The leader of the Demonic Cultivator Alliance had eyes burning with bloodthirsty madness. The baleful energy surrounding him churned and roiled like boiling water — he was clearly intending to ignite his own core essence and detonate the formation's eye node. If he succeeded, the entirety of Black Reef Island would be reduced to dust, and every last one of us would be buried here.

"Not a chance!" I roared, forcing myself to endure the immense strain that fusing with the immortal sword had placed upon my body, and poured the final thread of my spiritual power into the blade in my hand.

Though the immortal sword existed only in its nascent form at that moment, it radiated a suppressive might capable of subduing all ages. Across the flat of the blade, the runes of the Dao Ancestor flowed in ceaseless circulation, each stroke seemingly containing the supreme principles of Heaven and Earth. I could feel it — this immortal sword forged from the fusion of three meteorite fragments was resonating in a wondrous harmony with the Tidal Sword Inscription within my body, and with the spiritual currents of the Eastern Sea.

"Bane-of-Evil Sword Art, Third Form — All Malice, Eternal Silence!"

I poured every insight I had ever gained, every measure of power I possessed, into that single strike. A golden sword-veil erupted from the tip of the blade and expanded outward like a luminous dome, forming a vast domain of righteous energy. Within that domain, every trace of baleful qi dissolved in an instant, as snow and ice before a blazing sun.

The energy the Demonic Cultivator leader had detonated at the formation's eye had barely erupted before it was enveloped completely by the golden sword-veil. The violent energy slammed and crashed wildly against the domain of righteousness, yet it could never breach the veil's containment. I could feel the immortal sword in my hand drinking greedily from that energy, transmuting it into refined righteous qi.

"No——!" The Demonic Cultivator leader loosed a howl of despair. His body cracked apart inch by inch under the backlash of the energy, and in the end he crumbled to ash.

And that force sufficient to obliterate Black Reef Island — held in check by the golden sword-veil — shrank and condensed by degrees, until at last it became a single point of golden light and vanished into nothingness.

The crisis was over. But I could no longer hold myself upright. With a wet sound, I spat a great mouthful of blood and crumpled to the ground. The immortal sword in my hand dimmed and went dark, dissolving back into three fragments that flew into my qiankun pouch.

"Fellow Daoist Ethan!" Everett Li and Marcus Su staggered over to me. At the sight of my wretched state, their faces were etched with shock and concern.

"Take these." I reached into my qiankun pouch, fished out two Blood-Replenishing Pills, and tossed them over. "Swallow them. Now."

Everett Li and Marcus Su exchanged a glance, then swallowed the pills without hesitation. In an instant, a warm current of energy flooded through their bodies. The chaotic core essence churning in their elixir fields settled at once, and their injuries began mending at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"This... what kind of pill is this?" Everett Li stared at me in astonishment. "The effect is so extraordinary?"

Marcus Su's eyes were wide as well. He felt the abundant spiritual power surging through him, his expression suffused with disbelief.

I gave a wry smile. I was just about to explain when a clamour arose in the distance.

The Ten-Thousand-Fiend Soul-Devouring Formation had collapsed entirely. The grey-black miasma dispersed like a receding tide, and Black Reef Island emerged once more in its true form. As for the remnant forces of the Demonic Cultivator Alliance, stripped now of the formation's protection, they were being hunted down by our formation-breaking squad.

Without the Ten-Thousand-Fiend Soul-Devouring Formation to bolster them, these demonic cultivators were no match for us at all. Cries of agony and the clash of weapons rang out across Black Reef Island, and in no more than a brief moment, every last remnant of the Demonic Cultivator Alliance had been wiped out.

Black Reef Island returned to stillness. Only the sea wind continued to blow, as though the great battle just fought had been nothing but a dream.

I struggled to my feet and walked to where the formation's eye node had been. Nothing remained there but a vast crater, and a few scattered shards of black stone.

I sat down cross-legged and began regulating my breathing. The toll that forcibly fusing three fragments and unleashing "All Malice, Eternal Silence" had taken on my body was simply too severe.

End of Chapter 82: The Villain's Leader's Eyes Burned with Bloodthirsty Madness