The Greatest Betrayal
Nem moved without sound.
While the battlefield trembled beneath the Spirit Killing Formation, while Xiao Yan bled and the Ansha strained against the blazing seal, Nem stepped into the shadows of chaos.
WuBie lay on the frozen ground, the Hidden Soul Needle still corroding his organs from within. His breathing was shallow. His divine aura flickered like a dying candle.
Nem's fingers traced a subtle arc in the air.
The Art of Manipulation activated.
Invisible threads of dark intent sank into WuBie's consciousness. His pupils dilated. His trembling stopped—not because the pain faded, but because his will was no longer entirely his own.
"Summon them," Nem whispered softly.
WuBie's lips parted against his will. His hands rose weakly, forming ancient seals he had sworn never to use lightly. The celestial formation he had begun earlier reignited—this time fueled by the last fragments of his life force.
Above the battlefield, light tore through the clouds.
The gods of the celestial realm descended.
Radiant figures stepped through the parted heavens—majestic, luminous, unaware. They came answering WuBie's call, believing they were reinforcing a righteous seal against evil.
They stepped straight into Nem's trap.
The moment their feet touched the battlefield, Nem's threads snapped tight.
Dark sigils spread beneath them before they could react. Their eyes widened in horror as their movements slowed—not frozen by ice, but bound by invisible dominion. Nem twisted their wills with merciless precision.
"You will strengthen the seal," he commanded quietly.
They tried to resist.
They failed.
One by one, the gods were forced to rupture their own internal alchemy cores—the source of their divine cultivation. Brilliant spheres of spiritual essence were torn from their bodies and dragged screaming into the Spirit Killing Formation.
Their forms dissolved into light.
Each sacrifice caused the formation to roar louder, burn hotter, tighten harder.
The Ansha screamed.
It was not a cry of pain alone.
It was fury.
It was grief.
It was the sound of heaven itself being violated.
The scream shook the sky, shattering lingering clouds and splitting distant mountains. For a moment, even the Spirit Killing Staff trembled under the weight of that anguish.
"You dare—!" the Ansha's voice thundered, but the formation constricted violently.
The final celestial core merged into the seal.
The formation closed.
Light imploded inward.
Then—
Silence.
The battlefield went still.
No thunder.
No wind.
No divine pressure.
Only drifting frost and scattered embers remained.
Xiao Yan staggered to his feet, heart pounding, ears ringing. He turned immediately, ignoring his own injuries, and rushed to Mi-An's side. He dropped to his knees beside her, brushing blood-matted hair from her face.
"Mi-An… Mi-An, stay with me," he whispered urgently.
Behind them, Qiong Qi fell to one knee, his massive frame flickering unstable from the energy he had expended. WuBie collapsed fully at last, life barely clinging to him. The surviving disciples lay scattered, drained and broken.
Nem stood.
Watching.
His expression was unreadable—calm, almost contemplative—as though observing the completion of a long-awaited experiment.
The seal pulsed faintly once.
Then stabilized.
Xiao Yan looked back toward where the Ansha had stood.
Nothing remained.
No body.
No aura.
No trace.
Only the sealed formation, glowing faintly like a scar carved into reality.
Xiao Yan exhaled shakily.
"It's over…" someone whispered weakly.
Nem's lips curved almost imperceptibly.
Then—
He vanished.
No burst of energy.
No distortion.
The evil god simply disappeared into nothingness, slipping away like a shadow retreating from light.
And in the silence he left behind, a terrible realization slowly began to dawn—
The greatest betrayal had not been against the Ansha.
It had been against everyone.