020 : A monster in human skin.
The world had gone silent.
The sky, once filled with divine radiance, now seemed darker, as if it too recoiled in horror at what had just happened. The land beneath them was scarred from the battle, but the real damage was not to the earth.
It was to the hearts of the two remaining envoys.
A Divine Transformation cultivator had just been devoured.
His qi, his Dao, his very existence—consumed.
And the one responsible?
Lin Tian.
He stood there, his black-and-gold robes fluttering, his golden eyes burning with new power. His aura had changed—it was no longer just that of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator.
No.
It was something far worse.
The silver-eyed elder and the female envoy felt it.
Not just strength.
Not just power.
But something… unfathomable.
Something that should not exist.
And for the first time, they felt fear.
The silver-eyed elder clenched his fists, his breathing slow but controlled.
He was not just any cultivator.
He was an Envoy of the Celestial Dao Palace.
He had reached Divine Transformation long ago, ascending beyond the limits of mortals. He had never lost a battle.
Until now.
His companion—the golden-eyed envoy—was gone.
Not just killed.
Erased.
And the one who did it?
Was still standing.
Still growing stronger.
Lin Tian rolled his shoulders, as if adjusting to his newfound strength. He glanced at his hand, clenching it into a fist, feeling the raw divine energy now circulating through his meridians.
"So this is the power of Divine Transformation?"
He chuckled.
"Not bad. But it's still not enough."
The female envoy exhaled slowly, her face grim. She was usually calm, detached. She had carried out countless executions on behalf of the Celestial Dao Palace.
But now?
She felt as if she was the one standing before a death sentence.
Lin Tian turned his golden gaze toward her.
"You're next."
She vanished.
Or at least—she tried.
Before she could even move, Lin Tian was already in front of her.
Her breath hitched.
"What—?!"
A single strike.
Lin Tian's palm met her abdomen—
BOOOOOOM!
Her body rocketed back, crashing through mountains, the very fabric of space trembling from the impact.
But before she could even recover—
Lin Tian was already there.
Waiting.
Smiling.
"Running already?"
The female envoy's vision blurred.
She felt weaker.
The impact of Lin Tian's attack had not only shattered her body—it had weakened her core.
Her Divine Qi was… unstable.
"He's absorbing even as he fights…!"
She gritted her teeth.
"If this continues, we will both die."
Her eyes flickered toward her last remaining ally—the silver-eyed elder.
"We must retreat."
The elder stiffened.
Retreat?
From a Nascent Soul cultivator?
It was humiliating.
But it was also the only choice.
Lin Tian tilted his head.
"Retreat?" He let out a soft chuckle. "You think I'll let you?"
The female envoy's expression hardened.
Then, without hesitation—she severed her own left arm.
Blood splattered the ground as she formed a quick hand seal.
The wound did not heal.
Instead, her severed limb collapsed into pure divine energy, forming a barrier of space and time.
A Dao Escape Technique.
Even Lin Tian's Devourer Qi could not immediately break through it.
The silver-eyed elder saw his opportunity.
With a low growl, he activated a teleportation talisman.
Their figures flickered—
And then, in an instant—
They were gone.
Lin Tian…
Did not chase.
The battlefield was empty now.
The Celestial Dao Palace had lost.
They had fled.
Not because they wanted to.
But because they had no choice.
Lin Tian…
Had won.
He exhaled, looking at his hand once more, feeling the residual energy left behind from devouring a Divine Transformation cultivator.
"This power…"
It was intoxicating.
But he knew—
It was still not enough.
The Celestial Dao Palace would not let this go.
They would send more.
Stronger beings.
Perhaps even Immortal cultivators.
Lin Tian's golden-black eyes flickered.
"Good."
Let them come.
By the time they did—
He would be far beyond their reach.
And when he returned…
He would no longer just be their enemy.
He would be their end.
Lin Tian turned away from the battlefield.
There was one final step before he could ascend beyond even the Divine Transformation Realm.
Beyond the Forbidden Lands, in the deepest corners of the world, there was a place feared by even Immortals.
A land where the ancient gods once fell.
A place where the strongest legacies remained untouched.
The Abyssal Ruins.
If he wanted to reach the next level—
He needed to go there.
Lin Tian took a step forward—
And with that step, the world itself shuddered.
The monster who had defied the heavens…
Was about to go even further.
Lin Tian stood at the edge of the world.
Before him stretched the Abyssal Ruins—a land of endless darkness, where even the sky seemed tainted by something unnatural.
This place was not just forbidden.
It was a graveyard of the gods.
Even in the ancient texts of the Celestial Dao Palace, it was written:
"No mortal who steps into the Abyssal Ruins ever returns."
Lin Tian smirked.
"Then I will be the first."
The moment he stepped forward—
The air shifted.
A pressure unlike anything he had ever felt descended upon him.
Not just spiritual suppression.
Not just killing intent.
But something deeper.
A force that rejected existence itself.
The very laws of reality were different here.
Even time itself felt… distorted.
Lin Tian's golden-black aura flickered.
"If even the heavens fear this place… then I must see what's inside."
And with that thought—
He stepped into the Abyss.
The moment Lin Tian entered, the world shifted.
The sky above was no longer visible. The land stretched into an infinite void, filled with ruins of temples and palaces long forgotten by time.
But the most terrifying part?
The silence.
No wind. No life.
Just emptiness.
And yet—
Lin Tian could feel them.
Eyes.
Watching.
Lurking within the shadows of the ruins.
"So, I'm not alone."
His golden-black eyes gleamed.
He had come here to find power.
And whatever was hiding in the darkness—
Would become his prey.
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