mtlumby2d Chapter 264: The Darkness Beneath the Crimson Sea
Chapter 264: The Darkness Beneath the Crimson Sea
The Darkness Beneath the Crimson Sea
In an instant, the world was in chaos and dust was everywhere.
"Damn, isn’t this too intense?"
The shocked voice came from a distant observer, yet it perfectly reflected what everyone present was feeling.
The battlefield had completely descended into madness.
The crimson sky trembled.
The black clouds hanging overhead churned violently like giant whirlpools. Below, the blood-red sea roared endlessly, wave after wave crashing into the shattered coastline. Mountains collapsed. Cliffs crumbled. The very air seemed unable to withstand the pressure generated by the battle.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Many of them had cultivated for hundreds, even thousands of years.
Yet very few had ever witnessed a battle of this level.
The clash between Hektor and Dario no longer resembled a fight between cultivators.
It resembled a collision between natural disasters.
One moment they were fighting in the heavens above.
The next, they crashed into the depths of the sea.
Every exchange shattered space.
Every collision sent violent shockwaves through the surrounding region.
Far away, countless experts watched with pale faces.
Nobody dared approach.
Even the powerful elders from various sects had retreated dozens of miles.
The battlefield was simply too dangerous.
Deep beneath the crimson sea, Hektor stood atop a blooming green lotus.
Holy light surrounded him.
Ancient vines stretched through the darkness like chains connecting heaven and earth.
The Green Lotus Sacred Art displayed astonishing power.
Although Dario’s cultivation was slightly higher, Hektor’s mastery of the ancient inheritance allowed him to bridge the gap.
For a long time, neither side could gain a decisive advantage.
Boom!
Another lotus vine collided with a sword beam.
The sea exploded.
Countless tons of blood-red water were blasted into the sky.
Dario frowned.
His expression became increasingly unpleasant.
"This old bastard is even harder to deal with than I expected."
Meanwhile, Hektor’s breathing gradually became heavier.
Although the Green Lotus Sacred Art was incredibly powerful, it consumed a tremendous amount of Mana.
As the battle dragged on, the difference in cultivation slowly began to reveal itself.
The longer the fight continued...
The more advantageous it became for Dario.
Boom!
A sword slash descended.
Three lotus vines shattered instantly.
Hektor retreated several hundred meters.
His face paled slightly.
Several nearby observers immediately noticed the change.
"He’s starting to lose ground."
"The cultivation gap is becoming apparent."
"No matter how powerful the Green Lotus Sacred Art is, it can’t completely ignore the difference between them."
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.
As expected.
Not long afterward—
Dario gradually regained the upper hand.
His attacks became increasingly ferocious.
His sword light covered the heavens.
Each strike forced Hektor backward.
However, defeating Hektor was still far from easy.
The elder of the Soft Water Divine Sect possessed terrifying defensive abilities.
Even Dario found himself unable to finish the battle quickly.
At that moment—
Something changed.
After severing another green lotus vine, Dario suddenly stopped pursuing.
Instead, he retreated.
His figure plunged directly toward the depths of the sea.
Everyone was confused.
"What is he doing?"
"Retreating?"
"That doesn’t look right..."
Even Hektor narrowed his eyes.
A bad feeling suddenly appeared in his heart.
Then—
The sea changed.
A strange black mist slowly emerged from the abyss beneath the ocean.
At first it was only a few strands.
Then more.
And more.
Until an enormous cloud of darkness began spreading throughout the sea.
The surrounding blood-red water seemed to rot wherever the black mist touched it.
An indescribable chill spread through the battlefield.
The black aura felt wrong.
Extremely wrong.
It carried an ancient corruption.
A madness capable of infecting the mind itself.
Many weaker cultivators immediately felt dizzy.
Some staggered backward.
Others instinctively circulated their Mana to resist.
"What is that?"
"Why does it feel so terrifying?"
"I don’t like this..."
The expressions of the older experts became increasingly serious.
Hektor’s face changed dramatically.
His eyes widened slightly.
When he felt the familiar aura, a shocking thought surfaced in his mind.
"You..."
His voice carried disbelief.
"Why do you have this strange source?"
Silence.
For a brief moment, the battlefield became strangely quiet.
The black aura continued spreading.
Hektor’s heart sank.
That aura.
He had felt it before.
The source behind the beast riots.
The source behind countless abnormalities within the Martial Emperor Tomb.
The source of corruption itself.
The similarity was simply too great.
A horrifying possibility formed in his mind.
Was Dario connected to it?
Had he been infected as well?
Before Hektor could think further—
A burst of laughter echoed across the sea.
"Haha..."
The sound sent chills down everyone’s spine.
Dario slowly rose from the depths.
The black mist wrapped around him like living shadows.
His eyes glowed crimson.
An overwhelming pressure spread outward.
"Old Hektor..."
His voice had become distorted.
Almost unfamiliar.
"I didn’t want to tangle with you."
A cruel smile slowly appeared.
"You asked for it."
Boom!
The black aura exploded.
The sea beneath him sank instantly.
The surrounding space distorted violently.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
The pressure emanating from Dario had increased dramatically.
Even Hektor felt his heart tremble.
At this moment, Dario was no longer entirely himself.
The strange source had begun consuming him.
His eyes burned with blood-red light.
Veins filled with dark energy spread across his skin.
The murderous intent radiating from him became almost tangible.
Yet hidden beneath that madness was an old secret.
A secret he had never revealed to anyone.
Not even his closest allies knew.
Years ago...
When his lifespan was nearing its end...
When every attempt at breaking through had failed...
Dario had stood at the edge of despair.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not cross the final barrier.
Death had been approaching.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
At that time, he had already accepted his fate.
Then he discovered it.
A crack hidden within the uninhabited regions of the Forsaken Domain.
Inside that crack—
He found the strange source.
A power unlike anything he had ever encountered.
Dangerous.
Corrupt.
Unknown.
Yet to a dying man, danger meant nothing.
When a drowning person sees a piece of driftwood, they grab it without hesitation.
Dario had done exactly that.
He fused the strange source with his own body.
And the results shocked him.
His declining vitality recovered.
His strength increased rapidly.
The bottleneck that had imprisoned him for countless years finally loosened.
His cultivation surged forward.
That was how he reached the threshold of the Pinnacle Realm.
However—
Every blessing came with a price.
The strange source constantly corroded him.
Slowly.
Patiently.
Like poison.
If he failed to completely break through before the corruption consumed him...
He would lose himself forever.
His body would remain alive.
But his mind would disappear.
A walking corpse.
A monster driven only by slaughter.
Yet Dario had never cared.
He was a madman.
Always had been.
As long as he could obtain what he wanted—
He would pay any price.
Even his soul.
"So what if I become a demon?"
Dario muttered.
His red eyes gleamed violently.
"I’ll become stronger first."
Boom!
His aura erupted completely.
A pillar of black energy shot into the crimson sky.
The heavens shook.
The sea trembled.
Everyone felt a crushing pressure descend upon them.
Many cultivators dropped to one knee immediately.
Others struggled to remain standing.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Fear spread across the battlefield.
A fear born from absolute power.
Even the distant battle between Tobias and Sirius slowed.
Both men turned toward Dario.
Shock appeared in their eyes.
"This..."
Someone swallowed hard.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
The pressure continued increasing.
The black aura swallowed the sky.
The blood-red sea roared beneath it.
And for the first time since entering the Martial Emperor Tomb...
Everyone truly understood what they were facing.
A monster standing at the threshold of a higher realm.
"A Pinnacle Realm?"