The Abbot began chanting, and from his body radiated golden ripples that spread like waves upon a still pond. Each ripple dissolved the Baleful Qi it touched, clearing a path for the others to fight. The Hollows recoiled from the light, their movements sluggish for a moment.

The Emperor of the Darkhan Dynasty followed up immediately.

He thrust his spear forward, releasing a torrent of golden lightning that pierced the air like a divine judgment. The lightning struck a Hollow straight through the chest, blasting a hole the size of a wagon. The creature fell backward, its armor cracking. But as it hit the ground, its broken pieces began to reassemble.

"Damn it," the Emperor hissed, his grip tightening. "Even my strikes are not permanent!"

Lin Mu's eyes darted across the battlefield.

Every Transcendent was fighting three Hollows at once, struggling to keep them from overwhelming the formation. The sky above had become a chaotic storm of light and darkness, flame and frost, thunder and shadow.

And yet, through all this chaos, none of the Hollows came toward him.

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes. Something felt wrong.

He was preparing to assist the others when a new presence entered the battlefield.

A voice echoed across the sky, guttural and filled with hatred. "Lin Mu... you should not exist."

The air split apart, and from within the distortion emerged a figure shrouded in Baleful Qi.

His robes were woven entirely from the corrupted energy, flowing like liquid shadow. His face was a nightmare, features twisted and fused as if torn from beasts and insects, his eyes glowing a deep, venomous green.

Lin Mu felt his instincts flare. "Who are you?"

The man didn't answer.

"АНННННННН!"

He roared, and the sound tore through the air like thunder. A massive wave of Baleful Qi erupted from his palm, tearing through the ground and leaving behind a black scar hundreds of meters long.

Lin Mu barely managed to dodge, his figure flickering as he activated Cloud Dragon Stride. He moved like mist carried by wind, leaving streaks of clouds in his wake. The energy blast exploded behind him, turning the marshland into molten sludge.

The stranger screamed again, his voice filled with fury. "You destroyed everything! You destroyed my home, my sect, my people!"

Lin Mu landed lightly on a shattered pillar, his expression darkening as recognition struck him.

"...Ancestor of the Hidden Cave Sect?"

The man's twisted visage flickered for a moment, revealing the faintest remnants of humanity beneath. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a snarl of hatred.

Lin Mu's brows furrowed.

He remembered this man. From what he had read in the records of the hidden Cave sect, he was a normal looking old man. Yet now he was a grotesque creature of vengeance.

"What happened to you?" Lin Mu demanded, his tone heavy. "You weren't like this. The Hidden Cave Sect's fall was your own doing, not mine."

The man laughed, a hollow, broken sound. "My doing? You destroyed our foundation! You killed our future when you crushed our ambitions! When we had nowhere left to turn, the Ephemera Sect offered salvation. They showed me truth! And now..." His aura erupted once more, "Now, I am reborn to destroy you!"

Before Lin Mu could respond, another voice echoed through the battlefield...the Ancestor of the Ephemera Sect.

His laughter carried across the winds like a curse. "Indeed, Lin Mu. You set the fire that burned his world. I merely gave him the fuel to embrace it. Look well upon him. He is the first of the Transcendent Hollows!"

The Hidden Cave Ancestor's eyes glowed red as he raised both arms. The surrounding Baleful Qi gathered around him like a storm, forming wings of black smoke that stretched across the sky.

Lin Mu could feel the immense power radiating from him. Even without measuring it precisely, he knew... the man had surpassed his former self.

A pillar of black light shot from the man's hands, and Lin Mu responded immediately.

He rolled sideways, activating Cloud Dragon Stride again. The ground where he stood exploded into a crater of molten stone. Even a brief graze of that energy could melt through ordinary Transcendent defenses.

He had no choice now. He could not afford to hold back.

"Magma Asura Form."

The ground beneath Lin Mu's feet shattered as Searing Hot Qi erupted from his body. His skin turned crimson, glowing with the heat of magma as a rocky armor crawling with magma formed on his body. From his back, four magma tentacles unfolded like living limbs.

Two of them grabbed his swords, Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker, while the other two pulled forth his bow, Wonder Seeker. His aura blazed to life, a towering inferno of fiery Qi and Sword Intent.

The moment he entered this form, the very air rippled with heat. The Hidden Cave Ancestor screamed and lunged at him, his claws coated in condensed Baleful Qi. Lin Mu blocked with Afternoon Pine, sparks flying as the two forces collided. The impact sent a shockwave that blasted the surrounding marsh dry for miles.

Lin Mu countered instantly, swinging Ocean Raker in a wide arc. The blade glowed with blue Sword Qi, creating a shining crescent that sliced through the darkness. The attack struck the Ancestor squarely in the chest, sending him

flying back.

But he recovered almost instantly. His wound bled black mist, which reabsorbed into his body and healed.

"You cannot kill me!" the Hidden Cave Ancestor shouted. "Baleful Qi grants

eternity!"

Lin Mu said nothing.

He simply raised Wonder Seeker. One magma tentacle drew the bowstring as

another conjured an arrow made of compressed Fire Qi. When he released it, the arrow split into nine streaks of fiery light, each following a curved path

before converging on the target.

BOOOM!

The resulting explosion covered half the battlefield in fire. The flames rose hundreds of meters high, turning the world red.

But when the flames faded, the figure was still there... charred, yes, but smiling.

"This is what you call power?" the man growled. "Then witness despair!"

HUALA