As Han Yi crossed the polluted river, a sudden disturbance erupted beneath him.
The swirling, dark gray liquid in the river surged upward, coiling around Han Yi with terrifying speed, like a shark sensing blood. Its velocity approached that of a True Immortal—speed that would have challenged even ordinary True Immortals.
But Han Yi merely glanced down and gently stomped his foot. Space trembled violently as an unimaginable force traveled through it, striking the mass of liquid surging upward.
Boom!
The dark gray liquid exploded into fragments. The residual force, refusing to dissipate, violently shook the fragments until they vaporized completely.
The force continued downward, snapping the entire riverbed like a massive ship breaking apart. The riverbed cracked, and the dark gray liquid vanished across vast stretches.
A deafening roar reverberated along the entire river, disturbing even the deathly silent forest on the opposite bank. Within the forest, a malevolent aura began to coalesce and gather.
Amidst the billowing dust, Han Yi glanced expressionlessly downward.
This kick was purely powered by Ancient God Power, without any Divine Art. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been limited to merely cracking the riverbed; the entire region, hundreds of miles across, would have collapsed into a terrifying abyss.
With his current cultivation, Han Yi's full power approached the might of an Immortal Monarch.
Han Yi shifted his gaze to the mountain forest across the river. His eyes blazed with golden light as he activated the Golden Pupils of the Dao of Fate. Now he clearly saw the entity coalescing within the forest.
It was a Demonic Abomination formed from malevolent energy.
The creature resembled a Giant Tiger, likely created by devouring a Tiger Demon that once roamed the forest.
Come to think of it, this wasn't Han Yi's first encounter with Evil Mountain. Years ago, when he was at the True Immortal Realm, he witnessed Ye Wuxian slaying Evil Immortals upon his return from the Eternal Life Wizard Realm to the Great Luo Immortal Court. Those Evil Immortals were likely from Evil Mountain.
The mobile Immortal Mountain they occupied was a bizarre entity formed by the fusion of Evil Immortals. Eliminating that mountain would have resolved the threat.
His second encounter was in the Crimson Thunder Hell, where he sensed Golden Resonance Daoist's aura and investigated.
During his previous encounter with Evil Mountain, their Golden Immortal had been slain, and the Age Candle's numerous Golden Immortals had purged the malevolent aura. Han Yi had never witnessed the state of the contaminated realm.
Now, for the third time, he was connected to Evil Mountain, and for the first time, he saw the condition of the tainted land.
To him, the river and forest posed no threat. But for low-level cultivators, this place would be an impassable hell.
Han Yi advanced, flicking his fingers. Immortal Spirit Power descended, initially as faint as a grain of rice, but rapidly expanding as it fell, transforming into Immortal Fire Heavenly Fall.
The malevolent entities coalescing in the forest surged forth, only to be suppressed by the Immortal Fire, reduced to ashes. The flames spread, burning through the forest and radiating outward until they reached the edge of the silent Immortal City ahead.
Finally, the Immortal City stirred.
A sudden clamor of gongs and drums erupted, followed by the blaring of suonas, their clamor rising into the sky.
The entire Immortal City seemed to come alive.
The gates swung open, and figures poured out in a steady stream—mortals, cultivators, and even a few Demigods among them. Yet regardless of their status, each face radiated joy and contentment.
Han Yi stood in the air, several kilometers before the Immortal City, his brow furrowed as he observed the city that had suddenly come to life.
No, the "coming to life" wasn't referring to the mortals and cultivators whose faces were filled with smiles, but rather the Immortal City itself.
Those mortals and cultivators were all dead. Their faces smiled, but their eyes remained closed. Though they continuously emerged, their movements were stiff, like marionettes on strings.
If Han Yi had witnessed this scene when he first crossed over, he would have been terrified out of his wits. But now his heart was as still as still water, his golden eyes shining as he observed the Evil Immortal's corruption.
The emerging corpses, like marionettes, parted to form two lines. A yellow-robed Immortal slowly walked out from the Immortal City.
"Fellow Daoist, this is the territory of the Great Yellow Dao Immortal. Why not enter and rest awhile, allowing me to show proper hospitality as the host?"
Han Yi ignored him.
In his eyes, this yellow-robed Immortal's cultivation realm was that of a True Immortal, but an incomplete one. He was connected to the core of the Immortal City.
With this thought, Han Yi waved his hand, and a streak of Immortal Power shot out, reducing the yellow-robed True Immortal to dust. He perished on the spot.
In the next instant, under the scrutiny of Han Yi's Golden Pupils of the Dao of Fate, two more True Immortals emerged from the core of the Immortal City, both clad in yellow robes. Their appearance and aura were identical to that of the Yellow-Robed Immortal he had just slain.
Han Yi's interest was piqued.
As the two Yellow-Robed Immortals stepped out of the Immortal City, before they could utter a word, Han Yi eliminated them with a swift Finger Snap.
As expected.
After another breath, four more Yellow-Robed Immortals materialized from the core of the Immortal City, rushing toward him at breakneck speed.
Han Yi frowned.
He sensed something amiss.
This malevolent Immortal City was growing stronger, not just because more Yellow-Robed Immortals were appearing, but because the core of the city emanated an increasingly thick aura of evil. While this level of threat was still beneath his notice, if it continued to escalate indefinitely, it would eventually become a formidable adversary.
As this thought crossed his mind, he detected another anomaly: a faint, dark-gray aura had infiltrated his Immortal Power.
The aura was so subtle that he hadn't noticed it before.
"So that's how it is."
"This Demonic Immortal City is actually absorbing my power and transforming it into malevolent energy."
"Or in other words, it's assimilating me."
"This is the power of Evil Mountain. A mere Immortal-grade Evil Immortal occupies this Immortal City, emits its malevolent aura, and even I nearly fell into its trap."
"No wonder the Immortal Court records warn that upon encountering an Evil Immortal, one should strike decisively without hesitation, lest they become ensnared."
"If a Profound Immortal were to linger here too long, they might indeed meet their doom in this treacherous place, gradually assimilated and devoured by the Immortal City."
With this realization, Han Yi's body transformed. He purged all traces of the gray-black malevolent energy from his Immortal Power, compressing it into ash. Without further delay, he slammed his palm downward.
As his palm struck, thunder roiled in the heavens. The Thunder Law trembled, coalesced, detonated, and, guided by Han Yi's divine power, descended with crushing force.
The corpse-like figures outside the city gates, their eyes closed, all tilted their heads upward in unison. Meanwhile, the four newly appeared Yellow-Robed Immortals retreated into the core of the Immortal City.
As it rose, the Immortal City began to take flight with a deafening roar. But Han Yi's palm strike was a form of the Divine Art "Knowing Destiny," known as the "Divine Thunder Tribulation." This technique channeled divine power to ignite the Thunder Law, a simple yet brutally effective method.
The rising Immortal City was instantly shattered by the endless barrage of divine lightning. A scream erupted from its core, a sound that seemed to meld the voices of countless individuals into one horrifying cacophony.
The scream carried a sinister magic that surged toward Han Yi. Sensing this invisible force, he dismissed it as unworthy of attention and obliterated it with a surge of Immortal Power.
As the Immortal City disintegrated under the fury of the Divine Thunder Tribulation, the scream gradually weakened and faded away.
Han Yi's Immortal Sense swept the area, confirming no residual malevolent aura remained. He continued his flight forward, his expression now grave.
These Evil Immortals of Evil Mountain had fused with the Immortal City, amplifying both their power and their malevolence. If left unchecked, their corruption would inevitably spread to the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain.
From that moment on, Han Yi abandoned curiosity and observation. He proceeded with relentless force, striking down every malevolent entity he encountered—whether Immortal City, Immortal Mountain, or natural landscape—with a single, decisive sword strike, purging the tainted aura from the world.
Han Yi discovered that the Evil Immortals of Evil Mountain had not only merged with the Immortal Cities, but some had also parasitized the bodies of normal True Immortals or Profound Immortals. Others had coalesced countless flesh and blood into grotesque, flesh-based evil thrones, each more horrifying than the last. This sight widened Han Yi's eyes even as it deepened his killing intent.
Seven days later.
Han Yi approached a colossal Immortal City. Standing before its towering walls, his expression grew grave.
Before him lay the Omniscient Immortal City, the heart of the Contaminated Realm. All the malevolent entities and pollution spreading across the surrounding lands originated from this place.
Omniscient Immortal City was one of the three largest Immortal Cities in the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain, and it had once been the main city of the Heavenly Knowledge Dao Field. However, several centuries ago, during the invasion of the Eastern Emperor Demon Clan, the Dao Field's master had been slain by the Great Sage of the Eastern Emperor. The Dao Field splintered, and no Immortal Monarch had since taken control.
"This Immortal City houses several Golden Immortal-grade Immortal Sects," Han Yi recalled. "According to our Sect's intelligence, there should be over fifty Golden Immortals within its walls."
"For so many Golden Immortals to be silently annihilated by Evil Immortals... there's definitely something deeply wrong here."
"Among them, there may even be an Immortal Monarch hiding."
Han Yishen took a deep breath and resolutely stepped into the Omniscient Immortal City.
But the moment he entered, he suddenly stopped.
On his arm, a black mark he had always kept an eye on suddenly began to heat up, and as it warmed, the mark began to flicker faintly.
Han Yi raised his hand, studying the mark, his gaze sharpening.
"Chaos... Wayless One... Heaven-Devouring Evil God?"
This mark had been planted on him during his Transformation God days, when he had accepted Li Zhengyang's invitation to explore a hidden, ownerless Immortal Spirit Realm near the Crimson Thunder Hell, accompanied by a dozen Demigods and Transformation Gods.
According to the Great Abyss Divine Blade's explanation afterward, the mark had been planted by an Evil God from Chaos.
Chaos Evil Gods are Wayless Ones, the lowest-tier entities in Chaos who fear no danger.
However, this standard only applied within Chaos. Even the weakest beings in Chaos were Immortal Monarchs. For someone like Han Yi, who was only at the ordinary Golden Immortal Realm, they remained impossibly distant.
Therefore, Han Yi had never forgotten about the Chaos Evil Gods, nor had he ever let his guard down.
After ascending to the Golden Immortal realm, Han Yi had attempted to remove the mark on his arm, but found it remained as futile as before.
In reality, the mark on his arm was a Dao Beacon of the Chaos Evil God. Based on his experiences in the Immortal Spirit Realm, this god's Daoist Title was likely Heaven-Devouring.
Now, as he entered the Omniscient Immortal City, the Dao Beacon on his arm began to flicker faintly.
A sudden realization struck Han Yi. He focused his thoughts on the Immortal Spirit Realm and inquired of Taiyuan for more information about the Chaos Evil God. As before, Taiyuan remained silent.
Over the years, Han Yi had frequently summoned Taiyuan. He suspected that this entity, likely the Great Abyss Divine Blade of the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable, possessed knowledge of countless hidden secrets. Even a fragment of this knowledge could greatly broaden his understanding.
But Taiyuan's rare responses were a constant source of regret.
Han Yi withdrew his thoughts, focusing on the black mark on his arm. His inner vigilance more than doubled.
Perhaps the Omniscient Immortal City had been tainted by the Chaos Evil God. If so, the situation was far more troubling.
Han Yi knew well the tenacity of the Chaos Evil God. Back in the Immortal Spirit Realm, he had narrowly avoided succumbing to its corruption.
Remaining highly vigilant, Han Yi moved forward with deliberate slowness, maintaining only Demigod-level speed.
He constantly monitored the heat radiating from the Evil God Mark on his arm, adjusting his direction accordingly. Whenever the mark's heat intensified, he veered away from that area.
Han Yi planned to investigate the outskirts first, gradually narrowing in on the source of the mark's heat.
If his conjecture was correct, countless Immortals were gathered within this massive Immortal City. Some hailed from the Immortal Court and the Primal Art Dao Field, but the majority had been drawn by the aura to slay Evil Immortals, seize resources, and garner the Heavenly Dao Fortune's favor.
These Immortals might inadvertently expose the hidden Malevolent Entities lurking within the Immortal City before he could.
After two hours, Han Yi encountered three Profound Immortals pursuing an Evil Immortal of the same Profound Immortal Realm. The Evil Immortal's True Body had merged with a Daoist Temple, and Han Yi could sense the Evil Immortal's aura intertwined with the temple. Even if the Evil Immortal were slain, another would likely emerge from the temple.
Instead of killing the Evil Immortal, the three Profound Immortals chose to suppress it. After successfully suppressing the Evil Immortal, they relentlessly attacked the eerie Daoist Temple.
After a sustained attack lasting the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Daoist Temple began to seep a yellow liquid, pulsing forth like blood.
Then, the temple shattered completely. The Profound Immortal-Class Evil Immortal, sealed within, lost its life. Its entire qi, blood, and Immortal Power vanished, leaving only a withered husk.
Han Yi observed this scene, then prepared to shift his gaze elsewhere.
Ever since entering the Immortal City and feeling the Evil God Mark on his arm heat up, his plan had changed. He was no longer focused on slaughtering the Evil Immortals within the city to restore this contaminated realm.
Instead, his mission was to investigate the connection between this Immortal City and the Chaos Evil God, as well as the relationship between the Evil Immortals and the Chaos Evil God.
If the Chaos Evil God had merely planted some Dao Beacons in the Immortal City, he might consider destroying them himself. However, if the Chaos Evil God's consciousness had descended upon the city, he would immediately retreat and report the matter to Immortal Monarch Yuanshu at the Dao Field or Immortal Court. The Immortal Monarch would then decide whether to handle it personally or escalate the matter to higher authorities.
After all, even the weakest Chaos Evil God in the Chaos realm is a Wayless One. In the Great Luo Immortal Realm, it represents a natural calamity.