Divine Emperor of Death

The dark cloak Davis sent against an Ancestor moved like a ghost. It swayed in the breeze, making no undulations as it made its way to that Ancestor.

That human Ancestor of the Fire Phoenix Clan narrowed his old blurry eyes before he sent a bit of his essence and martial immortal energy towards his feet and activated the Fiveform Swift Phoenix Glide Technique, causing his image to split into five small fire Fire Phoenixes that dashed away from the terrifying dark cloak.

The five small phoenix birds were all indistinguishable from just their auras alone.

However, the dark cloak relentlessly and speedily chased after a phoenix bird and engulfed it, causing it to completely disappear. It didn't even take a second for it to die, but with it, the dark cloak also dissipated, leaving behind four small birds that all made a turn and shot toward themselves before transforming into that Ancestor once again.

He shuddered as he spat a mouthful of blood, unable to believe that the dark cloak actually managed to injure him when his true body wasn't engulfed. Looking closely, he saw that his left leg was corrupted with death energy, causing him to decisively sever it before he raised his head up with the same solemn gaze as everyone else present here.

"…"

What they saw was the image of the Emperor of Death being bombarded by the Inferno Celestial Phoenix Blaze, the Divine Technique that allowed them to win countless battles.

However, as the barrage receded slowly, the dark silhouette of the Emperor of Death came into visibility.

He seemed to be wrapped in a black cloak, causing numerous expressions to sink and pupils to dilate.

As the Inferno Celestial Phoenix Blaze came to an end, the Emperor of Death stood there without doing anything, allowing all the attacks to be absorbed into the endless abyss of the dark cloak.

"Impossible… how can you defend against Third Ancestor's Divine Technique by using the Deathward Seacloak Dominion again!?"

The Fire Phoenix Clan Ancestors were naturally aware the Deathward Seacloak Dominion was a Divine Technique, and they had researched it extensively using ancient records after one of their Ancestors died to it, so considering the damage he received, he should be out of energy by all factors. In fact, it wouldn't be any strange if he was exhausted enough to be at death's door because the users of the Ghost Tear Hall's Divine Techniques usually died after performing these moves as the death energy corrupted their own veins from overload.

However, the Emperor of Death didn't seem at death's door, much less exhausted!

Was it because of his trump card? But thinking back, they remembered that the Emperor of Death didn't act like he received any internal injuries after using the Deathward Seacloak Dominion, so it was possible that he mastered the technique to a level where it didn't harm him anymore, possibly surpassing ever generations' deathly heirs of the Ghost Tear Hall!

Davis turned to look at the Ancestor who asked the question and imagined he must be the Fifth or some numbered Ancestor since the magical beast was more likely the powerful one amongst them while the one in front of him at death's door from expending blood essence seemed to be the Fourth Ancestor.

The Fire Phoenix Clan's Second Ancestor was still looking at him with wide eyes, but he didn't bother and shrugged at the Fifth Ancestor, who closed his eyes and died on the spot as he expended every ounce of his energy and blood essence.

"…!"

However, his disrespect and nonchalance to this situation made veins erupt, but similarly, their hearts sank, wondering if he was bullshitting or truly didn't have any weaknesses in this unknown state he was in.

Meanwhile, Davis inwardly laughed.

The reason the Divine Technique didn't exhaust him a lot was simply that his source and comprehension of death energy were purer than any other death energy cultivators, so the Divine Techniques of the Ghost Tear Hall caused little exertion to him and practically none when he used in tandem Fallen Heaven.

"Now then, I heard the Fire Phoenix Clan has a Divine Technique called the Eternal Pyre Phoenix Conflagration. Have any of you managed to comprehend it? If so, use it against me already."

Davis expectantly looked towards the Second Ancestor, who was an immortal beast.

He imagined that the Second Ancestor might've at least comprehended it since this was a Divine Technique created by its clansmen after ruminating the runes of an Emperor-Tier Fire Phoenix and pondering upon one of its species techniques. Certainly, this would be an extremely powerful technique, even more than an ordinary Divine Technique, so he imagined that if he could experience it for himself, then he could better relay it to Shirley after he plundered their soul essences.

"…"

However, looking at them turn furious again as they began to tremble, Davis almost had the urge to break out into laughter, but he saw that they were not fools, beginning to congregate together.

"Even the inheritors have yet to comprehend such a heaven-eclipsing Divine Technique. Only the worthy heirs of First Ancestor Reselius were able to comprehend that technique, but it's too bad they are all not here to watch us end you."

The Second Ancestor uttered as he raised his hands, appearing to gather his energy.

"Tch…" Davis clicked his tongue, "Then I have no interest in watching you all launch useless attacks against me."

Davis took the dark cloak off of him again and threw it at them nonchalantly.

"You-!"

The Grand Elders and Ancestors were alarmed, not knowing to whom it was moving towards as they scattered from each other. To make things worse, it abruptly disappeared from their senses as it disappeared, leaving them wondering if it dispersed or was concealed.

They scattered but didn't forget to suppress the Emperor of Death as they unleashed their attacks at him.

Davis stood amidst the scarlet attacks shooting towards him, his gaze steady. Yet, within his exterior calm, a storm of death energy brewed internally, passing through numerous meridians as they formed to combine at the tip of his fingers, where he joined them and spoke in a low voice.

"Midnight Avarice Calamity…"

A profound darkness abruptly surged from the soul, a deathly force that devoured all light and life in its path. It began as a mere ripple, a faint echo, before swiftly escalating into a vortex of consuming obsidian. The atmosphere warped, and the scarlet flames that once dominated the space now wrestled against an encroaching darkness.

However, it merely looked like that for a moment before the fiery walls trembled and crackled as they were swallowed by the ominous maw of the Emperor of Death's technique, becoming overwhelmed.

"!!!"

Outside, the scene shifted from a blazing inferno to an eerie, ethereal darkness. The once-fiery walls that covered thousands of kilometers were now immersed in a pitch-black swamp, losing its surrounding incandescence before being completely snuffed out by the all-encompassing embrace of death.

The terrifying aura spread toward the surrounding regions, and the air itself seemed to shudder, choked by the suffocating presence of this devouring abyss.

The expression of hundreds of millions of people sank into the abyss, unable to understand what occurred just now.

'The terrifying Deathward Seacloak Dominion was a mere distraction…?'

'He could've ended us anytime he had wanted to with this technique called the Midnight Avarice Calamity that is said to be the most incomprehensible out of every other Divine Technique in the Ghost Tear Hall…?'

Caught within this pitch-black swamp, the Second Ancestor and Fifth Ancestor's gaze shook as their thoughts churned for a single moment. But then, their consciousness abruptly sank into darkness along with the souls of the others, never to see the light again.

However, there was one person who was still safe in the pitch-black swamp and couldn't even see anything or scream if he roared at the top of his lungs.

It was none other than Grand Elder Seil Zenflame.

"Wha-"

However, his head suddenly felt something. He couldn't tell what it was as his senses seemed to be suppressed heavily. When he reached his hand out to grab his head, he imagined the image of a hand of someone else grasping his head, and he knew exactly who that would be, causing him to be scared shitless, but the next second, his pupils ran to the back of his head.

His memories were being extracted.