After the Eight Sect Coalition used their taboo treasure to destroy the Young Arbiter Sect and their dam, the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River had rushed from the Supreme Arbiter Salvation Mountains across the lands to the Eight Sect Coalition. That river nourished countless small nations, and ensured that the mortal population flourished.

As a result, the coalition guarded the river closely, constantly sending inspection patrols up and down it to keep it safe. But today, something unexpected happened.

And the part where it happened wasn’t very far from the Eight Sect Coalition.

In fact, it counted as an area controlled directly by the Eight Sect Coalition. For some reason there, the water went from being very clear to being pitch black. From a distance, the river upstream still seemed to have strong immortal energy, but as the water flowed into this area, it released an incredibly strong stench, and was clearly full of mutagen.

The mutagen in it was very strong. In fact, this was reminiscent of what happened to the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River when it emerged from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture’s forbidden ground. Black mist rose up from the water, so dense that it was corporeal. It turned into a mutagen fog that billowed onto the shores, corroding what it touched, turning plants a blackish purple color. Living things struggled to survive in it!

Most terrifying of all was that the mutagen fog seemed to be devouring spirit energy. The spirit energy in the area was rapidly diminishing. The river was now turning into a source of mutagen. Every single drop of water overflowed with stupefying levels of mutagen. In the blink of an eye, it became fatal to living things. It took only a moment for the fog to affect the dome of heaven itself. Black clouds filled the sky, making it look deeply sinister. Nearly invisible pulses began to spread out from the river water. Wherever they passed, they changed the life level of what they touched. Life collapsed as it was corrupted dramatically.

There was more. The river water also became incredibly poisonous. As that poison spread, the river became completely polluted and corrosive. Innumerable spirit fish died, and those that didn’t die started mutating. They became vicious beasts that howled ferociously. Smaller streams connected to the river were also affected, and things there also started mutating.

Finally, hosts of resentful souls rose up from the water, too many to count, making the river haunted and evil. These resentful souls were not like ordinary souls. Instead of emanating a frigid, sinister energy, they radiated scorching heat, which caused the water to bubble and boil.

If some almighty being were present, they would be able to see the source of this event. It was an altar that had been set up at the bottom of the river. It was protected by a concealing magic that couldn’t easily be penetrated. There was a small, black bottle on the altar, from which flowed a black liquid that merged into the river water.

And thus, this tributary of the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River suddenly became superlatively deadly as it flowed into the Eight Sect Coalition.

Because it happened so close to the coalition, almost as soon as the water became terrifying and full of mutagen, it was flowing into the megacity. Though the coalition had long since put in measures to deal with such situations, the effect seemed to specifically target those defenses, making them almost completely ineffective. Spell formations collapsed, dams crumbled, magical barriers fell to pieces. Freezing power was released that was intended to stop the flow of water, but the incredibly hot souls melted the ice, stopping the effect. In an instant, the Eight Sect Coalition was shaken deeply. Bells rang out, and disciples rushed onto the streets. Everyone was absolutely shocked as they looked in the direction of the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River.

They knew full well that they couldn’t let the mutagen-polluted waters flood the city. If they did, it would be a grievous blow to the coalition.

The coalition was one of the six great powers in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, and had profound reserve powers. Though the frontline defenses were failing, there were many other steps that could be taken in such a situation that ordinary disciples didn’t know about. Only the patriarchs and sect leaders had that knowledge.

It didn’t take long before those leaders appeared, whereupon a massive earthen embankment rose up beyond the city wall to block the progress of the water. Streams of incisive sword energy slashed into the water, killing the evil entities in it. Massive amounts of medicinal pills streamed forth to negate the poison and mutagen.

Patriarchs took direct action, blocking the dangerous fog. The entire city trembled as an enormous channel appeared around the city, diverting the incoming water into the Forbidden Sea.

Because of these steps, the disastrous effects were largely mitigated. The quick reaction and amazing defenses went to show that the Eight Sect Coalition did belong among the six great powers. However, the mutagen and the poison still had some effects, and therefore, ordinary disciples were already hard at work dispelling it.

Besides, the incoming river water was only part of the problem. More important than that was the origin of the pollution. The top experts from the various sects, including the patriarchs, rushed out to find the source of the problem. As the disciples hastened to deal with the situation, circumstances were obviously urgent, but everyone moved with efficiency and in orderly fashion.

Xu Qing was in the Transportation Division, having just received his dharmaship when his transmission jade slip vibrated as instructions came in from the sect.

Zhang San’s face fell as he saw information and orders coming in for him as well. The two of them exchanged a glance, and both could see how concerned the other was. Without a word, they flew off to their various assignments.

Something strange is going on! Xu Qing thought, looking up at the red clouds that were barely visible through the black fog. The mixture of red and black created something that looked almost violet. When he saw that violet color, he thought back to how unsettled he had felt earlier. That sensation still remained within him.

It was obvious to anyone that the situation with the river water… was likely just the beginning of a larger problem. The river water had to be dealt with, both in terms of the mutagen and the poison. And obviously, the patriarch-level figures were the ones who had to find the source of the problem. But taking in the Eight Sect Coalition as a whole, the problem wasn’t that severe, and wouldn’t take long to solve. The real question was what was coming next.

Xu Qing knew that if he could see what was really going on, there was no way that the high-level leaders in the coalition hadn’t already come to the same conclusion. He sped up as he headed toward the Seven Blood Eyes main headquarters. As he raced through the city, he saw countless mortals looking around in shock, as well as numerous disciples with anxious expressions on their faces. Although everyone was busy with their respective responsibilities, all of them were worried.

The sects activated their taboo treasures to ward off any potential invaders, causing beams of scintillating light to shine out. However, as the light of those taboo treasures shone out, the red glow from the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect surged more brightly than the others. The red light shook heaven and earth, and attracted the attention of countless eyes. Almost instantly, everyone was looking at it. Though none of the disciples truly knew what was happening, all of them had speculations.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Soaring Cloud, who was one of three patriarchs who had rushed out to deal with the source of the river problem, looked back at the sect, and his face fell. The reason for that was… the taboo treasure was not being controlled by him!

The bright light emanating from the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect’s taboo treasure was as red as blood, and as it rose into the dome of heaven, it took the shape of an enormous, blood-colored tree! As the massive tree spread up, its trunk filled with countless vicious faces all howling in grief. The tree had too many leaves to count, and all of them emanated an unstoppable sword energy that caused the sky to tremble. The sword energy then became a massive vortex that sent sword projections whipping left and right. The vortex was so huge that it covered the entire Eight Sect Coalition.

Xu Qing was closing in on the Seven Blood Eyes headquarters when he looked up and saw what was happening. His expression flickered as he felt a terrifying pressure weighing down. It was almost like the dome of heaven itself had turned into a blood-colored sea of swords.

Next, a figure appeared atop the massive tree. He wore a golden robe that was dark at the bottom and slowly became light as it went up. On his head was a blue crown inset with violet gems, and beneath his feet was an ancient bronze sword decorated with swirling clouds. His face was pale but incredibly handsome, except that his right eye socket was empty, and his left eye radiated ferocity and even evil. The moment he appeared, everyone who saw him felt shaken to the core.

He was none other than… Master Shengyun!

He stood on the ancient bronze sword as it floated above the blood tree, looking down at everything below and smiling. It was a smile that contained sorrow, but at the same time, intense madness.

“This,” he said softly, “is my Blood-Soaked Performance.” 𝒃𝒆𝙣𝒐𝒗𝙚𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝒎

As the words left his mouth, the massive blood tree suddenly erupted, sending a massive red sea out into the sky and then down… toward the Seven Blood Eyes headquarters! It moved with such incredible speed that, a moment later, it had spread out to cover all of the Seven Blood Eyes headquarters!

And then, another massive tree sprouted up from within the headquarters. The mountain shook. Heaven and earth trembled. And Master Shengyun slowly extended his arms to either side and looked up at the broken face of the god in the sky.

“Torchlight, please watch carefully!”

As the Eight Sect Coalition trembled, including the capital city of the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect, two black-cloaked figures could be seen on the top of a building there. Both wore masks resembling the broken face of the god. One of them stood, the other sat.

The sitting one fiddled with an ancient wooden box as he looked at Master Shengyun. Though this person was on the ground and Master Shengyun was in the air, the sitting young man seemed like he was looking at a bug.

Smiling, he said, “Night Dove, is that the person putting on the performance?”

“No, Lord, it’s not him,” Night Dove replied respectfully. His eyes, which glittered with numerous streams of starlight, turned in the direction of Seven Blood Eyes. “Lord, please enjoy the show while I go give a little gift to Seven Blood Eyes. After today, everyone in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture will once again recognize Torchlight. And you, Lord. Up to now, they’ve only thought of Torchlight as a fledgling organization. But with you here, Lord, Torchlight is different.”

“Go ahead,” said the young man, smiling. As he toyed with the wooden box, he turned to look… at Seven Blood Eyes. “Lil’ bro is going to start crying again.”