Time flies, and it has been three years since the earth-shaking incident in Qinglan City.
On the Jiuxiao Continent, in the northern borderlands, a once barren and lifeless land is now shrouded in a dense, suffocating aura of demonic energy. The sky is a压抑的 dark red, the earth is cracked, vegetation withers, and the air is thick with the stench of sulfur and blood. Countless low-ranking demons, grotesque in form and radiating an aura of brutality, surge out like tidal waves from twisted spatial rifts. In their wake, all life is exterminated, villages reduced to rubble.
The demonic invasion!
This catastrophe was not unforeseen. As early as several years prior, sporadic spatial anomalies had begun to occur across the continent, though they were largely ignored. It was only in recent years, as the rifts expanded and the demonic energy intensified its corruption, with organized demonic forces emerging, that a sense of panic swept through the major sects.
However, years of peace and internal strife had long eroded the ability and courage of many sects to unite against a common enemy. The various powers fought in isolation, even undermining one another, leading to a collapse of the defensive lines. The northern borderlands now teeter on the brink of collapse. Countless refugees are displaced, their lamentations filling the land.
In a valley cloaked in demonic energy, corpses litter the ground—both human and demonic. Several hundred surviving human cultivators are surrounded by a vastly superior force of demons. Each bears wounds, their spiritual energy depleted, their eyes brimming with despair.
At their forefront stands a sect elder. As he watches the encroaching demons, a bitter smile plays on his lips: "Heaven has forsaken our race..."
Just as the demons launch their final assault, ready to annihilate this last flicker of resistance, a streak of black light cuts through the sky like a lightning bolt splitting the night! So fast it distorts space itself as it passes!
The light plunges into the heart of the demonic horde and detonates! Not with flames or shockwaves, but with a rapidly expanding black领域 that seems to devour all in its path!
Within the domain, time itself appears to stand still. The snarling, rampaging demons slow to a crawl, their demonic energy encountering a natural predator. It is疯狂地 extracted, stripped away, and purified by the black domain!
In the span of a few breaths, the encircling demons collapse like statues eroded by wind, toppling in waves. They dissolve into pure elemental energy, nourishing the land once corrupted by demonic influence.
The remaining human cultivators gape in astonishment at the black-cloaked figure gradually emerging from the center of the domain.
He wears a simple black robe, his hair as dark as ink, his face handsome as if carved from stone, his eyes deep as the cosmos. Around him radiates anaura that instills awe and compels worship. This is Shen Mo!
Three years of exploration and ascetic cultivation have brought his martial prowess to the pinnacle of the Ten Thousand Phenomena realm. His mastery of the *Annihilation Swallowing Heaven Art* has reached unprecedented heights. No longer content merely to consume energy, he now refines and purifies it, transforming destruction into rebirth!
"It's... it's the Divine Lord of the Skyfall!" exclaims a cultivator, his voice trembling with excitement.
Divine Lord of the Skyfall—this is the honorific Shen Mo has earned as the leader of the newly established "Skyfall Pavilion." Over the past three years, he has integrated the Netherworld Palace and united numerous northern forces. With thunderous resolve, he has restored order. He has disseminated modified foundational techniques of the *Annihilation Swallowing Heaven Art* to attract talent from across the land and developed methods to counteract demonic corruption. He has become the pillar of resistance against the demonic hordes!
Shen Mo surveys the survivors and projects streams of pure Annihilation True Energy into their bodies, swiftly mending their injuries and dispelling the demonic corrosion.
"Those still able to fight, follow me. We will purge the remaining demons and escort the civilians to safety," his voice, calm yet authoritative, immediately steadies the chaotic hearts.
Under his leadership, the decimated troops unleash a surprising combat prowess, swiftly cleansing the valley of demons.
However, this is but a minor battlefield. The true crisis emanates from the largest spatial rift in the north—the Demon葬 Abyss!
Deep within the Demon葬 Abyss, demonic energy condenses into a palpable substance. A demon monarch, a hundred zhang tall with horns atop its head and clad in bone armor, radiates the terrifying might of an early-stage Heaven Piercing realm. It attempts to breach the spatial barrier and set foot on the Jiuxiao Continent! Should it succeed, the entire northern domain will be instantly transformed into a living hell!
The main forces of the Skyfall Pavilion, along with the remnants of the continent's major sects, have gathered outside the Demon葬 Abyss, forming the last line of defense. Yet, in the face of the demon monarch's overwhelming might, all feel a wave of helplessness and despair.
"**Mere ants! Welcome your doom!**" the demon monarch roars, its voice thunderous. A gigantic demonic claw emerges from the rift, collapsing space and distorting reality wherever it passes!
At this desperate moment, Shen Mo steps forward, placing himself at the forefront of the defense.
Gazing at the sky-obscuring demonic claw, his expression is tranquil. Three years of trials have taught him that personal power, if used solely for vendettas, remains trivial. True significance lies in embracing responsibility and protecting the innocent—a realization that aligns with the ultimate essence of the *Annihilation Swallowing Heaven Art*: after annihilation, rebirth for the sake of protection!
He does not choose direct confrontation. Instead, he forms a hand seal, unleashing the full might of his Ten Thousand Phenomena peak cultivation! His essence and spirit merge with the Annihilation True Energy, transforming into countless mystical runes that instantly blanket the skies above the Demon葬 Abyss!
"**The All-Encompassing Annihilation Array, activate!**"
With a deafening boom, a massive formation spanning a thousand li materializes! This formation is not for offense but for purification! Using himself as the array's core, Shen Mo ensnares the demon monarch and its principal forces within!
He channels the ultimate secret of the *Annihilation Swallowing Heaven Art*, not to consume power but to transmute it! He forcibly extracts, refines, and converts the boundless demonic energy into pure, life-giving elemental force, restoring vitality to the land ravaged by demonic corruption!
"What sorcery is this?! How can it purify the primal demonic energy?!" The demon monarch screams in terror, sensing its power draining rapidly, its body threatened with dissolution by this strange radiance!
Shen Mo's aura plummets, yet the light in his eyes burns brighter. Driven by his monumental will to purify the demonic taint and protect countless lives, the rigid barriers within him shatter!
A might transcending the Ten Thousand Phenomena realm surges from him, blending with the laws of heaven and earth!
The Heaven-Piercing realm!
Words command reality, resonating with the cosmos!
"**Seal!**"
Shen Mo, embodying heavenly decree, strikes down with a palm. No longer a pitch-black annihilation imprint, but a colossal chaotic palm suffused with boundless vitality and purifying power! This palm, bearing the supreme Dao rhythm of annihilation and rebirth, as if channeling the will of the universe, smashes into the demon monarch and hurls it back through the spatial rift!
"No—!!!"
Amidst the demon monarch's roar of defiance, the spatial rift of the Demon-Burying Abyss is sealed and reinforced, restoring tranquility.
With the demon monarch imprisoned and the principal demonic forces purified, the remaining demons, leaderless, are swiftly routed under the counteroffensive of the Skyfall Pavilion and the human alliance.
The years-long demonic plague is finally quelled.
...
The Jiuxiao Continent returns to peace.
The Skyfall Pavilion, due to its decisive role in repelling the demonic invasion and its open, inclusive philosophy, is hailed by the people as the new sacred realm, holding an exalted position.
Shen Mo, revered as the "Skyfall Divine Lord," commands the admiration of myriad races. No longer the youth consumed by hatred, his gaze has grown peaceful yet profound, as if harboring starry seas within.
At the summit of the highest peak of the Skyfall Pavilion, the "Dao-Seeking Summit," Shen Mo stands with hands behind his back, his robe billowing in the wind. By his side is Su Xiao. Three years of rigorous cultivation, coupled with Shen Mo's unwavering support, have enabled her to successfully lay the foundation. Her demeanor has become increasingly ethereal, her eyes firm and bright, as she strides forward on her own path to greatness.
The two exchange a smile, understanding each other without words.
Shen Mo's gaze transcends the magnificent landscapes, reaching into the boundless depths of the starry cosmos. There lies the "Skyfall Divine Palace" indicated by the star chart, a broader world, and unknown challenges and opportunities awaiting.
His legend is far from over.
A new journey is just beginning.