Outside the pocket world, on the grand energy platform where sect leaders and the World Lord observed the sacred sect competition, silence lingered for multiple breaths of time after Liang Mang's death.
Then Su Tian, sect leader of the Sun-Forging Sect, slowly shook his head.
"Killing is natural among cultivators," he said calmly. "Especially in the sacred sect competition. This matter… I will let it go."
His gaze shifted to the magic screen where Shen Yuan still stood amid frost and blood.
"But," Su Tian added, voice firm, "you should remain cautious, Shen Yuan. Many people might not accept you killing their disciples in front of them."
Inside the pocket world, Shen Yuan felt the weight of those words even through the spatial barrier. He looked up toward the distant energy platform through the spatial barrier with his divine sense, then cupped his fists and bowed slightly.
When he straightened, he spun his head in a slow arc.
The blood that clung to his hair scattered across the frozen ground in dark droplets.
He raised his hand and pointed toward the distance—toward the mountain where Yi An, Bai Chen, and Yan Bao stood watching.
"I would like to fight you next," Shen Yuan said aloud.
The three cultivators' eyes widened, not in fear—but in amusement.
They vanished in flashes of light and reappeared only fifty steps away from him.
Yi An laughed softly. "We won't be using Qi."
Bai Chen nodded. "We'll use actual spiritual energy instead."
Yan Bao's lips curved into a grin. "After all, where's the fun in holding back?"
Spiritual energy aura flared up from the three.
Outside the pocket world, gasps rippled through the crowd. Many mortals stared in disbelief—cultivators who broke their own words, changing the rules when it suited them.
"They... they promised! Swore on their dao they'd only use Qi—no spiritual energy! And now look—blazing spiritual aura everywhere! The moment Shen Yuan crushed one, they threw their oaths away like trash. Even cultivators lie?"
"My old man always said immortals are bound by honor, by oaths. But these ones... one falls, and the rest forget their promise faster than I forget a bad debt. Using spiritual energy now? Shameless! I'm speechless."
"I believed them. I really did. Thought cultivators were above mortal tricks. But watching them scramble to spiritual energy the moment things went bad... it's like watching a merchant cheat at dice. Disgusting. Shen Yuan's the only honest one here."
"One down, and the rest panic like rats. 'Only Qi' my foot! They switched to spiritual energy faster than you can blink. I thought cultivators feared heavenly retribution for broken promises... guess not when they're losing."
In the elders' chamber, the Twin Soul Sect elder shook his head. "It's a pity. Shen Yuan is only Quasi-Elysian. His opponents are opportunists."
The Sword God Sect elder turned to him. "Do not lose hope. That boy might surprise us yet once again."
The Twin Soul Sect elder nodded, a wry smile on his face.
Back inside the pocket world, Shen Yuan remained silent for several seconds.
Bai Chen frowned. "Are you thinking of quitting?"
Shen Yuan lifted his head.
A smile slowly spread across his lips—one that bordered on a chilling smirk. It made even Yi An, Yan Bao, and Bai Chen feel uneasy.
"If you won't uphold your words," Shen Yuan said quietly, "then I won't hold back either. Not when facing three early stage Elysian cultivators."
Then—
From his back, a pair of black-red wings burst forth.
They were vast and sharp, feathers gleaming like blades under crimson light.
The wings of a Tempest Falcon!
The pocket world froze.
Outside, mortals and cultivators alike stared in stunned silence.
In the elders' chamber, every elder rose from their seats in shock. They instantly understood what this meant.
A human with non-human body parts…
Only one path could lead to that.
The Body Reforging Method.
A forbidden and dangerous art.
The Sun-Forging Sect's elder's hand froze mid-stroke on his beard, eyes bulging.
"Body... Body Reforging? That child is using the Body Reforging method?! Forbidden since thousands of years ago—sealed in every sect archive, branded as suicidal madness! Even Elysian stage cultivation old devils who attempted it perished in agony, their bodies exploding from within. Yet he... he channels it willingly? My heart trembles—not from fear, but from the sheer impossibility before my eyes."
Then came the voice of the Twin Soul Sect's elder.
"Impossible... the scriptures say the Body Reforging Method demands pain beyond mortal comprehension—bones liquefied and recast, meridians torn and rewoven, every fiber screaming for death. No one has survived full execution since the era of the Ancient Immortals. And this boy... this mere junior... endured it when he was a mere Nirvana Stage cultivator?! The heavens have gone mad, or perhaps... he has."
The Sword God Sect elder stared unblinking, sword energy around him flickering erratically.
"That art... that damned art. Legends say cultivators who attempted Body Reforging either ascended in body or died begging for mercy. The pain is said to eclipse heavenly tribulation. And he invoked it casually, as if forging a mere sword? My sword heart quakes. He is either the greatest madman in tens of thousands of years... or the greatest genius."
On the high energy platform, even the sect leaders' expressions shifted.
Beast Chief Wen Tu of the Heaven Beast Clan frowned. "He used the body reforging method… to claim the wings of a Tempest Falcon."
Jian Weihuang, leader of the Sword God Sect, turned to Xue Linghun. "Your sect's Shen Yuan is truly something else. To dare use such a method…"
Xue Linghun's face became serious. He had not expected this.
At the very front, the World Lord Han Bolin leaned back slightly, an amused smirk forming on his lips.
"Interesting," he said.
Inside the pocket world, Yi An, Bai Chen, and Yan Bao were just as stunned—but their shock soon turned into smirks.
Yi An spoke first. "Wings won't save you from spiritual energy, when you only have Qi."
Shen Yuan's gaze remained cold.
"Who said this is the end of my trump card?"
The three's smirk faltered.
A red glow began to radiate from Shen Yuan's body. As he stepped forward, the ground cracked beneath his feet. Scarlet thunder crackled around him, filling the air with a violent, oppressive pressure.
Behind him, an illusory image appeared.
Black mountains.
A vast river.
Endless shadows.
Chains bound him—two linking his wrists to towering mountains, one binding his waist to the river, another wrapping around his neck and tethered to a third mountain.
The scene was beautiful… and utterly terrifying.
It felt as though despair itself had descended upon those who looked too long at the illusory image, as the sky itself had darkened.
Shen Yuan's lavender eyes turned crimson red.
From his palms to his wrists, both arms darkened into blackened flesh. His nails elongated into sharp claws. Red thunder danced along his limbs.
His voice dropped into an icy whisper.
"Nether Seal… Open."
The world seemed to tremble.
The chains binding his wrists shattered in fiery explosions. The black mountains they were linked to shook violently, then burst apart.
The illusory rivers and peaks slowly faded.
But Shen Yuan's aura surged.
It felt darker. Heavier. Vast.
For a moment, it was as if he had truly stepped into the Early Stage Elysian Realm—even though he had not.
Bai Chen swallowed hard, eyes wide. "That aura… He's using spiritual energy. Demonic spiritual energy."
Yi An frowned. "Quasi-Elysian cultivators can use spiritual energy briefly… but how did he obtain demonic spiritual energy? It's rare—and harmful even to the mental state of its wielder, unless you're at least early Elysian."
Yan Bao's gaze sharpened. "That's not the point anymore. He can fight all three of us now."
Then they froze again.
A low chuckle echoed.
They turned.
Shen Yuan was laughing.
He raised a palm to his face, laughter spilling from him like madness, reverberating across the pocket world.
"HAHAHA… AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Outside, the crowd erupted into whispers.
Some believed he had gone insane.
Some thought him a demon.
Others were still shaken by the vision of black mountains and rivers.
"Did you hear that laugh? Not human... not even close. Shen Yuan's gone mad—completely lost his mind! Those crimson eyes... like coals from hell. What kind of power drives a man to laugh like that while the world burns black around him?"
"Look at him cackling like a demon in a nightmare! That laugh... it went straight through my bones. Shen Yuan's lost it. The transformation turned his mind to madness. Pray he doesn't turn those red eyes on us next. I was wrong to cheer of a being like this"
"Ancestors protect us... those eyes aren't human anymore. Red as sin, laughing like he enjoys the slaughter. The black mountains crumbling in the vision, rivers turning to ice-black sludge—he's not an immortal. He's a devil!"
"I felt it in my chest—that laugh wasn't joy. It was hunger. Crimson eyes, body wreathed in crimson aura... he's crossed over. Shen Yuan is a demon lord now. We should run while we still can."
"I can't look away, but I want to. Black mountains in my mind's eye, rivers of frozen shadow... and Shen Yuan laughing through it all, crimson eyes shining like blood moons. He's not fighting anymore—he's reveling. What kind of monster have we been rooting for?!"
In the elders' chamber, the elders exchanged uneasy glances.
On the high platform, even the sect leaders looked surprised.
The World Lord, Han Bolin, narrowed his eyes slightly.
'So it is true…' he thought. 'He possesses the Nether Dragon Scripture.'
Inside the pocket world, Yi An, Yan Bao, and Bai Chen exchanged glances and nodded.
They would strike now—while Shen Yuan's mental state was unstable.
The three dashed forward, combining their spiritual energy into a massive golden palm imprint that roared toward him.
Shen Yuan's eyes glowed.
He leapt into the air and formed seals in a flash.
A scarlet skeletal palm imprint emerged from an array and slammed down against the golden palm.
The pocket world trembled as neither gave the chance to overpower the other.