ascension Technique did not halt the aging of their flesh or the depletion of their vitality.

The rising smoke signified their fading lives.