"Don't waste this second chance. Walk your own path."
"The road lies beneath your feet."
As those words echoed in her mind, a radiant path of five-colored light unfolded beneath Jian Dan's feet, stretching straight into the sky.
"I can help you ascend in a single step—straight to the Immortal Realm."
Jian Dan shook her head calmly.
"I'd rather walk my ascension step by step."
No sooner had she spoken than the starlit world around her shattered like broken glass. Cracks split open in the air, and from one of them, a massive black claw burst forth—reaching straight for her.
Her expression changed in an instant. Instinctively, Jian Dan leapt back. But before the claw could even touch her, the entire space trembled violently. Then, a devastating force surged forward, engulfing the black claw. In the blink of an eye, the claw began to dissolve into nothingness.
"SCREEE—!"
A shrill cry pierced the air—like a newborn wailing in agony. Jian Dan's ears throbbed as blood trickled from them. The world twisted and cracked around her, yet just as suddenly, the rift mended itself. The sky stitched shut, the silence returned, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.
She blinked, heart pounding—and found herself once more standing on the open ground before the crimson gate.
Half the crowd had vanished. The remaining cultivators looked around at one another, wide-eyed and tense, each unsure of what had just occurred.
"The Purple-Grade Realm is under attack. It will collapse within half an hour. Those with Purple Tokens may evacuate immediately. All others—proceed to the southwest teleportation array at once!"
The booming voice of a man echoed through every corner of the realm. Those who survived sprang into action, summoning flying artifacts and racing southwest.
Jian Dan wiped the blood from her ears. She circulated her spiritual energy, mending the torn meridians around them. Without hesitation, she stepped onto her sword and took flight.
"Xiao Zhuzi, we have a Purple Token! Why follow the herd?" Brother Parrot chirped in her mind.
"The tallest tree catches the wind. Notice how Xu Meixia's been staring daggers at us?"
"That ugly hag!" Brother Parrot fumed.
"Now is the time to flee, not to make enemies. Otherwise, we'll end up trapped in here forever."
Suddenly, someone shouted.
"Everyone—look behind us!"
A scream erupted behind them.
A black mist, shaped like a living cloud, surged across the sky—chasing down fleeing cultivators. One unlucky female cultivator, who had fallen slightly behind, was instantly engulfed. A heartbeat later, the mist surged forward again, continuing its relentless pursuit.
Everyone kept an anxious eye on the woman who had just been swallowed by the mist. Moments after her scream, she emerged again—seemingly unharmed. She climbed onto her flower-basket-shaped flying treasure and caught up with the others. At first, she flew clumsily, weaving from side to side, but soon her movements grew smooth and practiced, and she gained speed.
Jian Dan's heart beat faster the closer the woman got. Her divine sense enveloped the cultivator and detected something chilling—her eyes were vacant. Her spiritual aura shifted briefly, subtly—but then settled back into place as if nothing had happened.
"Lü Sanniang, are you alright?" a male cultivator nearby asked cautiously, clearly one of her companions.
She didn't respond. Instead, she suddenly launched a wood-element spell straight at him.
The two began to fight.
But soon, both were engulfed by the black mist. Moments later, they stopped battling—as if by silent agreement—and turned to pursue the others together.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"They're being controlled! Don't let that mist touch you!"
"Run!"
The surviving cultivators bolted for the teleportation array.
Suddenly, a fireball shot toward Jian Dan. Her sword dipped into an S-shaped curve, dodging it with practiced grace.
"Xiao Zhuzi—it's that ugly woman again!"
"I saw her," Jian Dan replied, her voice tinged with anger. "This lunatic... still trying to frame me at a time like this."
Just as she was about to counterattack, someone beat her to it—
THWIP!
A golden arrow struck Xu Meixia's legs.
Xu Meixia stared in disbelief at Han Pengfei, blood blooming from her shredded thighs as she toppled from her flying sword. The scent of blood seemed to excite the pursuing black mist—it surged forward, rushing straight toward her fallen body.
Jian Dan raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She continued racing toward the teleportation array.
The array had already been activated. Some cultivators had begun to vanish into its glow, but even more were flooding in from every direction—nearly all of them at the Foundation Establishment stage.
BOOOOM!
A thunderous rumble grew louder with each passing second.
Jian Dan spread her divine sense—at her current Golden Core stage, its reach was far. She saw the black mist approaching rapidly, along with the controlled cultivators—and behind them, even the birds and beasts of the secret realm were charging in like a stampede. It was a terrifying sight.
"HURRY! THEY'RE SURROUNDING US!"
Someone shouted, and panic erupted. Cultivators shoved and struck one another, desperation flaring into chaos. Spells flew. The air thickened with tension.
The entire Foundation Establishment space began to tremble. Jian Dan felt the instability rising—the fabric of this realm was beginning to collapse.
No time to delay.
"Brother Parrot—are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Hold your token. We're leaving."
They crushed their Purple Tokens. A violet beam descended, enveloping the girl and the bird. As the teleportation whisked them away, a purple orb shot out from the light—piercing straight toward Han Pengfei.