As time slowly passed, the fruits hanging from the massive tree began to pulse faintly, their surface glowing with a deep crimson light as the surrounding Qi stirred. One by one, the petals loosened and started falling, drifting down like slow embers, and the moment the process began, the entire clearing grew tense. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

As the outer layers peeled away, the true form of the fruit was revealed, a dark crimson core shaped like a distorted star, its surface etched with faint void-like patterns that seemed to shift with every pulse. Thin strands of blood-colored light flickered across it, while a subtle distortion in space surrounded it, as if the fruit itself did not fully belong to the world.

People who had been waiting calmly now stood up, their eyes locking onto the fruits while glancing at each other with clear caution. No one moved yet, but the silence tightened, every muscle coiled, every breath held, as if the entire area had been stretched to its limit.

Then the first fruit fully ripened and dropped and in that exact instant, everyone moved.

The second and third fruits fell almost immediately after, and as they dropped, the massive tree shriveled at a visible pace, its towering form collapsing inward until only a withered, rotting sprout remained.

A cultivator from the Crimson Flame Valley was the first to grab one, his hand snapping forward with practiced speed. The second fruit was swept away by a voluptuous girl clad in Azure River Sword Pavilion robes, her movement fluid and precise as she vanished backward.

Just as the third fruit was about to be seized by a man from the Iron Blood War Sect, Tianhe appeared from the side and snatched it cleanly, his movement sharp enough to leave behind only a faint afterimage.

For a split second, everything paused and then the true chaos erupted. Those who secured the fruits immediately stored them inside their storage rings and turned to flee without hesitation, while the rest surged forward in pursuit, their restraint completely shattered.

As the ones who secured the fruits tried to escape, they were instantly surrounded and attacked from all sides, the restraint that had held everyone back completely collapsing. Blades flashed, techniques erupted, and even alliances broke without hesitation as some were struck down by members of their own sects.

The boy who had taken the first fruit did not even make it far before a sword pierced straight through his heart from behind, the attacker revealed to be his own fellow disciple. His body dropped lifelessly as the storage ring was ripped away without pause, not a single glance spared for the fallen.

The girl from the Azure River Sword Pavilion moved entirely differently, her figure weaving through attacks with smooth precision, dodging and slipping away as if carried by the current itself. Strikes passed through where she had just been, yet none managed to truly pin her down.

Tianhe, however, did not move at all. He stood firmly where he had taken the fruit, his presence steady as the incoming attackers hesitated for a brief moment. Seeing this, Lin Xiao Tian let out a faint sigh, his expression calm.

As the clearing erupted into chaos, restraint vanished instantly and cultivators turned on each other without hesitation, blades flashing in every direction as alliances shattered mid-movement. Those who had arrived together now struck from behind or from the side, each trying to seize advantage before the next person could react.

The boy who had secured the first fruit barely staggered two steps before a sword pierced through his back and out of his chest, the strike clean and deliberate. His eyes widened in disbelief before his body collapsed, and the attacker, his own fellow disciple, did not even pause as he ripped the storage ring away.

That moment alone broke whatever illusion of order remained, as more people lunged toward him even after death, fighting over the ring before the body had settled. Steel clashed violently above the corpse, blood splashing again as greed overruled even the simplest restraint.

The girl from the Azure River Sword Pavilion moved through this chaos like flowing water, her body weaving between strikes as if guided by instinct rather than thought. A blade grazed her side as she slipped past one attacker, drawing blood, yet her movement did not falter as she redirected her momentum forward.

Two cultivators attempted to box her in from opposite directions, one lunging high while the other cut low, trying to seal her escape. She stepped into the narrow gap between them at the last moment, twisting her body sideways as both attacks missed by inches, before pushing off the ground and slipping past them.

Another strike came from behind, catching her shoulder this time and forcing a deeper wound that slowed her pace slightly. Her breath tightened for a moment, but she did not stop, instead forcing her speed higher as she broke through the encirclement once more.

At the center of the clearing, Tianhe stood unmoving, his presence alone forcing hesitation among those approaching him, while Yan Feng and the others formed a loose but stable formation around him. Their positions shifted slightly with each movement, maintaining balance without needing commands.

The first attacker charged forward with confidence, his blade raised as he aimed directly for Tianhe, believing strength alone would break through. Yan Feng moved first, his sword cutting through the man’s guard in a single arc that left no room for defense, ending the attack before it could fully form.

Another came from the side, attempting to exploit the moment, but Xiaoshan’s halberd descended with crushing force, the impact shattering both defense and bone in one strike. The attacker’s body was driven into the ground, his resistance ending instantly under the weight of the blow.

Three more advanced together, coordinating their attacks as one launched a ranged technique while the others closed in to force pressure from different angles. The Qi blast never reached its target, as Tianhe stepped forward and split it apart mid-air, the energy dispersing before it could detonate.

The two advancing cultivators hesitated for a fraction of a second, and that hesitation cost them everything as Tianhe’s movement followed immediately. Both fell before they could react, their bodies collapsing without even understanding when the strike had landed.

The surrounding cultivators slowed, their earlier confidence replaced by caution as they circled instead of charging blindly, searching for an opening that did not seem to exist. The formation held steady, each member covering the other without unnecessary movement.

Elsewhere, the girl continued her escape, her path twisting unpredictably as she avoided another incoming strike that sliced through her sleeve. Blood marked her trail now, her injuries accumulating, yet her speed did not drop as she forced her body forward.

A cultivator closed the distance and swung for her neck, forcing her to twist sharply as the blade cut across her collar instead, drawing another line of blood. She did not counter, instead using the opening to push forward again, widening the gap with desperate precision.

Back at the center, five cultivators surged forward together, abandoning caution as they aimed to overwhelm Tianhe’s group through sheer pressure. Their attacks came from all sides, forcing movement, forcing response, forcing an opening to appear.

Yan Feng intercepted the first strike, his blade redirecting it while Xiaoshan stepped in to break the second, the halberd forcing space with raw power. Tianhe moved at the same moment, his presence shifting forward as his strikes landed one after another, each one decisive.

The attackers fell one by one, their numbers thinning as their momentum collapsed under the resistance they could not break. The ground beneath them cracked from the force of the clashes, yet the formation did not give way even once.

Just as the battle seemed ready to slow, the girl who had finally broken free and was about to escape suddenly jerked mid-air as a dark tentacle pierced straight through her back without warning. Before she could react, another struck from a different angle, then a third, locking her body in place as if she had been nailed into the air.

For a brief moment, the entire battlefield froze.

The one who acted stood calmly among them, dressed in the robes of the Crimson Flame Valley, yet his presence felt completely out of place the moment one looked closely. On his hand gleamed the storage ring taken from the first victim, still fresh and damp.

The girl tried to turn, her mouth opening as if to scream, but no sound came out as her body withered instantly, the life drained from her in a single breath. What remained fell apart into scattered droplets of blood and a ring, which the man picked up and slipped onto another finger without even glancing down.

Before anyone could process it, the next moment arrived.

Every member of the Crimson Flame Valley collapsed at once, their bodies dropping where they stood as if something inside them had been torn away completely.

Panic spread through the crowd instantly as the earlier greed shattered without resistance, replaced by raw fear that forced people to turn and flee. No one spoke or looked back as even those mid-fight abandoned everything and rushed away without direction.

Lin Xiao Tian did not move as his gaze remained fixed on the man as the pieces connected in his mind, the strange being in the cave, the rumors of the Yan Family Ancestor, and what now stood before him. So, it really is you... hiding in plain sight all this time.

The man stood above the clearing and threw his head back as a maddening laugh echoed through the air, the sound carrying a strange weight that made people falter even as they fled. Beneath his robes, the faint movement of something alive pulsed once more.

Then he stepped forward and chased the disciples as the slaughter continued.