Within My Sect, All Realms Unite

As the dust slowly faded and thinned into the cavern air, everyone was finally able to focus clearly on what was happening, and their bodies instinctively went still at the sight before them.

The echoes of the earlier clash still lingered faintly, yet no one paid attention to anything beyond that single, frozen point at the center.

Han Leu stood there with the boy firmly in his grasp, yet something about him felt completely off, as if the man they had been fighting alongside had completely changed into something else.

His hair had turned completely white, not aged and not drained of vitality, but unnaturally white as if color itself had been erased without reason.

His eyes burned a deep crimson, and the aura erupting from his body surged outward with such force that the ground beneath him began to crack, spreading fractures across the stone like it could no longer endure his presence.

The air trembled under that pressure, and even the scattered debris shifted slightly as if being pushed away by an invisible force. Yet despite how overwhelming that aura was, there was no sense of control within it, only a violent surge that kept growing stronger without pause.

Yet as they continued to watch, their expressions slowly stiffened as they noticed something deeply wrong with the flow of energy around him. What should have been a one-sided suppression felt twisted, as if the situation itself was no longer following any rule they understood.

The demonic qi erupting from Han Leu was not spreading outward as expected but was instead being drawn directly into the boy’s body, pouring into him without resistance while the boy’s face twisted into a deeply unsettling ecstatic expression.

There was no struggle, no clash, only a one-sided intake that felt far too smooth to be natural.

The boy’s lips curled faintly, and his body, which had been unstable moments ago, now seemed to respond to the incoming power instead of rejecting it. The more qi entered him, the deeper that expression became, as if something inside him had been waiting for this moment.

For a brief moment, confusion spread silently among them, but no one spoke as their instincts warned them that this was not something to interrupt. Even those who would normally rush forward held themselves back, their grip tightening on their weapons without taking a single step.

Han Leu’s aura did not weaken in the slightest and instead continued to rise steadily, growing heavier with each passing second, forcing everyone to instinctively shift into defensive stances as they prepared for whatever was about to happen next.

The ground beneath their feet felt less stable, not because it was collapsing, but because the pressure itself made it harder to remain steady.

The pressure within the cavern continued to build without pause, pressing down on their bodies as even breathing began to feel slightly heavier under its influence. The longer it lasted, the clearer it became that this was not reaching a peak it was still climbing.

Just then, a thin stream of blood began dripping from Han Leu’s crimson eyes, breaking the suffocating stillness that had settled over the battlefield. The droplets fell slowly, one after another, tracing down his face as if his body had begun to reach its limit.

Everyone’s focus sharpened instantly, yet no one dared to move without Lin Xiaotian’s command, their bodies locked in place despite being fully prepared to act. The tension in the air tightened further, as if everything was waiting for something to break.

Before anyone could react further, the boy’s entire body began to ripple in a nauseating way, his skin shifting unevenly as if countless worms were crawling beneath it. The movement was not smooth or controlled, but erratic and disturbing, making it difficult to even look directly at him.

The rippling grew more violent with each passing second.

His shoulders jerked slightly, his back tensed, and the skin along his spine began to bulge in uneven patterns that made the disciples’ expressions stiffen. Even those who had seen brutal battles before could not remain calm at that sight.

And then, without warning, the boy’s back tore open and the flesh split apart violently as hundreds of thin, thread-like creatures burst out all at once, launching toward Han Leu with terrifying speed. They did not scatter or hesitate, but moved in a direct and precise line, as if their target had been decided long before this moment.

Han Leu had no chance to dodge in his current state and position even the slightest movement seemed impossible, and the swarm was already too close to avoid. The distance between them vanished instantly, and for a brief moment, it felt like the attack would land without anything stopping it.

But just before impact, a golden barrier flared into existence around Han Leu without warning, forming instantly as a faint golden light shimmered across its surface. The threads slammed into it one after another, their speed terrifying, yet none of them managed to pass through.

Instead, they dropped one after another, the thread-like creatures fell lifelessly to the ground, twitching briefly before going completely still, unable to withstand the overwhelming qi infused within the barrier. Not a single one managed to breach even the slightest gap.

The Sect Master’s robe shimmered faintly over Han Leu’s body. Seeing this, the disciples unconsciously let out a breath they had not realized they were holding, their tense bodies easing just slightly. At the same time, Lin Xiaotian’s lips curved into a faint smirk as he observed the outcome.

It seemed the plan was working even though these soul bugs were terrifying in nature, their combat ability was fundamentally weak and could be dealt with easily if faced directly. Their real danger was never in direct combat, but in how they moved, how they entered, and what happened after that.

Their speed made them difficult to react to and their ability to infiltrate made them nearly impossible to remove once they succeeded. Also, their Terrifying reproduction turned a single mistake into complete collapse for any faction.

But this time, something was different. The swarm they were facing seemed to have lost its ability to reproduce during the mutation, stripping away one of their most dangerous traits. Without that, their threat dropped sharply, leaving them far more manageable than they should have been.

Alas, Han Leu using his demonic powers was dangerous for everyone, yet there was no other choice left in this situation. It became much easier as well, since the boy was already nothing more than a corpse.

Just as Lin Xiaotian was piecing this together, the boy’s ecstatic expression slowly began to vanish from his face.

The change was gradual, but clear as the satisfaction that had filled his features began to fade, replaced by something far less stable, as if whatever balance he had reached was starting to break apart. His lips twitched slightly, his breathing grew uneven, and the earlier calmness disappeared.

A strange, distorted scream tore out from the boy’s mouth as panic slowly etched itself across his face.

His entire body started writhing violently, no longer controlled but reacting instinctively as if something inside him was forcing its way out. The movements were sharp and uncoordinated, like his body no longer belonged to him.

The rippling returned, but this time far worse as his skin bulged in uneven waves, shifting rapidly as if something inside was moving upward with force, pushing through layers that were never meant to be broken. The pressure around him changed again, becoming unstable instead of heavy.

And then, without warning his forehead tore open. The flesh split apart in a jagged line as something shot out from within with terrifying speed, carrying with it a surge of energy that made the air around it distort for a brief moment.