The blue portal rippled with an ominous light in mid-air, like an eye in the abyss peering into the souls of the Quan Xing members.
Ian stood before the portal, his expression calm, looking down upon the Quan Xing outcasts like a divine judge. Through the gateway, the crowd could vaguely glimpse the horrific world beyond—the "Hive World."
Twisted structures of flesh meandered like living things, pulsating incessantly and emitting the foul stench of rot. Grotesque monsters darted between the buildings, letting out ear-piercing shrieks.
In the distance, a dense army of Tyranids advanced, countless arthropod creatures brandishing razor-sharp scythes. Green-skinned Orks roared "Waaaah!" as they charged with crude weapons. Twisted silhouettes of Chaos Daemons rushed forward, while a mechanical army of Necrons fired Gauss flayers that disintegrated everything in their path.
The most despairing part? This planet had no Emperor's Angels.
Yuan Tao was tossed into the portal. His body flashed in the blue light before reappearing on a platform somewhere within the Hive World. He froze for a second, and before he could react, three lightning-fast Genestealers lunged from the side, pinning him to the ground.
"No! Help!" Yuan Tao shrieked, only to be instantly torn to shreds.
Blood splattered and organs scattered. His screams echoed back through the portal, making everyone present shudder with cold dread. Dragon-Tiger Mountain fell into a deathly silence; everyone was petrified by this cruel "live broadcast."
However, before Yuan Tao's screams had even faded, the image in the portal flickered. He reappeared elsewhere in the Hive World, completely intact but wearing a dazed expression, clearly not yet realizing what had happened. He looked around, instinctively sensing danger, and turned to run.
But he had only taken a few steps when an indescribable Chaos creature slithered from the shadows. Countless appendages snared his limbs and dragged him into the darkness. Another series of shrill screams rang out, more despairing than the last.
"This is the 'Eternal Cycle' I have meticulously prepared for you," Ian's voice was as calm as still water, yet it carried an indisputable authority. "There, they shall die forever, be resurrected forever, and forget their past deaths forever—yet they will remember the fear forever."
The Quan Xing members suspended in the air completely broke down watching this. Some were so terrified they lost control of their bowels, filling the air with a foul stench; some begged frantically for mercy; others lost their sanity entirely, wearing eerie, vacant smiles as their eyes lost focus.
While the outcasts in the audience felt no pity for these predatory Quan Xing members, witnessing such a god-like yet cruel method sent a chill down their spines. Their awe and fear of Ian reached its zenith at this moment.
Old Taoist Master Zhang Zhiwei stood to the side and closed his eyes. He sighed softly but did not speak to stop it. He understood in his heart that these Quan Xing monsters were steeped in sin and deserved death. Compared to the heinous crimes they had committed, such a punishment was perhaps only barely fitting.
Ian didn't bother showing every execution. He simply scanned the core Quan Xing members whose memories had been exposed, his gaze cold as a blade.
"He who kills shall himself be killed."
With a flick of his finger, he tossed the most evil of the Quan Xing demons into the portal one after another, like throwing out trash. Each left behind only a scream of despair that was quickly swallowed by silence. These devils who once lurked in the shadows finally tasted the bitter fruit of their own sowing.
Ian did not cast every Quan Xing member into hell. A few who had been coerced into joining were left behind, still hanging in the air, their faces ashen as they looked at him with complex emotions. These people were not beyond redemption; there was still a chance for them.
Having dealt with the "trash," Ian waved his hand to close the portal. The blue light dissipated as if it had never existed. He looked around at the crowd, his voice returning to a peaceful tone: "The Grand Luo Heaven Sacrifice is over, but the true 'competition' has only just begun."
The crowd erupted into an uproar, people looking at each other in confusion.
Ian continued, "Ten days from now, I shall teach the mysteries of Magnetic Field Rotation here. Those with the fate, the heart, and the ability may all come to the summit of Dragon-Tiger Mountain to observe."
His words were like a heavy bomb, detonating the entire field. No one could have imagined that a powerhouse who had defeated the Old Taoist Master would publicly teach his ultimate techniques! This was unheard of in the history of the outcast world!
But Ian clearly wasn't finished. To prove his words and establish a new "dojo," he slowly raised his right hand and pointed toward the sky.
Suddenly, all of Dragon-Tiger Mountain began to vibrate violently, as if an earthquake had struck. Cries of alarm broke out as many lost their balance and fell.
"Look!" someone shouted.
Everyone looked up and gasped in pure shock. The ground beneath their feet stopped shaking, but then, a mountain mass identical to Dragon-Tiger Mountain—carrying all its temples, halls, vegetation, and flowing water—was "uprooted" from the earth by an invisible, monumental force and slowly rose into the sky!
Under the gaze of the masses, this "newborn" Dragon-Tiger Mountain eventually came to rest, hovering steadily directly above the original mountain, their peaks touching.
Most miraculously, nothing on the inverted mountain fell due to the reversal of gravity. Instead, under the sunlight, waterfalls on the inverted mountain flowed upward into the sky, trees grew downward, and palaces remained intact despite being upside down.
This sight overturned everyone's understanding of reality. it was as if a myth had descended into the mortal realm!
"Heavens!" "Is this real?" "Am I dreaming?" Exclamations of wonder rose from everywhere.
Even the Ten Masters stared with wide eyes, their expressions full of shock. Even the most knowledgeable among them had never seen or heard of such a miracle.
Zhang Zhiwei stood to the side, his usually refined face filled with astonishment. Looking at the inverted Dragon-Tiger Mountain, he couldn't help but lament that after decades of bitter cultivation, he never expected to see such a miracle today. Perhaps this child wasn't bluffing; that power truly rivaled the gods—though he wasn't sure if this was a blessing or a curse.
The news spread like wildfire through various channels, and the outcast world went into a complete frenzy. Legends regarding Ian spread everywhere. However, a strange phenomenon was soon discovered.
Not everyone could see the inverted Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
Certain outcasts with crooked hearts, those who committed evil deeds, or those with wicked stances found that no matter how they tried, they could not observe the miracle in the sky. They saw only empty air or blurred mist. People gradually realized that this inverted mountain was not just a symbol of power, but an invisible threshold, clearly demarcating the "good" recognized by Ian from the "evil" he rejected.
This discovery triggered a new wave of shock. Whether or not one could see the inverted Dragon-Tiger Mountain became the standard for measuring a person's character. Some outcasts who considered themselves righteous found they could not see the mountain and fell into deep self-doubt and fear.
Meanwhile, at a secret base far from Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Zhao Fangxu stood before a massive screen, looking grimly at the real-time footage and the reports concerning the selective visibility of the mountain.
"There has been a major breakthrough in Redstone research," a senior researcher reported excitedly.
"The Redstone Blocks and Redstone Dust provided by that individual last time have once again pushed a technological revolution. The upper limit of energy output from the Redstone Blocks cannot yet be measured; they have already begun to replace traditional power generation on a large scale. The omni-environmental superconducting properties of Redstone Dust have solved the final bottleneck for controllable nuclear fusion—the prototype reactor has successfully ignited!"
Zhao Fangxu took a deep breath and tapped the table lightly. Based on Redstone technology, new materials and portable infinite-energy batteries were rapidly changing the national energy structure and industrial foundation, drastically reducing reliance on oil.
"High-level leadership has issued the supreme directive," he whispered. "Regarding all of Ian's actions, we shall adopt a strategy of non-interference, non-investigation, and full cooperation."
The silence of the Company stemmed from high-level orders, but even more so from the recognition of and reliance on Ian's unfathomable power. In fact, internal staff were already whispering that Ian must be a deity from some myth; many Taoist experts were already trying to communicate with their ancestors to inquire.