"What?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Not far away, facing this sudden change, Zhang Yao and his people were also stunned.

The Faceless Shadow that had just been killed by the joint efforts of over twenty Golden Core Cultivators, was actually the long-dead Daoist Heisen, Sima Yan?

And after the Yin Flame Ancestor reformed his true form, the Nether Abyss Ancestor, who had been watching the Faceless Shadow all along, suddenly had a change of expression:

"His aura has returned..."

"A substitute death method?!"

Zhang Yao’s expression slightly changed, immediately forming a theory:

"Is this why he risked appearing to attack Daoist Heisen, Sima Yan, before?!"

Before he could think further:

"Roar!"

The seven or eight Black Death Beasts that were confronting each other suddenly moved and, together with the Faceless Shadow, transformed into a large mass of shadow, suddenly pouncing towards the Yin Flame Ancestor.

The Yin Flame Ancestor, caught off guard by this sudden ambush, instinctively distanced himself from the other Golden Core Cultivators during his reformation, and as a result, became isolated and a prime target.

"Fellow Daoist Yin Yan, be careful!"

Ascendant Tianying was the first to react, immediately shouting a reminder with his Divine Thought, and instantly flew with Escape Light to provide aid. Several Golden Core Cultivators also reacted, following behind him.

"Damned!"

The Yin Flame Ancestor felt extremely aggrieved in his heart but had no choice but to continuously retreat, avoiding the onslaught.

Not to mention now that he’s heavily injured, even in his prime, he might not have been able to defeat this monster and the Black Death Beasts, and now he could only rely on Ascendant Tianying and the numerous Golden Core Cultivators for protection.

"Attack!"

Meanwhile, Zhang Yao, the Nether Abyss Ancestor, and their group were not slow in their actions either, each activating Divine Techniques, Daoist Skills, and Magical Treasures, blasting towards the Faceless Shadow and the Black Death Beasts.

No matter the previous stance of the three sides, at this moment, facing this faceless shadowy monster, they united against a common enemy.

But then:

Something happened that no one had expected.

Ascendant Tianying was the first to go help the Yin Flame Ancestor, his Escape Light was also the fastest, but just as their Escape Lights neared, and as the Yin Flame Ancestor felt a momentary relief:

"Puff!"

He suddenly erupted, a palm smashing into the Yin Flame Ancestor’s chest!!

A muffled sound like hitting leather rang out, the Yin Flame Ancestor’s body trembled, blood spurted from all seven orifices, he struggled to raise his head, looking at Ascendant Tianying in disbelief:

"You, you..."

He could speak no more.

The already seriously injured Yin Flame Ancestor, after being sneak attacked by Ascendant Tianying at a critical point, his body began to rapidly turn a grey-black color from the point of impact on his chest, his vitality draining away at an unimaginable speed.

The previously vigorous Golden Core-level aura, in just an instant, became like a candle flickering out in the wind.

"..."

Everyone was stunned, their minds completely blank.

No one anticipated this scene, thus unable to react at all.

Ascendant Tianying slowly withdrew his hand, taking a step back, standing together with the Faceless Shadow.

"The final variable has been eliminated as well."

He spoke expressionlessly, his gaze fixed on the Nether Abyss Ancestor and Zhang Yao, revealing a meaningful smile.

"See you below."

As soon as he finished speaking:

His body, like the Faceless Shadow behind him, dissolved directly into pieces of shadow, disappearing into the darkness along with the Black Death Beasts.

"..."

A deathly silence.

The numerous Golden Core Cultivators looked at each other, still feeling as if they were in a dream.

"Cough, cough..."

A weak and labored coughing sound brought everyone back to reality.

The Yin Flame Ancestor’s Escape Light completely dispersed, his magical power almost severed, falling from mid-air like a swan with broken wings.

"Fellow Daoist Yin Yan!"

The Golden Core Cultivators’ expressions changed, quickly gathering around, the Nether Abyss Ancestor waved his sleeve to support his body with his magical power.

"Rip!"

Zhang Yao stepped forward, tearing open his Magic Robe, seeing the skin on his chest already grey-black and even beginning to rot and wither, his pupils shrank as he spoke word by word:

"Fierce, Spring, Divine, Palm!!"

"What?"

Upon hearing this, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat, their expressions changing dramatically.

The Fierce Spring Divine Palm is a notorious Evil Poisonous Dao Skill, very stringent in both its cultivation and usage requirements, with a high price to pay, yet its power is extremely tyrannical.

The Fierce Spring Divine Palm can incinerate blood and infiltrate bones, once hit, it clings like a leech, almost assuring death.

"...There’s no saving him."

Zhang Yao took a deep breath, shaking his head.

The power of the Fierce Spring Divine Palm is terrifyingly dreadful, back in the Five Elements Secret Realm, Yu Wen Tai, who had disguised himself as a Realm Breaker, nearly killed him using this move.

That was only a simplified Foundation Establishment Dao Technique, but now this is a fully complete Daoist skill, seemingly etched into a Divine Technique by Ascendant Tianying, coupled with his Late Stage Golden Core Realm and magical power, outmatching Yu Wen Tai’s strike by over a hundredfold?

Thus, with this one strike, it essentially handed the Yin Flame Ancestor a death sentence since the Yin Flame Ancestor didn’t possess Zhang Yao’s talent to survive the invasion of the Fierce Spring Divine Palm, nor was he at Nascent Soul Realm with the ability for Soul Emergence and Possession.

"This..."

Many Golden Core Cultivators looked at each other, with fears and unease growing in the hearts of quite a few.

Ascendant Tianying was truly too hidden, his methods ruthless beyond measure; he likely killed far more than one or two Golden Core Cultivators, yet none knew his target.

Now, with both Daoist Heisen Sima Yan and Yin Flame Ancestor, two great powerhouses, having successively fallen by his hand, it was enough to make many Golden Core Cultivators feel threatened.

"Heh heh..."

Yin Flame Ancestor was already on his last breath, even his eyes beginning to dry up.

He exhausted his last bit of strength, pulling the storage bag from his waist and shoving it into Zhang Yao’s hand.

"Help me... avenge, avenge..."

In his final moment, Yin Flame Ancestor’s judgment was clear — among all the cultivators present, the only ones who might avenge him were Zhang Yao and Nether Abyss Ancestor.

Zhang Yao’s expression was solemn, and he slowly nodded, saying:

"I cannot guarantee it, but I will definitely do my best!"

"Good..."

After uttering the last half word, Yin Flame Ancestor completely lost his life.

A mighty late stage Golden Core Powerhouse, a Central Plains Overlord of the Yin Fire Lineage, died so tragically in the depths of Mo Yuan.

After he died:

The original twenty-plus Golden Core Cultivators who had sided with Yin Flame Ancestor and Ascendant Tianying also abandoned any thoughts of vying for the Sun Burning Celestial Sunflower.

Everyone knew the truth, though they had many in numbers, their sides were obviously disunited and scattered; not only might they be unable to contend with the strong Nether Abyss Ancestor and Elder Qingxu’s side, even if they snatched it, the benefits might not end up in their hands.

After weighing the situation, the atmosphere between the two factions quickly softened, and after burying Yin Flame Ancestor together, they gathered in small groups to discuss the series of incidents that had occurred.

"Fellow Daoist Mingyuan." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Zhang Yao and Nether Abyss Ancestor gathered together, the former swept his sleeve to seal their surroundings, then spoke gravely:

"While burying Fellow Daoist Yin Yan, I pondered carefully and discovered quite a few doubts."

"Oh?"

Nether Abyss Ancestor’s expression shifted slightly, and he said:

"I also have some insights; why don’t you speak first, Daoist?"

"Alright!"

Zhang Yao thought for a moment, and said:

"Let’s start with the most critical point, the one we overlooked."

"You mentioned earlier that during the Black Tide approach, you and another Soul Tamer were once very close, and due to the Black Death Beast’s triggered riot, you nearly couldn’t suppress it."

"Later, we saw with our own eyes that the Soul Tamer had already become uncontrollable and transformed, turning into a Black Tide creature."

"The problem lies here!"

"Consider this, you, having normal rational thinking and a strong will, nearly couldn’t suppress the Black Death Beast’s riot."

"So how could a creature that’s transformed uncontrollably, with instinct overriding reason, forcibly suppress its instincts, and instead of attacking first when provoked, swiftly move away from you, and even later disguise itself as a normal Golden Core Cultivator to pass through the Black Tide and enter Mo Yuan?"

Upon hearing his words:

Nether Abyss Ancestor sighed heavily, his voice tinged with bitterness:

"I was the first to notice this doubt."

"It’s hateful, we were blinded at the time, overly trusting what we saw with our own eyes!"

During the Mitian Sand battle:

Zhang Yao and Nether Abyss Ancestor had witnessed the emergence of the Faceless Shadow, completely devoid of human form, even the flesh and blood had vanished completely.

This led them to instinctively believe that such a transformed shadow creature couldn’t possibly retain the rational state of a cultivator.

However, the result was that, although the Faceless Shadow indeed lacked rationality, there was a manipulator behind it!

"We guessed wrongly back then."

Nether Abyss Ancestor said slowly:

"The black shadow creature moving through the Black Tide wasn’t one person, but two persons! Or rather, he had two different identities!"

Upon saying this, he took a deep breath, eyes flashing with strong apprehension:

"This person... is simply unbelievable!"

"Based on what we have seen, it seems he refined the Black Death Beast embedded in his body into something akin to an external incarnation, and even retained the special ability to influence and manipulate other Black Death Beasts!"

"So, he directly divided into two people, operating in two places, perfectly avoiding suspicion; no one suspected him before he acted."

"I have no idea how he accomplished this... it’s a complete overturn of common sense!"

"Indeed..."

Zhang Yao sighed deeply:

"Looking back, the death of Fellow Daoist Yin Yan was completely a planned trap."

"When we were chasing their group, leading the charge was Ascendant Tianying; while Yin Flame Ancestor incidentally ran into us, the one leading was ’Mo Heng Daoist’, wearing a disguise."

"Under his deliberate manipulation, the two sides met; when I was about to escape smoothly, the fake Faceless Shadow came to stop me."

"He utilized our struggle for the Sun Burning Celestial Sunflower, as well as the appearance and diversion of the real and fake Shadow to create two opportunities for ambush, and amidst dozens of Golden Core Cultivators, killed Yin Flame Ancestor!"

He paused, his expression incredibly grave:

"And everything he meticulously arranged, his final target is you, Daoist!"

"With Yin Flame Ancestor dead, he now has no opponents in the deepest layer, and even if we joined forces, we might not be a match for him!"

"Indeed..."

Nether Abyss Ancestor’s face was so dark that it seemed water could drip off:

"He, both his true form and Shadow Incarnation, possess late stage Golden Core Level combat power."

"Even his Shadow Incarnation can control seven or eight Black Death Beasts, coordinating precisely... how could we possibly be a match for that?"

"Once we reach the deepest layer, we are nothing but fish on the chopping block!"