In one step, the heavens emerged from four cardinal directions.

Cyan, silver, yellow and purple mingled into infinite light and spread toward the Cloud Mother of Nothingness from every direction.

Seemingly sensing danger, the Cloud Mother of Nothingness’ transparent, intangible tentacles took on a tangible quality for the very first time. Now black as the night, the tentacles whipped out in every direction.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

At that moment, the fear and despair it had accumulated for heavens-know-how-long turned solid and gushed toward the surrounding light like a tsunami. It shattered the mountains, the rivers, and the lands, and polluted the sun, the moon, and sky.

Right here and now, the Cloud Mother of Nothingness’ power was on full display.

Alas, no matter how terrifying the Cloud Mother of Nothingness was, it could not possibly repel four Sages or shatter the four heavens.

Like sovereigns of heaven and earth, the four Sages continued to step toward the Cloud Mother of Nothingness with four heavens behind their backs. The sea of fear and despair, filth and darkness were slowly but surely being pushed back.

Nine steps later, every tentacle was broken, and the tsunami of fear, taint, despair and darkness were forced back into the Cloud Mother of Nothingness’ body.

“Imprison the god and demon…”

At the same time, the four Sages held their palm horizontally and lifted it into the air, causing the four heavens to move into their palms.

Then, they turned their wrist and caused the four heavens of four directions to descend toward the Cloud Mother of Nothingness.

The heavens fall at the flip of palms, god and demon fall in one swift motion.

The four heavens were above, and the Cloud Mother of Nothingness below. Their combined powers pushed the Stranger toward the bottom.

The Cloud Mother of Nothingness struggled with all its might, but it was futile.

Rumble…

There was a thunderous rumble, and the land within fifty kilometers of the point of impact collapsed earnestly.

Right after that, the semi-transparent silhouettes of four mountains descended from above.

The energies of the world became connected, and the Dao and laws sprung to live. The land where the Cloud Mother of Nothingness had landed turned upside down and buried it in the underground.

The Cloud Mother of Nothingness continued to struggle and resist, shattering the earth like it was no more but water. However, just like water, the damage it caused simply mended itself like nothing. In fact, the more the Cloud Mother of Nothingness struggled, the deeper into the underground it fell, and the greater the amount of earth it was buried under.

In the sky, the four mountains—cyan, silver, yellow and purple—grew increasingly solid and grand.

The closer the four mountains got to the earth, the weaker the struggles of the Cloud Mother of Nothingness became. When the four mountains finally made contact with the earth, cyan, silver, yellow and purple light shot all the way to the firmament and dyed the sky in four colors. It would not fade for a very, very long time.

About a teatime later, the four-colored light finally began to recede. When it was completely gone, the world returned to silence, leaving behind only fifty kilometers of utter disarray and four magnificent-looking mountains.

“Phew… if even the Cloud Mother of Nothingness has appeared, then the Kunlun Ruins could only be completely corrupted by the Nine Nethers!”

It was at this moment Jiang Yunlai, Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial, Silver Moon Sacred Lord and Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign descended from the sky. The light at the center of their forehead looked dim, and they were all wearing an expression of slight fatigue.

It was clear that executing the Four Directions Four Controls God Sealing Array had consumed quite a bit of energy.

“The celestials of the Kunlun Ruins would not have fallen aslumber otherwise.”

Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign said coldly, “Anyway, the Cloud Mother of Nothingness is dealt with, so let us get going already.”

“There’s no hurry. Don’t you feel that something is off about this?” Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial asked.

“I agree,” Jiang Yunlai echoed in agreement. “Normally, the Cloud Mother of Nothingness would swim aimlessly in the infinite void, capture whatever prey it fancied, and enjoy their fear and despair without a trace. It could do this for entire centuries without revealing itself.” řΑ₦𝙤βËṧ

“However, this Cloud Mother of Nothingness was obviously in an enraged state. If I’m not mistaken, someone must have provoked the Cloud Mother of Nothingness earlier. We were just unfortunate enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Makes sense.” Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial nodded.

“Could it be the thief?” Silver Moon Sacred Lord asked.

“I believe so. To think that the thief is capable of entering the Kunlun Ruins, surviving the Cloud Mother of Nothingness, and even giving us a few big ‘gifts’ in a row! They are not to be underestimated!”

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial said meaningfully, “This poor Taoist believes that this is not the end of it either. I believe they will continue to be a source of much trouble for us!”

Had the Cloud Mother of Nothingness successfully killed the thief, it probably wouldn’t have been so enraged as to assault them without warning. Therefore, the thief must still be alive and well.

“Then we kill him,” Jiang Yunlai declared indifferently.

“Don’t you think that we’re making too big a deal out of this?” Silver Moon Sacred Lord looked puzzled. “It’s just an ant.”

“Nay.”

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial stroked his beard indifferently. “We and all the transcendent ancestors before us have searched for the Kunlun Ruins for thousands and thousands of years to no avail, and yet this mere mortal was able to do the impossible. They must be a person of great destiny and fortune, or favored by the celestials of the Kunlun Ruins.”

“On the other hand, we are loathed by the celestials of the Kunlun Ruins. If the thief manages to find the celestials first and awaken them, then all of our time and effort would be for naught!”

The biggest reason they entered the Kunlun Ruins was to remove their curse, and there were two ways to do this: One, find the celestials of the Kunlun Ruins and awaken them from their slumber. Hopefully, the merit would be enough to make up for their ancestors’ betrayal and convince the celestials to cure them. With luck, they might even receive an opportunity.

Two, if the celestials refused to absolve them of their sin and remove the curse, then they would simply kill them.

That’s right. They would kill the celestials with their own two hands.

Their lives were on the line here. Who cared if the obstacle was a celestial, a god or a demon?

If a god stood in their way, then they would kill the god. If a demon stood in their way, then they would kill the demon.

If both god and demon stood in their way, then they would kill all of them!

“Then we kill!”

Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign declared with violence in his eyes, and killing intent in the heavens. “Nothing must go wrong. Nothing!”

“In that case, I agree. The thief must die.”

Silver Moon Sacred Lord nodded. “Considering the Cloud Mother of Nothingness’ earlier state, I believe that the thief is still nearby. At the very least, they couldn’t have gone too far away. Why don’t we split up temporarily and search for them?”

“No need. This poor Taoist has already searched the heaven and earth within five hundred kilometers using the ‘Heaven and Earth Scouring Great Art’ earlier. I did not find anyone.”

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial shook his head. “The rivers of fate in Kunlun Ruins are shrouded, and the Nine Nethers Demonic Qi is thick. As a result, our Magia are much less reliable than they normally are. On top of that, we know that the thief possesses extraordinary treasures, so it would not be easy to locate them. I am sure you would all agree that it is worse to go for wool and come home shorn, right?”

“In that case, do we kill them or not?” Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign huffed impatiently.

“Of course we do.”

Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial said calmly. “I am simply suggesting that we go about this tactically. As I said, it makes no sense to go for wool and come home shorn, nor is it reasonable to kill simply for the sake of killing!”

“What is your suggestion, Dao brother?” Jiang Yunlai asked.

“We split into two groups. One group will pursue the thief, and the other will search for the slumbering celestials. This way, we’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone without delaying our primary objective.”

“Makes sense.” Jiang Yunlai nodded. “How should we do this? Who will go after the thief, and who will search for the celestials?”

“Dao Sister Silver Moon and Junior Brother Supreme Origin will go after the thief with a small group of men, whereas you and I will search for the celestials with the rest of the group.” Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial smiled. “What do you think, Dao Brother?”

“I agree. We shall do as you say, Dao Brother Cyan Radiance.” Jiang Yunlai nodded. The arrangement was very reasonable. Each group would have a Sage from West Kunlun and East Kunlun, so there was no need to worry if someone would try to pull a trick or two.

“In that case, I entrust this task to you two, Dao Sister Silver Moon, Junior Brother Supreme Origin!” Cyan Radiance Superior Celestial smiled at them.

“You’re welcome, Dao Brother Cyan Radiance. It will be done,” replied Silver Moon Sacred Lord. Supreme Origin Profound Sovereign did not say anything.

“Be ever careful,” Jiang Yunlai also instructed before the four Sages saluted each other and split up.